Thank Luthor I'm All Right By lucyolsen lucy_olsen@yahoo.com Rated: PG Submitted: January 1999 *** These characters don't belong to me. I just borrowed them from WB/DC/TNT and anyone else I forgot. This is my first fanfic so I want all the constructive criticism I can get my hands on. Thank You. *** *No.* It can't . . . *I* can't be . . .*NO* . . . I couldn't have . . . done *THAT* I love *CLARK*. I mean, I know I thought I was a different person and he was a different person . . . but how could I do that? This *CAN'T* be happening to me. What will Clark think? He'd hate me. He wouldn't want to marry me. Lois just stared blankly at her computer screen at work. She'd gotten the results out that morning. "Lois are you OK?" asked Clark, her fiance for the past - *way* too long. He was really concerned. Lois looked pale and dazed: not a good combination for a woman who had been through the trauma that she had. Could this be a delayed reaction to all that had happened to her? "Lois?" Lois turned her head slightly to face Clark, mumbled something so even he could barely hear it, and fainted: "I'm sorry." Lois awakened to find herself on the couch in Perry's office. Two very concerned people were leaning over her. Clark: her love; and Perry: The editor in chief of The Daily Planet, and her surrogate father where her own had failed. "Lois?" That was Clark. Always concerned, always faithful, would never leave her. Until now - maybe. 'God I hope not'. "Lois?" Clark asked again. "Are you all right?" "Clark. I am *so* sorry." The tears were flowing freely now. "What, Lois, what?" asked Clark. He placed one hand behind her head to lift her up and brushed her bangs back with the other. He was now truly worried. Lois had never fainted before, and what could she have done to be sorry about that would muster *this* reaction? "Clark . . . Lex, and -" "What about Lex, Lois?" "I can't remember. I'm sorry, Clark." "What is it, Lois?" "Lex . . . Wanda . . . Clark, I'm . . . *pregnant.* *** "What?" demanded Clark, as if questioning the fact would make it untrue. "I'm sorry Clark. I can't even remember it. You must hate me and I don't blame you if you do." "No, Lois, it's not your fault. You weren't yourself. It's Lex's fault, not yours. He knew what was happening. He took advantage of you." "Lois, Clark I want you to get out of here. Take the whole week off and get away. Get yourselves as far way from this as possible." Lois and Clark were startled by Perry's statement. While drowning in their emotions, they'd even forgotten that Perry was there. Recovering from the short shock, Lois managed to understand what her father figure had been saying, and reply "Perry, I'm *PREGNANT* It's not like I can run away from this." "I know Lois, I know. But you should still take some time to think about this." *** After super-speed packing and a quick call to Clark's parents, it was a short flight to Smallville, though it seemed to take forever. Clark hadn't yet told them about Lois being pregnant. They'd definitely not wanted to do something like that over the phone. Clark landed in Schuster's Field, made a quick change of clothes, and led Lois to the farmhouse. When they arrived, Martha and Jonathan were waiting, worried. They knew their son and he had *definitely* not sounded happy on the phone. He'd even sounded mad, and *that* was a rarity, although he'd been doing it more often lately. Lex Luthor, the madman criminal who claimed to "love" Lois could do that to him and what he'd put Lois though recently was unforgivable and unforgettable. "Honey, what's wrong?" Martha asked Lois. Lois had recently been crying in gushes and it still showed. "You better sit down for this, Mom, Dad," said Clark motioning towards the kitchen table. They did and Martha spoke up again: "Now what's this about?" "I'm pregnant." Lois' voice cracked as she held back the tears that wanted to flow so freely. "But how? I thought that you and Clark were going to wait." Lois should have been surprised that they knew this, that Clark still told them everything, but she was to emotionally drained to let it register. "We did wait, Martha. That's why this is so bad." "But then how -" Martha cut herself off as the thought struck. Clark let out a single syllable: "Lex." Martha stood up and took Lois in her arms as the tears broke free again. "It's all right Lois. Everything's going to be all right. You just have to have faith and you and Clark can get through anything. You two are stronger together that you are alone. It doesn't matter who's the biological father of this child. It only matters that this child is raised by loving parents; and this child *will* be loved." "No it won't." *** "I'm not going to have it. This