Winner Takes All
Folc4evernaday
Part 5***
“This is ridiculous,” Clark muttered, throwing a wadded up paper into the waste basket.
“I know. Talk about your bedside manner. Who does this guy think he is?” Lois rambled, pacing around the room. “I still cannot believe they pulled a gun on you…Why would they think we knew where Superman was? I mean, he just showed up yesterday…None of this makes any sense.”
“I don’t know.” Clark sighed.
“Why would they be demanding information from you? I mean, no offense, Clark, but I was the one that got the exclusive on Superman…”
“I don’t know.” Clark sighed again.
Perry walked into the conference room, “Okay, here’s the deal. They want the two of you to take a polygraph…”
Lois and Clark were both thinking the same thing. ‘No Way.’ “WHAT??” they interrupted Perry in unison.
“…limited to national security concerns about Superman…” Perry finished.
“A lie detector??” Clark asked in frustration.
“…so I told them to stuff it. Not my reporters.” Perry continued.
Clark visibly sighed in relief, “Right.”
“Good for you, Perry. Tell them to take their warrant and shove it.” Lois added.
“I told them if they’re bound and determined to take your computers with your notes to just get it over with and get out of the office so we can start suing their butts off into the next century.
Lois was a bit taken aback, “Take my computer?”
“You talk, they walk. You don’t they’re gonna confiscate the whole shebang.” Perry added, obviously angry about the situation as well.
“Perry, everything I’ve ever done or thought about doing is on that computer. All my contacts, all my research…my novel!”
“Novel??” Clark asked amused. What could she be writing a novel about? The idea intrigued him.
Lois shot him a look, “Don’t start.”
“Don’t you back up onto floppy disks?” Clark asked, steering the conversation away from her novel.
“Clark, this is no time to discuss your compulsive behavior.” Lois snapped.
Clark was about to snap back, but Perry interrupted, “So, what are we going to do, folks? I’m with you either way.”
Clark still wasn’t about to give up. Lois just shrugged. Clark began to get frantic, “What about the First Amendment, Lois?”
“Clark, they pulled a gun on you. To these guys, the First Amendment is a pesky little detail.” Lois snapped back.
Clark shook his head, “I can’t do this. We can’t!” he argued.
“Normally I’d agree with you, Clark, but we don’t know anything. This is like taking a polygraph about the ring-tailed lemur.” Lois sighed. She was just as frustrated about the situation.
Perry nodded in agreement with Lois. “She’s got a point. We don’t know enough about Superman to lie.” He looked towards Clark. He was obviously nervous and he knew he wouldn’t be able to pull the wool over Perry’s eyes. “Kent, you know something you haven’t told us?”
Clark could only shrug when Lois and Perry turned to look at him. A polygraph? How was he going to lie on a polygraph and get away with it?
***
Lois tapped her fingers against the wood grain of the desk impatiently. She was hooked up to the polygraph machine while the mysterious man paced around her like a vulture circling it’s prey. The man seemed bent on finding Superman at all costs. She worried what he would do if he found him.
“You will answer ‘yes’ to these first two questions. We use this to calibrate the machine. Is your name Lois Lane?”
“That is what my by-line says.” At the man’s pointed look she rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
“Are you also President of the United States?”
She rolled her eyes again, “Yes.”
“Do you have any reason to believe Superman is an agent of a foreign power?” the man inquired.
“Yeah, and leprechauns are agents of the IRA.” she snapped sarcastically.
“Is Superman from another planet?”
“If something looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, the chances are pretty good it IS a duck.” He shot her a look, and she sighed, “I don’t know. He looks like a man to me.”
“During the time the two of you were alone; did Superman discuss his mission here on Earth?”
“Mission? What mission? We were five thousand feet in the air. I was more interested in trying to remain calm.”
“Did he say anything to you while you flew?”
“No, we flew. We didn’t talk.” Lois said, exasperated with the line of questions. She was determined to make this as difficult as she could for this man.
The man turned to the polygraph technician, “Non-verbal communication.” He then turned his attention back to Lois, “Does Superman have any telepathic powers?”
Lois laughed, “I hope not.”
The man stared at Lois hard. He obviously didn’t find the same humor Lois did in the situation. “Have you any romantic attachments to this Superman?” He inquired.
Lois stared back, meeting his gaze, “How exactly does that fall under national security Mister…?”
“Trask. National Security is everywhere, Ms. Lane. Now I’ll repeat the question, Ms. Lane. Have you developed a romantic attachment to Superman?”
“No.” she replied coolly. The monitor beside her began to beep.
Lois just shrugged. Trask glared at Lois, “Ms. Lane, procreating with the alien can be seen as treasonous?”
“Procreating? What planet are you from? Who talks like that?”
“Has the alien taken over your mind….or your body?” He sneered. “We are talking about national security and you’re contemplating sleeping with the enemy…Or maybe you already have…”
Lois just glared at him. The man was obviously off his rocker. “You need to get a life. There is no nation security threat or any other threat from Superman. He is obviously here to help.”
“That’s what they all say…before they take over,” Trask muttered.
***
Clark sat nervously at the desk, tapping his fingers against the wood grain as he waited for Trask to begin.
“You will answer ‘yes’ to these first two questions. We use this to calibrate the machine.” Trask said, “Is your name Clark Kent?”
“Yes,” Clark responded coolly.
“Are you also Superman?” Trask asked.
Clark’s heart rate went up slightly. He tried to calm himself down before responding. “Yes.”
Trask looked at the read-out then turned to the technician, “Why isn’t this reading as a lie?”
The technician slammed the polygraph machine on the side with his hand. “Either the machine’s broken again or this reporter’s so mild-mannered he hasn’t got a pulse. Ask him again.”
Trask turned back to Clark, “Remember to answer ‘yes’ now. Are you Superman?”
Clark looked towards the polygraph needle, “Yes.” He shot a short burst of super breath at the needle, causing it to shoot up all the way.
The technician nodded at Trask, “Working.”
“All right, Mr. Kent, let’s proceed. Have you ever met Superman?”
Clark felt his face begin to flush as he stammered, “Met him? I’ve seen him in action if that’s what you mean, but we haven’t actually had a conversation…” Trask glared at him and he continued nervously, “I guess you could say we’ve met. Yes.”
Trask turned his back to him, whispering something inaudible to the technician about watching the readouts carefully. He felt himself begin to levitate out of the seat. He pulled himself back down, gripping hard on the arms of the chair. He winced when he heard a slight breaking noise. He looked down at his feet and noticed with relief that the chair was still intact; just slightly cracked in one of the feet to the chair.
