Here I go again, being incredibly original... this is a rewrite of "The Man of Steel Bars" where the heat wave is *not* caused by Lex Luthor. (My very own little challenge for myself: get rid of all traces of Lex Luthor!)
This story is considerably longer than anything I've ever posted before. And... it's got an A Plot. But I hope this won't frighten you away. 
The first part and I guess most of part 2 as well will sound mighty familiar and so I apologize for that. But I promise it does differ from the episode at some point! For one thing, the villain is different and... well I brought in a few other people from the DC Universe as well, just cause I felt like it. Hehehe! I also promise a nice chocolate ice cream scene and a good tear jerker in later parts, so I hope this will encourage you to read on even though this is a rewrite of an episode.
Last thing: I borrowed a few lines of dialog from both the script and the actual episode (TMoSB)... I mean no disrespect or - God forbid - copyright infringement. The characters (from L&C and the ones from DCU, for that matter) belong to their respectful creators/owners. Other than the bits of dialog, which I obviously didn't write myself, I wrote everything else. And yes, the main idea is taken directly from the show - but a lot of this came straight out of my own head, not anyone else's. I promise! ~.~.~.~.~
~ All Weathered Out ~ By LaraMoon
Lois Lane sat at her desk at the Daily Planet, shaking her head. For the last several days, the temperature in Metropolis had registered in the high 90's and the heat wave was starting to take its toll on her and everyone else. It wasn't the temperature that was bothering Lois right now though, rather the fact that it wasn't supposed to get this hot in December.
"This is ridiculous!" she said, to no one in particular. Then, turning to her partner, she added, "Clark, do you realize that people are actually planning trips up *North* for Christmas this year?"
He looked up from his computer monitor. "What's wrong with going on vacation up North?" he asked.
"Are you serious?! People usually try to get away from the cold. They fly South in winter; like the ducks! I was on the phone with a travel agent just before. Would you believe they're seeing a 500% increase in ski trips to Vermont and Colorado compared to last year? Plus, cruises to the Caribbean are at an all time low. It's as if we're living in... Bizarro world or something!"
"Bizarro world?" he chuckled. "You just come up with that?"
"Whatever! Bizarro, Reverso, call it anything you like. It's just very... strange-o!" She laughed. "You know... I'm really starting to miss the brisk winter air and having snow on the ground."
Clark raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Remind me to ask your thoughts on winter when it's actually here," he teased. "I'm pretty sure by then you'll be telling me how much you really hate it!"
"Wanna bet?" she giggled. "But I sure could use a nice winter breeze just about now, though."
Lois turned her attention back to her computer screen and started typing up her notes about the vacationing trend she'd mentioned.
Resisting the urge to oblige and send a short burst of cool super-breath her way, Clark looked at the clock and got up from his chair. "We should get going if we're going to make the press conference," he told Lois.
"Right behind you," she said, typing furiously. A short few seconds later, she saved her work, got up and ran towards the elevator. "That press conference better be air conditioned!" she grumbled, getting on.
~.~.~.~.~
Meanwhile, somewhere on the outskirts of Metropolis...
A man sat alone, amidst an assortment of computer parts and electronic components, in the basement of an old abandoned building. He wore an evil smile on his face.
He ran his fingers delicately on a metallic wand, which lay on an end table next to where he was seated. The small glassy globe set at the end of the rod shone briefly at his touch.
"Clyde," he whispered, "you are a genius! I wish you were alive to see this, brother; see how your research - your life's work - is going to rid us of that overgrown Boy Scout in blue tights. Soon, I will rule over Metropolis."
~.~.~.~.~
This press conference is going to be a nightmare, Lois thought to herself once they got there. It looked like every reporter in the city was crammed into the small conference room at City Hall and what's worse is there was absolutely no air conditioning!
"I hope this is over real quick, we can barely breathe in here!" she told Clark.
He shrugged. "I can cover this solo if you like. I'm not sure how much news we can get from this anyway. I doubt they know what's causing the heat wave, even the meteorologists at the weather network seem to be stumped."
"Nah, I'm good. Besides, if *they* all start suffocating," she made a hand gesture to indicate she meant the other reporters, "it'll give *us* something to write about!" Lois winked at Clark and together they made their way towards the front of the room.
The Mayor made his entrance, along with several city officials, meteorologists and other scientists. His statement merely consisted of explaining what efforts were being deployed in order to avoid brownouts and power failures. He also urged the population to limit their energy consumption as much as possible. No doubt every air conditioning unit in the city was working full power around the clock and this created extraordinary demands for electricity. With that, they started taking questions from the crowd of journalists.
