I was busy writing on my other story and this just fell out. I can't use it in my current AFFU story, so I guess it'll have to be a story all on its own!
Dead or Alive
Pt. 1
Lois stretched her arms above her head and rolled over, the sunshine feeling wonderful on her face. The cloud was thick and dark beneath her. It felt a bit damp. Superman’s arm was around her where it had been for the last few hours. He moaned slightly and loosened his grip on her and rolled away. Suddenly she slipped and began tumbling head over heels down through the thick storm clouds. Blackness surrounded her. Thunder boomed in her ears as the lightning flashed, connecting the cloud with the earth. Her tumble was rocketed sideways as she was thrust away by the force of the jolt. Another brain splitting roar cracked as light filled the clouds surrounding her.
She was falling again, faster and faster. She watched the clouds above, around and beneath her as she tumbled over and over, her arms and legs flailing out in all directions. The wind gusted around her, speeding her sideways, then back upward. If this is what it felt like to be a leaf…she’d watched them many times as they’d floated back up in the midst of a downward flight.
A pair of red lights blinked in the distance. Orange flames appeared just beneath them. Engines roared into earshot. A silver bullet lay just between the orange flames. Within seconds, the airplane was crossing her downward path. In its wake she tumbled, sucked in behind it, pulled out of the storm clouds. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling nothing but the numbing cold of the air so high above the earth.
The plane was gone. The clouds slipped up above her. Her arms and legs were splayed as she dropped belly first, the wind whipping her hair upward against her freefall.
Blue ocean, green fields, trees and white mountain tops dotted the scene far below. The scene grew, enlarging as she fell. The mountain tops and the ocean were far beyond the edges of her view now. Trees became more distinct.
The air was warming up around her, drying her wet clothes which had clung to her, cloaked in ice. Her shivering slowly subsided. The sun was again on her back. She turned to see the storm clouds off to the side, moving away in the distance.
She could smell the fumes of city pollution. She wondered when she’d wake up, surely before she hit the ground. Land loomed into view, roads, cars, a pond, a tent, a forest.
A gust of wind came at her from the side and she was again lifted back up into the air, this time the feel of a comforting, warm body carrying her. “Superman! You came! I knew you would!”
He wasn’t as confident that he’d make in on time as she was. He held her under her knees and behind her shoulders as they flew back up, around the storm to the top of it again.
The sun again beat warmly on them. The cold she’d felt earlier was all gone. Superman was warm. He laid her down atop the cloud, not taking his arms away from her. He cuddled her close again. She sought out his lips and felt their warmth against her own. He pressed gently back against hers. His hands moved on her back, and hers squeezed him tightly against her. The sun beat against them as they lay on the cloud, feeling grateful for each other and for the beautiful day.
A long while later Lois opened her eyes and looked into Superman’s face. His eyes fluttered open. She lay on one of his arms while the other was wrapped over her. Their legs were intertwined. “I love it up here. I love being with you. I love kissing you, being in your arms. I had the neatest dream.”
“Um?”
She nodded. “I dreamed we were sleeping up here and I fell when you let go of me. I flew through a thunderstorm, was nearly hit by an airplane and then just when I was about to hit the ground you swooped in and brought be back up here.”
“You thought you were dreaming? I was lying up here with you, fast asleep. You rolled over and stretched. I rolled the other way. Then I heard the radio from an airplane talking about a woman falling through the clouds. I shot down and caught you just before you hit the treetops. Why didn’t you call me?”
She raised her eyebrows. “I was just dreaming. I knew you’d come catch me!” she smiled.
“No, Lois, you weren’t dreaming. Well, maybe you were dreaming, but the dream was real!”
Her glowing smile faded. “You’re kidding. You’ve got to be kidding!”
“No, I’m not kidding, Lois.”
She locked her arms behind his back. “You dropped me, Superman? From way up here, you dropped me? I was falling? You let go of me?”