child will be nothing but a reminder of Lex every time we see it. Even if we look beyond that, do you know how hard it will be to how he was conceived before we were married? We're investigative reporters; we're bound to pass some of our traits and skills on to our children. If this child figures out that Lex is his father, then he'll be devastated. You saw what it did to Jaxon Xavier." Clark didn't know what to think. Normally he would never condone taking a life, but this was *Lex Luthor's* child growing inside *his* fiancee. You could say that Clark Kent, the Man of Steel, and sometimes the most vulnerable and lonely man on the planet, was in shock. He couldn't think about the fact that there was a life growing inside Lois, an *innocent,* or the fact that he would be a great father and that the child, if raised as he could, would have nothing of Lex Luthor save his looks. The only thing that Clark Kent was thinking was the fact that it was created by the only man he could ever truly hate, by the vile and unforgivable evil of taking advantage of a sick woman. The woman he *loved* "Yes." *** In the midst of all those emotions and words, cried, sobbed, and otherwise discussed, it was not too difficult to tell that Lois Lane and Clark Kent were not happy people. In fact, it was easy to tell that they were the two saddest people in Lois' apartment building, and *that* is a difficult title to muster considering that fact that the enormous sky rise housed approximately 500 Metropolitans. It was done. They would terminate the pregnancy. They would put all this behind them. Tomorrow they would make an apportionment with a doctor and it would be done. Lois looked into the eyes of the man she loved. Clark looked into the eyes of the woman he loved. They both saw what they were feeling in the other's eyes: confusion, apprehension, and the knowledge that they had to do this. They had to. To make everything right, to show their love for one another, to make her last experience a pleasant one. Sorrowfully, emotional, and not thinking, they made love. The next morning they were surprisingly happy, knowing what they did about each other, knowing that they had been completely open with each other the night before, and knowing that they could go back to what their lives had been like *before,* before all the nightmares of clones and Luthors and before the amnesia and all the unethical, controlling doctors in the world. *** Lois Lane sat in the waiting room of the gynecologist with Clark. They had made the appointment together, with no second thoughts, no doubts, no fear, and no regrets . . . so far. Lex Luthor would not have a legacy, or any descendants to carry on his evils. She was already in her second month, and they were here to make sure the evil inside her didn't get *any* older. "Lois Lane?" The receptionist was cheerful, sickeningly so, especially to Clark. How can she be so happy that Lois is carrying Luthor's child inside her? How can she be so cheery when Lois carries the window for Lex Luthor's evil to live on vicariously through his offspring? *Luthor's* baby was inside *his* fiancee. Her baby . . . and Luthor's. Her baby? No, she was not this child's mother. She was nothing more than a vessel - an incubator. After today, the child of Lex Luthor, would be no more. Lois, on the other hand, *was* having second thoughts. She was doubting whether on not she could go through with this: killing an innocent. She was fearing that if she could *kill* her own child, what kind of mother would she be to it if she kept it? She was having regrets that she would even consider to do something so wrong. This was her *child*, her *baby.* She *could* love this baby. She already did. Genetics and biology had nothing to do with parenthood. It was love. A child was brought up by love. Lex Luthor was *nothing* to this baby. "Forget it!" She snapped. Then she ran out. *** Clark was confused. They'd discussed this. Sort of. She'd said she wanted to do this and he'd agreed. But for him that was all discussion he needed to make up his mind. The fetus in her was a poison. It was making Lois very sick. *Mentally* sick. The infection was making her believe that it was a *baby.* *LUTHOR'S VIRUS MUST DIE.