A/N: Sorry took so long guys but don't have access to the net like I use too, next chap is almost done and will wrap up what happens, then one more left and finally it will be finished.
Thanks always to you guys for the reviews and to my beta loweltan, you guys are awesome!
Chapter 28: Cruise ( Day 4) Time Running Out?...
Lois stares out the small window, not quite as large as the other ones on the upper decks, nor did they open she finds out disappointingly. She pulls back her hands after tracing around the edges, finding them sealed up tight, and lets out a deep sigh.
"This is just great...there's no way out!" Lucy smirks. "The Big Bald Wolf is going to be back soon and we're standing around like a easy meal!"
"Lucy will you calm down!" Lois says, trying to stay in control. "We're not just standing around, we're trying to find a way out...and will you stop panicking, it's making it hard for me to think!"
"I'm not panicking...I'm being realistic..." Lucy says. "We're trapped!"
Lois looks up from her squatting position on the floor and rolls her eyes at her sister.
"Try being optimistic...it works for me." Lois grunts as she leans closer to the floor looking for some kind of air duct.
"S! Nothing!" Lois complains as she sets back to her feet and wipes her hands free of the floor.
"Can I start panicking now?" Lucy questions sarcastically.
"Really Luce, you're not helping." Lois states giving her an annoyed look as she walks into the small bedroom where Lucy was kept up, she following close behind.
"How can you be so calm?" Lucy asks as Lois inspects those windows in the room also finding them useless.
"I told you...I have a secret weapon." Lois replies, placing her hands on her hips and stares at the window. " I'm just killing..."
Lucy holds her hand up at Lois. "Could we please not say that or any word that relates to death?"
Lois looks thoughtfully at her and shakes her head.
"Point taken..." she smirks and continues with her last sentence. "...time before my secret weapon is in operation...or come up with another plan if the former doesn't happen."
Lois sees a vase and walks over to it, grabbing it from the desk she hurls it at the window. The vase shatters to a million sharp pieces on impact but leaves the window perfectly intact.
"Of course..." Lois scoffs and sighs. "...these windows are probably bullet proof too!"
Lucy cringes and turns away as the pieces of vase go flying in all directions, she turns her head to look at Lois as if she's crazy.
"What's wrong with you!" Lucy shouts. "We're suppose to be finding a way out, not redecorating...and what the hell is with this secret weapon of yours...Does daddy know you stole it?"
"It's not stolen, and it isn't from Daddy, either..."Lois smirks. "...he knows nothing about it, which will stay that way or I'll leave you to deal with Lex on your own."
Lucy gives her a disbelieving look as she raises up her brow at her older sister. "For one, you wouldn't dare or I would never speak to you again..."
"Do you promise?" Lois asks teasingly as Lucy glares at her.
"...and another is your secret weapon Clark?...cuz you would be way better off saving yourself. No offense, but he is just a farm boy..." Lucy rants, not realizing the look on Lois' face.
"Umm..." she says, at a lost for words, Lucy not knowing how wrong she is about Clark, he wasn't just a farm boy.
"I mean seriously, unless he's invincible or something...What?" she asks finally noticing the look on Lois' face.
"Nothing...I can't talk about it now..." Lois says, meaning not with Lana in the other room.
"Just trust me, Luce...Clark is..."
"Clark is what, Miss Lane?" Lex says in his smooth voice, suddenly appearing by the open bedroom door.
They quickly turn their heads to see him standing there, looking at them intently, interested in what they had to say.
"Now...now Miss Lane, such quietness...so unlike you." Lex says in a sly tone. "You forget I've had the information you stolen, in my possession for quite some time...I know there's something..."unusual", about him. Sooo...Clark is..."
Lois puts her hands on her hips and stares at him boldly. "...going to forget he ever was your friend and make you pay for this!"
Lex's face drops in a sneer. "You as well as I do, know your boyfriend...Well you more then I, know Clark is "unique"...I'm sure the ship's activities aren't the only ones you engaged in. So, tell Lois notice anything strange about your boyfriend, while you two..."
