The lead on the Kandorians was both a blessing and a curse. Realistically, Clark knew that any information on the Kryptonians was more important than anything else at the moment. If they were going to prevent the world that Lois had seen, it was of the upmost importance that they were found and stopped. The cyborg that had ravaged and ruined the hospital wing was dangerous, but he didn't get the feeling he was a threat to the future of the world. But selfishly, he couldn't help but want to put his energy into finding him before Lois did.
She had proved time and time again since he had met her that she could take care of herself, but that didn't mean that he still didn't worry, especially now that she knew his secret. Lois was smart and capable, but she was also headstrong and rash, especially when it came to chasing down a story, which scared him. Knowing that the cyborg was not only someone with a connection to The Daily Planet, but also running on a Kryptonite heart, did nothing but exacerbate that worry.
But as much as he wanted to speed to her and help with her investigation, he knew she was right. He needed to focus on Tess and her progress, while Lois tracked down the mystery assailant. If he could learn what he needed to know about the Kandorians quickly, he'd be able to get to her before anything bad inevitably happened. Fueled by that hope and determination, he put his ear to the ground and listened for the cadence of Tess's voice. Though his training in the Fortress hadn't been entirely successful, the few weeks he had been there had helped in aiding control over his abilities.
In a flash, he found himself standing in front of a seemingly abandoned warehouse. Jumping up to the fire escape on the third floor, he peered inside a dilapidated looking open room, chock full of medical equipment and other machines he didn't recognize. Inside, Tess and a younger looking man walked around slowly, peering at everything with curiosity. It was obvious that they didn't know what had happened in that room.
Tuning in his hearing, he learned that the equipment was stolen from different LuthorCorp facilities over the past week by the Kandorians. They had been smart enough to hack the alarm system, but not smart enough to dismantle the GPS tracking system on some of the machines. Or perhaps, they didn't care to, he thought. Maybe they wanted it to be found. Either way, it had been a surprise to Tess, which told him she was not working with them. Yet.
Tess was amazed at the x-rays and sketches that they'd found. She remarked on how LuthorCorp's best scientists hadn't thought to combine man, machine, and meteor rock. Her assistant told her that it looked like they were building "Frankenstein's monster." She also pointed out that it must have required a massive power source to build. But the thing that really stood out was what the conclusion she'd come to, which was one that had never even crossed his mind.
It was a test. Jor-El's corruption of their DNA with the Blue Kryptonite must have worked because evidently, Tess knew that they were powerless. That fact was somewhat comforting, but her declaration that they were one step closer to getting their powers only made his blood run cold. What if the man they experimented on was a new weapon? What if he was the key to unlocking their powers? Lois hadn't written anything down about a cyborg in the future, but maybe now that she was back and things had changed, this was the next step towards the future she had escaped.
Tess and her assistant left the building, but not without all of the x-rays and sketches that had been left there. He had scoped out the room in hopes that they had missed something, but all he found was a lot of dried blood and Kryptonite fragments that forced him from the vicinity shortly after he entered. As he stood outside, catching his breath and feeling the poison drain from his body, he took his phone out to update Lois on the situation, only to find a missed call and a voicemail from her. Pressing the phone to his ear, he listened to the message playback.
"Hey, I just wanted to get back to you about that story were talking about. I've got a lead I want to follow, but my partner here is still a little green, so I figured I'd call you instead. It'd be super if you could swing by the office as soon as you get this."
He swore he moved faster than the speed of light. It didn't take a genius to recognize her elevated pitch translated to fear, but even if he had missed that, her reference to Kryptonite and superpowers would have clued him in immediately. John Corben was the cyborg and he was quite obviously with Lois. He knew that she could handle herself, but fighting someone who had superhuman strength was going to be a challenge, even for her. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.
"Lois?" he called, as he skidded to a stop in the bullpen. The lights were still on, but the room was empty. Making his way over to her desk, he scanned the area for signs of struggle or distress, but found none. There were no notes, no clues, and no indication that she had been there other than the half-full mug of coffee still sitting on the desk. The outside of the cup was still warm, which meant she must have just been here. Screwing his eyes shut, he listened desperately for the sound of her voice amidst the noises of the city.
He couldn't hear her.
An unmistakable chill filled his bones, one that brought him back to a place he didn't want to step foot in ever again. No. This wasn't happening again. Ever since she had returned, he had kept tabs on her by occasionally focusing on the sound of her voice, wherever she was. When he hadn't been able to do that, he tried to listen for the sound of her breathing or heartbeat, which usually worked better when she was in a closer proximity to him. But now, as he stood there trying to listen for anything that would lead him to her, he hit an auditory wall.
