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.*･｡. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN .*･｡.
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051.
FRIENDSHIPS FAIL.
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——

Lois practically threw herself out of Argent's car.

She was immensely happy to get away from Jackson's body. It would have been far too tight of a space for them to survive if he had chosen to evolve.

"I think he stopped moving..." Isaac noted, glancing back at the bag as he jumped out.

The brunette peered back into the car and frowned, realising he was right. Jackson wasn't moving anymore, not even the slightest wriggle or jolt. He was still, like dead bodies were supposed to be in the normal world. It was a shame that the life they were living was so far from normal — Lois knew that it was too good to be true. He wouldn't stay that way. There was always a catch, in this world.

"Lois?"

Chris Argent beckoned the girl over to him, a look on his face that she couldn't quite read. She didn't move, letting him explain himself. "Follow me. I'm going to need your help with something, I think you'll appreciate it."

She squinted her eyes, unsure of what she could have possibly appreciated helping him with. He was a trained hunter who had tried to kill her friend, and his father was a psychopath, and his own daughter had even boarded the train to crazy town, all while Lois was just an average girl who had been dragged into a life that she had never asked for. There was nothing that she thought she would ever appreciate from that man, nor did she think that there was anything she could have helped him with. Scott and Isaac were werewolves, and Lois was a short, annoying sixteen year old girl — it wasn't likely that she'd be any help, at all.

Chris didn't seem to mind that she didn't follow him straight away, moving around his car smoothly. Lois watched hesitantly.

Contemplating whether she should have acted as though hadn't even heard him, Lois eventually sighed. She wrapped her jacket around herself tighter and begrudgingly followed him to the trunk of his car, deciding that now was a time that she needed to try and trust him. He was helping them, after all. Plus, Argent had even gone against his psycho father to help them with Jackson, and if that didn't scream trust me! then Lois didn't know what did.

The girl waited patiently as he opened the boot of his car. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the supply of guns and arrows stored neatly in a case. She let out a breath and Chris noticed, cracking a small smile. He remembered the first time he had been shown so many weapons, too.

"Allison mentioned that you were good with a crossbow," he said it as more of a statement, leaning forward to grab a handful of arrows in his hand.

Lois' eyes flickered over to Isaac, "I guess..."

"Well, I guess is better than nothing."

He pulled out a crossbow and slotted in an arrow, holding it up to the sky as he clicked the trigger into place. Argent pursed his lips, deciding whether he really wanted to do this... he did.

"You're not a werewolf, so you're going to need a way to protect yourself."

Humming under her breath, Lois found herself entranced by the weapon. He was right. She did need a way to defend herself.

"And seeing as you're the only kid that I semi-trust around here..." he trailed off, his words only speaking truth. Lois was a good kid, and he trusted her. Lowering the weapon, he held it out to her to take, "...I'm going to need you to have our backs."

Lois hadn't expected that.

Lois hadn't expected that, at all.

Shocked at the words he had spoken and unable to fathom that he trusted her enough to use a weapon that she wasn't trained in, Lois gingerly took the crossbow from his hands. She held it at her side, adjusting her grip and relaxing into the hold, before raising it above her shoulder in the same way that he had done. Lois bit back a smile as she wiggled her fingers over the trigger. Feeling it in her palm had reminded her of when they had been protecting Lydia, and that made her feel powerful.

"Suits you," Chris remarked, raising a brow. "Don't break it."

She nodded her head and watched as he grabbed himself a gun and three knives, slipping the blades into his pockets and different holsters on his person. Passing her spare arrows, he then slammed the trunk shut and rounded the car, Lois at his side. When Isaac and Scott looked up to see them, Derek's beta groaned loudly.

"Seriously—?" Isaac huffed, "Again?"

The girl rolled her eyes and crossed the way to his side of the car, a smirk on her face as she flexed the weapon childishly. Isaac let out a scoff and crossed his arms across his chest. He clearly still had a grudge.

