Lois was finding it a little hard to exist at the moment. Martha was caring for Clark, Linda was off getting food "since Bart's coming," she'd said with a roll of her eyes. She just didn't know what to do with herself, where to be. So she sat on the ottoman again, figuring that if she was infected, the damage was done there. And she was alone with Oliver. And it was something she wanted and feared. There was something under the surface here. She could feel it.
"I feel fine," she said for lack of anything better to say.
Ollie smiled slightly. "I know. Linda seems fine, too."
"It seemed to hit Clark so hard and I don't feel..."
"Clark has a different make-up than we do. We can't say for sure until we have a blood test. We know the toxin was initially absorbed through the skin, but we don't know if there are other ways. We don't even surely know how long it's been there. And you two were close." Ollie glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Or am I wrong there?"
Lois shifted slightly. "I don't see how that's any of your..."
"Don't worry. It's not like I'll tell Linda."
"That's just it." Lois shook her head. "Why does Linda have this all-out grudge against Clark? He said it was because he hurt... um... my..."
"Chloe?"
Lois looked up. Ollie was staring hard again. She felt this sudden pressure, as if she was on The Price is Right and really had to get it. "But it must have been so long ago. I don't see why..."
"She's just Linda." He shrugged. "Linda has her feelings and absolutely no ability to hide them." He smiled. "It's one of the things I love about her."
Lois smiled back. "That is her, isn't it? I can't... I could never just be..."
"You don't have to be," Ollie cut in. "You just have to be what you are."
"And what am I?" She kept her eyes steady on his. "What is it that happened? Was I on a story and I found something I shouldn't? Did Grady work for the government? Is that why he..."
"Lois..." He stood, glancing anywhere but at her. "I can't just..." His head tilted to the side at the mechanical whir of the elevator. "Oh, that's the others," he said, looking relieved.
Lois stared at the floor, wishing she could focus on why they were here. Instead, she found her mind hijacked by the idea that everything around her was a lie. Of course, the noise from the elevator was distracting enough. "Well, you could have simulated a floor or something," a tall, blond man was saying. He was wearing shorts and a tank top, not something you see in Metropolis in the winter. She knew him. She did. He was AC and...
"We need the cloak so no one's reporting unidentified jets in the airspace," the woman next to him said. She didn't know her. She was wearing...
Could you do that to the flag?
"Yeah, but just change the view from the inside," AC insisted. "We're used to it, but he..."
"Well, you never said a word till we were almost here and there was no point by then of..."
"Guys!" Ollie stepped forward, looking behind them into the closing elevator. "Where's Bart? And didn't you get the doctor?"
AC nodded to the ceiling. "He's up on the roof." He tossed the extraordinarily tall woman next to him an accusing look. "Puking his guts up after flying in what seemed like nothing."
She gritted her teeth. "He seemed fine on the way over."
"Because it took all of ten minutes. I tried to tell you he was looking a little green, but you said we'd be there any minute."
"And we were. He'll be fine."
"Well, we need him to be or boyscout won't..."
Ollie stepped between them. "As cute as your on-again, off-again Ross and Rachel act is, can we focus? Now we need the Doc ready to to test Clark as well as Lois and Linda."
"Lois?" AC finally looked her way. He started down the steps. "Hey, Watch..." He stopped at the last step. "Uh, watch yourself around here. These steps are tricky."
"Yeah, good save," came from a stairway to the left. Bart was there, escorting a very shaky Doctor Takamoto. "Doctor T here didn't want any more electrical conveyances."
The woman came forward. "I'm sorry, Doctor. If I knew you would be so ill, I would have done something to help." She patted his back. "I know this all happened fast."
"Perfectly fine, Diana," he said, hiccuping slightly. "I'll be right as... Oh, I say..." He looked around. "This really is a gathering." He smiled. "Miss Lane, so nice to see you again."
