The Monday After

   Diana, Clark, and Lois met in the Star's office on Monday morning.
   They walked into the room, sat down, and looked at each other in awkward silence.  No one knew quite what to say.
   Lois spoke first.  "So, hey, I never got to... to thank you guys for what you did."
   Clark half-smiled at her, as if to say "you're welcome."
   Diana gave Lois a similar smile, with a polite nod.
   Clark spoke up, frowning a little. "Um, Lois..."
   She interrupted him. "Don't worry, Clark.  I won't spread your secrets."
   "Thanks," Clark replied with a slight sigh of relief.
   "No problem," Lois answered.  "You guys saved my life; I guess the least I can do is not tell everyone that you're secretly an amazon and an alien."
   Clark gave her a slightly unbelieving look.  "You seem rather... unsurprised."
   Lois shrugged.  "I think it runs in my family.  My cousin's a real conspiracy theorist; she used to tell me all the time about all the craziness in her town, and how she was convinced that it was because of weird paranormal stuff.  I always told her that she was just being paranoid, but, somehow, I think I always knew she was right.  When I saw you guys doing your 'hero thing,' it just sort of... made sense."
   Clark frowned.  "I don't think we were exactly 'heroes.'  The men in that car turned up dead."
   Diana was surprised at him. "Clark! They tried to kill us! They got their deserved end."
   "They're still human beings! They didn't need to die!" Clark responded.
   Lois interjected. "Clark, the police said that the men were shot, probably by whomever else was working with them.  It wasn't your fault."
   Clark didn't listen.  "I could have pulled them away; I could have kept them from being killed..."
   Diana and Lois stayed silent for a moment, realizing Clark's pain.  He was different than most; he was extremely compassionate, and mourned even the death of someone who had tried to do him harm.
   Lois tried to lighten the mood a bit.  "Well, the police found out that the men who attacked us had been loosely linked to Lionel Luthor in the past.  Bruce says that from what he's heard, the police have been spreading all over Luthorcorp like a plague.  Luthor can't afford to move forward with his plans for Metropolis now that his every minute move is being watched."
   "So how much more time do we have?" Clark asked.
   "Maybe another month or two," Lois replied.
   Clark nodded in acknowledgment.
   Lois finally couldn't stand avoiding the elephant in the room.
   "Clark, I'm sorry about Bruce. He—"
   "It's okay," Clark interjected.
   "No, it's not," Lois replied.  "He's just... not a very trusting person.  But he'll come around eventually.  I think."
   Footsteps were heard coming down the hallway.  Hard footsteps, like expensive shoes clacking against the tiled floor of the school.   A man stepped into the Star's doorway.  He wore a long black overcoat over his business suit.  A grudging smirk was set on his face, and his eyes burned with a disdain for the young occupants of the room.
   It was Lionel Luthor.
   Lois was a bit frightened.
   Diana shifted slightly in her seat, as if readying herself for him to attack.
   Clark stood up, his jaw firmly set and his muscles tensed. He stared Lionel down from across the room, as if to say "Don't even dare to try anything."
   Their reactions, of course, were unnecessary.  Lionel posed no physical threat to them on his own, and there was nothing that his employees could do to hurt them while they were still inside of a public school.  But Lionel had a way of inspiring fear in those who truly knew what a monster he was.
   "Ah; you must be Lois Lane," he said.  His words were polite, but his eyes made it clear that he was not pleased to meet her.  "I've heard a lot about you."
   He turned to the others.  "And Miss Prince, and Mister... Kent, is it?"
   Diana was silent, and Clark's only reply was his continuous angered stare.
   Lionel made sure to look them each briefly in the eye once more before speaking again.  When he spoke, his voice contained a quiet, graveled venom that betrayed his darker side. "I don't know how you three survived, or what exactly you did to those men and that car, but I assure you that this is not over."
   With that, he walked out.