From part 3:
'Of course your life is about to change drastically,' the voice in the back of his head mocked him. 'You just showed the world what you could do, revealed your superhuman abilities. Did you think that wouldn't change your life drastically, even if people don't realize it's really Clark Kent behind those powers?'
Clark's more rational side supposed that was true. But even as the argument continued to weigh heavily on his mind, Clark didn't think that was it. There was more to it than that, something that touched the very depths of his soul. Something in the air spoke to him that his life was about to change, and not just because of his new identity.
Something was different. Something huge was about to happen.
What that was, though, he had no idea. The future would tell him when the time was right, he guessed.
Resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to be getting any answers tonight, he went back into his bedroom and slipped beneath the sheets. Maybe tomorrow those answers would come.
**********
Now on to part 4...
**********
Lois was tired and irritable as she stepped off the plane and into the Atlanta, Georgia airport terminal. It had been a long morning already, since her flight out of San Francisco had been delayed due to mechanical difficulties. The plane had arrived in Atlanta with only minutes to spare before her connecting flight to Metropolis International Airport was to depart.
She grasped her carry-on bag more tightly and pushed her way through the busy terminal, grumbling at the people meandering around her. 'Don't these people realize others have planes to catch?' she grumbled to herself as she skittered around a group of people standing around, chatting with each other. She glanced at her watch. Five minutes.
She shook her head. At this rate, there was no way she was going to make her connection. Flinging her carry-on bag onto her shoulder, she began to run. She was out of breath and winded in spite of all the hours she regularly spent at the gym by the time she arrived at her gate. A last-call announcement was just being issued over the loudspeakers as she handed her boarding pass to the gate attendant.
With a sigh of relief, Lois boarded her plane and maneuvered down the narrow aisle to her seat. She scanned the numbers along the overhead bins for her seat number. Finally she found it and collapsed into her seat at the window. "Airports," she grumbled under her breath.
It was only a few minutes before the plane was taxiing down the runway, then finally leveling off in the clear blue sky. Lois stared out her window at the sun glinting off the wing of the airplane not far in front of her. She loved flying. She could leave the airport hassle; what a pain that was. But flying...feeling the wings lift the plane over the expanse of clouds, giving her glimpses of cities, then open fields and mountain ranges below...it was something she always loved.
The flight attendants began working their way down the narrow aisle with breakfast carts, and Lois eagerly accepted a cup of coffee and a small plate of pancakes and toast. She hadn't eaten since the night before, and even airplane food looked appetizing at that moment. The flight attendant also offered her a newspaper, which Lois eagerly took. She knew Metropolis's new hero was international news by now, and she was eager to see what was being said about him.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Lois unfolded the newspaper. When she did, she nearly choked. The headline leapt off the page:
An Exclusive Interview with Metropolis's Flying Hero!
Lois covered her mouth with her napkin as she coughed and sputtered. She waved off the flight attendant's inquiry as to whether or not she was all right, then hit herself on the chest a couple of times. When her coughing fit subsided, Lois turned her attention back to the newspaper.
An exclusive! Somebody had scooped her! She glowered at the article. She expected to see a front-age article on the mysterious flying man to be splashed across every newspaper in the world, but she hadn't expected to see someone nail down an exclusive interview with the man so soon. How in the world had somebody managed to track him down so quickly?
Lois studied the picture of the mysterious flying man adjoining the article. He was good looking; that much she had to admit. The shot wasn't a close up, but it was close enough to gather a few details. The picture showed the man interacting with mission control officials after returning to earth from delivering the colonist transport to Space Station Prometheus. It wasn't the best picture in the world, but it did nothing to distract from the hero's rugged, masculine good looks, firm set jaw, and solidly muscled body. The tight costume he wore emphasized each well-defined muscle in his body. Lois cocked an eyebrow. Impressively hardly began to describe it.
Then her eye traveled back to the headline, and her momentary distraction with the picture was gone. The anger she felt moments before returned as she spent the next few minutes poring over the article, her breakfast long since forgotten.
