By T Ackerman
"Morning, Lois," Clark mumbled through a kiss to Lois's cheek.
"Morning," Lois mumbled back. Then she turned over and buried her
head back in the pillows.
Clark smiled mischievously. "Looooiiis," he sang as he gently ran
the tip of his index finger back and forth over her bare
shoulder. He started slowly pulling the covers off of her.
"Nooooo," moaned Lois pulling the covers back on and snuggling
even tighter into a ball. "I'll get up when the alarm clock
rings."
"Lois, the alarm clock *did* ring. Several times. Don't you
remember? You've already hit the snooze button twice." When this
failed to get Lois up, Clark took the corner of the blanket in
his hand and cringed. "Lois, believe me, I hate to do this to
you, but..."
Lois shrieked as the covers were pulled off of her. It pained
Clark to inflict any suffering upon his beautiful wife, but it
certainly did the job. Lois was fully awake. Furious, but fully
awake.
"Clark Jerome Kent, that was *not* nice," declared Lois
indignantly.
"Who ever said I was nice?" Clark teased playfully.
"Just about everyone. I'm married to the nicest man in the world.
What other guy would fly to all ends of the world at any cry of
distress?"
"What other guy *can* fly to all ends of the world?" Clark
pointed out.
"Well, okay, you have a point there, but you're still the nicest
man in the world. And you're all mine." Lois traced an imaginary
S on Clark's bare chest and planted tiny kisses on it.
"I take it I'm forgiven?" Clark smiled.
"Hmmm-hmmmm. For now. It might not be so easy next time."
Clark shut his eyes and enjoyed Lois's kisses. "Well, if this is
my punishment, I'll have to wake you up more often."
It was just a typical morning in the marriage of Clark and Lois
Kent.
***
Lois and Clark walked into the newsroom together and made their
way to their desks.
"Hey, guys," greeted Jimmy. "Great story you two did. Even though
you're married, you still make a great reporting team. Thank
goodness for that. Perry would be totally stressed out if he lost
Lane and Kent." Lane was still Lois's professional name, and Lane
and Kent was still the name that showed up as the by-line.
Everyone agreed that even though Lois decided to take Clark's
last name, it was the name "Lane" that helped define Lois's
journalistic career. It wasn't something that could just be
dropped. Besides, "Lane-Kent and Kent" sounded too much like the
name of a stuffy old law firm.
Lois laughed at the thought of a stressed out Perry, which wasn't
really a funny thing if you were the object upon which he poured
out his stress. Then she noticed something on her desk.
"What's this?" she asked holding it up.
"Oh, that's some new software from X El computers. Isn't it
great? They sent over some new stuff of theirs for *free*! Maybe
they want a story to be done about them."
"That's possible," said Clark. "After all, it's one of the most
successful companies in existence, and it became a success in
virtually no time at all. This has to be the company that
achieved such recognition and wealth in the shortest period of
time."
Lois looked at the package again. On it was written, "Excel with
X El." Maybe there *is* an interview in this, thought Lois. After
all, the man who managed to build this company practically over
night had to be a genius.
***
The owner of X El computers sat in his office with his feet
resting on his perfectly polished mahogany glass-top desk. He
reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He leaned
forward and rubbed a spot off the tip of one of his fine lizard
skin boots.
The receptionist buzzed and announced, "Mr. Thore, you have a
phone call."
Mr. Thore sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Who is it?" he
asked, mildly annoyed.
"It's a reporter, Sir," the receptionist answered. "Ms. Lane from
the Daily Planet. What would you like me to tell her?"
Thore's eyes widened and he put his feet back down on the floor
heavily. He was deep in thought and nearly forgot the
receptionist was waiting for his answer.
"Sir?" she began again. "Ms. Lane is on the phone--"
"Yes, Darla," Thore interrupted as he came back to himself. "I
heard you. Tell her to leave a message."
"Yes Sir," the receptionist said.
Lois Lane. The time had come. And how very ironic that it was
*she* who initiated it. Nothing would stop him this time, he
thought. He would get what he wanted.
There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Thore said loudly. A
beautiful blond woman entered his office and neared the desk.
"Good morning, Lou," she said with a touch of nervousness in her
voice.
"Good morning, Louise," returned Thore. He even smiled at Louise,
his personal secretary. He didn't often smile at her. Usually all
he granted her with was a nasty look.