    "Watch out, Lahey."

She peered up him at when he scoffed.

"Look out?" He echoed as he shook off the sparkly feeling in his stomach. When he stared into those eyes, he was worried that if he didn't look away now, he never would. "For what?"

    "I have more ammo, this time."

   The boy sent her a blank look which made her smile even wider. Lois turned back to the situation at hand, tapping her finger upon the trigger as the weapon stayed by her firmly by side. It was quiet as Scott and Argent walked to the front of the car, headlights on, both looking out for Derek while Isaac and Lois remained at the back and watched over Jackson's body like hawks. Him suddenly disappearing would be the worst thing that could have happened, right now. Well, other than him mailing and killing everyone in his sight. That would have been equally as disastrous.

Hands in his pockets, Chris glanced around the abandoned warehouse they parked outside of. He rose both brows at Scott, evidently unamused with the situation, and wore a look of pure distaste, "Where's Derek?"

As if one cue, the alpha appeared on all fours — sporting ever the dramatic entrance, as always. Lois seemed to be the only one unimpressed when his eyes flashed a bright red, having seen them enough so many times now that she couldn't count it on one hand, and peered around to see if anyone else looked quite so bored.

Derek frowned at the presence of Chris Argent. Once again, he felt betrayed by a decision Scott had made without him.

Lately, the boy seemed to be getting along with everyone that had wanted Derek dead, and it didn't sit well with the alpha. Even if the kid was just trying to save his friends and his family, Derek Hale didn't like that Scott was still going against him when he was meant to be with him, this time.

It didn't sit well.

"I'm here for Jackson," Chris told him, "Not you."

"Somehow, I don't find that very comforting." Derek retorted, arms crossed. He looked at Lois and Isaac, nodding his head in the direction of the warehouse. "Get him inside."

Refusing to go anywhere near Jackson's creepy, evolving body, Lois stepped back and gestured for Isaac to take the reigns. He sighed and began to pull out the body bag with Scott joining to grab the other side, and the duo carried Jackson into the building while Lois and Argent held up the rear. Lois gripped her weapon tightly as they entered, taking one last glance around the exterior of the building before slipping inside. Argent had told her that she was to watch their backs — just as Allison would have done if she was there and not blinded by her grandpa's ways — and that was what she was going to do: Lois Lane was going to have their backs, as much as she possibly could.

It was time for Lois Lane to play Superman. Not anyone else.

"Where are they?" Scott asked, confused.

Derek seemed to not care, "Who?"

"Peter and Lydia," He answered as though it were obvious, his heartbeat picking up when Derek leant down to unzip the body bag. Something didn't feel right. "Hey—! Hold on, a second. You said you knew how to save him,"

"We're past that."

"What? What about—?"

"Think about it, Scott!" Derek cut him off, stepping away from the open bag to debate with the omega. Lois watched from the side with a glare, "Gerard controls him, now. He's turned Jackson into his own personal guard dog. And he set all of this in motion, so that Jackson could get even bigger, and more powerful..."

"No— no, he wouldn't do that." Argent objected, "If Jackson's a dog, he's turning rabid. My father wouldn't let a rabid dog live—"

"Of course, not!"

Lois shot around and pointed her crossbow at the man before anyone could blink, her gaze narrowed and venomous. Growling lowly, Isaac's eyes now amber and he stood by her side.

"Anything that dangerous, that out of control—" Gerard drawled, chuckling bitterly when Lois held her crossbow even higher. It was a clear shot of his head, and if he tried anything, she doubted that she would miss. "—is better off dead."

Flicking his wrist and conjuring his claws, Derek swooped down to strike Jackson's chest, only for the kanima to finally awake and impale the alpha, first. Lois let out a strangled gasped when she watched Derek be lifted into the air, but didn't move her crossbow away from Gerard — she knew that Argent had already aimed his gun at the creature, first. They couldn't do anything but watch as Derek Hale was tossed across the warehouse, landing in the next room with a thud! The crunch of bones made Lois cringe.

