Chapter Thirty-one
>>>Thursday, 8:21 AM
Jimmy clapped Clark on the shoulder and said, “I’ve already told you several times, CK, but it’s great to have you and Lois back in the newsroom.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. It’s good to be back.”
Jimmy’s demeanor changed subtly as he handed a plain manila envelope to Clark. “This was delivered about ten minutes ago. The messenger gave it to me with strict instructions to give it to either you or Lois and not even tell anyone else I had it.”
Clark frowned in thought as he flipped the envelope over, looking in vain for a postmark or return address. “Do you know who it’s from?”
“The messenger said it was from a Mr. Winfield.”
Clark lifted his eyebrows in comprehension. “Ah. From Mr. Winfield.”
“Yep. Hope it helps.”
“Me too, Jimmy, me too.”
Time for them to see what Luthor was willing to tell them. -* I have something interesting you might want to read. *-
Lois lifted her head from her e-mail reading and sent, -* What’s up? *-
-* I think your boyfriend sent us some information. Wanna come over and check it out? *-
-* Be right there. *-
She pulled up a chair beside his desk before he’d opened the envelope. He pulled out a thin stack of paper and rifled through it.
“You want the top half?”
Lois nodded. “Sure.”
Clark divided the pile between them and began scanning the papers he held. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lois trying not to read too fast. It amused him slightly, and he knew that she felt his amusement, but she didn’t react to it.
As he was scanning the last page in his stack, he felt a mental jar from Lois. He cut his eyes quickly towards her, but her head was still down and he could feel her anxiety building.
-* What’s going on, Lois? What did you find? *-
-* Something bad. According to one of these documents, we have a spy for ‘The Boss’ working here at the Daily Planet. *-
He pretended to find something interesting in the page he was holding. -* That’s not good. Does it say who the spy is? *-
-* No. But it’s apparently someone in touch with what’s happening on the news floor. *-
-* That’s both interesting and disturbing. *-
-* I agree. *-
He schooled his expression to hide his own frown. -* Do you have anything that indicates whether or not the police department has been compromised? *-
-* Yeah. There’s a list of five possibles in the MPD, one of whom is on Bill Henderson’s staff. *-
Clark snapped the top page with his index finger. -* But not Bill’s name? *-
-* No. He looks clean, from what this says. *-
-* What about the FBI? *-
-* Nothing here, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. Although the FBI is usually better at this kind of security than the local cops are. *-
-* Usually, but not always. We can’t assume anything from now on. We can’t take anyone at face value if we want to get any kind of handle on this case. *-
-* What about Perry? Surely he’s not on the take! *-
-* No. You’re right, Lois, Perry has to be clean. We’d know it if he wasn’t. *-
-* I sure hope so. *-
-* We need to take this to Perry. And we need to talk to him about your new abilities and what you plan to do with them. *-
-* You think we need to do all that right now? *-
-* The info about the informers, yes. The other part is your call all the way. *-
-* Um. I think I’d like to wait a bit. *-
-* Suit yourself. Or, you could let my mother suit you. *-
She blew out a breath that fluttered her lips but didn’t look at him. -* Because she’s making a costume for me, right. You know, Clark, puns that are sent via telepathy aren’t any funnier than spoken ones, especially if they aren’t original. Your mother already used that one. *-
-* You’re just jealous of my rapier-sharp wit. *-
-* Is that what they’re calling it these days? *-
Instead of continuing their friendly mental banter, Clark stood and shook his head in apparent disgust. “This is an absolute waste of time,” he complained loudly. “If Perry wants me to go over pointless stuff like this, he’s going to have to tell me in person.”
Lois obviously took the hint. She stood and put her hands on her hips. “If the Chief wants us to rehash this stuff, Clark, we’re going to rehash it! There’s a story in here, I just know it!’
He leaned over and glared at her. “You wouldn’t know a story if it bit you on the butt.”
Her eyes flashed and her words snapped out. “Watch it, farm boy! I have seniority!”
Clark’s voice crackled through the room. “Older, maybe, but certainly not any wiser!”
