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From Part 19:“You!” Lois retorted, gesturing at him. “Think about it, Clark - we have an advantage no-one else has here. How many other men do you know who can fly? Or who can see or hear things at long distances, and who can see
through things? Don’t you think that with that sort of advantage we could find Luthor?”
A flash of a grin appeared on Clark’s face. “I guess that’s true. And I should have guessed that you’d find a way to turn what I can do to advantage!”
“So?” she prompted. “Are we going?”
In response, he came over to her and extended his arms. “Can I offer you a ride, ma’am?”
With a silent ‘Wow!’, Lois allowed Clark to lift her and hold her against his chest. Then, wrapping her arms around his neck, she braced herself for what she was sure would be the ride of a lifetime.
********
Now read on...“I’ll have to fly high,” Clark said as he stepped up onto the sill with Lois in his arms. “It’s getting too light to stay low - I can’t risk being seen.”
“Will you be able to see clearly enough?” Lois asked anxiously.
“Oh, sure. My eyesight’s pretty good too,” he told her with a self-depracating smile. “So, where do you suggest we start?”
“LexCorp,” she said immediately. “I know the police have already searched there, but you might find something they missed. With one of those extra abilities of yours, I mean.”
If there was anything to find, he probably could find it, Clark acknowledged. What really surprised him, though, was Lois’s matter-of-fact acceptance of what he could do. Oh, she’d been amazed back in her apartment, clearly finding it hard to take everything in. But now, although there was some remaining fascination, her attitude seemed focused entirely on what he could do to help their investigation. On how he could be useful to her.
Well, almost entirely. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was excited about the prospect of flying with him; of flying without the aid of any mechanical or electronic propulsion aids. The possibility of being held up only by someone else’s arms and that person’s abilities of free flight.
He had to admit that he was looking forward to flying with Lois too. Until this moment, the only people he’d ever taken flying had been his parents. And, while it was certainly nice to be able to share his abilities with them, it was hardly the same thing as flying with an attractive woman.
An attractive woman he was
attracted to.
Though he’d have to put that out of his mind for the time being. Apart from the embarrassment he’d suffer if Lois realised, they had a job to do. And this was, after all, the first time he’d been using his abilities in front of someone else in order to do a job. He’d feel as if he was on display; under inspection, in fact.
Lois was looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to make a move. And, yes, there was very definitely an excited gleam in her eyes, and her hands were gripping his shoulders tightly. Not with fear; with anticipation. Exhilaration, maybe.
He could think of other women who would have been scared stiff at the very idea of flying like this, with no visible means of protection; having to place absolute and complete trust in the man holding them. But not Lois Lane. He already knew that she had nerves of steel and a very high threshold for danger - although he also knew that she wasn’t entirely careless when it came to the prospect of her own death. She’d cared very much, earlier that evening, about the knowledge that she might die.
But still, being Lois Lane, her main focus would be on her work: getting the story. And, as such, his sole usefulness to her lay in how he could help her to do that.
Not that he objected, especially. In fact, it was a real novelty to have someone view his abilities as something useful, instead of something he needed to hide. It wasn’t that his parents weren’t sympathetic to his desire to use what he could do to help; they were. But at the same time they were terrified that one day he’d go too far and be caught, exposed. So they continually urged him to be careful, not to take risks, to behave as normally as he could.
It wasn’t just that people might want to use him for experimentation - which was certainly a risk. It was also that they’d seen too many instances, both in the US and elsewhere, of how society reacted to people who were in any way different. Different in appearance, accent, behaviour, lifestyle or a myriad other ways; those people faced misunderstanding, resentment and even outright hostility.
But now, Lois Lane knew what he could do, and she didn’t think he was weird. She hadn’t run screaming in the opposite direction because he might be from another planet. She - so far - had accepted him as he was. And she’d even come up with an idea to allow him to use his abilities for good in a way which would keep his own identity secret.
The only question was: would the rest of the world - or at least Metropolis - accept him in his disguise? That remained to be seen.
For now, he had to concentrate on finding Lex Luthor - and giving Lois Lane the flight of her lifetime.