As she finished reading, her brow furrowed. Yes, somebody else had managed to get an exclusive interview, but the reporter obviously hadn't done a very thorough job. The question remained, who was this guy? The mysterious man explained that he was from another planet, but not which one, or how--or when--he had arrived on earth. And there were the questions unanswered--or unasked, even. Where did this alien live? Did he have a job somewhere? Surely he needed money to live. And did he even speak English? Had the reporter needed someone to translate for him? She didn't suspect that was the case, since there was a quote given by one of the colonists at how nice the man had been when he'd talked with them. That meant he had to speak fluent English, didn't it?
The bottom line in her mind was, yes, this was an exclusive, but there was still room for a tell-all exclusive like the one she planned to do.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Her story wasn't down the drain after all. Obviously, this reporter didn't know how to get the nitty gritty story on an interviewee. Maybe he hadn't even asked the questions everyone was dying to know. Maybe he was some hack who managed to get lucky in tracking down the hero.
She nodded. Luck. That had to be it.
This reporter obviously didn't know one end of his pencil from the other. She turned back to the front page and squinted at the byline. Clark Kent. There was no picture of him, so she assumed that meant he was relatively new and inexperienced at the Daily Planet. He had to be, if he couldn't conduct a proper interview by supplying more questions than answers. She was sure she wasn't alone in wanting to know more. Where was the story behind the story?
She didn't buy it that he suddenly appeared out of nowhere to become this superhero. Nobody just appeared out of nowhere. Everybody had a back-story, had a background and a history. This Kent guy obviously overlooked that fact and settled instead for a controversy-free, feel-good story about Metropolis's new hero.
She, however, wasn't such a lacking reporter. There was a story to tell here, and while this Clark Kent managed to get the scoop, he didn't get the entire scoop. And that was now her new mission. She would get to the bottom of this. Of that, she was certain. She'd show this hack how an expose was done. And if it was the last thing she did, she was going to expose this new hero, and give the world a story they would never forget.
The Pulitzer was as good as hers.
**********
Lex walked out onto his balcony overlooking Metropolis. It was a sight that always put him in a good mood. From his vantage point he could see all of Metropolis, much of which he owned either directly or indirectly. In a sense, the city that lay below him was his kingdom, and there was nothing better than waking up in the morning and walking out on the balcony to look out over his subjects.
This morning, however, something else had Lex's eye. The morning edition of the Daily Planet.
He read in fascination about the flying man who had made his astonishing debut appearance at the Messenger only the evening before. He shook his head. A man from another planet. Unbelievable.
He strolled over to the table set for breakfast on the balcony and sat down, picking up each of the five other papers set near his plate. They all reported on the new hero's debut, but only the Daily Planet had an exclusive, telling more of what he wanted to know.
Lex's thoughts were pulled away from the newspaper articles when Nigel approached to pour his coffee. "I notice the headlines are much the same," Nigel said. "This flying man is international news."
Lex nodded and took a sip of his coffee before answering. "Ah, yes, he is that." Lex glanced at the headlines and photos adorning the papers, then addressed Nigel again. "What do we know about this man?"
"Nothing more than the papers report. Nobody seems to know how to find him."
Lex smiled. "Yes, I can see that it would be difficult to track down a man who can fly." He gave the Daily Planet in his hand one more look, than tossed it down onto the table and picked up his fork instead. "See what you can find out about him--his weakness, his strengths. Most importantly, find out about his moral ethics. I want to know if this man can be bought or manipulated."
Nigel's brows furrowed. "You think he might be a threat?"
"Any man who can fly and perform super human feats could be a threat." Lex took a bite of his crepe, then waved his fork dismissively. "At this point, I'm more intrigued than worried. I can't afford to have any more 'incidents,' however." He paused to take another sip of his coffee. When he set the cup down, his jaw tightened imperceptibly as he continued. "That Lois Lane reporter already shut down my western seaboard importing and exporting business by sending many of my connections to jail with that crime ring expose of hers. I don't need some superhuman Boyscout making things worse."
"Agreed." Nigel nodded. "Speaking of Lois Lane, I've just been told she's on her way to Metropolis as we speak."
When Lex looked up at Nigel questioningly, Nigel shrugged. "You told me to have our boys in California keep an eye on her when she started getting close to your seaboard business. This was just our latest report on her whereabouts."