Lois matched him decibel for decibel. “I wouldn’t have to be a very smart moron to be three times as smart as you!”
“Hey!” shouted Perry. “You two get in here right now!”
They glared at each other for a long moment, then almost in unison they turned and marched towards the editor’s office. Clark shouldered Lois aside at the last minute and threw his stack of paper down on the editor’s desk.
Lois slammed the door behind her and closed the Venetian blinds so no one would see them. Then she yelled, “Premzer din clobben von elspence!”
Clark whispered urgently, “Perry, yell at us to shut up!” He turned to Lois and cried out, “How dare you speak to me like that! You have no right – “
Perry shouted, “Both of you stop it right now! No more shouting! If you can’t behave yourselves you’ll both be on unpaid suspension for two days!” He looked from one to the other and back again. “That’s better.” He lowered his voice. “Now, what the heck was that all about?”
Lois leaned forward and almost whispered, “We have a mole in the newsroom.”
Perry’s only reaction was to lift his eyebrows. “How solid is this?”
Clark answered, “It comes from Lex Luthor, so I’d take it with a grain of salt.”
Lois frowned. “I trust him and I trust this information.”
Perry lifted a finger. “Where did you get it?”
“Lois found it in the stuff Luthor sent over this morning.”
“He say who the mole is?”
Lois and Clark both shook their heads ‘no.’
Perry nodded. “Other than that, anything new in that folder?”
“No,” answered Clark. “And I’m not sure how much I trust the piece about the mole.”
“What? Why not?”
“Think about it, Lois. If we start digging around in our own newsroom for a spy who doesn’t exist, we’ll be distracted and it’ll give ‘the boss’ that much more freedom to operate behind our backs. It would handcuff our investigation if we start looking over our shoulders for a mole who isn’t there. I don’t trust this info.”
Lois glared at Clark. “What do you mean, you don’t trust it? If Lex says it, I believe it.” She held her ground and took a deep breath. “You should, too.”
Clark frowned at her. “Sorry, I don’t trust Lex Luthor. He doesn’t think as highly of me as he does of you.”
“He respects you.”
“That’s because I haven’t kissed him yet.”
Lois took a step towards him, but Perry grabbed her arm to stop her. “Wait up! Now hold it! Look, you two – for cryin’ out loud, Lois, you been liftin’ weights in your spare time?”
They turned to look at the editor with wide eyes. “Good. Now that both of you are listening to me – which is what you should have been doing in the first place – lemme tell you that this thing about a spy in the newsroom sounds right. It’s bad, of course, but it fits the circumstances. There was no way for anyone who didn’t work here to know that you two would be over at that lab on Monday morning.”
“Platt cleared it with security – “
“And told them that he was conducting a tour. We have the computer logs for that request. He never mentioned either of your names, or the fact that you were reporters. For all any hacker knew, you could have been a busload of fifth-graders on a field trip.”
Lois said, “And you have to remember that Antoinette Baines shouldn’t have been there, either. She showed up just to try to kill us. You heard her, Clark, didn’t you?”
Clark didn’t look quite convinced, but he didn’t argue any more.
Then Lois straightened up and stepped back. “Anyway, Perry, we need to let you in on something else that happened on Monday.”
Perry nodded and sat down. “What might that be?”
Lois took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then said, “I have Superman’s powers now.”
Perry’s eyes widened slightly and he tipped his head back. “Sorry, Lois, I don’t think I heard you right. Say that again, just to humor your ol’ hard-of-hearing boss.”
“I said, I’ve got Superman’s powers now.”
Perry’s mouth crept open. He looked at Clark and muttered, “She – is she – “
Clark nodded. “It’s true. She’s got my powers.”
Perry’s eyes fluttered and he put his hands over his face. “Oh, great. Now Lois is the one with the powers? Son, what are you – “
“Perry, no! I meant, I have his powers, just like he does. He’s still Superman.”
“Oh.” They waited while he processed this new information. “You mean, you’re both super now?” They nodded in unison. “How in the name of Buddy Holly did that happen?”
