Friends or Lovers?

Folc4evernaday | Rated: M| Chapter 5

The next morning, Lois Lane woke to the sound of a ringing telephone by her bed. She took a moment to assess her surroundings. Clark lay next to her, his arms wrapped protectively around her slim body. She smiled at his sleeping figure and sat up to answer the phone.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"Lois Lane? This is Albie Swinson. You've got to help me," the man said hurriedly over the phone.

Lois was still tired from last night's activities. "Albie Swinson?"

"Please, the toxins in his body are poisoning his mind. He's going to kill innocent people," Albie pleaded with her.

That got Lois' attention. "Who?"

Albie was speaking in a hushed whisper now, "Gables. I can't say any more on the phone. Meet me at Whispering Pines, plot 29B in half an hour."

Lois hung up the phone and looked over at Clark with an amused look.

"Well, back to work," she muttered, grudgingly.

"Who was that?" Clark asked sleepily as he began to wake up.

"Albie Swinson. He has information for us about Stanley Gables."

"Albie? Isn't that the same guy we had Jimmy do a background check on?"

"The same."

"Well, let's go. See what he has to say."

Lois and Clark stood at plot 29B of Whispering Pines Cemetery awaiting Albie Swinson's arrival.

Clark looked around, x-raying the cemetery critically. "I don't know, Lois. Something isn't right."

"Clark, he said he'd be here in half an hour. You didn't hear him on the phone. He was scared."

"Well, maybe he had a reason to be." Clark sensed something was not right. The chill in the air smelled of trouble.

Clark's cell phone went off and he looked down at it. "It's Jimmy. There's no signal over here. Will you be all right for just a minute?"

"I'll be fine. If anything happens, I'll just yell."

"All right." Clark walked off, trying to find a signal.

Lois looked around nervously. Something wasn't right. They had been standing here for over an hour and still no sign of Albie. Just then one of the grave diggers she had seen a few days ago approached her.

"Albie?"

"Albie couldn't make it," he returned with a smile. He pulled out a gun and headed towards her.

Lois' eyes widened in fear and she ran across the cemetery, looking for Clark. She couldn't very well call for help when she was out of breath. If she screamed, he would know where she was and could Clark get to her before a bullet could? All these questions raced through her mind.

She spotted what looked like an empty coffin by one of the plots and climbed in, whispering, "I'm sorry," once she realized it had a body inside. She just had to wait it out until the gravedigger gave up.

Machinery could be heard from outside the coffin and she felt the coffin being lifted from the ground. She began to cry as she realized she was about to be buried alive. The body she was lying on top of stirred and she looked down at it in shock. It was Buster Williams.

He smiled up at her. "I must have really died, Angel, because this is heaven."

Lois screamed in fear.

Clark's head shot up when he heard Lois' cry. "Uh, Jimmy thanks for the information. I've got to go. I think Lois is in trouble." He hung up the phone and quickly changed into the Superman suit as he shot up into the sky. He searched the ground of the cemetery and saw nothing. Gravediggers were burying a coffin, but that was it; nothing out of the ordinary. Could she be at the Planet?

"Lo-is, why do you do this to me?" he muttered under his breath. He headed in the direction of the Planet to look for her.

Perry walked up to Clark as he saw him looking around Lois' desk. "Clark? I thought I was the only one that liked to come in early around here." A yawn escaped from Clark as he strode up to his desk. Perry noticed the lines of worry on the young man's forehead. "Did you pull an all-nighter?"

"I'm looking for Lois. She and I got a call this morning to meet Albie Swinson. He said he had some information for us on Stanley Gables. Lois and I think he might be tied into Mayson's murder."

"Gables. I know that name. Didn't he used to work for STAR Labs?" Perry asked. He glanced at a couple of the articles on Clark's desk reading,

"Freak Accident Kills Four — Chemist Blamed". Another article read: "Gables Claims STAR Labs to Blame".

"Jimmy pulled an all-nighter getting this research on Gables for me. Gables was one of their top chemists. He invented something called the Omega Virus."

Perry nodded in agreement, recalling the information. "Right. I remember now. The guy had an accident in his lab and the virus killed four people."

"According to these articles, they fired him and he sued. He blamed STAR Labs for the accident."

"But the jury didn't buy it. We ran an editorial praising the verdict. The guy just wouldn't take responsibility for his own mistake."

Agent Scardino walked up to the two of them with a happy grin on his face. "Hey, guys, where's Lois?"

