Chapter Sixteen
Lois sat at her desk staring at the blank screen while her memories continued to haunt her causing her to stare at a blank screen unresponsive to the environment around her as she continued to sink further into the memories.
She sat in Clark's lap with her arms wrapped around his neck while they engaged in a heated make out session in his red truck even going so far as to undo a few buttons of his flannel shirt until finally he snapped out of their heated coupling and pulled away trying to take in some air before speaking.
"I…It's getting late." He states rather regrettable while he moved Lois from his lap to the side where his body immediately started to crave her warmth but he just sat there still breathing heavily with his eyes trained ahead fearing that he wouldn't be able to control himself if he looked at her.
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you" Lois announces suddenly causing Clark to turn and look at her when suddenly his phone began to ring interrupting the moment.
"Lois?" Chloe's voice knocks her out the painful image causing her to turn and look at her cousin with a pressed smile, "Are you ready for lunch?"
She nods and clicks off her computer screen then reaches down to grab her stuff as the two cousins left the bullpen side by side but the memories still remained in the back of her mind.
"Something wrong Lo?" asked Chloe once the elevator doors closed allowing the cousins to have a private conversation without worrying about eavesdroppers, "You've been acting differently ever since the Superman interview was published."
"It's Clark." Her response caused Chloe to look at her with a look of surprise, "Every time I'm around him it's like I'm back where I was four years ago." She looked at Chloe clearly troubled by the sudden return of her feelings for the farmboy with the charming smile.
"Oh honey your gonna need more than a burger to solve this problem." Chloe stated just as the doors slid open and they began walking towards the exit, "This type of conversation needs to happen over a pint and I know just the place."
Maggie sat on the swing which rocked slowly back and forth while she read her book when the lunch bell rang signaling the end of the kid's free period and the restart of their classes as they all began to file inside the school.
She began collecting her stuff ready to make a hasty race back to class when she turned around to see the same large boy that she had stood up to in order to protect Alec.
"Excuse me." She says softly going to move around the pudgy boy who sidestepped her and blocked her path once again, "I need to get back to class. Can you please move."
He let out a rather annoying laugh and knocked her stuff out of her hands, "I told you I'd get back at you sooner or later." He pushes her to the ground, "Freak" the twin boys behind him let out a laugh simultaneously.
Maggie gets up only to be pushed back down again, "What's the matter freak? You too chicken to fight me again."
She tries to fight off her tears at the name calling and finally rose back to her feet tempted to act but instead thought of her father and immediately calmed down, "I'm not gonna fight you." The boys laugh at her comment, "Only a coward would pick a fight with someone smaller than him because he doesn't have the guts to pick on someone his own size." She grabs her stuff holding her head up high to the bully, "I feel sorry for you."
Those were her final words before walking back to class leaving the group speechless and Maggie with a proud smile on her face.
When Chloe and Lois returned to the Daily Planet they watch Clark rush out of the bullpen with a distressed look on his face causing both to turn around and asked simultaneously, "What's wrong?"
He turns around looking from Chloe then to Lois unsure of how to answer, "I…uh…left something in my truck." The cousins take that as his way of saying someone was in trouble, "It'll only take a few minutes." He slips through the elevator doors leaving the cousins alone.
"Well that was weird." Lois stated turning back to walk towards her desk trying to make it look like they didn't know about Clark's secret in case anyone grew suspicious.
"That's Clark for you. He'd forget his head if it wasn't attached to his body." Chloe jokes while taking a sip of coffee when someone called her name, "Better go." She finishes the rest of her drink and throws it in the trash and walks off.
Lois just shook her head when Jimmy came running towards her, "Chief wants us to get to S.T.A.R. Labs now." He grabs his camera and puts it around his neck along with his bag full of extra memory cards and different sized lenses.
"Why?"
"There was an explosion or something. We wont know until we get there but I hear Superman is already there evacuating everyone out." Jimmy states with a large smile on his face at the idea of seeing the city's hero in action up close.
"Wipe that smile off your face Olsen. This isn't the time to turn into a fan boy especially when there are lives on the line." She berated the young photographer as they waited for the elevator, "At least until after the situation is contained." She stepped inside the cart oblivious to the grin that appeared on his face as he followed suit and the doors closed shut.
Electrical wires burst but that didn't prevent him from moving through the burning building in search of more survivors when his superhearing picked up the distinct sounds of panic coming from below the building's structure which caused him to scan the ground and discovered that there was a hidden lab right underneath the main hub of S.T.A.R. Labs.
The steel door to that secret level was ripped off its hinges and the fire was extinguished by his super breath allowing him to step through the room only to cower back in pain at the feeling of kryptonite nearby.
Despite the weakness he felt from the kryptonite that didn't stop him from rushing towards the fallen steel beam pinning one of the lab techs, "Its gonna be okay." He reassures the panicked young man as he bends to lift up the beam which rises several inches allowing pressure to be put off the man's legs.
He struggles to hold up the beam and soon lets it crash back to floor as sweat appears on his face, "Is there anyone else down here with you?" he asks the lab tech still trying to catch his breath.
"Dr. Hamilton was working on a new project just down the hall." The man replies before crying out in pain, "Please. You have to get me out of here."
He nods and carefully lifts the man in his arms and speeds back outside where a large crowd had gathered to hand the injured man over to the paramedics when he noticed the fire chief walking towards him.
"I've got my guys hard at work out here trying to put out these god damn flames while you've been playing hero inside. You better have some good news for me."
"There's people still trapped in the lower levels." He looks back at the fire when he remembers the kryptonite, "If this fire gets any hotter I need your guys to evacuate the area. There's a substance inside that's very volatile and I don't want anyone else to get hurt."
"You got it Superman. Just do what you do best and leave the rest to us." The fire chief rushes off to inform the rest of the men while he rushed back inside braving the flames and the little green rocks that awaited him.
He appeared in the lower level second later and noticed that the kryptonite feeling had faded away which caused the kryptonian to look around confused as to how that was possible when he followed the path all the way to the end of the wall which ended up being a huge laboratory like something out of Summerholt or one of those science fiction shows he watched with his daughter when she got sick.
At the center was a steel table in the shape of a human body was empty with the straps ripped off and broken glass canisters that he suspected held the kryptonite he had felt before, "Dr. Hamilton!" he cries out as another electrical wire snaps violently in front of him and the flames became hotter.
A groan caused him to race towards a storage closet which was barricaded with a chair which soon went flying across the room and the door slid open to reveal Doctor Emil Hamilton bruised and battered.
"Don't worry Doc. I'm gonna get you out of here." He hauls the doctor into his arms and turns around towards the way he came only to see it engulfed in monstrous flames, "Looks like we'll be taking a different exit." He states when he notices a small window and soon disappeared in a red blue blur.
While the rest of the fire was being put out and the survivors were being dealt with, a man stumbled out with bandages on his arm and chest.
The man grabbed one of the emergency blankets from a nearby ambulance and wrapped it around himself to blend in with the chaos as he slipped through the crowd with a sickly green glow peaking through his bandages.
TBC
Originally I had planned for Maggie to punch the bully but after much consideration I realized that's not what Superman's daughter would do although I really wanted her to. But she's a strong girl for her age and I wanted to showcase that type of superman quality attitude she has.
That scene was also inspired by one of the panels in Superman: Earth One. Which I highly recommend to any super fan.
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