NOTE: Hey guys. Thanks for your responses and here's chapter 12. This was a fun one to write, I must say :). And even though it looks like I'm bringing in a 'bad guy', I'm not really. Just bringing in some action for the end of this piece of the story. Please review and tell me what you think (I would appreciate it)! Enjoy!
javaman: Thanks! Here's your chap...
Jedi X-man Serena Kenobi: Thank you as always and I hope to read your story soon. I've been busy but I'll try to get to it as soon as possible :).
Nightcrawler8: Heh heh. Yup. She's remembering. We'll see what happens in I think maybe 2 chapters from now...I'm not sure...
Nette: You'll have to read and find out! But I won't resolve that until a couple chapters from now I think. We'll see ;). Thanks for the review!
Angel452: All in good time, my friend, all in good time. Lol.
queequeg1013: Ah, thanks. You're very kind to say all those things :). It's very encouraging and much of a writing boost for the brain. I won't tell you everything concerning the confrontation that will come up eventually, but I will say I will handle it with care and I don't think you have to worry at all :).
Maddi-B: It's always nice to read your reviews. Thanks!
Perry White called Clark into his office. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Lois was there also. She was sitting in front of Perry with her characteristic posture: legs crossed and her hands folded on her lap. He saw her head move to look back at him then stop. Oh yes, she was trying hard to keep things normal and not let any of the sharp eyes of Perry or other reporters see anything suspicious.
"Clark, sit down," said Perry. "You and Lois did a decent job as partners before you left, so I decided to try it again." He stood and paced in the short distance between the walls in front of them. "I already told Lois about this, but I want you two to investigate these disappearances…"
"Disappearances?" interrupted Clark.
Perry grunted. "Where've you been, Clark? You're a reporter, not a secretary! Two people have gone missing with suspiciously similar circumstances in the past three days. Whoever is behind it did it real quiet-like to avoid Superman as much as possible. The criminals of Metropolis are having to get smarter to get away with anything these days. They had five years of just police and such after them, but now Superman's back."
"And they'll definitely not get away from him," Lois said, pointedly not looking at Clark. "Lex Luthor can't even beat him."
"But he still keeps coming back," said Clark.
"This isn't about Lex Luthor; this is about the kidnappings! The city waits in horror as an unknown fate comes to two of their own innocent citizens…" Perry stopped and looked at his reporters. "Well, I suggest you get on it as soon as possible."
"Right, chief," they said in unison.
Clark was close on Lois's heels as they stepped out of Perry's office. "Hey Lois, did you know about this?"
"A little bit."
"Uh…I guess I was a little…preoccupied." He had not really been aware of as much once he found out Lois had chosen him over Richard.
"It's okay. You can't do everything all at once." She glanced around. "I'm sure the two women will be all right. Let's talk about it at my desk. I have more information there you can read."
As Clark scanned the reports on the disappearances at lightning speed, Lois scrutinized him. His lank hair kept falling over his brow and his eyes were so deeply blue she could lose herself in their piercing depths. She wanted to pull off his glasses and look openly at his familiar face, the face that had haunted her so often during his absence.
She thought back to when Jason was born.
She was lying in a hospital bed, the white linens pulled up to her waist and her back propped up against a mound of pillows. A glistening sheen of sweat covered her skin and her dark waves were tried back. But she had already forgotten the hours of labor and suffering for she held her baby boy in her arms.
His eyes were closed, and he was still in sleep. My dear Jason. She stroked his soft, round cheek with a slender finger.
His eyes opened. She gasped to see how brilliantly blue they were. It reminded her of the still-sore wound in her heart and the man who had caused it; if man he could be called.
The door began to open, and she half expected Superman to walk in, in all his glory. Instead, Richard quietly closed the door behind him and beamed at her son.
"Lois, are you feeling all right?" asked Clark.
She broke out of her reverie. "Oh, yes I'm fine."
"You may not want to stare at me like that. It's sort of suspicious." He had trouble hiding his grin.
A faint blush rose in her cheeks. "Did you finish?"
"Yeah." He leaned back. "Why these two women? They don't seem connected…"
"Well, I guess we'll have to find that out."
Clark went home with Lois under pretenses of their project, but no one knew they would not have done that before Lois's discovery of Clark Kent's secret. No one had really noticed the gap between her and Richard yet at the office except Perry who heard from Richard himself.
She and Clark were leaving the Daily Planet to pick up Jason. His eyes brightened when he saw his mother was not alone in the car. He trotted over and clambered into the backseat.
"Hey Superman." He set aside his backpack.
Clark laughed. "Hey Jason. How are you?"
"Good." He leaned in-between the front seats and handed Lois a paper.
She glanced over it then looked at her son. "Way to go, kiddo!" She smiled at Clark. "A's in most everything."
Clark looked at the grades. PE was low again. He was only momentarily disappointed because he knew in time his son would have no trouble physically.
"That will change in a few years," he told Lois, tapping the paper where the D glared up at them.
She smiled. "Will it? He's going to have to hold back a lot then."
"If I made it through high school, he can."
"I'm just glad you'll be there to help when I can't."
"Mommy, are we going yet?"
Lois realized they were still parked on the curb while most the kids were gone. "Sorry, I was distracted. Yes, we're going." She pulled out too fast in front of another car, making them slam on the brakes. "Jason, don't ever drive like your mother," she muttered.
Clark's eyebrows just rose up on his brow, and he looked away. Then he frowned when he glanced back. The SUV they were in front of was now riding on their tail, and he saw the man's angered expression.