"I don't know," Clark replied. "Have you seen her?"

"Are you kidding? What, did you two have a lovers' quarrel after I left?" Agent Scardino winked at him.

Perry caught the implication of what Scardino was saying. Apparently, Clark had been with Lois last night. He didn't say anything, though. He hoped everything would work out for the best between Lois and Clark. He really felt Clark was what Lois needed; a strong supportive partner who was there for her no matter what.

"No, trust me, when I'm kidding I'm a lot funnier," Clark shot back.

"Where would she go?"

Perry began to think. "Well, if you two were investigating Gables … "

"What? You think Lois went over to Gables house by herself?" Scardino asked. Clark grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

Perry just smiled. "Agent Scardino, if there's one thing you must learn about Lois it's that she's …"

"Bold? Headstrong? Unpredictable?" Scardino asked.

"To say the least," Clark said as he called the elevator down.

"A woman after my own heart." Scardino smiled. "Hey, wait. I'm coming, too."

Stanley Gable sat at a desk looking at a large computer screen. Sean McCarthy looked at the screen and asked Gables, "Hey, Mr. Gables, when's Buster going to be here?"

Gables looked at the screen and watched a picture of a coffin float from one end of a maze to another. "Any second now…"

Diego and McCarthy walked over to Gables' fireplace and watched as the head of a coffin appeared in the opening. The men pulled the coffin into the room and Diego grunted as he lifted it up. "Man, this is heavy. I thought you said Buster was a little guy!"

McCarthy grunted as well and dropped the coffin. He then pried open the lid and discovered Lois lying on top of Buster. "What are you doing in there?"

Lois stood up and looked around at the handful of convicts in the room, with a shaky breath and then asked, "Would you honestly believe anything I said?"

Gables shook his head no and McCarthy commented, "Looks like we got us a stowaway, Mr. Gables."

"Ms. Lane, I presume." Mr. Gables sighed. "My man at the cemetery was baffled by your disappearance. A unique escape plan; I'll give you that."

"I could return the compliment," Lois replied dryly. She spotted a man, tied up and gagged, sitting on the love seat.

Gables noticed her line of vision then smiled. "Albie looks lonely. Aren't love seats made for two?"

STAR Labs' front entrance was guarded by several security guards. McCarthy tapped on the glass doors, holding up bug spray equipment, dressed as an exterminator.

The guard at the front desk nodded and allowed entry for McCarthy. McCarthy smiled as he walked up to the guard. "Hate to tell you, but you've got bugs. I've got to spray." He then sprayed the toxin into the air and leaned over the counter to open the door for the rest of the crew to enter as well.

The guards lay helpless on the floor as their bodies absorbed the lethal toxins.

"Let's go," Gables ordered as they made their way through STAR Labs.

Outside of Stanley Gables' estate, Clark was getting annoyed with Scardino's insistence on following him. He needed to find Lois and he couldn't do that with Scardino on his tail.

"I don't know, Kent. Are you sure about this? It looks kinda quiet to me."

Clark x-rayed the house and smiled when he spotted Lois sitting on the love seat with who he assumed was Albie. She was halfway done trying to untie herself from her bonds. "Uh, why don't you just head back? If you don't think they're here. There's no sense in both of us wasting our time."

"Nah, I'll stick around." Scardino looked around the property critically.

"Okay. Why don't you try around back? See if there's an open window?"

Scardino broke the window to the front door. "This one's open." He then gestured towards the door. "After you."

Clark stared at him in disbelief as Scardino opened the door. "Does destruction of property mean anything to you, Scardino?"

"Hey, you're the one that suggested breaking and entering," Scardino shot back as they headed upstairs to the office.

McCarthy and Diego stood below an air vent in the lobby of STAR Labs as they lifted Buster into the vent. Diego then moved to the security panel on a nearby security door leading to the most secured part of STAR labs.

Diego pulled out a cobra pick and inserted it into the security door. After a few moments, the door clicked open. He then moved to the security panel and opened it in the same manner. Once the security panel was opened he removed a disk from the computer before him and replaced it with a disk of his own. After a few keystrokes, he turned to Gables.

"Done. The security system is down."

"Excellent," Gables replied with a smile.

McCarthy looked on with a smile. "Hope everyone's ready for some fireworks."

Scardino rushed in front of Clark, trying to play the hero, and opened the door to Gables' office. Inside they found Lois untied and working on untying Albie Swinson.

"Lois?"

"Clark!" Lois ran up to him and threw her arms around him, kissing him soundly.

