Story ToCPart SevenA/N: This is very little, very late, for which I apologize. Life is under a little bit of a crunch, so I'm having to scale back on posting again. I'll try to keep it up to at least once a week, though. In the meantime, I hope this little morsel is at least ejoyable. 
Part 8:----------
Michel strolled down the hall, tugging at the wrapper of a hard-won candybar, and stopped short at the sight of Susanne apparently standing guard outside his office door. “Susanne?”
“Michel!” she exclaimed. A strange little smile crossed her face. “You have a visitor,” she said.
“Who?” he asked.
The corners of her mouth twitched. “Oh, Superman dropped by to see you,” she replied.
“Superman?!” Michel echoed in surprise. It had only been about a day since he'd last left Kansas, and while Clark might have been feeling good enough to think he was Rambo or somebody, there had certainly been no sign of Superman at the time.
Susanne nodded. “Of course, you were not in your office...” Her eyes flicked to his, one eyebrow delicately raised.
“Oh,” he said. “I was just in the break room, getting a snack.” He held up the partially-unwrapped item in question and finally took a bite out of it, wincing as his teeth trapped a piece of foil along with the chocolate.
That mysterious smile settled on her features again. “Oh, of course,” she said. “But surely, that should not have taken you so long?”
He swallowed, pretending the foil was just a very terrible almond. “The machine ate my money,” he told her.
“Ah.” Susanne nodded sagely. “Well, I left him waiting for you in your office. You know, it's amazing how...different...he looks in person.” She flashed him a little smirk, then opened the door with a dramatic flourish. “Oh!” she exclaimed in a tone of exaggerated surprise. “Where could he have gone?!”
Michel looked around the unoccupied room, his eyes momentarily drawn to the small, high window that he'd cracked open earlier to let in the fall breeze. For a moment, he wondered if perhaps Clark had been called away while waiting for him, but a hunch told him that the man was still nearby. He glanced over at the connecting door to his tiny laboratory: sure enough, it was slightly ajar, and Michel could make out Clark's distinctive heartbeat on the other side. “I'm sure he's around,” Michel said.
“I'm sure he is.” Susanne agreed, smiling mysteriously again. She turned and strode down the hall, her hips swaying with every step.
TBC...
