Review Comments:
auricurvy - Yep! haha. Gotta keep the tension in the air! Clark is a smart guy, and kryptonians are supposed to be smarter than human beings, but Clark's been raised by humans, so I'm not sure that he's naturally smarter than humans. He's just a smart guy. He cares about school because he's trying to understand his place in the world. I did write a review about Man of Steel on my tumblr, which I haven't updated in cages, but it's CaptainTightpants12 on tumblr. I was not a fan at all, so just a heads up on that, haha. I plan to come back to Kill Me or Kiss Me, but when, I'm not quite sure yet. I've got another story on my docket that may or may not end up on here, and between that and Flashpoint, it takes up most my writing time.
Lilbit4 - There's Lois in this chapter! haha.
Superfan2 - Well, Lex definitely assumes that Clark is dead. I can say that. And I can also say that Clark isn't going to just bounce back from this either, if he does at all. I have to keep saying he might die, haha. But yeah, it's an on-going, so I don't think it would be a huge surprise if he did survive. But this is huge. This will change him for a very long. This moment is going to have a huge ripple through the Flashpoint universe. This changes a lot of different things.
LoisNClark4Ever - I know, I know! haha. I wanted to drag out the tension! We're almost done with the arc, only a couple more chapters and then we'll be back to right after #50. Pete will be around when we go back to the #50 timeframe, and he won't be the only character we see from this little detour showing up in the "present day" timeframe.
MelsAFan - Several might be a little strong, haha. Two more, I think.
blaker316 - Thanks!
Graysongirl1 - Gotta drag it out a bit! It's #50, it's supposed to be huge! haha.
cathy03 - Glad that you liked them! It's been really fun mapping out this new universe and it looks like #50 was a hit, so I'm all kinds of giddy! We'll be getting back to it in the very near future, just a nice little detour to drag out the tension.
Jas-El - Yeah, that was the plan! haha. I wanted people to think he was coming to, only to be surprised by the detour. I'm really loving writing these characters before when we know them, and especially Clark and Lex together, but we'll be coming back to "present day" very shortly. This is just a fun little detour to keep the tension and suspense.
Author: CaptainTightPants12
Rating: K
Disclaimer: If I owned Superman, his story lines, or any related characters, you'd be seeing this story in the pages of the this month's issue of Superman and not for free on FanFiction. Ditto any DC Comics characters or storylines.
Summary: After Barry Allen changes history to save the world, Clark Kent faces an uncertain destiny in a new world.
Chapter: #52, Golden Moths
Author's Note: Sorry this one is late, been crazy busy with an impromptu trip to visit some family and friends, but it's extra long and I wouldn't deprive you of everything from Metropolis! Enjoy!
She tried not to grunt or moan as she climbed up and over the chain-link fence. She was mildly certain that her favorite blouse was being ripped as she started to climb down, but she had to stay silent at this exact moment.
The last thing she needed was to attract the attention of the wrong person. Her feet hit the cold concrete with a thud, and it made her wish that she had worn her flats. It's not like she didn't know what she would be doing tonight. She knew it the second that she was told not to. That's just who she was. She followed that hot-head of hers.
Maybe someday she'd have a partner to act as the voice most people have in the back of her head, telling her not to do things like this, but today was not that day. Today was a day of action and no one was going to stop her.
"'It's not worth it,' he tells me. 'Don't go starting a war with the Luthors,' he says," she muttered under her breath. "It's like you don't even know me, Perry... I'm going to pin this son of a bitch to the wall. I'm Lois Lane, damn it."
Lois had caught Luthor red-handed at the docks. He was importing illegal and dangerous chemicals over the border, under the nose of the Port Authority, Customs, and the DEA all at once. She caught him, but his lawyers hushed up the story with one of those injunctions that they love to doll out. And while the District Attorney was busy looking the other way to count the sizable donation that LexCorp had made to his reelection, Luthor had moved the chemicals. Probably to LexCorp.
But she was Lois Lane, damn it.
She got a lead on where the chemicals were, and she was breaking into LexCorp to find them. She was sick of Luthor using his money and power to stronghold the media into letting him break every rule in the book and today was the day that she was going to put an end to it. She'd find those barrels, the ones with the yellow moths on them, and she'd have her proof.
Once she was inside the warehouse, she flicked on her flashlight and began to survey the area for the barrels. They had to be around here somewhere. He couldn't have moved them that fast. And even if he did, wasn't this Ground Zero?
There have long been rumors of some kind of top secret facility built deep underneath the Metropolis LexCorp headquarters and if he was going to stash a bunch of illegal and dangerous chemicals somewhere, she figured it was more than likely to be there. She looked for some sort of service elevator or stairwell, somewhere that would give her access downwards.
As she flashed the flashlight across the room, she noticed one reflective surface light up. An arrow. One up, one down.
Lois made her way towards it, and it was an elevator. Big steel doors too. That was a good sign if she ever saw one. She tried to tip-toe as best she could, she turned off the flashlight and gazed around looking for security cameras. Surely there would be a security camera, especially if this was the elevator leading to where she was heading.
She was nearly to the door when the up-arrow turned a bright red color. Lois dashed behind some crates.
It took a moment for the light to appear where the two doors connected, but when it did, it rose from the floor towards the ceiling. When the light reached the top, there was a ding. She hid as the doors opened slowly.
"It's Lane, right?"
Lois felt her eyes get big, but she held her position all the same.
"You're here for the barrels, right? The ones that went missing?"
