Missing Lois - TOC 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
- 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
***
What happened in Chapter 5: Part 1...Clark made love to his Lois and instantly fell head-over-heels in love with this exquisite, long-haired, blind beauty. Unfortunately Lois was technically Lex Luthor’s wife. Clark being Superman could not ruin his wholesome image by having it known that he had an affair / relationship with another man’s wife. After making her breakfast and asking his Lois not to tell anyone else about them, Superman returned to Singapore to help with search and rescue after the devastation caused by the cyclone.
Due to her blindness and a misunderstand during her rescue Lois never caught her hero’s name. She decided to call him Mr. Amazing.
Left alone in the Smallville farmhouse, Lois decided to check in with Perry at the
Daily Planet. It was only after telephoning the DP that Lois realized that Perry was now the mayor of Metropolis. She talked to Barry Balson (Superman beat reporter) about her rescue from Lex Luthor. Not knowing that her hero was a household name at this time, she told Barry all about this flying hero who had rescued her. Cat Grant, who had been listening in the on the conversation, gleefully informed Lois that if she wanted her job back at the DP, Lois would need to prove she still had it by digging up new information on their resident alien Superman (Lois’s hero) and his girlfriend Ultra Woman.
***
Part 2“
Mayor’s office.”
“This is Lois Lane. I need to speak to Perry White immediately,” she told the man who answered the phone.
“
I’m sorry, the Mayor has left for the evening. Would you care to leave a call back number?”
Lois had no idea what Clark’s Smallville number was. “I’ll hold, while you track him down.”
“
But he might not be available until morning.”
“You have five minutes. If you don’t connect this call in that time, I’ll hang up and you will be looking for a job in the morning,” Lois snarled. She was no longer feeling charitable.
The man cleared his throat. “
Did you say ‘Lois Lane,’ as in the dead Daily Planet
reporter?”
“Obviously, I’m not dead.”
“
I’ll connect you.”
“Good idea.” Lois took a couple of deep breaths. She had to be in control when Perry answered or she would just lose it.
“
Lois, is that really you, honey?”
“It’s really me, Perry.”
He cheered. “
Woo-Woo! He did it! Saints alive, he did it. Where are you, honey?”
“I don’t know for certain, Perry. Someplace safe, apparently, and cold.” She shivered, taking a deep breath. The fire in the fireplace must be dying down.
“
You’re not back in Metropolis, yet, then?” He sounded concerned.
“No. He…” She couldn’t say his real name. “He had to fly back to Singapore… the cyclone and all.”
“
Lois, honey, is everything alright? You sound funny.”
She never could disguise her feelings from her editor and friend. “Oh, Perry. Please, tell me he isn’t green.”
“
In the King’s name, Lois, please tell me you didn’t.”
Lois was crying in earnest, now. “Oh, he is green! I knew he was too perfect to be perfect.”
“
For heaven’s sake, Lois. He’s not green. He looks as human as you or me. Who has been telling you stories?”
She sucked in her sobs and started hiccupping. “He’s not green? He’s human? Krypton? I should have known better than to listen to Cat.” She took a deep breath.
“
Cat Grant. I should have known. Why you two never could get along, I’ll never know. Why didn’t you call me first?”
“I did call you first, Perry! I just didn’t know you weren’t at the paper anymore. I told Barry about my rescue by Superman, but then I found out they had me on speakerphone and were all laughing at me.” She started crying again.
“
Why were they laughing at you, honey?”
“They said I couldn’t be the Metropolis’s best investigative reporter if I had never heard of Superman. That I couldn’t have my job back until I could tell them everything there was to know about him.” She took another deep breath and sobbed, “And his girlfriend, Ultra Woman.”
Perry gave her a minute to compose herself. “
Lois, honey. They were just teasing you. They don’t know anything about Ultra Woman, either. She’s the best kept secret in Metropolis. Those gossips were just goading you. He only had one date with her and that was months ago. He hasn’t seen her since.”
“Really?” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “He’s really not seeing anyone?” Yippee! Maybe Superman liked her afterall.
“
Lois, please, honey, tell me nothing happened between you two.”
She squeaked.
“
Lois!”
“He started to cry, Perry. You know how I can’t handle that.” She sniffled.
“
Hold on, Lois. Are you sure it was Superman? He doesn’t cry.”