“Is Superman from Earth?” Trask asked, turning back towards Clark.
“I don’t know,” Clark answered truthfully. He really didn’t know where he was from. His parents had said they had found him. He could be an experiment from the government or he could be an alien. He didn’t have a clue. He made a mental note to ask his parents more about when they found him. It might be implemental in stopping these men.
“Can you take us to Superman right now?” Trask asked.
“Take you?” Clark asked nervously.
Trask pounded his fists on the desk and stared Clark down, “Can you contact Superman?”
Clark’s legs nervously intertwined around the chair legs, breaking the chair. He winced inwardly as he levitated himself in the air, keeping the appearance of sitting in the chair. “Uh, you mean by phone or something?”
Trask was exasperated with Clark’s diversion tactics. “By any means possible. Telepathy, for example. Can you contact Superman?”
“No,” Clark replied, nervously.
“Really?” Trask asked, staring him down.
An agent stormed in, “Perimeter’s been penetrated.”
Trask nodded and frowned. The agent disappeared once more. The technician began dismantling the polygraph machine, pulling wires off of Clark. Trask turned to Clark, “Mr. Kent, I don’t need a polygraph machine to tell me when I’m being lied to. I can see it in the eyes. We’re not finished.”
Before Clark could respond, Trask left. Clark sighed with relief and fell to the ground. The remains of the broken chair fell to the ground. He looked out the window to the newsroom and tuned in his super-hearing.
Trask and all the agents were headed towards the elevators in a hurry. Perry was trying to stop them. “What’s going on? I want an explanation!”
Trask ignored him and smiled behind the closing doors of the elevator. Clark opened the door to the Conference room and approached Lois and Perry. Cat walked up to them, miffed. “It was horrible the way they treated us. That agent frisked me twice!”
Perry allowed the situation to settle then began to bark orders, “Biderman, let’s get legal on this right away!” He then turned to Lois and Clark, “Lane, Kent, type up your notes and give them to Valdes. She’s writing this.” He clapped his hands together. “Rest of you, get back to it.”
“What do you mean, ‘type up your notes’? This is my story!” Lois snapped intercepting Perry before he could enter his office.
“Our story.” Clark corrected.
“Whatever.” Lois snapped.
“Right now you two are the story. In case those goons come back with subpoenas I want you out of here ASAP.” Perry barked.
“Fine.” Lois sighed, “I’ll gather my notes at home…”
“Home???” Perry scoffed, “Anywhere but home. Don’t be anywhere they can serve you. Wear your beepers. We’ll call you.”
“Where are we supposed to go?” Clark asked.
A light bulb went off in Lois’ head, “I’ve got an idea.” She grabbed him by the arm and half drug him up the ramp to the elevators.
“Mind telling me where we’re going?”
“You’ll see.” Lois winked at him, “Don’t you trust me?”
She had a gleam in her eyes and he wasn’t sure, but he was pretty sure it spelled trouble.
***
“You cannot be serious. I cannot believe you talked me into this.” Clark muttered. They were sitting in the back of a taxi cab following the string of black sedans that had left the Daily Planet. Lois’ brilliant idea had been to follow them to wherever they were going.
“Hey, they wanted to find out everything about us; I think it’s only fair we return the favor.” Lois sniped. She then turned to the cab driver. “Can you get a little closer? You’re gonna lose them.”
“Lady, if I get any closer they’ll get wise to my following ‘em.” The cab driver sniped.
“This is insane, Lois.” Clark continued.
“No, what’s insane is our government issuing a warrant out for this madman…They’re after Superman and I want to know why.” Lois said.
“Probably why any government agency wants to get a hold of an alien…to dissect him.” Clark shuddered at the last statement.
“Don’t be ridiculous. How do you know he’s an alien? He could be human…maybe he has mutations?”
“I don’t know.” Clark stammered, “I was just…guessing.”
“Which way do you want to go?” the cab driver interrupted. “One went left; the other went right.”
“I think we should take the right one,” Clark said, using his enhanced vision to scan the car that had gone right. Trask wasn’t in that car. Right now he wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lois snapped, “Go left.” She ordered.
“You’re the boss.” The cab driver said.
“Lois, please…” Clark urged.
“What is with you, Clark? Why are you so nervous?” Lois turned to confront him.
“I…” He couldn’t form a good response.
“What did they say to you?” Lois asked.
“Nothing…” he stammered. “It’s nothing. I just don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Here you go. They stopped.” The cab driver said, stopping in front of a furniture warehouse.
“What are they doing?” Lois asked, peeking out the window to see Trask shaking hands with an unidentifiable elderly gentleman. The men walked towards the building and closed the door behind them.
“What now?” Clark asked.
Lois scowled, trying to form a plan. “We’ll get the address and figure out what this place is…then we’ll come back when it’s not so crowded.”
“Lois…” Clark warned. He really didn’t want to do this. These people meant business. His father had warned him for years about government agencies coming after him. He had never paid the warnings any mind until now.
Their beepers went off simultaneously, interrupting his thoughts. Lois looked down at her beeper and grimaced, “it's Perry.”
“Where to now, lady?” the cab driver asked.
“Daily Planet and step on it,” Lois ordered.
***
A traffic jam, an over-heating radiator, and broken air conditioner kept Lois and Clark from arriving at the Planet for over an hour. A slightly disheveled Lois and Clark entered the newsroom where Perry pounced on them the minute he spotted them. “Lois, Clark, where in the Sam Hill have you two been?? I’ve been paging you for over an hour!”
“Well, if the Planet would invest in cell phones for it’s reporters you might actually be able to get a hold of us.” Lois sniped back.
Cat walked up behind them, surveying the duo critically, “Well, it looks like someone’s been enjoying themselves.” She remarked with a wink.
Clark and Lois’ faces were aghast at her implications, “Get your mind out of the gutter, would you? What is going on?” Lois changed the subject, not giving Cat a chance for a comeback.
“What’s going on is the warrant’s phony.” Perry began.
“Phony??” Lois and Clark asked in unison.
“Phony as a lock of Elvis's hair from a Memphis souvenir shop. Our lawyers just called Justice, FBI, State, and CIA. They even called Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.” Perry sighed, “Nobody in Washington wants to claim those boys.”
“So, who are they?” Clark asked.
“We don’t know.” Jimmy interrupted, “All we know is they think their job is to hunt down Superman.”
“What? Why?” Lois asked, confused.
“I don’t know.” Perry said, “But if they’re interested in tracking down Superman; I want you to track THEM down. Find out everything you can about that leader…What’s his name?”
“All I got was a last name,” Lois said, “Trask.”
