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Missing Lois (Season 5) - TOC

Chapter 5: Earth Angel - 12 Parts

Disclaimer: Inspired by the characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and portrayed on the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman television series, developed by Deborah Joy-LeVine. Many thanks for the above-referenced writers and to the other writers on the show for their inspiration. The plot of the story is entirely my own.

Author’s Note: The “Lois” in Chapter 5 and 6 refers to alt-Lois. Canon Lois will be called “Lucy” to help lessen the confusion between the two characters.

Story Notes: This story is mostly set in alt-dimension, although visits to the canon dimension do happen from time-to-time.
- Clark = Alt-Clark unless otherwise noted (such as when we are in the canon dimension, then 'Clark' is canon Clark)
- Lucy El = pregnant canon Lois avoiding the curse by hiding out with alt-Clark, aka Lois's secret identity
- Kal = what Lois-Lucy and alt-Clark call canon Clark
- Lois = alt-Lois, wife of Lex Luthor
- Lola Luthor = Clois (Cloned Lois), ‘wife’ of Lex Luthor
- Sam Lane = alt-Lois's Dad, Lois's doctor & roommate
- Mayor White = aka Perry White, former Editor-in-Chief at the DP
- James Olsen = owner of the Daily Planet, Lois-Lucy's friend, who is working with Lois to find Lex Luthor (and hopefully alt-Lois)
- Cat Grant = helping alt-Clark out with PR on his '50 dates' charity winners and social columnist at the DP, now Acting Editor-in-Chief at the DP
- Barry Balson = Superman beat reporter for DP
- Lex Luthor = no explanation necessary, same bad guy as always, this time bald
- Junior = Lex Luthor, Jr., Lex's first born son, creator of the Neuroscanner
- Tempus = extremely bad dude from the future, bent on destroying Superman (both of them)

For a longer plot summary, please click here: Synopsis of Chapters 1 - 4

***

Where we left off in Chapter 4: Part 14...

Clark chuckled as she shut the bathroom door. He didn’t think he had the willpower to resist her after those kisses. If he had been wearing his glasses, they would have been steamed. He quickly stripped out of his muddy clothes and turned on the coldest shower in Kansas.

Wow! She was hot. The cold water on his hot skin steamed up the bathroom. He was so busy washing his hair that he did not notice her until her head appeared in his shower.

“Lois!” he gasped, trying to cover himself.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “I won’t peek.”

“Lois, what are you doing in here?”

“I got a little dirty myself,” she replied, holding out her hands towards the water. “Now, turn up the hot water because some of us are liable to succumb to hypothermia.”

“Lois, you are not coming into… okay, you are…” He couldn’t finish that thought.

“The hot water please or you’ll have to think of another way to warm my body up.”

Clark hadn’t noticed the temperature of the water until she said that, because he felt like he had melted and gone down the drain. He rotated around and turned up the hot water. He knew he shouldn’t face her, but he was afraid of what she might if he couldn’t see her coming. Hesitantly, he turned back around. She was twisting her long brown tresses into a knot. Clark swallowed when Lois held out her hand.

“Soap, please? You wouldn’t want me to feel around for it, would you?”

He didn’t, so he handed her the bar of soap, which -- in hindsight -- had been an equally bad idea.

***

Part 1

Two hours later Clark was in his bed with sleeping Lois’s head lying on his naked shoulder, wondering how he was ever going to survive this woman. He needed to head back to Singapore and start helping with rescue and recovery. It would be dawn there soon. But for some reason he could not move. Maybe because they had made love more times in a row than he thought was physically possible. Since that first kiss downstairs on the couch, she could not take her hands off him. He already knew she was irresistible to him, especially in his emotionally weakened state. He hadn’t slept in what felt like twenty-four hours and he had another long day of search and rescue ahead of him. He sighed.

Being with Lois was better than he expected, better than… everything. She called him her amazing man, which he didn’t mind. That was how he felt about her, simply amazed. And it was nice not to be super for once. To be liked without being seen. For himself and himself alone. No names, no back-story, just him.

Clark was going to have to tell her who he was, eventually. He wanted her more than ever and he had no idea how he was going to put an end to it. That’s what the next sigh was for. Superman could not be seen cavorting with another man’s wife. Especially the wife of an evil psychopath like Lex Luthor. He may have rescued her from hell, but all everyone else would see was that he used his superpowers to take another man’s wife – another man’s wife he had been obsessed with for years. He could picture the headlines in his mind and he cringed.

