This is a big post, but I hope that you enjoy where it goes. Let's get on it to it!

A month flew by without much fanfare. Things seemed quiet and one could almost forget the stockpile of weapons somewhere in Metropolis. Almost that is. It was out there somewhere. I had to find it. Unfortunately, they were well prepared to evade me. Every effort that I made ended up in failure and there wasn't a lot that I could do about it. At least for now that is. I had to be patient. They would make themselves known soon enough. I just had to wait.

Besides, I had enough on my hands to keep me busy. Lois was starting to show. She was also complaining about 'your little devils.' Who seemed to delight in kicking their mother at all hours of the day and night. Fortunately, with the help of Bruce, I was able to fashion a crude device to prevent any mishaps. So, the kicking was just annoying - not life-threatening. So long as Lois wore the bracelet embedded with blue kryptonite she would be safe. It had just the right amount of kryptonite to negate my children's powers without affecting me or causing their power to overload. We learned that the hard way with Chris. It had to be the right amount. Which is difficult to determine with half-Kryptonian fetuses. We ended up going with a piece about the size of a wood splinter. It's so small that even Lois could not find it. I had to assure her that the kryptonite was indeed there. It was just too small to notice.

The irony is that even I don't notice the sliver. It's too small to affect me in any meaningful way. Even when I hold the bracelet I notice no real change at all. I can still use all of my abilities exactly as I could before. The sliver is only visible on xray. He had it embedded inside the metal. That way it cannot be broken off or lost. It is placed carefully on the inside so that it has the maximum effect while minimizing the amount of stone needed. It seemed that Bruce really had learned from our failure with Chris.

He had even created a nearly identical bracelet with twice as much blue kryptonite for nursing. There was also talk about creating a pair of special cribs and bassinets that had blue kryptonite power embedded in its paint. That had not materialized just yet, but I expected it any day now. This was more than what I asked for, but I welcomed it all the same. I could use all the help that I could get. It would be only a few more months and they would be born. Then my life really will become mayhem. Even human children cause chaos in their parent's lives. Mine will be far worse. Not that I am complaining or anything. I want them in my life. They are my family and I will be there for them. I am their father, after all. It's my responsibility. I will rise to it. It's just a bit scary, that's all.

Lois wasn't doing quite as well as dealing with the situation as I was. The Chief had essentially sidelined her on most stories. He knew her habits and couldn't trust her not to get herself into trouble. She insisted that she could handle more than the obituaries or the advice column. Normally, I would agree but how can one dive through dumpsters and avoid gangsters when you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning? Lois refused to accept the facts. She was pregnant. This was a big deal - even if she wasn't carrying two half-Krypotians. She had to make changes and that was not negotiable. She was stuck until she gave birth.

The best that she could hope for was riding shotgun with me on one of my stories. Which I only allowed when the danger was at a minimum. I believe that the last story that I allowed her to help me with was about an African American Cultural Festival. She did not want to cover a festival and I did not need help. It didn't matter. It made her feel like a reporter - even if it was just for a moment. I just wish that it could make up for the lack of fulfillment in her life. I didn't want to stop her from being her. I just wanted her to take it easy for a bit. Something that did not come easy to her. Lois didn't know how to run at half speed. To be fair, I had no idea how to do that either. I guess that we were both screwed.

Things remained relatively quiet until the end of the month. That's when there was an earthquake in China. It caused a lot of damage and it cost a lot of lives. I had my hands full trying to save as many lives as possible. I wasn't able to make it home for almost two days. When I finally made it home I found an empty house. Lois was nowhere to be found. I searched the house and found no evidence as to what happened to her. I may have been exhausted but I still had work to do. I had to find my family! I could rest afterward.

I scoured the city. To no avail. I found no evidence of my wife. She wasn't anywhere to be found. It was almost eleven at night when I received a call from Perry. He never calls that late unless something was horribly wrong. Which I guessed had something to do with Lois.

"Hello? Perry?" I tried to sound calm and relaxed even though it was the furthest thing from what I felt.

"Kent! Finally! Where the hell have you been? I've been calling for hours!"

"Sorry, Perry, I've been . . ." I thought for a second then answered truthfully. "covering the earthquake in Shenzhen. It's chaotic here right now, cell phone service is kinda spotty."

"How did you get to China? More importantly, how are we even talking?" He asked. "On second thought, nevermind, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I'm not calling about China anyway. Doesn't matter how you got out there or why. The story can wait. This can't."

That got my attention. The story was everything to Perry. He was always looking for the next big one. I couldn't remember a time when he didn't care about the story. Something was very wrong and I had a bad feeling that it had something to do with Lois.

He took a breath then started back up again. "Look, Clark, it's about Lois."

