Superman: An Assault of Honor

[The Game]

CHAPTER 1:

“There’s no way- I just don’t believe it,” Lois Lane exclaimed. Clark continued to stare at her uneasily. She didn’t believe me? He thought to himself. How could that be? It was the truth…

“Lois, it may be hard to believe, but I assure you: I am Superman,” he explained once more, this time much more slowly. Lois’ eyes were fixated on his face- she was studying his appearance very closely… Her eyes. He loved her eyes, they were possibly her sexiest feature as the scanned his face; looking for something she didn’t want to see.

“Take off your glasses,” Lois seemed to order. Clark did hesitantly, removing his spectacles and folding them softly before placing them in his breast pocket. Lois continued to study for a moment longer before her mouth slowly dropped wide open, her pouty lips forming a show of shock.

With one swift motion her hand came flying through the air and smacked hard against Clark’s cheek. Of all the possible responses he was expecting this one might have been the last but it wasn’t a total shocker. His face burned slightly but he didn’t say a word as he turned back to Lois.

“You never told me?” she asked in a voice that made Clark feel even worse. It was a mixture of hurt and anger that made Clark want to explain it all… But he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m… I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t!” she screamed. Tears began to run down her face as she came to the painful realization of the situation- her eyeliner smudging. Unlike usual, she made no effort to fix it. She just stared at Clark through her tear-blurred eyes- her beautiful, beautiful eyes, wondering how. How could he have kept this from her?

“How could you have kept this from me?” she gasped after a pause. As Clark slowly began to explain she decided she didn’t want to hear it- she couldn’t deal with this. She had never felt a deeper sense of betrayal- he just seemed to be overflowing with infidelity- he had lied to her, lied to her for all of these years.

She sent her hands flying, slapping away at him. Clark dodged her blows before catching her arms with all of the delicacy he could muster, and he pulled her close as she fought.

“Let me go!” she screamed as she fought against his strong arms.

“It will be okay,” he whispered.

“No! No! It won’t be okay! I hate you Clark! I hate you!” she screamed. She forced her arms away, pushing free from him- the arms he was using to hold her went limp. He couldn’t have held on to her any longer, even if he had wanted to, he just couldn’t bring himself to have the strength. I hate you Clark! I hate you! The words were blaring on repeat- it was all that he could hear. She had fallen to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably, but that was only in the corner of his mind. All he could hear was: I hate you Clark! I hate you! He wanted to apologize for causing her this pain- he wanted to tell her he never meant for this to happen. But he couldn’t bring himself to speak- he was frozen.

Clark bolted up in bed screaming. He had heard of people waking up “in a cold sweat”, but had never experienced it until this moment as he desperately panted. It was a dream, Clark, he told himself. Just a dream. Calm down. He laid back again, sighing loudly as he began to relax himself, casually mopping his brow with the sleeve of his pajama top. He was still tired, and still very scared. Calm down Clark: Lois doesn’t know who you are and she doesn’t hate you. Well at least she hasn’t said she hates you…

Clark casually looked at his watch- to see how much time he had to get ready. It was eight-forty. Eight-forty? With the velocity of a speeding bullet Clark flew from his bed to the shower- he was really late.

* * * * *

“Kent! Where the hell have you been?” bellowed Perry White as he came bumbling out of his office. He looked really bad- the man of his early fifties needed to shave desperately, he had bags under his eyes, and he seemed like he’d gained weight, but Clark Kent would wait until latter to clue him in.

“Sorry boss, traffic,” Clark explained meekly.

“Traffic? For god’s sake, you’re more than an hour late. I don’t know why I even keep you around here Kent- you better not be late again!” Perry snapped as Clark followed him into the corner office. “Traffic...” White repeated once more in disdainful disbelief.