"I heard Darla on my way in here," brought up Louise. "She said
Lois was on the phone."
Thore's smile disappeared. "Yes, of course. Why are you telling
me? You think I don't know that? Use your head, darling; I know
it's rather difficult at times, but really, must you act so
vacant?"
"I'm sorry Lou," apologized Louise. "I *have* been thinking. I've
been very careful." She lowered her voice. "I even remembered to
call you Lou."
Lou shook his head and sighed.
"I don't always remember to call you that, but I did this time. I
did good, didn't I?"
"Yes, Louise," her boss agreed. "You did good. I'm very impressed
with your work lately. And soon you'll be able to prove yourself
even further."
Mr. Lou Thore put his feet back up on his desk. "This time, I
will *not* lose. I will kill Superman-- or Clark Kent-- whatever
you prefer to call him, and I will *finally* win." His lips
turned up in a satisfied smile. "Lex Luthor is back."
***
It was noon when Lois's phone rang. "Daily Planet, Lois Lane
speaking," she answered while rummaging through some papers on
her desk.
"Ms. Lane," came the crisp voice at the other end of the line.
"How lovely to have received a call from the most beautiful and
talented of journalists. To what do I owe this honor and
pleasure?"
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know who this is," Lois replied.
"Oh, forgive me. How foolish of me to skip a formal introduction.
My name is Lou Thore from X El computers."
"Mr. Thore, thank you for returning my phone call," Lois said and
stopped rustling her papers. "I'd like to do a short interview
with you for the Daily Planet-- at a time that's convenient for
you of course."
"Ms Lane, any time spent on you would be convenient for me. By
the way, did you receive the software I had sent over?"
"Yes, thank you, we appreciate it very much. You have some
wonderful products. It's really amazing how much you've
accomplished. And you're so new to the business world too! No one
has ever heard of you, and suddenly you're the tenth richest man
in the world."
"Ah yes, but we'll discuss that in the interview, won't we?"
answered Lou Thore. "Speaking of which, when would you like to
schedule that for?"
Lois flipped open her planner and saw she had some time the next
day free. "How does 11:00 tomorrow morning sound?"
"That sounds wonderful. I'm looking forward to it. Good bye, Ms.
Lane."
Lex hung up the phone and laughed silently. Oh, this was just too
perfect.
***
11:00 the next day came, and Lois showed up at X El right on
time. Clark was in Bermuda carrying out some Supermanly duties.
Lois was ushered into Lex's office by the receptionist. Lex was
standing at the huge window looking out over Metropolis. Louise
was sitting on the edge of the desk. When Lois entered, Lex
turned to her, and Louise got up abruptly.
"Ms. Lane," he smiled charmingly holding out his hand. Lois shook
it, mildly uncomfortable at the length of time the shake lasted.
"You have a beautiful building here, Mr. Thore," she said as she
drew her hand back.
"Yes, it is quite beautiful, thank you. Well, shall we begin?
Louise, would you please finish up what I asked you to do
earlier?"
"But Lou," Louise tried to argue before she was cut off.
"Louise, please leave me alone for my interview. Now." Louise
pouted a little and left. She kept her eyes on Lois as she walked
out of the room.
Lex motioned for Lois to sit down. "My partner should be here
soon. He's been...um...delayed," Lois explained.
"Your partner?" asked Lex. "I hadn't realized..." At this point,
Clark rushed into the office.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to...uh...pick my clothes up from the
cleaners." Lex stood perfectly still with his back to the two
reporters. He hadn't prepared to speak with Clark. It wouldn't be
easy to keep his hatred from showing. He turned back around and
once again smiled. "Mr. Kent," he greeted. "Now, I really am
rather eager to get started. I have a full day planned and
unfortunately my time is limited."
As Lex spoke, Lois eyed him thoughtfully. He caught her doing it,
and Lois realized that. "I'm sorry, Mr. Thore, it's just that you
seem so...familiar."
"Familiar? I'm quite sure we've never met. I'd remember meeting
someone as beautiful as you."
Lois smiled modestly. "No, I don't think we *have* met. It's not
your appearance that looks familiar. It's very strange; I just
feel like I've spoken to you before. Your mannerisms, the way you
speak...it's all very strange. I can't quite picture whom it is
you remind me of."
