Endless Epitaph

The Players : Lois and Clark
Where : Metropolis, KS
When : February 3rd, 2009
Rating : Its Clark.
Notes : A talk. Its needed right?

Clark was focused on the police blog as Lois was on the phone, but that didnt mean he couldn't hear what she was saying. He wasn't eavesdropping because he'd never use his powers like that. But on this end of the conversation the guy she met in Chicago was asking her to come back to help her with something.

And it involved the Joker. Which made him worry about Lois.

The last time she was in the vacinity of the Joker, Clark had to blur his way over to Chicago to save her. Odds are he'd have to do that again. He didnt want anything bad to happen to Lois. But her suddenly leaving put thier already delayed talk on hold.

They were supposed to meet the night before but Lois got called out on a story and Clark had to do some rescues. So, they both agreed to wait until after work tonight. But with her leaving, Clark decided to take some initiative. He still had no clue what he felt or was going to say. But he knew he wanted to talk to her before she left.

Clark gave her time to get home before going over to her place. He just hoped they could talk before she had to get to the airport.

Taking a deep breath Clark knocked on Lois' apartment door.

The Players : Lois Lane & Clark Kent.
Where : The Daily Planet, Metropolis, Kansas.
When : February 2st, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R just in case.
Notes : Oh look, Lois.

The bustle and noise around the Daily Planet barely registered with Lois as she sat staring at her computer, her morning coffee already cold and long forgotten. She had just finished working on a story about the most recent murder in Metropolis and it was a little worrying. After everything she’d found out in Chicago thanks to Xander, Lois was starting to look at all of the strange crimes in Metropolis with a new point of view. Just how many of them over the years were really solved and not some kind of cover up or undiscovered preternatural incident? Were the string of brutal hack and slashes she’d written over the past few months due to vampires or a demon? After all, not everything had to be done by human hands or a meteor infected psycho. How did a person manage to tell the difference in this day and age?

And where was the Blur? How did that murder get by him? Not that she saw him as some supreme omnipotent being, but he’d managed to save her in Chicago but couldn’t save a life in what seemed to be his base of operations? Too many questions and not enough answers.

She picked up her phone and checked her messages with a sigh. Things had been a little busy since returning to Metropolis but Lois was still insisting that Harley stay with her until they got her free of the Joker and hopefully any legal matters. She was already on the search for a lawyer who would be willing to work on their behalf. God knew who exactly she could trust for this kind of delicate matter, but she wanted all of her options covered.

Lois looked up from her phone as she sat it back down with a slight frown on her face as she heard the familiar squeak of the chair across from hers. She looked over at Clark doing whatever it was he was doing at his desk and resisted the urge to speak up about his squeaky chair again. Oh no, she wasn’t going to play that game today. She was still feeling snubbed and unimportant since coming back home and playing the banter game, which she’d normally enjoy, would just remind her about how up in the air things were. One of these days they were going to have to actually have ‘The Talk’, the question was, who would bring it up first?

Screw it. She was Lois Lane. She didn’t cower before a challenge. She charged head on into situations and this was no different. It couldn’t be, otherwise she’d turn into one of those pining romance heroines and Lois would rather die than let that happen. So she steeled herself for the ‘faceoff’ and stared straight at Clark. “So.. Clark." The fact she wasn't calling him Smallville was a hopefully an attention grabber. "We need to talk.”

Straight to the point? Blunt? Demanding? Eh, it would work.

The Players : Buffy Summers, Clark Kent, Harley Quinn. (Open for anyone in the area!)
Where : An alley close to ISIS in Metropolis, Kansas.
When : January 31, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R for language maybe.
Notes : Buffy is in Metropolis! Yay?

She shivered as the damp moisture in the winter air attacked her senses. She’d been waiting for over an hour now for her dealer and she hadn’t even gotten a text from the bastard. She hated winter. It was too damn cold and in the Midwest it was too unpredictable. Yet here she was in some alley waiting to get her fix. The things she’d do to make her troubles go away... to not have to think or face life… She told herself it was worth it, but in a saner and calmer state she’d know she was lying. She checked her watch again. It was only eight pm, but the darkness around her was already getting to her. She pulled her coat tighter around her and looked upward as she fidgeted impatiently. Because of the cold rain as of late, everything seemed to be coated with a light frost, even the glowing lights from the ISIS sign on the nearby building. She snorted at that. What kind of place was it anyway? It sounded like some sort of cosmetics company.

