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.*･｡. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN .*･｡.
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052.
ALMOST THE END.
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——

    "Not yet, sweetheart..."

   The chaos and action stilled as Allison choked, her eyes teary as Jackson held his claws around her neck. "What are you doing?"

   Lois' eyes flickered to Scott as he stirred uncomfortably, as if he knew something that they didn't. She had known Scott McCall for years, and she knew him well enough to know that a lot was going through his brain, in that moment. His eyes shifted around and his breathing was uneven. Lois knew that something was up with her werewolf best friend, but she didn't know what.

Before he had even finished healing, a trail of blood trickling from the side of his lip to his chin, Isaac had pulled himself up from the ground and moved to Lois' side. He slowly helped her back to her feet and stood by her side protectively, ignoring the way that Gerard glared at him. Isaac wasn't scared of an old man, even if he did have control of the kanima — he wasn't sure why, but when it came down to it, Lois was more important than being paralysed or having his vocal chords ripped out of his throat. He had seen her hit the ground and fight with Allison, and judging by the way that her bones popped! and how she limped ever so slightly, he knew that it had hurt.

Isaac gently placed the palm of his hand on her back, watching his veins turn black. Lois sighed in relief and stood straighter, her weapon in hand. She felt stronger, now.

"He's doing what he came here to do." Scott answered Allison's earlier question, his lips pursed.

Gerard hummed, "Then, you know."

"What's he talking about?" Allison asked desperately, with short breathed and wet cheeks. Her grandfather chuckled and shook his head bitterly, almost as if he had played himself and was suddenly realising it.

"It was the night outside the hospital, wasn't it?"

   Lois watched intently as he spoke to Scott, unsure of where to point her crossbow; at the man who was making it all happen, or the boy that held her friend in his claws? She just did not know.

"When I threatened your mother, right?" The old man said, " I knew I saw something in your eyes... you could smell it, couldn't you?"

Confused, Lois took a peek at Scott. He hadn't told them about his mother being threatened by Gerard outside of the hospital, or being threatened by him at any other time that they hadn't also been present, and she wondered when it had happened. Why had he not said anything? They had no idea.

Lois vaguely wondered what else he could have been hiding.

Isaac sniffed the air lightly and cringed. He was able to identify the scent immediately — Deaton had taught him more about his powers that afternoon at the clinic, and now it was all being put to use. The old man had been right; you could smell it. Isaac had no doubt that Scott had been able to smell it, right away. He had.

"He's dying," Isaac said, simply.

All eyes turned to the beta, and then back to Gerard. The man didn't seem fazed by his words, at all. Anything but, actually.

"I am," Gerard nodded slowly, looking down at Derek Hale with a smirk on his lips. It was evil and sinister, much like he was as a person. "I have been for a while, now. Unfortunately, science doesn't have a cure for cancer, yet. But the supernatural does."

   When Jackson's grip on Allison's neck loosened, the man sent him a glare. He tightened his claws around her throat and the girl choked, taking in a deep breath of air and trying to tilt her head away from the scaly hands. Lois' eyes narrowed and she finally set her aim on Gerard. She wanted him to know that if he was to get Jackson to harm so much as a hair on Allison's head — then he wouldn't need to worry about the cancer killing him, because he would get an arrow to the brain, before it had the chance.

   Allison might have lost her mind, almost killed each of them, but it wasn't her fault. And as much as Lois wanted to be angry at the huntress for all that she had done, that feeling was drowned out by the subconscious need to protect her. Anger didn't equate to death in Lois' eyes, and no one else seemed to get that death wasn't the answer to their troubles. No one else truly understood. But Lois had suffered far too much loss to accept that death was always the answer, despite how harshly she gripped at the crossbow in hands and saw crimson behind her eyes. Killing Gerard wouldn't solve their problems — she knew that it wouldn't — but if causing some serious injury to the old man would be enough to stop him, it was an option she wouldn't even contemplate in taking.

Lois didn't want to kill Gerard.

Although, she wasn't sure how many options they had left.

   She knew that, in the long run, it wouldn't be her choice. Lois wouldn't kill him herself, but she couldn't stop anyone else from killing him, either. Once again, Lois didn't get to play god.

