Thank you all so much for your reviewss againn you guys are awesomee I'm glad you're liking the lois and CL dynamic and it's going to be quite a journey and tranformation for both of them once they start to coexist with each other. And to Amy, I know it's pretty weird that Lois chooses to defend Clark Luthor who's is a killer, but I've chosen to create a background story for him to which I hope the readers will start to understand the reason why he is the way he is. I hope you continue to read the story Amy and understand both Lois and Clark Luthor's purpose of this story and I would say that this is in fact a mixture of a Lois+CL and Lois+CK story but I plan on writing this story with as much depth into a CK+LL story because at the end of the day, Lois acted out of her love for CK, and I enlighten the readers more about why she doesn't regret her decision for bringing CL as it still connects to CK by the end of this chapter. Warning this is a very long chapter I'm sorry I made it really long I did not expect to write this much in one chapter so I'm pretty sure you guys are going to have to take breaks in between, grab some food, and enjoy the next chapter in this installment:D Please review and let me know how I'm doing so far I can tell you guys are really interested and that makes me really happy and more motivated I have a bunchh of ideas for this fic and your encouraging reviews are inspiring so thanks for your awesomeness:)3!
Chapter 14: Echo- Jason Walker
Listen, listen. I will take a whisper if that's all you have to give. But it isn't, isn't, you could come and save me and try to chase it crazy right out of my head. I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name like a fool at the top of my lungs. Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm all right but it's never enough. Cause my echo, echo, is the only voice in my head. My shadow, shadow, is the only friend that I have. I don't wanna be down and I just wanna feel alive again and get to see your face again.
Watchtower
"I'm worried... Oh god what's going on? Did Tess forget about us or something, what's taking her so long? UGH I'm going crazy over here!" Chloe said for the fifteenth time since they arrived at Watchtower. She had been pacing around while Bruce was sitting on the couch, his leg bouncing up and down while Oliver was standing near Chloe while on his blackberry. Chloe sighed, throwing her hands in the air, "What the hell is taking them so long? Tess called this 911 meeting and it's been like an hour!"
Oliver put his phone away and gently grabbed Chloe by the shoulder, "Hey Hun you have to calm down. Now I know how much you hate being the one left in the dark but I'm sure Tess has a good explanation."
"I know she does, why else would she call us at 2 in the morning on New Years? This is bad Ollie. I may not know what this is about... but I can already tell it's nothing good." Oliver gave her a small comforting smile while stroking his hands up and down her arms.
"Why do you think she had to go to Smallville?" Chloe and Oliver turned towards Bruce as he continued to think out loud, "Do you think it had something to do with Lois... what if something happened to her?"
Chloe shook her head at him, "The last time I spoke to Lois, she was ready for bed here in Metropolis I doubt she managed to get herself into trouble all the way in Smallville."
Oliver raised his brow at her, "I'm sorry but are we talking about the same Lois Lane here? The woman has a knack for getting herself into trouble. It's either she has to either explain to the press how she escaped from being captured or had to use her army brat moves from getting shot in the head by the time we find her."
Bruce stood up and looked out the window in silence, anxious and worried at the same time. Chloe and Oliver looked back at each other, noting the compassionate worry their friend was having over Lois. Chloe encouraged Oliver as he walked up to Bruce, "Hey." Bruce turned as Oliver gripped his shoulder, "I'm sure Lois is sleep and sound at home. And once this whole mess is sorted out... whatever it is... you can go see her and have a nice breakfast together." Bruce nodded, still feeling unsure this has nothing to do with Lois. Why would it be so important for Tess to be in Smallville?
Suddenly hearing a beeping sound, Chloe picked up her tablet as the light at the elevator continued to flash red, "They're here you guys..." She opened up the security footage and raised her brow, "Looks like your instincts were right Bruce. Tess didn't come alone." Bruce and Oliver turned to Chloe, who was watching a screen. To their surprise, Tess and Lois were standing in the elevator, waiting to be let in. Chloe rushed to type in the password as the elevator doors opened and Tess entered with Lois not far behind. All three rushed towards them with an anxious look on their faces. They noticed the tension between the two women which unsettled Chloe. She stepped towards Lois, "Hey cuz what are you doing here?" She walked up to her cousin and embraced her in a warm hug. It felt good to be comforted at this moment and Chloe felt Lois squeeze her even tighter and right then, she knew this involved Lois more than anything. "Is everything okay?" She whispered in her ear. Lois slightly shook her head against her cousin. Chloe closed her eyes, expecting the worst, "Where's Chris?" She asked in a shaky tone.
