The Man of Steal

By Rachel Madden <LnCSwing@AOL.COM>

Rated: PG

Submitted December 1, 1997

Summary: While Lois and Clark investigate murders in Metropolis, Kryptonite disappears from Star Labs and Lana Lang is back in town with a new man.

This is my first shot at fanfic, so be easy on me! I want to thank my history teacher, for influencing me to write this. sounds cheesy, I know!! but it's true.

There is no other dimension in this fanfic. remember how Lois and Clark talked about asking Lana Lang to their wedding? well, this is the one. It just so happens that Lois and Clark are successfully married now, and Lana is pretty jealous …

All characters are being used with all due respect to ABC ( they deserve hardly any at all ) blah … blah … blah …

***

As Lana Lang slid across the floor in her evening gown, Marcus knew it was going to be a long night. *She's beautiful,* he thought. *Lucky that Kent dumped her.* Lana started talking to somebody that she ran into, and Marcus started to feel protective again. He walked over to them.

"Hey, buddy. The girl's with me," he said to the man Lana was talking to.

The man left immediately, seeing that this muscleman was not a guy to toy with.

"You don't have to get so possessive, Marcus," said Lana. " He's just a friend."

"I don't want you hangin' out with other men. You're mine."

"Well, Marcus, I guess you have a good reason to be so possessive," Lana said, acting pleased about his chauvinism.

"You bet, babe. You've got a body that any man would die for."

*Jerk!* Lana thought. " Well, we'd better get home. I heard a rumor that Mr. and Mrs. Kent will be here shortly," Lana said, putting emphasis on the word Mrs. " I still can't believe that Clark married her instead of me."

"Don't worry, babe. You got yours truly now."

*Yeah right, blubberboy. Soon to be yours truly dead.*

***

"Well, Mrs. Kent, it's another lovely night, and I'm with the woman I love. It couldn't possibly get better," Clark remarked to his wife.

"Well, Mr. Kent, we'll just have to see about that. But we'll have to wait until we get home."

"Oh, boy, I'd better watch it, or my lovely evening goes right out the window."

"Yeah, you'd better watch it, boyscout, or I just might have to close that window."

Suddenly, Clark grabbed Lois and kissed her passionately.

***

"Would you look at those two, babe! It's sickening to watch. Kissing in public. Yecch!"

"I know how you feel Marcus … Wait a minute … Isn't that Clark … and … her?"

"You're right, babe. It is them. C'mon, let's get goin' before they see us."

"No, Marcus, I want to talk to Clark. Seeing that they invited me to their wedding, and I didn't get to dance with him because we got into a huge fight. I want to at least talk to him."

"Well, alright, but just for a minute." They started to walk up to them.

***

As Lois and Clark pulled away from each other, Lois gasped," What was that for?"

"Do I have to have a reason for kissing my wife? But if you really want to know, look over there." Clark pointed in the direction of Lana Lang and a man they didn't know.

"Well, what do ya know, it's Lana," Lois said.

Lana walked up to Clark and said," Hello."

"Why, hello Lana, it's nice to see you again, " said Clark, glancing at Lois. Lois rolled her eyes.

"And hello … Lauren."

"That's Lois."

"Oh, sorry," Lana said with an edge to her voice. " Well, Clark, how's it going?"

"It's going well. We just got off a murder story. Did you hear about Mallows?"

"Yes," Lana replied. " Pretty tragic. Did they find the killer yet?"

"Not yet, but they're getting close. They have a picture of the man, and they're working on the name. Here, let me show you his picture." Clark got the picture out. "As you can see, it's a pretty common face for a ruthless killer."

"Yes, it is. I'm really sorry about the murder." Lana glanced at the picture. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you to my boyfriend."

"She's got a boyfriend," Lois said to Clark out of the corner of her mouth.

Clark smiled at her.

Lana went on, apparently proud that she had found somebody to talk to about her boyfriend. " This is Marcus. I met him in there." Lana pointed to the club they had just come out of. " And we've been seeing each other there ever since. Well, we really need to be going. Maybe we'll see you some other time … Clark?"

"Right, maybe," Clark replied. As the couples walked away from each other, Lois said to Clark, " He was the killer. He matched the picture perfectly."