They shrugged in unison. “We don’t know,” sighed Lois. “One minute I was normal as fresh apple pie, and the next minute I was tougher than last week’s cafeteria special.”
“Ah. So, you haven’t been lifting weights, then?”
Clark smiled. Lois giggled. “No, I haven’t.”
Perry nodded. “Have you decided what to do with them?”
Lois looked at Clark, but he shook his head and said, “Uh-uh. This is your call.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m going to try the costumed heroine thing.”
“I see.” Perry steepled his fingers and raised one eyebrow in his best Vulcan imitation. “And what will your name be?”
She made a face. “My official heroic designation is still up in the air.”
“’Still Up In The Air,’ huh? That’s got a nice ring to it, but it’s kind of an awkward name, don’t you think?”
“Come on, Perry!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll quit. But you two keep me up to date on this, okay?”
“Right, Chief.”
“We will, Perry,” echoed Lois.
“Anything else?” They shook their heads. “Then get back out there and get to work. And make sure you look properly chastened and cowed when you leave my office.”
Lois grinned wickedly. “Oh, right, can’t forget that.”
“You’d better not.” Perry leaned back and assumed a smug posture. “Anyone who comes in here after a display like you two put on had better expect to have his or her head handed back to him or her on a paper plate. And I can’t let anyone slide, even if you were just doing that to keep the mole from getting suspicious.” He leaned forward and barked, “Now get out of here, both of you!” Lois opened the office door. “And behave yourselves from now on, hear me?”
They both nodded and scurried out of the office as if escaping a threatened spanking.
*****
From the far side of the newsroom, in the copy machine area, Jimmy watched the little play Lois and Clark put on to get into the chief’s office. He didn’t know for certain that they were playacting, of course, but because of what he already knew and what he assumed, he deduced that they were doing it to fool a spy in the newsroom.
The thought of anyone low enough, sleazy enough, and nasty enough to rat on his friends filled him with rage. He decided that he’d resume the martial arts training he’d abandoned at age sixteen, and this time he’d stick with it. He might never need that third degree black belt in Aikido, but it wouldn’t hurt him to be able to take care of himself – or his friends – in a pinch.
He watched them exit the editor’s office and head back to their desks. Someone who didn’t know them like he did wouldn’t have picked up on the quick little wink-wink they shared, or the smile that Lois covered with her hand as she sat down. He glanced around the room and saw that nearly everyone else was trying very hard to pretend that the paper’s young star reporters hadn’t just been royally chewed out by the boss.
Everyone, that is, except Cat Grant. She stared at Clark and Lois as they settled back into their seats, and then she dropped her face into her hands. She sat that way for almost a minute, then she sat up in her chair and attacked her keyboard as if trying to beat her computer to death.
Maybe she was concerned for her friends, or maybe just for Lois. Maybe she was looking to become the office gossip in word and not just in print. Maybe she was just naturally drawn to situations like that.
But somehow Jimmy didn’t think so, especially since Perry had asked him to watch her.
He watched her for the next half-hour, until it was beyond clear that he had no more copying to do. She hadn’t moved from her desk in all that time, and in fact was still typing away furiously at her workstation. She hadn’t look away from the monitor, except to glance at her notes.
Maybe she wasn’t the mole. Maybe she looked so pale and drawn because she was sick or was coming down with something. Maybe she was still recovering from her concussion.
But Jimmy didn’t think so.
>>>Saturday, 8:25 AM
Lois landed in the Kent’s cornfield where Clark had brought her on the day they’d first come to visit Bob. She checked in all directions and saw no one who could spot her, so she walked across the open area towards the kitchen. Martha saw her coming and pushed open the screen door for her.
“Have you had breakfast yet?”
Lois grinned. “Twice already. I’m okay for now.”
“Good. I hope you don’t mind if Jonathan is here.”
Lois’s face fell. “I think the question should be whether or not he minds that I’m here.”
Martha nodded. “Then let’s take care of that right now. Come with me.”
