PREVIOUSLY...
“It doesn’t matter,” she said.
“It does to me,” Kent said, scooting closer. “I was working for the Borneo Gazette covering a story about rival factions at the time. So you see...” he said. “I couldn’t have been here. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t responsible for any of it.”
She studied him for a long moment. Maybe he just needed a little push in the appropriate direction. “Well, not unless you can fly,” she said.
“What?”
“Unless you can...” She made a wavy motion with her hands. “...you know... fly.”**
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Thirty-Four
* * * * * * * * *
**Clark looked shocked before breaking into a grin. “Right. So... you believe me?”
She rose to her feet and began pacing around the room, lost in thought. He obviously hadn’t developed these unusual powers. After all, she’d just given him the perfect opportunity to tell her what was happening to him. Yet, he’d thought she was joking. Still...
“Do you remember that lightning strike the other day?” Lois asked.
“What?” he asked, obviously shocked by the change of subject.
“I’m just wondering... Well, I got a bit of a jolt and... I was wondering if you felt it, too.”
He shook his head.
“Nothing? Because I’ve been having some... unusual headaches since it happened.”
“Unusual how?”
“Just... bad, I guess. Anything... unusual happening to you.”
He shook his head again.
“Oh, okay. I guess it’s just me then,” she said. Surely that had been enough of a hint that if he had developed these powers he would have felt safe in opening up to her.
“You are okay, though. Aren’t you?”
“Yeah, fine. So... what were you saying?”
“I was asking if you believe me - about not being in Metropolis at the time of the incident.”
She had to stop for a moment, directing her mind to the subject he seemed so determined to pursue - and not the one she’d hoped he could answer. “I don’t know, Kent. I just... don’t know.”
“But you said yourself that...”
“I know what I said. But if not you... then who? And why?”
“Lane...”
“Look, it was a mistake coming here.” She rose to her feet. “I’ve got to go.” She couldn’t deal with this now - not while she was still trying to get a grip on what had happened to her. In fact, she could hardly concentrate on what he was saying now that she knew he couldn’t help her with what she needed to know.**
“Clark, this incident... whatever it was... it seems to have happened before you came to Metropolis so...”
“...why don’t we go back and see if we can find any news stories from the time I was working for the Borneo Gazette?” Clark completed for her. After all, in their previous search of the past, they hadn’t looked at the Borneo Gazette - searching instead papers from Metropolis.
Half an hour later, they were both looking at each other in frustration. They had found nothing, not the slightest hint about what might have happened. Well, except...
Lois sat back in her chair. “The story you wrote about rival factions... It was about the same time that we went to the past. I suspect that... whatever happened has something to do with our breaking into Star Labs in 1992. Maybe there was fall out from that, but...”
“...until we know what that fallout was...”
“...we’re not going to be able to fix it.” Lois growled. “There has to be an easier way to do this. I know! What if we just used the time machine to go back into the past and see for ourselves what happened after we left?”
“Lois, if we do that... Think about how easy it was to accidently mess up our past the last time. If we go back there without knowing what exactly we’re trying to fix...”
“...we could make things even worse,” Lois admitted. “I know. I know. Still... Well, thinking about this logically, maybe we... or at least I was charged for breaking and entering, or something.”
“But if that’s the case, and there was some serious fall-out, why didn’t our search of the papers in 1992 turn up anything? Besides, it wouldn’t be the first... or the last time you’ve been caught breaking into some place you weren’t supposed to be. What would make this time so different?”
Lois growled, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
Clark got out of his chair, crouching down before her and taking her hands in his. “We’ll figure this out, honey. I know we will. We’ve just got to be very careful.”
She stared at him for a long moment, searching his eyes for the assurance she needed that everything would, indeed, be all right, before nodding.
Clark released her hands, slowly rising to his feet. “So... we go on - see what else we can learn.” He sat down in his chair again. “Now where were we? You had just told me about coming to find out if I had developed some unusual powers.”
“Right. Anyway, after I left your place, I needed to get away - which I suddenly found much easier to do.”
**She had to get out of Metropolis. She just had to. Without conscious thought, she suddenly found herself floating high above the city, looking down at the sparkling lights.
Still, it wasn’t enough. All it took was a thought for her to find herself hurtling through the night sky, chasing the dawn. Surely in the light of a new day, things would look brighter. In a matter of minutes, she found herself staring down at the Eiffel Tower as the first traces of dawn could be seen in the morning sky.