"What happened?"

"Well, that grave digger came after me while you were on the phone with Jimmy and I couldn't very well scream for help while I was trying to avoid him so I jumped into what I thought was an empty coffin and ended up getting buried alive and now I'm here."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. This is Albie Swinson by the way. He says Gables is insane. He wants to kill all of Metropolis with — "

"The Omega Virus?"

"How did you — ?"

"That's what Jimmy had called to tell me this morning — research on Gables."

Scardino, tired of being ignored, jumped in. "Uh, hi, sorry to interrupt. Remember me? DEA agent? Here to work on the investigation? Mind filling me in?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "We can fill you in on the way to STAR Labs."

"What's at STAR Labs?" Scardino asked.

"The Omega Virus," Lois and Clark replied in unison.

"Do you two always do that?"

"Not always," Lois replied warmly.

Clark smiled back at her. Things were definitely different between them now. "I'm going to call the police. Make sure Superman knows what's going on."

Lois nodded, catching onto what Clark was saying. "Right."

Clark left and Scardino watched him, shaking his head, trying to figure out what Lois saw in him. "So, are you coming?"

"Coming?"

"To STAR Labs? We've got to stop this thing!"

"I think Superman has got this under control, Dan."

"Suit yourself." Scardino turned and left.

Lois watched him leave then counted to ten. She couldn't let Scardino go over there by himself. He could risk hurting himself or someone else. He had a grudge against McCarthy. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath and headed out the door. "The one time I try to be rational and level-headed."

Clark flew through the sky and landed on the roof of STAR Labs, where he found a balding man standing there with a vial in his hand. That had to be Stanley Gables.

"Everyone loves a good Steven King novel. Now, this city is going to live one." Gables lifted the vial to break it as Diego, Buster, and McCarthy lifted their masks to protect themselves against the virus.

Clark landed on the roof in one swift motion; he narrowed his eyes at the criminals, giving them a stern look. "I wondered if the prison had a lost and found department."

Realizing Superman was referring to their daring escape, Diego, McCarthy, and Buster ran in the opposite direction, leaving Superman to deal with Gables alone.

"Don't go far," Clark called after them. He turned to Gables and took a step forward but stopped as Gables broke the seal on the vial. Gable held his thumb over the covering in place over the vial. "Give me the vial, Gables."

Gables smiled sardonically at Clark. "I don't think so, Superman. There's nothing you can do to me that STAR Labs hasn't already done. I am a victim. Justice will be served."

"It's not justice when innocent people are made to suffer for your mistakes."

"Oh, yes, it is." Gables smashed the vial to the ground before Clark could react and the contents began to spread before them.

Clark, at a loss for what to do, panicked for a split second and then found a solution. He used his super breath to freeze the virus in place then threw it into the sky.

"NO!" Gables cried out in agony.

Scardino jumped out of his cab in front of STAR Labs. Immediately recognizing McCarthy, he began to chase him down. Diego and Buster ran in opposite directions. Albie tackled Diego to the ground and Lois took Buster Williams down with a swift kick.

Scardino continued to chase McCarthy down. McCarthy tried to jump a chain link fence but found it too high, lost his balance, and plummeted to the ground. Scardino took advantage of the situation and drew out his gun. "Get your hands where I can see them!"

McCarthy raised his hands to show surrender. Scardino reached down to remove the mask from McCarthy's face. McCarthy smiled. Taking advantage of the weak moment, he grabbed Scardino's leg and tripped him. Scardino's gun flew across the concrete as they continued to wrestle for control over one another. McCarthy finally gaining the upper hand, wrapped his hands around Scardino's neck as he taunted him, "You should have died with your partner, Scardino."

"He likes to be called Daniel." Clark dressed in his suit and glasses once more, grabbed McCarthy and threw him across the concrete.

McCarthy struggled to stand up once more but was facing the barrel of Scardino's gun, being held by Lois. "Don't even bother. You think you're hurting now, you'll be in even more pain if you try anything else."

McCarthy eyed Lois for a moment then gave into unconsciousness. She leaned down to check that he was still breathing then headed towards Clark and Agent Scardino.

Scardino stared in awe as the seemingly mild-mannered reporter helped him to his feet. "Kent?"

"The police are on their way. Thanks for waiting for me by the way."

"How did you … ?"

"It's not important." Lois handed the gun to Scardino. "I don't think he'll be giving you any more problems. Clark gave him a good knock on the head when he threw him off of you. Gables is already in custody and Diego and Buster are out cold. Anything else we can do for you, Agent Scardino?"