She stayed where she was, her mind still on the troubling idea of infection. "I'm glad you're here. We can only keep his fever a little manageable and we have no idea what's infecting him and..."
"Yes, yes. Don't you worry." He gestured to the large suitcase Bart was holding. "I'm sure you've had quite enough on your plate." He looked around. "Where is Clark?"
"In the bathroom," Ollie said, stepping forward. "He's with his mother through that room." He pursed his lips. "We'll have to test her, too. She had contact with Lois and Linda and I let her considering I'd never be able to stop her from touching Clark."
Lois looked down. She hadn't thought of that when Mrs. Kent had been hugging her. She hoped she wouldn't end up sick.
"Well, then. Thank you, Mr. Queen. We do have our work cut out for us." Murray grabbed the case from Bart. "Now, I was told I wouldn't be needing a microscope."
Ollie nodded. "We have some very... advanced equipment. He... should be arriving soon." He glanced at the ceiling.
Murray hefted the bag and moved toward the bedroom. "Well, nothing stopping us from getting our samples, then." He glanced at Lois as he passed her. "Miss Lane? Mind coming this way? And wasn't there another?"
"Linda's out getting some food," Lois said. "She should be back soon." Murray nodded and moved into the bedroom.
She heard a loud groan and turned to it. "Linda's getting the food?" Bart whined. "What if she's sick?"
Ollie's head snapped to him. "Then we'll have more to worry about than infected food."
AC shook his head. "Dude, you just don't know when to shut up."
Bart looked down. "Sorry." He glanced up, his eyes landing on Lois. "Lolita." He smiled, then gave a nervous laugh. "Bet you're surprised to find all of us together. Funny story... Uh..."
"Oh, give it up," Ollie groaned. He pointed to Bart. "That's The Flash." He pointed at AC. "We have Coast City's own Aquaman." He pointed to the woman who must be Diana. "And this is our newest up-and-comer, Wonderwoman."
"Ollie, what are you..."
He turned to Diana. "Don't worry. She's cool."
"I thought she was a reporter," Diana hissed.
"Yeah," Bart piped up. "But she's also Superman's main squeeze."
Lois' eyes widened. "Why is everyone just assuming..." Her protest was interrupted by the elevator doors.
"Who wants Italian?" Linda sang out, coming forward. "Oh, gang's all here now?"
Bart moved toward her, glancing down at the hefty bags in her hand. "Did you... touch it?"
She smirked. "Yes, Bart. I lovingly prepared every morsel with my bare hands."
He shrugged. "I'm just saying. Ollie said you had to be tested."
She rolled her eyes. "And I'll be fine. I'm sure of it. So..."
"Miss Lane?" Lois turned to see Takamoto poking his head out of the doorway. "We really should get that sample." He glanced at Linda. "Is this the other one?"
Linda nodded. "That's me." She glared at ollie. "Pardon me while I get my clean bill of health... Babe."
*****************************
Janice Halpert glared at her husband, George. "Stop it."
He grinned. "Stop what?"
"That look. You know we aren't doing it again. We shouldn't have done it last night. You'll have less potent sperm."
"I can't help it." He looked her over as she kept her eyes on the TV. "You look almost exactly like you did in freshman year."
"Well, you weren't getting laid then, so consider this a reenactment." She actually almost resented it, the way George looked at the thinner her. George had always commented about her having gained weight. It started when they got engaged. Maybe it was that she was so comfortable with him by then. She didn't have to censor her food intake, so to speak. They could go to a restaurant and she could have dessert because he'd chosen her and there was no reason to hide that she wanted cake. She licked her lips. Cake sounded really good. She could call for some easily. The commissary always gave them whatever they wanted to eat.