Clark entered the room, looking around hopefully for another familiar face to find… Yes, it was Lois. She sat in a chair across from Perry’s desk, in her typical attire, skirt and jacket. Her long, succulent legs were crossed casually and her pouted, ruby lips were wrapped around the “globe” at the top of a Daily Planet pen. Her lovely eyes of gray were staring down at the newspaper in her lap as she studied a crossword puzzle. They shot up at Clark as he walked in. She smiled warmly, reassuring Clark she didn’t hate him. It was a dream, he repeated in his head.

“Hey there, Smallville. Get lost again? You’ve only lived here for like ten years, so it can only be expected,” she chuckled. “Remind me to buy you an alarm clock for your next birthday,”

Clark felt reassured that she was the same old savvy, smart, sarcastic Lois he’d always known, but he only grunted in response as he sulked into his seat opposite Perry, next to Lois.

“What does he want us here for?” Clark whispered softly to Lois.

“Don’t know. I heard he wants us for a big story though- something undercover, I think,” she replied under her breath as Perry sat down. He sipped from a mug of coffee as he sat down, making a face that suggested it might have been cold as he put down the cup.

“You two are two of the best reporters I’ve come across here at the Daily Planet…” he began brusquely. Lois groaned loudly and rolled her eyes disrespectfully.

“C’mon chief- we’re wasting time here. What’s this all about?” she asked. Perry gritted his teeth momentarily.

“Well it goes like this- we’re doing an undercover investigation of LuthorCorp. It seems that our old pal Lex Luthor has been working really hard at something- he’s been missing so much public relations time, well it’s just not like him. We have some insiders at the company who have informed us that he’s using his assets to create something to annihilate Superman. I’ve been looking to nail Luthor all over the front page for quite some time now- and this is it. Our sources charge us a hefty sum every time they squeal, but I’ve gotten you two jobs at LuthorCorp. You two are going undercover and you’re going to get substantial evidence to indicate Luthor as trying to kill Superman. It will be a huge story, and we’ll be the first to break it,” Perry explained with a sigh. He paused for a moment to let it all sink in with Clark and Lois as they stared at him blankly. Lois was the first to speak.

“Wow, it sounds great, chief. The story of a lifetime. I’m sure Smallville here feels the same way, he’s just too choked up in the moment, you know. In awe at being welcomed to the big leagues,” Lois explained with a grin. Clark gave her a quick sneer before turning to Perry.

“I can speak for myself… And it sounds great, boss. I’d be honored to go undercover,” he said sincerely.

Perry smiled. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. This is strictly confidential though- no one can know, not your families, significant other, not even Jimmy!” White explained. “Once your cover is blown, you’re worthless, and I want this story. I want Luthor to be nailed!” he exclaimed. “I’ve faxed you your itineraries- your new identities, and the place you need to go for your costumes.”

“Costumes?” Clark asked, slightly alarmed.

“Yeah, Smallville- Luthor will identify you and me any day,” Lois explained, slightly exasperated. “Or maybe just me…” she said with a quiet grin. Clark smiled- she did get him better than anyone else.

“This guy is a master of disguise- I know him through a contact in Japan. Wigs, make-up, clothing, the whole kit and caboodle. I want you to see him and report to LuthorCorp as soon as possible- I want this story!” Perry cried. Lois and Clark nodded and got up, heading for the door.

“This is pretty big, eh, Clark? Could be your break!” Lois said as they walked out into the office.

“Yeah. Big,” Clark said with a small amount of shock, excitement, and curiosity.

* * * * *

The posh jet-black limousine pulled around the corner, and the people of Metropolis could just stare in awe as it rolled by them, headed to bigger and better things. It was in what could only be described as superb condition- recently washed and services, the tinted windows reflecting the sharp glow of the sun.

“No. No, I don’t care, I’m moving forward with the project today,” Luthor snarled into his cell phone. One thing Lex Luthor demanded was results, and he didn’t like what he was hearing on the other end of the phone. “Well that’s not my problem. I want you to make something happen then. No I don’t care about that. What?” as Lex continued to ramble into his phone, Mercy chuckled softly.

