Hello everyone! I'm back! Thanks so much for all the comments... what a nice present to come back to. <g>
Muchas gracias to Sue and Lara - you girls rock!
Okay, and here we go with part 5!
Table of Contents From Part 4:
Clark watched Lois walk towards the conference room where Lex had already begun to set up temporary shop, feeling like he had just been sucker-punched. No! It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t honestly be considering Lex’s proposal, could she?
He had to go after her. It was time to make her understand just who Luthor really was – even if that meant telling her things that Clark Kent couldn’t possibly know. He stood up from his chair to walk over to her desk...
And the sound of a bank alarm began blaring in his ears.
*Another* bank robbery? No, not now!
Clark dithered for a moment, not wanting to leave Lois and almost afraid to show himself in public as Superman, but he couldn’t risk not going. What if the clone showed up? He had to go.
He gave Lois one last fleeting glance as she walked into the conference room – into the lion’s den - and then he took off for the stairwell.
**********
PART FIVE
**********
Lois opened the door to the conference room and peeked inside. Lex was perched on the corner of the table with the phone to his ear. He looked up at the sound of the door and waved at Lois to come in.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cox. Please call me with the results.” He hung up and smiled broadly.
“Mrs. Cox?” Lois asked. “Is she the lady who...”
“Who was with me earlier? Yes. She is my assistant and a very good one at that.” He got up from the table and walked toward her. “What can I do for you, my dear?”
“Oh, um...” Lois was suddenly at a loss for words. She had come in here to ask for a favor, but with everything that had happened between them recently, she was suddenly unsure about asking for his help.
“You did come in here looking for me, didn’t you?” he asked with a soft smile. “Did you perhaps have something you wanted to tell me?”
Lois fidgeted. “No. I mean... not yet,” she stammered. “I, uh... I actually had something I wanted to ask you. A favor.”
He raised one eyebrow curiously. “Oh? Well, ask.”
She cleared her throat. “I wanted to talk to you about an article that I’m trying to write.”
“I see,” he said with a nod. “Isn’t this something that you should talk to Perry about?”
“Yes. But Perry... well, he was a little concerned that management wouldn’t go for it. But I thought if I could...”
“Get me to sign off on it and give you the go ahead that it would be okay?” he ventured.
She nodded, biting at her lip. That sounded bad, didn’t it? It sounded like a kid who was going behind one parent’s back to ask the other parent’s permission to do something. “I know how that sounds. But it is very important to me and...”
“What is the article about?”
She swallowed nervously.
<Does this have anything to do with Superman?>
He had asked her that after her reluctance to give him an answer to his proposal. Would that affect his willingness to back her on the story? Well, there was nothing she could do about that. Lex was her one chance to publish something that might help Superman’s foundering reputation right now. “Superman.”
He nodded, understanding lighting up his face. “I’m assuming you’re hoping to publish something that would give an explanation for what’s been happening lately?”
“Yes. You see, I sort of concealed a few things that happened to Superman a while back,” she admitted, shifting uneasily on her feet. “Information that could prove that it’s not really him doing these things.”
Lex cocked one eyebrow. “Lois, I’m surprised. What did you conceal?”
“Information pertaining to a...” she paused, trying to decide how to say it and hoping that he wouldn’t think she was insane. There wasn’t anyway to temper it, she just had to put it out there. “A clone.”
“A clone?” he said, his voice brimming with surprise.
“Yes. Someone cloned Superman,” she confirmed and then, before he could interrupt, she quickly continued, “I know what you’re thinking...”
“I really doubt that,” he interrupted.
“You’re thinking it sounds farfetched or unbelievable since cloning techniques haven’t even been tried on a human – much less on someone like Superman.” She just couldn’t bring herself to use the word ‘alien’. Superman just wasn’t ‘alien’ to her. “But it’s the truth. I saw the clone with my own two eyes. I saw him have a confrontation with Superman. He was real.”
“I see,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “And whatever happened to this clone?”
“He died,” she said softly. “I think whoever cloned him didn’t have the process down, yet. Superman said that the clone asked him to dispose of his body and he did.”
“So, then, you believe that another clone has been created? One that is carrying out these dark events of the past few days?”
“Yes,” she confirmed resolutely.
“Do you have any proof?”
Lois flinched. Why did everyone keep asking her that? “No. That’s what Perry asked me. But I would make sure that the article pointed out that this was a possible ‘theory’. And Clark can corroborate my information on the existence of the original clone.”
“Lois...”
“Please, Lex,” she implored, hating resorting to pleading and unhappy with the thought that she was going to feel like she ‘owed’ Lex, if he helped her out with this. She didn’t like to be indebted to anyone. “I have to help him. Everyone has turned against him and surely you realize how much he’s done for this city... and how much he needs our help, now.”
“I agree. He certainly does need help. Although my opinion might differ on the kind of help he needs.”
Lois frowned. “What do you mean?”
He sighed softly. “I mean that I’m not sure I buy into the whole clone theory, even if what you’re saying is true and there was a clone. Is it so difficult to believe that Superman could be responsible for what’s happening?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s damn near impossible to believe!”
