a/n: The episode title is not a typo. It's Latin.

Episode Six: Abductio

Part One

Lex shuffled through the papers as he walked through the apartment, his phone precariously balanced on his shoulder, his neck at an odd angle.

"I'm not asking, I'm ordering. Find me a competent attorney or find yourself another job."

Unlike other phones he couldn't exactly slam this one down so he settled for letting the phone drop into his hand and a hard press of the 'end' button.

Moana looked up from the laptop.

"You sure know how to win friends and influence people," she remarked.

"I didn't get to be CEO of Luthorcorp by winning a popularity contest," he retorted.

"No, you got that by first sending your old man to prison then tossing him out of a window."

"My father committed suicide," he replied.

She stared at him evenly for a moment, giving him the feeling he was being analysed.

"You keep telling yourself that, Luthor. We both know what really happened the night Lionel died. Not even you can hide that from me."

Damn her and her strange ability, he thought. Moana turned back to the screen, pointedly ignoring the subject.

"I left a message for Clark and Lois. Clark called back and said he would make sure Lois and the baby were under constant guard by the League."

"We both know it won't be enough," Lex commented. "If I was the baron, I'd be creating some kind of diversion which would involve the entire League."

She looked up at him, her gaze once again assessing.

"You've thought about this, of course," she said. "Even so far as to considering what you would do to stop Superman."

"Let's not forget that Superman and I are enemies. We may have a detente at the moment, but that is because we have mutual interests."

"Mutual?" she snickered. "Right. Your interest is in stopping the Illuminati so you could have all that power to yourself. Superman is just trying to save humanity from making the same mistakes as his own people. Sure they're mutual."

"I do not care to get into a philosophical argument with you," he said, grabbing the phone as it rang. "Luthor."

"I found an attorney. Well, attorneys really," Otis babbled. "Actually in Canada they don't call them attorneys they call them solicitors."

"Get to the point!" he snapped.

"Raymond and Grace Caron. They have an office in Ottawa. I've already apprised them of the situation and they are willing to meet with you."

"Good. Have the jet fuelled and ready for wheels up in thirty minutes."

"How many should I tell the pilot?"

"Two passengers. Myself and Ms Rangihau."

"Uh, hasn't her passport been confiscated?"

"I'm trusting you to take care of that," he told Otis.

"Yes sir, Mr Luthor sir."

Lex ran a hand down his face as he hung up, hoping Otis got the message. He would need to make sure they weren't met by airport security. He looked at Moana.

"Pack up whatever gear we'll need. We're flying to Ottawa."

She stared at him but didn't question it, moving to shut down the laptop and gather up what notes she had already made on Mark Anders and everything he had told her about the Illuminati.

Da Silva looked around then began walking casually up the narrow alleyway to the warehouse entrance. A large gull squawked up above him, clearly looking for food in the dirty river about a hundred yards away from where he stood.

He continued along the alleyway, his eyes darting from left to right as he scoped out the situation. There were two men watching from above. He knew he would have to tread carefully.

The click of a gun had him whirling.

"Don't move!" a voice said.

"I'm here to see the boss," he said quietly, inwardly cringing at the cliché which he'd been told to say as an identifier. These guys had been watching way too many bad gangster flicks, he thought.

"Yeah? What for?"

"That's between me and him," da Silva replied.

He was suddenly shoved toward the east wall, something hard nudging him in the back. The man behind him forced him to spread his legs, his hands held high above his head, palms pressed flat to the wall. Da Silva knew from experience the angle would make it near impossible to escape.

The man began patting him down. The gang leader smirked as he heard the clinking sound of his bowie knife being thrown to the ground. It was joined by the small .33 calibre pistol he kept in an ankle holster. It had a short range but was still effective.

There was murmuring behind him and he guessed another man had come to join them.

Once the men were satisfied he wasn't carrying any more concealed weapons, the Wild Bush 300 leader was led through a doorway into a darkened warehouse. A dark-haired man stood waiting for them, appearing to stand guard over several crates.

He turned and smirked at the three men.

"Mr da Silva."

Da Silva cocked an eyebrow at the other man. He appeared to be either in his late twenties or early thirties.

