The newsroom was all huddled around the television watching the plight of the Paris bound 797 that had been unable to activate its landing gear. The plane carrying 130 people was going to attempt a crash landing. Out of the corner of her eye, Lois saw Clark enter the newsroom. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Serious situation at Orly. A plane with no landing gear is about to attempt a landing,” replied Perry.
Clark swiftly turned and punched the elevator call. “Rats! I just remembered I left my notes in the taxi. I’m going to see if it’s still waiting out front.” Well, that’s good, thought Lois. So far Superman had kept to Metropolis, but there was certainly no reason that he couldn’t help out elsewhere if he heard of an emergency.
“This just in. Superman, the famed Man of Steel from Metropolis, is flying alongside the stricken airliner.”
The newsroom cheered. Except for Clark. What?
“What?” said Clark echoing her thought. If Clark was still here, how could Superman be in Paris?
*****
Clark was absent the rest of the day. Lois would have given anything to know where he had gone and what he was thinking. She kept running different scenarios in her mind. Maybe she was wrong, maybe Clark wasn’t Superman. But no, she was certain that she had caught glimpses of him using his powers as Clark, hadn’t she? Superman had somehow split himself in two so that he could be both Superman and Clark full time. But how would he do that? Superman had a twin. No, she was sure that the Kents had only one son, Clark. Where had this other Superman come from?
*****
She wanted to press Clark for answers, but knew that she had to tread carefully here. Clark might be feeling as confused as she was if the look on his face yesterday was any indication. She had to inspire some sort of a response in him. She waited at the newsstand until she saw him coming and picked up one of the European papers with Superman’s picture boldly displayed on the front. When he spotted her, he walked towards her.
“Look at this. In the last thirty- six hours Superman's saved an airplane in Paris, righted a sinking ship in Rio, rescued a busload of school children in Surinam- never once talking to the press or even sticking around to see how things came out.”
“And your point is?”
“It's been three days since Superman has even been seen in Metropolis. Don't you find that just the tiniest bit odd?”
“You know, Lois, Metropolis doesn't own Superman. Maybe he's on vacation, maybe he's... I don’t know.”
The confused, frustrated look on his face told Lois what she needed to know. He didn’t know any more about this Superman than she did and he wanted to. They walked into the elevator and pushed the button to go up to the newsroom.
“Why is he gallivanting all over the world? I left messages for him to call me with every correspondent and news bureau of ours worldwide. Nothing.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I thought, well, I thought that Metropolis was his home. Unselfishly speaking, I suppose he should belong to the world. But he’s always been in Metropolis, hasn’t he?”
“Metropolis is his home. He said as much.”
“So any theories as to why he is so busy everywhere else?”
“No, I guess nothing has really been going on in Metropolis, so he-”
Jimmy came up, interrupting him, “CK, here’s those picture that you asked for.”
“Thanks, Jimmy” Clark took the picture from him.
“What are those?” Lois asked peering over his shoulder.
“Well, I didn’t get to see the whole rescue, so I got some pictures.” Clark had pulled down his glasses and was looking intently at the prints. Well, that answered one question. Clark still had his powers. A loud boom was heard and the windows of the Planet shook.
“Wow!” exclaimed Lois. “He doesn’t usually fly this close.”
“He?”
“Superman. Didn’t you hear that?”
“Oh, I didn’t realize- uh, I need to go return a library book. See you later.” Was it going to be a Superman showdown? Lois wished with all her heart she could be there, but where would the supermen meet? They could be literally anywhere in the galaxy.
“Lois! Robbery and hostage situation at the Metropolis Merchant's Bank. Shake a leg,” Perry bellowed over the buzz of the newsroom. Lois had tossed all night trying to figure out the supermen mystery. Well, maybe a story would clear her head. “On it, Chief,” she called grabbing her satchel and heading for the elevator.
“Hey! How about some coffee here?” Perry was in a commanding mood today.
“I don't do coffee. It's not in the job description. Read the manual, Gramps.”
“Who is that kid? Hey, you!” Perry took off after the new copy boy, Jack. Lois smiled and shook her head. Only Clark would befriend the guy who robbed his house, find him a place to stay, and get him a job. She had to figure out what was going on.