    "You monster—!" Chris spat at his father, with gritted teeth.

   Gerard scowled, "Not yet."

    "What are you doing?" His granddaughter cried out, "Why—?"

    "You'll kill her too?" Argent couldn't believe what his father was going, and his heart lurched out of his chest when Allison's eyes cried more tears and the grip on her neck grew even tighter. He couldn't stand to watch his daughter be played like a pawn, any longer. Chris had already lost his wife — he wasn't prepared to lose the only thing he had left.

    "When it comes to survival, I'd kill my own son!"

   Lois shouldn't have been surprised by the brutality of his words, but she had. She felt them hit her right in the chest, sitting heavily on her shoulders. The look of betrayal on Argent's face made her feel nauseous and queasy, her gut twisting. He didn't deserve this, nobody did.

"Scott."

Scott?

She watched her friend with confused eyes. It took Lois a few moments to understand why Gerard had given the boy a pointed look, his gaze flickering to Derek. It was the same reason as to why Scott had seemed to shifty and uncomfortable, and why he had been so quiet. It felt as though a hand had wrapped around her heart and was squeezing it tightly, cutting off the blood flow.

He was going to make Derek change him.

It wasn't simply about killing Derek to avenge Kate, nor was it about erasing werewolves and supernatural creatures from earth.

This was different, now. Lois could hardly believe the sight that was before her. She frowned as Scott's glowing eyes and sharp fangs disappeared, feeling like a brick was lodged in her throat. He contemplated his decisions for only three short seconds, enough time for Lois to count but not enough for her to stop him before he walked towards Derek, gripping the alpha's neck in his hand.

"Scott, don't—!" Derek growled as he was yanked up by the kid he had only ever wanted to help, "You know that he's going to kill me, right after. He'll be an Alpha!"

"That's true..." The oldest Argent nodded slowly, his expression empty, "But I think he already knows— don't you, Scott?"

Scott sucked in heavily, head hung low.

What was he doing?

When he looked back up, Lois was stood in front of him with her crossbow aimed at his chest. Her eyes were stony and her bones were still. She would never shoot her best friend, not in a million years, but she couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.

Not when he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

"Lois..." he breathed softly, "Move."

She shook her head, "No."

"I'm asking you to move, Lois." Scott repeated, "Go."

"I can't let you do this," the brunette ignored his words and pursed her lips together. He avoided looking her right in the eye, knowing that if he did then he would crumble. Lois had begun to plead with him, "I'm not going to let you make a mistake that you can't fix, okay? This isn't right, Scott."

"It is—!"

"No—!" Lois snapped, "It's not! It's not right, at all— why are you doing this?"

"Because he knows that the ultimate prize is Allison."

Lois tried to ignored Gerard's voice, but she couldn't. She was shaking, at this point. His voice seeped into her skin and polluted her ears, leaving her in bounds of itches. Despite how hard she tried to ignore him, by looking at Scott and Scott only, Lois just couldn't. She tried to keep strong and not let him infect her — she tried so hard — but she failed. His words were louder, bigger than her will, and she listened. And she hated herself for it.

"All he has to do this small task for me, and then they can be together." Gerard explained, "He doesn't care about you, or Stiles or Derek, Lois...."

He continued, "No— he cares about my granddaughter. Derek is the only piece here, that doesn't fit. And in case you haven't learned, yet... there is just no competing with young love."

"This isn't you..." she whispered, biting on her lower lip.

In that moment, Lois Lane had started to cry.

She cried, and she cried.

Lois tried to read Scott, for any sign of signal that this was all wrong, but she got nothing. "I know you don't want to do this—!"

The breath was knocked out of her when the crossbow was swiped from her hands. It landed on the floor.

But Lois' heart stopped when the tail of the kanima had wrapped tightly around her neck. Isaac and Chris lurched forwards but to them Jackson had hissed, slowly raising Lois off the ground and into the air. Her hands shot up to try and pry the scales away from her throat, her legs kicking in attempt to get herself down and to safety. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Enough of the chitchat, Lois Lane — you're not Superman."

   If Scott was alarmed, he didn't show it.

Not other than the small twinkle of panic in his eyes.

