Last time, in Part 53...
“Thanks, Lois.”
“So… tomorrow night? What are you doing? Want to get together?”
“I … actually… I have a date. Uh… you know – with Carissa.”
Part 54:
“Tomorrow?" Tomorrow? "So… so soon,” she trailed off, feeling threatened again by Carissa. Her expression was stricken as her insecurities once again swamped her.
Tomorrow? Maybe – maybe I should ask him to stay – give him a reason to want to stay with me – maybe – I should –
“Lois –I want to get it over with.” His voice intruded on her wild thoughts.
“Yeah, I understand,” she gasped out unconvincingly.
“Are you … is it okay?”
“It has to be,” she whispered. “But – it makes me feel really badly – you’ll be with her … tomorrow night. I – “
“Lois. It won’t be a real date. I have zero interest in her.”
“I know,” she said in a small voice. I can’t help feeling like I’m part of his harem.
“Lois…”
“I hate feeling diminished. Like – I’m nothing.”
“And this makes you feel that way?” His voice was filled with appalled horror.
“I know it shouldn’t… but – “
“I never want you feeling that way – not because of something I’ve done. What should I do – I don’t – “
His lack of composure gave her strength.
“Go on the date,” she said firmly. “But you could send a few telepathic thoughts my way – it might help me feel like I’m on your mind.”
“But wouldn’t that be…” he winced. “well – like something that he would have done?”
“He did use telepathy – I know I’ve told you that… but – it – it would make me feel better if you did… regardless.”
“Well… then – I’ll do it.”
“Just… don’t have a good time. Okay?”
“I promise – I won’t,” he said, smiling at her.
She nodded, and gave him a tight smile. He did not fail to notice that the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Lois- I should go. You have to at least get some sleep…”
“As if. But – okay. It’s a good idea.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She leaned forward and kissed him – a brief clinging of her mouth to his, and then she drew back. She was leery about starting both of them on a passion spiral again. No sense in being a tease.
He sensed her apprehension, and responded only at the level of the kiss she was offering. He stood up, and moved towards her balcony doors.
“Fly safe,” she said softly.
He quickly spun into his flying clothes, and then looked at her to gauge her reaction, always fearing that he was scaring her.
She looked lost and lonely as she stood there, watching him with a wistful look in her tired eyes. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, he found himself closing the distance between them.
Her eyes widened as he walked so resolutely towards her, and her heart caught in her throat.
Before she knew what was going on, his arm was wrapping around her and he was pulling her close. He kissed her with a passion that seemed to match their earlier kisses, and she felt lost at the hard and sensual pressure.
He ended the kiss, reluctantly, and then lifted his head. His voice was slightly ragged as he spoke to her.
“I love you. Fervently and feverishly. I won’t be able to stop thinking about you until we see each other again – and I’m hoping beyond hope that you’ll agree to see me Sunday.”
“Su- Sunday’s good,” she gasped out, caught up once again in his spell.
“Your place, or mine?” His voice was sensual, laced with an edge of gentle teasing.
“Uh…”
“How about – I come and get you, and we go to my place. More privacy,” he murmured, as he leaned down to kiss her again. “And I like knowing that nobody can hear us when we do this…”
He kissed her again.
“Or this…”
He touched his lips to her neck again, causing her to arch against him, and cry out softly.
“Are… are we going to be … doing all this?” Her voice was a mere gasp as she felt the effects of his touch.
“God, I hope so.” The very sensual and fervent note in his voice made her shiver with the combination of her very high-voltage feelings. He was being more assertive now in his expression of passion – just as she had asked him to be, and she felt a thrill of desire coupled with it’s ever present companion – apprehension.
She knew one thing – she wasn’t going to be thinking of anything but Sunday – so it had better come soon.
She slept fretfully, and woke up feeling as if she hadn’t slept at all.
She saw her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. God. I look 20 years older. She felt horrible, a sense of dread had wormed it’s way into her heart, and she wanted to cry.
I could lose him. I could still lose him.
She had a deep sense of foreboding – like something horrible was about to happen. Something horrible was about to happen. The man she loved was about to go on a date with a woman whose beauty was legendary.
He loves me.
Yeah. Keep telling yourself that.
She sighed, and wondered how she was going to survive the day.
Shopping. I’m going shopping.
