Chapter Ten:
Surrender

(NC-17)

While Jimmy drove to Smallville, Clark and Lois had made a discreet departure from the Planet, giving Perry the excuse that they were hunting for more Superman stories. Considering their success rate thus far and the fact that Lois wasn't in his office bitching about the fact that he had saddled her with a partner, Perry was happy to have them go. Anything that kept him from taking his ulcer pills for one day had to be enjoyed while it lasted.

Lois had kept the remnants of Chloe's professional life in a box marked with her name, pushed to the back of her closet. It was almost a metaphor of how Lois dealt with Chloe's death in real life as well, pushed to the back of her mind so she wouldn't have to deal with the loss. In five years, Lois had been unable to bring herself to look at any of her cousin's belongings. The idea was simply too painful for her. Even with Clark present, she wasn't looking forward to going through her cousin's things.

It was the first time he had been inside of Lois' apartment further than her balcony as Clark Kent and not Superman. While the apartment was very much Lois, he could tell by the lack of personal touches that Lois spent little time here. He knew from his observations of her prior to his return that she was something of a workaholic. It made sense he supposed, Lois had always found it easier to distract herself with work when confronted with emotions she couldn't cope with. The death of Chloe and his abrupt disappearance from her life would surely qualify.

After what had happened between them last night, it felt awkward for Lois to have Clark back in her apartment again. When he wore the suit, there was something about it that didn't seem real, like she was playing the part of damsel to his hero in some Warrior Angel fantasy. However, at this moment, he was standing before her as Clark Kent, the guy who used to bring her macchiatos, who made her think that plaid was sexy and had the annoying habit of drinking milk out of the carton. In the right now, he felt all too real and he was here.

"I kept Chloe's stuff in here," she announced walking towards the closet at the end of the hallway. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Clark taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeve, much in the way he'd used to do whenever he was getting ready to fix a tractor or something.

Clark noticed the change in Lois' manner the instant they entered her apartment and wondered at the reason for her discomfort. Last night, he believed they had made progress in mending their relationship. After all, she had kissed him. Of course, he shouldn't always trust that Lois knew wanted. When had he ever been able to figure out Lois out when she was on a tangent? What attracted him to her so much was the fact that she could always surprise him.

The first time she had kissed him, Clark had never seen it coming. Lois had taken him completely by surprised even though the more he thought about it; the more it seemed that he had been in love with her long before his mind ever let him in on the fact.

"Lois, is everything okay?" Clark asked following her down the hall.

Lois stopped short upon hearing the question, letting out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding until she turned around and faced him.

"What do you mean Smallville?" She returned his question with one of her own, filled with soiled innocence.

"I don't know," he shrugged, recognising her attempt to be evasive. If nothing else, her reaction proved to him that there was something wrong. "You seemed a little preoccupied," Clark returned, leaning against the wall to watch her. "Would you rather I take a look at her stuff? If you're not comfortable doing it?"

He had said it to spare her because Clark's vision penetrated he door and he could see just how buried in clutter it was. The box hadn't just been stored away, it had been forgotten. Clark suspected Lois would have encased it in concrete if given a choice. Even though they were cousins, Lois was closer to Chloe than she was to her own sister Lucy.

In retrospect however, it was probably not the best suggestion to make to Lois.

"I can handle it fine!" She exclaimed hotly, never reacting well when someone pointed out her weaknesses. Lois knew that she was being petulant, that her discomfort had nothing to do with the box and everything to do with him. "I handled it fine five years ago remember? You're the one who left; I'm the one who stayed around to pick up the pieces." She spat back with more venom than she intended.

Clark let out a sigh, wondering how the hell they had gotten to this place. Again. "I know Lois," he replied, denying nothing. How could he? Nothing she said was a lie and Clark understood that her resentment at his departure would take time to diminish. "I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't handle it…"

"I can handle anything," she stormed up to him. "If I recall correctly, you're the one who couldn't handle it and left."

"Alright," he conceded defeat and decided a strategic withdrawal would be better since Lois was clearly upset about something. "Maybe I will leave you to do this alone," Clark retorted, deciding he was not going to get drawn into another argument about this. Something was up and she wasn't willing to talk about it. All his presence seemed to be doing was exacerbating the situation. Walking back down the hall, Clark decided to make himself scarce until she calmed down.

"Where are you going?" Lois asked, instantly feeling regret when she saw him retreat.

"I'm leaving you alone for awhile," he answered firmly with a hint annoyance, "me being here is upsetting you."

"Oh because leaving worked so well the last time," she threw at him sarcastically, unable to stop herself.

Clark turned around and stared at her like a man resigned to his fate. "What do you want me to say Lois?" He asked her, confused as hell. "Do you want me to say I'm sorry? You know that I am. Do you want me to admit I was a coward for running out on you? No contest there, I know I was. I'm ashamed that I left you the way I did. I can only say sorry so many times. If you want me to say it again, I'll say it but if me being here is hurting you, then I'll go."

Lois stared at him, uncertain how to respond to that. Leave? Again?

No. She couldn't bear it.

"Don't you dare," she hissed, walking right up to him. "Don't you dare leave when things get hard."

"I'm not leaving because of that," Clark returned her imperious gaze, unflinching. "I'm leaving because I don't want to …."

He never got to finish the word because the next thing Clark Kent knew, Lois grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down towards her lips.

"Just shut up Smallville," she whispered and kissed him hard.

Once again, Lois took him by surprise.

At first Clark wasn't sure what had happened but it was puzzlement that faded away quickly. The intensity of the kiss drove any confusing out of his mind as her tongue slid past his lips and reminded him once again, why a kiss from Lois Lane was like a lightning bolt to the senses. When Clark finally responded to her touch, he wondered why he had even bother to debate the matter and tumbled headlong into the oblivion of her kiss. Returning her passion with similar ferocity, Clark slid his arm around her gloriously curved body and drew her to him closer.

What was she doing? Lois questioned herself when she felt his chest pressing against her and heard an inner voice snort. You know exactly what you are doing.

And she did. Even if she didn't want to admit it to herself, Lois knew what upon what she was embarking and what she was doing was claiming the man she loved.

Lois needed him. For five years she had ached for him, ached for his touch. She hadn't allowed herself a relationship since he left nor experienced physical intimacy with another because she was convinced she'd be disappointed. She knew it wouldn't be like it had been with Clark. Throwing herself into her work, Lois who in her youth saw herself as an untamed modern woman, had turned herself into a celibate workaholic because perfection was hard to find twice in a life time. Forcing away the part of her that questioned her actions, which sneered at her lack of willpower to keep him at bay, Lois gave into the only feeling that mattered now, elation.

Like a ship adrift and lost for so long, Lois was finally coming home.

Still clutching the lapels of his shirt and growing dizzy from how good it felt to have Clark pull her tighter against him, Lois released her grip and languidly slid her arms around his neck, her fingers running through his hair. Everything about him was as she remembered but there was also something new about him as well, something certain and powerful. He wasn't the awkward farm boy she had loved. He was Superman and it showed in every returning touch.

Clark questioned if this was the right thing to do, to simply surrender to her.

Unfortunately, it was never easy to form rational thought when Lois kissed him. From the very first, her ability to make him throw caution to the wind was without question. Unlike Lana with whom he agonized over his decision to reveal the truth, with Lois he had barely time to catch his breath before she knew everything. When they found each other, it was if the machinery of some cosmic design had finally shifted into place. Every hope he ever wished for himself was reflected in her eyes the first time she told him, she loved him.

Even though she had instigated this sudden thaw in their relationship, Clark's reaction to her tongue inside his mouth renewed his own desire for plunder. Before he knew it, he too was playing a hidden game of thrust and parry with their locked lips. He could feel her body against his, the soft, warm contact he had yearned since submitting to Jor-El for his training. Giving into what she was making him feel, Clark's kisses intensified and very soon, his mouth was sliding down her cheek, tasting the sweet flesh under her jaw, his hands holding her in place so she would not squirm away, terrified almost to let her go in case he was dreaming all this.

Lois had not intended this when she kissed him but now that she was here, she wanted nothing else. All those feelings returned like a tidal wave of sensation, eliciting shudders of pleasure throughout her body. Had she ever doubted he could still do this to her? His mouth on her neck unlocked her inhibitions and for the moment at least, their troubles seemed far away. All she cared about was the now as her fingers dropped back to his shirt and started undoing the buttons. She heard Clark's sharp intake of breath at the action and it made her smile.

It was nice to know she could still surprise someone who moved faster than a speeding bullet.

When she unbuttoned his shirt, her hands making contact with his chest, Clark wondered how it was possible that he could be invulnerable and yet notice every sensation that came from her fingers tips brushing against his skin. Realising where their passion was inevitably leading, Clark decided for once, he would not play it safe and give into the moment. He would deal with what came from this later. All he knew for certain was that he wanted her very badly and as Clark leaned over to scoop Lois up in his arms, his x-ray vision was already searching the walls of her apartment to find her bedroom.

"Lois," he whispered in her ear, still too much Clark Kent to throw caution entirely to the wind. Are you sure…?"

"You talk too much Smallville," was her husky response before she bit him gently on the neck and tugged his shirt free of his shoulders. Letting it drift to the floor behind them, Lois covered his biceps in warm, sensual kisses, banishing any more questions he had. Lois had forgotten what it was like to be with him, how beautiful he was. She breathed in deep the musk of his skin and faint tinge of cologne that made her inside melt with delicious heat.

It was all the protest he would give her before giving in completely. Even if he was blessed with enhanced strength, she would still weigh nothing in his arms as they stumbled through the bedroom door. Capturing her mouth again, he refused to give up the territory as he devoured her lips, taking every ounce of pleasure she would yield to him. All the while, he revelled in the sensation of Lois caressing his chest, before her finger raked across sensitized nipples to elicit a soft groan from him.

Lois was barely aware of moving through the rooms until he was stopped by the foot of her bed. Breaking free of him, she settled onto her knees and smiled at him coyly. Then she began to kiss her way down his chest, smiling because she wanted him so much, wanted him to remember what he had walked away from, wanted him to recall what their love making was like so he'd never leave her again. Down she went, still fully clothed as her closed her eyes and continued a sensual journey down the washboard hard muscles of his stomach, until she reached his belt buckle. She touched his eyes briefly with a sly and decidedly wicked look before resuming, nothing good on her mind.

Clark was mesmerized, his mind hurtled back to how terrified he had been the first time they made love, fearful that she'd expect him to become the dominating lover he was infected with red kryptonite. Once again, Lois had shattered those illusions, showing him just how much he had underestimated her. His eyes were smouldering blue embers as he watched her, feeling his heart skip a beat with building anticipation when she winked at him and gave him a smile full of damp, wet sin.

Belt buckle unfastened, Clark had only a second to appreciate the view of her kneeling before him before Clark Kent lost all ability to think.

"God….Lois," He uttered a soft moan when he felt her around him, using those warm, sweet lips, taking him so deeply that he barely uttered her name. So deep, the word surfaced almost unconsciously in his brain. He was already hard but by the time she reached the end of her journey, he was so aroused he could barely breathe.

Unable to do anything but run his fingers in her hair, Clark felt his jaw go slack with pleasure as he shuddered with sensation. Watching her, he saw her slid up and down his shaft, revisited with total recall, how perfectly she knew how to tease him. The urge to thrust was hard and in resisting, he uttered another strained groan. Unable to tear his gaze away, Clark watched her slid up and down his hardened flesh, bringing him closer to the brink then he dared to admit. His fingers running through her hair and seemed to inspire her more. Gritting his teeth, he tried to speak, to tell her to stop because it had been too long for him.

"Lois…" he nearly whimpered as he felt her slid down again and pulled back up hard.

Lois would have smiled if her lips weren't otherwise engaged. She was poised for that whimper, the one that told her when it was time to stop so he wouldn't be spent too soon. Releasing him from her lips with an audible pop, Lois crawled back up the bed, smiling in triumph. It was amazing. After all these years, it was so easy it was to make love to him again. How all little ways to tease him still remained in her memory.

Filled with near black lust by the time she released him, Clark was driven by a very base and male desire to possess her. Discarding his pants, he wasted no time in diving beneath the hem of her skirt, his fingers sliding up her thighs, relishing every perfect inch of skin until he hooked fingers around her panties and pulled. When they had begun their sexual relationship, one of the odd side effects of their lovemaking was a monthly visit to the lingerie store for Lois. No matter how much he tried, he just loved tearing the slips of lace off her body.

Tossing aside the scrap of pink lace, he raised his eyes to Lois and a small smirk of mischief crossed his face as he inhaled deeply the scent of her damp arousal. Bunching her skirt up around her waist, Clark gave Lois no quarter as he buried his face into her moist centre, washing the hardened bud with the tip of his tongue once he found it through the folds of tender flesh.

"Oh my God….Clark," Lois gasped his name with abandon.

God, was there anything sexier than hearing her cry like that? Clark asked himself as he continued his feasting.

Her legs were coiled around his shoulders, her fingers tugging at his dark hair. She said filthy things to him as he licked and suckled, nibbling and tasting every crevice and fold. Spurred on by the names she called him, it only made Clark more determined. As much as she liked to dominate in the bedroom, Lois also liked to have him take charge of her and the result was incredible sex that left them both panting and utterly spent. They had spent whole weekends like this after his mother had moved to Washington, in bed making love and coming up for air only for food. Tasting and exploring each other to the very end of their limits.

He could feel the tingle at the tip of her just before she came and just to push her over the edge, he continued the stimulation with his fingers as he whispered raunchily, "come for me Lois, come for me so I can taste you."

"Oh Christ Smallville!" Lois gasped as those words ripped her control to shreds and send her body into overdrive. Clark replaced his fingers with his mouth again and any self control Lois had left dissolved into the echo of his name as she screamed it in the throes of orgasm.

Riding high on that pleasured cry, Clark lapped her up with relish, pleased that five years apart had not changed one whit their sexual chemistry. It was as if she was made for him, everything about her, even to the scent of her when she came in his mouth, aroused him to the point of madness. Clark was so hard, he could barely think and hearing her call out his name was all the strain his resistance could endure. He needed her now.

Lois too was aware of how close he was and even though she was coming down from an orgasmic high, she knew how to return the favour. As he crawled up her body, she slid from under him and pushed his shoulder against the bed, rolling him over. Smiling, she threw one leg over his hips and was greeted with a ramrod hard column of flesh that was hypersensitive by the way he hissed at contact with her skin.

"Can I help you with that Smallville?" she teased as she removed the rest of her clothing, until she was perched on top of him naked.

"What do you think?" He asked basking in the sight of her glorious body. Leaning forward, he swiped a tongue over a peaked nipple.

Lois felt a shiver of excitement at the sensation of his tongue and at the sight of him. His lips were swollen from his efforts to bring her to orgasm, his chin damp with her juices. Straddling him, Lois drank in the view and decided once again, that he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. If they grew them all of them like this in Kansas or Krypton for that matter, every woman in America would either be invading the Heartland or taking the next space ship out of the galaxy.

"I don't think," she smirked at him. "I just do," and with that Lois impaled herself with his impressive length, watching the smile on his face melt into pure pleasure, his eyes closed, his lips parted as she slid over him like a glove, her muscles clenching tautly around his hard flesh.

Clark tried not to groan again but he couldn't help it. If he had thought her going down on him earlier was the height of pleasure, he was wrong. God, how could he have left her, how could he have left this? His thoughts fragmented at that moment and his hands unconsciously settled on her hips as she began to rock forward, riding him like a stallion. Lois always seemed to know how to make his body respond and he swore, no other woman had ever been able to make him more aware of his senses and more grateful for his masculinity.

Staring down at him, watching the expression of naked pleasure on his face, feeling those same dizzying sensations shuddering through her body, Lois finally accepted the reality that at last, Clark was back. Until this moment, there was a part of her that was terrified that she'd wake up and find out that everything until now had been fiction. A powerful rush of emotion filled her and she stopped moving, forcing him to open his eyes and look at her. With him still hard inside of her, Lois leaned forward, pausing an inch above his face to whisper.

"You hurt me," she stated softly, still staring at him.

Clark was not about to argue, not when he was in this position. At that moment, he would have agreed to anything.

She hit him on the shoulder, her balled fist smacking lightly the flesh there before she spoke further. "Don't do it again."

Passion or not, he knew what it was she asked of him and with every fibre of his being, Clark swore he would not disappoint her again. His hands left her hips and slid up her back before pulling her down against him, until she had to shift her legs to stretch out against the length of his body, still buried deep inside her warmth. He rolled them over in one swift movement so he was looking down on her before Clark kissed her again, except this kiss was devoid of raunchy passion but filled instead with tender affection.

"I love you," Clark Kent whispered softly, his blue eyes fixed on hers so she'd understand. "I've never stopped loving you. When I was gone, the only thing I thought of was coming back to you. You've given me another chance Lois, I swear I'll die before I ever hurt you again."

Lois blinked and it surprised Clark to see tears in her eyes. She wasn't a woman who could show her tender, vulnerable side easily but Clark could see it clearly now.

"I love you," she whispered, blinking away the tears that rolled down her cheek, "I've never stopped either. I could never let you go, no matter how hard I tried. I'm sorry…"

"Shhhh," he stopped her from saying anything further because it really wasn't needed. He understood, he felt himself. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, Clark covered her face in kisses and began to move again, languidly, savouring every stroke in and out of her body. Clark watched her expression as ripples of pleasure moved through her body and his, feeling his own need for her heighten again, until they had built up to the strong, driving, pace of earlier.

"Don't stop Clark," he heard Lois beg beneath him and would have smiled if he weren't so overcome himself.

"Never," he grunted and moved faster, the clenching pressure around his shaft drove away everything else for the moment and he was slave to that incredible sensation of heat around him. Legs coiled around his waist, Clark continued a forceful pace, thrusting so hard he feared he might be hurting her but the only cries from Lois, were the ones for him not to stop and Clark was inordinately grateful for that.

"God…Lois…you feel so good," he hissed through clenched teeth, completely undone by the moist, contracting walls around him, coupled with her nails clawing at his back, her hips moving to the rhythm he set until Clark was calling out her name. There was a moment of clarity when he felt her release and suddenly, he was forced to push through a passage so tight, it drew a groan from his lips and shattered what control he had left.

"LOIS!" He cried her name, surrendering his pleasure and to her, his soul.

Chapter Eleven:

Avec Amour

Jimmy Olsen hadn't been to Smallville in years.

Even before Chloe's death, the town hadn't been graced by his presence for a long time. The last time he had been here, he had said goodbye to Chloe prior to leaving for Europe, to act as photographer to famous author, Kent Nelson, who was writing a travel book across the continent. They had said goodbye to each other, with all the usual promises of young love, unaware that the next time they faced each others, their feelings for each another would be remarkably distant. By then she would have started dating billionaire Bruce Wayne and he would have begun his off and on relationship with Lucy Lane.

When Jimmy returned to the States, Chloe was spending her time between her job in Metropolis, her commute from Smallville and her weekend trips to Gotham to visit Bruce. They had shared lunch and laughed about the old times, even though there was an underlying sense of sadness that they never really had a chance to be anything more to each other. Jimmy had come away from that afternoon saddened but content that the choices made by both were the right ones.

And yet on the day he found out she died, he wept like a child.

While he had been magnanimous in his offer to investigate the cold trail of Chloe's last story, Jimmy found it harder and harder to face when he closed in on the town of Smallville. Of course it did not help that the place hadn't changed on whit and Smallville looked like it was trapped in a snow-globe, frozen in time, an image of perfection that lasted forever. He had been an eager basement dwelling photographer for the Daily Planet the last time he was here and now he was a photo-journalist of some reputation. However, when he drove back into this town, five years felt like yesterday.

Driving through the main street hours after he left Metropolis, Jimmy found himself craning his neck as he sighted a familiar street or a new shop front that hadn't been there before. Unable to resist the nostalgia bug that bit him as he journeyed through town, Jimmy brought the car to the kerb in front of the Talon. Smallville's most enduring coffee house remained just the same while still managing to attract the younger crowds who always seemed to congregate to the place. Every small town had one, Jimmy supposed. A place where the young went and the old looked back with fond memories of their youth.

