Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Broken	By : MidnightBard Category: G through L > Lois & Clark Views: 2191 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I neither own, nor make, anything. See full disclaimer.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Two days went by. Both days, Clark spent at least a portion of his time at work poring over what little evidence they could scrape up on Alex. The rest of the hours spent at the Planet he used to follow other stories, not to mention the few Superman rescues he "stumbled" upon. Every evening, he would go back to his apartment, wolf down a sandwich for his dinner, then spin into the suit and patrol the city, looking for Alex. He would sweep the city, his eyes and ears straining for any evidence that the man was in the area. Always, his concentration would be broken by someone calling for help. He dutifully responded to those cries for assistance, then resume his search. Finding nothing, he would fly until he was nearly ready to collapse, then head home. Showering at super speed, he would pass out cold in his bed moments later, only to be haunted by nightmares.
                "Clark," Lois said on the third morning since Alex had attacked Ryan.
                "Huh? Wha?" he replied, looking up from his computer screen, where he'd been staring blankly for the last fifteen minutes.
                "You look beat."
                "I'll be fine. I'll sleep better once we catch Alex."
                "You promised me you wouldn't push yourself too hard."
                "I know. And I'm sorry, Lois. It's just that this is really important to me."
                "Because Ryan is your neighbor."
                "Yes and no."
                "Clark, I know there's something you aren't telling me. What is it? What is it about this case that is so different from the hundreds of other cases you've helped solve?"
                "I...uh..." he stammered. "It's difficult to explain."
                "Try me."
                But at that moment, Clark's phone began to ring, breaking their discussion off before it could progress. Clark looked apologetically at Lois and reached for the receiver.
                "Daily Planet. This is Clark Kent speaking."
                "Kent, it's Henderson," came the gruff voice on the other end of the line.
                "Hey, Bill."
                "I've got some news for you on that hair sample my lab guys found."
                "Really? That's great."
                "I wish we'd gotten it processed sooner," the man said, sighing. "We're drowning in work here. These budget cuts don't stop soon, we'll never get any work accomplished." Clark could imagine Bill's head shaking in annoyance.
                "Sorry to hear that, Bill. But what did the DNA tests show?"
                "Well, you were right. The DNA is a perfect match for one Alex Harwood."
                "Great," Clark said. "Now all we have to do is find him."
                "Nothing on your end yet, I take it?"
                "Nothing at all. You'd be the first to know if we did have anything."
                Inspector Henderson grunted an acknowledgement into the phone. "Okay. Well, you know I appreciate it."
                Clark heard the phone click as the officer hung up. He looked up, meeting Lois' gaze as she stood next to his desk, arms folded.
                "Henderson?" she asked.
                Clark nodded. "We've got a positive match on the hair sample to Alex."
                "So, we've got him."
                "I wish. We still have to find him."
                "That's just a matter of time," Lois said, arching an eyebrow. "When we do, we've got the evidence to nail him."
                "Finding him has been easier said than done, so far," Clark reminded her, rubbing his chin in thought.
                "Maybe we have to work a little bit harder. Think, Clark. Is there anything you remember about him that could help us out here?"
                "I remember everything," he replied morosely. "That's the problem."
                "What do you mean?"
                But Clark shook his head. "Never mind."
                "CK," Jimmy said, coming up to where Lois and Clark stood. "I ran that cell phone search for you."
                "And?" Clark asked hopefully.
                "And I came up with nada. The guy may as well be a ghost."
                Clark tilted his head back a little, sighing and looking up at the ceiling in frustration. "I'm guessing the same as far as mail delivery."
                "Exactly."
                "He's hiding his tracks well," Clark said, running a hand through his hair.
                "No credit cards either."
                "So he has to be using cash," Lois said. "Have we checked with the local banks?"
                "Henderson is running that search," Clark answered for Jimmy.
                "What about...his driver's license? Did we get that information back yet?"
                Jimmy nodded. "Just came in this morning. I would have gotten it to you sooner, but the Chief's got me running all over the place today." He handed Lois a sheet of paper from the stack he had tucked under one arm. "It's still registered to Florida, at his last known address over six months ago. The car he had registered under his name was a white Ford pickup."
                "Okay, well, that narrows it a little," Clark said, taking the sheet of paper with Alex's driver's license information as Lois passed it to him. He studied it for the most fleeting of moments.
                "More than you might think," Jimmy said, grinning. "Turns out, the same car was found in Suicide Slum last week, completely stripped."
                "He had to have had a car to make such a quick getaway the day he went after Ryan," Lois said thoughtfully.
                "He must have stolen another vehicle," Clark said, fitting the pieces together. "Jimmy, let's run a search and see how many cars have been stolen in the last week."