"I noticed. I wonder if Lana knows?"

"I hope not. Then maybe he'll kill her."

"Lois!"

"I know, I know. Let's just go inside."

***

"They know that you're the killer now! They have your picture! And soon, the police will have your name, and they'll track you down and lock you up!" Lana exclaimed as the both of them walked into Lana'a apartment.

"Sorry, babe, I didn't realize that they had identified me. Much less have my picture."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Marcus. But I don't want to get caught up in this. I'm sorry I even met you. I didn't know you were a criminal at the time. So I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this relationship short."

"C'mon, babe. Give me one more chance. I promise I won't ever do it again."

"How am I supposed to give you a second chance when you're in prison for life?"

"You could come visit me."

"Fat chance."

"Well, then, what are you going to do? Kick me out of your apartment?"

"No. I'm going to do something that some people might call too drastic."

"Oooooh, I'm scared. What are you going to do? Shoot me?"

"Elementary, Watson. You're a fast learner." With that, Lana pulled out a gun.

"No. C'mon, babe … I mean, Lana … don't do it."

"Ooohh, too late!" Lana shot Marcus. She dragged his body over to the closet and hid it inside. She then stuck the gun in her purse and thought,* Well, I might need this again.*

***

"I had a wonderful night, Clark," said Lois.

"So did I, Lois. Now we have to go to work next morning and labor and labor until next weekend."

"What about Lana and Marcus? We'd better check Mr. Marcus out."

"You're right. Let's just hope that he's the twin brother, or something."

"I doubt it," replied Lois.

"Why, Ms. Lane, do I detect a bit of a grudge here? Are you saying that because you really believe that, or are you just saying it because you want Lana to get in trouble too?"

"I'm not saying a word."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to extract some information from you when we get home." Lois couldn't resist a smile.

"And how are you going to do that, Farmboy?"

"Oooh, I don't know … a little " persuasion" perhaps?" Lois's smile got even bigger …

***

As Lois and Clark lay in each others arms that night, Clark asked Lois," You never did tell me if you had a grudge or not against Lana."

"Well, Clark, I guess after what you did to me tonight, I can tell you. But since she is your old girlfriend, please don't take this the wrong way."

"I respect your feelings, Lois. And besides, I don't think anything will surprise me … I know you too well."

"Thanks, Clark. Anyway, here goes: When I was in the other dimension, when the other you was engaged to Lana, and the other " Clark" had no idea who Superman was, I hated Lana. When I met her … well, she was rude, and I guess you could say demanding. I'm sorry, but now that I know her in this dimension, it just seems all too familiar."

"It doesn't matter to me Lois," Clark replied. " I never liked her that much anyway. Does that make you feel better?"

"Definitely." With that, they fell both fell asleep.

The next morning at work, Lois and Clark both got to work digging up information on Marcus. As Clark took up his usual position looking over Lois' shoulder, Lois said, " Look at this. Marcus originally worked for Lex Luthor."

"Doesn't it seem like that everyone of these cases have something to do with Lex? I mean, it's just like you with Lana. I absolutely hate Lex," Clark said.

"Don't we all?"

"Well yeah."

"And it's not exactly like me with Lana. Not everybody hates Lana, because everybody doesn't know her. Now, practically everybody knew Lex."

"Good point," Clark said. " You always have a way with words."

"Well, thank y … what it is? What are you hearing?" Clark had gotten the Look on his face.

"Marcus was killed last night. They found the body at Lana's apartment … wait a minute … they say it's suicide. Want to check it out?"

"Heck, it's better than sitting here digging up information on a now dead guy."

"Have you got something for us?" Lois asked Inspector Henderson.

"We have a pretty good-looking suicide here. This guy went out with style. He shot himself. Looks like he rigged up a timer of some sort. He was standing in the closet, apparently waiting for the timer to go off. There was a device that pulled the trigger when the timer went off. He spent more time on rigging up something to kill himself than drinking."

"Drinking?" Clark asked.

"Yep. The guy's an alcoholic. Actually, this guy had quite a few surprises."

"What do you mean?" asked Lois.

