~ Like a Red Rock to a Superman ~
by Pam Jernigan, Wendy Richards and Sara Kraft
Clark flew towards Smallville and dinner with his parents, feeling exhilarated. His first rescue, and public launch, had gone really well. He'd saved the colonists and the launch. No-one had pointed at his Spandex outfit and laughed their heads off. No-one had yelled, "What's Clark Kent doing dressed up like that?" And, best of all, Lois had been very impressed.
He smiled. The world was good.
Nearing the farm, he began to lose altitude. And then his attention was attracted by something gleaming red on the ground. He landed and went to check it out. What a pretty red stone! He picked it up. It was warm. And really smooth. And quite beautiful!
Hmm. He considered it. Wouldn't it look nice right in the middle of his S?
It did. It looked beautiful. All sparkly and glowing.
And he felt even happier about his new persona now. So happy that... Yes. He didn't really need to have dinner with his folks, did he?
Thirty seconds later, he was tapping on Lois's apartment window.
It took more than thirty seconds for Lois to respond to the tapping. He passed the time admiring his new decoration. Sparkly! And almost glowing, and all the facets and refractions were so beautiful... when had he seen anything so beautiful lately?
"Superman!?!?"
Oh, right. That was when.
He grinned at her sappily. "Hey, Lois, can I come in?"
Her eyes wide, it took her a moment to reach for the window latch and open it wide. "Wow! I mean, come in. Please. I've got so many questions... not that you need to answer any questions, of course, but I'd really like it if you would; I wasn't very inquisitive earlier, just because, well, it was kinda shocking, but normally--"
"Normally, you're a determined and brilliant journalist," Clark replied, while drifting inside. "I could see that right away."
She blushed. "I can't see how, considering..."
"Oh, Perry said you were the best."
For a moment, he frowned. Maybe he shouldn't have said that last bit. There was some reason... he couldn't quite remember it. Ah, who cares? "Wanna see what I found?"
Lois was staring at him. He smiled. "Your eyes are so pretty when you do that."
She just kept staring, the blush creeping back, and started to look uncomfortable. It occurred to him that maybe she was taking this the wrong way.
"But I really like it when you do that hard-boiled reporter thing, too."
"Well, ah... thank you!" She was starting to look very confused. Maybe even suspicious. Some distant corner of his brain tried to tell him that she was dangerous like this.
He should change the subject. That would be a good idea. He walked over to her couch and flopped down on it, slouching back in an attempt to get comfortable. "Why did you ever buy this couch?"
"It's just so... stiff," he attempted to explain. "But it looks nice," he added politely. "My mom always told me to be polite, you know. So I am."
Lois walked cautiously across the room, perching on the other end of the couch. Her eyes had lost that wide-eyed wonder. "Yes," she agreed. "You're very polite. You say your mother taught you that?"
"Yep. She's great. Kind of like you. You're great, too."
She smiled softly. "Thank you. So, your mother... she made your costume, you said?"
"Yep, she did. Took her forever -- and you should have seen the ones we didn't pick." He shook his head. "It couldda been bad. Very bad. This one's good, though." Which reminded him... "And see, I found this red rock!"
She leaned forward to look where he was pointing, right in the middle of his S. "Nice, huh?"
"Very nice," she agreed, her voice sort of breathless for some reason. He was glad she liked the rock, too.
Maybe he should offer to cut off a piece of it and share it with her. A pendant, or something. She'd look pretty good with a pendant lying nestled in her cleavage... or at least he assumed she would, 'cause she hadn't actually shown much cleavage yet.
But that was okay. "You keep secrets, too, huh?"
She blinked, and backed off to the other end of the couch again. "Um... what do you mean?"
"Oh, just... the way you dress and stuff," he said, gesturing vaguely toward her. "But that's okay. I like that better than Cat. Gives me something to look forward to."
She was on her feet now, backing away and starting to look really concerned.
"What's the matter?"
"Listen, Superman... just because I was, well, pretty blown away earlier, that doesn't mean.... and how do you know Cat, anyway? Never mind, just... maybe you'd better leave now."
His face fell. "Aww." He brightened with memory. "You wanted to ask me stuff, right?"
She looked conflicted.