                Jimmy grinned and produced a second sheet of paper. "Way ahead of you, CK. There were eight reported thefts. How much do you guys love me right now?"
                Clark took the paper from his friend and scanned it quickly. It was a thorough list, and he was impressed. Makes, models, colors, license plates, even the locations where the vehicles had been stolen were all duly noted. He looked up at Jimmy after a moment.
                "Nice work," he said, standing and patting Jimmy on the shoulder. "I'm impressed."
                "You're the best," Lois complimented him as well. "What would we do without you?"
                Jimmy shrugged, blushing. "Tell that to Perry. I could use all the points I could get right about now. I need to ask him for a raise so I can afford the rent hike on my place."
                "I'll be sure to sing your praises," Lois said, giving the younger man a smile.
                "Thanks. After coming back with that broken camera and ruined film, I'm a little nervous about asking for a raise."
                "That wasn't your fault," Lois assured him. "The guy flew off the handle and attacked you. It couldn't be helped. You were doing your job."
                "Still..."
                "We'll talk to him," Clark promised, gently cutting Jimmy off.
                "Thanks guys."
                "Olsen!"
                "Speaking of," Jimmy grumbled. "Duty calls."
                "Now, this is a good place to start," Clark said, reading over the list of stolen vehicles again. "At least I have something to keep an eye out for now." His voice was low, so only Lois could hear.
                Lois nodded. "Even Superman needs a little help now and again, huh?" She gave him a sly wink.
                "You have no idea," Clark said, smiling back.
                "How's the story on the gas leak down at the Beckworth School coming?" Lois asked, switching gears.
                "Just about done," Clark said. "I was about to finish it up before I sort of...drifted off into space there. Looks like it was just old pipes. The first responders couldn't find anything that looked suspicious. They don't have the money to replace the pipes in the building though."
                "Isn't that a little dangerous?"
                "It could be. I mean, everything is okay now. But who knows if another leak will be sprung? The school is organizing a craft fair to try and raise some money for repairs."
                "That's not a bad idea," Lois said thoughtfully. "It might even change people's mind about the kids there."
                Clark nodded. "Right. The so-called 'problem' kids. It wouldn't hurt to let the city see a different side to the kids. Let them know these kids have real value and potential. The good news is, Superman had a little chat with Murray Brown."
                "The lawyer?"
                Clark nodded again. "His firm is handling the Superman Foundation right now. And they are prepared to step in and cover whatever the school can't afford after the craft sale."
                "Why not just do that upfront?"
                Clark shrugged. "We tried. But the director of the school, Mrs. Powell, won't hear of it. And since there is no immediate danger of another leak that anyone can see, the kids are really excited about the craft sale."
                "Let me guess," Lois said, giving him a smile. "You're going to write up a sidebar about the craft sale."
                "It's the least I can do," Clark said, smiling back. "They're good kids."
                "You're a big softie, you know that?"
                Clark chuckled. "I know. Actually, to be honest, I feel a kind of kinship with those kids. I mean, most of them don't have living parents, or, if they do, their parents aren't in a position to raise them. I guess, having lost my own folks at such a young age, I get what they're going through. I just wasn't fortunate enough to wind up in a state school like they did. Instead, I got placed into a nightmare home where the adults were so wrapped up in their own stuff they didn't have time for the kids at all."
                "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Lois said softly. "I'm sorry, Clark."
                "Don't be," he said, shaking his head. "What's done is done." Then, to change the course of the conversation, "So, what are you working on now?"
                "The opening of that new senior center in midtown." She rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed with the assignment she'd been given. "I feel like Perry's punishing me for something. I just don't know what I did wrong."
                "Oh come on, it can't be that bad," Clark said lightly, trying to get her to smile again.
                "It's a puff piece! How am I ever going to win a Pulitzer writing puff pieces?"
                "Not everything is about awards, Lois," Clark said, amused at her distress over the assignment she'd been given.
                Lois merely rolled her eyes at him again before turning and stalking back to her own desk. Clark watched, still amused, before bringing his eyes back to his own screen. Quickly reading over what he'd written so far, he made two small changes, then finished up the article. Opening a new document, he quickly tapped out the sidebar piece he'd been constructing in his head. Satisfied with the end product, he fired off both pieces to Perry.
                For the rest of the afternoon, Clark lost himself to his work. He finished putting the final touches on the article he and Lois had been working on, covering a rash of thefts in the Diamond District of Metropolis. The three responsible for the robberies had been arrested the previous night. With Lois' approval, Clark sent that article off to their boss. Just before it was time to call it a day, he was called away to help with a car fire. It didn't take him long to deal with, and he managed to get the story typed up for one final article.