"He wore a face mask. All the time, it seems. In that picture that I gave you, he had the face mask on. There was a totally different guy underneath the mask. Ms. Lang said that she was in the shower and Marcus was watching TV. When she came out, she went to the closet to get her bathrobe, and Whammo! There's her dead boyfriend lying in her closet. We couldn't pull up any fingerprints off the gun. In fact, we couldn't pull up fingerprints off of any of the equipment he used. No serial numbers on any of it."

"Are you sure it wasn't a set-up?" Clark asked.

"Maybe Lana did it?" Lois added.

"Well, if it was a set-up, it probably wasn't Ms. Lang. Either that, or she's a pretty good actress. When we got here, she was crying herself to bits. It took her an hour to calm down. Also, if it was a set-up, the person who did it has to be a genius."

"Well, thanks for your time, Inspector," said Clark.

"No problem. Anytime," replied the Inspector.

***

Midnight:

What appears to be a young woman dressed in black is walking down the street towards Star Labs. The security guards are dozing with their eyes open at the doors. Suddenly, the woman jumps out from behind a tree and tranquilizes them both. She has no trouble all grabbing keys and security cards, and rushing inside.

*Woosie!* she thinks to herself. She's new at breaking and entering. *Just because you want Clark to yourself doesn't mean you can get caught and put in jail for stealing Kryptonite.* ( Author's note: You're probably wondering how the woman found out that Clark was Superman. Well, you'll find out … )

The woman broke into the vault and put the Kryptonite in a lead-lined bag. She left thinking she had been successful, but the people at Star Labs had learned a lesson. As all of them knew, many people had tried to steal Kryptonite, so they had rigged up a secret security system. And on this particular occasion, it had at least gotten 7 to 10 pictures of the woman. Little did the woman know that her little escapade was going to end as soon as the police analyzed the pictures … to find Lana Lang positively identified in all of them without even realizing it.

***

Daily Planet

Lois and Clark were at a dead end. They were talking about what to do next when the phone rang at Clark's desk. " Clark Kent," Clark said. It was Doctor Klein.

" Oh, good, you answered. Somebody robbed Star Labs last night. The police figured out that it was a woman."

"What did she take?"

"I'm sorry to say she took Kryptonite."

"Have you figured out who the woman was?"

"No, not yet. But we're working on it." Clark groaned. " I know you're probably pretty mad. I know how many people try to steal Kryptonite. But the only reason we keep some of it is because we need it for research on Superman. What happens if Superman gets sick again? You saw how it saved his life last time. Oh, and by the way, you know the guy who was killed last night?"

"Yeah. Marcus?"

"That's our guy. Guess what we found out?"

"That he killed Jake Mallows?"

"Wow. That's right. How did you know?"

"They don't call me an investigative reporter, also known as one half of Lane and Kent, the hottest team and town, just because I can yodel. By the way, yodelling I can't do."

"Well, that's the truth. I have some stuff on Marcus if you want to come down and pick it up."

"Okay, thanks Doc." Clark hung up the phone.

"Doctor Klein, I presume?" Lois asked.

"Precisely, my dear. Somebody, or should I say, some ' woman' robbed Star Labs last night."

"What did she take?"

" … Kryptonite," Clark answered slowly.

"Oh, no. Not this again," replied Lois.

"I'm afraid so. Do you want to go check it out? Doc said he found out some more stuff on Marcus. Including that he killed Mallows."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh, all right. But now I'm worried. Why don't they just do something with that Kryptonite. Throw it away, or melt it, or something!"

"Please don't get hysterical, honey. There's nothing they can really do about it unless they get me to … " Clark lowered his voice," you know, throw it into the stratosphere or something. If they threw it away, somebody would find it. It can't melt, dissolve, or break, because it's invulnerable, same as me."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. It's just that I get so worried about you. You've had too many encounters with Kryptonite from me to just forget about it." Lois pulled Clark close to her.

"I know how you worry about me. But please don't. Nothing is going to happen to me. And if something does, I know you'll be there for me. Remember, I always come back. We're going to catch this girl, whoever she is."

"Boy, have I heard that one before," Lois said. They both chuckled happily, and left for Star Labs.