“Really?” he asked with a smile. “Because he’s your hero and you don’t want to believe that your hero could have fallen? Maybe this is the real Superman? Maybe he just couldn’t keep up that perfect façade any more.”
“No. I can’t believe that.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?” Lex asked pointedly.
Lois felt heat flushing her face and she tightened her jaw. “Superman stands for truth and justice. He is kind and good...”
“No one is that good, Lois. Not even Superman.” He smiled at her and for some reason it sent chills down her spine.
“What about you, Lex? Are you that good?” She couldn’t believe she had actually said that. She had sort of just mouthed it off on autopilot before she realized what she was saying.
It seemed to have taken Lex by surprise as well, but he soon composed himself. “Like I said – no one is *that* good.”
Lois felt like she suddenly didn’t know which way was up. She had always believed that she was a good judge of people, of their character, but now she felt like she didn’t truly know anyone.
The phone rang, splitting the deafening silence and causing Lois to jerk a little.
“Excuse me, Lois. I need to take this,” Lex told her, picking up the phone. “Yes? Yes, hello, Mrs. Cox.”
Mumbling about having taken up too much of Lex’s time, Lois left the room and went back to her desk.
She had some serious thinking to do.
**********
Clark sat down at his parents’ kitchen table and ran a hand through his hair. “It felt like Kryptonite – pain, weakness, dizziness...”
“But I thought it had all been destroyed?” Martha said, unable to hide the worry in her voice. “When you fought with that man, Trask.”
“I know, Mom. I thought it was destroyed, too. But then I remembered the chunk that Mr. Irig sent off for testing at the University – the one that disappeared.”
“What are you going to do?” Jonathan asked him, his face lined with concern.
“I don’t know. It’s disturbing... and it seems highly coincidental that the bank wasn’t really being robbed but, yet, there was Kryptonite there. Why?” He sighed thoughtfully. “I’m trying to limit my appearances as Superman, anyway, due to the charges being leveled against him... me... I’m just going to have to be extra careful.”
“Maybe you should stay here for a while,” Martha suggested.
Clark shook his head. “I can’t do that. As worried as I was about that Kryptonite, I’m more worried about Lois, right now.” He sighed softly. “I don’t believe that she’d actually accept his proposal, but the fact that she’s even thinking about it...”
“You have to prevent it, Clark,” Martha told him earnestly. “Knowing what you know about Luthor.”
“Maybe it’s time to do more than that,” Clark said, his face betraying his apprehension.
After a few seconds of silence, his dad asked, “What is it, son?”
“Remember when you asked me what I wanted, when I first moved to Metropolis?”
“Yeah,” Jonathan answered with a nod.
“I said I wanted a normal life,” Clark continued. “To meet someone, raise a family, settle down...” He paused for a moment and then gave them a shy smile. “I know now that Lois is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Martha grinned and did her best to suppress a giggle. “You just figured that out? Your dad and I have known that from the first time you spoke about her.”
Clark grinned awkwardly. “Maybe I did too, but I couldn’t let myself...”
“Do you love her?” Jonathan interrupted.
“Yeah.”
“Then tell her,” his dad urged him.
Clark frowned. “Tell her what? That I’m Superman?”
It was Jonathan’s turn to frown. “That’s got to be up to you...”
“But at least tell her how you feel,” Martha said, jumping in. “If she feels the same, well...” She let out a soft chuckle. “It shouldn’t take her too long to figure out that you’re no ordinary man.”
Jonathan joined her in a small laugh and Clark’s cheeks grew red. “Mom!” he complained.
But she and his dad were right. He had to at least tell her how he felt. Maybe even work up the courage to tell her *everything*, but he’d take one step at a time.
**********
Lois was surprised that the activity of the morning had allowed her to forget that she was expecting a phone call. When her phone rang, she answered it with all the enthusiasm of a sloth on a hot day. But when she heard Bobby Bigmouth’s voice on the other end, she immediately sat up straight and fumbled for her pad and pencil.
“What have you got for me, Bobby?” she asked anxiously, immediately forgetting her other troubles for the moment.
“No, not on the phone, Lois. Meet me at your uncle’s diner.” And then, before she had a chance to say anything further, he hung up.
Lois frowned as she hung up her receiver and then stood up and grabbed her purse. She hurried up the ramp to the elevators and pushed the down button impatiently – more than once.
When the door to the elevator opened, she was surprised to see Clark inside. “Where have you been?” she asked, her voice a little more acerbic than she meant for it to sound. But really. He had been gone all afternoon – off gallivanting on one of his mysterious – no, make that ‘ridiculous’ – errands, no doubt.
“I had to go somewhere to think.”
“Uh-huh,” she muttered. “Well, I’ve gotta go somewhere to *work*,” she said, pushing past him to board the elevator.
“We need to talk,” Clark said softly.
“It will have to wait, I’m meeting with...”
“No, Lois. Now.”
The firmness in his voice caught her off guard. “Sure,” she stammered. “Um, where do you want to go?”
“How about the park? Is that on the way to your appointment?”
