Brainpower

By Aasta <Ace_2004_1999@yahoo.com>

Rated PG

Submitted October 2000

Summary: While Clark is dealing with a volcano, an old enemy tries to kill Lois.

***

Dr. Mensa was in his lair slowly preparing his plan. He had discovered another way to enlarge his brain capacity, and was again trying to meet his ultimate goal: to rule the world. The plan was simple and devised to work perfectly. The first person he had to eliminate was Lois Lane. She had to die after helping to deplete his powers and send him to jail. Clark had to deal with the pain of losing his wife, like Mensa lost his brain power. And most of all, he had to kill Superman. But first he had to deal with Lois Lane. The task had to be started with getting rid of Superman. For this, dynamite would be placed inside Mt. St. Helens. His people had finished that job the previous night, and Mt. St. Helens would be erupting very soon. That would create a natural disaster attracting Superman. Then no one would be able to protect Lois. Lois would be going to work soon, and she would never make it.

***

Lois and Clark were in their bedroom getting ready for work.

Lois asked, "Clark, do you think things will ever speed up around the office?"

Clark answered, "They are sure to, honey." He glanced at Lois, who was off in a trance. "Why, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing. Things have just been boring at work lately."

Clark stood up and finished tying his tie. "I'm sure a good story will come in soon. Let's get out of here so we're not late for work."

Lois and Clark finished getting ready for work and they went out to their car. Clark then turned his ear towards the sky.

Lois asked, "What is it?"

Clark answered, "Mt. St. Helens is going off again."

"Go!"

"Okay. Cover for me at work. I love you. If you need me..."

Lois said, "I know, SCREAM! Go!"

Clark kissed Lois, flipped into his Superman suit, and took off into the sky. Lois marveled at her husband for a moment, and then got into her car. She started driving to the Daily Planet humming her favorite tunes on the radio.

Meanwhile Clark was going through hell at the exploding volcano. Clark was able to get all people to safety, but was now trying to stop the flow of lava. The lava was slowly hardening as he poured thousands of gallons of water onto it, but he still had a long way to go.

Dr. Mensa was walking slowly down the street waiting to see Lois' car. The plan was going to work perfectly. Just as scheduled, Lois started approaching Mensa's position at 8:45. Mensa started using his most powerful weapon, his brain. Lois was going about 45 mph when Mensa's brain power started to propel it into an 18 wheeler.

She couldn't scream, Superman wouldn't be coming. The impact had knocked her unconscious. On the sidewalk Mensa laughed at his perpetual talents. He was sure Lois was dead, but he was wrong. For the time being anyway.

It was then that Clark picked up the signal. Another woman who almost collided with Lois had screamed. He had the situation under control at the volcano and the other officers could handle it. In seconds he was at the scene of the accident where he immediately recognized Lois' car. Dr. Mensa was now long gone. Clark flew over to Lois' car and pulled the side door off. He was closely followed by passer-bys and paramedics. He carefully pulled Lois out of the vehicle and laid her on the gurney below. He started to listen for her vital sounds and he heard a pulse, but she was not breathing.

"Lois isn't breathing. Get her to the hospital right away. I will have her husband meet you there."

The paramedic answered, "Yes Mr. Superman. We will take the best care of her."

Clark flew to the hospital immediately and waited in the waiting room. Slowly the time started to pass. The ambulance had arrived about an hour ago, and they had taken Lois to surgery. All Clark could think about was how he had let her down. He was off helping with some volcano while his wife was in trouble. Clark always had nightmares about this happening one day, and now that day had come. He cared so much and helped so many other people, but he couldn't help his own wife. This guilt would be on his conscience for a long time.

***

Away in his lair Dr. Mensa was thinking about his current feats. He had done what he thought was killing Lois Lane. He was content with his current achievement, but Mensa was always thinking about the future. He now knew his powers not only worked, but they worked even better than they did before. He would lie low for a little while, as not to become conspicuous, and think about his next plan, killing Clark Kent.

***

Back at the hospital, seven long hours had passed before a doctor returned to speak to Clark. His face portrayed the grief he felt and the tears that had been shed. Those hours had been treacherous, but now he would find out about his wife.

Dr. Bentley greeted him. "Hello Mr. Kent. Maybe you would like to come down to my office to talk about the condition of your wife."

Clark replied, "Tell me one thing before we go. Is she still alive?"

"Yes, your wife is alive. Now come with me down to my office."

Clark followed Dr. Bentley down the hall to a small, light- blue office. Dr. Bentley motioned for Clark to go in, and she followed him, closing the door. Clark sat in a chair beside her desk while Dr. Bentley sat behind it. Clark was sitting attentively waiting to hear her spoken word.

