As soon as Lois left his line of sight, Clark found his way into the room where Tess's blood sample was being held, confiscated it, then made a beeline for Watchtower. When he blew into the room, he found Chloe and Emil were already there. While Chloe was the one he was looking for, Emil was certainly an added bonus. Ever since he had saved John Jones's life, he had slowly worked his way into their group. While he didn't know exactly why and when he had received an invitation to Watchtower, he certainly wasn't going to question it, especially now.
"Chloe, I need your help," he said without preamble, handing her the yellow case with the vial he had just stolen. "Can you run a blood test on this? It belongs to Tess Mercer. She's infected with something. Lois and I went to go see her at Met Gen and she attacked us both."
"That's different than the way she is on every other day how?" Chloe said with a laugh. But Clark was in no mood for joking. What he had just seen back at the hospital had unnerved him, especially considering it had taken some of his super strength to hold her down. If she infected anyone else, they were in for a world of trouble. Evidently, his mood showed, because as soon as she looked at him, the smile slipped off of her face.
"We'll get right on it," Emil said. Clark nodded at him in thanks as Chloe began typing away.
"I'm already in there," she said. A video of the Luthor mansion hallway popped up on the screen and Clark watched as three men stumbled across the screen. If he didn't know any better, he would have said they were on drugs with the way they were moving. But when Chloe paused the video and zoomed in on the last man, Clark realized that he was infected with the same virus that Tess had.
"Well, looks like she had some visitors this morning. And not the friendly kind," Chloe said. Emil stepped closer to the screen and studied the man in front of them. He had the same pale skin, dark eyes, and black teeth as Tess. He almost looked as if he was a zombie.
"Viral rage... it can be traced to a dysfunctional interior singular cortex…" he mused. He looked back to see if they were following and when he saw that they weren't, he cleared his throat. "It's the, uh, part of the brain that controls the primitive fight-or-flight instinct... leaving the victims vulnerable to hyper-aggression."
Though Clark didn't understand the first part of what he'd said, he had certainly seen evidence of the second. Tess certainly wasn't the biggest fan of Lois, and vice-versa, but he didn't think she'd throw her across the room for no good reason, unless she was in a distorted state of mind. Chloe navigated away from the security footage and to the Disease Control Agency's database, but when she tried to access it, she was denied.
"The DCA's site's pretty impenetrable," she said with a frown. Luckily, he knew that there was a direct source they could go to that was just down the road.
"That's okay. The Disease Control Agency sent in a specialist today. Do you think you can get something out of him?" Clark asked, directing his question towards Emil. He was a renowned doctor known by almost everyone at Met Gen, so the odds of him being able to get access to information about Tess were a lot higher than Chloe's tech skills at the moment.
"I could try. It'll take me at least a half-hour to cross town," he said, glancing at his watch. Clark knew right then and there that he had a choice to make. He didn't care about Tess and he definitely didn't trust her, but he also knew that if he didn't get her help soon, that things would only turn from bad to worse. If he wasn't there to hold her down, who knew how long it'd be until she hurt someone else. Oliver, despite his recent behavior, trusted Emil and evidently, so did Chloe, which made Clark's decision very simple.
"Do you get motion sickness?" Clark asked as he walked over to the man. He frowned, but shook his head.
"Mm, not really. Why do you ask?"
Seconds later, they were standing in the hallway back at Met Gen. Emil's back was to him, but Clark didn't need to use his x-ray vision to know that his head must be spinning, both figuratively and literally. He stood there for a moment, then turned back to look at Clark. While he didn't care about his reaction, simply because he didn't have time to, he had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised when Emil just gave him a small smile and shook his head in disbelief before turning and walking down the hallway. It seemed he had made the right decision in trusting him, after all.
"Dr. Coats. Emil Hamilton. Has her condition changed at all?" he asked. Clark was standing around the corner, but he tuned in his hearing so they were coming in loud and clear.
"I'm afraid not. Now the virus has spread to 31 people and counting," Dr. Coats said. Clark felt his stomach plummet to his feet. Whatever it was, it was spreading. If they didn't find a way to stop it soon, more and more people were going to get infected and more and more people were going to get hurt.
"Any idea how the virus metastasized so quickly throughout her body?" Emil asked.
"Well, generally something spreading this fast is airborne. We're about to quarantine the hospital, and they've sent a team over to Mercer's office."
Whatever else Emil and the doctor said to each other was white noise to Clark. The virus was airborne. Whatever Tess had contracted had been floating around the Daily Planet for hours now and there were hundreds of people who worked there. The paramedics who picked her up would have been exposed too. 31 people quickly multiplied to thousands in his head, which was now spinning. But there was only one thing on his mind that made his blood run cold.
"Lois."