"Well done to the last, Scott." Gerard hummed.

He took a step forward but stopped when Lois tightened her grip on the trigger of her crossbow. Gerard scowled at her, "Like the concerned friend you are, you brought Jackson to Derek to save him. You just didn't realize you were also bringing Derek to me."

Scott ducked at the whistle of an arrow, the weapon narrowly missing Lois' ear and instead lodging itself into Isaac's shoulder. He cried out and fell to the ground, and Lois found the hold on her crossbow falling slack.

He had been hit exactly where she had hit him, last time.

Lois pursed her lips tightly and fought the urge to help him, her head becoming fuzzy as the blood soaked through his shirt.

She wanted to rush to his aid, to rip the arrow out of his chest, but she couldn't leave Gerard unattended. Someone needed to keep their eyes on him, and that was what she had agreed to do.

"Allison—?"

With a face full of grief, Scott watched his love disappear into the dark and left his heart aching. He pursed his lips and quickly moved to pull Isaac back onto his feet, supporting his weight. Scott hooked the boy's arm around his shoulder and helped him along, knowing that it was time to forget about all the extras to their story and focus on the now. Together, both of them disappeared behind the tarp that lead to the next room while Lois and Chris were left with Gerard and Jackson.

She briefly wondered why she had even agreed to this.

The kanima hissed wildly and lunged at Chris, but the man was quick to retaliate with bullets.

Jackson turned to shield his body and then hissed louder, with his neck cracking as he hid behind an old car. He soon reappeared on top of the vehicle, scantily clad in scales and tails, and it took no time for to Chris start firing. Windows had smashed and glass rained, forcing Lois to cover her face with one arm and protect her eyes from any shards that nicked at her cheeks.

While Argent reloaded, Lois pulled her crossbow away from Gerard and aimed it at Jackson, her body stiff and rigid as she waited.

Jackson's tail wrapped around Argent's gun and tossed it across the warehouse, readying himself to lunge at the man. But Lois had taken her chance and fired an arrow into his side — the creature hissed in pain, and the distraction gave them enough time to run.

Lois pulled a spare arrow from her pocket and clicked it into her weapon, the way that Argent had shown her, while the man pulled out a knife. Their breaths were uneven and ragged as they waited for the kanima to attack, a second time. It wasn't long before the creature screeched and successfully swiped Chris' knife out of his hands, sending the man flying into the many crates and boxes on just one kick to the chest. Edging back when it turned to her and held up his claws, Lois felt herself pale — but, rather than killing her without another thought, the kanima was getting knocked off of his two feet before he could have done any harm.

She choked on air, unable to believe her eyes when she saw that it was Isaac Lahey who now stood in front of her protectively. The boy growled, claws and fangs out, ready for a fight.

    "Lois—" he breathed, "Run."

   Listening to his advice, Lois stumbled back a couple of steps and then twirled on her heel, making a run for it.

   The three werewolves proceeded to lunge at Jackson when she was out of the way, each taking their turn at swiping at him and knocking him down. Lois cringed when Isaac was thrown into the wall — Derek roared in anger for his beta. She glanced around until her eyes landed on a stack of crates and boxes. Bingo.

After looping the string of the crossbow over her arm, balanced in the crook of her elbow, the brunette took in a breath and began her climb to the top. It was anything but stable, and Lois' heart lurched in her chest as she slowly stood up straight, but movement eventually stilled. With a burst of confidence, Lois Lane pointed her weapon towards the fight with the kanima and took a shot at the creatures head.

The arrow landed in his temple and he hissed and clawed at it. Derek rose a brow and peered up at the girl, giving her a thankful nod and continuing to fight.

