Work Text:
Lois pushed open Clark’s apartment door and dropped the key onto the entryway table. She needed a change of scenery, but it was the middle of the night. The Daily Planet office was closed, and her favorite 24-hour diner was undergoing repairs after the latest kaiju attacked the streets of Metropolis. Luckily for her, Clark had given her a key to his place.
She still wasn’t sure how she felt about that key. It was so domestic, so permanent. The logical next step for their relationship to take. It was just a lot sooner than she expected, and maybe sooner than she was ready for, not to mention imbued with all kinds of cloying sentiment. Clark didn’t seem to agree; he was moving fast. He’d given her that key, told her he loved her… No matter what she did to push him away, he pushed right back, equal in stubbornness and tenacity.
Still, she needed that change of location if she wanted to make progress on her story, and Clark had told her to drop by whenever. She missed him, too, not that she’d admit it. He’d missed work that day.
She realized as soon as she shut the door behind her with a quiet click that Clark wasn’t even there. The window was open, curtains fluttering in the cool, night breeze, and she couldn’t hear anything coming from the open door of Clark’s bedroom. She flicked on the lights, only to discover that despite Clark’s absence, she wasn’t alone. On the floor lay an absolutely massive, shaggy, black dog.
The dog’s head picked up when he saw her, his sad eyes brightening, and his tail thumped against the floor. He glanced back at it, as if surprised by the noise, but when he turned back to Lois his tongue lolled out and his tail wagged harder.
“Hi, dog,” she said, hesitant.
Clark hadn’t mentioned getting a dog. Another foster situation, maybe? He hadn’t mentioned Krypto until it became relevant either.
The dog woofed at her, quiet and low.
“Don’t mind me,” she told him, settling on the couch and pulling out her laptop, “I’m just here to get some work done.”
The dog laboriously pulled himself up to his paws and trotted over to where Lois sat. One of his big paws came up to sit on her keyboard. Gently as she could manage, because the giant dog was strong and resisted her, she pushed the paw away. Immediately, the dog put his paw back. Lois turned, balancing the laptop on the armrest of the couch to keep it away from him. The dog whined, and she raised an eyebrow at him.
“I don’t know what you want.”
The dog huffed and laid his head on her lap.
“Alright, just don’t drool on me.”
She got to work.
At some point, she must have fallen asleep, because she woke up at sunrise, stretched out on the couch with a blanket draped over her.
“Clark?” she called, thinking he must have returned while she was asleep. “Are you back?”
A quick check of the apartment found it still empty.
“Clark?” she said again, just to be sure.
She received no reply from anyone but the dog, who jumped up on the couch beside her with a woof. He rested his snout on her shoulder and snuffled at her hair. Absent-mindedly, she petted him, and his tail started to wag again.
“Have you seen Clark, boy?”
The dog pressed his cold nose against her cheek.
“Did he feed you? Let you out?”
That was probably why his visit back to the apartment hadn’t involved waking her. He’d put a blanket on her, so he must have been back at some point, but clearly he was too busy with whatever he was doing to do anything but that and to look after his dog.
The dog hopped down with a thump and ran to the door, pawing at it with an urgency that made her think that if he had been let out, he definitely wanted another trip.
“Where’s your leash?” she asked, checking counters and drawers, anywhere Clark might have left it.
She didn’t find a leash. In fact, the apartment was devoid of anything dog related at all. No toys, beds, food. No wonder the poor guy seemed so downtrodden when she first saw him. Her train of thought was cut short by the dog barking at her, now scratching at the door with both paws.
“Okay, but don’t you dare run off. I can’t lose Clark’s new dog, got it?”
Lois turned the handle and the dog made a mad dash for the elevator, standing up on his hind legs to push the call button.
“I told you to wait!” She yelled, rushing after him.
The dog’s expression was unimpressed, like he was urging her to hurry up. She made it inside just before the doors closed.
“Aren’t you a smart one,” she muttered as she hit the button to take them to the ground floor.
The dog made his way outside, using his bulk to push open the building’s door and disappearing into a bush. He returned to Lois quickly, and she was relieved to see that he hadn’t run off while off-leash.
They returned to Clark’s apartment, and after Lois put together an outfit for work from the clothes she had left at Clark’s place – he’d ironed her shirts! – she resumed her search for anything belonging to the dog, again coming up with nothing. The dog followed her around as she did, watching her with expressive eyes.
“You must be really new here, aren’t you?”
Lois decided to help Clark out by placing a delivery order for some dog things. Just as much for the dog as for Clark, he’d probably be bored left alone in the apartment all day. But for now, breakfast.
She made herself a pot of coffee, with enough leftover for a cup for Clark should he return, and cracked open a can of tuna she found in the cupboard for the dog. He scarfed it down and looked back to her with pleading eyes.
“I guess that wasn’t much for a big guy like you, huh. Don’t worry, your food will be here any minute.”
After she went to collect the delivery bags, she found him in the fridge, going through Clark’s leftovers. She dumped the bags out on the living room floor, ignored entirely by the hungry dog.