Clark ran faster than he had ever run in his entire life. For a moment, he thought he might've broken the sound barrier, but if he had, he was too preoccupied to notice. As he skidded to a halt in the foyer of the bullpen, he had to quickly dodge a fire extinguisher that was making an arc towards his head. Reaching out to stop the offending object from hitting him, he came face to face with the woman he was looking for.
"Clark!" Lois exclaimed. Her shock was evident, but so was her fear. The fire extinguisher dropped to the ground with a large clang and she threw herself into his arms. As soon as he felt the warmth of her body against is, he felt as though he could breathe again. Thank God she was okay. She was still her and she was okay.
"Lois, I'm gonna get you out of here," he said, then promptly scooped her into his arms. Pausing, he couldn't help but remember their earlier conversation. "Sorry, I forgot to warn you."
"Considering we are living in Dawn of the Dead right now, I think I can forgive you," she said with a breathy laugh. Not a second later, a zombified woman came barreling through the doors in front of them, screeching as she ran at them. Without wasting another second, Clark sped away with Lois holding on tight.
Moments later, he was standing in the one place he knew she'd be safest: Watchtower. As he looked down at her, he noticed that her head was buried in his chest and despite the dire situation they were in, he couldn't help but bask in the moment. However, it was short-lived as Chloe came racing towards them.
"Lois? Are you okay?" she asked. Clark dropped her to her feet and the brunette nodded before pulling her cousin into a hug.
"Well, I think I just broke my editor's jaw with a fire extinguisher, but other than that, I'm doing alright," she said. "I gotta say, cuz: this place looks a hell of a lot better than when I saw it the first time."
Honestly, Clark had forgotten that she had ever even been to Watchtower. She knew his secret now and she knew Oliver's, so there was no use in keeping Watchtower from her anymore. But the knowledge that she had been to the future and knew things that he had never told her escaped him sometimes. Part of him was disappointed that he hadn't been the one to show her their home base for the first time, but he knew that now wasn't the time for a pity party.
"Were you able to find anything out while we were gone?" Clark asked, but Chloe shook her head.
"I've isolated a suspect enzyme from Tess's blood, but I still haven't been able to find a match. I called Emil and asked him if there was anything new from the DCA, but all he had for me was that they think the virus is airborne and that it was deliberately released by someone," Chloe said. She pulled up a map of Metropolis on the monitor and gestured towards a red dot on the Daily Planet.
"Emil was able to create a model of the virus path and sent it over. You kind of left him high and dry there, Clark," Chloe said, throwing a glance over her shoulder at him.
"I was a little busy," he said. While he didn't take her tone to be accusatory, it certainly wasn't a warm comment either. "Be right back."
A few seconds later, Clark, Lois, Chloe, and Emil were all standing around the monitor in the middle of the room watching the map develop layers that radiated out from the Daily Planet as time went on. It seemed to spread in large intervals every thirty minutes or so until it grew so large that it completely consumed the screen. Clark turned away, unable to look any longer. Things were getting worse and worse and it seemed they had no way to stop it.
"Dr. Coats said the virus induces sleep so that it can germinate," Emil said.
"I found Randall face down on his desk before he went all Franken-freak on me," Lois said. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Clark would have laughed at the expression on Emil's face. "Lois Lane. Long story short: I've been to the future, so I know all about Boy Wonder and my techno queen cousin, over here."
"The future?" Emil asked, obviously dumbfounded by her revelation. But now was not the time for storytelling.
"Back to the virus…" Clark interjected. Thankfully, Chloe seemed to be on the same page.
"If we could just mimic the enzyme…" she said. Shaking his head, Emil turned back to the screen and seemed to focus yet again.
"…we can create an antidote. We just need to find the right blood match," he finished. Taking control over the computer, he navigated to a page with a list of scrolling numbers. It didn't mean anything to Clark, but evidently, it meant something to Emil.
"I've only ever seen an enzyme like that once before…" he said, then turned to face the trio before he let the bomb drop, "…in Davis Bloome."
He knew it. Even before they had seen Tess, he knew that there was something going on that was extraordinary... that was alien. As soon as he felt her strength, it had sealed the deal for him, but he didn't want to believe it. But now, with the evidence right before his eyes, he knew that there was no denying that this virus was deliberately released by the Kandorians. Whether it was Zod or not, he didn't care. All he knew was that they had to be stopped. All of them.
"What would you need to create an antidote?" Clark asked. His voice didn't sound like his own. He was too horrified to think straight, but he knew he couldn't lose his cool. Not now.
"Well, something with an identical enzyme, so the most practical solution would be blood," Emil explained. "But from what I understand, Davis is gone and—"
"Take mine," Clark said. Emil simply looked at him and blinked.
"What—"
"I'm not from around here, Emil. Take my blood, it'll work," he said, then began rolling up his sleeve. Again, Emil looked like someone had just slapped him across the face, but thankfully, he recovered before anyone had to say anything else.
