Beyond Smallville: Fan Fiction

Lois wiped the tears from her eyes. That reminded me a lot of the speech Oliver gave to me last year, she mused. I don’t really want to be someone’s bounce back romance, yet neither of us have any viable options. It was too early for that now, she reminded herself.

Clark removed the DVD from Lana and tossed in unceremoniously into the desk drawer. He felt that Lana had deserted him. He was glad that she was back among the living though that didn’t ease the hurtful stinging any. Clark wouldn’t be angry with her for long. It wasn’t in his nature.

“Let’s see the discs from Chloe.” Clark directed, unable to keep the menacing tone from his voice. Lois handed him the DVD’s and he popped the first one into her laptop. “I know this isn’t the time Clark, but we need to get prepared. It’s hitting the fan!” She commented.

Clark reviewed the message and then they headed to the barn to recover the encryption codes. He’d hidden the bright red pickup inside the barn, assuming that it would keep any prying eyes at bay a little bit longer. They sat in Clark’s loft together, as he planned to decipher the encryption.

“Where is Chloe, anyway?” Clark asked, not really expecting an answer. Lois shrugged. “Either she’s in deep cover with my ex, or the Feds have her, namely the Department of Homeland Security. She mentioned that they’d sent Jimmy back with a wire.”

Clark sighed with disgust. “We’ve really done it this time!” Lois was growing frustrated. “What? What are you guys into?” She grilled. “You’re better off not knowing, Lois.” He backpedaled. “It’s too late for that now, Smallville. Spill it!” She challenged.

“Wait a minute!” He dodged. “Chloe said that she sent eight discs out?” Lois nodded. “You’ve got mail!” She joked, as Clark’s pattern of thought dawned on her. He quickly went to the mailbox, and sure enough, there was a simple brown envelope in it. The return address was from ‘Fagin Lynch’. Clark showed it to Lois as he opened it. There were the two unmarked DVDs.

“Fagin Lynch?” Lois echoed. “Does that mean anything to you, Clark?” He shook his head. “Nope.” Lois walked to the edge of the loft and glanced out the glassless window. She appeared to be deep in thought. “Got it!” She snapped her fingers.

 “Fagin Lynch was a sea captain in the seventeenth century. I told Chloe the tale of a legendary schooner commander that found a dangerous weapon.”

Clark didn’t like where Lois was going. “Captain Fagin is supposed to be an old wives tale that I heard at The Salty Dawg, a dive tavern near the Metropolis waterfront!” 

“Do you think she’s hiding out down there with the lowlife?” Clark asked hopefully. “Well, it’s a good place to get lost if you don’t want to be found.” She added. “It sounds too simple. Let’s check all four DVDs first.” Clark accessed Lois’s discs and decrypted them.

It was a simple access code of numbers. Lois’s birth date, Chloe’s birth date, and Lois’s mother’s birth date. She’d died when Lois was a little girl. Clark wondered if Lois was right. It seemed too simple. “Lois, what’s the rest of the story about Captain Fagin?”

“Uh, Captain Fagin had supposedly been sailing in the Atlantic Ocean near South America, when he and the crew ran across a powerful weapon.” Lois closed her eyes, trying to recall the wives tale that the Navy boys at the base had told her.

“The weapon allegedly was small enough to hold. Captain Fagin stated that it resembled a walking cane with an unusual decorative head. He had turned the stick’s body and it created a loud noise that deafened the crew. After a short time, their hearing returned.”

“A type of sonic weapon?” Clark guessed. “Captain Fagin pointed the stick at the water before them and it rose up suddenly, nearly sinking his ship, The Finchley. One of his crew supposedly pointed it at a nearby land mass and it caused an earthquake.” Lois continued.

“It’s just a legend, right Clark?” He rubbed his square jaw. “I wonder…” Could it have been a Kryptonian weapon? Clark knew he was reaching. Why would Chloe choose that example? “Is that all to the story, Lois?” He pressed. “Hold on! I hate tests! You know how great a student I am!” Lois joked. “Relax, Lois and think. It may be important.”

“Captain Fagin was so frightened by the awesome power of the stick, that he and his crew physically took it apart. He separated it into four pieces and hid them at the four corners of the world. The captain and his crew sailed as far as they could go with their limited resources.”

A weapon that no one should use? That could refer to me! Clark thought with discouragement. Lois continued. “Captain Fagin allegedly swore his crew to silence under penalty of death. Not one ever broke his oath until the last surviving crew member, the youngest, Johnny O’Herlihey revealed the story to his children on his death bed.” Lois finished.