“I have to get to work now. See you later, dog.”
The dog whined, following her all the way to the door and blocking it when she tried to leave.
“Move, dog,” she told him, trying to push him out of the way, but the dog held strong.
He took off, barrelling toward the living room and returning seconds later with the collar and leash dangling from his mouth, and pushed his body into the doorframe before Lois could close it and make her escape.
He whined again, and Lois sighed.
“Fine, but if you don’t behave I’m bringing you straight back here,” she said.
According to a memo that had been sent out once or twice over the years, The Daily Planet was a pet friendly workspace, even if no one actually brought any animals to work. It would be fine, probably. He seemed polite, much more so than Krypto. She looped the collar around the dog’s neck and clipped on his leash, and this time he got out of the way and allowed her to close and lock Clark’s apartment door.
Once they got to the bullpen, they were immediately surrounded.
“Who’s this?” Jimmy asked, both hands reaching out to pet the dog.
“Clark’s new dog. He’s still sick and didn’t want a big dog in the way. I said I’d look after him,” she said, hoping that Clark would be on board with that excuse when she texted it to him later.
Since he hadn’t woken her, or sent a text, or left a note, or anything, he was probably overwhelmed with whatever he was busy with. He wouldn’t just ignore her, that wasn’t at all like him. She was supposed to be the avoidant one!
As more of her coworkers approached, the dog wound his leash around her legs as he tried to get away. She felt the leash pull, about to trip her, and untangled herself just in time.
“Get to work everyone, I know you have deadlines. I set them,” she said, feeling sorry for the dog who was still trying to dodge everyone’s hands, taking care not to wrap her in the leash again.
“Wait,” Jimmy said. “What’s his name?”
“Uh…” said Lois, glancing down at the dog. He was watching her, his big, blue eyes shining. “Blue,” she finally said. “Big Blue.”
He panted, tongue out and drooling, and Lois was convinced he was smiling.
“Like Superman?” Jimmy asked. “I didn’t know Clark was that much of a fan.”
“I didn’t name him,” she said, even though she did.
Lois arrived at her desk, and Blue curled up underneath, seeking refuge from all the curious reporters stopping by to see him. He was as behaved as she hoped he’d be, although once he realized that pressing his cold, wet nose to her ankle made her jump and swear under her breath, he started to do so every time she became especially focused.
“You’re doing that on purpose,” she accused.
He chuffed, smug.
Her story was at just as much of a standstill as it had been the night before. Potential sources were ignoring her, and it was much harder to get her hands on the records she wanted than usual. Damn HIPAA. Her research was too important to give up on, though, even though the story had never officially been assigned to her.
When Perry had let her know about his lung cancer diagnosis, Lois had been rattled. She’d always wanted to become the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, but not like this. Outwardly, she’d kept her thoughts to herself, tackling the job with the same dedication she always gave to her work, but internally, she was spiraling. So, she’d started a research binge on the hospital Perry was in, hoping to secretly pull some connections and get him assigned better doctors, a better room, hell, even better food. But not only did she not have those connections, because Perry had chosen a small, private hospital to make his family’s commute easier, she had stumbled on what looked to be the makings of a front page story, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted for Perry’s treatment.
The hospital, Harmony Medical, had a mortality rate that was higher than the national and Metropolis averages, and Lois wanted to know why. No, she needed to know, because showing the publicly available statistics to Perry hadn’t been enough to convince him to transfer to Metropolis General across the city, where his family wouldn’t be able to visit as often. It was a small hospital, so maybe it did have more hospice patients, but Lois wanted to be absolutely sure before she left it alone. If it was anything else, like subpar doctors or bad sanitation, she would get to the bottom of it. Or, she would if she stopped hitting these dead ends.
She spent the morning bouncing between her research and her editor duties. At noon on the dot, Blue finally left his hideout. Skillfully avoiding the outstretched hands trying to pet him, he slunk toward Clark’s desk and got into one of the lower drawers. He rooted through it and returned to Lois, a granola bar clamped gingerly in his drooling mouth. He dropped it on her desk and nudged the slobber covered thing closer.
Lois cringed. “I’m not eating that.”
Blue barked at her.
“No.” She didn’t understand why she was arguing with a dog.
Blue regarded her for a moment, then launched into a wild sprint around the office, barking loud enough to wake the dead along the way. People stood up at their desks to watch.
“Blue!” She hissed, catching his leash as he came past. “Stop it! I’ll lock us both in Perry’s office.”
She didn’t use the office unless she had to, even though as editor it was technically hers for the time being. She wanted it left mostly alone, so that when Perry returned he could settle in as if he never left. It wasn’t an empty threat, though. She’d used it before whenever the interns started to descend on her with too much confidence.
Blue grabbed the discarded granola bar from the desk and tried to push it into her hand. She dropped it, wiping off the drool it left behind onto Blue’s thick fur. He skidded to the side, crouching like he was going to take off again.
“I told you I’m not eating that! If I take you to a café, will you calm down?”