"Well, that explains a lot," he said, before throwing a glance at Chloe, who could only shrug.
"Understatement of the century," Lois muttered. Clark turned to give her a playful glare, but when he turned his focus towards her, he saw she was beginning to sway. Moving to her side immediately, he propped her up against him and helped her to the nearest chair.
"Lois? Are you okay? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked. His eyes scanned her body for injuries and when he glanced down at her leg, he saw a dark, bloody crescent on her calf that looked eerily like a bite mark. Guess it really was the zombie apocalypse.
"I'm fine, Smallville. It's just a scratch," she murmured, but it was obvious that it was anything but that. The skin around it was swelling and turning a purplish hue. Between her exposure to the virus and the wound on her leg, Clark knew that they were going to have to move quickly.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Chloe asked as she bent to examine her cousin.
"I've had worse from a game of flag football. I told you, I'm fine," she said, but even Clark could notice that her eyes were starting to get heavy. Whether it was the wound or the virus or both, he knew that it was beginning to take its toll on her.
"Emil, how much time do you need to figure out an antidote?" Clark asked. The doctor was already on the computer tapping and clicking away.
"Maybe twenty minutes, give or take," he said. Well, it would have to do. They had no other leads, so there were no other options. He just hoped that Lois was able to last that long. Nodding, he looked down at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Think you can hang in there for a little bit?" he asked, eliciting a snort from her.
"If I can listen to you babble about astronomy and different irrigation techniques without going comatose, I can certainly survive the next twenty minutes without passing out," she said. This time, despite the situation they found themselves in, he couldn't help but grin. She was the toughest woman he had ever known and right now, he didn't think he had ever loved her more.
"Well, while they work on an antidote, I'm gonna get your leg cleaned up," he said, bending down to pick her up. But before he did, he paused. "Man handling warning."
"Do your worst, Brawny boy," Lois said, slipping her arms around his neck as he picked her up. He made his way over to the sofa on the other side of the room, but before he could set her down, she stopped him.
"No. Put me on the floor. Right over there," Lois said and gestured to a steel support beam. Confused as to why she wanted to be placed there, he opened his mouth to argue, but she beat him to the punch.
"If the goal is to not fall asleep, I don't think a couch is the best idea. And if I do happen to pull a Sleeping Beauty on you, well, it's probably for the best if you go ahead and make sure I can't hurt anyone," she said. Following her gaze, Clark saw the spool of industrial chains that was hooked to the side of the wall. Seeing where her mind was going, he immediately rejected the idea.
"No. Absolutely not. I'm not chaining you to the beam! Are you crazy?" Clark exclaimed.
"No, but if things don't go as planned, I'm going to be! And judging by the way you had to pin Tess down earlier, I don't think I'm going to be a walk in the park to deal with either, so let's just nip that problem in the bud right now, okay?" she said, but Clark wouldn't hear it. There was no way he was going to chain her up. No way. The thought of it made his skin crawl. Lois, chained up like some sort of animal. No. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
"Smallville, look at me."
Through the haze of his anger and worry, her voice and the touch of her hand on his face beckoned him back to reality. Those hazel eyes that he loved so much gazed up at him and he knew that in that moment, no matter what it was, he would do whatever she asked of him.
"If things go south, Chloe and Emil are going to need you. Everyone is going to need you. If I'm tied up, I can't hurt anyone. You'll know right where I am, so when you get the antidote, you can save me, okay? It's the safest place I could be," she said softly. He was aware that Chloe and Emil were still in the room with them, most likely watching and listening to the entire interaction, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the woman in his arms and making sure that she was okay. And as much as he hated the idea, he knew that she was right.
"Okay," he said. It was all he could say without letting his emotions betray him, but apparently, that was all she needed. She stroked his cheek, gave him a small smile, then titled her head towards the spot on the floor.
"C'mon, let's get this over with and then I'll let you play nurse," she said. Reluctantly, Clark settled her on the floor with her back up against the beam. As soon as he was sure she was as comfortable as she could be, he pulled the chain from the spool and began wrapping it around her. At first, he was so afraid of hurting her that he barely draped it around her. But after she yelled at him to stop being such a sissy for several minutes, they finally came to a compromise and he was able to complete the task at hand.
As Clark tended to her wound, his eyes kept flickering up at her. Her arms were hanging freely over several layers of thick chains that were wrapped across her torso and while she didn't look uncomfortable, he still hated the sight. She had argued that with her arms free, she would be able to shimmy out of the chains, but he had flat out refused. If she was half-crazed, she probably wouldn't even be able to think that straight anyhow. Concentrating on the wound on her leg, he gently cleaned and wrapped it as best as he could.
"Thank you," she said softly, causing him to look up. "For saving me."
