Hello, everybody! This update is coming a bit late thanks to a very busy schedule, and I'm afraid it'll be the only update this week. That crazy thing called Real Life has been calling my name loudly; I haven't even had a chance to write for the past three days. My poor trapped muse!
Two long chapters last week should've made up for this one short offering, though (*wink*).
I grant him bloody,
Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful,
Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin
That has a name.
-Shakespeare, "Macbeth"
It was soon clear that nothing definite could be done about Luthor's "research," at least for now. Going through the file Bruce Wayne gave him, Clark was able to find out when and how Luthor got a hold of the spaceship's ruins. An incognito stroll past a certain LexCorp warehouse on the other side of town even told him where the specimens were kept.
The only other person who knew about his findings was Wayne himself. Clark figured Wayne would be the best ally he'd gained since Perry White learned his true identity.
Still, they couldn't do anything about what they knew. The idea of untrustworthy men going over the remnants of Krypton was unnerving, but Clark's respect for private property prevented him from breaking into the warehouse and smashing whatever Luthor's scientists were studying, no matter how much Bruce Wayne or Lois wanted him to do it.
He still didn't know if it even concerned him. For all he knew, they could be harvesting a new bioengineered material from the remains, to use for good purposes here on Earth. Still, he found himself very thankful that he'd gotten rid of Zod's body after the battle.
Lois, thanks to her more frequent outings with her mother, reported the young billionaire was definitely still interested in her, but not in talking about Superman. That was a disappointment. Clark needed to know how much Luthor knew about him and Krypton, even if he still didn't like Lois' methods of charming the egotistical businessman.
An unfortunate incident took place in a few weeks later that threw their "investigation" into total confusion.
It was an ordinary work day-ordinary except for the fact that Perry had asked her to report on a LexCorp press conference. Luthor was buying out a steel manufacturing firm and the news had made serious headlines. The press conference would simply feature Lex Luthor and the former owner of the bought-out firm giving further details about the deal.
Lois knew there'd be no chance for her to actually speak with him, but she figured it wouldn't hurt for him to see her face. He did still seem interested in her, though why, after she'd smacked him down at her mom's New Year's party, she wasn't really sure.
Just my great good luck, I guess.
The press conference was being held in the huge LexCorp headquarters a couple of blocks from the Daily Planet office; Lois took her place within the press pool and got to work with her camera and her notebook. She took the moment to study Lex Luthor as he gave his part of the conference. He was certainly a calm, cool-headed professional when he needed to be.
She was raising her Nikon when a sudden popping, cracking sound exploded behind her. Lois whirled but could see nothing but panicked individuals ducking for cover; the man beside her, a stranger, grabbed her arm and jerked her to the floor.
"Everybody run!" someone shouted; maybe it was Luthor, but Lois didn't bother to look for him now. She leaped to her feet with the rest of the journalists and dashed for the nearest exit, recognizing the roar of an automatic rifle as ceiling lights exploded in showers of glass. Both exits were clogged with people trying to escape the unseen shooter.
Clutching her camera, she finally staggered into the hallway outside the conference room with nearly a dozen other breathless men and women. She grabbed a slim young man who stumbled against her, his hand clutching his side; blood trickled through his fingers.
"It's okay, it's okay," she gasped, trying to hold him up. She glanced at the frightened people around her. "We've got to get out of the building-now-and somebody with a phone, call the police-"
"Look out!" one of the women shrieked. Lois jerked her head up and saw a man at the other end of the hallway. His form was silhouetted against the light behind him and he held a huge machine gun.
"Go, go, go!" she shouted, all but shoving her injured companion into a stronger, taller man's arms. She gave a start as she made eye contact with Lex Luthor. He was white as the collar of his shirt.
Before either of them could speak the shooter opened fire. The fugitives took off. One of the reporters crashed to the floor without a cry; a woman in high heels just behind Lois screamed and held her shoulder. Lois jerked her through a fire exit and into the bright afternoon sun . . .
But as soon as Lois gasped in relief at the sight of the alley between the skyscraper and itsneighbor, she felt a strong hand clamp down on her shoulder and jerk her backwards. Her companions cried out in horror as a heavy arm locked around her neck. A pistol jammed against her temple. Lex Luthor took a step forward, fear mingling with anger in his sharp features.
"Stand back, or I'll shoot," Lois' captor growled.
Luthor froze. The man who'd pursued them through the hallway leaped out of the building and tackled him. Lois dared not make any move that might be construed as resistance. Two more men, hooded and masked like Luthor's captor, appeared and pointed their guns at the terrified journalists.
"Luthor is the one we want," Lois' captor, obviously the leader, snapped in a heavy accent.
"Take him to the car. If he makes one wrong move we'll shoot her"-and here he jabbed the pistol deeper into Lois' head until she let out a cry of pain.
"Don't hurt her, she hasn't done anything wrong," Luthor said calmly.
