Re: Somebody to Love (SV, Clark/Lana, Adult) Ch10 (pg 1) 6/11/10
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 2:04 am
Mary Mary - Thank you for reading, and even more for replying. I'll admit that I'm very seriously considering writing a Roswell/Smallville crossover fic once I finish one of my current stories on another site. A lot of the general structure of that potential fic has already been hashed out in my mind.
Superman stood rooted to the spot, his jaw flapping uselessly at the mind-blowing question he had just heard. He wanted to ask Lana to repeat her question, but his mouth refused to work. Superman wasn’t even sure he could breathe. Lana couldn’t have hurt him more if she had tried to. For her to actually suggest that he was working with the people who had killed Lois and Ed was more than he could take.
Superman stepped back, unwilling to stand close to Lana. For her part, Lana could see the pain writ large on his face. She tried to follow after him, to see why he was so affected by what she had said, but he waved her away. Lana watched in amazement as Superman sank to his knees and began retching on the rooftop. She stepped close enough to hand Superman a tissue which he accepted without comment. When he made it back to his feet, Lana could see tear tracks making their way down through the light coating of urban dust that had accumulated on Superman’s face.
“You weren’t there the day Ms. Lane died in the burning wreckage of her car,” Superman said. “You didn’t have to see Clark’s devastation. He looked like a man whose world had ended. You weren’t there when Ed Kinser died. You weren’t the one that had to let Clark know his best friend, a man he had just spoken to not five minutes before, had been brutally gunned down.”
Superman sniffled, wiped his nose one last time, and then incinerated the tissue while it was still in his hand.
“It’s only because you weren’t there, that I can forgive you for what you said and the careless, almost callous, way you said it.” Superman’s face took on a steely look, with a firm set of his jaw, hooded eyes, and furrowed forehead. He looked menacing now, from his head to his boots. “I’ll thank you to never mention that idea in my presence ever again.”
“But, look at it from my…”
Superman cut her off with a curt hand gesture and a look that suggested she was on dangerous ground.
“Not…another…WORD!” Superman said. Lana could feel the emotions boiling inside of Superman. She was wondering what it would be like if the Man of Steel ever snapped, when he added, “If you're going to suspect Clark, you might as well start suspecting me.” Superman eyed Lana speculatively. “Since my word doesn’t seem to be good enough for you, I know some people whose word should be good enough for you.”
Bowed, but not broken, Lana asked, “Who?”
“Your mentor Rachel Dawes and her husband Bruce Wayne. They know Clark really well. I guarantee you they will be just as positive about this as I am.”
“How do Rachel and Bruce know a reporter from Metropolis at all,” Lana asked, “much less ‘really well?’”
“Just ask them. Tell them ‘Superman told you to ask,’” Superman said tiredly. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a city to return to protecting.”
As she watched Superman take off, Lana was already reaching for her cell phone. Since she didn’t want what she had asked Superman to be overheard by anyone else, she was forced to withstand the cold a few minutes longer while she called Gotham City. First she tried Rachel’s cell, but the call went to voice mail. Then she went one number farther down on her list and called Bruce.
Alfred answered, and when he heard Lana’s voice, the ever-correct English manservant said, “Miss Lang, how delightful to hear from you. Mistress Rachel will be sorry to have missed your call.”
“It’s nice to hear you too, Alfred, but I’m not calling to talk to Rachel. I need to talk to Bruce.”
“Master Bruce is sleeping and not to be disturbed.”
“Please, Alfred? It’s really important and you know me well enough to know I wouldn’t waste his time.”
Lana heard a soft sigh from the other end of the line.
“As you wish, Miss Lang. Master Bruce will be on the line shortly. Please hold.”
Five minutes later, Bruce was wearing a velvet smoking jacket over his silk pajamas and was sitting in a leather chair behind the massive desk in his office when he picked up Lana’s call.
“Lana, my girl, how is your hometown treating you?”
“The town’s fine, Bruce. The weather sucks though and the men are purely confusing.”
“Men? Isn’t this something you should be talking to Rachel about?”
“Not this time. I was told to ask a question of either you or Rachel. Since Rach didn’t answer her phone, I assume she’s in a meeting.”
“So, it’s me by default.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, Kiddo, talk to me.”
Lana thought for a second as Bruce took his first sip of Alfred’s special brew of coffee. Lana then asked, “Do you think there’s any chance that Clark Kent is working with Intergang?”
“Wha…shit!”
Over the next several seconds, Lana heard a string of increasingly vile expletives coming from the other end of the line until Alfred picked up the handset and said, “I’m sorry, Miss Lang. Master Bruce has had an unfortunate accident. He will be back with you momentarily.”
Lana spent her waiting time wondering what Bruce could have done to himself. When he came back online, she found out.
“Jeez, Lana, you oughta give a guy some warning when you’re going to drop a bomb on him.”
“What did you do, Bruce?”
“Oh, nothing much…just spilled a mostly full cup of steaming hot coffee on a very sensitive area.”