Blue titled his head like he was waiting.
“I’ll have something other than coffee?” she offered.
Blue stood back up, back at her side in a perfect heel. He was panting again, in that way that looked like he was grinning. Normally Clark was the one to interrupt her work with food. Figures his dog would join in.
Come to think of it, Clark still hadn’t responded to her texts. She’d left him alone the previous day, not wanting to come off as clingy, but she was really starting to worry now. Two days of no contact… She trusted him, though! He’d be fine! She’d just call him later to make sure.
At the café they settled at a table outside, facing the adjacent park. Blue sat right at Lois’s side, leaning against her and laying his head on lap again. He was a comforting weight against her. She’d have to ask Clark if she could borrow him during those times of year her nightmares tended to pick back up, if she could figure out how to do so without letting Clark know about the nightmares.
She ordered a coffee, and at Blue’s judgy look, water and a sandwich.
“I don’t understand why you feel so strongly about this. You’re a dog, how do you even know what coffee is?”
Blue woofed.
It was possible that she was just projecting. Blue likely wasn’t aware of her caffeine habits, or what coffee even was. He was a dog! But something about the look in his eyes said otherwise. Maybe, like Krypto, he was some sort of alien dog, she decided.
Blue ignored the bowl of water the waitress brought out for him, but allowed her to pet him while he ate the pup cup of whip cream she offered, his entire body wiggling in excitement. Lois laughed, unable to keep it in, and Blue shot her a forlorn look, holding himself stiff and still.
“I’m not laughing at you!” she told him when the waitress left. “You’re cute!”
Blue sighed, but his tail started to wag again. When he finished, he licked his chops and returned to Lois’s lap.
“Weirdo,” she said, affectionately scratching his head.
She’d never had a pet before, her family moved around too much for that, but she didn’t dislike the company, even with the drool that she was sure had gotten on her skirt. She was starting to get attached.
This was another thing that scared her. She was getting too used to it, the quiet comfort of having her person. Her feelings for Clark were one thing, but caring about his dog, too? When, and how, had she gotten so soft?
Her hand had paused, and Blue licked it to get her attention. She wiped her hand on his fur and went back to petting him. He seemed to sense that her mind had consumed her again, because now he was trying to climb into her lap for real.
“Okay, okay. I’ll pet you. Get down!”
“He looks like a sweetheart,” a woman passing by said, offering a hand over the café’s low fence for Blue to sniff. “Have you thought about getting him neutered, though?”
Blue growled, backing away with his tail tucked, and Lois ignored the woman’s judgemental look. Served her right for interrupting. The woman sniffed and continued on.
“You’re not even my dog,” Lois told him when Blue turned nervous eyes to her. “I’m not in charge of your vet visits.”
Blue settled after that. When he eyed her sandwich, she gave him half, and he swallowed it in one bite. She didn’t feel bad about spoiling him after his little scare.
Maybe she’d been too lenient, though, because suddenly, Blue took off running, leaping over the fence surrounding the patio they sat at and barreling out toward the park.
“Now you decide you want to chase squirrels?” she yelled, throwing some cash on the table as she took off after him.
Blue didn’t slow down when she yelled, heading straight for the pond. He dove in, and just as Lois was bemoaning having to deal with a wet dog, Blue paddled back to shore, towing something with him. Lois arrived to greet a sodden Blue, a frantic teenager, and a wailing, coughing toddler.
Blue dragged the toddler up onto the bank and snuffled at his face, turning the child’s tears into sniffly giggles as the teenager fussed over him.
“Is this your dog?” The girl, who looked like the baby’s older sister, asked once she was sure he was okay.
Lois had barely started nodding when the girl threw her arms around Lois, thanking her over and over again.
“I only took my eyes off him for a second, we were feeding the ducks,” she said, as Lois tried to extract herself. “Thank you, your dog is a hero. My mom’s been getting so much sicker, I don’t know what we’d do if we lost my brother too.”
Lois, who had accepted that the girl wasn’t going anywhere, returned the hug, even though the wet toddler on the girl’s hip was soaking her jacket.
“He’s safe now,” she said. “Do you need help calling a cab to get you two home?”
The girl nodded, stepping back. “Can you have it take us to Harmony Medical? We should get back to our mom.”
“Your mom’s at Harmony?” Lois asked. “What do you think of the place? I have a friend there.”
The girl shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s a hospital. I don’t think anyone likes hospitals.”
“Are the doctors nice?” Lois asked.
“Some of them. Doctor Miller is cool, he taught me how to put an IV in, and one of the nurses, Annie, always brings my mom extra orange juice in the morning to get rid of the taste of the gross breakfast protein shakes.” She paused as Blue started barking at something.
He was jumping up at her, still barking, and Lois shushed him, not looking away from the girl, wanting to hear what she had to say next.
“I hate Nurse Taylor, though. She’s the worst.”
“Why?” Lois asked, her fingers itching for a notepad. Nurse Taylor, she repeated to herself, not wanting to forget the name.
