Disclaimer: I don't own Superman.
Okay, this chapter is a little longer than the others...by about two-thousand words...and I hope you like it. I rather like this chapter. There isn't much Lois/Clark in it, but don't worry, it's coming up. I'll try to answer question as best as I can...but enjoy, and please review.
Lois woke up, startled. She had no idea that she had fallen asleep. Shifting a little, she soon found that movement was impossible. Wriggling, confused, she looked around and stifled a laugh.
She was sandwiched in between both men, all three of them leaning against the wall. Superman had his arm draped around her waist, and Richard had his head leaning on top of hers. Obviously they hadn't fallen asleep like that, since Lois doubted that either would agree to huddle up to her like that with the other man in the room.
In her moment of comfort, Lois had nearly forgotten about their tricky predicament. Once she realized where she was, though, the misery settled in again, and she wished she hadn't woken up.
Wiggling a little, she struggled to escape the captive grip of Superman and the heavy weight of Richard combined. Even in his weakened state, Superman sure wasn't easy to lift off. Richard was even harder. Finally breaking free, she walked around the damp room, looking for a way out. Her search yielding nothing, she squatted down and put her head in her hands. Shaking and whimpering, mighty Lois Lane started to cry.
Jason knew that he shouldn't leave the house, but something felt right about where he was going. Straining his eyes, he struggled to see where his mother was. After blurring and shooting pain through his head, his vision zoomed in to the man that he had thrown out his window previously that night. He was…at the shipyard!
"Well, everything's working out perfectly, daddy dearest," crooned Rachel, filing her nails while talking to Lex over the phone. She smiled and showed her beautifully manicured hands to the bald man on the other side of the glass.
"That's good, very good, dear," said Luthor, "but it's time for the second part of the plan. You will go into space with the billions I left you in your inheritance. Once on board, you will use your men to take over the spacecraft. I have several men working at NASA who'd be more than happy to help. The kryptonite planet should be completing its revolution around the sun, and you should end up right next to it. Once there, find the crystals that Kitty foolishly dropped and bring them back. Using the kryptonite from the bay, we should be able to re-create my genius plan and keep all Kryptonians off of Earth forever! Once Superman is dead, my rein shall begin!"
"Huh…I dunno…I think he's kind of cute. He'd be no trouble at all as long as he's confined in his little kryptonite cage; can I keep him?" chirped Rachel, fluttering her eyelashes at her father, who sputtered with rage.
"No! I don't care what you do with the rest of the family, I don't give a damn if you set them free, but Superman must die!"
"Oh, I don't like that Lois Lane. She's so bossy and stubborn. I don't know what Superman sees in her, anyway. She isn't even that pretty. I bet he just likes her because she's rich. Well, I'm richer than her! Why doesn't he like me?" whined Rachel, blowing bits of dust off of her fresh nails sourly.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you locked him in a cage and threatened everyone he knows and loves! Now stop getting distracted and stick to the plan!" hissed Luthor threateningly, glaring daggers at her. She rolled her eyes and huffed.
"All right, all right, Superman dead and snobby news reporter alive! I got it," she bleated, "Anyway, why are you telling me this? Won't the police figure out what we're up to since you pretty much told them?"
"Well, no. See, I snuck out and hacked into the computer files where they had recordings of what we talked about last visit, something having to do with your aunt's cat, and it's replaying right now. They won't figure out what happened for days, and what are they going to do, give me more time in jail? I have a triple life sentence. Now hurry up and go, we don't have much time," said Luthor slyly, eyeing the guards that lazily watched the prisoners talk to family members.
Clark lay on his back in the middle of the room. He woke up and looked around; he must have shifted during the night. He groaned. Every particle in his being was wriggling to get away from the radiation. In fact, the only reason he was even alive was because he wasn't in direct contact with the material. Wincing, he also concluded that he wouldn't last much longer.
He glanced at Lois and Richard, both asleep. They were huddled together in a corner, shivering from the cold. Clark wished he could help. Heat vision would really come in handy here. Sighing, he turned away from the couple. They belonged together. He had to remember that he wasn't one of them; he was an alien, a foreigner to this planet and, no matter what, he had to avoid all contact with people besides to do his job.
