Ok, it's been quite some time since I've posted a story with multiple chapters. I've had this idea for quite some time, but only recently have I started working on it seriously. It's not finished yet, but I'm hoping the dual incentives of appeasing anyone on the board who wishes to read the next part and any feedback will spur me on to write a little faster. This is an elseworlds story, but we're still dealing with the Lois and Clark we know and love. As I seem to enjoy writing, they're a bit younger and a little less experienced in life. Okay, well, I hope you guys enjoy it.
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The front of the Daily Planet had never seemed quite so terrifying. She had walked past it dozens, perhaps hundreds of times and not once had it inspired the spectacular fear coiling in her belly. Excitement, yes. Confidence, of course. Fear? Never.
The twenty three-year-old lightly grasped the door handle and steadied her breath. She could do this. No problem. She was Lois Lane. She graduated at the top of her class from Metropolis University. Scraping through the necessary calculus required to graduate? That was tough. A job interview at the most prestigious newspaper in the nation? She could do that.
Instilled with slightly more confidence after her impromptu pep talk, Lois strode through the lobby, her heels clicking definitively on the marble floor. With a confident jab to the “up” button by the elevator, Lois straightened and tilted her chin as she waited with a practiced air of sophistication.
The façade lasted exactly until the doors closed after her in the empty elevator. Then she was a wreck again. It had taken an obscure connection from her, of all things, calculus teacher, to even begin to finagle an interview with the legendary Perry White.
Apparently Professor Junipero hadn’t spent his entire life merely scribbling formulas and theorems. Quite a thought, actually, the fact that he had a life beyond Met U. Lois mentally reined in her thoughts as they drifted from her ancient but helpful math teacher to the elevator hurling her up toward the most terrifying interview of her life. A few stops later and she was on the floor earmarked for the Daily Planet newsroom.
The Lois Lane who exited the elevator was not the same Lois Lane who internally quivered inside of it. She straightened her blouse and confidently glanced around the office like she belonged there.
Finally a boy who looked to be nineteen or twenty came up to her. “Can I help you?” He asked, friendly enough. He was struggling with a stack of files and Lois automatically caught one as it began to slip. “Thanks,” he sighed in relief and set the stack down on a nearby desk.
“Okay, <now> I can help you,” the boy gave her an easy grin and Lois tried to smile back. “Who are you looking for?”
“Perry White. I have an interview,” Lois finally responded crisply. It wouldn’t do to appear nervous in front of a simple go-fer.
“Cool. I’ll tell him you’re here. Name?”
“Lois Lane.”
“Jimmy Olsen,” the boy gave her another easy grin and trotted off though the melee.
A minute later, Jimmy returned. “The Chief’s all ready for you, Lois. Go on in to that office up there.”
With that he was gone and Lois felt an unimaginable sense of loss at the comfort of someone nearly her own age. There wasn’t time for this. She had to pull herself together. After another quick pep talk, she suddenly found herself knocking on Perry White’s office, bracing herself for the worst.
One didn’t become the editor of a major metropolitan newspaper by playing nice. She told herself. Or even by playing fair. Perry White was probably a snake, a low down dirty, devious…
The door opened by a man in an Elvis tie.
Lois blinked.
Perhaps not, then.
“Ms. Lane! Perry White. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” The great bear of a man stuck out his hand and eagerly shook hers.
Lois followed closely behind and the door shut with a quick click, effectively cutting off the hustle and bustle of the newsroom. Perry motioned for her to take the chair opposite hers and gave her a hard stare.
“Now Roger Junipero tells me you’re a real whiz at reporting. I’ve learned not to question his judgment, so I decided to grant you an interview,” Perry raised a hand when he saw Lois open her mouth. “But I’m telling you now, we’re near overflowing with competent reporters right now. I’m not sure what I can do for you.”
Lois faltered slightly at this, but it didn’t outwardly reflect on her face. “Mr. White, I’m certain if you would read some of these samples, you might be persuaded to change your mind.” Lois handed over her portfolio and tried to control the wild staccato of her heart.
