Disclaimer: I don't own Superman.
I know, I know, it seems a little odd for Superman to even consider killing Richard, but what matters is that he couldn't and doesn't. He was just desperate and hopeless, like everyone else. But it was quite noble of Richard to try to kill himself for his 'son,' no? This is another alright chapter, I'm feeling a little un-inspired these days. Well, I hope you like it.
Lois read the letter again as she stood by the entrance of the shipyard, holding a suitcase full of bills. It hadn't been easy finding ten thousand dollars, but she had scraped it up. After serious consideration, she had taken seven thousand dollars out of Jason's college funds, and had pulled out one thousand dollars from her bank account. She asked to have a few future paychecks ahead of time from Perry, and had gotten another thousand. Finally, she had another thousand from her cousin Yolanda, after promising to pay her back.
This might have been a hoax, but she was prepared. She had the police in on the situation, and they hid outside the shipyard. When she had first read that letter, hope had seared through her veins like nothing ever had before. After that, the doubts arrived. What if it really was a cruel ruse scam? What if Richard really was dead? Well, it couldn't hurt to see, so she took a deep breath and entered the shipyard, reassured by the several armed men hidden behind her.
Lois didn't like the icy feel of the bay. Something was haunting about these waters, something wasn't right. She felt like she shouldn't be here, like something was wrong with this scene, though she couldn't place it. The calm, silent waters had an eerie green glow.
She walked along the dock, looking for signs of people. She didn't see anything until she reached the last ship, a proud cruise boat. Something was suspicious here, though. The entire dock leading up to it was crushed, absolutely obliterated. Shards of wood littered the ground, and something poked up from the water; something dark green and familiar…
She edged closer and examined it. Among the sharp-edged rocks, there was a shred of…blue cloth?
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind, with not even a scream to set off the police. A piece of cloth gagged her, and ropes spun around her, tying her tight. Something heavy struck her head, and she fainted, with one last thought in her mind; Jason.
Jason sat in the living room, eating the cheese and crackers that had been set out for him by his babysitter, Jenna, who was currently on the phone chatting with her boyfriend, Eric. Jason watched the television aptly, his eyes fixed on the little mouse that Tom could never catch. 'Run, little mouse, run,' he egged the mouse on in his head, smiling as the cat got hit with a frying pan. Clark's puppy, a little German shepherd named Muffy ran in and pounced on Jason, ready to play.
Jason readily agreed, rolling on the floor with the puppy. He was glad it was a dog and not a cat; he used to have a kitten named Scoots, but ended up allergic to him, and tearfully returned him to the pound. Suddenly, Muffy stopped rolling and sat straight up, her ears alert and a growl rumbling deep in her throat. Jason sat up, too, and looked curiously at the dog, who ran to the door and started barking wildly.
Jenna stomped in, her cell phone pressed against her shoulder as she glared at the frantically barking puppy.
"Muffy, be quiet, you'll wake up the entire city/" scolded Jenna, picking up Jason's cheese and crackers and wiping his face with a wet napkin. Muffy lowered her bark to a low snarl, and Jenna swatted her muzzle.
"Muffy, go to sleep," she ordered, pointing to the little doggy bed where Muffy slept. Still growling, Muffy crept to her pillow and flopped down, her ears still pointed to the door.
"I think something's wrong," said Jason timidly. He had never seen Muffy act that way before, but he didn't like it. It was kind of like when his neighbor's dog, Rufus, had attacked the man who was trying to steal Mr. Harrison's money. Muffy went all barky and snarly, just like Rufus.
"Jason, I think you've watched enough cartoons. Go upstairs and brush your teeth, I'll come up in a few minutes to check up on you. And don't forget to use toothpaste," she added as Jason scampered up the stairs. Sighing, Jenna sat back onto the soft leather couch, rubbing her eyes. Out of all the annoying brats she babysat, Jason was the easiest. He was quiet and obedient and listened to everything she said.
Something was making a funny noise right outside the door, though. It kind of sounded like a key trying to unlock it, but different.
"Hello?" she called tentatively, "Mr. Clark? Mrs. Lane?"
The funny noise didn't stop, and Jenna felt something drop in her stomach. She had watched too many break-in movies to not be able to recognize that noise; someone was picking the lock!
As fast as she could, Jenna turned the emergency lock on, which didn't have a keyhole from the outside. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths; panicking under this situation would be terrible. After a few moments, she sprinted to the phone and picked it up to dial 911. As she punched in the nine, something behind her exploded, and she screamed, ducking for cover.
Jason came running down the stairs towards Jenna, who was recovering from the shock. Someone had blown the door open!
"Go upstairs and hide, Jason," she commanded, fear in every word. Shaking, Jason ran part of the way upstairs.
"But what about you?" he called fearfully. She picked up the phone again; those were definitely footsteps coming towards her.