“Is there another guy in the world that flies?” She gave him five seconds to answer and then continued. “He blamed himself when he couldn’t save my clone.”
Perry cleared his throat. “
Clone?”
Lois sighed. “Lex Luthor cloned me. His son said it was to have Clark Kent rescue her instead of me, throw him off our scent. Well, when Superman rescued me, he left her behind with Clark Kent, because he didn’t want to chance carrying the two of us through cyclone force winds. He left me at the safe house and returned to Singapore to rescue her. Only… only, I don’t know, Lex got to her first, I guess. Superman said that she had been thrown off a balcony. Oh, gosh. I hope that doesn’t mean that Lex didn’t get to Clark as well.”
Silence. “
Lois, we’ll talk about your marriage to that monster another time. And I’m sure Clark’s fine. He can take care of himself. I want to explain to you something about Superman. Honey, he’s a bit naïve. He believes in truth and justice. I mean, he really
believes in it. He’s not jaded like you and me. He doesn’t believe in killing anyone, ever, for any reason. He believes he was sent to us to help. It’s what makes him such a good man.”
“OK. So he has a strong belief system,” she said, drying her cheeks with her sleeve. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Perry.”
“
Lois, I know you. You didn’t earn the nickname ‘Hurricane Lane’ by tusseling the hair on a few men’s heads.”
She smiled. “That was a long time ago, Chief. I’m reformed, now.”
Perry guffawed. “
Right, an old married lady? That’s a load of bull hockey and you know it.”
Lois moaned. “But, Perry, he’s so amazing…”
“
Stop! Stop, right there, Lois. Tell me nothing happened.”
She sighed. “Nothing happened,” she lied.
“
You only kissed him.”
Lois sighed, again, rolling her eyes even though she was blind. “I only kissed him.”
“
That’s what I want to hear. Now, we’ve talked about this, Lois. You can’t jump into bed with every Mark, Dick, and Clark.”
“I don’t!” she snapped, knowing his words held too much truth. “Anyway, you know that I always have to be in control with men. Always. You know why I do this, Perry, better than anyone.”
“
Lo-is,” he warned.
“Perry, why do I have this strange feeling you care more about this superhero’s emotional wellbeing than mine?” she asked, barely holding her anger in check.
“
Because you are my tough-as-nails reporter, Lois. You’ve been held prisoner for three plus years, subjected to who-knows-what and listen to you, worried about being thrown off the cheerleading squad, moaning about Cat teasing you, and whining about whether the quarterback will be taking you to the dance.”
Lois smiled, relaxing. Perry had her pegged. “So, Mayor, tell me about this hero. He can fly and he’s fast. What else?”
“
Why don’t you go straight to the source?” he inquired.
“A good reporter knows the answers before she asks the questions. Who taught me that? Anyway, he’s in Singapore with Clark Kent. Helping out after the cyclone.”
Silence. “
O-kay. Since you’ve been out of the loop and you’re blind…”
“How did you know that?”
“
James Olsen met you in Tokyo, remember?”
“I’d say he’s pretty smart for a kid,” she replied, hazarding a guess on Olsen’s age. “But, then again, he put Cat in charge as editor.”
“
That kid owns The Planet,
Lois; don’t forget that.”
“Yes, Chief. Just the facts.” She was sitting on the edge of her seat.
“
Are you sure you don’t want to just ask him, yourself?”
“I will. I will.” She waved off his question. “Tell me already! I’ve got to know.”
“
Super strength, x-ray vision, heat vision, super cooling breath, super hearing, flying and speed.”
Lois’s jaw hung open. “Get out of here! All that?”
“
Plus he’s invulnerable. When I first met him, he stuck a C6 bomb in his mouth. It made him burp.”
Wow! Lois mouthed. “I’m glad he’s on our side.” She paused before asking. “He is from another planet, isn’t he? Cat wasn’t lying to me about that.”
“
Yes, Ma’am.”
She cringed at the Ma’am. “And you’re sure he isn’t green or blue?”
Perry guffawed. “
What does it matter? You’re blind.”
Lois shrugged. “Good point.” She thought for a moment, her foot making circles on the floor. “He must be a decent guy or you wouldn’t be trying to protect him from the likes of me.”
“
The best, Lois. I count him as one of my best friends. Same as you.”