“She’s just mean. I don’t know. She asked if we were sure Harmony was the right option for our family, and tried to tell us we should use Metropolis General instead. I think she thinks we’re poor.” She scowled. “We’re not poor! I mean, I’m not happy about having to stay home from summer camp, but Jake needs a babysitter anyway, and maybe mom will get better faster if she’s at a nicer place.”
“I understand,” Lois said. “My mom got sick when I was a bit younger than you are. Don’t take what the nurse says too personally. Hospitals are a hard place to work.”
“I guess,” the girl said, leaning down so that Jake could reach Blue. He squealed happily as he played with one of Blue’s floppy ears.
They cut through the park to get back to The Daily Planet. At one point, Blue, who had gone back to being ridiculously polite and well behaved, stopped walking. Lois stopped too, to find Blue staring at the Superman statue.
“Do you miss him?”
Blue woofed and started walking again, the leash pulling Lois along when she stayed to look at the statue for just a moment longer.
She brought Blue up to the roof at The Planet so that he could dry off in the sun while she started in on her new lead. Blue loved it, stretching out on a warm patch of concrete and closing his eyes happily.
Three new names, thanks to the girl at the park. Annie and Miller would probably be her best bets, being the more personable ones. She found them both on the hospital website, along with their contacts, and sent them each an email.
Surprisingly, they both got back to her before Blue was even dry, inviting her to stop by the next day and talk, each appointment exactly one hour apart, and each response only minutes apart. Had they done that on purpose?
She’d stop by the hospital in the morning, with time to visit Perry and maybe look around on her own.
“Well, Blue, looks like I’m heading home early today,” she said, even though it was quitting time for nearly everyone else. “Want to go to the dog park?”
He growled.
Lois decided that rather than going home, she’d stay at Clark’s again. After all, all of Blue’s new things were there. Inside, she and Blue entered a new standoff where he absolutely refused to even try the dog food Lois had got him, no matter what she did to try to entice him.
“Come on!” Lois urged, waving the dish under Blue’s nose. He turned away. “This is the expensive kind! All natural and whatever!”
Blue backed away, bumping into the kitchen island.
“Do you want to try a different flavor?” She’d already offered three.
Blue turned his back to her, a clear dismissal.
She sighed. “I’ll order us a pizza.”
Blue’s tail wagged.
It was only as they sat on the couch with their pizza, watching the news, that Lois was struck again by the lack of communication from Clark. No word from him, no news about Superman, nothing, and it was nearing two days since she’d heard from him. She felt a paw on her arm, pulling her hand away from her mouth where she’d been biting her nails without realizing.
“Thanks,” she said, burying her hands in his fur. “Do you think I should be doing something about Clark?”
Blue tilted his head.
“If he were human, I’d have reported him missing by now. I can’t decide if him being an alien should make me more or less concerned. I trust him to take care of himself, I just…” She sighed. “This is why I tried so hard to keep him at arms length. How can I build a life around all these ‘what ifs’ and worst case scenarios? What is our future going to look like when the worst case scenarios keep happening?”
Not only was she getting ahead of herself, but she was talking to a dog. Again. She pulled Blue into a hug, resting her chin on top of his soft head.
“I love him, though. That’s the problem. I don’t want to keep him at arms length.”
Blue surged closer and licked her face. His breath was terrible, and there was so much drool, but she couldn’t help laughing as she fended him off. Finally, he allowed her to push him away, and he mashed the remote with his paw until the tv, now playing the one o’clock news, turned off.
“I was watching that!” Lois complained.
Blue bit the edge of her pajama pant leg and started to tug.
“Stop that,” she said, but Blue held strong.
He growled and pulled harder, bringing her half off the couch. She once again tried to pull away, but Blue was determined to win the game of tug-of-war, giving her no choice but to hobble along with him as he pulled her toward Clark’s bedroom. Once he got her to the door frame, he bounded over to the bed.
She tried to leave him there but he started to whine, looking rapidly between her and the empty space next to him.
“You sure are needy,” she said, but obliged.
It was strange sleeping there without Clark, which was why she wanted to stay on the couch. The sheets smelled like him, but the bed lacked the supernatural warmth Clark radiated. Blue cuddled up half next to, half on top of her, and since she couldn't toss and turn like usual, she soon fell asleep.
The new morning brought no new signs of Clark with it. It did bring a gross wakeup call, with a dog panting directly in her face.
“Good morning to you, too.”
Seeing that she was awake, Blue raced wildly around the room, even chasing his own tail for a few circles.
She yawned and stretched. Lois didn’t normally sleep so much, and feeling well rested felt odd. Clark’s bed was comfortable, though, which always surprised her considering how often he floated in his sleep.
She stole one of Clark’s sweaters as she got dressed, fed Blue the rest of the pizza because he still refused the dog food, and headed out to catch a cab to the hospital. Luckily, Blue was a little more understanding this time about staying home.
