Synopsis - There are old and new faces at the Planet...
Chapter One - 2006
“Lois...”
She couldn't believe her eyes.
“Lois...you listening to me?”
Lois watched her saunter into the newsroom. It had been twelve years since Cat Grant had last graced the Daily Planet newsroom, yet she'd still swaggered in like she owned the place.
“Okay Lois...I'll take that as a yes...I can borrow your car.”
“Yeah sure Lucy whatever.”
Lois barely noticed as her younger sister pinched her car keys and ran towards the elevators.
Lois took another look at Cat, whose presence had not gone unnoticed by the newsroom staff. Those who hadn't been at the Planet long enough to have worked with Cat knew about her by reputation.
“Wow...Wasn't expecting her to waltz back in here,” Jimmy piped up from his desk.
“Neither was I,” Lois admitted.
“Hey...isn't that the same laptop she had when she last worked here?”Jimmy said, noting the old computer she was carrying under one arm. “Rumour has it that she made up her with rich ex-husband, got him to sign a pre-nup', divorced him and bought that island Spencer Spencer owned...Do you remember Angela who used to work here -”
“- That you went out with briefly?”
“Yeah, that Angela...Well she and Cat have been friends for years...”
Lois noticed Cat staring in Clark's direction. Clark was chatting to a group of people while getting his coffee and had been oblivious to Cat's arrival.
“...so Angela says that she last saw Cat ten or eleven years ago and that she'd completely cut herself off from the world...can you imagine that?”
“As long as she had a personal 'staff' of attractive, well-muscled men to cater to her every whim...Doesn't surprise me in the slightest.”
Cat was walking towards Clark, who was still too busy being polite to some new faces to notice he was being stalked.
“I don't believe it...back for two minutes and she's already spotted her first victim,” Lois growled.
Lois didn't need to worry about Clark. She just didn't want another woman propositioning her husband in front of a captive audience of thirty of the world's best reporters.
“Be back in a minute Jimmy.”
---------------------------------
“Graduate placement scheme?” Clark said quizzically to one of the group of potential new recruits he'd bumped into, “I didn't think we had one of those.”
“It's a new thing,” said Mandy, a small girl with mousy brown hair, “that's why there's only one place on the programme.”
Clark felt a presence behind him, but not wanting to be rude to the office newbies he didn't turn round.
“But there's five of you.”
“It's been a process of elimination,” said Mandy, “There were three thousand applicants originally.”
Suddenly a bellowing call came from the direction of Perry's Office.
“Right you young whipper-snappers. Get your butts on down here...I've made my decision.”
“It was an honour meeting you Mr. Kent.”
“Thank you, and good luck to all of you with the job,” he said to the group.
The presence was still behind him, and he didn't need his super senses to know who it was as a hand with long fake fluorescent pink fingernails began to caress his shoulder.
“Hello Clark.”
Clark turned round, “Hello Cat. Long time no see how are-”
“Oh Clark I've missed you!” Cat lunged at him, enveloping him in a tight hug. “I thought I'd never see you again...Oh these years have been so hard and so lonely not being with you.”
Although Clark had never felt the sensation of his circulation being cut off before, he had a funny feeling that this was what it was like.
Lois stormed up to them before smirking at the obvious discomfort written on Clark's face. For his part, Clark only managed a feeble wave in Lois' direction.
“Hello Cat,” Lois' voice could still cut through the newsroom like a knife, and Cat quickly let go of Clark.
“Lois! Still working here? Oh that's good...It's good to see you,” Cat smiled insincerely. “It's good to know that while I was sunning it up on my own private island with an army of servants – I kept a job open for you Clark – that you've just been here, beavering away at your stories the whole time.”
Lois sneered at Cat from behind a gritted smiled, “You must have been awfully bored just lying on a sun lounger drinking cocktails...That's not the life for me.”
“Maybe not for you Lo', but I think Clark would have enjoyed it.”
As Cat tried to drape herself around Clark, he communicated telepathically with Lois.
I don't think she knows, does she?