Agent Scardino stared in awe at the duo. He now understood exactly what Lois saw in Clark. There was nothing ordinary about Kent at all.

Perry stood behind Lois and Clark as they read the headline for the mock up of the Planet's next edition. "DEATH PILL EXPOSED. SCIENTIST LINKED TO D.A.'S MURDER."

"Quite a story, kids. I'd give my set of gold-plated Elvis spoons to know what makes a guy like Gables tick."

Lois grimaced. "That's the way it is today. Everybody sees themselves as a victim."

Clark nodded in agreement. "It's like no one wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore."

Perry smiled. "Well, boys and girls, I, for one, take my responsibility very seriously. And right now I've got a paper to put to bed, so I can go home and have a little dinner with Alice. See you tomorrow."

Perry walked away, leaving the couple alone for the first time since that morning. "Good night, Perry," Lois called after him. He waved in recognition and headed for the elevator.

"So, how you doing?" Clark asked, nuzzling her neck seductively.

"I'm basking in the glory of my accomplishments," she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

"Accomplishments?" Clark was baffled at her choice of words.

"Well, in the last 24 hours I have proven that I can take care of myself on my own … "

"Yes, but you still need to work on NOT getting into so much trouble, Lois."

"Hey, I called you once I got to STAR Labs. I didn't go in by myself."

"Yeah, after you threw Buster Williams a roundhouse kick and knocked him out cold."

"He was trying to get away."

"Lo-is."

"Okay, fine. But I still proved I didn't need anyone's help to get me out of Gables' estate. I was already untied by the time you and Dan got there."

He laughed at her pride in herself. "Okay. I'll give you that. It was kinda funny to see Scardino's face when he opened the door and you were already untied."

"So, what have we got going on tonight?"

"Movie?" he offered.

"Sure. Your place or mine? I must warn you. I have no food," she offered.

He laughed. "I think I'll live. But I CAN cook you know."

"Wow, he can cook and he can fly?" She winked at him. "This just might work out."

Clark laughed at the inside joke.

Dan Scardino approached them apprehensively and cleared his throat. "Hey."

"Hi, Dan. How's your head?" Lois asked.

"It's good," he replied. "Thanks to you and Kent, I still have one. I wanted to come by and thank you for what you did for me. I've always had the attitude that no one could touch me. I never look before I leap type thing. I got my pride wounded. I deserved it."

"It happens," Clark remarked. He remembered a time a few months back when he had foolishly thought himself invincible and had approached Luthor without looking first and had found himself in a Kryptonite cage. It had been a humbling experience.

"Maybe, but, I owe you both an apology. I should never have tried to come in between you two. Perry had warned me you were out of my league and I didn't listen. I still tried to pursue you and I'm sorry for that. I now know what you see in Kent here. I wish the best for you both and I hope we can all be friends."

"Sure," Lois replied. "Just save the cheesy pickup lines for someone else?" Lois smiled up at Clark. "They're wasted on me."

"Right. I'll see you guys around." Dan shook Clark's hand firmly. An offer of friendship.

"Sure," Clark replied. He took the man's hand in friendship. "Dan?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you find what it is you're looking for," Clark supplied.

"Me too," he replied sadly. He walked away and headed towards the elevator. He had seen the way Lois looked at Clark. He remembered when a woman had looked at him that way. It had been Jenna. She had been the love of his life. Lois reminded him a lot of her. Would he ever meet anyone to fill the hole in his heart that her death had brought on?

He watched as Clark leaned in to kiss Lois. She laughed and pulled him closer, teasing him —- full of life. No, he never would meet anyone like Jenna. Lois belonged with Kent. That was certain.

Lois watched Dan leave and smiled sadly. "It's sad. What happened to his partner."

"Yeah," Clark replied sadly. "Like I said, I hope he does find what he's looking for."

"Me too. He's not really such a bad guy, just misguided. Needs to learn to back off when someone is obviously madly in love with their best friend and struggling to deal with all those emotions."

"I love you, too." He captured her mouth soundly and she laughed against his mouth as he scooped her in his arms and carried her towards the storage closet.

"Clark, where are we going?"

"Exploring?" he replied as she smacked him lightly. He laughed. Things were definitely looking up. He and Lois were together. They were working towards a solid relationship. She knew he was Superman and still loved him. He couldn't ask for a better beginning to their relationship.

The End. Or The Beginning? You decide.