Reprehendo

Kara landed in the field just behind the barn in Smallville and moved quickly to the shelter of the barn. Shelby whined at her as she entered, raising a paw.

"What's the matter, buddy?" she asked softly. The golden retriever ran out, then back in again. Kara got the impression the dog was lonely.

She hadn't exactly got along well with the dog when she had first come to live in Smallville, but then again, they didn't really have animals as pets on Krypton, so she hadn't known how to react to the dog.

Lois tended to sneeze around the dog. The only time she hadn't was when she was pregnant with Mara.

Thinking about Lois, Kara felt tears well up in her eyes. On one hand she thought Lois was being unreasonable, but considering what she'd lost, she could understand on some level.

Changing from her Supergirl uniform into jeans and shirt, Kara quickly bundled up her uniform and took it into the house, planning to put it in the wash.

"Oh, let me take that sweetie," Aunt Martha said, then frowned at her. "You're not wearing the wig."

Kara frowned, then remembered. "Oh, shoot!" She knew only too well the need to wear her disguise when she was on the farm. She dashed upstairs to get her spare and put it on, noticing the bedroom where Clark slept now that he was living back at the farm was neat as a pin.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him in a couple of days. She figured he would have been out working on the farm, but that didn't explain the bedroom.

"Aunt Martha," she began, coming down the stairs. "Where's Clark?"

"I'm not sure, honey," her aunt said, coming out of the laundry with a full basket of clean clothes. "He left a couple of days ago but didn't say where he was going. I assumed he was going up to the fortress."

Kara shook her head. "No. I went up there myself yesterday. Uncle Jor wasn't exactly happy with me, considering he wanted to send me into the future last time we spoke, but he did say he hadn't seen Ka … um, Clark, in a while. Do you think he's gone back to Lois?"

"Lois would have said something when I talked to her," Martha mused. "At least, I think she would." She put the laundry basket down on the chair and sighed. "I wish there was some way to get them to at least talk to each other. I can't stand to see them both so hurt."

Kara nodded. This was a time when Lois and Clark needed each other. They were stronger together than apart.

"I'm going to fly to Metropolis," she said. "I have to talk to Lois."

"At least wait until after dinner, sweetie," her aunt advised. "I know you don't have to eat, but having the company would make me feel better."

Kara hugged her aunt, nodding. With Perry working in the city, Martha was alone out here. Alone with her thoughts and her grief over losing her grand-daughter.

XXXXX

Lois finished packing her case. Chloe had called from Paris once they'd returned from their trip to Rennes le Chateau and told her about the baron's sister. Lois had hung up from that conversation determined to find out more.

Her father stopped by the bedroom she shared with Clark while she was trying to zip up her suitcase. Lois' hand shook as she thought about her husband. Wondering where he was, what he was doing. She missed him. God, she wished …

"Honey, are you sure about this?" he asked, entering the room and zipping the case up for her.

"I'm sure, Dad. I don't think I'll be able to rest until I find her. This is the first real lead we've had."

"Have you told Clark?" he asked.

"No. Why should I?"

"Because he's your husband and he deserves to know about Mara."

"Well, I'm sure Oliver would have told him by now. Besides, even if we find her, I'm not guaranteeing I'll take him back."

"This is not his fault, sweetheart. You know that."

She shook her head. "No, I don't Dad." She looked up at her father. It wasn't like him to defend Clark, since in the beginning he had put Clark through the wringer when she had first told her father who she was dating, but …

"Lo, honey …"

"Could you please take that downstairs for me?" she asked. "I need to find my passport."

Her father sighed in resignation, but lifted the case and took it downstairs. Lois checked the drawers and found her passport along with Clark's. She bit her lip, trying to stop the trembling. You're not going to cry, she admonished herself. You're not going to cry.

Once downstairs, Lucy looked at her mournfully.

"I wish you'd change your mind," she said.

Lois wrapped her arms around her little sister. The last thing she wanted to do was reveal the fact that what she was about to do was very likely going to be dangerous. She was going to find this baron and demand that he tell her where her daughter was.

They drove in silence to the airport. Her father and sister waited until it was time for her to go through the security gates.

"I love you, Lo," the general told her, giving her a hug.

"I love you too, Daddy. I'm not coming back without her."

He smiled wanly. "I know," he said. "Just as stubborn as your mother."

She offered an equally wan smile in return. "Actually, Mom would have said I got that from you."

He snickered, then nodded in agreement. Lois turned to Lucy.

"Take care of Dad, okay sis?"

"I will. I promise. I love you."

"Love you too." She took out her passport and boarding pass and made her way through security, waiting for her small bag to be checked and x-rayed, then let herself be checked. She glanced back at her family, who stood watching, then continued on through.