When Lois got there, the crisis seemed to be over. She spotted a policeman who seemed to be filling out paperwork. “Lois Lane, Daily Planet. What happened?”
The man looked up. “Tense stand-off until Superman got here.”
This was bigger news than she had thought. “He’s here? In Metropolis?”
The policeman nodded towards a police wagon. “He’s over there.”
Lois instantly spun and made her way towards the wagon. Before she reached it, the apparent perpetrator broke free of the two police officers holding him and began to run. She gasped as Superman dived after the man, caught him, and threw him the twenty feet into the wagon. That was just something that she could not see Clark doing.
“Superman?”
He turned and looked at her. Looking into his eyes, she couldn’t see any sign of recognition. “Yes?”
“It’s me, Lois.”
An amused look crossed his face. “Lois, huh?” He looked her up and down before he rose into the sky and flew off. He was checking me out! she thought. Definitely not Clark.
Clark was at her desk when she got back to the Planet. “Clark, we have to talk. There's something wrong with Superman! I just saw him toss this robbery suspect into a police van from twenty feet away. Knocked the guy out cold. I don’t think that Superman would do that. It’s like he’s not himself or something.”
Clark eyes sparked with excitement, “You saw him? Here? In Metropolis.”
“Yes. Perry sent me out to cover a hostage situation at the Merchants Bank. It was over by the time I got there, but the perp tried to make a run for it. Superman caught him. I talked to him, Clark, and it was like he didn’t even recognize me. And he smirked at me! Superman doesn’t smirk, at least not at me.”
“Smirked?”
“I wish I could talk to him and find out what’s wrong.”
“Me too.” So maybe Clark had not caught up with Superman2 earlier. He looked worried.
“Clark,” she put his hand over his. “It’ll be okay. We, you and I, we’ll figure this out and get Superman back to normal.” He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded and went back to his desk.
“Ms. Lane-Kent?”
Lois turned to see a messenger boy standing there.
“Yes?”
“Sign here, please.” He handed her his clipboard and a letter. She signed quickly, handing the clipboard back to the messenger. She sat the envelope down on her desk. He just stood there. When she looked pointedly at him, the boy explained, “I’m supposed to wait for an answer.”
“Really? Well, I guess I should open this now, then.” She grabbed her letter opener out of her desk organizer, otherwise known as a coffee cup, and slit the envelope. She unfolded the note and read:
“Dear Lois, Please forgive me my behavior today. I have something I want to talk to you about. May I see you tonight? I could be at your place at nine. Please say yes. Yours, Superman.”
It wasn’t Clark’s handwriting. Similar, but it didn’t have the look of Clark’s sure hand. She looked back at the messenger. “Tell Superman the answer’s yes.” She deliberately left the letter open on her desk as she went to fill her coffee cup. Hopefully Clark’s curiosity would get the better of him.
*****
Lois rushed around her apartment. Why she was trying to make everything look nice for this Superman look-alike she didn’t know, but being busy was keeping her curiosity at bay for the moment. She had opened the window in preparation for his arrival. She was getting the chilled sparkling grape juice out of the fridge when she heard the whoosh of his arrival. She turned and smiled at him, “Would you like something to drink?”
“Drink? I guess so.” She poured the juice into the waiting glass.
“Here you go,” she said handling the glass to him. She lifted her own to her lips.
“You look really hot.” Lois gasped and choked on her drink. “Can we sit on the couch?” he asked.
“Sure.” She headed toward the loveseat and sat down beside him. He sat the juice on the coffee table, faked a yawn, stretching his arms, and settled one of them around her shoulders. Her mouth twitched on a smile. It was such a high school-like move.
“Is this okay?” he asked a worried look on his face.
“It’s fine. Superman, was there a reason that you wanted to see me tonight?”
He turned towards her with an earnest look on his face. “Do you like me?”
“Of course I do. I am concerned about your behavior lately.”
“Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“No, but that man you threw in the police wagon could have been hurt badly.”
“Might is right.”
“What? No-”
He interrupted her, “How about a kiss?” Before she could answer him, Superman2 grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly pushed his lips on hers. Lois tried to push away, but he held her tight. I underestimated him, Lois thought. I was judging him by Clark. She tried to decide what Tae Kwan Do move to use that would gain her the advantage over his immense strength. Her front door burst open.
