They went over the information that Clark had picked up from the police station about the massacre. “Superman took them a frozen sample of the tire tracks where they had gone through the mud. They’ve been running them through the system to see if they can ID the tires. They printed out the police checks on those guys at the scene for me.”
Part 5
At his desk again, Clark quickly wrote up the story of the plane crash that Superman had supposedly told him about. He hoped that Lois didn’t ask when he’d had time to talk to him, as he’d obviously just finished taking care of that rescue when he’d dropped into his apartment alley and he’d not had time to talk to him before she came and saw him leave. He sent it to Perry, then got up to get a coffee for himself. He made a few phone calls and checked his messages before looking at his email. Satisfied that he’d sent in several good Superman stories today, he shut down his computer. It was 6:30. He had to hurry if he was going to be at Lois’ apartment on time. He turned to the stairwell and left from the roof the way he always did, too fast to be seen by the naked eye.
There wasn’t a lot he had to do to get ready to meet Lois. It’s not like he had a lot of choice when it came to what he was going to wear. He did shower though, and change into a fresh suit before flying to Holland to get a bouquet of red roses for her.
He couldn’t believe he’d told Lois that superman had been to the Midwest to see his parents. Sure it was true, but it just made things so much more complicated. It was rapidly becoming obvious that Superman just hadn’t appeared when he’d arrived in Metropolis. Well, he was going to tell her anyway. So what if he got sloppy. But he couldn’t let her find out yet. That wouldn’t be good. Well, would anything change between now and when he told her? What if she still felt about Clark the same way? Well, he guessed that didn’t matter, what he was really working on now was developing a loving relationship with her as Superman so that they’d actually be ‘ready’ to get married. There was no way they could marry yet. She only knew a tiny bit about him as superman. She had to be so solidly in love with him as Superman that when he did tell her, she wouldn’t walk out of his life forever. She’d said she was ‘completely in love with him’ last night. Was that only last night?
He landed at the flower market in Amsterdam and bought a fresh bouquet, wrapped it in his cape and took off again, but not before a photographer had a chance to catch a photo of him handing a few bills to the lady at the flower booth.
Then he headed to Luther Towers to search from the sky for the kryptonite.
Lois leaned back, surrounded by mounds of white bubbles. The tap was dripping above her toes as she reached one foot up to let the droplets fall on her big toe, sliding down over her toe nail and into the bubbles. The bubbles smelled good. She looked over and picked up the glass container of solid bath crystals. Coconut –Mango. She breathed deeply of the fragrance and let her shoulders slide under the water. The heat felt good on her sore body. She’d not felt too well since she’d been sick over the memory of Superman’s disclosure of Lex Luther.
She re-enacted the Look-alike crime they’d investigated earlier. She wondered what Superman had seen in Lex’s penthouse. She idly searched it in her mind, wondering just where he’d keep a piece of kryptonite. Perhaps he’d put it in his safe. Was that lead lined? Weren’t most safes? She didn’t know. Superman would.
What would Lex do to Superman? Would he really kill him? How could Lex ever be like that? He seemed like such a very nice man. He’d always been so loving and attentive toward her. She splashed some of the water on her face and closed her eyes, feeling it run down over her chin and drip back into the water before she splashed it again.
She didn’t want to think about Lex. She didn’t want to have to face her most dangerous weakness ‘again’. Men. She could do most things very well. She’d achieved high honors, was even a leading public figure. She’d stopped counting long ago how many people she’d put away for their underhanded deeds. Superman was always out catching the crooks at the scene of crimes where there was some sort of known accident or something. If there was something visible, or something he could hear like and explosion, or cries for help, he could save those people. But she’d saved so many other people in a different way. All the people who had been scammed from all those people who hid under cover of secrecy. She’d caught the bosses behind the scenes. Superman was out catching the dealers while she was out catching the growers, breaking up the crime rings, bringing in the crime lords, dashing the black market to smithereens.