“High accolades.” She bit her lip and then asked him the question at the tip of her tongue. “Perry, would I really be that bad for him?”
“
He’s a hero to people all over the world.”
“Oh, that whole truth and justice thing.”
“
If he were seen dating a married woman, it would damage this image. Ruin his reputation. People would no longer trust him. It would crush him.”
It felt like Perry dumped a bucket of icy water over her. Lois couldn’t cause Mr. Amazing pain. Her bottom lip began to quiver. “Even if she weren’t really married? Even if she had had amnesia when she married the jerk and when she got her memory back, refused to have anything else to do with him? Even if that madman held her prisoner for the next three years, making her friends and family think she had died, all the while trying to brainwash her, bend her to his will and force her love him again? Even then?”
“
Afraid so. Married is married in his book, Lois. And off limits.” Perry cleared his throat again. “
You can see why, can’t you, honey?”
“Uh-huh.” Lois gulped. She had found the most amazing man. Or, he had found her. A man like that might break his rules in a moment of weakness, but he would never let it happen again. ‘
We’ll talk when I get back,’ he had told her. Mr. Amazing wasn’t planning on continuing their relationship while she was still married to Lex Luthor. And there was no way Luthor would ever grant her a divorce. “It isn’t fair,” she mumbled.
“
Why don’t you go relax, honey? Life is going to be Vegas crazy when you come back here tomorrow. Enjoy the silence while you can. Have Clark give me a call before you come home and I’ll be there to meet you.”
“He’s still in Singapore.” She grumbled. “Why does everyone assume I know Clark? I haven’t met him yet. Yes, it was his great reporting skills that found me, but then he stayed behind on the front lines and sent in the special forces.”
Silence. “
Um… I’m sorry, Lois. You’re right. You’re right. I’m sure Superman will… Or if he doesn’t… Why don’t you have the Man in Blue call me before he brings you back, okay, honey?”
“His uniform is blue?” Lois asked, wistfully.
“
Primary blue with a big yellow ‘S’ on the chest. His cape is red. So are his shorts and boots.”
Lois started fanning herself. She no longer felt cold. “Wow.”
“
Lois?”
“Yeah, Chief?”
“
Go take a cold shower.”
Lois coughed. “Noted. And thanks, Perry, for never giving up on me.”
“
Hey, until they produce a body, I’ll always believe you’re alive.”
“Thanks, Chief.”
“
Welcome back, kid.”
Lois hung up the phone. So, Mr. Amazing’s name was Superman. He still sounded amazing to her. Super strength. Heat vision. Was that how he started the fire in the fireplace? she wondered. X-ray vision. Well, he had already seen her naked, nothing to fear there. Super cooling breath. That must help with putting out fires. Super hearing. God, she would love that skill. And he was invulnerable. Plus the flying and super speed. Wow! Could she pick them or could she pick them?
The girlfriend -- Ultra Woman -- she could be a problem. Competition wasn’t fun. Especially competition with superpowers. Yet, nobody knew anything about her. And she disappeared after that first date. Wonder why? Lois’s curiosity was piqued. She would definitely be doing some investigating about her. But one date didn’t make that woman his girlfriend. She would have to ask Mr. Amazing about Ultra Woman. No, she would wait until he told her he was Superman. Why hadn’t he told her he was a household name? Or even what his name was? That would have been good information to have, before calling in one’s “I’ve been rescued by a flying man” story. Hummph.
Lois sighed. It seemed like Lex Luthor was winning once again. He always found a way to come between her and her happiness. She knew that Mr. Amazing liked her; there was no doubt in her mind about that. But if she was the cause of his downfall, she would never forgive herself and she doubted he would either. So, she would be good and back off. She would keep her hands off of him… as soon as they left Smallville. Lois smiled wickedly, biting her thumb.
She had no idea how she was going to accomplish this feat, but as soon as she could, she would dive back into her work. Then her smile faded. If she could. Damn Lex for blinding her.
***
Superman landed in Smallville some eighteen hours after he had left. He was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. He hoped Lois was okay. He would have crashed in his governor’s suite at the hotel in Singapore, but he wanted to check on her. The sun was high in the sky as it was around noon, Kansas time. He landed on the front porch with a heavier than usual thud.
Lois immediately opened the front door as if she had been waiting for him. “You’re home.”