And she'd eat it. She needed to bulk up or she couldn't have another. It had just been the one for her. The in vitro hadn't caught as easily. The enhancements hadn't reacted as well... Not that they'd reacted well for anyone. Otherwise, someone would have carried to term. But they tried. It was hard, though. It seemed that these little guys just sucked up all the nutrients. She wouldn't mind if she could just get one to stay with her. Once they had him or her, they could leave... with periodic check-ups, of course. She wondered if she'd even want George around by then. The reason he was smacking his lips over her now was that they were stuck here. She knew about the secretary. She knew about the waitress at the bar. She knew there were probably more. George was a bit of a hedonist that way. Maybe he was even a sex addict. She'd have to leave him some support group pamphlets before she left with her girl.. or boy.
She wanted a girl, though. A sweet girl. A special girl. The Doc had assured her that this child would be special. She just didn't get why everyone else seemed to be jumping overboard. "You're newer," Joanna had said in a frightened whisper. "You'll see, Janice."
But she did see. She saw that she had a chance she wouldn't have had otherwise. She glanced at George. He was staring at some girl in a bikini on TV. He didn't even care about the kid. He never had. And he cared about their marriage as much as she did now. She'd cared plenty when they'd come to Met Vista. But now... Well, she didn't need care. She rubbed her empty belly absently. There would be a child there soon. If she could just gain a little more.
George got up and moved to the window. "What do you suppose is going on there?"
Janice stood and moved beside him. The Doc was walking down the path. She recognized her profile. "Who are they?" There was a woman and a man. It was dark except for the lights along the path. She could see that they were on the heavy side, but not much else.
"Bringing in some fresh pork," George said from beside her.
She glared at his back. If she wasn't ready to leave him before... "She's bringing them next door. Can you see them?" Janice could swear they seemed familiar, from what she could glean in this light.
"Can't see sh*t," George grunted.
Janice sighed. "Well, we have neighbors." She squinted, recognizing another two figures on the path, trailing behind.
"And there's Nurse Nasty with one of her meathead friends," George said.
She saw the woman with the curly hair lean to the man, who moved away to stand in front of the house the Doc and her pair had disappeared into. Nothing new. They'd had one of those the first week, too.
"Bet they're from Met Vista," George said.
"They're always from Met Vista. You think they'd at least get some people in we didn't already know."
"And could stand. Bet it's just another couple idiots. Couldn't stand anyone from there on the outside, either."
"Oh, just stop griping." She moved back to the couch. "I think it'll be nice. Anything's better than those wetnap Terrys."
But Janice found it hard to even finish the cake she'd ordered in later. If they had someone new, what did that say about her chances?
*****************************
"I still can't believe it," Murray was saying, He stared at Victor, then at the monitor Victor's hand was on, then back at Victor.
Victor didn't seem as amazed. He looked tired as he stared hard at the petri dish on the table in the computer room. "Doc, could you just look at the sample?"
"Oh, yes. Sorry." He stared at the monitor. "Well, there's nothing abnormal here. No match to what we found in Clark's sample."
"Just to be clear," Linda said from the back of the room. "That's mine?"
Lois glanced behind her as Murray answered in the affirmative. Linda turned to Ollie, who came closer. Lois knew it was a mistake before he did as Linda promptly swatted the back of his head. "I told you."
"Hon, I couldn't be sure."
"Well, I should know if I'm sick or not. But you don't... Oh, just come here."
Lois turned away as they began sucking face like teenagers. She was almost jealous. If Clark wasn't carrying a torch for... The person he seemed to be carrying a torch for, then she wouldn't mind laying one on him in front of all and sundry. As it was, she wasn't sure if she could lay one on him ever again. "What about Martha?"
Murray nodded to Victor, who focused on the last dish in the row. "Clean."
Martha let out a small sigh behind Lois, who reached back for her hand. "But what about Lois?"
She knew hers was the second. He'd taken samples in chronological order, from who'd been exposed first to last. "Same as yours. Clark's, however..." Martha grasped Lois' hand harder. "This worries me. Now, I know that Victor found traces of Kryptonite, but there seems to be some kind of plant life as well. Spores."
