When Churches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday | Rated: M| Chapter 28
Arianna stared at the map of Metropolis on display in front of her. She circled various buildings, marking each with different numbers. "What's with the coloring?" Mindy asked, stepping into the office.
Arianna turned around, surprised at the intrusion. "I'm planning," she corrected.
"Right," Mindy nodded. "So, when do we conduct the first test with this Synthetic Kryptonite? I'd love to unleash Intergang on this city, but we can't afford to send everyone with Little Boy Blue still flying out there,"
"Oh, we'll handle him soon enough, Mindy," Arianna promised. "First, I need to extract my revenge on someone who has been deserving of repayment for quite some time."
"Who might that be?" Mindy asked.
"Your partner." Arianna smiled back at her, "Oh, I'm sorry, former partner. I forgot he tried to kill you."
"Yeah, well, I have my plans for him," Mindy shrugged.
"I'm sure you do, but this plan is necessary," Arianna added. "In order to bring ACL Industries forward in the United States I need to reclaim what is rightfully mine."
"Which is?" Mindy asked.
"LexCorp," Arianna stated coldly.
"Wow, you look awesome, Luce," Jimmy complimented when she opened the door. she was dressed in a deep violet dress, short sleeved with a v-neck. The hem of the dress came up to her knees.
Lucy smiled back at him nervously, giving him a once-over, "You clean up pretty good yourself, Jimmy Olsen." She grabbed her purse and headed out the door with him.
Clark held Laura against his chest, watching her sleep as Lois finished rinsing her bottle out. "She's out like a light," he commented.
Lois smiled. "She seems to have adapted to her sleeping schedule pretty easily. Do you want to go ahead and put her back to bed?"
Clark nodded, walking her upstairs. He loved watching Laura when she slept. It was one of the many things that reminded him of Lois, and Laura was the spitting image of her mother. Jordan seemed to have adapted to having Laura around. During the day, he tried to 'help' feed and change her, feeling like he was a big boy. Clark and Lois allowed him to help as much as he could, wanting to keep him involved so as to prevent him from feeling left out.
The doctors had reassured them Laura would be fine, but Dr. Lee had cautioned Lois not to push herself. After pregnancy it wasn't uncommon for complications to occur with mothers, especially those whom had had a caesarean. Dr. Lee still wanted to watch Lois' blood pressure to make sure there were no more complications. Even though Lois complained about all the restrictions and joked about her doctor being paranoid, Clark knew she was just as concerned.
Once upstairs, he laid Laura down in her bassinet across from the master bed. She stretched her little arms over her head, rubbing her little fist against her cheek as she wiggled around, trying to find a comfortable spot. He smiled down at her, tugging the soft cotton blanket over her little body. "Get some rest, little bit," he told her.
Lois came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder. "She's probably out for the rest of the night."
Clark glanced at the clock on the night stand. It read, '11:15'. "You're probably right," he nodded, turning to hug her. He noticed the file on the bed that Lois had been reading earlier. "What's this?" he asked, picking it up and scanning it.
"Lucy's police report," Lois said, taking a seat next to him on the edge of the bed.
Lois cut him off before he could respond, "I know I'm not supposed to be working but it won't hurt for us to look into this. Lucy's just now starting to recover and I'd like to know who's responsible for doing this to her."
Clark cast a sideways glance at her. Every instinct within him was screaming 'no' but there was something else nagging at him to pursue this as well. Lucy had been through a lot in the past year. The shooting and miscarriage were just icing on the cake. He couldn't really argue with Lois.
"This says the police have already classified this as a 'cold case," Clark observed.
"Exactly," Lois pointed out, "Which means they aren't going to be investigating this. We have to find out who shot Luce. If they did it once they could do it again."
"Why would they call it a cold case so early? There's hardly any investigation notes here," Clark sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. No signs of the bullet casing or shells anywhere on the scene."
"Maybe they know someone in the department," Lois pointed out.
"Maybe." Clark sighed. "I really think you should be resting, though," he half-heartedly argued.
Lois crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "Clark, she's my sister."
"I know," he sighed, "I just don't want..."