It was noon when he entered the Talon and once again felt older than his years even though he wasn't quite thirty. Surrounded by so many so many youthful faces, Jimmy wondered if he had ever been that young and remembered sitting around the tables with Chloe, Lois and Clark, chewing the fat about the world around them and the weird they dealt with on a day to day basis. Reaching the counter, Jimmy decided he would grab a coffee and head out to the Smallville dam to check out the site of the suspected toxic dump. Lois had said that the best way to learn what Chloe had discovered was to retrace her steps and that's what exactly Jimmy intended to do.

"Jimmy Olsen?" He heard his name being called.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Lana Lang Luthor smiling at her, carrying a tray in her hand, a familiar coffee shop apron wrapped around her body.

"Lana," Jimmy burst into a wide smile, "how are you doing?"

"Good, good," Lana said continuing to the counter where she relinquished the tray of empty mugs to the girl behind it. "It's been ages since I've seen you. What brings you to Smallville?"

Jimmy stared at her for a moment, trying to think of what to say. He was certain that Lois and Clark said that Lana was not to be let in on the truth regarding Lex's innocence in Chloe's death. However, he was never a very good liar and stumbled with how to answer. It came to him though in a flash of inspiration with less of a pause than might be deemed suspicious to the woman.

"I'm here investigating a possible toxic dump scandal," he explained, rather pleased with himself for coming up with the excuse.

"Really?" She raised a brow. "From where?" Luthor Corp had pulled up stakes and abandoned Smallville shortly after Lex's arrest. Lionel it seemed was done with Smallville, thankfully.

"We're not sure," Jimmy returned. "It’s a story that's been on ice for a while. We're finally sweeping the dust off it to investigate. Coffee please," he asked of the young woman manning the counter. "Its been a while since I've been in town," he faced Lana again. "But do you still take the old Creek Road to the dam?"

Lana chuckled, "no that takes you to Crater Lake. You take the turn off the highway, travel down Patterson Lane for three miles before coming unto the Dam Road," she explained.

"Okay," Jimmy nodded, trying to archive all this information for use later while wearing a dubious look at whether or not any of it would stick to his memory.

Lana noted the expression and smiled. "I tell you what, if you don't mind the company, I'll play tour guide and come with you."

"Oh no," Jimmy quickly back pedalled, certain that this wasn't a good idea since the directive from Lois and Clark had been to keep Lana out of the loop until there was more news. "I don't want to be a pest."

"Don't be silly," she said starting to untie the strings of her apron. "I have a few hours before I have to pick up Laura and you can catch me up on what's happening with Lois."

In truth, Lana had an ulterior motive for wanting to accompany Jimmy. Like the rest of the planet, Lana read the newspapers. The appearance of Superman had created similar hysteria in Smallville as the rest of the world but Lana knew immediately who the mysterious hero was. Just like Lois Lane would know him from sight, Lana Luther recognised Clark Kent even if he was wearing blue tights and a cape. With Jimmy being the photographer who snapped the almost mythic picture of Lois being rescued by Superman, Lana wanted the inside scoop what was happening in Metropolis.

Jimmy was at a loss over how to turn down her offer of assistance without drawing her suspicion and so he justified her presence with the fact that he wouldn't give Lana the specifics on what he was truly after. Not a difficult thing to do since he had no idea himself what he was looking for. This was a hunch, not only on his part but also on the parts of Lois and Clark. Who knows, he thought to himself, maybe Lana's familiarity with the terrain might even help.

"Sure," he answered, conceding defeat but lacing his response with a smile so she wouldn’t think she was intruding, even if in reality she was.

“Great,” Lana burst into a smile and for a moment Jimmy understood what had dazzled both Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. The woman lit up a room when she smiled, no doubt about it he thought. “I’ll just grab my bag.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I get coffee,” he returned amiably, thinking it wouldn’t be so bad having her along, could it?

In retrospect, it was still a difficult question to answer.

**********

Quickly into the drive towards the dam, Jimmy discovered Lana’s ulterior motive for joining him. No sooner than he had driven down the road heading out of Smallville proper, Lana began questioning him about this 'Superman'. Uncertain of how much she knew about CK’s business, he was cautious with his answers, telling her only that he knew what everyone else did, despite the picture. Lana seemed contemplative of his answers and if CK was uncertain whether or not Lana recognized him in tights, Jimmy was able to offer him a convincing argument for it. Despite his guarded answers, Lana did not press and Jimmy respected her when he sensed she was willing to kerb her curiosity to protect Clark and his secret.

Of course, while he could feign ignorance about Superman, he could not claim the same about Clark Kent.

"How is he?" She asked with a hint of affection in her eyes as she made the inquiry.

"You know CK," Jimmy replied, recognizing the bittersweet sadness, "never changes."

The romance of Clark Kent and Lana Lang was almost a Shakespearean tragedy. Jimmy had sat on the sidelines watching the drama unfold in its ultimate year, having heard the highlights from Chloe when they still dated. Theirs could have been the story of Prince Charming and the Princess, except in this case the Princess ran away with the bad guy and married him.

Not the best end to an old story.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I suppose he doesn't. I gather Lois wasn't happy to see him?"

If it were her, Lana would be livid. Of course, it wasn't her that Clark would run back to. She had burned those bridges long ago and it was best that things were left were they were. By the time they had finished with each other, neither were the image they appeared in each other’s eyes.

"That's putting it mildly," Jimmy retorted as they put more and more distance between them and the town. With the trees rushing past in blurry, verdant images, the landscape of Kansas appeared on either side of the car. Jimmy took a moment to admire the simplistic beauty of the cornfields and the blue sky above it. In the city, it was easy to forget that a more serene life existed beyond concrete and steel.

"Lois is well... Lois." He answered as if that explained everything. To those who knew Lois personally, it explained quite a bit.

"She'll come around," Lana returned with a faint smile, knowing what she saw in Lois' eyes that morning at breakfast. Had she ever loved Clark that much? After seeing Lois' eyes, even when the words she spoke were full of anger, Lana saw the terrible sadness at losing him. No, Lois would keep her distance for awhile until that formidable temper wore away and then she would admit it to herself and to Clark, whether or not it was deserved. "When it comes to great relationships, the best ones are the ones we fight."

Jimmy threw her a sidelong glance wondering if she meant the same of her relationship with Lex Luthor. For the first time, Jimmy experienced the same guilt at keeping silent about CK's big bad and its part in Lex's arrest. As much as Lex had been a victim, languishing in prison for five years, Lana Lang had been in a cage of her own. One where she believed her husband was a murderer. How was she going to react when she learned the truth?

Jimmy had no wish to be there when she found out.

***********

It became evident to Lana within half an hour of arriving at the Smallville dam that Jimmy Olsen was looking for more than the site of an illegal toxic spill into the water. For one thing, the waters of the dam appeared serene, with little indication of pollution. There was none of the tell tale signs of dead fauna or any kind of sediment building on the river bed, nor was there any effect on the surrounding flora. In fact, Smallville dam looked as it always had, a clean, fresh source of irrigation and drinking water for Smallville and the surrounding communities.

Saying nothing about her suspicions, she engaged him in small talk, noting that his eyes seemed to be fixated on more than just the water. This could be a reporter's trick, Chloe was pretty much the same. Observation was key, Chloe had often said and so Lana put down Jimmy's preoccupation to that creed. However, she couldn't dispel the notion that he was looking for more. They spoke of Smallvile, the friends left behind and their future plans, whilst carefully side stepping the white elephant of Lex Luthor.

After an hour, Jimmy arrived at the dam itself. Although operational, there were restricted signs all over the place, warning instability. Five years ago, a minor tremor had caused significant damage to the damn and while the main structure remained safe enough to hold back the tide, other older and disused parts of it had been submerged, in some places had collapsed all together. While the local council had repaired as much was possible, town coffers were not what they were used to be as Luther Corp had pulled out town leaving many without work. A year later, Queen Industries opened a factory in town that replenished the town again but the issue of repairing parts of the dam that was obsolete was never broached again.

Jimmy stared at the fence line that barred the portion of the dam that was almost certainly the site of Luthor's Section 33.1 laboratory. Had Chloe come here all those years ago and discovered something that cost her, her life? It hardly seemed as if anyone had been here in a while. Grass and weeds had grown through the cracks of concrete and entrance was covered in cobwebs.

"Lana," Jimmy declared. "Why don't you head back to the car? I'm going to take a look in there."

"Why?" She asked pointedly, the belief that he was not here about a toxic scandal solidified in her brain now. "It’s nothing more than a bunch of abandoned access tunnels. Besides, the town council have been saying for years its dangerous in there. The earthquake shook a lot of thing loose, you don't want to be there if any of it goes."

"I won't be that long," he said, walking along the fence, looking for a spot to climb over or through. "I'll just take a look and get out."

"Jimmy, don't you think its time you tell me what this is about?" She looked at him pointedly.

Crap, Jimmy swore inwardly. "What do you mean?" He asked, still feigning ignorance even though he knew that the excuse was wearing thin.

"You're not here for a toxic dump scandal," she declared. "You're after something specific. Why don't you tell me and maybe I can help you. I've lived here all my life. If there's some dirt about Smallville to be found maybe I can give you an insight." She offered.

Jimmy sighed, trying to decide what to do before he finally gave in, partially. "Lana, I'm following Chloe's last story. I don't think it was about Lex and Section 33.1, I think it was about something else."

Considering the fact that the prosecution's entire case against Lex had been built on the belief of Chloe's discovery of his involvement in 33.1, Lana took it rather well. Her expression revealed nothing of her emotions and her mask could have been carved of marble instead of flesh. She eyed him for the longest time, saying nothing and in that pause, Jimmy cursed himself for speaking. This was why he was just no good as an investigative reporter, he could never lie worth a damn or for that matter, keep his mouth shut.

"This is Clark's idea, isn't it?" She asked, blinking slowly.

"Yes," Jimmy saw no reason to lie and the truth would save him from answering questions it was not his place to answer.

"Is Lex innocent?" Her lips were almost trembling when she asked.

Hell, Jimmy swore and was determined this time to give nothing else away. "I don't know Lana," he said after awhile. "I only know that Clark asked me to come take a look around here because he thinks there was more to Chloe's death than we thought."

Lana Lang Luthor nodded, not trusting to say anything at that moment. Even though Jimmy had tried to hide it, she had seen the conflict in his eyes, the determination not to reveal too much. His body language spoke more succinctly then his words ever could. For five years, she had lived with the guilt that she had married the monster who had killed her best friend. Determined not to run away and hide, Lana had held firm in Smallville despite the small town notoriety that came with being married to such a man. She had tried to keep the stigma away from Laura and dreaded with each waking moment, the day when the child asked about her father. Through all this, she had managed to endure because she could rely on the truth. Whatever was done, was done for a just cause. A murderer had no part in her daughter's life.

If that wasn't true, if Lex was innocent then her crime would be worse than marrying a murderer. She would have turned her back on an innocent man and robbed Laura of her father. Lana couldn't even begin to fathom how she'd live through that.

"You have to let me help," Lana said evenly but the reason in her voice was being tethered by gossamer restraints. "I need to know the truth."

Jimmy nodded, unable to deny her that, damn what CK and Lois said. She had a right to know.

"Alright," he acquiesced but this time he felt no guilt in his concession. "If we're going to do this, then we have to go in there." He glanced at the open maw of the service door on the other side of the fence.

"Then let's go," she answered without hesitation.

Jimmy nodded, looking up at the fence. It did not have razor wire or security cameras. In fact, the lack of security was what ensured its anonymity. Who wanted to spend on all that money protecting nothing? "You think you can climb this?" He glanced at her and then back at the chain mail fence.

"I'll manage," she retorted.

Scaling the fence, it took no more than a few minutes before they had swung over the top and dropped onto the bitumen pave on the other side. Lana looked around and dusted herself off, wondering why she was entertaining this idea as they walked towards the opening. The law had found Lex guilty, she had nothing to blame herself for. She chanted that to herself as Jimmy knelt down to examine the heavy padlock that sealed the metal access door from the rest of the world. Unsurprisingly, the Daily Planet photographer was not about to be beaten by a mere lock and revealed his ability to break and enter as he produced a folded leather case containing picklock tools.

“I won’t ask,” Lana gave him a look.

Throwing her that school boy smile of mischief that often charmed more women than he knew, Jimmy smirked. “I actually learnt this from Lois. ”

“Oh that doesn’t surprise me,” Lana shook her head with bemusement. Lois Lane was a force to be reckoned with and with a slight twinge of resentment, Lana had to admit she was perfectly suited for Clark who was a force of nature himself. They were like two atoms smashing together, she thought.

Suddenly the lock clunked open and Lana felt some surprise to see Jimmy had managed to open the door. “No problem,” he grinned and pushed the rusty door in.

It made a loud groaning sound, a mixture of metal creaking and stone grinding. Lana winced as she heard it resist the intrusion until finally Jimmy’s insistence forced it to give way and it swung open. The photographer reached into his camera bag and produced a handheld torch. It was just as well because the sunlight only penetrated the first six or ten feet of the corridor the doorway emptied into. After that, the light diminished rapidly and by the time they had made the first turn, it was almost pitch black.

She could hear water dribbling in the distance and the smell of moist, dank air filled her lungs. Things scurried in the darkness and Lana began to rethink this whole idea of following Jimmy in the first place. However, the illumination from the xenon powered torch did a much to assuage her concerns. Light flooded the narrow corridor that seemed to lead downwards. The memory of being abducted in Mexico returned to her then but Lana forced the anxiety away. After nearly becoming a sacrifice to Aztec gods in their temple reeking of blood, Lana had opted to avoid dark, narrow passages.

“You okay?” He asked, noticing her silence.

“I’m fine,” she said shrugging it off. “So what are we looking for?”

“I don’t know really,” Jimmy replied, “Lex claimed that Section 33.1 used to be in the part of the dam that was unstable.”

“I thought this wasn’t about 33.1,” Lana inquired.

“It isn’t but my gut says something went down here,” Jimmy replied, unable to tell her that the most likely reason that Brainiac had framed Lex was what he had been doing in this place just before his arrest. If Chloe had come here searching a story about a toxic dump, she might have inadvertently led here, entertaining the possibility that the spill could have happened from inside the dam and who would pursue a lead in a locked up service passage that might be unstable? If he knew Chloe at all; that would have set her alarm bells off from a mile away.

They reached a juncture of the corridor and the evidence of disturbance became more and more apparent as the floor became covered with debris. Fallen chunks of concrete were on the floor, some had been eroded to fine silt by water that had long since drained away. There was nothing yet however to indicate that this place had been anything but forgotten by time.

“There’s nothing here,” Lana replied as they continued to walk until they reached another juncture and stronger evidence of the earthquake that caused the instability appeared.

A wall had crumbled entirely, the equipment within had been removed, probably when the dust had settled and Luthor Corp had sent in a clean up crew to remove any trace of the experimentation that took place here. A few pieces of furniture remained though, a gurney here, an IV stand there, just remnant enough to appear ominous. Lana tried to ignore what she was seeing, trying to imagine Clark being strapped down a gurney, fluids pumped into him while scientists treated him like a lab animal and worse yet, Lex presiding over it all.

“Let’s go,” she said turning away.

“Just a bit further,” Jimmy insisted, refusing to think that this place had nothing to tell them.

Leaving the room behind them, they continued their journey into the catacombs where the smell of mustiness was almost overpowering. This time however, they were rewarded by whole piles of debris, crumbled when the water had burst through. The signs of water damage were apparent and the mounds were not irregular clumps of concrete and rock but smoothed, worn silt on the surface, erosion having done its work well.

It did however, mark the end of how far they could go. The ceiling had collapsed above the mounds and only dark cracks appeared in place of a passage. He doubted that he’d fit through the narrow gaps and to make the attempt was inviting trouble. Jimmy resigned himself to turning back since he was not about to risk Lana’s life by being reckless. The whole thing could collapse if they went moving around in there.

“Well,” he sighed. “Looks like we’ve hit a dead end.”

“Yeah,” Lana said disappointed. For a moment, she had hoped that there might be something here, unfortunately disappointment was a feeling she had grown accustomed to.

Jimmy started to turn around when the light of the torch swung wide and suddenly, he heard Lana call out.

“WAIT!”

Freezing in place, he aimed the light at her just in time to see her small frame scrambling through the mounds of debris. The woman was squeezing through the piles, her lithe frame between them with ease into the darkness.

”Lana what are you doing?” He almost shouted.

“I saw something!” She hollered back, “Aim the light in here!”

Jimmy complied, wondering whether it was his lot in life to be ordered about by headstrong women.

Lana had been about to turn when something caught the light of Jimmy’s torch. It penetrated the blackness to catch her in the eye until she had to wince and turn away. Still, it was enough to demand investigation and driven by something she couldn’t define, Lana found herself crawling through the narrow spaces on her hands and knees, because slabs of rock that was once the ceiling, kept from doing anything else. The glare from the xenon torch found her mysterious object and when Lana reached for it, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting.

Until she heard the sick squelch of bone snapping. It took her an instant to realise that it was a ring she was holding, a ring with a finger still attached to it. There was no longer any flesh, but the finger was intact to the third joint, the metacarpophalangeal joint, Lana thought, remembering her biology classes. Her eyes moving slowly to the darkness from where the ring came, Jimmy’s light illuminated the rest of the hand it had been attached to.

“Lana!” Jimmy called out again. “What’s happening! What did you find?”

Forcing herself not to toss away the finger in revulsion, Lana enclosed it in her fist, ignoring the cold sensation of it against her palm as she crawled out of the crevasse. “I found something…” she spoke her voice shaken.

“Jesus Christ,” Jimmy burst out. “Don’t do that! Do you know how dangerous this place is?”

“I had to know what it was, I thought it might be a clue to the truth,” she kept herself from adding, or to finding out if Lex was really guilty. Opening her palm she examined the ring once she stomached removing the bones from it. Jimmy held open his camera case for her to deposit the remains in there, since he wasn’t eager to handle it himself.

It was a simple gold band, nothing extravagant about it. The thickness indicated that it was made for a man and with a flash of insight, Lana realised that this was someone’s wedding ring.

“There’s an inscription,” she said gesturing at him to angle the light so she could read it.

Pour mon mari, avec amour -Lillian

A summer in French and classes at high school gave Lana Luthor enough ability to translate it clearly and though it was in another language, its content was nothing less than illuminating.

“Oh my God,” she stared at the dark opening again. “Oh dear god…” She whispered.

“WHAT?” Jimmy demanded, starting to get panicked, not by her words but by the visible shudder in her body. “What does it say?”

Lana swallowed thickly before she answered him, her voice barely a whisper. “To my husband with love, Lillian.”

Chapter Twelve:

Forgiveness

Was it tomorrow already?

It still felt like yesterday as Lois Lane looked beneath her and saw the world moving by in a blur of dark indigo colours. Cool wind rushing through her hair, making her cheeks cold and instilling her with a sense of euphoria that no drug could ever match, Lois felt as if the five years apart had never been. With her arms wrapped around Clark's neck, eyes meeting on occasion to share the same thought in wordless communication, Lois felt like the vibrant young woman she had been when she first met him.

It seemed prophetic that they were returning to where it all had begun for them, to Smallville.

Within twenty minutes of getting off the phone with Jimmy Olsen, they had left her apartment, bound for the small rural community. Lois wondered what would its citizens think if they knew that not only had did Metropolis' best investigative journalist called their small town home, it was also home to the greatest hero the world would ever know. Even though Clark's foray as Superman had only just begun, Lois knew this without any doubt. It was his destiny to be a hero to the world and hers to be the woman who loved him.

Jimmy hadn't told them what he had found and Clark's determination to reach the photographer was driven by the fear that Jimmy might fall prey to the same alteration that Lex had. Especially if the Construct learned of his discovery, whatever it was. After having lost all remnants of his friendship with Lex, Clark wasn't prepared to lose Jimmy as well. Not when Jimmy was coming to mean as much to him.

It was an odd. In the past Jimmy had been an annoyance. Clark suspected his dislike had to do with the notion that anyone other than he could be the centre of Chloe's universe.

It was selfish and Clark knew it but he could not deny a part of him had entertained the possibility of taking his friendship with her one step further. However, Jimmy's arrival into her life intruded upon that unspoken hope. Even worse, Clark knew that such a relationship would only come about if he couldn't have Lana and was settling for Chloe. In retrospect, he was glad he had never crossed that line because even if it wasn't Jimmy but rather Bruce, Chloe deserved to be with someone who didn't think being with her was 'settling'.