Suddenly, the dawn wasn’t the only thing she wanted to see. There were the pyramids in Egypt and the great wall of China - sights she’d wanted to see all her life. Her troubles were forgotten as she danced among the northern lights in the Yukon and swam with the dolphins off the coast of Florida.
In fact, when she finally collapsed into bed, she was so exhausted that for the first time in what seemed like forever, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep the instant her head hit the pillow.**
“So... Did I ever find out about any of this?” Clark asked.
Lois shook her head. “Or at least not at the time - as far as I remember. But then, considering what happened next... that’s not surprising.”
**When Lois woke the next morning, everything that had happened the previous couple of days came flooding back. After her initial hesitation and worry that something was seriously wrong with her, the idea of having all these remarkable powers had finally settled in - along with all the possibilities.
But then, she’d spent most of the previous night flying around the Earth. After that, nothing seemed impossible.
Well, no point wasting time getting ready for work. Not when she had the skills at her disposal to be ready in a matter of seconds. She shifted into superspeed... only to discover that she couldn’t.
She stopped. Oh no. She tried floating. No. She tried x-ray vision. Nada. Freezing breath. Nope.**
“And so just as quickly as the powers had come, they were gone. I never said anything to anyone. Afterwards, I wasn’t entirely sure that I hadn’t just dreamed them.”
Clark gave his head a shake. “The imperfect power transfer - like what happened with Jessie when I was hit by lightning while rescuing a plane. It’s just a good thing the powers didn’t give out on you at thirty-thousand feet.”
“Oh, you’d have rescued me,” Lois said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Clark couldn’t help but smile.
“Anyway, I remember that evening...” Lois continued.
**The knock on the door didn’t come as a surprise. Dan had called her at work and they arranged to meet that evening. He said he was ready to talk. And she wanted to talk to him. She really did. She’d decided that she would just lay everything out there on the table and then... he could take it from there. If he still wanted to see her, wanted to see if they could have something in the future, she was all for it. If not... that was his call.**
“This could be our big break,” Clark said, interrupting her.
“How so?”
“Well, if you’re going to tell Dan what happened between us...”
“...we might get enough information to figure out what happened.” With new enthusiasm that she continued with her story.
**Dan was a little early - but then he didn’t exactly follow a clock. It had often had the effect of driving her nuts.
Grabbing her dressing gown, she wrapped it around herself as she rushed for the door. Without checking the peep hole, she threw open the door.
“Kent,” she whispered when she saw the man standing outside.
“Can I come in?”
She stepped closer, looking up and down the hall before pulling him inside and closing the door. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “I’m expecting Dan. And I don’t want him thinking there’s something more going on between us.”
“Isn’t there? Something going on between us, I mean.”
“There can’t be,” Lois said. “You know that.”
“How can you say that? I know you feel... whatever this is between us, too.” To prove his point, shifting the file folder he was carrying, he pulled her into his arms and bent his head as if to kiss her.
“Don’t. Please,” she begged before his lips could touch hers. Her hand came up to his chest in protest, although she wasn’t quite able to push him away. Her eyes remained focused on her hand as she spoke. “I don’t need you to prove that there’s this... thing between us. I feel it too. But this can’t happen so let’s just... let it be.”
He pulled away, not kissing her. “What I know is that I’m being blamed for something I never did.”
Lois closed her eyes. “Kent...”
“Just listen to me. For once, just really listen to me.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair before looking back at her.
Their eyes met and the electricity that always seemed to be there once again jumped between them. She knew nothing he could say would make a relationship possible, but still... She desperately wished it could. “I’m listening,” she said.
“I wasn’t in Metropolis when it happened, Lane. I swear. I was working for the Borneo Gazette at the time.”
“Then how do you explain...”
“I can’t explain it.”
“I saw you, Kent.”
“But everyone saw you, too. You know it wasn’t you so why can’t you believe it wasn’t me?”
“Because I know why me. What better way to interfere with current my investigations? Or even to get revenge for a past investigation. But you? Why you? Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you can explain it.”
Kent let out a breath. “I don’t know why. What I do know is that I wasn’t even in the country.” He held out the file he’d been holding. “This is everything I have proving that I wasn’t in the country. Check it out. Please.”
She stared at the file for a long moment before nodding. “I’ll look at it,” she said softly. “Although, I’m not sure...”
“Just promise me you’ll look at it.”
