Umbra

[jon-el87]

Chapter 1


The trial of the century had brought Lois Lane to San Francisco. Well, this week’s trial of the century. In this country, there was a trial of the century every two years. A professional criminal called Teeter Sneed was going to testify about an alleged criminal network lead by a mysterious figure known only as the “Tarantula”. According to her sources at the Justice Department, this Tarantula was suspected to have been involved in multiple murders, smuggling, – both of goods and the human variety - blackmail, kidnappings and the list went on. What made Mr. Sneed so important was the fact that he was rumored to know the identity of the mysterious Tarantula.

As she exited the San Francisco International Airport and got into a taxi, Lois began to have second thoughts. Not about taking the assignment, which she could smell a Pulitzer prize from. No, her concern was about her choice of living arrangements during her stay. Maybe she should just check into a hotel instead or sleep in an alley. Anything but this. Lois could feel her heart beating faster, as the taxi stopped near the corner of Taylor Street and Green Street. She got out, almost forgetting her suitcase, and went down Taylor Street, until she arrived at the staircase to Macondray Lane. It was now or never. As she climbed the stairs a man walked past her, who walked in the same direction. Brunette, early 20’s, 5’11 and quite good-looking. Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.
Having dragged herself up the stairs, Lois soon found herself in front of an apartment building at 28 Macondray Lane. She got up to the second-floor and rang the doorbell of one of the apartments. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea”, Lois told herself, when her younger sister Lucy opened the door and welcomed her in. Lucy may have gotten her act together, mostly, during the seven years since her first trip to Smallville, but Lois was still a bit uneasy about sleeping on Lucy’s couch during her visit. She had never been to Lucy’s apartment, but thought the one-bedroom apartment was quite nice, even if Lucy really needed to learn to keep the place tidy. As Lois got into the living room, she could see Lucy’s flight attendant uniform just thrown on the couch.
“Did you have a nice trip?” Lucy asked, as she made coffee.
“Well, apart from the air marshal giving me the evil eye,” Lois replied as she started unpacking, “Guess I’m still on some naughty list after I gave one a black eye, a few months back, in Africa.”
Lucy handed Lois a cup, as an uneasy tension filled the room, with the two sisters being unsure about what they were going to say to each other. Lucy eventually tried to break the tension by asking: “So, how’s Clark?” Lois had to restrain herself from answering with a question if she’d want to hit on him again and instead answered that he was fine.
“So… are you going to go to aunt Margot’s funeral next week?” Lucy asked, desperate to break the uncomfortable silence, as the two sat down.
“Probably…I wanna be there for the General. He probably feels bad about it. I don’t think they had spoken for years.” Lois replied.
“Yeah, they had a lot of unresolved issues. Guess our side of the family tree was always messed up.” Lucy wished she could’ve taken that last part back and began drinking her coffee.
“So, what do you do for fun around here?” Lois finally asked after what seemed like an eternity.
“Well, you know, work often take me to other places,” Lucy replied, “when I’m here, I just hang out with some friends…” Lucy was interrupted by someone ringing on the door and she went to answer it. When she opened the door, Lois could see the good-looking guy, that she had seen on her way here, entering the apartment.
“Lucy, I seem to have gotten some of your mail, again.” The man remarked and handed Lucy some letters.
“Oh, thanks,” Lucy replied and pointed to Lois, “By the way, this is my sister, Lois.” The man waved to Lois and began leaving, but turned for a moment and asked Lucy: “Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“Of course,” Lucy replied, “I forgot to ask, if there’s room for one more.”
“The more the merrier.” The man remarked and left the apartment. Lucy closed the door behind him, picked up her cup and went back to Lois.
“So, who’s that?” Lois asked, “Your boyfriend?”
“Hardly,” Lucy replied laughing, “I don’t think his would stand for it. This is San Francisco, sis. Anyway, I promised we’d be having dinner with him tonight. The Wicked Witch of the West is in town.”
“Please tell me, you’re not referring to me…”
“No, his stepmother. You’re the Wicked Witch of the East.”

