I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I received for my so-called oneshot, and so, I decided to pound out an update for you awesome people. A thousand thank-you's go out to Mouserocks-Nerd, as she was the one who suggested I write a oneshot to get my creative juices flowing. So, err, thank you!
Oh - I almost forgot! I'm searching for plot advice, so anyone who can/wants to reply - Please P.M. me! This strange little offer is also open to Mouserocks-Nerd, my original spandex buddy. ^.^
"Obliviate," composed by Alexandre Desplat, would work nicely with this chapter.
Lois Lane felt the shards of her heart turn and spin and crack against each other in a bloody kaleidoscope of agony. The world seemed to have keeled underneath her feet as the true weight of Jimmy's words struck her. She had to close her eyes in order to think clearly...and not start sobbing.
"...Clark dead...Lex Luthor...Superman...too much, too many...fire...fire...fire everywhere...Clark dead - dead - dead - dead -"
"Lois - come on!" Richard's voice brought her back to reality. "Now, Lois!"
Her eyes opened and Lois Lane found herself staring the burning building dead in its fiery eye. Right then and there, she realized she didn't give a damn about where Superman was. She didn't give a damn that Jimmy was unconscious in Richard's arms. She didn't give a damn that the Daily Planet was going up in flames. And she most certainly didn't give a damn about the risks she was taking. All she could think of was the last time she'd seen Clark Kent grin at her and say "golly." Hell to everything else - she'd miss that sweet, country-boy smile.
"What are you -" It hurt her to leave Richard like this, but Lois knew it was the only way. "LOIS!"
She forced herself not to hear - not to listen, not to feel the pain - and ran straight for the Planet's spinning doors. The firefighters were too surprised to stop her. Richard was screaming for her to come back, but Jimmy Olsen was the dead-weight that restrained him. And...and...and...Superman was nowhere to be seen. When Lois realized that not even the Man of Steel could stop her, a cold, numbing satisfaction seemed to have infected her thoughts. Today and today only, Miss Lane did not need a savior - for this was a suicide mission.
[The Daily Planet]
Clark Kent's world was made of nothing but fire, kryptonite, and agony - the agony of still being alive. Pain seared the darkest corners of his mind, poisoning his every breath with a low gasp; burning the weakened portions of his flesh exposed to the starved flames; eclipsing all of possible and impossible reality. Dear Lord - he was barely able to think - let death come soon. This suffering...this suffering was too much. It was too much for the man caught between two identities and one person.
"CLARK!"
Great. If he hadn't been enduring such torment at the time, Clark would've shaken his head. This torture was slowly turning him insane - for he could hear Lois Lane calling his name. Even worse, Lois was uttering "Clark" with a tone of such worry and love for him - with a tone of such fury and rage at the ones that had done this to him- that it made his heart crumble deep inside his chest.
He was so selfish. So incredibly, undeniably, infuriatingly goddamned selfish -
"Smallville - where are you? !" Her voice. Lois' voice. "Please, Clark, make some sort of noise if you can hear me! I've got to get you out of here!"
Buried beneath a makeshift coffin of rubble and brick and flames, Clark struggled with his emotions. He barely had any strength left - if he called out for his love's help now, there would probably be no way either of them would escape alive. He knew he had to remain sedative and let Lois believe that he was dead, or else his sacrifice would be a complete waste.
But then, something happened that he never expected.
Lois Lane found him. Out of the nothingness and dust - light suddenly poured into his bleary line of vision. Shock kept his eyes open.
"CLARK? Oh - oh my- oh god." Lois - beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Lois - was there, taking in his fallen, burned, battered body. It was clear that she could see the striking slashes of scarlet and blue that had been, previously, hidden and tucked away safely beneath the persona of Clark Kent and his heavy clothing.
"L...Lo...Lois..." It was the best he could manage: a feeble acknowledgment of her presence, an acknowledgment that he tried to pour all of his awe and wonder and tears into. She knew his secret. She knew that Clark Kent was -
"Superman." Lois went pale and red and white and crimson twice, too overcome by the twist of fate to speak in proper sentences. "Oh - oh - oh - oh my...dear, mother-effing - C-Clark - you can't be..." Seconds passed without either of them whispering a word. Impatient fire roared all around the two lonely souls, and Lois finally managed to say, "...You can't be Superman."
"I don't have to be," Clark whispered and closed his eyes, remaining absolutely still in the ever growing flames. "Lois...please - just go."
There was a moment of silence.