She had been given a window seat in the plane. Since it was about a ten hour flight, it probably wasn't going to be the most comfortable, considering the flight was nearly full, but she wasn't about to make a fuss.

A man sat on the aisle seat.

"Hello," he said, clearly wanting to flirt. Lois just sighed and looked out the window.

"And here I was thinking this flight was going to be boring," the man said. "Only to find myself sitting next to a beautiful woman."

Deliberately, Lois shifted her left hand and began playing with her wedding band and engagement ring. Things might not be so good between her and Clark right now, but she wasn't about to let this man know that.

"I apologise," he said. "I can see you are not in the mood for talking."

She almost snorted, but pretended to watch out the window even as the flight crew went through the safety procedures. The man began to take papers out of a briefcase as the plane took off and Lois glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, still pretending to look out the window. As she did so, she noticed a small symbol on one of his documents. The man wasn't even being subtle about it.

It was the 'all-seeing Eye'. From what the journalist Clark had rescued had told her, it was the symbol of the Illuminati.

Great, she thought. They clearly were keeping an eye on her. No surprises there.

She managed to doze off for a little while, although the seats weren't exactly conducive to restful sleep. By the time she woke, she guessed they were about an hour out of Charles de Gaulle airport, so named for the founder of the fifth French Republic.

The man seated beside her was also dozing. Lois grabbed her phone and switched it on, typing a text message to tell Chloe she was almost there. Oliver and Chloe had arranged for her to be picked up from the airport. They had been planning to do a little bit of travel around France for the rest of their vacation, but after everything that had happened, they had chosen to stay in Paris.

She noticed the crew performing their duties as the captain announced their descent into Paris. They seemed unhurried. Lois wondered if she was being paranoid to have thought that something might have gone wrong with the flight.

She returned to gazing out the window, although there wasn't much to see. She had already visited Paris a couple of times. Once when her father had been stationed in Germany for a year. Lois had gone as part of a trip with the international school when she was twelve. She hadn't thought much of Paris then.

Not long after they'd got married, Clark had flown her to Paris for breakfast in a small café. Lois smiled as she thought of her husband. Call him sappy, but she loved that he was so thoughtful. She felt a brief pang of loneliness as she was reminded of why they were apart.

Her seat companion made no comment, clearly having got the message that she wasn't in the mood for flirting. Now that she knew what he was, she was definitely not in the mood. Still, she sensed him following her as she left the plane and was processed through customs. She had made sure to get a tourist visa, not wanting the security staff to question her. There had already been threats of terror attacks from a jihadist movement and the last thing she wanted was to be caught up in any of that sorry business.

"Lois!"

She looked in the direction of the voice, then smiled, walking quickly over to Lana, hugging her. Lana's smile was welcoming, although a little subdued.

"You look tired," Lana said.

"It was a long flight. I'm fine. I just need some real sleep."

"Chloe wanted to come but she wasn't feeling so good. Um … she'll probably kill me for saying so, but she's pregnant."

Lois nodded, barely taking in what the other woman had said. She blinked for a moment as the words actually sunk in.

"Wait, what?"

Lana grinned. "Yeah. She wanted to tell you herself, but after everything that's happened …"

Lois frowned at the brunette. "What? Did she think I wouldn't be happy for her?"

"Of course you would. I think she just thought that … oh, it doesn't matter. Anyway, she was just feeling really tired and Ollie wouldn't leave her, so I said I'd come pick you up."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

Lana looked a little nervous.

"Uh, so have you heard from Clark? We've been calling but Martha said he left a couple of days ago and we don't know where he is. He hasn't contacted anyone. No one's even seen Superman."

Lana stopped beside a small Citroen, getting keys out of her bag.

"Yeah, I got a call from Cat wanting the scoop. I pretty much kicked her to the kerb over that, but yeah, I told Perry to tell people that Superman was out looking for Mara. The League is looking after Metropolis."

"I bet that went down well," Lana snorted derisively. "People seem to think Superman's their own personal superhero."

"I guess," Lois said glumly, letting Lana take her suitcase and put it in the trunk of the car.

She watched as Lana skillfully negotiated the traffic, glancing now and again at the woman who had been Clark's first crush.

"So, how do you like living in Paris?" she asked.

"I love it," Lana smiled. "I really feel like I've found my place here."

"That's really great. I'm happy for you."

"I just wish there was something I could do about this whole mess, Lois. I mean, I know we've had our moments, especially over Clark, but I know he was happy with you. Happier than he ever was with me."

"Yeah, me too," Lois replied. "I mean, I was happy with him too." She felt the prickling of tears in her eyes. "I love him so much, Lana, it's just … Mara … God."

Lana stopped the car as Lois began to cry, wrapping her arms around her.

"We'll find her," she said, patting her back. "I promise we're going to do everything in our power to get her back."