Martha grabbed Lois’s elbow and began marching towards the interior of the house. Lois was yanked off-balance and floated for a moment to keep from falling until she regained her equilibrium. By the time she was once again steady on her feet, she was standing in front of Jonathan Kent, who was sitting at the living room desk doing the farm’s bookkeeping.
He turned to face them. His expression smoothed and he appeared only barely interested, an appearance which Lois knew was misleading. “Martha, why did you – “
“You two are going to talk. You’re both going to listen. I’ve had enough of my husband being rude to a young woman whose only crime is being zealous in her pursuit of the truth.” She pulled out a folding chair and thumped it down beside the desk. “Sit here, Lois. You tell Jonathan what you think and what you feel. Then he’ll tell you what he thinks and what he feels. And they you’ll both shake hands and either be friends or come out fighting.” Her voice trailed off as she headed towards her sewing room. “I’ll be here to call the paramedics if it comes to that.”
Lois sat gingerly in the folding chair and played with her fingers. She glanced at Jonathan but didn’t look directly at him. Finally she heard him sigh heavily.
“Lois, I’m sorry. I’m very sorry. I said some things the other night that I deeply regret and wish I’d never even thought of. My only lousy reason is that I loved Lana like a daughter and I still miss her terribly, but that doesn’t excuse how mean I was to you. I apologize for what I said and I hope you can forgive me.”
Lois nodded slowly. “I do forgive you, Jonathan. And I’m sorry you feel the way you do. Believe me, I’d give almost anything to change places with Lana.”
“Really? You’d be willing to give up your life so that Lana could be alive?”
“Yes. I think she was worth about eight or ten of me, at least.”
He gently placed his large, calloused hand over her small hands. “You shouldn’t feel that way. You should be thankful for the second chance you have at life.” He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “And you should be grateful for the opportunity you have to do something for the world that only one other person can do.”
She smiled shyly. “Thank you. I just hope I can live up to Clark’s example.”
“Why should you?”
The question startled her. “What? What do you mean?”
“Why should you have to live up to what Clark has done? Why not create your own legacy? You can start from scratch, just like he did.”
“Oh.” She sat upright. “I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
“You should. Whatever you call yourself, you shouldn’t expect to exist in Superman’s shadow for the rest of your life. You should learn from his example, listen to his advice, and follow his lead, especially when you’re just starting out, but you shouldn’t define yourself by his image.”
She nodded slowly. “I think I understand what you’re saying. Superman may be my mentor and my guide, but he isn’t my absolute ruler.”
He nodded and sat back. “That’s pretty much it.”
“Okay. Okay, I get it! Thank you, Jonathan!”
She leaped up and almost hit her head on the ceiling before landing softly with her feet on the carpet. “Oops! Sorry about that. I’m still getting used to some of the things I can do.”
He smiled. “No problem. Now you go try on Martha’s creation. And be kind to her, okay?”
“You’re kidding, right? I’m sure she’ll have the perfect outfit for me.”
He laughed. “Sure, she will. She put together four different costumes for Clark before he found one he could barely tolerate, and Lana still had to talk him into wearing it.” He shook his head. “That was some evening. My favorite one was the leopard-print Tarzan-like outfit.”
Lois laughed softly. “That must have been an interesting session.”
“It was that. It was also the night we named him.”
Lois’s eyebrows rose together. “Lana named Superman?”
“Well, it was all three of us, sitting around the table and tossing out ideas, but she pretty much drove that train.”
“Oh.” Lois’s lips pursed in thought. “Maybe I should get your input on my name, too. I haven’t figured out what to call myself yet.”
“That’s fine with me. Do you want Clark to be in on that, too?”
She frowned for a moment, then said, “He’ll be here in about forty minutes. He’s almost finished working a train derailment in the industrial area of Metropolis. LNN wants to interview him about it, too.”
Jonathan shook his head. “I keep forgetting about that ‘link’ thing between the two of you. Must come in mighty handy at times.”
“It does. It can also be an inconvenience.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I can think of times when I wouldn’t have wanted to know exactly what Martha was thinking. Or wanted her to know what I was thinking.”
