Chapter 10
By Saturday, Bernard and Stewart were so close to completing the vaccine that they were sure their work was almost done. There was just one undesirable effect - it wasn't a permanent cure. It looked as though Jerome would have to be given periodic doses to maintain the desired effect. Jerome was now almost completely healthy. Lois was amazed by how quickly he was recovering, but the doctors explained how the effects of purple kryptonite dissipated more quickly than those of the green variety.
There wasn't enough kryptonite at Klein's loft to complete the final test, however, that would have to be done at Star Labs, where the specialized equipment necessary to check Jerome's health could be found. It was a risk taking Jerome there, but unavoidable. Superman and Lois agreed to go with them. The risk would be minimal, Bernard said. As they'd heard, Star Labs was closing soon. There were very few people still working there to see them come and go.
As Bernard said they Labs were going to close very soon, there were no more people that were working there.
But that didn't mean they were safe. A few minutes after they arrived in Klein's office, one of the doctor's colleagues picked up the phone.
"I'm calling from Star Labs. Those results you were waiting on are ready. They're here. Just as you guessed, there's a problem, he's with them now." He listened to the answer on the other end of the line. "Sure. All I want is my reward."
After three hours at the lab, Superman had to fly to Europe. It seemed that there had been an explosion at a crowded shopping center in Switzerland. There were many people trapped under the rubble. And in some of the wrecked automobiles that had been using the rooftop parking facility...
Lois stared at the LNN reports. It was so awful. She could hear the people crying for help. She was worried for Clark. She knew this was going to be hard on him. She knew that he couldn't save everyone. And since she'd discovered that Superman was Clark she realized how painful this could be for him. She wondered how the sweetest man in the universe could suffer all this pain around him.
Lois didn't move
her gaze from the TV reports for most of the afternoon. She turned
off the TV when the last boy was pulled from the ruins. When she saw
Clark's expression, she couldn't just watch passively any longer. All
she wanted
was to be able to hold him tightly, let him know that
he couldn't solve all the horrors of the world.
Time flowed slowly. Clark was away for most of the day. But by the middle of the afternoon the doctors at least seemed happy with the results of their tests.
"Lois, we have the cure!"
She felt hope flow through her veins. She forgot the rest of the world. Her son was going to be safe. She knew it now. She almost ran to the big table where all the vials and test tubes lay. "Really? When can we give it to Jerome?"
"In a couple of minutes. Relax, Lois, we're nearly through."
Jerome raised his head from where he and Sammy were painting.
"I'm safe?" A very big smile appeared on Lois' face. Jerome jumped around the room. But a sudden noise jolted them.
The door was opened suddenly by five armed men.
Instinctively, Lois caught Jerome and held him tightly as the largest of the men approached her.
"Give me the child!" he ordered.
"No way!"
"Give me the child!" he said again.
Lois was ready to fight for her child, but the man yanked Jerome from her arms. She heard herself cry out. Everything was happening as in a dream - a nightmare - time seemed to have slowed, although it was all happening so fast! She tried to pull Jerome away from his abductor, but the man pushed her hard against the wall. She heard her son scream in terror, then everything went black. She barely had time to realize that she was losing her senses before darkness overwhelmed her and she slipped to the floor, unconscious as the kidnapper fled with the terrified child in his arms.
Jerome started to cry as he tried to reach his mother, kicking and punching his attacker. Although he managed to get in some blows, he still hadn't developed his powers and his blows weren't strong enough to seriously affect the man carrying him from the room, as he called on the rest of the gang to help him.
As soon as the men had burst into the room, Lewis, with quick thinking, hid the vials of vaccine in his pockets. A fact which eluded their attackers. Sammy ran towards her father, crying desperately, but none of the men seemed to care about her. They ignored her.
The man who took
Jerome gave his men a signal. They obeyed, and they began to smash
everything in an attempt to destroy the doctors' work, as two of the
men held them at gunpoint. They broke every vial, every table,
everything they could
use. In less than a minute all the doctor's
work was vanished.
ooOOoo
Around twenty minutes later, Clark was back from the Europe.
He was exhausted, all he wanted to do was hold Jerome and Lois tightly. He had seen too many families torn apart by the explosion. He had seen parents crying for children, children looking for parents, people who had lost everyone they loved. It was the worst thing he'd seen in his life. As devastating as an earthquake, yet more horrifying for the fact that this disaster had been man-made. Terrorist attacks were the worst kind of war. Only the innocents died. It wasn't fair!
He flew to Smallville to take a shower and change his Suit. But he still felt dirty. Worse, he was struck by a strange feeling of foreboding that he couldn't understand. He changed quickly, anxious to make sure that Jerome and Lois were all right.
He flew as quickly as he could into Star Labs, entering through the window in Bernard's lab. Then he froze in mid air. The lab was completely destroyed. Lois was lying at the foot of one wall. Bernard was kneeling beside her, testing her pulse as Stew tried to calm Sammy. Lois was regaining her senses. She tried to get up, but the doctor made her lie down again.
"I have to go!! I have to save Jerome!"
"Lois..." Clark was beside her in a flash. "What's happened?"