[jon-el87]

Chapter 2


These last few weeks had made Teeter Sneed practically afraid of his own shadow. He was under the protection of the FBI, but he knew that the FBI didn’t know the Tarantula as well as he did. They had assured him that he would be safe in the hotel room they kept him in, but he was still certain that the Tarantula would be able to get him. Sneed was almost 50-years-old. He hadn’t lived that long by being a fool. He knew that the Tarantula would stop at nothing to keep him quiet. At the same time, Sneed feared what might happen if he didn’t cooperate with the Feds. Him giving evidence against the Tarantula and his whole organization had been in return for immunity for Sneed’s own crimes and promises of a whole new identity. If he didn’t cooperate, he feared that the Feds would just throw him in prison. Where Tarantula could easily pay a fellow inmate or guard to kill Sneed.
Sneed became uneasy, when the Feds brought him his dinner. As usual, Sneed feared that there was poison in the food and insisted that one of the Feds taste it first. Even afterwards, when one of the agents had tasted it and Sneed had finished eating, he was still worried and went to the bathroom. He never came back out again.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 3


Not really having been prepared to eat dinner with someone else’s family, all Lois had to wear was an ugly flowery dress, that Lucy borrowed her. Together they went up to her friend A.J. Scott’s apartment, where he let them in. Apparently, his boyfriend was busy tonight and wasn’t going to join them. Leaving Lois with her sister, one of her friends and the friend’s stepmother. Who would she have the least to talk with? As he prepared dinner, Lucy began making small talk with the stepmother, while Lois began inspecting some framed posters he had on the walls. Mostly of films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, but also a poster from the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. She couldn’t get past how nicer this guy’s two-bedroom apartment looked, in comparison to Lucy’s. Lois sat down on the couch and waited for dinner to be served. On the table before her she found a well-read copy of Tales of the City and read a few chapters to kill time, not really feeling like talking to anyone.
When dinner was finally finished all four sat down and began eating. When Lucy had referred to A.J.’s stepmother as the Wicked Witch of the West, Lois had expected to meet a monster, but this late 50’s red-headed woman seemed quite nice. Of course, Lucy had also admitted to calling Lois the Wicked Witch of the East, so Lois figured she shouldn’t be too surprised that Lucy’s description of the stepmother was inaccurate.
“So, how did you meet your husband, Mrs. Scott?” Lois asked, trying to make conversation with a total stranger. Lois wasn’t sure what she was doing there. She should be focusing on her assignment, not that she could do much before the hearing tomorrow.
“Please, dear, call me Molly,” the stepmother replied, “I worked with A.J.’s father back in the day.”
“I see… So, what does he do?”
“He runs a broadcasting company in Capitol City.” A.J. replied.
“And I take it, you’re also in broadcasting…?” Lois asked Molly.
“No, I work for the FBI, dear.” Lois almost chocked upon hearing Molly’s reply. She had been worried that this dinner would keep her from her assignment and it may have helped her get an in to the story.
“So, are you working on the Tarantula case?” Lois asked out of pure instinct, quickly wishing she hadn’t, as she could see that it was an unwelcome question and got herself ready to be thrown out.
“No, dear, I’m just here to visit my son. Then I’ll go to Los Angeles and visit his sister.” Molly remarked with an annoyed tone, that she tried to mask as friendly. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Lois Lane. I work for the Daily Planet. I’m sorry, I thought you knew.” The conversation was interrupted by Molly’s phone starting to ring. Lois felt that she had been saved by the bell. Molly got up and left the apartment to answer it. When she came back, there was a serious expression on her face.
“I’m sorry,” Molly remarked, “I have to go to work. It was nice meeting you girls.” Molly left the apartment. Lois struggled with an uncertainty about whether she should follow her. A.J. began clearing the table, while Lucy and Lois headed back to her apartment. As soon as they reached her door, Lois asked her: “Lucy, can I borrow your car?”