"Well," laughed Lex easily. "I hope you figure it out. I'd love
to know the name of the person who is so much like me. He must be
a wonderful individual. Now, we have an interview to conduct?"
***
Louise walked down the hall in a huff. It wasn't fair that she
couldn't stay for the interview! So what if she was created in a
lab and started out as nothing more than a clone? This all
involved her just as much as it involved Lex-Lou, that is. She
really had to get used to thinking of him as that and calling him
that.
At first she thought she was only missing being in the room when
Lois was there, but as she left, she was shocked to see Clark
rushing toward the room. For a second she was expecting him to
recognize her. Of course, he didn't. He rushed right past her
without so much as a second glance. Now *this* was really unfair!
She couldn't believe that Clark was right there in the room and
she couldn't be there.
So here she was on her way down to the hidden room under the X El
building. On her way to help Lex destroy Superman.
Louise pushed open the heavy door when she got to the room. It
was dim and void of furniture other than a couple of tables and
chairs. In the corner was a safe to which only Lex had the
combination and the key to the heavy chains that were wrapped
around it for extra measure.
Louise looked around the room glumly. She focused on the safe.
She knew what was in it, and it didn't make her happy.
"I hate him so much!" she thought vehemently about Lex. "I know
I'm supposed to feel grateful to him or something, but I don't. I
just hate him." The way he toyed with her emotions was cruel and
unforgivable. She couldn't forget the despair she felt when she
thought she'd be dying within two days. The only thing that got
her through that pain was helping Clark to save Lois. It was
something for her to concentrate on. It was the one good thing
she'd get to do with her miserable life, if you could even call
it a life.
When she saw Lex aiming that horrible weapon at Clark, she found
herself charging at him before she could even think. And then
came the agony of being hit with it herself. But she had done
good. That's what mattered. Clark's deep eyes staring down at her
numbed her. Then she had blacked out.
The next thing she remembered was waking up and finding herself
covered with rocks and dirt. Miraculously, the tunnel hadn't
completely collapsed, and though she was scratched up and
unbelievably weak, she wasn't crushed to death. She saw Lex lying
next to her, still unconscious. Then she noticed a movement from
the corner of her eye. She moved her head slightly and squinted
to see through her blurry vision.
In the corner of the underground tunnel was a brown haired figure
picking through the debris. She was about to summon up all her
strength to call for help when she saw the other figure.
Encased in a translucent case was a blond woman. She was just
standing there, unmoving. Next to her was an empty case. The man
was now standing in front of the woman. Then he spoke:
"Oh Lois, this was supposed to be you. We could have been so
happy. I really do love you, you know. I swear, I will get you
back. No one will know who I am. Look at me! A new body and a new
life. They think I'm dead, no doubt. But how wrong they are. Lex
Luthor lives!"
At this point Louise blacked out again. When she opened her eyes
again, she was all alone. Well, not completely alone. The blond
woman was there too. She was just as still as before. With a
shudder Louise had realized that the body was alive but had no
mind, no soul.
There was a sudden noise at the entrance to the room. Asabi ran
in and started searching for something. Finally, he held
something up triumphantly. "Ah!" he exclaimed. Louise let out a
faint moan, hoping to be heard. Asabi spun around and dashed
toward her.
"You are alive!!" he gasped. "I came back to get my turban. It
was my great grandfather's and my grandfather's after that and...
I thought you were dead!"
"Yeah," Louise said. "Lex, didn't even bother checking. Please
help me! I'm begging you! I know I'm going to die in around two
days anyway, but I don't want it to be here! Please don't leave
me down here where I'll be cold and hungry. Please!"
Without hesitation, Asabi scooped Louise up in his arms and made
his way out of the tunnel.
For the next two days Louise stayed with Asabi expecting to die
at any minute. She was in bad condition from being shot with
whatever that awful weapon was. She thought that maybe it was
best she was a B Class clone. She'd be able to just die and be
put out of her misery.
But she didn't die. And after two weeks of recovering and gaining
more and more strength back, she realized what happened.
The bastard had lied to her. She wasn't a B Class clone at all.
For all she knew, no such thing existed. She was very much alive
and she had a gut feeling that she wasn't in any immediate danger
of death. She had a chance at a life. And she was scared. She had
to start living! But not in this body.