His phone conversations always seemed the same- she could probably recite what he was going to say before he said it without hearing the other person talking. But this time it wasn’t just another one of his regular business propositions. This was something big. He hadn’t even given her the full story, and when he didn’t give her the full story, it was something big.

“Alright then. Everything’s ready? Perfect. What? Yes, I’ve got my part ready,” Luthor announced. “By then,” he growled as he hung up the phone.

“Where are we going, Lex?” Mercy asked.

“I haven’t told you yet?” he asked, slightly confused.

“Nope. You told me that I was on a need to know basis, and I didn’t need to know yet, and then you picked up your phone and started talk…”

“I get the picture,” Lex snapped, interrupting her. He looked at his watch. They were a little late, but he owned the corporation, so somehow he figured the scientists would let this one slide. “Head to the underground base of LuthorCorp. You know, the one where we developed that buffoon Bizzaro,” Lex told her after a pause.

“What are you developing there?” Mercy asked. She usually tried to seem cool around Lex, but this peaked her curiosity. She knew it had something to do with Lex’s everlasting desire to terminate Superman, but what was he developing now? Some kind of animal? Alien? That lab was one for developing creatures with genetic engineering, so it was highly unlikely that it was some kind of weapon, but…

“You are on a need to know basis, and quite frankly, you don’t need to know,” Lex droned, very uninterested. Ugh, not that excuse again. That was getting really old, really fast.

“Oh c’mon, Lex. You can trust…”

She was cut off again. “Zip it, Mercy. I don’t have time for this. No one who doesn’t have to know knows, and it will stay that way. Just be patient- you’ll find out eventually,” he said coolly, although slightly annoyed.

“Yes, sir,” Mercy grumbled as she drove toward the underground lab.

* * * * *

Kara hauled the immensely heavy wagon loaded down with milk out of the barn, heading for the house. If anyone had seen her it would have been quite suspicious to see the rather petite but well-formed blonde pulling the large wagon, but that was one of the good things about Smallville. No one was near the Kent farm, the closest neighbors residing a couple of miles away. She strained slightly, sweating as she lugged the wagon across the farm trail. Ugh. It was times like this that she was so fed up with farm-life. Farm-life. Life on the farm.

She couldn’t stand it sometimes- she just wanted to get out of here. She loved Ma and Pa Kent, but there was no way she could tolerate this for much longer- milking the cows, walking the beans, husking the corn, feeding the pigs… It was all just a little too much. There were only two more years until she could head off to college- something she was eagerly awaiting.

She continued to lug the milk, when suddenly she stopped and sighed. There was never a bad time to visit Clark in the city… She smiled to herself and put all her strength into it as she pulled the milk truck to the house. It only took her a few minutes, and when she got there she felt relieved. She thought for a moment, her baby blue eyes drifting off into space before without thinking twice, she took off, flying toward Metropolis.

* * * * *

“So what do you think? Am I a blonde?” Lois asked as she placed the wig on her head. She turned to Clark with a reassuring smile; her synthetic blonde locks swirling about as she did. He smiled meekly back.

“Yeah, you look okay,” he murmured.

“Just okay?”

“I prefer the natural look,” Clark explained. Lois grunted at this.

“Well I like it!” she snapped. “I think that gray looks good on you. And the beard and mustache. It makes you look distinguished,” she thought aloud as she observed Clark’s disguise.

“Distinguished? I look old,” he thought aloud, as he glanced into the mirror on his left. “Although I look more like a scientist, I guess. That’s what we’re really doing this for, huh?”

“No, not me. I’m just trying out a new look,” Lois exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Although you make a good point. I mean, really, how many blonde scientists are out there? I’m guessing not too many. Maybe I should go redhead. What do you think of carrot tops, Clark?” she asked as she began to ramble, fumbling through the rack of wigs.

“I think you look fine the way you are,” Clark smiled.

“Cute Smallville. Thanks for the kind words, but really… What do you think?” Lois said as she propped the copper colored artificial hair on her head. And swirled it around, trying to act naturally.

