You'll notice the changes here. I've narrowed things down to only an A & B plot here.
Part 2
Clark flew out Lois' window into the city-lit night sky and off to swim in the Atlantic. The sun reflected on the ocean as he neared. Yellow and silver touched the tops of every ripple and wave.
He swam around the planet to rid himself of the smoke from the fire. Then he headed between the icebergs of the Arctic Ocean and finally into the darkness beneath the polar ice cap. Afterwards, he dove into Lake Superior where the fresh water could remove the salt from his suit. He lay motionless as he floated on his back, letting the rock him and eventually push him to the heavily forested shore.
He replayed everything in his mind, the devastation that had overwhelmed him. He had acknowledged that he couldn't have done anything differently; hearing his mother's oft repeated words of comfort and support in his mind. Only then had the memories of the darkness been pushed away by memories of light, love and bliss. The joy of being engaged to Lois had finally replaced the scenes of devastation and sorrow. He felt ready to return to the life of Clark Kent.
The sun was high in the eastern sky when Superman landed on Clark's balcony at 344 Clinton. The tree nearby was covered in the light green leaves of spring. The music of birds filled the air. They sounded like a concert, all the many voices singing together. He knew which birds made which sounds and as he watched them, members of an orchestra. A robin carried bits of grass clippings to a fork in the tree and its mate flew away in search of more nesting material. The wind rustled through the leaves.
What a beautiful world the Earth was. What a contrast nature in the spring was to the total devastation and heartache he'd experienced earlier. He walked through his doorway, closing it quietly behind him.
He entered the bathroom, spun out of the suit, and dropped it in the laundry basket as he opened the shower door. He let the water beat on him as he shampooed his hair and scrubbed his body with the strong soap he used for greasy soot. He stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel off the rack, then headed over to look in the mirror. He burned his beard off slowly, too exhausted to bother with speed.
As he headed into the bedroom wearing the towel, he glanced at the red numbers on his bedside clock. He sighed, late for work again. He just wanted to lie down and think about his life, and Superman's engagement to Lois. It wasn't anything he'd ever dreamed of. His fantasies about Lois had always involved him as Clark, not Superman. He had some real mental juggling to do.
He dressed for work, and looked through his many ties for one that reflected how he was feeling today. How could he be so happy about one thing and so miserable about another?
Superman flew over Lois' apartment on his way to work. She was curled up in her bed, hugging the teddy bear Clark had won for her.
When Clark stepped out of the elevator at the Daily Planet newsroom, he felt the absence of Lois' heartbeat, one of the sounds he always noticed. It was a rhythm of his life, the beat of the newsroom, to him. Its absence always meant his day wasn't quite as bright.
He pulled out his chair, booted up his computer, and then headed over to get a mug of coffee and a donut. LNN was on the TV monitors, with pictures of the fire. He moved closer and watched himself work, as he sipped his coffee slowly, recalling the details that LNN couldn't see.
He headed in to talk to his boss. "Chief, did Lois write up the fire last night? I bumped into Superman and wasn't sure what Lois had already sent in."
"Hi, Clark. You don't look so good," Perry said as Clark entered his office. "Except your tie, is it a new one?" To his nod, Perry continued, "Yes, she sent in the story early this morning. It was cc'd to you. That girl never sleeps, does she! She must have spent the whole night out there at the fire."
He nodded. "She's really something, Chief."
Clark returned to work at his desk until the call for the morning conference meeting. He found Lois's story when he checked his email. She had written the details of Superman and the fire, but Clark was going to write about the way Superman felt. He needed to let a bit more of Superman's feelings show to the world. He pulled out his keyboard and began pouring out the pain of the victims, their losses in limbs and life and most of all, Superman's race with the flames and his frustration as the building collapsed further and further until it finally fell into a heap. He studied the screen, reliving the feeling of not being able to do more, of hearing one heartbeat stop while saving another. Had he saved that person first, perhaps both would have been alive now. How terrible to watch people burn, even for the instant before he put the fire out. It was all there. Perhaps it would be of comfort to the families of the victims to know what Superman went through for the victims; that he hadn't in any way neglected something that might have been done. The lives of all those people, their friends and relatives had been painfully changed.