Since his return however, without that between them, Clark found himself warming to Jimmy Olsen. Unlike Bruce (with whom he would really have to catch up with soon) or Lex, Jimmy was exactly what he appeared to be, courageous, forthright and loyal to his friends. He was accepting of Clark's secret and appeared almost privileged to be apart of a select group who knew the truth about Superman. What surprised Clark most however, was the fact that Jimmy had always been this way. Clark just never saw it.

Wearing the suit when he flew with Lois to Smallville, it seemed the more sensible course since anyone who saw him would recognise Superman, not Clark Kent. Despite his original misgivings about wearing the costume, he realised that Superman was developing into a completely separate identity from his own. Superman was larger than life, with the freedom to display his powers without fear of discovery and nowhere associated with a mild mannered reporter newly employed at the Daily Planet.

Arriving at the dam, Clark wondered what they could have discovered to warrant such insistence to stay on site. Jimmy had refused to meet anywhere else but at the dam and as Clark closed in on the place, he was able to see Jimmy wasn't alone. Lana was with him. What on Earth was Lana doing here? How had she gotten involved in this? Did Jimmy tell her about Lex? Clark hated to think the man could have such loose lips but he could think of no other explanation.

"Lana's here with him," Clark announced as they stared descending through the clouds, the panoramic view of the dam beneath their feet as they landed not far from the steel fence where Lana and Jimmy had sneaked through an hour before.

"Lana?" Lois exclaimed with surprise, trying to spot them but lacking the Kryptonian vision to do so. "What's she doing here?"

"I don't know," Clark shook his head and was tempted to eavesdrop on Lana and Jimmy's conversation before deciding against it. It was rude to intrude on their privacy.

"Goddamn Jimmy," Lois rolled her eyes in exasperation. "This is why he takes pictures and is no good undercover. The guy has no ability to lie."

"That's not entirely a bad thing Lois," Clark deadpanned but he wished Lana wasn't told about Lex yet, if that's why she was here.

"Boy scout," she snorted, tugging a dry chuckle from his throat.

Landing in the cover of some trees, Clark immediately changed into his street clothes, in this case, a pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt before he and Lois made their way through the tree line to meet Jimmy and Lana.

*****************

After their emergence from the passageway following their grisly discovery, neither Lana nor Jimmy had been in the mood to talk. Both were too engrossed with thoughts of their own as they individually pieced together the last day of Chloe Sullivan's life. For Lana, her memories had taken her even further back than that terrible day, to a dinner she and Lex had been having, shortly after Laura was born.

Being Lex Luthor's wife had meant that she was surrounded by a household of people who took care of her domestic needs, from the food she ate to the clothes she wore on her back. Maids, housekeepers, cooks, gardeners, the list seemed endless. However, when Laura was born, Lana was determined not to add a nanny to the ranks of live in staff. While she accepted the services of one during the day almost begrudgingly, for most part Lana preferred to do for Laura herself. Having lost her parents in the first meteor shower, Lana needed to establish that close bond with her child from the onset.

On the evening in question, Lana was exhausted and had acquiesced to Lex's demands that she get some rest and leave their daughter for this night at least to her nanny. A bout of colic had kept the child up for most of the previous night and being a new mother, Lana had fussed most of the night trying to get the child to settle down.

Lex had brought her a dinner tray and they had both curled up watching television, such a mundane thing for a billionaire and his wife to do but Lana found it was the simplest things that always brought out the best in their relationship. The telephone call had come in the middle of the Philadelphia Story and Lex's expression had gone from carefree to sombre in a space of seconds.

"What's happened Lex?" She asked.

"We've had some trouble at one of our labs," he answered her after hanging up the phone. The look in his eyes told her that he would be leaving soon. "Some kind of structural failure in one of the buildings," he added, the furrow in his brow growing thicker.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"We're not sure, it's at the Smallville dam. Some of walls have collapsed and flooded parts of the complex. A few people are unaccounted for."

"Oh my god," she exclaimed. "Do you need to go?" Her eyes showed understanding. Lex would want to investigate himself.

"I’m sorry," he apologized, "I have to see what's happening down there."

"Go," she retorted without hesitation. "Go and help if you can."

"I'll make it up to you," he said kissing her deeply before pulling away.

In the present, Lana thought of that incident. It happened a few weeks before Lex's arrest and Lana knew she had seen Lionel after that day and others since. For the first time, the quirks of fate that she had deemed fortunate now had a darker design. During the divorce, Lana's greatest fear was what kind of access the Luthors would demand to her daughter. Lionel's obsession with having a worthy Luthor heir had convinced Lana the man would try to wrestle away her daughter. Yet no custody application was ever made. Lana had counted herself lucky and never scrutinized the man's reasoning.

There were other things as well, Lionel's refusal to help Lex out of his situation. Despite the power struggles between father and son, there was some paternal feeling in Lionel for Lex; Lana had never understood why he had suddenly opted to withdraw his help. Neither had Lionel ever come to Lana about seeing Laura. There had been so many clues before this but Lana had never seen it. Perhaps to a degree, she didn't want to see it.

Now she understood. Lionel had been dead for five years and a stranger had been in charge of Luthor Corp.

"CK!" She heard Jimmy call out as they waited by the car parked next to the fence.

Raising her eyes, she saw Clark Kent appear with Lois Lane. Clark was not dressed as Superman but in the familiar jeans and t-shirt he had always favoured in the past. For a few seconds at least, Lana forgot their grisly discovery and felt like she was sixteen years old again where the world didn't seem like such a cruel hard place.

Even after all these years, even though he loved Lois without doubt or hesitation, there was something in him that felt remorse and regret whenever he laid eyes on Lana Lang. in her face, he saw his youth, his hopes and dreams, stillborn by fear and secrets. Loving her had changed them both and to this day, Clark did not know how to view that period in his life. With fondness or regret. Still, the boy he had been would always love her a little. Clark held onto that because it was important. It was a part of who he was and the man he had become.

"Lana," he offered her a smile.

"Clark," Lana returned his smile and hugged him warmly, genuinely happy to have him back even if he would never be hers. Their connection was such that it didn't matter who they loved in their lives. They would always be more than friends but less than lovers.

"Its good to have you home," she said before pulling away.

"It's good to be home," he remarked, glancing at Lois before turning back to Lana. "You look great and I hear Laura's wonderful."

"As her mother, I'm too biased to say otherwise," Lana returned, knowing that report came from Lois. She wanted to ply him with a thousand questions of where he had been, why had he gone but Lana sensed he had already gone through this with Lois and there was no need to rehash.

"So you found something?" Lois broke conversation, directing her question more at Jimmy than, trying to get past all the emotions swirling around them. She was never good with such moments and often tried to avoid them as best she could.

"Hell yeah," Jimmy declared, also eager to get down to business. "We went searching in the dam, to take a look at this structural damage that Lex was talking about…"

"Lex," Lana exclaimed. "You've spoken to Lex…?" She stared at Clark questioning.

"Yes," Clark nodded. "We'll explain in a minute. What did you find?"

"Its just like he said," Jimmy continued. "There was definitely some kind of quake, the place looked wrecked. A lot of water damage."

"Just like he described," Lois pointed out, noting Lana's impatience at an explanation about Lex's involvement. "He said that there was some kind of structural failure at the dam, the facility was flooded."

"I remember the night that happened," Lana spoke up. "It happened before Lex was arrested, at least a few weeks before."

"Lana and I went searching the debris," Jimmy replied, resuming his story. "Actually it was Lana who found it."

Both Lois and Clark looked at Lana. "Found what?" Lois asked first.

Lana reached into her pocket, once again ignoring the revulsion she felt when her fingers grazed the bone she had kept there to retrieve the gold ring. "This," she showed it to Clark. "Do you remember this?"

At first sight, Clark had to say no. It was a non-descript wedding band. His father had one like this. Men tended to favour less ostentatious ring wear (unless their name had Puff in front of it or something). With his enhanced vision, he studied it in her hand and looked up a second later after reading the inscription.

"This is Lionel's." He stated.

"Lionel's?" Lois blurted out.

"This was in the debris?" Clark asked Lana.

Lana and Jimmy exchanged glances before Jimmy answered, "CK, it was found in the debris, attached to a body."

"But that would mean…" Lois stopped short. "Oh Jesus…" she whispered.

"That's what he was after," Clark caught on and turned away, the truth was so obvious if you knew what you were looking. "He killed Chloe to get Lex's company."

"WHAT?" Lana demanded. "Who killed Chloe?"

Lois shot a helpless look at Clark, telling him without having to say a word that it was time to tell Lana the truth, whatever the consequences and however much it would hurt the woman to hear it. Lana wasn't a fool, she was starting to see the truth herself and she would hate those who had knowingly kept her in the dark. "Clark…" Lois uttered, "We have to tell her."

"TELL ME WHAT?" Lana almost shouted because this sickening sensation in her stomach was telling her that her worst fear since this had all started might actually be the truth she refused to entertain for the last five years.

"Lex didn't kill Chloe," Clark spoke, wearing an unreadable expression on his face as he saw hers turn to utter anguish.

"No," she stated but it was mostly reflex, a coping mechanism to hold back the tidal wave of guilt that would soon crash down on her. "There were pictures," she whispered, "I saw them."

Clark wanted to approach her and yet he knew that when she came to hear the rest of it, comfort was the last thing she would want from him. Instead, it was Jimmy who went to her, putting a hand on her shoulders, offering her his support.

Grateful to Jimmy for the action, Clark spoke further. "It was Milton Fine."

"Fine?" She stared at him in horror, recognising the name. The shape shifter. Fine had been some kind of artificial intelligence, able to morph into any likeness. After the whole episode with Zod, Lex had explained it to her. "How do you know?" She questioned.

Here it was, crunch time. There was no avoiding it now. He had to tell her the truth and did so bracing himself, knowing his Kryptonian skin would not protect him, "when I saw Chloe's body, I found a piece of the black ship in the wound."

A sound escaped her throat, half sob, half fury, all anguish. "That was five years ago!" She spat at him. "You knew for five years that he didn't do it?" She crossed the space between them.

"Lana, its not Clark's fault…" Lois started to say, trying to intercede for her lover because she knew what Lana was feeling and yet suspected that words wouldn't be enough to quell her anger, how could it be?

"The hell it isn't," Lana pushed past and stormed up to Clark, striking him across the face in merciless retaliation. "How could you!" She screamed at him. "How could you not tell me?! How could you let me abandon Lex knowing that he was innocent! My God Clark, how could you do that to me? I have spent the last five years thinking the man I loved was a murderer when all the while he was innocent! I have hated myself for loving a monster! I told Laura Lex was dead just so she wouldn't ask questions about where she came from and all the while he was begging me, begging me Clark to believehim!"

Jimmy stepped in again and this time, Lana did brush him away as she wept into his shoulder, with each sob a dagger to Clark's heart. He had thought he was done hurting to Lana Lang. How terrible to learn that he was still capable of breaking her into pieces again.

"Lana, I'm so sorry," Clark tried to explain, feeling the sting even as profoundly as when he received the same from Lois. Only this felt worse. It felt a thousand times worse because it wasn't just Lana that had been hurt by his silence but also an innocent child. Just as Lana knew how it was to be denied a father, Clark had unknowingly condemned little Laura to the same fate.

"I wasn't thinking when I found out about Chloe's death, I really wasn't," he insisted, desperate for her to understand what had motivated his actions, although none of it seemed terribly important in the face of her pain. "I didn't think of the consequences of my actions and by the time I did, it was too late to help Lex." The words sounded meaningless even as he said them.

"I will never forgive you for this," she hissed, eyes burning with fury as she walked past him.

Clark blinked slowly as Lana went, unable to say anything else.

"Clark, she didn't mean that…" Lois started to say.

But even as she said those words, he could see the lie in Lois' eyes.

**************

Jimmy had volunteered to take Lana back to the Talon which was just as well, Lois thought, since it would spare Clark feeling any more guilt than he already did. As much as she tried to offer him words of comfort, Lois could not deny that Lana's fury was justified. For five years, Lana had denied Lex's existence to her child and to herself because she thought he was a murderer. While Lex was no saint for certain, Lois understood Lana's pain came from her guilt at abandoning her husband when he needed her faith the most and it was this fact more than any other that tormented Lana so.

"Are you alright?" She asked as they moved into the passage way to see what Jimmy and Lana had found.

"I’m fine," he said quietly and from the timbre of his voice, Lois knew he was not.

"She's just angry Smallville," Lois spoke up, her intertwined fingers giving his a squeeze as they walked.

"She has a right to be," he said shortly. "I was a coward Lois."

"No you weren't," she spoke automatically.

"I was a coward," he repeated before pausing to look at her. "All my life I've run away from everything. Whenever it got too hard, I ran. Oh sure, I told myself I was protecting the people that I loved but the truth was I was protecting myself. I kept my secret from Lex and it destroyed him. I kept it from Lana and drove her away. I kept denying who I was and because of that Chloe died and if that wasn't lesson enough, I ran away from you because I didn't want to deal with living with the consequences of what happened. Every time I've had to make a tough choice, I've taken the easiest one and now…"

"Enough," Lois stopped him. "Yes, you screwed up." She wasn't going to pad this for him. If they were going to do this, then they were going to do this right. "You did, okay? I'm not going to deny it but part of being the man you've become is to accept that you've screwed up. If you can't do that then you have nothing in common with the four billion of us who occupy this planet with you. You're human Clark, you maybe able to bend steel and shoot light rays out of your eyes but you are human and humans make mistakes. Living with them is also part of being human, just like forgiveness." She took his face in her hands. "I forgive you and if Chloe were here, she'd forgive you too but none of that means anything if you don't forgive yourself."

Clark pulled her to him, holding her because right now, he needed to feel her against her. He needed forgiveness and he needed to undo the damage he had done, not just to Lex but to Lana and her child. "I love you Lois," he whispered. "The best thing I ever did in my life was figure that out."

"Well," she pulled back and offered him a typically cocky smile, "highlight of your life." She winked. "Come on Smallville, let's go make this right."

**************

Lana walked into her daughter's bedroom having dismissed the babysitter for the night. The little girl was still awake, her small voice echoing in the darkness as she spoke in soft whispers to the stuffed rabbit she was holding above the covers. It often amazed Lana how looking at her little girl having imaginary conversations with a rabbit, called Mr. Fuzzyfeet, was a tonic to revive her soul when it was at its battered worse.

"Mommy," Laura smiled happily. "Are you going to read me a story?"

"I thought Janice read you one already?" Lana pointed out, sitting on the side of the girl's bed. "You trying to trick me into a second?"

Laura giggled. "Mr. Fuzzyfeet said I should try."

"Mr. Fuzzyfeet is sneaky," Lana chuckled, wiping away the last of the tears she had shed on the ride home away.

"He's a rabbit mommy, he has to be sneaky." The girl stared back her at her as if this was the most logical thing in the world.

"Of course he does," she laughed. "Give me a hug baby."

"Why?" the little girl asked as she started to sit up.

"Because mommy needs one," Lana replied and drank in the comfort of her daughter's embrace.

Chapter Thirteen:

Barney Takes A Tumble

While it had taken Jimmy and Lana careful meandering in the dark to find the body of Lionel Luthor in the collapsed remains of Lex’s Section 33.1 facility, Clark was able to lead Lois to it in a matter of minutes. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he was able to see through the dim lighting provided by Lois’ torch, the crumbled piles of debris and other obstacles that lay between them and the grisly discovery made this evening.

Holding Lois’ hand firmly in his, Clark led the way forward, seeing the path ahead as if he were standing in broad daylight. While he could have flow to the site in seconds, the truth was, he could not be certain if the structure would handle the stress put upon it by the high velocity turbulence that resulted from flight or superspeed. Clark had no fear of the structure crumbling but they would destroy any evidence that could be used to exonerate Lex and after the terrible scene with Lana, Clark wasn’t about to take the risk when it would take them only a few minutes longer to reach the same end.

Trying not to think too much on Lana, especially after he allowed Lois’ advice to sink into his brain, Clark knew that she was right. He could not let his guilt cripple him. In the past, he had allowed this to become his habit and unfortunately, the result was nothing good. Guilt had not helped him to be any kinder to the people he loved. Instead, it had given him an excuse to push them away.

Keeping his mind focussed on the business at hand, Clark scanned the walls of Section 33.1 and found the chilling evidence of Lex’s experiments here. There were skeletons in this place, he thought shuddering inwardly as he explored the passages. More than just Lionel’s. As much as he wanted to exonerate Lex for Chloe’s death, he couldn’t refute Lois’ assertion that Lex was never truly an innocent. This place had been the culmination of his obsession that began when his Porsche crashed into the river.

“Can you see anything?” Lois asked, trying to make heads or tails of the place? “All I see is traces of Lex’s body and fender shop and its seriously making me question why we are freeing him in the first place.”

“Right there with you,” Clark frowned, forcing himself to remember the same thing. “I supposed the Construct might have done us a favour by erasing his memories. At least he won’t think that Kryptonians are coming to invade the Earth.”

“Or know that you’re Superman,” Lois deadpanned. “Honestly Clark, I wasn’t that comfortable with him having that information. Five years locked away in a prison for a crime he didn’t commit…this time,” she added after a pause. “That can change a person. As badly as you feel about what happened to Lex, not all of that was your fault. Lex has been playing with fire for a long time. It was just a matter of time, he got in over his head.”

“True,” Clark had to concede the point. “It was Lex that decided to work with Milton Fine in the first place. If he hadn’t been trying to figure out the technology of the Black Ship, maybe Fine wouldn’t have gotten….” Clark stopped speaking abruptly.

“What?” Lois asked as they came to a section of tunnel that was almost entirely sealed off.

Clark’s breath caught in the darkness and Lois felt a chill run down her spine.

“I found Lionel,” he said after a long pause. Clark spent a long moment taking in sight of the bleached bones, still swathed in one of the man’s expensive suits. There was a time when Clark believed he could never mourn a Luthor, least of all Lionel. However, as he looked all that was left of Lionel Luthor, Clark couldn’t help feel a tinge of remorse. After Lionel had been given a second chance of life by being a vessel to Jor-El, the billionaire had tried to be a friend to him. The death of Jonathan had been new at the time for Clark to ever accept Lionel as genuine but eventually he was able to regard Lionel as an ally at least.

Lionel had proved more than once that he was able to put Clark before his own son, further fracturing the relationship between himself and Lex forever. It grieved Clark to know like Chloe, he had been unable to save Lionel.

He was about to turn away when he caught sight of something else, not far away from Lionel under all that debris. It could have been possible that it was right next to Lionel when this placed had been chosen for the billionaire’s resting place, the currents and water damage could have shifted much in the time both had been emersed. Clark stared, taking it in, letting the image sink in.

“Lois, he’s not alone.” Clark declared, staring at the second corpse, in almost the same state of deterioration as Lionel’s remains.

“Not alone?” Lois tugged at his sleeve. “What do you mean?” She looked at him mystified when he turned back to her.

“There’s another body with him,” Clark repeated himself before adding, “by the looks of it, they may have been dumped there together.”

“Oh God,” Lois exclaimed, feeling her stomach hollow at the idea that they might have found the Construct’s killing pen. “Just how many people did that damn thing kill?”

“I don’t know,” Clark shook his head grimly, feeling similar revulsion. “He’s had five years to get very good at it. We’ve got to get the cops here,” he stated firmly. “We’ve got to get them to exhume the bodies. Lois, this could be it. If we can prove that Lionel has been dead for five year and that someone else has been impersonating him for all that time, they might believe that the same person could have impersonated Lex while killing Chloe.”

“No,” Lois said quickly, “we can’t call the local cops.” She spun on her heels, the balls of her feet making a scraping noise as she did a 180 out of the tunnel. “Clark, as Lionel Luthor, he could afford to bribe anyone from here to lose the evidence. No we need someone we can trust to make sure this doesn’t get mislaid or worse.”

“Okay,” Clark could believe that, having dealt with Lex long enough to remember how crafty the Luthors were at avoiding arrest. “You got any ideas?”

“Yeah I do.” Lois tossed him a nod as she continued out of the tunnel, skipping over rocks and pieces of rusted scrap at a hasty pace. “I need a signal,” she declared, fishing her cell phone out of her jacket, flipping it open and illuminating her face with the soft, blue glow of the display. “I know someone.”

“You know someone?” Clark caught up with her. “Who do you know?”