Lois cut him off, shaking her head. "I need to do this," she argued, "Besides it's not like I'm doing this on my own. You're going to be helping." She winked at him.
"I know," Clark sighed, "but the doctor did say to watch your stress levels the first few months."
"I'm fine," Lois pressed. "I delivered Laura just fine without any complications. I will be fine. Please help me do this for Luce," she pleaded.
"Fine, where do you want to start?" Clark asked.
Lois opened the nightstand drawer next to the bed and pulled out a large stack of files, laying them on the bed in front of them. "Lucy's cases in the last year."
"How did you...?" Clark asked, bewildered, when he saw the large stack of files in front of them.
"Less talking, more reading," Lois said, handing him half of the stack as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.
Miranda poured the neon green liquid into the valve carefully as she continued to mix everything carefully. She readjusted the clothes pin that squeezed her nose, preventing the fumes from getting to her.
Mixing the Kryptonite with her Revenge Formula always took great precautions; even more so now that they were using a man-made Kryptonite. She wasn't sure what kind of effects to expect from the formula. Arianna wanted to test it on their next venture, 'Turner Banking and Loan.'
Arianna said James Turner had taken everything she'd held dear and valued in this life. Miranda wasn't stupid. She knew James Turner was Lex. She'd done her homework before signing on with ACL Industries.
She knew about Arianna's plan to win Lex back and how she had murdered Dr. Benzen and Dr. Kelly after they had brought him back to life. What Miranda didn't know was why Arianna had taken such a drastic turn. Arianna refused to discuss James Turner or Lex Luthor unless she was planning her revenge against him.
One thing was for sure: if this Synthetic Kryptonite worked the same way it had before then Superman would be out of commission for a long time. Miranda glanced at her reflection in her mirror. She hated having to change her image. She missed the curly blonde locks she'd once sported. Being a fugitive, she didn't have such luxuries to keep fashionable hairstyles. She couldn't afford to be recognized and returned to prison.
Lucy nervously tapped her foot against the marble floor beneath the table. This was uncomfortable. A museum. They were having dinner at a French restaurant in the Metropolis Museum of Fine Arts. It was beautiful and elegant, but it just wasn't right. None of this felt like her or Jimmy. He was trying to impress her. She knew that and she was doing her best to humor him, but there was only so much she could put up with. She didn't care about the different artists that had come to the Metropolis Art Museum and she didn't care about the music Mozart listened to when he was a child. She had listened to boring facts like this when she was dating Lex and she'd hated every minute of it.
"Luce?" Jimmy waved his hand in front of her, "Earth to Lucy!"
"Sorry," she apologized.
"Am I boring you?" he asked, confused.
Lucy smiled apologetically, "A little."
Jimmy threw his napkin down in frustration.
"I'm sorry, Jimmy, I know you're really trying but I would have been fine just going for pizza."
"But that's not what you do on a first date," Jimmy argued. "You're supposed to impress the girl and let her get to know you and…"
"Jimmy, no offense, but I think we're way past the first date stereotypes," Lucy pointed out.
Jimmy sighed, "I guess you're right." He thought about it a moment, "I guess we're like on our …what? Fifteenth date?"
Lucy laughed. "I suppose."
"So, you want to ditch this place?" Jimmy asked, looking around at the snooty waiter that was eyeing their table and looking at his watch.
"I thought you'd never ask." Lucy sighed in relief, grabbing her purse as she stood up to leave.
Nigel was losing his cool. Lex was growing more and more out of control. The clone Nigel had had Sam Lane create was nowhere to be found and his plans for taking over Metropolis were falling apart with each passing day.
Mindy Church had failed to die, leaving another person he had to deal with on his own. Nigel had readied himself with Kryptonite, preparing to confront Superman on his own and finish the job, but first his enemies had to be taken care of.
Bill Church had served his purpose and Nigel had had him taken care of. Even though it had cost him a good employee, the job had been done. Mrs. Cox continued to report news of Arianna Carlin's plans for Lex. Nigel found it amusing that such an intelligent woman couldn't tell when she was being played for a fool. It was no matter to him. He would use her to her full potential and eventually have her taken care of.