Lois pulled away, and Chloe noticed her glossy eyes and her heart started to race, "He's fine, he's home in Smallville sleeping, Emil's taking care of him." Chloe felt herself relax a little at the reassurance.
Bruce furrowed his brows, "Hold on, what's going on you guys? Is this why you had to go to Smallville Tess? You had to get Lois?"
"Lo I thought you were here in Metropolis when I called you? When did you drive to Smallville? And since when did you let Emil babysit your son?" Chloe asked perplexed.
"Tess..." Oliver started, "Mind telling us what's going on? Why did you bring Lois?"
Tess turned her head to stare at Lois who kept her eyes on Chloe, gripping her hand. Chloe squeezed it back, she knew whatever it was, Lois needed her, "Oh it involves Lois alright..." Tess spoke up, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Well don't leave us hanging!" Bruce exclaimed, growing impatient.
"Lois..." Chloe brought her hand up to her cheek as Lois' eyes met hers, "What's wrong?"
Lois backed away from her cousin and turned away from the group, wrapping her arms around herself, "S-Something happened tonight... something I did that you're not going to be proud of."
Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, "Oh legs... what did you do? Oh more so what did you get yourself into this time?"
"Well Lois has gotten all of us into a bit of a sticky situation..." Tess said as she walked over to one of the monitors.
"What kind of situation?" Bruce asked, as he squinted his eyes at Tess while she walked over to the security monitor and swallowed hard as none of them were facing the screen except her.
Tess cleared her throat, "They're here." She said, addressing more to Lois. Lois swallowed hard and took a deep breath, bracing herself as Tess opened the elevator doors. Chloe, Bruce, and Oliver turned to see Kara walking out, into Watchtower.
"He tried to get away when I dropped you and Lois off, but he didn't get far given the fact that he's only mortal now." Kara said to Tess, she turned to face Lois and gave her a quick smile.
"Who are you talking about?" Chloe asked, watching Kara and Lois closely.
"Yeah you guys need to stop being cryptic and just spit it out. Why are we all here?" Oliver asked in an irritated tone.
Once he stopped talking, they heard footsteps and saw the figure walking out of the elevator and all three stared shell shocked. Chloe's jaw dropped as she held her breath, Oliver went wide-eyed and speechless. Bruce stood behind the rest, his lips parted at the sight; he stood frozen in place, unable to move as he watched Clark walk into Watchtower. Chloe shook her head slightly, "It can't be..." She breathed out.
Clark stood before the group as he put his hands into the pockets of his black Armani pants and stared back in amusement at the people who coexisted in this world. Smirking at the group, "Well well... I should've known Oliver Queen would be involved in some sort of conspiracy with Wayne here." His eyes went to Chloe and raised his brow as he stepped closer to her, rolling his eyes at the shocked expression he was getting from everyone tonight, "I know you..." He spoke in a low tone. Chloe blinked; surprised at the way he was talking. As if she was a stranger. Tears flowed in her eyes at the sight of her best friend standing before her alive and well. Clark continued at analyze her, "You're Chloe Sullivan... reporter of the small town high school paper." He chuckled humourlessly, "You used to try and exploit my father many times... and failed." He smirked back at her, "Surprised to see you alive in this world" His eyes went behind her to the rest of the group, "And apparently a part of this cult?"
Chloe opened her mouth to try to say something, but nothing came out, her breath caught in her throat as she felt like she was going to pass out. Clark was alive. He's alive. But how?
Oliver raised his brow, letting reality sink in and quickly understood who this man was the second he mentioned 'exploit' and 'father' in the same sentence. He turned to face Tess, "You've got to be kidding me!" Tess shook her head, wearing a disappointed look. Oliver rushed towards Chloe, putting himself in between her and Clark in a defensive stance, pulling her a few feet away from Clark as she continued to look dumbfounded at Clark, "Chloe... this isn't Clark!" Chloe snapped out of her shock and focused on what Oliver was saying, "This isn't Clark Kent... This is Clark Luthor."
Bruce managed to move his feet towards them, still in a state of shock as he couldn't believe what had just gone on in the past 10 seconds, "Clark... Luthor? I don't understand." He managed to choke out.
They were interrupted by Clark's whistling jive as he turned to scan where he was, "Impressive hideout... I'm especially impressed with the fact that it's still in one piece after what I did to it the last time we were here." He gave an evil grin towards Oliver.
Oliver tightened his grip on Chloe out of protective instinct, but Tess' voice reassured them all, "Don't worry, we bound his powers with blue kryptonite. He can't hurt us... well he can try but it won't do him any good now that we're on the same playing field." She got a death glare from Clark to which she smirked back at.