He made a mental note to warn Jason about the dangers of falling in love with a human, but then remembered that Jason wasn't there. The man of Steel wiped a single tear that he shed for his only son.
Jason walked calmly down the street, in spite of the growing darkness and the odd looks he was given. He wasn't afraid, even when an odd-looking man leapt from an alley. He was ragged and holding a gun.
"Give me your money, kid," snarled the man. Jason blinked. Why was the man bothering him? He didn't do anything.
"I haven't got any money," said Jason, trying to sidestep the man, who leered and cut him off.
"Empty your pockets," he growled, gesturing with his gun. Jason pulled out his pockets, revealing nothing but lint and a set of house keys. He had been sure to grab them before leaving; he didn't want to be locked out. The ragged man eyed the keys greedily.
"The keys…give 'em here," demanded the man, holding out a grubby hand. Jason looked at the keys, then at the man.
"But they're not my keys," he said softly, pocketing them. He couldn't just give away Mister Clark's things! It definitely wasn't right. Jason heard a click.
"Gimme the keys or I'll shoot," he warned, shaking the gun. Jason sniffed and took a breath with his inhaler. He pulled out the keys, his hand shaking a little. The hobo held out his hand eagerly, and as Jason reached over, his fingers slipped and he dropped the keys.
BANG!
Startled by the sudden dropping of keys and expecting a trick, the hobo had shot. Gasping, he stared at the kid, who stooped over to pick up the keys like nothing had happened. As he stood to hand them to the hobo, the man started screaming and running away. Jason stared after him, confused, before pocketing the keys and continuing down the street, a crumpled bullet the only evidence of the meeting.
"Well, looks like its time to pop the cork," said Rachel cheerfully, examining her captives. She stopped when she saw Superman, writhing on the floor.
"Huh…I didn't know kryptonite was that strong against him. Too bad he's dying. If I wasn't on strict orders not to, I'd totally date him," she said, standing up again and shooting a smile at Richard and Lois, who were sitting not too far from their blue-clad hero.
As soon as Rachel left the room, Lois moved next to Superman, laying a hand on his chest. She hated seeing him suffer like this; he didn't deserve this. A sob caught in her throat. Richard watched the scene, not daring to interrupt. Lois would gut him if he did, so he stayed still, as worried as he was for his new friend. Suddenly, his foot felt wet.
"Lois!"
Lois looked up to see that the room was steadily flooding. The water was gushing from a crack under the door, which meant that the entire ship was sinking. Gasping in horror, she pulled off her shirt and jeans, stuffing them under the door. Richard did the same thing, leaving the two standing in their underwear. They watched as the flow of water slowed considerably, but didn't stop.
"Well, that should buy us some time," said Lois cautiously, not wanting their good fortune to come back and bite her in the butt. Their flooding problem temporarily solved, she turned back to Superman.
"I don't think he's going to last much longer," she cried in a worried tone. Richard came over and put his arm around Lois' shoulders, letting her cry on him. It was the only comfort he could offer.
Jason wandered around at the dock, feeling a little weak. He took a breath with his inhaler and walked calmly down the wooden planks. Something up ahead caught his attention, and he stared as a ship sank into the depths of the bay. Actually, it wasn't that deep here. Jason walked over to the ship, trying to see through it. After blurring and sending pain to his head, the walls cleared and he saw an indistinct picture of what was inside. He almost couldn't see what was going on, but he noticed something moving. Someone was in there!
Jason dipped a toe into the water, testing to see if it was too cold. It was chilly, but bearable. He slowly lowered himself into the water and swam over to where the ship was. He considered going underwater to save the people, but it was dark down there, and he was afraid. Shivering slightly, he wondered what to do.
The pressure grew, and as Lois and Richard struggled to keep Superman alive, their clothes that were clogging the water burst out, and the room was filling up faster than before. They were chest-high in water, and Lois waded over to the door to try and stuff the clothes back into the crack. Richard kept Superman above water with moderate difficulty.