Dr. Bentley said, "Your wife has suffered a severe blow to the head as well as some other injuries. The impact of the car into the side of the 18 wheeler propelled her head into the dashboard, cracking her skull. One of the vertebrae in her back was broken. The spinal cord was not severed in any way, so she is not paralyzed. She shattered her knee-cap and ankle on opposite legs, and part of the bone under her knee-cap is broken. She's broken most of her ribs, which punctured one of her lungs. She did some pretty severe damage to her left shoulder and arm. She also had some internal damage and some pretty bad abrasions."

Clark answered, "Whoa, that's a lot to take in. Is she going to survive?"

Dr. Bentley replied, "Right now she is in a coma. If she comes out of the coma, she will most likely survive."

"But if she doesn't?"

Dr. Bentley said, "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it."

Clark asked, "May I see her?"

"Of course. She is in room 118. I'll be in this office if you need anything."

Clark replied, "Thank you, doctor."

What he thought was severe before just had become worse. Things didn't sound so good for his wife, and he couldn't live without her. After all, this was his fault. If he had been there, his wife wouldn't be on the verge of death. He opened the door to room 118 and ventured over to Lois' bed. There were bandages covering her face and most of her body. She looked terrible. He had never wanted to see her like this. He couldn't stand to see her like this, so helpless and hurt. Clark wished he could help save her. If he had been there for her, she wouldn't be here in the first place. Tears were pouring down his face like rain from a hurricane as he wept. Clark took her hand and kissed it ever so softly as not to hurt her already frail body. He started to talk to her as they did in the movies.

"Lois, if you can hear me, I love you. I am sorry for the pain that you are dealing with because of my stupidity. I cannot live without you, Lois, so please hold on. You're a strong woman and you can do this. Please hold on."

After a long time of sitting by her bed, a nurse coaxed him to leave. He kissed Lois one more time, and walked back to their home. He couldn't stand having the aching empty feeling in his stomach, so he walked down to the Daily Planet. It was 10:00 at night, but he didn't care. He couldn't be in his home without Lois. Clark was sitting at his desk with his head down when Perry saw him. Perry quickly walked out of his office over to where Clark was sitting.

"Clark?"

Clark picked up his head to reveal a reddened face with tears still falling.

"Yeah, Chief?"

"Clark, what are you doing here? We heard about the accident. You should be home."

Clark answered, "-I can't go home to an empty house knowing that Lois is at the hospital. I just can't."

"How is she?" Perry asked.

"She cracked her skull, and broke a bunch of other bones. She's in a coma right now and her chances aren't very good until she gets out of it."

"She cracked that thick skull of hers. That isn't possible. Oh, well, why don't you come down to my place to stay for the night. Then we can go see Lois in the morning."

Clark answered, "No, I couldn't intrude. I'll stay here in one of the conference rooms."

Perry said, "It wouldn't be an intrusion."

"Really, I'd like to stay here," Clark said.

"Okay, son, but if you want to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks, Chief."

Perry left the Daily Planet building and went to his house.

Clark entered one of the lounges and immediately fell asleep on the couch. A few hours later he patrolled the neighborhood to clear his mind, but it didn't help much. He then returned to the Daily Planet to sleep. The next morning Perry was the first person into the office. He opened the conference room door to see Clark, and found him sleeping. Perry decided to leave him alone and he went back to his desk. About an hour later Perry got a phone call from the hospital saying that they thought Lois was going to wake up. Perry immediately walked into the conference room to find Clark sitting at the end of the couch.

Clark said, "Hi, Perry. How is the paper coming?"

Perry replied, "Okay, but never mind the paper. The hospital called saying that they think Lois is going to wake up soon. They thought you should be there when she does."

"Okay, I'll go right down. Thanks for being here for me."

"Anytime, Clark. Tell Lois to feel better."

Clark replied, "I will. See you later."

With his head held high for the first time since the accident, Clark walked down the hallway to the men's room, flipped into the Superman suit, and flew out the window to the hospital. It was a calm day, blue sky and all. Perfect for flying. Clark landed in the alley behind the hospital and flipped into his normal clothes. Then he walked into the hospital and down the hall to room 118. He opened the door and entered calmly. Lois was still lying in bed, motionless except for the occasional breath. Clark sat down in a chair next to her bed and held her right hand, one of the only unharmed parts of her body. Now he would just have to wait for her to awaken.

***

Dr. Mensa was sitting at his desk practicing mind games. There were objects flying around the room of all shapes and sizes. Then all of the objects fell to the floor as Mensa's concentration was broken by Bobby Bigmouth bursting through the door. Mensa now had a very perturbed look on his face.

Mensa demanded, "What do you want?"