"You're welcome," he replied. Satisfied with his work, he tightened the gauze bandage around her leg and moved so that he was sitting next to her. Emil and Chloe were still working diligently at the computers, so for now, all they could do was wait. Finding himself looking out the stain glass window, he wondered about what was going on in the city.
"Do you think they've quarantined the city?" he asked. There were over four million people that lived in Metropolis and his mind began to race with possibilities of what would happen once people started waking up for work.
"Probably, since they found out it was an airborne virus. You realize that means that Chloe and Emil could both have it now, too," Lois said. "I'd say you could too, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you probably possess a super immune system, too."
"Normal viruses don't affect me, no… but this one isn't normal," he said with a sigh. "But as long as no one falls asleep, we'll be just fine."
"Hope you guys have a coffee maker in this place," she said, looking over towards where Chloe and Emil were working. His mouth ticked up at her comment and he playfully nudged her leg, bringing her attention back to him.
"I'll make sure it's our next purchase."
Silence blanketed over them aside from the continuous typing and subtle movements from the other side of the room. As they looked at each other, Clark tried to gauge how she was feeling. She was tired, no doubt, but something else settled over her features that struck him as odd. There was an almost pensive sadness that swept over her and his heart thumped wondering what was on her mind.
"Clark?" she said softly.
"Yeah?" he replied. Her eyes shifted downwards and he watched her throat move as she swallowed back what he could only assume was fear or anxiety.
"Can I tell you something?" she asked, her eyes finding his again. Scooting closer to her, so that he was touching all the parts of her side that weren't covered by chains, he tentatively reached out and took her hand.
"Of course," he said, feeling slight pressure against his fingers. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, but then seemed to think better of it and they shot open. But she made every effort not to look at him.
"Last year, when I was talking with… well, you… for the first time in my life, I was doing something that mattered. And I wanted to work with… you because we did such good things together," she said, then took a deep breath. "But then I started to realize that… I wasn't just doing it to save people. I was doing it for me. I just wanted to be with you."
He tried his best to remain calm, but it was hard with the way she was talking. The only thing that kept him grounded was the conversation they'd had last week. She told him she needed time and he was going to give it to her, but man was she making it hard. Still, he knew that she was talking about someone who really didn't exist. Back then, he had been a nameless, faceless hero who she'd put up on a pedestal and Clark knew he was far from that man.
"But you didn't know it was me. It's okay," he said. Immediately, she shook her head and let out a bitter laugh.
"You don't understand. I've never had that connection with someone before. Now that I have it, I don't want to go back to the way things were," she said. "This is embarrassing to admit, but… I don't want to be alone anymore."
Maybe the virus was affecting him or maybe he had suddenly developed the ability to have a heart attack, but either way, he thought his chest was going to burst open. She didn't want to be alone and she wanted to be with him. Him. All of the dancing around each other and flirting they had been doing seemed to finally be coming to a head. Whether it was just because she was in a weakened state, he didn't know, but really, he couldn't find the strength to care.
"You're not alone," he breathed and leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. It was faint, but he swore he heard her whimper and the sound ricocheted from his ears down to his toes. He was tired of waiting and tired of giving her time, especially when part of him knew he may not get another opportunity. He searched her eyes for permission and when he saw it, he dipped his mouth towards hers.
"What the hell?"
They practically jumped apart at the loud intrusion and Clark inwardly cursed. Ready to burn a hole in whoever had interrupted them, Clark whipped his head around to see none other than Oliver standing in the center of the room. He looked more disheveled than he had the other night, but Clark knew that this time, it was from external battles rather than internal.
"Oliver? What are you doing here?" Lois asked, clearly surprised to see him.
"I was looking for Tess when the whole city went Resident Evil, so I came here hoping that someone might know what triggered this sudden appetite for human Carpaccio," he said as he made his way over to them. "What are you doing here? And why are you chained up?"
"Well, one minute, my copy editor was dozing, the next, he was trying to bite my face off. Then Smallville, here, came and saved the day," she explained as Clark stood up, subconsciously putting himself between the man in front of him and the woman on the ground. Oliver simply looked at him in disbelief.
"And you brought her here?" he asked, raising his voice a full octave. Clark could only imagine what it must have looked like and how he must have felt, but he didn't have time to explain everything. He also didn't think he deserved it. He had been MIA for weeks, licking his wounds and refusing to contact anyone, so part of him didn't really care what he thought.
"If you had returned one of the fifty messages I left you, you'd know that you've missed out on a whole lot over the past couple of weeks," Lois said. He could tell just by her voice that she was irritated and though it was childish, he couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved at her attitude towards the man in front of him.
"Like what?" he asked, his eyes drifting from Lois to Clark, then back again. Without turning around, he knew that she was rolling her eyes.