“It’s a great story, but how is it relevant?” Clark still hadn’t put it all together. “I don’t know. For now, let’s just stick to the discs.” Chloe’s face came up on the first disc. She looked upset, but uninjured. “Clark, Lois, I really stepped in it this time!” She confessed.

 “I broke into the National Security Agency database using Lana’s high tech toys at the Isis Foundation. The Feds busted me. I only had time enough to create the DVDs. Two Feds came by and tried to put Jimmy and I into their ‘Permanent Witness Protection Program.’

If I don’t spend my life in prison, they’ll certainly erase my existence at the very least. Jimmy and I wanted to play both sides, you know, hedge our bets.” Chloe stressed that phrase. “The Feds were holding all the cards, but they were after a bigger fish.” She stressed the last two words.

“Jimmy agreed to ‘rat me out’ and wear a wire as a plea bargain. They hadn’t enough proof to send both of us up the river.” Again Chloe stressed that phrase, Clark noted. “I had Jimmy mail the discs at a remote location. I don’t think that you two can help me now. Our only hope is to contact someone who can pull strings.”

“The biggest river leads to my favorite airline.” Chloe added. “Huh?” Lois asked. “Another clue!” Clark mentioned excitedly. “The biggest river is the Mississippi. An airline…Delta!” Lois was slowly catching on. “Okay Mississippi, Delta…” Clark wrote that down.

“The royal flush was missing a queen.” Chloe smirked on the video, clearly enjoying her mysterious message. “Missing a queen?” Lois and Clark glanced at each other. “Oliver Queen!” Clark shook his head. “The Feds missed catching Oliver?” He said hopefully.

“Probably.” Lois agreed. “That leaves us with the Ace of Clubs.” Chloe flipped the card at the video camera. “Ace of clubs?” Clark repeated. “Duh, Clark!” Lois smiled. “The Ace of Clubs is one of the hottest upper crust clubs in Metropolis.” She informed him.

“We’re talking eight dollar Cosmos, and five dollar domestic beer. Even the Metropolis elite hang out at The Ace when they feel like slumming.” Clark nodded. “You know Smallville, you need to get off the farm more.” Lois threw in the playful barb. “Chloe wants us to meet Oliver at the Ace of Clubs to make some kind of a plan.” She guessed.

“Okay, I’ll buy that, but when? What does that have to do with Mississippi?” Clark pondered. Lois was trying hard to remember some detail. “Got it! The Mississippi Delta Queen Tour boat! It leaves Metropolis Bay twice a day for rides. That would be 4 pm and 7 pm.”

Clark hugged Lois, thrilling her. “That’s brilliant! The problem is what day and which ride?” He gave it some further thought. “What do these things have in common? Mississippi River Queen, Ace of Clubs, royal flush, holding all the cards, hedge our bets…gambling!” He speculated.

(Also in Laura Lake : Gold Wing)

“A bigger fish? That could be a shark! A casino! Possibly a water based casino, where you can place bets on the Metropolis Sharks!” Clark said as Lois grinned. “You know, you’re not half bad at this, Smallville. None of that gives us a definite time.” Lois sighed. “Hold on! The 7 pm boat cruise passes a casino, the Golden Hawk! It’s maybe twenty minutes…down river!”

Clark started up Chloe’s DVD again. He deciphered the next level of encryption. The young journalist’s face came up again. “As I stated earlier, we need someone with real power.” Chloe began. “I sent two sets of discs to Clark and Oliver. Each set has different information. Oliver’s has all of the data I mined from the government on Lex, and any supposedly secret projects that were going on.”

“The NSA was hooked into my database, and found out that I was playing ‘big sister’. They sent some suits to put me under surveillance. I happened to see them lurking around the Talon. Luckily, they stood out like sore thumbs.” Clark glanced at Lois. “Our friends?” She nodded.

“While I was in the Fed database I accidentally got hooked into my new friend’s files.” Chloe continued. “Marcus Worthington, of the international corporation, WorthingtonCo was surprised that I hacked into his security system.” Clark and Lois exchanged glances. “Who?” They chorused.

“Instead of blowing the whistle on me to the Feds, Marcus offered me a job at his Arizona Ranch.” Chloe added. “I didn’t have time to reply by e mail before the Feds pounced on me. I sent Marcus two discs of background information on some of our…more unusual Smallville residents. I traded information for his silence.”