She wasn't gone. She couldn't be. If she was gone, he knew that he wouldn't be able to take it. He'd close himself off again and turn into exactly who she had described meeting in the future. If she disappeared on him again, he wouldn't care about stopping Zod or saving the world because… what good was a world without Lois Lane in it?
The image of her glaring at him with a half-cocked eyebrow suddenly filled his head and the sound of her voice spilled through the sounds of the city as he imagined what she'd say if she saw him right now.
"You can brood on your own time, Smallville! The General always says: change your tactics, not your goal. So put some pep in your super-powered step and go to plan B!"
He knew he couldn't give up. Using all of his strength to focus on anything about her, he thought he heard the tiniest bit of thumping in the back of his head, but it was nothing he could pinpoint. In a last ditch effort, he tried her cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Cursing, he took off for Watchtower in hopes that Chloe would have some sort of lead.
When he got there, he received a half-hearted lecture from the blonde behind the computer about getting Lois involved, which he bristled at, knowing that she was somewhat right. Part of him knew that Lois was inevitably going to get herself in trouble, but he also rationalized that she was most likely going to get involved no matter what he did, especially now that she knew his secret. Nevertheless, he didn't have time to get into an argument about it.
Luckily for him, Emil had designed an EMP grenade to use on John in order to stop his Kryptonite heart. Now that he had a means of stopping the man, he just had to find him. After another brief admonishment from Chloe, she was able to dig up a home video from John that revealed his sister had been murdered three months ago, while he was deployed. After discovering that he had bought the apartment that she was killed in, Clark sped off towards the address with his heart in his throat. As he moved towards his destination, he nearly stumbled as a familiar voice and heartbeat filled his ears.
"Okay, take it easy there, Chippendale. I-I think I want the shirt back on."
Red filled his vision. Pulsating, vibrant, red. The only time he could ever remember feeling so violent was when he had Alicia's killer in his grasp, but this was unlike that in so many ways. That had been fueled by anger and grief, but this… this was white-hot, violent, hatred. What the hell was John doing to her? Why was his shirt off? What was happening? The images of what might be going on between them were too much to bear, so he focused on his speed instead.
"Who is he? Lois... who is he?"
This was about him? Of course it was. Why wouldn't it be? When wasn't his secret identity the reason why those he loved were constantly in danger? As the building came into view, he pushed himself towards where their voices were coming from.
"I don't know."
"Who is he?!"
John's yelling was followed closely by the sound of crunching metal and blown electrical fuses, which was the final blind noise he heard before skidding to a stop in the boiler room of the abandoned building. John's back was to him, but he wasn't at all what he was focused on. No, the object of all of his thoughts and worries was laying passed out on a steam vent directly in front of him. The anger he felt earlier increased tenfold at the sight of Lois's body splayed out on the concrete, but the soft sounds of her still beating heart did their best to temper his rage. She might be hurt, but at least she was alive.
"Get away from her!" he yelled, stalking towards the man in front of him. Unfortunately for him, his anger had clouded his judgement and his steps faltered as John turned around, exposing the violent green Kryptonite heart embedded in his chest. Taking a step backwards, he put some distance between himself and the radioactive man in front of him, who was staring at him with murderous eyes.
"It's you. The Blur," he said, slowly moving towards Clark as he kept retreating. The man before him was breathing heavy and blanketed in a layer of sweat, but he showed no other signs of distress or weakness. The EMP was tucked safely in his pocket and he strategized the best way to go about incapacitating the man before him without seriously injuring him.
"I don't want to hurt you, John," he warned and watched his eyes flash with anger.
"You already have," he said. Clark frowned. He knew that he hated the Blur, but he had chalked it up to an Army veteran's disdain for anyone who didn't necessarily follow the law. But as he looked at John's face, he knew that he had a personal reason for hating him. "My sister's dead because of you. A prison bus crashed. All the men inside would have died, but you saved them all. And in the confusion, a cold-blooded killer escaped."
His mind flashed back to the moment. He remembered it well. It had been months ago on the outskirts of Metropolis. He'd heard the screams and the screeching tires out while he was patrolling and had immediately ran to the scene. The bus had been seconds away from taking a nosedive off of an exit ramp, but he had managed to grab the tail end of the vehicle before it crashed to the ground. He couldn't remember anyone even getting off of the bus because he had disappeared right after that, but evidently someone had. And it had cost John his sister.