“It looks okay. It’d go blonde though,”

“You think?” Lois asked as she continued to inspect both of the wigs. “Well if you say so…” the two ace reporters both made their final decisions and headed toward the front. Charlie Tran stood at the front, chewing on a pen nervously. He appeared as though he hadn’t slept in weeks- he was a wreck. Tall for an Asian man- perhaps six feet he stood, coming toward Lois and Clark.

He inspected their disguises, and went through everything with both of them- from the correct make-up components to the right kinds of shoes. Lois listened intently while… Well Clark wasn’t quite as enthused. Either way, the two reporters emerged from the small shop as new people. The blonde Russian scientist with glasses known as Yelena Klebb and her associate the fifty-seven year old British scientist James Brandon made their way toward LexCorp- ready to come out with the story of the century.

[Coran]

Very interesting beginning Game. Keep up the good work.

[Batgirl_2005]

woo hoo... Another Superman story! Well I can't wait to read more, it's a great beginning.

[The_NewCatwoman]

It's nice to see a Superman story every once in awhile, especially since everyone here seemingly likes Batman better. Hmmm, anyway, I'm enjoying this, Lois cracks me up as usual. Keep up the great work!

Also, your member statement is hilarious, I crack up everytime I read it!

[Panther]

Great beginning - I was really fooled by the dream sequence!

Lois is a blonde!

later,

[The Game]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Well here's the long overdue chapter 2....

CHAPTER 2:

Yelena Klebb approached the large metallic double doors, looking them up and down in subtle awe. The young Russian scientist looked up to take a wild guess at how tall it was- maybe thirty feet- the doors sliding with a soft hum of power. She glared out from behind her glasses- the stylish thick-framed bohemian spectacles- her soft blues wide with quiet wonderment at the tremendous size of the threshold.

“It’s really pretty amazing, isn’t it?” she asked James Brandon.

“You’re Russian accent is terrible,” Clark remarked as he admired the architecture of the building. Lois turned to him with a sharp frown from under her fake golden bangs. She waited for him to look in her direction to sneer at him, but he didn’t, so she just sneered at him anyway.

“It’s not that bad… Is it really bad?” she asked, slightly nervous.

“Depends on who you ask. But if there’s another Russian scientist in there, you’re screwed,” he explained. The turned to her and gestured his hand toward the door. “Shall we?” he asked in his refined British accent.

“I guess,” Lois said, this time in another Russian accent. “How was that?”

“That time you sounded too much like ‘you’,” Clark explained as they walked forward through the gargantuan silver doors. Their clean heels clicked on the shiny fiberglass, the glare searing down through the sunlight glistened off the floor. The whole place looked extremely professional, well-dressed businessmen and burly security guards marching to and fro, armed and scowling. Clark’s eyes darted around the entire lobby of LexCorp- not one single person he saw was smiling.

“And what does ‘my voice’ sound like?” Lois asked softly, mildly amused.

“It sounds like the voice of an obnoxious loud-mouthed reporter,” Clark murmured with a chuckle.

Lois reached over and whacked him on the arm. Clark caught several suspicious glances. Great, he thought. We just walked in the door and already people are giving us strange looks. “I may be a loud-mouthed reporter, but I’m a damn good one,” Lois insisted. The two undercover reporters stepped forward, heading toward the security checkpoint.

“I think it’s time we split up,” Clark whispered quietly, and James Brandon and Yelena Klebb went their opposite directions.

Yelena stepped up to the booth farthest to the left. She casually reached into her briefcase and pulled out her I.D. tag- the laminated snapshot taken by Tran wasn’t very flattering. But then again, it wasn’t even her real hair, so who cared. She placed the band of steel beads over her neck, allowing the I.D. to dangle. She stepped up to the plate, offering the I.D. tag to the security guard who eyed her like a hawk.

“Name?” he snarled. He was a thick, beefy man of sorts, perhaps in his mid-fifties. His head was a shiny dome of a substance, with only silver outcropping of thinning hair sprouting from the edges. He inspected the I.D. carefully, his beady brown eyes darting over it.

