Ch 13 – Discovery
Clark stuck a pencil in his textbook to mark the page, closed it, and laid it down on the desk. This winter was proving to be an odd one, mixing uncharacteristically warm days with rainy ones. Right now, he was enjoying the rays of sunlight that were pouring into his loft.
Now that school had started again, he found that he was getting a serious case of senioritis. It was getting harder to concentrate on his homework.
He had been shocked to learn that Lois was actually a good student… just not a patient one. If an assignment took her over an hour to complete, she would get aggravated. She'd taken a position with the Community College newspaper, which caused her to spend a great deal of time at the school. Even with those time commitments, she never missed dinner. When Clark had asked her about it, she remarked that once he left home, he'd understand just how life-altering Martha Kent's cooking was.
It was nice to be able to be himself around someone. It didn't mean he missed Pete any less, but at least he could relax in his skin while in his own house. The times when he had tried to show off a bit, she hadn't made a big deal of it at all, somehow aware that it was a blow to his ego. Granted she didn't know everything- just about his speed and strength- but it was still nice to not have to hide. Lois still teased him mercilessly, but they had established an underlying respect for one another, so he returned her remarks with ease and no hurt feelings.
"Kent, are you up there?" Lois yelled, as she stomped up the stairs to his loft.
When she reached the landing, she walked over to him and dropped a folder on his desk.
"Explain this," she demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Clark blinked in surprise at her apparent anger. With the look she was giving him, he was extremely grateful that he was the one with heat vision.
"Lois, what's wrong?" he asked, picking up the folder.
"Open it."
Glancing at her, he opened it to find a highlighted document inside. Looking at it closer, he discovered that it was a Xeroxed copy of a log of visitors to the State Penitentiary. The name highlighted on the paper was his.
"What possible reason could you have for visiting that monster in jail?"
"You don't understand…" Clark began, closing the folder and standing.
"Damn straight, I don't understand! This is the man that killed his parents, then set out to kill my cousin. The latter part, he did while he was behind bars. Chloe seems to think she's home free, but I think she being naïve. And if she's not going to protect herself, then I have to, because I'll be damned if I have to prepare myself for another visit to the grave of someone I care about."
Clark reached a hand out toward her arm in an attempt to slow her tirade. "Lois…"
Swatting his hand away, she moved out of his reach and began pacing.
"This man killed his parents. His parents! And here I find out that his number one visitor is Clark Kent, mild-mannered farm boy. What are you doing? Counseling him?" She faced him and pointed to the folder. "When I decided to research Luthor's visitors for potential threats to my family, the last name I thought I would find was your's. Clark, he's dangerous!"
As Clark opened his mouth to respond, a car horn sounded. They heard the door slam, followed by a shout.
"Hey! Clark, where are you?"
"Up here, Chloe," he responded.
Chloe ran up the steps and paused to catch her breath.
"Chlo, what's wrong?" Lois asked, walking over to her cousin.
"Haven't you guys heard? It's all over the news and the radio! Lionel Luthor killed himself!"
Lois' jaw dropped in surprise. "You're kidding right?"
"No, seriously," Chloe replied, turning in a circle as she scanned the loft. "You really need to get a radio in here, Clark. Clark, are you okay?"
Lois turned back to see Clark slump heavily into his desk chair. His face immediately turned pale, and he dropped his head into his hands. Lois and Chloe exchanged a glance before Lois walked over and perched on the desk next to him.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I realize that this is a shock, but I don't understand your reaction. He can't hurt anyone now."
"Yeah Clark, I didn't think you would be this impacted by the death of the man who's been your family's nemesis since…"
"Chloe, I need you to find Lex," Clark interrupted, with a gruff tone.
Chloe frowned and her mouth twisted into her characteristic half smile. "That's got to be pretty impossible. You told me yourself that Lex changed his cell when he left the country. I can't imagine that he hasn't gotten the news about his father yet, and I don't see him rushing home to mourn a father like Lionel Luther. If Lex doesn't want to be found, there's no way to…"
"I need to find Lex, Chloe. Can you help me or not?"
Chloe, surprised by his short retort, shot a glance at Lois, who was looking at Clark with concern.
"You could try scanning the outbound transmissions from Lex's private plane. FCC monitors them through satellites, so you could probably get a sample of an outgoing call and trace the number. I'm sure GPS would help you pinpoint a location from there," Lois said, her eyes never leaving Clark.
Chloe's gaze darted between the two at the desk. What Lois had said was true. There was no guarantee that it would work, but it was a place to start. She shook her head in wonderment. Lois might actually make it as a reporter some day.
"Yeah. Sure," Chloe replied. "Um, I'll let you know what I find out."
When they heard the car leave, Lois reached for one of Clark's hands, removing it from his face.
"What's going on, Clark?"
Clark sighed and stood up, walking to the loft's railing and staring at the ground below.
"Lionel Luthor wasn't the one in jail."
Lois jumped up from the desk and went over to him. It was just as she feared. "He arranged for a double to take his place in prison, didn't he? And you knew it! Where is he?"
"No," Clark said as he turned to face her. "It wasn't a double. It was Lex."
"Lex Luthor? What are you talking about?"
"The reason my name is on that list so often is because I was visiting Lex. Lionel switched bodies with him and we were trying to figure out a way to reverse it."
Off her unbelieving look, he ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. Right after he took over Lex's body, he left the country."
"So… Lex is dead?"
"No. He killed himself, but he's still alive. Back in his own body."
Lois stared at him for a few minutes without speaking.
"Meeting you has changed my perspective on a lot of things, but I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around this. You're going to have to start at the beginning."
"The beginning, " he repeated.
Clark's eyes reached hers as he made a decision. "Okay. Come on. I need to show you something."
Lana scrawled her signature on the pad and handed it back to the courier. She smiled as she accepted the envelope and turned to walk toward the back area of The Talon, opening it along the way. She stopped when she pulled out an 8x10 photograph and recognized the people in it.
Jason noticed the change in her expression and walked over to her.
"Lana, what is it?"
"You tell me." She handed him the photograph. "The time stamp on that photo is the day before we met. You told me that your mother was in The Hamptons."
Jason's jaw muscles tensed as he looked at the photo.
"Why did you lie to me?"
"Let's go upstairs," he said, reaching to lead her in that direction.
"Why?"
"Lana, please," he implored, using his eyes to indicate the other people in the shop. "I promise. I'll explain everything."
Once inside her apartment, Lana stood facing him, looks of anger and betrayal warring on her features.
"So, when you told me that your mother was in The Hamptons, was that a lie?"
Jason sighed. He knew that if there were going to be any hope of him reaching Lana with what he needed to say, he would have to come clean first.
"Yes."
Lana's mouth dropped open and she turned away from him.
"My mother was supposed to be in The Hamptons. I unexpectedly ran into her that day, but that was the end of it. I didn't even know you yet, Lana. When all of this stuff with Isabel and the tattoo started happing, I didn't see the connection. I'm sorry."
"You know how I feel about people who can't be honest with me," she said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you. Lana, turn around please. Look at me."
"I think you should go. Leave your key on the table." Without another word or a glance, she walked to her bedroom and closed the door.
Jason rubbed his jaw and took a final look at the photo before setting on the counter. Taking out his key ring, he removed the key to the apartment and left it on top of the photo.
tbc
