I'm soo behind on my FDK too, even though my wisdom teeth aren't out....
Clark sighed. Lois was mad. He had seen it written plainly on her face when he had arrived at the small, homey diner. There were so many times he'd had to run off and play Superman, leaving her waiting for him with nothing but a lousy excuse for an explanation.
And this one appeared to have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
After the awkward silence, in which Lois hadn't introduced Clark to the man standing beside her, he extended his hand in greeting. “Hi, Clark Kent.”
“Mike Lane,” her uncle replied, clasping his hand firmly. “Lois tells me that you work at the Daily Planet with her.”
Lois is angry and Mike is friendly and appreciative. I like the reaction of both of them!
“I paged my niece and asked her to meet me here because I have some information for her about Superman. Or rather, one of my customers has information.”
Information about Superman? Clark felt his palms start to sweat. What kind of information? “Are they here right now?”
Mike shook his head. “No. He wanted me to arrange a meeting with the two of you.”
Interesting! Does Bobby already know that Clark is Superman? Is that why he wants to pass on some information to Superman in person?
“Thanks, Uncle Mike,” Lois told him, giving him an affectionate embrace. She turned and walked out of the diner, without so much as a word to Clark.
Clark sighed again. It had already been a long day and it wasn't even noon yet – the day was going to get so much longer. “Thank you, Mr. Lane.”
“Please, call me Mike,” he said with a pleasant smile.
Mike is so likable, and I love to see Lois hug him.
(And I don't know - that "Call me Mike" reminds me of Paul Simon's "Call Me Al"....)
He turned and chased after Lois, catching the door before it shut in his face. “Lois! Lois, wait!”
“No. No, I'm through waiting for you today, Clark,” she said with obvious disgust in her tone. “Superman is in trouble, he needs our help, and you're worried about pencils? And press passes?”
“I know, I'm sorry,” he entreated as he followed behind her. “Do you think your uncle's source will be useful?” he asked, hoping to change the subject.
I sure don't blame Lois for being irritated with him here! Yes, yes, yes, he had a good reason to run away from her - but as for his reasons for lying her blue in the face about it and doing nothing whatsoever to become more truthful with her....
“I wonder what kind of information he has about Superman? When are we supposed to meet him?”
That caused Lois to pause; she stopped and turned to face him. Irritation was flushing her cheeks. “We? No, Clark. There is you and there is me. This time, there is definitely no "we'. I'm gonna go this one alone.”
Probably not a good idea, Lois. If Bobby wanted to see both you and Clark, he might have wanted to tell Superman something important. And now you ruined it. Of course, you had no way of knowing that your (right now very irritating) partner is in fact Superman....)
Clark bit his lip, keeping any further retort to himself. She needed space. She was mad and she didn't want him around right now. He was sure she'd cool down later.
Right, Clark. Give the little woman some space! She is angry at you for lying at her, but it never occurs to you to become more truthful with her. Just give her some space and she'll cool down, so that can feed her more lies when she is ready to talk to you again!
“Okay. I'll see what I can dig up on my end and come by your apartment later tonight. We can compare notes.”
She was shaking her head. “Nope. Sorry. I have a date with Lex tonight. I'm going to go meet with Bobby, take care of a few other things, and then go home and get ready for my date.”
Gaaaaah. I so hate when she is dating Luthor. And considering how infuriating Clark is acting now, she has no real reason to listen to him and trust him when he tries to warn her against Luthor.
A sharp pain settled into Clark's chest. Not Luthor! He knew the two of them were dating, but if she only knew the truth about him. Clark felt a twinge of jealousy mixed with a little irritation and he found himself saying something he would have never imagined. “Now look who's running off.” Her look of indignation spurred him on. “You said yourself that Superman needs our help and you're gonna run off and go on a date? Wow. I never thought I'd see the day that you'd put Luthor before Superman.”
Good move, Clark. :rolleyes:
Lois's eyes had widened in surprise. “What?” she squeaked indignantly. “Clark Kent, if we weren't partners, and friends, I'd... I'd...” She paused briefly, as if to compose herself, and then narrowed her eyes. “No one cares about Superman more than me.” She poked him in the chest with her finger. “But my life revolves around more than just Superman, and Lex is a part of that life. I know you don't like him, Clark, for whatever concocted reasons that are your own, but I like him and he likes me.” She sighed a short breath before continuing, “At least I know where I stand with him.” And then she turned around and stalked off without another word.
She didn't realize that she was speaking to Superman.
No, she didn't realize that she was speaking to Superman. And whose fault is that, Clark?
Her words cut him to the core, but Clark realized she was right. She didn't know where she stood with Superman. And part of that was because Clark had tried not to reciprocate her feelings when he was dressed in the red and blue. He wanted her as Clark, not Superman. But somehow, "Clark' always seemed to get left out of the equation.
If only she knew how hard it was for him not to use his alter ego to get what he wanted.
Her.
Clark watched her go, his heart heavy.
Are we supposed to feel sorry for this whiny liar for being rejected by the woman he wants when he tries to woo her by carefully lying to her about who he really is????