She couldn't walk around looking exactly like Lois Lane. She'd be
recognized as Lois, and eventually people would catch on to the
fact that there were two of them. Asabi was willing to teach her
how to go into another body. Just one problem: she needed a body
to go into.
The logical choice was to use the one that Lex had taken for
Lois. But after Asabi rescued Louise, Lex had apparently come
back to take the body, because it was no longer there, and in its
place was a note. The note read: "Asabi: I knew you'd be back for
the body. I was hiding near the entrance to the tunnel and I saw
you leaving with Lois's clone. I left after you were gone, and I
took the body with me. After the police and coroner finished with
their business of pronouncing me dead, I came back to leave this
note. I have an offer to make. I'm willing to allow the clone to
take over this beautiful body. She will then, of course, work for
me, and be indebted to me for an infinite amount of time." The
note ended with a date, time, and location. The clone would be
there. She didn't care what the cost was.
When she finally met with Lex, he was just as cruel and taunting
as usual. But finally the moment came when the body was hers. It
felt odd at first, but after a while she got used to it. (Being a
blond wasn't too bad either.)
Immediately after the body switch was made, Lex insisted on
getting to work. A name was picked for the clone--Louise. It
seemed the most fitting. It sounded sort of like Lois, which
Louise liked. She still partially identified herself as "Lois's
clone."
Louise became Lex's full time personal secretary. He started
creating his computer company, and in no time at all it was well
on its way. With his keen business sense and extensive
experience, he knew all the right moves to make. Next came
investing in various stocks, which paid off immensely. Lex was
back in business.
Then came what Louise was dreading. Revenge. Before long, a
secret room was built under the X El building for Lex to carry
out his plots and schemes in. The safe that contained Kryptonite
was kept in there, along with some high-tech equipment. Louise
helped Lex acquire all of it. She served as a go-between and
representative for him. What else could she do? He could make or
break her. And he *would* break her if he wanted to.
***
After months of planning and working, the time had finally come.
It seemed that Lex was ready to put his plans into action. The
plan was quite simple really. Just weaken Clark, kill him, and
enjoy a life of bliss with Lois. A cinch.
Lex was upstairs with Lois and Clark at that very minute. Louise
knew that he wouldn't do anything though. He'd wait till
everything was perfectly planned out and he had the upper hand.
Meanwhile, Louise had to stay downstairs and wait it all out. "Oh
Lex," she thought. "One day I'll get back at you, you'll see. I'm
more than a clone--I'm more of a person than you'll ever be."
At that moment, Lex entered the room. He walked over to the safe
and began opening it. "Louise," he began, "tonight is the night.
It will be quick and it will be simple. I wasted so much time in
all my other efforts. Dabbling around with all those high tech
devices and weapons wasn't what I should have been doing. Let it
never be said that Lex Luthor can't admit he was wrong! I was
going about this in entirely the wrong way. Spending far too much
money, and frankly, trying too hard. All I really have to do is
expose him to the Kryptonite. That will render him vulnerable to
any way I choose to kill him, be it a dose of lethal poison, or
simply a shot through the head."
Louise turned away from Lex so as not to let him see the horror
on her face. The thought of Clark suffering made her cringe. For
his beautiful body to be ravaged by a bullet was unthinkable.
Lex seemed to read her thoughts. "Oh, but I'm not planning on
shooting him. Too much blood, and always the possibility of being
connected to it. No, I'm thinking of something more along the
lines of drowning. You know, neat, quick, quiet-- and the body is
instantly disposed of! Yes, I do believe that's what I'll do."
Lex reached into the safe and drew out the glowing green rock.
"Louise, I'd like for you to call Mr. Kent," Lex ordered.
"What should I say?" Louise asked.
"Exactly what I tell you to," replied Lex. "I have it all written
out here. Now, I have another appointment upstairs. Make the call
this evening. Practice first if you have to. Be convincing."
Lex left Louis alone in the room. As the door shut behind him,
Louise spun around to look at the safe again. She took out her
cellular and began to dial.
***
"Viola!," Clark announced as he set the steaming plate of pasta
primavera down in front of Lois.
"Oh that smells heavenly!" exclaimed Lois as she inhaled deeply.
"Not as good as you do," returned Clark. He leaned down and
smelled Lois's hair. Then he smelled her neck. "Hmmmm, good," he
murmured as he focused his attention on making sure that every
bit of her neck received one of his carefully placed kisses.