He took a step forward and jumped off the windowsill.
********
Wow.
There was no other word for it.
Flying in Clark Kent’s arms was the most amazing experience of her life.
She’d flown in small craft before, as well as in large jet planes. Helicopters, single-engine planes, even a hang-glider. But this put all of those in the shade.
Clark held her close against his chest, and she had her arms looped around his neck, of course. The wind rushed past them but, to Lois’s surprise, she barely felt it. Her hair blew about, but otherwise she barely even noticed the chill. Instead, she focused on the ground falling steeply away from them as Clark climbed until they were somewhere around cloud level.
“This is fantastic!” she exclaimed after a while.
“You’re okay?” he asked, sounding a little concerned. “Not too cold - no problems with the speed I’m flying?”
“I don’t understand it - but I’m fine. I don’t even feel cold,” she assured him.
“That’s something I’ve noticed,” he said thoughtfully. “If I’m holding something - or someone - close to me, they don’t seem to get harmed by things that might hurt them normally. It might sound weird, but it’s as if I have some sort of... well, an aura which protects them.”
Yes, it did sound weird, but it could be possible, Lois thought. After all, this man was already breaking so many laws of physics she'd lost count. Why couldn’t one more rule be discarded where he was concerned?
“Clark?” she said after a few moments.
“Yeah?” He glanced at her briefly, then resumed his careful scanning of the city below.
“I just want you to know - I’m going to bug you to take me flying at least once a week.”
He dropped a few feet suddenly, before resuming his previous height; the movement felt almost like turbulence in aeroplanes. “Really? You like it that much?”
“Sure! It’s an incredible experience!”
“I’ve always thought so,” he agreed. “And I think my parents like it. But... well, I guess I kind of expected other people to be scared of me - of what I can do. I mean, I’m not
normal.”
That made Lois pause. So he didn’t only hide what he could do because it might put him, or his parents, in danger; he hid because he believed himself to be some sort of freak. It fitted, she thought; after all, he’d been anxious when he’d told her that he suspected he might be from another planet.
He expected to be treated as a freak.
“What’s normal?” she said, deliberately casual, not wanting him to think that she was feeling sorry for him. “I mean, look at Ralph - can you honestly describe him as ‘normal’?”
A bark of laughter answered her. “I guess that’s a fair point! Okay,” he added, “that’s the LexCorp building below. He has a penthouse apartment there, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does...” Lois trailed off as a thought occurred to her. A thought which should probably have occurred to her a few hours ago.
“Clark,” she said urgently.
“Yes?” He paused in mid-air, and the sudden stillness took her by surprise. It felt as if they were suspended, unmoving, from a cloud, with the whole of the city laid out, still, beneath them. It was beautiful; awe-inspiring.
Breathtaking.
But she didn’t have time to focus on that now. There were more urgent matters needing attention.
“I just thought... We’re all assuming that Luthor’s getting away. Escaping. But what if he isn’t?”
“Huh?” Clark sounded confused.
“Think about it,” she said impatiently. “As far as he knows, we’re dead and so is Baines. So who knows about his involvement in the Messenger sabotage? What witnesses are there to what happened tonight?”
“None,” Clark replied slowly, and Lois could tell that he’d caught her meaning and was thinking through the implications, just as she was. “So he could be right under everyone’s nose, oblivious to the manhunt that’s going on for him?”
“It’s possible,” Lois said. “It’s not even six in the morning. And Henderson didn’t say that the police had searched Luthor’s homes. All he said was that they were in the process of getting warrants, and that Luthor’s staff were unhelpful.”
“So... what if Luthor is safely asleep in his own bed and has been all along?” Clark completed her train of thought. He sounded unconvinced, though, and explained his tone by adding, “But surely his staff would have wakened him to tell him that the police were looking for him? Especially if they had warrants.”
“Maybe... but maybe not,” Lois answered. “What if he gave them instructions not to disturb him once he’s gone to bed? Would anyone wake him then?”
“If they thought it was important enough, I’d think so,” Clark replied. “But, you know, there is one easy way to find out,” he added, and as she looked up at him she could see that he was grinning.