“Right. Trask. Find out everything you can about him and what kind of operation he’s trying to run…and, more importantly, WHY are they trying to track Superman down.” Perry ordered.
“Okay, we’re on it,” Lois said, turning on her heel to head upstairs; towards archives.
***
That evening, Clark flew to Smallville for dinner with his folks. He stared blankly down at his dinner that had been left untouched. Martha squeezed his hand gently, “You don’t like vegetarian, do you?”
Jonathan smiled when Clark didn’t answer; he joked, “He’s confused. He doesn’t know whether to plant it, or eat it!”
Clark smiled at his father’s joke. He looked down at his plate and began to eat at super-speed; cleaning his plate and emptying his glass in seconds.
Martha and Jonathan traded glances. “Looks like he’s missed your cooking,” Jonathan said, amused.
“Clark, honey, you just inhaled that.” Martha said concerned, “Do you want to talk about it?” An impish grin crossed her face, “Is it, Lois?”
Clark laughed lightly, “No, Mom, it’s nothing like that.” He grew quiet a moment, “Something happened today at the Planet.”
“What is it?” Martha asked concerned.
“These men came in with guns, claiming to be a part of some government agency…they had a warrant for Lois and my testimony…” Clark looked down at his empty plate, trying to form his words carefully. He was more than aware of his parents’ paranoia regarding the government.
“What kind of testimony?” Jonathan asked.
“About….me….Superman.” Clark replied solemnly. Off their concerned looks, he continued, “We found out their warrants were faked, but …. I need to know everything you know about how you found me.”
Jonathan sighed, “It was May 17th, 1966. We were driving past Schuster’s Field that night when we saw what looked like a meteor in the sky.”
Martha nodded, “At first we thought it was one of those ICBMs….”
“It came streaking across the sky in front of us.” Jonathan laughed, “It was hard to ignore.”
Martha smiled, “We found you and took you home. Your eyes were so big and wide, and that diaper-thing they had you in made you look so cute…”
“Martha!” Jonathan interrupted when he noticed Clark’s face turning red from embarrassment. “There were some men who were snooping around a few days later, asking questions.”
Clark perked up, “What kind of men?”
“They said they were with the space program. Said they thought some debris from a Russian satellite came down around here. Wanted to know if we knew anything about it.” Martha said.
“What’d you tell them?” Clark asked nervously.
“Nothing,” Jonathan replied firmly.
“There was something scary about them,” Martha added.
“We didn’t want people who’d shoot you into space to get their hands on you. We figured even if you were a Russian, you were ours.” Jonathan said.
“Is that what you think I am; a Russian experiment?” Clark asked, uncertainly.
“Honey, we don’t care if you’re a Russian or a Martian. And we didn’t care then. You were ours. That’s all we knew and we weren’t giving you to anybody.” Martha said. “That’s why your father did what he did.”
“Did what?” Clark asked, curiously.
“Your mother had me go back to where we found you. We figured that your spaceship had to be destroyed so nobody would ever have any evidence how you got here.” Jonathan explained. “I planned to burn it, and then haul it to the dump.”
“It’s okay, Dad.” Clark smiled weakly. “Destroying it was probably the right thing to do.”
“Probably was.” Jonathan admitted, “But I didn’t.”
“Jonathan, why didn’t you ever tell me?” Martha asked.
“I couldn’t, Martha.” Jonathan apologized. “It was a part of you, son. I just couldn’t.”
***
“Were you successful with your findings, Mr. Trask?” Lex asked, pouring a glass of bourbon into a crystal glass.
“The investigation is still pending. Our parameter was breached by outside authorities so I wasn’t able to finish with Kent.” Trask remarked bitterly.
“Kent?” Lex asked amused.
“Yes. I believe he has the means to contact the alien, Superman.” Trask explained darkly, “I want to exploit this so I can destroy Superman and all those like him. He will be a martyr to his people; that we will not bow down to aliens like him. We will triumph in this war for mankind.”
Lex stared at Trask hesitantly for a moment. He had heard the stories of the man’s delusions but hadn’t realized how true to form he was. Trask really believed there was a war between Earth and outside invaders? He had been ranting and raving his theories for the last six years; now that Superman had come to Earth, Trask was claiming him to be proof of a hostile takeover in the making. Lex wasn’t sure how true this theory was. If anyone would be implementing a hostile takeover it would be himself; not Superman, but Trask would be useful in bringing down his enemy.
Lex raised his glass in the air for a toast, “To mankind.”
“To mankind.” Trask echoed before taking a sip of his own glass.
***
Jonathan walked Martha and Clark through the woods counting his steps. “68 paces due north. Thirteen paces west.”
Martha watched Jonathan uncertainly, “Are you sure this is the right place?”
“That’s the wagon wheel. Hasn’t moved in over twenty-five years.” Jonathan said.
Martha nodded then turned to Clark who wore a worried look on his face. “Are you okay? I know this must be hard.”
Clark sighed and hugged his mom, “What’s hard is not knowing. My parents had to give me up. Why? I have no idea where I came from or why I can do the things I can.” He gently squeezed Martha’s arm when he noticed a hurt look cross her face, “You and Dad are my parents. You know that. Nobody will ever replace you.”
Martha smiled weakly, “Oh, we know that, Clark. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have questions.”
“Mom, what if I’m not human?” Clark asked hesitantly.
Martha sighed, “Maybe we shouldn’t have told you...you were adopted.”
“That would have been hard after I started bench pressing cars.” Clark smiled back at her.
Jonathan pointed at the ground. “Six feet down.”
Clark took off his jacket and handed it to Martha. He moved to where his father was pointing and began to spin in place, creating a whirlwind of dirt. He found himself six feet underground, but there was nothing here. He used his enhanced vision to look around, but found nothing. No signs of his space craft were present. “Dad, are you sure about this?”
“Hundred percent. Right there. You don’t forget something like this.” Jonathan said. Clark floated up from the hole he had created and shook the dirt off of himself. Jonathan and Martha leaned down to look into the empty hole with him. Jonathan’s face grew grim and he pointed toward the hole emphatically, “It was here.”
Clark shook his head grimly, “Not anymore.”
***
She clung to him as they began to move as one. His broad muscles held her securely as they began to move. “Yes, baby…” she cried out.
His hands roamed up and down her curves, and he captured her mouth, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her. “Yes…” She fisted her hands through his dark silky hair, crying out his name.
“I love you.” He whispered before devouring her lips once more. The feeling of his hands on her continued to fuel the fiery passion she felt within her.
“Oh, God, baby…” he moaned.
