Hope

16 - found

"I love you." Clark whispered, much to Alex's surprise. She stared up at him with big eyes before her expression relaxed.

"I love you." She repeated back to him, her hands wrapping around his neck as he lowered himself to press his forehead against hers gingerly. The moment was precious, and they felt like they could stand like that for days, but unfortunately, that wasn't possible. Clark pulled back reluctantly and stole one last kiss before turning and leaving. Alex stood there, waving goodbye as the truck disappeared into the dust behind it. She turned around and walked back to see Martha standing in the door frame, a small smile on her face. The two women walked back inside the house together, talking amongst themselves as they shut the door.

Clark drove into the city, and by then, it was already getting dark out. Alex had given him a spare key to her apartment a while ago, so he parked in front of their building and went up, opening the door to his girlfriend's home and walking in. It smelled like her. Things were a bit out of place, but it didn't look untidy. The bed was undone, there were some dirty coffee mugs on the table, and overall, it looked as if the place was just left in the middle of peace. Kent took this opportunity to go in and start putting things away.

It took about ten minutes for him, and once he was done, he sat down on the couch. The man didn't know if leaving Alex with his mother was really the right decision. Sure, Lex didn't know where she was, but he has people, and what if he tracks her down and hurts both of them? He would never forgive himself.

He didn't have much to do, other than sit around, so as the night ticked on, he made himself some food, had some wine, and paced. A lot of pacing. Eventually, the poor man grew tired and flopped over on Alexandra's bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, Clark woke up early, getting ready to go out, for work. Anything he can use to get intel on Lex Luther, anything he can use against him. Clark couldn't physically hurt Lex, it wasn't in his nature, even killing Zod was hard for him, and he didn't want the world to look at him as the enemy, rather than the hero he saw himself to be. He dressed himself and left the house, making sure to keep the key before he closed the door and walked out of the building. As soon as he did, he noticed someone speaking loudly over a megaphone. It was some random man, that he had never seen before, but that man had lots to say about Kent's alter ego.

"Superman is a fake! He's hiding amongst us and not revealing himself!" He shouted, holding up some kind of propaganda sign against Superman. Clark couldn't believe how stupid the man sounded, and how sudden his revolt was, but then it kicked in; Lex. Lex must have planted people all over to look like protesting civilians, only to cause a huge revolt against the city's extraterrestrial hero. People around him stopped and turned, whispering amongst themselves. A few of them laughed it off and kept walking, and a few stopped to listen to what the angry man had to say. As much as Clark wanted to stay, just to see what else the loud mouth had to say, he had to make it to work. Lois wouldn't be at work, since she's dead, and as her pack of attendance increases, people will be more and more curious. He turned quickly and started making his way to the office, avoiding anyone that tried to say hello, which was awfully strange for someone like Clark, since he was so friendly and calm. He hurried into the office and managed to sit down, without being noticed too much. Suddenly, the small tv in the break room could be heard, talking about how a woman was found in an abandoned apartment, stabbed to death, near her body the symbol on Clark's suit; hope.

"It appears that there was a bit of a struggle, here. There's blood on this wooden chair with some ties, so clearly, someone was tied up, and held captive here. Police are still trying to identify the body and any further finger prints."

With that, the reporter signed off, and people in the break room were shouting 'That's Lois!'. It was madness. Seems that they found about her quicker than Clark thought, and now, he didn't know what to do. Quickly, he gathered his things and slipped out, before anyone could point him out and started for Alex's apartment. If the police find Alex's fingerprints on the blade, they'll assume she murdered Lois, unless they see that it was her blood on the chair, and Lex's fingerprints on the blade as well. Clark left the building with furrowed eyebrows, hurrying past people as he walked back to the apartment, going up the elevator and to the woman's apartment door. He frantically opened it, and as soon as he did, he saw a whole squad of what looked like soldiers, only, their jacket's all said FBI.

"FBI, put your hands up!" The man in the front said, holding a gun up to Clark. The man had a slight accent, blue eyes, and buzzcut hair. "Clark Kent, my name is agent Ryan Booth, and I have a warrant for your arrest."