Martha gasped loudly. "Not again." Everyone turned to her as she stared at the screen. "I should have thought of it, but... It was so long ago. I thought the Disease Control Center got rid of all traces and... How could this happen?"
"Deliberately," Victor said, taking his hand from the monitor. The screen went blank. "Someone wanted to make sure Clark was infected. Someone who knew this could hurt him. We just need to find out who."
"But Lois could have touched that knob," Linda said from the back. "Anyone who..."
"I would guess this person didn't care," Ollie said coldly. "As long as Clark got some..."
"So she could take the blood," Lois finished dully. She realized everyone was staring at her.
Martha stepped closer and grasped her arm. "Blood?"
Lois shook her head, feeling tears at the backs of her eyes. "I thought it was just fevered hallucinations. Clark said that someone came in and took his blood. He said it was a she. He said she hit him." She closed her eyes as moisture seeped from them. "And she did, I guess. There was a statue with blood near the bed. I've been so focused on his fever and all of that just... I can't believe I..."
"Shhh!" She felt herself being hugged and she let it happen. She could smell Martha Kent. he smelled a bit like cookies and ivory soap. "You've had too much to deal with, Honey. You've done all you can." Martha pulled back and Lois opened her eyes. "We just need to think of how to help him now."
"We could listen." Both women turned as Oliver came forward and between them, grasping each of their arms. "Clark had something to say and we could hear it now." He turned to Murray. "I know we can't neautralize the kryptonite now, but can you find a way to treat the spore infection until then?"
Murray nodded. "I have some ideas." He started scribbling on a pad. "But I will need a long list of antibiotics just to try out on this sample."
Bart was beside him in a sec. "What do you need?"
Murray scribbled some more, then ripped the paper off and handed it to Bart. "These would be a start. There's a storage are at STAR labs." He grasped the note and quickly scribbled something else. "That's the door code." He glanced at Diana. "I suppose you'll take him..."
"No need. I'll be back in five," Bart said before vanishing, leaving only a slight breeze in his wake.
Murray smiled. "My, he is handy. Do you suppose he needs a job?" He glanced around, then sobered. "Yes, well... If you could all see what you can get out of Clark, I'd appreciate any insight."
Lois felt Ollie squeeze her arm. "We're on it," he said. They started out before they felt everyone crowding behind them. "It's, uh, not that big a bathroom, Guys."
******************************
Something was shaking. No... Someone. Someone was shaking him. He wished they'd stop. It was bad enough he was in the worst bed ever, people had to go shaking him. Clark tried to bat them away, but him arm was caught by the shaker.
"Come on, Boyscout. We need that brain of yours."
"Later," Clark mumbled.
He heard a slight chuckle and he opened his eyes. Blond hair swam before him. Not many blond people called him boyscout. "Ollie?"
"There you go, Buddy." He felt a light slap on his arm and he flinched.
"Stings," he said. It did. That sucked.
"Sorry about that, Guy."
"Don't call me that," he groaned. "She called me that."
"She who?"
He opened his eyes wider and sat up, blearily trying to see if his towel was adjusted. "Mom?"
She came closer and sat by him. "Clark, I need you to tell me what happened today. Lois said someone hurt you."
He looked past them, seeing Lois. He tried to lift his hand. He wanted her closer... always. "Lois..."
She was staring at him, but she didn't move. "Clark, you said something today and I didn't listen because I thought it was the fever, but..."
"Come here," he asked. She seemed to hesitate before moving closer. But she did, perching on the tub like before.
"I want you to focus, Clark. I need you to tell them what you told me, but clearly..."
He tried to nod. He wasn't sure if he was succeeding. "I woke up on my stomach and she was there."
Ollie leaned down. "You know it was a she?"
"Heard her voice," he rasped. His throat felt like sandpaper. "Saw her hair... long, curly..." He wanted to say more, but nothing was working. He was just so tired.