                Days passed in the same manner. Every night, Clark would look for Alex and turn up nothing. Every day, he and Lois would continue to look for new angles. But as the time passed and their information dried up, they were forced to set the investigation aside in favor of stories they could actually bring to closure. On one hand, Clark hated that he wasn't able to focus as much attention on finding Alex. It felt a bit like giving up, like Alex would be allowed to go free. On the other hand, it was a balm for Clark to bring other criminals to justice with Lois by his side.
                As the evening came on, three weeks after the attempted attack on Ryan, Lois and Clark left the bullpen of the Daily Planet. It was growing ever colder out, as October drew to a close. It was Halloween, and as they walked, they passed numerous groups of children and young teens out in the streets, going from building to building, looking for candy. Superman seemed to be a popular costume. Clark lost count of how many kids he saw wearing the familiar blue and red suit, ranging in ages from a few months old, being pushed in strollers by beaming parents, to teenagers covered in egg yolks and shaving cream.
                "Clark?" Lois asked, breaking his thoughts.
                "Hmm?"
                "I know you probably want to...you know...patrol tonight. But, I've really missed you these past couple of weeks."
                "I've missed you too, Lois," Clark admitted.
                "Can I come over for a bit? I won't stay long, I promise."
                "Actually, I think that's a good idea."
                "Really?" Surprise was evident in Lois' voice.
                Clark shrugged. "Yeah. Truth be told, I'm feeling a little burnt out. I could use a couple of hours of relaxation. I hate leaving the search, but I just...I don't know where to look anymore. I'm starting to think he's not in the city anymore. It's been so long..."
                "Well," Lois said comfortingly, "Henderson's passed on the information to every police station across the country."
                "I know. I just wish I could do more."
                "You've already done more than anyone has a right to ask of you."
                Clark disagreed with that, but said nothing, knowing there wasn't anything he could say that would change Lois' mind. Beside, with it being Halloween, the normally quiet neighborhoods would be teeming with activity. Though the holiday often kept him busy, it also taxed him mentally. It was sometimes hard to sift through the noise of the streets, trying to extract screams for help out of the screams of kids - some of them delighted to run around in costumes and receive free candy from others, some of them terrified as tricks were played on them, some of them laughingly as teens attacked one another with cartons of eggs and cans of shaving cream. In the last couple of years, he'd tried to limit himself to emergency scanners announcing urgent situations to police and fire teams on that one night of the year.
                When they reached Clark's apartment, he unlocked the door, letting Lois in first. He crossed to the dining room table, opened the bag of candy there, dumped it into a large bowl, then set it on the floor by the door, ready for the inevitable trick-or-treaters. Then he spun into the suit and set out, only to return minutes later with bags filled with authentic Japanese food he'd flown to Tokyo to get.
                "Smells wonderful," Lois commented as she helped him unpack the bags.
                "Wait until you taste it," Clark said, grinning, after switching to comfortable clothing. "It's a fairly new place, but they really are excellent."
                He helped her spoon out servings onto a couple of dishes, then retrieved drinks from the refrigerator. Knowing what a fan of cream soda Lois was, he always kept it well in stock for her. He had, ever since they had been first partnered with her and he'd begun to learn her likes and dislikes.
                "Thanks," Lois said, raising the glass bottle in a mock toast.
                "Any time," Clark replied, before picking up his chopsticks and starting in on the selection of sushi he'd picked up.
                "Wow!" Lois exclaimed a moment later, as she took a bite of her own food. "You weren't kidding."
                "Glad you like it. I'll keep it in mind the next time you're in the mood for Japanese."
                They kept the conversation light as they ate, each just enjoying the moment and the opportunity to relax and be with one another. Several times, they were interrupted as trick-or-treaters came to the door. Clark greeted each visitor with enthusiasm and cheerfully doled out candy to the eager children who'd knocked on his door. He was glad to see Lois getting into the spirit of the night as well, as she joined him in handing out treats to the various princesses, ballerinas, ghosts, zombies, goblins, and other creatures who paid a visit to Clark's doorstep. He knew Lois wasn't big on holidays, thanks to her fractured childhood and the scars left behind from two warring parents.
                After dinner was over and the dishes washed, they moved to the couch. By then, the waves of trick-or-treaters were growing thinner, with larger gaps of time in between them. They settled in on the cushions, flipping through the cable stations, searching for something worth watching. They finally landed on LNN, Lois rolling her eyes at all the horror movies that were playing on the other channels. Clark didn't mind. He wasn't in the mood for a scary movie either.
                "Clark?"
                "Yeah?"