“Terrific!” Clark grumbled. “Hey relax Clark, Chlo’ knew what she was doing.” Lois defended. “I’ll try and get my dad, the General, to put some pressure on the NSA HQ. Maybe your mom can pull some strings from her end at the Senate.” She suggested.

“No.” Clark stated, startling Lois. “I’m going right to the heart of the matter.” Lois’s eyes widened. “What? You can’t just waltz into the NSA HQ or DHS for that matter, and yank Chloe out!” Lois protested. That’s exactly what I intend to do, Clark thought angrily.

To Lois he said; “I’m going right to Oliver. He dragged Chloe into this mess. She’s stuck her neck out for me a number of times. It’s time that I pay her back!” Lois gulped. She’d never heard Clark make a statement with such conviction before.

Her head was filled with mixed feelings. She didn’t want to lose Clark before she’d had a legitimate chance with him. He was also headstrong at this point and likely wouldn’t listen to reason, especially after the ‘Dear John’ video from Lana, Lois guessed.

"We still don't have the exact day that Ollie would hook up with us." Lois pointed out. "The next half of the clue was probably on my discs." Clark offered, trying to follow Chloe's logic.

He deciphered the dvd encryption. It was fairly simple. Chloe had chosen three names that only he would know, Jor El, Zor El, and Lara. Clark stopped short of the final encryption link, which was a date: The day that they first found Kara.

"That's it!" Clark said, startling Lois. They'd found Kara on a Friday. "What's it?" Lois asked. "Tomorrow at 7 pm on the Mississippi Queen we meet up with Oliver, assuming he's still available." Clark informed her. "Maybe i'll leave that to you, Smallville."

Lois added. "I don't need to dig up old skeletons from my closet." Clark nodded. That makes things simpler, he thought with relief. "I'll keep you posted Lois, but I admit that i may not be able to do this alone." Lois felt a tug at her heart.

Clark was asking for her help, she mused. "I'll be working the angle from here. Plus, i'm grilling Jimmy for more information at the Planet." Clark agreed, adding: "Remember, Jimmy's wearing a wire." Lois nodded. "Exactly, i'm sending the Feds fishing...

fishing in Northern Canada with a trail of false clues."  Lois stated proudly. Clark laughed. He and Lois were truly a good team. "I have to go to work tomorrow and keep up appearances." Lois stated. "What if the Feds or the thugs attack you?"

Clark asked worriedly, "I'll drop you off and pick you up." He offered. Lois's first reflex was to decline, but she reconsidered. That would be nice, she smiled. "Okay Smallville, but remember, I have to be at the Planet by 9 am."

The next day:

"Morning boss." Lois said pleasantly. Lex Luthor grunted as he passed her desk. As soon as he was in his office at the Daily Planet, just off the Main Newsroom, Lois picked up a group of manilla folders and walked right in, closing the door behind her.

"You know Lane, it’s common courtesy to knock before you enter an office." She stood directly in front of Lex, placing herself between the billionaire and the view from the rest of the newsroom. "What can I say? I tend to be discourteous when my life is being threatened."

"I’m sure that I don’t know what you mean." Lex grinned as he moved his left hand slightly towards a desk drawer. "Uh uh! Put your hands where I can see them!" Lois ordered as she pointed a small caliber revolver at him from beneath the pile of folders. "Let’s leave that shiny silver Glock right inside your desk drawer. We wouldn’t want to get it dirty." Lex folded his hands in front of him.

"I can have you fired for this, Lane." He stated calmly. "Maybe yes, maybe no." Lois clicked the gun. Of course it had no bullets in it, but Lex didn’t know that. "We’re just having a meeting." She snickered. "Oh? About what?" Lex prodded. "Call off the goons that you have trailing me, Chloe, and Clark." She beckoned with the gun. "What goons? You have no proof." He said smugly.

"Oh, but I do." Lois grinned evilly. "It seems that two of your employees confessed to the Feds that you hired them to watch me. Let’s see, illegal wiretaps, invasion of privacy, and physical harassment." Lex wouldn’t be swayed. "They could be disgruntled employees, sour grapes."

"Illegal surveillance is a minor thing, compared to say, manslaughter." Lois pointed out. "Again, you have no proof." Lex smiled arrogantly. "You’re right, I don’t." Lois added, "Yet, someone I know does. Perhaps a duplicate DVD video of Lionel Luthor taking a swan dive. Oh, I’m sorry. He was pushed, wasn’t he? I find it hard to believe that a man like your father would take his own life."