The crying jag seemed to help release some of the tension she had been feeling. Lois was able to take more of an interest in what was going on around her. Lana drove off again, heading toward the hotel where Chloe and Oliver were staying. She glanced now and again in the rear view mirror.

"Uh, maybe I'm being paranoid, but I don't think so. I think we're being followed."

Lois glanced in the wing mirror. There was a black sedan following. She couldn't see the driver.

"There was a man sitting next to me on the plane. I'm pretty sure he's one of them."

"Well, that's not fishy at all," Lana mused.

The car behind them turned off a short time later. Lois chewed on her lower lip, wondering if she had just imagined things. She didn't think so, though.

Chloe and Oliver hugged her when she got to the hotel. Her cousin looked apologetic.

"Sorry, I wanted to come, but …"

"It's okay. Lana told me."

Chloe looked at her friend, clearly upset.

"Lana, I thought I said not to tell her …"

"Chloe, for goodness' sake, you don't have to walk on eggshells around me!" Lois spluttered. "Mara's not dead!"

Her cousin looked at her guiltily. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's fine. Look, I'm probably just tired. I haven't been sleeping. I'm gonna go wash off the travel grime and then sleep off the jet lag."

By the time she'd had a few hours' sleep in the room Oliver and Chloe had reserved for her, she was feeling much better. She returned to their suite and caught up with everything they had learned so far.

"Can you figure out a way to get me to this chateau?" she asked.

"Legs, I really don't think …"

She shot Oliver a look and he shut up. Yeah, she thought. You better. Chloe sighed.

"Lois, I know you want Mara back. We do too, but I just think you need to really look at the situation before you go off and get involved in something dangerous. I mean, you know what lengths they went to to get Mara."

She bit her lip. Her cousin was right. It didn't mean she liked it.

She spent most of the next day studying everything they had dug up, or rather Chloe had dug up and talking to Lana's 'friend' Murphy. He was not happy at the whole situation, but at least he was co-operating by telling her everything he knew. He did mention that he had spoken with someone he believed might actually be one of the high muckety-mucks but couldn't confirm it.

After two days, however, she was still no closer to figuring out a plan. She had gone out shopping with Chloe and realised she was being followed.

"I've got to do something," she sighed, as they re-entered the hotel. "I'm going crazy."

"I'm still not sure you should be messing with this," Chloe replied as they headed to the elevator.

"I don't know what else to do, Chlo. I want my baby back."

Her cousin sighed in sympathy. "I know. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you. Have you heard from Clark?"

She shook her head. "No, but then I'm not exactly on speaking terms with him right now."

"But can't you … I mean, this is not his fault, Lois."

"No," she said firmly.

Lois' expression darkened, and she heard a hitch in her breathing. She missed him. God, she missed him! She took a deep breath and sighed.

Her phone beeped. "Hang on, Chlo, I've got to check this message."

Chloe frowned at her, but said nothing as Lois looked down at her phone, then quickly replied to the text.

"There's a guy I need to interview," she said. "He's a freelancer who lives here in Paris."

Chloe looked puzzled. "Interview? What for?"

"He knows a lot about the baron. Chloe, I have to go. He's really hard to pin down. I mean, he travels all over the world but he just recently set up base here in Paris. He just sent me a text to meet him at his apartment."

Her cousin adopted a dubious expression as they walked out of the lift and down the corridor to the suite. "Oh no, Lois. You can't seriously be thinking of meeting some strange guy at his apartment."

"It's my only chance. He wouldn't meet anywhere else."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Journalism 101, Lois. You never meet someone for the first time in their own territory. Not for something like this." She turned from the door, keycard in hand, and looked at Lois. "Look, let me do a work-up on this guy …"

"No," Lois said adamantly. "Look, he's kind of cagey and if he thought for a second I'd been doing some digging on him …"

"You can't just go in without knowing what you're facing."

Lois sighed. "Chloe, come on. It's not like I can't defend myself. I'll be all right. Look, if it makes you feel any better, I will text you as soon as I get there and when I'm leaving, okay?"

Chloe paused for a moment, then sighed. "All right."

Lois quickly changed her clothes, then left the hotel and made her way along the avenue. She walked at a fairly steady pace, glancing now and again in windows as if checking her reflection. She was once again being followed.

The apartment building was located in the fifth arondissement. It was only about five floors and looked to be early eighteenth century.

There were buzzers beside names belonging to each tenant. She pressed the buzzer for apartment 5B, next to the name Delacour. A few moments later she heard a deep voice in what seemed like a high class French accent.

"Oui?"

"It's Lois Lane," she said into the microphone.

"Bien. Montez."

The main door to the building made a buzzing sound and she opened the now unlocked door. She glanced uneasily at the lift which was more or less a cage. It seemed too rickety to be stable, but she didn't see an exit to stairs so figured she had little choice. She got in, pulling the door closed and pressed the button for the fifth floor. Sure enough, the lift was slow and creaked as it rose.