As he read what he had written about how Superman had felt done, a great wave of gratitude for his abilities washed over him. He sent the story to Perry, and then turned to listen to the messages on his answering machine, making notes of who to call and how to organize his day. After making sure that no one was watching him, he scribbled out a note from Superman, sealed it in an envelope, and put it on Lois' keyboard.
LNN began showing new footage of a mall that had collapsed. Perry was standing beside him.
"I'm on that, Chief. I'll see you later," he said, heading toward the stairwell.
Lois awoke with the sun streaming on her bed, remembering why her alarm hadn't gotten her up before now. As she reached up to push her fingers through her hair, her left hand snagged.
Some hair broke off as she pulled hard to free her hand, wondering what in the world that was all about. She broke into a smile, remembering her evening with Superman as she looked at the diamond ring that he'd put on her hand. She tilted it in the sunlight and watched as dots of blue reflected from it. It was a genuine diamond; the real thing, just like the man who had put it there.
She hugged her hand to her chest before looking at the ring again. It was beautiful.
She yawned and stretched, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. An hour later when she walked into the newsroom, she'd expected to hear Perry's usual, "Well, so happy you could join us today." But he'd only nodded and signaled her to come into his office as she came down the ramp.
"That was a good piece if of work you sent me this morning. I've never seen you write like that before, Darlin'. If that's not Kerth material, then I'm not an Elvis fan! It was outstanding.
"Kent wrote some pretty dynamic stuff, too. What's with the two of you
today? Well, never mind, whatever it is, the suits will be singing your praises today."
Lois stood dumbfounded as she listened to her editor lavish her partner and her with praise.
Finding her voice, she thanked him and then asked, "What did I miss today, Chief? I was up so late with that story last night; I just had to get some sleep before I'd be any good to you today."
"Well, we've got a mall that's just collapsed. LNN's been running the story. Kent's over there now.
There was also a massacre last night, some sort of a deal gone sour I'd think. I left the details the police sent us on your desk. I want you and Clark to find out what happened when he gets back."
He paused and looked at her for a moment. "Something's different about you, Lois. You look, well, you look darned good for a woman who was up all night."
Lois smiled, "Thanks, Perry, I'll have a look at what you sent me."
Perry noticed the shiny ring on her finger as she left his office. "Well, no wonder!" he nodded and smiled to himself. Although he'd thought she was dating Lex Luthor, it was obvious that she and Clark had gotten engaged last night.
She headed over to her desk and dropped her bag on the floor beneath her coat rack, then turned and noticed an open document on Clark's computer monitor. She sat in his chair to read what her partner had written. She was soon mesmerized by the way the words flowed. This was the 'touchy feely' stuff that Clark was so good at. But this was especially good, much better than anything of his she'd ever read. It was like a window into the heart of Superman. She could feel his pain, his determination, his steeled resolve, his concern. Wow. What a piece of journalism.
She pushed 'print' with his mouse, then looked down at the ring on her finger and sighed. She felt more content than she'd felt in a long time, if she'd ever felt this way before. That was her fiancé, who Clark had written about. She picked up the piece of paper as it fell into the printer tray and walked back over to her desk while she read it again.
She noticed the envelope on her keyboard. Idly leaving the article on top of the pile on her desk, she opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper.
"Dear Lois,
Let's talk about when we'll announce our engagement before we tell anyone, okay? I'd like to savor this secret for a little while just between us.
Love,
Guess who."
She smiled and looked at her ring again, then remembered that she'd promised to give Lex an answer about his proposal today. She picked up the phone, wondering if talking in person was better than on the phone for this sort of thing. Rejection might be hard for Lex to take. No, she didn't want to feel him pressure her for her reasons and to try to sweep her off her feet again. In a few minutes, a very bewildered Lex Luthor and a very happy Lois Lane hung up their phones.
She sighed and mumbled, "Done!"