“Am I interrupting?” Clark! He must have read Superman2’s note.
Clark’s entrance startled Superman2 and she escaped his grasp to stand by Clark.
“Go away,” demanded Superman2 petulantly.
“I think Lois would like me to stay,” Clark said firmly.
“Yes, I do. Please!”
Superman2 got off the couch and walked menacingly toward Clark. Clark took a step forward in front of Lois. Superman2 lifted his hand to grab or strike Clark and Clark grabbed his wrist. Superman2 looked surprised when he did not instantly overcome Clark. He yanked his arm away and looked at Clark. Clark’s chin rose a notch and Superman2 nodded and looked at Lois.
“I guess I’ll be going then. It’s almost my bedtime anyway.” He looked at Clark. “I will see you again.”
Lois moved to collapse on the couch. “Thank you, Clark, for being there, but you must be out of your mind!” If the other Superman had not known that Clark Kent was Superman before, he surely did now.
“Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” Lois shook her head.
“Not exactly. He kissed me.”
“Superman kissed you?”
“Clark, I've kissed Superman before. I know what it feels like. That was *not* Superman.”
“Then who was it?”
Lois looked up at him. “I don’t know, Clark. But we have to find out.”
“It’s late.”
“First thing tomorrow, Clark. We can’t allow him to undo all the good that Superman has done. He said ‘might is right’. He scares me, Clark.”
*****
Another restless night. Would she always spend her nights fretting over Clark? I bet Lana is sleeping a soundly as a baby, she thought grumpily as she gave up and turned on her computer. She might as well get started.
*****
When Clark arrived at the Planet, she had a theory.
“A clone?” he said skeptically.
“Yes, it's so obvious. There's no technology in the world that could produce a robot like that. And if Superman had a twin, I think he would have said something. No, someone has cloned Superman. Made an exact genetic copy.”
“Is that even possible? I didn’t think that science had gotten much beyond cloning human cells.”
“I found an article last night from the Metropolis Science Magazine by this scientist named Fabian Leek. He made it sound like it could be done.”
*****
“You see, my dear Ms. Lane, its child's play to clone individual cells. As simple and natural as the reproductive act itself.” Dr. Leek leered at her. Lois frowned at him.
“Your article said entire human beings could be cloned.”
“Yes, but I was young and, unfortunately, overly optimistic. It's taken me thirty years to finally be able to clone a frog. The process is much more difficult than I imagined. We're years away from successfully applying the technique to human beings.”
Clark picked up a jar. A dead, dried frog clinked against the glass. “I guess the process isn't exactly foolproof,” referring the extra legs of the specimen.
“No, not yet.” Dr. Leek turned to Lois, “I would however, be very honored to take you to dinner, Ms. Lane. We could discuss the miracles of life in more, shall we say, tangible terms.” The man wasn’t very subtle was he? Well, he wasn’t Superman2. She could handle this one.
“I have a better idea,” she said in a sexy voice.
“Yes?”
“Why don't you go home, change into something more comfortable,” she drew circles on his chest with her finger, “pack an overnight bag and then come back here...” she paused dramatically before continuing in a normal tone, “and take all these poor frogs and release them in the nearest lily pond.” Lois turned and stalked out the door, though she did not resist swaying her hips slightly. Clark shrugged his shoulders in sympathy at the doctor and followed Lois out the door.
Lois was steaming by the time Clark caught up with her at the Jeep. “That guy is a piece of work. He completely backtracked on all of his recent research.”
“But Lois, Superman is invulnerable. In order to even begin to make a clone, they would have to have used cells from Superman's body.”
Lois shook her head stubbornly. “I don't know, Clark. But somebody figured it out. And we're going to figure out who. Wait! Where are you going?” Clark had turned abruptly and was heading away from the Jeep.
“To find someone who might be able to help. You start working on this angle. I'll meet you back at the Planet.”
*****
She found it. There were so many articles about Superman in the Planet archives, but fortunately it had happened early in Clark’s Superman career. She was printing out the article when Clark entered from the elevator.
“Clark! I found it. ‘Superman Donates Lock of Hair to Charity’.” She thrust the paper at him. “Look.”