A notion of what she was worried about crossed his mind. "I'm not going to do anything to you, Lois. I wouldn't." After a moment's pause, he added, "Dad would kill me."
He wasn't sure if that made her feel safe or if her curiosity had gotten the better of her, but she softened her stance, and took a few steps toward the table to pick up her notebook.
"Okay..." She sat at the extreme opposite end of the couch, still looking wary.
"Want me to sit further away?" he offered brightly. "I don't need chairs, you know. I could just sit anywhere. On the air, I mean. No big deal."
That almost got a smile out of her. "No, that's okay..." She opened the notebook and looked downward. "Um, let's start with what you said earlier. You said you were a friend?"
She seemed a lot more sceptical about that claim than she had earlier, for some reason. "I am here to help," he intoned. He'd thought about this one in advance.
"To help... what, everybody?"
He shrugged. "Pretty much. Whoever needs it. See, there's stuff I can do, so... that's why Mom made me this suit." He tapped at his chest. He heard something plop onto the carpet, but he was too caught up in his train of thought to really care. "I just wanna have a normal life."
Her eyebrows went up. "You've got a strange way of doing it."
"Nah, this is the public part. That's the theory, anyway. I also," he informed her smugly, "have a secret identity. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Oh, really?" She was leaning forward now, looking fascinated. "Who are you in real life, then?"
"Uh-huh. Can't tell you." He smirked. "Wouldn't be a secret if I told you."
She sat back, just looking him over. He smiled cheerily back. "I might tell you later, though. Or not. Depends."
"Depends on... what?" He frowned. "No, never mind, forget I asked that," she added quickly. "I just want to get to know you a little."
He beamed. "Yeah, me too. I like you, Lois. You're... cool. Smart and pretty and... smart. Really smart." He was interrupted by a yawn coming out of nowhere.
"Thank you," she replied cautiously. "So... where are you from?"
"I've been all the way around the world," he informed her. "But I started out in Sm--" Another yawn. A real jaw-cracker. "Huh, guess that the whole rocket-ship-to-orbit thing was tougher than I thought..."
"Maybe you should go home," Lois suggested, in a nice soothing voice. "Where is home, by the way?"
"Oh, it's that way," he said, waving his arm towards the west. "No, wait. Which way's north?"
She shrugged helplessly. "Not really sure."
He shrugged back, his eyes getting heavy. "It's out there somewhere. Second star to the right..."
"Of course. You like Peter Pan, then?"
"Oh yeah, love him. Always liked the flying around thing." A yawn interrupted his chuckle. "You're prettier than Tinkerbell. Or Wendy. Wanna come fly with me?"
**********
Lois inhaled sharply. Flying? With him? Again?
The journey back to the Planet, earlier, had been one of the most exhilarating, thrilling experiences of her life. She'd never wanted it to end. When it had, she'd dared to hope that some day it could happen again.
And now she had the opportunity.
But...
The man she'd flown with earlier had been mature. Adult. Intelligent. With a spark of gentle humour, and a lot of gravitas.
This person was... Well, he was juvenile! Immature. He was behaving like an adolescent. And the way he'd looked at her, and the innuendos...
Had it been anyone else, she'd have said he was drunk.
She'd deliberately sniffed his breath a couple of times when she'd had the opportunity. But no alcohol fumes had hit her. Either he had such a low tolerance for alcohol that one beer could do it, or he'd taken mind-altering drugs.
Part of her still wanted to throw him out. She didn't put up with being ogled by any man. But, as he'd reminded her at least a couple of times, there was a story here. A big story. And Perry had made all sorts of promises about the rewards which would follow the reporter who actually managed to get the big Superman scoop.
She was off to a good start. He'd mentioned a mother and a father. He'd skirted away from a few other things, such as where he lived.
But - if he could be believed - he'd told her that he had a secret identity.
Wouldn't half an hour more in his company, even if he was drunk as a skunk, be worth the price if she could get more information out of him?
She smiled. "I'd love to fly with you, Superman. You're so very strong. And spectacular when you're in the sky."
He stood and held out his arms. "I knew you'd love it, Lois." He gave her a dopey smile. "It's so much nicer flying with you, too. It's really not the same when I'm carrying Mom or Dad."