Harmony Medical was a typical hospital. She’d been by a few times to see Perry since he’d been admitted, and she always felt uneasy. She had too many associations with that sterile scent of disinfectants and medications, from her own numerous stays as well as other, older memories, but she was willing to suck it up for her friends, even if she didn’t manage to visit as often as Clark did.
The hallways were bright and sunny, and her visitors badge even had a smiley face drawn next to her name. Doctors and nurses filled the halls, so many that Lois was sure they’d all have trouble finding things to do. It made a small part of her wonder whether she was working herself up over nothing.
Perry was awake when she got there, and although he seemed tired, and looked like he’d lost weight, he looked good.
“Hey, Chief,” she greeted.
He laughed. “I think I should be calling you that now, Lane.”
“It’s only temporary,” Lois reminded him, taking the chair by the bed. “How are you?”
“Feeling better than I’ve been in weeks, actually.”
“I assume my visit gets the credit for that?”
Perry smiled, pushing himself up to sit straighter.
“You keeping everyone in line at the paper?”
Lois nodded. “You know it. I could get scarier, though. The interns have started thinking it’s safe to ask me inane questions.”
“You’d think they’d have learned by now they’re better off bothering Kent.”
Lois had to look out the window. She couldn’t meet Perry’s teasing look. How he’d caught on to the two of them, she still didn’t know.
“He’s been by to see you this week, too, right?”
“The morning before yesterday,” Perry told her. “Snuck in a coffee for me and drank that god-awful protein shake they force on me every morning so the nurse would get off me about it. Hospital food,” he griped.
“Don’t I know it,” agreed Lois.
“I wish you didn’t.”
So Clark had been there, possibly making Perry the last person to see him.
“What time was Clark here the other day?”
“Early morning. Why, was he late again? I made him leave on time, but he did look a bit off when he left.”
“I just like to be sure my reporters aren’t running out during work hours.”
“I think we both know that nothing will stop Kent from rushing off,” Perry said, then paused. “Your reporters. Sounds good to hear you say that, kid.”
“Just until you’re back,” Lois repeated.
They chatted until Lois’s phone went off, reminding her of her scheduled interviews. It was good timing, too, because a nurse had arrived for Perry’s chemo, and it was time for Lois to clear out of his room.
The interviews didn’t tell her much, and sounded straight out of a PR packet. She got more out of the nurse than the doctor, but both of their interviews left Harmony Medical looking squeaky clean. In Lois’s opinion, too clean.
It was all so generic. A haughty doctor who was full of himself, and a slightly tired nurse who loved her patients even when the job got tough. It was high time for some snooping, and Lois planned to use her visitor pass to its limits.
She started on the opposite side of the building from Perry’s room, to avoid being recognized. She lurked in the cafeteria, nursing a coffee until it went cold and listening in on nearby conversations. There was persistent gossip about a shadowy blur earlier that week which raced from the maintenance hallway to the back exit. The consensus was that it was a ghost, or Batman, or a complete hoax. As improbable as it sounded, she tucked it away as a possible clue.
She wandered through the halls next, eavesdropping at the nurses’ station from around the corner, peering into passing laundry and cleaning carts, and keeping an eye out for anyone who looked angry and like they wanted to talk.
Waiting near a break room, she felt a tug on her skirt.
“Puppy?” asked a small voice.
It was the toddler Blue had pulled from the pond, and his sister came hurrying over moments later.
“Sorry, we met a dog at the park yesterday, and–” the girl said, then recognition washed over her face. “It’s you! Hi, again. Nurse Annie says your dog is the cutest puppy ever, I showed her a picture from yesterday because Jake won’t stop talking about him.”
“Big puppy!” said Jake.
“How’s your mom doing?” Lois asked, taking the little boy’s hand when he reached up to her.
The girl frowned. “Not good. I know she has good days and bad days, and that heart transplants are hard, but sometimes it feels like every day she just keeps getting worse.”
Lois hummed in sympathy. “Your brother looks like he’s doing better, at least.”
He was still holding Lois’s hand, and in his other tiny fist he clutched a Superman doll, which he was waving through the air to make the doll fly, accompanied by sound effects.
The girl managed a smile. “It’s all just a fun adventure to him, now.” Seeing someone behind Lois, the girl brightened and waved. “Annie! This is the lady with the dog.”
Lois turned to see a smiling Annie approaching them, arms full of files.
“Jaqueline and Lois, what a coincidence!” she said. “Do you have any more pictures of that gorgeous newfoundland for me?”
“Ah, not really,” Lois said. “We just got him.”
“Oh? How long have you had him?”
Lois shrugged. “A few days.”
“Is he from a shelter? Did you find him at one of the ones nearby?”
“My partner brought him home, you’d have to ask him.”
Annie looked like she wanted to say something else, but Jake tossed his Superman into the air, and he landed on her stack of files, tipping the ones from the top and sending them scattering. When Lois leaned down to grab the one that had landed on her foot, Annie snatched it away with a speed that left Lois frozen, though not frozen enough to catch the sharp look in Annie’s eyes.