[jon-el87]

Chapter 4
Teeter Sneed’s head had been blown off. When Molly Scott arrived at Sneed’s hotel room, she was led into the bathroom where Sneed’s body lied in the floor, with the upper half of his head seemingly having exploded, but none of the agents in the apartment claimed to have heard any gunshot. Nor could they explain how an assassin had made it past 15 FBI-agents, killed Sneed in the bathroom and then escaped unseen. What was weirder was that there not only hadn’t been any noise of any gunshot, there wasn’t any gunpowder residue found on the body. Not that Molly was unaccustomed with strange things. Like everyone else in the world these days, she was used to the extraordinary.
As she headed out into the hallway, she could see a familiar face and approached it. “Lois, dear,” Molly tried to be polite, “I thought you were staying with your sister.”
“And I thought you were just in town visiting family.” Lois looked over at the other FBI-agents, “I say, you seem to have a pretty big family.”
“You’d be surprised, dear. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Molly gestured to another agent, who took Lois by the arm and lead her out. Now she understood why Lucy had called her the Wicked Witch of the West. Lois got into the elevator and as the door closed, she seemed to catch a brief glimpse of a creature made of darkness and smoke. Panicking, she pressed the elevator buttons, trying to get it to stop, but it just took her down to the lobby. She quickly took the elevator back up again, fearing the worst. But, as she made it back up to the fourth floor, there was no sign of the creature and everything was seemingly back to normal. Had she imagined it? Was she suffering from PTSD again?

[jon-el87]

Chapter 5
The next morning, Lois was up by sunrise and went for a run. She couldn’t let go of what she had seen last night. Could the creature she had seen have been what killed Teeter Sneed? She had e-mailed Watchtower for information about any metahuman crooks, who could turn themselves into a shadow. The only one who came with was Randy Klein, who Clark had tangled with four years earlier. But, he was apparently still at Belle Reve. Lois had asked Tess to double check and had confirmed that Klein was still at the facility. Ruling him out as a suspect. Of course, there could’ve been others with a similar ability. Someone or something who was working for the mysterious Tarantula. Perhaps this thing was the Tarantula.
She ran for over an hour, before heading back to Lucy’s and taking a shower. Lucy had already gone, as she had an early flight to Paris. Leaving behind a note, asking Lois to not get her apartment blown up. After she was finished in the shower, Lois headed over to the FBI-building on Golden Gate Avenue, hoping to get some answers, but couldn’t get into the building. Lois knew that she would be able to help them if they just let her. Still, she wasn’t ready to quit and headed back to Lucy’s apartment. If the FBI wasn’t going to involve her in their investigation, Lois figured that she had no choice but to conduct her own into the murder of Teeter Sneed and the mysterious figure known as the Tarantula.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 6
Even after all these months, Dr. Virgil Droog still hated these meetings. They had picked him up in a black SUV near Pier 33 – always pick up at a new location – and demanded that he’d pull that stupid bag over his head, as usual. After driving for an unknown amount of time, Dr. Droog was lead out of the car. When he was finally allowed to take the bag off his head, he found himself in a dark room, that appeared to be some warehouse. Out of the shadows stepped a man in a cheap brown suit – if he had money he was smart enough to conceal it - and black gloves, with a black mask pulled over his face. Not even his eyes were visible. Dr. Droog stood upright. As one was expected to do in the presence of the Tarantula.
