Chapter 10

[Backyard—Five minutes earlier]

Clark stumbled out of the brownstone feeling both elated and crushed by the events therein.

On the one hand, the cool air outside allowed him to catch his breath. He was away from the kryptonite. He started to feel his strength returning.

However, that fact held a cold reminder—that Love was slapping him in the face. Due to her infection from the same meteors, Lana could never be near him again. His tears burned his cheeks. Pain tore his gut apart. He spasmed wildly.

As such, he never heard the swooshing air or saw the fist that collided with his jaw. He collided with the back of the museum, shaking the building and splintering the door.

"You are pathetic!" Bizarro chided with a wicked grin on his face while standing over his weakened adversary. "COME ON! Don't tell me SHE'S STILL BUGGING YOU LIKE THAT?"

"T…try it." Clark spat out a tooth.

"Did. It really killed me. REMEMBER?" Bizarro grabbed Clark's shirt and yanked him toward himself. "What's with the black? Got bored with the farm boy stuff? Nice Goth. By the way, she always liked me BETTER!" Over and over again, his fist met Clark's face. "AND YOU TURNED HER AGAINST ME!" He pounded his frustration out on his original half clearly enjoying the retribution.

"Dream on."

Bizarro sniggered to himself while rolling his eyes. "If it ain't the backstabbing bitch?" He dropped Clark and turned to find Lana glaring at him. "Hi, Honey! I'M HOME! You must have some great green k in there! I can feel it from here."

She really should have taken the hint and backed off. But she still burned from his act of impersonating Clark. She wrestled with the bastard guilt of killing him. "I can't believe I thought you were him."

"I was always BETTER!" Bizarro put his hands in the air for emphasis.

"Clark, can you walk? Get out of here. I'll deal with this," she insisted.

"Lana…no. I….ARGH!" Clark grimaced as the renewed meteor spasms tore through him.

"CLARK!" she screamed in concern.

Bizarro considered the situation. He could see Clark cringing against the granite wall clearly sick from some kryptonite sickness. He also observed how she kept her distance from them. He noted how her face was wracked by guilt.

The same look she gave him when she killed him the first time.

He grinned. "You're packing, aren't you? Good! You OWE ME!" Before she could react, he crossed the distance and grabbed her in a bear hug. "DAMN! YOU ARE PACKING!"

"Let go of me!" she protested.

"No way! Not until I get THIS!" He pulled her hair, yanking her face upward. Then he forced his mouth onto hers.

She shivered in revulsion. For the first time since she'd donned the suit, she couldn't get away from something like that. She struggled but couldn't break free.

Clark started to pull himself to his feet. "LET HER GO!"

Bizarro ignored his counterpart and continued the kiss. As he did so, he took his pound of flesh, measure of revenge and feasted on the green kryptonite inside of her. After so long in the abyss, he could now satiate his hunger on so many levels. For several minutes he absorbed her charge until it was completely inside of himself. Simultaneously he took the gratification she'd given him during that month when Clark was trapped at the Fortress.

When she was his….and not Clark's. When he had taken over Clark's life.

"RARRRGHHH!"

Bizarro rolled his eyes sarcastically. He turned to see Byron in his dark mode charging him. "Oh please! Now the stupid poet? Don't tell me you're still hooked on her TOO?"

"NOT WAY TO TREAT LADY!" the dark poet snapped.

"Crap. Don't tell me you're buying into Clark's hokum crap as well? Gag me now," Bizarro chided.

Byron charged into the couple with his right shoulder, separating them. Then he delivered a hefty uppercut into the doppelganger's midsection staggering the latter. "GONNA KILL!"

"You wish." Bizarro scoffed as he collected himself. "Not bad, Moore. Needs work though!" He threw a punch at super speed connecting with the poet at full strength in the same way and driving the other across the courtyard. "NOW THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!"

She stared in concern. "BYRON!"

"Right," Clark agreed while charging the other from behind. He rammed into his other half. "Thanks for the favor."

"Favor? WHAT?" Bizarro frowned.

She wiped her mouth. "You took the kryptonite from me. Thank you. Now Clark and I can be together FOREVER!" She smirked shooting a dagger through the other's heart.

Bizarro screamed. "NOOO!" He turned on Clark. "I'm still stronger than you."

"Maybe than me…." Clark started.

"But not than both of us together," Lana asserted. "Together now, Clark?"

"You bet," Clark agreed feeling his strength really returning.

Together the couple delivered a pair of pile driver fists into Bizarro's face and shooting him straight up into the sky.

"That felt good," she admitted.

"We should get after him," he insisted.

"In a second." She held her love closely to her. Then she looked deeply into his eyes. "I'm sorry about you and Lois. But I love you. Her loss is my gain."

He smiled at her warmly. "I am too." While he still had residual feelings for Lois, he knew where his heart had always been. Instinctively he pulled her close. "Mind if I take my turn?"

"Clark?"

"I love…"

"Clark."

"Yeah?"

She grinned at him. "I know. Shut up and kiss me already."

He gave way to all of his pent up feelings and pulled her mouth onto his hungrily. Unlike his counterpart, his gesture was gentle and warm. He poured his love into her. He renewed his devotion.

She willingly returned the kiss with one of her own. She released her feelings into him as well. The frustration of being apart dissipated like so much of that morning's mist on that Carolina hill top. "I love you, Clark."

"I love you too, Lana," he told her.

The sounds of fighting reached their ears. They looked to the east to hear the fighting going on there.

"That would be fighting if you all are finished?" Green Arrow supposed.

"Give me a minute," Byron growled while trying to get up. He grimaced in pain.

Jones looked at the leg and shook his head. "You're done for this one, Son. You broke your leg."

"We'll give 'em Hell for you," Clark promised.

"Thanks to you both." Byron rubbed the injured limb.

"Kids today," Hawkman scoffed. Seeing Stargirl chuckle, he wondered, "WHAT?"

"Nothing," his teammate retorted with a chuckle. "Let's get to the fight."

Hawkman picked her up and zipped into the sky.

Martian Manhunter, Hourman and Dr. Fate took off in their wake.

"Nice fantasy, you two," Zatanna complimented before disappearing.

"This is real," Lana assessed while taking Clark's hand in hers.

"Together," Clark agreed before they sped off to deal with the three way threat.

In such ways, Love's cavalry charged forth…..