"Sleep, Honey." It was his mother's voice. He heard the others join it.
"Martha, are you sure this is the same as before?"
"I don't know. To tell you the truth, I was unconscious for most of it. But it was a spore found in our fruit cellar. It infected me and Clark. Jonathon filled me in on everything. They used the ship to heal us and it was just gone."
"Ship?" It was Lois. He could hear her, but he couldn't tell her about it himself. He felt as if he had no control.
"It was the one Clark came to us in. It seemed to activate with a key and it could heal anything. It even helped me get... Well, that's not important right now."
"Where is the ship now?"
"It was destroyed."
I destroyed it, Mom. Me. I destroyed your baby. So stupid, so cruel...
"There has to be something." It was Lois now. Maybe he didn't deserve for there to be something. After all he'd done, maybe it was fitting that he was brought low by the same thing that had infected him before that summer. It had all started then. He destroyed the baby, he stole, and he'd first taken her, started hurting her... Images flashed before him. Morgan Edge. His Dad. The ring. A vial of blood. They must have stolen it from...
"Helen Bryce." He sat up, his eyes open. The voice, the hair, the knowledge of how to hurt him. "Mom, it was her. We have to..."
But it was gone. He was gone.
Floating off, Lois' face fading before his eyes. So tired...
***********************
Lois sat in the back of the room, watching Takamoto's back, waiting for something that seemed like a good sign. He'd been testing antibiotics on Clark's blood as Bart went back and forth, getting him what he needed. If she could just be sure he was okay...
"Here."
She looked up. Victor was holding a plate under her nose. "I'm not really..."
"Eat it now, Lane. Bart's distracted or you wouldn't get any."
"That's... right," she said, realizing it even as she said it. There were such hazy moments in her mind, like something remembered from too long ago. Dinners, jokes, teasing... But she couldn't place why and when and how. She took the plate, nodding her thanks as he sat next to her. "So... I know you from Star City."
"We met a few times."
She glanced sideways at him. His face betrayed nothing. "But that's not all. I see more." She shook her head. "I guess it's just the shock. I mean, I knew about Ollie, I guess. But I... I must not have put it together. That his friends did what he did." She shrugged and tried a bite of lasagna. "Moonlighted."
"Well, knowing about Clark, it's not unbelievable."
"Guess not." She looked at him, really looked. And she felt this unexplainable kinship. It was something she couldn't explain. "Victor, tell me," she said suddenly. "I know that Doctor did something to me. Something wrong. Why does everyone..."
"Maybe you don't want to know." He shook his head. "I sometimes have flashes of my life before I became what you see. But they're hazy. So I push them away. I should probably deal with them someday. But it will be when I'm ready."
"Flashes," she repeated. "Yes. I know what that's like." They came with pain, either dull or searing, but there. "What are yours like?"
"My childhood," he said. "People I knew. My... My parents. It always seems far away, though."
"Yeah?" She tried to think of her parents. As if they'd be a picture in her mind, waving from a white porch covered in ivy, something idyllic. But she only saw a flash of fire and... a monitor that beeped and beeped and... stilled. She swayed forward, nearly dropping her plate.
"Whoa, there." She felt the plate leave her and a hand on her back. "Just relax,"
She turned to him, her head bowed over, pounding. "It hurts," she said honestly.
"The past always hurts," Victor said, pulling her up, placing the plate back in her hands. "You have to decide if you want to wade through the pain or just let it go."
The thought was so distracting, it made her forget her pain. "Do you think it's possible?"
He tilted his head. "What? Letting go?"
"No." She looked down at her plate. "Wading through the pain. Because I could if I just knew that, in the end, I'd know everything."
She glanced up as Victor smiled. "Yeah. You do like knowing."
"You know what else she likes?" Lois looked up, feeling almost guilty as Linda hovered above them. "She likes pasta." Linda put her hands on her hips. "And she can hardly touch it when she's distracted by all this chatter, so..."