Martha chose that moment to lean through the doorway. “I heard that, smart-aleck. Lois, I’m ready for you to try on your suit.”
*****
Clark walked into the kitchen and called out, “Hello? I’m here.”
His father’s voice floated in from the living room. “We’re in here, son. Come take a look at this.”
Look at what? thought Clark, as he followed the sound of the voice.
Then his eyes beheld a bird whose plumage had never seen the light of day.
He stopped and stared. His mouth slid open and he forgot to breathe for a moment.
Lois was wearing a super-heroine costume that beat all hollow the ones his mother had made for him and which that he’d rejected that day so many years ago.
A fragment of an old novelty song popped into his brain: ‘She wore an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini – ‘
But this was no bikini. And it wasn’t itsy-bitsy. It was – it was like nothing he’d ever imagined.
It was a skin-tight body suit like his, but pink and purple. With purple gloves that came almost to her elbows. And a greenish-blue cape. And there was a yellow stripe which wound its way down the outside of her left leg, crossed over her knee, and ended somewhere near the inside of her ankle.
At least she wasn’t wearing her underwear on the outside of her suit.
And she wore a mask. It was pink. It covered her face around her eyes. It was diamond-shaped around each eye, and two of the corners merged across her nose. Her hair was slicked back and held in place with what looked like a double handful of mousse.
And her boots were – high-heeled? Shades of Nancy Sinatra!
Lois’s hand suddenly appeared, waving back and forth in front of his face. “Clark? Hey, Clark! Wake up! What do you think of your mother’s handiwork?”
“Um – that’s – it’s – uh – very tight.”
She ignored Jonathan’s muted snort. “Of course it is. Cuts down on wind resistance, but you already knew that. Tell me what you think about it.”
He inhaled and tried not to say something completely stupid. He wracked his brain for two long seconds, but all he could come up with was, “Well, they won’t be looking at your face!”
Jonathan burst out laughing. Martha almost smothered a giggle.
Lois looked ready to clobber him.
Instead, she ground her teeth together, appeared to count to ten, and with forced calm said, “Is there anything else you’d like to contribute to the discussion?”
He exhaled deeply. “I’ve never been so happy with electric blue spandex in my life.”
This time Martha completely lost it. She fell against Jonathan’s chair and slid into his lap, which was bouncing up and down like Santa Claus’s belly. Lois pulled her mask off and held it in her hand. “You know, I was hoping you’d be a little more supportive here.”
“Yeah.” He blinked twice and looked just below her chin. “Supportive.”
Lois followed his gaze and frowned, then she exhaled sharply through her nose and poked him in the chest. “Okay, Big Blue, that’s enough modeling for me today. It’s time for my mid-morning pick-me-up. We’re going to Smallville’s best burger joint and we’re going to order a dozen burgers – all of which you’re going to pay for – and I’m going to eat at least half of them by the time we get back here.” She turned to Martha, who was fanning herself and trying to stem the tide of hilarity. “You can make any final adjustments when we get back. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go change into my disguised-Lois clothes.”
Lois strode decisively into the bedroom and closed the door firmly. Clark turned to his mother and managed, “Is that – she wants to wear that one?”
Martha struggled to control her smile. “It’s – it’s not that she wants to wear it, but that’s the least yucky costume I could come up with on short notice.”
“Oh.” He shook his head. “Why not just use mine as a pattern?”
Martha finally calmed down. “We talked about that, but she said she didn’t want her costume to resemble yours too much. She said she wanted to establish an identity of her own, separate from Superman. That way it would be more difficult for people to connect your other identities.”
He nodded and opened his mouth to respond, but Lois’s appearance arrested his speech apparatus once again.
This time she was wearing a long, straight red wig, a black business suit, black flats, and huge dark glasses. Clark rolled his eyes and said, “Let me guess. Now you’re a European super-model traveling incognito, right?”
She pulled the sunglasses down and peeked over the rims. “Zat ees close enough, monsieur. Come, you must feed me great amounts of sustenance, lest I fade away and disappear completely due to my great hunger.”
