"Hey Mom!"
Lois glanced up from her computer, frowning at her tall son. How was it possible he had grown at least another two inches in the past few months, she thought. He was just a smidgen taller than his father, and Kal was a big guy at six three. Coupled with the bulk of his muscles caused by his dense molecular structure, Kal looked even bigger.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Clark frowned at her. "Can't I come and visit my mother?" he returned.
Usually Lois made a point of not mixing her personal and professional life, although considering she was pregnant, that made it a little difficult. Still, she tried to maintain a professional distance. Apart from Perry and a couple of her other colleagues, few of them had met Kal or Clark, or the rest of her family, and that was the way she preferred it.
"Sorry," she said, and meaning it. Of course he could come and visit her, although given the distance between the city and Smallville, it was probably not something he should do frequently. Not unless he could believably explain how he managed to get to the city so quickly. School had let out … oh, she thought, glancing at the clock on the computer. It was later than she had realised.
She slid her chair back from her desk, rubbing her distended stomach. The twins had been mercifully quiet for most of the day, but it was getting to that point where they liked to play. At least, that was what she imagined they were doing. She could feel the little kicks and punches in her womb which signalled they were awake and ready to party.
It had been a busy week between the attempt on Superman and Batman in Gotham and her investigation into Lex's activities. Lois had been trying many of her contacts on the street to see what they knew and one had finally told her there had been someone paid a large sum of money to orchestrate the attack on the President. He had even confirmed the attack had been planned so that, if the President survived, it would still look as if her security had been lax.
So far the money trail was cool and getting colder fast, but her cousin had been working on following the trail, hoping it would lead to Lex.
Lois had been so busy that day following up on the dozens of phone calls she'd made over the week that she had forgotten to eat, which wasn't good for the babies.
"You know what?" she said. "I could go for something to eat."
Clark grinned at her. Lois couldn't help snickering. She had had a few cravings since she'd learned she was pregnant. Fortunately it was nothing too weird. Mostly just pizza in the middle of the night, although she had asked her husband to buy peanut butter cups and mint julep ice cream late one night. Which wasn't as bad as pickles and ice cream which a colleague had claimed to have craved when she was pregnant.
She grabbed her coat and purse and followed her son out the door. Clark walked quickly, waiting at the elevator, smirking at her.
"What?" she asked.
"You're waddling. Like a duck."
"Watch it kid."
He sniggered.
"It's not funny!" she growled.
"Yeah it is," he replied.
She sighed. "You know, you used to respect me."
"When was that?"
Perry, probably on one of his latest fitness kicks, came down the stairs and grinned at her.
"Don't sass your mother, kid," he said.
Clark tried to look innocent. "Was I sassing you, Mother?"
"You know you were. You know you're not too old for me to take you over my knee."
He pretended to ponder the situation.
"But how're you gonna do that when you can't even see your feet?" he asked.
Perry swiped the back of his head.
"Maybe your mother can't, but I sure can. You know, in my day, when a kid sassed their mother, they got a few swats of the belt."
Clark looked at him in mock horror.
"You wouldn't," he said.
"Keep sassing your mom and I just might," Perry threatened.
Lois couldn't help grinning as the lift doors opened and Perry joined them, continuing to banter lightly with Clark. After all they'd gone through, the fact that her son felt confident enough in their relationship to tease her was comforting. She had long since let go of her guilt for leaving him with the Kents all those years ago. Of course it helped that they had become honorary grandparents.
She wondered if they would mind being called 'Grandma and Grandpa' with the twins. As for Clark, while he still addressed them by their first names, he had already told them he considered them to be grandparents as well. He had added that he felt luckier than most kids because he had both his parents, his Grandpa, his Grandmother Lara and Grandfather Jor-El and the Kents. Lois could barely remember her own grandparents, who had passed away when she had been a toddler.
Just as the elevator reached the first floor, her cellphone rang. She glanced at the display and smiled.
"Hey you."
"Hi honey. Where are you?"