"It may be annoying," he said, "but he doesn't have to get so upset about it. It happens to everyone."
Lois was a bit worried after driving down a few streets and the man was still close behind. "What is he doing? I can't really apologize."
Jason tried looking back too but was too short to see. "What's happening?"
"Oh, just a consequence for bad driving," she said. "He better leave us alone soon."
They were not far from the house when Clark motioned for her to pull to the side of the road.
"Let him pass."
"Pass? I don't think he'll pass…" She did it anyway and held her breath. She turned to look at Jason when the large SUV pulled beside her. "Jason, stay there."
He didn't look at all disturbed. "Okay. Mister Clark will take care of us, won't you?"
Clark shared a brief look with Lois, and she felt steadied and safe again by that look. "Of course. I have to be careful though." He was suddenly aware of a looming figure stalking around towards Lois's window. His blood was stirred on her behalf, and he unbuckled his seat belt and laid a hand on the door.
The man had a dark brow, eyes, and mass of curly hair. His lips were thin and his skin bronzed by the sun. His harsh features seemed harsher by his anger. He vigorously motioned for her to roll the window down.
"Don't…" Clark began.
But she did about an inch. "Look, I'm sorry I cut you off but…"
"Don't talk to me about sorry! You da…"
Clark burst out of the car. He could not stand it anymore even if he did have to still be Clark Kent. He would not let that man rant at Lois Lane like she was a piece of trash.
"Sir, you really should be more polite," he swiftly interjected.
The man rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure." His attention was no longer on her, and Clark smiled grimly at his success. He swaggered over to Clark—who was at least a few inches taller—and eyed him up and down. "You got a problem?"
"Well, I'm not the one apparently." He pushed his glasses up. "Sir, please calm down and talk nicely to her."
The man snorted and took a menacing step forward. "Your girlfriend? Well, you need to tell her to learn to drive! You think you can just make things better?" He took another step.
"No, no that's not exactly it…"
"Really? You want to mess with me?" He had forgotten the height difference and did not think to notice how small he looked against Clark's large frame, the muscles hidden by his big coat. He also did not see the blazing blue fire in those eyes.
Lois watched with open mouth and a thrill went up her spine. There was a tingling tension in the air ready to shatter. Clark's timid, clumsy manner had completely fooled the enraged driver, yet she saw the danger coming his way. Watch out, bucko. It's Superman you're bullying. She stifled a laugh.
"No sir, I want you to not lose your temper and go on your way. There's a child in the car…"
"Lose my temper?" He pressed his lips together in frothing fury. "I'll show you temper!"
The muscular man lashed out without warning,a clenched fist aimed at Clark's abdomen. Lois leaned forward before she remembered he was Superman: what was there to be worried about?
A piercing cry of pain shred the air. His fist had struck Clark in the stomach and hit a solid wall like steel. He cradled his hand and muttered curses under his breath.
"Gee, are you all right? You may need to get that looked at." Clark's eyes flickered with amusement.
The man was clearly not thinking straight. He punched again with his other hand towards his face. Clark's hand caught his wrist in a crushing grip the instant it moved.
"Now, violence is not the answer, my friend. Next time try taking a deep breath and…" he released the man and stepped back, "…get over it. I don't want to hurt you, so please accept the lady's apology, return to your vehicle, and let us be."
He said nothing and massaged his wrist as he started his car and drove away.
Clark got back in the car. "People these days just aren't very polite. I wish they would slow down and take it easy." He noticed the silence. "What?"
Lois turned in her chair at work when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Clark, I'm not finished…Oh. Hi Richard."
"Hi Lois. I wanted to ask if I could spend time with Jason tomorrow."
"Sure. You can pick him up from school." She tilted her head in thought. "Do you have to ask? Or you could have asked tonight if you felt the need."
He shook his head. "Sorry if I bothered you, but I just wanted to make sure and I was passing by anyway…"
She waved him off. "Look, Richard, it's fine. Really. You don't have to ask. Just tell me when you're taking him out for the afternoon or whatever. You're still a father to him, and he'll be excited."
"You think so?"
She wondered at how quickly he had fallen into a distant surrender. Or he was testing the waters. "He loves you a lot and misses how things were. He may not say it, but I can see it sometimes when he's not occupied."
Richard's face brightened a little. "I'm glad. It'll be good to be with him."
"Hey Clark!"
Clark waved to Jimmy Olsen. "Hey Jimmy."
"Did you hear about Lois?"
"What about her? She's okay, right?"
"I guess." He leaned closer in a secretive manner. "Her and Richard are…you know…separated."
"Oh, yeah. I know."
"How is that? They hadn't told anyone till today."
"Well, you know…we are partners again so she probably felt it was okay to let me know first since I don't exactly talk to everyone and it was kind of obvious since they haven't been around each other here at work. I may not have even been the first to know, I mean, Richard was the first obviously."
"Right," Jimmy said with some confusion. "Anyway, I thought I'd tell you because I have a theory."
"A theory?"
"What caused our so-named separation."
"Oh…"
"We all know—it's common knowledge right—that she fell in love with You-Know-Who long before Richard, and now that he's back…she's still in love and can't stay with Richard White." He sighed. "Poor guy. How would you like to compete with a super kind of guy like Superman?"
Clark made a strange noise of agreement. "Um, did she tell you that?"
"No, she didn't have to. You're working on the kidnappings, right?"
"Yeah, with Lois."
"Good luck. I hope Superman finds them soon."
Clark lowered his head and fingered the pen in his hand. "Me too."
NOTE: Up next, something happens with Jason...