Then she turned to the details Henderson had sent to Perry about the murders in the warehouse district. It was an intriguing case. Several murders. Lois got up and put her head into her editor's office.
"Perry, I'm going to go out there and see if I can find anything out," Lois said, her bag in hand.
Clark stepped out of the elevator as she was waiting for it to arrive. He looked at her ring. "Good morning, Lois." Clark said, looking happy but weary. He couldn't help but gaze into her deep brown eyes and remember their evening together last night.
"Hi, Clark. Perry wants us to cover this murder, come on, I'll fill you in on the way," she said, patting his chest.
"Okay," he said, glancing at his desk before turning back into the elevator with his partner. They stood in silence in the elevator for a moment as the doors closed and it descended. "Quite a ring you've got there, Lois. So you've given Lex your answer, I guess?" Clark asked to keep up his cover.
She nodded, suddenly realizing that if she didn't say she had rejected Lex's proposal, people would just assume it was Lex's ring until she and Superman finally announced it publicly. She decided not to mention anything more about it.
"You must be pretty happy. You look happy." Clark said, not trying hard enough to hide his joy.
She didn't notice the sparkle in his eyes that matched that in her own. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss those warm soft lips that had soothed him last night after the fire. He wanted to float up into the clouds with her. He couldn't keep his eyes off her.
"Umm Humm!" she murmured dreamily, covering her ring with her other hand and stroking it fondly, keeping her eyes down so he'd not ask any questions.
The doors opened in the lobby and they stepped out. "Okay, so here's what's happening, Clark," she said, slipping her hand through his arm in her usual friendly gesture.
Clark felt the ring as it dragged across the fibers of the sleeve of his suit jacket and smiled. He absently squeezed the wrist that brushed against his side as she held onto his arm.
She didn't notice, but began to spill what she knew of the massacre. "The place is riddled with bullets and bodies. A dead guy had a mask partly torn off his face that looked like he was pretending to be Lex Luthor."
"Luthor?" Clark was surprised.
"Yeah, weird, huh?"
From the cab, they could see the crime scene. Yellow tape cordoned off the area. Lois and Clark both ducked under it, flashing their press passes at the rookie police officer who eyed them suspiciously. Chalk powder outlined the spots on the grass where the bodies had lain. Lois and Clark wandered around the area as close as they were allowed to go, making sure not to step on any footprints.
Clark bent his head and raised his glasses, as he studied the ground for tracks. He checked the foot sizes of the victims, and then mentally matched them with the imprints in the grass. There were extra footprints, probably from the police who had removed the bodies.
More prints might lead to a getaway vehicle. He found some narrow ones near the laneway. A woman's perhaps?
Nearby he scanned the ground for anything that might link them to the suspects. He spotted something, reached down and picked up a long piece of reddish brown hair. It must have arrived recently, since it was still lying on top of the grass. Even rain hadn't pushed it in-between the blades yet.
He turned to Inspector Henderson. "Here Bill," I found this by the tire tracks. The tall dark haired inspector nodded, pulled a Ziploc bag from his pocket, and let Clark drop the single piece of hair into the bag. "Thanks Kent. That might give us the DNA we'll need to link our killers to the crime scene.
They poked around, finding scratch marks on top of a large air conditioner housing unit. "These scratch marks and the way the dust has been moved look like there was some sort of exchange of briefcases," Clark said.
Henderson took them over to the cruiser and showed them the one briefcase that had been left at the scene. It contained a piece of granite, a normal looking rock. Lois and Clark exchanged glances, before she began, "Okay, so someone double-crossed the buyer with a worthless rock.
You think it was some kind of a drug exchange?"
"Maybe. Or maybe uncut stones for jewelry?"
"But why would anyone dress up like Lex?"
"Maybe because Luthor is always into bad..." Clark stopped himself, remembering how he and Lois had gotten into a fight about Luthor already this week. If she was pretending to be engaged to him, she'd probably swing into defending him again. "Sorry, Lois. Someone was trying to pretend he was Lex Luthor, I guess."