Lois let her head fall back. "Clark, where I come from, dessert
usually comes *after* the meal," she pretended to argue.
"Well," Clark reasoned, "The food is too hot for you to eat, and
I wouldn't want you to burn your tongue."
"No, of course not," replied Lois.
"And I know how restless you can get," Clark continued. "It's not
like you to just sit here doing nothing while waiting for it to
cool off. There's so much that can be done in these few
minutes."
"Mmmmm-hmmmm," Lois agreed. She offered no objections when Clark
started placing his kisses lower. Clark effortlessly lifted Lois
from her chair and brought her over to the couch. "We should
definitely make the best of every minute we have alone," Lois
breathed heavily.
The phone rang. "...because we may be interrupted at any minute,"
Lois finished with a sigh. She sat up and straightened her
twisted clothes as Clark answered the phone.
After listening for a minute, Clark's expression became intense.
"Who did you say this is?" he asked.
***
Lois and Clark sat in the park waiting. The woman had told them
to meet her there.
There was a noise behind them. They stood up and spun around.
Louise walked toward them.
"Hello, Louise," Clark greeted her.
"Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane," Louise nodded and said loudly as one does
when speaking not for the benefit of those they are talking to,
but for someone nearby whom they know is listening.
Lois glanced at Clark. "Louise, you said you had information for
us."
Before Louise answered, Clark heard a yell with his superhearing.
"Help! Superman!" came the call.
Clark's hand instinctively went up to loosen his tie. "I just
remembered something very important I have to do. Lois, why don't
you talk to Louise until I get back." Clark was about to turn and
leave when he paused. After a second thought he leaned forward
and gave Lois a brief, yet lingering kiss on the lips. He looked
into her eyes for a moment and then ran to a dark shadowy place
where he could take to flight without being noticed.
***
No more than 10 seconds after Clark ran off, a man grabbed Lois
from behind. She didn't have a chance to scream. The chloroformed
cloth was over her face in a flash. She immediately began to
black out. She saw the leaves swirling above. She saw Louise
looking scared. She saw the face of the man that held her looking
down at her. She saw his mean and tough looking face with a scar
across the cheek. She saw the trees swirling above her. And then
she saw...nothing.
***
Clark landed on the bridge, where the call had come from. He
looked around and saw no one.
Suddenly there was the sound of clapping. "Bravo, Superman!"
called the figure stepping out of the shadows. "Your timing, as
usual, was impeccable. But of course, that was to be expected."
Lex stopped. With a gleam in his eye, he pulled out the box he
was holding behind him. Opening it, he continued speaking.
"Superman-- or should I say Clark-- I'm almost sorry to have to
end this now. I do so enjoy the anticipation and everything that
comes a long with the chase. I've always lived by a personal rule
that goes as such: ' There's no such thing as too much of a good
thing.' I'm sure you've heard of it. But, as I'm sure you've also
heard, being that you are so very educated, there is also
something that says, 'There is an exception to every rule.' And
I've found the exception to my rule. Though scheming against you
and carrying out those schemes is ever so much fun, there is only
so much of it I can do before the end must come. And I'd say now
is as good a time to end it as any, wouldn't you?"
With that, Lex lifted the huge chunk of glowing green rock out of
its box. Clark, who had been showing the signs of being near
Kryptonite throughout Lex's whole speech, now doubled over. He
held his stomach and clenched his jaw. "Why are you doing this!?"
He asked.
Lex's face was serious now. So rarely did it exhibit such a
ruthless, almost animalistic sneer. All of the charm, poise, and
elegance that Lex usually maintained so well disintegrated,
exposing the underlying cruelty.
"Why?!" He shouted angrily. "You ask me why I'm doing this!? You,
who has everything a man could want, ask ME why I'm doing this??"
Lex stopped and regained his composure. He broke into a cold
smile. "I apologize for losing myself. Of course you don't know
why I'm doing this." Now Lex was standing over Clark who was on
the ground. Lex kneeled down and looked at Clark's face. "You
just assumed that you had Lois back for good. You assumed that I
died in the tunnel and you were free of me forever. I must tell
you, when I found out about Lois's amnesia, I was rather amused.
You finally had her back, and she had no idea who you were!