Clark would have to speak with Lois before he left, because he a) didn’t want to just disappear on her, and b) needed to let her know that she could not under any situation ever tell another living soul about what happened between them.

He kissed her cheek and Lois snuggled against him like she was having a good dream. Maybe he should go make her breakfast; although, technically in Kansas it was closer to suppertime. Quickly and quietly, Clark slid out of bed without disturbing her and went to take a two-minute shower.

The bathroom was a mess, towels all over the floor. He swallowed. Showering would never be the same. Perhaps he should take a swim in the creek instead. True, there were a few more icicles, but he was running so hot, he doubted he would notice them. He cleaned up the bathroom and took his shower.

Clark returned to his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Lois was still asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers down her cheek. She was so beautiful, so loving. He sighed; he wanted to drop his towel and crawl back into bed with her. He wanted nothing more than to spend the day in her arms, making love with her. He swallowed. That swim in the creek was beginning to sound like a good idea.

As his fingers ran down her face again Clark realized he was in love with her. Not just a school boy’s crush, but full-on forever and ever love. Oh, no. That wasn’t good. He shouldn’t be in love with her. It would be bad for him and equally bad for her, because she was technically still married to Lex Luthor. But the heart wanted what the heart wanted. His hand froze. That was what Luthor had told him. This was bad. Really bad.

Lois had just gotten out of a relationship with a love-crazy, obsessed guy. The last thing she would want was another one. He spun into his clothes, then went into her room and brought her an outfit to put on when she woke up. He couldn’t have her wandering around the house -- he took a deep breath -- without clothes.

Clark zipped downstairs to make some breakfast. He didn’t know Lois’s skill level with her blindness and didn’t want to chance her burning down the house trying to cook without her vision. He gulped down his food and placed hers on a tray to take up to the room. He turned around to find her standing in the doorway.

“Lois!” he gasped. She was making it a habit to sneak up on him. Super hearing, what was wrong with you? Thankfully, she had found the clothes he had left for her. “I made you breakfast.” He set the tray on the table and walked over to her.

“Breakfast? You truly are amazing.” Lois beamed in his general direction and placed her hands on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. “And in more than one room.”

Clark kissed her; he couldn’t stop himself after a compliment like that. She jumped into his arms and started tugging off his shirt. He swallowed, trying to back away, but she was attached. Oh, man, she wanted more of him. This was bad. Really bad. But in a really good way.

He cleared his throat. “Lois, I have to get back to Singapore and Malaysia. I have to go help.”

“Oh, right.” She slid down his body, but continued to lean her full body against his. “I forgot, you’re not just my hero. I guess you help other people as well.”

“I go where I’m needed, Lois, but I’ll always be your hero. Always.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, you know,” Lois said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“I know,” Clark murmured, kissing the top of her head. He swallowed, not wanting to leave, not wanting to say what he had to say. “Lois, you can’t tell anyone about us, about last night. That needs to stay between us.”

“Are you crazy? Nobody would believe me.” She reached her hand under his shirt and ran her fingers over the material of his blue suit. “Were we floating part of the time?”

He smiled with a chuckle. “Perhaps. I was a little distracted.”

“Amazing,” Lois murmured, tilting her head up and kissing him. “That’s what I’ve decided I’m going to call you, my Mr. Amazing.”

Clark laughed. Oh, was he in big trouble. He sighed. “I’ve got to go.”

“When will I see you again?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“As soon as I can get away. I’ve got to get you back to Metropolis at some point.”

“Right.” She bit her lip. “I mean when will we float together again?”

Was his Lois asking what he thought she was asking? She wanted more of him? He grinned like a Cheshire Cat before the sharp pain of reality struck his heart. He couldn’t have more of her. She was married to someone else. He was Superman. “We’ll talk when I get back.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed another kiss to his lips that he felt down to his toenails. “How about a quickie then?”

“Lois.” Clark groaned, not wanting to leave, yet knowing he had to take off. “I really need to go.”

“OK,” Lois said, stepping fully away from him. It was like she was tearing him in half.

“Are you going to be okay? Alone in the house?” Clark asked, hesitantly.

“I’ll manage, Mr. Amazing. I am Ms. Amazing, you know.” She laughed.

Clark grabbed her and pressed a strong kiss on her lips. “That you are, Lois,” he murmured and then with a gust of wind, he was gone.

***

Lois felt around the table until she found the tray of food he left for her. Sitting down, she sighed. Making love to him was like nothing she had ever felt before. And she should know, the amount of men she had gone through.