Lois couldn't stem the flow of the seawater. She waded back to Richard, clinging to him fearfully. This had happened before, only now the hero was trapped, too. Everything seemed so hopeless. The water was now up to their shoulders, and they would have to start swimming soon.
Jason dove deep into the water, telling himself that he was Superman and he had to get the people. Swimming steadily, he made a reminder to thank his mother for making him take swimming lessons three times a week. He made it to the ship's side, and, peering through the small window, saw his mother, father, and Superman trapped inside, struggling to stay above water.
Fear clogged his mind, and he grabbed onto the ship's side, digging his fingers in and pulling as hard as he could. Nothing happened. Fear grew to dread as he saw his family inside swimming and slipping underwater. He pulled again, earning the groan of metal being bent, but nothing more. Dread grew to desperation as he saw his family underwater, their hands pressed against the ceiling of the room, water up to their chins. Tears flowing freely and mixing with the salty water, Jason gave a final pull, throwing every ounce of strength he had into the metal, pulling and pulling until he thought his bones would break.
This time, though, an entire sheet of metal peeled from the wall, leaving space for an adult to slip through. Swimming inside, Jason found his parents, Richard the only conscious one. He looked absolutely stunned to see his son, randomly floating around in the last place possible to find him.
Jason pointed to the gap, and Richard grabbed Lois and Superman, kicking off the ceiling and making his way towards the gap. Slipping out, he swam as fast as he could to the surface, with two deadweights pulling him down. He managed to climb onto the dock, pulling up the pair with an astounding burst of strength.
He and Jason lay on the dock for a full ten minutes, breathing hard. He then wiggled to Lois' side, placing his head on her chest and hearing the reassuring heartbeat. Then, he checked Superman to find another considerably slower, heartbeat. He also noticed that it was slowing steadily.
"Lois? Lois, wake up," he whispered, shaking her. She groaned and sat up, immediately leaning over the dock to throw up. Richard shook Superman.
"Superman? Superman! Get up," he murmured, shaking him also. Unlike Lois, nothing happened. He didn't even stir.
"Lois, nothing's happening! I think he's dying," said Richard anxiously, and she looked around.
"Richard, we have to get him out of here! The bay is stuffed full of kryptonite, and it's killing him," she said, trying to lift Clark. She didn't even come close to picking him up. Richard grabbed him under the arms and also tried, lifting his upper half into the air. Lois scurried around him and lifted his feet.
"Mommy, why are there a bunch of people tied up?" asked Jason curiously.
"What?" Lois looked around, and saw the policemen that were supposed to back her up tied and gagged. She and Richard set Superman carefully in the back seat of the car, then ran to untie an officer.
"What happened?" she asked, looking around. He sat up and rubbed his head.
"It was an ambush, that's what happened! Ma'am, you go home for now, we'll check up on you later, but I need to untie my troops," he said, looking around. Lois nodded and ran back to the car.
"Where do I sit?" asked Jason inquiringly, examining Superman lying in the back seat. Lois looked around the car.
"Here, you can sit on mommy's lap," she said, lifting Jason and securing him against her. He looked back to check on their passenger, and then settled against his mother.
"Mommy, are you mad?" he asked gingerly, feeling suddenly tired. She managed a chuckle and stroked his hair.
"No, sweetie. I'm not mad…but never pull a stunt like that again," she warned, trying to sound stern instead of weak with relief. Her son was alive!
"By the way…how did you pull that stunt?" asked Richard, glancing at Lois, who cringed and looked away. Jason shrugged.
"I pulled on the metal and it came off," he said, wondering what all the fuss was about.
"I knew it," muttered Richard resentfully, "I was right!"
Lois sighed. It had been months, she had finally found a man she had thought dead for half a year, and all he could say was 'I was right'?
"Richard, not that again. Wait a minute…Jason, didn't you feel…really weak?" she asked, confused. Superman's weakness was kryptonite, and Jason was his son…shouldn't that have made Jason helpless?
"Kind of…but not really," he confessed, shrugging. Richard drove on, and Lois recognized where he was trying to go. She set a hand on his shoulder.
"Richard, honey, we can't go to our house," she said softly, hoping he would take it well. He glanced at her, confused.