“Smallville,” Lois gave him a look of impatience. “I have spent the last five years building up a pretty good reputation as a reporter you know. I’ve got sources and made contacts in certain places.”

Clark didn’t doubt it. Her stories involved every thing from mobsters, to corporate cover-ups. Lois had a habit of pissing the wrong people off but he supposed the result of that was making friends with the right people. Following her out of the tunnel, Clark was grateful to be out of there. The smell of death hung off the walls of that place, not simply because they had found bodies there but because of the experiments that had taken place here. Experiments that required hospital beds with arm and legs straps.

Once in the open, Lois noted the signal bars on the phone and immediately started dialling. So far no one was aware of their nocturnal excursion into the disused part of the Smallville dam but after Lois made her call, that was going to change swiftly.

With his enhanced hearing, he heard Lois’ mysterious contact answering her call when the ringing tone ended abruptly.

“Maggie!” Lois Lane exclaimed, recognising the dry, smoky voice of Chief Inspector Maggie Sawyer of the Metropolis SCU, a major case squad that had been formed to deal specifically with the growing number of Meteor Generation related crimes. “It’s Lois.”

“Hey there,” Maggie greeted her. “How’s Superman’s girlfriend these days?” the woman couldn’t resist smirking and Lois who knew Clark could hear her conversation, threw the man of steel a look of chagrin.

“Very funny,” Lois grumbled before continuing the conversation. “Maggie, I got a problem. I found something in Smallville, something big. I need to turn it over to someone I can trust. Someone who will get it to the DA and not bury it.”

“Wait a minute,” Maggie almost snorted in disbelief. “Are you okay Lane? Since when do you hand me over any evidence that might be part of some big story before you break it?

Clearly, she knew Lois well, Clark thought.

“Maggie, cut the sarcasm okay? I’m serious. I need you and a bunch of cops you trust explicitedly to get over here with a meat van. I’ve discovered the remains of two bodies whose identities you’re not going to believe until you see for yourself. I found them in the abandoned service tunnels of the Smallville damn. They’ve been here for five years.”

Clark could hear the woman pausing.

“Alright Lane,” Maggie conceded at last. “I’ll believe you but if you’re wrong, next time we go out for drinks, I get to pick the place and it’s not going to be some line dancing country bar.”

Lois winced, perfectly aware that Clark could hear every word they were saying to each other. “Hey you didn’t complain when you went home with that cute cowgirl.”

“You could have come with us,” Maggie smirked on the other end.

“Uh huh,” Lois glanced at Clark and saw him grinning like an idiot. “Just get over here,” she retorted and ended the call.

“Lois…” he started to say.

“Not one word Smallville” she warned.

“Of course not,” he replied. “However, if I had to pick one….”

“Clark!” Lois hurled her notebook at him.

*********

Jimmy should have headed back to Metropolis but after Lana’s devastating confrontation with Clark about Lex’s innocence, he found himself unable to abandon his partner in crime for the day when the time came to leave. Instead, he waited at the counter of an empty Talon, making himself a coffee and wondering what he could possibly say to the woman after what she had learned today.

“You’re still here,” Lana said descending the steps when she heard him downstairs.

“Yeah,” Jimmy nodded. “Kind of figured you might want to talk.”

“Talk,” Lana sighed. “Once upon a time, that’s all I ever wanted to do. Now, I wondered if I was able capable of listening.”

“Sit down,” he said pulling up a chair for her. “I know I don’t look it but I do a mean latte.”

Lana managed a weak smile and nodded, “thank you Jimmy,” her eyes misting over with emotion and Jimmy Olsen saw the dazzling beauty that had made CK and Lex such bitter enemies.

“Lana, you couldn’t possibly have known,” he offered, recognizing what he saw in her face as guilt.

“I know,” she nodded, her lips quivering. “But it doesn’t make me feel better or change the fact that Laura doesn’t know her father. When I was a child, I swore I’d never leave my children, never let them lose a parent the way I did and here I go, doing the very same thing to my own daughter.”

“Look, it’s not too late,” Jimmy retorted. “Who remembers anything at five anyway? I can barely remember anything other than the fact that the Transformers were really cool.”

Lana let out a soft laugh, devoid of any humour and she reached over the counter and squeezed Jimmy’s hand, gratefully. “Thank you,” she said softly. Lana did not feel any better by anything he said but sometimes, it was just nice to have someone listen anyway.

“You know,” a voice that was not Jimmy’s came between them. “I thought that if I let you alone Lana, you’d stay out of my business.”

Both Lana and Jimmy’s heads turned at the same time, only to find that the Construct had entered the Talon and was standing only meters away from them. If not for what they knew, neither could have imagined that the man standing before them was anything but Lionel Luthor. Everything about the impersonation was identical to the original. Lana stared at him with new eyes, trying to seek out the clue that would tell her he was false.

There was none.

Yet she knew he wasn’t Lionel. She knew it. With every fibre of her being, Lana knew that the skeleton she had found in the dam. That was Lionel. For years she questioned his behaviour, never looking too closely because it suited her well to do so but now she could not longer hide from the truth or herself.

“You are not Lionel.” Lana spoke slowly forcing out each word with seething anger.

“Lana,” Jimmy cautioned, sensing the woman’s emotions were such that she might attempt to do something incredibly ill advised.

“It’s alright Mr. Olsen,” the Construct responded. “Lana is quite right. I’m not who I appear to be.” His voice was dripping with condescension.

Aware of just how much trouble they were in, Jimmy resisted the urge to make any quips, less he provoked the bad guy who had Superman’s powers.

“You bastard,” Lana hissed, her fury frothing over her ability to restrain herself. “You killed Chloe!”

“A means to an end,” the Construct said dispassionately, its features melting then from the visage of Lionel Luthor to the more familiar image of Milton Fine, with his dark hair and cheekbones so sharp, they could like a knife.

Seeing Fine as he truly appeared was all the provocation Lana’s precarious balanced sense of outrage could manage.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” She screamed running forward.

“LANA NO!” Jimmy shouted but to no avail.

The Construct caught her with one hand before she could even reach him. His hand flew out like a whip and clasped powerful fingers around her throat. Lana felt herself hoisted off her feet, dangling inches off the floor. Clawing at the vise like grip around her throat, she struggled to breathe, coughing and choking.

Jimmy was running at the Construct even before he had sense enough to think better of it. He grabbed a heavy stool and swung it at the sentient AI. The Construct blocked the blow with ease, the stool crumbling against the density of Kryptonian steel like kindling. Jimmy saw the pieces break apart in his hand. He took a step back but never had a chance to get any further than that.

The Construct lashed out with barely a fraction of its power. The blow sent the human flying through the café, through the glass of a window and into the street outside. His violent expulsion from the Talon drew screams of horror and shock from the passers-by on the streets of the small town. Cars came to a halt with a sudden screech as concerned townsfolk came to investigate.

Jimmy was not conscious for any of this.

“JIMMY!” Lana cried out, struggling from breath. “You…you…bastard,” she wailed, “what do you want?”

“From you?” The Construct stared at her, still holding onto the human female as she were a stray animal he had retrieved. “Nothing. From Kal-El, a great deal. I knew I would never get his cooperation to open the portal to release Zod, not unless I found something of greater value that he would not be able to do without. I thought that I might use Lois Lane and then your husband Lex, found something that made my need for Kal-El obsolete. Of course, he never knew what it was and frankly had I not been monitoring his activities, I might not have discovered it myself.”

“What are you talking about?” Lana demanded, finding each breathe a struggle. Holding onto his hands to keep from choking herself, Lana only half listened to the Construct purge his memory for her benefit.

“Naturally, I had to control of the project and that required stepping into Lex’s place. However, thanks to Jor-El planting his essence in Lionel Luthor, I could not hope to replace Lex in his life. Furthermore, I had neither the use nor the patience to play husband to you. So he simply had to be removed. I had planned to step into Lionel’s place and then at a later date, Lex would suffer some unfortunate mishap and that would leave me in charge of Luthorcorp. Unfortunately, when I sought to put my grand scheme into place at the abandoned Section 33.1 facility at the dam, Chloe Sullivan saw me or rather Fine. I could not allow her to reveal my plans to Clark could I?”

“Oh God…” Lana whimpered, blinking fresh tears as the truth was revealed to her in the form of the Gordian knot the Construct had bound Lex with. “You didn’t have to kill her,” she sobbed. “You didn’t have to…”

“If you only knew the prize my dear,” the Construct said unaffected by her emotional outburst. “You might disagree…or not.” He shrugged.

“So why isn’t Zod here?” Lana snapped, trying to keep him talking because that would give her time to think of something else.

“Because Kal-El left and the prize, though valuable was inaccessible to me. It required some one from the House of El to activate it. I would have gone to the Fortress to find the misguided fool but he had vanished completely and so I was trapped in this charade, playing a human of all things. However, I knew he would return. His contamination by his adoptive parents was too complete. All I had to was wait.”

Lana however was no longer paying any attention to Fine because she was seeing something even worse than her possible end and that was her daughter staring at her through the wooden rails of the staircase leading down to the Talon from the apartment above. Laura was clutching her doll, her small face contorted in fear. Lana wanted to scream out, to tell her daughter to run but she was too afraid to say a word, too afraid that any action might lead to Fine discovering her presence.

Unfortunately, there were not many things that could be hidden from a Kryptonian, be it human or machine.

“FREEZE!” Someone shouted. “Let her go!”

Oh no, Lana thought frantically. She looked up to see Sheriff Bigelow entering through the door, with his weapon drawn, aiming at Fine. “Get away Ron!” She gasped. “Go!”

The Construct allowed itself a faint smile, its eyes shifting slyly to the intruder before concentrating. A burst of heat vision escaped his eyes with the force of a blast furnace and consumed Sheriff Ronald Bigelow before he had to realise he was about to die horribly. In front of the gathering crowd, he disintegrated before their eyes, his body vanishing into embers of flame as quickly as the shriek he barely got a chance to utter.

“Mommy!” Laura screamed in terror. The girl was too frightened to move and too fearful for her mother to abandon her to the bad man.

“STARBUCK RUN!” Lana screamed back with every breath of air she could muster.

Lana was dropped to the floor suddenly. She hit the floor hard but scrambled to her hands and knees, driven by adrenaline and the ageless fury of a wolf protecting its cub, desperate to reach her daughter before Fine did. However, it was a futile effort. Her powerful instincts were no match for Kryptonian speed and in a blink of an eye, Fine had swept her daughter in his arms.

“MOMMY!” Laura wailed as the Construct lifted off the ground.

“No, please don’t!” Lana shouted after him. “Don’t take my baby! LAURA! Mommy’s coming! Let her go you bastard!” Lana ran up the stairs, trying to gain the elevation that the Construct was achieving to reach her daughter. “YOU’RE HURTING HER!”

Laura terrified screams continued to rise in pitch as she flew higher above the ground, her small fingers clawing at the air towards her frantic mother. The purple dinosaur tucked under her arm tumbled free amidst of her panic. It landed face up, its sightless staring indifferently to the scene unfolding.

Lana reached the top of the steps, until she was at eye level of Fine finally, “please,” she begged. “Let her, I beg you. She’s just a baby! SHE’S JUST A BABY!”

The Construct smiled. “Then you had best send Kal-El to retrieve her.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Lana uttered an anguish wail, almost rivalling her child’s desperate screams as the Construct smashed through the ceiling, leaving a gaping hole in the roof. Debris and plaster rained down on the Talon floor, covering Lana in dust as she watched her child disappear into the night sky with a murderer.

*********

When he heard the scream that seemed to reach through the night like a banshee’s wail, Clark Kent knew that it was Lana.

They were waiting at the dam for the arrival of Maggie Sawyer and the officers of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit when suddenly a scream so fierce and piercing, reached his ears without his even needing to focus to receive it. Long ago, Clark had learned how to filter out the thousands of sounds his super-hearing allowed him to receive in order to function without going mad from the noise. After his five years of training, his control was almost absolute and he kept the voices, the sounds, and the constant din of civilisation to a low drone in his head.

However, Lana’s scream had sliced through that barrier with ease.

“Something’s wrong,” he whispered, his eyes following the direction of that tortured cry.

“What?” Lois demanded and then the realisation sunk in. “Clark,” she stared at him with a fading pallor, “Jimmy and Lana. ”

Before she could even finish the sentence, she was in the air with him, streaking across the sky, with the wind rushing through her hair and the town of Smallville growing large in the distance. It took barely ten seconds for the journey to be completed by which time, Clark found a landing spot a short distance from the Talon. Hurrying towards the local landmark, there was no doubt of the catastrophe that had taken place. People were gathered around the smashed front window, sidestepping broken glass and wood. Police cars were parked along the kerb, red strobes spinning their caution in all direction. The doors to the paramedic van in front of the Talon were splayed open and Clark saw two EMTs lifting a stretcher into the back.

It took only a second to realise who was being ferried away.

“Jesus, its Jimmy.” Clark whispered.

“Jimmy?” Lois gasped. “What do you mean Jimmy?” She was racing forward before Clark could tell her anything further.

Lois Lane raced to the side of her best friend who was quite unconscious on the stretcher. She gasped as she saw the terrible bruising and cuts on his face. His neck and head was held in place by emergency braces.

“Oh my God,” she cried out, covering her hand with her mouth in shock. “Jimmy! Can you hear me Jimmy?” Lois demanded of the unconscious photographer as he was being loaded onto the back of the van. “Is he going to be alright? Tell me something damnit!”

“Miss you need to step back,” one of the paramedics warned her gently. “He’s alive but we need to get him to the hospital right now. He may have serious head and spinal injuries.”

“Oh Jimmy,” Lois was trying hard not to cry for that was an utterly useless thing to do right now. However, for once she was too afraid to interfere lest she made things worse for Jimmy. She stepped back into Clark and turned around to embrace him hard, needing the comfort. Clark watched Jimmy through the doors of the ambulance, even after they were sealed to the world, trying to crush the fury inside of him so he could think rationally. His father often said that human emotions were a weakness.

This time for once, Jor-El was right.

“We have to find Lana,” Lois said disengaging herself from him and hurried into the ruined mess of Talon.

Pieces of mortar, brick and other materials were strewn across the floor of the café. Police officers were crowded around what appeared to be a charred mess in the middle of floor. The stench turned Lois’ stomach. Clark followed behind her, his x-ray vision having already shown him what had transpired here much to his own horror.

Lois saw Lana seated on steps leading to the upstairs apartment. Someone had draped a jacket over her shoulders. “Lana.” She called out.

Lana lifted her eyes to Lois’ and the expression the reporter from Metropolis saw, made her stomach churn even worse than the smell in the place.

”Lana, what happened?” Lois asked, even though it seemed like a stupid question.

“Fine was here,” Lana answered mechanically.

“Oh Christ,” Lois gasped and then realised something else. Jimmy was hurt but alive. Lana appeared seemingly unharmed…but she seemed like a woman numb from shock. Then Lois caught sight of Barney in the middle of the floor and truth hit her so strongly that her heart almost stopped.

“Lana, where is Laura? ” She was almost afraid to ask.

Lana stood up and brushed past her, not answering. Turning around, Lois saw that Lana was walking up to Clark, her expression unreadable.

“He took her because of you! He said that if I wanted her back, tell Kal-El to come get her!” Lana hissed, her words felt like blows against his skin.

“Lana, I’m so sorry,” Clark found himself saying for the second time this day. How much more would he put her through today? How much more could Lana lose before she broke into more pieces then could be mended?

“Sorry? That monster has my baby!” Lana screamed, “she’s just a little girl Clark!” She wept, pounding her firsts against his chest in frustration and fury. Clark did nothing to stop her, ignoring the physical blows when the mental ones did far more damage to his invulnerable skin. Lana’s desperate outrage melted into tormented sobs of anguish as Clark wrapped his arms around her and held her.

“Please Clark,” she sobbed into his shoulder, tears of anguish and desperation soaking his t-shirt. “Bring her home to me. She’s all that I have, bring my baby home!” She broke down in his arms at last.

Clark blinked and looked across to Lois, who eyes were filled with tears as well. The thought of that sweet little girl with the fairies on her wall paper and her love of penguins in the clutches of the Construct felt as terrible as knowing that it had killed Chloe.

“We’ll get her back Lana,” Lois said firmly, sucking up her own emotions and being strong for the man she loved and her friend. She placed a gentle arm on Lana’s shoulder and squeezed, willing that strength into the crushed woman as best she could. Clark covered Lois’ hand with his, never loving her more than at this moment.

“I promise you,” he whispered quietly to both of them. “I’ll won’t let him hurt her.”

And he meant it.

Chapter Fourteen:

Confrontation

“How the hell did we get here?” Lana Lang demanded as she pulled her coat closer to her skin.

“Magic carpet ride through the caves,” Lois answered as she held her ground, trying to steady her footing as she stared across the icy, snow covered plains. Even though it was night, her eyes danced with the glow of the northern lights in the distance. If their need to be here was no so urgent, she might have enjoyed the scenery.

“Why didn’t Clark come with us?” Lana asked impatiently.

“You know why,” Lois replied tautly and started walking forward, trudging through the snow.

Even though it was more than five years since she had made this trip, Lois Lane was not looking forward to this. She was here because she had to be, because Clark needed her to do this and because Laura’s life depended on it. Moving across the icy plain, she ignored Lana’s questions, paying enough heed to the woman to ensure that Lana was keeping up with her.

“Where are we going?” Lana demanded again, growing more and more annoyed at Lois’ silence, too full of her own fears for her daughter to recognise that Lois was suffering her own conflicts as she proceeded ahead.

“Look you wouldn’t wait in the car,” Lois retorted, not looking over her shoulder, “so just follow me and don’t ask questions. You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“I should have gone with Clark,” Lana retorted. “If he’s going to get Laura, I should have gone with him.” There was a hint of petulance in her voice.

Lois saw the shimmering light emanating beyond the crest of the hill she was walking up briskly. She steeled herself for it and held her breath as the last few steps were taken. Finally as she reached the crest of the hill, Lois was bathed in dazzling white light as she fixed her gaze forward.

“What are….oh my god,” Lana’s annoyed sentenced dissipated abruptly into wonder as she stared at the Fortress. For a few seconds she could do nothing but gape at the structure, a palace constructed from ice and crystal, with tall shimmering spires, crisscrossing each other, producing a glow of unearthly light that lit the whole landscape. It made the northern lights seem dull in comparison.

“What is it?” Lana whispered, catching up with Lois.

“That,” Lois said with no small hint of bitterness. “Is the fortress.”

Something in Lois’ tone made Lana hold back the rest of her questions although she continued to stare in awe as they neared the structure. For the moment at least, her thoughts was not entirely occupied with Laura’s abduction. She had yet to decide if this was a good thing.

When Clark had told Lois they needed to get help, she couldn’t understand why they were going to the Kawatche Caves. Luthor Corp had relinquished its interest in the site after Lex’s arrest and Lionel had returned its administration to the remnants of the Kawatche people who lived in the area. Since then, Lana had not given the place a second thought. However, when Lois was told to get help, Lana was determined to take part despite Lois’ initial refusal of her assistance.

In the end, Lana refused to be swayed and so all three of them had gone to the caves with Clark leading them through the catacomb like tunnels. Both of them had been enigmatic, with Clark saying very little in the way of explanation. At first, Lana thought that it might have tied to the truth of about himself but now that she thought about it, Lana suspected that he didn’t speak of it because Lois did not wish to be there.

They had reached an alcove of rock that lead nowhere and once again, Lana plied him with questions that he somehow managed not to answer. However, explanations were not needed when he put his hand on the rock and something happened to the wall that filled the dark space with white light. Lois had taken her hand and pulled her to the source of it. There was an indescribable sensation as she passed through the stone, like her body was being taken apart, piece by piece.

Perhaps like being born in the world.

However, when she blinked again, the caves were gone and they were here.

“What is this place Lois?” Lana asked again as the structure loomed over them tall and imposing.

Lois let out a deep breath, her cheeks stinging from the cold as she glared at the fortress. How could something so beautiful be the cause of so much pain? Her emotions were choked with anger. As furious as she had been with Clark, what this place represented, what it taken from both of them, made that anger pale in comparison. Five years ago, she had wanted nothing more than to find this place, to find Clark and bring him back to his life but DNA had made that impossible. Now she was here at last and all she could feel was this loathing for what it might take from them again. As long as this stood, there was always the chance Clark could vanish from her life again.

