"Lois, you should go back upstairs!" Martha scolded, putting an arm around her, and helping her into a chair. Lex watched them.
"I'm feeling much better, thank you, Mrs. Kent. How did I get here? The last thing I remember...."
Lois's voice trailed off, as she suddenly remembered Lex being in the graveyard! She stood up, shakily, looking over at Lex. Martha tried to ease her back into a chair, but Lois shook her off. Her ankle was killing her though!
"No, Mrs. Kent, really, I'm alright. I'm feeling stronger by the second. What did you do to that thing in the graveyard?"
Martha shook her head in confusion.
"Thing?"
Lois tore her eyes away from Lex's very attractive ones....God, why was she thinking that?!
"Yes, Mrs. Kent. Some zombie thing attacked me. It bit me on the neck....and broke my ankle, I think."
"That was a vampire, Ms. Lane. And yes, the doctor said you'll be on crutches for awhile. I staked the creature, then brought you back to my home." Lex explained.
"Why? Why didn't you take me to a hospital? And why did you dump me off here? No offense, Mrs. Kent."
"None taken, Lois. Look, maybe I can answer that better. Clark brought you here." Martha said.
"Yes," Lex jumped in, "though how he managed to slip from my house undetected is still a mystery. Then again, I don't have security cameras in the wing you were in."
Lois tore her eyes from him and looked at Martha again.
"Clark took me from Lex's? Why?"
"Honey, he was afraid for you...as am I. We thought you may have seen the killer and for all we knew, you were still in danger. The police thought Lex had done something to you....and to be perfectly honest, we couldn't be sure that he hadn't. Sorry, Lex."
"No need to be sorry, Mrs. Kent. Ms. Lane, you should feel fortunate that so many people care for you."
"Uh, yes. Look, do I have any clothes here or anything? I need to get going. I've inconvenienced you enough, Mrs. Kent."
"Uh, no, I'm sorry. Why don't we call Chloe and she can bring you some things?"
"That sounds nice, thanks, Mrs. Kent."
"Although I would feel better if you just stayed one more full day, Lois. Really, you haven't eaten anything and you need to regain your strength."
"I would agree with Mrs. Kent, Ms. Lane. You should stay here until you're fully recovered from your attack."
Lois eyed Lex again. What the hell was his angle? What was he even doing here? Maybe he was here to see Clark or something?
"I should let Jonathan know that you're alright. He's out in the barn."
"I'll be fine, Mrs. Kent, really." Lois said, sensing she did not want to leave her with Lex. She smiled at her, as she walked out of the house and headed towards the barn. Lex waited until the door closed before he spoke.
"They are overprotective, aren't they?" he noted.
Lois said nothing to that. She vaguely remembered calling Mrs. Kent, 'Mom', and was embarrassed by that. Lois tried to stand, but felt immediate pain from her ankle. Lex reached out and settled her back into a chair.
"You should listen to Mrs. Kent. Let me get you some water or something."
"How about you tell me why you were in that graveyard the other night?"
"To catch the killer."
Lois snorted!
"You? You were trying to catch this vampire, killer thing? By yourself?"
"Ms. Lane...."
"It's Lois. Look, I was there to get a story, and get a glimpse of one of these 'rising vampires'...maybe even a picture. It backfired, badly. So thanks for helping me out, but I'm not in any danger. I mean I saw you stake the vampire."
Lex frowned.
"Maybe you're not aware of how this stuff works. This vampire stuff. Because the one that attacked you was not the only one there is. Someone came to town and started this whole chain of events."
"You mean the main vampire?"
"Yes, Lois. And I have him at my home."
"What?!"
Lex walked up to her.
"I know how ambitious you are."
"You do, do you?"
"I do." Lex affirmed, smiling at her. "That and catching this particular vampire, is very important to me.....and to you."
Lois stared at him.
"You're talking about more than just me getting this story, right? Something else is going on here, isn't it?"
The phone rang just then. Lois sighed, realizing that she was really the only one around to answer it. Someone would freak if they heard Lex's voice at the other end!
Lex picked up the portable and handed it to Lois. Their fingers touched briefly, before she hit the answer button.
"Kent residence?"
"Lois? Is that you? Are you alright?" Clark asked.
Lois glanced up at Lex.
"I'm fine. I'll get your parents....."
"Just tell them that Lana, Chloe and I are on our way there! Lana and Chloe were attacked by the killer."
Lois sat up!
"Oh my God! Are they alright?"
"Shaken, but not hurt, thank God. Although Connor wasn't so lucky."
"He's hurt?"
"Hurt and missing! Listen, I want the girls to stay out at the farm as well, until we can find out what's going on."
"Uh, yeah....I'll tell your parents right now."
"Thanks, Lois, we're almost there."