Oliver's anger was boiling up, remembering the last encounter they had with him here; he clenched his jaw as he spoke to Tess in a stern tone, "Mind explaining how the hell this could happen again?"
Tess' eyes moved behind Oliver, "Why don't you ask Lois."
All three of them turned to face Lois, who glared back at Tess. Bruce walked towards Lois and gently placed his hand on her arm. Clark took notice of the gesture and something stirred inside of him as he wanted to turn away from the sight. Lois looked up at Bruce as he stared back at her, confused, "What's she talking about Lo?"
Clark rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, "He has a nickname for you too huh." Kara took a quick glance back at him, as she was the only one who heard him and raised her brow at him, watching him thoughtfully. When he caught her staring at him, she quickly turned away focusing her attention to the situation at hand.
Chloe still stared back at Clark wide-eyed, and tears ready to fall down her cheeks as she leaned against Oliver, her knees giving up on her as she let everyone's words sink in. It wasn't Clark. This isn't Clark... but the replica was uncanny.
Lois took a deep breath and looked behind him towards Clark. They locked eyes for a long moment before she answered Bruce, "I activated the mirror box."
Chloe's jaw dropped, as she pulled away from Oliver, managing to remember how to walk again and approached Lois, "The mirror box? The mirror box you and Ollie told me about? How there's another Clark who was found by the Lionel instead and tried to kill you all? This is him?"
Lois shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she nodded her head, "Yeah." Bruce took a couple steps away from her, taken aback by her confession. Lois watched everyone's faces staring back at her. She felt like the odd duckling in the clan as they looked at her as if she was a stranger to them.
Oliver sighed, "Oh Lois..." As Chloe wiped a tear from her cheek and took a deep breath, shaking her head to herself.
"Wait I don't understand... What's a mirror box?" Bruce asked.
Tess was the one who answered him, "It's a piece of Kryptonian technology that allows humans and Kryptonians to travel between two worlds, Earth-1 and Earth-2."
Bruce raised his brow, "Earth-2? What is that?"
Taking a deep breath Tess opened her mouth to speak but was cut off, "It's where I'm from. A better version of this world where I'm a Luthor and not some country side farm boy with a delusional hero complex." All eyes turned to look back at Clark Luthor, who was twirling his gold ring around his pinky.
Bruce glared at Clark, "I don't know you, but I can tell you the only thing delusional is the fact that you think of yourself as a Luthor."
Clark smirked back at Bruce, tilting his head, "You know... I understand how Queen here would team up with Earth-1 Clark, being Green Arrow and all, my beloved sister since she just can't keep away from me no matter what kind of universe we're in, and Blondie here is somehow... my kind" Kara smirked back at Clark, "I can piece together everyone's purpose in this place you call Watchtower... but why exactly are you here Wayne?" Bruce kept silent as Clark continued, "I've been trying to figure this out myself. Why are you so important that they need your help saving the world one kitten at a time?"
Chloe stepped in, composed from her shock, giving Clark a stern look, "Bruce is an important asset to us. You don't need to know our positions in our world. You won't be staying long." She figured it was important for Bruce to keep his alter ego a secret from this Clark in case he uses it against him when he gets back to Earth-2. He must know as little as possible about them, Chloe and the team had to be smart about this to protect themselves.
Clark gave her an amused smile, which soon turned into a cold stare, "Well, I'm surprised this version of me would team up with a group of underdogs who aren't even close to the same league as I am."
Smirking, Chloe spoke in a low tone, "Careful what you wish for Mr. Luthor, I just might call in the rest of our underdogs to show you exactly why Clark Kent was a part of this team."
"And I'm not sticking around to see any more of you morons so be doll and shut your mouth." He turned to Kara, "Take this ring off me and the rest of you can sit here in your cave while I go find that mirror box and get out of this sad, boring excuse of an alternate universe."
"Trust me Clark, you're going to be shackled to that ring until we find that box and I will bring you to your world myself and then and only then will I set you free. If you keep up your ass of an attitude I might leave you in your world with that ring on. From what I know you're the only Kryptonian there so it's going to be hard finding a volunteer take that off for you." Clark glared at Kara, not taking her threat lightly.
Oliver crossed his arms, standing behind Clark, "Should be fun adjusting to a lifetime as a mortal. Clark Luthor and Earth-2 Oliver will be equals and hey maybe you'll finally have the balls to walk away from Lionel's hold on you without trying to kill him-" With that, Clark spun around and grabbed Oliver's collar, meeting his fist with his jaw as Oliver fell to the ground.