Amazing. Truly, amazing. She grinned. And the floating… wow! That was a new experience. Freeing. It was like sex on a roller coaster. Up and down and around and around. And she was the queen of adrenaline junkies. Lois felt her face; if she grinned any more, it would surely crack.

Breakfast. Right. Food. Eat. Distract yourself, girl, she told herself. He’ll be gone for hours. Lois took a sip of her coffee. Black with a dab of low fat milk, no sugar. How had he known? She smiled. That man was hers and she was never ever going to let him go. He was her reward for dealing with Lex for the last three years. Ugh. If anyone needed a reward, it surely was her. At least she had stopped sleeping with Lex when she got her memories back. She shivered. The thought of sleeping with her husband upset her stomach.

As she took another sip of her coffee, Lois realized she knew absolutely nothing about Mr. Amazing, even his real name. It just hadn’t seemed important at the time. She had meant to ask him when he returned with Lola, but… She smiled. She got distracted. First by his tears, then by his charm, and then by his kisses. Lois ran her fingers over her mouth.

True, Mr. Amazing was a good man. A very good man. In every meaning of the word. She fanned her face again. Down, girl. She released a breath, trying to concentrate on what she knew about her Mr. Amazing. He was flying off to help victims of a cyclone. He had cried when he hadn’t been able to save Lola. She sighed. Poor Lola. She didn’t deserve that fate.

So, Mr. Amazing was a good man who was sensitive and could fly. OK, the flying part was a little out of the ordinary, but after last night, perfectly acceptable. More than perfectly acceptable, she smiled dreamily. She took a bite of her eggs. And he was thoughtful. Kind. And, yum, he could cook eggs. That was it, that was all she knew. Not good. Lois could hear Perry’s voice inside her head, ‘You’ve got to know a man before jumping into bed with him, honey.’ She sighed.

“Yes, Perry. I know. I did it again.” Wham, whir, thank you, sir! She really shouldn’t have anything more to do with Mr. Amazing, except that she was completely addicted to him. Her body was still tingling. From that first kiss on the couch, her body had craved him. If Mr. Amazing didn’t come back, she was sure she would go through withdrawal. She took a bite of toast. And to think she had been crushing on Clark Kent with a man like Mr. Amazing in the world. He was like her daydreams of Clark only on steroids. Her toast stopped half-way to her mouth. Nah, steroids wouldn’t make a man fly.

Modest. Lois had almost forgotten modest. Or was it secretive? Private? He hadn’t wanted her to talk about them. What exactly had Mr. Amazing meant by that? ‘Them,’ he had said. That they had had sex? That they were a couple? Were they? Hmmm. She would have to think about that. She would take friends with benefits for now, but… Mr. Amazing was so sweet, so kind, so gentle, so understanding, so patient with her, and so… She couldn’t think of another word, besides amazing… Super came in a close second. This definitely was a man she would want to get to know better. If he stuck around after this first night. Most men she had sex with never did. She hoped Mr. Amazing would be different.

Anyway, who would she talk to about him? Hello, left alone in a house in the middle of nowhere in Kansas. Smallville? She couldn’t even make up a name like that. She took another bite of eggs.

She wondered if there was a telephone in the house. Lois Lane always found a way to file her story. She grinned. Maybe that was what he meant: don’t mention it about them when she called in her story... Her story about him. He never said not to tell anyone about ‘him,’ just ‘them.’ Sex like that was news, but Lois wouldn’t tell anyone. No, she wouldn’t talk about that, despite wanting to yell it from the rooftops. She wanted Mr. Amazing all to herself. Again and again and again. He was lucky she wasn’t one to kiss and tell. She patted around the tray to see if there was any more food. A glass of orange juice. She downed it in one gulp.

“We’ll talk when I get back.” Her brow furrowed. What in the world had he meant by that? How was that an answer to her question? What had she asked him? When could they float together again? She smiled contentedly with a sigh. Floating with Mr. Amazing. Her mind drifted off.

“We’ll talk when I get back.” Talking wasn’t floating. Talking was the opposite of floating. Her heart sank. He better not try to break up with her. He better not try to dump her after last night. He couldn’t be one of those men. Not Mr. Amazing. Her sunny day just clouded over. No! She wasn’t going to let him dump her. He was hers! Her reward for having been married to Lex Luthor, for having given up sex for three years, for being blinded.