“Dr. Droog,” Tarantula remarked with his voice disguised by a voice changer, “I’d like to congratulate you. Your device worked perfectly in handling the problem of the… late Mr. Sneed. You have my gratitude.”
“Thank you, sir.” Dr. Droog replied in a nervous voice.
“Tell me, doctor, who long would it take you to manufacture some more of your magnificent devices?”
“I could have fifteen completed within a week, sir.”
“What would it take to speed up the process? I have certain other matters to attend to.”
“Perhaps, if you could give me some details about how many you need, I could give you a more precise time table.”
Dr. Droog’s question clearly angered the Tarantula, but he kept his calm exterior. The key to his operations had been to keep those involved in the dark. Giving one of them too much information had been his mistake with Teeter Sneed. “I need three.” The Tarantula told Droog. It was more than he would currently need, but it ensured that he could get them fast and that Dr. Droog wouldn’t know the accurate number of targets. It was also a small enough number, for Dr. Droog to be completed within 24 hours.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 7
The Tarantula’s henchmen dropped Dr. Droog off near Pier 33. He got into his own car and drove back to his lab, to begin manufacturing more of the devices. The whole thing was quite simple. The device was a small trigger, that the Tarantula’s men had bribed an FBI-agent to plant in the bathroom. When activated it released an airborne compound, that entered the target’s bloodstream and caused a chemical reaction, followed by an explosion. It had taken Dr. Droog months to figure out the proper formula, to cause the explosion to happen in the targets head, instead of in a potentially non-lethal part of the body like a leg or an arm.
Dr. Droog didn’t know what the Tarantula needed these three devices for. Nor did he want to know. The Tarantula paid him to results, not to ask questions. Not to mention, being in the service of the Tarantula, questions could no doubt get him shot – if he was lucky.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 8
California State Senator Vivian Dale had just enjoyed lunch in her hotel room, when her chief of staff and announced that she had a visitor. Dale was 48-year-old and had been a State Senator for nearly eight. Her chief of staff led Aaron Crossart into the room and left the two of them alone. Crossart was a 52-year-old businessman, wearing an expensive suit. A man who had a finger in most pies.
“Senator Dale.” Crossart remarked as he shook her hand.
“Mr. Crossart. What can I do for you? Are you finally buying the Golden Gate Bridge?” Dale asked.
“Don’t be silly, Senator. You know I’m a Bay Bridge kind of man.” Crossart laughed as he poured the two of them drinks. “No, I’m here to talk to you about your proposed Committee. I just want you to know that you have my full support.”
“Thank you. What do you want in return?” Dale was no rookie to the political game. If a man like Aaron Crossart gave his support for her Committee, he was expecting something in return.
“Oh, please, Senator. I’m not asking for anything in return. I truly believe in what you’re trying to do.”
“Nice to hear that. Was there something else you wanted?”
“Do I need a reason to just pay you a visit?”
“Businesspeople usually do, when they drop by a Senator.”

