Thank you all for your patience with the increased time between posts. I've hit a block again, so this part is kind of short to allow me to continue to fine-tune the next part.
From part 20:
He obligingly continued. “…So that Friday, I went home for dinner - and a costume fitting. It took a while, but we finally came up with the… with Superman’s suit. It kind of all came together when Mom brought out the stuff she’d saved. She said the… I guess we need to call them the family colors, huh? Anyway, she said the bright colors, the cape, and my actual abilities would distract people enough that they might not focus a lot on my face…”
“Oh, definitely,” Lois said, not bothering to suppress her grin. “I suspect that *very* few women looked at your face for very long at all…”
Even after the fairly intense… activities of the past several hours, he still blushed and squirmed, which threatened to dislodge her from her position. Laughing, she levitated slightly and then resettled against him as he tugged her back down.
“And…” Her voice caught as he threaded his fingers into her hair and cradled the back of her head in his hand. “…The final touch was…” He began to kiss her gently, and she moaned softly. “…When she added the ‘S’ to the chest?” It was hard to concentrate, but she managed to finish the question.
“Hmmmm?” he murmured. In the same moment, he shifted so that she was partly under him, and began to kiss her in earnest.
She forgot her question, forgot the whole conversation, forgot everything except Clark and the feel of his lips on hers, and the sensations he was invoking in her.-----
The Girl Next Door, part 21:
By the end of the following day, Superman had put in several appearances across the city, helping out at various emergencies. There were two fairly serious car accidents, and, early in the day, an explosion and fire relatively close to the downtown area.
Lois heard the explosion at the same time Clark did. As he began to rise, tugging at his tie, she suddenly and helpfully remembered a source he was late in meeting. “Clark! It’s –“ She glanced at super speed at the clock across the newsroom. “…twenty after ten! What about that source!? Hustle, partner! I’ll meet you for lunch and we can compare notes. Now go!”
He went.
Tipping her head back and staring at the ceiling, she faked a stretch and watched through the floors as he spun into the suit – a sight she’d probably never get tired of watching – and launched himself into the air. He hovered briefly, scanning the city, and then said, “Looks like maybe a gas explosion – I can smell it. Near eastside. Fire engines on the way already. Make another one of those brilliant excuses and meet me there; I’ll give you a Superman exclusive.” She was barely able to suppress her smile as he added that last bit.
She glanced around. Perry stood in his office doorway, giving some kind of instructions to Jimmy.
Better make this look believable. If she was going to say a source called her, she’d better get a phone call first. Picking up her phone, she dialed the ringback number and hung up; within seconds her phone rang. She picked it up and said briskly to the dial tone, “Lois Lane. …What? Where? Okay, thanks.”
She hung up, stood and headed for Perry. As soon as she was within earshot, she began, “Perry! One of my sources called – big fire, near eastside - possible arson… I need Jimmy, and a good camera.”
The Daily Planet had two of the big, new Nikon cameras equipped with Kodak’s digital camera system. She’d heard each camera carried a five-digit price tag. But with one of those cameras – if she took Jimmy with her, she could walk back into the Planet with, essentially, a completed and ready-to-print story, pictures and all. Perry would be ecstatic. Dramatic fire scenes, Superman in action, a well-written story… And just in case he’d noticed Clark’s longer-than-usual absence today, this would nicely redirect his attention.
“Where’s Clark?” Perry asked, while Jimmy began fidgeting in excitement like a puppy promised a walk.
She waved her hand airily. “Meeting the same source who called me. I already left a message for Clark - he’ll meet us there. C’mon, Perry! We’re wasting time! Your City Desk guys are out on assignments; give me Jimmy and one of those digital cameras, and I’ll have a story for you for the evening edition!”