“Yes….please….faster….yes…”
“I love you, baby…” he whispered.
She cried out his name in ecstasy, “Cl-ark!”
***
Lois awoke with a jolt. Sweat was pouring down her forehead. Her heart was racing and her nightgown was soaked. She looked around the room and sighed in relief. She was in her room alone.
Clark? Why had she been dreaming about Clark? Dreaming of making love with Clark? She brushed the thought off as she snuggled back into her bed, willing sleep to come quickly. The less time she had to think the better. She had no intention of repeating her previous dream. She just wanted to get a decent night’s sleep. Was that too much to ask for?
***
The next morning the newsroom was a frenzy of activity. A staff meeting had been called and everyone was scrambling around to prepare. Jimmy was looking at the pictures of Superman he had taken the other day in disgust.
“Jimmy, where’s the blow-ups I asked for?” Perry bellowed.
“Right here,” Jimmy said resignedly. He hung the blow-ups on the wall with regret. Lois had been right. The pictures hadn’t come out that well. Many of them had come out blurry and the blow-ups only made it worse.
Perry took a magnifying glass to the photos, “Jimmy, these are no good.”
“Chief, they’re okay,” Jimmy argued half-heartedly.
“'Okay?!' 'Okay' doesn't cut it at the Daily Planet.” Perry sighed then turned to the conference table behind him, “Sit down, Jimmy.” He turned to the staff that was seated and sighed, “How did everyone sleep last night? I know yesterday was a bit stressful for everyone.” There was a murmur from the staff, agreeing with Perry. “I didn’t sleep well at all last night. Last night, our publisher called me into his office and asked me how come the Daily Planet hasn’t nailed down the Superman story after it literally dropped in our laps?” He looked around the room at the apprehensive faces, “Now I took this as a personal criticism and I assured him that each and every one of my staff would chip in. Would not rest until Superman was ours. Are we clear on this?”
Lois stood up, outraged, “No! Perry, you can’t be serious. I was the one Superman flew with. I wrote the original piece. I found him!”
“Actually he found you,” Clark remarked, teasingly.
Lois glared at him then turned her attention back to Perry. “Chief, this isn’t fair. I should have the exclusive on the follow-up. Those are the rules.”
“You and your partner.” Perry corrected. “I’m sorry, Lois, but the rules are off. This is too big.”
“But, Perry…” Lois argued.
“You’ve already got enough on your plate with the fiasco with that Trask that came in here yesterday. We don’t have time to wait for Superman to drop in our laps. Superman is fair game.
Every reporter for him or herself.” Perry said.
“All right!” Jimmy cheered.
Perry smiled at Jimmy, “Enthusiasm. I love it.”
Lois sighed as she sunk down in her chair, “We need to find him.”
“Is that really a good idea?” Clark asked. “I mean, with this Trask guy running lose…”
“That’s, even more, reason for us to find him and have him tell his story. We need to let the people know he’s not a danger to anyone, but here to help.” Lois argued.
“How do you know that?” Clark asked, awestruck.
“If he wanted to hurt us; he would have done it already. He told Amy he was a friend. Does that scream hostile takeover to you?” Lois asked.
“What if he doesn’t want to be found?” Clark asked. “What if all this media frenzy isn’t what this guy expected. Maybe he’s gun shy.” Clark offered.
“That’s ridiculous. He should know I…I mean, WE…we wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.” Lois stammered.
“Maybe, but…” Clark was cut off by Cat’s intrusion in the conversation.
Cat held up a magnifying glass to the blow up picture of Superman and Lois Jimmy had taken. “Ever notice what bedroom eyes he has?”
Jimmy walked up behind her and laughed, “Well, if he is an alien…maybe he doesn’t get the …you know…itch.” Clark visibly blushed, squirming in his chair.
“One way to find out.” Cat winked at him.
Lois rolled her eyes in disgust. “Possible visitor from another planet arrives here on Earth and all you can think of is dragging him off to your lair to try him out?” Lois didn’t notice Clark cringe when she voiced her disgust.
“Test drive, Lois. A couple hours behind the wheel and I’d know for sure if we’re talking imported or domestic.” Cat grinned.
“Is that all you can think about?” Lois asked in disgust.
“Hey, I’m curious.” Cat argued.
Perry’s voice interrupted Lois, “Okay, settle down. “he moved over towards the blow ups and tapped the picture of Superman, “Think. What would draw Superman out? Use your instincts. Beat the bushes. Turn the stones. Get me Superman.” The staff got up and left the conference room.
“I’m with you, Chief.” Jimmy said, standing next to Perry.
Perry smiled and leaned in, whispering to Jimmy. “We’re a team?”
“Yes, sir.” Jimmy cheered.
Perry nodded, “Fine, Jimmy, here’s what I need from you.” Jimmy pulled out a notepad and began to write. “Two..no...make that three...donuts. Jelly. Go to Lucille’s. Tell her they’re for me. Got it?”
Jimmy nodded, slightly defeated. “Got it.” He left the conference room to retrieve Perry’s donuts.
Perry caught Lois and Clark before they could leave, “Lois, Clark, I want to see you in my office with everything you’ve got on the raid from yesterday.”
***
Lex Luthor sat outside his penthouse, enjoying the view. Asabi, his manservant stood by his side. Lex read the headlines in the various newspapers in Metropolis. All the headlines read ‘Superman.’ “Superman….Superman…Superman.” Lex mused. “Soon your time will come.”
The phone rang and Asabi answered, “Mr. Luthor’s office.” He was quiet a moment then turned to Lex, “Mr. Luthor, a Jason Trask is here to see you.”
Lex nodded, “I’ll take the call in my study.” He walked into his office and waited for Asabi to depart before picking up the phone, “Mr. Trask, this is a surprise. I thought I told you never to call me directly.”
“You do want Superman eliminated, don’t you, Mr. Luthor?” Trask snarled.
“Of course.”
“I’ve got a problem. An old friend, George Thompson is on my tail and could prove a threat to our deal. I need him taken care of.” Trask hissed.
“Oh, now I’m your maid? I don’t like cleaning up after other people.” Lex said.
“If he catches up to me; this whole operation could come crashing down and if it does I won’t be the only one to be implicated.” Trask said menacingly.
“Enough said. I’ll have him taken care of.” Lex said.
“See that you do.” Trask hung up the phone before Lex could argue.