"Bruno Mannheim."

Da Silva frowned. Mannheim was supposed to be imprisoned on Stryker's Island. He'd murdered his boss so he could take over Intergang. Lois Lane and Clark Kent had got themselves caught in the middle of a counterfeiting operation and had continued investigating to prove Mannheim a killer.

"How did you get away from Stryker's Island?" he asked.

"Let's just say I know a few people in high places. Speaking of which, a mutual friend told me you were looking for weapons."

The gang member nodded.

"As many as you can provide," he said.

"To do what, exactly?" the man inquired.

Da Silva began explaining the plan to the head of Intergang. Ducard had discussed the plan with him telling him exactly what the purpose was. Da Silva had the manpower, he just needed the firepower.

Chaos was the name of the game, and he was about to be at the centre of it.

"Lois, I know you hate it when I get over-protective but if what Moana told me is right, then we need to be on our guard."

Clark rolled his eyes as Lois launched into another tirade which could seriously damage his eardrums if he wasn't careful.

"Lois!" he snapped, trying to get her to shut up. He held the phone away from his ear as she began berating him. He'd been worried after the phone call and he wasn't about to take any chances. Lois was still being resistant, however. He sighed and looked up at the sound of someone entering Watchtower and smiled at Bart, who was eating a Burrito.

"Chloe will kill you if you get any of that on Watchtower computers," he said mildly, ignoring his wife still yelling on the phone.

"I'm hungry," Bart said with a shrug. He raised an eyebrow when Lois' voice came clearly through the phone.

"Clark Kent, don't you dare ignore me!"

Clark groaned quietly then turned back to the phone.

"I wasn't ignoring you," he answered.

"I heard you talking to someone."

"Honey, that's Bart. I told you ..."

"And I told you, I don't need a protection detail."

"We've been over this, Lois. I told you what Moana said. Something bad is going down and she thinks they're going to make their move. I can't be everywhere at once and you can't protect Mara by yourself, not if Aresia is involved."

"I am perfectly capable ..."

"Against any ordinary human, yes, but this is an Amazon, Lois, with powers of an Amazon. I'm not going to keep arguing with you about this."

"I don't care!"

"Well you will care if she takes Mara!" he pointed out. "I'm sending someone to guard you and the baby and that's it. I can't do my job if I'm worrying about you and Mara and I don't want to hear another word."

Clark hung up, growling. Bart looked at him.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"You know how Lois gets," he sighed. "She thinks she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself." He took a deep breath and blew it out, controlling it enough so he wouldn't blow away everything in his path. "I need you to go over to the clocktower. Lois is working from home today."

"I thought she was still on leave?" Bart asked.

"No, she started back part-time last week. Bart, you're probably about the best I can get for this. After AC got whacked by those men who broke in to the farmhouse, I don't want to take any chances. You can at least move quickly."

"Mamacita isn't exactly going to be welcoming me with open arms."

"I don't care, Bart. I'm worried and I'm taking precautions. Aresia knows the penthouse and if she is working with these Illuminati people, she may have been recruited for Mara. From what Diana tells me, Aresia has her own agenda, which makes her doubly dangerous."

Bart nodded.

"Hey, don't worry, Supes. It's me."

Clark sighed. Yeah, that was what he was afraid of. Bart was a good guy, but he could be a bit scatter-brained at times. Still, he was fast and wouldn't be caught easily.

His friend disappeared in the blink of an eye and moments later the phone rang.

"You send Short Stuff as my protection detail?" Lois screeched.

Oh lord, he sighed. Here we go again.

"Lois!"

"I hate you, Clark Kent!"

"Really? Can I get that in writing?" he asked, knowing he'd regret opening his mouth.

"You wait, Smallville. I've got ways of dealing with you. You'll be damned lucky if I let you get within a hundred feet of me when this is all over. I'm gonna boil you in oil! I'm gonna torture you with every trashy shark movie ever made. I'm gonna make you sit through all four Jaws movies. Especially the 3D one."

Clark winced, sticking his finger in his ear, trying to block out the screeching. Damn his super hearing, he thought.

He looked up as someone dropped through the panels in the top of the glass dome.

