Nat: He really is! And you know him, he really wouldn't stop. Thanks for the comments!
mdufre4: Aww thanks! I guess it's my little contribution to these trying times. And if there's one who can scale Lois' walls, if not go through them, it's Clark :)
Guest: Wow thanks! And don't worry, I intend to finish this, so I wouldn't break your heart :D
Chapter 15
Leaning back on his chair at his Daily Planet office, Clark thought that the pool therapy should be the first and last time that he will participate in Lois' therapy sessions. It was for his sanity. He would stay away, far away, so he wouldn't make a spectacle of them, especially in front of the therapist.
At the thought of the therapist, Clark's hands fisted. He damned the universe that the best therapist in Metropolis turned out to be male. He wouldn't have known that the exercises would involve touching. He should have assumed it, but he was so consumed with Lois' recovery that he forgot about that minor detail. Damn his lust and his jealousy.
He tried to focus to the task at hand. He stared at the plate in front of him, the layout for tomorrow's edition. In bold letters, the main headline declared the death of Morgan Edge, one of the most powerful crime lords in Metropolis, second only to him when he was still in the business. Clark scoffed. In his previous life, Morgan Edge was only one of his lackeys, willing to do whatever he wished. When Clark stopped because of Lois, Tess tried to take over, but Morgan was not keen on getting orders from a woman. After the incident at the hotel and Tess disappeared, Morgan took over for good.
Until last night. Clark has stopped a massive human trafficking scheme. It wasn't a spur of the moment save. It was a methodical mission. He had his eyes on Edge ever since Lois transferred to the mansion. He had watched stealthily while they collected the young boys and girls, ready to be shipped to other parts of the country for nefarious purposes. It made him sick to his stomach. Sure he was not without sin, but he drew the line at the selling of children and teenagers. He wasn't that black hearted.
And so he had made the save. He made sure the ship was already out of port when he flew and boarded it. Dispatching the guards with ease and without his face being seen, he had cornered Morgan Edge and without much resistance, secured him and the others to the ship's wheel.
One by one, he transferred the cargo trailers filled with people back to the port, five in all. Before saving the last one, Clark went to the radio room to declare a mayday, then burned a hole through the ship. It was a last minute decision, the chance to survive, but Clark didn't know why. Of late, his killer instinct seemed to diminish, little by little.
With all cargo trailers at the port, Clark used a burner phone to call the police, and once the first police car made its presence known, he destroyed the locks of all the containers and then watched from afar how the police finished his work.
It wasn't much later when he learned that the authorities had gotten to the ship on time, only to find Edge already dead, a gunshot to his head. None of other guards spoke who did the deed. It was confirmation of rumors from even before, Edge wasn't well liked.
Content with the layout, he called to his secretary to have it run to the printers. Now that's out of the way, he focused on the next item on his agenda: the therapist.
Clark arrived at the mansion ten minutes after Lois' session. He went to the room where her session took place, and found the therapist already cleaning up. He entered the room and the therapist greeted him.
"You just missed her." The therapist said. "Too bad you're not here."
Clark let out a huff at the censure in the therapist's voice. "I have important matters to attend to."
"I do hope they're more important than your wife's recovery."
He mustered all the patience in his body not to hit the therapist. "My wife is important to me."
"Doesn't look like it." The therapist whispered, sure that with the distance Clark wouldn't have heard his comment.
But Clark heard. "Has Lois once asked for me to be present? Not that it's your business, but I have my reasons for staying away. I would love to be here with her at every step. You don't know how much." He said with much heat that the therapist just nodded.
"Then I'll see you the day after tomorrow. Good night, Mr. Luthor."
And the therapist left him standing alone. Well, that was what he wanted to tell the therapist in the first place, that he'll be more hands on with Lois' treatment. He'll just have to find a way to bury his desire for her.
Lois was just finishing her stretching exercises for the night when her phone rang. It was Lucy.
"Luce!" Lois said enthusiastically. "How's Switzerland?"
Lucy laughed. "Still the same. How about you? How's your therapy going?"