Bobby said, "I wanted to give you some information."

Mensa replied, "I thought you were the source for Lois Lane."

Bobby answered, "She doesn't give me good enough food. I'd like to work for you."

"What's in it for me?"

Bobby replied, "I'll provide you with information in exchange for food."

Mensa asked, "What's the information?"

"You give me the food first, then you get the information," Bobby answered.

Mensa replied, "Okay, what do you want?"

Bobby said, "I'd like some egg rolls, steak, vegetable salad, ham, pizza, coffee, and a soda. Give me some ketchup too."

Mensa told him, "You'll get the food, but you better have good information."

Mensa then started to think profound thoughts. He was trying to summon the food that Bobby wanted. "How could one man eat so much," he thought. One by one the items entered through the window. When all of Bobby's culinary delights were in the room, he started to dig in.

Mensa said, "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute here."

Bobby was still scarfing down food. He had his mouth full when he spoke.

"What?"

Mensa said, "My information."

Bobby answered, "Oh, of course. Ms. Lane isn't dead."

Mensa spat out the wine he was drinking all over the room. "What do you mean, she isn't dead?"

Bobby replied, "The accident didn't kill her. Lois is down at Metropolis General."

Mensa said, "Well, we'll just have to find a way to dispose of her. Mr. Kent will have to suffer a loss."

Bobby asked, "Can I help?"

Mensa answered, "Not now. I have brainpower to do anything I want. You will be called on when needed."

Bobby replied, "Okay, Mr. Mensa."

Bobby left Mensa's lair by mean of an elevator to get above ground. Then Mensa quickly started thinking about eliminating Lois. She could not live.

***

An hour had passed when Lois' hand started to move. Clark's eyes lit up with joy as he watched his wife come back to him. Finally her eyes opened a crack.

Clark said, "Lois, honey, can you hear me?"

Lois was very weak but this was her husband. She had been pent-up in her mind for what seemed like ages, and she had to talk to him. Weak but determined, she spoke.

"Clark, Clark."

Tears of joy started to emerge from Clark's chocolate brown eyes. She was awake, she was going to be okay. He lightly kissed her hand to show he was there.

"Lois, I'm here. You were in a little accident. Everything is going to be okay."

Lois then tried to move, to respond to Clark's voice, to hold him. She fell back to the bed in pain. "Owww!"

"Honey, don't try to move. You have some pretty bad injuries. I'll get the doctor to come in and see you."

Lois said, "Please don't leave me."

Clark answered, "I'm not leaving you. The doctor is right outside the door. I'll call her and he'll check on you."

Lois replied, "Okay, but come right back."

Clark kissed his wife's hand and walked out the door to Dr. Bentley. He was proud to tell her the good news. "Dr. Bentley, Lois is out of the coma. I thought you should know so you could check on her."

Dr. Bentley replied, "Okay, I'll be right in."

Clark walked right back down to the room with Dr. Bentley close behind him. After a brief examination by the doctor, Clark was allowed to stay and talk to Lois. Clark was sitting in a chair next to his wife's bed holding her hand.

"How are you feeling?"

Lois answered, "I hurt, all over."

Clark said, "I can imagine."

Lois replied, "No you can't. You're invulnerable. You couldn't feel pain if you tried."

Clark said, "It's painful watching you in pain. Especially when I know I could have prevented it." Clark's expression changed and he turned away.

"What do you mean?" Lois asked.

Clark replied, "I went to help the people at Mt. St. Helens the day of the accident, remember?"

Lois said, "Yes, but what does that have to do with this?"

Clark answered, "I always help other people and save them from danger, but I couldn't even help my own wife. I never even knew what happened until this lady screamed. Then I came to help with the accident."

Lois said, "It's not your fault."

Clark said, "I could have prevented this. Because of me, you almost died. I won't get over it."

Lois said, "I'm going to be okay. The doctors are going to give me some morphine for the pain, and in time I'll heal. It was not your fault. Let's talk about something else."

"Okay, honey."

Lois said, "Something feels weird about this whole accident."

"What?"

"I could swear that my car flew into that truck."

Clark answered, "Lois, cars don't just fly by themselves. You hit your head pretty hard. Why don't you get some rest?"

Lois replied, "I know what I saw."

With the energy Lois still had left, a tear emerged from her eye. This one was followed many more. Clark heard the whimpering sound and turned around to see his wife full blown in tears. He wiped the tears away with his fingers and tried to talk to her. "Lois, don't cry."

Lois replied, "You don't believe me."

"Lois, I believe you. There has to be some kind of rational explanation for this. I'll start looking for one right away, okay."

"Okay, Clark. I'm going to try and get some rest. Can you please come see me a little later?"

