Hi Mary!
A crowd of on-lookers gathered in the mouth of the cave, but none dared to venture outside. The man in front of Lois didn't even seem to notice them as he looked her over, his face ashen. “Lois! Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Nice touch how you are referring to “the man” instead of “Clark” in Lois’s POV right now.
to eyes that she had in one breath called “vibrant” and “insipid”.
“dull, insipid mud brown” to be exact.
He swept his gaze over her from head to toe, and Lois suddenly felt warmer. She stared at him, her jaw slack.
Looky there, now she realized that his gaze isn’t just undressing her with his eyes, it’s also warming her when she realizes his attentions.
Hot blood began racing through her veins, and she found her voice again.
CAVE TRIBE: Now we have /holding up four fingers/ of them. We never get sleep now.
“So, were you ever going to tell me that my best friend is really Superman, or were you too busy laughing at me?!”
Waiting for the kids to graduate.
“Oh, God! I said so many things to you...in front of you...about you! You must have been struggling to keep a straight face the whole time!”
At least she didn’t fantasize in detail about what she’d do to Superman in her bed, shower, kitchen, ceiling.
She glared up at him again. “Then when were you going to tell me the truth?!”
After she’s done with Lex. And no longer interested in Superman.
“Wanted to see how far I would go with my crush on Superman?”
No…actually…
“Hello?” She frowned, waving towards the forest and the horizon beyond. “The others? You are going to take me back, right?”
actually, the case seems awfully cozy.
LOLO: No. NO. *NO!*
KAL-EL: /kisses Lolo’s neck/
LOLO: *NO!* NO. No.
She glared at him. “So, what—you think I'm going to start yapping about it to everyone?”
His gaze fell, and his reply was barely audible. “It's a possibility.”
KAL-EL:
![[Linked Image]](https://cosgan.de/images/midi/konfus/a050.gif)
LOLO:
CAVE PEOPLE:
Lois refused to acknowledge the warmth now flooding through her. “*If* I can resist the story,” she mimicked. “Wow, you really know how to flatter a woman!”
When you’re in a hole, stop digging.
Are you going to pretend that printing his true identity wouldn't be an easy Pulitzer?”
She might trade it for…physical favors?
LOIS: Don’t be stupid. I don’t need to blackmail Superman if I wanted him in my bed. I could simply black teddy him. And aside from that, if the world knew I get assisted by Superman on my stories, I could lose all the street cred I have right now.
“Do you think I've never buried a story in my life?!”
/points at The Boss/
He blinked at her in genuine surprise. “You still can't tell anyone. None of the others. Not even the people close to you.”
Not even Lex!
Her snort puffed white in front of her. “I do understand the concept of a secret.”
Yes, it’s also spelled ‘challenge’.
“You can't tell Lex.” His gaze hardened again.
I was joking!
Lois sputtered. “You—I—you—!” She stamped for warmth.
“for warmth”. Uh-huh.
You act like he's responsible for half the crime in Metropolis!”
73.45% actually.
But, if Clark was Superman, then why would he be...
“I'm not jealous of Lex,” he said quietly, giving voice to her realization.
Oops?
His eyes narrowed at her. “You know me. And you didn't believe me. And you're dating him.”
Yes, but he’s handsome and congenial and rich and gives her expensive presents…
A hot tear traced down Lois's cheek, freezing by the time it reached her chin. “Just go,” she whispered.
Nicely done!
Her career as an investigator was a joke, Lex was a fake, and Superman...she bit back a sob. “I'll just...stay here. They have food and a fire, so maybe I'll just marry a cave-version of Ralph and live here for the rest of my life.”
Also, poor dear!
or the terror birds.”
“The terror birds are in South America.”
The sob stuck in her throat, and she turned around to see if he was joking. He looked serious. Lois scrubbed at her cheek and stared at him. “I...I made that last one up...”
![[Linked Image]](https://cosgan.de/images/midi/frech/a030.gif)
Her own arms wrapped tightly around his waist, clinging desperately to him. “I don't want to marry Ralph.”
“Nobody wants that, Lois.”
“And I've got yours.” She sniffled. “So, any ideas how we can explain where we've been all this time?”
They could roughen up their hair and shift their clothes a bit and start sharing a tent. People would get the hint sooner or later.
The woman wasn't his Mad Wolf; that much was abundantly clear, and his wife had finally forgiven him for the error after seeing the other Kryptonian.
The tribe must have fallen upon disastrous times; a small wonder, given the harsh place in which they'd settled.
Yes, they’re…you know…stupid.
one still a smooth-faced youth around Gopher's age,
All were clad in the strange furs of creatures he had never encountered, and yet they all stared at *him* in shock and astonishment.
Yes, planet’s already taken by a proto-Kryptonian society.
More chatter rippled through the small crowd. The wealthy man's eyes widened, and he copied Kal-El's motion. “Eustace Diggory.”
I really thought he’d approach Lex. You’re sneaky!
Dr. Diggory shook his head and grinned. “So, it *was* a Eurasian lion! This explains everything.”
Did Clark actually hear Lois across the sea?
The caveman's head tilted. He removed the lion pelt from his shoulders and held it out to Dr. Carroll.
Wants to bring a treat to Mad Wolf?
Lois snorted. “It better not be a terror bird.”
A massive, furry carcass landed a short distance away, causing the nearest trees to shake. Kal-El dropped lightly to the ground after it, walked up to Dr. Carroll, and pointed to the can of peaches again.
“Uh, sure! Peaches for giant, dead mammoth. Here you go. Would you like it gift-wrapped?”
and the possible uses of tusks and bones.
They can carve chess pieces from the tusks.
She found Clark staring at her intently, though she couldn't read his expression at all. Maybe he was just trying to warm her up again; after all, what were friends for?
Cave-Clark. Kal-El. Whoever he was, he was long gone, now. No doubt, he was already back with his wife, feeding her the peaches and telling her all about the weirdos living over the sea.
So, when will she realize that Lolo looks a lot like Lois and what this indicates?
Lois squared her shoulders, ready to face cold reality.
THE END
Hey, I *don’t* want to face THE END.
Michael