"You’re playing a dangerous game, Lane. You’re out of your league." Lex menaced. "Oh no Lex, I haven’t even begun to play the game yet." Lois said, narrowing her eyes. "Just for giggles, what is it that you want? A salary increase?" Lex taunted. "Sure. That’ll do for starters." Lois sighed.

"I want you to stop your minions from harassing us. That includes Jimmy. We discussed your little deal." Lois hinted. "You still don’t have any leverage, Lane." Lex defended haughtily. "Actually, I do. I know a couple of people in Auditing, Financial Services...and um...oh yeah, The Board of Directors for the Planet." She knew that last part was complete bull. Lois only really knew Jimmy and Chloe.

"I should care because...?" Lex baited. "I suppose you could have my constituents fired, Lex." Lois began. "That is, if you knew who they were. You could certainly fire the whole staff, however the Board of Directors might start asking embarrassing questions."

"You’re bluffing." Lex smiled thinly. "No, I never bluff." Lois countered, adding: "by the way, Lana has made a complete and full recovery. All of her mental faculties are back to normal. I know that she still has a number of interesting stories about you. Lana’s very smart. In fact she’s smarter than you, Lex." Lois threw in the dig. "In court, under oath, she could likely give me stories for a month."

Now Lex frowned. She’d finally hit a nerve. "Lane, you forget that I can find your family easily enough." His voice lowered. "Are you threatening me, Lex?" Lois goaded. "That sounds like nice grounds for a lawsuit to me. You might want to rephrase that."

"Besides, Sam Lane works for the U.S. Government. Even you don’t have that kind of pull. If something happened to Lucy...let’s just say that the General would have you put away for a long time, if not engineer your early retirement." Lois’s tone was deadly. She had surprised herself with the level of bravado she attacked Lex with. "Checkmate!" She spat.

"You can always replace the Board of Directors. That would take time...time that you don’t have, Lex." He stared daggers at her. "It wouldn’t take that long." Lex boasted. "Oh, I forgot to mention that I taped our entire conversation just now." Lois smiled brightly.

"You’d say anything with a gun pointed at your head too, Lane" Lex said extra loudly. "Gun? What gun? This is a cigarette lighter." Lois said innocently. "Would you like to call the Board of Directors, or should I?" She gestured to him with her phone.

"I think the meeting went swimmingly, don’t you?" Lois taunted. "Let’s recap, shall we? You threatened me, threatened my family, offered me an increase in salary, threatened the Board of Directors with removal, and we can add; harassment of fellow employees, and attempted extortion of Jimmy.

"How about questionable business dealings, unwarranted termination of my cousin, Chloe, threatening a government employee, possible misappropriation of company funds, and possessing a weapon on company property. Did we cover all the bases?" Lois jabbed.

"What is it that you want again, Miss Lane?" Lex asked contritely. Lois flipped off the recorder. "I suppose you’re wondering where your security team is, whom you called by pressing your foot on that black button on the floor beneath your desk."

"The thought had crossed my mind." Lex commented sarcastically. "Apparently someone named Perry White decided to downsize them." Lois said casually. "You know that the publishing industry is in trouble, Lex. Cost cutting is in. The rest of your security force is under investigation by Metropolis’s Finest." Lois steadied her aim with the gun. "I see." Lex smirked. "Well played, Miss Lane."

Lex’s desk phone rang. "I won’t soon forget our pleasant conversation." He remarked. "You’d better pick that up, Lex. After all, it could be the Board of Directors, calling you to talk, and maybe take in a meeting. I know that you’re very busy Mr. Luthor." Lois’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

She backed out of the office with the gun still trained on Lex. "Have a good day." She smirked as she shut the office door, careful to hide her gun beneath the folders. Lois breathed a sigh of relief. Now to find Jimmy and get the Feds off our backs, she thought as she spotted an older distinguished gentleman approaching her cubicle. She quickly dumped the gun and folders into her desk drawer.

"Lois Lane?" His voice was deep with a slight southern drawl. "Yes?"She gulped. Lois popped her head up above the wall of the cubicle. "Uh...Lois? Perry White." He shook her hand. "Damn pleased to meet you! Ah...Can we go someplace and talk, like a conference room?"

"Sure." Lois agreed warily, remembering to take her little recorder and a Steno pad with, just in case. No one knew at the time that history was in the making. Lois followed Perry out into the hallway.

link to chapter 3: By LIne