Kara ran to restrain Clark as he tried to lunge forward to attack Oliver again, who leapt up from the ground also tried to fight back as Bruce held him back, "YOU SHUT YOUR F*CKING HOLE YOU BASTARD!" Chloe ran to Oliver as he roughly pulled himself out of Bruce's grip, holding his jaw as he spat out a chunk of blood to the floor.
Kara locked her arms around Clark effortlessly and pulled him away. She let go once they were far enough from Oliver across the other side of the room as Clark walked away, panting. Lois rushed towards Clark, "Hey, calm down..." She wrapped her hand around his forearm and as soon as their skin touched, Clark yanked his arm away from her.
She took a step back, holding her hands up in front of him, swallowing hard out of fear. Clark gave her a menacing stare, "Get the hell away from me." He said through his teeth. He turned away from Lois, leaving her taken aback by his cruel tone, feeling his hatred towards her. Kara grabbed him again and dragged him away, "What the hell are you doing?" He spat out as Kara continued to pull him to a separate room while he struggled against her.
Opening the doors to the dark room, she threw Clark into a chair and handcuffed his wrists to the handles of the chair and shackled his ankles to the legs. Clark continued to struggle as Kara strapped him down, "You're going to stay in here, and not cause another brawl until we figure out what to do with you..." Once she made sure he was tightly secured, Kara walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Lois stood by, watching the scene while clutching her chest, trying to keep it together as the man that resembled her husband didn't want her anywhere near him, hurt by the way he looked at her until the doors were closed. Taking a deep breath, Lois walked towards Oliver as Chloe helped him up, "Are you okay?"
Tess walked past her towards Oliver, handing him an ice pack as he sat down on the couch. Oliver thanked her and looked back at Lois with a slight smile, "Ah it's nothing I've gotten worse blows to the face." He nodded behind her towards the room where Clark was in, "Touchy subject I guess..." He said, wincing as he felt the coldness of the ice touch his jaw.
"Yeah..." Lois whispered ever so quietly, "I'm sorry."
Chloe looked back up at Lois, with a look of disappointment, while Oliver took her hand, "Don't be legs. We'll fix this." Lois nodded, but Chloe continued to stare at Lois... she wanted to talk to her, to understand what was going through her head right now. At this moment for the life of her, Chloe had no hints of what was going through Lois' mind.
"Okay Tess we can't keep him here. Now how do we get him back? I want to do this fast, he can't stay here any longer!" Bruce exclaimed, rattled by the fight that had just erupted.
Tess bit her lip and took a deep breath, "We can't do anything without the mirror box."
"Tell me more about the box. How does it work?" he asked.
Sighing, Tess explained, "The device is a silver plated box. It has the Kryptonian symbol that represents the Mark of Transference on it and it works like a puzzle that needs the parts of the same frame to activate it." Bruce continued to listen intently with the others, "When the box is activated, the Mark of Transference shines and the person who activates it disappears. The mirror box has the capability to transport someone through parallel universes. This is the only known way to travel from Earth-1 to Earth-2. It causes one to switch places with their counter-parts from the other universe... The box can only be activated by Kryptonians."
Chloe stood up, deep in thought, "Hold on..." She turned to point at Lois, "Lois is the one who activated the box... she's not even Kryptonian so how was she able to activate it?"
Tess shook her head, "When Clark used it the first time, he came back and destroyed the box... but Emil and I had recovered the parts and repaired it."
"What? Why would you want to repair it? Can't you see what kind of massacre happens?" Oliver said, gesturing towards the room Clark was in.
Tess sighed, "This was years ago, back around the time when I first found out I was Lionel's daughter. I enlisted Emil's help because I knew that my father was on the other side of that box." She paused, stuttering through her words as she spoke, "I wanted answers. Answers about myself that only Lionel can give and I had my chance to get those answers." Her eyes met Lois' whose eyes widened. Tess continued, "Anyways... after Emil restructured the box, I was tempted to do it, but in the end I knew that activating the mirror box will do more harm than it will ever do me good so I never went through with it. Instead I went to Clark... Our Clark. I gave him the box and told him to keep it safe. He was furious with me at first for going behind his back but he finally understood my reasons. I mean if you had a chance to talk to your parents again wouldn't you take that chance Ollie?"
Oliver's eyes went to Lois, and suddenly everything was clear. Her back was to him, and he kept his eyes on her, holding the ice pack against his bleeding jaw, "Yeah... if I had a chance to be with someone I loved again... I would use that opportunity in a heartbeat..." Lois swallowed hard and continued to look at the floor, as her vision became blurry from the tears stinging her eyes.
