She sighed. It *was* necessary to lie to protect their secrets. Just another part of the super experience. Super strength, invulnerability, flight, enhanced smell, fire – no, Clark called it heat – vision, super hearing, excuses…
I completely love this, Janet. With the superpowers, along with the need to have any sort of provate life, come the super-excuses. The lies, pure and simple. It's depressing that Lois and Clark have to lie, particularly in view of the fact that Superman is supposed to be the Champion of Truth! Ah, but in this case, there's no getting away from the lies. Make that the excuses.
“Hi, Lois. Here’s your usual.” He hooked a foot around one of the legs of her guest chair and dragged it closer, then sat down and handed her one of the cups. “Yeah,” he said equally softly. “A false alarm. The police are looking into it; probably a disgruntled employee.” In a normal speaking voice, he continued, “Sorry I’m late; that little errand took me longer than I thought it would.”
“Well, that’s how it goes with sources.” She knew he’d understand that if anyone asked, he had been meeting a source.
“Didn’t pan out, though,” he said with a grin.
She laughed softly. <You’re having entirely too much fun with this, Kent.> She sipped her coffee appreciatively. “Mmmm. They certainly know their Mocha, don’t they? <So we don’t have a story about it?>
This is so great. Clark comes in, all serious, and that way there is no telepathy between him and Lois. But in a matter of seconds they are bantering, smiling and laughing, and immediately the telepathy kicks in.
<Oh. Rats.> “Well, Perry wants a follow-up on the Amert Development story. <Not even a teeny little hey-I-happened-to-be-in-the-area-and-met-Superman-and-he-gave-me-a-quick-interview story?>
He smothered a laugh in a fit of coughing.
She thumped his back helpfully. “First you swallow, then you breathe, Kent,” she teased him. <Oops, sorry. Careful, there. Don’t want to make anyone suspicious.>
And he is laughing so hard that he is coughing! I don't know if I entirely believe this, seeing that Clark is invulnerable and all, but I love it, all the same.
She laughed, and inhaled coffee. As she choked and wheezed, still laughing, and clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from spraying coffee all over her papers, he thumped her on the back.
“Are you okay, Lois?” he asked in concern. Super powered or not, both of them only breathed air, not liquid – coffee or otherwise.
And a few minutes later, Lois inhales her coffee in a fit of laughter and starts coughing, too.
“Oh - I almost forgot…” She pulled Jimmy’s ten-dollar bill out from under the coffee mug. “Here’s your ten, from Jimmy.”
He took it absently. “Oh, thanks. I’ll have to remember to thank him.” He paused, then waved it at her with a fake leer. “Can I buy you lunch, Miss? I’m flush.”
This is so sweet and funny, too.
The rest of this chapter deals with a very interesting question. How long will Lois be able to just wait on the sidelines? Won't she ever need to use her superpowers in broad daylight? If and when that happens, how will she hide herself from the world? The airport scene was very interesting, and as usual, you made me feel that you know so well what you are talking about. How scary it would be to come flying in over an airport and know that you are going to show up on the air controllers' radar, and then you have to try to make your own super movements look normal and boring! How do you do that? And where do you hide in an airport terminal?
And, the sixty-four thousand dollar question: Isn't it time for Lois to adopt a superhero persona for herself? Will we see Ultra Woman make her debut in your story?
Again, this story is beautifully told. I'm always very happy to read a new chapter of it, even though I don't feel altogether sure just where you are currently taking it!
Ann