"And he murdered your sister?" he replied. As soon as the words left his lips, the anger written all over John's face turned to grief. His bottom lip trembled as he took another step towards him and for a split second, Clark couldn't blame the man. He knew all too well how it felt to have someone you loved ripped away from you for no good reason.
"What... gives you the right... to interfere with our lives and to change our fates?!" he screamed at him. The emotion in his voice cut Clark deep, but he tried to let it roll off of him. It wasn't the first time he had saved someone who ended up doing more bad than good and it probably wouldn't be the last. But he didn't exactly have the luxury of vetting every single person that he saved. He never had the time. And even if he did, who was he to decide who lived and who died, no matter how evil someone might be?
"I'm sorry about your loss, John. What happened to your sister was tragic. But you need to control yourself. The meteor rock is causing an... an adrenaline rush. You're not thinking straight," he said, hoping in vain that some logic might cut through his emotional state. But part of him knew that wasn't going to happen. He had been in John's shoes before and the only way he had been able to calm down was due to the unconscious woman laying across the room keeping him sane.
"Control myself? That's easy for you to say. It doesn't take... much to stay in control when you watch from the shadows," he said. "You stand apart from the world... while the rest of us live in it. Even when it breaks your heart."
John's words were those of a broken, desperate man, but he couldn't deny that they also rang true. It was easier in the shadows. It was easier to not have emotions. It was easier to simply exist in the world rather than living in it. He was right. Everything was easier if Clark Kent was dead. But as his eyes fell on the figure on the other side of the room, he knew once and for all that he'd had enough of easy. Everything that Lois had been telling him about how he needed his humanity was true. Hell, even everything Jor-El had said was true. If he didn't have his emotions, he wasn't truly living. And if he wasn't living, what was the point of everything he did? What was the point in trying to keep people safe if he didn't feel… something?
Clark slipped the EMP out of his pocket and it activated. As tragic as John's story was, it didn't give him the right to terrorize anyone. The people at the hospital didn't deserve it and neither did Lois. His only fight was with Clark and that's where he was going to keep it. John stared at him, waiting for him to make his move, but when he didn't, he started moving towards him. The pain from the Kryptonite immediately began to affect him and he staggered, but still held off until he heard the beeps from the EMP grow quicker. Right before he was within his reach, he tossed the EMP towards him and fell backwards against the wall, watching as John turned with curiosity.
As soon as the EMP hit the wall, it exploded with a wave of energy, taking out every light bulb in its path as it encompassed the room. John's body went flying as the electrical wave hit him and as he skidded to an unconscious halt, the neon green rock in his chest dulled to black. Wasting no time, Clark raced towards Lois and kneeled down next to her to scan her for injuries. Finding no breaks or fractures, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay. She was going to be okay.
It was like he was transported to a completely different place as he stared down at her. The sounds and the smells of the abandoned basement disappeared and his senses were completely captivated by the woman in front of him. God, she was beautiful. Her hair was in complete disarray, there was a small trickle of blood coming from the corner of her mouth, and there was dirt smudged across her cheek, but she was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen in his life. Stroking the side of her face, he breathed her name, willing her to open those hazel eyes he loved so much.
No sooner did her name leave his lips did he feel an excruciating pain ricochet through every cell in his body. Groaning, he fell against the concrete ledge in front of him and tried to steady himself, but he couldn't. Everything in his mind willed himself to stand and turn around, but the pain was too much. All he could do was shield Lois from the threat behind him. He leaned forward in an attempt to cover her body with his own, but seconds later, he was flying through the air. His back took the brunt of the impact, but he didn't have time to focus on the pain.
"Now I'm gonna show you what it feels like to lose somebody you love."
No. He'd die before he let anything happen to her. John turned away from Clark and slowly made his way back towards Lois. Searching the space in front of him for anything he could use to deter or even distract him, he felt all his prayers answered as his gaze fell on the pile of scrap metal beside him.
"Lead," he breathed. "John!"
He picked up the sheet of metal and without another thought, let his heat vision rip into the solid lead between his hands. It took maybe three seconds for the black rectangle to turn red-hot and when he lowered it, he saw John staring back at him with a curious expression. He didn't want to do it, but he knew there was no other choice if he wanted to save Lois. Speeding towards him, he slapped the hot metal across his chest and turned around to see if it had worked.
John turned slowly towards him, looking down at his chest first with curiosity, then realization. A smirk appeared on his face as he glared at Clark, who was still struggling to withstand the lingering effects of the Kryptonite.
"What's the matter, Blur?" he asked, tapping on the lead sheet that was welded to his chest. "A little meteor rock got you down? Who knew the mighty Goliath could be taken down... with a simple stone?"