She caught her breath. "Do you do that often?"
"Not much." He scooped her up. "Just when they want to go on vacation, or if Mom feels like looking at the stars."
His parents. Get him to talk about his parents.
"So, you carry them. That means they can't fly themselves, right?"
He was drifting through the window. "Of course they can't!"
"So how come you can?"
They were flying up over the rooftops now. And his expression changed, became puzzled. He seemed to shake himself. He frowned. Looked down at her. Looked at himself.
"Lois?" His voice was completely different. "What are we doing?"
Huh? Now what was he up to. "You're taking me flying."
"Uh, yeah, I can see that. But... I don't understand. What am I doing here? With you?"
She stared at him. The adult was back. He was stone cold sober. The kid-like expression had gone completely.
Frowning, she said, "You came to my apartment, Superman. I was... interviewing you. And you offered to take me flying."
Suddenly, he looked completely panicked. "I don't remember that at all! What did I say?"
"What?" Was he insane? Psycho? "Are there two of you or something? Do you body-swap?"
Slowly, he said, "Not that I know of. Why? What did I do?"
Yes, he was definitely panicked.
Quickly, she said, "Nothing. We just talked. You were telling me about your costume. And the pretty red stone you put in the front - you know, in your S."
He really had gone schizo. Didn't he remember anything?
But then he nodded. "I remember that." He glanced down at himself. She noticed that his gaze barely rested on her, unlike earlier when he'd barely been able to take his eyes off her. She felt... oddly disappointed.
"It's gone!" he exclaimed.
She followed his gaze. The red stone was indeed missing.
"It must have fallen out," she suggested. "It's probably on the floor in my apartment. Unless it fell out when you flew us through the window."
"I still don't remember that." He sounded definitely chagrined. "But maybe we could go back and look? If you don't mind, that is. I don't want to intrude."
*This* man could never be an intruder. She smiled warmly at him. "Sure. And maybe we could talk some more? I'll make coffee..."
He turned in the air, a long graceful arc. The city was beautiful from this vantage point, Lois decided. There was definitely something weird going on. And she would love to know what.
He met her eyes briefly, attempting a smile. He really looked petrified, she realized. Well, if he was trying to hide a secret identity, that would track. She needed to know who he was, she decided. The rest of the time, when he wasn't flying around, saving people... or acting like an innocent drunk.
He'd been, well, kind of charming, actually. Sure, he'd said some alarming things. Her cleavage was off-limits. Or, well, at least for the moment it was...
They reached her window, and he slid them gently inside. "Where... uh, where do you think that stone might have dropped?"
Focus, Lois.
He set her down gently, and she stepped back quickly, needing that space between them. "You were over on the sofa, mostly."
He nodded, then approached the sofa gingerly. She didn't see the red stone, but after a moment, he said "a-ha!" and bent down to retrieve it from under the couch. It must have rolled. But how had he seen that from where he'd been standing?
He stood again, and just held the stone in his hand, studying it. After a moment, she prompted, "Well?"
His head slewed around, a look of surprise on his face. "Hey, Lois. Look, I found it!"
Oh dear. SuperDrunkMan was back.
At least this time, she had a better idea of what to expect. "Yeah, I see that. You know, it might be better if you got rid of that. It seems to have some--"
"No," he interrupted, his bottom lip protruding slightly. "I like it."
Well, her chance of stealing it was probably non-existent. But Lois Lane could do crafty. He'd never know what hit him.
"Okay, then." She smiled at him. "You know..." For a brief moment she debated the ethics of getting information out of him like this -- he certainly seemed to be under the influence of something.
But what the heck, this was how it was done in the big leagues.
Besides, she didn't have to print everything she found out. Though Perry would skin her alive if he knew she'd even thought that... but tonight had shown her a surprisingly vulnerable... almost endearing side of the hero. He wasn't some god-like creature, but more of a ... guy.
Which was almost more impressive. Or at least, maybe. Was "man" a step up or down from "alien"? Considering some of the men she'd known...
He was smiling at her, without a hint of his earlier sane moment of panic. She took a deep breath. "You were telling me about your secret identity."