She was already turning away as she said it. Perry wouldn’t turn down a potential story. “Grab that Nikon camera – the Kodak Digital one - and let’s go, Jimmy!” she snapped, over Perry’s “You can’t argue with that woman –“
“Not when I’m right,” she called over her shoulder with a cheeky grin. She strode toward the elevator as Perry laughed. She heard him tell Jimmy, “You better hustle, son, or she’ll leave you behind.”
She was almost at the elevator before Jimmy caught up with her, jogging up the ramp with the Kodak DCS slung over his shoulder, almost incoherent with excitement at being allowed to use the big, expensive camera.
Thanks to a cab driver who took her seriously when she told him to “Step on it!” she arrived at the scene of the fire, with Jimmy in tow, in good time for him to snap pictures of the flames, with the firemen plying their hoses, and Superman hovering over the building, using blasts of his freezing breath.
It was obvious that with Superman’s help, the fire was being quickly brought under control. Like Bill Henderson, she knew the fire chief fairly well. John Gregory was a big man with a round, weathered face and brown hair going gray at the temples. He was cheerful and easy to talk to, although he took his job seriously.
“Hi, Lois. Been here awhile?” he asked, taking off his helmet long enough to swipe one hand across his forehead before resettling it on his head.
“Hi, John; no, we just got here maybe fifteen minutes ago. Looks like it’s under control; what’ve you got?”
“Not sure yet if it’s accidental or deliberate. We’re leaning toward accidental; we think a utilities crew nicked a gas line. Thanks to Superman’s help, we got this baby contained in record time. He’s gonna do a preliminary sweep for me while my guys finish up here.”
“Any injuries?” she asked. Most of the buildings in this neighborhood were businesses, although there were a few residential buildings mixed in. It was hard to tell what this one had been.
“Nothing serious. This was a small factory of some kind – empty - that was being remodeled into residential units. That’s why we think it was probably accidental – there were a couple of utilities crews here, working on the individual apartments.”
They both watched as Superman stopped blowing freezing breath over the building and swooped down low over it. Every few feet, he stopped, hovered, and scanned over the rubble, then moved on.
“This – Superman’s help - has speeded up containment times?” she asked John, already knowing that the answer was yes.
“Yeah, but you know what’s really great about Superman?” John glanced at her, then back at the smoldering shell. Superman had worked his way around to the far side of the building. “And you can quote me on this, Lois. The best thing about Superman is that there are fewer injuries – and fewer fatalities. *That’s* what’s great about him. Sure, he helps us do our job faster and better - and he’s better than an arson dog at sniffing out accelerants. But there’s a statistically significant decrease in fire-related serious injuries and fatalities in the city – and that’s why most of us do this job. To save lives. With his help, we’re doing that more often than not nowadays.” He took off his helmet again and ran his hand through his hair. “That’s what matters the most.”
She’d wondered if she would be able to interview Superman with a straight face, but it wasn’t going to be a problem at all. This was what they did, she and Clark – they helped people. And it was what countless other dedicated people – firemen, policemen, medical personnel – did as well, on a daily basis. Sometimes with little reward. It was good, and right, and moral – but not funny.
As John’s crew began to overhaul the structure, exposing pockets of smoldering rubble and extinguishing them so that the fire wouldn’t reignite, Superman landed lightly on the sidewalk several yards away and approached them. Jimmy drifted over, still snapping pictures.
“Good morning, Ms. Lane,” Superman said formally. He smiled at Jimmy, and then turned to John. “Well, I can go over it again if you’d like, but it does look accidental. No trace of any accelerants, and no clean cut in any lines. There’s a nail in the gas line where several different conduits – the gas line, two water pipes and several electrical cables – share a narrow space. That’s the only breach I saw.”
John nodded. “Thank you, Superman. This doesn’t have the… ‘feel’ of an artificial fire. I’ll have my investigators go over it, but I suspect you’re right. We’ve got statements from the men on the utilities crews, and we’ll check with the city zoning inspector. See if the proximity of those lines was approved and see who laid what in the wrong place.”