Clark said, "Sure. You can sleep for a while and I'll come back around 5:00. I love you very much, Lois."

"I love you too, Clark."

Clark then bent down and kissed Lois on the lips. The kiss was brief, but it displayed the love that was between them and how much they missed each other. Then Clark left. Lois started sleeping silently in the room.

***

It was then that Mensa decided what his master plan would be. Through his thought process he had discovered that Lois was sleeping in her hospital room. Clark Kent was nowhere in sight, making this the perfect opportunity. Mensa had seen a drug dispenser by her bed. He tried to read the name. Click, he figured it out. The drug was morphine. If he could get the dispenser to output more morphine, she would die of a drug overdose. It would work, it would truly work.

Mensa walked to the hospital and sat in the waiting room. He slowly started thinking of the dispenser outputting more morphine. It worked! The buttons started to click. There was a nurse entering the room. She would see the buttons clicking. He finished the combination of buttons and the lethal dose was injected. Mensa walked out of the hospital unnoticed. The nurse watched Lois, poor Lois go into cardiac arrest. Then the nurse screamed. Superman was there in two seconds flat. After a few seconds of trying to resuscitate Lois, her heart started to beat again. Superman was not a happy camper.

Superman demanded, "What caused this whole thing?"

The nurse answered, "The buttons were pushing themselves."

"What buttons?"

The nurse told him, "We had a morphine dispenser connected to Lois. If she started to feel pain, she could push the button on the dispenser and it would give her one small dose of morphine an hour. There are also coded buttons which you can use to change the dosage. I watched these buttons push in by themselves, giving her a dose of morphine that almost killed her."

Clark then started to think of all of the criminals he and Lois had captured. It was him, Fathead. Did he get his brainpower back? He had to ask.

"Have you seen a guy with a huge head and brown balding hair?"

The nurse answered, "Yes, come to think of it I did."

Superman replied, "He's the cause of this. If you see him again, have him arrested."

The nurse said, "Okay."

Then Clark took off looking for Mensa. After two hours of searching without success, he went back to Lois, who was awake in bed. Clark sat in a chair beside her and held her hand.

"How are you doing, Lois?"

"I'm a little achy, but I'm okay for my status," she told him.

Clark said, "I found an explanation for this whole thing."

"What?"

"Dr. Mensa. He has his brainpower back and he's trying to kill you. He made you crash and he tried to kill you with the overdose of morphine."

Lois exclaimed, "Oh my god! Another person is trying to kill me."

She started to cry and Clark comforted her the best that he could. He rubbed her hand and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Don't leave me," Lois said.

Clark replied, "I wouldn't think of it. I'll watch over you here at the hospital. Mensa is bound to strike if he finds out you're alive."

Lois answered, "We can set a trap. Put in the paper that another unsuccessful attempt was made on my life, then Mensa will try to kill me and you'll stop him."

Clark objected, "It's too risky. What if I fail?"

Lois said, "You won't. Everything will go fine. Go write the story."

Clark said, "Okay, you a genius. I love you."

"I love you too. Write!"

Clark took his laptop and started writing the story. Lois watched him the whole time. When he finished, he e-mailed it to Perry with instructions to put it on the front page. When the afternoon edition came out, the story was on the front page. Then Clark started watching and waiting.

***

When Mensa read the front page he was infuriated. He immediately decided he would have to go into the hospital and kill her with his own two hands. He marched right down to the hospital and ran into an awaiting Superman.

Superman said, "Mr. Mensa. What are you doing here?"

Mensa replied, "Oh, just visiting a patient."

"Would that be Ms. Lane who was almost killed a little while ago?"

Mensa answered, "Oh, no. Of course not."

Clark said, "There are witnesses. You're coming with me."

Clark went to grab Mensa, but he started using his mind to push him away. Clark then charged right back at him before Mensa had time to react. Mensa couldn't let his brain waste away in jail. There was a policeman behind him and he concentrated on getting the gun to shoot himself in the head. Clark couldn't stop it and Mensa fell to the floor, dead. All of Mensa's brainpower had gone to a hopeless cause. Clark turned around to Lois and dropped Mensa on the floor. The police came and took the body away. The police questioned Clark. When Clark was finished he went into the men's room, flipped back into his regular suit and walked into Lois' hospital room.

Lois said, "Thanks for being here, Mr. Super."

Clark replied, "You're welcome. Now all we have to do is wait for you to heal."

Lois said, "Why, of course. Then we can have some real fun."

"Certainly."

***

A year passed and Lois was completely healed except for a slight limp in her step. They would be going to work that morning and they were busy getting ready. Lois then asked the special question.

"Clark, do you think things will ever speed up around the office?"

THE END

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