She tossed bubbles into the air and watched them spin as the overhead fan stirred the air in the bathroom. She may be terrible at picking men, but she was pretty good at sleuth work. She remembered watching Colombo as a child. Now he was good. He’d probably been her hero in the investigator business.
She threw up another handful of bubbles, wondering what it would be like to be a private investigator. She’d taken that handful from too deep and water splashed back down as she tossed the bubbles, slopping more bubbles into her face. She reached for a towel hanging beside the tub.
In her bedroom, looking through her closet, Lois toyed with color combinations between her outfit and Superman’s red, yellow and blue. She pulled out a soft yellow dress by the skirt and looked at it for a moment. He didn’t have a lot of yellow on his suit. Maybe that would go well together. She pulled it out and stood with it in front of her as she faced the full length mirror. She tossed it to the bed and got out the hair dryer.
At 6:55 she was standing in front of her mirror again admiring her good taste. The yellow dress had a flared skirt and a fitted bodice with capped sleeves. It had a rounded neck with a high back. Her brown hair fell in place just brushing her throat above the dress. She slipped her feet into a pair of matching yellow high heels and reached for a pair of gold dangling earrings. No. The diamond ones would be better. She’d just finished putting them on when she heard Superman land in the living room.
Lois stepped out of her bedroom and caught sight of Superman calmly standing with a dozen red roses. She giggled excitedly as he handed them to her, unable to keep his eyes off her stunning beauty. She took them, looking into his deep brown eyes which radiated his love for her. Didn’t a puppy dog look like that?
“Oh, they’re beautiful, she said, dipping her nose into them and inhaling the wonderful fragrance. She sighed blissfully and headed with them to the kitchen. “I’ll just put these in a vase.” He came over to stand behind her, reaching up for the vase she was reaching for over her head.
“There, she said as she placed the water filled vase of roses on the table. They’re so lovely.” And they’re red, she noted. “Let me just get my jacket and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Here, let me help you with that,” he said, holding it for her as she reached her arms backwards to put into the sleeves. He slid it up over her shoulders, his fingers resting on the side of her neck, and bent down to kiss her cheek. She turned around and blushed.
“I'm all ready, where are we going?”
He scooped her up and lifted them off into the evening sky. The sun was getting low to the horizon, illuminating the world in soft warm light as they flew through the clear night. An owl hooted distantly as they passed over a wooded area. Lois’ head rested against Clark’s shoulder and his chin rested in her hair as they flew silently, their heartbeats both calm and rhythmic. “I thought we could go to a quiet restaurant on the beach in Mexico. I’ve always loved being around the Mexican people. The have such a loving presence.”
“It sounds wonderful, Superman.” Lois breathed deeply, loving the feeling of flying, loving the feeling of being held by the only man she’d ever truly loved who had loved her back. She felt so safe, so comfortable, so relaxed and so accepted. It was a wonderful feeling to be with this man who had actually proposed to her. “You know, I named you Superman. What was your name before that?”
“Kal El. I'm the son of Lara and Jor El of the house of El.” He said, looking into her eyes.
“Superman seems so formal, so distant. May I call you Kal or Kalel?”
He squeezed her waist, “You can call me anything you want, as long as you call me!” His smile was so beautiful. It was so much like Clark’s.
She reached up to kiss his cheek, but he turned his face to receive it on the lips. She snuggled her head back into the crook of his arm and sighed. “This must be what heaven is like.”
“I hope so.”
They flew in silence again, just content to feel the nearness of one another.
“Did you get rid of the kryptonite?” Lois asked after awhile.
“Yes.”
“Where did you put it?”
“I took it to the bottom of the ocean and put a small mountain on it. That ought to keep it out of the way!”
She chuckled. “I guess you wouldn’t want to toss it up into outerspace since it would be pretty bad if you encountered it way up there!”