"Then I guess I'll see you when I see you, goodbye." Lois said hanging up. Lex took the phone from her and put it back on to it's base.
"I have a clean pair of clothes for you to wear out in my car. I think you'll want to meet this man."
Lois stood up, ignoring the pain and leaning on the top of a nearby chair.
"That was Clark on the phone"
"So I gathered."
"Chloe and Lana were almost killed by that maniac you're hiding! Now if you don't go to the police, then I will!"
Lex walked up to her.
"But if you go to the police, Lois, then you'll never be able to have justice.... of your own."
Lois backed away a little.
"What is this, Lex? What the hell is going on with you? Why would you think that I'd want 'justice' from this creep? He's not the one that bit me."
"No. But he did kill your aunt.....your aunt Jenny, correct? Your deceased mother's only sister?"
Lois felt herself grow cold. Her aunt Jenny Calender, had been murdered several years ago in a town called Sunnydale. It was in California somewhere. Some creep had broken into the school she worked at, Sunnydale High, one night and broken her neck. The police never did catch her murderer.
Lois slowly sat down again.
"How do you know about that?" she asked softly.
"Lois, this man killed my nanny....a woman by the name of Pamela Jenkins. She and my mother had been close....and well....we'd renewed our friendship, about four years ago. Then, on a trip to L.A., she was killed. Yes, Ms. Lane, the man that killed my nanny, and your aunt, is a prisoner in my home. The police aren't equipped to handle him alone. We may have to take care of this ourselves."
Lois did not answer, as she was lost in memories. She had clung to her aunt Jenny when she was a child, but her aunt did not get along with her father, so there were many years that they did not get to see one another. But that didn't lesson Lois's affection for her, or her heartbreak when she heard she had been murdered....the last link to her mother.
Lois hopped towards Lex.
"I want to meet this sonofabitch....face to face!" Lois hissed. Lex nodded, smiling.
"I figured you'd want to. I also have a pair of crutches for you at the mansion."
"You left her alone with Lex?! You took long enough to tell me that, Martha!" Jonathan yelled, incredulous. He was hurrying back towards the house.
"Jonathan, I don't think Lex is a killer, okay? I'm sure Lois is fine. She looks well enough, but until we can get her a pair of crutches, and she regains her strength, she should stay with us."
"I agree, but let's just get her away from Lex, okay? I don't trust him." Jonathan huffed, hurrying up the stairs. Lex's car was still on the property. Jonathan opened the door first, and found Lex sitting down, reading a magazine.
"Where's Lois?" Jonathan asked, his tone brittle. Martha appeared behind him a short while later.
"Upstairs taking a shower." Lex said casually, tossing aside the magazine. He stood up.
"I want you to leave, now Lex." Jonathan said firmly.
"Oh, I will Mr. Kent. But Lois is coming with me."
"No, she's not."
Lex gave him a half-smile.
"Mr. Kent, believe me, she wants to come with me. I'm not forcing her to do anything."
Lois hopped down the stairs, dressed in a new pair of clothes that Lex had found somewhere. She doubted very much that he had actually purchased them for her!
"Mr. Kent, he's right." she said, hopping over to him and Martha. "There is something I have to take care of, and only Lex can help."
Martha looked at Jonathan. She didn't like the sound of that at all!
"Uh, why?" Martha asked. Jonathan shook his head.
"I don't think that's wise, Lois. I think it's time we called your father."
"Mr Kent...."
Suddenly the sound of a car screeching, got their attention. Lois remembered that Clark had called!
"Uh, Mrs. Kent, I forgot, Clark called! There's been trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Martha asked, as Jonathan rushed outside. Martha followed after him. Lex reached out for Lois's hand.
"My car is on the side of the house. Let's go out of the back."
"Yeah but your car can be seen from the front."
"Yes but look at what's going on out there. Lana is a wreak. So is Chloe."
"I should stay...."
"Ms. Lane...."
"Lois."
Lex smiled. "Fine, Lois. I don't know how long I can keep this creature contained, without putting my staff in significant danger. Now Mr. Kent is about to call your father in. Do you really want the General coming down here?"
Lois shook her head no. Lois clasped Lex's hand and hopped quickly along with him.
"Just lean on me, alright?"
Lois nodded. She liked leaning on him. She actually liked HIM for some reason. Quite a lot.
"Oh damn!" Jonathan cursed, as soon as he got back inside. Lois and Lex were nowhere to be found. Martha was fixing something for Chloe and Lana, while Clark sat beside them. Clark looked up.
"What is it, Dad?"
Chloe stood up though.
"Thanks everyone for caring, but Clark I need to find Connor."
Clark stood up as well.
"I will go and look for him. My father and I both will. He's alright."
"How can he be? He probably crawled away, hurt, or something."