All right. She stretched her arms over her head. Where were telephones usually kept? Bedroom, kitchen, and living rooms? She didn’t really feel like sitting here in the kitchen. The fire was still warm in the living room; she would see if she could find the phone in there. Slowly, she walked away from the table holding out her hands, so not to run into any obstructions. She held one hand up at face height and one at her waist. She found the wall and followed it to the swinging kitchen door, which lead her to the living room.

Lois bumped her knee on a small table. It was next to a lounge chair. After searching for what felt like quite a while -- but was probably closer to ten minutes -- she found the telephone on a row of bookshelves behind the kitchen door. She had knocked over several photographs. Hopefully, she hadn’t damaged any of Clark Kent’s stuff.

Lois carried the telephone over to the long table behind the couch; she had bumped into it a few minutes earlier. She took a deep breath. Here went everything. She picked up the receiver, heard a dial tone and smiled. It was her lucky day. Placing her fingers over the buttons, she dialed that number she repeated in her sleep.

“Hello, Daily Planet.”

“Put me through to Perry White,” Lois said. “I’ve got a story of a lifetime for him.”

“Sorry, Ma’am, Mayor White no longer works here.”

“Ma’am?” hissed Lois. When had she become a Ma’am? She wasn’t even thirty. Mayor White? Oh, that was right, he was battling for the mayor’s office against some man… Tempus, when she had last read the paper. Guess the Chief won. “What about Clark Kent?” He had been writing articles about her; he would want to know she had been rescued.

“Sorry, Kent’s in Singapore on assignment.” Oh, that was right. Singapore. Duh, Lois! He had been dancing cheek to cheek with Lola. Or had Junior just been teasing her about that? Was Clark Kent in the middle of that cyclone? Poor Clark. Wait… what had Mr. Amazing said? Clark Kent had sent him. And here she was at Clark’s house in Smallville. So, Clark Kent must already know she had been rescued. Mr. Amazing must also be a good friend of Clark’s. Maybe that was how Clark was such a good investigative reporter. Well, Clark Kent, hope you don’t mind, but Lois Lane is going to reveal your hidden source. Can we say, ‘scoop’? This was just too big.

“Well, who do you have who covers superheroes?” she said snidely, fully expecting to be hung up on. Mr. Amazing never said she couldn’t talk about him. Just not about them. She smiled wickedly.

“Transferring,” the junior peon said.

Oh, so they were going to take her seriously.

“Barry Balson. City beat.”

“Barry? Lois Lane, here. Have I got a story for you…” she started.

“Hurricane Lane? Wow! You are the story. We thought you were dead. What cat dug you up? Where have you been for the last few years?”

“Can it, Balson. You want my story or not?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely you. Shoot.”

“So, there I was locked in my room as usual, listening to the winds blow. I could tell these were cyclone force gusts…”

“Wait a minute. You were in Cyclone Rafflesia? You were in Singapore? Clark found you?”

“Clark Kent was looking for me in Singapore?” He had still been searching for her? The part of her heart that had stopped beating when she realized Kent and Barbie had gotten married started beating again. He hadn’t forgotten about her?

“Well, I don’t know about that, per se. He has been looking for you for over three years. You’re kind of a pet hobby of his.”

Hobby? She was Clark Kent’s hobby? Her heart stopped again.

“He went over there to interview some guy,” Barry was still saying. “Fifth richest man in the world. Rex Rueford, I think.”

Lois shook her head. “Clark Kent was looking for me?” she repeated. She just couldn’t believe he hadn’t given up on her. Maybe it wasn’t just a coincidence that Amazing had found her when and where he had found her. “And, Barry, you better get your facts straight. Lex Luthor is the third richest man in the world. He doesn’t sue over much, but he might sue The Planet if you got that wrong.”

“You know that guy?”

“Yeah. I know him,” she said cynically, though she didn’t feel like revealing more. “So, how Clark figured out where I was, is his story. How I was rescued, is my story.”

“OK. OK. I won’t interrupt.”

“I heard a crash on the floor below me. I thought the storm was a nasty one and my guards would be moving me soon to a more secure location, so I moved closer to the door. Suddenly, I realized that there’s a man in my room.”

“He burst through the door?” Barry asked.

“No.” She thought for a moment. “He said he came from the window, my balcony. I asked who he was and he said he was a friend. I asked him who he was again, whose friend, and he said ‘Clark Kent.’ So Clark must have told him where Lex was holding me.”

“Uh-huh,” answered Barry, slowly. “O-kay… Ah, Lois, don’t you know that Clark is… Wait. Lex? As in Lex Luthor – that billionaire? He was the one holding you captive?”