“Sorry,” Annie said, all indications of her expression as she grabbed the file smoothed away. “Patient records, confidential.”
Jake let go of Lois’s hand to collect his doll and took off in a wobbly run further down the hall, toy Superman leading the way.
“I’d better go,” said the girl, already following behind him.
“Did you need any help with anything?” Annie asked. “People get lost here looking for the cafeteria all the time, I can walk with you.”
Lois shook her head. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
She decided that her next stop should be the maintenance hallway, since everyone was talking about it. As she approached, a woman came hurrying out, crashing directly into Lois. She bristled at the look on the woman’s face, who was glaring like somehow Lois was in the wrong for the collision, then she pushed past and left Lois behind before any words could be exchanged. Lois did manage to catch a glimpse of the woman’s nametag: Nurse Amanda Taylor.
Lois continued in forward, not turning down the hall, until she was sure that Taylor wouldn’t suspect her intended destination, then doubled back to the maintenance hall. She went into the closet, and behind an awkwardly angled shelf, she found a hidden door and its associated pass scanner. But Lois didn’t even need to steal a pass; a mop from the closet had been knocked over, probably in Taylor’s rush, keeping the door propped open.
Lois listened at the door to check if anyone was inside, then pushed it open, revealing a lab. It was high tech, even more so than the state of the art hospital equipment Lois’s interviewees had bragged about. In the center of the lab stood a large, tank-like machine, and dotted throughout the lab were repetitions of a logo, bearing the name Lycaon Labs.
She crept through the lab, taking pictures of equipment and files, then made a hasty retreat. It didn’t seem like a lab meant to process the hospital’s samples, it was definitely something bigger. One more win for Lois Lane’s intuition.
Blue was overjoyed to see her back at Clark’s apartment. She was hardly through the door when he was on her, jumping up to lick her face and knocking her down in the process. He looked apologetic as she picked herself back up but remained glued to her side. The dog toys and bones were exactly where she’d left them, but it looked like Blue had tested out the dog bed, which was covered in his black fur.
Blue leaned against her, alternating between watching over her shoulder and trying to lick her as she started to research Lycaon Labs, finding a resounding nothing. No company registrations, records, any tangible connection to Harmony or the medical industry. She swiped through the photos she’d taken next.
They were spotty records, it looked like most of the notes weren’t kept in physical form, but they detailed medical trials involving a serum and the machine she’d seen in the lab, all of which failed, resulting in patient death rather than the rapid healing and “other abilities” the serum was meant to deliver. Lois gritted her teeth and read on.
The serum was fickle, and needed to be built up slowly in the patient’s system before their exposure to the machine. The scientists involved hadn’t yet determined the exact quantity of serum for the results they wanted: too much serum would kill the patient on its own, and too little serum meant they’d be killed by the machine.
The final file she’d photographed seemed to be the lab’s first successful patient, or at least first surviving patient. The file had been left unfinished, and it was clear in the notes that something had gone wrong, but it didn’t say what.
It all answered some questions, but gave Lois a whole lot more. She decided to think it over as she took Blue on a walk. He’d been cooped up in Clark’s apartment all day, which reminded her.
“Clark,” she said out loud as she typed the same message into their text thread. “You have until the end of the day today to tell me you’re okay, or I’m going to find a way to contact the Justice League.”
Find a way was an exaggeration. She already knew about the extra communication device he kept hidden in his freezer, not that he knew that. Blue jabbed his snout into her leg.
“What?” she asked.
He huffed.
She clipped on his leash and together they walked to the park. The sun was starting to dip, but hey, thought Lois, why not make use of the scary dog privilege. As sweet as she knew Blue to be, he was truly massive for a dog, nearly three feet tall at the shoulder, with teeth to match. She could hold her own if it came to it, and she always carried pepper spray, but the dog certainly wouldn’t hurt.
They did a few laps around the park, and it looked like Blue was enjoying himself. He sniffed at bushes and trees, and behind one of the bushes he found a stick, which he carried in his mouth as they continued on. She brought Blue to the empty dog park, where he could be off leash, and decided to see if he’d fetch, since he liked his stick so much.
It started as a game of tug-of-war, and Blue playfully growled and thrashed back and forth. He was strong, but Lois got the upper hand. Blue’s eyes locked onto the stick as it glided through the air, then he was off like a rocket, catching the stick midair and delivering it back to Lois’s outstretched hand. Another dog and dog owner showed up, and the golden retriever was eager to join in the game with her and Blue. But when Lois tossed the stick directly to the golden to give him a chance too, Blue froze, watching the other dog roll around in the grass with the stick in his mouth before hurrying back to Lois to chase it again. Lois held onto it, waiting to see what Blue would do.
The golden grew impatient quickly and went back to Blue, bowing and barking at him to try to entice Blue to play, but Blue stayed still. Finally, when the golden approached him from behind, clearly planning to sniff at him, Blue took off again toward Lois. Once again, she was a shield as Blue tried very hard to hide from the other dog.