With a shaking hand, she managed to pull out a cigarette from her purse. As she searched the junk filled purse for her lighter she missed the sound of heels on the pavement. Just as she pulled the lighter out in triumph a card fell to the ground in front of her. She frowned as looked around to see where it came from. All she could see was a hooded figure in the shadows. She knelt down to pick up the card. “I think you dropped this.”

The figure didn’t move. If the person wanted to be a dick that was their problem. She decided to turn the black card over to see what it was. Blue eyes stared at hers from the card and the last thing she saw as pain filled her senses was that her shadow had fantastic shoes.

*************

Buffy had a headache. Who knew there were a dozen orphanages in Metropolis? She’d gone to four of them today and had found no Sister Margaret or any other new arrivals. She knew the woman was here, she’d managed to trace her to the city through a great many annoyances, such as actually interrogating people in that polite kind of way. But despite her efforts since arriving in Metropolis, the only things of value she had to show for her work was a new hand held custom made crossbow and Oliver Queen’s number. Which most certainly was unexpected but not in the least unwanted.

The slayer was taking a walk down the street from a coffee house she’d just been at and saw the familiar scene of a crowd and flashing police lights. Curious, Buffy worked her way through the gathering crowd of people behind the police blockade that was being set up. There were people standing about trying to get their questions answered and many of them snapping photos, no doubt to post on a blog or similar. Buffy, who was having trouble seeing over some of the taller people around her, finally spotted what the fuss was about. There was body in the alley covered by a sheet as the CSI team took in the crime scene. She snuck past the crowd and managed to find a secluded spot close enough to the alley to overhear what the cops were saying.

“What the hell could have done this?” One of the cops questioned as he stared at the sheet covered body.

His partner shook his head and chewed on a toothpick. “Beats the hell out of me. Her face was gone. Maybe it was one of those meteor freaks.”

“What about that butcher we’ve been trying to catch?”

“Couldn’t be, that guy always leaves a fucking mess. There’s no blood here.”

“So where the hell did it go?”

Buffy inwardly groaned. This was definitely her nun, already in the kill zone again. Any doubt that she’d had about not being in the right locale was nullified when it appeared that the victim matched the M.O from those in Des Moines. She slipped back into the shadows and onto the street again, allowing herself to get lost in the growing crowd of bystanders and gawkers. She looked around and started to make notes about the street she was on. What businesses, etc. Maybe there was a link to her killer around here. She’d have to look into it in the morning.

In the meantime, she was off to do slayer patrol. She’d discovered that there were vampires stupid enough to be in a city with superheroes. After her cruise through the cemeteries she planned on checking out one of the demon bars rumored to be in a place called Suicide Slums. That certainly sounded like a cheery kind of place to go…

The Players : Lois Lane, Harley Quinn, Clark Kent...
Where : Metropolis, Kansas.
When : January 29, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R for language.
Notes : Lois has been on a train with Harley Quinn for ten hours... and those hours may remain a mystery. HA.

It was wet and rainy morning in Metropolis. The heavy rain was only matched by the bitter cold that came with it and the mood of one Lois Lane. Lois sat on a bench as she tried to wake herself up with a second cup of coffee. She was extremely cranky and unhappy… Though it was surprisingly not caused by a ten hour train ride with one Harley Quinn. No, her mood was caused by the absentee known as Clark Kent. Before they’d boarded the train, she’d texted him and gotten his confirmation that he’d pick them up. Of course, they’d been waiting for a half hour now.

Lois grunted from behind her drink. It figured she couldn’t rely on Clark to follow through. It was as if everything just started to fall apart around the time of Chloe’s wedding. Before then, everyone had been fine. But what should have been a happy time just seemed to be the final warning signal that it was time to take that ride to hell in a hand basket.

She cast a look at Harley who was exploring their little niche in the station with wide eyes, much like a tourist. She’d woken Lois up from her nap when they’d almost hit Metropolis. She’d pointed out some of the landmarks and asked questions about some of the newer buildings she didn’t recognize, all while commenting that the city was still brighter than Gotham. Lois sighed and grabbed her bag and stood up from her seat. “Smallville is obviously going to be a no show.” She tried not to sound as disappointed as she suddenly felt. “We’d better go fetch a cab.”