“Klebb. Yelena Klebb,” Lois said, with the best Russian accent she could muster. She tried to gauge his response by studying his face, but it was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking. Perhaps that meant he hadn’t even noticed a problem with it. Well, good, she thought. As long as she could pull it off without anyone questioning it, it was certainly good enough for its purpose.

“And what are you doing here at LexCorp, ma’am?” he asked politely. His eyes certainly weren’t polite though. They were the eyes of a vulture, tearing her apart with every glance.

“I am a scientist- a researcher specializing in genetic engineering, here to work on some top secret projects for Mr. Luthor,” she explained cordially. The security guard continued to frown, pursing his lips. He took the I.D. and ran it through the machine. After a soft chime with a green light, he sighed. Everything had checked through, and she had the card.

“Alright then. Enjoy your stay here at LexCorp,” he sighed as he handed the I.D. back to her. Lois faked a fake smile as she walked through the metal detector- she had been sure not to bring anything that might set it off, just to avoid any possible security problems. She passed right through, brown leather briefcase in hand, heading toward the elevators. She barley made it to one that was jam packed- but she forced herself in.

It was stuffed with people in there, and Lois could smell more than one flavor of body odor, and perhaps some bad morning breath. Lois reached over to the glowing control panel, and pressed the button for the floor she was headed to- it was an underground floor. Levels 2, 17, 33, 37, 54, and 71 were all pressed… And everyone seemed to sigh softly as she pressed ‘Level C’. It appeared as though everyone else was going up- to the paper-pushing low-end jobs… But Yelena Klebb was heading down to where the ‘real work’ of LuthorCorp went down.

* * * * *

He’d given it to her as an “incase of emergency” type of thing, so Kara figured there was no problem with simply letting herself in. She twisted the tiny brass instrument into the lock, careful not to bend it too far and break it- and the door opened easily. She leapt in, full speed, a big grin on her sparkling face, her arms ready to give Clark a big hug…

But he was nowhere in sight. Kara looked around grumpily, sighing. Well, he did have a job, she supposed. She closed the door to his apartment first, tossing the key onto a small table next to it. She immediately made her way to the fridge- it had been a long flight and she was hungry. She looked it over- Clark really didn’t have anything good to eat. Her ‘cousin’ was supposed to be that cool older sibling figure, his house stocked with junk food. Nope. Nada. Nothing. All he had was the same ‘practical’ food Kara had been eating on the farm. Geez, what does a girl have to do to get some junk food…

* * * * *

“And you are?” the young twerp asked as Clark stood before the large metallic gates of ‘Level C’. The truth was, it was really pretty amazing- the underground lair was loaded down with thick metallic structures here and there, robotic machines and pumps everywhere, glass cylinders and walls all about, scientists crowding the floor.

“Oh, Brandon, James Brandon,” Clark informed with his British accent. The security advisor continued to heavily cross-reference everything with the security key card Clark had handed him. It was all so… Strange. Clark had been all over Metropolis, yet never set foot in the underground lairs of LexCorp. It was quite amazing to think that the people of the city were busy bustling around on their way, not even knowing what they were walking directly over; the top secret experimentation laboratories of Lex Luthor.

“All right then. You’re all clear then Mr. Brandon,” the security guy announced. Clark gave him a weak smile before gathering his card and information back up, and passing though the second metal detector of the day into the lab. He tried to look as natural as possible as he walked straight to his department- Perry had said there would be a cubicle already set up fro him. There was- but there was someone sitting in it.

“Lois?” Clark whispered. “What are you doing here?” The blonde haired Yelena Klebb looked up at him.

“Waiting for you to show up, Smallville,” she explained cordially. “I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know exactly what to do as a scientist. I mean- what am I supposed to do here?” she asked, with uncertainty. Clark shrugged.