***

*Boy, am I ready to get this one on a roll!* Lana thought. *I have the Kryptonite. Now all I need is Clark … aka Superman.* She smiled devilishly. *If I had known before … Jeez, I would never had let him out of my sight.* As Lana walked out the door, she turned around and said to her bed, "If everything goes according to plan, by this time tonight, you'll have me and one particular guy sleeping in you." Lana never thought about Clark resisting against this. But she wouldn't find out about that until later that night.

***

As Lois and Clark left Star Labs, Lois turned to Clark and said, " These pieces of crap are nothing. Doctor Klein must be more off his rocker than usual today. He usually gives us the best of the best."

"You're right," Clark replied. " These pictures and info sheets are bad. Looks like today he gave us the worst of the worst."

"I need some chocolate."

"You really are mad."

"Don't tempt me to hit you, because I will … and break my hand in then process," Lois said playfully.

"Go ahead, make my day. I'm not the kind of man who hits a woman back."

"Boyscout." Suddenly, Clark got the Look on his face again.

Lois sighed. " What is it?"

"Someone is going to jump off the roof of the Daily Planet," Clark said.

"Gotta go. Meet me there?"

"Sure," Lois said. He gave her a short, but sweet kiss. Then, Clark whooshed off.

"Well, well. The target of all suicide attempts … the Daily Planet." As Lois arrived, Superman was all ready up on the roof, and none of the crowd could see him or whoever was up there with him …

***

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" Lana Lang exclaimed.

"What do you mean? You're a suicidal. I would guess you wouldn't want to see anybody," Clark said.

"Never mind that. I'm just sorry this moment can't last much longer."

"What do you mean by that?

"I think you know … Clark." Clark sucked his breath in. Lana knew he was Superman!

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clark answered as coolly as he could.

"Don't give me that I-don't-give-a-darn look, I know it all too well … with or without glasses." Clark was confused. He didn't know what to do. He could kill her. But he didn't believe in killing people, especially people he knew. Obviously she knew who he was.

"Fine," Clark said. " I guess the first thing I should ask you is if anybody else besides you knows about me."

"Well … I think you know at least three other people who know that you're Superman. Lois, and your parents. Oh, and you can't forget Lex. But he's dead, so it doesn't count. Does that answer your question?"

"Okay, fine. I guess that nobody is watching us, right? No secret videotapes, or hitmen out there trying to kill my wife or friends while I'm up here with you?"

"Nope, it's just you and me."

"Alright. How did you find out?"

"My alt."

"Your what?"

"I think you know. Lois had an alt, but she ' supposedly' died in the Congo. You have an alt, he came when Tempus was in town. I believe you know what an alt is."

"I know, but how did your alt get here?"

"Tempus left a secret device that none of you guys knew about. I found it, and figured out how to use it. When I pulled a switch on it, my alt just kind of appeared. I was surprised, but she wasn't. She seemed to know where she was and what she was doing. She told me that you were Superman. Of course, once I found out, I wanted you back. So here I am."

"What happened to your alt?" Clark asked.

"I killed her … don't look so surprised, it was the only way to get rid of her. I didn't know how to send her back."

"But why?"

"Because I got sick of her. People would've started to get suspicious anyway. If you had somebody who looked exactly like you following you around all the time, you would get sick of him, too. But enough small talk. Seeing that you're married, you probably won't do this the easy way, which is to come quietly. So I'll just have to do it the hard way." Lana pulled the Kryptonite out. Clark grimaced. He tried to fly away, but only succeeded in falling to the concrete. "Sorry, Clarkie, but this was the only way.

***

Lois was getting worried. It had been over an hour, and Clark still hadn't come down. She hadn't seen them, so she asked a policeman about what was going on. She was sorry she asked. He interrogated her for 15 minutes, about how long it sometimes takes to calm a suicidal person down. Sometimes even hours. He said he figured Superman was just having trouble calming down whoever was up there. Lois wasn't interested in listening to him talk. She just ignored him, and sat there, worrying …

***

Lana had already thought about all the people out on the sidewalk. Everybody inside had spilled outside to watch, even though they couldn't see anything. Nobody dared to go up on the roof, but the police had placed a secret camera up there to get a look at the suicidal person and what Superman was doing. Lana didn't know about this. She dragged Clark's unconscious body into the elevator and took it down to the parking garage. Lana though to herself, *Good. No policemen.* She just hoped nobody would try to stop her on her way out. She put Clark in the trunk, and drives out. There's nobody in sight. "Home free!" she says aloud to nobody in particular. "Now it's just you and me … Superman."