"Shut up, you sick Bastard!...You don't know what you're talking about and neither do I..."
"Don't insult my intelligence, Miss Lane!"
"Wouldn't you need some for that to happen, Mr Luthor?" Lois smirks and gets grabbed by the throat, Lex pushes her hard against the dresser, looking angrily in her eyes.
Lucy jumps on Lex to help her sister but gets pushed down on the floor. Lois about to pull on of her self-defense moves on Lex when he pulls out his pistol, drawing it at Lucy, who sat there fearfully on the floor.
"You know what I"m talking about and so will the whole world..." Lex says, his face inches from hers. "...you really don't believe I gave you those room from the kindness of my heart did you?"
"No, cuz that would really be impossible!" Lois smirks out in a raspy voice, grabbing at Lex's hand that squeezed uncomfortably on her neck.
"Tapes...Miss Lane! Those rooms were bugged with cameras, capturing ever last dirty detail of what went on in those rooms and giving me the proof I've been searching for years to have, I know your boyfriend might have unknowingly gave...ironically sealing his own fate."
"You're delusional...you're freaky obsession with Clark is pathetic." Lois sneers. "...all the people you sent to Belle Reeve, when really you should have been the nut job locked away."
"Facing death...you're going to wish you had that option..." Lex says pushing Lois toward the door and motions Lucy to follow. "...the couch, now!"
Lois and Lucy are rushed into the living room where Lana nervously sat on the couch already, clinging to a pillow in front of her.
"Sit down!" Lex orders to Lois and Lucy who stands there not budging.
He points the pistol at them. "Sit!"
They drop down next to Lana on the couch, starring at him fiercely as Lex stands in front of them, becoming overwhelmed as he wipes his hand over his bald head, irritated.
"Just let them go Lex..."
"Shut up..." he growls through his teeth.
"...you only need me let them go!"
"Shut up!" Lex shouts, grabbing up Lois from the couch and holds his pistol in her face. "Where's my damn disk?!"
x
Chloe grabs the tapes and disk, placing them in her bag ready to get things started. Clark comes back in the room with a gust of wind, Chloe brushes her hair down and looks up at Clark with a concerned face.
"So, find anything?" Chloe asks for the lack of something better to ask.
"No, most of the ship is made of lead...I can't see through it." Clark answers frustrated, as he runs his hand through his hair.
"How bout sound...you said you have your ears trained to tune in to her heartbeat?"
"It's difficult to listen in a certain spot if I don't know where exactly she is..." Clark sighs and slowly shes his head. "Why doesn't she just yell for me?"
Chloe walks sup to him and places the tiny ear mic on him, she already having placed ones on AC and Bart.
"She's with Lex, Clark...obviously she's protecting you from him."
"You think he knows about the kryptonite?"
"I don't know, but he has had that information long enough to figure anything out..." Chloe says as she sits on the edge of the bed.
"...and it looks like Lois inst going to take that chance, if he does know anything."
"This is crazy...I should be the one protecting her!" Clark says, rubbing his face in frustration. "Does she always have to be so damn stubborn?"
He leans his head against the wall and punches his had into it, leaving a small imprint behind. Chloe walks up behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"It wouldn't be Lois, if she wasn't such..."
"...a pain in the ass?" Clark smirks, turning his head to look at her, his lips in a small smile.
"...and makes things difficult..." Chloe adds as she laughs softly and rubs his shoulder. "We're going to find her...all of them."
He stares back at the wall, anger burns in his eyes. "I swear he better not have even touch her or he's dead!"
"Could even you really resort to murder, Clark?"
"Yes!" he growls, punching his hand through the wall. "If he's done anything to her...I wouldn't hold back...I don't think I could."
"Nothing is going to happen to them...we won't allow it." Chloe says, giving him a small smile, Clark looks up at her returning the same back.
She pushes on her earpiece. "Bart any news yet?"
"How many time you want me to run around this ship?" Bart's voice comes on the other line.