Crap. She hadn’t meant to let that slip. “Yeah. Long story. I’ll tell it later. So, this man asked me if I was Lois Lane. No, I said, Marlene Dietrich, you’ve found me.”

Barry chuckled.

“So, he says he’ll carry me,” Lois continued. “He was going pick me up. I told him I was fine enough to walk and, get this, he says, ‘out the window?’ I was on the hundred and fifth floor. That’s a long drop, so I suggested we use the elevator. That’s when he tells me that the power has been knocked out in the storm.”

“You didn’t notice that the power was out, Lois?”

“No, nimrod, I’m blind as a bat. One of those crazy scientists Lex hired to brainwash me shone some light in my eyes and now I’m blind. I haven’t been able to see since February.”

“Oh, my God! Lois!” He sounded genuinely dismayed.

“Barry, are you getting this?” she snapped.

“Yes. Yes. Sorry, I’m listening.”

“So, he tells me, ‘Don’t worry, Lois, I can fly.’ So, now, I’m thinking here I am in my room with a crazy man who’s going to kill us by jumping out a window, during a cyclone no less, when Lex started banging on my door with an ax or something trying to break in. So, this man says, ‘trust me,’ so I do. And he scoops me up and jumps out into the cyclone and, guess what, he actually could fly! I expected we would be plunging to our deaths when I realized we’re not going down… we were going up and less than a minute later we were out of the winds, out of the rain, over the storm without an airplane. Oh, Barry, it was amazing… he was simply…” She sighed. “Super.”

“So, Lois, you met Superman.” Barry laughed quietly.

“Yes. Superman! Let’s call him that!” Mr. Amazing was her pet name for him, but Superman sounded even better… for everyone else.

“Of course, we’ll call him that, that’s his name…”

“What?” She couldn’t have heard him right. “Repeat that?”

“Well, it’s not his real name, but his moniker.”

“What?” She was stunned. This was her scoop and it wasn’t even news. How was that possible?

“Lois, Superman has been around since the mayoral election back in February. He’s old hat… well, not exactly old hat, because then I’d be out of a job. I cover the Superman beat.”

Lois heard February and a light bulb went off in her brain. Lex Luthor had heard about this superhero fellow and then blinded her and kept her in total media blackout so she wouldn’t find out about him. That was why he was so paranoid about this Clark Kent reporter who was still looking for her after three years. He knew Clark was friends with this hero.

“Lois?”

“Tell me about this Superman. I know he can fly and he’s super fast. I mean, he flew me from Singapore to who knows where I am in a matter of minutes. I could be at the North Pole for all I know. He said I’d be safe and I’m freezing cold. I think there’s snow outside.”

“Lois, it’s a week before Christmas. There’s snow everywhere.”

“Oh. It’s almost Christmas?” Had it almost been a whole year since Lex blinded her? She had lost count. Lois felt around her for a chair and sat down on the couch.

“Where have you been, Lois, living in a cave?”

“I may as well have, Barry,” Lois said sadly. A psychopath kidnaps me and does everything in his power to brainwash me and bend me to his will, ends up blinding me and putting me in total media blackout so I can’t call on this new superhero to rescue me. Would anyone believe that true story? It sounded more like Dirt Diggers than Daily Planet.

“Sorry, Lois.” Barry did actually sound sorry. Lois smiled. She had always liked Barry.

Back to her story. “So, tell me about this Superman guy. What do you know? Where’s he from? Does he have any other powers? Is he the only superhero out there? Come on, Barry, give me the 411.”

“Didn’t Clark tell you?” Barry inquired hesitantly.

Lois felt like rolling her eyes. What was it going to take to get a straight answer from this man? “I told you, this Superman fellow took me to a secure location. I‘m guessing Clark Kent is still back in Singapore covering the cyclone.”

Barry didn’t speak for a minute. Then he began slowly, “Lois, where is Superman, now?”

“He dropped me off, then he went back to Singapore to rescue my clone… then he…”

“I’m sorry. Did you say clone?”

Oh, why did she have to mention Lola? “Yeah, right. Lex Luthor had me cloned. I guess, he was trying to fool Superman in rescuing her instead of me.”

“Man, he is obsessed with you.”

“Tell me about it.” She shook her head.

“So, Superman rescued the clone… then what?”

“Lola -- the clone -- didn’t make it.” Lois bit her bottom lip and sighed. Then what? The most wonderful, amazing experience of her life. She cleared her throat. Barry didn’t need to know about that. Nobody needed to know about that. “He went back to help with the clean-up and search and rescue. He said he’d take me back to Metropolis later, tonight I think.”