"Diana," he said. "Welcome to Watchtower."

"I could not help but overhear, Kal. Your wife does not seem pleased with you."

"That's a bit of an understatement, I'm afraid." He groaned as Lois realised he was once more ignoring her.

"With your permission, Kal, perhaps I may speak with her."

Clark frowned at her, not sure how much good Wonder Woman could do, but nodded. The brunette smiled and left the same way she had come in. Clark's frown deepened. He hadn't known Amazons could fly but he guessed he didn't know everything about Amazons and their abilities. He supposed Diana, being the daughter of the queen, would have more than most, since they were allegedly blessed on her by the gods.

Diana made her way to the clocktower, entering through the balcony. She realised her error swiftly, however, when she was ambushed by someone she didn't see until he was upon her. When she regained her composure, Diana realised it was a young man, perhaps a year or two younger than Kal's Earth age.

"Who are you?" he growled.

Lois Lane-Kent entered the room, her expression clearly showing her earlier anger at her husband. She scowled.

"Bart, calm down. That's Wonder Woman."

"Yeah? So you say."

She rolled her eyes. "Bart! Aresia is blonde."

"Oh." Bart stood back. Diana gazed at him curiously as he folded his arms and glared at her. "So why did you come in through the balcony?"

"I apologise," she answered. "I did not consider it would be a cause for concern." She looked at Lois. "I come on Kal's behalf."

"Hmph," the other brunette replied, turning away.

"Kal?" Bart asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"His true name is Kal-El."

"Oh, yeah. I knew that." He seemed to relax his pose although he still had his arms folded. "So Wonder Woman, huh? That mean you're an Amazon?"

Diana bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"I am Diana, daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Blessed with power from the great goddesses of old."

"Cool!"

Bart continued to look her over and Diana began to feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny. Lois came back into the room.

"Impulse, stop trying to flirt with her." She rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. Bart does that to everyone. Well, everyone female."

"Impulse?" Diana asked.

"Well, I wanted to go with Flash, but ..." Bart began.

"There's a reason why you didn't get to pick your own code name," Lois told him.

Diana followed her into the small office off the living area, which was where Lois was apparently working. Lois sat on the swivel chair.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"I beg your pardon?" Diana asked.

"You don't have to be so polite you know. I was raised by an army general. I've hung around with Navy Seals and Green Berets all my life. I'm not exactly a delicate flower."

Diana nodded. "Perhaps not. However, I have observed that the men in this world do seem to put their women up on pedestals."

Lois sighed heavily. "Okay, I know I'm over-reacting."

"I know you are not incapable of protecting yourself but you must consider your daughter. She is just an infant. While you are not completely defenceless, Aresia will not allow you to deter her from her mission."

"How do you know Aresia is working for them?"

Diana sighed. They had been through this before. She could understand Lois' scepticism but now was not the time to be questioning every little thing.

"Lois, you must know that you and your daughter are in danger."

"Why? What could Aresia do?"

"She is an Amazon and she has abilities. Not as many as I, but enough, and she will use whatever power is at her disposal to achieve her goal."

"I still don't see why the protection detail," Lois answered, glancing at Bart, who had obviously gone to help himself to food from the fridge. He stood in the doorway, chewing as he watched them.

"If what we believe about these Illuminati is true, they will go to great lengths to take your daughter. Even if that meant killing you."

"You don't really think they would, do you?"

"Yes. Moana believes it."

"Oh. Her. What makes you trust her?"

"Because she is descended from a long line of warriors."

"That doesn't answer my question. Oh you know what, never mind. I'm sure you superheroes have your own way of telling."

"We do. Lois, I know we are not friends but I would hope that you will understand that Kal only has your best interests at heart."

"His name is Clark."

"His true name is Kal-El."

"He was raised as Clark!" Lois was insistent and Diana thought it prudent to just agree.

"Yes, I see. I apologise."

A sound of a baby crying came from the small monitor on the edge of the desk. Lois sighed.

"I have to go get her up. She needs her diaper changed."

Diana frowned at her. Since she had never had a child herself she wasn't familiar with the different ways babies could cry to let their mothers know what was wrong. She had been around babies on the island but their care was always left to the mothers or the warrior charged with that care.