   She hummed to herself in pride, her eyes searching for wherever Gerard had disappeared to in the midst of chaos. But instead of finding the man, she found Allison Argent stabbing and slicing Isaac until he was down on his knees, unable to stand up tall.

Lois found herself glaring at the girl, anger warming her cheeks when the beta cried.

    Unable to stop herself, in the heat of the moment, Lois fired an arrow right towards Allison — it seemed as though all essence of their close friendship had dissipated to dust in that very moment. 

   Allison gasped as the arrow just missed her shoulder. She quickly jumped back and looked up at Lois, both eyes wide and her heart thumping out of her chest. Allison couldn't believe that one of her closest friends had just shot at her.

   Then again, she couldn't believe any of this.

   With gritted teeth, Allison stabbed Isaac in the back one more time before marching over to Lois' vantage point. She kicked the middle of the crates with a yell of frustration and watched as Lois tumbled. The shorter girl soon hit the ground and moaned, her body rolling a few times before it stilled, and she was sprawled out on the concrete floor with hardly an breath left. Lois gasped as she was flipped over onto her back, blindly moving her head to the left as Allison's boot threatened to hit her in the face. She grabbed the black boot and gave it a yank, watching her friend stumble.

Blades from her pockets, Allison slammed one down to meet Lois' shoulder, but Lois managed to roll to the left and the metal scraped along the ground rather than her skin. She looked at her friend with dirty eyes and sent a kick to her stomach with a grunt passing her lips. She breathed heavily and unevenly, trying to gain back her strength.

It was safe to say that Allison was better trained, than she was.

The huntress shot backwards as Lois' foot collided with her body, and Lois took this as her chance to scramble up, rushing towards her crossbow and clicking the trigger into place. She span to point the weapon as Allison, the girl in black falling rigid. Allison let out a sigh.

"That's my crossbow, Lois."

Lois scoffed, "Who's the one shooting it?"

"I didn't want us to fight about this— you know." Allison almost hummed, fiddling with her dagger in hand. "You're my friend,"

"You have a real funny way of showing it," she rolled her eyes. She didn't see how any of this showed that they were friends, anymore. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping him?"

"He's my grandfather."

"You're fighting your own dad!"

"But Derek killed my mom!" Allison snapped angrily her eyes watering, "My mom died because of him, Lois! You have no idea what it's like—!"

"My mom is dead, Allison!"

The hunters face dropped as she processed the words.

"I do know what it's like..." Lois continued, allowing her stance to loosen when she noticed Allison had done the same. Her eyes welled with tears but she pushed them back. "If anyone knows what you're going through right now, it's me."

"Lois—"

"You don't have to do this. You don't," the girl cut Allison off with a shake of her head. Lois took in a deep but shaky breath, "I know that you're hurting, but Gerard is making you think that you need to do this. He's getting inside your head and telling you to avenge your mom. But you don't have to do this, Allison. You can help us save Jackson—!"

"And just forget Derek forced my mother to kill herself?" Allison rose a brow, lips quivering.

"No..." Lois denied, "But we can deal with that, later."

She frowned, "We?"

"Us." Lois nodded, "All of us — together."

She seemed swayed by what Lois had said.

Allison pursed her lips tightly and looked between Lois, her grandfather, and Derek Hale who was lying on the floor, defeated. It was the perfect opportunity — she'd never get another one.

Without words, Allison swiped her boot beneath Lois' legs and sent the girl tumbling to the ground, once again. Lois groaned to herself but kept a firm grip on her crossbow, struggling to pull herself onto her front. When she managed to get herself onto her stomach, Lois lifted her crossbow up the best that she could and pointed it at her friend, ready to shoot if needs be. But, she didn't need to, because Jackson had thrown away Allison's daggers and grabbed her by the neck before she was within a meter of Derek.

Furrowed brows and confused heart, Lois redirected her aim towards Jackson. It seemed that everyone was just as confused as she was; Gerard and Allison wanted Derek dead.

So, what the hell was going on?

——

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