“I promise,” she whispered.**
“That doesn’t really give us anything new,” Clark said. “Why can’t we talk about what actually happened - and how it almost ruined your life or for that matter, what made your mother start drinking again?”
Lois shook her head. “I don’t know, but...” She shook her head again. “I do know that when Dan came by that evening... Well, things didn’t go quite as planned.”
**“Dan?” Lois said when she opened the door and Dan just continued to lean on the doorframe, not entering her apartment.
“I almost didn’t come,” he said.
She let out a breath. “I understand that, but... I think we need to talk.”
He stood there for a moment more, as if debating, before taking her up on her offer. He walked in, closing the door behind him. Then he stood there, just looking around the apartment as if he’d never seen the place before.
“Why don’t we have a seat?” Lois said, gesturing to the living room.
Dan didn’t sit. “What’s your relationship with Kent?” he asked instead.
“Dan, I told you. There is no relationship. It was one kiss.”
His eyebrows went up and he finally looked directly at her. “One kiss, huh?”
“One kiss,” she confirmed.
“Then what was he doing at your apartment when I first arrived?”
Huh?
“I saw Kent leaving when I arrived,” he said.
“Oh,” she said, wondering why Dan hadn’t come right in if he’d been outside anyway. After all, he was almost half an hour late now. If he had come in when Kent was there, he’d have actually been early. Damn! He’d probably been outside, stewing about what he’d seen. Great! Now, on top of everything else, she had to find a way to diffuse his anger at what he saw as her latest ‘offence.’
“So what was Kent doing here?”
“Nothing. He just wanted to... talk.”
“About?”
She let out a breath. “Look, why don’t you sit down and...” Her voice trailed off when he began shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, Lois. I like you. I really do. And maybe...” He let out a breath. “If it had really just been a kiss, I might be able to get past it. But, Lois, if you think that’s all it was, you’re deluding yourself. God, you looked like you wanted nothing more than to find a way to climb inside his skin.”
She looked down.
He stepped forward, touching her cheek, bringing her eyes back to his. He gave her a sad smile. “What I wouldn’t have given to have you, just once, look at me the way you looked at him.”
A small sob rose in the back of her throat.
“Goodbye, Lois,” Dan said, leaning over and, very gently, touching his lips to hers.
There were tears in her eyes when he turned and walked to the door.
“I’m sorry, Dan,” she said softly.
He turned around to look at her. “So am I.”
“I wish...” She didn’t finish her thought. After all, she wasn’t sure what exactly she did wish.
“I know,” he said.
For a moment, they stood there in silence. Finally, he opened the door.
“Take care, Lois,” he said softly. “Just make sure he treats you right.”
She watched in silence as he walked out, closing the door behind him. “Not gonna happen,” she whispered sadly.**
“I think that the reason I didn’t fight harder to keep Dan was that he was right. You were the reason I couldn’t... you know... with Dan. And I think some part of me knew, even if I didn’t want to believe it, that that was never going to change. So... I let him go.”
They returned to their computer and for a time, silence reigned in the conference room as they shared headlines.
‘Newtrich Sister’s Robbery Scheme Foiled,’ by Lois Lane.
‘Nuclear attack on Fostonia,’ by Clark Kent and Linda King.
‘Supermodel Terrorist Attack,’ by Lois Lane.
“Hey,” Clark said. “I’ve got one similar to that. ‘Lisa Rockford Attempts Murder.’”
“So... how did you get that story? After all, it seems to me that I’m the one she tried to kill. And anyway, how did I survive a rocket launched through my window?”
Clark thought for a moment before telling her what he remembered.
**War had raged between Fostonia and Tanzor since a rebel faction in Tanzor had launched a nuclear strike on the Fostonian capital. Given that Fostonia’s capital had been devastated, Tanzor quickly gained the upper hand. The Fostonian Ambassador had called a press conference since their only hope now was to convince the world to intervene. Otherwise, the nation of Fostonia was likely to be overrun by their historic enemy within the next few weeks.
What made this especially relevant to Metropolis was that the war had started because Tanzor extremists had obtained missile launch codes to begin the war by kidnapping the President of Tanzor when he was in Metropolis on a peace mission. Clark still felt as if there had to have been something he could have done to stop it. Not that he had the foggiest idea what that was.
But to Clark, the importance of the subject, which he acknowledged was very important, paled in comparison to the possibility that Lane might also be at the press conference. He hadn’t seen her since he’d provided her with that file almost a month before. Surely by now she’d had time to search the file and even conduct her own investigation to test the truth of his claims.