She made it sound so bad. “No, I didn’t drop you, Lois. We were sleeping, remember? You called me over last night. You said it was too hot in your apartment and wanted me to take you somewhere cooler. So we floated up here and lay talking and laughing. Then we fell asleep. This morning you woke up, and the rest is history.”
“Superman! You let go of me!”
“I’m sorry, Lois. I’m so sorry. I thought you realized. I wondered why you hadn’t screamed. I’m so sorry. We were both asleep and I never thought. I just…”
“You might be Superman, but you can’t just bring me up here into the clouds and then fall asleep with me and let me roll over and fall! You could have killed me!”
“I’m really sorry, Lois. I’m just glad that airplane saw you. I can’t believe you didn’t scream or anything.”
“Superman, take me back down this instant.”
“Loisss! I’m not going to drop you, or let go of you.”
“Oh yeah? Right! I trusted you! I thought I could always count on you. You’re not a superhero, you’re just a plain old ordinary guy!”
He smiled. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you Lois. It’s you that’s always seen the superhero in me. I just wear the cape to hide my…”
“Take me back down right now, Superman!”
He pulled her closer. “Nope.”
She beat on his chest. “Now! I mean it!”
He rolled over on his back, pulling her up onto himself and laughed. “Lois! Calm down!”
She sat up, her face looking ferocious. She swung her legs around, hanging them both off the same side of him while she sat on his stomach.
He put his arms under his head and began to whistle. He was unbelievable. Unbelievable.
“Superman, I want to go down. I don’t trust you anymore. Look at you, you’re not even holding onto me.”
He raised his head and looked at her, smiling. “I’m Superman, the greatest superhero earth has ever known. I don’t have to hold onto you. If you fall, I’ll catch you.” He grinned, teasing her.
“Superman!” she wailed. “What are you doing? Why are you acting like that?”
He smiled and floated upright, holding her in a gentle embrace. “Where did my sweetheart go, Lois? One minute you’re kissing me like you can’t get enough, and the next you’re demanding to go home. I didn’t drop you. I’m sorry that I let go of you and that you fell. I caught you. I’m glad I caught you. I can’t imagine what I would have done if you’d died. It was terrible of me.” He paused and looked at her face.
Her lips were pursed, waiting impatiently for him to stop talking and take her home.
“Are you really serious, Lois? You really want me to take you home?”
She nodded. “Yes. And I’m never flying with you again.”
He searched her eyes as they floated downward over Metropolis. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure! How dare you keep me up there in the air where I don’t have any powers, where I can’t leave if I want to.”
He landed on her window sill and stepped down onto the carpet with her. “Now go!” She stepped away from him and put her hands on her hips.
He looked like a lost puppy.
“Go! And don’t you come back! I’ve had it with you Mr. Omnipotent.”
“Lois? Are you serious?”
“Go!” She pushed him backward until he tripped on the window ledge and toppled head first out the window, his red boots hitting on the window frame as they flipped over behind him.
She moved forward and looked out the window at him. He lay on his back on the sidewalk. She pulled her head back in the window and pushed it firmly closed, turning the lock and pulling the drapes closed.
“Lois?” Lucy came out of the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. ‘What was all that noise? Is someone here?”
“No. Nobody is here, nobody at all.” She sank down on the couch, her head falling into her hands as she thought about what had just happened. Superman had dropped her. They’d been high in the clouds. No, on top of the clouds. Above a thunderstorm even. And he’d dropped her. How could he do that? Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, he hadn’t even realized he’d let go of her. How could you do that to someone, take them up in the air and let them go? Sure, he was asleep, but that’s no excuse! He knew darn well that she couldn’t save herself if he didn’t take care of her. She’d trusted him. What a louse! What a no-good, rotten, dirty, conniving, self-centered, pig!
“Lois?”
“What!” Lois stormed at her sister. “Can’t you just leave me alone? Can’t you see I don’t want to talk to you?”