“Lois, it is tonight.”

Lois was really getting annoyed with Barry’s attitude. “After dark I’m guessing, Singapore time.”

“Oh.” He paused for a moment. “So, you haven’t officially met Clark Kent?”

“Not officially or unofficially. I’m sure we’ll get acquainted when we’re both back at The Planet. Are you going to tell me about this Superman guy or not?”

Lois heard some chuckles on the other end of the line. It sounded like more than one person.

“Barry Bartholomew Balson, what in the hell is going on over there? Do you have me on speakerphone?”

“Bartholomew?” That was Cat’s voice. She would recognize the gossip diva’s voice anywhere. “How did you know Barry’s middle name, Lois?”

“Metropolis’s greatest investigative reporter!” Lois snapped. “You should try it sometime, Cat.”

The chuckles turned to outright laughter.

“Do you think this is a joke?” she demanded. It hurt that her whole conversation with Barry had been eavesdropped on by who knew how many people via speakerphone

“Frankly, Lois, some of us have always thought of you as a joke. So, you’re not dead. Figures. I knew we couldn’t get rid of you that easily. How about you use all of your investigative skills and find out all you can about the man from the planet Krypton or, better yet, his girlfriend, Ultra Woman.”

Lois gulped. Girlfriend? “Krypton?” she whispered. She had had sex with an alien. She had been so sure he was a man. Mr. Amazing felt like a man, had all the parts of a man. And that wasn’t the worst of it. He had a girlfriend! No wonder he didn’t want her talking about them. Scum. Lois felt like she had been slugged in the gut.

“That’s right, Lois. Your Superman is from outer space.” Cat continued to laugh. “So, use all of those formidable investigative skills you’re always bragging about and when you know as much as the rest of us, then and only then, we’ll discuss giving you your job back.”

Lois snarled. “Yeah. Well, who gave you that kind of power, queen of sheen?”

“Mr. Olsen, our publisher. You see, Lois, I’m acting editor for the next two weeks until our new editor shows up.”

Lois gasped. “No!”

“That’s right, deary. I’m in charge of your fate. So, you better get us some new info on our good friend Superman or no investigative job for you.” Cat cackled with laughter. “Like, did you make a move on him? Did he accept?”

Lois’s jaw dropped. Cat would assume that about her. In this case, she would have been correct. Wait a minute. What did Cat mean? ‘Did he accept?’ Had this Superman guy cheated on his girlfriend – this Ultra Woman – before? Some Superman. He was just like all the other guys out there.

Barry grabbed the phone off speaker. “Don’t listen to her.”

Lois sniffled. “Barry, you could have warned me I was on speakerphone.”

“I’m sorry, Lois.”

“I’ve known you since I was a junior peon on the Metro High Bulletin.” Lois felt betrayed. Cat, she expected this from, but Barry? “How could you have done this to me?”

“I’m sorry, Lois. And you were never a junior peon, even in high school.”

“Thanks,” she murmured. “Is it true?”

“Yes, she’s acting editor.”

Lois sniffled again. “Barry, you know she hates me.”

“I warned you not to steal Claude away from her.”

Lois sneered. “I didn’t steal him, he came willingly. Anyway, she should be thanking her lucky stars. He could have stolen that mayoral call-girl story from her like he stole the cyborg boxer story from me.” She grumbled. At least Perry had believed her and shipped Claude back to the French bureau. “So, is this Mr. Olsen guy trying to run the paper into the ground or what?”

“Lo-is,” Barry spoke her name slowly, just like Perry did when he was warning her to watch her tongue. She missed her silver fox of an editor. “I’m sorry,” Barry apologized again.

There wasn’t anything more to say. Lois felt completely humiliated. Back in the States for a few hours and Cat Grant had already punched the wind out of her sails.

“Was there anything else you wanted to tell me about your rescue, Lois, or should I just get the rest from Clark?”

Lois blinked and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I don’t have anything more to add, Barry. I just have one last question.”

“Shoot.”

“Is City Hall’s number the same as it was three years ago?”

“Sure is, Lois. See you soon, then.”

“I wish I could say the same, Barry,” she replied and hung up.

Lois let herself have a good forty-five second cry and then with a deep breath, picked up the receiver. Placing her fingers on the buttons, she slowly dialed again.

***End of Part 1 ***

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Chapter 5: Part 2