Clark nodded, thinking that it was a good thing Lois could write. She’d never make it as an actress. “Dad, can we borrow the truck again?”
Jonathan pointed to the kitchen. “Keys are hanging beside the back door. Try not to run out of gas.”
Lois paused and posed disdainfully. “Zee beautiful and ridiculously famous but talent-poor European super-model does not run out of zee gas, monsieur. My chauffer will lift and carry me with great servility and care should such zee unthinkable thing as you suggest take place.”
With that, she flounced out to the truck without waiting for Clark. He smiled to his parents and said, “I guess Her Majesty and I will see you later.”
The horn honked twice. “Come on, Clark! While we’re still young, okay?”
*****
Clark watched in amazement as Lois finished off her third burger, fourth helping of French fries, and her second chocolate milkshake. As she leaned back and sighed deeply, he asked, “Are you sure your stomach doesn’t hurt?”
“Not a bit. I’m just slowing down so I can savor the rest of it.”
He shook his head as he turned off the main highway towards the Kent farm. “If you say so. I’m glad I get my energy the old-fashioned way, through good old sunlight.”
To his surprise, she didn’t snap back at him. “Lois? Is something wrong?”
He glanced her way and saw large eyes and a quivering lip occupying her face. “Am I doing the right thing, Clark?”
“The right thing in what?”
“The powers thing! Will it be a good thing for me to be a costumed heroine, or am I just going to make trouble for you?”
He flexed his hands on the steering wheel before answering. “I can’t predict the future, Lois, but overall I think it’ll be a good thing. There’ll be one more invulnerable mugging-stopper and burglar-catcher working the streets of Metropolis. I don’t see how that could be anything but good. And since we already know each other and we can communicate mentally, we shouldn’t get in each other’s way. I know I’m not going to be competing with you, or you with me.”
She looked out the window and sighed. “I’ve been having second thoughts lately. On a lot of subjects, not just the powers thing. I wonder if I handled Claude too roughly, or maybe not roughly enough, or if I’ve missed something on the gun-runner investigation because I’m so close to it, or if I’m moving too fast with Lex – this isn’t me, Clark! I don’t do the introspective thing very well. And I don’t understand why I’m doing it now.”
He pursed his lips. “I think it may be a side effect of the link. Remember, Bob told us that we’d tend to share aspects of our personalities with each other whether we wanted to or not. I know I’ve had a shorter fuse on my temper lately, and the other night when I nearly slapped you was – I don’t have a term to describe how badly I feel about that.” She didn’t respond. “And I know I’m way late with this, but I want to apologize for that. No matter how much we disagree, I have no right to try to physically force you to do what I want you to do. I was wrong. I’m sorry. And I give you my word that I’ll never do it again.”
She sighed. “I forgive you, Clark, and I hope you accept my apology for being so short with you, too. But you were right about keeping us hidden, even from Lex and Rebecca.” She crossed her arms and frowned. “And I promised myself I’d never tell you that, either. See what a corrupting influence you are on me?”
He chuckled. “As long as you’re aware of it, you should be able to compensate for it.”
“But I’m not sure I want to. My limited understanding of the matter is that being honest with people is a good thing. Besides, you’re the one with the strong moral compass. It’s only right that you share it with me.”
“Maybe so, but you’ve got more drive and determination to succeed than I have. And I think that may be rubbing off on me, too.”
She grinned ruefully. “Before long, I’ll be the one holding you back, and you’ll be the one jumping in without checking the water level.”
“At least neither of us can drown.”
They shared a brief laugh, then Lois started on another burger. “Hey, Clark, you want one of these? I’ll heat it up for you.”
“No thanks. I can wait for lunch.”
She chewed an enormous bite and swallowed noisily. “Okay. I hope Bob was right about the aura and the solar energy thing, though.” She took another huge bite. “Thish ish – “ she gulped and washed some of it down with one of her soft drinks “ – this is time-consuming.”
“And money-consuming, too. That mid-morning snack of yours cost me nearly thirty dollars.”
She all but inhaled another handful of fries. “I’ll pay you back, don’t worry.”