Lois turned to the age old ritual that had been making women feel better for years and years. She and Lucy headed out to their favorite stores, and spent far more money than they ever should have. Lois stayed far away from radios and TV sets, not wanting to hear anything about Carissa, Clark, and their date.
When she returned home, she was shocked to find a beautiful bunch of flowers waiting for her. At first, her skin pricked uneasily. Lex? But then, she looked at the card, and saw his unmistakable handwriting. Clark! It had been Clark. He had done this, had left her this wonderful homage of love.
The note was short and sweet. I miss you already. Sunday can’t come soon enough. I love you. Clark.
She felt a warm flush go through her body at the thought of Sunday. She should have been focusing on that – on the fact that Sunday, she would be able to resume what they had been doing last night on her couch. Her face burned as she turned to the couch and tried to remember what it felt like to be in his arms. When he had swept her up like that to kiss her – she felt so cherished , loved and wanted. It had been exciting, frightening and sensual. All those heady feelings all rolled together – and she had been happy.
She remembered how his lips had felt on hers, and the wonderful exciting sensual thrill of having his arm curved around her back, urging her close. She remembered his urgent passion, and how he had never let it get away from him – how even at the mercy of deep and primal feelings, he had restrained himself from doing anything that he thought might hurt or frighten her.
She loved him. She had been fighting it for so long, but now, it seemed as if she had always loved him. She remembered how he looked at her that day he had stopped the truck from killing her. He had been so worried, and so … she saw it now – so hurt by her fear of him. Hurt, but not offended. Her fear of him had been like a physical blow, but he had understood it’s cause and never resented her for it. She knew now that her articles must have been dreadful for him… that he must have endured a lot as a result of them – that people had actually started to question his motives more, and feared him more. And she had felt so triumphant at her success. She had felt like she had won against her enemy – a small battle, but still – a victory.
And now, she felt wracked with the pain of having hurt him like that. This man, this innocent person who would die before hurting someone like that – she had accused him of having such vile intentions towards earth and humanity.
She remembered how he had saved her from Lex’s unwanted advances, and how careful he had been about her feelings. She was sure he had been furious, and yet – he had tempered it, had tamped it all down, so as not to make the situation worse for her. And he had offered her up a safe alternative to flying with him – he had suggested she let Lex’s driver take her home, and informed her that he would be there in a heartbeat if she had needed him.
And then, she remembered how he had tried to offer her the briefcase. That briefcase which contained all the fruits of such hard and desperate labor… and he had offered what he knew, at her feet, more valuable than all the jewels in the world, and she had thrown it back in his face… having a huge panic attack, and just slamming the door in his face. She cringed as she remembered that, trying hard not to visualize the stricken expression that he must have wore as she flung the door shut in his face.
And then, she remembered the whole asteroid ordeal. He must have felt terrible after his memory returned. She cringed at the memory, remembering his apologies and how much remorse she had seen in his eyes.
He’s been apologizing since he met me. And he has no reason to ever apologize to me. It’s all me- I’m the one who owes everything. I can’t believe he loves me.
As she thought of him, she felt a warm presence in her mind, so different from Lord Kal. He had gently entered her thoughts so easily that she almost didn’t notice the entry. Once he was there, she was filled with a sense of rightness. He wasn’t trying to invade or probe at her thoughts, he just wanted to tell her he was there, and thinking of her.
Lois.
Clark?
I love you. I miss you. I wish more than anything it was you here with me, Instead of her.
I’m sure she’s great company.
He let her feel some of the boredom and frustration he was feeling at having to listen to Carissa talk. She giggled as he did so.
Just look at her pretty face, and try not to listen to what she’s saying.
I’d rather think of your pretty face. And your pretty body. And those amazing kisses of yours. And how incredibly soft and smooth your skin is.
His thoughts, right in her head, filled her with an immediate sense of arousal.
Stop! This is killing me!
Immediately, she sensed contrition.
No! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad! I didn’t mean literally. Our link isn’t hurting me. I just miss you so much.
Suddenly she felt a break in their communication. It was stark, sudden and harsh, and she felt a jolt of pain. She winced and clutched her head. God! What was that?
Clark! She called out to him. What happened? Are you okay? Answer me!!
There was no answer to her plea, and her sense of unease started to increase.
Clark!!!
But there was no answer.
Feverishly, she ran to the phone and dialed his cell phone.
But there was no answer.
Something had happened to him.
She couldn’t exactly call the police – and tell them… tell them what? That her mental link with Clark had broken? They wouldn’t believe her – why should they believe her? What should she do? She was torn and trapped.