He called me Clark. Now I knew for sure that something was wrong. Why couldn't I be wrong for once? "What about her? What's wrong?"

There was silence on the phone as Perry tried to find a gentle way to break the news to me. When he failed to find a good way, he said, "You see, Lois has been adducted."

It made my heart leap to hear him confirm what I already suspected. "Adducted?" I repeated dumbly. "How? When?"

Perry proceeded to explain what happened. Earlier today Lois was leaving the Daily Planet when four men grabbed her. She put up a good fight. Managing to knock out one of them before being overwhelmed. They got out there just as the Police were arriving. Leaving their fallen comrade where he was.

"He was arrested, but so far he hasn't been very helpful. Been real quiet. Seems that he doesn't want to rat out his buddies."

"Let's see about that." I said quietly in Krypotian.

"What's that?" Perry asked.

"Sorry, I was mumbling to myself. Let me know if he says anything. I'm going to look for her."

"Kent! Wait! You can't . . ."

I disconnected. I never gave him the chance to finish that sentence. I didn't want to hear it. No one was going to stop me from finding my family. Not even Perry. I had already lost my family once. I was not going to lose it again.

Now, there are people who would say that I should have stayed out of it. That I was taking it all personally. And that I was far too close for comfort. They would be right, of course. I was taking this personally. It's my family that we're talking about. How could I not take it personally? There are few things in this world more precious to me than Lois and the children. I will not let them go easily. I will fight like hell to protect them. It doesn't matter who took them or why. I would get them back. If that makes me wrong then so be it. I don't care. They are my family. They stay with me. That is not negotiable.

Of course, I was not foolish enough to believe that I could interrogate the kidnapper. I was far too close to the subject to be effective. Plus, breaking a man down wasn't my thing. I was terrifying to some, but that was more of an accident than a skill. I couldn't stare into a man's eyes and get him to spill his guts. That was not one of my superpowers and quite frankly I'm glad that it's not. I don't want to be feared. I want to be loved. I want to inspire. Which wasn't terribly helpful at that moment. I needed help. I needed Batman.

Bruce did not appear to be surprised when I told him what happened. He appeared to already know what happened. How he knew was beyond me. Her disappearance had not hit the papers yet. (I'm sure that was in part due to Perry. He would never allow a member of the Daily Planet family to find out that way.) And the cops were not interested in the case. They hated Lois almost as much as the criminals did. They would only put in the minimum amount of effort to find her. All they had done was arrest the kidnapper left behind and log the disappearance. That's it. They hadn't even bothered to interrogate him. If you added the fact that this all went down in Metropolis two hours ago then it was even more astonishing. He hated Metropolis. Why in the world would he be watching it so closely?

Oh yeah, he was probably watching me. The man has trust issues. He trusts no one. Not even his friends. He watches all of the league in case they would go rogue. I'm sure that I am of particular interest to him. And I get it if I go crazy I could destroy the world. A fact that I try not to think of. Otherwise, it would haunt my nightmares. Batman didn't seem to share my aversion. Instead, he seemed to wallow in it. Obsess over it. Let his life be consumed by it. It was quite disturbing. Ironically, it was this obsession coupled with his resources and intelligence that made him so useful. So, I generally choose to ignore it. As I did this day. So what he was watching me. If it helped me find Lois and our children then I did not care. He could do what he liked.

It seemed that Batman was far ahead of us all. He had already identified her kidnappers. They were former members of Intergang displaced by the new regime. It was odd though that they would target Lois right now. Yes, they hated her. Just like a ton of other goons, She made their lives hell and she could be bribed. They would be more than happy to take her out under normal circumstances. However, these were not normal circumstances. They had bigger fish to fry. Which would mean Karsta, not Lois.

That is unless they knew the truth about me. Only then would it make sense. They were using her to get to me. Maybe they thought that if they took her that they would get me to do something to Karsta. Something that I would never agree to on my own. And they were correct. I would do almost anything for her. Sometimes I wondered if Lois realized the power she had over me. Her life meant more to me than my own. I could not live without her. I did not want to think about what I would do if I lost her. I had to get her back safe and sound.

Fortunately, Batman was already on his way to Metropolis. He was going to interrogate the thug caught by the police. I didn't even need to ask. Although he did insist that I stay away. He told me that I was far too close to the case. He was right. I was far too close. I might kill the man. Which was the last thing that I wanted to do. So, I agreed to his terms and stayed away. That didn't mean that I wasn't listening. Oh no, I listened to each and every word. I listened to the man's heartbeat to see if he was lying. He wasn't. Not after Batman scared the hell out of him that is. Then he sang a different tune.