Diana Stride's murder had shocked Nigel and surprised him at the same time. He knew the bodies that had appeared in the Hobb's Bay were the result of Arianna's failed attempts of recreating Dr. Lane's cloning procedures, but he didn't know where Diana Stride's body had come into the mix.
Lex had come unhinged since Lucy Lane's shooting. He had let his company go lax; unable to keep up with the daily pressures of maintaining it. This would be the very thing that destroyed him. Lex's obsession with Lucy Lane had driven him to his death in the end. He had had the opportunity to run and escape before the police had come for him, but Lex had insisted on taking Lucy with him. That had been his downfall.
Nigel couldn't understand this obsession Lex had with Lucy Lane. She brought him nothing but pain. He had no chance with her, yet he kept pursuing her. It was as if he enjoyed the pain she brought on him.
Nigel would never put a woman above everything else the way Lex had. He worked too hard to sacrifice his organization for someone who barely acknowledged him. Never would he make that mistake. Soon he would find a way to get Lex out of the way. Lex's distraction was proof that he wasn't fit to run his company. It was merely the act of an old friend helping him out. He'd understand eventually.
The next morning, Clark left early to do a quick patrol around the city before heading over to the Planet. His anxiety level seemed to have heightened after Laura's birth. Knowing that there were so many things out in the world that could potentially hurt her scared him.
Her skin and Jordan's was penetrable. They had both been vaccinated by Dr. Klein. They had both bled. Clark knew for now anyway, they weren't invulnerable and that knowledge scared him. He had grown up being completely invulnerable, never seeing blood until his first bout with Kryptonite. Now, the responsibility he'd taken on by becoming Superman seemed minuscule compared to his responsibility to protect his family.
"Morning, CK, beautiful day, isn't it?" Jimmy beamed, patting him on the shoulder as he passed by him on his way to the elevator.
"Yeah, I'd say so," Clark commented, observing Jimmy's out-of-character upbeat attitude, "You seem a bit…"
"I know, isn't it great?" Jimmy interrupted happily. "I'm happy; happier that I've ever been in my life!"
Clark smiled, patting Jimmy on the back. "Good, I'm glad. I guess your date with Lucy went well?"
Jimmy's smile broadened, "She's doing better and starting to go back to the real Lucy. I finally got a glimpse of her last night."
"Olsen! I thought I told you to pull that report of missing persons!" Perry bellowed across the newsroom. "I'm not paying you to have a social hour with Kent there!"
Jimmy grimaced, "Sorry, gotta go!"
Clark finished making his way down the ramp and approached Perry who looked like he'd been up all night. "Chief, is everything all right?"
Perry shook his head, "No, I ... I don't know. I'm not all right."
"What's wrong?" Clark asked.
"Uh, Jack hasn't been home all week," Perry whispered in a low voice as he entered the Editor-in-Chief's office, closing the door after Clark entered. "We filed a missing persons report this morning,"
"I'm sorry, Chief," Clark empathized. Jack had come to be like a son to Perry. Clark had helped to get Jack placed in foster care with Perry and Alice. Now, it looked like their efforts had gone to waste. It appeared Jack had run away again.
"Dadda," Jordan pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lois sighed, exasperated, "Dadda is at work. Come on, Mr. Man, you need to eat so we can get you to school."
"No, dadda," Jordan argued.
Lois shook her head in frustration, "Jordan, we don't have time for this. Your sister is dressed and ready to go. You need to eat your waffle."
"No, momma," Jordan argued.
The doorbell rang and Lois sighed, looking towards the door, uncertain who could be at the door this early in the morning. "Eat." She pointed at the plate in front of Jordan before turning to answer the door.
She opened the door and smiled when she saw her in-laws on the other side. "Jonathan, Martha, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming until next week!" She hugged them as they entered the townhome.
"We got an earlier flight," Martha explained, "and we couldn't stay away for another week." She hugged Lois tightly before pulling away. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," Lois said, walking towards the dining room table to check on Jordan. "We're just trying to get breakfast eaten."
Jonathan followed them into the dining room, smiling at Jordan who was still refusing to eat his waffle. "What's wrong with you, buddy?"