He didn’t have to look to know that she’d entered the room. Was it her unique scent? Was it her heartbeat? Or was it just some indefinable connection between them? He didn’t know. What he did know was that everything seemed more alive, more vibrant the moment she was there.
“Excuse me,” Clark whispered to Linda before getting up and slipping between the crowd to get to the other side of the room.
He didn’t look at her directly. Instead, he walked past her, bumping into her slightly as he slipped a note into her hand. She didn’t comment, didn’t turn to look. Instead, her hand simply closed around the note as she took her seat, waiting for the press conference to start.
He tried to concentrate on what the Ambassador was saying. He really did. But he couldn’t help but continually glance over at Lane, wondering if she’d read his note. If only she knew exactly how good his hearing was, she could whisper her response.**
“I remember that note,” Lois said.
**Lois waited until Jimmy was busy fussing with his camera before daring to open her hand. She found that there was a slight ringing in her ears as she discretely unfolded the piece of paper and read the simple message.
‘I need to see you. Tonight?’
Taking a deep breath, she folded the note again and stuck it in her pocket. Tonight? Was she ready? Because she certainly knew what he wanted to talk to her about.
Still, although she’d read the file and done her own research, getting involved with Kent would cause all sorts of problems - dealing with her mother and Perry being two of the biggest. Did she really want to do that? Relationships were hard enough even without all the strikes they already had against them. She had always been a relationship coward. She knew that. But she’d been burned so many times. And Kent... he had the power to destroy her. She’d always known that. Still...
Taking a deep breath, she opened her notebook and found a new page. On it, she wrote briefly. Then she folded the paper and, taking a quick glance in Kent’s direction to be sure that he was watching, dropped the paper on the floor and covered it with her foot. He could retrieve it later. On the other hand, if someone else found it... It would mean nothing.
Because until she spoke to him, until she decided what she was going to do about... everything, she didn’t want to inadvertently hurt either Perry or her mother. And contact with Kent... No. Best to figure things out first. Then she could make the decisions about how to deal with the two of them - if it were even necessary.**
“I can remember how anxious I was to retrieve that piece of paper,” Clark said.
“Do you remember what it said?”
Clark nodded. “My place. Nine p.m.” He considered that for a moment before voicing a sudden thought. “That must have been the beginning of those notes we found in my secret compartment.”
“Yeah, but something doesn’t make sense here. If this was the beginning of our relationship, why aren’t we together now?”
“And why didn’t my parents recognize your name?” Clark let out a breath. “Do you remember what happened that night?”
Lois nodded slowly as the memories came back to her.
**The butterflies in Lois’ stomach told her that nine o’clock was drawing closer. She’d put away the files that Jimmy had brought over about weird things in Metropolis, her notes on her investigation into the shooting of William Stockdale in an apparent car jacking and her notes on the threat of a bomb in the basement of Metropolis Trade Tower... All of that could wait until another day. And with Kent being from another paper...
She’d already gone through a half dozen clothing changes in the past half hour - trying to find the perfect balance between enticing and casual, but also something that looked as if she’d just thrown it on. After all, she’d reviewed Kent’s documents and had to admit that he’d presented a convincing case for not being in the country until shortly before he’d moved to Metropolis.
That meant... she had misjudged him. And if that were true... maybe, just maybe...
She hardly dared to hope. After all, there were still a lot of misunderstandings and petty grudges that needed to be aired and sorted through. And there was Perry - and her mother. Still, after three years of fighting her attraction to this man, to finally have her heart and her mind pulling her in the same direction... She felt almost giddy.
She jumped when she heard his knock at the door at exactly one minute to nine. After checking her appearance one final time, she opened the door.
“Hi,” Kent said.
“Hi,” she responded, realizing that she sounded almost breathless. Never had she been so nervous in her entire life.
“May I come in?”
“Oh, right.” Her cheeks flamed as she stepped back, allowing him to enter. How could she have forgotten to invite him in? “I’m nervous,” she blurted out.
“So am I.”
“Really?” she asked, feeling much more at ease at his admission.
He nodded. “I feel a little bit like a teenage boy on my first date.”
“Is that what this is, Kent?” she asked.
“God, I hope so.”
His eyes met hers and suddenly the atmosphere between them seemed energized. As they stood there, staring into each other’s eyes, Lois unwittingly found herself swaying slightly towards him.