***

Now Lois was really worried. She didn't know what to do. It had been 2 hours, and there was no sign of Clark. The police were busy getting their pictures developed. Most of the crowd had lost interest and left. Lois was one of the few stragglers left. She wasn't going to leave until she found him …

***

Clark woke up with a terrible headache. He was in a room that had no windows and only one heavily locked door. There was a small piece of Kryptonite laying beside him. *Great* he thought. *Just enough to keep me powerless.* Clark was feeling a little better, and the Kryptonite wasn't big enough to make him feel sick. He started thinking. The door was locked from the outside, and the hinges were on the outside too. There wasn't a doorknob on the inside, either. This room must have been a storage room before or something. There was an air vent screwed into the top of the door. Somebody must have drilled it in there after the room was made, because the room was meant to be air-tight. There were no other vents. So no luck there. The whole room was made of concrete. There was nothing in the room, not even a chair. There were no windows, obviously, not even a peekhole, or bars.

He figured his only chance was if somebody opened the door. He couldn't get rid of the Kryptonite, unless … *Wait a minute … what if I step on it?* Clark thought. He stomped on the rock. Nope. He remembered what he had told Lois. Kryptonite is invulnerable, same as himself. Well, he was invulnerable, until now. He didn't even know if someone would open the door, anyway. But he wouldn't give up, not if he was still alive. All he could think about was Lois. His eyes filled with tears. *What if I never get out of here?* He wondered what Lois was doing right now … Clark half-chuckled, his tears withdrawing. She was probably venting out her confusion by yelling at someone …

***

"What do you mean there's no one up there!?" Lois yelled.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but when we finally went up, there was nobody there. We have no idea where Superman or the lady went."

"Lady?"

"Yeah, it was a lady who was trying to commit suicide. I'm sorry, ma'am, we're trying our best to find them."

"Well, your best isn't good enough! Do you know what the woman looks like?"

"Yeah. We took pictures of her."

"I thought so. Can I see them?"

"Sure. When we get them developed. I'll get somebody to send them to you."

"Thanks, Officer."

"You're welcome, ma'am. Have a good afternoon." Lois thought for a moment. It was time to pay Doctor Klein a visit.

***

"Here ya are, Lois. Genuine pictures of the robbery," said Doc Klein.

"Thanks, Doctor. Hey, why aren't they in focus? They're all blurry."

"Hey, do I look like a detective? I'm just a scientist. These are copies of what the police had. We don't have the kind of equipment that focuses pictures."

"Fine, I'll get Jimmy to do it. Oh, but before you leave, do the police know who the burglar is?"

"No. There are thousands of people in this city who have blond hair."

"Oh, all right. Well, thanks anyway, Doc."

***

"Jimmy!!!"

"What is it, Lois?"

"I need you to get these pictures into focus."

"You got it. Oh, do you know where CK is?"

"Yeah, he's out looking for Superman."

"Okay. By the way, there's a package on your desk."

"Thanks." Lois rejoiced inwardly. It had the pictures of the woman who had tried to commit suicide in it. Lana Lang! She was dragging Clark into the elevator!

"Here are the pictures."

"Wow. That was fast, Jimmy."

"Hey, technology is a wonderful thing!" He dodged the plastic plant that Lois threw at him. Lois compared the picture of Lana, and the one of the burglar. They were one and the same! Lana stole the Kryptonite! But why? By the picture of Lana and Clark, she could tell that Lana meant business.

In one of the pictures, Clark had scrunched up his face the way he does when he's angry or confused. Lois put the pieces together. Of course! Lana must have stolen the Kryptonite to get Clark! But why? Lois needed some chocolate. Her head was starting to spin. She rested her head on her hands, and put her elbows on her desk.

"Lois? You okay?" asked Jimmy. Suddenly, Lois' head snapped up. She was right! Lana must have killed Marcus to get him out of her way!

"Yeah, I'm a-okay Jimmy. But I have a feeling I know where Superman is!"

"Lois? Lois?" But Lois was already out the door. " Lois, where are you going?"