Unable to silence the question that was burning her lips, Lois blurted out, "Is anyone going to tell us where the heat is coming from?"
"We've been studying all meteorological phenomena in the area: the jet stream, the ozone layer, even sun spots but all patterns have remained consistently normal," one scientist replied.
"We have a theory..." another scientist confessed, uncomfortably.
The two scientists argued somewhat, claiming the theory hadn't been proven, that it was still just a hypothesis for the moment and that they were still entertaining several other possibilities.
"Please! We have a right to know what's causing this extreme condition!" Lois told them, above the crowd.
"Not 'what'... it's 'who'," was the answer they got.
Astonishment ran through the crowd of reporters. "Who?!" several of them exclaimed simultaneously. This was going to be big news!
"On behalf of the citizens of Metropolis," Lois yelled out, "I demand to know who that person is!" She had completely morphed into 'Mad Dog' by now.
All eyes turned to the podium, everyone impatiently awaiting an answer.
One of the scientists took a deep breath and looked around the room. "Superman," he said finally.
Jaws dropped and eyes grew wide. Could this man really have said what they'd heard him say?
Clark felt his blood run cold. They thought he was responsible for the heat? But... how? Surely, they were mistaken! He would never dream of endangering the population of Metropolis. For crying out loud, he spent all his spare time trying to save them from all sorts of perils! This made no sense at all.
Lois couldn't believe her ears. Of all the things they'd ever accused Superman of since he'd arrived in Metropolis, this was certainly the most ridiculous one of all, she thought.
"Come on, Clark, we're leaving. The heat's made all their brains go soft! How dare they accuse Superman like that! How dare!" Lois said, irate, tugging sharply at Clark's sleeve.
Under normal circumstances, Clark would have recognized this as Lois going into 'battle-mode' and his cue to do the same. However, these weren't normal circumstances and Clark was so lost in thought, he barely heard Lois' comment. He saw her turn to exit the room and simply followed out of habit.
~.~.~.~.~
By the time they made it back to the Planet, Lois was getting worried that something was seriously wrong with Clark. He hadn't said a single word to her since they'd left City Hall and what's more, he had a strange haunted look on his face.
"Clark? Are you OK?" she asked him as they entered the lobby. "You haven't said one word since we left there. What's wrong?"
He didn't answer, just kept walking towards the elevator. Lois grabbed him by the arm. "Earth to Clark!" she said insistently. "What is the matter with you?"
"Huh?" he replied, slightly dazed. "Sorry. You were saying?"
"Clark, you haven't said a word since we left the press conference, that's not normal, even for you. What's up, partner? Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? Oh... well I've got a bit of a migraine coming on," he lied. "With all this heat and, you know... poorly ventilated rooms."
"I'll file the story on the press conference. You go on home and get better, OK?" She patted his arm affectionately.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks, Lois," he smiled warmly and left.
"Poor guy," Lois thought to herself. "No wonder the heat's affecting him, he's been walking around with his suit jacket on all day!" She shrugged and got on the elevator.
As she got in the newsroom, Perry walked up to her. "Did you lose your partner on the way?" he asked.
"Well, he said he had a migraine. I... huh... sent him home, actually," she told him.
"That damned heat's knocking out everyone right now... If this keeps up, there won't be anyone left in this newsroom!"
"Well, it's not like he's been abusing his sick-day reserve or anything! And you should have seen him, Perry, he looked really awful..."
"Yeah, I know it's not like him to be sick at all. Anyway... the press conference... What's the word? They have any idea what's going on at all?"
"Not really," she told him, "in fact, I think the heat's making them all a bit delusional. They're blaming Superman!"
"Superman?" Perry asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Like that makes any sense at all!"
"They do say his powers are solar induced," Jimmy chimed in. "Maybe he's like a battery? And recharging him makes the temperature rise 'cause he's attracting so much sunlight? Sounds quite plausible, if you ask me."
"Jimmy! Whose side are you on?" Lois countered, obviously offended by Jimmy's comment. No one was allowed to badmouth her hero! Especially not her friends! "I refuse to believe that Superman is at fault!" she added, throwing her hands in the air in total frustration.
"Lois, calm down," Perry told her. "Now, if you're not going to be objective about this, I'll have to assign someone else to write the story. Otherwise, I want you to sit down and type. I'm thinking, front page title: 'super feat equals super heat?' and I want it on my desk half an hour ago!"
"Yeah, yeah, OK," she said dejectedly and started working on the article.
~.~.~.~.~
Shortly after, in the villain's lair...
Setting the afternoon edition of the Daily Planet on the drawing table in front of him, the man rubbed his hands together triumphantly.
"I can't believe how perfectly this plan is working out!" he exclaimed. "It's such a pity you'll never witness it, my dear Clyde!"