For a near five minutes Perry was silent as he perused the articles, his eyes quickly skimming the articles in some parts and slowing as they critically observed others. It was dreadfully silent in the office and Perry finally set the file down and looked her straight in the eye.
“Lois Lane, this is damn fine reporting,” he said.
Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t tear her eyes from his. This was it; she’d be made or broken.
“But I just don’t have the spot for you right now.”
Broken.
______________________
“And <that> is what Hawthorne meant when he had Dimmesdale join Hester and Pearl on the stage. Now what is the symbolism of the light in the sky?”
Clark Kent stared out at his classroom, willing one of his students to twitch perceptively enough to legitimately call it a raised hand. Most of the class was glancing desperately at the clock or shrinking into their chairs. A few girls near the front had their chins resting on their hands, gazing up at him with near predatory gazes. That unnerved him slightly, but finally a quiet girl named Kaitlin raised her hand timidly.
Pleased that the normally reserved girl was finally speaking, Clark immediately called on her.
“The l-light represents a divine judgment, as if God is b-baring their sins for a verdict. When their hands join it’s a symbol of them mutually a-acknowledging each other.”
Excited beyond reason at this intelligent response to his question, Clark gave her an enthusiastic grin and congratulated her. He was about to move onto the next subject when his sensitive hearing picked up on a few cruelly aimed barbs from some of his less intelligent, more popular students. They were soft enough that a large percentage of the class had not heard, but it was obvious Kaitlin had. A hard glare in their direction silenced them immediately, but the damage had been done.
Kaitlin slunk down in her seat, her face pale and her chin dipping down onto her chest. Clark looked at her for a moment, hesitant before finally, reluctantly continuing on with his lesson. When the bell rang to signal the end of class and consequently the end of the school day, the kids bolted.
“Kaitlin,” Clark stopped her after the masses had dove for the exit. “Could you stay a moment please?”
Shuffling forward, her lime green backpack looking for all the world like it weighed more than she did, Kaitlin made her way to Mr. Kent’s desk. “Yes sir?” She asked quietly.
Now that Kaitlin was at his desk, Clark was torn. He wanted to find some way to apologize for the behavior of the boys in his class. To let her know to keep her chin up.
“That was an extremely perceptive response you gave in class, Kaitlin. And in general, your work has been excellent.”
Kaitlin blushed and kept her gaze steady on her feet.
“Mr. Scott, the principal, has asked me to pick a few promising students to form a competitive literary team. It’s called “ready writing.” From what I can tell, you’re given a prompt and then set to respond to it by using observation of current events, literary history and general knowledge. I think you’d be a wonderful candidate.”
Kaitlin looked up at him for the first time, a little more comfortable. “Really? You think I’d be any good at that?”
“Kaitlin, you’re one of the very best and the absolute first one I thought of when Mr. Scott approached me. And it wouldn’t involve too, too much. One meeting a week until the competition, which is in three months. What do you say?” Clark gave her an easy grin, sensing he had already won the shy girl over.
“Okay, Mr. Kent. I’ll do it. Thanks for the confidence in me.”
“It’s not hard to be confident in you, Kaitlin.”
“Who else are you recruiting?”
Clark thought for a moment and shook his head. “Maybe Garrett McKinney, but I’m not sure just yet. We have three spots. He’s the other likely candidate, but I’ll still need to find someone to fit the third spot.”
A pink tinge appeared in Kaitlin’s cheeks as he mentioned Garrett. Biting back a smile, Clark thanks Kaitlin for staying after. “I’ll get you some more information about the meetings after I find our third person. Thanks for staying after.”
“No problem, Mr. Kent. See you tomorrow.”
Clark gave a short wave and then surveyed his classroom critically as the door swung shut behind her. His room was a mess. The little torn edges off notebook paper littered the floor in a veritable snowstorm. Someone had left their book. The desks and chairs were nowhere near their respective other. A quick glance through the wall with his x-ray vision revealed no one to be in the near vicinity.