And yet as much as she hated the fortress, it was all that Clark had left of his past and for that she couldn’t wish for it its destruction, no matter how much she want otherwise.

“Its Clark’s home,” Lois answered after a long pause. “This is what’s left of Krypton.” Turning to Lana for the first time, she said with a resigned sigh. “If there’s a way to stop Fine permanently, it will be here.”

Lana nodded, appreciating the explanation. “Lois, are you okay?” She asked, brushing her fingertips against Lois’ shoulder in a gesture of concern.

Knowing that Lana’s anxieties must surely be focussed on her child, that tiny bit of kindness went a long way to disarming Lois’ dark mood. “I’m fine,” she answered truthfully, as they walked beneath the intertwining spires of the fortress. “This is where Clark came after he left Smallville; this is where he did his training.”

“Training?” Lana asked.

Of course, she wouldn’t know Lois realised. Lana only had pieces of information regarding Kal-El and his destiny. She knew he was of Krypton and that it was a world destroyed but she didn’t know that his destiny had been written long before he arrived on this planet. Sometimes, Lois didn’t know what she hated most, the fact that he had a destiny at all or that he had never been given a choice in the matter.

“Yeah Daddy Joe has big plans for Clarkie before he got to this burg,” she said unable to hide her resentment. “Apparently, you can take the boy out of Krypton but you can’t keep the Krypton away of the boy.”

Lana wanted to ask more but suspected she had stumbled right into the heart of Lois’ insecurities about Clark’s alien heritage. Uncertain if this was the time to have a heart to heart conversation on the subject, Lana let it go for now, having learnt her lesson a long time ago about pushing too deeply when one had secrets to keep.

Lois led Lana to the main floor of the fortress and tried to imagine how Clark had spent five years in this cold, sterile place. How had he lived? There were so many questions about those years that Lois wanted to ask Clark. However, those answers would have to wait until later. The Construct had done enough damage and might yet do more if they did not stop it.

“I’m going to try and talk to him,” Lois replied, glancing at Lana before sweeping her gaze across the length of the fortress.

“Him? ” Lana stared at her bewilderment.

“Jor-El,” Lois answered after a moment. “Clark’s father.”

Anything else Lana had to say was cut short when she heard Lois shouted into thin air. “Jor-El! I’m here for Kal-El!”

She had spoken to Jor-El once before when Fine had injected Clark with red kryptonite and had precipitated the escape of Zod into the world, using Oliver Queen’s body. Then Jor-El or Fortress Joe as she had called him seemed like Clark’s very own Yoda. She hadn’t yet realised then that she risked losing Clark to the fortress, not until he was gone and it was too late to do anything about it.

“JOR-EL!” She shouted again, indignant with outrage that she had to be here, once again as supplicant. “KAL-EL NEEDS YOUR HELP!”

Lana watched this strange ritual, not certain what to think but remaining silent because like any mother; she was willing to let things play out if it meant getting her daughter back. She wanted to ask Lois whom she was talking to when suddenly…

LOIS LANE. IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME.

“Yeah well not long enough,” she muttered, upon hearing Fortress Joe’s voice echoing through the halls. “Clark needs your help,” she declared, her resentment making her to refer to Clark instead of Kal-El. “He needs to know how to destroy the Construct.”

“Who is that?” Lana sneaked up behind Lois and whispered into her ear.

“Clark’s father,” Lois shot back at Lana before addressing Jor-El again. “The Construct has been living as a human for the last five years, he’s kidnapped Lana’s daughter.”

THAT IS UNFORTUNATE. KAL-EL SHOULD HAVE COME HERE HIMSELF TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO DESTROY IT.

“Well he can’t!” Lois spat almost. “He’s out there trying to save a child.”

THE NEEDS OF ONE DO NOT OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE MANY.

“What?” Lana found her voice, hearing her child discussed so clinically. “Is he really in there?” She asked Lois before realising she really didn’t know what ‘in there’ actually meant. “She’s my daughter!” She barked back at the unseen but omniscient presence. “She’s not some statistic that’s ready to be written off! She’s my child!”

THE DESTRUCTION THE CONSTRUCT CAN CAUSE TO YOUR WORLD MAY HARM MILLIONS. IS ONE LIFE ANY MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT?

“I won’t let her die! You can help her!” Lana exclaimed, “She’s just a baby.”

Lois thought hard, listening to the cold words and knew that this was a moot argument. It didn’t matter if Clark was here or not, the fact was they needed help to stop the Construct and Fortress Joe was the only who could do it. Star Trek quotes not withstanding. However, if it wanted to argue semantics than Lois could do that just as well.

“Jor-El,” she bade Lana to be quiet for a moment. “If that’s really you speaking and not some program left behind to keep Clark on the straight and narrow, you of all people should know what a person would do to save their child. You chose to send your son to Earth in the face of billions dying. Were you able to sacrifice him anymore than you expect Lana to sacrifice her daughter? You are living proof of what a parent is willing to do ensure the safety of their child, how can you be Jor-El, father of Kal-El if you can’t understand that?”

There was no answer and Lois for all her anger and loathing of the Fortress, knew that some aspect of Jor-El was in the crystal structure left behind for Kal-El. What the man was had died with his world but Lois hoped the best of him, the part that wanted to save his son more anything could sill be reached through that somewhat elegant but too often ruthless voice that mimicked his presence.

“Please Jor-El,” Lois spoke with genuine emotion, “help us.”

************

It was a cool night in Metropolis.

Abel Munroe sat with his cup of coffee, brewed freshly from the little percolator he had behind the counter of the small newsstand sitting on the sidewalk, overlooking the Luthorcorp building. The man had had occupied this same space for something in the space of twenty years and it was with a great sense of pride that he managed to hold onto his little piece of Metropolis while around him the world evolved like some living organism into something unrecognizable. The newsstand was his kingdom and for those who stopped here on the way to work or in transit to other places, grabbing a newspaper from Abel was part of their daily ritual.

In twenty years, Abel had seen many things in his city change but had to confess that despite it all, Metropolis was still the greatest city in the world.

It wasn’t a sewer like Gotham, wasn’t all flash and glitter like Central City or even a try hard like Coast City. Metropolis was the grand dame, older and wiser, yet managing to maintain her dignity and her history. Abel liked that about it. Sitting outside the newsstand, with coffee in his hand, watching people go by, if he lived out his last hour this way, he would die a contented man.

On this particular evening, the pulse of Metropolis had no less abated with the setting of the sun. Either folks were on their way home from work or off to dinner, to night clubs or to movies, doing all the things that was a constant for the city night life. Abel had a few paused to buy papers, while some were perusing the magazines on the racks. He was indulging in his favourite past time of ‘naming that new car’ and had so far identified a Dodge Caliber, Honda Fit and a Nissan Versa when suddenly the top copy on the stack of newspapers beside him began to furl at the edges as a sudden gust of wind rushed by.

The furls became rolling curls and then the paper lifted off the stack entirely, swept away by the wind down the sidewalk. On the street, people had stopped walking and Abel saw their eyes staring upward at the night sky. Abel stood up and stepped out into the side walk to see what had drawn their attention. Of course, he should have known. Only one thing could make the city stop dead in its tracks today.

Superman.

Citizens were frozen as they watched the ‘Man of Steel’ surging across the sky above the busy streets of Metropolis, bringing traffic to a halt, forcing people out of shops, staring at his passage with open mouth astonishment. Office workers pressed themselves against the windows of their buildings as they watched him fly past. Other people waved and cheered at the sight that was becoming as a part of Metropolis as the Daily Planet and the Comets. Dirt and trash from the gutters tossed about in the whirlwind left behind as Superman flew towards the LuthorCorp building. He flew to the base of the building and angled sharply, moving up in a vertical ascent towards the penthouse, his cape billowing behind him.

Clark was already scanning the building as he moved past it. X-ray vision was searching every room, every stairwell and lift junction for any trace of the girl. In the end, there was only one way to get it out of the Construct and for now, he had to play the script written until Lois did her part and they could put their end game into play. He saw no traces of the child but in truth, Clark didn’t expect the Construct to keep Laura anywhere near him. He wanted something from Kal-El and the best way to do that was to make him squirm.

Years ago such a ploy might have worked but no more. Five years ago, his human emotions allowed him to be manipulated with ease but the Clark Kent who returned from the Fortress was not the same person. There were aspects of him he kept, his love for his mother, for Lois, his humanity but there was wisdom in recognizing that not everything Jor-El had tried to teach him was to his detriment. Some of it was important because he was a Kryptonian and try as he might to think himself otherwise, he could not escape the fact.

To keep the people he loved safe, he had to be Kryptonian or he’d be no good to anyone, as he had been no good to Chloe when she had needed him most.

Reaching the top of the penthouse, Clark hovered in mid air above the balcony as he observed Lionel Luthor sitting behind a desk in the suite. The outer walls of the penthouse were made of glass but he had no fear of being observed since the Luthorcorp building was one of the tallest in Metropolis. As expected, there was no one else on the floor. The girl wasn’t here but then Clark had never expected her to be. She was nothing more than bait to draw him out. Lionel sat behind his desk, his hands steepled beneath his chin as he stared through the walls directly at Clark.

Lionel, Clark snorted. Lionel was dead.

The Construct expected him to charge but Clark would not do that. The days when he would rush in where angels feared to thread were over. He learned that not only from the Fortress but also from Bruce Wayne. Narrowing his eyes in expectation of the trap the Construct had almost certainly set, Clark’s x-ray vision surveyed the room to ensure there were no surprises. It didn’t take him long to detect the lead compartment in his desk. Even if Clark couldn’t see what was inside of it, he could guess. Lead was the only substance through which he could not see, if the Construct wanted to conceal meteor rocks from him, there was no better receptacle.

His heat vision sliced through the glass wall separating him from the balcony, shattering it into fragments that sprayed across the floor. The Construct did not move as the blast of heat landed on its desk, turning it into a charred mess and melting the lead until it had encased whatever contents were in its compartment into a solid chunk of dark metal. If there was Kryptonite there, it was for the moment harmless.

“Kal-El,” the Construct said smoothly as he walked through the fiery remnants of his desk, unconcerned at the flames. The fire suppression systems was already screaming throughout the building and by the time ‘Lionel’ emerged through the opening where a glass wall had been, onto his balcony, he was soaking wet. “The prodigal son returns.”

“Where is she?” Clark retorted, not about to waste time with pleasantries.

“Who?” The Construct said innocently.

Clark didn’t waste much time and turned on his heat vision at the Construct, who was hit with the full force of it, throwing him back into the penthouse suite, the expensive Armani suit burning away into nothingness as the Construct hit into the wall. Losing its substance for an instance as the heat liquefied it to its natural state. Clark didn’t give it a chance to recoup and flew towards the Construct at top speed. Only seconds away from impact, the Construct pulled itself together and sped away wearing its own form, exploding out another glass wall that overlooked the street below.

Clark saw the deadly hail of glass raining down on the people below and immediately flew beneath the descending fragments. Another blast of heat vision and every tiny fragment burned up before it could reach the ground and harm anyone. On the street level, people were still staring at Superman, pointing up to the sky in realisation that something was happening that was more than their local hero doing a fly by.

”You’re still weak Kal-El!” The Construct shouted as it slammed into him in mid air, sending Clark into the side of another office building. He demolished a wall and kept going, through office walls, past the startled screams of people occupying the floor and out again to the other side, debris and mortar following him out and then into a cascade below.

”As long as you care about them, you’ll always be weak!” The Construct shouted triumphantly and Clark knew that even if the Construct was wrong, he couldn’t let the people below be harmed. Fortunately, the noise had given them some alert and the bystanders were running for cover. Of course, not all of them made it and one woman who had tripped on her high heels was screaming as she tried to scramble out of the way. She soon found herself swept away by Superman who deposited her safely on the other side of the road as the barrage of brick and mortar crashed noisily onto the side walk, demolishing the store behind it.

The Construct landed in the middle of the road and waited for him. “Five years I’ve been trapped in this shell of meat and bone, waiting for you to arrive. If I had known killing Chloe Sullivan was going to drive you into the ground Kal-El, I might have reconsidered. I knew you were weak but I had no idea you were a coward as well. You run like a frightened child runs at the first sight of trouble. If I had a constitution to feel sickened, I would be repulsed by the fact that all that is left of Krypton is you. What a waste!”

The Construct picked up a car at super speed and flung it at Clark. The couple who were driving past had no idea what had happened until they were hoisted off the tar road and flung forward. It travelled forward on its side, the metal paintwork scraping against the ground as headlights shattered and metal buckled. Clark caught the vehicle before it could slam into another parked car, flipping it onto its four wheels and setting it down safely. Once it was done, he tore away the passenger side door and tossed it way.

“Get clear,” he ordered the terrified duo within it.

“Superman, watch out!” A man across the street shouted in warning as Clark turned around and saw the Construct coming at him with street light ripped from the concrete. The woman in the car screamed in fright.

Wasting no time, Clark flew towards the Construct before it could reach him or the humans he had just rescued, grabbing the streetlight as it was swung at him and held on fast. Spinning it in mid air, he flipped the construct over his head and crushed the Kryptonian AI into the bitumen road, creating an impact crater. Tossing away the streetlight onto the floor, Clark demanded off Brainiac again.

”WHERE IS SHE?”

“She is not your concern Kal-El,” the Construct came at him, throwing a punch that Clark was able to stop but the force of it against his palm was like a sonic boom and the sound echoed throughout the flanking buildings, shattering windows as the sound barrier broke on ground level. Clark held on to the Construct’s fist and swung him over his shoulder like a rag doll, smashing him against the pavement.

“Where is she?” Clark demanded again.

“Destroy me and you’ll never find out!” The Construct hissed. “There is only one way you will retrieve her and you now how.”

“That is not going to happen,” Clark declared. “I’ll find out, it’s just going to take a little longer.”

The Construct was unaccustomed to the physical combat and the techniques being employed by Kal-El were combat skills that were not of Krypton. As they traded blows, throwing punches so powerful that windows were exploding because of the sonic boom and the buildings were shaking with each thunderclap of noise, the Construct calculated the probabilities that Kal-El had learned such combat while undergoing Kryptonian training.

The probabilities did not support the evidence.

The Construct considered other possibilities as it battled Kal-El, feeling the ground beneath him crumble as another punch sent him through the road into the sewer below. During their first encounter, Zod had been able to defeat Kal-El because the boy was inexperienced and almost totally ignorant about his Kryptonian heritage. That was no longer the case. As the Brain Interactive Construct began to realise that not even Zod might be able to handle a fully grown Kal-El of Krypton, a random sensation filled its consciousness for the first time.

Panic.

Chapter Fifteen:

Weakness

“What’s the fastest way out of town?” Lois asked Lana as they sped through the darkened road leading away from the Kawatche caves little more than an hour after their audience with Fortress Joe. Lois was pushing hard against the accelerator of Jimmy’s black Impala, feeling the engine rev furiously beneath the hood as she sped towards Metropolis. She had been a passenger in the vehicle numerous times before but this was the first time she was driving the car herself. At the time of its purchase, Lois remembered thinking that the car was more than Jimmy could handle. It was big, burned up too much gas and was a classic example of an American heavy metal automobile. However, it was love at first sight when Jimmy saw the thing and Lois didn’t have the heart to tell him that guys who wore bow ties drove Hyundais not Impalas.

Driving the car now only reminded Lois why Jimmy wasn’t and that made her accelerate even faster.

“Just stay on this road and turn onto Collison,” Lana answered automatically, having been a resident of Smallville long enough to know how to navigate its rural roads with expertise. She paid no mind to the speed Lois was driving, for once not at all alarmed by what Chloe used to describe as Mad Dog Lane on the road. The faster they got to Metropolis, the closer they got to getting Laura back and right now, nothing mattered more to Lana Lang. “That will take us to the highway.”

“Good,” Lois nodded, looking through the rear view mirror to see the silvery object resting against the leather of the back seat. Even without the Kryptonian inscription, it looked alien and Lois wasn’t certain how Clark would react upon learning the price of acquiring the object. “The sooner we get to Metropolis the better. Maggie Sawyer should have excavated the bodies at the dam already. With any luck, she’s already heading back to the city to run forensics.”

“Do you trust her?” Lana inquired, aware of how powerful the Luthors could be and how deeply their influence ran. The evidence that they had discovered at the dam could prove Lex’s innocence and now that they had acquired the judicial Holy Grail as far as his freedom was concerned, Lana was at her most anxious that Lione… or rather the Construct would find some way to ruin it.

“I trust her,” Lois replied without hesitation. “Maggie is attached to SCU – Metropolis’ Special Crimes Unit. The team was set up a few years ago,” the Daily Planet reporter explained. “When Chloe outed the Meteor Generation, she also outed the meteor infected who had been committing crimes. SCU was created to deal with paranormal crime. Even if we can’t explain away that the Construct is an alien AI, we could probably make a pretty strong case for him being a meteor infected criminal capable of shape shifting.”

“Someone who was capable of impersonating Lex for the tapes,” Lana nodded in understanding.

“It’s the best evidence we have,” Lana threw her a glance and then faced front again. Letting out a breath, she added quietly. “Lana for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I was the one who dropped the axe on Lex. I swear at the time, with the evidence provided by Lionel… I mean the Construct; I really believed he did it.”

Lana did not look at Lois, her eyes fixed instead on the windscreen and the darkened road beyond the hood of the car. That piece of truth was an open wound inside her heart and each time she thought of those letters she never read, the calls she would not take and the desperate attempts to reach her, Lana felt the wound weep a little more. She was angry with Clark, furious in fact but in truth, it was her own self-loathing that hurt the most.

“Lois, I believed it too.” She confessed after a moment. “There is a side of Lex that is shadowy and frightening. I was never blind to it but he wanted to so much to be a better man that I couldn’t bring myself to turn away. Whatever else he might be, he loved me. Of that, I never had any doubt but I could not forget what he was either. When I saw the images of Chloe’s death, I was convinced that I had forgotten and because I did, my best friend was dead.”

“Love makes us do crazy things Lana,” Lois let out rueful laugh. “I am sure not the one to throw stones at your choices when mine before Clark and even after Clark haven’t been the greatest.”

Lana was about to answer when a stray glance through the side window drove all other thought from her mind. “Lois, stop!”

The intensity of that demand made Lois obey without question but as the car stopped abruptly, Lois’ questions started. “What Lana?”

“There are lights at the Luthor Mansion.” Lana retorted, staring at the dim lights in the distance. How many times had she seen those same lights emanating through the night from this road, since the Luthors took up residence. First when she was just a teenager befriending the young mogul and then later when she became his wife.

“So?” Lois didn’t see the importance. “Probably the caretakers or something,” she dismissed the observation wanting to get going again.

“No,” Lana shook her head. “Lionel… I mean Fine had the place closed up after the divorce when I made it clear I wasn’t going to live there. There are caretakers looking after the grounds but not the house. Someone’s in there.”

“So who’s in there?” Lois asked aloud.

“Maybe Fine,” Lana declared.

“And if he is?” Lois countered. “What do we do then? Lana we can’t take him on and giving him two extra targets won’t help Clark beat him.”

Lana wasn’t listening, she was already opening the door of the car, “my daughter could be there!” She exclaimed, latching onto any hope. “Fine wouldn’t take Laura to LuthorCorp, there would be too many questions. If he wanted some place to hide her, while he made demands of Clark to free Zod, why not here?” She pointed to the silhouette of the mansion in the distance.

“Lana think about this….” Lois took the woman’s hand, trying to calm her down. “We won’t help Laura if we go rushing in.”

”Lois I can’t leave her if she’s here,” Lana pleaded with her. “She’s my baby.”

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Lois found herself caving. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Lois said firmly. “We’ll go look and if she’s not there, we high tail it out of there and head to Metropolis right? If she is there, we get the hell away and call Clark. Are we agreed?” Lois said to her firmly.

“Yes,” Lana nodded, giving into that much reason. Lois was right, they needed to be sure that Laura was here first.

“Alright,” Lois let out a sigh and started the car, “let’s see if we can’t get any closer before we have to walk it.”

This was such a bad idea…

****************

Fetid water splashed beneath his red boots when Clark landed in the open crater of a demolish sewer tunnel. Using his x-ray vision, he scanned the network of tunnels surrounding the crash site of where the Construct had landed after he had punched the Kryptonian AI through several feet of concrete and tar. The dank water swirled around his ankles as he stepped forward, searching for the enemy who had taken refuge in the darkness.