"Why not?" he asked, bewildered. She took a deep breath, and he felt a sense of alarm.
"Well, after you…after the accident, we started having some financial problems, so I…I sold the house."
Richard gaped at her for a second, then shut his mouth and pulled the car over. He turned to Lois.
"So where do we go?" he asked, feeling a sense of loss. His life had changed in ways he didn't believe possible.
"Jason and I are staying at Clark's house for the time being," she said, and he started up the car again.
"So where's his house?" asked Richard bitterly. It wasn't enough that their house was gone and his relationship with his fiancé was steadily going downhill, she was also staying with another man. Why couldn't it have been with some other woman?
They reached Clark's house, and Jason unlocked the door with the spare key he had brought with him. They entered the house, Richard and Lois carrying in Superman. Lois checked his heartbeat. It was steady, and it was increasing. That was a good sign.
Richard wandered around the house as Lois started up the stove to cook something for him and Jason, and Superman if he woke up. He examined the pictures closely. He had almost forgotten that Clark was Superman, which was revealed by Rachel. It seemed impossible to imagine that Superman was ever a child, but looking at the pictures, Richard found it easy to see Clark as a child.
He walked into the living room, which was connected to the kitchen separated only partially by a bar table. Jason was on his stomach watching cartoons, and Lois was preparing ravioli. It seemed like the incident with the ship had never happened, with the exception that he and Lois were in their underwear. Richard cleared his throat and Lois turned around.
"Oh, Richard, I nearly forgot we left our clothes at the ship," she said abashedly. She left the pasta to cook as she and Richard went to find clothes.
"Now, I have all my clothes, but I guess you don't have yours. It's a long story, and I didn't want to keep all your things because…well, they made me sad, and…I…" she stuttered, and Richard knew what she was trying to say. He hugged her close.
"It's okay, Lois, I'm sure Clark wouldn't mind if I borrowed something of his," said Richard, perfectly aware that Clark was in the next room. Richard walked out to find Clark's room as Lois pulled herself together.
Richard examined the beige wallpaper and neat desk, trying to find a hint of Superman. He even checked under the bed for anything, but nothing popped up. Sighing, he opened the closet and pulled out a T-shirt and some jeans, neither of which looked like they had ever been worn. Putting them on, he turned to leave the room, running straight into…
"Clark," said Richard, even though Superman stood before him. Now that he looked, it was completely obvious. What the hell made Clark think that glasses would be a good disguise? He stared, but couldn't see Clark under the proud, noble face of Superman.
"Richard, we need to talk," said Clark, shutting the door behind him. Richard nodded, a little overwhelmed, and sat down on the bed. Clark was about to sit next to him when he noticed the shirt and pointed wordlessly. Richard looked down at himself and grinned.
"Oh, yeah, sorry, we used our clothes to try and stop up the water in the ship," he said self-consciously. Clark nodded and sat.
"Listen, Richard, you can't tell anyone that I'm Clark, not even Lois. You shouldn't even know, but I can't really stop you from knowing. Well, I either have to kill you, which I don't want to do, wipe your memory, which I really don't want to do…or have your word that you won't tell a soul," he said, and Richard nodded.
"I'd never tell anybody. I know that telling people would get Lois and Jason hurt, and I don't want that. I'll promise to keep your secret if you promise to take good care of my family," said Richard firmly, looking Clark in the eye. Clark nodded.
"Of course," he said, a split second before Lois screamed. Alarmed, both men leapt to their feet and ran to the door as Lois ran over.
"Richard! Richard, Superman is…"
"Over here with me." Richard said, and Lois nearly fainted. Superman and Richard…alone in a room…were they getting along? It appeared fine, as both men were smiling. Richard suddenly appeared grim.
"Lois, we need to talk."
I hope you liked chapter eight, chapter nine will be up as soon as possible. Oh, if you liked this story, check out my favorites list, I've got a bunch of fantastic superman stories there, like Deja Vu, unmasked, and masquerade, all of them great. If the authors are reading this, I'd like to compliment them on their work, the stories were all amazing. Please review