“I could have been one of Luthor’s thugs to nab you, Lois,” he murmured, coming inside and moving her away from the doorway. “You shouldn’t have opened the door for me without checking who it was first, especially since you’re blind.”
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” she said, shutting the door behind him. “What have I done today? I looked at all your books, but couldn’t read any of them. I found a radio and learned all about corn and hog futures and country music. I made toast. I slept for twelve hours, or at least, I think it was twelve hours, which is what I imagine you’re ready to do.”
“A nap does sound nice.” He sat down on the couch and rubbed his face.
Lois came up behind him and started to massage his shoulders. “Wow. You’re stiff. It’s like your muscles have hardened up like steel.”
He stiffened. Had she discovered who he was?
“I’m obviously doing no good here at all,” she said patting his arms. “Why don’t you run upstairs and take a nice hot shower? Get cleaned up.”
Superman turned and looked at her. She had an innocent expression on her face, but this was Lois Lane. If she was anything like Lucy, mischievous innocence was her specialty. Did she plan on joining his shower again?
“My cooking skills aren’t what they used to be, but I think I could rustle you up a mean PB&J.” She smiled kindly towards him. “And a glass of milk.”
As she started toward the kitchen, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. “I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me?” She seemed genuinely confused.
“That was a rude greeting and I’m sorry.” He stood up and leaned in to kiss her, when she placed her hand on his face.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. You’re exhausted. And you smell like you’ve been in the tropics all day, digging through rubble and swimming through the river. You need a shower, some food, and a bed.” She kissed his cheek and continued on towards the kitchen. At the kitchen door, she murmured under her breath, “There’ll be plenty of time for that later, Mr. Amazing.”
Superman smiled, loving her more than before. How in the world had he lived his life without her? Then his smile faded. How in the world was he going to live his life without her? He sighed and went upstairs to take his shower.
As he shut the bathroom door, Clark contemplated locking it. Instead, he spent two minutes debating whether or not he should. He didn’t want to lock it, he wanted her to join his shower again. But he really should lock it and discourage that kind of behavior, if she was planning on doing it again.
Finally, he ended up laughing. She wasn’t going to join his shower. Clark could hear her humming down in the kitchen. He scanned through the floor; she was making his sandwich, just like she said. He jumped into the shower without locking the door, listening to her singing to herself down in the kitchen. It was difficult to relax, focusing all his attention on her voice a floor below him.
After the shower, he again walked to his bedroom with his towel wrapped around his waist. He wondered if she would be waiting for him in his bed. He wondered if he would be able to resist her if she was. She wasn’t. Listening, he could hear her still singing in the kitchen. She was still doing a jazzy version of “Tea for Two.” He laughed. She was singing to him. He spun into clothes and rushed down to her, unable to be apart from her any longer.
Upon entering the kitchen, he swooped her into his arms and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and pulled him closer. He sat her down on the kitchen table and ran his fingers under her shirt to the soft skin at her waist. “Oh, Lois,” he murmured. He had missed her.
“Stop. We shouldn’t do this,” she said, releasing him from her hold. “What would Clark Kent think?” She shivered. “Us on his kitchen table. Better not.” She pushed him away and jumped to the floor. “What bad houseguests we are.”
Clark laughed whole heartedly. Did she still not know? His heart sang at this thought. She just accepted him for who he was, no questions asked? He could live with that. Or was she just teasing him?
She sat down across from where she had his sandwich and milk waiting for him. “Is something funny?”
“I wasn’t planning on telling him,” Clark replied, still chuckling, as he sat down.
“What kind of guy is Clark Kent? I’ve got this image of him I created in my head and I’m curious how close it is to the truth.” She smiled curiously. “I bet it’s nowhere close.”
He grinned sneakily. “You’ll meet him soon enough.” Then Clark felt a stab of guilt. He really should tell Lois the truth. But something was holding him back. He liked being her Mr. Amazing. Clark Kent wasn’t Mr. Amazing material.
“Is he coming here?” Lois asked hopefully.
“No. In Metropolis.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “I’m guessing the Singapore airport is still closed then?”
Clark nodded and then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yes.”
“Are you two close?”
“Very.” He smiled, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“How did you meet? If you don’t mind me asking?”