"I'll be fine; just go!" she screamed as she tried to calm her nerves so her fingers would stop shaking enough for her to re-dial 911. 'I better get a raise for this,' she thought, trying to dial. She froze when she heard the distinct click of a gun.
"Stop right there, girly," said the man as a voice came over the phone.
"You have reached the police department, can we help you?"
The man with the gun gestured to the phone, his gestures obvious. Jenna put the phone to her ear and tried to calm her voice.
"I'm sorry, my…my nephew was playing with the phone and must have dialed 911, sorry to disturb you," she said quietly, astounding herself with her composed tone. She hung up the phone and turned to face the man, slowly raising her hands above her head.
"Please don't shoot," she whimpered, "I'm only sixteen."
The man sneered and she closed her eyes, knowing that it was useless. Here she was, going to die a virgin. God, what a horrible way to go down! At least she could have alerted the police and saved Jason! 'See you in heaven, Jason,' she added in her head. She kept her eyes shut, waiting for the pull of the trigger and the fatal shoot. Sweat poured from her temple, and tears dripped down her face.
BANG!
She heard the shot, but didn't feel it. Opening her eyes gradually, hoping that he had been bluffing, she screamed. There, standing in front of her, stood Jason.
"Jason, oh, Jason, you were so young," she cried dramatically. If she was crying before, she was really crying now! She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, sobbing hysterically. To her utter and complete surprise, Jason turned around and patted her shoulder in the quiet and curious way he did everything.
"Jenna? Why are you crying?"
Jenna and the assassin stared at Jason. Looking down, both of them noticed a crumpled bullet. The man in black picked up a walkie-talkie.
"Uuhh…Miss Jennings? Are you sure Richard's son lives here?"
Jason walked over to the man and promptly lifted him up and threw him out the window. Jenna, still kneeling on the floor, stared open-mouthedly. What he did next had her smiling, despite her confusion and astonishment. He leaned out the window to make sure the man was okay. Since it was only on the first floor, he was alright, just terrified out of his mind and a little scratched.
"Sorry, mister," he called to the man who was currently sprinting away. Jason walked back to Jenna and took a breath with his inhaler. Jenna fainted.
Lois woke up, confused and aching. When her vision cleared, it was as if she hadn't woken up at all! Everything was black! It was like being insane…or blind! Was she blind? Lois started screaming uncontrollably.
"Let me out! Let me out! I'm going insane, it's so dark, let me out!" she shrieked, banging her fists on the floor and blinking to see through the darkness. A man cleared his throat.
"Um, Lois? You're facing a wall."
Lois didn't even turn around. That voice…but…but he was dead! Could it possibly be…?
"Richard!" cried Lois in a frenzy of emotion. She flung herself onto Richard, her arms wrapped around his neck as she sobbed onto his shoulder.
"Lois…Lois…calm down, I'm okay! Well, except for this enormous bruise on the side of my head that you are currently pushing!" he yelped, clinging to Lois all the same. She pulled back and wiped the blood and sweat from his face. Looking around, she saw someone else in the room.
"S-superman?" she whispered, reaching out to rest her hands on his broad chest. He placed his hands over hers, holding back. Maybe she wasn't ready.
Apparently she was. She flung herself around his neck, just like with Richard, only with one difference; Clark stumbled back.
Confused, Lois lifted her head and stared at him. Superman never stumbled! Unless…
"Kryptonite," he whispered. She winced. Of course! The bay was absolutely filled with kryptonite! If anyone was trying to kill Superman, this would be the ideal place! She looked at the men again. Richard and Superman, two of the most important men in her life, getting along perfectly fine in this horrible confinement. It was baffling. Superman seemed to read her mind.
"Yeah, well, we both agreed that we have the same goals; keep you and Jason safe," he said, but then a terrible expression overcame his handsome features. Turning around, Lois noticed the same expression on Richard. Dread rested in the pit of her stomach as the same subject popped into her mind; the third of her most important men.
"Jason."
Yeah, I guess I had some confusion with the whole 'switched bodies' thing with Richard, but I heard this crazy story somewhere that a completely burned body can't be identified even by the DNA, but I'm not sure if that's true.
Oh yeah, I'll answer some questions.
malfoysvixen- Yeah, I have a thing with eighteen-wheelers, they just seem like one of the most impressive cars to get hit by, right? Also, Jason went back to sleep after the kitchen scene because it was the middle of the night, sorry if I didn't clear that up. But he said that he couldn't sleep, like Clark.
Angel452and Phoenix Skyborne- I know $10,000 is a little low, but Rachel wasn't after the money. She was sfter revenge, like a surprising amount of fictional criminals. The money was to make it seem like she wasn't after revenge. Honestly, who would come to a threat letter that said,
"Come to the dock at midnight, or I'll kill your fiance. Of course, once you get here, I'll kill you and your fiance, but please come anyway."
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Please leave nice reviews, I like them a lot.