There was no sound, just the slosh of water against the sides of the sewer walls as he moved. He had come here to retrieve Laura Luthor because he had promised Lana that he would but when he faced the Construct, Clark realised there was something else he wanted almost as much. Not vengeance. Not payback. None of those dark emotions that tainted a life but something pure, something deserving.

Clark wanted justice, justice for Chloe.

He loved her. Not as a lover but he had loved her. She was the first person who told him that he was a hero and almost made him believe it. In his darkest moments, when the confusion and the conflicts about Lana had driven him to think he was lesser man for it, Chloe had reminded him who he was. She had given him strength and even though he couldn’t love her the way she had wanted, he adored still. She was his family as much as Martha or Jonathan Kent, as much as Jor-El and Lara even.

The Construct took her from his life and Clark wanted it to pay for that because her loss hadn’t just affected his existence but that of Lois, Lex, Lana and that little girl who did not know her father. Not to mention Bruce. Dear God, Clark still couldn’t face Bruce. No, before this day was out, all those broken lives would have justice. Clark swore on everything he was, both human and Kryptonian, that he would see to it.

In the sewer however, Clark saw nothing. The Construct had seemingly vanished. There was no sound except murky water, swirling around his boots, exuding all kind of repugnant odours, carrying litter, insects and all the refuse of human civilisation. Then Clark remembered with whom he was dealing with and paused in his steps. His cape swaying inches above the wet.

“I know you’re here,” Clark said coldly. “I can’t see you but I know you’re here.”

Blue eyes blazed with red as his heat vision began boiling the stench-filled moisture. The waters around him began to sizzle and then boil, sending waves upon waves of thick fog into the air above. The tunnels became thick with it but Clark did not stop, he continued pouring more and more heat into the water until the steam rising became scalding hot, peeling the grime from the walls, causing insects and other vermin to flee.

Clark studied every one that scurried away, knowing that eventually what he sought would emerge. Overhead, helicopters had begun to circle the area above the crater, watching the fight like carrions birds picking at the corpses in the wake of a battle. Clark droned out these noises, he was seeking something more specific. He listened, filtering the excited voices of the people above, the automobiles and their machines whirring, grinding, circling the melee.

Then he heard it.

Something moving in the darkness. Not quite solid but not liquid either. It took a fraction of a second for Clark to find it, smashing in three tunnels walls to get to the junction where a series of tunnels met, to see the Construct rising out of the water, its dark metallic form forced into shape because of the receding waters. Prometheus like, it straightened up into the form of a man when Clark arrived.

“It seems as if you the training with Jor-El wasn’t entirely wasted,” Fine spoke, wearing his own features for once. “However, for all your efforts, you’re still one of them beneath it all. You’re still human.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Clark returned sarcastically, his eyes fixed on the Construct waiting for its next mood. The thing had underestimated him, had assumed that based on his previous pattern of behaviour that he would be subject to manipulation to retrieve Laura. However, Clark knew that the girl had to be alive because he wasn’t the only one with a weakness. While humanity was his, Brainiac’s was his slavish duty to Zod. While the girl lived, the Construct could use her so that Clark could be coerced with into freeing Zod.

“It is when I can easily changed the odds to put you at a disadvantage,” the Construct declared, leaping into the air and creating another gapping hole through the street it emerged.

Clark wasted no time following the Construct out into the street above and saw the bus that had been flipped onto its side when the enemy exploded out from beneath. Ignoring the Construct, Clark suspected it wouldn’t go far, he immediately hurried to the bus that had landed on its side, filled with terrified passengers. Refusing to cause them any more injuries by placing it right side up, Clark instead ripped off the roof so that they could escape safely. The bus driver was trapped behind the wheel and Clark ripped him free in a second.

“Weakness Kal-El!” The Construct shouted, landing a few meters away from the damaged vehicle. “In an instant I can change the odds by putting these humans in danger.”

“Go kick this guy’s ass Superman!” A teenager shouted from the group of stunned passengers.

A man, in a business suit, somewhat rumpled for the experience, stepped forward with another middle-aged man in a custodial uniform, hollering out, “Go Superman! We’ll get the bus driver help.”

Clark stared for a moment, finding courage in the most unlikely people. Clark watched for a fraction of second, the two men stepping forward bravely to help, the teenager giving his arm to the old woman and younger woman ushering the children to safety. Feeling a sense of pride for the first time at being their Superman, Clark turned to the Construct and said with utter conviction.

“These humans are worth dying for. My father understood that. That’s why he sent me here.”

They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show them the way.

Jor-El had said those words, so out of place from his usual rhetoric of destiny and human emotions. It was the only words that Clark had kept with him, the only ones that gave him some sense of the man who had sacrificed everything to give him life on this world.

“Then save them,” the Construct said viciously, “if you can.”

The Construct took to the air again, this time he flew up the main street, flanking two of Metropolis’ heaviest populated areas, turning his heat vision against the buildings as he flew past. Like a laser cutting through brick, concrete and metal, Clark watched the fires that ignited as a result. Lamp posts were cut in half, trees slice at the bark toppled onto the streets, crashing into parked cars, while power lines sparked across the road, causing cars to crash and other chaos.

Jaw tensing with concentration, allowing none of the anger the Construct was trying to provoke reach him, Clark sped after it, not in pursuit but to repair the damage it was wreaking upon his city. Blowing super breath on the buildings caught alight by heat vision, he extinguished the flames before they could become an inferno that would set entire city blocks ablate. Listening carefully to the cries of those in trouble, Clark halted his progress to sever the live wires, to stop cars careening out of control from colliding with pedestrians or other vehicles. Once he was certain that the immediate danger had passed, Clark turned his attention back to the Construct who had doubled back.

“How can you think to defeat me Kal-El when you can’t even let these humans perish?” The Construct taunted while hovering in mid air over Metropolis Square, sending hundred scattering in panic as he brandished his latest bit of mischief. A WGBS new chopper whose occupants were still very much alive inside the cockpit. Viciously, he flung the chopper at the crowd. The whoop whoop of propellers created a vortex of wind that sent everything on the ground through the air. People were running away in terror as the projectile spiralled towards them and Clark exploded forward in a burst of speed that set off another sonic boom.

Around him, even the air slowed as he moved faster than sound, not nearly as fast as light but close enough. To passers by, he was vanished from their seeing with the blink of an eye, reappearing barely a second later, when he caught the top of the helicopter as the blades impacted off his body. The sharp metal blades shattered again his invulnerably dense form, spinning out of control towards the ground. Maintaining his hold off the chopper, Clark turned his heat vision at the falling shard of metal and incinerated them in mid air. What touched rained down upon the scattering crowds was little more than ash.

The Construct was calculating its options, delaying with escalating acts of violence. It was trying to compute a proper course of action, one that would lead to the outcome required but more and more, the paths were dwindling.

”You’re stalling!” Clark called out to it as he lowered the helicopter to the square, ensuring that the two people inside the aircraft did not require immediate medical attention that a paramedic bus couldn’t provide.

“You delude yourself with unfounded assumptions!” The Construct shouted, coming to the conclusion that putting these humans in danger would not yield the results he required. “You will not destroy me Kal-El. You can’t. Not if you wish to know why I decided to kill Chloe.”

“I already know why!” Clark leapt into the air, leaving the square and the helicopter behind as the Construct started flying away from the scene. This time, it didn’t appear to be heading back into the city and was instead moving rapidly across the urban sprawl of Metropolis. Clark accelerated, once again crossing the city at speeds that would make a fighter jets envious. Thunderclaps followed his bursts of speed, just like the whirlwind behind him. Gale force winds sent papers, leaves and litter scattering through the air. Window shutters rattled noisily and trees bent to breaking point.

The Construct headed for the outskirts of the city, leaving Metropolis behind, convinced beyond the calculations and probabilities that success was still within reach. It came to the conclusion that a subject closer to the heart, was what was needed to make Kal-El yield.

Someone like Lois Lane.

With Kal-El in pursuit, the Construct began its journey towards Smallville.

*************

The car pulled up a good half a mile from the Luthor Mansion and as much as Lois loathed to admit it, Lana was right. The lights were on even though no one was supposed to be home. It had been more than five years for Lois since she had laid eyes on the Luthor Estate. The last time she had come here, she had been on hand to see Lex arrested for murdering Chloe. For providing the police with the evidence of his guilt, that had been her reward. Lois had wanted to see the son of a bitch’s face when they hauled him away.

Of course that day, she had gotten more than she bargained. Not only did she see Lex’s astonishment at the evidence she had provided, Lois got front row seats to look Lana in the eye when the woman realised that her husband was a murderer. It had soured her triumph considerably to say the least. Lois remembered thinking at that moment, she hadn’t just lost Chloe and Clark, she had lost Lana too. Her guilt towards Lana more than anything else had compelled her to help Clark prove that Lex was innocent of Chloe’s murder.

Of everything else, that was another story.

“God,” Lois retorted as they approached the overgrown gardens, unkempt with wild growth everywhere. Very different from the manicured lawns and topiary like bushes and hedges. “Why didn’t they just sell this place?” She asked as she brushed away another stray branch from her face as they neared the mansion itself.

“I used to wonder that,” Lana replied, recalling how she used to sit in these gardens when Laura was a baby and felt a wave of sadness seeing it in its current state. “I thought Lionel was keeping it for Laura, making hoping that she’d want to move in here after she got her inheritance. That used to scare the hell out of me.” She gave Lois a look. “However, now that we know the truth about the Construct, I don’t think he gave it a second thought.”

That was probably the truth, Lois decided. What use did a machine have for any of the luxuries that the Luthors surrounded themselves with?

“You know,” Lois said as the mansion came into view. “I wish we knew what its plan was.”

“Plan?” Lana asked as they reached the housekeepers residence a short walk away from the main house.

“Yeah,” the reporter nodded. “I mean we figured out that the Construct wanted Lex’s company but not why.”

Lana had to admit, that had made her wonder as well. Now that most of the pieces were laid out, the jigsaw puzzle of this entire situation was still missing a piece. “I thought the Construct’s main purpose was to release Zod.” Instinctively, she shuddered remembering her first encounter with the Kryptonian General when he was wearing Lex’s skin.

“It is,” Lois affirmed, “I can’t see it changing its programming to deviate from that.”

“Maybe it needed a host,” Lana suggested, peering over the edge of the small cottage. It appeared the west wing of the mansion was occupied. Lana could see multiple windows alive with amber light. “It did something to Lex to make him the vessel for Zod.”

“Okay, the Section 33.1 stuff that Lex was into might explain that,” Lois agreed, “but something is still off. Host or not, he needed Clark to open up the Zone to get Zod out.”

“Maybe he didn’t expect Clark to leave when Chloe died,” Lana offered, not liking the idea of what Lex was doing with meteor-infected people but it was hard to be angry with him when he had paid for that with five years of his life.

“Nobody expected Clark to leave,” she retorted, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

“Let me go first,” Lana suggested as they spied the open space between the housekeeper’s cottage and the back entrance to the mansion.

“I’m the investigative journalist remember?” Lois pointed out.

“Yeah,” Lana rolled her eyes. “And I’m the one who was used to wandering into the kitchen in the middle of the night with strawberry ice cream cravings when I was pregnant.”

“I stand corrected,” Lois gave up without further argument.

Running across the garden with the knee-high growth, Lois followed Lana as the former Mrs. Luthor made good time to the back door leading into the kitchen. Testing the door, Lana frowned when she found it locked and supposed she should have expected it to be so. The place had been locked up for nearly half a decade.

“Never fear,” Lois said smugly, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a small leather case which she flipped open to reveal what was apparently a lock pick set. “I come prepared.”

Lana stared. “You carry that on you?”

“What?” Lois stared at her innocently. “You never know when you might need it.” And with that, Lois went to work on opening the kitchen door. “Besides,” she said as she heard an audible click, “there’s something to be said about doing a story about the state penitentiary for women and sharing a cell with a roomie whose doing two to five for breaking and entering.” She capped off the sentence with an experimental twist of the doorknob.

The door swung open.

“After you,” Lois retorted with a smile, straightening up as Lana entered first. Despite her attempt at humour, Lois was aware of the seriousness of the situation. She knew Lana was hoping that perhaps Laura was here. That could be a possibility. The Construct had used the child as bait and what better way to manipulate Clark than by concealing the child’s whereabouts.

Lana Lang was surprised that even after all this time, her mind retained some memory of the internal layout of the Luthor mansion. Her hand guiding her path ahead by touching the walls, Lana was acutely aware of Lois following close by. Inside the mansion, the evidence that this place had been abandoned was apparent in the musty air and the occasional cobweb they ran into. She resisted the urge to call out for her daughter, convinced the child was hidden in one of these rooms somewhere.

The alternative was too terrible to bear.

Finally, they rounded a corner towards the west wing and saw the light source they had seen earlier from a distance, emanating from the hallway ahead.

“Lana, maybe we should try to approach it another way,” Lois suggested since the hallway ended at the door to the lit room. If they were to enter it directly, there would be no way to conceal their presence from what was awaiting on the other side.

Unfortunately, Lana had no opportunity to protest since the corridor flooded with light from the dusty light fixtures, illuminating the dull, wooden panelling and revealing deep burgundy carpet in dire need of cleaning. Behind them, Lois stiffened when she heard the recognizable sound a gun hammer being cocked.

“I’d rather you not,” a voice coldly.

Chapter Sixteen:

Sacrifice

No one saw what was coming, not at first.

They could feel it though. They could feel the shudder in the ground, like the tremors of an earthquake. Then they felt the rush of wind through the trees, through the corn stalks, it made birds spiral uncontrollably, squawking with indignation at the sudden turbulence in their flight path. Then they saw it coming at them, though what ‘it’ may be wasn’t immediately identifiable. A whirlwind of dust, sand, leaves and any object that had happened to be in the way was swept into the vortex as it travelled from Metropolis and Smallville.

On concrete, it wasn’t so easy to see but once the phenomenon took place over open land, the evidence of what was happening was apparently clear. Something was moving through the sky at supersonic speeds. Moving through the air with such force that the velocity of the wind rushing past it was creating furrows in direct, causing fields of cornstalks to split apart as if someone had commanded it to clear the way, as Moses had once done to the Red Sea.

Clark kept his eyes fixed on the Construct, even from a distance. He could catch up to it easily enough but for the moment, he was interested to see where the thing was going. Everything that the Construct had done was by design. He had no reason to believe that it would chance its pattern of behaviour until now. The Construct was heading back to Smallville and Clark wasn’t about to halt his progress.

It would save him dragging the Kryptonian AI there himself.

Beneath them, he saw people pointing up to the sky, gawking as he flew past. His hearing allowed him to hear the exclamations of his name.

Superman.

What was he becoming to people that they said it with such awe? Clark didn’t know but he knew that he was proud to be their Superman, proud to protect them and proud to fight for them against the likes of the Construct. This was his destiny, he realised with perfect clarity. All those years of struggling to understand what his place was in the world, confused by Jor-El’s cryptic words, slave to his own weaknesses. Pa was right all along.

It was always his choice once he learned to accept who he was. All the things he was.

Kal-El of Krypton, Clark Kent of Earth and now finally, Superman.

The Construct was speeding towards Smallville and Clark felt a sliver of concern at the harm it might do there. Already he had seen what was capable of a fight between two Kryptonians in a populated centre. Smallville was nowhere the size of Metropolis to take the brunt of such a violent confrontation. Clark increased his speed to catch up with the Construct, possibly to divert him into the farmland surrounding the small community. As he did so, everything around him seemed to a crawl. He was aware distantly that the air was exploding with the sounds of sonic booms, not unlike mortar shells hitting the dirt.

However, as he closed in, he noted that the Construct was not heading towards the centre of town but rather to its outskirts. For a moment, he thought that the Construct was attempting to face him at the farm but the direction was all wrong. It took but a fraction of a second for Clark to realise that it was the not the Kent farm or the town of Smallville that was the Construct’s direction but rather the Luthor mansion.

It was almost poetic.

***********

“Who the hell are you?” Lois Lane demanded as the voice who had ordered them to stay at the point of a gun, circled them like a panther stalking its prey.

It certainly wasn’t the Construct since that creature would have little use for a gun. However, Lois who had been on the wrong side of a gun numerous occasions before this, knew that the danger was no less.

Boots crunched against the dust covered floor of the Luthor mansion, rounding the two women before allowing them their first view of their captor. Lois recognized the tall, statuesque blonde-haired woman she had seen during numerous press conferences by Luthor Corp. Even though Lionel was never present at these events, he often sent this familiar face to do his talking for him. No one was exactly sure what Mercy Graves did for Lionel Luthor but then again, what she did for the Construct was as much a mystery.

“Who are you?” Lana asked, not recognizing the woman since she made it a point to avoid newspaper articles about Luthor Corp over the past five years.

“Mercy Graves,” Lois retorted, glaring at the woman wearing her dark suit and boots, as she stood before them like the quintessential henchwoman. “I knew you were Lionel Luthor’s mouth piece but I hadn’t realised you were playing bodyguard as well.”

“Very amusing,” Mercy answered dispassionately. “As far as I can tell, you two are the ones breaking an entering. It was fortunate that Mr. Luthor had all the surveillance equipment activated in the last day or two. He suspected that we might be getting visitors.”

“We?” Lois almost laughed. “You are not the little woman. You’re the hired help. If we’ve trespassed, how about calling the cops.” Lois dared her. “I’m sure the local police will be happy to take us in and settle all of this.”

“Oh really?” Mercy glared at her and pulled the trigger. “In that case…”

“LOIS!” Lana uttered a panicked scream when she heard the gun go off and Lois Lane being slammed back into the floor.

Lois felt a moment of perfect clarity when the bullet tore through her shoulder and kept going. There a flash of exquisite pain as meat and bone were shredded and something warm seeped down her sides. Groaning in pain, Lois saw Lana hurrying to her as Mercy stood before them, prepared to fire again.

“There was no need for this,” Lana spat. “Lois, don’t move.” She instructed, trying examine the wound with the dim light available.

“I’m fine,” Lois tried to sound brave but the truth was, it hurt like hell. Still, there was too much fight in her to allow Mercy to think that she was going to get Lois’ submission. “Crazy bitch has upgraded from bodyguard to fucked up FEMBOT!”

“Do I have to shoot you again?” Mercy retorted.

“Can you afford to?” Lois snapped, her anger making her foolhardy. “I’m Superman’s girlfriend and if your boss finds out you offed either one of us, his bargaining position is going to be a hell of a lot weaker.”

Mercy seemed to consider those words before she offered a little smile, one that was oily with serpentine intent. “Help her up,” she ordered Lana as she retreated up the corridor, gun still pointed at them.

Lana ignored the barbs between the two, concerned only with Lois’ condition at this point. Although she wished Lois would just shut up, Lana had also known Lois Lane long enough to know that only death would ever silence the woman. With luck, Lois would not tempt fate tonight by giving this Mercy woman the chance to finish the job.

“Lean on me,” Lana instructed, sounding very much like Mrs. Kent at that moment, so much so that Lois obeyed readily enough. Martha Kent was the only person that Lois would obey unconditionally.

Mercy retreated to the room at the end of the corridor and kicked it open. Light flooded the corridor from the room Lana recognized well. It was Lex’s study where he did most of his business. She might have almost felt nostalgic about seeing the place if not for something else that caught her attention. Lying on leather sofa, quite unconscious was Laura Lang.

“OH my God…” Lana gasped, “Laura!” She started to take a step forward but Mercy was quite to halt her attempt.

“Stay where you are!” The woman warned, throwing Lois a smug look. “Looks like Mr. Luthor’s bargaining position got a lot stronger didn’t it?”

“What have you done to her!” Lana burst out, helping Lois to another chair in the room.

“She’s fine,” Mercy declared, the gun not wavering one bit as she moved over to Lex’s desk. “She’s been drugged. I really have no patience with children and chloroform is so useful.”

Lana was torn between acting sensibly and rushing to her daughter’s side. She took comfort in the fact that Laura was seemingly unhurt but this was a determination Lana would not be satisfied with until she held the child in her arms.