"Oh, nothing major, just the fact that I accidentally took a tumble through time and landed a year into the future where aliens ruled the world," she said. "Like I said, you'd know that if you weren't off playing Evel Knieval."
"The future?" he asked, his eyes practically falling out of his head as he tried to step around Clark, but he anticipated his movement and stepped in front of him again.
"We don't have time for this right now," Clark practically growled. That was enough to set Oliver off, who tried and failed at shoving him backwards.
"The hell we don't! And you still haven't told me why she's chained up! Clark, what the hell, man?" Oliver yelled and pushed him again. This time, Clark took a step backwards, but only so Oliver didn't hurt himself. Still, he was playing with fire and Clark had to bunch his hands up at his sides to keep from lashing at out him.
"It's for her own safety and ours. It wasn't my idea," he said, to which Oliver scoffed.
"So you can play God over the entire city, but you can't protect Lois? Real nice," he said with a smirk that made Clark want to rip his head off. Heat was gathering behind his eyes and for the life of him, he couldn't remember a time when he had been so angry at the man standing in front of him.
"Hey! If you hadn't noticed, there's sort of a zombie apocalypse going on!" he heard Lois yell from behind them, but it was no use. Both men were locked in a stare down, which was on the verge of becoming something much more violent.
"Clark," Chloe called out, effectively breaking the tension and causing him to break his steely gaze. "It's time. Emil's ready."
At once, he realized how childish he was being. Here he was getting into a fight with Oliver because he was stupid enough to let him get under his skin. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and tried his best to let his anger wash away. There were much more important things to deal with and he had a part to play.
"Okay," he said and rolled his fallen sleeve back up his arm before a sudden thought struck him. "Wait, how do you expect to draw my blood? There's no needle that can puncture my skin."
"Emil has a contact at LuthorCorp labs who sent over some liquid Kryptonite. We dip the needle in it and it'll penetrate your skin," Chloe said. He shivered at the thought of being exposed to Kryptonite, but he also knew it was the only way. As excruciating as it might be, it was worth the pain if it meant he was able to save everyone.
But something nagged at him. Someone from LuthorCorp just so happened to have liquid Kryptonite and was able to send it over during all of this chaos? It didn't sit right with him.
"He sent it over today?" he asked. If he didn't know her so well, he would have missed how her face flinched, but he didn't and the pit in his stomach grew. "How long have you had this, Chloe?"
"Like you said, we don't have time for this," Oliver said gruffly and pushed him towards Chloe and Emil. Oliver's reaction spoke volumes and he knew immediately that he must have had something to do with it. But as worrisome as that was, he was right. They didn't have time for it. But he couldn't go just yet.
"Oliver," he said, spinning around to face him. "She's in your hands now. Don't let her fall asleep."
Instead of firing back with a sarcastic barb, he saw recognition in his eyes and he simply nodded. Looking over at Lois, he gave her a soft smile. She still looked tired and he knew the wound on her leg was wearing on her more than she was letting on, but he also knew that she'd fight tooth and nail to keep herself awake.
"Smallville… please, be careful," she said, worry evident in her tone and eyes.
"Everything's gonna be alright, I promise," he replied. She returned his smile and they shared a tender look, but it was over in an instant when Oliver spun him back around and pushed him back towards Chloe and Emil.
"Okay, good luck, Clark," he said halfheartedly. Annoyed as he was, he knew that it was time to do what was needed, so he let the comment roll off his back and forced himself not to look back at the woman chained to the beam behind him.
"Let's do this."
A few minutes later, Clark was lying in a makeshift bed upstairs with restraints on his arms and legs. No one was sure how he was going to react to the liquid Kryptonite, so out of an abundance of caution, he agreed to let them restrain him. The last thing they needed was for him to lash out on accident and hurt one of them. Looking to his left, he saw Emil standing off to the side with a syringe full of neon green liquid and his stomach dropped. Just looking at it made him queasy, so he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
"Ready?" he heard and simply nodded. "Alright, here we go."
For a moment, there was nothing. Then it hit him like a bucket of ice water. Every nerve ending from his head down to his toes screamed with pain. It felt like his skin was being ripped away from him and that his organs were melting inside of his body. He could faintly hear Emil's voice, followed by several shouts from Chloe, but he couldn't concentrate on it. All he could focus on was the agony his body was going through. He was sure he was screaming, but all he could hear was the blood rushing to his head. It was overwhelming. It was maddening. It was…
When he opened his eyes, everything hurt. His head was pounding, his mouth was dry, and he couldn't see straight. As his head lolled to the side, he groaned. Blinking several times, he was able to get the majority of his vision to focus, but it was still blurry. His body was throbbing from every point and he was exhausted, but at least he was alive. As he laid there and tried to get a hold of his bearings, he heard soft voices speaking somewhere near him.
"God, Ollie… you're a mess."