I think she's lived a very sheltered life this past decade, Lois responded.
“I'm sure he would have,” Lois smiled sweetly. “Oh listen, Cat...it must be hard being...'new' in town, so Clark and I would like to invite you to a little party we're having. It'd let you get right back into that social 'networking' thing you do so well.”
“You and Clark? Having a party?” Cat was incredulous.
“Yeah,” Clark responded, “Ten years of bliss and counting.”
Lois watched Cat's reaction as she finally noticed their wedding rings. Suddenly Cat wasn't so eager to dig her claws into Clark.
“You got married? Oh that's wonderful! Ten years? Oh god I didn't even know you two were married -”
“- And proud parents,” Clark chimed in.
“You've got kids too?”
“Mmm-hmm...Jonathan's nine now.”
“That's great!” Cat smiled through her shock. “Listen, I've gotta go...check over my copy...I think I might just check all my facts are up to date!”
With that, Cat ran off, her antiquated laptop in tow.
“I guess you can't get an internet connection on Spencer Spencer Island.” Clark mused.
“Obviously not...Looks like the Gossip Queen's going to have quite a learning curve.”
Lois and Clark watched Cat arrive at her old desk - which was now Jimmy's - and sit down.
“Jimmy! Where's the 'on' button for this PC?”
“That's not a PC...That's an iMac.”
“An i-what?”
Lois turned to her husband, “I think our job just got more interesting again.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Clark...I think I accidentally gave Lucy permission to borrow my car.”
“You're paying the insurance if she crashes it again.”
Their attention was now drawn to Perry's office, where four rather sad looking graduates had just filed out of Perry's office.
“Graduate scheme...ha!” Lois scoffed, “In my day you had to work your way up from the bottom to get to the top...I started off fetching cups of coffee and watering plants!”
Clark chuckled.
“What?”
“'In my day'?”
“Oh my god...did I really just say that?”
“Jimmy...why am I on the PC monitor?!” Cat shrieked.
“Relax...that's the iSight camera.”
“The what?”
Momentarily, Perry stepped out of his office with a young woman – the graduate who had gotten the job. She had long blonde curly hair, thick-rimmed glasses and had an air of quiet confidence about her.
“Lois, Clark, I'd like to introduce you to someone who will hopefully become the newest member of the news team, Kara King. Kara, I'd like you to meet Lois Lane and Clark Kent. The best darned reporters I've ever worked with.
“It's a honour to meet you...I've read all your stories,” Kara smiled.
Lois extended a hand to the younger woman, “Welcome to the Planet Ms King.”
Clark was uncharacteristically silent. There was something very familiar about Kara King, but he couldn't figure out what or why.
“Yes Ms King, welcome to the Planet.”
Lois noticed her husband's lapse in concentration, but didn't say anything.
“Well I'm going to give Ms. King a quick tour of the building and then I was hoping that you'd let her shadow you both for the rest of the week.”
“No problem Perry.”
Perry gave Lois a quick wink. He wasn't too good at hands on training and was relieved that Lois and Clark were going to show Kara the ropes.
“Now Kara, did you know that the King once performed in this building?”
“No Mr. White, I didn't,” Kara responded, pushing her glasses up her nose.
“What was that about?” Lois pointedly asked Clark.
“I'm pretty certain I've met her before, but I don't know when or how...there's something very familiar about her.”
“Well I've never seen her before so-”
Help! Help! They're gonna fall!
Lois noticed Clark tense up. “Go...I'll cover the story and look up anything I can find on Kara.”
“Thanks honey.”
A quick kiss, and Clark was gone.
---------------------------------
“You see, Elvis loved Metropolis but Priscilla...”
Help! Help! They're gonna fall!
“Kara? You okay?” Perry noticed Kara tense up. She looked a little shaken.
“I'm fine Mr. White...Just too much excitement...I can't believe I'm working at the Daily Planet!”
Perry didn't press her for any more information, but Kara felt her stomach grow queasy. She'd just heard a call for help, but it was one that she couldn't answer...