Lois didn't need to add anything else. Clark was out of the window before the scientists could speak to him.
"The vaccine!" cried Bernard, but Superman was already too far away to hear. "We know Luthor has Kryptonite! Superman hasn't any hope without this!" he told Lois.
"I'll take it!" she said firmly.
"You can't."
"I can! This is my son's life we're talking about here and the life of the man I love too!" Lois was resolute. Bernard had never seen her show this expression. Nothing and no one was going to stop her.
"Wait! You can't go without this!"
"What..."
"You'll have to shoot Superman with this. Don't try this on Lex, the only bullets this gun contains are the ones that contain the vaccine. Do you think you can remember that? After all, you could have a concussion!"
"I'm fine Dr. Klein! Are you sure this will work?"
"I guess so, but are you sure you want to try?"
"It's Clark's only hope. Jerome's too."
"You can have them drink it too if you're able, I'll give you a vial with some in it, but I don't think Luthor will let you get that close to Superman."
For a moment she stopped. Bernard knew that Superman was Clark, she wondered how he had figured it out so quickly but now wasn't the time to analyze the implications of this.
"Can I go now?"
He nodded. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I have to go!"
"Lois!?" She turned.
"Be careful."
She ran away, without caring about her headache.
ooOOoo
One moment later Clark was flying around Luthor's high-rise. He was quite sure that rat would bring Jerome here to kill the child. He was able to recognize his son's voice even from that distance.
He was crying...
ooOOoo
"Dad... Please you are hurting me..."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Please... Dad!"
"Stop it! I don't want to hear you."
"I want mom!" Tears were rolling down Jerome's cheeks.
"Your mother won't be able to help you now, not anymore!"
"You said you were going to kill me first!"
Lex looked at him, his gaze amused. "So, you little bastard alien, you did know!" Jerome nodded. "Well, your mother is already dead! And soon you'll be joining her!"
The child was sniffling, wiping his tears with his hands. "You've never cared about me."
Lex bent down in order to put his eyes at the same level as Jerome's. "Why should I have to care about a monster like you?"
"I'm not a monster, you're bad! You always made mom cry!"
"Well, she's not going to cry anymore!"
"I know that my mother is OK! I can feel it!"
"You'd like to think so?" Lex took a metal box from his desk drawer. He opened it and put it in front of Jerome. It gave out a greenish light that was reflected in the child's face. Then he extracted a gun from his jacket.
Clark was inside the room before he could do anything. He took his son into his arms. But the child was almost senseless. Clark couldn't miss the amused expression on Luthor's face.
"You're crazy! You'll end your days in prison, as you deserve! You'll pay for everything you've done all these years!"
"You're one to talk, I'll just bet the public would love to know that their great hero, Superman, goes around having affairs with married women and impregnating them!"
"You don't deserve her! You never did!"
"She was mine!"
"She is not ... " The Kryptonite made him feel weaker and weaker.
Lex pointed the gun at the child again.
Ten minutes later, Lois ran into her house. She knew Lex was there. Their house. This was very much Lex' style. He would win...in his palace.
She had the gun held tightly in her hand. When she opened the door to the office she saw Clark in pain lying on the ground with a pale, unconscious Jerome in his arms. Clark was trying to protect his son's body from Lex.
Lex turned toward her.
"Oh, my beautiful wife. I was waiting for you to join us before I went on with the show. 'The Death of Superman and Son.' How do you like the title?"
"Let them go!"
"Oh no, they'll die. As you will too. But before you die you can watch your darling child be killed."
"You won't do anything to hurt either of them. I'll stop you."
"Oh, my brave little wife. I'll kill you like the bitch you are. It's the least you deserve!"
"Kill me then! Now! Come on!"
"Oh this is perfect, my wife went insane due to the stress she's been under what with our son's illness, she attacked me and I tried to stop her. She couldn't bear to see her child in so much pain so she killed him. And then she killed herself before I could prevent it. That's what I'll say to the police. Yes, that will do nicely!"
"Oh, you've thought it all through, haven't you?" She still kept her gun in front of her, pointed at Lex. "You didn't count on one little thing." She moved her gun towards the unconscious Superman and pulled the trigger.
"Lex's eyes turned in the direction of Superman just in time to see the bullet hole in his chest. However, unlike a normal bullet would, this one didn't bounce off but seemed to be absorbed by Clark's weak skin which then closed up around the wound. Clark moaned.
"Why thank you, Lois. While I appreciate the effort you made I don't need your help to kill these aliens."
"Believe me, Lex, you need a lot of help. Psychiatric help!"
"Since it seems as if you've done my work for me that only leaves one loose end my Dear, It looks like its your turn to die now!"
Lois watched as Lex's eyes gleamed and he pulled the trigger, at the same moment as a hand tightly grabbed his ankle causing him to crash to the floor. The bullet, forced off its intended trajectory by Lex's fall grazed Lois' head. She lay motionless. It all happened so quickly that Lois wasn't able to react enough to get out of the path of the bullet completely.