Lois curled her lip in disgust as she watched the man sitting in the front seat of her Jeep inhale the contents of the bag she had brought as an inducement. Her uncle had told her that the word on the street was that Bobby Bigmouth had the best gossip, the juiciest tidbits, of anyone out there.
The only trick was getting him to talk.
But he would talk if the price was right. And the price was always food. Bobby apparently couldn't get enough of food – and not the cheap stuff either. Uncle Mike said the man was a connoisseur of all things edible.
Although, by the way he was inhaling the delicacies she had brought him, that estimation of him was up for debate.
I love how Lois is silently critiquing Bobby's table manners!
Particularly since she is no doubt jealous and wishes that
she could eat like that!!!
“So, how do you know my uncle?” she asked conversationally, trying not to appear either rude or impatient.
“Are you kidding?” he asked, as he gulped down another mouthful of rich cream-covered pasta. At her stone-faced expression, he continued, “You aren't kidding.” He cleared his throat. “Your uncle has some of the best desserts in town. His New York style cheesecake is to die for. You're telling me that you didn't know that already?”
“I don't eat dessert.”
I don't eat dessert!!!! Excuse while I'm falling off my chair with laughter!!!!
“Oh, please, don't insult me, Lois,” he complained. “First of all, I know how good of a reporter you are. And judging from the bag you've got tucked away under your front seat, you already knew how good your uncle's desserts are.” He licked some sauce off his fingers. “My fee is dinner *and* dessert. Now, cough it up.”
That's a riot!!!
Lois scowled at him as she fished the bag out from under her seat. How had he known it was down there? She shoved the bag at him and he took it greedily, opening it immediately.
“Cheesecake! Aww, you shouldn't have.” Bobby opened the box and began to devour the decadent dessert.
“Okay, I bet you're thinking that there's something fishy going on with Superman and these recent "incidents'.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that's pretty much a no-brainer. Everyone's trying to get to the bottom of it.”
He shook his head. “Not everyone.” Lois raised an eyebrow and he continued, “Ask around, not one of the reporters working under any of LexCorp's subsidiaries is trying to get to the bottom of it. Not one person from LNN or any of the other news stations that Luthor owns stock in. Nada. All they're reporting on is what Superman is doing wrong. Not "why' it's happening.
Listen to what Bobby is telling you about Luthor, Lois.
Lois frowned. “And this is what I spent a third of my paycheck buying food for? I could have noticed that on my own,” she complained.
“Ah, but you didn't.
Touché!!
And since you and the pretentious playboy billionaire have gotten so close, lately, I was afraid you might not have seen the forest for the one big tree.”
Lois was irritated by his description of Lex, but also his estimation of her. “You're forgetting one important detail. Lex doesn't own every television station in town. He owns LNN and...”
“And he's on half the other stations' board of trustees. He also donates money as a sponsor to some of them or LexCorp dumps large amounts of cash as an advertiser.” Bobby smirked. “Trust me, Lois, I've done my homework. Besides, that's not all...”
Listen to Bobby, Lois!
“Really? You mean there's more?” she exclaimed sarcastically. The nerve of this guy trying to insinuate that Lex could somehow be involved in this, and that she would be so blind as to not see anything past the end of her own nose!
:rolleyes:
“Hey, you don't want the info that you've paid for?” He shrugged. “No skin off my teeth, Lois. But don't complain when I pass it along to someone else.”
Lois reached out and grabbed the cheesecake away from him, eliciting a cry of protest from him. “Spill it, Bobby,” she warned before handing the decadent treat back to him.
I love how you write this, DJ! It's so funny!
He gave her a wide, condescending grin. “My sources informed me that there was a black sedan parked nearby, both at the bank early this morning, and at the scene of the fire. And once Superman left, the sedan left.”
“Big deal. Black sedan's are a dime a dozen in Metropolis,” she smarted.
“Not in these neighborhoods, Lois. And certainly not a "stretch'.”
Lois frowned. No. A black sedan was one thing. A stretch limo? That was entirely something different. “So that's it?” she grumbled.
A 'stretch' is a limo? Thanks for telling me!
Lois was driving, on her way to her apartment, when three police cars went speeding past her in the opposite direction. She slammed on the brakes, squealing her tires a little, and turned around. Something was going on. Something newsworthy. And if she was lucky, either Superman or his clone would show up.
If she was really, really lucky, they both would.
There is not that much luck in the world, since there is no clone this time!
She didn't have any trouble keeping up. After all, she had always prided herself on her driving skills. And honestly, she didn't have to worry about getting a ticket since all the cops in the area were busy, running off to whatever emergency was happening.
I love this! Vintage Lois!
Then Lois saw something that scared her. Superman's eyes darkened and she heard what she thought was a growl escape from his lips – it sent a shiver down her spine. He strode over to the boys, snatched the gun away from the one boy, hitting him smartly across the head with it, and then took the other two boys and thumped their heads together – effectively knocking the entire group unconscious. The boy he had hit with the gun had a thin trail of blood sliding down his head from the injury.