Lois tried to ignore that sinking sensation she felt when she gave up on Clark as she waited for Harley to join her in the trek to the station exit. She hated that even despite her common sense to the situation, she wanted to trust him and give him the benefit of the doubt. And when her doubt was proven, she somehow still felt bad about it, as if it was something she had done. How the hell did he manage to do that to her?

She shook those thoughts off as best she could. They had to get to her apartment and then she’d deal with Clark and whatever he may have found. At least she could count on him for anything that didn’t concern her specifically. Maybe it was just a sign of how things should work…

The Players : Chloe; somewhat opened to other SV characters and stuff. See note below.
Where : Chloe's apartment above the Talon
When : Um... In the middle of the day? Nothing specific here.
Rating : PG-13, at most.
Notes : I guess this is really meant to be a narrative, but I thought it might be kind of neat if she checked her answering machine and has messages from her friends or something, wondering if her and Jimmy are okay. So... feel free to comment to this post with a message from your kid to Chloe. :)


( After at least a few weeks, Chloe Sullivan-Olsen was finally home. )

Who: Clark Kent
Where: Metropolis, Kansas
When: January 27th 2009
What: Clark is investigating something for Lois.
Rating: Dude, its Clark…PG at worst
Notes: Takes place seconds after his conversation with Harley.


Clark rubbed the bridge of his nose. If it were possible, he’d have a huge headache right now.

“Damnit Lois, what have you gotten yourself into,” he asked himself aloud.

Clark read the article; she had met The Joker and somehow lived to tell the tale. They got wind of some of the stories from Gotham City. The Joker was a dangerous homicidal maniac with a love for the theatrics.

And now, he had his sights set on Lois. And Clark couldn’t be there to protect her. Lois knew that he was here in Metropolis. If he showed up all of a sudden she’d get suspicious.

Sometimes he really wished he could tell her his secret. It would be easier. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to put her in more danger than she already managed to get herself in.

He’d have to worry about that later. Right now, he had a promise to keep. He told Lois he’d check out that old murder scene. He picked up the piece of paper he wrote the address on and headed for the elevator while making a phone call.

“Detective John Jones.”

“John. It’s Clark.”

“Mr. Kent,” he replied. “Good to hear from you. Been a while.”

“Yeah, been kind of busy.”

“So I’ve been reading. I will say this, you have gotten more careful with your rescues.”

“Just taking some advice from a friend…look the reason I’m calling…I need a favor.”

“And this favor…”

“I need some police records of a murder a couple of months ago. I’m working on something for a friend. Could use some inside information to help with the story.”

“Two month old murders aren’t exactly what make The Daily Planet sell Mr. Kent…but I think I can make some calls and get that information to you.”

“Thanks,” Clark replied.

“I’ll have it ready for you tonight. Roof of the Daily Planet.”

Clark hung up and went to the address. It had been a couple of months so the police tape was down. But was still officially a crime scene.

He checked the door and it was locked. He glanced around to make sure he was in the clear and he gave it a small nudge popping the door open.

He’d have to wait for the file from John to get the view of the original scene. But Clark could see things that they probably missed.

“Okay, I’m not exactly sure what she expects me to find,” he said looking around.

The faded outlines of where the bodies were could still be seen, in a small flash he could almost see what happened.

“Guy came in from here,” he said pointing to the front of the room. “They were there.”

He didn’t see any bullet holes. He x-rayed the floors and didn’t find anything. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something. He had to look twice to make sure he saw what he saw.

Clark moved towards the wall and felt it. There was a tiny, paper thin cut inside the wall. He stepped back and x-rayed the wall. When he did he saw exactly what he needed. Clark punched through the wall and grabbed the object that was embedded inside.

He carefully pulled it out. It looked like a card, but it was tougher than paper. It was almost metallic.

“Joker card. This was what he used to kill this family.”

Lois was not going to be happy when she heard this. Though whatever keeps them from having to talk about what happened or what almost didn’t happen…the better. It was one conversation he wasn’t looking forward to because he still didn’t know what to say to her.

That night Clark waited for John Jones on the roof of the Planet.

“I hope you know the trouble I went through to get this for you,” He said as he opened the door and walked towards him. “Tell Miss Lane…to be very careful. She’s dealing with an unstable character. The more she pokes, the angrier he’ll get. It’s bad enough that her recent article most likely put her in his crosshairs.”

“She’ll be back soon. Then I can keep a closer eye on her.”

“Right,” John said with a small smile. “Just be cautious in the days ahead Clark.”