He nodded against her hair, “Um hum. I thought of that.” Then after awhile he spoke again, “I found the kryptonite. It is in Lex’s office in a locked drawer of his desk.”
Lois sat up straight in his arms and looked into his face. “Do you think I can break in and get it?”
He looked at her carefully. “Are you asking Superman’s blessing on breaking and entering and stealing?”
“Well, yes.”
“Why don’t I just get a walkie talkie and hover above Luther Towers and have Henderson go in with a warrant to seize it. I can keep my eye on it and let him know if anyone touches it before they arrive on the scene.”
“But what if they want to keep the rock for evidence?”
“I think I can persuade them that the chances of it being stolen and being used against me are harmful enough that they should just use a photo, or go ahead and show it to the judge before the trial. I think it needs to be at the bottom of the ocean with that other bit of it in your lipstick.”
The stars were brighter than ever now that they had left the mainland and were crossing the Gulf of Mexico. Lois was amazed as they flew through a huge mass of birds heading north. “Wow, they’re so beautiful. I can hear their wings beating! I didn’t know birds migrated at night! Have you ever flown with the birds?”
He nodded his head again as she looked into his eyes which were focused on the tiny specks of light in the distance. “Many times, Lois. Some birds roost at night, but a fair number do a lot of their migrating at night. It’s not a very safe time for some birds since the owls are aware of them, but they usually fly high enough that they’re pretty safe from all but the raptors. The hawks circle up on the thermals until they’re really high.”
“Have you ever done that?”
He smiled and chuckled at her questions. “When I was younger. I used to fly to some cliffs and then wait for the thermals, the rising hot air, and let it lift me up too. It’s quite a nice experience. The birds use their wings to make them circle. I don’t need to use wings, I just seem to be able to will myself to go wherever I want.
“Here we are,” Clark said, slowing down as they arrived over a large mass of lights. He flew to the edge of the illuminated area, and drifted down onto the beach. He held Lois close to himself as she gained her balance. “Hungry?”
A band was playing typical Mexican music, “Aye, aye, aye, aye, canta no llores…” The deep voices of the singers and the melody of the acoustic guitars resonated across the softly illuminated beach.
Bright tablecloths decorated the tables, which were sheltered by thatch-covered gazebos. Thick banana plants separated the booths from one another.
“Dos, senor y senorita?” A man in an embroidered shirt and black slacks greeted them and showed them to an unoccupied booth on the beach. The booth had an oblong table in it with two high-backed benches. Banana leaves had been woven into thick cushions.
“Tequila?” the waiter offered, bringing over a tray with two salted wine glasses.
“No thank you,” Lois and Clark both agreed. “Do you have fresh fruit drinks?”
Clark settled in across from Lois, leaning back against the soft bench back and looking at her. “Your face is framed with those banana plants behind you, and the yellow of your dress is so lovely against the green of the leaves,” he said, looking at her lovingly.
Lois turned slightly to look back at the foliage that surrounded them, her straight brown hair swinging back into place as she stopped moving. A coconut palm rustled above the thatch of their roof. “This is so cozy, so romantic, Kal.” She said, leaning forward and touching his hand where it lay on the table.
“I like it when you call me that. I don’t think anyone ever has.” he said, covering her hand with his own.
“But you said it is your name,” Lois looked puzzled.
“It was on Krypton.” He wanted to tell her that he’d left his planet as a baby and been found by Clark’s parents, but he didn’t think it was good to complicate his situation any worse than it already was. But then, it was the truth.
The waiter arrived with their mango juice drinks and politely interrupted them. They withdrew their hands and waited until the waiter had given them menus and left.
“Lois, tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up?”
As the meal progressed, they discussed Lois’ past, her childhood, the things she’d loved to do in the summers when she’d visit with her aunt and uncle in the country, her education, why she’d picked journalism over being a private investigator, her hopes for a Pulitzer and what it would mean for her to win one…
“Did you always have your powers?”