Clark froze. How in the world could he explain what happened with Lucy and Lana and the Lois connection and the kiss, without telling her everything? “Another time, perhaps. It’s a long story.”
Lois sighed. “I’ve nothing better to do.” They were quiet for a minute. “Do you want to talk about Singapore?”
He took her hand in his. “No. This is better.”
“How are we going to do this?” she asked him, her thumb rubbing against his.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m crazy about you, in case you hadn’t noticed. And I know you’re crazy about me. But, legally, I’m married to Lex Luthor. Obviously, you’re some big shot superhero. Flying around the world helping people. I bet people look up to you. They’re not going to look up to you anymore, if you’re shacked up with Lex Luthor’s wife, are they? Especially, if you’re the one who took me away from him in the first place.”
Wow! He wasn’t expecting this. Had Lois figured this all out on her own? “No, they won’t,” Clark admitted, despite his mouth having gone dry. Something inside of his felt broken after she had laid everything out on the table. It killed him to have to do this, to give Lois up. Later, he would go off someplace private and use every curse word he had ever learned at Tempus for revealing his secret identity to everyone… Well, almost everyone.
“What are we going to do about this?” A tear was trickling down her cheek.
He reached across the table and wiped it away. “We’ll figure something out,” he said hopefully.
Lois shook her head. “No, we won’t. To me, you will always be my Mr. Amazing. But if even one person stopped looking up to you, because of me… us… I don’t think I could live with that guilt. And Lex will never give me a divorce. Our marriage was never about my happiness, only about his.”
Clark’s face became thunderous as he growled, “What are you saying? Did he… ” He sputtered. “Did he… force you…?” He couldn’t continue speaking as his blood began to boil.
Lois gasped. “No! No, nothing like that.”
He calmed down. “Good.”
She squeezed his hand. “I meant it didn’t matter to him whether or not I was happy or he would have let me go years ago. He wanted me to want him; it was all about control. Forcing me…” She swallowed. “It was never an option.”
“Lex isn’t going to let you go easily; is that what you’re saying?”
“He’s not going to let me be free, ever. This house, these few days, will be the closest to freedom as I’ll ever get. He’s always going to win.” She sounded like her best friend had died.
“I’m sure the courts will grant you a divorce without his consent,” he said with certainty. He had to have some hope.
“He’ll fight it. He’s rich and he doesn’t care how much money he has to spend to get his way. Wait until you learn about how much he spent just to brainwash me. And a clone? Not cheap. It will get really ugly. Nothing any superhero should be tangled up in.”
“I’ll protect you,” he whispered.
“You’re sweet.” She smiled indulgently. “What I’m saying is that you cannot protect me. I won’t let you take a bullet for me.”
“I’m bulletproof, Lois. They just bounce right off me. No problem.” He laughed proudly.
Her mouth hung open. “Wow!” Lois shook her head. “But that’s not the kind of bullet I was talking about. The kind of bullet to which I’m referring, you aren’t immune. The negative publicity. The smear campaigns. We have to be squeaky clean to come out of those unscathed.”
“Oh.” He swallowed, feeling like she had just popped his balloon.
“Yeah. And nights like last night, won’t give us a squeaky clean image. And believe you me, I’m betting you draw attention like a pretty girl in a bikini at a comic book convention.”
“A bit.” He laughed softly to himself at the image she put in his head.
“So, after we return to Metropolis, after tonight, we’re going to have to go our separate ways. Forever.” He could see the tears building up in those unseeing eyes again.
“Not forever,” Clark corrected, his voice breaking. “…just until you can get your divorce.”
“Right. Until then.” Lois bowed her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Whenever that will be.”
“We can still be friends though, right?” He had just found her. He couldn’t give her up completely. He didn’t know how.
“Fake it? We can try, but I don’t know how believable I’ll be, Mr. Amazing. You don’t know how incredibly sexy you are.”
Him? Sexy? Clark laughed in disbelief. “Wow. I must be hot. Even blind ladies think I’m sexy.”
Lois smiled. “Mock me, if you wish, but we only have…”
He picked her up and carried her upstairs into his bedroom.
“Tonight,” she finished.
Clark set her down, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her as if there was no tomorrow. Because for them, there was no tomorrow.
*** End of Part 2 ***Dorris Day sings
Tea for Two written by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar, from the movie by the same name.
***
CommentsChapter 5: Part 3
