Disclaimer: I don't own Superman.

Okay, this might not be my greatest chapter, but then again it might. It's frustratingly teasing, and don't be mad at me, you know you love it. It's a little sappy, but I like it. If you look into the situations, you would be doing the same thing.


Superman flew silently and made sure to stay in the shadows. It would've been smarter to have worn black, but seeing Superman in black outside the dock would make a front page story, and attention was the last thing he wanted. He circled the dock a few times, scanning ships and boxes with his X-ray vision.

Tomorrow night was when Lois was supposed to come, had she opened the letter. He couldn't let that happen; Lois meant the world to him, and he wouldn't risk her life. The entire time at the zoo, he had been thinking hard about what the villain could possibly want. They hadn't mentioned him…so that meant that they may be just after Lois. But what could Lois possibly do that offended anyone? Did they hold a grudge against Richard?

The only reason that kept him from thinking that they were after Lois was the fact that Lois and Superman happened to be the 'hit couple of the universe.' Poor Richard; marrying a woman who was pushed to be with someone else. I mean, who could ignore the crazed fan sites that stuck him and Lois together constantly, getting rid of Richard in any way possible?

It didn't seem to make any sense. He couldn't even enjoy a day at the zoo with his beloved family, so worried was he that they were in danger. The only way he made it through the day without smashing something to smithereens was by reassuring himself that he would check the shipyard for anything suspicious.

There was nothing here. He furrowed his brow and tried examining the area more closely. Nothing, not even a person popped out. Suddenly, though, he noticed something; there was one single ship he just couldn't see through. Frowning, he tried again, with no results. It must be lined with lead! It would have to be a very thin layer, though, if the boat were to be able to float.

He floated cautiously towards the dock, wary of an ambush; but what could they do? Shoot him? He flew faster. And faster. And faster.

Clark sped at an amazing speed towards the dock, pressed by urgency and worry. Abruptly, something hit him; he wasn't doing this. This wasn't flying! This was falling!

Yelping, he shielded his face with his arms, bracing for impact. But getting punched by Luthor on the island of Kryptonite was nothing compared to this; he struck the dock at an astounding speed, smashing it to bits and ending up underwater. Unconscious for a few moments, he floated there. Then, his eyelids flickered open, and he groaned, issuing a series of bubbles.

Something was jabbing him in the back painfully. He slowly slid a hand beneath him; and felt the jagged sharpness of a familiar stone that he would recognize anywhere.

Unconscious grappled with will, and he struggled to stay awake. Lois and Jason were in danger, as well as Richard. He had to live…for his family.

He felt a sudden jerk on his cape, and dreamed that it was Lois pulling him to safety again. When the first burst of air entered his lungs, he knew he would live, and promptly passed out.

It seemed to be hours until he finally woke up. Clark looked around; it was dank and dark, and he felt metal under him. By the steady rocking, he concluded that he was in a boat. Wearily, he squinted and tried his X-ray vision, and sighed. Of course he was in the lead-lined boat. But there was something else here, too; something well-known and unwanted; something his body squirmed to be away from involuntarily…kryptonite. He growled. What the hell else was packed into the walls of this boat?

He froze when he heard something else move in the room. Sitting up a little and looking around, he saw someone that made his jaw drop. There sat Richard, trying to wedge his arms out of the ropes that tied him to a wooden chair.

Clark ran over and pulled the duct tape off of Richard's mouth. Richard opened his mouth and clenched his teeth for a minute, wincing. Clark shrugged.

"Don't…Superman…it's a trap!" he managed to say once he recovered a little. Clark sighed.

"Well, duh, I figured that out now," he said unhappily. He and Richard turned when they heard a door open. A blonde woman stepped down from the stairs. Clark lunged forward to rip her to shreds when she pulled out a knife and struck him in the arm, reaching out with the other hand to push him back like a child.

"Now, why do you seem so urgent to go, Superman? Or should I say, Clark Kent?" she murmured, and Richard turned to stare at Clark, whose noble face didn't even twitch. Damn, did everybody know? How did Lois still not know?

"What do you want with me?" he demanded, then stopped and fell silent. Usually, when villains kidnapped him or held him captive, he recognized them from something criminal they did, or knew that they were trying to take revenge on him. Lex Luthor was a familiar face by now, but he only remembered this woman from…

"Rachel? Rachel Jennings?" he asked confusedly. He stared at her, trying to place what looked so familiar about her. She laughed, and took a step forward.