* He ran out after her. He would cure the woman he loved if it was the last thing he did. Even if she didn't want a cure. *** Lois ran out to her silver Jeep. She was sad. She was crying. She was confused, oh not about her feelings toward the baby, that was for certain: she loved it. She was confused about Clark. He was acting differently lately. He still loved her, that was for certain, but he seemed to actually *wanting* this abortion. He *never* before supported abortion. How could he want it the one time when he got to take care and love the child as his own? They'd discussed the concept of having children several weeks before the "wedding." They weren't even sure if it was possible for Clark to have children on account of his Kryptonian physiology. Why would he give up the *one* chance to raise a child as his own? But then, maybe he *was* having doubts, as she was. She herself had embraced the idea of terminating the pregnancy up until several minutes ago. Lois saw Clark come out of the doctor's office. He looked worried, and even a bit pale. She could tell that even *he'd* not been getting enough sleep lately. Neither of them had. The victims of crime and natural disasters were bearing the brunt of Superman's problems, and now there were a lot of them to contend with. The people at The Planet were on the receiving end of his troubles too. But no one but Perry knew why Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter, was so bitter lately, why he was turning into the Lois Lane they knew *before* he had entered her life. They had told no one else, not even Jimmy. Her parents didn't know either. The only way they would find out would be if she kept the baby until it was obvious. And now it looked like she would. "Clark." "Lois." "I want to keep the baby, Clark." "I know you do, Lois, but I don't feel the same way. I do understand why you feel that you need to, though. Luthor planted that *thing* inside you, it's making you believe that it's a baby. It's not as though you can understand that. It's inhibiting your ability to think clearly and rationally. That thing, it's just as evil as Luthor is, Lois. It's just a means for Luthor to keep living. He's viewing it as just another tool, something to drive a wedge between us. We can't let him do that. He'll view it as just another victory. That thing inside you must die if we are ever going to be rid of Luthor for good." *** "I can't believe it, Martha. It's as if he's gone crazy. He *is* insane. He keeps saying that they baby is just some virus that must die, no matter what, that it's just as evil as Luthor is. He keeps on as if it was Luthor's plan all along just to break us apart." Lois was sitting, cross-legged, on her queen-sized bed. Her red phone was jammed between her shoulder and head, and tears were evident in her eyes. She was really worried about Clark. He had been acting so strangely lately, first in even *considering* letting her get an abortion, and then *insisting* that she get one. When she refused, he went mad, not even viewing the life she was carrying as another *human* and only as a product of the devil himself: Lex Luthor. He was mentally sick, she knew that. He was having *major* problems with the concept of her wanting to have Luthor's child. But he didn't understand. She wasn't having this child because it was Luthor's. She didn't want Luthor's child. She wanted *her* child, her baby. The life growing inside her was no more Luthor's than it was Ronald Reagan's. Sure, he had provided the genetic makeup of the baby, but that was it, that was all. The baby would not be like Luthor because *she* would raise it. And when she convinced him of these things, that the baby was not evil, that the baby's father would not be a contributing factor in the child's qualities, good or bad, then she and Clark would raise the baby together. But convincing him would be tough. Perhaps, as tough as convincing Wanda Mae Walldecker that she was not the First Lady and that her husband, Abraham Lincoln, had been assassinated in 1865. Unfortunately, this analogy did not do the situation justice. In her state, Wanda Mae was calm and peaceful, and even a bit humorous. Oh, she had a few screws loose all right, but it was nothing that would ever endanger anyone. Clark on the other hand, Lois was learning, would stop at nothing to get his fiancee's body to abort the fetus she was carrying. He had no limits now. This side to Clark was new to Lois, and it was definitely frightening. "Lois, honey, I know that this is all hard on Clark. He's having a tough time accepting the fact that you're pregnant. I think that he feels that if you weren't pregnant, then you'd be in the same place you'd been before the word 'clone' was ever heard. If you weren't pregnant, you could pretend that everything that occurred between the wedding and now never happened, and everything would be fine. Your lives would be as perfect as they had been *before* this all happened." "You're saying you think I should get an abortion?" Lois asked, shocked that her future mother-in-law would even suggest such a thing. "I'm saying that Clark himself would give you an abortion against your will if he could figure