She kept dialing his number, but he never answered, and with a heavy heart and mind, she finally fell asleep after leaving a message on his home phone.
The next day, she woke up feeling heavy and worried. After a few short seconds, she remembered: She had no idea where Clark was, or if he was even okay.
God. Please let him be okay.
She called Perry on the phone, and decided to share her fears with him.
“Lois – good to hear from you!”
“Listen – Perry… I – this isn’t a social call. It’s about Clark – I – I think something’s happened to him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t reach him… he – he’s vanished,” her voice was filled with tight worry.
“Darlin – just turn on the television. He’s fine.”
She rushed to the TV, and turned it to the all-day news channel. Live action crews were filming a post-rescue interview with the very man she was worrying about.
She breathed out a huge sigh of relief.
“Oh god… Oh… thank god…”
“Lois – why did you think he was missing?”
“He… he wasn’t answering his cell phone,” she said, not wanting to go into the whole telepathy thing.
“Uh… well – you do know that he went on that charity date. With Carissa.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Uh - maybe he just turned it off.”
“Perry. He wouldn’t do that. He – he and I… we aren’t really public with it – but – we’re kind of… together.”
“That’s great news!” His voice was enthusiastic. “Wow! Can I tell Alice?”
“ONLY Alice. It’s not out yet. Okay?”
“This is GREAT,” he said, his voice showing his excitement clearly. “We had hoped… I knew the boy had it bad for you – but – I didn’t think he ever stood a chance!”
“I know. I know. But… I fell in love with him, despite myself,” she said, feeling good about being able to talk to Perry about this. “But – I’m still… I mean – I still think something strange happened last night.”
“Now, Lois – I don’t think he would ever betray your trust – whatever it is that you’re thinking –“
“No. I don’t’ think he would either. Hey – I know he wouldn’t. But… I – I have a bad feeling about this. I need to go see him – I … I – need to make sure that he really is okay.”
After she hung up, she threw on a coat and shoes, and rushed to her car.
She drove to the scene of the Superman sighting, but he was no longer there. Frustrated, she stood helplessly by her car, and her eyes caught sight of the alley where he had landed with her, when he had brought her to work.
She moved down into the alley, feeling very nervous about her surroundings. But at least if she called him here, they wouldn’t attract a host of attention. She was about to call out for him, when she felt herself roughly pushed from behind.
She landed on the ground, hitting her head on the pavement. Stars swam before her eyes, and she fought to regain her sense of control. Instinctively, she shifted around, so that her leg was raised in a position to give a killer side-lying kick to anyone stupid enough to approach her.
“Give me your bag, Lady,” she heard a rough male voice say. “I just need your bag – I don’t want any trouble!”
She didn’t see a gun, and not wanting to lose her keys and credit cards, she hollered out a desperate call: “Help! Superman!”
In a gust of wind, he was there.
He landed, and saw the boy still standing over her, as she lay on the ground. He picked the kid up, and flung him brutally against one of the alley walls. The kid crumpled to the ground, and didn’t move to get up. Didn’t move at all.
Lois watched in shock. Clark was never that rough.
He had just thrown that mugger. Thrown him so hard.
The kid wasn’t even moving.
She looked up at Clark from her position on the ground, and saw that he wasn’t even looking at her. He was still looking over at where the kid lay, almost as if gloating over his actions. There was a slight smile of satisfaction on his face – a smile which seemed so starkly out of place with the man she knew.
She felt a shiver of fear, and wanted to slink away from this man – slink away unnoticed before his attentions turned towards her.
Clark wouldn’t hurt me. She reminded herself of this fact as fear started to clench around her heart.
“Clark?” Her voice was small, as she painfully stood up, feeling like she needed to be on her feet before facing him. Why do I feel so threatened all of a sudden? Is it because I’ve never really see him deal with a criminal before? Is this how he normally does things, and I just never noticed?
He turned to look at her, and her eyes widened as he actually looked her up and down, as if … as if – ogling her. He gave her his full attention, smiling widely.
“Hey,” he said, his voice sounding deliberately seductive.
She stepped back, a half step, uncertain in the face of his strange behavior.
He looks so much like Kal now. Where’s the warmth I usually see? What’s going on with him?
“Clark?” She asked the question again, fearing for a brief moment that somehow he had switched places with Kal. But this wasn’t Kal either.