Of course, there was...
“So, what’s keeping you?” she demanded.
Soft laughter accompanied their sudden dive downwards through the wispy clouds.
*********
Clark had no idea whether Lois was likely to be right. It seemed improbable that the man everyone was looking for could possibly be just asleep in his bed. But since it would hardly involve any effort on his part to find out, it was worth a try.
Dipping down, but being careful to use any cover offered and not to go so low as to be seen, Clark scanned the LexCorp building. The tallest in Metopolis, he noted; even taller than the LNN Tower which, he knew, had held that record for several years. He was grateful for the building's height, of course, since it meant a far lower risk of being seen.
That was obviously the study; this the dining room. And next to that was what looked like a sumptuous lounge. Then another reception room, and another... and then, finally, what looked like a suite containing a bedroom.
Clark focused his vision, looking closer. And... yes... it looked as if there was a figure in the bed in that darkened bedroom. Dark hair - yes, it was wavy. And the shape, so far as he could make it out under the covers, seemed to fit Lex Luthor.
“I think he’s there,” he murmured.
“Huh? Clark!” He felt something poking at his side; looking down, remembering at the last second to disengage his vision abilities, he realised that Lois was trying to attract his attention, using her index finger between his ribs.
“Lois?”
“What did you say? What did you
see?” she demanded impatiently.
“There’s someone there. And I think it’s Luthor,” he told her, unable to prevent the excitement from creeping into his tone.
“You’re not sure?” She sounded disappointed, almost critical.
“I can’t quite tell - the room’s dark, and he’s pretty much buried under the covers,” Clark defended himself by protesting.
“Well, look harder!” Lois ordered. Then, seemingly realising how that sounded, she amended. “Try. Please? This is important!”
“I know. And I will try.”
He looked again, focusing more closely this time, straining his eyes to see clearly in the dark bedroom. And he thought he could just make out the familiar features of Lex Luthor -
- and then suddenly the bed’s occupant turned over, rolling onto his back with a grunt and lying prone with his arms thrown to his sides. Clark realised that he must have been augmented his hearing abilities as well; in addition to the grunt, he could now hear snoring. Loud, snorting snores, what was more. But the bonus was that he could now see the man’s face clearly.
Yes, it was definitely Lex Luthor.
They had him. Now, all they had to do was inform the police.
And there lay the problem, Clark thought as he flew back up above the cloud cover. Just what did they tell the police?
“What’s the matter?” Lois asked, looking around, seeming to be surprised at his retreat. “Couldn’t you see him?”
“I saw him. And it’s definitely Luthor.”
“That’s great!” she crowed. “So what are we doing up here?”
“We need to work out what to do next,” he told her.
She stared at him. “That’s a no-brainer, Clark! We tell Henderson, so he can get his people over here pronto!”
“And just what do you suggest that we tell him, huh?” Clark challenged.
He could tell the instant his point had hit home. Her expression changed from impatience to chagrin, and she bit her lip. “Yeah,” she said thoughtfully. Then she brightened. “Take me to a payphone, Clark.”
“Lois...” he protested, worried at the thought of what she might do.
“What now?” she exclaimed, giving him a glare. “Don’t you trust me?”
Did he trust her? Now, that was the big question, and Clark knew it.
But he’d already confronted that question, hadn’t he? And he hadn’t trusted her; he’d been all set to run when she’d come charging over to his hotel room and given him a lecture on her intentions. She’d assured him that she had no intention of deliberately telling the world his secret. And he’d believed her.
However, what if it was accidental? What if she said too much, was careless?
He checked himself. This was Lois Lane, he reminded himself once again; award-winning reporter, with three Kerths and as many Merriwethers to her name. And she didn’t get to where she was by carelessly giving away information.
Yes, of course he should trust her.
Giving her a smile, he flew a short distance from the LexCorp building before looking for somewhere safe to land. “Of course I trust you, Lois,” he told her as he dropped gently to the ground and began to slide her to her feet. “I trust you with everything.”
*********
...tbc