I'm not going to bore you with most of the details. If you have ever watched Batman work then you understand what happened. The man never knew what hit him. Somehow he managed to convince the man that I was going to break in and lobotomize the man. Which was never going to happen. I don't do that to people. Even people like Lex Luthor. Why would I do that to some thug who never met before? It didn't make any sense. Of course, none of this was logical. He was preying on his superstitions and fears. What Batman did best. Although, I do question turning me into the bad guy. After all, I did not kidnap his wife. He did that to me. So why again am I the bad guy? I suppose that it doesn't matter since Batman got results. Which was more than I would have done. I interview people, not interrogate them.

Anyway, back to the important bits of their "chat." The thug told Batman that Mannheim was trying to retake Intergang. To help do that we wanted Lois for something. He honestly did not know what Mannheim wanted her for. That was not passed along to him. Just as he did not know where Lois was. Mannheim did not tell any of the thugs that. Instead, he told them a time, a place, and the location of the van to drop her off at. The rest he did not know.

"That's all I know! Mannheim didn't tell us where he was going to take the bitch! We were just to deliver her to him. Then he was going to handle the rest." The thug cried as Batman stared at him. "Look, if I'd known that she was Superman's whore then I wouldn't have touched her! No one would. Not unless you got a death wish that is. You've seen what he can do, right? I'd be toast if he wanted to kill me. No, I would have left that bitch alone. No amount of money could convince me to mess with Superman. That just ain't smart."

I felt my blood pressure rising. I didn't care what they said about me. I could take it. If they wanted to believe that I was a monster then so be it. I could deal with it. What I couldn't take was speaking so badly about my wife. No one had the right to call her a slut, whore, or bitch. Nor did they have the right to accuse her of being unfaithful. She wasn't. I hated that my cover caused people to think that Lois was cheating on me. She was with Clark Kent. End of story. She was not sleeping around on me. Nor were those children someone else's. I would fight anyone who suggested otherwise. Even a two-bit thug like this one. I guess it was good that I was not in the room. He might have been lobotomized for real.

Batman didn't get much more useful information out of him. However, he did find out the location that they were to meet up with the van. Which was more than we had before. We might find some clues that would help us find her. So we sped off to the corner of First and Main. Where the thugs were supposed to deliver the goods. Hopefully, then we would have an idea of where Lois could be.

I beat Batman to the corner of First and Main. Which wasn't hard to do. I took less than a second to make it there. Before Batman had reached the area I had already scanned the area thoroughly. I was able to confirm that Lois was here recently. I could detect faint wisps of her scent. It was mixed with the scent of artificial lilacs. Lois's favorite perfume. She insisted on wearing it. Even though I told her that it was not necessary. She smelled nice to me. So what her odor was a bit stronger than other women? Where was the shame in that? It was natural and I love it. I would be able to recognize it anywhere. She was here recently. It seemed that the thug's information was genuine. They took Lois here.

"She was here." I said as Batman arrived. I gestured towards a spot by the curb. "I can detect traces of her scent there. She was here maybe an hour ago."

He didn't say anything. Instead, he got right to work examining the area. It was not surprising, but it was a little annoying. There was a fat lot that I could do about it. Despite his reputation Bruce Wayner did not socialize unless he had to. He was not a people person. Besides I didn't ask him here to chat. I asked him to help me find Lois. Which he was doing. He just didn't want to engage in any of the niceties.

I sighed then resumed my investigation. This area was quiet. It was in a section of town that housed Metropolis' poor. It was crime-ridden. With gangs and organized crime running rapid. No, no one here was going to talk. Assuming that they saw anything at all. It was the perfect place to make the switch. Except for one thing: The Metropolis Community Bank was across the street. They would have something valuable - cameras.

I pointed to the building and said, "Look. Cameras. There should be footage of the transfer."

"Yes, but why would they choose this exact intersection? Surely they had to know about them." Batman's eyes narrowed. "Something isn't right here."

I agreed with him completely. Mannheim was never this sloppy. He would have never chosen such a visible place unless he wanted us to see. But see what? Why was he leading me along on a trail of breadcrumbs? What did he want from me?

"Well, I suppose that there is nothing to do but take a look."

Batman said nothing once again. Instead, he grappled up to his plane and took off. The plane hung in the air for a moment then sped off. It was his way of asking me to follow. As if I was going to anything else. I wanted to see that footage just as much as he did.

I followed Batman to his temporary lair in Metropolis. It was an apartment building that was once owned by Lex Luthor. Not far from our apartment. Which is unlikely to be a coincidence. When the building changed hands I do not know. However, it must have been done quietly. Since I had no idea that he owned it. Then again Batman doesn't really trust anyone - even his friends. Of course we would purchase a building that came pre-lined with lead. Of course, he would make sure that it was near our home. That way it was easier to watch us. All he would need to do is add some extra gadgets and he was done! No need to go on an expensive construction project. He could even rent the extra apartments to make a buck. It made sense if you were Bruce Wayne. It annoyed me but it made sense to him. Times like this I wish that he trusted me more. Then I remember why he is like this and let it slide. Batman really does keep us in check. To do that he can't trust us a hundred percent. Making such places necessary. Even if they were annoying.

