Thanks for all of your feedback so far. I hope you enjoy this next part. Susan From Part 3:
Then the fog lifted, and Mad Dog entered the newsroom. Her plan kicked in. ‘I will find out your secret myself.’
Lois ran towards the stairs.
Part 4
Lois threw open the staircase door and screamed.
A heal having caught on the threshold, Lois tripped towards the banister, catching herself before she fell to the floor. In disgust, she grasped the shoes off her feet and flung them down the stairwell, hoping to hit her unseen partner in the back of his head. “How dare you leave me!” her swelling voice echoed off the spiraling concrete. ‘How dare you kiss me like that!’ her inner voice joined in.
Undaunted in her quest, Lois dashed back to her desk to slip on a pair of socks and sneakers. ‘How did I expect to chase him in heals anyway?’ she chastised herself. ‘I can still catch him!’ Mad Dog rallied in the back of her mind.
“Lois, where’s that partner of yours?” Perry called.
She scoffed. “Milking a cow? Churning butter? Who knows what farm boys do when they’re supposed to be working?”
Perry White shot his star reporter an exasperated look. “The news waits for no man. A train jumped the tracks; looks like a lot of people may be injured. Get me the story before people decide they can get the news by watching TV.” His head nodded at the LNN coverage.
“I’m on it, Chief.” Lois grabbed her purse and set aside her personal agenda for the moment. Nothing was more important than a front-page byline.
-&-
“Thank Krypton for Superman.”
Lois focused her journalistic talents on crafting the story of the carnage before her as she observed the superhero ripping steel apart, removing injured passengers to waiting ambulances, and eliminating the hazard posed by gallons of spilled gasoline. Without him, there was no question that the death toll would have been in the hundreds; as it was, the loss of life evident in the black bags lining the tracks was tragic. She saw pain in his eyes as he flew past the dead during his efforts to save the seriously injured, though she had no doubt that others would be oblivious to Superman’s feelings. She knew him too well. Well enough, anyway. ‘Does anyone really know him?’
Clark did. Lois’ mouth turned into a hard line at the thought of her runaway partner. ‘They must be good friends,’ she thought, ‘assuming Superman has any friends.’ It occurred to her that she had never really taken the time to think deeply about Superman’s life. Sure, the Daily Planet had their fair share of scoops about his heroism, but could those bursts of criminal activity and natural disasters really amount to twenty-four hours each day? Did he constantly fly around the world like a satellite, waiting for the next opportunity to help people? No, surely not. He’d have to eat, or sleep, or go to the bathroom, wouldn’t he? ‘Hmmm, the suit must come off for that, at least.’ Lois laughed at the mental image of Superman in a port-o-potty, tights around his ankles, flipping through a magazine.
The situation appeared under control, and as she shook herself back to reality, she saw that even Superman was no longer in sight. ‘Perry will kill me for not getting a quote.’ She maneuvered her way into the staging area to get an interview with an officer instead.
Until her jaw dropped and her blood boiled.
Clark Kent was taking notes.
“You left me to steal my story!” The volume of her voice caused several people to turn her way, but she was focused on one man only. He whipped around, and a shade of color drained from his face.
“No, Lois, this isn’t…”
“This isn’t the blatant betrayal it appears to be?” Lois was furious. Clark was the outward target of that anger, but she also focused that anger inward, hating her heart for the emotional turmoil that he was causing. If she didn’t love him so much, she could never hate him as much as she felt she did now.
“This isn’t my story. I was just in the neighborhood.” That sounded lame even to Clark’s ears. “Take my notes, please. They’re yours.”
Lois snatched the notebook out of his hands and shook it at Clark. Her breathing harsh, she waited for her words to assault him, but couldn’t seem to make them leave her tongue. “Go away,” was all she could seethe.
To his credit, he started to retreat. But he had to add, “I will tell you everything tonight.”
“Don’t bother!”
“I will!” Quieter the second time, “I will be there tonight, and I will tell you everything.” With that, Clark backed away from their onlookers, then made his way through the crowd and around the corner of the closest building.
‘Go away? All I’ve ever really wanted was for him to stay.’ Her decision was made in an instant. She would make him talk to her now. Lois dashed after Clark and turned the corner as well.
In time to see a swirl of clothing and Superman rocketing into the sky.
I'll post the last two parts of the story after the Labor Day weekend to make up for how short this one is. Don't hate me for leaving you with a cliffhanger! 