Diana stepped aside so Lois could go out and looked at Bart.

"Mamacita isn't all that happy with the situation," Bart observed. Diana nodded. She frowned at Bart's use of the term, not quite certain it was correct, but didn't call him on it.

She brushed past the man called Impulse, still feeling a little uncomfortable with the way he kept looking at her. It wasn't that she had little experience with men, apart from Steve, but she had never really been accustomed to the way men looked at women like they were little more than objects. Not that she was suggesting Bart was in any way, she decided.

Lois had come down the stairs with the baby in her arms. Mara was fussing, nuzzling her mother's breast, indicating she was hungry. Lois looked at her, then went to sit down on the couch. She settled the baby on her lap and opened her blouse to begin feeding her daughter. Glancing up, she clearly remembered Bart was still in the room and picked up a soft blanket to cover herself.

"Why do you do that?" Diana asked curiously.

"Do what?"

"Cover yourself. Breastfeeding is a natural part of being a mother."

"I'm sure in your world it's considered completely natural and no one bats an eyelid, but in this world ..."

"Ahh. Yes, I see." Diana seemed to be apologising a lot to Lois.

"Americans like to think they're liberal and all that, but really a lot of them are conservative."

"You mean prudes," Bart interjected.

Lois ignored him. "I went to this cafe once to meet Clark. I'd just had Mara ... well, she was a couple of weeks old and I had to feed her. Somebody complained, even though I'd covered myself pretty well with a blanket. Clark was so angry." Lois sighed and shook her head.

"I can understand that," Diana said. "Sometimes people here are so certain their way is best that they are not prepared to hear any other point of view. And I see where you are going with this," she added with a smile. "You are very clever, Lois."

"I just want you to know where I'm coming from. Look, I love Clark, but he can be over-protective at times."

"Is it wrong of him to want to take care of his family?"

"No, it's not wrong, but he needs to realise that not everything is his responsibility. If Aresia tries to take Mara, I will deal with it. My way."

"Lois, I am not trying to dissuade you, but you do not know my sister like I do. She will not listen to reason. If Superman were here protecting Mara she would fight him."

"Do you think Aresia has her own agenda?"

Diana was again reminded of their earlier conversation.

"I do not doubt it. I find it unusual that Aresia would work for a man like the baron, considering how much she hates men in general."

"Why? Why does she hate men?"

"Perhaps she blames the ways of men for the deaths of her real parents, even though it was the ship's captain who saved her life. She refused to believe my mother when the queen told her what really happened the day her parents died."

"It still doesn't explain her behaviour."

"Nor excuse it. Lois, I do not know what to tell you. The Amazons are a matriarchal society. Many of our warriors fear the world of men because it is men who are mostly in control. It is changing, but still there are some men who would prefer to go back to the old ways."

"Like the Illuminati?"

Diana shook her head. "No, their way is a different one entirely. They have women in power the same as men."

"Like who?"

Lois listened as Diana told her of the meeting that took place two days earlier and their belief that Miranda Clifford was not only part of the Illuminati, she also had business interests which had been affected by the dropping crime rate.

"Major Trevor is continuing to investigate the matter," she assured Lois.

"I thought he was with the Secret Service?"

"He is."

"Well, I mean, the agents are supposed to protect the country's financial interests. Why would he investigate someone like Senator Clifford?"

"You do not know? Lois, the senator is believed to be involved in profiteering, for one."

"Okay, I get that."

Diana watched as Lois held the fussing baby over her shoulder and patted her back gently. Mara began cooing.

"Bruce Wayne is also looking into the senator's affairs. He believes there is a connection with Isabelle Lewis."

"Who is she?"

"An intelligence agent in Canada."

"Canada? Wait a second, Lex and Moana have gone to Canada because her friend was arrested."

"What friend is this?" Diana enquired.

"Mark Anders. He's a journalist who knows more about the Illuminati than we could ever hope to."

Diana looked at the other woman, now feeling very worried.

"Lois, if this journalist has been arrested then we are all in more danger than you know. He may have been the only one who could prove the Illuminati exist."