*I have to find Clark.* Lois thought. *He might be hurt!*

***

Clark was getting bored. He had tried numerous times to fly, or x-ray through the wall, and had even tried to punch a hole in the door. It had all failed. He was sitting on the floor, rubbing the hand he had tried to punch a hole in the door with, and thinking. What was taking Lois so long? He mentally kicked himself for not figuring it out earlier. He could have prevented all this. He leaned his head back against the wall. *Just few more hours. Trust her. She'll be here.*

***

At that moment, Lois was trying to figure out where Clark was. She had searched Lana's apartment, but he wasn't there. She had searched in all the obvious places a villain would hide the injured good guy. She thought she knew where he was. Heck, it always worked in the movies! She had even found out where Marcus had lived, and looked there. She was getting very frustrated. She sat in her Jeep, thinking about her next move. *Hang on a sec … she had forgotten Lana's parents' house. Lana's parents had died in a plane crash after the wedding. They had tried to comfort her, but she just ignored them. So, Lana had been using her parents' house as sort of an oversized storage room. Lois put her Jeep in gear, and drove as fast as she could legally to Lana's parents' house.

***

*Ah-ha! The door is finally opening!* Clark thought. Lana came in, with food and drink.

"Here you are, Clarkie. Would you consider moving into my apartment and into my bed?"

"No," Clark said flatly.

"Fine, be that way. Oh, well. I guess it takes time. I'm sure somebody staying in a room like this for a while is sure to crack at some time." All of a sudden, Lois rushed in behind Lana, knocking her down.

"Clark!" she exclaimed.

"Lois!" Clark yelled back. " How did you get here?"

"Through the door, dumbo!" Lana said. " How else?" Lois and Clark shared an amused glance. " Anyway, this makes it all the better. I can have much more fun with the both of you. Lois, you first." Lana pulled out a gun and trained it on Lois.

"Oh, no you don't," Clark said. "I may not be Superman, but I'm still Clark Kent." With that, he picked up the Kryptonite, grimaced, and flung it at Lana. It hit her in the arm that was holding the gun, causing her to let go of it.

"Owwwwww!" she yelled.

"I think you deserve this, also," Lois said, and punched Lana in the nose, knocking her to the floor, unconscious as she hit her head on the concrete floor.

"Maybe next time you'll consider putting carpet down in your prisons," said Clark. Lois ran over to him and threw her arms around him.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine, just powerless."

"What happened?"

"Well, when I got up on the roof, she told me that she knew I was Superman, and then she pulled out the Kryptonite she had stolen. You remember how Star Labs was robbed?"

"Yeah. I figured it all out."

"Good. That makes a long story short. Anyway, she pulled out the Kryptonite and I fell unconscious. That's when she dragged me here."

"We need to get you into some sun. I'm sure glad you're okay," Lois said as they walked out.

"We'd better call the police to come pick up Lana," Clark said.

"I can't believe she did this. I wonder why?"

"The answer is obvious. I have girls falling at my feet wherever I go."

"Oh, shut up you big lunkhead. You go call the police, and then we'll go home, okay?"

"Sounds good to me. Hey, my powers are back. Want to come with me to the police station? I really don't feel like carrying Lana."

"Sure," Lois replied, and they lifted into the air.

"Lunkhead?"

***

Later that night, Lois and Clark were cuddled up together on the couch.

"I hope she never does that again," Lois said.

"Yeah, me too. How did you find me anyway?"

"Oh, it's a long story. I just put all the pieces together, with a little help from a policeman and Doctor Klein."

"Sounds like your regular group of crimebusters."

"Yep!" They laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you found me. I was starting to go nuts in there."

"I know I would. But, somehow I feel sorry for her. I mean, just because she loves you … "

"Lois, honey, she doesn't love me … she loves Superman. Remember, Clark Kent is who I am, and Superman is what I can do?"

"Yeah, I remember. I'm just glad I got you before she did! Oh, and by the way—"

"Lana killed Marcus!" they both said at the same time.

"I take that back," Lois said. " I don't feel all that sorry for her after all!"

"I love you, Lois Lane."

"And I love you … Clark Kent."

THE END

(I just love happy endings!) be sure to expect more fanfic from me! comments are welcome! rache; :D