Lois smiled. She never failed to call after her sessions. "I think it's good. The doctor and the therapist said I'm making remarkable time."
"I knew you had it in you." Lucy said. "But don't push yourself too hard. Don't be the pit bull-in-the-pant-leg this time, it wouldn't help, you know."
"I know." Lois said. "Dr. Rubio said this weekend she's moving up my tests. It's a good sign right?"
"Definitely. I'm so happy for you Lo! I wish I was there with you, it's a good thing Clark's there right?"
Lois rolled her eyes, then scoffed when she realized Lucy wouldn't see her eye roll. "Don't you mention his name to me."
"Come on, Lois. You're still mad at him?"
"Lucy, what he did was unforgivable. The only reason I'm staying here is because of you. The minute I take a step on my own, I am out of this place. Put that on stone, Lucy, because that is what I intend to do."
Clark stood rooted to his spot. The minute I take a step on my own, I am out of this place. He should have expected that. He should have been ready. He knew that Lois still hasn't forgiven him, but it still twisted at his heart that she wanted nothing to do with him.
This time he was angry: angry at his asinine plan for revenge, angry at him falling for Lois, angry at his helplessness to stop Tess from her plans, angry at his inability to save her from that accident.
So he ran and ran and ran. Finally stopping, he found himself at the edge of Crater Lake. Looking at the still waters, it was the contradictory of his turbulent emotions. He let out a visceral cry, and then promptly fell to his knees, full of remorse for everything he had put her through.
A sharp woman's cry broke through him.
"Please. Stop. Not again."
"If you want your son to live, you'll agree to my terms."
A man, from the sound of things, was going to force himself on a woman. For the first time since he started saving willingly, he questioned his urge to do a good deed. It wouldn't matter, Lois wouldn't know. She still wouldn't forgive him.
Lois. It boiled down to Lois. Yes, she wouldn't know. Yes, she wouldn't forgive him. But at least he'd made the world better for her. One scum removed from this world. A safer world, for Lois.
Decision made, he went towards the sound and breaking in, grabbed the attacker away from the woman, throwing him towards the other end of the room, going through the flimsy wall. Clark then went towards the woman to check on her, and saw that she picked up a gun, no doubt that it was used on her earlier by the attacker.
"Are you alright?"
The woman just nodded, and then grabbed Clark's arm. "My son." She pleaded. "Please save my son."
"Wait here."
Clark activated his super hearing, and found a heartbeat coming from the basement. He supersped there, and broke the lock of the door. He opened it, and found a small boy sitting on a flattened cardboard box on the floor, clutching at a toy plane, looking fearful, probably hearing her mother's screams upstairs.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here to save you."
The boy remained where he sat, no doubt wondering if the strange man who came barging in was a hero or villain. "Your mother's safe, she asked me to get you."
It felt like an eternity, but the boy seemed to decide that he was trustworthy. Just as he put his small hand on Clark's large ones, a loud bang pierced the silence. Grabbing the boy, Clark supersped from the basement and found the woman crying, the gun in her hand smoking.
"Fuck you!" the attacker shouted, hollering in pain, while clutching his front, between his legs.
It was then that Clark realized that the woman shot the man in his groin. Clark laughed out loud. It was poetic justice. He put the boy down, who immediately went to his mother. Clark, in superspeed, tied up the attacker and blindfolded his eyes, still bleeding profusely.
The man was still cursing, vowing revenge. Clark then came to him, face to face. "Don't even think of coming after them. I'll make sure you'll rot in jail, and from the stories I've heard, they don't take lightly to rapists like you. Don't drop the soap while you're bathing."
Upon realizing Clark's implication, the man continued screaming and shouting, this time saying he was sorry and that he wouldn't do it again.
It wasn't long before he heard the sound of sirens, and he turned to the woman. "Don't tell them about me. Don't tell anyone about me."
The woman nodded, still crying, and clutched her son. "Thank you. Thank you."
Something welled inside him, and he left the house as the police barged in. That felt good. It really felt good.
I'm keeping up with my schedule, though the outline for this story has been edited for the umpteenth time :D Again, reviews are golden. Love lots!