   The brunette choked on air, or the lack thereof, unable to look away as Scott dragged Derek over to where Gerard stood. She tried to shake her head but the grip around her neck tightened, a strangled gasp passing her lips.

    "Scott, don't!" Derek shouted, "Don't—!"

    "I'm sorry..." Scott sighed, pushing Derek to his knees and holding his head back. Gerard placed his arm above the alphas fangs, shaking in excitement. "But I have to."

   Lois hadn't been able to watch Derek bite Gerard. Perhaps it was because her stomach knotted and flipped, vomit threatening to rise up her throat if she didn't look away, or maybe it was down to the fact that her vision was far too blurred to see it clearly. It was a kaleidoscope of triangles and fuzzy lines, the image only focusing every few seconds. Her skin was warm and there was a sweat on her forehead. Lois only heard the yell of pain.

   Although the yell soon turned to victory, a laugh that had never been so sinister and yet so triumphant. But even that had soon quietened, and Lois could just about see the black liquid running down Gerard's forearm. She didn't know what it had meant, but she knew that it couldn't have been good. It looked awful.

    "What— what is this?" Gerard bellowed, "What did you do?"

    "Everyone said Gerard always had a plan." Scott gave a small smile, proud of himself for what he had done. "I had a plan, too."

   If she could have laughed at his bitter misfortune, Lois would have. But her cheeks were far too busy turning purple, and she found it harder to breathe. Was she breathing?

    "Mountain ash—!"

   Derek furrowed his brows, "Why didn't you tell me?"

    "Because you might be an Alpha, but you're not mine." Scott told him honestly, stepping away as the black liquid began to flow from Gerard's nose and ears, as well as leaking from his tear-ducts. It eventually poured out of him like blood.

   He was dying, Lois could tell that much.

She didn't managed to see the rest, nor hear it, when her vision went black. Lois didn't hear Gerard demand that Jackson killed them all before he fell unconscious, nor did she see Allison elbow the kanima in the face to release its hold on them. And most of all, Lois didn't feel the grip around her neck loosening and her body falling to the ground.

Isaac rushed foreword and caught her before she make contact, holding her carefully in his arms and lowering her to the floor. He frowned when he heard no pulse. Isaac couldn't see any rise and fall to her chest to indicate that she was breathing, which he was certain should have been there. Her face was paler than usual and her cheeks were twinged a light purple, and instead of helping the rest of them fight off the kanima, Isaac found himself panicking about the girl with the comic book conundrum of a name that he held to his chest. She wasn't breathing. Lois Lane was in his arms and she wasn't breathing.

"No— come on," he breathed, laying her flat on her back and tilting his ear towards her lips. Nothing. "Come on, Lois—!"

Placing both hands either side of her face, cupping her cheeks, Isaac gently shook her head in hopes of a response. He gave her a light tap and cursed when she remained unresponsive, carefully pushing the stray strands of hair out of her eyes as though it was habit. Isaac peered around the warehouse and determined that the others were too busy fighting and groaned, realising he would have to do this on his own. He didn't even know what to do.

"Lane, breathe—!" the boy spoke more to himself than to anyone else, tilting her head back ever so slightly and trying to remember what they had learnt in health class. "Come on, don't do this to me! Please breathe—!"

With a final look around the warehouse, Isaac sighed to himself and held her nose with his thumb and forefinger, counting to three before placing his lips onto hers. It hadn't been ten seconds until he shot back, clutching his stinging cheek and glaring at the once unconscious girl.

"Ow—!"

Lois stared up at him with wide eyes, hand still out-stretched from when she had smacked him. She let out a breath, "What did I tell you about kissing me?"

"I was giving you CPR!" He whined.

"Well, don't!"

Isaac rolled his eyes and helped her sit up, holding her steady when she swayed. It reminded him of the night in the school.

"You know— this is the second time I've saved your life." He had pointed out cheekily, despite it not being the time. Isaac smirked when she glared up at him. As always, loving the reaction that he could always get from her. "You should finally thank me, I think."

"Not a chance in hell," she muttered, "Help me, up."