"Linda, chill," Victor said tiredly. "We're just talking."
Linda glared down. Victor stared up. Lois was almost shocked to see Linda only roll her eyes and turn away. She laughed slightly. "How did you do that?"
"Practice," he said, grinning slightly.
She smiled back. "Guess I'll have to..."
"Yes!"
Lois stood, letting her plate fall to the floor with a clatter. Doctor Takamoto turned, nearly shaking and smiling so widely that Lois felt everything would be okay. "Can you cure him?"
"Cure him?" Murray's face fell. "Well, no. I have nothing to fight the kryptonite. But I did find a nice combination of ketoconazole, itraconazole, and fluconazole. They're all anti-fungal, you see. Now, this was just on a small blood sample. It may take a significant amount to get his fever stable, but it's just until we can get some ideas about neutralizing the kryptonite."
"Good luck," Ollie said from the doorway. "We just toss what we find in a lead-lined room. No better ideas." Ollie shook his head. "This is hopeless."
"No, don't say that." Lois glanced behind Ollie at Martha.
"Mrs. Kent," Ollie stammered. "I didn't mean..."
She pushed past him. "Murray, please just find a way to help Clark get clearer. He'll think of something. I know it."
Ollie stepped forward and placed a hand on her arm, but spoke to Murray. "As soon as Bart gets back, you can send him for whatever amounts you need." He turned to Lois and Victor, then glanced at Linda who seemed to be sulking in the corner. "Could you all follow me? We should give the doctor some privacy."
Lois filed out with the rest into the living room. Ollie pulled Martha to the side. "I was just acting out," he said softly to Martha, though Lois heard as she walked by. "I don't mean to lose hope. I just..."
"Sweetie, I'm worried, too." Lois moved to the side and watched them. Martha smiled and patted his cheek. "But it helps nothing to act out. Now go and tell them what you found," she said, nodding encouragingly. "You're always such a help, Ollie."
Ollie blushed slightly and moved toward the center of the living room. He picked a stack of papers up from the coffee table.
Lois noticed Diana was still here, but looking a little impatient. "Ollie, can you give me something to do?" she asked, one crossed leg swinging. "I hate sitting still and..."
"I have something," he cut in, holding the papers up as he spoke. Lois saw they were stapled. "And this is for all of you. I was about to dismiss what Clark said as fevered ramblings, but Martha confirmed most of it and this may be a very solid lead on who infected Clark." He nodded at Martha. "Mrs. Kent has informed me that Helen Bryce was not only her pre-natal physician, but someone who had knowledge of Clark's genetic make-up, even a sample of his blood at one point." He started handing the papers out, starting to Lois' left, meaning she'd be the last. "When Clark and Martha both became infected with what we now believe is the same toxin we're dealing with now, Helen Bryce took a sample of Clark's blood very easily. This tells us two things. That she knew that Clark's skin could be penetrated when infected so and that she saw some irregularities in his blood work." He shrugged as he finally reached Lois, handing her the papers. "How could she not?"
She read over the first page, skimming, seeing that it said about the same things she read now.
"Another thing of note was that Helen Bryce was married to Lex Luthor. On their honeymoon, he disappeared. He reappeared therefter, unfortunately." There were groans from AC and Diana and Linda. Lois glanced at them. She knew Luthor wasn't everyone's favorite billionaire, but did he really warrant such antipathy? "There was, apparently, an attempted honeymoon re-do, where Helen Bryce disappeared, never to be seen again, it seems, until now." He glanced around the room. "I know what you're thinking. That Luthor had a lot to do with that and why bother looking for a dead woman? But Clark says it was her and, though he's a little out of it, it's our only lead. I think we should look into..."
