By anonymous
Summary: Lois suspects Lex Luthor may have survived the collapse of the tunnels in the episode "Seconds."
Here's my fanfic. It takes place after It's a Small World After All, but before Through a Glass, Darkly. I basically tried to focus on why Lex is insane. This is my very first fanfic and I'm accepting all comments and suggestions. Enjoy
***
The Daily Planet was busy with its usual clamor. "JIMMY! My office! Now!" Perry screamed at the top of his lungs. As Jimmy dashed off to appease his almighty employer, the Planet's two star reporters stepped off the elevator.
"Lois! This is a dead end. Luthor is long gone and you know it. He died in that underground hideout. It's over. Period," Clark said.
"I know there's something going on here. There's just to many coincidences."
"We both know he died. I saw him die. He even died before the building collapsed. Your clone died then too. It's vivid in my memory."
"But we also know that a body was never found."
"How would that be possible? He's 100 feet below the ground underneath a ton of rocks!" Clark said.
"I just think you don't want to admit I'm right!"
"That's not true!"
"Yes … " Lois did not have a chance to finish because their boss, Mr. White had waved for them to come into his office. The two reporters complied and walked in.
"What in Elvis's name are you to bickering about now?" Perry asked.
"Lois thinks that Lex isn't dead."
"A lot of people think Elvis is still alive too, but we all know he's not. What evidence have you got?"
"Well," Lois started, "There have been several robberies lately. As you know, Lexlabs, Lexair, Lexcorp, and several other businesses that used to be owned by Lex were robbed. Several witnesses of the robberies claim that the thieves drove off in a black limo with a custom plates reading ILUVMNY. I had Jimmy check the plates, and it turns out that Lex used to own a black limo with those same plates."
"It sounds like you're reaching, Lois. Lex is dead, so anybody could use that license plate now. However, if you really believe that something is going on, I'll give you three days to come up with some hard evidence."
"Thanks, Chief! Now, will you join me, Clark, or will you just go to your desk and sulk?" Lois asked.
"Fine. You win. Lead on, your highness," Clark replied as they walked out of the office.
"Good. Let's go check out the latest crime scene."
***
Lois and Clark got out of the taxi in front of Lexlabs. "Here we are. I'll check out the crime scene while you ask around," Clark said.
The two parted. Lois walked over to the main desk. "Excuse me. Do you know the name of the guard who was on duty during the break in?"
"Why do you want to know?" the secretary asked.
"Um … she was very helpful when I asked for directions and I would like to repay her," Lois said, hoping that she had picked the right gender for the guard.
"Oh. Let me check the personnel files," the secretary said as she started typing at her computer. "Her name is Roxanne L. Buchanon.
"Thank you very much!" Lois said as she walked away.
Meanwhile, Clark had looked at the place where the robbery had taken place. At least, he had from outside. The police wouldn't let him in. At a glance, he could see that there was almost no evidence left behind. Several filing cabinets had been labeled KRYP, but their contents had been removed.
Clark went over to Inspector Henderson. "Do you know what the lab was usedfor?" Clark asked.
"I'm not sure. The director of operations mentioned something about element analyzation and replication," Henderson said.
"What was the director's name?"
"Jack Buchanon."
"Thanks, Inspector."
"Anytime, Clark."
Lois and Clark joined up again an hour later and discussed their findings. "I found that the guard's name was Roxanne L. Buchanon. We should check her out," Lois said.
"I found that the lab was used for replication and analyzation of minerals. Several of the files were labeled KRYP. The lab director's name was Jack Buchanon. Wait, didn't you say that the guard's last name was Buchanon?"
"Yes. They could be related."
"Let's get back to the Planet."
***
"Look at this!" Lois exclaimed, "Roxanne L. Buchanon is Lex's older sister. At age 15, a year before Lex was orphaned, she ran off with her boyfriend, Jack Buchanon. Apparently, Lex and Roxanne were very hateful towards each other because Lex didn't like Jack, which is probably why Lex never mentioned Roxanne. Anyway, Roxanne Luthor married Jack and became Roxanne Luthor Buchanon."
"How on earth did you find that?" Clark asked.
"Amazing what research can do, isn't it?"
"Yep. How could this be connected to the robberies, and why would Lex even be involved? You said yourself that Lex and Roxanne didn't exactly like each other."
"I have no idea. It could be just a side story that we just stumbled into, but I think that Roxanne and Jack are definitely involved in what's going on. Just think. If you were a robber, you'd need to know where to get what you wanted and a way to get it. Jack could easily provide a where to get it and Roxanne could definitely provide a way to get it."
"True, but why would Roxanne and Jack want to help? There must have been some incentive."
"I agree. Let's see if Bobby Bigmouth knows anything."
"Good idea."
***
"Oh! You've outdone yourselves this time! This cheese steak tastes like the real Philadelphia thing! Where did you get it?"