Lex smirked and leaned back in his chair. "I assume she's coming to investigate Metropolis's new hero."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I know her type. She's young; she's hungry. She's out to prove herself to the world, and loves nothing better than to shake things up with a good expose." Lex turned back to the papers on the table beside his plate. He rummaged through them for a minute, then pulled the one out of his stack he was looking for. There, beneath the large type "San Francisco Chronicle," was a follow up on Lois Lane's crime ring expose; and beside that was her picture.
Lex smiled. She was young, all right. And beautiful.
"Nigel," Lex spoke up. "Find out where she's staying while she's here in Metropolis and offer her a dinner invitation from me. Then put someone on her. I want to know who she talks to while she's here and where she goes."
Nigel's eyebrows rose. "You want to dine with her *and* have her followed?"
"Have you ever heard the old saying, 'Keep your friends closer and your enemies closer'?" When Nigel nodded, Lex dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. "That's exactly what I intend to do. I'm willing to bet she's here to see about our new hero, but I would not have gotten where I am today if I didn't cover my bases. I want to make sure she's not here because she's following leads she may have dug up during her crime ring investigation."
He paused and looked at her picture one more time. Then he pursed his lips and smiled. "Besides, Nigel, having a beautiful and intelligent woman as a dinner companion could be rather...enlightening."
And with that, Lex stood up from the table and walked back inside, ready to begin his day.
**********
Lois walked out of the terminal, her eyes blinking at the sun's mid-morning brightness. She was finally here. Metropolis.
She was surprised to see that it hadn't changed much in the dozen or so years since she'd last been there. There were a few new buildings where old ones used to be, and there was a new, more efficient layout of the streets running past the airport. All in all, it seemed very much like the same bustling city she remembered.
As she approached the curb and put up her hand to hail a cab, memories unexpectedly flooded through her. She remembered seeing her younger sister jumping up and down eagerly on the curb, waving her arms frantically in an effort to hail a cab. Lois had lost the dollar she had bet that day, that her sister couldn't hail a cab by herself. She remembered her mother and father smiling when one soon pulled over to pick them up.
Lois blinked back unexpected tears at the memory. It was something she hadn't thought of for a long time. But those times with her sister and parents were gone. This was her life now. And she had a story to write.
Forcing herself to pull herself together and turn back to the task at hand, she climbed into the cab that stopped in front of her and gave the driver the name of her hotel.
*~*~*~*~*
Lois found herself in another cab a short time later. She had checked into her hotel, showered, put on a fresh change of clothes, and was now heading over to the Daily Planet where she knew Perry White was expecting her.
She stared out the window at they drove, trying to re-familiarize herself with the busy city. It would be helpful when she hit the streets in search of the city's new hero later that day. After what seemed like an eternity, the cab pulled over to the curb in front of the Daily Planet. She paid the cab fare, then climbed out of the car.
An inexplicable feeling of déjà vu swept over her as she stood on the sidewalk and stared up at the Daily Planet globe. She knew she'd never seen it before--not in person, at least. But for whatever reason, the building seemed familiar to her. It seemed to pull at her, as if it were drawing her in. There was a soothing, almost comforting feeling about it, like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter's day.
Shaking her head, Lois forced away the inexplicable feelings of déjà vu and walked through the revolving doors into the lobby. The person at the reception desk told her she would find Perry White in his office on the newsroom floor, then directed her to the elevators. When she reached her destination and stepped off the elevator into the newsroom, she was pleased with what she saw.
The newsroom was large, with a long ramp leading into the bullpen and to the offices and conference rooms surrounding it. The place was modern and efficient, and the normal hustle and bustle around her made her feel right at home.
She had only been standing there a few moments when a young man in jeans, a T-shirt, and cowboy boots appeared at her side.
"Can I help you with something?"
"Oh, um, yes, I'm looking for Perry White. Could you tell me where to find him?"
"Sure could." The young man nodded and smiled cordially. He pointed across the newsroom to one of the offices. "He's over there in his office. Come on, I'll walk you over." He lead the way down the ramp and turned back to Lois as they walked. "Is he expecting you?"
Lois nodded. "He is. I'm Lois Lane, from--"
"The San Francisco Chronicle," he finished for her, his grin broadening. "Sure, I know who you are. Well, I've read your stories," he hurried to clarify. "What are you doing way out here? I'm Jimmy Olsen, by the way."
