"A reporter!" The woman in the white coat hissed. "I thought you said our tracks were covered... Well, they're obviously not if there's a reporter sniffing around. Even two... I told you. She has a husband. Ten to one, they aren't married at all... He calls himself Kent... What's wrong now?" The woman clenched a fist. "We said, when we started this, that you would stop shutting me out. I've given you every reason to trust me, despite how this started. If you know something else, I need to know it now... You could start by telling me about your other project. You wouldn't be so eager to find him just for the couples. I've told you that most of them are on board. We don;t need him." She placed a hand on the window, gazing at the two women beyond. They were smiling. "They trust me. I'm giving them something they never thought they'd have... and more." Her hand caressed the glass. "Who wouldn't want a child who'll never get sick, never be lost to you, never die?" Her voice hitched slightly on the last word. She stiffened. "Now what about the sample?... Good. Because I have another candidate... This one's a little older. It should only make her more cooperative."
*************************
She pulled herself away from him and stumbled away from the car. Her head was pounding. "I should have known." She looked at him again. "Glasses? God, am I that blind?" She turned on him. "You must have been having a nice laugh at me, you... listening to me gush about Superman to Superman and then... Oh, God! I've even talked about Clark to... Clark!" She rushed forward.
He stepped back slightly. "Lois, don't!"
"Don't what? Give you what you've been begging for all this time?" She drew her fist back and punched him. "Ow!" She cradled her hand.
"I... tried to tell you."
She shook her hand out. "When? You never found a good moment to mention 'Oh, by the way, in my down time, I happen to throw on tights and fly'?"
"I meant that I tried to tell you not to hit me," he said quietly.
"Yeah, well I hope it hurts because..." She looked around. "Where are we?"
"Cottonwood Creek," he answered, still with that annoying apologetic look on his face.
"I've been here," she whispered. She'd had the feeling more than once on this trip. But here it was strong, focused... specific. "My head..." She looked toward the trees, then at her car at the edge of the water, then at the ground. She could nearly see something. It hovered at the edge of her mind, swimming to the front, becoming clearer...
A man crushed beneath a car, another near the trees, a gunshot, and a voice...
We need to move the bodies.
"Lois?"
Her head... It felt like it was exploding. "Make it stop," she moaned as the ground rushed toward her.
***************************
She flew over a snowy tundra, a strong arm clutching her up. She felt warm breath in her hair, a sharp contrast to the sharp wind on her face. He'd come for her. Somehow, she'd known he would always come for her. Clark...
"Lois?" Her mind registered a beeping noise as the white tundra faded to black. "She's waking up."
"Clark?" That couldn't be her. It sounded too weak and croaky.
"You're going to be fine. Don't move."
It felt soft beneath her. Was she in bed?
"Please keep her calm. I'm trying to get a base reading. In sleep, she spikes nearly uncontrollably." That wasn't Clark. It sounded like an older man. "We need to see what caused this faint, from a neurological standpoint."
"Who..."
"Don't try to speak yet." That was Clark. "You lost consciousness, Lois. Just take it easy."
She opened her eyes. The ceiling above her was white, plain. To her right was a screen and an elderly Asian man with glasses studying it. She looked to her left. He was in a chair next to her, clutching her hand, searching her eyes. She could see his clearly. "No glasses?" she croaked.
He stiffened, then smiled sadly. "I was kind of hoping you'd forget that part."
"Not a chance." She sighed and leaned back. "Am I crazy or is something stuck to my temples?"
"Oh, you're not crazy." She moved her still-aching head with some effort and glanced at the man on her right. He was still staring at the screen, jotting something down on a pad. "In fact, I think your mind is handling everything extremely well. Fascinating..."
"Who are you?"
He finally looked at her. "Dr. Murray Takamoto," he said, smiling. "It's a pleasure to finally meet this she Clark was going on about."
She glanced at Clark. "I take it he knows?"
Clark nodded.
"Oh, good." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Who else knows? Was there an announcement to most of Metropolis and I just missed it? Because I don't seem to be very observant for a reporter."
"Lois, it's not like that. Murray is part of... only a few close friends who know. That now includes you."