It was Lois. He'd know that voice anywhere. The sound was calming and it helped him get his breathing under control as he continued to try and focus on what she was saying.
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry you have to see me like this..."
That wasn't Lois. No… it was Oliver. That's right. Oliver was with Lois… he was making sure she didn't fall asleep. Because… the virus. Emil had needed Clark's blood to stop the virus. He had used liquid Kryptonite on him…
"Why don't you, um... why don't you just come out with it? Go ahead and tell me I'm full of it, Lois, just like you always used to, huh?"
Unable to do anything more as he recovered, Clark simply had to lay there and listen to their conversation.
"You are full of it. You're better than this."
Good job, Lois. He wasn't going to listen to Clark, so maybe she could get through to him. Swallowing in an attempt to get some moisture back in his mouth, he then tried to sit up, but noticed he couldn't. Something was holding him down.
"There you go. See? You sound like every other ex-girlfriend I ever had."
Clark struggled against the restraints, but it was no use. He wasn't strong enough to break free just yet. Collapsing in defeat, he laid there once again, trying to catch his breath.
"Yes, but I'm not like every other ex you've had."
"You're not. I can't seem to get you back in my bed."
This time, he felt the cuffs against his forearms start to give. Despite his weakened state, Oliver's comment ignited a jealous fire deep in the depths of his chest that made him want to get across the room desperately. While he felt a little bit more wiggle room against his forearms, he was still stuck.
"You can plaster that frat-boy grin across your face all you want, but you can't fool me."
"I'm nothing more than a shallow playboy. I got the tabloid covers to prove it."
One, two, three. Pull. One, two, three. Pull. He tried it again and again, groaning as he pulled against the arm restraints. He swore he heard a slight tearing, but when he went to lift his arms, they only moved a few inches off the bed. Taking another little break, he waited for more of his strength to return.
"Yeah, risking your life to help strangers screams Hugh Heffner."
"God, I miss you. I miss our days together."
It was like the Kryptonite was back, only this time, only his heart hurt. Did she miss him too? Did she want to get back together with him? He knew that their breakup had hit her hard and he remembered the way she had cried in his arms. Now that he was back, did it mean something to her? Did he mean more than Clark did? Did she still love him?
"Deep down in your heart, I know you do, too."
Clark couldn't take it anymore. Using every ounce of strength he could muster up, he grit his teeth and pulled hard against the restraints, groaning as his arm shook, but finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he finally felt them give away. Panting hard, he took a moment to recover and bask in his small victory, but the moment didn't last.
"Lois? Lois! Come on. Hey, Lois? Hey? Wake up."
No. No, this wasn't happening. But as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the same snarling sound that had come out of Tess's mouth in the hospital and his blood ran cold. As he scrambled to release his legs from the restraints, cursing as his fingers fumbled with the latches, he heard Oliver's yells and more guttural screams that shot straight to his core.
"Lois! I know you're in there! Stop!" Oliver yelled from down below. When Clark finally freed himself, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and immediately stumbled into the railing. Holding himself up, he saw Oliver trying with all of his might to defend himself from a crazed version of Lois.
It was hard to look at her. Her beautiful brown hair was a frayed mess, her tan skin was pallid and veiny, her hazel eyes were now a blood red, and her dazzling smile was a seething black. He watched as she ran at Oliver, who simply stood his ground and waited for the blow to come. A second later, he watched as his body flew across the room and into the wall, landing in crumpled, motionless heap.
"Lois!" he yelled. Her frantic eyes fixed on him and immediately, she started towards him. Not wanting to meet the same fate as Oliver, he ran down the stairs directly towards her. As much as he didn't want to hurt her, he knew that he had no choice. Slamming into her shoulder, he watched in horror as she slid across the floor. But she didn't stay down for long. In an instant, she was back on her feet and charging at him, swinging her arms like windmills. He caught and deflected one arm, but he felt the undeniable blow of her fist against his cheek and stumbled back. Before he knew it, she was barreling into his chest.
One minute, he was on his own two feet. The next, he heard the sound of shattering and he was flying through the air. Well, more accurately, he was falling through it. As soon as he realized what was happening, he wrapped his arms around the body beside him, turned, and braced for impact. The thud and impact of the asphalt hit him not a moment later, but thankfully, it seemed like his powers were returning because it didn't hurt as badly as he thought. Still, it had knocked the wind out of him and he had lost his grip on her in the process.
Scrambling to his feet, Clark saw that Lois had recovered just as quickly and was charging at him yet again. This time, he was able to grab hold of her forearms and redirect her attack past him. But she just kept coming at him, gnashing her teeth and attempting to claw at him. After the third time, when he pushed her past him, he turned and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her own arms against her body in the process.
"It's okay. You're gonna be alright," he said as she continued to thrash and snarl. He closed his eyes and held her tighter, praying that she would tire herself out eventually. He didn't know what else to do. He didn't have it in his heart to fight her anymore and at least this way, he could keep her from hurting herself or anyone else.