His voice was soft and imploring once more and Lois nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
**********
Lois had been mostly silent on the short walk to the park. And now that they were here, Clark wasn’t exactly sure how to begin. It wasn’t something he could just blurt out, but he could tell she was getting impatient.
They had been walking quietly through the park for a few minutes when she finally asked, “What is it, Clark?”
They were approaching a bench and Clark took her hands and led her over to it. He sat down and she followed. Taking in a slow, even breath, he began, “Lois, when I thought about the possibility that you might actually be considering Luthor’s proposal... I realized something.”
She gave him a curious look but didn’t interrupt.
“I realized that I could lose a lot of things and still be happy. If things got so tight at the Planet that I lost my job, I would be okay. If I didn’t have the money to keep my apartment and I had to look for another place to stay, I would make it work. I could lose almost everything and still manage to press on. The one thing that I absolutely didn’t want to live without... is you.”
“Me?” she replied in confusion. “You aren’t going to lose me, Clark. Even if I accept Lex’s proposal, we would still work together, still be friends...”
“No, Lois, listen to me. That’s not what I mean. I’m not talking about partners, or even friends. I’m talking about something... more. I’m talking about... us.” He let out a shaky breath and steeled himself to go on. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time.”
The shock in Lois’s face made him pause for a moment, but then he continued, “You had to have known.”
She was shaking her head. “I... No, I didn’t know. I mean... I wasn’t sure. I... well, I thought sometimes, maybe, you were attracted to me...” She smiled sadly. “But... Clark, I’m sorry. I just don’t think about you in that way... I mean, romantically.”
She stopped for a moment and thought about what she was saying. She didn’t, did she? Then again, she didn’t think about Lex that way, really, either. Did she think about anyone that way?
She knew the answer to that question before her mind had barely had time to think it. Yes. Yes, she did. She thought about Superman that way. And she suddenly knew what she had to find out.
Clark’s face had fallen. He got up from the bench, running a hand through his hair, trying unsuccessfully to hide the disappointment flooding his face.
It pained her to think she had hurt him. “Clark, you’re my best friend, the only partner I could ever stand to work with. I admire you, respect you, and I do love you...”
She couldn’t bring herself to say ‘as a friend.’ It was just too cliché and even she had to admit that somehow it ran deeper than friendship alone. Maybe there was a slight attraction there – even she couldn’t deny what she had felt the time she’d seen him dressed in only a towel, his skin and hair still shimmering with water from his shower.
It was just that it wasn’t the kind of attraction she felt for Superman. The strong feelings she had for him were definitely romantic. He was the man she dreamed about, fantasized about.
And she had to know how he felt about her. Before she could go any further... with anyone. She couldn’t give up that fantasy until she knew. And really, how could anyone expect her to?
What woman could?
Clark was quiet as she pondered her thoughts, but then he asked her a question that caught her off guard. “What about Luthor? Do you love him?”
What did she say? How did she answer? “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I do have feelings for him.” That was at least true. He did excite and intrigue her. He was mysterious and he lavished attention upon her – what woman wouldn’t be attracted to that? But again, she didn’t feel for him what she felt for Superman. “I haven’t given him an answer, yet. And I won’t until I’ve talked it over with someone else.” She immediately wished she hadn’t phrased it quite like that.
And then he asked the question that she knew would be coming. “Who?”
She smiled guiltily. “I think you know who.” Only, how was she going to find him? He had been keeping a low profile the past few days because of the trouble his clone was causing for him.
But Clark seemed to be able to get in contact with him when he needed to. Maybe he could help. And with those thoughts, she found herself asking, “If you see him, will you tell him that I’m looking for him?”
It was only after the words were out of her mouth and the sharp pang of rejection could so clearly be seen on Clark’s face, that she realized how insensitive the question had been. Part of her wished at that moment that she could take it back. But she couldn’t. It had been said. And then Clark was nodding at her.
She nervously glanced down at her watch and then suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be meeting with Bobby.
“Oh my god, Clark. I’m sorry. I’ve gotta go,” she said, standing up. “I told Bobby that I’d meet him at Uncle Mike’s diner.” She started to walk off but then stopped. “You can come with me, if you want.”
Clark shook his head. “That’s okay,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I think I could use some more fresh air.”
Lois nodded sadly at him and then headed off to find a taxi, hoping that Bobby hadn’t gotten tired of waiting for her and had left.
**********
Clark watched Lois go, an inconsolable grief tugging at him. She loved him – she just didn’t love *him*.
A spark of jealousy and anger welled up inside him. How could she have been so insensitive as to ask him to run and fetch Superman for her? After he had just poured his heart out to her, laid his feelings on the line?
What had she done? She had trampled them, no matter how lightly, and had then had the audacity to ask him to send his competition over for a chat.
He knew he was being silly. He *was* Superman. But she didn’t know that. She had callously thrust him aside and then used him to get what she wanted...
Superman.
Fine, Clark thought to himself. It’s Superman she wants? Then it’s Superman she’s gonna get. He refused to lose her to Luthor and he was absolutely sick of being ignored by her as Clark.
She would listen to Superman. He would tell her what she needed to hear, and then he would leave.
It was over.
**********
To be continued...