“Sor-ree.” Lucy returned to the bathroom and slammed the door.
Lois punched the pillow. Not only was she mad at him, but she couldn’t tell anyone! Who would believe her anyway? It wasn’t like you could just tell people you’d been sleeping in the clouds with Superman. She punched the pillow again.
She picked up her jacket and pushed her feet into her shoes and went to the door. “I’m going out.” She yelled to Lucy.
“Who cares!”
Lois Lane was mad enough to spit nails. She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell. How could her best friend take her up there and then drop her? And then act as if it wasn’t any big deal! Acting like he could take care of everything. Well he nearly hadn’t. he’d nearly not caught her. She’d nearly hit the top of the trees. She could be dead right now.
She stomped down the stairs of the apartment building, pushed the heavy door open and headed down the cement stairs to the sidewalk. To her right she noticed a crowd of people gathered. Her reporter instinct kicked in. She climbed back up to the top step to see over the crowd at what they were looking at. Superman lay in the center of the crowd. Her feet barely touched the ground as she ran down the stairs and pushed into the crowd to Superman’s side.
He lay on the sidewalk, unconscious. She knelt down beside him. “Superman?” she patted his cheeks. “Superman, can you hear me?” To the crowd she begged, “Somebody call an ambulance!”
There was a murmur from the crowd and someone pulled out a cell phone and asked for help.
“What happened?” Lois asked the onlookers.
“Looks like he fell out a window!”
“Or maybe he was pushed.” A man with a twisted smile sneered.
“Get a life! And move back, give him some room to breathe.”
Superman lay motionless on the sidewalk. There was no blood around him, no bruises on his face or his hands. His cape was lying on the sidewalk where it had floated down beside him, some of it landing on his legs.
Lois felt his forehead. It felt the same as usual. She felt for a pulse. Of course he’d have a pulse, this was Superman.
A flash startled her. She looked up into the camera and was rewarded by a few more blindingly brilliant flashes.
Lois looked back at Superman. His eyes were closed. “Can you hear me?” She whispered.
“Everybody move on back!” she looked up to see a man with a medical bag pushing his way into the group. The group was gradually obeying, but nobody seemed to want to miss this.
The doctor bent over Superman’s still body, across from Lois. He opened his bag and pulled out a stethoscope. Listening carefully, he placed it first on one spot then on another to hear Superman’s heartbeat. Looking up at Lois, he shook his head.
“What? He can’t die!”
A siren screamed as an ambulance pulled up beside the curb. Technicians hurried to Superman’s side, pulling cardiac equipment from the vehicle. The crowd backed away as jolts of electricity blasted through Superman’s chest again and again.
“Nothing.” Lois heard one attendant tell another. Let’s get him in. Moments later they were wheeling him to the ambulance, closing the doors and driving away. Lois hadn’t taken any time in getting in beside him, in spite of the technician’s emphasis that only family could ride alongside a patient. Not having time to argue with Lois, they closed the doors and were on the way to the hospital while Superman’s chest was being monitored.
At the hospital, they took the caped hero into the emergency room while they asked Lois a few questions. “What happened?”
“Uh, he fell.”
“From how high?”
She realized what she’d done. “From the fifth floor.”
“What exactly happened?”
If Superman died, she could be charged with murder! “He was leaving my apartment and tripped on the window sill.”
“Does Superman usually trip?”
“I don’t know! He tripped. He fell out my window.”
“Was he sick?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
Lois thought the questions would never end. She had no idea if he had insurance. Probably not, he was Superman for Pete’s sake.
Lois cried as the doctor finally pulled the sheet up over Superman’s head. The cornoner had come and pronounced him legally dead. His body had been taken to the morgue. How could that have happened? No next of kin had been beside him in the hospital. Just Lois, who couldn’t stop crying. Later that evening, nobody saw Superman walk away from an empty drawer at the morgue.