Lois struggled to sit up in the chair that Lana had left her, wincing at the blood that had was running down her knuckles, staining the hem of her shirt. She knew from experience that the shoulder wound was not serious but that didn’t keep it from hurting like a son of a bitch thought. Fortunately, her concern for Lana’s state of mind distracted her and Lois tried another tact with Miss FemBot.

“You do know that’s not Lionel Luthor right?” Lois said hoping to surprise Mercy.

“Of course I do. “ The woman’s answered turn the tables on the reporter from the Daily Planet quite spectacularly.

“You know?” Lois exclaimed. “And you’re still helping him…I mean it? It’s not even human!”

“Neither is Superman,” Mercy retaliated.

“Superman doesn’t plan on destroying the world,” Lana threw in, seeing Lois taken back by the argument. “It does.”

“Destroying it or bringing it a new order of existence?” Mercy challenged as she stepped behind the desk and pulled out a drawer, her eyes shifting downwards long enough to pull open the drawer.

“You have no idea what it wants,” Lois stared at the woman, unable to wrap her mind around the twisted logic that Mercy had reached to continue her allegiance to the Construct. “You have no idea what its trying to release, Zod…”

“Is not going to be stopped by Superman this time.” Mercy stated firmly as she retrieved the object from the desk drawer.

A glowing piece of meteor rock.

Kryptonite.

*****************

The Construct had hoped to lure Kal-El back to the mansion in order to use the child but as it closed in on the structure, it discovered that its associate Mercy Graves had succeeded in improving his advantage. With Lois Lane, Lana Lang and the child as leverage, the Construct calculated the odds of winning the day against Kal-El and succeeding in its objective reaching higher probabilities than before. Accelerating its approach to ensure that it arrived at the Mansion before Kal-El could, the Construct was exploded forward in a burst of speed that unwittingly caused another sonic boom to erupt.

When Clark saw the Construct closing in on the Luthor Mansion, he used his x-ray vision on the building and realised with alarm, why the AI was so intent on getting there. Not only was Lana and her daughter there at gunpoint but Lois, Lois was there too. Moreover, she was hurt. He could see even from this distance, the blood on her flesh and the piece of lead that was lodged in her shoulder. Jaw tightening with fury, Clark went after the Construct with as much intensity, intending on making it pay for not only Chloe and Lex but also to the harm, he had brought to Lois and Lana as well.

The surrounding environment began to react from the approach of two being moving at supersonic speed. Windows began to shudder in the Luthor mansion and the ground trembled. The over grown bush around the place was being whipped into a frenzy and while twisters weren’t exactly a new experience for the Midwest, they did not often arrive without any warning.

The Construct smashed through the roof of the building, having no time for the niceties with Kal-El pursuing so closely. If Mercy was at all her efficient self, she would have retrieved the tiny bit of insurance it required to gain further advantage over Kal-El. Being mechanical, pieces of poor, doomed Krypton had little effect on him. However, on Kal-El, that was another thing entirely. Once again, the Construct knew how to plan for contingencies. After all, it was its nature.

When the windows began to shake and the walls started to shudder, Lois knew that Construct was approaching and guessed the only reason it could be flying back here like a bat out of hell was because something badder than it was in close pursuit. Clark. She thought with a surge of relief. However, that relief was short lived when she remembered the chunk of meteor rock that Mercy had waiting for Clark when he arrived. Thinking quickly, she watched the woman reacting to the same quaking as her and Lana.

In pain but refusing to let this crazy bitch hurt Clark in any way or for that matter, weaken him enough to have the Construct kill them all, Lois kept her eyes fixed on the rock, waiting for the moment. It came when the Construct broke through. With more strength and speed than Mercy probably expected from her, Lois launched herself across the desk. Sliding across the desk painfully but grabbing the rock with her good hand, Lois smacked head first into Mercy Graves, toppling them both over behind the desk. The gun went off wildly, the bullet hitting the ceiling as both tumbled to the floor.

“LANA!” Lois shouted. “A little help here!”

Lois didn’t have to call twice. Lana was already scrambling towards them as Mercy who was in better shape than Lois was, smashed the gun against the side of the reporter’s face. Lois slumped backwards dazed and looked up from the floor just in time to see Mercy taking an aim at her. She closed her eyes, expecting her second bullet for the day to end her when suddenly, Lana Lang came out of nowhere and locked an arm around Mercy’s neck while the other grabbed the arm holding the gun.

“Lois! Get that thing out of the way!” Lana shouted as she slammed Mercy’s wrist against the edge of the desk and forced the woman to drop the gun.

Lois nodded, scrambling away from the two women on her knees. Her arm was aching like hell but she was maintaining a death grip on the rock when in front of her, the Construct came to a stop in a blur.

“I’ll take that.” He said looking at the meteor rock in her hand. His arrival caused the occupants of the room to freeze in place. Lana and Mercy stopped fighting momentarily and Lois stumbled away.

“No,” Lois hissed.

Before she could even finished the word, the Construct grabbed her by the throat and slammed her hard against the wall. Lois saw stars as the kryptonite tumbled out of her reach, rolling underneath the sofa. The Construct was about to release her when Clark came through the wall, sending wooden splinters and mortal in all directions. Mercy took advantage of the commotion to go for the rock but Lana was not about to let that happened. The former Smallville cheerleader and ex-Mrs Luthor whom had once been taught by her husband how to defend herself, tackled Mercy to the floor before she could get two steps ahead.

“STOP KAL-EL!” The Construct warned as Lois choked at the fingers crushing her windpipe. “Do you think you can get to me before I snap her neck? Do you?”

“This isn’t going to end the way you want,” Clark said confidently even though Lois could see the fear in her eyes. “I won’t release Zod.”

“You’ll do whatever I say to free this woman,” the Construct retorted, proving his point by tightening his fingers further until Lois could feel herself starting to black out. “Of all of them, this one is the one that is your favourite. How will you maintain your humanity if you let this one die?” He taunted.

“You’re not killing Lois or anyone else today,” Clark continued to speak, taking another step forward. The Construct could move just as quickly as he and even with his great speed, Clark couldn’t be certain that he could stop the monster from hurting the woman he loved. Then again, the woman he loved, had a tendency to take care of herself. “And she’s not as helpless as you think?”

Lois listened to Clark speak, struggling for breath but his words penetrated and she knew that he was right. She wasn’t helpless. Clark was talking to the Construct, distracting it and if not for the pain she felt at present, she would have grasp the reason why far sooner. However, now it was clear to her and pretending to be complacent, her hand inched slowly into her jacket.

“Why all this?” Clark asked the Construct. “Why did you do all this? If you wanted me to free Zod, there were easier ways of doing it than taking over Lex’s company, framing him for murder. For Chloe’s murder.”

“Kal-El,” the Construct smiled. “I do things for my own purposes, I have no need to explain them to you? Why did I take over Lex’s company? Because I need to just as I needed him out of the way. Choosing Chloe for his victim was not merely serendipity but also had the added convenience of making you hurt. I enjoyed that very much.”

“I guess you are more human than you imagine,” Clark returned, continuing to lob questions at the Construct. “How can you give your allegiance to Zod when he will destroy all that you are. You were a machine, considered little more than a sophisticated program by the Kryptonians. Look at you now, you’re not just a self-aware program, you’ve achieved consciousness. You’re alive Brainiac, as alive as me and all you want to do with that is to unleash Zod who will take that away from you? How does that compute as logic?”

The Construct was prepared to dismiss Kal-El’s words as dilatory but then it realised that there was a kernel of truth, logic to what was being said. On Krypton, it had monitored every aspect of humanoid life taking place on the planet, it maintained their lifestyle like a master ensuring an optimum habitat for its pets, and it had even given its allegiance to Zod. Was that not the actions of a living thing?

”You pose an interesting question Kal-El,” the Construct remarked.

“Pity you won’t get to think on it too much,” Lois retorted as she produced the long silver blade with Kryptonian inscriptions that Jor-El had given her. “This is for Chloe you son of a bitch!”

She stabled the blade into what passed for the Construct’s chest. The dagger that should have shattered against dense Kryptonian skin, metallic or flesh, sparked on contact and that penetrated. It buried itself into the Construct’s body to the hilt, the Kryptonian inscriptions coming alive Clark moved into action, speeding forward so fast that the he disappeared for a second, reappearing as Lois side as he spirited her away from the Construct.

Lana in the meantime shoved away the unconscious Mercy Graves who had not seen her master receive his comeuppance. Several bashings against the floor when Lana was straddling her had ensured any threat the woman had been was over. Instead, she reached beneath the sofa where Laura had remained blissfully unconscious and found the meteor rock. Tossing it through the window, she didn’t care that it shattered glass on the way out. All she cared about was that it was gone and unable to harm anyone.

The Construct seemed puzzled at the Kryptonian blade thrust into what was its sternum. Such a blade had been used by it once before to tap into the Fortress to trick Kal-El into opening the Phantom Zone but this time its effect was entirely different. It reached to extract the weapon from its body but found that it could barely manage to lift its arms. From beneath its skin, he could see light fissuring through the image of flesh, burning away his humanoid appearance.

“What…”

“You’re a goddamn program,” Lois hissed as Clark held her in his arms. “That’s all you are. A program. If you were ever alive, that’s over now. You know how you screw with a program? You infect with a virus.”

The Construct’s eyes widened and retorted, “I am the Brain Interactive Construct!” It barked back. “I was the ultimate creation of programming on Krypton! There is no virus capable of infecting me!” Yet even as it spoke with defiance, it could feel sectors of memory becoming inert, unable to be accessed.

“You were the creation of my father,” Clark replied. “Jor-El of Krypton created you. Do you honestly think that he would have created a program that controlled so many lives without thinking ahead to shut it down if necessary?”

“Its impossible…” the Construct declared as it looked down and saw that its feet were turning into base components, becoming inert matter, unable to hold its shape.

“Face if asshole,” Los declared, “Your drive is getting formatted.”

“You must not destroy me Kal-El,” the Construct cried hastily as the deconstruction moved up its knees, turning into dark sand as the face of Milton Fine vanished entirely, left by formless pale skin that looked like a wax figure melting under the heat. “You will not know the truth if I am destroyed, you will not understand why I did any of it.”

Clark looked at it with as much mercy as it had shown Chloe Sullivan when it took her life. “I don’t care why you did it,” he said firmly and surprised himself by how satisfied he was with himself at that admission. “I just want you gone.”

“You fool yourself!” The Construct screamed, becoming desperate. The feeling of panic experienced earlier had become all-consuming. It was a repellent sensation. “You were always a fool to be manipulated. A little truth here and there, dangled like a carrot and you would do anything….” It looked down at itself, the knife protruding out of its sternum was almost scraping the floor.

“Not anymore,” Clark said confidently, holding Lois close. “Not anymore.”

As the blade touched the floor, the molecular cohesion of the Construct gave away entirely, its form turning into black sand, falling to the floor to join the pile. The blade rested among the dark debris, no longer glowing. Clark let out a sigh as he watched the Brain Interactive Construct ended for good before remembering those who had fought just as hard to defeat it.

“Lois, Lana, are both of you alright?” He asked with concern, scanning the wound on Lois’ shoulder. “Lois you need to get to a hospital.” His voice was filled with alarm.

“The bitch just winged me,” Lois said confidently, although Thorazine would be her friend if it were administered right now. She saw Lana headed towards Laura and let out a sigh of relief that the kid had slept through everything. “Is she okay?”

Clark watched Lana go the little girl on sofa, picking her up gently, her dark hair bunching up as Lana cradled her as if she were an infant. Staring at the child, Clark remembered how Lana looked the first time he saw her when they were small children. Laura didn’t look so different. The wheel had turned and it felt as if they had come full circle.

Lana looked down at the cherub face that stirred upon being picked up. The little nose wrinkled as a stray hair brushed against her upper lip. Without thinking because it was so ingrained in her existence to do so, Lana brushed the strand aside as the girl’s eyes fluttered open.

“Mommy,” blue eyes stared at Lana.

“Hey Starbuck,” Lana smiled. “I’m here.”

“Is there bad man gone?” She asked with a child’s concern.

Lana blinked warm tears and nodded, “he’s gone. He’ll never hurt you again.”

As Clark heard those words, he turned to the pile of dark sand that was the Construct’s inert form. Eyes glowing red with heat, he prepared to put an end to the Kryptonian AI once and for all when Lois spoke up.

“Superman don’t.”

“What?” He stared at her with near stupefied shock. She had called him Superman, something she did only when there was an importance attached to it.

“Don’t do it.” She repeated herself.

“Lois, why? After what this thing did? I didn’t stop it permanently last time and Chloe is dead because of that. I’m not taking any more chances.”

“Superman,” Lois touched his cheek. “Jor-El is in there.”

“What?” He exploded. “What do you mean?”

“I asked Jor-El to help you,” she swallowed. “I asked him what the father of Kal-El would do for his son, to prove he wasn’t just some disembodied voice reading out instructions from someone who no longer existed. “ She blinked, hiding the emotion in her face. “Superman, there was no virus that could infect Brainiac. All there is, is what is left of Jor-El. The dagger contains his personality matrix,” Lois explained it as Jor-El had tried to tell her and Lana. “Everything that was him in the fortress, the man was in that dagger. He used his memory and personality engrams to rewrite the Braniac programming with an order for self termination.”

“No,” Clark refused to believe it. “Why would he do that?”

“Because you’re his son,” Lana said softly. “That’s what fathers do. They sacrifice for their children. Jor-El, whatever that was him in the fortress, was your father to the last.”

All those years that Clark had wished Jor-El to disappear, to go away from his life. Jonathan Kent was his father, the only father Clark ever wanted. Jor-El had remained on the periphery of his existence, always making demands, trying to force him to be Kryptonian. Decrying his human existence as if it were nothing but a terrible mistake. Clark had hated him for that, had hated him for taking the choice of his existence away from him. Even when he had fled to the Fortress after Chloe had died, Clark had hated him but at the time, he hated himself more. His loathing allowed him to let down his guard to trust Jor-El enough to let himself be trained as Jor-El always wanted.

The price of that was five years of his life and nearly losing Lois forever. When Clark realised how much time had passed, he felt his hatred renewed once again. He hated Jor-El even though inside of him, deep down, he knew it really wasn’t Jor-El but engrams of a man long dead. Now Lois and Lana was telling him that the machine, the intelligence that posed as Jor-El had sacrificed itself for him. It had destroyed itself and the Construct to save him. Clark didn’t know what to do with that.

No, that wasn’t true. He did know and that’s why it hurt so much. Jor-El had told him for years that his human emotions were a weakness, untempered it could cause as much destruction Zod or the Construct. Clark himself had seen this for himself. For once, he wasn’t going to succumb, he was going to do what a Kryptonian would do in the same situation. If Jor-El had sacrificed himself to ensure the Construct would do no further harm than Clark had to honour that sacrifice and see to it that it was not for nothing.

Focussing on the pile of inert remnants of the Construct, Clark’s eyes reddened as he sent a steady blast of heat vision on the black sand, turning it into a funeral pyre of sorts that glowed with amber light throughout the room. This wasn’t the ending of the Construct but also of the last remaining essence of Jor-El. His father. The flames burned briefly because the intense heat had nothing but his will to generate but when it was done, there was only a blackened stain on the floor where carpet had been.

Silently, almost to himself, Clark whispered, “Goodbye father.”

Chapter Seventeen:

Threads

LIONEL LUTHOR FOUND DEAD!

By Lois Lane

It is not often that this reporter is forced to write a retraction however, in recent days, information has come to light that not only demands it but also requires an apology as well.

It is the responsibility of every citizen, whether they are ordinary people on the street or Supermen flying in the skies, to pursue the truth no matter what the personal cost. It has been this reporter’s life’s work to search for such truths, to shed the light of injustice no matter what the consequences. The truth is all we have when there is nothing else to believe. The truth is our humanity and it can set us free.

Three days ago, this city was witness to a terrible battle between our new hero Superman and a being that had the ability to impersonate anyone he pleased. Once upon a time, such a thing would be impossible to accept but this is the Age of the Meteor Generation. Extraordinary people live among us, with extraordinary powers and while some like Superman use their abilities for the good, others like Milton Fine used their powers for far more insidious reasons.

Superman battled Milton Fine, causing great damage to this city because Superman had discovered a terrible injustice. The man who had been Lionel Luthor was murdered five years ago. Milton Fine took his place in his life and removed all obstacles to his power. Chloe Sullivan, star reporter for the Daily Planet had discovered this ruse and was murdered and used as a tool to frame Lionel’s son, Lex.

Three days ago, James Olsen a colleague and friend, discovered the remains of Lionel Luthor at an abandon section of the Smallville Dam. Also found was the body of Desmond Kerr, a chauffeur formerly assigned to driving Lex Luthor. Forensics conducted by FBI at Langley has proven conclusively that these remains are a 100 percent DNA match for Mr. Luthor and Mr. Kerr. Moreover, the stratigraphical integrity of the remains and the site indicate that they have been interred in its present location for five years.

This reporter was provided with information of Lex Luthor’s complicity in the murder of Chloe Sullivan well after that period. Furthermore, it was Desmond Kerr that the younger Luthor relied upon to collaborate his alibi on the day of the murder. Police now believe that Desmond Kerr was killed at the same time as Mr. Luthor. Both were hidden away for Milton Fine to assume Lionel’s identity and gain control of LuthorCorp as well as pose as Kerr to deny any knowledge of Lex’s whereabouts at the time of the murder.

This reporter was able to bring charges against Lex Luthor using incriminating evidence provided by the man she believed to be Lionel Luthor, the man we now know to be Milton Fine. Fine has since disappeared into the woodwork, however, the damage has been done. Two people are dead and one has been wrongly imprisoned. It is too late for Lionel Luthor or Desmond Kerr but it is not too late to correct the wrong done to Lex Luthor.

This reporter offers Mr. Luthor and his family her deepest apologies and hope that the truth will once again, set him free.

********

“So what happens now?” Jimmy asked as he was wheeled down the hallway of the Smallville Medical Centre. Even though he was discharged, it would be a week or so before Jimmy would be fit to return to work for that matter, do anything other than convalescence.

“Well, instead of going through the motions of a re-trial which in this case would be difficult because Milton Fine isn’t around to be held accountable, Lex’s lawyers have applied for clemency.” Lois explained as she walked next to Jimmy as Clark pushed him along the corridor, her arm still in a sling from the gunshot wound inflicted upon her by Mercy Graves. Lois’ stay at the hospital had been much shorter than Jimmy’s who sustained more serious injuries. Even now, she could still see the bruises on his face from the Construct’s assault.

“You mean a governor’s pardon?” Jimmy exclaimed with some surprise.

“It seems the fastest way,” Clark added. “Besides, there was plenty of evidence to prove that Construct was impersonating Lionel and Desmond Kerr now that the bodies have been found. Unfortunately, the law hasn’t quite caught up with all the finer points of meteor-infected criminology. I think in the future they’ll be rewritten but that’s a long time for Lex to be waiting for his freedom.”

“What about Mercy Graves?” Jimmy inquired, feeling somewhat trapped in limbo during his stay in Smallville, so far away from Metropolis and the Daily Planet. By the time, he had recovered enough to be lucid, Lois had already been discharged. However, Lana had been by to visit him every day and thanks to his roommate being Superman, Jimmy also had frequent visits from Clark to keep him from getting too bored.

“Oh Superman delivered her to Metropolis SCU when it was all said and done,” Lois tossed Clark a little smile. “She’ll be charged with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and anything else that Maggie Sawyer can cook up to keep her behind bars for sometime. You know she still denies any knowledge of Lionel Luthor being the Construct?”

“It’s the smarter move,” Clark commented. “That way she can claim to be just another person who was fooled and not a human traitor who was prepared to sacrifice the planet to Zod.”

“Ouch Smallville,” Lois winced. “When you put it like that, it makes me want to find her and kick her Fembot ass from here to kingdom come. Not that I don’t owe her for this,” she glanced at the sling.

“Nicely put Lois,” Clark chuckled, never tiring of Lois’ unique way of expressing herself.

Lois’ response was a playful wink in his direction.

“Have you seen Lex since the Construct was destroyed?” Jimmy inquired, looking over his shoulder at Clark.

“No,” Clark shook his head, answering honestly. Clark had been tempted to go to his old friend, to apologise perhaps for all that had been taken from him, but what was the point? Lex didn’t remember him, didn’t remember his friendship. Even Lana had thought that this was for the best. Lex would have enough trouble readjusting to the world after what he had endured in prison. There was no reason to make that transition any more complicated by reminding him that chunks of his memories had been removed.