"Clark and I were just about to go get something to eat."
"Great. How about I join you? I just got through my meeting with Bruce. I have a lot to tell you."
"Why don't we make it an early dinner?" she asked, since it was almost five.
"Sounds great. I'll call home and tell Martha and Jonathan they have a night to themselves."
Lois smiled, agreeing to meet her husband at their favourite restaurant in the city. Just as they were about to hang up, he sighed, telling her he heard an alarm. Perry was still talking to Clark, who was clearly enjoying exchanging barbs with the editor. Her boss smiled at her, then winked at Clark.
"So, you thinking about your future, kid?"
"I'm only fourteen," he said. "That's like way, way off."
"I don't know. Your mom tells me you're on the staff of the Smallville High paper. Doing quite well for yourself, from what I hear."
"Don't encourage him, Perry. He's got a big enough head as it is."
"Moom!" he whined.
The older man laughed and reached up to tousle Clark's hair.
"Have fun," he said. He turned back to Lois. "I'll see you in the morning kiddo. Don't forget the early meeting."
"I won't. Thanks Perry."
She watched as the man walked off, whistling. Perry tried to pretend he was gruff and bad-tempered, but the newspaper veteran had a soft spot. He'd been to dinner a few times with the family and Lois had grown very fond of him.
She began walking with her son.
"So how was school?" she asked.
"It was fine. Oh, there was this fire in chem lab, but nothing bad."
"You didn't, uh …"
"Mom, geeze. I do know how to control my …" He dropped his voice to a whisper. "… powers."
Lois recalled Kal telling her about the night he'd explained Clark's powers to him, especially Clark's embarrassment over the heat vision and what caused it.
"How's Trina?"
Clark rolled his eyes. "Mom, we're just friends."
She raised her hands. "I was just asking."
"Yeah, but I can read between the lines. Stop match-making."
"Who says I'm match-making?" she replied, trying to sound innocent.
Clark continued to mutter protests, but Lois was fairly sure the cheerleader and her son were more than 'just friends', even if neither of them really wanted to admit it.
The restaurant was a few blocks from the Daily Planet at the end of a small shopping complex. The outer design reminded Lois a little of a saloon in the old west. The entry doors were two swinging wooden doors with louvered panels, exactly like those she had seen in the old west movies Jonathan sometimes watched on a Sunday.
The first time they'd visited the restaurant, Jonathan had explained to Kal about saloons and the old west, which had eventually led to a discussion between Kal, Jonathan and Clark about the good guys versus the bad guys and being able to tell the difference.
Inside it was furnished with the same style in mind with a long bar which appeared to be polished wood and colonial style wooden tables and chairs with comfortable cushions.
The hostess greeted them with a smile of recognition.
"Good evening, Mrs Kent."
Lois smiled back. "Hi Melinda. Do you have a table for three? My husband will be joining us shortly."
"Of course," she replied, studying the book at the hostess table. "There may be a slight wait for a table."
"That's fine," Lois returned, noticing that only a few tables were empty. There was a four top that had a reserved sign on it and some larger ones, as well as a couple of two tops. She wasn't going to complain about a short wait, since they could sit in the bar while they waited.
The bartender was a med-school student who worked part-time to put himself through school. Lois had always admired his work ethic.
"Hey Mrs K," he said. "Hey Clark." He smiled. "And before you even ask, no, you're not allowed a beer."
Clark snapped his fingers and shook his head, pretending to look disappointed. "Damn. Oh well, worth a shot. Can I have a coke?"
"One coke coming right up. Iced tea for you, Mrs K?"
"Adam, I've told you a hundred times to call me Lois," she scolded, grinning at the younger man.
"But then you'd have no reason to scold me," he returned cheekily, making her laugh. Adam looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Hey Mr K."
"Hey Adam. How are the studies going?"
"Great. I got an A on my biology paper."
Kal smiled. "That's wonderful. Congratulations." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Hi," he said.