“Yeah, baby. What’s up?” By now, he had recognized her as Lois Lane. His ‘father’ had mentioned that there was a possibility that Lois Lane was having some kind of close relationship with his progenitor. And if his progenitor had a thing going on with Lois Lane, that meant now that he had a thing going on with Lois Lane. He smiled a little wider. She was hot.
“Uh… is – is everything okay?”
“Sure – why wouldn’t it be?”
“You.. you threw him– so… violently. It’s not like you.”
He looked and saw reporters descending. He didn’t want to talk to reporters. He only wanted to talk to her. He wanted to kiss her too. He wanted to do more than kiss her. He felt his body tighten in response, and knew what he had to do.
“Come on, baby. Let’s make this a private party.”
He stepped into her space, and snaked an arm around her waist. Tightening his grip, he lifted up into the sky.
She gasped in shock at his aggressive actions, and had to fight back the very real panic that was attacking her sense of composure.
“Clark,” her voice was scared. “Please – please… what’s going on? You’re… you’re scaring me.”
“Hey. Have I ever dropped you? Don’t worry… “
He flew them back to Clark’s apartment, and set her on her feet.
As soon as he released her, she stepped away, stumbling a little as she sought to regain her balance.
She stood, staring at him, not knowing what to think. Sure, they had planned on getting together, and they were going to get together at his place, and he had even offered her a ride there. But… he hadn’t even asked her for her permission, and he didn’t seem at all fazed by her declaration of fear as they were flying.
Something very strange was going on.
He saw the fear in her eyes, and realized he’d acted a little out of character.
“Sorry, sweetheart. But the press were coming, and I didn’t want anyone stealing your story.”
She blinked at that. Such behavior seemed too unethical for him – giving her an exclusive like that – taking her away so he could do it. Furthering her career with his powers.
“Oh…” Her voice faltered as she tried to believe him. “I – I – I guess… thank you?”
“That guy had it coming.” he said, carelessly. “I – I may have forgotten myself a bit – but you know – might is right, and after all – he was harassing my girl.”
“Might is… “ His words made no sense to her at all, from his declaration of his new motto, to his usage of the words ‘my girl’. Surely he would be loathe to call her that, fearing that she might flash back to her days as a slave.
“Right… look, Lois – how often to I have to do this kind of thing? Every day, right? Nobody ever learns from it. You would think – eventually – people would figure out there’s no point in doing stuff like this – not in my city at least…”
His city?
“A little – strong show of force, and that will discourage future perpetrators. Maybe I violate a few civil rights here and there, but in the end – it’s the results that count. The ends do justify the means.”
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “This – doesn’t sound like you.”
“Come on, baby,” he said, mesmerized by how much she was making him want her. She was so beautiful – and he was having trouble keeping up his act in the face of how she was making him feel. He wanted her. “Come on. Let’s not quarrel.”
He walked over to her, and she had to fight from stepping back. She searched his face, trying desperately to find one spark of Clark in his expression. Something … anything… to tell her that she was crazy for thinking that this wasn’t Clark. God – who the hell is this?
He gripped her shoulders, and she tensed up. No. No – don’t kiss me!
He lowered his head, and crushed his lips down on hers as he simultaneously pulled her close in against his body. Immediately, she felt her fear and panic reflexes kick in.
Help me! This is NOT Clark. Clark does not kiss like this. Where is Clark? Who is this? How do I get out of this?
Her heart was beating rapidly in sheer terror and she pushed at him frantically, unable to even pretend to enjoy his kisses.
He stepped back and looked at her, anger clearly etched into his features.
No. Definitely not Clark! She felt dread take a hold of her heart.
“What’s wrong now,” he asked her in a deadly voice.
“I –I – I don’t have – I have to be somewhere – and… I have to be there – uh - now.” Her voice and manner were pleading, and she hated herself for it. “If I don’t show up… it’ll be bad. Please… I have to go.”
“No problem. We can make this quick,” he murmured, leaning in again to kiss her.
She backed away, and he had to fight every instinct to grip her arms harder, and pull her in. How dare she back away from me. He calmed those angry thoughts, not wanting her to know he wasn’t Clark.
“Please,” she begged, feeling very close to tears. “I can’t. Not now. But later! I mean – we did have a date tonight – right…? Why spoil tonight – lets just – lets just wait. Okay?” She hadn’t meant to tell him about her date, but she needed to mollify him with something.