"Bart, you're not in a race...you're suppose to be finding Lois and Lucy's location!"
"What do you think I'm doing..." he smirks. "...though I have to say I did break a few records...including my own."
Chloe rolls her eyes, letting out a huff before hanging up the line with him and pushes AC line in. "AC, anything yet?"
"No sign of her or Lucy...not even Lana." AC replies, checking out the faces among the crowds around. "...but I doubt he'll have them out in the open."
"Yea I know, but it doesn't hurt to check...Just keep your eyes open for them..." Chloe breathes out heavily and hangs up the line.
Clark looks at Chloe and sees the answer to his question weighing on her face, he felt like he was going to snap inside if he didn't find her...it is torture, plain and evil.
x
The fuse sparks as it is lit and thrown to the ground, the person lighting it runs to take cover with the other crew outside the vault room and takes shelter behind the opposite wall.
"Everyone down and take cover!" Mark shouts bending down and covers his ears, preparing for the blast along with his other men.
"We should stop it...there's no way of telling what will happen!"
"No!" Marks shouts grabbing the guy by his shirt. "It goes off as planned...we're getting into that vault!"
He looks back at Mark nervously, fear shinning in his eyes. "We could be killed...I told you I couldn't calculate it right!"
"It goes off...we're not stopping it!" Mark says pushing him away.
The sparks feed up the fuse, coming to the gun powder and other chemicals used in the bomb, heating up fiercely till the mixture is no longer able to contain the heat and release in a huge explosion that shakes the huge vessel violently.
The deafening blast, explodes out fire and pieces of the door, throwing everyone flat against the floor, as smoke surrounds the space around them. Everyone starts picking themselves off the floor, shaking their heads at the loud noise the blast caused and wipes the debris and dust off their bodies.
They start to laugh and cheer as the smoke clears and they see the thick, steel door no longer there, but some bags filled with cash. Bills softly floats down to the floor from the blast and small silver doors stacked on the walls in rolls, nothing the vast variety of jewelry it contains, but nothing they couldn't handle opening.
Mark steps forward and laugh as he pats the guy's shoulder. "I guess no calculation needed after all..."
He steps closer, his face lights up as his eyes greedily take in the sight before him and turns around to face his crew.
"What are you guys standing there waiting for!" he shouts. "Get your asses moving...get this money packed up now!"
They rush ahead as they excitedly get to work, stuffing up the bags quickly. Mark walks over to the experts who were very skilled in opening locks.
"So can you get it open?" he asks, starring at him mas he pulls out a couple tools.
"Please, I could do this in my sleep." he says placing the shaped metal devise in the key whole and turns it a certain way.
"Easy as...one...two..." he says as on "three" the silver drawer pops open, revealing the exquisite sparkles of diamonds, rubies and other stones that were along enough to buy the entire cruise they're on.
"Good job..." he smiles very pleased. "Now hurry up and get the rest opened and packed up."
Mark turns around to face everyone. "Let's go...15 minutes is all we go...Now move it!"
A guy walking by a wall that leads to the vault room, stops and looks at the metal wall which happen to be the outer frame wall of the ship, as a stead stream of water rushes into the ship. A loud creaking sound following which only meant worse was going to happen.
"Uh...Mark..." he says, dropping the bag of money he was carrying to the floor.
"Come on lets go...move your lazy asses faster!" Mark shouts not paying attention to the guy.
The metal strips away and bolts pop off the wall as more water pushes it's way in, becoming more then a little stream, the wall moaning more as it tries to hold from the incoming pressure of the sea water.
"Mark!" he yells from his lungs.
"What?!" Mark yells back as he turns his head to look at the guy in time to see the wall collapse giving way to a huge whole as the ocean water poured in, quickly filling the room.
"Everyone get the ing money up!" he shouts to his men as they panicked, all doing their own thing trying to escape the flooding water as some tries to save the money.
x
At the same times during the explosion...
Clark and Chloe are thrown against the wall in the hall, as the huge blast rocks the ship causing it to lean some to one side. Clark catches Chloe before she falls to the floor after the hard ram they received into the wall.