“Right. I’ll add it to all the other meals I’ve paid for in the last few days.”
He expected her to continue their banter, but she fooled him. She swallowed and looked directly at him. “You know the main thing that keeps me sane in all this?”
“What?”
“The thought that I can use these powers to finally bring those gun-runners to justice.” She touched his elbow gently. “And I can make up a little for Lana not being here.”
Clark frowned. “You don’t have to replace her, Lois. And it wasn’t your fault she died.”
She rubbed the scar on the back of her right hand with her left thumb. “It wasn’t yours, either, but you’d love to get them, wouldn’t you?”
He gripped the wheel tighter and stared straight down the road. He waited for two long breaths before answering.
“Yes. I want to get them.” He shifted in the seat before continuing, “But only because I don’t want anyone else to be hurt. I don’t want to take revenge on anyone.”
She resumed her feast and didn’t reply.
As he pulled the truck to a stop in his parents’ driveway, he put his hand on hers and softly said, “You shouldn’t want revenge either, Lois. It won’t make everything all right again.”
She looked at him closely for a moment, then opened the door and strode into the kitchen.
*****
Martha gave Lois’s costume one last tug and then stood. “That’s it. That’s as good as I can make it right there.”
Lois looked in the full-length mirror and turned about, watching the play of the fabric on her body. “You know, Martha, if there are any other super-heroes out there who need costumes, I could give them your number and a personal recommendation.”
Martha stretched backwards with her hands behind her hips and groaned. “You’d better not! I don’t think I could fit anyone else besides you and Clark. My old back just wouldn’t take it.”
“Well, I don’t think anyone else could have done half as good a job as you have. This is really great! It fits snugly without binding, it doesn’t give me a wedgie, and it brings out all the good things about my figure without revealing the bad things.”
“Dear, I doubt any man would think there was anything bad about your figure.”
Lois laughed. “Maybe not, judging from Clark’s reaction.” She turned again. “I think I like the cape. It hides my rear end when I’m standing still. But do you really think the mask is necessary? I’m not sure how well it will stay on in flight.”
Martha shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong with your rear end, Lois. And if you don’t wear a mask with the outfit, the first time anyone publishes a clear picture of you, someone will say, ‘Wow, she looks just like Lois Lane! Wait, it really is Lois Lane!’ Bingo, no more secret identity. You don’t have Clark’s advantage of already wearing glasses.” She helped Lois settle the mask in place. “If it’s tight enough, it won’t come off. Besides, Clark’s hair doesn’t get very mussed even when he flies at high speed. I think it has something to do with his aura. So I sincerely doubt you’ll lose your mask in flight.”
Lois nodded. “Okay, I’ll wear it. But I’d sure like to have a spare, just in case.”
“No problem. I’ll have one for you by this evening. Oh, you are still letting Bob take daily readings, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “Yes. But unless he finds some kind of weird stuff going on, this one tonight will be the last daily one. After that, we’ll drop back to weekly for a while.”
“That’s good. Say, it’s almost lunchtime. Are you hungry?”
Lois laughed and rubbed her stomach. “Yes, but not as much as I have been. Either those burgers were really filling or my body is starting to adjust to my new metabolism. But I don’t want you to feed just me. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Martha patted her shoulder. “Nonsense. We’ll all eat. Besides, I like feeding someone who enjoys eating as much as you do, especially since you don’t gain weight from it.” She sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for just that one super-power.”
“But you’re so slender, Martha! Why would you want that for yourself?”
Martha lowered her voice. “Not for me, dear, for Jonathan.”
*****
Clark and Jonathan lifted their heads together as Lois and Martha laughed their way to the living room. Jonathan stood and smiled. “Lois, that outfit looks a lot better on you than it did on me.”
Lois grinned back. “I sure hope so. Wait! You did wash this before I put it on, didn’t you, Martha?”
All four of them shared a chuckle, then Jonathan lifted an open notebook. “I’ve made a few notes about the names we threw out for Clark before we settled on Superman. Would you like to go over some of them?” Before Lois answered, he lifted his hand and added, “Of course, you won’t hurt my feelings if you want to come up with something entirely different.”