Tess looked from Oliver to Lois and then back to him as she shook her head slightly, "That's not the same." She said in a loud, stern tone, "I wasn't trying to play god and attempt a way to bring someone from the dead. I wanted answers about my origins."
"Tess" Chloe said, taken aback by her lack of empathy.
Tess ignored them all and continued, "We have two problems, one we don't have the only device to send him back and two, we don't know what will happen if we activate it again."
"What do you mean?" Kara asked.
"I mean we never tested the device after it was repaired. If we put it together there must've been some malfunctions. I mean now we know a human can activate it, but the human can't be transported since Lois is still here. And for some reason Clark Luthor, a Kryptonian who was nowhere near the box ended up in our world and we all know he couldn't have switched with our Clark here because ours isn't even alive. I have no idea what will happen if we activate it again. I mean if we can find it, Emil can do some tests on it and try and figure out how to properly use it so Kara can transport him to Earth-2 and come back to our world safely."
"That is if we find it." Kara said, crossing her arms, irritated with the fact that they are at a dead end at this point.
"Chloe?" Oliver put a hand on her shoulder, "You okay? You seem a little pale." He watched her face as she looked deep in thought, worry and fear written all over her face.
Chloe jumped at Oliver's touch and composed herself, "Y-yeah I'm okay... it's just uhh.. Overwhelming that's all." Oliver nodded.
"So we have to find it right? It's nowhere in the Kent farm?" He asked.
Tess shook her head, replying, "Kara x-rayed the place. It's missing."
Bruce huffed in frustration, "So now what?"
Kara took a step forward, "There's nothing we can do without the mirror box. So I guess until we figure out what to do and where to find it we'll just have to keep him here."
Oliver gave a humourless chuckle, "Well that's going to go well. God knows how long we're going to have to keep him here."
"Well there's one thing for sure, we can't leave him out of our sight and cause chaos." Chloe stated.
Tess nodded, "I guess we should let him know then, and we can work on a plan and do some research." They all nodded and walked towards the door. Tess opened it and went in first, watching Clark panting, clearly showing how hard he tried escaping from the handcuffs.
Lifting his head to see everyone in the dark room, as he sat in the middle, while the others stood in front of him. Clark shook his head, "You assholes ready to let me go now?"
Tess shook her head and crossed her arms, taking a confident stance to which Clark couldn't help smirking at, "We don't know where the mirror box is, so until we find that or any other way to send you back... we're keeping you here so you don't do any funny business in our world."
Clark gave a humorless laugh, "This is a joke right? That's your plan? You're going to babysit me and wait for the box to magically appear?"
"You have any better ideas?" Kara challenged.
"Yeah uncuff me, take off this ring and I'll find it myself since you people are the most useless species I've ever met!" He spat out.
Kara laughed, "There's nothing you can do that I can't Kal-" Kara stopped herself and cleared her throat, "Clark. I'm older than you and therefore my powers are more advanced. If I can't find it than neither can you." She patted his shoulder to which, Clark roughly shoved away from her contact. Kara rolled her eyes and walked away from him, "You have too much rage held inside Clark."
"You blame me? I got forced into this world without my consent and I'm being held like a prisoner for doing nothing!"
"Excuse me?" Tess exclaimed, "You try and strangle me to death. The last time you were here said it all that you're lethal and can't be trusted. You blame us for holding you captive here? You don't belong here and we're going to make sure you won't get comfortable."
Clark smirked, "In my world what I did was just another Tuesday for you sis."
"I'm not your Tess. I never will be and you're lucky all we're doing is keeping you cuffed to a chair."
Clark whistled, "Never thought of you to be the frisky person who's open to torture Lutessa. I mean do you even have the will power to hurt me. The man who looks just like your infamous hero?" He turned to the rest of the group, "I can tell you're all holding back because you all see me as him." He faced Lois, "That's too bad. Because I never asked for this. I never chose to come here and I'm being held as a prisoner because of it. I was just finally starting to celebrate my life... my freedom and now it's taken away from me again." Lois looked up and their eyes met. He wore a blank stare as she was unable to take her eyes away from him. Bruce noticed the exchange between them, and shifted his weight from one leg to the other, uncomfortable to be in the same room with them. His face dropped at the way Lois was looking at... Clark Luthor. It was a look he's seen her share with her son. A look that nobody would understand but the people she addressed it to. Feeling like he was imposing in their moment, Bruce stepped out of the room.
Chloe spoke up, "Well we have no choice. The world here as we know it thinks Clark Kent is... dead." Her eyes went to Lois as she stared at nothing in particular. Chloe continued, "We can't have you wandering around when like it or not, you are him. People will raise questions and what's going to happen when they discover 'Clark Kent' is back? You're not on vacation. You're staying here until we find the mirror box and then you can go back to your life as a free man if that's what you want. But you're not going anywhere. You will be on lockdown in this tower. Each one of us will take turns and keep surveillance and guard him."