“I remember now. You’re amazing Lois.” She blushed happily. “Does the article mention who bought it?”
“Yes, a Mrs. Doyle Alexander. *But* it was stolen from her home the very next day. The police never found the thief. They didn’t even get any leads.”
“Well, now we know how they cloned Superman, we just need to figure who.”
“And why.”
*****
Clark had gone to get some lunch, so she wasn’t surprised when Superman showed up at her desk a few minutes later. Still, it didn’t hurt to be a little cautious.
“Superman, is it really you?” She looked into his eyes. He looked at her with the same fondness that she was accustomed to from Clark.
“In the flesh. I’ve been trying to get the lowdown on this imposter. I want to show you something. Come with me?”
She put her arms around his neck, “Anywhere.”
But it wasn’t Clark. How had she made that mistake? She was sure that she would have known Clark anywhere, but when they landed her grabbed her wrists, produced a rope from nowhere and tied her up. They were in some sort of western movie set. He used his heat vision to light one of the piles of wood. He set a brand in the fire in imitation of an old western movie.
“What. . . what are you doing?”
He chuckled. “You want to belong to Superman. I can mark you as mine for the rest of your life.” He lifted the brand menacingly.
“No! I’m not an animal. I’m a human being. I don’t know who raised you, but they forgot to teach you the value of human life. People matter, Superman. All life is precious. You can’t just-”
Superman- Clark- landed with a thud. “Let her go.”
Superman2 threw the brand back into the fire and reached towards her, snapping the ropes that bound her in an instant.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Lois,” he said earnestly. “But the only way I could guarantee Superman would fight me was to make him think your life was in danger.”
“If you don’t want to hurt me, then, please, don’t hurt him.”
Superman2’s eyes lit up with new knowledge. Then he shook his head. “His time is past. I have to fight him.” He dashed through a swinging door.
Clark reached her in the next second, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said, rubbing her wrists. He started to turn away. She reached out and grasped his arm. “Please, be careful. Don’t underestimate him like I did.” His eyes met hers and he nodded before turning to follow Superman2 into the building. In a moment she heard the sounds of glass breaking. She entered the swinging doors and saw one of the Supermen send the other sliding across the top of the bar.
“This town isn’t big enough for the both of us. Let’s take this outside.” The other one nodded. “Stay here,” he said pointing at Lois. That would be the Clark one. And he should know better. She hurried outside where they were facing each other like old western gunslingers.
Heat vision came from one of the supermen’s eyes. The other returned fire. She still could not tell which was which. The heat sizzled and popped as they each struggled to overcome the other.
“Don't you understand? This is a fight neither of us can win!” That would be Clark, the Superman closest to her. It seemed hours dragged by before Superman2’s heat vision seemed to grow fainter. Finally, Superman2’s heat rays slipped. Clark’s vision hit him in the chest and Superman2 fell to the ground. Clark immediately rushed to his side.
“Go ahead. Finish me off. Might is right. Only the strong survive.”
“I don't want to hurt you. We have so much in common. You and I... we're brothers.”
“I don't understand. Don’t you know that I would always challenge your rule?”
“I don't want to rule. I want to be respected, yes. But you earn that respect by caring for others, not overpowering them.”
Superman2 staggered to his feet. He appeared to lose his balance and Clark steadied him. “Are you all right?”
“I'm dying.”
Clark shook his head. “No.”
“Maybe it's for the best. If I'm not real, if I was created just to do my father's bidding, to kill you, then there's nothing left to live for anyway.”
“Of course there is! We’ll find a way to fix you. STAR Labs-”
Superman2 held up his hand to silence Clark. “I have something to do. Will you wait here for me here?”
Clark nodded as Superman2 flew away. Clark turned to Lois. “Didn’t I ask you to stay in the building?”
“No, you told me. You should know by now I don’t often do as I’m told.”
Clark snorted. “That’s for sure. Well, let me take you back to the Planet.”
“But-”
“Lois. I’m asking you. Please.” Lois nodded and put her arms around his neck.
“Okay.”
*****
Lois had never seen Clark look as weary as he looked when he entered the newsroom a few hours later. He made his way to her desk.