"Clark and his father will find him." Martha answered, handing Chloe and Lana, some cider. Lana shook her head.
"I'm just tired...." her voice broke. Martha put an arm around her.
"Let's get you to bed. We have some spare room now." she said, giving Clark a pointed look. He looked confused, but broke off eye contact to focus in on Chloe. He then looked at his father.
"Maybe I should go alone. You should be here to look out for everyone."
"Clark, you saw that maniac! He almost killed you! You can't face him alone!" Chloe cried. Jonathan gave Chloe a reassuring smile, then pulled Clark out onto the porch.
"What did she mean by that, son?"
"Dad, the vampire....it's wearing a green Kryptonite ring."
"What?"
"Yeah, I know. I wasn't much help. The thing tried to bite me and broke off a fang. That was the only way I escaped."
"Oh Clark! Damn, how do you expect to face off against this thing then? Maybe we have no real choice but to just let the...."
"Dad," Clark said, lowering his voice. "This thing is related to Connor. He called him 'son'."
Jonathan glanced back towards the porch door.
"The same Connor you don't trust?"
"Yeah. Dad, he's got some kind of powers of his own, though I've seen him during the day, so he's not a vampire. I don't think Connor is that hurt. He's probably trying to just think what his next move is. If that vampire is a relative of his, well, it complicates things."
"I should say so. Still, just because he has powers, doesn't mean he can heal like you can. I don't know...."
"I'll be fine. I'll just look around some familiar haunts, that's all. Besides, that vampire was howling like there was no tomorrow. With a hurt fang, he might be out of commission, temporarily. So just take care of Lana, Chloe and Lois...."
"Lois!" Jonathan hissed, hurrying down the porch and around the side of the house. Lex's car was gone! Damn!
"What?" Clark asked, catching up to him.
"Lois is gone, Clark. She left with Lex."
Lana smiled weakly at Martha Kent, as she closed the door to the room she had gotten ready for her. She laid down on the bed and closed her eyes.
But everytime she did, she saw him. Mr. Angelus.
Lana sat up and sighed. Thank God, Clark was alright! How he escaped that monster, she would never understa....
Lana looked over to her right, and picked up a pill bottle off of the nightstand. Antibiotics? For Lois Lane? Lois was here? Lois, who was missing?
Connor stood in the woods surrounding the Luthor mansion. He was on his cellphone to Wesley Wyndam-Pryce again.
"Slow down, Connor! You've seen him? You've seen, Angel?"
"Oh please! Like you didn't know!"
"We did not know where he was! I swear it! Look, I'll be out there with re-inforcements...."
"What happened? Why is he like this? He's lost his soul, hasn't he?"
"No! No, it's the ring! Angel should be wearing a ring with a green stone on it. It's the stone that's making him act like this. Remove the ring, and he should be back to normal. Connor, tell me where you...."
But Connor hung up, trying not to wince from his wounds! Thank God! His father had not turned back into the soulless bastard he was once was, hundreds of years ago! This was a trick of some sort!
He had been so shocked, seeing his father in that classroom, that he had not noticed a ring. Connor put his cellphone back into his pocket, and pushed thoughts of Chloe out of his mind. He had had no choice but to get up and run, wounded. He couldn't let her see that he had the ability to heal much faster than a normal human being.
His thoughts went to Clark, briefly. Clark had not killed Angel either. Why? What happened? How had he allowed Angel to escape unscathed?
One of Lila's henchmen, grabbed the unconscious Angelous's ring finger, snatched it off, then put it into a box.
Angel began to moan and come around, just as Lex helped Lois in through a cellar door. Lilah eyed them.
"Who's this?" she asked. But Lilah knew. Lilah knew everything now.
Lois gave her a cursory glance as well, as Lex eased her into a chair.
"Lex? Who is this? His trainer?" Lois asked, her tone sarcastic.
"Excuse me for just a moment, Lois." Lex said, pulling Lilah out of earshot.
"Your job is done, leave us."
"Uh, no, Lex. You see, while we work for you, there is no way the senior partners want their prized CEO killed. Damaged, maybe, but not killed."
"I have no intentions of killing him."
"I know you don't. But who knows what the Army plans on doing." Lilah answered, giving him a smug look.
"I don't know what you mean." Lex said coolly.
"I think you do. I know all about your deal with General Sam Lane. If any of what you had told me, made any sense in the first place, Lex, I wouldn't have had to dig to find this out. Is that her?"
Lex glanced back at Lois, who was staring at Angel, who had just opened his eyes. He looked back at Lilah.
"Yes."
"Hmmm. Well good luck with that. And someone will be back for Angel."
"Since you know about my 'deal' with the general, then you know that you can't have Angel back. The deal is for both Angel and Connor. And he should be coming along any minute."