out how. He just wants everything back to what would be considered normal for you two. Together, happy, and with the bad guys trying to kill you, and nothing else." "Martha, I . . . " *** The Daily Planet, 11:36 AM Lois had just gotten back from a three-day weekend. It was because of this extended vacation that she had finished all her stories the previous week, and not taken any new ones that she knew she would not be able to finish. She didn't have anything to do. To fix that little problem, she went to see Perry White, the editor in chief. "Lois, it's good to have you back." "Thanks Chief, what do you have for me?" "Well, nothing right now, Lois. It's been a slow news day." "No scandals, no corruption in the mayor's office, the President's not resigning?" "No Lois, it's very unusual. It's as if all crime came to a standst-" "Chief!" That was Jimmy Olsen, pseudo brother to the protagonist of our tale. "Can't you see I'm talking to Lois, Jimmy?" As if noticing her for the first time, Jimmy made eye contact with Lois and acknowledged her. "Oh, sorry Lois." Turing to Perry he continued as if he's never been interrupted. "This just came in. There was a scientist kidnapped from his apartment late last night. But it's strange. The doors were locked from the inside and there's no fire escape so he couldn't have used the window. The apartment's too far up for even those ladders firemen use to rescue people anyway, and there are no fingerprints *anywhere* on *anything* not even the scientist's. It's as if the entire apartment has been wiped clean." "Thank you Jimmy. Would you please hand that folder to Lois?" Jimmy complied, and sulked away. Perry wasn't too happy, he could tell that. But why? Sure, he'd interrupted him and Lois, but they should be used to that by now. Jimmy Interruptus, as he was called by many. Contrary to popular belief, James Bartholomew Olsen knew perfectly well that he interrupted people at the most annoying times, but how could he help it? When he wanted to get something said, he said it, otherwise he's never get anything said. *** Lois sat at her desk and opened the folder Jimmy had given her. She was disappointed with what she saw. All there was on this scientist was a picture, what he looked like, his address and birth date . . . that sort of stuff. Usually, when a story like this one was at hand there was at *least* a police report of the incident. He was a scientist, right? Maybe someone wanted to stop him from making a breakthrough, or get revenge for making a breakthrough. She needed to know about all the breakthroughs he had made in the past and even more importantly, what he was working on *now.* "JIMMY!!" *** "Yeah Lois?" Jimmy was very excited. He always had that look on his face that made him seem almost giddy, and today was no exception. "I want you to get the police report about the kidnapping, everything he's made a breakthrough with and everything he's working on now. Can you handle that?" "That's funny Lois. I had all that stuff in there this morning. It must have fallen out somewhere. I'll go check my desk. Oh yeah, and CK was here earlier." "Clark was here?" Clark hadn't been to work in at least a week. Lois had discussed it with Perry and gotten him on medical leave based on his uh, recent "misgivings" about the baby. "Hey Lois!" *** "Clark!" Lois ran up and hugged her fiance. Something was different. Something had changed. The look in his eyes told her that he'd come to a conclusion about the baby, and since she wasn't going to change her position about getting an abortion, she could only assume that he'd accepted the fact that she was going to keep it. Now they could stop this awkward politeness, *be in LOVE,* get married, and raise their baby together. "Would you be so kind as to accompany me to my apartment for some lunch?" he asked in a slight (but obviously fake) accent. "Of course. I'd thought you'd never ask." This was true. Based on the way their relationship had been going lately, she had feared that roads were to get bumpier, and mountains were to shift into volcanoes. Jimmy Interruptus, guess what? He interrupted. "Lois, you and CK go ahead and eat while I get the background information on this case." He said this with a bigger smile than he usually had (if that was possible) because he had noticed that since they'd come back from that vacation in Smallville, there'd been this odd politeness between them that was not reminiscent of Lois and Clark. Something had happened. He knew it. He just couldn't put his finger on it. But whatever it was, he was glad that they were working it out. *** "I don't know what got into me, Lois. But who am I fooling, I know exactly why I've been acting the way that I have. I went crazy knowing that we could never leave Luthor or the clone, the amnesia behind us. To me, this baby was only a reminder of what we went through these last couple months. But a few days ago, I started feeling differently about it, I don't know why. I just started feeling, I don't know, more at peace with the concept." "It's good to know Clark, that you don't think of this child as Luthor's anymore. You think of it as your own, as *ours.