Pt 21
Lunch hour had grown into a very long break indeed. As they stepped out of the truck, Clark drew Lois aside. “There’s something I want to show you, Lois.” Then turning back toward his parents, he added, “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
They headed off towards Clark’s treehouse. “We don’t have much time, we’ve really got to get back to the office, but I want to show you this first.”
They climbed up the ladder and stepped into the small fort. “Here. Sit down on my lap.” Clark offered. Lois obliged. Then Clark reached behind to the table, and picked up the globe that his parents had placed in his spaceship so long ago.
She watched as it changed colour in his hand, the earth shapes changing to the red shapes of Kypton. “It’s warm, Lois, here, feel it.” She reached out to touch the glowing red orb and instantly a white glow surrounded them. She pulled her hand back in fright and it disappeared. She looked up at Clark, neither knowing just what to make of what had happened.
Clark took her hand in his, and laid it on the side of the globe while it sat in his other hand. Immediately they were surrounded by a bright glow. Lara and Jor-el were standing in the light, a holographic image hovering just out in front of them. Clark’s father began to speak.
“You have now found your true love on earth as witnessed by the energy of both of your hands on the globe. Your mother and I are very happy for you both. You have been given a great heritage Kal-el, and now you will become complete with the woman you have chosen to be bonded to. Join your hands together on the globe.”
They followed instructions, placing all four of their hands on the globe. “As you have done so, you will now feel your souls merge in union. From this time forward, your minds will be as one. There will be no secrets, only a singleness of purpose. May you enjoy your marriage as much as your mother Lara and I do. The bonding is complete.”
The image hovered for a moment longer and then Clark’s parents disappeared. The light, however remained encircling Lois and Clark as they looked at one another above the globe. Words were no longer necessary as Lois asked Clark mentally, <Does this mean we’re married now, Kal?>
<I think, at least by Kryptonian law.>
<That’s what I thought.>
<May I kiss the bride?>
As their lips touched, a strange power surged through them, a circle between their hands on the globe and their lips. As they pulled apart, not only did Lois feel married, from somewhere deep inside her soul, she also felt different physically, more energetic.
They put the globe back up on the table, and leaned in to hold one another for some time, both somewhat uncertain what had just transpired, communicating telepathically to one another, the true kryptonian form of communication. There was something very stable, very permanent about their relationship now. Neither of them could find the words for it, but the idea was mutually understood.
They also knew they had to get back to work. Work seemed such a trivial matter at this point, after such an amazing experience.
As they climbed down the ladder, Lois realized that she no longer had forgotten anything, all her memories of Kal and their time together had returned to her. Finally, she felt whole again. Even more than whole now.
As she jumped down from the first step, she didn’t notice as she waited for Clark to climb down that her feet weren’t touching the ground. He noticed it first as he turned to her and her head wasn’t lower than his anymore.
<Lois! You’re floating!> he thought wordlessly.
She looked down and realized he was right. Wondering if she had other abilities now, she put one arm up in the air above her head and shot off upward, then floated back down to Clark. “Wow!” <I have your powers!>
They both knew that his parents had just given her powers of her own. Holding hands, they both turned to the house and flew into the kitchen.
pt 22
“What do you mean they have failed? You come here, get me out of my quiet room and tell me this dreadful news? Failure isn’t something I take lightly.” Lex Luther’s face was red. He leaned across the table towards Nigel, his face only a few inches away.
“Sir, although we have not been able to locate more green kryptonite, we do have a supply on hand of the red variety. We have also located the particulate atomizer. It has been delivered into my care and it will be used shortly to reduce the man in tights to his rightful place in society, the cemetery.” Nigel’s teeth were clenched as he spoke to his boss.
“Do I detect a bit of resentment in your voice my dear Nigel? I’m sorry, I believe I spoke too hastily. You have done well."
Lois and Clark flew back from Kansas to Metropolis. Although Lois could now fly on her own, she didn’t want to arouse any suspicions as radar could easily pick up Superman. It was also nicer to be carried by this man who was probably more completely her husband now than he would be after they had been married civilly on earth.
His parents had taken the news very well. Nothing seemed to surprise them anymore. With all the green kryptonite thrown into the sun where it could never harm Clark again, They had been feeling quite happy about that turn of events, even though they’d not known there was an more in Schuster’s field anyway.
Lois and Clark pushed the button in the elevator, heading to the newsroom from the roof. She wondered idly if they ever locked the door onto the roof, keeping Clark out. He responded before she’d realized she’d even asked him. No, they had locked it before, but he’d found a quick way to unlock it from within the door.
She turned to him and smiled. “I like this Clark.”