"I'm not your friend," she sneered. "I don't even like you. You're a sneaky... people saver." It sounded as lame as it had seemed in her head. Considering Clark's sneaky activities included saving countless lives, she felt a little ashamed to be mad. Still, that didn't stop her. "I bet you think you're really clever, putting this over on me."
"Lois, this was never about putting one over on you."
Her eyes snapped open. "I'd deck you right now if I could. You let me talk about Superman, gloat about Superman checking up on me. Then you, in your stupid costume, let me talk about... that other you."
"I thought you liked my costume," he said, smiling slightly.
"That was before I knew you were... you." She sat up, but felt something pull at her. She put a hand to her temple. Wires. "What are you two..."
"Please calm down," Dr. Takamoto said softly. "It's very difficult to tell when your brainwaves spike due to headache or an emotional outburst." He glanced at Clark. "Could you two save this conversation for when I'm finished?" He touched Lois' hand. "It really is for your own good."
She laid back. "Fine." She glared at Clark. "Of the two men in the room, I trust you, a stranger," she said pointedly, "more than Clark, anyway."
"Lois..."
Doctor Takamoto put a hand up. "Clark, please."
Clark gave Lois another puppy dog glance before sitting back. "Okay. Do what you need to."
"Excuse me?" Lois turned towards him. "It's not up to you." She turned back to Takamoto. "Do what you need to, Doctor."
He turned his chair toward her slightly. "Do you sleep well?"
"I... I don't know. I mean, not that well. But I do drink a lot of coffee, so..."
"No. What I mean is do you wake up feeling almost... more tired than before?"
She stared at the ceiling. "I... guess I do. Lately, I just attributed it to staying in a new place with an... undesirable housemate." She glanced at Clark, who stared hard at the floor.
"When was the last time you remember having a restful night's sleep?"
"Well, I... It must be months. I used to see a doctor and..." She searched her mind. "I think I slept better before I stopped."
"That would be Grady, then."
She sat up suddenly. "Does everyone know my business?" She saw something on the table ahead of her and sat up straighter, pulling at the wires.
"Oh. Well... I guess we had enough of the EEG for..."
"Is this my shirt?" She picked up the "I Heart Metropolis" shirt from the table. She hadn't seen it for a while, but she knew it was hers. She turned back to Takamoto and Clark. "What is my shirt doing here?"
Clark looked down. "There's a reason..."
"What possible reason could there be for you to have my things?"
"Just calm down," Clark said, putting his hands up. "I can explain..."
"I will not calm down. Everyone is just a little too in on my life and I'm..." She trailed off at a ringing noise. She watched Clark speed to another corner of the room and pick up a cell phone.
"It's the mechanic," he said, flipping it open. "Hello... Good. Have you figured out why?..." He glanced at Lois. "Mmm-hmm... And what about the door? Can it be... Good. Just bill me. I'll take care of it... Thanks, Johnny." He hung up.
"Was that my cell?" Lois wasn't sure how much more she could take. "God! I'd punch you if it wouldn't break my hand. Now you're answering my cell?"
"I know a mechanic in Smallville. I had him get your car. He's fixing it up. The door's kind of... off." He glanced down. "And the brake fluid is a little... gone. Bled."
She forgot her anger for a moment. "But who would do that to me?"
He glanced up, his face suddenly angry. "I don't know, Lois. Who do you think?"
"Don't you take that tone with me. You have no right to be angry. I'm the one who..."
"What? Went to Smallville and met with Luthor and almost got herself killed?"
"You know what?" Murray said, standing. "I'm going to take my notes to my office and have a nice long think. Let the two of you... talk this out."
"Thanks," Clark said, his eyes still boring into hers.
Lois held his gaze, seething inside. When the door shut, she strode forward. "First of all, draining brake fluid is not the move of a billionaire. If Lex Luthor wanted me dead, he would have found something a little more expensive and less messy."
"That proves nothing. He could have had an employee do it. Then who else do you think had access to your car while you were canoodling with Lex?"
"Canoodling? Who even says that? You are such a..." She trailed off. "There's something."
"What?"
"I found something when I was getting in my car. I just tossed it on the other seat. I didn't even think about it. But it wasn't mine."
"What wasn't yours?"
"A lipstick." She pursed her lips. "Ten to one, it's hot pink." Miss Tessmacher hadn't seemed happy to see her, but was the woman really mad enough to kill?