He nodded as John handed him the file.

“Everything you need to know about that night is in that file. Everything except the murder weapon. Officers on scene think it was a blade of some sort.”

“It was,” Clark said as reached into his pocket. “I found this in the wall. It’s a Joker Card. Only its hard…like a sharp blade.”

“Removing evidence from a crime scene now are we?”

“Cops can’t know about this. Not yet. If word gets out the Joker killed this family, it won’t be good for anyone. Lois or the person she’s trying to protect. Promise me, we’ll keep this quiet.”

“Understood Mr. Kent. Same with this file. Because if anyone found out you were withholding evidence and I was giving inside information to a reporter of the Daily Planet…well lets just say you’d have to move to your fortress to stay out of the tornado that would come our way.”

“Understood.”

John left him alone on the rooftop. Clark turned out towards the city hearing sirens in the distance.

“We have a robbery in progress, subjects are on the move.”

In a blur, Clark put his file in his drawer and went out to help the city once again as the red-blue blur.

The Players : Joker, (open)
Where : Chicago, Illinois.
When : January 27, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R for violence.
Notes : A sharp and C minor

The Joker hugged the shadows of an alleyway as he avoided as much as possible the light of day. He usually had Harley to do these things for him but she was all tied up at the moment... And hanging from a meat hook in the abandoned meat warehouse like a giant pinata.

The Joker was searching for information. Information on the people who thwarted him last night.
A loud mouth, obnoxious blue haired woman, a guy with a patch over his eye like some pirate wannabe and most importantly the reporter Lois Lane.
Not because he had any reason to hold a vendetta against these people, only because they had crossed the Joker's path and had the nerve to survive the encounter.

As the Joker pulled a hood up over his distinctive features he crossed from the alley over to a hotel entrance. Nodding his hooded head at the doorman at the entrance to the hotel, he showed the man a copy of the Daily Planet.
The Joker had gone back to the home of the person who had a subscription to the Daily Planet in Chicago that Joker had found this morning and persuaded the man to find a copy that had a picture of Lois Lane in it. Then to thank the man for his time and effort he sprayed him with SimleX and then shoved him into his own refrigerator.
After all, didn't everyone want a 'cool smile'?

"Is this woman staying at your fine establishment?" He asked the Doorman.

The man glanced at the paper but shook his head. "We are not allowed to give out information on who stays here buddy." He said figuring the Joker was a rival reporter or something.

The Joker held up a hundred dollar bill, that was carefully folded so the man couldn't see that the figure on the bill was not good ol' Ben Franklin but was actually that of the Joker himself.

The Doorman snatched the bill and replied. "Nope. She's not at this hotel. She's probably at one of the fancier ones downtown being a reporter and all."

The Joker nodded his head and started to walk away but stopped. Turning he faced the Doorman. "It must be boring standing here all day, just to let people in and out. Do you ever take time to stop and smell the flowers?" The Joker then lifted the lapel of his jacket holding out the flower that was there.

As a fine mist sprayed out into the Doorman's face and he started to giggle, he noticed a smile gleaming from under the Joker's hood.

"I can see though that your job keeps you tickled!" The Joker laughed as he walked away as the Doorman fell to the ground outside the hotel and started convulsing with laughter as he died.

The Players : Lois Lane, Clark Kent
Where : Chicago, Illinois.
When : January 27, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R for language.
Notes : My dog ate my notes. May I have extra credit anyway?





Lois was curled up in a chair sipping her coffee as she stared at her morning paper. A content smile was on her lips as she looked at The Daily Planet. Her editor had been true to his word, giving her the front page. Her byline was there with an actual photo of the Joker and Harley Quinn standing over their handy work in the alley. It had made last night’s drama worth it. Of course, she realized it possibly made her a target of the Joker now but as a reporter, Lois knew that was bound to happen, one way or another. She could however do her best to keep others out of it. Despite the fact she had planned to mention Xander and his friend Alli by name, Lois had decided against it as she wrote her final draft. She kept them unnamed and hoped they’d understand. She didn’t want them to be targets anymore than they had made themselves last night.

Lois glanced at her now charged and working phone with a frown. She wondered what anyone back home would say about this. She hadn’t called them to let them know what happened. She’d probably be chastised for getting into trouble in the first place... but god had it been worth it. Especially since it had officially removed her from the fluff piece she had originally been assigned. And on an even more bonus level with the bit of info she picked up from the Joker and Harley’s conversation when she was playing Sleeping Beauty, maybe the cops would finally catch the freak.