[jon-el87]

Chapter 9
Lois had made a makeshift murder board on the wall of Lucy’s apartment, filled with what little information she had about the case. Documents about various crimes, that the Tarantula was suspected of having committed. A photo of Teeter Sneed, next to an image of an actual Tarantula and a drawing she had made of the shadow figure she was sure she had seen the night before. She was certain that there was a connection between the three, but an endless amount of coffee later, she was no closer to the answer. She had taken off her signal watch. She wasn’t going to call him. This was a simple crime lord case, not the second-coming of Darkseid - she hoped. Lois knew that she could handle this herself.
Suddenly, Lois heard someone putting a key in the lock of the apartment door. There was no way that Lucy would’ve already be back from Paris. Could it be an assassin working for the Tarantula? Did the crime lord consider her a threat already? Lois first reached for the signal watch, but then grabbed a rock Lucy had on her living room table – a souvenir from their ’98 visit to aunt Margot – and took position behind the door. As the door flung open, Lois raised the rock and was prepared to strike the intruder but was quickly grabbed by the arm. Before she knew what was going on, she was face down on the floor with her right arm pressed against her back.
“Whatever you’re doing,” A.J. declared, “knock it off.” A.J. let her go and Lois got back up. A.J. went over and placed the rock back on the living room table.
“What are you doing here?” Lois asked, “Look, I’m sorry that I tried to hit you, but I thought you were an intruder.”
“A tip for next time, intruders don’t usually have their own key.” A.J. replied amused and looked over at her murder board. “What’s all this?”
“Oh, just a work thing,” Lois tried to get him to leave, “Look, I’m a bit busy and I’m sure you’ve got some work to do…”
“I am at work. I’m the landlord. Well, kinda… My dad owns it and he put me in charge of it a while back. Lucy asked me to have a look at her sink, while she’s gone.” A.J. went over to the kitchen and dove under the sink. Lois went back to her work, but soon found herself approaching him in conversation.
“So, where did you learn that stuff? Not many people can take me down like that.”
A.J. laughed and remarked: “Yeah, I heard you were an Army Bratt. My dad taught me and my sister some moves, when we were kids. He was afraid someone was going to come after us.”
“Pretty overprotective, right?”
“No really, he had his reasons. Are you sure you don’t need help with whatever you’re doing?” A.J. asked as he got back up and added: “I’m a bit of a mystery buff.”
“Yeah, I saw the shelf overstocked with Agatha Christie in your apartment. But, I’m afraid this matter is beyond the skills of Mrs. Christie.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” A.J. went over to the murder board and pointed at the picture of the spider, “Don’t recall an arachnid ever being the guilty party in a Christie novel or even a suspect.”
“No, I just used the picture as a stand-in for the real mastermind.”
“And the childish drawing?”
“Someone I suspect to be a hitman.”
“Really…? Pretty strange-looking bloke.”
“It’s supposed to be an entity of darkness and smoke.”
“Seriously…?” A.J. looked over at Lois amused.
“Look, we live in a world where a team of superheroes live on the moon. A team containing multiple aliens and an android.”
“You mean they actually live up there?”
“Well, of course, not. I was just making a point.”
The conversation was interrupted by A.J. receiving a text and excusing himself. A few minutes later, Lois stepped out of the apartment and saw A.J. talking with his stepmother below. A conversation that ended, the second they spotted her. A.J. went back to his apartment, visibly angry, while Molly left. Molly got into her car and pulled out her phone. She knew she had to check up on this Lane girl and knew that was only one source she could rely on. Molly dialed the number and as soon as the person on the other end answered, she asked: “Abby? What can you tell me about a young lady by the name of Lois Lane? She works for the Daily Planet.”

[jon-el87]