As they stood there, a clap of thunder sounded through the sky, followed by a brilliant bolt of lightning. Looking up, Clark saw dark clouds rolling in and was assaulted by falling rain not a moment later. Lois's growls turned to screams and it broke his heart because it sounded like her this time—the real her. She seemed to struggle even harder against him now and he had to lift her momentarily off the ground to keep her restrained. Her legs kicked in the air as she thrashed her head back and forth, but Clark held his grip on her.
As the rain poured down, she continued to growl and scream, but then something happened. A noise that sounded like a gasp and a cry came out of her and her frantic movements slowed. She was still struggling against him, but she became weaker and weaker by the second. The gasping became heavier and more consistent until it sounded like she was taking deep breaths. He could feel her chest heaving against his arms, but still, he didn't loosen his grip. Her head drooped and fell against his arm as she continued to gasp for breath until he it mellowed into a cadence of steady breaths.
Suddenly, he felt her hands gripping his arms. Instead of fighting against him, she was holding on to him for dear life. He prayed it wasn't all in his head because if he let her go and was met with that same warped version of her he had just seen, he wasn't sure he'd be able to take it. But then she raised her head and turned it from side to side, looking at her surroundings. Taking a chance, he said her name.
"Lois?" he breathed. She whimpered as she tried to look over her right shoulder, so he loosened his grip on her enough for her to turn fully in his arms. As soon as she saw her face, the weight on his chest evaporated. Hazel eyes blinked up at him, obviously confused and a little scared as to what was going on. Tightening his grip on her once again, he pulled her in close in an attempt to comfort her.
"Clark?" she said weakly. "Clark, what happened?"
Her voice and her body were shaking, she was soaking wet, and he didn't think he had ever seen her look so terrified in her life, but standing there in the pouring rain with her in his arms, he knew that she had never looked more beautiful. He brushed a few wet strands of hair out of her eyes, cradling her face against his palm as he stared down at her.
"We made it," he said. She struggled to look up at him in the rain, blinking rapidly, but when he saw the look of recognition flash across her face, she gave him a weak smile and sighed in relief. He couldn't stop staring at her. At her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her lips… she was perfect. When she tucked her head against his chest and he felt her embrace tighten again, he laid his cheek against her forehead and stood there, holding her safely in the comfort of his arms as the rain continued to pour. He stroked her back, rubbing comforting circles against her skin and couldn't stop himself from pressing his lips against the top of her head when she nuzzled against him.
He had no idea how long they stood there holding each other in the middle of the street, but he didn't care. The sun eventually peeked through the clouds and masses of people filtered outside, all most likely confused as to what was going on, but they didn't matter. All that mattered was the woman in his arms and the fact that she was going to be okay.
Eventually, when even Clark's own body heat couldn't keep her teeth from chattering, he loosened his grip only enough so that he could look at her. Though her coloring had returned to normal, he could tell that the virus had taken its toll on her. The way she was shamelessly using him for support was out of the ordinary for a normally stubborn and independent Lois Lane, so he knew that her battery had to be completely drained.
"Come on, let's get out of here," he said. All she did was nod and tuck her head back beneath his chin, before she molded herself to his body and wordlessly allowed him to pick her up. He didn't speed away due to the large amount of witnesses still milling about the street, but more so because he didn't want to let her go.
When they got back up to Watchtower, they found Chloe, Emil, and Oliver sitting around the large monitor. Oliver had a bandage on the corner of his forehead and was holding a bag of ice against his temple, but Chloe and Emil looked to be just fine. The same couldn't be said for the state of Watchtower, but considering Lois had been Oliver's responsibility, he figured he wouldn't mind covering the repair costs. As soon as they entered the room, Chloe leapt up from her chair and rushed at them.
"Lois! Oh my God, are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked. Clark felt her deep exhale, so he knew she was exhausted, but he wasn't surprised when she loosened her arms from around his neck and made a move to drop her legs to the ground. Selfishly, he wanted to keep holding her all night, but he knew her well enough to know that even if she was okay being vulnerable with him earlier, it didn't mean she was going to look weak in front of an audience.
"I'm fine, Chlo. I'm a little bruised, a little tired, and I'm pretty sure I tried to bite Clark's head off, but I'm just gonna consider that payback for years of annoying me," she said. He could tell that she was drained by her tone, so he didn't even bother to reply to her mild jab. Instead, he kept his hand firmly against her lower back, silently letting her know that he was there if she needed him.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "The antidote seems to be working well so far and has reached past the outer limits of the city, but we won't really know anything until tomorrow."
"I'm happy to play guinea pig for you if you want, but can it wait until later?" she asked. Sweeping her hair back, Chloe smiled in relief and nodded before pulling her into a hug.