"Ok...What was that?" Chloe asked, confused.
"Something exploded..." Clark answers just as confused as her.
"Exploded!" Chloe asks baffled. "What do you mean exploded, like an engine?"
"Chloe we're not on a plane." Clark says giving her a pointed look.
"Maybe we should have took a plane, we would be there by now." Chloe smirks back. "If something is wrong, why haven't the ala-..."
At that moment the red emergency lights and sirens start going off in all the halls as an announcer orders everyone who are in their room out and go to the nearest life boats.
"Ok...spoken too soon." Chloe says as those who we're in their rooms rushes out into the hall, panicking, with whatever they can carry in their hands.
Clark zones out the noises around him as he focuses his hearing in the direction the noise came from, hearing as Mark continues to shout orders at his men to get as much money as they can, while others were too worried to save their own lives to listen to his demands.
"Hit up Bart and AC, tell them to meet me topside." Clark tells Chloe as he finishes listening to the spot and hears water gushing in the area, figuring they blew a whole in the frame of the cruise.
"What?...Why?...What's going on?" Chloe asks as she walks quickly beside Clark, dodging people that rushes by to escape the sinking ship.
"Someone is robbing the vault in the bottom of the ship...they blown a whole in the ship's wall and now we're taking on water." Clark quickly explains in one breath. "Get the other two to meet me...we've going to fix it!"
"Whoa, Clark how exactly are you going to do that?"
"I don't know...but if we don't do something, innocent people might die...we don't know were Lois is, and I'm not getting off this ship till we find her."
Chloe nods as Clark takes a look around making sure they were the only ones left in the hall before taking off in a blur as he super-speeds away to meet with Bart and AC.
x
Lex points the gun in Lois' face, she stares down the barrel of the pistol as he sneers at her, he succumbed into the madness that he was all too ready to shoot and ask questions later. Lois knew though, Lex was going over the deep end but he wasn't crazy enough to do anything before he got what he wanted.
"Where the hell is my disk Miss Lane!" Lex snaps impatiently.
"I'm tired of these games, give me my disk or you can say goodbye to your sister..." he says moving the pistol slowly to Lucy, as suddenly the explosion comes, rocking thier room hard.
With Lex distracted; looking around as the room shakes and moves, Lois grabs his arm tightly, pushing it away from her sister right before the pistol goes off. The girls jumps and screams as the bullet shatters a nearby lamp.
"Lana get my sister and get the hell out of here!" Lois shouts as she uses her body weight to push Lex down into the couch where she struggles with him for control of the gun.
"No, Lois I'm not leaving you here!" Lucy screams in protest.
"Lana get her out!" Lois groans as she continues to fight against Lex.
Lex turns his head to Lana, grunting as he tries to keep hold of the pistol. "Lana, grab her, keep her here and I'll forget about you trying to betray me...we could even work our relationship out!"
"Lana, please...justify yourself...get my sister out of here and get help!"
Lana looks between Lois and Lex as they fought on the couch, both looking back at her pleadingly. Her mind reeling over what she should do...what decision she should make. She turns and faces Lucy, grabbing her tightly by the arm...
"That's my girl..." Lex says too soon, his face drops when he sees Lana pull Lucy toward the door. "NOOOOOOOOO!"
"Lucy come on, we have to find Clark!" Lana says, dragging her to leave the room.
"No, not without my sister.
"Lucy just Go, I'll be fine...Go! Get Clark!" Lois shouts, her fist impacting with Lex's jaw, his lips bleeds but he recovers from the stun.
Lana pulls Luccy along as she hesistantly follows, looking back once more at Lois, who nods her head smiling at Lucy who smiles back.
"Lucy, ccome on!" Lana shouts from the hall, Lucy runs from the room and along with Lana runs as quickly from there as they could.
Lex pushes Lois off of him and to the floor as he scrambles to his feet, running out to the hall to see Lucy and Lana jusut rounding the corner as he aims his pistol and lets off a few rounds. Lois yells as she runs across the room, running herself into Lex and pushes him hard into the wall to stop him from shooting at them.