He did as instructed, watching her reach for her crossbow but it hadn't been needed. Not when Stiles' jeep drove straight through the wall of the warehouse and into Jackson's side, sending the kanima flying. They watched with wide eyes as Luna, Lydia and Stiles breathed heavily in their seats. The trio soon cracked their eyes open, not wanting to look at the verdict if it hadn't been the one that they had hoped for — but all sighing in relief when the boy crossed with a large lizard was nowhere in sight.

Stiles glanced at Lois and Scott, "Did I get him?"

Lois let out a laugh of disbelief. Only Stiles.

The atmosphere was soon ruined when Jackson had launched himself onto the hood of the jeep, hissing at the teenagers through the window. All three of them screamed loudly and shot out of the car, all sliding across the seats in panic and stumbling to get out. While Luna and Stiles ran to their friends, Lydia had other ideas.

"Jackson!" She cried out, "Jackson—!"

"Lydia!" Lois cried, trying to stop her friend from being ripped to shreds by the creature her ex-boyfriend had become.

Isaac held the brunette back and wrapped one arm across her shoulders from behind, pressing her back to his chest. And she eventually stilled in his embrace, staring between the two lovers as Lydia held out a key; the key to his house. He had asked her for it back, weeks ago. Jackson froze, eyes reverting back to their normal shade of blue and his scales slowly vanishing. He took the key in his claws and peered at the strawberry blonde, curiously.

The key seemed to speak to the boy in ways that the rest of them couldn't hear. He carefully stepped back, extending his arms as the scales on his skin continued to dissipate.

Lois cringed away when Derek and Peter impaled his abdomen with their claws. She felt her heart break for Lydia, for Jackson, and for herself — they hadn't been able to save him, not in the way that she had wanted to.

Lois had wanted to save Jackson from himself and keep him alive, but they hadn't.

It was another person she hadn't saved.

"Do you—?" Jackson whispered, "Do you still—?"

"I do!" Lydia sobbed, holding her first love. Her hands were shaky and she wasn't prepared for this, but she still held him. She held him in hopes that it would mend him, fix him back together. It didn't. "I do still love you. I do—! I do still love you..."

She wasn't sure whether he had noticed that he had done it, but Isaac gently rested his chin on top of Lois' head and stroked her arm, the small gestures comforting her as she quietly cried. Lois wiped at her stray tears haphazardly and leaned into his embrace, not wanting to see Jackson's lifeless body. It only served as a cold reminder that they had failed him; they had failed a teenage boy, one that deserved to live. She couldn't bare to look at the mess they had made, so Isaac didn't let her.

   Allison spoke lowly, "Where's Gerard?"

    "He can't be far..." Her father responded, lips pursed.

   The teenagers all shared a look, holding onto one another as they watched Lydia move away from Jackson's body — this was more important than Gerard, right now. Gerard could wait.

   Lois rubbed her face and moved foreword, ready to comfort the strawberry blonde, but Isaac grabbed her hand. He furrowed his eyebrows and nodded towards Jackson, the rest of them following his gaze. The sound of his claws scraping the ground forced Lydia back around, her breaths heavy as they watched the wounds upon his stomach heal right in front of them. Lois took a step away from the scene and gasped when Jackson's eyes shot open.

    Blue. That was the first thing Lois noticed as he pulled himself from the ground, his eyes were blue. And they were just like Derek's.

   Lydia threw herself at the boy and Lois couldn't help but smile childishly, amazed at what had happened. Lois had never felt so much relief in seeing Jackson Whittemore — alive and safe — as she did in that very moment.

   While the two lovers had their time, Jackson peered over Lydia's shoulder and met Lois' gaze. He smiled softly and nodded only once, and she nodded back. It was something silent, words that were unspoken, but it was mutual. Lois hadn't given up on him, just like she had said that she wouldn't, and he was grateful. So incredibly grateful. She could tell, just from the look in his eyes.

   Stiles sighed, Luna in his arms, and rubbed his face.

Sure — he was glad that the boy was alive, but he wasn't so happy about the state of his car.

    "He scratched my jeep..." he muttered, earning glares. "What?"

   Lois snickered, looking down at her hand and seeing that Isaac's fingers were still intertwined with her own. She bit back a smile, heart thumping.

   And Isaac had heard.

——

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