Clark shook his head, disappointed with the circumstances. All his life, he was under lockdown by his father, and now it's happening again and once again... he has no power to get out. Lois watched him as he looked down at his wrist, balling his hands into fists while everyone discussed some sort of plan to take shifts babysitting him. For some reason, she could tell he was more than angry about this situation, he felt trapped, and vulnerable. He felt like he was returning to hell and had no control of his life. This was all her fault; she had done this to him. She was the reason he was going to be handcuffed to a chair for god knows how long. She had been silent long enough. Lois knew no one would like what she had to say, but she had to try. Lois Lane was never one to give up, "He's not staying here."
The chatter had stopped and all eyes were on Lois. Lois crossed her arms as Oliver went up to her, "What do you mean he can't stay here? Where do you suggest he stays?"
"Or did you miraculously remember where the mirror box is?" Tess challenged.
Lois took a deep breath and stood straight, "He can stay with me at my condo here in Metropolis."
There was silence for a good thirty second before everyone blasted her, "ARE YOU CRAZY?"
"THAT'S THE DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!"
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND THIS ISN'T THE KIND GENTLE CLARK KENT HE'S DANGEROUS!"
"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?"
Lois massaged her temple with her fingers, and held her hand up, "I know what you're all thinking, but none of this was his fault. I'm the one who brought him here. He didn't choose to come here I brought him here. So it should be my responsibility to keep an eye on him while you guys find a way to get the box."
"Exactly. This IS your fault! You have no say in this since you're the one who began this mess!" Tess exclaimed, fuelled with anger, "Honestly Lane just when I thought you couldn't make matters worse and do something more stupid you go ahead and suggest something like that! At this point I wouldn't mind keeping you under lockdown too!"
"Tess calm down" Oliver said as he took Lois by the arm and walked out of the room. Everyone soon followed as Kara closed the door behind her, taking one quick glance at Clark who still wore a shocked expression. Oliver turned to Lois and spoke softly, "Look Lois, this is a bad idea I don't understand how you can be thinking this. You don't need to take responsibility okay, we can handle it from here." Oliver said.
Lois shook her head, "He doesn't want this okay. He doesn't want to be locked up in a tower like it's some sort of Disney movie." That got Tess to narrow her eyes at Lois but she ignored it, "Look, I know what you're all thinking... He's no threat without his powers. He can stay with me in my condo until further notice if I can't handle it, and he attacks me you can take him back, but please, trust me."
Tess put her hands on her hips, "Don't you remember the last encounter you had with Clark Luthor or did you get amnesia when he grabbed you and threw you into a table, knocking you unconscious? This man is lethal!"
Chloe spoke up, "Tess is right Lo, even without his powers, he can still hurt you."
Lois sighed, "He had his powers then... and if he wanted to hurt me he would've done it already. There was so much time between the moment he came here to the moment Kara put that ring on him... he doesn't want to hurt me." Clark overheard what Lois was saying on the other side of that door, closing his eyes. He can't be here. He had to leave this world fast. "He never hurt me. Without his powers, there's very little that he can do. He can't run away." He heard her say. "Listen, I think he would rather be in a better environment than a room with metal doors locking him in."
"Either way what's the difference, he'll still be locked in your house only here we can keep an eye on him and everyone will be safe." Oliver said.
"The difference is that he won't be held like a prisoner, handcuffed to a chair. It could be a while before he gets to go home"
"And you're so confident that he won't hurt you? He won't try and get some answers out of you about the mirror box, try and use you as leverage to get what he wants? From what I've been hearing he's worse than a Luthor. He would probably leave town and wreak havoc in our city." Bruce said pacing back and forth.
Lois sighed, "I know what he's capable of and when we were alone he didn't seem like he wanted to hurt me and that was when he had his powers. He was just confused that's all..."
Bruce came to a halt and shook his head, "Lois this is completely reckless and naive of you. You can't honestly think we'd consider this? And what about Chris?"
Lois' lips parted as she raised her brow at him, "What about Chris?"
"You want your son to be around a lethal killer?" Bruce's voice rose.
Lois had tears in her eyes and stayed silent. Chloe watched Lois and took a deep breath, "Hey you guys stay here, Lois and I are going to go take a walk outside." Lois' eyes went to Chloe, who nodded back at her.