"Now I'll kill both of you. I know you can't fly anymore. This kryptonite is too strong for you, you're becoming weaker. I'll be so happy to watch you die - and you've no idea how glad I'll be to tell Lois you're both dead!"
Clark held Jerome more tightly when he realized that the boy had fainted.
"This is between you and me. Let the boy go!"
"No. It's more amusing to watch you plead to save your bastard. I'm sorry you won't be here to see him die. I want to save that pleasure for Lois..."
Clark tried to grab the corner of the table near him in order to pull himself up, but he failed miserably. He fell, hitting his shoulder badly on the ground as he twisted to avoid falling with all his weight on the child.
Lex had never had so satisfied an expression. All his plans were coming together, he would kill the alien's bastard child in front of its mother and then kill her and the icing on the cake would be the destruction of Superman into the bargain. Yes, today would be a very happy day for Lex Luthor.
Lex had never had so satisfied an expression.
Meanwhile, Clark was writhing in pain and Jerome was growing paler and paler. Clark could see the insane gleam in Luthor's eyes as he moved closer to him with the Kryptonite and the gun.
At the same moment the bullet went through Clark's skin he began to feel better. As quickly as the kryptonite had affected him, so did the antidote help him recover. He regained consciousness and saw that Lex was ready to shoot Lois. With all the power he had right then he grabbed Lex's ankle and pulled him to the floor. Lois was safe, for now, and with every second that passed he felt stronger. He was able to kneel in a few second more, although it took some effort. Lex seemed to be really scared, as though he realized he was losing everything.
Lex pointed his pistol at Superman and fired repeatedly until he ran out of bullets. One bullet brushed Clark's arm, but he was quick enough to avoid the others. Clark grabbed the gun and crushed it in his hand as though it were made of butter.
Clark heard Lois moan. Almost in the same moment her purse and gun violently hit the floor with a sinister sound of broken glass. He raised his head and saw a blood spot on her shirt: one of the bullets he had just avoided had hit right on her shoulder.
He was beside her in the blink of an eye.
She seemed to be oblivious to her pain as she ran towards her son.
"Jerome... honey, please tell me you're okay... Jerome! Mom is here... Jerome!"
The child was senseless. Clark was near her but she barely seemed aware of it.
"Lois, give me Jerome, I'll take him to Bernard..." She shook her head firmly, trying to hold the child more firmly. She had begun to be aware of the growing pains in her shoulder. "Lois, Jerome needs help!"
"My purse, where's my purse!" Lois cried, franticly looking around the room.
"Lois, Give me Jerome..."
"I have a vial of the vaccine there, I need to give it to Jerome immediately!"
Seeing the need to find her purse as paramount Clark scanned the room with his X-ray vision. It seemed that not only did this vaccine provide protection against Kryptonite but it also sped up the recovery process as well. While he was still woozy from the effects of the mineral he was much better than he'd be under normal circumstances. Seconds later, Clark found the purse under the sofa where it had fallen when Lois was shot. He grabbed it and brought it to Lois who opened it to find no more vials, just smashed pieces of glass drenched in purple liquid.
Lois was
panicking. She had no clue as to how much vaccine was left at Star
Labs. She held Jerome tighter, not caring about her own pain, but she
needed some moments to think. There had to be a solution. There had
to be a way to save
her son -- another last hope.
"Give me the gun! Give me the gun!" she cried, without listening to what he was telling her.
"Lois..."
"Clark! Give it to me!"
"Lois, I'll need less than a minute to get him to a doctor...and you're bleeding!" Clark's voice sounded more scared than she ever remembered, but this wasn't the time to think about his fear.
It took some effort for Lois to take the child into her arms. She wasn't able to stand and walk towards the gun she'd lost some seconds earlier. Clark didn't understand what Lois wanted to do. He didn't realize that he was able to withstand the kryptonite because he'd been shot by the gun she was trying to reach.
Lois wiped her tears on her unwounded shoulder. She was so scared and Clark seemed to be panicking. This was so strange...she was usually the one who panicked. Instead, everything seemed clear to her in that moment. She knew exactly what to do.
Her hand trembled furiously as she opened the gun and, with her terrific relief there was another purple bullet; it was soft, it wasn't hard to extract and break it open with her fingernail. She poured the entire contents into Jerome's mouth.
She raised her face to the man she loved. "Clark, you can take him to Bernard now." Then she realized that she'd said Clark's name in front of Lex. She turned towards him expecting to see him gloating over this bit of information, but he wasn't there!
"Where is he?" Clark scanned the entire building with his x-ray vision but there was no trace of Luthor. He kneeled down beside Lois, as his legs gave out and he lost the strength suddenly to stand. He shook his head.
"Lois, I'm so sorry, I didn't - " He seemed almost ready to burst into tears. His lips were trembling.
She smiled at him, caressing his mouth. "It's okay, we'll find him. Clark, are you able to fly?" He nodded. "Take Jerome to Star Labs, I can't..." She couldn't finish. She had to lean against him.
Clark's head seemed to clear a bit more and he was able to think again. Lois needed him and Jerome did too. He took both of them into his arms and flew as fast as he could towards Star Labs.