                "Can we talk?"
                "We've been talking all night," he replied cheekily.
                "I mean...talk."
                Clark noted the serious tone to Lois' voice. "Hey, what's wrong?"
                "Nothing. I just...do you ever think about the future?"
                "All the time."
                "I mean...about our future, in particular."
                Clark sighed. "I do. A lot. Why? What brings that up?"
                "It's just....nothing really. Lucy called me last night. She broke up with that guy I told you about. That loser she was seeing. Anyway, she was lamenting about her relationship problems to me. She said she was jealous of me."
                "Jealous?"
                "Because I have you."
                "Oh," Clark said, understanding.
                "You know how things go. We started talking."
                "And that got you thinking about the long term." It was not a question.
                "Well...yeah. And I know it's still really early in our relationship."
                "Lois, believe me, I think about us and our relationship all the time. And, if I could, I would propose to you right this second and fly you off to Vegas tonight to one of those twenty-four hour chapels and marry you before the hour was up. I want so much to spend the rest of my life by your side."
                "Wait, what do you mean, 'if I could?' Of course you can. Are you afraid I'd say no?"
                Clark shook his head and rose from the couch. For a minute, he just paced, saying nothing.
                "Clark, please. Tell me what's wrong," Lois pleaded. "Ever since we started covering the attempt on Ryan, you've been brooding and moody. You've barely opened up to me, even though I can tell that you're distressed. What's wrong?"
                Clark ceased his pacing. Grimacing, he closed his eyes and threw his head back, as if he was looking at the ceiling. He heaved a heavy, pain-filled sigh.
                "I owe you the truth," he finally said, in a quiet voice. "And the truth is, your mother was right."
                "Right? About what?"
                "About me. I'm no good for you, Lois."
                "Of course you are! Do you have any idea how happy you make me?" she argued.
                "Lois..."
                "Clark, no. Don't. I don't want to hear about how being with you makes me a target to the criminal underworld. I don't want to hear about the risks. I accepted all of that when I first found out that you are Superman."
                "I know," Clark sighed. "But that's not what I'm talking about."
                "Then tell me. Just what are you saying here?"
                "I'm saying...your mother is right. I can't...give you everything you deserve. I can't be the man you deserve."
                "Clark, my mother hasn't been right about anything since..." she faltered for a moment, trying to come up with a good example, but Clark didn't allow her to complete her thought.
                "The fact is," he said, as though she hadn't spoken, "I haven't been honest with you. And I know I promised you that I would never hide anything from you...never keep secrets from you...ever since that day when you found out about who Superman really is. But...I have, Lois. I've kept something from you."
                "Something...big?" Lois asked, standing from the couch and moving to Clark's side. She lightly grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her.
                Clark nodded hesitantly. "Yeah. Something big. Something that has the power to destroy us and everything we've worked toward."
                "Clark, you're scaring me," Lois admitted, rubbing his arm. "Just tell me."
                "It's not exactly easy for me to admit this," Clark said, pulling out of Lois' grasp. "Please, understand that."
                "You said the same thing when I found out that you moonlight in tights," Lois argued.
                "That was different. Being Superman...having you know that I'm Superman...I wasn't ashamed of that, Lois. This other thing...I am ashamed of it."
                "Whatever it is, we'll work through it," Lois vowed.
                Clark turned his back to her, gathering his courage. "You'd better sit."
                Lois did as she was told. She sat cross-legged on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. She waited as Clark pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He set the frames on the coffee table, then finally faced her. When he spoke, he seemed almost to have moved on to a different train of thought.
                "I never told you the whole story about why I created Superman."
                "You said you wanted to help people. That you felt like you should use your powers to better the world."
                Clark nodded. "Right. But I never told you why that was."
                "Well, I just assumed you'd decided that because of how you were raised. From the stories you've told me about your parents, it seems like they were really caring people. It doesn't surprise me in the least that their son would be so giving of himself."
                "They were," Clark agreed. "And yes, watching them did influence my decision to help people. But there was another reason why I decided to become Superman. I didn't want people to have to suffer...I didn't want them to be victims...like I was."
                "Victims?" Lois asked, clearly not following his train of thought fully. "Clark, I know you lost your parents early in life, but..."
                "No," he said, shaking his head and cutting her off gently. "That's not what I meant."
                "Then what?"
                "Lois, the reason why I've been so crazy over this whole thing with Alex..." He swallowed hard, needing to say the next words and fearing them at the same moment. "I know for a fact that Ryan wasn't Alex's first victim...or rather, near victim."
                "What are you saying? That you...?"
                Clark nodded. "I was Alex's first victim."
- 4
- 5
- 6
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Broken