She quickly found the apartment. The door was open. Chewing on her lower lip, Lois stepped inside. The apartment was tiny, furnished by a double bed and a chair and small square table. Next to that was a couple of cupboards, a counter-top with a sink and a door which she guessed led off to the bathroom.

The door slammed behind her, engaging the locks. Before she could move a hand grabbed her and she found herself pushed up against the wall, her mouth captured by soft lips surrounded by soft hair. A tongue thrust in her mouth as hands held her firmly, claiming ownership.

When he pulled back, she found herself staring into a pair of brown eyes. He had dark hair which was grey at the temples, his face covered with a full beard. She gazed at him for a long moment before pulling him back down to her, mouths connecting. She moaned as his hands circled her waist and pulled her into him, feeling unmistakeable arousal.

He picked her up so she had to lock her long legs around his waist. Still kissing, they somehow made it to the bed. Just as he started to undress her, pulling at the hem of her blouse, she pushed him away.

"Wait," she said breathlessly. "I need to text Chloe. I don't want her thinking you're an axe murderer or something."

Brown eyes glinted at her in amusement as she went to pick up her bag from where she'd dropped it when he'd ambushed her. She quickly sent off a text to her cousin, then shoved the phone back in her bag.

She turned back to him, slowly taking off her skirt, revealing long, shapely legs. His eyes followed her movements as she took off the blouse, then slowly removed her bra. Lust showed in his expression as she dangled the bra by a strap, then tossed it on the chair.

She knelt on the bed. He had her on her back before she could blink. Lois wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her as they began to make love.

Afterward she lay, curled in his arms.

"Delacour?" she snickered.

"Harry Potter," he replied with a shrug.

"God, I missed you," she said. "Remind me why we're doing this."

"You know why," he said softly.

"But we're hurting …"

"I know, but it's to protect them," he told her. "Baby, I know this is hard, but it's the only way we're going to find her."

She stroked his face, gazing at the grey hairs.

"How did you …"

"I sort of borrowed a glamour from Zatanna. Told her that I wanted to be able to fit in, at least look my age. She didn't ask questions."

"And the brown eyes?" she asked, squirming as he ran his hand over her body. "Clark, don't … stop it, that tickles."

"You love it when I do that."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Contacts," he said. "Come on, you didn't think I'd just come to Paris and not have some sort of disguise."

"I know," she sighed. "I mean, I like the grey. It makes you look sort of distinguished. But that beard has gotta go."

"Not yet, honey. Not until we're close to getting the baron."

"Honey, I know you're angry at the baron for what he's done, but …"

"What has he done, Lois? Invaded our lives? Turned them upside down? You know why we planned this. If I hadn't found those transmitters …"

Clark gazed at his beloved wife, remembering the night he'd found the transmitters. It had been the same night they'd left Ria, or as it turned out, Aresia, to babysit Mara, while they'd gone out to the baron's function.

He'd gone downstairs to heat up a bottle for the baby and had decided to check the voicemail on the cordless phone when it cut out with a burst of static. He'd then listened with his super-hearing and heard the slight hum of the electronics. Using his micro-vision, he'd found the transmitter and realised they were all over the apartment.

Instead of removing them, he decided to say nothing. The next morning, however, he'd taken Lois and their daughter out for breakfast, making sure they weren't spied on. Lois had noticed his demeanour.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"We've been bugged. I don't know how long they've been in the apartment."

"Ria?" she asked. He could see her eyes flash with anger. It was bad enough that these people were threatening their daughter, now they were violating their space too.

"Could be," he replied.

"Well, let's go home and get rid of them."

He shook his head. "I have a better idea," he said. "They're clearly trying to play with us. I think it's time we played them at their own game."

Lois' eyes twinkled. "Ooh, intrigue. Tell me more."

When Diana had told them exactly who their babysitter was, they had realised they were right, figuring the baron was trying to use whatever he overheard to get some kind of control over them.

They'd formed a plan, pretending to play right into the baron's hands. Clark's show of over-protectiveness, the bickering, the arguments, had all been pretence. Neither one of them had wanted Mara to be kidnapped but it had been the perfect catalyst ending in Lois asking Clark to leave. The separation had been a necessary part. Even if it had been pretence, it still hurt like hell to be apart from the woman he loved.

The next part of their plan was to somehow get to the baron's chateau and try to learn the truth about their daughter's whereabouts. Lois wanted to get into the man's home and see what she could dig up on him, while Clark was planning on trying to get in his own way. Hence the new identity and the disguise.

Once they were both in, they would unleash the full force of their anger on the man who had done his best to destroy their family. The man had no idea what he was in for.