“I’m sorry,” Lana replied as she tried to stifle a giggle.
“So am I,” Bruce replied dryly, “but Rachel’s the one you’ll have to deal with once she learns what you made me do.” Lana was snorting with laughter by now, exactly as Bruce intended. “So, why are you even asking me about Clark Kent?”
Lana calmed down and said, “Superman told me to ask you. He didn’t think I believed him, but he says you and Rachel know Clark really well, and he thought I’d believe you.”
“Oh, Lana!” Bruce said. “Please tell me you didn’t ask Superman if he thought Clark Kent was working with Intergang.”
Lana could hear the pain in Bruce’s voice, which was something she really didn’t expect. A sharp-tongued dressing down or a few snide remarks about her apparent lack of tact was more like what she was expecting. Something weird was going on here.
“Let me explain it to you like this,” Bruce said, matter-of-factly. “You are more likely to work for Intergang than Clark is. He’s been working on breaking that organization since before, well…since before…”
“Since before either Lois Lane or Ed Kinser died?” Lana asked. She could hear the air go out of Bruce with an explosive rush.
“Yeah,” Bruce said somberly. “Their deaths have only increased his passion and determination. This case you’re trying is a big deal to him. Not only will it remove the current head of Intergang, but it may lead to the conviction of many other people, both in and out of Intergang.”
“So…what you’re saying is, I was waaaaaaaay off base.”
“No, Lana, you were a lot farther off base than that, but it sounds like you’re getting the idea.” Bruce paused for a moment and then asked, “Whatever made you suspect him in the first place?”
Lana then went over the evidence she had found, in the order she had found it. By the end, Bruce had to agree that her idea had looked reasonable.
“I don’t generally believe in coincidences either, Lana,” Bruce said, “but in this case, please believe me when I say Clark is as clean as new-fallen snow.”
“Whew!” Lana was elated that Clark wasn’t on the wrong side, but she felt like a jerk for thinking that he might be.
“Don’t worry about Superman, Lana, he may not want to talk to you right now. The next time I talk to him, I’ll explain your thought process to him.”
“Really? Thanks Bruce,” Lana said. “Now I just have to worry about lunch.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’m supposed to meet Clark for lunch at noon, and I feel rotten for thinking ill of him.”
Bruce looked at the cup of coffee he had just sloshed all over his desk, the second cup he had spilled this morning, and thought, I’ve got to remind Alfred to not let me have anything hot the next time I talk to Lana.
“Well, Kiddo, it’s getting to be near to lunch time for you, so I’ll let you go. Call later to let us know how lunch goes.”
“Why?”
“Because we care just as much for you as we do for Clark.”
He couldn’t mean what it sounds like he means…could he? Me and Clark? Nah.
* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 11
No!
Superman stood rooted to the spot, his jaw flapping uselessly at the mind-blowing question he had just heard. He wanted to ask Lana to repeat her question, but his mouth refused to work. Superman wasn’t even sure he could breathe. Lana couldn’t have hurt him more if she had tried to. For her to actually suggest that he was working with the people who had killed Lois and Ed was more than he could take.
Superman stepped back, unwilling to stand close to Lana. For her part, Lana could see the pain writ large on his face. She tried to follow after him, to see why he was so affected by what she had said, but he waved her away. Lana watched in amazement as Superman sank to his knees and began retching on the rooftop. She stepped close enough to hand Superman a tissue which he accepted without comment. When he made it back to his feet, Lana could see tear tracks making their way down through the light coating of urban dust that had accumulated on Superman’s face.
“You weren’t there the day Ms. Lane died in the burning wreckage of her car,” Superman said. “You didn’t have to see Clark’s devastation. He looked like a man whose world had ended. You weren’t there when Ed Kinser died. You weren’t the one that had to let Clark know his best friend, a man he had just spoken to not five minutes before, had been brutally gunned down.”
Superman sniffled, wiped his nose one last time, and then incinerated the tissue while it was still in his hand.
“It’s only because you weren’t there, that I can forgive you for what you said and the careless, almost callous, way you said it.” Superman’s face took on a steely look, with a firm set of his jaw, hooded eyes, and furrowed forehead. He looked menacing now, from his head to his boots. “I’ll thank you to never mention that idea in my presence ever again.”
“But, look at it from my…”
Superman cut her off with a curt hand gesture and a look that suggested she was on dangerous ground.
“Not…another…WORD!” Superman said. Lana could feel the emotions boiling inside of Superman. She was wondering what it would be like if the Man of Steel ever snapped, when he added, “If you're going to suspect Clark, you might as well start suspecting me.” Superman eyed Lana speculatively. “Since my word doesn’t seem to be good enough for you, I know some people whose word should be good enough for you.”
Bowed, but not broken, Lana asked, “Who?”
“Your mentor Rachel Dawes and her husband Bruce Wayne. They know Clark really well. I guarantee you they will be just as positive about this as I am.”
“How do Rachel and Bruce know a reporter from Metropolis at all,” Lana asked, “much less ‘really well?’”