"Well, obviously!" she retorted sarcastically.
"The fingerprints on the handle will show who brought the rock. The other person must have been bringing the money. Or the goods," Clark said, and then added, "What if the rock was substituted for the goods? What if the Luthor look-alike was the one with the money? I mean, Luther has lots of money." Clark paused to think. "There are three
possibilities. One, Luthor sent the look-alike, in case there was trouble. Two, someone was setting up Luthor to take the blame in case anything went wrong. Three, someone was beating Luthor to the exchange but got shot in the process.
Lois shot Clark a disparaging look. "Always thinking Lex is the bad
guy...up to something!"
Clark ignored her response. As he neared the air conditioner unit, pain shot through his stomach and he practically doubled over. He instantly backed up until he was out of range of the Kryptonite he'd felt. He scanned the ground, finally finding tiny specks of green crystal on the earth beneath the grass.
"Lois, it was a Kryptonite purchase." Clark said as Lois came over to stand beside him, not having noticed the way he'd grabbed his stomach a few moments before. She shot him a puzzled look and he nodded to the chalked body. "Look over on the ground; there are tiny specks of
Kryptonite down there in the grass, right by that twig."
Lois went over and picked at the ground with her fingers where he'd gestured, retrieving some tiny bits of florescent green. She looked up at Clark who was leaning against the tree near the yellow tape.
"Don't touch it Lois," Clark cautioned. "Superman could probably be hurt by even that tiny amount."
Realizing the truth of what he was saying, she made sure there wasn't any on her fingers. She needed a lead box. But this was a crime scene. The less the police knew about Kryptonite being available, the better. She searched her bag, and retrieved a stick of lipstick. Making sure nobody could see what she was doing, she dabbed the lipstick at the pieces of Kryptonite, then wound it down into the case and put the metal lid back on top. She wrapped it up in a handkerchief and put it in her cosmetic bag, hoping that all those layers would be at least
some protection for Superman. It wouldn't be enough, but it might work for the moment, just to get it away from the scene.
Clark stood at attention, wanting to find out if he'd be affected by Lois as she came over to stand beside him. When she'd gotten a few feet closer, he began to feel it and backed up, saying, "Lois, I'm going to go see what Jimmy can find out." He trotted around the corner of the nearby buildings and took off into the sky.
"Clark! We just got here!" Lois demanded as he turned and started away. She sighed in exasperation as he disappeared. "Always there when you need him!" she shook her head and looked for Henderson. "Did you already run any checks to see who these guys were and if they matched the prints on that briefcase?"
"Yup, Lois. We've got it right here. The guy under the mask is Mike
Smithers; the one by the air conditioner unit is Harold Topac."
"Thanks," Lois jotted down the names. "Who were these other guys?" she asked, waving her hand at the three other chalk-marked body outlines in the grass."
Henderson pulled his pad back out of his shirt pocket. "They're Larry
Rankin, Joe Kelly, and Tom Williams."
"Okay," she said as she looked up at him. "Can you tell me what happened here?"
"Well, from the look of it, there was an exchange and a shootout. We've recovered bullets. They're all over this side of the area, so they must have come from the look-alike side. I'll let you know what kind of gun they came from when we find out."
Lois looked over near the body of the look-alike for signs of footprints. She could see tire tracks from a large car and footprints all around the area where the body lay and behind the car's most indented tracks. She'd get Superman to come and blow on these tracks for her so they could take a frozen sample back to the lab to find out what kind of car it had been.
"Bill, do the footprints here match the shoes of the people that were murdered or are there more people that are missing? I guess the car's gone, so there must have been a driver. Were there more people?"
"Lois, we've got one car," he waved his hand over at the other side of the park. It's riddled with the same prints as these guys, but at least one somebody got away, probably with the money and the goods. If this piece of hair is anything to go on, we have a long haired red-head in the mix."
"Mrs. Cox." Lois mumbled, finding it difficult to believe that the masked man was of any connection to Lex. She looked around for awhile longer, and then flagged a cab to head back to the Planet.