He walked over to the main computer and punched in a series of keys on the keyboard. Seconds later, the screen flickered and the image of a woman appeared.
"All set for phase three," he said.
The woman gave him a thumb's up and together they laughed wickedly.
~.~.~.~.~
That afternoon there was an explosion in a warehouse. Eyewitnesses said they'd seen some sort of lightning bolt hit the electric generator, which had blown up, trapping workers inside the building. Superman had flown in and gotten everyone out of harms way, then he had secured the warehouse and left.
As a result, the temperature had risen several degrees more, thereby confirming the current theory that the heat wave was a direct result of super activity.
Shortly thereafter, all local TV stations started broadcasting special news reports that were basically offering proof to the population of Metropolis that Superman was indeed the culprit.
Clark sat in his living room, his head in his hands. He could not believe what he was hearing. How could this be possible? He'd been using his super powers for years outside of Metropolis and that had never been the cause for any such temperature rise. What was going on?
Just then, he saw the City Attorney come on screen. She was coming out of the courthouse and was quickly surrounded by a large crowd of journalists.
"...to cease and desist in the usage of his super powers," she was saying. "I have subpoenaed him to appear in court tomorrow morning..."
Clark sighed in despair. "Cease and desist? How do I do that? I can keep my feet on the ground and stop using my heat vision, but how do they expect me to turn off my invulnerability aura?"
A few minutes later, his phone rang. He reluctantly picked up. He was in no mood to speak to anyone right now...
"Clark? It's Lois. Did you hear? They want to get Superman in court and have him stop... well, you know, being 'super'. They've all gone completely nuts! Hey, how's your migraine? Are you feeling any better? Oh... you weren't sleeping, I hope? Did I wake you?"
He couldn't help but smile. Lois' babbling always had that effect on Clark. Most people found it annoying, but for reasons beyond logic, he loved that about her.
"No, you didn't wake me. And yeah, I saw that on TV just now," he told her.
"They're crazy, right? You don't think it's his fault either, do you?" she asked, hoping she wasn't the only one whose sanity wasn't affected by the heat. Clark was Superman's friend, after all. He was bound to be on the hero's side!
"I... huh... you know what? I *don't* know. I don't have any idea. It doesn't sound logical to me, but I mean... what do we really know about Superman? How can we be sure it isn't his fault? Are there tests they can do, you think?"
"Well, I was thinking... So far, all the evidence they've been showing only pertains to dates. You know? On that day, Superman did this and the temperature was a certain degree... and they've got graphs that show the temperature rising after each time he's done something super, right? Well... what if we looked at locations instead? See for instance, if I were to check what the temperature was when he went over to China for two days and helped after the earthquake, I wonder if we'd see temperature rises as important as what we're seeing here."
"I'm not sure... Granted we're pretty much certain that his powers are solar induced, he needs the sun to sustain them in a way. That means he attracts sunlight and I guess his body accumulates it, like a battery, but is that even enough to make the temperature rise at all? Wouldn't the temperature have shot well over 100 this summer if that was the case?"
"Oh. I hadn't thought about it that way," Lois said, defeated. "You think?"
"Like I said, I don't know... I don't even think Superman himself knows for sure," Clark told her. He really wished he did have some idea how his very own body used sunlight. If he had, then it would be a lot easier to figure all of this out. But Clark knew as much about how his body worked as he knew about life on Krypton, which is to say he was basically clueless and that really annoyed him right now.
"I still think it may be worth looking into. You feeling up to it, Clark? Because there's a lot of data to go through and I could sure use your help."
"I'd be happy to help, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not certain I'm doing well enough to go back to the Planet," he answered. That wasn't a lie. He obviously didn't have a migraine like he'd told her before, but his spirits were quite low. He knew that if he went into the newsroom, he'd only end up more depressed. All they'd be talking about was the heat and how it was probably Superman's fault. Clark didn't think he could endure that and not end up snapping at everyone. They didn't deserve that from him.
"That's Ok, Clark. Stay right where you are. I'll even bring ice cream!" Lois said cheerfully.
Maybe a little company was a good idea after all, Clark thought. Besides, Lois was one of the only people around who wasn't trying to pin the blame on Superman. In fact, knowing that she was in his corner - even though she thought Superman was an entire other person - always warmed his heart. There wasn't anyone else who would literally get in the ring and fight to save the Man of Steel. Clark - and Superman - could really use someone like Lois just now.
"Yeah, sure," he said, "ice cream sounds really good, actually."
"I'll be right over!" Lois told him and she hung up.
~.~.~.~.~
To Be Continued... Feedback thread is here