“Superman just left. He told me what happened, but he didn’t stick around.”
“What did he say?”
“Just that the clone Superman was gone. Permanently. And that the lock of hair had been destroyed so that no one could try to clone Superman again.” He looked so sad. He sat down beside her and she covered his hand with her own.
“It might have been kind of nice. You know, to have two of them. Superman would have a brother; someone to talk to, share with who could truly understand.”
“We all need that.”
“Yes.” Lois wanted to do something to lighten the mood. “Although-”
“What?”
“We’re talking about companionship for Superman, right?”
“Right,” he said cautiously.
“No problem, then. I’m available.” She made a funny face at Clark and he laughed. Her heart lifted at the sound. He would be okay.
*****
Perry was in a dark mood when they got to the Planet the next day. “Budget cuts, people. You’ve each gotten a memo on the changes. Please actually read it,” he said giving Lois a meaningful glance, “and follow it. Circulation is down and our advertising space is not selling.”
Lois picked up the memo and read aloud, “'No business lunches, no payments for sources, no cabs- Perry!” she looked up at him. “We might as well hang up our word processors.”
“We'll adjust. Hopefully it's only temporary,” Clark said helpfully.
“Anymore surprises?” she asked Perry.
He looked down unable to meet her eyes. “They’re talking layoffs.”
“What! Perry they can’t!”
He looked at her now, “All I know is if we don't find ways to save money around here, we're gonna be out of business.”
“We were told that last week’s payroll problem was a clerical error. Was it?”
Perry shook his head. “I don’t know, Lois. All I know was that I was told to cut expenses in any way possible. And if that doesn’t take care of it, jobs will be cut.” Perry turned and walked into his office. He shut the door firmly and it was evident to all that he was not going to discuss it further.
Job cuts. Lois looked around the room. Jack and Clark hadn’t been there very long. Jobs like Jimmy’s could easily be cut. Then Cat, Eduardo, Steve—maybe they would cut some of the reporters to save money. She honestly was not worried about her own job. It might be arrogant of her, but as a multiple Kerth award winner, she was the best reporter the Planet had. But that didn’t mean that she wanted any of her fellow co-workers to lose their jobs.
*****
Lex smiled sweetly at her as he handed her a glass of champagne. In the background, a violinist played her favorite classical tune. Lois shook her head. “Lex, what am I going to do with you? When you said Italian, I had no idea you meant *in* Italy”
“My favorite restaurant is in Milano. Why shouldn’t I take you there, if I can?”
“The food was wonderful. It must be nice to have unlimited funds.”
“Being the third richest man in the world does have its advantages.”
“Hmm.” They sat in silence, listening to the music. Lois’ mind wandered back to the Planet. Why was it failing? She knew that she was bringing in as good stories as ever, great ones, even, when she and Clark partnered up. Why weren’t people buying the Planet? Why were the advertisers placing their ads elsewhere?
“I don't know when I've had better garlic chicken. Perhaps I should steal their chef.”
“Mmm.”
“This violin music is beautiful. I must be sure to add a nice tip to her fee,” Lex tried again.
“Mmm.”
“Did you know, Shakespeare didn't write Romeo and Juliet. It turns out that it was actually written by Dr. Seuss.”
“Mmm- what?” Had he been talking?
Lex sighed. “Am I boring you, Lois?” Lois turned on the seat to face him.
“No, Lex. Of course not. I'm sorry. All I can think about is the Planet. Did you see the paper this morning?”
“The one with the headline ’Financial Woes Mount’?”
“Yes. The Planet is losing business. The expense accounts have already been cut and Perry says that jobs may be next. I’m worried about my friends. Clark and Jack haven’t worked there for very long. Jimmy has been there a while, but if they want to cut jobs, his could be considered expendable.”
“Lois, my sweet, I can’t stand to see you worried.”
“It’s okay, Lex.” She covered his hand with her own. “I’m sorry to spoil our evening. I’m sure it will work itself out.”
“What bothers you bothers me. I’ll just have to do something about it.”
“There’s nothing you can do, Lex. I looked into our advertisers a little this afternoon. None of our Lex Corp. accounts have left, just almost everyone else.” She smiled at him in reassurance.