Chapter 10
Lois felt that she was getting nowhere just by staring at the murder board, so she headed back to the hotel, where Teeter Sneed had been killed and begun interviewing the staff. An activity that at first hit a minor set-back, as the people who had been on duty the night before hadn’t started their shift yet, forcing Lois to wait for several hours, before she could ask anyone who might’ve seen something. When she finished the interviews, she took the elevator up to Sneed’s room and sneaked past the police officer outside. Entering the bathroom, she began to examine it and discovered a strange small device hidden under the sink. She was surprised the FBI had missed it. Of course, they were looking for an assassin with a weapon. Not a small circular object under the sink. Suddenly, she could hear footsteps approaching and quickly hid the device in her purse. The officer standing guard had heard her and threw her out of the hotel room, after she had identified herself.
She went back out to Lucy’s car and drove off, after she had taken a picture of the device and sent it to a friend at the Metropolis Police Department, hoping to get it identified. She didn’t drive directly to Lucy’s, but instead drove to a café on Collins Street, waiting to hear back about the device. After nearly two hours, she gave up and headed back to the car. As she unlocked it, she barely took notice of the young woman walking past her. Even less notice did she take to when the young woman reached into her purse and pulled out a revolver, which she aimed at the back off Lane’s head. The young woman placed her finger on the trigger and was about to fire, when suddenly a shadow figure grabbed her and got the weapon away from Lane’s head, just before the shot was fired. The gunshot and noise behind her caused Lois to turn around and take cover, where she could see her would-be assassin struggling against a strange shadow figure. By pure instinct, Lois reached for her signal watch, but quickly realized that she had left it at Lucy’s.
The shadow creature took the revolver from the assassin and seemingly threw it to Lois, who picked it up and aimed at them both. From her point of view, she couldn’t be certain if the shadow creature had saved her from the young woman or if the young woman had tried to save her from the shadow. The shadow creature knocked out the young woman, who fell to the ground, then seemingly looked over at Lois, before suddenly flying away as the sirens of police cars could be heard approaching.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 11
Lois spent the next two hours at a police station, filling out forms. According to an eye witness, the shadow creature had tried to stop the young woman from killing her. The officers informed Lois that the woman in question was a well-known mercenary, named Alice Savage. So, the shadow creature had tried to help her. Meaning that Lois might’ve been wrong about it working for the Tarantula. Of course, it may have been easier to figure out if the shadow creature hadn’t looked so scary. Clark wears a blue-and-red, semi-silly suit, to make him appear non-threatening. Bruce Wayne wears a black Bat-suit, to make himself look terrifying. Whoever or whatever this shadow creature was, it didn’t need any help in that department. If anything, he needed to tone it down.
Two officers drove her back to Lucy’s apartment. She had been offered police protection but declined. After what happened to Teeter Sneed, it was apparent that neither the police or the FBI could protect anyone from the Tarantula. Besides, she had Superman on speed-dial and now apparently another ally in this shadow creature, whom she really need a name for. She was tired off calling him – provided it was a he – the “shadow creature”. She printed the photo of the device and placed it on the murder board. Her friend at the Metropolis Police Department had finally called back and informed her that it appeared to have been an advanced delivery system and gave her the name of a Dr. Virgil Droog. Around 2am, Lois collapsed from exhaustion on Lucy’s couch and slept until morning.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 12
Earlier that same night businessman Aaron Crossart had attended a charity fundraiser. He headed out to his car, where his driver was waiting. Just as he was opening the door, one of the windows was smashed by a bullet and Crossart ducked for cover, while his driver crawled out of the car.
“Hey, Crossart!” Screamed the assailant. “Message from the Tarantula: You shouldn’t have rejected his generous proposal!” The assailant rushed forward to the car, to make his killing shot, but luckily Crossart’s driver was also carrying a gun and shot the assailant twice, taking him out. The next day San Francisco Chronicle reported on the shooting. Remarking how Crossart had managed to survive an assassination attempt, by a known mercenary, working for the mysterious Tarantula. The Chronicle cited a statement by Crossart that he had refused to be blackmailed by the infamous criminal. However, no local reporter made any connection between this assassination attempt and the one on Lois Lane. If they had, one thing would’ve been made clear: no one in San Francisco or the rest of California was safe from the Tarantula.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 13
Shortly before sunrise, Dr. Virgil Droog was given an unexpected, but not unwelcome, visit to his lab. While he wasn’t crazy about the Tarantula’s henchmen showing up at his lab, which was in his house, he even more hated the trouble of going to a meeting with the Tarantula. Dr. Drogg handed over the three completed devices, which were kept in a black attaché case, to the man who he had named Moriarty – he knew there was no point in asking for his real name. Besides, this man did look a bit like Lionel Atwill, so the name seemed fitting.