Lex hung up the phone angrily and stared at the phone a moment before composing himself once more. He picked up the phone and began to dial. “Nigel? Yes, I need a little problem taken care of…Your usual expertise will be required…Thank you.” He hung up the phone then turned towards his desk. His phone rang again and he picked it up, “Lex Luthor….Lucy?” His tone softened as his charismatic charm took over. “Yes, I’m looking forward to dinner…”
***
Perry sat back and listened to everything Lois and Clark had told him. He tapped his fingers against the desk for a moment, “So, pretty much what we have is this Trask…We still don’t know who he is or where he came from is out to get Superman. Nobody wants to claim him. You…” Perry gave a short laugh. “…followed him to a furniture warehouse and nobody’s seen him since.”
“I’m still waiting to get a copy of the blueprints on the warehouse.” Lois added.
Perry sighed, raking a hand through his thinning hair. “All right, keep me posted.”
“Chief, about the Superman thing…” Lois began.
“I’m not changing my mind about this.” Perry sighed, “There’s too much at stake here and I’m not just talking about the Daily Planet. After yesterday’s raid….Superman needs to be warned.” Perry remarked grimly. “Now, get to it!” He barked.
***
Lois and Clark exited the office, slightly stumped. “What are we supposed to do? Put a signal in the sky and hope he shows?” Lois asked, annoyed.
“I don’t know.” Clark sighed. He watched Lois closely. She seemed tired and very edgy today. “Are you okay?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m fine.” She brushed his hand off of her. He tuned in on her heartbeat with his super-hearing and was surprised to find her heartbeat was off the charts. She was obviously nervous about something, but what?
“You just seem a bit…” She glared at him and he wasn’t sure if he should continue.
“A bit what?” Lois pressed.
“Well…” He tried to change the subject, “How’s everything going with your sister?”
Lois sobered immediately, “She’s still seeing Lex.” She said briskly, taking her seat.
“Hey, Lois, I think I found something.” Jimmy handed her a file that was bursting out of the sides.
“What is this?” Clark asked.
“Bureau 39. They’re a secret government agency hell bent on tracking down unexplained phenomenons in the United States.” Jimmy explained.
“What does this have to do with Trask?” Lois asked.
“Jason Trask.” Jimmy corrected, pulling an old newspaper clipping out of the file.
“Project Blue Book?” Lois squinted at the newspaper clipping skeptically. “Jimmy, the Air Force got out of the UFO business in 1969.”
“No, look!” Jimmy pointed at the clipping. “In the background.”
“I don’t see anything.” Clark said hesitantly, not wanting to appear too eager. He recognized the man in the background as Trask. The clipping identified him as ‘Jason Trask’ just as Jimmy had said.
Lois squinted, “Well, I have perfect vision. Superman doesn’t see like I do.” Lois bragged. She nodded, “Jason Trask.”
“He was in the Air Force, according to this article, but there’s no military service record. He disappeared into thin air in 1969.” Jimmy explained.
“What about the other men in the photo?” Clark asked.
“General Burton Newcomb...retired. Lives in Metropolis. Colonel George Thompson; whereabouts unknown. He’s probably still active.” Jimmy explained.
“I’d call that a lead,” Clark said. Lois stood up and grabbed her purse, heading to the elevator with Clark.
“Let’s hit it, rookie!” she teased. Clark shot her a look.
***
Jason Trask stood in the middle of a warehouse filled with filing cabinets and unidentified crafts. Many of them were covered in tarps. “Jason, glad we could catch up.” George Thompson’s voice echoed throughout the room as he approached Trask.
Jason Trask turned to confront Thompson. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to make sure Bureau 39 isn’t implicated in….whatever it is you think you’re doing here. You’ve gone astray from our mission, Trask.” George said menacingly.
“My mission is to identify alien threats to the security of this country.”
“Superman??” George Thompson scoffed.
Trask nodded, “The advance guard. If we don’t resist him, they send in others. All these years of waiting and now they’re here.”
“So, what’s your plan, Trask? You’re going to capture Superman and dissect him?”
“I don’t want to study him; I want to kill him.”
“Trask, your reckless freelancing is jeopardizing the entire Bureau 39 operation.”
Trask scoffed, “You don’t know anything about Bureau 39! I’m the one out in the field; while you sit with those gutless paper pushers in Washington! You’re too stupid to know we’re even in a war let alone how to fight it!” He slammed a fist down on the desk beside him. “Don’t you see what’s happening? Superman is trying to sway the public. We must draw the line! I will never submit...”
“I’m shutting you down, Trask.” Thompson interrupted.
“What??” Trask stared back at Thompson coldly, “Shutting ME down? I don’t think so.”
A man in black approached from behind, carrying a large weapon, pointed directly at the two men. Thompson followed Trask’s gaze and gasped in surprise when he was shot. Trask glared at the man in disgust. “Took you long enough.”
“I do apologize, but you really didn’t give me much to go on.” The man replied. “What do you want to do with him?”
“I don’t care. Just get rid of him.” Trask snarled.
The man nodded and began to drag Thompson’s lifeless body away.
***
Lois and Clark sat in General Newcomb’s den. He was an elderly man in his late sixties. The walls were covered with pictures of his activities in the Air Force and with influential men and women in the government. Medals were displayed in a tall cabinet.
“General Newcomb, thank you for seeing us on such short notice.” Lois began.
“Not a problem, Ms. Lane. I enjoy a visitor or two every now and then.” General Newcomb smiled at her appreciatively. “What can I do for you?”
Clark laid a blown up copy of the photograph they had of Jason Trask on General Newcomb’s desk. “This man came to the Daily Planet under false pretenses; claiming to be working for the federal government.”
“He said he’s looking for information on Superman. Jason Trask?” Lois prompted.
General Newcomb sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the photograph. “Jason Trask? I never thought I’d hear that name again.” He mused. “Have you ever had to keep a secret? A huge secret?” He asked, reaching for Lois’ tape recorder that was set to record on his desk.
“Sure.” Clark nodded.
“Like what?” Lois asked. Clark just brushed her off, unwilling to divulge into his private life with her.
General Newcomb ignored their encounter and began removing the tape from the recorder as he spoke. Lois was about to protest but Clark stopped her. “Keeping a secret eats away at you. It’s just a nibble at a time, but it adds up. And one day, you wake up and realize it’s consumed everything inside you.” He pulled out a nutcracker and placed the tape inside it; crushing it. “We were just a small group when we started, but we all took a special oath on the same day. August the second, nineteen-forty-seven. I was about your age.”
“Did you take an oath to protect people like Trask?” Lois asked.
“You don’t need me to find Trask. He’s probably hiding in plain sight.”
“Like a used office furniture warehouse on Bessolo Boulevard?” Lois asked.
Newcomb arched an eyebrow and she knew she was right. “Getting to him, though, that’s another matter. A man like Trask would no doubt be protected by an impenetrable security system.”
