Epilogue: Arresting Developments

"CLARK KENT YOU MISERABLE SHIT!"

Lois Lane screamed as soon as she got into the office. The target of her ire was by the coffee pot, trying to look invisible. Heads went up and then quickly went down as the reporter stomped across the carpet.

"YOU HAD HER ARRESTED!"

"Lois...please, lower your voice..." Clark said, as he looked around the office.

"FUCK YOU!" Lois balled up her fist and threw a jab that would have broken a normal man's nose...but quicker than her eye could follow, he caught her wrist. The pale blue eyes stared out from behind the black plastic frames, icy and emotionless.

"You shouldn't act like that," he said quietly. "Not in your condition."

That was the cherry on top of this shit sundae, as far as Lois was concerned. She had told Clark about Blaze, about being pregnant, even about the devil's mark that had been slowly spreading. Lois Lane's mouth went into a firm line.

"Why, Kent? I thought we were friends! I trusted you!"

He dropped his voice still lower, and let her go. "Not here. Up on the roof. Okay?"

She followed that broad back up the stairs. Staring daggers into it all the way. It wasn't just that the Justice League had arrested Blaze while Lois was at work yesterday, but the reporter hadn't given her evening or morning blowjobs and now her throat felt itchy...in fact her whole body felt off-kilter, uncoordinated.

On the roof, Clark stepped out and stared up into the sun. Lois stayed in the shadow of the Daily Planet's great globe.

"She's a demon," he said.

"I know that," Lois said. "I don't care. We're in love. I need her, Clark!"

"You're addicted," a woman's voice came from behind Lois. The reporter nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to see Zatanna, in her top hat and tails, long legs encased in fishnet stockings, step out of the shadows. "Blaze is a succubus. Her sexual fluids contain vasopressin, oxytocin, and other substances...the chemicals that make you feel like you're in love."

The reporter's brow furrowed. Her instinct was to deny it...to insist that her love was real, not some chemical addiction.

"That agitation you're feeling...the weakness...the need?" Zatanna said as she laid a hand on Lois Lane's shoulder. "That's withdrawal."

"...no," Lois couldn't stop shaking. Her stomach lurched, and she tasted bile. Oh, not now...

The reporter managed six shaking steps, but not quite to the edge of the roof when she dropped to her knees and vomited. Yellow bile, slightly flavored by coffee, hit the roof.

"...and maybe a bit of morning sickness," Clark said. He was at her side in half a heartbeat, and handed the reporter a handkerchief.

"Doctor Fate and I have been investigating the situation. The thing is, because you're pregnant...and an addict...the fetus is addicted too," Zatanna said. She took off her tophat and retrieved a measuring spoon...a metal tablespoon. "So going cold-turkey isn't an option."

"What...what do you mean?" Lois said. She felt far too weak and sick.

".nemes s'ezalB nommuS" The witch chanted, pronouncing each syllable carefully, deliberately, while holding the spoon out in front of her. As Lois watched, a familiar black ooze slowly filled the metal tablespoon to the brim.

"What she means," Clark said, his voice carefully devoid of emotion. "Is that for the duration of the pregnancy, you're going to have to ingest a certain amount of Blaze's semen regularly. We can't afford to wean you off of it until after you've given birth, so...it's time to take your medicine."

Lois opened her mouth. She could still taste vomit, but more than that...she was salivating. Could smell that cum as Zatanna brought the spoon to her mouth. The reporter's eyes closed as she closed her lips around the handle, slurping the bitter, salty, thick treat down her throat...and slowly she felt her center return, calm wrapping itself around her like a blanket...and down below, where she couldn't see it, the devil's mark grew.