She offered Blue his stick again as she clipped on his leash, but he was no longer interested. The golden was, and was elated with Lois tossed it to him as they left, wagging his entire body as he caught it.
“Don’t tell me you were jealous of sharing a stick,” Lois teased once they were far enough away from other people that she wouldn’t be judged for talking to a dog.
Blue glanced up at her, blue eyes filled with annoyance. There was something else there, too. Embarrassment? Sadness? She couldn’t tell.
He beelined to the couch once they were back at the apartment, flopping across it with his head on his paws. Her phone buzzed with a text, and she scrambled to free it from her coat pocket. Finally! Word from Clark!
But it wasn’t Clark, and his allotted time to respond to her was dwindling. Instead, it was an unknown number.
Unknown: Is this Lane?
Texts like that rarely ended well. Naturally, she replied right away.
That wasn’t ominous at all, Lois thought. She double checked that her pepper spray was in her purse and patted Blue on the head before she left. He looked so tired, she didn’t want to drag him out again after they’d just gotten home.
Inside the parking garage, Lois waited for the one hour mark, wondering if her potential informant would show. It wasn’t long before she did. Out of the shadows, with a glare that could cut through steel, stepped Amanda Taylor. Lois bristled.
“I know you’ve been inside the lab,” Taylor said. “Lycaon knows you’ve been inside the lab.”
“Do you?” Lois asked.
“What do you know?” Taylor asked, tone flat.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean. What’s Lycaon?”
Taylor scowled. “Don’t be cute. This will be easier for both of us if you just tell me what you know.”
Lois raised an eyebrow. She still had the upper hand here, and she wasn’t going to give up that easily, no matter what threats Taylor decided to make.
“You’re being watched,” Taylor continued. “You and that dog of yours, and these people won’t stop at surveillance. So what did you find? The use of Harmony patients for experimentation? The death count? Who on the staff is involved?” She walked forward as she spoke. “What Lycaon is planning?”
Lois fought the urge to step backwards. She never would, and never had no matter the threat, but the primal human urge to flee danger was hard to beat back no matter how hard she tried.
“Work with me, here,” Taylor continued. “I’d hate to see you or that dog hurt.”
“Is that a threat?” Lois asked.
“Think about it,” said Taylor. “You have my contact. Just don’t wait too long.”
Taylor disappeared back into the darkness. Lois was unsettled. At least now she had confirmation on a few of her suspicions: Harmony and its staff were involved, and unknowingly, so were the patients. She could work with this.
When Lois opened the door to Clark’s apartment, she was greeted by a disaster zone. The couch was knocked over, blankets and cushions had been scattered across the room, and a shattered flower vase left glass and water all across the floor. Worst of all, Blue was gone. She cursed; that meeting with Taylor had been a setup. A ploy to get her out of the way while they took the dog. She should have seen through it! Luckily, she had an idea of where they might have taken him.
Lois marched into Harmony Medical like a soldier into battle, prepared to take out anyone who got in her way. She was almost to the maintenance hall when someone tried to stop her. Nurse Annie.
“Ma’am, you can’t be back here. Visiting hours are over, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Lois nearly growled. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen a dog in here,” she said.
Annie looked surprised. “Ms. Lane, this is a hospital. Why would your dog be here?”
“My dog was stolen, and I know he’s here. Now, are you going to help me look, or–”
Annie gasped. “Oh, no. Did something happen?”
“I told you, he was taken!”
“I’ll help you look,” Annie told her. “I really don’t think he’d be here, but if you’re sure?”
Lois nodded. “I’m sure.”
Lois led the way to the maintenance hall and its closet.
“The closet?” Annie asked.
“Just let me borrow your badge,” Lois said.
She didn’t have time for questions. She didn’t know if Annie’s badge would even work, either, but luckily, it did. She burst into the lab, Annie following quickly behind, and there was Blue, locked inside the machine’s tank.
She wrenched open the doors of the machine and Blue limped out, clearly weak, but his tail managed a few wags. She started to check him over, but was interrupted by the sound of the door from the closet opening up again, Amanda Taylor coming in through it.
“What did you do to him?” Lois demanded.
“I didn’t–” Taylor started, but she was interrupted by another voice from the back of the lab.
“Ah, so nice of you all to finally join us,” Doctor Miller said. “Annie, I do appreciate how you’ve managed to deliver the dog, the reporter, and the mole.”
Taylor turned back to the door, tugging on the handle.
“Don’t bother, the lab is on lockdown.”
“Look, you got me here, you can let Blue go,” Lois said. “He’s just a dog.”
“He’s so much more than just a dog!” Doctor Miller enthused. “He’s my first success! My first live transformation. If that man hadn’t ruined weeks worth of serum buildup in my patient by stealing my patient’s breakfast, who knows where I’d be!”
Serum buildup, only one person surviving the procedure, the protein shake Clark had drunk for Perry, Blue showing up in Clark’s apartment afterward. It all pointed to one thing: Blue wasn’t a dog. Blue was Clark.