Lois scoffed, “Every system has a flaw.”
Newcomb smiled, removing a magnetic keycard labeled ‘3-9’ from his desk and placed it just within reach of Lois and Clark. “Not this one. I designed it myself. You’d need someone on the inside to help you out. Now, assuming you could find such a person you’d have to hope that person found a man like Trask so repugnant and his methods so …un-American…that he would choose to help you.” Newcomb wore a grim expression, “That’s a tall order.” He moved to his collection of military rifles, mounted on the wall; removing one of them. “I’m going to count to three. When I turn around, I expect you to be gone. One…” Lois and Clark looked at one another hesitantly, unsure of what to do. “Two…” Lois grabbed the card from the desk and hastily made an exit with Clark. “Three…”
***
“Well, that was hard,” Lois said sarcastically as she swiped the card at the entrance of the warehouse. Clark just smiled back and followed her into the warehouse.
The doors shut behind them, sealing them inside. They were in a secure chamber. The door on the other side of the room had a timer on it along with a combination lock. “Maybe the security system’s been updated since the General’s day, hmm?” Clark asked, kneeling down to work on cracking the safe.
“This is no time to get smug,” Lois said, indicating the time on the wall that read forty-five seconds. She watched him, annoyed, “Don’t tell me, safe cracker?”
She watched in amazement as the timer stopped and the door opened. She looked at him questioningly. He shrugged, “The General said August 2, 1947. Eight left, two right, forty-seven left.”
Lois just stared at him uncertainly, “You are so weird. Works for ya, though.”
***
Clark looked around the warehouse suspiciously. Nobody was around. He sensed trouble. “I don’t know about this, Lois. Where is everybody?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re out to lunch?” Lois offered. He stood by her as she pulled out a file from one of the cabinets. She laughed as she sifted through it. “Give me a break.” The file contained photos of what appeared to be space crafts. Each photograph was attached to a leaflet of reports, identifying the space crafts in question. “I’ve seen this movie.” She muttered, stuffing the file back into the cabinet.
“Lois, these look …genuine,” Clark said, looking through the file in his hands.
“They’re too good,” Lois argued. “It’s got to be a set-up.”
“What if it’s not? What if people actually traveled in these? People from far away…” he held in a gasp when he found a file labeled ‘Smallville. 1966.’ He noticed Lois was preoccupied looking at another file and stuffed the file into a small square, stuffing it into his wallet at super-speed before she was any the wiser.
“There’s definitely a story here, Clark, but I don’t think it has anything to do with UFOs,” Lois said.
“I thought you were the one that said if it walks like a duck…”
“Don’t quote me to myself, Clark.” Lois sniped. “How did you know I said that anyway?” she arched an eyebrow at him, impatiently waiting for an answer.
“Well, I…” He pointed at the area behind the cabinets with tarps over them. “What’s that?”
Lois rolled her eyes, following him. “I suppose you think we’re going to pull one of these off and find a UFO?”
“Honestly, Lois, I don’t know what we’re going to find,” Clark said apprehensively.
Lois smiled and pointed back and forth between the three objects in front of her. “Eeny, meany, miny, mo…” she pulled off the tarp, revealing a collection of twisted metal and beams. “This is an Unidentified Salvage Yard.” She muttered, walking away from him.
Clark was still unsure. “This doesn’t look like any scrap metal I’ve ever seen.” He moved to one of the cages behind the tarps that was labeled, ‘Smallville, 1966 Incident.’ Clark inhaled deeply, stepping inside apprehensively. He reached for the tarp that was inside the cage and gingerly pulled it off. “Oh, my God…” he gasped quietly. He revealed a small space shuttle with the same ‘S’ shield his parents had found on him so many years ago.
Inside the ship, he found a small rounded ball with blue and red shapes on it. It appeared to be a replica of Earth’s globe. He held it gingerly, uncertain what the object was. He gasped when the object in question lit up in his hand. The globe changed shapes. A reddish tint overtook the globe, revealing peaks and valleys, ice caps.
He couldn’t explain it, but suddenly he knew what this place was. “Krypton.” He whispered in a hushed whisper. Where had that come from? He asked himself. He stared at the globe before him. It had stopped illuminating and sat lifeless in his palm.
“Clark??” Lois called to him, approaching him from behind; He hurriedly stuffed the globe in his pocket and covered the spacecraft, turning to face Lois. “Somebody’s coming.”
Clark walked hurriedly with Lois towards the exit only to be met by Trask and his goons. “How did you get in here?”
“That’s your problem,” Lois said.
“That’s correct,” Trask replied smugly. “Getting out however….that’s your problem.”
Clark took a protective step in front of Lois, “People know where we are.”
“Like Superman,” Lois added smugly. Clark shot her a warning look. That was not the best way to scare Trask. The man was looking for Superman; why would he be afraid of him? “He’s going to come looking for us.”
“Oh, I hope so.” Trask barked back smugly. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”
***
Lois and Clark sat side by side on an aircraft. Men with weapons trained on them surrounded them. Out of the blue, Lois sighed, “It’s a romance novel.”
“What?” Clark asked, confused.
“The story I was writing. It’s a romance novel. It’s about a woman who dies without ever finding her true love.” She sighed.
Clark was a bit taken aback. Clearly, Lois thought this was going to happen to her, “That’s not going to happen to you, Lois.”
“Yeah?” she asked slightly hysterical. “Check it out, Clark. These guys look serious.”
“Lois, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Clark tried to reassure her.
“Oh, Clark, that’s very sweet, but there’s not a lot either of us can do here. No offense, but you’re not exactly Superman and I have no idea how to contact him. All he left me with was ...’I’ll be around’…That’s not exactly a big clue.”
Her ramblings were cut short when Trask and a few other soldiers approached them. “I assume you two are familiar with the scientific method,” Trask asked.
“Advance a theory, submit it to a test,” Clark said.
Trask nodded, “My theory is that at least one of you knows how to contact this alien creature, Superman, probably through some form of telepathic communication.”
Lois looked back and forth between Trask and the surrounding soldiers, “And how do you plan to test this theory?”
One of the soldiers opened the door to the aircraft, “If you suddenly become airborne at twenty thousand feet without a parachute…I have to assume you will focus all your energies toward contacting Superman.”
“What if this theory of your is wrong?” Clark asked apprehensively.
“Pushing back the frontiers of science is not without risk,” Trask replied smugly.
“What happens if Superman does show up?” Lois asked apprehensively.
“Does the worm need to know if the fish is going to be fried or charbroiled?” Trask asked. He nodded toward the two soldiers that stood next to Lois and Clark. They reached out to grab Lois.