"You know," continued Lex, "I was seriously considering forcing
my soul into Dr. Deter's body when I saw how easy it would be for
him to get Lois to fall in love with him. I can do that--force
someone out of their body so that I can take it-- with ease. I
don't even need the smoke and all that mumbo-jumbo Asabi taught
me to make it easier. But I decided against it. I knew that
eventually Lois would get her memory back, and she'd go running
back to you. No, that wouldn't work at all. I needed a stronger
assurance that I'd get what I want. And this is it. Lex Luthor
vs. Superman finally ends, and quite obviously, *I* am the
victor."
As he spoke, Lex tied Clark's hands behind his back, and then
tied his ankles together. Now, as Lex finished speaking, he hung
a heavy chain around Clark's neck. Attached to the chain was a
big piece of the rock radiating its dreadful green glow.
Clark was lying still with his eyes closed. Lex dragged his body
to the railing of the bridge. "So long, Mr. Kent!" he sang
gleeful, and shoved him into the water. He knew the strong
current would probably drag his body out for miles. Even if
someone actually found it, it wouldn't be connected to Lex. No
one even knew he was alive.
Lex stood staring at the water for a minute before looking at his
watch. "Well, off to Lois!" he said, and turned away from the
black waters below.
***
After an hour of being out cold, Lois began to stir. Her eyes
finally opened, and she looked around to examine her
surroundings. She found herself in a lavishly decorated room,
lying on a huge bed with silk sheets. She looked down to find
herself fully clothed in what she was wearing when she left for
the park with Clark. "Oh thank G-d," she sighed.
"No need to," declared Lex, entering the room. "I already know
how much you appreciate me."
Lois became aware of a beefy looking man standing in the corner.
He was obviously there to prevent her from running. From the look
of him, it seemed he wouldn't have to do much in order to
discourage her from trying.
Lois watched Lex walk to the mini-bar at the far end of the room.
With a flourish he poured himself a drink from the crystal
decanter. Lois narrowed her eyes and examined his every motion.
When Lex turned back to her, he saw her eyes were wide.
"Lex," she whispered. "That's who it is you reminded me so much
of. Lex. You talk like him, you walk like him, you move like him.
Now you've drugged me and brought me here. That's something that
only a twisted, demented man like Lex would do. But you can't be
him! You...you...you did what Asabi taught you! Of course! I was
going to do it too. You actually took over the new body. My
G-d..."
"Now Lois, don't take the Lord's name in vain. Oh, that's right,
I don't believe in G-d. Go ahead and say whatever you'd like."
"Clark will save me, you know," Lois informed Lex.
"That is highly unlikely, and really, I'd appreciate if you
refrained from mentioning that name. I suppose it's only common
courtesy to inform you that Clark is dead."
"No," Lois whispered.
"I'm afraid so," Lex countered. "Well, no, that's a lie. I'm not
upset about that in the least. I'm only upset that it causes you
so much pain. But I can help you forget that pain. If you only
open yourself to me, we could do so much!"
"You're sick," Lois choked out. "You kill the one man I've ever
loved and you expect to be the one to make me happy? No one can
do that, least of all you. Will you ever realize how much I
despise you?"
Lex thought a moment. "No." he decided. "Lois, I love you so
much. If only you could see that. I could make all your dreams
come true."
"My only dream is of having a life with Clark."
"Don't say that!" shouted Lex. He grabbed Lois's arm and held her
tight. "I am all you need!" he yelled.
Tears rolled down Lois's cheek. "You're hurting me," she cried.
When Lex didn't let go, she repeated herself louder. "You're
hurting me!" she screamed.
Suddenly the door flew open and there was a streak of red,
yellow, and blue. Lex had no time to react before he was hoisted
off the bed and held up in the air by...Superman??
"I believe Lois said you were hurting her," he said. "Don't you
think it's a good idea not to get her upset? After all, you know
I don't react well to that."
"That's impossible!" protested Lex, you're dead! I killed you!"
"I thought you were dead too, Luthor, but I was wrong. And
apparently you were too."
"But I don't understand how you lived! The Kryptonite! The water!
You should have--" Out of the corner of his eye, Lex noticed
Louise standing in the doorway. "You," he whispered in anger.
"What did you do?"
Louise smiled and leaned against the door post. "I called him,
just like you said I should. I told him and Lois to meet me in
the park, just like you said. Oh yeah, I also told him who we
really are. He was shocked at first, and he didn't believe me,
but I managed to convince him."