"Philadelphia. Now, Bobby, have you heard anything about the string of robberies?" Lois said while Clark took down notes.
"Look. All I know is that large amounts of money were given to Roxanne and Jack Buchanon. However, we don't know who paid, how they got the money, or even why they wanted to get into the lab so bad. That's it. Remember, you didn't hear it from me."
"Thanks, Bobby!" Lois said gratefully. Clark got up and shook Bobby's hand.
"You're welcome. Good-bye."
***
"There has to be something that we aren't seeing! Why would Lex want to get into that lab? What does KRYP stand for? Where on earth did he get the money to pay Roxanne and Jack?"
"Lois! Relax. Eat your dinner. We can figure this out later. We still have two more days left plus tonight to solve this."
"You're right, Clark." I'm sorry. It's just I have a feeling that there's something that I'm not seeing and it's driving me crazy not knowing what it is." Clark gave Lois a hug. It turned into a kiss. "Oh, Clark! I love you so much! How did I ever get along without you?" Lois sighed with pleasure as Clark started to rub her back.
"I love you too, Lois."
Lois jumped up all of the sudden. "Ohmygod! Kryptonite! That must have been what the lab had that Lex wanted so much! The lab was used for replicating minerals and thing like that right?"
"That's what Inspector Henderson said."
"They must have been researching a way to replicate Kryptonite! Lex really wants you dead. We both know that. The lab must have had a sample of Kryptonite! That must be what KRYP stands for! Kryptonite!"
"You may be right! This means that he probably also has a way of replicating Kryptonite because all the files were missing. This is definitely not good!"
"We need to find Lex before he tries to use it on you."
"The question is: how?"
***
The next day, Lois and Clark walked through the news room to their desks. They needed to find Lex and were, so far, unsuccessful at doing so.
"There's been another robbery, guys!" Perry yelled. "Lois! Clark! I want you at the 4th and Lincoln St. Lexcorp right now! Pronto! As fast as Elvis shook his hips!"
"We're on it, Chief!" Lois yelled as she grabbed Clark and headed for the elevators.
"Lois! Slow down before you run into somebody!"
"We have to get to the crime scene! If I run into somebody it will be their fault anyway for not getting out of the way!"
"Okay! Okay! Lead on, McDuff."
***
"Inspector Henderson! We're here! What did you find?" Lois asked as she and Clark approached the Inspector.
"Hi, Lois. Hi, Clark. Once again, they left us with practically nothing whatsoever. Have a look around if you'd like, we're all finished."
"Thanks, Inspector." Clark said as he went to follow Lois.
"Clark. Look at this."
"It's a piece of paper with white out on it."
"Can you look under the whiteout?"
"Yeah, sure," Clark said as he lowered his glasses to look at the paper. "It says 7576912. That could be anything."
"Come on, Clark. Let's go."
"Okay. Maybe it's a phone number. It's seven digits," Clark said as he and Lois walked to the parking lot and got into Lois's jeep."
"It could be, but it might be a serial number or a price tag code." They pulled out of the parking lot and went back to the Planet.
"Jimmy! Would you please cross reference the number 7576912 with all serial numbers, phone numbers, price tag codes, and everything else like that?"
"Sure thing, guys."
***
"Okay. I cross referenced the number like you asked and I found quite a bit. Here's a list of all the matching phone numbers and their addresses when you exclude the area codes. I also found that the number 7576912 is the serial number on a five year old kid's bike. It's also the order code for a pair of red socks with special foot massagers installed in them in the Athletes R Us catalog. There are a few other things too. Here's that list," Jimmy explained to the reporters.
"Thanks, Jimmy," Lois and Clark said.
"No problem." Jimmy then walked off.
"Clark. Look at this. One of the addresses is right here in Metropolis. Look on a map and see where it is."
"Let's see. Hey! It's that abandoned warehouse at the docks."
"We should check it out."
"I agree, but try not to get yourself in trouble this time."
"Me?" Lois asked innocently. "What ARE you talking about?"
***
"Clark, maybe you should wait outside. They might have Kryptonite."
"I don't want you to go in there alone."
"Fine, but if you feel it at anytime, we'll leave and call the police.
"Agreed," Clark said. The two reporters snuck into the warehouse.
"Clark … "
"SHHHH! Did you hear that?"
"No. Wait … now I do." There were some men conversing around the corner in the next room.
"I thought I told you not to rob anymore of my buildings. I got what I want and succeeded in making it look like a systematic robbery. Now that I have it, I don't want to take the risk of getting caught," the first man said.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know you didn't want … " a loud crack sounded and a thump followed as the second man hit the floor."
"I don't like it when people disobey me. Remove the bullet and dump him in the bay," the first man said to a third man.
"Yes, sir." The third man departed and the first went back to his work.
As the group broke up, Lois and Clark went for the buildings back exit. "What are you doing here?" a voice snapped from behind them. "Come with me!"