“Me too.” He put his hands on her waist. “So your memories are all back now.” It wasn’t a question it was a statement. He knew her memories were back because it was as if her brain were half of his own. She too knew that he knew, as she knew all that was in his mind as well. It was more than either of them had thought that telepathy was. They didn’t need to speak in their minds, they simply knew what the other person was thinking, or feeling, or knowing, or planning. It was a very unusual feeling. But Lois didn’t feel invaded as Clark would have supposed she would have, to not be able to hide anything from him anymore. It was quite a relief to him in many ways. He knew that she’d not be walking into danger without his knowing it. She’d never wonder where he was again.
They’d never again have a problem communicating their feelings or their opinions on a subject. This new condition was a state of knowing as you are known. It felt good. It felt reassuring. It was a true oneness neither of them had ever imagined possible.
He squeezed her and pulled her close to him. Again the energy surged through them both. It was a bit unsettling, and Lois pulled away. “Can we get married NOW?” she asked with a smile and a hint of impatience.
“Sure.” He kissed her forehead and the circular connection happened again. It was a bit spooky. Clark could also tell that they needed to get married soon, because this connection was just too weird to ignore. He was sure the civil ceremony would be nothing like this already was. “Let’s ask my parents for a bit of help setting it up in Smallville.”
“Okay. Thanks Clark!” she didn’t dare kiss him again at the moment, just winked at him as the doors to the elevator opened.
Perry looked at his watch as they came strolling into the newsroom. He’d let them take some time off if they needed it. They certainly had been working on a story, but not one that was printable. But their work had obviously dashed the hopes of whomever was behind the workers in the woods.
Lois and Clark looked at each other. Clark nodded and Lois knew he was going to be going back to find out some more answers.
He gave a feeble excuse to Perry of visiting the men’s room, and flew out the window and back to Schusters field. Sure enough the workers had returned to the scene. With a flash, Superman rounded them all up and tied them together. Holding them aloft, he told them they’d all be in jail in a matter of minutes if they didn’t tell him who they were working for. The name Nigel St. John came out of a few mouths, although most of them didn’t know who had arranged for their services.
Superman took them to the Smallville police station, letting them know he'd found the tresspassers digging with heavy machinery in Schuster's field. With that, Clark returned to the newsroom.
Lois had seated herself at her desk and was busy at her computer again. Perry was looking at his watch and noting Clark’s return. He glanced over to LNN to see if Clark had been out on Superman duty. Nothing out of the ordinary was going on, however. Perhaps Clark had really had to use the men’s room.
Perry called Clark in and gave him one of Ralph’s stories to finish up. Ralph had been sent to the conference on Sexual Harassment and hadn’t been heard from for several days. Perry was offloading all of his work onto other hands.
“Perry, Lois’ memory has returned. She’s back to her old self.” Clark told his boss as he took the files Perry was handing him.
“Good. I want that story on the charges against Luther.”
“We’re on it Chief.”
Lois put her head up to watch Clark talking to Perry. She could see him perfectly well: this x-ray vision was definitely nice. She could hear his every word, feel his attitude and read his mind. What an incredible position she was in. She just wanted to be close to him. That would have to wait awhile though. She could feel him respond to those feelings. Good grief. This was going to pose a lot of problems. She needed to focus on work again.
Just what were they working on anyway? <Charges against Luther> Clark responded in her head. She didn’t know anything about it, but it was all there in Clark’s head, all she had to do was open a new document and start typing.
She turned to the computer and listened, searching around in his head for information that she needed for this story. He’d read the fax, she hadn’t, but with his photographic memory, she was able to read it all, as if she were simply reading the document. Along with each bit of information was the feeling that he’d felt as he reacted to what he had been reading. She’d not realized all that he’d had tied up in his relationship with Lex. It was interesting in many ways, on many levels. She could see or feel, somehow understanding all the history that had gone on between him and Luther. His thoughts called him Luther. Lois wasn’t sure if Clark was feeding her this information, or if she was just accessing it.
<Nope, I’m not feeding it to you. I’m just an open book, I guess. But then you are too.> she could feel his smile and his chuckle as he teased her. No telling what he was able to read in her mind. She blushed. <I wasn’t, Lois. I’m busy with Perry.>
It felt so good to be on this level with Clark. He was such an honest man. There wasn’t anything he’d want to hide in there from her. But she paused from her research in his head to wonder just what he’d felt about her, thought about her, over the time they’d known each other. It was all there. All she had to do was wonder about something and she immediately knew the answers. All the things she’d done that he’d reacted to, all the things she’d said, all of his actions that stemmed from not knowing how to deal with her. She realized a lot about herself as she sat looking through his mind. He’d been scared of her. Of losing her actually. Her heart went out to him. How could she have been so irritable with him? He’d accepted her. He’d said wonderful things about her to his parents.