"But the Kryptonite...." Lex repeated.
"You mean that green rock you brought with you to kill him with?
That looks very good, doesn't it? Looks so real. It's amazing
what doctor Klein at STAR labs was able to come up with. I
actually had him start working on that a month ago. I called him
before I called Clark, and he brought it over himself. I'll bet
that you didn't know what an expert safe-cracker that Dr. Klein
is. He's really very good. Also a great locksmith. Had that
padlocked chain off of the safe in no time at all. He's almost as
good as James Bond when it comes to these things."
Lex was seething. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a
long moment. His body seemed to relax as if he were finally
giving in. Then he opened his eyes and darted them around the
room fearfully like a deer caught in the headlights.
People in dead-end situations like this will often do desperate
things that perhaps aren't the brightest of ideas. This was one
of those situations, and here was one of those people. He made a
dash for door, knocking over a large vase in the process.
As he ran, he pulled out a gun and shot aimlessly. Clark was
about to stop him when Louise pulled out a gun of her own, and
shot Lex in the chest. He dropped to the ground and clutched his
wound. Louise lowered her gun and looked at Lois and Clark.
"It...it was self defense," she whispered. "He was shooting and
coming at me."
"It's okay," Clark assured her. "I won't let anything happen to
you. The police will see he had a gun and that he shot it. You
won't be in any trouble.
The big man who had been watching over Lois was now inching his
way toward the door. "Oh no you don't!" said Clark as he took
hold of him. "You're not going anywhere. You're an accessory to
kidnapping. The police are on their way, and you can be sure
you'll be convicted and do your time in prison."
As if on cue, the police ran into the room. They did their best
to gather all the information, but there were things that they
didn't know. Lois, Clark, and Louise found it best to simply not
tell who the dead Lou Thore really was. That would only lead to
confusion and disbelief. The police had just enough information
to do what they had to do. That's the way it would stay.
***
Lois and Clark walked home slowly, savoring the brisk night air
and the company of each other. "Is Louise going to be okay?"
asked Lois.
"I think so," answered Clark. "She's smart. She can do anything
she puts her mind to."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
They were silent for a few minutes. Then Clark laughed.
"What?" Lois asked curiously. "Did something funny just happened
that I missed, because I'm still kind of woozy from that
chloroform you know...."
"I was just thinking that maybe you should have become an actress
instead of a journalist. I was standing outside listening in and
looking through the door to see what was going on inside with you
and Lex. I was ready to come in as soon as he started doing
anything to you. And I must say, your acting skills are
wonderful! From the "revelation" of his true identity to the
grief and tears at the news of my "death," you were spectacular!
"Yeah, I was pretty terrific, wasn't I," Lois grinned. "It wasn't
easy. I was so scared that I wouldn't be convincing enough. If
Lex would have realized that I actually knew he was going to
kidnap me, and that I knew he was Lex, who knows what he would
have done."
"He wouldn't have done anything, Lois," Clark pointed out.
"Because I was standing right outside and wouldn't have let him.
But that wasn't necessary because you were amazing! Really, you
should get an Oscar or something."
Lois laughed. "I'll settle for that pasta primavera that I never
got to eat. I'll have to pop that in the microwave."
"Hmmmmm," thought Clark out loud. "The microwave. You'll want to
get the cheese all melty and hot again, so it'll take around two
minutes to reheat."
"But I won't be able to eat it right away, because as you pointed
out earlier, I have to let it cool off. That'll take a few
minutes-- minimum of five."
"Wow, so we're dealing with at least seven minutes in which we
have nothing to do," clarified Clark. "We can't let that time go
to waste. What can we do with it?"
"I can think of a few things I'd like to do," said Lois
seductively.
"Is that so?" Clark asked.
"Uh-huh. One in particular." Lois stopped walking, and Clark did
too. They wrapped their arms around each other and connected in a
deep kiss. Lois pulled away and smiled. "Come on. My pasta
primavera is waiting. And so is that desert. I'm willing to have
it before the main course if you are."
"I think I can be daring enough for that," Clark happily
ascertained. "Let's go."
***
The police car drove to the station with Lex's accessory to
kidnapping sitting in the back seat. He smiled. He might have to
sit out a little time in jail, but that wouldn't be too bad. He'd
be back soon enough. After all, you can't keep Lex Luthor down
for long.
THE END
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