Suddenly he became a blur, darting back and forth throughout the room. A moment later he halted, his form sharpening into his normal appearance. The room was spotless.
Grinning at having saved the janitors some work, Clark put some papers in his briefcase to grade and walked out of the classroom whistling.
________________________
As Lois wandered aimlessly down the street, she couldn’t put her interview with Perry White out of her head. She had briefly seen the hustle of the newsroom and she was already enthralled by it. The heady rush of noise, the frantic pace, it all sounded wonderful. And though logically she knew that all newspapers must be something like that, she had stubbornly set her sights on the Planet. Briefly Lois thought back to the papers she had submitted for Perry White’s perusal. They were hard hitting and edgy, her normal trademark. But, Lois sighed, at the heart of the matter, they were merely news reports. And as Perry had gently explained, they had an overstock of reporters capable of recapping the news.
That one had hurt. Was she not the prodigy her journalism instructor had set her up to be? For the first time in over seven years, Lois tried to imagine herself in a different position than print journalism. She could work in television… or even get a job writing literature for companies. Her communications degree was rather universal, so the options were limitless. But that still didn’t ease the ache in her heart.
And she was wallowing. Just because she didn’t get accepted at the first place she interviewed in! Lois hardened her heart slightly and began to look at things objectively. She didn’t want to work at the Metropolis Star or any of the other local newspapers. The Daily Planet was like a siren’s call and she was powerless to resist. No, she needed to write one definitive story. One that would prove for certain she was Daily Planet reporter material. It had to be something different… something no other newspaper would uncover. Lois sank down on a bench outside of Metropolis High. As she looked up at the immense stone building, nestled quietly among some shady oak trees, she was struck by the innocent appearance. It looked like a safe haven, like the worst that could go wrong would be a failed paper. Her sister Lucy still attended school here. She was a junior and loved the fast pace of high school compared to middle school. As she was musing, a nagging doubt crept in her mind.
Something Lucy had said… It had been months ago. Lois had barely paid attention, much more interested in the story she was working on for the college newspaper. But it nagged her. The building shouldn’t look so innocent. Why was that? Groaning in frustration, Lois picked up her cell phone to call her sister. If she could just remember what was eluding her, she’d feel much better. She punched in the number and waited impatiently for her sister to pick up. On the next to last ring, Lucy finally answered her cell phone.
“’Lo?”
“Luce? It’s Lois.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Okay, think back a few months ago. You were telling me something about Metropolis High. A scandal, right?”
Lois could almost hear Lucy perking up. “You mean when Nick dumped Kelly for Alison?”
Exasperated, Lois shook her head, not paying attention to the fact that Lucy couldn’t see her. “No, I mean it was big. Something bad. The authorities were involved?”
“Oh! Yeah, sorry Lois. I forgot all about that. We had some problems with gang initiations.”
‘Yes!’ Lois thought, ‘Mayhem and scandal.’
“Guns and gang warfare?” Lois asked, a note of excitement starting to infuse her voice.
“No, it’s actually between girls. Just one group. They make their girls do all sort of crazy initiation rites. That’s what started up the controversy. This girl, Beth, drowned last year. She was supposed to jump in the water tower and tread water for an hour, but she couldn’t manage to climb back up. Someone, or some people, removed her body and hid it. They’re just stupid tests of will and endurance.”
The wheels were already furiously rolling in Lois’ head.
“But the gang is still active?”
“As far as I know. The police couldn’t get any leads as to who put her up for the stunt or who moved the body. They had plenty of suspicion, but no concrete leads. Lisa’s parents just wanted to forget everything. They didn’t press charges and moved away a few months later. Eventually the cops just dropped the case. But everyone knows who it was.”
“Who?” Lois asked, barely able to allow Lucy to finish her sentences.
“Jill Reynolds and Lexy Hartness. They’re sort of the “leaders.” They’re both seniors at MHS.”