Lex turns around letting out a loud growl as she strikes Lois hard against the face with his fist, making her fall to the wooden florr. She shakes her head some, dizzy from the hit and lifts her hand up to her lip at the stinging pain and pulls back her fingers to see blood covering them.
"I see your hit is improving...but it still sucks." Lois smirks sarcastically as she looks up at him.
"Enough!" Lex rants menacingly as he pulls Lois up to her feet by her hair.
Lois grabs his hands, groaning in pain some as she's pulled up to a stand and side kicks him in the gut. "Why?... when I was just starting to have fun!"
He grabs his stomach as his breath escapes him but quicckly smacks her with the butt endd of the gun, Lois falls into the wall as Lex comes upu behind her pressing the gun hard against her face.
"The disk!...and no more ing games!" he yells grabbing her hand and twistes her arm painfully behind her as she cries out some.
"Haven't you heard...I love playing games..." Lois breathes out heavily from the pain.
Lex grows even more mad and rams her hader into the wall. "Don't with me, Miss Lane!"
"Oh, you won't have to worry about that!" she smirks sarcasticaly, referring to sex.
"The disk!...or..." Lex demands angrily.
"I don't care what you do to me, and if the tourture is anything like this I rather take the fast way out!"
Lex leans up close to her ear, his hot breath offending her skin.
"Who said anything about doing something to you?" Lex smirks. "...when it'll be so much fun to watch the pain on your face...when I hurt your friends.'
"You Bastard!"
"Uh-Huh...that's not the answer..." he pulls hehr back a little before pushing her hard into the hall. "Now what's the answer?"
x
"Chloe maybe you shouldd get out of there and head to one of the life boats." Clark suggests, speaking through his ear piece to Chloe still in the girls' suite.
"Everyone is evacuting, you should do the same...the ship is taking on water and fast."
"No way Clark, I'm not leaving, not without Lois or Lucy and Lana...besides you're going to need directions to get to the vault room...since mostly everything is in lead and you can't see through it."
Chloe opens her laptop and sits down in front of it. "I can hack into the ship's computer system and get the blue prints but it's going to take a few miutes."
"If anything happens, I don't want you to think twice...just get out of there!"
"Don't worry Clark, this isn't our first venture into the realm of no return..." Chloe lightly jokes.
"I'm serious Chloe, get out of there if things get too dangerous..." Clark warns through the ear piece. "...now, I'm headed topside to meet up with Bart and AC."
"Ok, I'll hit you back up once I have the prints...Clark, becareful." Chloe says as she nervously nibbles on her bottom lip.
"I will and you do the same." he replies, hanging up the line before accending the staircase to the top deck, since the elevators were out of service due to the situation.
He comes topside to see the chaos going on, people rushing about in a panic state as they board the life boats. The ships crew trying thier best to keep everyone calm and direct them on the life boats as fast as possible.
Clark looks around at the disturbing scene and rushes through as carefully as he coculd as others run about trying to save themselves.
"Mommy...Mommy..." a small meek child's voice is picked up by Clark's super-hearing.
He turns toward the sound to see a little girl huddled in the corner, hugging her legs to her chest as she cries against them. Clark khurries over to her and kneels down, placing his hand softly through her curly red hair."
"Hey, are you okay?" he asks in a gentle voice.
The little girl just stares at him with big round, teary eyes. "Mommy told me to never speak to strangers."
Clark smiles and nods his head. "Your mommy is right and a very smart lady...and so are you...Do you know where she is?"
She shakes her head as tears roll down her cheecks. "We got seperated when we were walking to the boats."
"Well maybe we could find them." Clark suggests holding out his hands to the girl who pulls away from him.
"...but you're a stranger." she says,sniffing back her tears.
"Of coruse...but if we tell each other our names, then we won't be strangers anymore." Clark says in a friendly voice as he leans his head to the side.
"I guess..." the girl says shyly, hugging her legs tightly.