The tension that had been present in her shoulders since Clark disappeared released all at once. Clark hadn’t decided to run off without checking in. He wasn’t hurt somewhere, or choosing to ignore her. He was still a dog, which was a problem, but at least he was alive.
“You’re trying to turn people into dogs?” Lois asked. “Why?”
Miller scoffed. “Not dogs! I didn’t waste my time sourcing kryptonite for dogs! I’m creating something better, stronger, the true next step in human evolution. Predators, able to fight even Superman, and win. A dog was an unfortunate setback, but with study and dissection I’ll have no trouble perfecting my methods.”
Something, combined with the kryptonite, must have reacted with Clark’s alien biology to result in him becoming a dog, not that the scientist knew that. Or, maybe his work was just that flawed, and while it worked on Clark, it didn’t work enough to kill him like it did the others.
Miller opened his mouth to continue, but Annie stopped him. “Don’t tell her about your werewolves! She’ll publish it.”
“Annie, we’re going to kill her. She won’t be talking after this. And stop calling them werewolves!” he said, then gave his attention back to Lois. He looked pleased to have someone interested in his work.
Clark, freed from the machine, had been slinking over to the control panel in the back of the room, where the lockdown control panel sat, noticed by no one but Lois. She’d keep on distracting Miller for him.
“How much of the staff is part of this?” Lois asked.
He paused, thinking. “Most of us, I’d say. Annie could tell you the exact numbers. I’m just the scientific brains here. The rest are none the wiser, except Amanda. Truly, I don’t know how she figured us out.”
“I saw you drugging the shakes,” Taylor said. “You weren’t very secretive.”
Annie huffed. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you out of the lab! You always have to showboat!”
Miller turned on her. “I wouldn’t have had to do it myself if you measured the serum correctly! You kept killing my test subjects!”
“That was all you and your shoddy serum and you know it!” Annie shouted.
Clark stood up on his hind legs and slammed his paw down on the button. The doors unlocked with a click and that was all it took for Taylor to escape. Annie got between her and the door so that Lois couldn’t follow, but she wasn’t leaving without Clark.
“Can it be reversed?” she asked.
“Reporter through and through, aren’t you?”
Clark was creeping back toward them.
“Answer my question, Miller. Can it be reversed?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course it can! Not everyone is cut out for greatness.”
Clark crouched, ready to pounce. He made eye contact with Lois, waiting for her signal.
“Now!” She said, and whirled around, pepper spray hitting Annie and sending her to the ground as she wiped at her eyes.
Meanwhile, Clark lunged, taking down Miller and pinning him. Lois pepper sprayed Miller for good measure. Clark hopped back into the machine, and Lois slammed and latched its door, flipping the reverse switch.
“This better work,” she whispered, and activated the machine.
The room was engulfed in a sickly green glow, one Lois had come to dread almost as much as Clark did. She hoped the second exposure wouldn’t hurt him too badly, and kept her fingers crossed as the machine ran. She had to look away from Clark for only a second to hit Annie with another round of pepper spray when she started to get up.
The machine went dark. Lois held her breath as the door opened, and to her relief, there stood Clark, human once more. He stepped out, drawing her into the tightest hug.
“Sorry I worried you,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “I enjoyed hearing you say that you loved me, though.”
She blushed and turned away. “You look pale,” she said. “Go. I’ll wrap up here.”
Clark didn’t have time to get anywhere, because Taylor had returned, police officers and Perry in tow. Lois and Clark each offered him an arm for support as the police started their investigation and hauled Annie and Miller away. He waved them both off, insisting he was fine.
“I followed the police when I heard them outside,” Perry told them. “I see you were right about the statistics. Nice work, Chief,” he teased.
Lois was starting to see why he always told them not to call him Chief.
“Are you going to transfer now?” she asked.
“Are you kidding?” Perry said. “You’ve taken care of the problem, and once your story breaks the other patients will transfer all at once. I’ll probably get a discount if I stay.”
Lois understood. Insurance didn’t cover much when you were known to chase danger, and they worked in print media. But, like Perry said, the problem was taken care of.
Both of Lois’s recent problems were taken care of, in fact.
She sent Clark to accompany Perry back to his room, and to get away from the kryptonite. Lois’s phone buzzed, and she found a set of files sent by Taylor. The two of them shared a nod as they left.
“You were a cute dog,” Lois said, back at Clark’s apartment where the two of them had spent the evening cleaning up and vaccuming all the fur.
“Yeah? It was weird,” said Clark.
They were in bed now, limbs tangled together, and Lois combed her fingers through Clark’s hair in a way that felt similar to when she pet him as Blue.
“I kept falling more and more into the dog brain as time went on,” he told her.
“Aw, that wasn’t you I played fetch with?”
He laughed. “Not at all. I still keep wanting to wag my tail whenever you look at me, though. Maybe that was never a dog thing.”
Lois’s fingers stilled. “And, if I were to ask you, who's a good boy?”
Clark went red, hiding his face in her shoulder.
“Thought so.”