There was a shout from one of the firemen as small flames erupted from a section they’d been overhauling; John, Superman, and Lois turned to watch. Jimmy moved toward the action, snapping pictures.
“They’ve got it under control,” Superman stated.
John nodded, and offered his hand. “Thank you, Superman. Again. My men and I appreciate your help.”
Superman inclined his head with a smile as he shook the fire chief’s hand. “You’re welcome, John. If there’s nothing else?” He began to turn away.
“Superman – a few quick questions?” Lois said quickly.
He turned back with another formal smile and nod. “Certainly.”
“You said it looks accidental. Were the crews in the building when you arrived?”
“Yes. Both crews were on the floor above the breach and were trapped by the smoke. They went up to the roof. As you can probably still tell, this building was only four stories tall, so the ladder truck was already beginning to rescue them when I arrived. I flew some of them down, then checked the building. There were no other people inside.” His smile widened slightly. “I did find a cat and three kittens, however; mother and children are safe and unharmed.”
John chuckled. “And some of my guys are like big kids. They’ll probably want me to let ‘em take mother and babies to the firehouse. We don’t really need a firehouse cat - or cats, though… Want a kitten, Lois?”
She laughed.
Smiling, John glanced at Superman. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested…?”
“Thank you; no,” he replied in his formal, deep voice. It probably wasn’t noticeable to anyone else, but Lois could hear the laughter underlying his words. “I wouldn’t have a place to keep a cat. But…” <Think Clark Kent would like a cat?>
Lois interjected quickly, “I’ll ask around the newsroom, John, and let you know.” <Cut it out, you bum. If you make me laugh…>
If she burst out laughing for no apparent reason, John would probably think she was nuts. <And a certain superhero *could* get into trouble with another certain super-powered person.>
<Sorry…> She could still hear… feel? …sense? …his amusement.
“Thanks, Lois.” John’s voice broke into her thoughts. He sighed, but continued with a wry smile, “I suspect I might end up taking a kitten home to my kids.” He sighed again, shaking his head in resignation. “It won’t be the first time. My wife has started referring to our house as the Gregory Animal Sanctuary…”
Lois chuckled. “So that’s one down…” She slanted a quick grin at Superman. “Good thing it was a small litter.”
John laughed. “Yeah. Although I suspect we’re going to end up with a firehouse cat – that’ll take care of the mother cat.”
Superman had smiled at her comment, and she felt a warm wave of gentle amusement wash over her. <An exclusive Superman interview, and a sidebar on the cats?>
<Definitely. Guess we better wrap this up, huh?>
Turning back to Superman, she said, “So… John says there weren’t any serious injuries to the men. But there were some minor ones?”
He nodded. “There were a couple of cases of smoke inhalation, but no other injuries.”
“The area of the breach – does it look like a code violation?”
“No… I don’t think so. The units are somewhat unconventionally shaped; this was an old factory and there are some structures remaining that have to be worked around. So some areas where bathrooms and kitchens were planned have limited space in which to place the utility lines. I think it was an error on the utilities crew’s part – there’s a bracket holding some electrical cables, and one of the nails hit the gas line.”
“The crew in question has two apprentices; one of them may have installed that line,” John interjected. “We’ve got detailed statements from the men on those crews; it looks like simple human error.”
“So you’re confirming it was accidental?” Lois asked Superman.
“Well, that’s really up to John’s inspectors; they’ll look over what I found, do their own investigation… They’re the experts, and it’s certainly possible that I’ve missed something.”
She looked back at the fire chief, an eyebrow raised in inquiry. “John?”
“Superman is right; my guys will still go over every inch of the building. But Superman frequently does an initial once-over for us, and it saves time and resources if we know where to focus our attention. But to answer your question: Pending final word from my fire inspectors, yes – it probably is accidental.”
“In other words, a definite maybe,” Lois couldn’t resist adding, and watched Superman’s smile broaden while John laughed outright.