“It’s better that I don’t,” Clark replied, explaining his short answer to Jimmy a fraction of a second later. Lois, seeing the hurt in his eyes through the steel-rimmed glasses, squeezed his hand gently in sympathy. “Lana and I agreed that it’s best that things stay the way they are. Besides, I don’t need Lex to know who Superman is.”

”That’s true,” Jimmy conceded the point. In truth, Jimmy didn’t have much personal dealings with Lex Luthor, however, what scant knowledge the photographer did have, convinced him that Lex Luthor having that kind of power over Superman wasn’t a good thing. As he and Lois readily agreed, Lex was innocent of murdering Chloe, that did not meant he wasn’t guilty of other crimes as well. Jimmy remembered what he and Lana had seen in the ruin of Section 33.1 where they found Lionel’s body. Nothing about that had been innocent.

“Let sleeping dogs lie I say.” Jimmy mused.

Lois shared Jimmy’s sentiments and though Clark mourned the friendship he had given up on Lex Luthor years ago, Lois Lane could deny feeling that this was for the best. Lex’s fascination with meteor infected people would not be shaken even if he had no knowledge of Clark Kent. “Well if we’re lucky, maybe the only thing he’ll be interested in being again, is a father and a husband to Lana.”

Clark winced as she said that. Time had changed nothing about his feelings about Lex’s relationship with Lana. While he had accepted that it was none of his business and that Lana was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions, just knowing that her life was so entangled with the Luthors made him wary.

“You think they’ll get back together?” Jimmy asked as they reached the main entrance of the hospital. The doors slid open and emptied the trio into the parking lot.

Outside, it was a bright sunny day, with people in Smallville going about their business, seemingly oblivious to the excitement at the Luthor mansion days before. It never ceased to amaze Clark how resilient the folks in Smallville could be. Nothing seemed to faze them. He supposed nearly fifteen years of meteor-infected people appearing from time to time had inured them to the strange things that happened to the town.

“I don’t know,” Lois said honestly, noticing Clark’s discomfiture. “I know Lana’s operating on a lot of guilt right now and that she wants Laura to have a father so I say the chances are good that she might give him another chance.” Lois knew that to Lana, she would be supportive of whatever choice was made but in truth, Lois would always think it was a bad idea. Lex had evil in him. It was more than just he reporter’s instinct that told her this. Being a Luthor tainted him. She hoped Lana’s choice did not mean the same for little Laura as well.

Clark exchanged a glance with Lois, revealing the same concern as she. However, he had vowed to himself that he would not step in or interfere with any aspect of Lana Lang’s life. Already he had harmed her too much by his actions and later on by his inactions. For six years, his indecision regarding Lana had nearly destroyed them both. He promised himself, he was done with that past.

Whatever the future lay for Lana Lang, it would not be Clark Kent’s doing.

His future lay with the woman beside him, with Lois Lane who could make him fly without every needing to leave the ground. Lois had stood by him through the best and worst of things. She was the woman he loved and his soul mate. Even now, Clark found it hard to believe he could ever have thought differently. Her love for him was as relentless as the rest of her and no matter what, Clark realised he could always rely on it.

For his own future, Clark could be certain of only one thing; Lois would always be apart of it.

************

Lana was nervous.

She had good reason to be. What do you say to someone you’ve spent the last five years doubting? She had pondered the question all morning as she made the drive from Smallville to the city. Hours later and the answer still eluded her. She wasn’t sure what to feel. She should have elated at the realisation that she hadn’t been a fool, that she had not given her love to a murderer. She should have felt a great many things and yet the only emotion that journeyed with her to this place was fear.

What would Lex say to her after all this time? Did he still love her? Could he still love her after she had turned away from him, denied him his daughter and ignored every attempt he had reached for her in desperation? Did Lex have that much forgiveness in him? Clark had told her that the Construct had manipulated Lex’s mind, removed any traces of their friendship. As far as Lex was concerned, Clark was just an old friend from days past, who just happened to date his ex-wife once upon a time.

Considering the turbulence between the two, Lana was content to leave things at that but hoped that Lex’s memories were no more damaged than that. It was going to be hard enough making it up to him without having to fill in the gaps that the Construct had created in his mind. Fortunately, in the aftermath of the confrontation with the Construct, Lana Lang found herself in the unique position of being in charge of the Luthor fortune. As mother of the only other Luthor aside from Lex himself, Lana was able to use Luthor Corp’s considerable influence to peddle Lex’s freedom.

Even if Milton Fine was posing as Lionel Luthor, it didn’t change the fact that the Luthor name still had influence, especially in the circles of power. Stepping back into the world she had turned her back on, Lana convinced herself at first that it was to free an innocent man. Deep inside her, there was a part of Lana that loved Lex still. She hadn’t wanted to believe that he was capable of murder but the evidence had given her little recourse. For her daughter’s sake, she had made the best choice for her child but now she knew the truth and she owed Lex to be honest with herself and with him.

“Mommy, why are we waiting?” Laura asked through the open door of the car’s passenger seat, mediating a conversation between Pingu the Penguin and Barney the Dinosaur.

“We’re meeting someone Starbuck,” Lana replied evasively, still lacking the courage to tell the girl that they were waiting for Laura’s father.

Stryker’s Island was a part of Metropolis, connected to the city by a series of bridges over the meandering waterways that gave it the appellation of island. Years before, the island had been home to a thriving steelworks industry, however as economic climates changed so did the fortune of the steelworks that was eventually abandoned to become a prison. These days, Stryker’s Island was the infamous home of the Stryker’s Island Maximum Penitentiary.

Waiting outside the main gates of the prison, Lana tried not to be intimidated by the ominous looking building surrounded by highwire fences and sentry towers. Laura thankfully had hardly noticed their locale, more content by the fact that they had reached their destination and she was no longer cooped up in the car.

“Who?” Laura asked, not looking up from her play.

“A friend,” Lana answered and winced because it was such a poor way to describe the situation to the child.

“What friend?” The child asked again, provoking Lana’s exasperation somewhat because her nerves were already frayed and the questions were making her edgier than ever.

Lana did not answer because her attention became fixed on the man she could see through the mesh of the front gate. For a moment, she felt the air sucked out of her lungs as she observed Lex Luthor, emerging from the prison building, wearing the same suit of clothes he had worn on the day he was sentenced. His eyes looked harder, his face was not exactly clean-shaven but not over grown either. His face showed some signs of age but it was the eyes that were most telling.

They were eyes of a man who had seen too much pain in one lifetime.

He didn’t see her at first, not until the phalanx of guards escorting him out drifted away. Lex looked over his shoulder, almost afraid to believe that the prison was behind him and this wasn’t some cruel trick, making him hope only to snatch it away when it was within reach. However, such thoughts were forgotten when Lex saw Lana waiting by her car, a white Toyota sedan. His breath caught because he had forgotten how breathtaking she was to look upon in the flesh. Photographs had never been able to do able to do Lana justice. He barely noticed the guards opening the gate and letting him out after he saw her and moved like a man pulled forward by invisible threads.

Lana stepped forward, not expecting her reaction at seeing him to be so strong. A tidal wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. She struggled to remain standing, to maintain some semblance of dignity. Perhaps that was why she had stayed away, not just to protect Laura but also herself. With her eyes glistening with moisture, they stopped before one another, inches apart. In his eyes, Lana saw no hatred, no resentment or betrayal, just happiness, happiness to see her.

”Lana,” Lex whispered her name, afraid she would vanish if he said it aloud. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Lana swallowed thickly before she spoke. “Hello Lex,” she looked at him, saw the pain in his features, the toll the years had taken on him and felt her heart softened even more. “I wanted to be here for you...” She paused and took a moment to compose herself. “I don’t know what to say Lex. There are so many things I want to say but I don’t even know where to begin.” It was too much to say, too much to ask of him. “I don’t know what I can say…” Lana’s voice shuddered.

“Stop Lana,” he urged softly, imploring her with his eyes as much his voice. “You don’t have to say anything. You had every right to believe what you did. If I had seen the same evidence you had, I would have believed I was guilty too. You did what you had to do. I understand, I don’t hate you for it Lana. I still love you. I always have.”

Hearing him absolve her of her guilt broke Lana’s composure entirely. “Oh Lex, I’m so sorry. I should have believed you! I saw those tapes and I couldn’t think straight, I thought I was fool for loving you. Oh my God Lex, it kills me knowing what I did to you, how little faith I had.” She felt her resolve crumble, warm tears rolling down her cheeks as she faced him, anguish in her eyes.

Too elated by her presence, Lex would have forgiven her anything at that moment and he did. It was not her that did this to him. Lana had been just as much a victim of this as he had. Closing the distance between them, Lex took her face in his hands and was encouraged when Lana didn’t stop him. Permission granted with her eyes, Lex smiled before he drew her close for the first kiss they had shared in five years and it was as sweet as he remembered, when their lives together was just beginning and things hadn’t yet gone to hell.

There were people to blame for sure and Lex was determined that there would be a day of reckoning but Lana was not among these, she never would be. He loved her more than he had loved anything. Five years behind bars had changed none of this for him and this moment was the only thing that allowed him to go on.

Lana didn’t resist the kiss and marvelled at how good it felt to be held by him again. She was surprised at how much she missed his touch. For so long, she had tried to forget what it was to be his wife and Lana understood now, why Lois had taken Clark back after what he had done. When you loved someone as much as she and Lois had loved Lex and Clark respectively, the logical just didn’t come to it. Everything was emotion and right now the only emotion she felt was her love for Lex.

And it was good.

Puzzled by this rather curious display by her mother and the stranger who just arrived on the scene, Laura left Pingu and Barney (who were having a rather heated discussion on the merits of marshmallow pies and ice cream cakes) to go investigate. Sneakers landed on the tar road as she peeked past the open door at the man kissing her mother.

“Is that your friend mommy?” The little girl eyed the stranger with a hint of suspicion.

Lex pulled back the instant he heard the child’s voice and shifted his gaze to the little staring at him with his mother’s eyes. The last time he had seen his daughter, she was an infant in the crib, not this five year old with the precocious expression and titling her head slightly as she studied him. Lex stood rooted to the spot, staring at this new unknown, trying to process the words he wanted to say. He had rehearsed this meeting in his mind a thousand times before but right now, not a damn thing came to mind.

Lana broke into a smile, wiping her eyes as she glanced at Lex and then Laura. “Starbuck, I’d like you to meet Lex. Lex is a very dear friend.”

There would be time again for Laura to be told who Lex was to her but for now, this was an appropriate start. It was best that Laura got to know her father first, that the transition between friend and daughter be taken with baby steps. She met Lex’s eyes, hoping that he would understand and saw the slight nod that indicated that he did.

“Hello,” Lex extended his hand towards the girl, his fingers almost trembling as he reached for his daughter. He was resisting the urge to sweep the little girl in his arms and hold her forever but that was too much right now. “Starbuck huh?” He threw Lana a little smirk, “that’s an interesting name.”

“Lex is a funny name too,” Laura pointed out, showing her father that the Luthor acumen was alive and well. “Only mommy calls me Starbuck.”

Enchanted, Lex let out a little laugh as he regarded the little girl. “Tou’che. Lex is a bit of a funny name. It’s actually short for Alexander.”

“Alek…shan..der…” Laura pronounced carefully, her face scrunching up with concentration as she made the attempt.

“Very good,” Lex said softly, “tell you what, you can call me Lex and I’ll call you Starbuck, will that do?”

Laura seemed to consider it for a moment as if it were a question of great importance. “Okay,” she agreed, shrugging her slight shoulders before looking past Lex at her mother. “Can we go get ice cream now?”

Lana laughed and looked up at Lex. “Feel like ice cream?” She asked smiling.

“Sounds good to me,” Lex returned her smile with one of his own. Looking down at Laura, he said to his daughter. “Ice cream it is.”

Picking up the threads of his life would not be easy, Lex Luthor knew that but when he looked at the little girl before him and the woman beside him, whose love he was assured off, it was a good place to start.

***************

From a distance beyond the seeing of either Lex or Lana, Superman watched in silence at the scene. He could have listened in if he wished but Clark opted to leave them their privacy. Lex’s freedom was the last bit of consequence, thanks to his abrupt disappearance five years ago, finally set right. With the Construct dead, the truth about Chloe’s murder revealed and his own relationship with Lois on the road to recovery, Clark finally felt as if he had turned a corner and left wreckage of past sins behind him.

Of course, nothing came without a price.

Chloe was still dead but for the first time, Clark was able to make peace with himself over that and his perceived part in it. Someone had once given him good advice that he had to let Lana go. It was still good advice that he now had to apply to his feelings about Chloe. It was alright to let Chloe go too. She would always be with him, as she was with all the people who loved her.

She lived in their hearts and that was a good place to be.

About Lionel Luthor, Clark was uncertain how to feel there. His relationship with the man had never been close although Clark did consider the man an ally. After being infused by Kryptonian essence, Lionel was given his life back when he was cured of the cancer that was slowly killing him. His new leash on life had left behind a fierce desire to protect Clark and he had done that for most part. Clark didn’t always understand Lionel’s methods but the man had come through when Clark needed his help.

Clark wondered if Lex mourned his father at all. He knew he would mourn for Jor-El.

In the last moments of its existence, Clark had finally been able to see a glimmer of the man that Jor-El had been, one whose intentions weren’t left for interpretation by a computer program. Lois had somehow managed to remind the Jor-El in the Fortress what his flesh and blood counterpart cared for more than anything; his son. For the first time in his life, Clark wondered about his father without the resenting the action of the AI he had been put in his place to guide Clark though the years. Like Jonathan Kent, Jor-El had been willing to risk it all for his son and that gave Clark a sense of resolution.

Both his fathers were good men who sacrificed themselves to give him life. Clark would not let that sacrifice be in vain.

Having seen enough of the reunion between Lex and Lana, Clark turned back to the city and Metropolis, returning to the life he had won back, to the one he would continue to rebuild with Lois. Clark knew his place in the world now. He knew that his destiny was his own from this point forward.

He had a life as a Clark Kent but he was also Superman and Superman belonged to the world.

Epilogue

Lois Lane sat at her desk, shrugging uncomfortably as she felt skin tightening beneath the bandage where her gunshot wound was healing nicely. Even though she was trying not to notice the itch caused by healing flesh, it was a losing battle. Of course, the doctors had imposed some ludicrous rule where she wasn’t allowed to scratch or aggravate the injury any further, which meant despite her retraction story, Lois was benched until the sling came out. Sometimes life was so unfair.

“So tell me,” Cat Grant plonked herself on the edge of Lois’ desk. “What’s the scoop on Superman?”

And the hits just keep coming, Lois thought as she gave the blond woman a look. “Nothing today,” Lois eased back into her chair, staring at Cat. “I think the guy probably wants some normal PR after the whole ‘titanic battle on Main Street’ thing.”

“Oh come on,” Cat urged. “The whole city saw how he looked at you in Jimmy’s picture. There was serious sparkage there. I mean he gets around, he could like fly to your apartment on the sly, or just to say hello. I sense he is a really romantic type.” Cat’s eyes glazed over as she envisioned something Lois was convinced had an NC-17 rating.

“Stop that,” Lois exclaimed. “I can see a porno with me and Superman happening in your eyes!”

Cat laughed and said sweetly, “yeah right, who said it was you?”

Lois’ jaw dropped further. “It just so happens that Superman and I are friends, nothing more. The guy barely has time to stop and take a breath. He’s too busy saving the world. I’m sure romance is the last thing on his mind and I’m iffy about any guy who flies around all day in tights.”

“Sure, sure,” Cat retorted sceptically, not believing Lois’ protestations for a moment. “Well if Superman doesn’t float your boat, what about Kent?”

Lois held a perfect poker face. “What about Kent?”

“You wouldn’t let me call dibs,” Cat reminded.

“He’s my partner!” Lois exclaimed with exasperation. “I don’t want you getting your meat hooks into him.”

“Morning ladies,” Clark said stepping onto the scene, hands in his pockets, trying to maintain a straight face since he was able to hear the conversation the minute he stepped unto the newsroom floor. One of the benefits of the job, Clark had found, was witnessing the verbal war of wits between Lois and Cat whenever they entered each other’s orbit. Not that Clark would ever admit that it was entertaining of course. “Did I hear my name mentioned?”

Cat turned to Clark and offered him her usual seductive smile, the one reserved for any male of dating age. “Only in the context of reckless abandonment and pleasure.” She said to him in breathy voice.

“Oh God,” Lois groaned. “Do you need to have a personal moment Cat?”

“Sure,” Cat tossed her a look through blond locks, “where do you normally go for that?”

Clark stifled a laugh but was unable to keep from smiling. Lois threw both he and Cat a glare of menace.

“Very funny,” Lois retorted. “If you’ll run along Goldilocks, Clark and I have work to do.”

Smirking because she had score the winning serve, again, Cat lifted herself off Lois’ desk and brushed past Clark, making sure they made contact. “Anytime you want to have some fun, call me.” She offered with more than a hint of suggestion. “Ta Ta Darling.” Cat waved her fingers at Lois before sauntering off to parts unknown.

Lois waited until Cat was out of earshot before retorting, “touch her and you die. Don’t forget I know how, Smallville.” She warned.

Clark burst out laughing as he sat at his own desk across from hers, “Lois, are you serious?” He held her gaze, conveying in that one moment that there was no one else for him, no matter how attractive Cat might be.

“Just laying down some ground rules pal,” Lois stated firmly, reaching for a pencil. “I’ve been here way longer then you have. Cat’s got a pretty impressive casualty list for someone who’s never actually been in combat.”

“I will be careful to stay clear of her feminine wiles,” he replied straight face. “Don’t scratch.”

Lois lowered the pencil down and scowled at him. “How did you know I was going to scratch?” She demanded because that was precisely what she was about to do.

“I know you,” he declared and turned on his computer.

Another scowl was shot his way before Lois remembered why he was absent this morning. “Did you see them?”

Clark’s expression sobered. “Yeah,” he nodded, sinking back into his chair looking thoughtful. “They looked happy.”

“Whatever that means,” Lois said cynically, unable to embrace any kind of optimism where Lex Luthor was concerned. “I’m glad he’s out because he didn’t kill Chloe but he’s not innocent, we both know that Smallville.”

“Yeah we do,” Clark agreed, “but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it Lois. Right now, let them have this while it lasts.”

Lois couldn’t fault that reasoning and a part of her hoped that Clark was right, maybe they would be happy. For Lana and Laura’s sake, Lois hoped that the reunion with his family after years in prison might make Lex a better man and not a more dangerous one

“You know I do wonder though,” Lois said in an effort to change the subject, “what the Construct really wanted?”

Clark looked up at her from his screen. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it went through a lot of trouble to cover up Lionel’s death, to take his place and gain control of Luthor Corp, no to mention what he did to Chloe. I still feel like we’re missing something,” she mused. “This reporter’s nose says that there’s something we’re not seeing.”

Lois’ instincts were probably right. Clark too felt as if something had been left undone but with the Construct destroyed and the damage it caused corrected to a degree, there seemed to be no clue as to what that might be. “I guess we’ll never know what it was after Lois,” Clark replied. “I’m okay with that.”

“Lane, Kent!” Perry stuck his head out of the door of his office. “Am I paying you to sit around and chat? There’s a big tenement fire at Suicide Slum, get down there!”

Clark stood up immediately, meeting Lois’ eyes with a knowing look.

Lois followed suit, grabbing her purse and her pad before turning back to Perry, “we’re on it Chief.”

“Don’t call me Chief!” The man hollered back.

As Lois swept past Clark, knowing that he would follow her as far as the elevator before making a discreet exit, Lois tossed him a smile knowing another Superman exclusive was on the way. “Come on Rookie,” she winked. “We’ve got a story to cover.”

**************

Far beneath the waters of the Smallville Dam, hidden from the world once again, the space ship waited in the depths, covered by silt and vegetation. Five years ago, an earthquake had shook it loose and the result had been a collision with the base of the dam. The damage to the structure had been significant but the ship itself remained unharmed and undiscovered. With Kryptonian inscriptions emblazoned across the hull, the ship continued to maintain its anonymity.

And in the darkness within, Kara Zor-El continued to sleep.

THE END

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