"Shut up," the man snarled. "Get him moving, and keep-"
Before he could finish, the hand that held the pistol to Lois' head was jerked back. The gun went off, the bullet shattering one of the windows above. The man's arm tightened to a stranglehold on her neck, but only for a second as that, too, was wrenched away from her and her captor gave a grunt of pain. Lois fell forward on her knees and looked over her shoulder to see Kal-El drag the man up by the collar and fling him several yards away into the getaway car parked further down the alley. Luthor's captor flung the businessman to the ground and raised his automatic.
"Look out!" Lois screamed. Clark whirled; the bullets hit him in the chest and ricocheted off the skyscraper; Lois covered her head and heard the journalists screaming. His cape brushed against her as he slammed into the shooter, snatching up the rifle and breaking it over his knee.
"Let's see how brave you are without a gun!" Clark roared, jerking the man to his feet and tossing him like a rag doll. Without waiting for a response he attacked the last two thugs and knocked their heads together. Both crumpled, unconscious. Clark twisted the ends of both guns together and tossed them at the hoodlums' feet.
"Are you all right?" he asked, extending his hand to Luthor.
"I'm fine," Luthor muttered, getting to his feet by himself. Blood trickled from his lip. Clark drew his hand back and hurried instead to Lois. She took his hand and staggered against him, not caring for the moment who saw it.
"Are you all right?" he whispered. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." She couldn't get anything else out; she was shaking from head to foot. He gently pushed her away from him and gave her a reassuring smile before Luthor approached them, irritated.
"Well?" he snapped. "Are you going to gather up your suspects, or just leave them free to walk off?"
Clark said nothing, merely giving Luthor a patient, somewhat indulgent look before he stepped towards Lois' captor and jerked the groggy man to his feet. Lois brought a trembling hand to her face, trying to push her disheveled hair from her forehead. Luthor stepped closer.
"Not the first time he's saved your life, I believe," he sneered.
"But the first time he's saved yours," Lois snapped, too shaken to keep her cool with him.
Luthor glared daggers at her before turning to the traumatized reporters huddled behind them. Lois decided to follow Clark, knowing even as she did that it was a bad idea . . . but really, the damage was already done. Kal-El had saved Lex Luthor, yes, but he'd also saved Lois Lane, and in full view of people capable of shotgunning the story all over the city.
So much for successfully keeping their friendship out of the public eye for so long.
It had been two weeks since the shooting at the LexCorp headquarters. Blame had been laid on a group of foreign rabble-rousers who'd planned on taking Luthor hostage in the hopes of a huge ransom.
Interest in Superman and Lois Lane, however, had the power of eclipsing even something as horrific as a shooting and a high-profile kidnapping. Lois felt like she'd been approached by every nosy reporter in town. Everyone wanted to know what it was like being rescued by Superman again. Clark stayed far away from the office and her apartment. She hadn't seen him in several days and felt antsy without him.
A visit to her mother's favorite theater was her first leisure outing since the shooting, but she accepted Annie's invitation only because her mother mentioned-pointedly-that Luthor would be there. Lois wasn't sure if he'd have anything to do with her now, but she figured it was worth a try.
From where she sat in Annie's box she could see him in the opposite one, wearing a flawless tuxedo and flirting-quietly-with a gorgeous European woman at his side. The woman seemed to be enjoying it, but Lois noticed he kept glancing in her direction. She gave him what she hoped was a gracious nod before focusing on the prima donna's ear-splitting aria.
At the intermission, someone knocked on the box door. Annie, dressed to the nines and clearly having the time of her life, called, "Come in!" When Lois turned to see who it was, she wasn't at all surprised to find herself face to face with Luthor.
"Ms. Sarkowski," he said, bowing smoothly to her mother. "A pleasure to see you here . . . are you enjoying the opera?"
"It's delightful," Annie said, fanning herself with her program. "Who is your companion?"
Luthor smile and lowered his voice. "A French air-head whose father is about to make an investment deal with Yours Truly. I only took her out of politeness. How do you think I'm managing it, Miss Lane?"
Lois smirked. "Your date seems to be having a good time."
"It would be more pleasant with someone of higher intelligence," he replied.
"Perhaps you might invite the mademoiselle to sit with me for the second act?" Annie asked slyly. "I do know enough French, after all, to get me through a conversation."
"It would be worth a try, wouldn't it?" he said with a knowing laugh. "What do you think, Miss Lane?"
Lois forced herself to shrug and put on a demure smile. He needed no further encouragement and left to make the appropriate suggestions to his date. Lois took a deep breath, trying to hide her surprise at this turn of events. Annie leaned closer to her.
"It's good to see you using your head with him," she whispered. "He's not one to throw away lightly."
"Even considering his reputation with the fairer sex?" Lois whispered back.
"Oh, heavens, you are cynical," Annie snapped.
Luthor returned with his date in tow; the French woman greeted Annie with a warmth that made Lois think she might actually be a pleasant person. She, however, had to carry out her strategy, and went with her new companion to his box. She sat down and crossed her legs, fixing her eyes on the elaborate stage and not on him as he sat down beside her.