"Oh, was I?" he inquired, artlessly. "Okay... wait, I wasn't supposed to tell. I don't think."
Looking at his open and confused expression, she just couldn't do it. "That's okay, that can wait till later." Later might be a different story. But if she wasn't going to take advantage of him, she'd better sober him up. After all, sooner or later, he would sober up (wouldn't he?) and if he decided she'd betrayed him... she shivered. She just didn't know what might happen.
"Tell you what, Superman. How about you put that stone right down on the coffee table, where it'll be safe. I'd really like to go flying again."
His smile widened, and he dropped the stone onto the table. "Okay!"
Was this really what she wanted to do? Well, flying, yeah, of course -- but passing up the chance to get information... She firmly told herself that she wasn't giving him a pass, she was treating him as a possible informant. Earn their trust first, get lots of good info later.
"Is there anywhere you want to go?" he asked as he scooped her up.
It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest a visit to his place. She repressed it. "Oh, anywhere." He'd probably sober up before they got there anyway. "Take me someplace pretty."
"Yes, ma'am!" Holding her carefully, he floated them back out the window.
**********
Once outside the window, Clark felt the fog lifting from his brain. He blinked several times and then stared down at the woman in his arms. Hadn't they just done this?
"Lois? Uh... Ms Lane, I mean. What's going on?"
"Call me Lois." She actually sounded amused! "I think after tonight we should be on first-name terms. Or, at least, we would be if I had the faintest idea what your name is."
Well, that was a relief. Whatever the heck had been going on here, at least he hadn't told her that!
"Were we going somewhere?"
"Well, I asked you to take me someplace pretty."
"Oh." He didn't remember that at all. "Okay. I can do that. And, once we get there, can we talk?"
She sighed. It sounded regretful, somehow. "Yes, I think we'd better."
He headed north and a little west. She didn't speak on the journey, but seemed to take great interest in the scenery. It was turning to dusk now and lights were appearing everywhere on the horizon. Their destination should be nicely lit up by now, too.
It was. Shimmering rainbow lights danced and tumbled over the ridge of the Horseshoe Falls. Lois caught her breath as he flew them past the cliff marking the end of New York State.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
She nodded. "It's amazing! I've been to Niagara before, but I've... uh... never quite had this view."
"I guess not." He grinned. That was twice today he'd managed to stun Lois Lane. For the greenhorn farmboy she'd looked down her nose at in the newsroom, it was quite an achievement.
She remained still in his arms, gazing around her in wonderment at the view. Then, finally, she said, "I guess you'd better find somewhere to land - somewhere a little less populated, maybe?"
"Sure. Let me go upriver a little."
In seconds, he'd found a deserted strip of riverbank and was lowering them to the ground. She slid from his arms, but - to his secret pleasure - needed to grab onto his arm for a moment to steady herself.
"Whoa there. You okay?"
"Um, yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay." He folded his arms and looked at her. "So what's been happening? Why was I at your place? I don't even remember going there, let alone what happened."
She grimaced. "Yeah. There's something you need to know. Do you remember that red stone?"
“The red... oh, sure!" That pretty-coloured rock he'd stuck in his S. "Didn't I lose it at your place?"
"Yes. But you found it again and... Look, Superman, I think it has some sort of... effect on you. When you're holding it - or maybe you just need to be near it - well, it kinda makes you... drunk."
"Drunk?" He stared. "You're kidding! I don't get drunk!"
She shrugged. "Well, you sure acted like it!"
"Like... how, exactly?"
"Juvenile."
He cringed.
"And very talkative."
He cringed some more. "Um... talkative?"
"Yeah. You were telling me all about your mom and dad..."
Oh god.
"What... did I say?" he asked tentatively. Terrified. Dreading her answer.
"Oh..." She shrugged again. "Just that your mom had brought you up to be polite, and your dad would yell at you if you did anything to upset me, and... oh, that you take them flying."
Oh god. That was bad, wasn't it? Okay, he hadn't said anything to help her work out who he was, but that... How could he have said all that?
He hoped that was all he'd said. That had better be all he'd said...
She was speaking again. The words emerged almost gabbled. "Oh, and you told me you have a secret identity."
...tbc