"If you're going to convince her that she's done enough damage and let us control this situation than be my guest." Tess said as she walked to a separate room to get something to drink. It seemed everyone was in need of a break at this point.
Chloe ignored everyone else and took Lois' hand, pulling her towards the elevator, "Come on Lo, let's go get some air. I'll treat you to some rocky road." They rode the elevator in silence as Chloe looked at Lois from time to time from the corner of her eye, while Lois looked straight ahead. They walked down the streets as Chloe went to the nearest ice cream shop and ordered two rocky roads for her and Lois, triple scoop for Lois. They continued walking down the streets when Chloe looked down at her watch, whistling in awe, "Wow it's almost 4 in the morning. I thought we had gotten too old to be partying it up all night on New Year's." She looked up at Lois who barely touched her ice cream, chuckling, she said, "You know I didn't buy that so you can drink it as a milkshake" No response, Chloe sighed, "So it's been almost six hours since I called you all the way from Star City asking about your special New Year's plans with Chris. You said you guys were just watching movies and then off to bed to wake to up to a New Year..." Her voice trailed off and Chloe took Lois' hand and made her finally face her. "Talk to me Lo. Tell me what happened from the time I hung up the phone to where we are right now... how did this manage to happen in a matter of only six hours?" Chloe pleaded with Lois to open up to her.
Lois' bottom lip trembled as she tried to keep it together; it started to snow while they stood in the middle of Metropolis streets. Her eyes fluttered as she kept her tears from falling. Chloe could see the tears flowing in her eyes. Lois shook her head and shrugged, speaking in a quiet tone, "I don't know how I ended up here Chloe. I don't know how a lot of things happened I'm still trying to understand it. I don't know how I went from being the happiest woman alive, married to a wonderful man who I can't picture living without... to being a widow, and a single mother." Lois took a deep breath and covered her eyes with her hand. Chloe waited in silence as the snow continued to fall around them, "You have no idea how lonely I feel. How time has stopped for me the second you all came to my door that night to tell me I lost him. Look at us... we're starting a new year. He vowed to spend every year by my side. He vowed he would love me, and hold me, and grow old with me forever. Forever should've been longer Chloe. I... I don't have anyone to live for other than Chris. He's the only thing that keeps me going and I love him so much. I'm thankful I still have him." Lois clutched her chest as her heart began to ache again, releasing her vulnerability, "I promised to protect him from the moment he was born. I promised to protect Chris from all the weight and the pain from the world. And all this time, that is what I've been doing! That's the reason why I wake up in the morning now. But what about me! Who's there for me? Who's there to protect ME from the weight and the pain of the world because I feel all of it Chloe and there's literally no one to take that away. To make it all better with just a smile. Yeah I have you and all our friends, but you all know it's not the same. It always used to be Clark. It was always Clark! He used to always wake me up every morning by hugging me close to him and kissing my face. He always used to make late night visits just to tell me he loves me before going off to save someone. He was the one to hold me when I was getting morning sickness, he was the one to comfort me at times when I missed my mom. He always remembered our anniversary and never held it against me when I forgot. Clark was the one to tell me everything was going to be okay and I believed it. Now? Now he's not here and I needed him again to protect me from the weight and the pain. The pain from feeling alone. I need him Chloe, I need his voice, his warmth, his love." Lois began to sob and break down. Chloe dropped her ice cream and wrapped her arms around her cousin. She thought it had gotten better, she thought Lois had finally accepted what happened and moved forward. It never really went away.
"It's going to be okay Lois." Chloe stroked her cousin's back while she continued to cry.
Lois shook her head against Chloe, "This wonderful man happened to me, and then he died. What was the point?" She cried harder.
Tears quietly fell down Chloe's cheek as her heart ached for Lois. She should've known Lois Lane was the master at keeping her emotions in check for the sake of others. She should've known her cousin as still grieving, "I'm so sorry Lois... I don't know how to answer that."
Lois pulled away, wiping her tears, "You have no idea how hard it was back at Watchtower. My heart felt like it was going to shatter. My palms hurt because I've been digging my fingernails into them. I had to keep myself together and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I couldn't speak, I had to hold my breath at times because I thought I was just going to scream at the top of my lungs and break down." She shook her head as her voice rose, "How..." She breathed in and tried again, "How can I just keep it together while I'm in the same room as Clark Luthor... it's Clark! My husband's counter-part is standing there and I just want to break down because he can't hold me. Because I can't relish on the fact that I get to see Clark again after over a year! When I look at him... it's like he never left me and..." She began to sob again, clutching her chest, "I'm just so happy to see his face again." She fell into Chloe's arms again as she tried to comfort her cousin.