"I'm glad to see you're still willing to associate with me," he said, leaning forward in an attempt to catch her eye. "You know, you aren't anything like I was told."
Lois gave him a coy smile. "Really? What have you heard?"
"That you're the toughest reporter in the business. You're not the romantic type. You have no qualms about telling someone what you think of them. I've learned from first-hand experience that that part, at least, is completely true."
She tossed her head with a flirtatious laugh. "I've never been one to suffer fools lightly."
"No indeed," Luthor said, still looking hard at her as he leaned forward on his knees. "I think you're a woman of great sense."
Lois smiled as the lights dimmed and the curtains went up again. "Thank you."
"And I don't think even you are one to be dazzled long by Olypmian good looks or a pretty red cape," Luthor added. "You've seen too much of the world to put so much faith in even the best intentions. Which is why I have a proposition to make . . . "
Lois bit the corner of her lip. If they kept talking like this, they'd attract attention and a chorus of shushing-but Luthor clearly wanted to talk about Superman and she wasn't about to waste the opportunity. She crooked her finger at him and stood; he followed her out of the box and into the narrow corridor, shutting the door behind him.
"All right," she whispered smoothly. "The proposition . . . what do you want?"
"Your help," he whispered back.
"Which means . . . ?"
"I want your full account of what happened during the Battle of Metropolis."
Lois was genuinely surprised. "I wrote volumes about it during the three or four months after the battle. Everything anyone would need to know is probably there."
"No no," he said with a knowing smile. "I want the full account-and I'll pay handsomely for it."
He lifted a wallet from his breast pocket and held it out to her. She stared contemptuously at it, then back at him.
"I don't want your money," she said. "And really, I have no idea what you're talking about. What could you possibly want to know that I didn't already write about?"
Luthor leaned his arm against the wall behind her head. "Your mother's told me things . . ."
"What kind of things?" she demanded, sharper than she intended.
He smiled; it wasn't a pleasant expression, thanks to a new hardening in his grey eyes. "She told me that, not long after the battle, you told her some things you left out of your stories. Things like a certain episode on General Zod's ship. Something about Superman weakening in an environment he couldn't adapt to . . ."
Lois felt sick to her stomach.
"Your mother said the man was completely incapacitated, according to you. Vomiting blood, finally passing out cold. She didn't say what exactly it was that caused such a reaction, though, or why he regained his strength. Interesting."
"Why is that any of your concern?" she snapped.
"Because I need Superman to know that he has no power in this city-or in this world, for that matter," Luthor retorted, grabbing her arm. "He's dangerous the way he is, uncontrollable, unlimited. And these saccharine ideals of truth and justice and hope-" he spat the word out "-they'll turn the heads of the masses until they can't be controlled."
"Let go of me!"
But Luthor didn't let go; he kept his hand firmly locked on her arm and pushed her up against the wall. Her heart was in her throat and she forced herself to look him in the eye, ready to fight.
"You know who controls this city, Miss Lane," he hissed. "An alien Boy Scout in a red cape won't change that. In fact, you can warn him that the day's coming fast when he'll get down on his knees in front of me like he did before Zod and beg for mercy."
Infuriated, Lois fought his grip, and after a few seconds of impassioned writhing broke free. She tossed her hair, glaring murderously at him. Luthor tilted his head back, contemptuous.
"I warn you, I'll keep up the pressure. You will give me the whole story, like a good reporter, even if it takes you a few months to come to your senses. Don't worry, I can be very patient."
"I'll tell him," Lois threatened. "And then whatever you're planning will go the way of Zod's world engine."
"You won't breathe a word," he whispered. "If you set him on me, it'll just set off a domino effect that not even he can stop. Don't try it, Miss Lane . . . not if you want to watch those closest to you suffer the consequences."
Lois' blood ran cold at the eery, probably unintentional echo of Zod's transmission.
"If you know what's good for Perry White, your mother, or this Midwest stringer Annie says you've been seeing, you'll keep quiet." Luthor smirked. "An age-old trick, hiding the real affair with a fake boyfriend . . . very clever. Just take care I don't blow your cover."
Oh no, no . . . if he takes one long look at Clark . . .
Lois hardly remembered Luthor leading her back into the box. She sat down heavily, glad the theater was dark. She had a hunch she was pale and that she had no control anymore over her facial expressions.
Let's just say I've spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how to tie what happened to Clark aboard Zod's ship into future threats from Lex Luthor against him. I've also spent an outrageous amount of time formulating my own theory about "Kryptonite"-which, in the movie, wasn't really "Kryptonite" in the original comic book way, right? I mean, it seemed more complicated: it was the environment aboard Zod's ship that weakened Clark. Not a rock or a shard or what have you. But why doesn't Clark's suit bother him if it's from Krypton-and why didn't the scout ship bother him?
I have my own theories about all this and will develop them in future chapters, but in all seriousness, if anyone has an opinion, I'd love to hear it!