"Huh?"
"Never mind." She shook the shirt in her hands. "What I want to know is why you're taking my stuff."
"Lois, I went to your place because of the kryptonite. I never planned to..."
"The what?" That word. She'd heard it before.
He sighed. "The meteor rocks. They... they're dangerous. I had to get them away from you." He looked down. "And away from me. I can't be near them and.... They're not something I like lying around anywhere."
"They hurt you," she said, realization dawning. "Yesterday, when you came over, you got so... I thought nothing could hurt you."
"They can," he said tiredly. "And you might as well know it."
"Is this... why you kept drawing me away from your town? Would I find multiple stories about people narrowly avoiding death and the mysterious Clark Kent always hanging around?"
He shook his head. "Among other things..."
"What does that even mean?" She tossed the shirt down. "And why did you take my shirt?"
"Because it's connected," he snapped. "It's all tied together and I can't figure out how or why..."
"What? Connected to what?"
He strode to a table and held up a baggie with what looked like bits of fabric in it. "This is from a house in Met Vista. It's carpet fibers containing traces of a gas that has an incapacitator, a sedative, and a mood stabilizer." He grasped the shirt from her. "This was at your place and it combines those three same chemicals with rohypnol."
"The... date rape drug?" Her legs felt weak.
"I don't think it was used with that purpose, but... it's had a side effect. Murray can explain it better than I can. But what Grady did to you..."
"Grady was my therapist." This was too much. "I know that he made a few mistakes in his treatment. I know that things are missing, but... He would never do that to me."
"It's not just Grady. Someone else was pulling the strings. The same person pulling the strings on Met Vista."
"But I had weekly visits with him. We talked about..." She trailed off. What had they talked about? She couldn't even remember. "Was he gassing me? Like the couples?"
"I don't think so. At least, not every time. But the first time, Lois, do you remember the first time you saw him?"
"I... I don't..." Her head was pounding. "I can't remember. My head..."
"No." She felt him near. "It's all in your head. This pain doesn't exist. Breathe." She felt his hand on her back. "Come on. Breathe."
She did, gulping in air, letting it out, feeling the pain recede.
"That's it. It's not there."
She pulled herself away from him. "How... Why..." She ran a hand down her face and whirled on him. "How do you know so much? Why is that every time I turn around, you're in my business?"
"I have to be."
"Why?" Confusion, anger. They warred within her. "We may work together on this story, Clark, but you're involved in more than that." She narrowed her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"
He stiffened. "Not now."
"Yes! Now, Clark! I want to know why you and Linda were in cahoots, why you're lying about Lex Luthor, what you know about my cousin. There's more to this than just coincidence and I'm sick of being left in the dark."
"Then you shouldn't have put yourself there!" He closed his mouth and backed away. "I'll get Murray."
"No." She advanced on him. "What did you mean by that?"
"Just drop it," he said, looking angry.
"No, I won't. I want the truth."
"I can't give it to you. It's not my place."
"Then whose is it?"
He only stared at her, silent.
Her fists clenched. "I wish I could hit you right now."
"I wish you could, too," he said, glowering. "Then you'd stop talking about it."
"Don't you get snippy with me. I'm the one who has a right to be mad. You don't."
"Oh, I think I do."
"Oh, really? Do tell. I'm curious as to what you think gives you the right to...mmmph!" Her thoughts stopped with her words. He was... kissing her. His mouth was crushed to hers. His hands dug into her waist. Her feet were dangling above the floor. Her arms hung at her sides as his mouth moved over hers. She really could do nothing but hang there. Her body was about as useless right now as her brain.
Her feet touched the floor as his lips left hers and his arms dropped. She stared up at a slightly more blurry version of him. "Well... That's not even an answer," she mumbled, stumbling backward slightly and into a table. There was a clattering noise. "Oh, sorry," she said to a fallen clipboard. She looked back at Clark. He looked about as dazed as she felt.
He licked his lips and stared down at her. "Lois..."
"I see you've stopped yelling. Excellent." They both turned to see Takamoto in the doorway. "Everyone ready to talk science? I think I've figured it out."
Lois nodded, walking on shaky legs to a chair. "I wish I could say the same."
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Chapter Fourteen
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