"Oh Lois... Why did you do it? Why did you bring him here wouldn't that just hurt so much more to have to see him disappear from our lives again? We all lost Clark that day Lois. I lost my best friend. That day was hard on all of us. Clark was a big part of our lives. I understand your pain Lo, but you're not making it easier on yourself to put you through this. To see someone with the same face as your husband, what were you expecting from him? He's a cruel version of the man you loved why would you want to remember Clark that way? By keeping him around you. By suggesting him living with you is going to be painful because he's not the same man." Chloe said in a strained voice, "He could hurt you Lois. Why would you trust him into your life?"
Lois took a deep, unsteady breath; her face was flushed, as her tears dried up, "I just missed him too much I had to... I found the mirror box in the loft and I held it in my hands..." She shook her head, staring up at the night sky, "I know it was crazy. I know he's not my Clark. He's the man of steel with a cold heart... But he's still Clark. It's not like he's a phantom taking his physical form as Bizarro Clark this is still Clark, body and soul. Somewhere in there, I know my Clark is in him. If I have to endure crap and him hating me, then that's fine. Because having this version of him... it's better than not having him at all. You don't know what it's like to lose the one person who completes you and know that you can bring an alternate version of him back. You can tell me Clark Luthor isn't Clark Kent. I get it. I know he's not my husband. No one can replace my Clark. But... looking back at those eyes, I can tell he still holds compassion that my husband did. He could've killed me and Chris anytime. Before Tess and Emil came, he just watched Chris, and he realized himself that they shared the same DNA just by looking at him. And when he got attacked by green-K, I saw the look on his face. He was making sure my son wouldn't feel the same pain. That was something I didn't expect Chloe." Lois took a deep breath, "I wasn't ready to let him go Chloe. I just... I just want one last chance... one last chance to see his face, to hold his hand again. That's probably never going to happen with this Clark... but at least I get to see him alive and appreciate what I had before he goes back to his world. I don't want to waste another minute away before he leaves. I just want to be able to say what I wanted to tell my Clark before he died. And before that time comes I just want to appreciate what I once had. Just for a while, forget the fact that there was no hope in saving my Clark... and that he's gone forever." Lois breathed out her last words.
Chloe stared back at Lois, conflicted with what to do. What to say. Her mouth opened, as she struggled to speak, in a soft tone she said, "Lois, there's something I need to tell you..." Lois blinked and waited for Chloe to continue, who drew in a deep breath, "Around Christmas... J'onn and I-" Suddenly her phone rang. Chloe reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She looked up at Lois, "It's Ollie." Lois nodded while Chloe answered, "Hey Ollie... Yeah Lois and I are a couple blocks outside of Watchtower... No we haven't decided yet... Okay I'll be there soon... I love you." She flipped her phone shut and looked up at Lois, "They want us to come back to Watchtower. He's getting worried."
Lois nodded, "Let's get you back to your guy." Chloe gave her a small smile, and watched as Lois stared back at Watchtower from afar, "I don't want to face them again... I know they're all judging me. I don't care I really don't... but, I just don't want them to look at me differently for making a choice like this and not regretting it." Lois took a deep breath, "If I had to do it over again I would. I can't explain how I feel it's like... the moment I saw Clark in the farm house again... it's like light had been shed into my heart. I wouldn't give that feeling back for the world. But when I go back in there, they just make me feel like I did such a terrible thing. And as always I'm alone in this." She continued to look forward as Chloe took her hand.
"You're not alone Lois. Not anymore. I feel like I haven't done enough to be there for you cuz. You need me and no matter what Lois Lane I am going to stand by you and whatever decision you make if that's what you need from me."
Tears welled up in Lois' eyes, "Chloe you don't have to support me in this if you don't believe what I'm doing is right or twisted."
Chloe shook her head, "You are my family and I know you more than anyone in that room. I know you're not twisted and if you trust yourself enough to control this situation and take responsibility for Clark Luthor, then I trust you. I got your back Lo. Even though I don't think this is a good idea, if you think this is the best decision, then I'll support you. I doubt anyone else will agree with us but hey..." She brought her fist up and smiled, "Hoes before the Justice League."
Lois burst into laughter and Chloe joined in, "I always thought of myself classier than a hoe, but the title definitely suits you." She bumped her fist against Chloe's, "Hoes before the Justice League."
Chloe laughed and wrapped her arm around Lois' waist as they walked back to Watchtower, "Hey look who's attempting to get a sense of humour again!" Lois gave a small smile and leaned her head against Chloe's.
"Thank you Chloe." Chloe nodded, putting the fact that she still hasn't told Lois about her secret in the back of her head.