Lois smiled. She liked this young man. He was friendly and personable, and she liked that he made her feel welcome. It was just what she needing, knowing she was going to be spending the next few days in an unfamiliar newsroom. "Nice to meet you, Jimmy. As for what I'm doing here, I'm here to do a story on your new resident super hero."
"You and everybody else in this country," he joked as they reached the bottom of the ramp and turned to make a beeline to Perry White's office across the newsroom. "And yeah, the guy's definitely super. Our Clark Kent managed to get an exclusive interview, you know."
She nodded, though did her best to keep her opinion of "their" Clark Kent's reporting job to herself. "Yes, I saw that," she managed diplomatically.
If Jimmy noticed her lack of praise, he didn't mention it. They arrived in front of Perry's office and Jimmy knocked on the open door, then stepped in. "Chief, Lois Lane is here to see you."
Lois followed Jimmy through the doorway, then stopped. The stocky, graying man sitting behind the desk was not at all how Lois had pictured Perry White. Knowing the Daily Planet was one of the best newspapers in the world, she had pictured a man in his early forties, someone stern, unforgiving and unrelenting, maybe with a polished, corporate look. What she hadn't pictured was a slightly overweight, jovial, teddy-bear of a man with pictures of Elvis on his office wall and a jiggley-hipped Hawaiian dancer figure on his desk. When he spoke, though, his deep, booming voice, full of confidence and authority, told her in no uncertain terms that he demanded respect, yet gave it, as well.
"Ah, yes, Lois Lane," Perry said, smiling broadly as he stood up from his desk. He reached a large, gnarled hand across his desk to shake her hand firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Your editor Jim Langley has told me a lot about you."
She smiled back, liking this man immediately. "It was all good, I hope."
"From the way he went on and on about you, you'd think you were his own kin." He chuckled as he gestured to the chair across from his desk. "Go ahead and have a seat. Jimmy, how about something to drink for Ms. Lane?"
Jimmy nodded. "Sure, Chief." Then he turned to Lois. "What would you like, Ms. Lane?"
Lois looked up at Jimmy and smiled graciously. "Oh, please, call me Lois. And actually, I'm fine, thanks. I had enough coffee on the flight over to last me for a week."
Perry's hearty, booming laugh filled the room. "I know what you mean," Perry agreed. "Airplane coffee is bad enough to kill your taste buds, but when you have a lot of it, that's even worse." He turned back to Jimmy. "Jimmy, how about a diet Coke for me? I think I've already had my fill of coffee for the day, too."
"You got it, Chief." Jimmy hurried away to fill his boss's order.
When Jimmy was gone, Perry turned back to Lois. "He's a good kid. He's got quite an eye on him for photography, and I have high hopes for him. In the meantime, he's paying his dues."
"You mean he's being ordered around by everyone and used as an errand boy?" When Perry nodded and grinned, Lois smiled, as well. "I have to admit, I've been there myself. Not getting drinks and running errands, mind you, but I've had my share of writing obituaries and auction notices. Don't tell anybody I said that, though. I like people to think I started at the top."
Perry laughed. "We all do."
For the next few minutes, they chatted about Jim Langley, San Francisco, and some of the places Perry had visited during a recent trip to the city. Then they turned to the topic at hand.
The stocky editor leaned forward and clasped his hands together on his desk. "So, your editor tells me you want to do a piece on Metropolis's new hero."
"Yes, I do." Lois nodded eagerly. "I see one of your reporters managed to get an exclusive for this morning's edition, but I feel there were a lot of questions left unanswered. I'd like to get the whole story, find out where this guy has been all these years and what makes him tick. Anyway, that's why I'm here."
"Like I told your boss, I'm happy to have you. I should warn you, though, my staff may not be entirely receptive to the idea of you being here. Everybody wants the next big exclusive of our new hero. It's a real dog-eat-dog world out there right now."
Lois nodded, a renewed sense of determination etched on her face. "I can handle it."
Perry's eyes narrowed as he studied her closely for a moment. Then a corner of his mouth turned upwards. "Something tells me you can."