There was a part of her that knew that it was a bad idea. That she shouldn't just walk out into the open. Not at LexCorp. Not when they apparently knew that she was here, and what she had come for, but she did. "Yeah?"
It was hard to see at first, the light was so bright in the dark warehouse, but when they finally stepped out of the elevator, it was surprise instead of fear that washed over Lois. "Then you should probably come this way," the woman said.
"Aren't you..."
"Yes. My name is Tess Luthor. And if you want the barrels, then you should come with me."
To call the elevator ride down awkward, would have been the understatement of the year. Tess had put in a code and a whole other set of controls lit up on the control panel. Lois watched her from the corner of her eye and wondered what this was all about and why Lex Luthor's sister, the second in command at LexCorp, would be helping her of all people.
"You're probably wondering why I'm helping you."
Lois looked over at her, "It may have crossed my mind."
Tess smirked, and it creeped Lois out how Luthor-like it was. "I know that you're here to find the barrels that my brother had smuggled into the country. And I know that you'd like to see my brother behind bars. I would too."
"And why would you want that?"
"I own the second largest share of stock in LexCorp. Without Lex, I would run the company. Without Lex, I would be able to do some actual good in this world. Not just the bullshit he likes to spout off about."
A nod was all that Lois could really give her.
Tess led her out of the elevator and into a security room. There had to have been hundreds of monitors. "You see all of these people, Lane? All of the people that work at LexCorp? This is just the fraction that are involved in Lex's illegal bidding."
Lois eyed them all. Not really understanding what Tess was getting at. "Whats your point?"
"My point is that you're going about this all wrong. If you shutdown LexCorp, these people won't find new jobs. You aren't at war with Lex Luthor, you're at war with more innocent people than you begin to imagine. You want to do some good?" She pulled up a screen on the monitor, it showed a large white gorilla in a cage. "This is one of Lex's experiments. Push this right here and it'll be released from captivity. That will give you your immediate high of contributing."
"I'm not doing this for the high," Lois growled.
She got a smirk. Another creepy ass smirk. "Then think, Lane. You're smart. I know that you're smart. My brother is scared of you. So let's do this the smart way. I'll help you, and you can help me. You needed to see this. What's at stake. Help me take him out the right way, and we'll both win, and the only one that loses in my brother."
"And I'm just supposed to trust you?"
"No. I don't suspect that you're that foolish. I am a Luthor, after all. But us Luthors know our business deals. And that's what this is, Lane. You need a showing of good faith, press the button. Watch as it is freed. Get your deed in for the day."
Lois watched her carefully. She leaned forward and pressed the button. Watched the gorilla stare as the cage door opened, it slowly walked out. She looked up at Tess for a moment, still not quite trusting her. "And this proves what?"
"That I don't care about my brother's experiments. I care about this company. We employ more than half of Metropolis. You bring us down, and it'll be like the Great Depression out there on the streets. You're smarter than that. Let's do this the right way and I'll get you your story. I'll get you your front page story, and Lex's head on a silver platter."
She started to walk away. "If you still wanna get to those barrels, and put millions out of work, it's right down that hall. You can find your way out. If you want to do this the right way and take out Lex, go home and you'll be hearing from me soon."
Her heels clacking on the cement and all Lois could do was stare.
When Lois found the barrels, her flashlight made the golden moths glow and it was one of those rare moments that she didn't know what to do. She came so far, was she really going to turn her back on the evidence to get rid of Lex Luthor? On the other hand, could she really live with knowing the consequences? Was there a better way to do this?
After a moment of pondering, she pulled out her phone, dialing a number and putting it to her ear.
"This is White."
Lois sucked in a long breath and sighed, thinking before she spoke. "Chief... If I told you... If I told you that I could get the proof to shutdown LexCorp. If I knew where those chemicals were... Knowing what it would mean for LexCorp to shut down in this city... In the whole world... Would you want me to bring it to your desk? Would you print it?"
She could hear Perry sigh on the other end of the line.
"I've been doing this job a long time, Lane. And it weighs heavily on me. I didn't tell you to drop the story because of lawyers or because I'm scared of Luthor. I told you to drop the story because sometimes... Sometimes a victory isn't a victory. Every story has consequences and it's up to us to judge if it's worth it or not. Every politician we catch fooling around, that's a whole family that gets destroyed. Some little girl or little boy has to go to school and face the heat we put on their dirtbag parent. Every story has consequences. And you're right. A story like this, a situation like this, it's going to mean more than selling papers. You take down LexCorp... You shut it down, for even a little while? Families won't eat. People will lose their homes. There will be millions of people without work, and in this economy, nowhere else to turn."
She grimaced. Hating the sound of what Perry had to say.
"I want to take out Lex Luthor as much as you do, Lane. I've never wanted anything more. But I'll leave it to you. If we get the proof to shut him down, it means a lot more than putting him out of commission. Metropolis runs on LexCorp contracts. It's going to change the world. Maybe it'll be for the better longterm. But I'll have to leave it to you, Lois... If you want me to run the story, if you think it's worth the risk, then put it on my desk, and I'll run it. But I leave it to you."
He couldn't see that she was nodding, but she figured that he knew somehow. She ended the call. She stared at the barrels and tears welled up in her eyes. She stared at the barrels... And she turned off her flashlight.
Author's Note: Well, what did you think? A little Lois Lane meets Tess Luthor adventure! I do love me some Tess. This one was double long to make up for the long wait, but hopefully it will make up for it! Before I go, if you caught the tribute to another beloved show of mine, say so in the reviews! Would love to see who caught and who is also a fan of another great show. Anyways, shoot me some reviews and let me know what you thought!