“Lois, my dear, you forget those unlimited funds we were talking about just a few minutes ago. I’ll simply buy the Planet and then you won’t have to worry anymore.”
“You could do that?”
“I not only can, but I will. You surely know that I would do anything for you, Lois.”
“Lex, I’m grateful, but I worry that is the pheromones still talking. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you.”
“I wish you would,” he looked at her soulfully.
“Lex-”
He waved his hand, “I’m not pressuring you, darling.”
She squeezed his hand. “That’s sweet of you, Lex.” She felt a twinge of guilt. Honestly, she liked having a handsome, eligible man seek her out and pay attention to her, but perhaps he was starting to read too much into their relationship. This was the second time that he had hinted that he wanted more.
*****
Perry pulled open the door of his office and entered the newsroom in a hurry, “I just got a call from upstairs to expect an announcement any time.” As if on cue, the elevator doors opened and Lex, along with Nigel, Mrs. Cox and several important looking men in suits emerged. Lex leaned against the rail, then raised one hand for silence.
“For those of you who don't know me, my name is Lex Luthor. I, no less than you, have been greatly distressed by the sea of troubles that has mired Metropolis' one great newspaper. I don't know why your advertisers have deserted you and circulation is down. I don't know why the banks have shut off your credit lines. I do know that problems such as these can be solved with strong leadership and fiscal responsibility. Therefore, I have taken the one step that would guarantee the future wellbeing of this newspaper: I bought it.” The room erupted in cheers. Lois looked down at her desk guiltily. “Today begins a new era. I promise you no interference, only a few minor modifications, and no layoffs.” The cheers began anew.
Lex made his way down the stairs shaking hands and patting backs of enthusiastic employees that rushed to greet him. He made his way to Lois’ desk. “Better now, darling?”
“Lex, I told you that you didn’t need to-”
“It was my pleasure. And if you remember, I told you a long time ago that pursuit of pleasure was what I live for.”
Lois’ mind flashed back to that long ago dinner when she was trying to get an interview with Lex, when she was sure that he was dirty. It seemed so long ago. When had her opinion of him changed? More importantly, what about him made her think he had changed? Perhaps his behavior towards her was influenced by the pheromone solution, but had the rest of his life really changed?
“Well, thank you, Lex. I hope that it will be a good investment.”
*****
Lois passed Perry the next morning as she entered the newsroom. He was carrying his Elvis picture under one arm and muttering to himself. “Perry, Is everything all right?”
“No, everything is not all right.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home. If you have any problems, take 'em up with our new owner and his new Supervising Editor-In-Chief.” Perry entered the elevator and angrily punched the “door close” button. What was going on? Jimmy passed her carrying a full box.
“Jimmy, what are you doing?”
“Cleaning out my desk.”
“What? Why?”
“Jack and I get to keep our jobs, but we’ve been ‘reassigned’. We report downstairs to the printing plant tomorrow. I'm having a tough time thinking of this as a lateral career move.” The elevator returned and Jimmy stepped into it. “Hope I see you around, Lois, but if not, it’s been fun.”
“But-” the elevator doors closed. She turned back to the newsroom to see Clark barreling out of Perry’s office. He threw a sheet of paper on his desk and stood there, arms crossed, with an angry look on his face. Lois hurried to him. “Clark, what’s wrong?”
“Luthor just killed my story, that’s what’s wrong.”
“Well, I’m sure-” she started to excuse Lex.
“I’m seeing a real conflict of interest here, Lois. My story is about the excessive rate hikes at Metropolis Electric. Lex says the story is too controversial. I find it very interesting that he is on the board of Metropolis Electric and refuses to run a story about what he termed ‘necessary’ rate increases.”
“Well, Lex is new at this, Clark. I’ll talk to him.” She patted Clark’s arm and headed into Perry’s office.
“Lois. Just the woman I wanted to see.” Lex stepped forward to kiss her cheek.
Lois accepted the kiss but asked, “Lex, what's going on? Did you fire Perry? He said something about a new editor-in-chief.”
“Of course not. I just hired another fellow to work with him. Take some of the load off.”
“But, Lex, Perry wants the load. He won't accept this. He'll quit.”
“I sincerely hope not. It would be a great loss to the paper. Unless you would like his job? I could make it happen.”