“Just ask them. Tell them ‘Superman told you to ask,’” Superman said tiredly. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a city to return to protecting.”
As she watched Superman take off, Lana was already reaching for her cell phone. Since she didn’t want what she had asked Superman to be overheard by anyone else, she was forced to withstand the cold a few minutes longer while she called Gotham City. First she tried Rachel’s cell, but the call went to voice mail. Then she went one number farther down on her list and called Bruce.
Alfred answered, and when he heard Lana’s voice, the ever-correct English manservant said, “Miss Lang, how delightful to hear from you. Mistress Rachel will be sorry to have missed your call.”
“It’s nice to hear you too, Alfred, but I’m not calling to talk to Rachel. I need to talk to Bruce.”
“Master Bruce is sleeping and not to be disturbed.”
“Please, Alfred? It’s really important and you know me well enough to know I wouldn’t waste his time.”
Lana heard a soft sigh from the other end of the line.
“As you wish, Miss Lang. Master Bruce will be on the line shortly. Please hold.”
Five minutes later, Bruce was wearing a velvet smoking jacket over his silk pajamas and was sitting in a leather chair behind the massive desk in his office when he picked up Lana’s call.
“Lana, my girl, how is your hometown treating you?”
“The town’s fine, Bruce. The weather sucks though and the men are purely confusing.”
“Men? Isn’t this something you should be talking to Rachel about?”
“Not this time. I was told to ask a question of either you or Rachel. Since Rach didn’t answer her phone, I assume she’s in a meeting.”
“So, it’s me by default.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, Kiddo, talk to me.”
Lana thought for a second as Bruce took his first sip of Alfred’s special brew of coffee. Lana then asked, “Do you think there’s any chance that Clark Kent is working with Intergang?”
“Wha…shit!”
Over the next several seconds, Lana heard a string of increasingly vile expletives coming from the other end of the line until Alfred picked up the handset and said, “I’m sorry, Miss Lang. Master Bruce has had an unfortunate accident. He will be back with you momentarily.”
Lana spent her waiting time wondering what Bruce could have done to himself. When he came back online, she found out.
“Jeez, Lana, you oughta give a guy some warning when you’re going to drop a bomb on him.”
“What did you do, Bruce?”
“Oh, nothing much…just spilled a mostly full cup of steaming hot coffee on a very sensitive area.”
“I’m sorry,” Lana replied as she tried to stifle a giggle.
“So am I,” Bruce replied dryly, “but Rachel’s the one you’ll have to deal with once she learns what you made me do.” Lana was snorting with laughter by now, exactly as Bruce intended. “So, why are you even asking me about Clark Kent?”
Lana calmed down and said, “Superman told me to ask you. He didn’t think I believed him, but he says you and Rachel know Clark really well, and he thought I’d believe you.”
“Oh, Lana!” Bruce said. “Please tell me you didn’t ask Superman if he thought Clark Kent was working with Intergang.”
Lana could hear the pain in Bruce’s voice, which was something she really didn’t expect. A sharp-tongued dressing down or a few snide remarks about her apparent lack of tact was more like what she was expecting. Something weird was going on here.
“Let me explain it to you like this,” Bruce said, matter-of-factly. “You are more likely to work for Intergang than Clark is. He’s been working on breaking that organization since before, well…since before…”
“Since before either Lois Lane or Ed Kinser died?” Lana asked. She could hear the air go out of Bruce with an explosive rush.
“Yeah,” Bruce said somberly. “Their deaths have only increased his passion and determination. This case you’re trying is a big deal to him. Not only will it remove the current head of Intergang, but it may lead to the conviction of many other people, both in and out of Intergang.”
“So…what you’re saying is, I was waaaaaaaay off base.”
“No, Lana, you were a lot farther off base than that, but it sounds like you’re getting the idea.” Bruce paused for a moment and then asked, “Whatever made you suspect him in the first place?”
Lana then went over the evidence she had found, in the order she had found it. By the end, Bruce had to agree that her idea had looked reasonable.
“I don’t generally believe in coincidences either, Lana,” Bruce said, “but in this case, please believe me when I say Clark is as clean as new-fallen snow.”
“Whew!” Lana was elated that Clark wasn’t on the wrong side, but she felt like a jerk for thinking that he might be.
“Don’t worry about Superman, Lana, he may not want to talk to you right now. The next time I talk to him, I’ll explain your thought process to him.”
“Really? Thanks Bruce,” Lana said. “Now I just have to worry about lunch.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’m supposed to meet Clark for lunch at noon, and I feel rotten for thinking ill of him.”
Bruce looked at the cup of coffee he had just sloshed all over his desk, the second cup he had spilled this morning, and thought, I’ve got to remind Alfred to not let me have anything hot the next time I talk to Lana.
“Well, Kiddo, it’s getting to be near to lunch time for you, so I’ll let you go. Call later to let us know how lunch goes.”
“Why?”
“Because we care just as much for you as we do for Clark.”
He couldn’t mean what it sounds like he means…could he? Me and Clark? Nah.