End of the Line
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Act One: Holding Nothing Back
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{Yadda, yadda, Zod is Eeeevil, Cue First Act Epiphany}
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Lois closed the file folder on the police activities log with a bit more force than necessary and regarded Clark sitting on the other side of their desks. "So the unscheduled demolition of the federal building was just a distraction?"
"And they just got lost in the chaos and slipped through the stampede." Clark's face darkened dramatically as he quickly processed the cataclysmic ramifications of this new development.
"And if that stolen shipment reaches its destination—
"All that will be left of Metropolis will be one gigantic crater," Clark interjected.
"Now who's finishing the other's thoughts?" Lois sniped teasingly. She sobered up an instant later and continued. "We have to warn people."
"We don't have any proof, Lois." His mind was running ninety light-years a second in as many different directions, but he still considered his words carefully. He'd learned a lot over the years he'd known her; he'd developed a great many ways to help her channel her furious energy and drive for justice. He knew when to challenge her, when to provoke her, and when to give her firm but gentle guidance and assistance. "No one's going to buy this story unless we can find more than just ambiguous circumstantial evidence, theories, and conjecture."
When Lois replied after momentary consideration, her voice was a little too cool and composed, tolling the alarm bells in Clark's mind. "Because unlike the faith of the human heart, the justice system demands real, tangible proof to convict or redeem the accused."
"We're not talking about them anymore, are we?" The dropped inflection of his voice rendered that more statement than question.
They locked horns for a due-any-moment-pregnant-pause before Lois finally snapped her eyes shut. "Not entirely," she admitted beneath her breath. She slowly raised wary eyes to look into Clark's for a few soul-baring seconds before her face hardened with professional coolness once again. "But this isn't the place, and it sure as hell isn't the time to get into that, what with Metropolis on the brink of going the way of Sodom and Gomorrah." Her less than gentle rant came to a crashing halt when a wildly gesticulating hand crashed into her coffee cup.
Before she could begin to react, before she even had time to blink, Clark was suddenly standing beside her, her coffee cup in his outstretched hand.
"What the…?" Her eyes darted back and forth between Clark and the mug for several passes, her pupils widely dilated and filled with shock—and awe. "How did… Did you just do what I think you just did?"
Clark smirked as he set the cup on the desk in front of her. He leaned down low enough to tease her ear with his soft breath. "Quick reflexes," he whispered, winking at her as he stood back up.
Lois was just coming back from her lost-in-wonder trip, her mouth opening slightly to speak, when the Murphy's Law of bad timing reared its ugly head and Clark cell phone began ringing. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. Chloe. Naturally.
He shot Lois an apologetic glance as he answered the call. Unsurprisingly, Lois resumed her lost-in-wonder trip as Clark listened to the update from her cousin.
{Insert more A-plot gotta-save-the-world-so-the-romance-has-to-wait scenes…}
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