Lois turned the page and gasped. She looked up to find everyone turned to her. "I've seen her," she said quickly. She held up the second page with its large picture from a tabloid rag. "Is this Helen Bryce?" She turned to Martha, who nodded. "She was on our street," she said quickly. "It was the day I..." She stopped there, not about to tell them she'd gone to meet with Luthor. She'd seen the reaction his name had gotten. "I'd gone into town that day and I saw this woman. She... She was alive. I know that much."
Ollie stared at her, nodding slowly. "Then I guess that's all we need to know." He turned around, flipping to the second page on his sheet. He held it up. "This is who we're looking for," he said.
Diana stood. "Okay, then. That's something to do." She stopped, halfway to the elevator. "Could I rough her up a little, too? I mean, she did poison Boyscout, so..."
"Rein it in, Di," AC said, standing as well. "You can rough her up after we get answers."
"But, you don't understand." All eyes turned to Martha as she stepped forward. "It was the ship that cured Clark. It was the ship that cured me, too. Bryce said it was a miracle. I don't think she knows..."
"Just let them find her," Ollie cut in. "We'll find our miracle later."
Lois hoped so. She glanced at the picture again, wishing she could go back just one day. She could have got out of that limo and stopped her. None of this would have happened.
"And here I am!" Everyone turned to the stairway where Bart was leaning, holding two bags. "Is there any lasagna left because I should grab some before Doctor Slavedriver sends me on another..."
"Oh, you're back."
Bart's stance crumbled as Murray came into the room. "I've got the right ones now, but I need more stores, so..." He started scribbling on his pad. Bart grumbled, but came forward and took it from him.
"Be back," he mumbled miserably before slumping toward the stairs again.
*****************************
Invasion.
It was a strange feeling. Clark had experienced it yesterday. She'd taken his blood. He'd felt the sickening press of the needle in his arm. He felt it now and he wanted to fight it.
"Hold still," he heard someone grunt. It sounded like Oliver. He stilled. He trusted Oliver. But why was Oliver letting... His eyes opened as Dr. Takamoto swam into focus.
"Murray?"
"Well, hello, Clark."
He tried to stand, but he was too weak.
"Now, now, just settle down. You're quite naked, you know."
Clark glanced down. He was. Even the towell on his privates had fallen askew. "I'm sorry," he breathed, "I don't mean to be naked."
"Should we get a thermometer?" he heard Ollie ask.
"It's no use." His mother now. "Clark's base temperature is hard to pinpoint. Even when he was little, I..."
"Mom," he moaned. "Don't go telling everyone my business." He heard some laughs and opened his eyes. He saw Ollie and Murray in front of him. His mother behind. He saw Lois in the doorway. "Lois?"
She smiled slightly. "Feeling better?" He nodded, finding that his head seemed to obey. She smiled wider. "Really? Then tell me about our boss."
"You mean Perry? He's nuts and brilliant and loves food, tobacco and... anything else he shouldn't have."
She stepped toward him. "And what's the name of our copy editor?"
"Jake Wolanwitszpiech."
She stepped forward and patted his mother on the shoulder. "He's clear."
He flinched as Murray shone a light into his right eye. "How do you feel, Clark?"
"Like bright lights annoy me," he tried. Murray shut it off and stepped back, waiting. "I don't know. I feel weak and tired and cold." He felt the shivers take over even as he said the last.
"Well, we could risk some blankets," Murray said, nodding thoughtfully. "As long as I keep dosing him, at least."
"C-clothes?" Clark tried, shivering and hopeful.
"I brought some," Lois said quickly, steeping forward. "I left them in the car, but..."
"D-did you find her?" Clark asked, still shivering.
Ollie leaned down. "We've got our eyes out."
"Yeah, mine too." He glanced toward the doorway. He could see Bart hovering there, stuffing his face. "I'm gonna refuel and get on it, Boyscout. Don't you worry."
"Good." he mumbled. "You guys are the..." He really couldn't get the rest out. He was too busy losing consciousness.
************************
Lois stepped forward. She could see her. She had to tell her. If she told her she knew, she'd stop this torture. "I know now."