Gaaahhh!!!! Wrathful Superman!
“No!” Lois yelled at him. Her earlier conclusion changed - this was definitely not Superman. He would never have struck out in such anger. But she had seen his clone pick up criminals before and toss them in the back of a police van.
At her outburst, the clone turned to look at her, a strange expression of confusion on his face.
Lois's protest sort of wakes him up! Good.
Lois shook her head at him. “You can't do that! You can't hurt people!” she chastised him. “I know who you are. Superman has dealt with someone like you before, and he can do it again. So you'd better watch out because he'll be looking for you.” She stopped her tirade and wondered briefly, where was Superman now? He'd had plenty of time to respond to this robbery. And surely he was out looking for the clone who seemed insistent on dragging his name through the mud. Why wasn't he here?
He
is there, Lois!
“Superman, put your hands in the air,” one of the police officers said, stepping between the clone and Lois, “and walk towards me, slowly. You're under arrest for the robbery of the First Metropolis Bank.”
The clone's look of confusion melted away into a look of outrage.
And now he's Angry!Superman again. You know what? I don't like him.
“I've probably saved your life before. Or the life of one of your friends. You *owe* me!” The clone lifted up, hovering in the air above them like some sort of demigod, holding out his arms as if to encompass the group. “Did I rob a bank? If I did, I *deserved* that money, for everything I've done for this city. For all the banks I've protected before. Property damage I've averted. Lives that I've saved.” He chuffed out a haughty laugh. “Do you honestly think you can do what I can? *No one* can do what I can. Certainly not the lazy bunch of bums working for the Metropolis PD. No one!”
This sounds like hubris-Superman to me. The overly proud one.
A black sedan - make that a stretch limo – was pulling away and driving off. Lois raised an eyebrow. Maybe there was more to Bobby's info than she had initially given him credit for.
You bet there was, Lois.
Clark paced as best he could in the tight confines of his apartment. He had just gotten off the phone with his parents. They were worried for him, naturally, and not only because their son had another clone. It scared them to learn that Clark was having blackouts and didn't know why. That was bad enough in itself, they'd said, but it was worse when your son was Superman and someone was causing the blackouts intentionally...
And why would the clone and the blackouts appear at the same time? Sheesh. You ought to give Lara a call so she can send Batman over to help poor dense Clark solve this problem!
Clark sighed deeply. Tired of dodging furniture, he floated up to the ceiling, where he could pace unimpeded – except by the occasional light fixture.
Funny! Reminds me of the old Fred Astaire film where this amazing dance icon is dancing on the ceiling.
He sighed again. She just didn't understand how dangerous Luthor was. Clark couldn't get her to see it because he didn't have any proof to give her. And it really wasn't Superman's place to get involved. Besides, she should believe Clark. Or at least be willing to listen to him. He was her friend and her partner. He looked out for her. Why shouldn't she believe him? Trust in him?
Why should he have to tell her the truth? Why should he have to tell her that he was deeply suspicious of Luthor because he had been on the receiving end of Luthor's tricks as Superman? Why should he even have to go to her
as Superman (never mind revealing his secret identity to her) and warn her about Luthor as Superman? Why shouldn't she believe him when he was feeding her one lie after another?
Clark, wake up and smell the coffee! The lady says: "You lying no-good lunkhead!"
![[Linked Image]](http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/476471/2/istockphoto_476471_angry_lady.jpg)
He threw his hands up – or actually down – in the air, in frustration. Part of him wanted to fly over to Lois's apartment right now and tell her exactly the kind of man she was dating. But if he did that, it would only embarrass her and further weaken her faith in herself.
Right, don't give her the warning she needs!
![[Linked Image]](http://evilbeetgossip.film.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/angry_baby_head.jpg)
Some partner you are!
![[Linked Image]](http://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/big_make-face-angry.jpg)
Clark wanted to help her, not show it to her, but help her to see it for herself. Superman couldn't do that, but Clark could. He would keep trying. He had to.
Oh yeah? You can help her by not being honest with her?
![[Linked Image]](http://granitegrok.com/pix/angry_wet_cat.jpg)
“Oh yeah, the bank. Besides some cash and smaller gems, what made up the bulk of the assets was one big ticket item, a diamond.”
Clark frowned. “A diamond? Can you give me the specifics?”
“Yeah, it wasn't just any diamond. It was a three-carat D FL-IF Princess cut.”
Clark wrote down the info. “Uh, I have to tell you. I'm not sure what half of that means.”
Henderson chuffed a laugh from the other end of the line. “Me either, Kent. At least, not at first. I was later informed that the "D' refers to the color of the diamond. D is absolutely colorless, which is extremely rare for a diamond that size. FL-IF stands for "flawless' and "internally flawless'. So as far as diamonds go, this one is about as perfect as they come.
Thanks for that diamond info, DJ! Sure Supes was stealing that diamond to put it in an engagement ring, right?
All right, DJ! Um... as I was saying... maybe Clark could shape up, no?
Ann