***
"Lois! How good to see you" Lex said cheerfully. "I've missed you!"
"Knock it off, Lex! Let us go!" screamed Lois.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, Clark has escaped every single one of my plots to kill him. Both as Clark and as Superman, to put it simply, he's really ticked me off. He should be classified as a species of cockroach: impossible to kill! Now, he must die!" Lex laughed.
"Where did you put Clark!?" Lois demanded.
"I'll show you."
***
Clark was strapped to a table. Directly to his left was a piece of Kryptonite the size of a softball. His strength was gone and he could barely think straight.
"Please let him go. I'm begging you!" Lois pleaded.
"I've waited to long for this. He'll be dead within the hour. With him gone, maybe you'll love me again"
"Never! I never loved you to begin with! You're a monster, Lex!"
"Lex turned away for a second. Seeing the opportunity, Lois knocked him out with one swift punch. She ran to Clark and untied him. "Clark! Wake up! We have to go!" Clark stumbled out the door and back to the car with some help from Lois. Lois grabbed her cellular phone and called the police.
Lois went over to talk to the police when they arrived, hoping they wouldn't notice Clark in her jeep. Lex was gone. He was gone. The police couldn't find him anywhere. They did arrest the third man, who had just returned. Lois said she'd give her statement tomorrow.
As Lois returned to Clark, she could see that something was wrong. He was still incredibly pale and was having trouble breathing. "Clark? What's wrong?
"This … Kryptonite … is strange. It still … hurts and … ," Clark said in-between gasps, but he lost conscience.
***
It had been several hours since Lois and Clark escaped. Clark was now sleeping. He was still in a lot of pain and was incredibly weak. Lois had had Jimmy retrieve the Kryptonite and take it to Star Labs.
After examining it, Dr. Kline had concluded that the replication was imperfect. The radiation emitted by the replicated Kryptonite was different. The radiation particles were slower and they didn't move as fast. Therefore, this Kryptonite had affected Clark differently.
There was also another problem at hand. Lex knew Clark's secret. He could tell anyone. She would just have to wait because she had no way of finding him at the moment, and Clark was sick.
Lois glanced at Clark. His breathing had improved. That was a good sign. She smiled as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Hi, Lois. What happened?" Clark whispered.
"You were sick. The radiation of the replicated Kryptonite affected you differently and the symptoms lasted longer. Did you want some water or something?"
"Yes. Please."
"As Lois went to get some water, Clark tried to sit up, but failed. He was too weak. Lois returned and gave him the water.
"Oh, how sweet!" a familiar voice said.
"Lex! What are you doing here?"
"Trying to kill you," Lex said coldly.
"Leave us alone, Lex!" Clark managed to say.
"Not a chance! If I can't kill you, then I'll just tell everyone your secret."
"You can't do that!"
"Wanna bet?"
"Lex? How come you never told me about Roxanne?" Lois asked, trying to buy some time.
"What?! How did you find out about her?"
"She's the one you paid to get into Lexlabs. Why pick a night when she was on duty? You know she hated you."
"I can't help it if she hates me! It's not my fault that she didn't stick around. She just had to go with Jack. He makes me sick. I made millions while she was at the edge of poverty with Jack. Her pride was worth more to her than her life, which she successfully ruined, I might add! She should have come to me for help, but no! She was too thick headed to even think of coming to me! I would've welcomed her! But no! She wouldn't dare come to me!" Lex was very angry now. He didn't notice that Clark had slowly gotten out of bed and was now next to Lois.
"Why did you rob Lexlabs while she was on duty?"
"I thought she might feel better if she thought that she was helping me. All the while, I would be helping her by giving her money. How was I supposed to know she'd take the money and then spit in my face?"
"Where did you get the money?"
"I have hidden bank accounts all over the world under lots of different names. Do you think the amount of money people thought I had was even close to the amount I really had? The amount that they estimated I had was only a third of my total savings! Wait a minute! I just told you everything! What a fool I am! It doesn't matter now. Now you and Clark will die!" Lex took out a gun and aimed it at Lois.
Clark knocked the gun out of Lex's hand. "Stop it, Lex. You don't want to kill Lois! You love her!"
Lex sank to the floor, shaking. "I almost killed my one true love!" Lex choked down a sob. "What's happened to me? Why do I get so out of control? I don't deserve to live!" Lex picked up the gun and shot himself before Clark could stop him.
Lois shakily got up and went to call the police. EPILOGUE
Roxanne and Jack were arrested for assisting in a felony. A reward had recently been offered to any hacker out there that could find Lex's money so it could be redistributed back into the city of Metropolis.
***
Lex's real funeral was held a week later. Many came, for many still thought about the good he had done for Metropolis. Some didn't think he was evil, just a disturbed man with a terrible past.
THE END
(returnll.txt)