"Get some rest and let me know how you're feeling when you wake up, okay?" she said. The two women shared a tender look and something passed between them that he couldn't put his finger on, but it wasn't his place to comment on it.
"Don't worry. If I wake up and try to kill Clark again, I'm sure it'll be because he deserved it," she said, then nudged him slightly, which subtly positioned herself even closer to him. As much as he wanted to wrap his hand around her waist and claim her as his own, he knew she wouldn't appreciate the possessive gesture. But as Oliver rose from his chair and made his way towards them, his hand twitched.
"Lois… I'm so sorry," he said. As he looked at him, he couldn't help but feel sort of bad for him. He knew that he hadn't let Lois fall asleep on purpose and he could tell that he felt guilty by the red rims around his eyes, but the larger part of him was still furious. Had he not been lucid enough to hear their conversation, he might have understood, but the simple fact was that Oliver had been too busy divulging his feelings and reliving the past to keep an eye on her. He had been selfish and it had almost cost Lois her life.
"It's okay, Ollie. I doubt anyone could have kept me awake. You know me, when I want to do something, no one's getting in my way," she said. While he knew she didn't truly blame him, he could also tell that she wasn't telling him the truth. It was a typical tactic she used to avoid emotional confrontations and while he understood why she did it, he didn't think Oliver deserved it.
"I should have tried harder. I should have paid more attention, I just… I'm so sorry, Lois," he said, his voice cracking as he apologized. Lois was in his arms in an instant, pulling his head to her shoulder in comfort. The little green monster that resided in the depths of his soul crawled its way up into his chest, but he did his best to remind himself that she was just being nice to her friend. She simply didn't want him to feel any guiltier than he already did. Right?
"Hey, don't sweat it. From what I can see, it looks like you got more than you deserved, so let's just call us even, okay?" she said. Her fingers ghosted over the bandage on his forehead and when Oliver leaned into her palm, Clark had to physically restrain himself from throwing the billionaire clear across the room for the second time that day.
"Okay. Get some sleep. Let me know if you need anything," he said, then reached out to squeeze her hand. Oliver hadn't even glanced in Clark's direction since they entered the room and while he didn't exactly blame him, he still figured he'd at least acknowledge him. The fact that he hadn't done so and had been blatantly trying to work his charm on Lois all night was setting his blood on fire.
"I will," Lois said, then turned to finally look back at him. "Alright, c'mon, Smallville. I know you're just itching to play nurse again, so let's go."
As much as he wanted to keep their bantering going, he found that he didn't have a response. His emotions were on overdrive right now and all he could do was stiffly nod. Allowing her to take the lead, he bid a short goodbye to Chloe and Emil, then followed her out of the doors. Before she could even say a word, Clark scooped her up once again and blurred his way back to the farm.
"Okay, that's the last one I'm giving you a free pass on. Unless it is a life or death situation, I'm going to need a little warning."
He heard her words, but he couldn't process them. His blood was pumping so hard that it was all he could hear. Images of her gnashing black teeth and blood red eyes filled his brain, followed by the memory of pushing her across the room and falling through the air, terrified that she'd be killed by the impact.
"Seriously, I love that you can get me from point A to point B in a flash, but I'm going to get a serious case of whiplash if you keep doing that."
Ever since she had disappeared, he had been an emotional shell. He'd felt nothing. Then, when she showed up, out of the blue on that train car, she had ignited something deep in his soul that he never knew existed. From there, he had experienced total disbelief upon learning she had travelled to the future. He had felt grief, regret, and anger for the life and decisions he had never seen. He had been tormented with confusion on trying to find the line between his human and Kryptonian sides. And that was just the past few weeks. Until today, he didn't realize how much he had been bottling his feelings up.
"Lois."
His voice didn't even sound like his own. Maybe it's why she didn't answer. She said something else, but he didn't hear it. From the way she moved, he knew it had to be another quip or sly comment, but he couldn't concentrate. He had felt every emotion at every level over these past few weeks, but the one thing that stood out above all the rest was love. All of the bad—the fear, confusion, jealousy, anger, and frustration—and all of the good—the relief, joy, surprise, amusement, and hope—were all connected by his overwhelming love for her.
"Lois."
Still, she didn't react. She was still speaking, no doubt either rambling about the events of the day or giving him a hard time about his overbearing nature, but he still couldn't hear her because his senses were too hyper-focused on one thing and one thing only: her. Hazel eyes sparkled impishly at him as she spoke and when she grinned at him, he was totally and completely lost. Her mouth—that perfect mouth—was still moving, but he couldn't take it anymore. So he didn't.
She was mid-sentence, but he didn't care. He didn't care if she tried to judo flip him or ran screaming or never spoke to him again, so he did what he had been holding himself back from doing for weeks now. He kissed her.