Misunderstandings they’d had, that they’d never taken time to resolve became plain. No wonder he’d reacted that way, he’d thought she had meant this. But he’d been wrong. He now knew that as she reacted to what was in his mind. The twisted knots that made up the history of their relationship were unraveling slowly, becoming smooth as they each understood deeply.
Lois had never realized that Clark had been so in tune with her, or at least that he’d been so interested in her life. She chuckled as she saw him hovering outside her apartment when her sister Lucy had been telling her, ‘Mister Right could be right outside that window.’ Clark had heard that? He’d been out there hovering? She smiled at the thought of it.
She noticed movement on her computer screen as the screen saver kicked in. She moved the mouse and read over what she’d written. Mrs. Cox, Lex Luther’s personal assistant couldn’t be named, but she’d given evidence to the police that would ensure his incarceration and possibly even the death penalty. From the looks of it she should be getting the same thing. It always burned her up when people got off scott free when they pointed the finger at someone higher up in the crime world. It certainly wasn’t the way it should work out.
Would Lex find a way to have her killed even if she was under police protection after fingering him? The number of crimes he’d committed were too long to enumerate. However, it looked like not only would they try him for one murder but for many. He was obviously quite a crime lord, not the run of the mill gangster, but a very sophisticated businessman, suave in all his dealings, and always coming out on top.
Here was the Prometheus explosion evidence, the murders of Bains, Lois’ wrestling dad who called her Pumkin, which Clark had teased her about. She got side tracked into Clark’s feeling history again. He’d tried to get her to like him, that’s what he’d been doing, always poking at her like that, trying to raise her hackles, all just to get a bit of attention from her.
How he’d ached for her to think of him as more than a hack from Smallville, then as more than a partner, as more than a friend, then as more than best friends. When she’d refused to date him, how his heart had been broken. She melted inside. How could she be so blessed as to be loved by this practically flawless man? She glanced over at him. His eyes met hers as he reacted to her compassionate feelings for him. She felt sad about how she’d treated him. He reassured her that it was over and that they’d moved on past that.
She reminded herself that she had to work on this article. He walked over to his own desk and sat down. He had done a bit of work on this article already. She stood up to go see what he was referring to on his computer screen. She was surprised that she was able to simply look at the screen and understand and remember everything on it. Was this Clark’s speed reading, not speed reading at all, just his empowered thinking? His mind was brilliant, she thought as she returned to her desk to complete the story with the details he’d had on his screen.
<Come see this, Clark.>
<Just a sec.>
She could hear his mind working as he read over another article on his desk. Understanding about that topic flowed through her mind.
<Get over here and check this article, Clark!> she demanded mentally. <I want to send this to Perry so I can see what’s in your mind some more!”
<Okay, okay, I’m coming.> he smiled as he leaned down, placed a hand on her shoulder and read from her screen. <It’s fine, dear. Except ‘it’s’ should be ‘its’.
<Blah blah blah!> she said, clicking on the send button. <Now what else do we have to do?>
<I’ve got this article of Ralph’s to finish up. It’s about the political scandal. I’ll make a few phone calls.>
She heard LNN on the other side of the newsroom, droning on about a political scandal and an upcoming election. She glanced up at it and wondered what it’d be like when Clark responded to a cry for help.
Clark tensed a bit at her thoughts. He wasn’t in a hurry to rush off to a disaster. He wasn’t sure what it would be like having Lois know all his imperfections as he went about his rescues. He felt quite inadequate as he thought about his episodes of bad judgment. But she could look at all of them now, couldn’t she.
Lois got up and headed into Perry’s office. Clark knew she was going in to find out what else he wanted her to work on, now that the Lex piece was finished. He watched her walk across the newsroom. He’d have a look at her mind later, but right now he had work to do. But it wasn't that simple, it was as if his mind had two channels open, his and hers.
Perry handed her a folder when she came in asking for an assignment. “How are you feeling now, Lois? Clark says you’ve got your memory back. Are you okay with that?”
She smiled warmly. “Never better, Perry. I’m looking forward to this court case with Ralph.”
“Well, the lawyers will be getting in touch with you next week. They needed some time to get their act together. The first hearing isn’t for another two months.”
“Two months?”
“The courts are rather bogged down now that they’ve got these stricter laws on the books. They still haven’t increased the number of judges.”
Lois nodded. “Well thanks, Chief, I’ll just take a stab at this.”
