In fact, Perry believed that under that polite and courteous exterior lay a completely different… person… than anyone in the newsroom suspected. Person was the right term, he decided. The man from Krypton by way of Kansas was definitely not human.
Perry knows??? Of course, Perry knows! He's Perry WHITE!
All right, Perry get in there and fix this. Lock them in a room and make them talk....or not talk
Something was going on with Clark, though. It was as clear as sweat on an Elvis impersonator that he was in trouble.
Perry knows all. Listen to Papa Perry...
If he had to hazard a guess, his would be that someone had figured out Clark’s secret.
How observant... And Lois says SHE'S the best reporter?
I think we found the winner. The most observant reporter award goes to....Perry White.
Although he’d taken it with a grain of salt at the time, Perry was now sure that Trask’s discovery of Kryptonite had been genuine.
Uh-oh. Nothing gets past Perry White.
As Clark clearly wasn’t going to let Lois in on the secret, the best thing Perry could do for him right now was to give him the space he needed to investigate whatever it was that was going on.
What??? No!!!
You're supposed to be on my side! Lock them in a room and make them sort this out!
It was a gamble, he knew. In his quiet way, Clark was just as stubborn as Lois.
You can say that again...
Together, eventually Clark’s feelings for Lois would override that stubbornness, and he’d find a way to get her to talk to him.
One can only hope....but how do you expect Lois to WANT to listen to him???
Separated… Perry wasn’t so sure. He could lose his star reporting team permanently over this, but that was still better than losing Superman.
Oy... I'm telling you a few hours locked in a cramped storage closet with no windows to escape out of will do those two some good. Maybe soundproof the place too?
If Superman was back in Metropolis, she had to talk to him. She had to find out why he kept disappearing when they needed him most.
Why he kept disappearing? Why he kept disappearing??? Really Lois??
"Superman belongs to the WORLD!"
“Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Superman looked over his shoulder, checking to see if his assistance was required imminently, then motioned for Lois to precede him to a part of the fence line that wasn’t occupied.
“Superman, what’s going on? Why did you miss the subway accident?” she asked as soon as they were in less danger of being overheard.
His jaw clenched; obviously, she’d hit a sore spot, but she needed to know the truth. The people of Metropolis needed to know the truth.
“I can’t tell you.” He turned to walk away, but she reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Superman, people died in those accidents- the crane collapse and now the subway crash. I’m getting a lot of questions. I’ve held off writing about it till now, but I don’t know how much longer I can put it off.” She paused, releasing his arm. “People want an explanation.”
Lois is getting hostile with Superman now? What happened to the adoring cheerleader? Oh, right, Lex...
You know someone really needs to kick him off his pedestal and remind him who he's dealing with. I'm sure if he flew over there at the right speed and flew him up in the sky high enough he could grab him before any staff knew what was going on.
Just hang him off the edge of Luthor towers for a few hours and let the birds have at him.
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. “What do you think I should do?”
“Put out a statement to the press.” It was obvious to her, at least. A statement from the superhero would help settle some of the doubts and the rumours that had been flying around.
He opened his mouth to say something, and for a moment Lois could have sworn she’d seen a look of helplessness on the Kryptonian’s face.
Well, of course, he's helpless you WON'T LISTEN TO HIM!
Oh, right, you don't know he's also your ex-partner. Well somebody is going to be in for a rude awakening....
Something was wrong. Why had he been so conspicuously missing from the twin disasters that had befallen the city? Where had he been disappearing to?
And why couldn’t he talk to her about it?
Ding! Ding! Ding! You're getting warmer...
No, there would be no press release. Not while he still had a chance of bringing Luthor down and putting this whole mess behind him.
So you say nothing?
No.
You need to say SOMETHING! Like, Lex Luthor is the root of all evil in Metropolis. He drowns puppies and wears brown socks with black pants.
There would be riots!
“It appears that the lovely Lois is no longer working with Kent.”
“Your plan is succeeding, sir.”
“Divide and conquer, Nigel. Divide and conquer. With the breach between them growing, I have successfully isolated Superman from almost all of his closest supporters. After all, to truly defeat a battlefield opponent you must destroy their support systems, their allies, and any avenue of retreat.”
Plan? Of course, it's a plan. Lex Luthor always has a plan...which he blabs to Superman right before he gets defeated by him. So when is he going to taunt Supes again and when is Clark going to kick some Luthor butt?
“Nigel, I think it’s time to set in train the next… little incident. Have you located a reliable source?”
“Yes, sir. A Mr. Black. His demonstration was… most impressive.”
“Excellent. Set it up for… hmm. The day after tomorrow.”
Uh-oh. Oh no....
Black? As in John Black? The guy that blows up the Planet?