“Well, I think you should act like you belong here and you know what you’re doing. Act like a scientist. Pretend you’re smarter than you are- hey, you have a lot of experience with that,” Clark said jokingly. Lois shot him a look. “Oh, c’mon. Just play along with these mad scientists until you pick up some interesting tid bit, then jot it down, that’s all,” he explained. She didn’t seem convinced. Suddenly her beautiful lavender eyes lit up as she glanced behind Clark.

“Or, I could do things the way I like to do them,” she informed as she got up, heading to where she was looking. Clark looked behind him at Lois’ destination. She was staring at Lex Luthor.

* * * * *

“You see, Mercy,” Lex began as he surveyed his domain, “I need the ultimate weapon to defeat Superman. And I have figured out the perfect way to create it. These scientists have been working around the clock. Working for week’s straight to ready my newest cloning technology. With Superman’s DNA, I will create the ultimate being,” Luthor elaborated, basking in the glow of his own brilliance.

“But Lex…” Mercy interrupted. She immediately regretted it as Luthor spun to face her.

“What?” he demanded.

“Haven’t you already tried that with Bizzaro? If memory serves me correctly, that little experiment didn’t work out very well,” she thought aloud, hoping it wouldn’t make him too mad. Instead, he smiled widely, his perfect, shining white teeth blaring brilliantly.

“Of course it didn’t. One thing will be different this time- we’re not ‘cloning’ Superman. We’re simply using his DNA- or actually Bizzaro’s- to genetically engineer the being that will destroy the Man of Steel, that’s all,” Luthor explained. Mercy listened to this carefully. “It is a plan to beat all others- and it will lead to the destruction of Superman, I guarantee it,” Luthor declared, the brilliant conclusion to his idea. He looked as though he was expecting a round of applause. Mercy was confused.

“How do you know this… This ‘thing’ will work? I mean, we thought Bizzaro would be a virtual Superman, but he was a pathetic nobody,” Mercy thought aloud. Lex seemed to dismiss this before he heard it.

“There will be no mistake. The body of the Seeker has been developed with Bizzaro’s DNA and a mixture of another. She will be brilliant- she will obey my every command, she will be strikingly beautiful, she will be of ultimate strength, she will fly, she will…” Lex stopped speaking when he noticed Mercy had stopped listening. He turned to her.

“Something the matter?” he asked.

“Sounds like she might make me obsolete,” Mercy explained with a meek smile. Lex chuckled at this.

“Oh, Mercy. Don’t worry- I will always need a chauffeur,” Lex comforted. It wasn’t comforting. Mercy stuck out her tongue in immature defiance. So basically he had created the perfect woman to do his bidding. Great. Fantastic. What was she, chopped liver? The ‘imperfect’ woman? She was furious, but was careful to keep it bottled up. How could he do this to her?

“I’m going to my private quarters,” Lex informed, as he turned his back on her. “I don’t want any visitors. Not until the Seeker is ready,” he instructed. The Seeker? What kind of a name is that, anyway?

* * * * *

Lois slipped down the hall. She’d heard Lex’s private quarters were nice, but this was unreal. The shiny posh floors were slick marble, gold-crusted decorations were everywhere. It was dark- it was possible no one was home, but Lois had watched Luthor head this way, so he was probable around here somewhere. Her eyes darted around the area- no one in sight. His office was cozy- the large desk at the far end was sleek. It overlooked ‘Level C’ from a large multi-million dollar window.

She slipped up to the desk, casually looking it over. There was a file here, and a file there, nothing she hadn’t seen before. But wait- what was that? Genetic Engineering blueprints? Lois scanned the document she clutched quickly, in pure awe. No… He wouldn’t!

“Stop right there!” Mercy screamed, gun in hand.

[witness]

Nice to see Lois and Clark going undercover. Thst'a something we didn't see much of at all in the animated show. Typical Lois, it looks like she's gonna blow the whole thing before she gets started! I'd like to see how she'll talk her way out of that situation! Hehehe. And Mercy. A character that wasn't expounded on a whole lot. I'm really interested to see your take on her. Want to know what this "Seeker" character will be, but I guess I'll wait until the next chapter, huh? Hopefully not too long.