"Hi back," she replied, glancing at her husband. His hair was wet. He'd clearly just showered. Lois caught the slight odour of smoke. "Fire?" she asked.
He nodded. "Tenement in Suicide Slum. Superman managed to get everyone out safely."
"Great!" she returned, taking the tall glass of iced tea and handing Kal a bottle of beer Adam had served him.
Melinda returned, telling them their table was ready. They followed her into the main part of the restaurant. She had given them a table by the window.
"Here are your menus," she said, handing them each a folder. "And your server will be right with you."
"Thanks Melinda," Kal said.
"So what did Martha and Jonathan say?" Lois asked her husband.
"Nothing much, really. I think they were happy to have the place to themselves for the night." He grinned slyly and winked at her. Lois smiled back, knowing exactly what he was implying. She loved that the older couple were still romantic at their age.
Clark made a face. "I don't think I want to know," he said.
Kal reached over and ruffled his son's hair. Clark batted his father's hand away.
"Not the hair, Dad, c'mon."
The server came over to fill their water glasses. She was clearly new as she seemed nervous. Her hand was trembling a little and some water splashed on the table.
"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry," she said, sounding upset.
Kal smiled at her. "It's perfectly all right," he said. "Take your time. Is this your first day?"
She nodded, looking relieved at Kal's easy manner.
"Don't worry," Lois said. "I did a little waitressing myself. It takes a little time to get used to it."
Another customer could be heard snapping his fingers. Lois grimaced when she heard him calling the waitress, demanding she hurry up and serve him. Lex. The girl, who had clearly not yet learned how to maintain a poker face, groaned softly. Kal smiled again.
"Don't let customers like that get to you," he said. "People like him have no manners." He glanced toward the table and scowled at Lex, who clearly recognised them. He stood up and came over.
"Well, I see they let all kinds of riff-raff in here," he said. He glared at the server. "Hurry up and do your job!" he growled.
The girl nearly dropped the water carafe, she was so flustered.
"Why don't you learn some manners, Mr Luthor, and leave the poor girl alone!"
Lois struggled to maintain a straight face as Clark told him off.
"You know, when I was that age, if I spoke so rudely to my elders …" Lex said, glaring at Clark. "What the hell are you teaching him?"
"To speak his mind," Kal said. "And to be honest. You clearly don't like being called out on your bad manners, Mr Luthor. This young lady is doing her best and your rudeness isn't helping. You are not the only person in this restaurant and you cannot demand attention whenever you please. Now, I would like to get back to enjoying my evening with my family."
Kal's dismissal had Lex stalking off in a huff back to his table. The server smiled gratefully at them, saying she would leave them to peruse their menus and would be back shortly to take their orders.
Clark grinned at his father. "Boy, you sure told him."
Lois shrugged. "He deserved it." She was proud of her son for speaking up, glad that he had the confidence to be able to call out someone like Lex. She glanced at the bald man's dining companion. The woman was a fairly attractive brunette in her early forties. Lois frowned, trying to figure out where she had seen the other woman before, but the answer eluded her.
"So, how did your meeting with Uncle Bruce go?" Clark asked his father. Lois turned her attention back to her husband.
Kal was clearly being careful not to give away too much as he spoke in a low voice.
"Bruce went to see that old girlfriend of his. The one who tried to set up the meeting last week."
Lois nodded. She knew Bruce had gone to see Selina after the debacle the week before.
"So anyway, it turns out she was pressured into setting up the meeting by a mutual business acquaintance."
"Pressured how?" she asked her husband, frowning a little.
The waitress came back to check on them, asking if they were ready to order. Lois smiled at her and gave her selection. Clark glanced at her before cracking a grin, then ordered a cheeseburger, with everything. After Kal had given his own order, the girl smiled and nodded, checking their drinks and went back to put their orders in.
"So?" Lois prodded.
"A friend of hers was used to help pressure her."