Clark stood up and began to argue with them. “Leave Lois alone. Use me. I’ll go.”
Lois put on a brave face as they led her toward the open door. “No, I’ll go.” Lois nodded.
Clark tried to reach her, but the soldiers stood in his way. There was no way he could get to her without revealing himself. “Lois! You don’t understand.”
Lois turned to Trask, “I think I oughta get at least one last request.”
“Within reason,” Trask remarked.
“I want to kiss Clark good-bye,” Lois said apprehensively.
Clarks’ eyebrows shot up at her request. She wanted to kiss him good-bye? Why? What could she accomplish from that? He had to figure a way out of this without revealing himself. Lois was standing in front of him, reaching for him. Just a simple touch from her sent a jolt of electricity through him. Did she feel that same spark every time they touched? “Lois...I…”
His thoughts were cut short when her mouth came in contact with his. Her warm lips caressed his, tugging his lower lip in between her teeth aggressively. He groaned in approval as she slipped her tongue in his mouth.
There was no way he could let it end like this. He had to get them out of here. The only question was how? She slowly broke away from him and whispered in his ear, “You take the one on the left.”
Lois turned around quickly, throwing an elbow in one of the soldier’s abdomen, and then kicking Trask. Clark pushed the soldiers surrounding him against the wall. He turned to see Lois struggling with Trask. She was being pushed out the door.
On the other end of the aircraft, a soldier had a gun trained on him. He panicked momentarily but Lois’ screams distracted him from the soldier’s movement. “HELP!!” He moved toward Lois. The gun went off and a bullet bounced off of him. “Clark!” Lois screamed.
Trask took advantage of her distraction and pushed Lois out the door. “Lois!” Clark pushed his way through everyone else and dove out the door after Lois.
He zeroed in on Lois as he changed into Superman on his way down. He picked up Lois’ screams with his super-hearing. “Superman! If you can hear me, drop everything and get over here! Superman!!! Help!!!”
Once he had centered himself to where she was; he zoomed down to scoop her up. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“You really do read minds…” Lois said amazed.
“No, but I do have really good hearing.” He smiled back at her.
***
Back on the aircraft, Trask was hunched over the computer onboard, “Tracking. We’ve got both of them.”
“The guy’s hurt.” One of the soldiers said. “I shot him.”
Another soldier picked up a bullet from the floor, “Guess again.”
Trask looked at the bullet that had been flattened. “No trace of blood.”
“I shot him. I saw it.” The soldier argued, stunned.
“You missed,” Trask muttered
The soldier stared at the bullet in his hands in disbelief. The other soldier was hovering above the computer system, “Target acquisition. Zero-niner-five.”
“Execute,” Trask ordered.
“Missile lock in five, four, three, two, one.” The triggering mechanism fired, “Executing.”
***
Clark landed with Lois on the rooftop of the Daily Planet. “You’ll be safe here.”
Lois nodded, slightly frazzled. This was the second time he had saved her life in the last few days. He smiled at her warmly. The same way Clark always smiled at her. Clark! “CLARK!” she grabbed him by the cape before he could leave. “They still have him. He may be hurt. I heard a gunshot…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go back for him.” Clark reassured her. “Are you going to be all right?” he asked. Lois stared at the missile that was heading towards them, unable to say anything she pointed behind him. “Lois?” he asked again. He turned to see the missiles headed his way and skyrocketed towards them.
Lois watched in horror as she watched him ricochet into the path of the missiles. Superman was thrown upward from the explosion of the missiles. “Superman…” she cried, bowing her head in despair. He had only been trying to help and now he was gone….
***
“Let’s get out of here,” Trask said. His surrounding soldiers nodded and they directed the aircraft away from the explosion. “Another job well done, gentlemen.”
“I still say I shot him.” One of the soldiers argued.
***
Clark. Had he been able to escape? Superman hadn’t had a chance to get to him yet. Oh, God, she’d only known him for a short time, but she’d grown to care about him as a partner…a friend…and possibly more.
Lois stepped off the elevator slightly dazed from her encounter. “Lois, what happened?” Perry asked, rushing to her side.
“Before or after we got thrown out of the plane?” Lois asked, slightly dazed. “Is he all right? Superman…”
“We don’t know.” Perry said, “We’re running down some witnesses. You know what happened to …”
Lois looked towards the elevator and saw Clark stepping off, adjusting his tie. “Clark!” she ran up to him, throwing her arms around him in relief. He was okay. She reached up and kissed him; surprising herself and him. Realizing what she had just done, she pulled away, but still had her arms around him, unwilling to let him go just yet; “You’re alive!” she mussed up his hair slightly.
“It would seem so…” he said apprehensively.
“Oh, Clark…” she turned to the rest of the newsroom, “Hey, everybody, Clarks’ alive!” she released her grasp on him for a minute. “Do you know what this means?”
“No…” Clark said.
“Perry, if Clark’s alive that means Superman’s alive. Superman had to have saved him.” She turned to Clark for confirmation, “Right, Clark?”
“Uh, yeah…” Clark said, nervously adjusting his glasses.
Lois grabbed him by the sides of his face, excited and kissed him once more. “What are we waiting for? Oh, God, this story is getting bigger and bigger every second.”
Perry watched the encounter slightly amused but turned away.
***
Inside the warehouse, Lois and Clark had been in a few hours ago they found emptiness. Everything that had been there before had been removed.
“Why am I not surprised,” Lois muttered. She turned to Perry who was right behind them. “It was all here, Perry.”
“UFOs …bagged and tagged and processed. Right here, Chief.” Clark grimaced, looking around in disgust. “Well, there goes that story.” He sighed.
“What are you talking about?” Lois argued. “We can still write it. This is a cover up. A huge government conspiracy.”
“A cover-up?” Perry asked skeptically.
“This is bigger than Superman, Chief.” Lois urged. “We’ve got cosmic Watergate here.”
“Yeah, too bad we can’t write any of it,” Clark said.
“What? Why not?” Lois asked, “We can corroborate each other.”
“Where’s your evidence, Lois?” Clark motioned to the empty warehouse. “Gone.”
“Chief…” Lois pleaded.
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Kent, Lois. You’re talking UFOs. Your physical evidence is gone. Trask is missing. Thompson’s dead. General Newcomb says he’s never heard of you. We run this thing and we’ll look like the National Whisper. You could kiss your careers goodbye and take the paper with you. I just can’t let that happen. Sorry.” Perry walked out of the warehouse, leaving Lois and Clark to talk amongst themselves.