Back at her desk she was busy making a few phone calls, then put Jimmy on a chase for some details she needed. Soon she had something to sink her teeth into. There were problems downtown with the homeless people who were always trying to wash people’s windshields and then charge them afterwards. It was always the same. She’d been put in that position a few times when she’d been sitting at a light. It wasn’t much fun to have to root around for spare change when she’d never even asked for the service to be done. There was no reason to pay someone else to do this, she had good enough windshield wipers to do it in a second herself. She snorted quietly, then flipped through the statistics that Jimmy handed her.
“Thanks, Jimmy.”
Suddenly Lois heard a shriek for help. A chill ran up her spine. Her eyes met Clark’s. In no time he was up and off to the stairwell, one hand on the knot of his tie. <Don’t worry, Lois, this is normal, it always sounds this way. I’ll be fine.> He sensed her strong reaction.
<Be careful, Sweetheart. It’ll be interesting to see what I experience and feel while you’re working.>
<I hope I’m not distracted by your reactions. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Bye.> He’d already left the building as he spoke to her. But she could see what he was seeing if she paid attention. She watched as the tall buildings of Metropolis moved quickly below. He dropped down to find the exact location of the scream, then rushed in when he found a car launching off the cliff overlooking the bay. A quick x-ray told them both the car’s brakes had failed.
Superman caught the car in midair. Lois pursed her lips as she felt the relief of the driver flood through her. She also felt the relief Clark experienced. A small child was in the back of the car, still screaming, probably reacting to his mother’s scream. The mother’s feelings were for the child. They were for Superman. The red haired woman was reaching back to comfort her child as Superman flew the car to the garage the woman told him she used.
Lois, who wasn’t much on touchy feely stuff, was more than surprised that her enhanced abilities were allowing her insight into the experience of someone else, not just Clark, which was amazing in itself.
Her telephone rang, bringing her back to her own world. “Lois Lane.”
“Henderson here.”
“Oh hi, Inspector.” Lois could feel his concern and his irritation, none of which was being revealed in his voice.
“Lois, I’ve got to go out. Are you and Clark going to come pick up these tapes tonight or do you want me to drop them by the paper on my way over there?”
She’d forgotten completely about the surveillance tapes. “Oh.” She paused as she contemplated what to do. She could meet him out front. No, someone might see her receiving them and be suspicious, even those who’d been following them. She could go over and pick them up now. Was she done at the office? It was getting late. “I can come by and pick them up on my way home. So what’s the deal here, you’ll need something for evidence. Do I get to destroy what I don’t want being seen or heard?”
“Right. I think if you just remove anything too personal and leave me with the rest, that ought to be sufficient to back up our charges.”
“Okay, I’ll be over on my way home.”
“Okay, I’ll leave them with the front desk. On second thought, we’ve been having some sort of problem with a security leak here…”
<I’ll go by and get them now.> Clark was saying in her mind.
<As Clark or as Superman?>
<Superman.>
“I’ll ask Superman to come by and pick them up. He should be there shortly.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
Superman landed in front of police headquarters as she hung up the phone. “Inspector Henderson, please.” Clark said as he stood in all his unemotional stature at the front desk. A buzzer rang and he opened the door and walked down the hallway to Bill’s office.
“Boy that was fast!”
“I’m Superman!” Clark responded, realizing that even Lois should have to contact him before he could run an errand for her. Thinking of an alternate excuse for being in the office, he related, “I just saved a woman whose brakes had been tampered with. I dropped her off at the garage at the corner of 42nd and Easel. I thought you should know. She was heading over the cliff overlooking the bay.
“Oh, so you haven’t talked to Lois?”
“Lois?”
“Yes, she was going to send you over here to pick up the tapes we confiscated this morning.”
He nodded as if just being given this new information. “Oh, well I can take them now.”
Henderson got up and opened a vault in his office wall and handed a bag of black video tapes and cassette tapes to him.
“Let her know I have to have something back or I can’t prosecute these jerks.”
“Right. Thanks Bill.”
Clark walked into the newsroom carrying the bag. Lois had turned off her computer and stood waiting for him to arrive, knowing exactly where he was by what he was seeing as he walked.
“Goodnight, Perry.”
“Goodnight, Lois. Thanks for all the work you did today. I’m glad you’re back to your old self again.
She smiled. She was back alright, but there was nothing much that resembled her old self.
Clark shut down his computer, straightened up and filed the papers that were on his desk and took his mug and Lois’ over to the coffee stand where he washed them both out and turned them upside down on the drying rack. Then he met Lois at Perry’s office door.
“You kids be good now. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Yes Chief. See you in the morning.”
Clark was about to touch Lois’ arm, but she pulled away. <Oh no you don’t Buddy. Not till we’re married. I can’t handle that thing that happens when we touch.>
She felt a surge of love from him and met his eyes. The pull was pretty strong. They were mentally joined and the physical magnetism was incredible.