She bit her lip, trying to interpret what that meant. She didn't know Selina Kyle that well, but if there was one thing she could say about the woman, it was that Catwoman was loyal to her friends. Protective, even. It sounded like Lex had threatened one of Selina's friends to force her to set the trap for Batman. Only, that didn't quite make sense. Why would the Toyman have been involved and why would they have used Kryptonite? Unless it had actually been a set-up for Kal.
Her husband went on to explain that Selina's story had been true, to a point. She had heard of someone who knew how the two men who had attacked the President had managed to get onto Air Force One.
Clark got up to go to the bathroom a short time later. Lois used the brief interlude to flirt with her husband, rubbing her foot up his pants leg. He grinned at her.
"Why Mrs Kent, planning something devious?"
"Who me?" she said, batting her eyelashes at him.
He took her hand, stroking her fingers. Sadly, the brief flirting was interrupted with the arrival of their food. Lois frowned. Clark had been gone a little while. She rose.
"I'm just going to go see what he's up to," she said.
She walked toward the bathrooms, as if she was going to go to the ladies' room, and saw Clark talking with the woman who had been with Lex.
"You know, I like younger guys," the woman was saying.
Clark was looking uncomfortable.
"Um, that's nice, ma'am."
"Oh, you don't have to be so formal."
Lois snorted. The woman was speaking in breathy tones, as if she was trying to flirt with Clark. She decided to speak up.
"You know, I realise Lex Luthor isn't the most agreeable dinner companion, on any day of the week, but I think it's rather bad form to flirt with another male when you have a date waiting at your table. Especially when said male happens to be my fourteen year old son."
The woman glared daggers at her.
"I was just being friendly."
"If you were any friendlier, lady, I would be calling the cops." She smiled at her son. "Come on, honey. Your dinner's waiting."
Clark shot her a look of relief and moved away from the woman.
"Thanks Mom," he said quietly. "Ms Atkins was a little, um, forward."
She frowned at him. "Atkins?"
"Yeah, she said her name was Desiree Atkins."
Oh brother, we've got a live one here, she thought.
Not wanting to interrupt their dinner, she chose not to comment, telling her son not to say anything to his father.
By the time they had finished dinner, Lex and his companion had left the restaurant. Kal asked politely for the check, making sure to give the manager their compliments over the server, who had become less nervous as the night wore on.
As they were leaving, she turned to her husband.
"I need to stop by the Planet for something," she said.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, frowning at her.
"Oh, it's fine. There's just something I need to look up in the archives."
They walked back to the building. Lois let herself in with her security card and took the elevator up to her eighth floor office. Kal and Clark sat on the couch while she put her bag and coat down on the desk.
"I'll just be a few minutes, honey," she said.
She sat down and logged in to her computer, running a search through the archives. It wasn't long before the search hit pay dirt.
"A-ha," she said.
Kal frowned at her. "What is it?"
"Desiree Atkins. Aka, Alison Sanders. Aka Desiree Luthor."
Kal gaped. "Lex was married?"
"It was around the same time he came to Smallville. Desiree was known as the Black Widow. She was a teacher who seduced her first husband, then seduced a student into killing her husband so she could inherit his estate. She lost all her money after she invested it in dot coms."
"Dot coms?" Kal asked.
She nodded. "It was something to do with the internet boom, only it sort of crashed and people who invested lost a ton of money. Anyway, Desiree got greedy, so she seduced Lex and married him, then tried to seduce someone who worked for Luthorcorp to kill him. Only Lionel found out about it and paid a private eye to investigate her. She was jailed for the murder of her first husband sixteen years ago." She saw another article and skimmed it. Desiree Atkins had been paroled two years earlier, but had apparently kept out of trouble since then.
Kal frowned. "What would Lex be doing with her now, then?"
Lois chewed on her lip. "I don't know. Whatever it is, it's not good."
"She seemed kind of confused when I was talking to her," Clark observed.
Lois frowned at them, trying to understand why Desiree would try to seduce her son. What could Lex want with a woman who had planned to murder him for his money?