"Dadda!" Jordan pouted.
"And a little attitude on the side," Lois said dryly.
Martha smiled warmly at Lois, "It comes with the territory." She peered down at the car seat where Laura was sleeping. "She is just the most precious thing. She's gotten so big," Martha cooed.
Lois smiled down at the tiny baby. "She's getting bigger every day." She sighed, turning her attention back to Jordan. To her surprise, he was eating his waffle with the help of his Grandpa Jonathan. She looked up at her father-in-law and smiled, "You are my hero."
Jonathan laughed. "Let's get this little guy ready for school now."
Amanda watched from across the street as Lois loaded Jordan up into the Jeep. She could feel a rush of envy wash over her as she watched the scene unfold. She had been the one to take care of Jordan at one time. She'd fed him and sung him nursery rhymes when he slept. She couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest as she watched the Jeep pull away. She missed the feeling of having a child in her arms to care for.
She turned the corner and continued to watch the townhome with envy. "You shouldn't stare that hard; someone might think you're up to something," a voice behind her spoke.
She turned around in surprise. "You." She breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what if I am? Back off!" Amanda hissed, turning away from him. She got up and left, walking down the street away from the townhome.
Diana Stride's files had been sent to a warehouse in the police's criminal organization division. Nigel had a few officers on his payroll and was able to get his hands on all her files, hoping to find some insight on Intergang that he didn't already know.
Most of everything was VHS tapes of her shows. He skimmed through the boxes looking for something more useful. He found one envelope with large black ink on it. In large letters, 'Top Secret' was written across the envelope.
Curious, he ripped open the envelope and a blank VHS tape fell out. He glanced at it suspiciously. Would it be worth his while? He shrugged. It wasn't like he had anything else to do at the moment.
Nigel turned on the television and put the tape into the tape player. "Let's see what's so top secret," He murmured to himself.
"Help, he's getting away!" A large man with a balding scalp and a sauce-covered apron chased Jack out of his restaurant. "You thief! Get back here!"
Jack raced down the street with his arms filled with the food he'd grabbed on his dine n' dash. He turned around the corner and looked behind him, assuring himself that he had escaped. He was just about to round the next corner when he came into collision with a solid chest with a familiar blue, yellow, and red emblem on it.
"What the…?"
Superman stared coolly down at Jack. "Going somewhere?"
Jack dropped the box, shaking his head, "You here to take me to jail?" He held out his hands for Superman to take him in.
Superman picked up the box at his feet and opened it up. "Food? You were stealing food?"
"I'm kinda short on cash, but my stomach didn't get the memo," Jack explained. "So? You taking me in or what?"
Superman handed him the box, "No."
Turner Banking and Loan was a large building. The bank dealt with thousands of businesses every day and many elite members of the upper crust of Metropolis' society. They had the best of the best for their customers.
Mary Tollins was the head clerk at the bank. She greeted all the customers as they entered the bank. "Welcome to Turner Banking and Loan. How may we help you today?"
The woman smiled warmly at her, "You can start by emptying out your safe." She pointed a gun at Mary's temple. "This is what you would call a holdup."
"And based on the evidence before us, we can conclude that Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet is, in fact, Superman. This concludes tonight's Top Copy segment. Thank you and good night."
Nigel rewound the tape once more. He still couldn't believe his eyes.
Clark Kent was Superman?
Lex Luthor was not a very understanding man. He was ruthless and demanded the best from everyone and everything around him. He had prided himself on a job well done when Lex Corp had created a monopoly over Metropolis. He was the face of Metropolis; the one everyone had to look up to see. Until he had lost control of everyone and everything around him.
He wouldn't make that mistake again.
"Sir?" Turner looked up from his desk to see his secretary, Janet, hovering outside his door.
"Yes?"
"The alarm to the Turner Banking and Loan has been tripped. I'm not sure what you wanted to …"
He didn't give her a chance to finish; instead, he was up out of his chair, heading for the elevator. No one stole from Lex Luthor and lived to tell about it.
"You know, you're really not so bad," Jack commented as he took a bite from his sandwich. "I don't understand what the big fuss is all about."
Superman shrugged, "I don't know."