*" "Lois, I understand what you're saying, but somehow I don't think that that's it. I understand that you're saying that if I raise this child, it will be like my own, but it's more than that. I somehow feel connected to this child in a way that I could *never* feel if it was another man's." "What are you trying to say, Clark . . ." "I don't know, Lois, I just don't know." *** Jimmy Olsen read the papers again. If it was true, this was bad. This was very, *very* bad. *** "Unnhh . . ." Lois clutched her stomach. Was something wring with the baby?! Not when Clark had finally accepted it! Please no! *** "Chief!" Jimmy ran into his editor's office with a look of panic on his face. "What in tarnation is it, Jimmy? I was right in the middle of ... " "It's that scientist that was kidnapped, Chief! It says that he was working on, and I quote 'a radioactive mineral of unknown origins.' And get this! It says that he used to work for the some mineral company and that he worked for two divisions there. One was called 'Alternate Power' and the other was called 'Adverse Affects' and he was the only one working in the second division. His latest breakthroughs were that in the power division, they said that they could use the mineral in place of uranium, and in the adverse affects division he said that the mineral was quote 'tested on a certain individual who shall remain nameless for privacy purposes.' And that 'momentary exposure of the mineral to the individual leads to disorientation and dizziness, and long term exposure leads to pain and nausea and will eventually lead to death.'" "Stop beating around the bush, Jimmy and get to the point! I'm running a newspaper here." "There's a description of the mineral too, Chief. It's says it gives off a humming sound . . . it glows and pulsates . . . and that it's . . . green." "Great Shades of Elvis." *** Lois Lane and Clark Kent were in the emergency room at Metropolis General. Clark had driven her, seeing that Lois could still walk and talk and it would have taken up time waiting for the ambulance to arrive. There, Lois was given an emergency ultrasound, and the results were relayed to the couple by the doctor. "It's amazing, I've never seen anything like this. How long have you been pregnant?" "Eight weeks." "This might come as a shock, but there are two fetuses here." "WHAT?!" "One of them is six weeks old and the other is two weeks. It's very strange." "What?" "You ovulated after you got pregnant with the first baby, then that ova was fertilized two weeks later. This is very rare." The doctor looked up and saw the shock on the faces of the Lane and Kent reporter duo. She mistook it for scientific curiosity and the shock that they were pregnant with not one, but *two* babies. Oops. "But I do have some bad news too. The first baby was miscarried, but it is very strange. Usually, when there is a miscarriage, the baby is shed in the next menstrual cycle, but it hasn't here. The second fetus is actually using the first for nutrients. It's taxing your body for nutrients at an alarming rate. There's no easy way to say this, but if you hadn't been pregnant with the first baby, the second would have overtaxed your body and you would have died . . ." *** "Scary huh? It tuns out that if Luthor hadn't kidnapped you and put you through the hell we've been in for the last two months, you would have died because of *me.*" "Don't say that Clark, it's-" "-true. You would have died because of *me.*" Silently, Lois agreed with Clark's logic. If she hadn't gotten pregnant with Lex's baby, then the second baby would have killed her. When you looked at it, it just boiled down to one thing: *Lex Luthor saved my life.* Suddenly, Clark heard calming words emanating from Lois. No wait, he didn't hear them, he *sensed* them, almost like magic, almost like . . . telepathy. This was going to be one *super* baby. *The End* I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry if you were expecting me to finish the part about the kidnapped scientist and the kryptonite, but I just wrote that as filler, and I left it open because I wanted to remind you that the bad guys will never quit, and Luthor will never die. But if you want to write a continuation that takes care of this matter, feel free to do so.