"I'm Clark Kent." he says, his lips curled in the famous Kent smile, holding his hand out to her, she gives him a small smile and puts her small hand on his, shaking it.
"My name's Samantha King." she replies back in a soft voice.
"Well Samantha you have a very pretty name...how bout we go find you're parents now?" Clark asks and recieves a nod from her, he gently picks her up and holds her on his side, wrapped carefully in his arms as she hugs her delicate arms around his neck.
"There, you'll be able to see your mom from up here..." he tells her as he begins to walk through the crowds, dashing all over.
"You Dude, over here!" Bart's voice is yells out over the loud noises.
Clark turns around to see Bart and AC rushing up to him, BArt gives him a wierd look as he spots the red haired little girl about 5 years of age in his arms.
"Dude, you and Lois certainlly don't was to time..." Bart smirks teasingly as he looks at the tear stained girl.
"...but you should think about a paternity test...I mean dude where did the red hair come from?"
Clark glares at BArt and rolls his eyes. "Her name is Samantha, she got seperated from her mom on thier way to the life boats."
"What are we going to do...the ship is sinking fastter thten suppose to...they'll never get all these people off in time!" AC says as he stares at Clark.
"What about the pumps, the ship are to have pumps for things like this..." Clark asks.
"They're not working ant the ships crew giving up trying any longer, that's why they're evacuating." Bart adds.
"What are we going to do we can't wait any longer...we have to do it now!"
Clark looks at the little girl in his arms, feeling the pressure weigh heavily on him, and trying hard to keep in control without loosing it himself.
"I can't leave her...I promised I would help her find her..."
"Mommy!" Samantha cries excitedly, kicking her legs softly.
A woman quickly focuses tot the sound of her Child's voice, searching through the crowd for her daughter. Her face suddenly lights up from the dispair look she had on it and rushes over to them.
"Samantha!" she shouts, grabbing her quickly into her arms and cover her with kisses.
"Oh sweetie, I was so scared...don't you ever run off like that again!"
"I'm sorry mommy." she says in a sweet, innocent voice as she lays her head against her mom's shoulder.
The lady looks up at Clark and smiles gratefully at him, as she holds her daughter protectively in her embrace.
"Thankyou so much for finding my little girl...I-I don't know how to repay you."
"Get her safely aboard a life baot and we'll call it even." Clark replies, smiling back at her.
"I surely will, and Thanks again...I still owe you one for this." she says before rushing of to do exactly what Clark said.
"Now to get stared..." Clark says, thanking God inside that that problem was quickly resolved as he turns to face Bart and AC.
"So, what's the plan Dude?" Bart asks as the walk through the crowds of people around.
"You Bart...I need you to find two buckets..." Clark says as they continue to walk.
Bart gives him a confused look and shrugs up his shoulders. "Umm...ok, I'm not seeing the picture you're painting, Dude."
"You're going to act like the pumps." Clark tries to explain.
"What!" Bart asks in shock, seein the picture clearly now.
"I need you to run fast enough so you and the buckets are invisible to everyone and fast enough to get the water amount down in the ship."
"Oh, so in other words youu want me to "be" the pumps!" Bart smirks sarcastically."
"Yea, which shouldn't be a problem for the fastest guy alive...right?" Clark slay, siking Bart up as he smiles slyly.
"Glad to hear you finally admit that..." Bart says teasingly patting his shoulder. "...I know it musta been hard for you."
Clark rolls his eyes. "So, are you up for it?"
Bart gives Clark his own famous grin. "Am I the fastest alive?'
Clark smiles widely as he ruffels Bart's hair and looks at AC. "The ship is filling up with water and fast...I need you uto use your water skills and stop the flow from ccoming inside...Can you do it?"
"Bro, water is my field..." AC says smuggly. "...I definitely got it."
"What are you going to do Dude?" Bart asks giving Clark a skeptical look.
"Well, I do got the heat and strength..." Clark say giving a bit of smugged smile back. "...I'm going to seal up the hole."
A/N Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!!!