"So, you're like an exact copy of Superman?"
Superman nodded. "My father…" He stopped a moment. He didn't want to discuss his father. "I was created in the womb," he explained solemnly.
Jack looked at him, perplexed for a moment, "Whatever." He shrugged, "Maybe you and Superman should work together; take shifts in saving the world?"
Superman's eyes darkened. "No! I am the rightful Superman. He is not!"
"Whoa!" Jack held up his hands, attempting to calm him down. "I didn't mean to start anything. I just thought because you were both working towards the same goal, you could work together. My bad."
Superman nodded, opening his mouth to speak, but an alarm caught his attention off in the distance.
Arianna smiled as she aimed the beam to her latest weapon on all that approached her. The doors to the bank opened and she smiled when she saw the figure approach her, "Lex, so good of you to join us!"
With that she aimed the weapon at him, knocking him to the ground in pain.
She smiled, kneeling down next to him as she ran a hand through his hair. He lay unconscious on the floor and she smirked. "Just think, if you could only stay like this forever we never would have had any problems."
Andrew Simpleton was a simple man.
Those words could not ring any truer. Andrew Simpleton had worked at LexCorp Finance for fifteen years. He had started out as just an intern, working his way up into management. He had always worked hard and given a thousand percent. Many thought of him as a nerd or a workaholic, but he thought of it as time well invested.
Now, as he sat underneath his desk, clutching his inhaler as his co-workers fell to the ground in hysteria, he wondered if he had been right to invest so much time into his work. He hadn't taken a single risk in his life, nor had he accomplished anything as far as a personal achievement. He had remained a bachelor with no prospects in the near future, and he hardly had any friends. What did he have to show for himself?
He took another breath from his inhaler. He just didn't understand why his co-workers were acting so strangely.
"Interesting proposal," Mindy mused. "But why don't you do the dirty work yourself?"
"You don't want revenge for what he did to you?" Nigel probed, knowing full well Mindy had no idea Lex had been the one to poison her.
"What are you talking about?" Mindy inquired.
"You were in the hospital for over a week. I'd think you'd want to extract your revenge on the person who put you there." Nigel shrugged, pretending to turn away, "Never mind, I suppose it's not your style."
"Hold it!" Mindy ordered.
Nigel stopped in his tracks, smiling to himself. She had no idea she had just been played.
"Yes?"
"How exactly do you plan on having Lex arrested without exposing me too?"
"I have information from before he merged Turner Inc with the Church Industry," Nigel promised. "Nothing will happen to your company."
"How can you be so sure?" Mindy asked.
"My dear, I've been doing this a long time," Nigel explained.
Clark landed outside Turner Banking and Loan after overhearing the silent alarm. He scanned the building, assuring himself that it was safe to enter before opening the doors. The last thing he wanted was to put someone's life in jeopardy because of his carelessness.
"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice from behind him asked irritably.
He held his index finger up, signaling the uninvited guest to be quiet. Everyone in the bank seemed to be unconscious.
"You're going to screw everything up!" his doppelganger shouted.
"Would you stop?" Clark hissed back at him angrily.
He locked eyes with the very irritated Superman. He didn't understand why he was here. Surely it didn't take two of them to survey the scene.
'What do you want?'
The voice echoed in his mind.
Clark shook his head, taking a step back.
Did he seriously just…?
'Well? Are you going to stand there all day?'
No, he wasn't imagining it.
The sound of sirens approaching them caught his attention. He looked towards the entrance to see where James Turner lay on the floor unconscious. His bank had been robbed and he'd tried to stop it.
'Poor guy,' Clark thought.
"She took it," Turner mumbled incoherently.
He knelt down next to him to hear what Turner had said, hoping he'd repeat it, but Turner pushed him away.
He looked back at his doppelganger, hoping he'd heard what Turner had said, but he was gone.
A stampede of Metropolis' finest, guarded in protective gear entered the bank. "CLEAR!" one of them shouted, waving his gun around.
Clark turned towards the officers and began giving them the details on what he thought had happened as they began helping clean up the havoc the robbers had left.