“Are you absolutely sure that the devices will work?” Asked Moriarty.
“Completely. Has the Tarantula ever had cause to question my work?” Dr. Droog replied upset,
“Not at all. But, he would like to have the plans to the devices. He assured me that you would be handsomely remunerated for it.” Moriarty looked down at the suitcase, that he had brought with him. Dr. Droog knew what this meant and handed a flash drive over to him.
“It’s all on there.” Dr. Droog declared.
“Good.” Moriarty replied and handed over the suitcase to Dr. Droog. Dr. Droog placed it on the desk before him and opened it. Looking at all the money inside, he didn’t have time to notice, when Moriarty pulled out a gun and shot him in the back of the head. Dr. Droog’s body fell over the suitcase. His lab was too soundproof for anyone to have heard the shot from outside. The man known as Moriarty put away the gun and departed, amused at what a fool Dr. Droog had been. He had just handed over the one thing that had made him valuable to the Tarantula and his organization.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 14
Lois awoke to the smell of fresh coffee, which A.J. placed in a cup next to her.
“Good morning,” he told her, “You may wanna get up. I’ve got some plumbers coming to fix your sister’s sink.”
“Thanks.” Lois replied as she got up and drank the coffee. She knew she should get back to work, but A.J. insisted on her having breakfast first and invited her over to his apartment. As she entered his kitchen, she saw a blond man in his late 20’s in a suit sitting by the table and eating breakfast.
“Hello.” The man remarked, as Lois had a seat and A.J. prepared something for her to eat.
“Lois,” A.J. remarked, “this is my boyfriend, Damon. This is Lois Lane. Lucy’s sister, you know.”
“Of course, sorry, you don’t look how I was expecting.” Damon Matthews said as he shook her hand.
“How were you expecting me?”
“Well, based on what Lucy’s told me, I was expecting…”
“The Wicked Witch of the East?” Lois asked.
“Something like that.” Damon got up and gave A.J. a kiss, before he walked out, “You have to excuse me, I’m late for work.” When he was gone, A.J. placed some food in front of Lois and she began eating.
“So, what does he do?” Lois asked.
“He’s a lawyer. Works for the District Attorney.” A.J. replied.
“How did you two meet?”
“Oh, it was about eight months ago, at a screening of Love! Valour! Compassion! How did you meet your fiancé?”
“Oh, through my cousin. They went to school together.” Lois refrained from giving specific details about exactly how they had met. Such a thing could lead to follow-up questions, that Lois couldn’t answer. Not without exposing Clark. They continued talking until she had finished eating and got up, going out into the living room. On one of the shelves, she noticed a child’s handprint in plaster and picked it up.
“That’s mine.” A.J. remarked, when Lois put it back.
“But, it says ‘Todd’. Didn’t know A.J. was short for Todd.”
“It’s not. I was named Todd at birth. When my dad got custody of me and Jennifer, my twin sister, he decided that we should have his last name, but didn’t like the sound of ‘Todd Scott’.”
“So, what happened to your mom? Your real one, I mean.” Lois wished she hadn’t asked that. With him having a stepmother, she knew there was only two possible answers to that question. Either the woman was dead, or his parents were divorced. Either one could be a touchy subject.
“Oh, she died when I was just a baby.” A.J. replied.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, I got over it years ago.”
Lois wanted to apologize more, but knew she had a lead to follow up on. Perry had also sent her an e-mail, where he asked her to cover Senator Dale’s press conference this afternoon. She headed out, but being tired of struggling with maps, she decided to take a taxi to Dr. Droog’s lab, rather than taking Lucy’s car. Lois didn’t notice that another car was following her.

[jon-el87]

Chapter 15
Lois rang the doorbell for a good three minutes, before giving up and started going around the house, trying to see in through one of the windows. Eventually she found herself at an angle, where she could see Dr. Droog’s body. She crushed the window with a rock and got in. She pulled out her phone to call the police, but heard a door open and turned around, facing the man known as Moriarty.
“You’ve been asking a lot of dangerous questions, Ms. Lane.” He remarked as he pointed his gun at her. Lois held up her hands and began seeing her whole life flash before her eyes, as she realized that there was no way she’d be able to activate her signal watch, without him firing. Even then, there was no way for Clark to get here in time.
Moriarty pressed the trigger, when suddenly the mysterious shadow creature appeared and jumped him. The bullet missed Lois and went through some test tubes and into a wall. The shadow creature knocked out Moriarty and disappeared, as the sound of police siren began appearing. Once more, Lois found herself having to try and answer difficult questions, that she had no answers to. Asking why they suddenly turned up, they informed her that they had been given an anonymous tip about the murder of Dr. Droog. Whoever that shadow creature was, he must’ve already been in there and called the police. But, what was he doing there? After a few hours, Lois finally made it out of the police station. Outside, FBI-agent Molly Scott was standing next to her car and signaled Lois to get in.