“Whoa,” she said hastily, breaking eye contact and taking a couple steps back.
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“What is this?” She gestured between them. “I mean, it’s not just me, is it? You feel it, too.”
“Trust me. It’s not just you. Sometimes I feel as if...”
“What?”
“As if... we’re supposed to be something to each other that we’re not - at least not yet. As if we should be making wedding plans or...”
“Talking about booking the church or...”
“...invitations or...”
“...catering...”
“...the band.”
“Exactly. What is that?”
Clark slowly shook his head. “I don’t know, but...” He hesitated slightly.
“But...?” she prompted.
“I think it’s about time we found out.”
She stared at him for a moment, before lowering her head and stepping into the living room to take a seat on the couch. She patted the spot next to her and he joined her there. “It’s not that simple, Kent. And you know it.”
He hesitated before nodding. “Still... did you look at that file?”
“Yes.”
“So...?”
“Okay, so there is no way you could have been in Metropolis at the time. Well, unless you’ve somehow acquired the power of flight,” she added, bumping his shoulder playfully as the memory - or was it a memory - of flying through the air flashed through her mind. “But...” Her voice trailed off when she saw the look of alarm that crossed his face. “What? What did I say?”
“Nothing. So... you believe me.”
She studied him for a moment more before nodding. Then she gave a sheepish shrug of her shoulders. “But... I’m not sure how much of that is just that I want to believe you. I don’t want to think that I could feel this way about you if... Well, you know.”
“What way?” he asked, turning so that he was facing her on the couch. His arm automatically came to rest across the back of the couch, close enough for his fingers to draw gentle patterns on her shoulder. And unlike with Mayson, this move felt completely natural - as if he’d been doing it for years.
She shivered slightly under his touch. “You know,” she said, not quite able to meet his eyes.
“No, I don’t know. How do you feel about me?” His free hand came up, gently caressing her cheek.
She automatically raised her hand, capturing the hand at her face and holding it there even as her gaze met his. Suddenly, she seemed to be falling into the bottomless pools that were his eyes.
“What way?” he whispered. “How do you feel about me, Lane.”
The breath she took trembled. But the words, when she finally spoke them, came out crystal clear. “I’m in love with you.” She was done protecting both of them from that one very simple, and extremely complicated, fact. And, damn, it felt good to finally say - even if it was also the epitome of terrifying.
Kent closed his eyes, leaning forward until his forehead touched hers. “Thank God,” he whispered as if in private prayer. “Because I’ve been in love with you for so long that...”
Her lips finding his cut him off. Right now, she didn’t want to talk. She wanted to feel his love for her in a much more tangible way.
A few pleasurable moments went by while they exchanged unspoken vows. Hands wandered, gently exploring previously explored territory. But this time, gently, reverently. As if in awe of what they’d unexpectedly found. Hands slid under clothing. Finally, feeling lightheaded, Lois pulled back. “You know this isn’t going to be easy,” she said softly. “There’s Perry. And my mother and...”
Her words were cut off this time by his lips finding hers. And for a moment, no one else existed in the entire world except the two of them. Problems and difficulties could wait for another day. Right now, it was just so good finally to be together - body and soul.
She loved him. She knew that now - perhaps had always known it. It was love that had sent her to his apartment when under the influence of the pheromone compound. It was love that had drawn her into his bed the night she’d almost lost him to Johnny Corbin and gang. It was love that had drawn her back again a second time. It was love that had prevented her from letting anything serious develop with Dan. And it was just so damn good to finally admit it. To him, yes. But to herself most of all.
She deepened the kiss, needing to get closer as his hands slid beneath the open edges of her blouse. And then...
In an instant, everything changed. Whether he heard the gun blast or something else alerted him, one moment Kent was sitting on the couch, kissing her. And the next, the sound of breaking glass disturbed the silence and Lois looked up to see Kent standing in the middle of her living room, holding a missile.
“What?”
“One moment.”
And then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Had flown out the window. She jumped to her feet and rushed to the window just in time to see the missile explode high over the building and then... With a gust of air, he was again standing in her living room - the guilt on his face obvious to anyone with the ability to see.
“You can fly,” she whispered even as the world seemed to collapse around her. If he could fly, the way she’d been able to fly a month ago, he would have no problems being in Metropolis on the day in question even if he was working in Borneo.**
TO BE CONTINUED...