She took a bite of her bearclaw and debated on calling Xander now. It wasn’t too early, but Lois was still basking in her moment she was sure the Simon situation would bring her back down to whatever constituted as reality these days. Thinking about reality made her wonder how Chloe, Jimmy, and even (or especially) Clark were doing. She set the pastry on its plate and picked up her phone, ready to dial. All she had to do was follow through.

A moment and a sigh later, the phone was back on the table, but instead of making calls, she had settled for sending a few text messages to people to reassure them that she was indeed fine and that no the Joker hadn’t done any permanent damage. That made her thoughts turn to Harley and she set her phone back down. The woman was obviously nuts, but she had one hell of a weird complex going on. Lois couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for her. Part of her told her to leave it be, but she had to wonder if there was something more she could. She owed Harley something. Without Harley, she may have been worse than dead by now. She had mentioned her family and the Joker’s threats. Maybe she could at least help with that.

She slid her laptop over to her and started her research on everything Harley Quinn. The only way to know if she could help was if she did some research.

*********

Lois stared at her screen with a frown. She’d managed to find quite a bit on Dr. Harleen Quinzel, including were her family lived. It was none other than Metropolis. Unfortunately, they were victims of a brutal murder around two months ago. “Damn.” There was no way it was a coincidence. If she were back home she’d go check out the scene to see if there was anything the police missed. As it was, she couldn’t just abandon Xander and this weird Simon thing.

On instinct and a bit of reluctance she picked up the phone and dialed the first number that came to mind.

Who: Clark Kent (open to any in Metropolis)
When: January 26th, mid-afternoon
Where: Daily Planet; Metropolis, Kansas.
Rating: Its Clark. Totally PG
Notes: Clark's working at the Planet, thinking about stuff, doing stuff.


Clark was typing up a story on a town council meeting as he was listening to the police scanner. He glanced down at his bag that held his regular clothes, blue shirt and red jacket.

After saving Chloe and meeting the Legion, he had worked harder as the red-blue blur. Making more saves and stopping robberies. It was a good feeling.

All of which was a major distraction from thinking about his almost kiss with Lois. He still didn't know what to make of that. Since he had started working across from Lois at the Planet, they had gotten a lot closer. He was slowly getting over Lana, becoming the hero his birth father wanted him to. But he STILL had conflicting feelings for Lois. They had been friends ever since they met when Chloe 'died' and they were investigating the death. Their relationship had been anything but simple.

Clark had to be honest with himself, he was feeling something for her. But after seeing Lana again. It was like the feelings he had for her resurfaced. It was an issue he was going to have to deal with before she left town again.

*pzzt* "Attention all emergency units. Be advised. We have a 10-25 in progress on Ferret and Amsterdam. That's a 10-25. One man is still trapped."

Clark saved his work and grabbed his bag. Walking into the phone booth he swirled around and changed into his red jacket and blue shirt and jeans. He quickly made his way out of the basement and disappeared in a blur.

10-25 was a manhole fire. He arrived to see a large crowd gathered around. Rescue workers were trying to work but were having problems.

Clark saw a nearby grate and popped it open and jumped down.

"There's too much fire and smoke we cant see the worker," one of the rescue worker said to his commander.

No sooner had he said that, the worker was lifted up through the manhole. The other workers grabbed their friend and pulled him out. What they didn't see was it was Clark who had found him and helped him out. As he ran back around he used his super breath to blow out the fire.

He joined the crowd as they watched paramedics put an oxygen mask on his face to help him breathe after his smoke inhalation. He coughed and pointed in Clark's direction. "That man...he saved me. That man."

Everyone turned toward where he was pointing, but no one was there.

Clark had once again pulled a disappearing act.

As he returned to his seat at the Planet, everyone was buzzing about the recent save. The Red-Blue blur had saved the day again. Clark smiled to himself as he continued working on his story. After finishing he checked his phone and realized Lois had left him a voice mail message. He listened, about half way through Clark was fairly certain she was drunk when she made this call. He heard something about a guy and vampires.

Yeah...vampires were real. Just like the Easter Bunny.

Clark wanted to call her. He had only called her once since she left to be with Jimmy. He didn't know what to say to her just yet. So he was brief with his conversation. He would talk to her...once he figured out what he was going to say.