“No! Lex, I don’t want Perry’s job!”
“I will talk to him and apologize. I can find other work for Chip.”
“What about Jimmy and Jack?”
“Even though I have purchased the Planet, some changes will need to be made. I ensured that Jimmy and had Jack jobs since I knew that you were worried about them. Those positions were open and that need was more pressing than those here in the newsroom. I'll have then back up here as soon as humanly possible. I promise. Lois, I'm working to save the Daily Planet. Give me a chance. Trust me. Everything will turn out fine. I'm no saint, Lois. I've done questionable things in pursuing success. Unfortunately, that's the nature of big business. Sometimes, out of jealousy or frustration, I've. . . over-reacted. But, I swear to you, I’ve changed. I no longer want to hurt anyone. I want to be the kind of man you want in your life in whatever capacity you’ll have me.”
“Lex-”
He held up his hand to stop her, “Now’s not the time to discuss this, Lois. Just assure your friends I’m not the devil.”
*****
Lois exited the office and went to Clark’s desk. “It's going to work out fine, Clark. Just give it time. Lex will turn things around.”
Clark looked grim. “I hope so, Lois. For all our sakes.”
The mood in the newsroom was changed. Perry had returned after he cooled off, but he wasn’t happy with the changes that Lex had made and his attitude was rubbing off on the Planet employees. Lois didn’t know what to do to help the situation. If only Perry wasn’t so resistant to change. Change was supposed to be good for you, right? Clark passed by her desk. “Hey, Lois. I’m taking Jack and Jimmy to lunch. Wanna come?”
She looked up at him. “I better stay and work on this story. Some other time. Tell them hi for me.”
“Sure. Well, their lunch hour is pretty strict, so I better get going.”
She watched as Clark exited the newsroom. She knew that he was not very happy with the changes at the Planet either, but he had apparently decided to bide his time. She stood to her feet to go refill her coffee cup when the whole building shook with great force.
“What was that?” Her fellow employees all looked at each other in fear. Fire alarms began going off. Perry came rushing out of his office. “Get everybody out. Use the stairs, not the elevator.”
“What’s going on, Perry?” Lois asked as he passed her.
“Some sort of explosion in the print room. Management just said to evacuate the building until they could figure out what happened.”
“Perry! Jimmy and Jack work there and Clark was just heading that way!”
“Let’s get out of here now. We can’t do anyone any good staying here.”
The Planet employees stood around the entrance. Then the employees of the print room began to come through the doors. They were covered in ink and smelled of smoke. Eager hands reached to help them through the crowd to sit on the curbs. “What’s going on? Have you seen Jimmy Olsen, Jack or Clark Kent?” Lois questioned. They just shook their heads as they coughed trying to clear their lungs. Then she saw Superman exit the building carrying someone. The wailing of ambulance sirens could be heard. “Lois!” Superman called catching sight of her.
She rushed to his side. “Jimmy! Is he okay?” Jimmy was also covered in ink and was bleeding from a cut on his forehead. His arm hung in an odd angle.
Superman laid him gently on the sidewalk. “Can you stay with him until the paramedics get here? I have to go back in and see if there is anyone else-”
“Yes! Go.”
Lois smoothed back Jimmy’s hair looking down at his still face. What in the world had happened? Jimmy groaned as he started to come around. “Jimmy! It’s Lois. What happened?”
“Don’t know. Explosion. Fire. And Superman was there.”
“What kind of explosion?” If there was a fire, this was really serious. There were numerous chemicals in the print room, each one a potential explosion if exposed to heat.
“I don’t know.” He started to struggle to sit up.
“No, stay,” she said pushing on his shoulder. “The paramedics will be here in a moment. You need to be checked out. You were unconscious and it looks like your arm may be broken. You said Superman was there?”
“Yeah, he just came out of nowhere. If he hadn’t, “Jimmy shivered, “the whole place could have blown up. He put the fire out almost before it started.”
“Do you know where Jack is?”
“I had just spotted Clark and was punching out for lunch. I don’t know if Jack had seen us yet or where he was when the explosion happened.”
A paramedic approached them. “Need some help?”
“Yes. This is Jimmy Olsen. Superman brought him out. He was unconscious for a few minutes, but he seems pretty coherent now. Also, there’s something wrong with his arm.”