"Actually, if my father had married my mother, my name would be Rachel Luthor," she said, giggling a little. Clark mentally rolled his eyes. How did it seem that everybody was out to get him? And, more importantly, how many other relatives did Luthor have?

"Okay, fine, Rachel Luthor slash Jennings, what do you want with me?" he hissed a second time, and she smiled sweetly.

"Only what my father wanted; revenge. You stuck dear old daddy in jail, when I could have inherited his empire! You foiled his plots again and again, and you just expect me to sit back and watch? Well, now who's holding the cards?" she asked, walking forward and slapping Clark. He fell back, weakened by every passing moment in the horrible ship.

"And guess what the best part is? I get to be the criminal that kills the famous team, Lois and Superman!" she squealed, clapping her hands together in mock glee. Clark laughed bitterly.

"So where's Lois?" he said confidentially. Rachel only smirked, and his heart sank. How long had he been out?

"Actually, she'll be arriving tonight. Someone didn't throw away the letter, did he? Only twelve hours until every one of you is dead. Even your little boy," she added, nodding at Richard, who seemed speechless. Rachel seemed to bask in the pain and horror that emitted from him. Clark didn't even move, though inside he was screaming. Why didn't he shred that letter? He had just left it there, unopened, on the floor as Lois ushered him and Jason out.

She smirked and tossed Clark the knife, who stared at it suspiciously, ready for another trap.

"Maybe if you do my job for me and kill off Mr. White here, just maybe I'll let the little boy live,"

With that, she turned and shut the door, leaving the two men alone in the light of a tiny window. With the enemy gone, Clark slumped against the wall and slid down, resting on the floor with his head against the wall. Richard's voice carried faintly from behind him.

"You're…you're Superman…isn't there anything you can do?"

Clark slowly dragged himself to his feet, turning to face Richard with a mixed expression of defeat and desperation. He raised the knife.

"Yes…there is."

"Clark's been missing all night and all morning…where could he be?" asked an anxious Lois. Just when life seemed to be heading back towards normal, something happened. All the men in her life seemed to be disappearing. She sat down at her desk and laid her head in her folded arms.

"It's alright, Miss Lane, I'm sure the police will find him," crooned a comforting Rachel Jennings, patting Lois on the shoulder. Lois raised her head wearily and shot a grateful smile at Rachel.

"Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without a friend like you," said Lois. Rachel smiled.

"Well, it's the least I can do after we spent so much time together," she said. 'Talking about Superman,' she added in her head. Where else would she find out that his weakness was kryptonite, or that he couldn't see through lead? The bay had been the perfect place to spawn her evil plan, being filled with chunks of kryptonite since her father's island was carried off. Everything was going perfectly.

Clark stood by Richard's chair, stumbling in his attempt to stand. He hated himself for this, hated the very idea of this, but he loved Jason over his own life, and would do anything for him. With a shaking hand, he placed the knife over Richard's throat, swallowing and breathing deep to stay conscious. This was his only chance to save Jason, but it would make him a killer. Would Lois hate him after the misery of finding her beloved fiancé dead?

He looked up into Richard's clear eyes, filled with tears like his own. He didn't resist when Richard slipped out the hand that he had worked free and gently pried the knife out of his hands. Then, he raised it to his own throat.

"Before I die, I need to tell you something. If I could choose one person on this planet to watch over the love of my life and my son, I would choose no one less than Superman," he said meaningfully, and Clark blinked back the tears that blinded him.

Richard took a deep breath and pulled the knife back to stab it into his heart, but this time Clark stopped him. A terrible realization had struck him.

"It isn't worth anything, anyway. If you die, Jason dies. If you don't die, Jason still dies. Why would she leave him alone when there's nothing to stop her from erasing everything we care about?" he asked dully. Richard nodded, but didn't seem any more relieved. He looked like he would rather have died than hear this, but he knew it was true. Clark miserably cut the rest of Richard's ropes. What were they going to do?


Neh, it's an okay chapter, but I'm not sure what you guys like. Maybe you'll love this chapter. Okay, let's see a show of hands who hates Rachel, please. Leave nice reviews, they inspire me! But mean reviews make me want to die. Or kill. Your pick. Either way, gentle reviews, please!