“Okay,” he said, clearly irritated. “But don’t play games with me, Lois. I don’ t like it. I’ll take you back.”
“No! Because… because – you know… You didn’t want people to know about us just yet – and if you take me back – it might start people talking…”
“Oh… Oh – yeah. Right… okay.”
“I’ll be fine on my own. Really.”
“If you say so.”
He pulled her in again, and kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth in an overtly passionate maneuver.
Instead of thrilling her, it sickened her. She forced herself to respond, and when it was over, she had to fight the urge to wipe her mouth in disgust.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said. “Wear something sexy.”
His words sounded like and order, and she shuddered. Not Kal. But someone a lot like Kal. What’s going on?
As soon as she got out of his apartment, she ran a few blocks, trying to run some of the fear out of her body. She was trembling violently at her close call, and trying very hard not to succumb to the lure of tears. The man she loved was gone. Someone had put this … this… changeling in his place. It was right out of some kind of horrible dream. God. Could Tempus have done this?
She took a cab back to her car, and then drove home. Once home, she paced nervously, trying to figure out what her next move should be. She had to figure out what was going on, and she needed help. Problem was, she needed help from someone who could help her stand up to this imposter. And that person was Clark. And he didn’t seem to be anywhere.
She continued calling out to him in her mind, but she heard no response. For all she knew, he was dead. The thought gripped her with pain and horror, and she found herself overcome by the grief of his loss. No. I can’t lose it now. I have to hang on. I can do this, because I’m strong. She knew she only had a few hours before the imposter would come looking for her, expecting her to be willing and compliant to his physical demands. I have to find Clark before tonight!
She jumped in shock as she heard a knock on her door. Oh god! The imposter? Or… or Lex? She quietly made her way to the door, and peered fearfully out the peephole.
Wells!! It’s Wells!! Oh god! Maybe he can help. Maybe he knows what happened. Maybe Tempus did do something. Maybe it will be okay!
She flung open the door, full of relief and haste.
“Oh … my god – you have no idea how glad I am to see you.”
Herb surveyed the woman nervously, remembering clearly how angry and frightened she had been when he last saw her. He knew she could be dangerous if she was cornered, and he wasn’t sure whether or not she would welcome seeing him.
“Miss Lane… I need your help.”
“Yes. Come in! Please!”
She resisted the urge to pull him in, and instead, waited nervously as he walked in at his own pace.
As soon as he was in, she urgently shut the door, and locked all the locks.
“Mister Wells…”
“Herbert. Please. Or Herb.”
“Herb… oh god…”
She broke down and started crying, and he stood there, feeling completely inadequate to the task at hand – offering up comfort to this woman who had been through so much. He remembered how she had cried when he had told her that she was home, and then, had broken the news about Clark being in this world. It hurt to see her cry.
“Is … Is Clark …. I’m sorry to – come to you with this… but is – is –he… is he all right? I – sensed a dimming of his life force and became quite… quite alarmed. I couldn’t find him, and so… I thought – maybe you might know what happened.”
She shook her head wildly.
“He’s not all right. I mean – I don’ t know what’s happened to him – or where he is – but he’s not all right. There’s… there’s someone who claims to be Clark – going about as Superman, and stopping crime – but it’s not Clark. I know it’s not Clark, and I have no idea who it is. He’s not as … good as Clark, either. He seems… he seems dangerous… not quite like Lord Kal – but not benign either. I need your help. Could Clark have gone into another universe?”
Herb shook his head worriedly. “I don’t think so.”
He pulled a device out of his pocket, and fiddled with it. After a few long moments looked at her, worriedly.
“He’s here. But… his life force is weakened. I don’t know where he is. He is alive though.”
She looked at him with haunted eyes. “Please – you have to help us. Help him. Please – I – I can’t… “ I can’t lose him. I can’t live without him.
Wells looked at her in frank amazement. When last he left this universe, he was certain that the two would never even be able to be friends, but from the looks of things, it had gone far beyond friendship. A testament to the power of love, he imagined.
“I … I think I can get help. Hold on – I … I think this will work.”
He activated a different small handheld device, and suddenly, right before their eyes, a man and woman appeared in front of them. They both turned, and looked at Herb with deep irritation.
Lois gasped in horror, she staggered back, terrified beyond belief. Lord Kal! She stared at the man,, horrified. She was unable to speak… unable to run… unable to do anything. Why did Herb call him here?