Batman sat down at his computer and got to work. I let him work as I looked around. It wasn't fancy. Barely more than a few computers, gliders, and other toys that could fit within a penthouse. Most of the furniture had been removed. Leaving only a place to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. The rest was taken up by Batman's things. There were not many windows in the apartment. However, great care was taken to make sure that none of his toys were visible from any of them. I touched one. What appeared to be glass was actually a polymer that looked like glass. It was far stronger than any other similar product that I've seen. I would have some difficulty getting through it. Which was undoubtedly the point. I was not supposed to know about this place. So why let me know of this place? If Batman knew what I was thinking then he did not let on. He just kept working.

After a few minutes, he was able to locate a video clip from the time of the incident. We watched as a SVU pulled up behind the van. Four goons came out of said SVU. Then they dragged a bound and gagged Lois Lane from the car. She didn't seem to fight at all. Instead, she flopped around like she was drugged. The men had to drag her to the van. She didn't seem to have the ability to walk.

"Lois . . ."

I whispered as the clip continued. I felt so guilty for allowing this to happen. She needed protection. Protection that I failed to provide. Now Mannheim has her. Doing God knows what to her. I had to get her back.

Once Lois was loaded and secured the van sped off in one direction. Moments later the SVU sped off in another direction. Presumably to be dumped somewhere. The exchange was complete. It only took about one minute to do. It was well-coordinated and efficient. Then again it would have to be if you wanted to stay ahead of me. After all, I can cross the world in just over a minute. If I wasn't so busy at the time even this coordinated display would not be enough. I would have found her. Then I would have a nice long chat with Mannheim. Hell, I still planned to have a nice long chat with Mannheim. He had to understand that my family is off-limits.

Batman scowled at the screen. I shifted my attention to him. It was subtle but I could see that the video pissed him off. He didn't like women being treated this way. Particularly pregnant women. Something that I had to agree with. This video would piss me off even if Lois was not the victim. No one should ever treat a pregnant woman like this. No matter who they were. It's just this situation that was far more personal to me. Then again maybe it was more personal to him as well. He never really said it but I know that he liked Lois. He considered her a friend. Hell, I think he even trusted her. Which was more than he could say about me. He must be just as angry about this abduction as I was. Maybe more. I honestly don't know.

"Efficient." He finally said. "Well organized. Quick. Hmmm . . ."

"I know. I tried to find her on my own but couldn't. I looked through every building that is not lead-lined. Nothing. I listened for the sound of her heartbeat. Again nothing. Even her scent is too faint to follow. They did it all within a few minutes. That's how long it took for me to realize what was going on and come back."

His eyes narrowed. "If that is true then why make it so easy to follow their trail?" He used the computer to highlight a section of the frame where the license plate was clearly displayed. "This is a rookie mistake. One that Bruno Mannheim would not make. Particularly when dealing with you. No, this was not a mistake. This is a breadcrumb."

I didn't like the sound of that. "You mean he wants me to follow."

"It would appear to be the case."

"So, in other words: It's a trap and Lois is the bait."

"It is an obvious one at that. He knows that you will go regardless."

I thought about it for a second then answered. "He's right. I will."

I did not leave it up for discussion. I was not going to sit back and wait while Mannheim hurt Lois. Consequences be damned. I was going to save my family even if it cost me my life.

Batman scowled. "You will be playing right into his hands."

"I know."

"But you are going to do it anyway."

"Yup." Batman scoffed at me. "You would do the same if it was Selena."

"Selena wouldn't have gotten herself into this mess." He countered. I gave him a weird look. "Probably anyway."

"In any case, it doesn't change what I need to do. I have to protect Lois and my children. I can't leave them with Mannheim."

"Agreed."

"Then you're not going to try and stop me?"

He sighed. "Would that work?"

I thought about it for a second then answered. "No."

"Then why bother?" He stood up. "You have the license plate number. You don't need me to find the vehicle. It's probably parked right out in the open. Any idiot could find it let alone Superman. If you insist on running in there blindly then you can do it alone." Bruce gestured towards the door. I hesitated for a second. Prompting him to reiterate, "Go."

I remained in place - lost in thought. The more that I thought about it the more I realized that he was correct. This was stupid. I would fall into his trap and Lois would not get saved. Going in head first would not help anyone - least of all my wife. I could not help her this way. I needed a different strategy. I had an idea, but I needed Batman's help to do it.

"Actually, I have a different idea."

What is Superman's idea? You'll have to wait until next time to find out! Thank you for reading and reviewing.