"John..." he warned, watching as the man in front of him reached for the edge of the sheet. If he ripped the lead away… "No!"
The sound of lead prying away from metal and skin was one thing. The pain of the fading Kryptonite heart was another. But the look on John's face when he realized that he had just ripped his own heart out was worse than both of those things combined. Clark had simply meant to cover the Kryptonite so he could subdue him. He didn't want him to die. But it was too late. There was nothing he could do as the lead, still embedded with a Kryptonite heart, fell out of his hand on clattered to the floor. He expected John to collapse, but instead, it was as if he was powering down. All of the life and recognition left his eyes as the once man, now cyborg, slowly fell to his knees, then stretched out across the ground, lifeless and no longer a threat.
Part of him wanted to mourn for him. He may not have known him, but he didn't deserve this. Whatever his problems with the Blur were, it didn't mean he deserved to be experimented on. He had served this country honorably and for what? For him to lose his sister to a senseless murder? For Zod and his disciples to rip his life away for their benefit? For him to die alone in the basement of an abandoned building? No matter who the man had been before this, Clark knew that he didn't deserve it.
A soft groan coming from behind him caused Clark's focus to turn from the motionless man in front of him to the slowly moving woman behind him. Rushing to her side, he saw that her eyes were still closed, but she seemed to be coming to. Without hesitation, his hand found her face again and he gently stroked her hair, coaxing her out of her involuntary slumber.
"You're safe now, Lois. I'm here," he whispered. Her face turned into his palm and he felt a breath he didn't know he was holding escape him as her eyes finally fluttered open. She blinked several times and frowned, most likely confused as to where she was and what had happened, before she finally focused her gaze on him.
"It's you. You saved me," she whispered. Her hazel eyes twinkled with something he couldn't put his finger on. It was recognition for sure, but there was a layer of something else entirely hidden in the way she looked at him that made his stomach do backflips. The way she was looking at him now was how he wanted her to look at him for the rest of his life.
"I always will," he said. And he would. As long as there was breath in his body, he knew that he would always be there for her, if she needed him. He stared down at her for another moment, drinking in her beauty and the rare look on her face, before common sense kicked in and alerted him to the fact that she had just been knocked unconscious. Knowing she needed to get some rest, he bent forward to slide his arms beneath her body, but as he did, he suddenly found his cheek beneath her small hand. Before he could give it another thought, her lips touched his and his mind went completely blank.
Her lips were soft and gentle against his own, simply pressing lightly against him, but it took his breath away. Lois Lane was not only in his arms, but she was kissing him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Every nerve ending he possessed exploded with delight as her arms anchored themselves around his neck, causing her to shift slightly closer to him. As the pressure on his mouth increased, he found his grip on her did, as well. It was the most incredible thing he had ever experienced in the world. But as quickly as it happened, it was over.
"Thanks, Smallville," she whispered, then tucked her head against his heaving chest and closed her eyes. Clark was shell shocked. It was as if his body was moving on autopilot as he stood up with her still safely nestled in his arms. The weight of her body in his arms was comforting and the way she sighed into his chest made him want to stay just like this forever. But as he heard the crackling sound of live electricity from one of the broken lightbulbs overhead, he knew that he needed to get her out of there. With a final glace down at her to make sure she was safe and secure, he took off for the farm, cradling her body against his as he ran.
When he arrived in his bedroom, he gently bent down and deposited her on his bed. She slid from his arms easily, nuzzling into the mattress and pillows like she had just been doing to his body. He'd never been so jealous of an inanimate object in his life. But as he saw the peaceful expression that often came with sleep fall across her face, he felt the jealousy fade away until only pure, unadulterated love filled his body.
"Get some sleep, Lo," he whispered as he gently stroked the side of her face, then planted a soft kiss on her forehead before he stood and backed out of the room. He didn't take his eyes off of her until he reached the threshold and finally couldn't find an excuse for keeping the door open any longer. As the door clicked shut, he turned and leaned his head against the door.
If there was one thing he learned today, it's that he had been wrong. He had been wrong to try and cut off his humanity. He had been wrong to think that it made him stronger. The way that Lois made him feel was something greater and more powerful than he had ever felt in his life. When she looked at him, he felt the eternal weight on his shoulders ease. When she smiled at him, he felt like he could fly. When she touched him, he swore that she set his heart on fire. When she kissed him… it was like he had flown directly into the sun.
Whatever he had thought before, he knew now without a shadow of a doubt that he needed Lois Lane, and above all else, love in his life if he was going to be the hero that this world needed.