He paused, then slapped his hands down on his desk. "Well, as long as you know what you're up against, I thought I could help you out a bit. I could partner you with someone on this, someone who knows the city, and in exchange, we could run it with a joint by-line when you mange to get that story--"
Lois felt the world start to spin around her. Partner her with someone? Joint by-line? Her head started to swim. The joint by-line she could understand. She didn't like it, but she understood. She was working out of his newspaper office, after all; they would expect something in return. Her editor Jim Langley had probably even used that as a bartering chip to position her in the sister office. But a partner? Never. She worked alone. She always had. Partners just slowed her down. They also drove her crazy. The few partners she'd had were completely incompetent, and it had been a complete waste of time.
"Oh, um...excuse me for a minute," Lois broke in, cutting the editor off in mid-sentence.
Perry paused, waiting for her to continue. Lois licked her lips as she smoothed her hands along the skirt fabric covering her thighs. Finally, she cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Did you say partner?"
Perry's brows furrowed. "Is that a problem?"
"Um, well...kind of." Lois shifted in her seat. "Mr. White, I'm sorry if this comes off sounding ungrateful, because you really are being very kind to let me work out of your newsroom for the next few days, but...I wanted to do this alone. I just don't think I can do the kind of story I want to do if I have a partner tagging along. No offense."
Perry lifted his eyebrows in surprise at her declaration of independence. Then a slow smile worked its way across his face. "Not the partnering type, are you? I remember when I was young and hungry, I didn't want a partner, either. I think you'll come to learn, though, a partner can be helpful--someone to bounce ideas off of and brainstorm with. You often come up with angles the other person doesn't."
He watched her closely for a moment, as if waiting for a rebuttal. When one didn't come, he sat back in his chair and thumped his hands onto his desk. "Well, Ms. Lane, I've got work to do, and so do you, it sounds like. I was thinking of partnering you with a bright young man who's relatively new but very talented, but I suppose that's your decision to make. Let me know if you change your mind."
Lois stood up and shook the hand he again offered her. "I will," she said graciously. "I appreciate your understanding."
Just then Jimmy reappeared with his editor's can of diet Coke. "Here you go, Chief."
"Oh, thanks, Jimmy." Perry took the can, then slapped the young man on the back and gestured at Lois. "If Lois needs anything while she's here, see to it she gets it, would you? In fact, why don't you show her to an empty desk so she can get working."
A broad smile spread across Jimmy's face. He was clearly happy to be given the responsibility of looking after the well-known visiting reporter. "I'd be happy to."
As Jimmy led Lois out of the office and into the bustling newsroom, Perry watched her go. He had always prided himself on gathering accurate first impressions of the people he met, and the one he got of Lois Lane was undeniable. That girl was something special.
Her editor and his longtime friend, Jim Langley, had told him she was an incredible reporter, the best when it came down to breaking a story wide open. Perry was sure that was true, but what he hadn't expected was for her to be so personable and charming, let alone drop-dead gorgeous. If he were young and single, he would probably be doing everything in his power to catch her attention. But what surprised him the most, he realized, was how young she was to have achieved the level of success she had attained in her profession. She was obviously driven.
It was also easy to see that she was fiercely independent. He didn't know why she was so dead set against letting him partner her with somebody, especially when a partner who knew the city would only have been an asset. Jim Langley was right--she was a handful, just as he had warned him she would be.
The bottom line, though, was...he liked her. In a way, she reminded him a bit of himself when he'd first started in the business--vital, passionate, and hungry. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it, that much was clear. Otherwise she would not be standing in his newsroom, three thousand miles from home.
He found his gaze following her as he watched Jimmy show her to the empty desk near the back. He hadn't been kidding when he warned her that his other reporters wouldn't be thrilled by her presence when they learned what she was there for. The new flying hero was a hot commodity. Everybody wanted to land that next exclusive. But he had no doubt she could handle herself, as she'd reassured him in his office.
All in all, it was a win-win situation. She could compete for the story she wanted, the Planet would get a great by-line if she managed to nail it down, and having a nationally acclaimed investigative reporter to compete with for the next few days for the exclusive of the century with could only serve to light a fire under his own reporters.
'Besides,' Perry thought with a smile, 'I like her.'
She was obviously an amazing and talented lady, and he was excited at the idea of having her around the newsroom for the next few days. He had excellent reporters, but few showed her level of fire and determination. Having her around was sure to be a breath of fresh air in his sometimes-stale newsroom.