Lois shrugged. “The only names I’ve been able to think of so far are Supergirl and Superwoman, and I really don’t like either one of them.”
Clark lifted an eyebrow. “Any particular reason?”
“Yes, actually. While I intend to publicly acknowledge Superman as a mentor and a friend, I’d prefer not to be thought of as Superman’s super-girlfriend. I want to leverage off your positive image, but I don’t want to link myself too closely to you. I don’t you to catch bad publicity for any mistakes I make.”
“You sound like a business executive with that leverage talk.”
She shrugged again. “Comes from dating an extremely successful businessman.”
Clark frowned in thought for a moment, then nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. Okay, Dad, what names do we have?”
By unspoken consent, they all sat. Clark and Lois ended up on opposite sides of the room. Jonathan adjusted his glasses and began reading from the notebook. “Let’s see, we kicked around names like Flyboy, Power Man, Super-Strong Man, Resplendent Man – “
“Resplendent Man?” Lois made a face. “Eww. I’m glad you turned that one down.”
Clark smiled. “It’s still open for you if you want it.”
“No thanks. What else is on your list, Jonathan?”
“Hmm. There was Speedy, Quickman, Ultra Man – “
“Hold it. You said something about Power Man?” She stood and posed with fists against her hips. “What about – Power Woman?”
Martha lifted one eyebrow. “Well, dear, to tell the truth – “
Lois waved her off and sat down again. “Never mind. On second thought, it sounds like a brand of deodorant.”
Jonathan nodded. “Do you want me to keep going?”
“Yes, please. Wait!” Lois rose quickly to her feet again. “What was that last one? Ultra Man?” She turned in a circle. “Ultra Woman?” Her face brightened and she struck another heroic pose. “I like the way that sounds. Ultra Woman! Cower, all ye evildoers! Behold Ultra Woman!”
There was contemplative silence for a moment, then Clark said dramatically, “Ultra Woman, the heroine of La Mancha!”
Martha stifled a chortle as Lois turned a sardonic glare on Clark. “La Mancha?” she queried stiffly.
“The ‘cower all ye evildoers’ part did come across as a bit Don Quixote-like.”
Lois’s face relaxed into a smile. “Yeah, I guess it did. Sorry.”
Jonathan offered, “Maybe you could just stand for truth and justice, like Superman does.”
Lois nodded. “Okay. That’ll have to do, I guess.”
“It will have to do?” Clark jumped up in front of her. “You guess? Superman stands for truth! For justice! Those are nothing but good things! Things the world doesn’t have nearly enough of! And you ‘guess’ it’s good enough for you?”
“Clark – “
“Superman stands for something! He’s an ideal! He’s a cultural icon! He’s – “
Martha put her hand on his arm and pulled him back a half step. “Calm down, Clark! This isn’t personal!”
“But she’s just insulted Superman’s very reason for existing! She can’t – “
Lois whispered, “Remember the link, Superman.”
Clark suddenly froze in place. Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry. The green-eyed monster eventually strikes everyone, I suppose.”
She stepped closer and put her hand on his upper arm. “I’m not trying to take anything away from you, Clark. I could never do that. Superman does stand for truth and justice, and I’d be proud to stand beside you on that basis.”
“Thank you. You’re nicer to me than I really deserve on this point.” He nodded and sighed as Lois slowly lowered her hand. “You’re right, Lois, this is your image and not mine. And I shouldn’t be so sensitive about my own image. Besides, I don’t exactly own that phrase.” He smiled slightly. “On top of that, once you appear on the scene, they won’t be looking at me at all.”
Lois’s face relaxed. “I think I’m going to take that as a compliment, Mr. Kent.”
Clark’s smile widened. “It was surely intended as one, Ms. Lane.”
Jonathan and Martha exchanged a ‘look’ which required no mental link for communication. They both feared that the closeness that Clark and Lois shared might not be the best thing for either of them.
Or for the two of them together.