“Exactly,” John answered, still chuckling. He settled his helmet more firmly on his head, then nodded to both Superman and Lois. “My thanks again, Superman. Lois, give me a call; I should have an official answer for you late tomorrow, or the day after.”
“Will do, John – thanks.” With a brief salute, the man headed toward his crew. Lois turned back to the brightly-clad man beside her.
“If there’s nothing else…?” Superman asked.
She smiled at him. “No, that’s it. Thanks, Superman.”
He lifted off and was gone.
Lois glanced around for Jimmy. He’d stopped taking pictures and was apparently scrolling back through the ones he’d taken. She’d heard all about that feature in the cab on the way over – how exciting it was to be able to see what he had instantly, instead of waiting to develop the film, and so on.
“Clark?” She said it softly. Did he have time to put in an appearance? She’d said he’d meet them at the fire.
Yes – there he was, coming around the corner, smiling at her.
“If anybody asks, I’ve been talking to the owner of the building,” he said when he reached her.
“Nice. And have you been, really?” she asked him playfully.
“Well… briefly,” he said with a laugh. “I…” He moved even nearer and lowered his voice to a whisper, knowing she’d still be able to hear him. “I did a quick rinse in the ocean to get rid of the smoke smell –“
“How?” she asked curiously.
He glanced around; Jimmy was turning toward them. “If I spin fast enough, the water heats up enough to do the job without soap,” he said rapidly. “Then I spun dry, headed back this way and changed out of the suit in an alley – left it too fast to be seen, then slowed down as I came around the corner.”
He resumed his normal speaking voice as Jimmy approached them. “The owner was speaking to John, so I got a quick statement from him.” As Jimmy reached them, he finished, “The guy plans to rebuild… I assume you spoke to both John Gregory and Superman?”
She nodded, smiling.
“Hey, CK – Lois said you’d meet us here,” Jimmy said.
Clark grinned. “And here I am. Lois tells me she’s got information from both the fire chief and Superman. So we’re good to go?”
“Yeah –“
Lois heard it at the same time Clark did. <Help, Superman!>
“Well, I’ll call this in and Jimmy and I will go back to the Planet and finish this up,” she said briskly, glancing at her watch. “Think you can make that meeting with our source? And meet me later at the Planet?”
“I can if I hurry,” he said, grin broadening.
“So, go!” She waved him away. Clark turned and headed away at a jog. As he turned the corner, she heard him say softly, “Thanks, Lois!”
She called the story in, and then hailed a cab to take her and Jimmy back to the Planet to fine-tune it for Perry.
Her companion was only slightly less exuberant than he’d been on the way to the fire. She learned more about the future of photography during the short ride than she’d ever need to know. She endured the conversation, though, because in his enthusiasm Jimmy had dumped the camera in her lap. Perforce, she’d found herself scrolling through the pictures he’d taken, and she’d had to admit that yes, it was a pretty cool feature.
When they arrived at the Planet, Jimmy disappeared into one of the resource rooms to download the photos he’d taken.
She was working on editing the fire story when she heard Clark call her name from the roof. She looked up, affecting a sort of thoughtful staring-into-space-because-I’m-thinking expression as she gazed up at him through the floors. He had apparently already spun out of the suit before he heard whatever it was he’d heard; she watched now as he spun back into it. Nope, she’d never get tired of watching him do that.
“There’s a multi-car accident on the beltway; I need to go help. I’ll see you as soon as I can; thank you ahead of time for whatever brilliant excuse you think of this time,” he said rapidly, and took off again.
It was a good thing they were in the newspaper business. She could probably use the ‘meeting a source’ excuse ad infinitum without getting either of them in trouble. Good thing they hadn’t chosen to be lawyers or surgeons or something. She could only imagine how awkward – how impossible, really – it would be for him to make an excuse during some big trial, or mid- open-heart surgery, or something…
She smiled at the thought and returned to work. He’d be back eventually.
---
To be continued...