Amanda stood outside the 'Sunshine Metropolis' daycare center, watching as the young children played outside, chasing one another around the playground. She smiled bittersweetly. The ache she had inside her heart was still there; whether she admitted it or not.
She loved the time she had spent with Jordan. She didn't care what anyone had said. In her heart, she knew she had been right. She was destined to be Jordan's mother and nobody was going to rob her of that.
"What are you doing here?" Superman scolded from behind her.
"Nothing!" She said haughtily, turning away from the daycare center as she walked away.
Everything had changed. Sam Lane looked around what had once been his laboratory at S.T.A.R. Labs. It was now occupied by two interns. His belongings had probably been thrown out along with all his research notes. Everything he'd worked so hard on…
"Dr. Lane?"
Sam looked up to see Dr. Bernard Klein in front of him. "Yes?"
Dr. Klein smiled. "I know it's a bit overwhelming. I put all your stuff in storage." He explained. "Uh, the board isn't comfortable with you having your own lab right now…well, given the circumstances."
Dr. Lane nodded. He couldn't blame them. He'd been charged with a capital offense. "Yes, of course."
"Come on, I could use your help."
"What are we working on?"
"Project KMD 629." Dr. Klein stated flatly.
"You seem to have a lot of projects that begin with 'K.'" Sam noted. "Never an 'N' or an 'H' It's always 'K'."
"It's my luck," Dr. Klein said hurriedly.
"Right," Sam nodded. "So what have we got?"
"Well, if you look at this sample…"
"Authorities still have yet to identify all the assailants that raided Turner Banking and Loan earlier this afternoon. Turner was found unconscious at the entrance of his bank when authorities arrived. Superman was on the scene, helping authorities to piece together what had happened…"
Lois clicked the television off, shaking her head. "Unreal."
"I know," Clark said, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder. "The guy was determined that these guys wouldn't rob him, so he tried to stop them himself."
"Trying to be the hero," Lois sighed, leaning back against Clark's embrace.
"Being stupid," Clark corrected. "Now, he's in the hospital and no one knows what these guys used on him."
"There's no telling unless he wakes up," Lois said. The cries from the baby monitor caught her attention, veering her attention to the baby sleeping upstairs. "Someone's hungry."
Six Weeks Later…
The next few weeks kept Lois and Clark busy with the investigation into what appeared to be a botched robbery of James Turner's empire. Turner had been released from the hospital shortly afterward, insistent upon returning to work.
Lois had been allowed to go back to work after her six-week checkup, albeit on a limited workload. The doctor still wanted her to take it easy after the complications she'd had during her pregnancy.
"I'm sure it's nothing, Lex," Nigel cooed, watching as Lex paced around him nervously.
"Why did you allow me to get checked into a hospital? Don't you know they could figure it out?" Lex fumed angrily.
"What was I supposed to do? Break you out with an IV attached to you?" Nigel asked amused.
"You don't understand the severity of this!" Lex argued. "Everything I've worked for…"
"You?" Nigel challenged slightly miffed.
"We. I apologize. I meant to say 'we.' Everything will fall apart."
"I'm not sure I follow," Nigel cut in.
"The weapon I had Mamba working on is GONE. If I didn't know any better I'd say those hoodlums used it on me before they left the bank. The point is I have no way of destroying Superman now. No way of extracting my revenge and now every one of us is exposed. If that weapon makes its way back to the authorities…"
"That's a bit of a stretch even for you, Lex." Nigel cut him off. "You're giving the authorities far too much credit."
"Never underestimate your opponent."
"Henderson?" Detective Wolf knocked on the inspector's door.
"Yeah?" Henderson didn't even look up from the report he was typing up.
"Someone to see you. A Mindy Church."
Henderson looked up at that. He raised his eyebrows, "Well, by all means, send her in."
Wolf looked over his shoulder and motioned for Mindy to come in. "If you need anything just let us know."
"I will, thank you, Detective," she cooed, rubbing her palm up and down his shoulder.
Detective Wolf blushed under Mindy's gaze and then took his cue to exit. "I, uh, I gotta go. I'll catch up with you later, Henderson."
Wolf could have sworn he heard Henderson mutter 'coward' under his breath as he left the office and headed towards the break room.