"Oh, you do?" The girl looked around her. "You could have CC'd me on that. I've had no prior..."
"You represent my cousin," Lois went on, ignoring her. "I blocked out things about her because it was too painful. That's why these shelves are so empty and..." She looked around her. There were no shelves. It wasn't a library. It was a house. There were boxes everywhere. Some were open, but there were others that were closed. "What are you doing now?"
"Well, I'm trying to unpack." The girl pulled a box cutter from her back pocket and turned to one sealed box. "I could do it, too. But you keep barging in here, thinking you know all the answers."
"But I do know. You're taking the form of my cousin because I feel I can't measure up to in Clark's eyes."
"Clark's eyes? You think this is all about Clark?"
"Well, he's sick." Lois folded her arms. "I started having these dreams around when he was sick."
"That's because you knew you'd have to save yourself." the girl started stabbing at a box, but the tape wouldn't even so much as take a mark. "Deep down, you knew you couldn't save yourself unless you knew." The girl gave up on the box, panting. "But you can't know all of it, no matter how hard you try. So much was just taken." She held out the box cutter. "You can't force it unless you get it back."
"How?"
"I wish I knew." The girl looked sad. "If I did, I could help you. That's all I'm trying to do."
Lois kicked at a box. It didn't even budge. "How are you helping? By taunting me? By not answering anything I ask?"
The girl stood still, tossing the box cutter to the floor. "What do you want to know?"
"What do you want?" Lois demanded. "Why do you keep acting as if I've done something wrong?"
"Because you have," the girl yelled.
"What did I do?" Lois yelled back.
"You took it from me!"
"What?"
"My place!"
"Your... place?"
Lois shot up in the bed. She glanced to the side. Linda groaned and rolled over. She sighed and got out of bed. She'd tried to tell Linda to stay with Ollie last night, but she'd insisted on bunking with Lois in the spare room. Martha was with Clark, probably fast asleep on the sofa in the master bedroom. Bart was on the living room couch. Victor seemed to have holed himself up in the computer room. And Ollie? He was next door in the same luxury hotel he'd put Murray up in. She had no idea where Diana and Ollie might be. She hoped they were hot on the trail of a certain curly-haired toxin spreader.
She stretched, thinking of the girl again. The last few mornings, so much had been going on. She'd hardly been able to mull it over. The girl wanted her place? What did that even mean? She stretched, still in clothes from last night. She wanted new ones, but she hadn't thought of that. she'd only thought of Clark.
She moved toward the living room now, creeping toward the master bedroom. Clark was there now, in those blankets he'd seemed so eager to have. She hoped he was warm. She also hoped he was okay. She crept to the doorway and opened it. She saw Martha, fast asleep on the sofa. Clark was in the bed, bundled up and... snoring? Well, it seemed like as good a sign as any. She closed the door and crept to the kitchen, looking over the empty containers from the night before. She wondered if she'd even find the coffee in this mess. She wished she had her car. Then she could could just get some for her and for... She spied a purse on the counter. It wasn't hers. Hers was still at the house. She'd only grabbed her keys when she... keys! She dug in the purse and came out with Linda's keys.
Victor had declared the house clean. she could run back and shower and change and get more useful things. She glanced at the clock. It was barely seven. No one would miss her.
**************************
Clark woke to a light tapping. It was almost as if someone was typing rapidly. He wondered if Lois was working, but he realized it wasn't quite fast enough for that. it was just a light tap... tap... tap...
"Stop," he mumbled. He tried to open his eyes, but it was too damned bright.
"Wake up and I might," an annoyed voice answered.
He knew that voice. It had been screaming at him in his mind ever since he'd slept with Lois. He opened one eye, not comforted by the confirmation. "Linda," he said tiredly.
"That's right, Smallville." She smirked.
He closed his eyes, wondering if there was any way to prepare for this.
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