Lois Lane stared down at him. She stared down at the father of her child - at the world's savior, now defeated by several, petty shards of kryptonite - at Clark Kent - Superman - the alien - her lover - her friend - the quiet one - the strong one - powerful beyond comprehension - always bumbling and shy and sweet - the one who liked to eat burritos and didn't mind loaning her his stapler at work - the one who'd always been an unsolvable mystery to her and an immortal enigma to the rest of the world -
Clark Kent. She was looking at Clark Kent. She'd always been looking at Clark Kent.
"No -" Just as Lois was about to break down and start crying for all the moments in the past when she had wanted to cry but didn't - an ominous crack resounded throughout the entire floor. The ceiling above them gave an angry shudder, and, quicker than either of them could react, a downpour of granite came raining upon the man laying at her feet. Clark did not cry out in pain as a heavy chunk of stone hit the side of his skull. Instead, he merely breathed a whisper of farewell - "Goodbye...Lois." - and lapsed into a world of unconsciousness that mankind had always feared.
"C-Clark?" Lois said, fighting back panic. "Clark? CLARK?"
She crumpled to her knees and began shaking her fallen companion, "WAKE UP! Smallville - you can't do this to me - WAKE UP!" Tears began sliding down from her eyes as she rested her cheek against Clark's chest, listening for a heartbeat. She could hear no life within him.
"NO! NO - NO - NO - NO -" She was shaking and sobbing violently, using her own body to protect Clark from seeing the destruction of all they had known. There was another crack - but this time, it was not the physical crack of a dying, city gargantuan, but was instead the emotional breakage of Lois Lane's whole heart, sanity, and mind. The sudden change in the young woman was frightening.
"You aren't dead," Lois snarled. She started to tear madly at the debris which pinned Mr. Kent to the ground. "You aren't dead - so wake up and stand up!"
Her nails became chipped and bloody from pulling so furiously at the accursed wreckage, the scent of her own, burning skin adding more and more to her unbelievable horror. Smoke was making her tear up and cough. It was all she could do not to succumb to the desire of leaving Clark behind and escape the hellish scene. This is not just Clark, Lois said to herself. This is Superman. This is Jason's father. This is the man who saved your life. This is the man who saved Perry's life. This is the man who saved the world.
Just as she finally managed to lift the last of the heavy fragments off of Clark, one of the building's support beams came crashing down. It landed, immediately bursting into flames on top of the only exit accessible to them.
"Oh - damn it!" Lois shrieked. She started to turn the other way. "We've got to try the windows -"
It was one of the worst struggles of her life, trying to lift Clark out of the wreckage while also not to stopping and staring at the red-and-blue suit visible beneath his bloody shirt. Part of her was thankful that Clark was not making any noises of pain, as the last time she'd heard him scream in agony from a Kryptonite wound had scarred her for life - but another part of her wished that he would elicit some sort of sound, as then she would know for sure that he was still with her.
Minutes ticked by in a mocking manner - the flames and the smoke and the blackness and the frequent crashes coming from all around them all seemed to be mocking her.
"We can do this," She said, more to herself than Clark, and felt around the walls for some sort of window. Clark's immobile body rested heavily against her shoulder, making the hunt for an exit even more difficult. It exactly three minutes and 34 seconds to find a window, and by then, the floor beneath them rumbled threateningly. Soon enough, the structure that had once been her second home, her life, her happiness, would fall forever.
"Clark - you'll have to lean on my shoulders," She announced, banging a fist against the smudged glass. Clark gave no response - only bleeding a little more. "HEY! OVER HERE!" Lois screamed as loud and as high as she could, trying to capture the attention of the firefighters below. "WE'RE UP HERE!"
It did no good. Although she was wailing and screeching and sobbing, the now-quickly-growing flames were swallowing up her voice and its shadowing echoes. They were doomed - unless she could find some way to break open the window. Immediately, her thoughts went to the sharp heels she wore. Lois kicked off a shoe without hesitation, snatched it up, and then cracked it against the window pane. There was terrifying moment of nothingness - and then the glass shattered.
The people below instantly heard the breaking sound. Screams alighted and fingers were pointed. Lois felt a steady, thrumming hope rise in her chest as she saw the authorities spot her and Clark.
"HELP!" She shrieked to them, waving her arm that wasn't occupied helping keep Clark in a standing position. "Dear god - HELP!"
But as quickly as the hope had come, it was broken. It didn't take her long to realize that they were too high up for the firefighters to reach them. She would have to -
"Jump."
Lois' head whipped down to look at Clark. The man wasn't stirring - only bleeding profusely - and she hadn't seen his lips move. She was doubtful that he could possibly have returned to the consciousness of reality in such a short time - but unless, of course, smashing open the window to let in the fresh oxygen and sunlight had strengthened him...
"Lois...trust...me... ... ... ... Jump."
And before she let herself think, Lois Lane jumped out the window, holding Clark Kent closely in her arms.