"Lois, it's not that bad," Clark argued.
Lois shook her head adamantly. "It is that bad. Every time we bring Laura and Jordan to Dr. Klein for a checkup my father's there with his five thousand questions. I don't want to deal with it. Make the call."
"You are not leaving me alone with him," Clark argued.
"Invite your dad. Make it a guy thing. I don't care. Just get him out of S.T.A.R. Labs for the time being." Lois shot back.
"You're being ridiculous." Clark added.
"So, sue me," Lois snapped. "I do not want another day of trying to dodge questions with him."
"So, you want me to do it?" Clark summarized.
"Exactly," Lois gave him a peck on the cheek as she placed Laura's carrier in the backseat of the Jeep. "Make the call."
Clark shook his head as he watched her pull out of the driveway. "The things I do," he muttered to himself as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone and began to dial.
Amanda stood outside the daycare center, expectantly waiting for the children to come outside to play on the playground. It had become a routine over the last few weeks. She'd finish her work at Top Copy then she'd take a lunch break at the same time the children were playing and enjoy the afternoon watching her 'son' play. She had finally gotten that Superman want to be to back off. He kept trying to guilt her into giving up her routine, but she wouldn't waver.
She looked up when she heard the children cheering as they came out on the playground. She looked around; searching for the familiar face she looked forward to. Where was he? She didn't see him.
Panic raced through her mind as she searched for his face. He was nowhere to be found.
Lois looked up at the clock nervously as Dr. Klein examined both Laura and Jordan. The last visit had been a mess. Clark had kept Sam out in the hall, forcing himself to listen to Sam's stories about his 'medical breakthroughs' for a made-up article in order to cover up their real reason for visiting S.T.A.R. Labs. Lois half suspected Sam was onto them.
Thankfully Clark had held up his end of the bargain and gotten Sam out of the office. How had he done it? She didn't want to know.
How exactly had they gotten on this subject? Clark looked from father to father-in-law wondering how they had gotten to such an odd topic of conversation. Sam was trying to convince them that 'family life' wasn't all it was cracked up to be. There was apparently more to life than coming home to your loved one and children. The invention of robotics and discovery of cloning could apparently satisfy any man.
Clark hung his head as he took another gulp of his beer. If alcohol had an effect on him he'd be wishing for it to take effect right now. The waitress seemed to be avoiding their table ever since the topic of conversation had shifted. He didn't blame her. He'd avoid this table if he could too.
'The things I do for love,' Clark thought to himself. 'Lois owes me, big time.'
"I'm not sure I understand what it is exactly you want, Mrs. Church." Henderson peeled Mindy's arms off him once more, taking a few steps away from her to put more distance between them. She closed the distance once more, tracing the outline of his chest with her index finger, teasing him.
"Oh, but I've told you at least a dozen times, Inspector," She cooed. "I'm doing my part as a Metropolitan! I'm trying to stop 'valiants' from hurting our city."
"Valiants?" He looked at her, perplexed.
"And criminals too!" She cheered. "I came across this and I was shocked!" She pointed at the file on the desk.
"I'll take a look at it!" Henderson assured hurriedly, pushing her away once more.
"Oh, thank you!" She planted a big wet one on his cheek.
"Uh, you're welcome," he said gruffly, straightening his jacket.
Mayson watched as Lucy Lane stepped into the DA's office, humming to herself. It had been a while since she'd seen Lucy this happy. She was grateful to see the Lucy Lane she had gotten to know earlier last year rather than the gloom-and-doom version that had been around these past few months.
"Well, you seem to be in a good mood. How was your lunch?" Mayson inquired.
"Wonderful." Lucy beamed.
Mayson smiled knowingly, "Good food?"
"Good food? Yes. Great company? Always." Lucy answered happily.
Mayson shook her head at her lovestruck friend. "Whatever you say, Luce." She handed her a package that had come in. "This came for you while you were gone."
"Oh, thanks," Lucy said, taking it from her. "The Church Group," She read. "That's weird. I've never heard of them."
"Could be some subcontractor," Mayson suggested.
"Yeah," Lucy nodded.
TBC...