Another paramedic came towards them with a gurney. “Looks like it’s your lucky day, son. You get to ride in the ambulance.” They began to lift Jimmy onto the gurney.
“Jimmy, you’ll be okay?” she asked. Jimmy nodded.
“I’m going to try to find out about Clark and Jack.”
The fire department was pulling up and men were piling off of the truck and heading into the building. Superman appeared with another person in his arms. One of the firemen took his load and headed towards an ambulance. Superman ran back into the building followed by more firemen. Lois hurried over to the ambulance. This person had burns on his face and hands, but Lois could tell that it wasn’t Jack. “Have you seen Jack?” she asked. The paramedic gently pushed her out of the way. “Ma’am you need to get out of our way and let us work. We need to get this man to the burn unit right away.”
Lois nodded and turned looking at the scene around her. Medical personnel scurried around checking on the ink and smoke stained people, offering water or oxygen to those that needed it. She saw firemen coming out of the building with more victims. Even to her inexperienced eyes, she could tell that these had suffered far more injury than the man who Superman had brought out moments before. They must be getting closer to the source of the explosion. Then she saw Superman carrying another victim. She ran to him. Superman laid the body on a waiting gurney and covered the face. Oh, God. Then he saw her standing there. “It’s Jack.” His voice broke.
“Oh, Cl- Superman. I’m so sorry.” She felt the tears well up in her own eyes. Clark would take this very hard.
“I need to go back in. There are still more-”
She laid her hand on his spandex clad arm. “I’ll stay with him.”
She sat on the curb by the gurney and watched as more victims were brought out. She could hear the firemen exclaiming how Superman’s quick action in putting out the fire had saved the lives of many in the print room, and probably kept the whole building from being demolished. Three more sheet clad bodies joined Jack’s on the sidewalk, but most of the remaining injured were placed in ambulances heading for Metropolis’ emergency rooms. Superman finally exited the building and approached the fire chief. “I think that’s everyone,’ he said grimly.
The fire chief shook Superman’s hand, clasping his arm, “Thanks, Superman. You saved a lot of lives today.” Superman’s gaze ran over the sheet-covered bodies.
“I wish I could have done more.”
“They were killed immediately in the explosion, Superman. There is no way, no way at all that you could have prevented that.” Superman nodded resignedly. Oh, Clark, Lois’ heart cried to him. After looking one more time around the chaos he flew away. Minutes later Clark appeared at her side. His face was lined with worry. Lois put her arms around him. “Oh, Clark.”
He placed an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to his chest. “Superman told me about Jack.” She was glad that he had said the hard words. Even though she knew that he already knew Jack’s fate, technically Clark Kent did not know and she did not want to be the one to say it. “Jimmy?” he asked.
Lois stepped back loosening her hold but not entirely releasing him. “The ambulance was taking him to the hospital. He was talking and trying to sit up very shortly after Superman brought him out. What happened, Clark?”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t know. The forensics team will be here soon. They should be able to tell us something by tomorrow.”
The newsroom was oddly quiet the next morning. The death of the print room employees saddened all of them, but Jack had been working with them in this very newsroom only days before. He was one of their own, a young man, full of potential snuffed out before his time. She knew that Clark had gone with the social worker to talk to Jack’s brother Danny. The forensics team determined that explosives had been placed in a lunch box and had exploded, scattering the nearest printing machine in every direction. The casualties had been caused by the flying debris. The search for the person responsible was ongoing, but the police weren’t releasing any details of the investigation. The only good thing that she could find about the whole situation was that Clark had seemed to take the fire chief’s words to heart. He could not have prevented the deaths, had not even been in the print room when it happened. He had done all that he could.
*****
And life went on. Within a few weeks, Jimmy was back, and in the newsroom where he belonged, Eduardo and Steve reporting the news, Cat keeping tabs on the Metropolis celebrities, Ralph hitting on everything female. She looked over at Clark. He was sitting at his desk with a frown on his face as he played with something in his hands. She got up from her seat and approached his desk. “What’s that?”
He looked up guiltily and his hands stilled. It was a blue velvet covered box.
*****
Cue the suspenseful music. . .