Jimmy patted Lois on the shoulder, “I believe you.” He then moved to follow Perry outside.
“Lois…” Clark placed a hand on her shoulder.
He was surprised to see her close to tears, “Do you realize what we’ve lost here, Clark?”
Clark nodded, “Yeah, I do.”
“Trask is missing. What if he comes back? What if he…” she gave into the emotions that had overtaken her. Clark hesitantly placed a supportive arm around her as she cried. She was obviously more rattled about her encounter with Trask, than she lead on.
***
Later that night, Clark sat at home on the phone with his parents. “I don’t know what to do, Mom. She’s really upset. I mean, that’s understandable. Trask threw her out of the plane.” Clark sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “Mom, I want your opinion on something.”
“Is this about Lois? Yes, I think you should ask her out. It’s obvious you like her.” Martha’s voice was full of teasing.
Clark smiled at his mother’s insight. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“I still stand by it,” Martha argued. “What is it?”
“Perry has every reporter out searching for Superman...trying to get the scoop. I wanted to know what you thought about me giving an interview to someone.”
Martha twisted her face a bit, thinking before she spoke, “Who would you give the interview to?”
“I was thinking of giving it to Lois.” Clark began slowly.
Martha smiled on the other end of the phone. It was obvious to her that Clark was smitten by Lois Lane. “Are you sure you can trust her?”
“Yeah.” Clark said firmly, “I know I can trust her. She barely has any information to go by on Superman and she’s his number one supporter. I think it’s only fair she gets this interview. Especially after what she had to go through. She brought up a valid point.”
“What’s that?” Martha asked.
“Trask is still out there. What if he comes back?” Clark asked.
“I’m sure you’ll handle it the best you can,” Martha said soothingly.
“Yeah. Mom, do me a favor and double check the locks on the door and windows before you go to bed?”
“Clark, I’m a grown woman. I don’t need you worrying about me. I swear sometimes you are worse than your father.”
“Please?” He asked.
Martha immediately relented. Clark was obviously rattled about something. “Okay, but I promise I’ll be fine.”
“When does Dad get back in town?” Clark asked.
“He’ll be back tomorrow. Your Aunt Ida’s been nagging him to come visit her ever since she had back surgery last summer. Since we just finished with the harvest; he figured now’s as good as any to go visit.”
“Yeah,” Clark said sadly.
“Honey, cheer up. I’m sure everything will be fine. Why don’t you go see Lois? Give her that interview? Maybe that’ll help?” Martha suggested.
“I guess,” Clark said. He smiled and decided now was as good as any to say good night. “Night, mom.”
“Good night.” Martha hung up the phone and sighed, heading for the front door to double check the locks for her son’s sake.
***
Lois sat at her desk, typing away. “No...no.” she stopped, cursing at herself. She stared back at her computer menacingly, “Why can’t I put this into words?”
Clark swooped down, landing in the newsroom. Lois turned around to face him, a huge smile on her face. “I hear you’ve been looking for me.” He said.
Lois smiled back at him, trying to compose herself. “Everyone’s been looking for you…in case you haven’t noticed.”
Clark nodded, “I know.” He grew quiet a moment. “You almost died because of that. I’m truly sorry for that.”
Lois tried to brush it off, “Well, it did make that bungee jump I did last year seem pretty tame.”
Clark knew she was trying to cover up the real fear she felt over the situation. He had seen her just a few hours ago in tears over her fear of Trask returning, “I’m going to stop that man. That’s a promise, Lois.”
“You know my name.” Clark realized his slip and grew slightly apprehensive. Had he given himself up? Was this a good idea? “But I don’t know yours.”
Clark smiled, “Superman seems to have caught on.”
Lois blushed at the comment, “You didn’t give me a lot to work with you know.” She pulled out a notebook from her desk. “Where are you from? I mean, you’re not from Kansas, that’s for sure.”
Clark had to smile at that comment. If she only knew. “I’m from another planet. A place called Krypton.”
“Krypton?” Lois echoed. “Do you mind if I write this down?” she gestured to her notebook.
He shook his head, ‘no.’ “Not at all.”
He felt her eyes on him; “You seem to have all the parts of a ….man.” she blushed.
Clark smiled back at her, “I am a man, Lois. Just like you’re a woman.”
Lois smiled back at him, blushing slightly. “So, you can fly, but what else can you do? I mean, those missiles hit you head on.”
She didn’t skirt around; getting down to the nitty-gritty. Yes, he’d definitely made the right choice. “I have enhanced senses. I can fly, see things other people can’t. I’m invulnerable. When I concentrate I can create a freezing blast with my breath. I can also create laser beams from my eyes as well.”
“I see. Enhanced vision. What do you mean by that?”
“Well, I can see through walls.” At her look of concern, he smiled politely, “Not that I make a habit of it. I try to keep from invading anyone’s privacy.”
Lois smiled. “So, no peeping tom?”
“No. I have my ethics.”
“I’m glad you’re here, but why are you here?”
“To help,” Clark said simply.
“To help?” she echoed. “You’re going to have to give me more of a quote than that. Like, ‘I have not yet begun to fight.’ Or ‘Damn the torpedoes.’ If you said you were here to fight for truth or justice ….”
“Well, truth and justice. That sounds good. You can use that.” Clark said.
“Okay, um, do you have a minute? I should probably call my…”
A cry for help distracted him. He looked towards the window, “I’m sorry. I have to go.”
“A job for Superman?” she asked, smiling at herself for coining the phrase.
Clark nodded. “I’ll be seeing you.” He left to answer the cry for help. He couldn’t help but smile when he heard her murmur ‘I hope so.’ at his exit.
***
They floated in the air as one, clinging to one another as they began to move. “Yes…” she moaned.
His hands roamed up and down her sides as they moved. His hard muscles beneath her skin…His skin against hers. The feeling of his tongue caressing hers. His mouth on hers. She fisted his hair aggressively, crying out his name in ecstasy. “Please yes…Su-per-man!”
***
Clark sat upright in his bed, hearing his alter ego’s name on Lois’ lips. He quickly changed and made his way over to her apartment. He was about to knock on the window when he realized what was going on. His face reddened at the sight before him.
She was in bed, dreaming….. Had he heard her right? She was dreaming of Superman? Why? He really didn’t understand the difference between himself and his alter-ego other than the powers.
Deciding that he’d intruded enough for the night he turned away only to hear her cry out a completely different name. “Cl-ark!”
His eyebrows shot up at the implication of this. Was she dreaming of him? This was too much. He had to get out of here…now. He ricocheted himself towards the Arctic. This was going to be a long night.
***
TBC...
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