“Thank you Lucy, you don’t know how much you’ve helped me!” Lois snapped her phone shut, ignoring Lucy’s voice in the background before she was abruptly cut off. With a broad smile on her face, Lois spun on her heel and marched back to the Daily Planet.
Here was a scoop just waiting to be served. She knew there was more to this than preliminary investigations revealed. Treading water in a water tower? Were these girls crazy? Anyway, if she could blow the gang scandal wide open, she’d solve an old murder case <and> perform a cutting exposé. It was a blend of hard news and feature, investigation and delicate undercover work. She knew she could do it. All she had to do was strike a bargain with Perry White.
An hour later, after an intense interview with Perry, Lois had her answer. If she could go undercover and find proof leading to the arrest of whoever was responsible, she had a job. The Planet would fund her for three months so she could make ends meet. That was the deal, take it or leave it.
Lois took it.
As she came out of Perry’s office, she couldn’t keep the professional apathetic look on her face. Her face split into a wide smile as she inwardly cheered and cried in happiness. She was hired! True it was only for three months, but she knew she could do it. She would fight to expose this scandal. Perry had even set her up with a small cubicle. It was more than she could have dreamed of even an hour and a half ago, after her dismal first interview.
“Ma Cherie, I have not had the pleasure of meeting you. Are you a new intern here?”
At the silky voice, Lois glanced up and her step faltered. The man was gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking. He was tall, much taller than herself, with long black hair and piercing brown eyes. She was so distracted by his face, the cut jaw line, full lips, that she nearly forgot to be offended by his statement.
“Intern? No sir. I am a fully paid employee of the Daily Planet,” Lois said archly, raising her eyebrows at the man. Too bad her status only lasted three months, but this man didn’t have to know that.
“Ah. Then forgive me. It is rare indeed that reporters for the Daily Planet are so exquisite. My name is Claude Malfois. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Lois extended her hand, never truly regaining her cool after that first initial once over of him. “Lois Lane. I’ll be working on an undercover story for a while, and then I’ll take over the hard news.”
Instead of grasping her hand in a shake, he gently laid a kiss on her knuckles.
“That is indeed fortunate for me, Miss Lane. I work in news as well. To prolong your company will be sweet indeed.”
Lois’ eyebrows were nearly in her hairline. She didn’t know people actually still talked like that. Though the skeptic in her was scoffing, she was fighting big time with the hopeless romantic. And skeptic was fighting a losing battle. Lois looked up at Claude through her lashes, admiring the tanned skin revealed by his slightly opened dress shirt.
“Would you do me the honor of allowing me to call on you sometime?”
“Like… a date?” Lois gulped. She normally wasn’t this tongue-tied! Why was she screwing this up so badly?
“Yes. If you give me your telephone number I will call you soon to arrange a time.” He pulled out a small notepad and a pen and handed it to her. Lois found herself scribbling her number and handing it back before she could coherently think.
“Au revoir, Miss Lane.” With a last searing gaze that left her knees a little weak, Claude strode out of the newsroom, leaving Lois clutching to her cubicle for support.
“Wow.”
_________________
So hopefully that set the stage for some things and action to come! And yes, I took Olympe's suggestion for Claude's last name.
She said:
"How about Claude Malfois? (It can be roughly translated as "(a) bad time". Lois sure would agree...) Yes, it's derived from Malfoy... "
And as I just got back from seeing Harry Potter 5, I couldn't resist taking her up on it!
So uh... *bites lip* if anyone wants to leave some feedback... I'd really appreciate it.
I promise it gets a little more entertaining than this first chapter.
Also, I pretty much edited this myself, with the help of my friend who doesn't really watch L and C. If anyone's interesting in beta-ing or just letting me run some ideas by you, I'd appreciate it. But if not, I've never really had a beta and my friend assured me she'd be happy to look it over for me as well. So if you're interested, just send me a message and if not, no worries.
--Laura
(Who thinks that 3000 words looks much longer on Microsoft Word than on the fanfic message boards...)
