Thanks to my awesome betas – Carol, Beth, and Mark! Given that I have a lot of buffer (the rest of the story) written, I'm increasing posts to two every other day.
From Chapter 33
He closed his eyes for a moment and it all came rushing back – the fact that he did indeed have the abilities his parents said he did and the explanation for the memory about his father earlier which was why he was not using his abilities.
He felt sick. While, with Superman's help, he had been successful this time, in reality, this was another failure. Superman had been able to do it in his universe alone. Clark probably would have been caught if he had been alone. If not because of the amnesia (although he thought Superman had said he had had that in his universe as well and he definitely said he woke up in Germany yesterday with no memories) then because he had refused to wear glasses yesterday. If there was no separate Superman walking around, someone would have been suspicious. As it was, he was lucky that no one had noticed the resemblance. How had Lois missed it?
This was why he could not be Superman full time. He just did not know what he was doing: he made far too many mistakes.
With a heavy heart, wishing he was still suffering from amnesia, Clark headed home.
Chapter 34
Lois dropped the washcloth she had been using to wipe the stain from her blouse. That sound… like a gun. A gun with a silencer, perhaps, but a gun all the same. Spinning around, she peered through the small gap between the door and the door jam. Vincent Winninger was on the ground. A man was standing above him.
One glance at Winninger told her that her interview was over. He was dead. Worse yet, the man who had been standing over him was coming this way. Lois quickly grabbed the notebook Winninger had handed her and stepped into the bathtub, closing the curtain and praying that he was not actually coming into the bathroom.
Her prayers were not answered. She could hear her breath coming out in short, fast rasps and clamped a hand over her mouth. He could hear her breathing, she was sure of it. She held her breath. He could hear her heart pounding. He would need to be deaf not to and there was nothing she could do to stop that.
Lois had gotten herself into some tight spots before, but this one seemed particularly scary. It was not her fault, though… this time at least. She had not taken any undue risks. It was just supposed to be an interview.
Her eyes closed, she pictured Clark's face from earlier. He had wanted to come with her and she had said no. Why had she said no? On the other hand, what would he have been able to do in this situation? She really needed his roommate, but somehow a call for Superman did not seem like the best idea right now.
The man, whoever he had been, left the bathroom and a moment later, Lois heard the door to the apartment close as well. She slowly let out the breath she had been holding and when the apartment was still quiet a moment later, she finally exited the bathtub and called the police.
***********************
“Lois, be serious!” Clark was nearly yelling at her.
“I am. This isn't the same thing at all, Clark!” Lois yelled back. “No one's life is in danger from my printing this story.”
“Except yours,” Clark shot back.
“Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take.”
“I'm going to have to side with Clark on this, darlin',” Perry said as he held up her copy. “I can't let you print this.”
“Perry!”
“Don't "Perry' me, Lois. I won't have you getting yourself killed for the sake of a story. This can't go to print like this.”
“Fine, I'll edit it,” Lois said.
“I hope one of the parts you plan to edit is this,” Clark said, pointing to the screen.
“What? Clark, are you crazy?” Lois asked. “Don't you think it's important information that the killer took those diaries? Don't you think people are going to want to know that?”
Clark took a deep breath. “I think you're right. But the person I think who will be most interested to read this is the killer. Because no one but the killer could know that he took those diaries. Unless of course, they were there.”
“It wouldn't have to be me. It could be a source,” Lois protested.
“Fine. He'll come after you trying to determine your source,” Clark said, the anger barely concealed in his voice. “That is better. That way he'll have some reason to keep you alive for a while.”
“I would change this, too, sugar,” Perry said pointing at the screen. “Just change it so it's not so obvious you were there,” he said off of Lois' look.
“I'm leaving,” Lois announced, “before I have no story left.”
Clark turned towards his desk.
“Where are you going?” Lois asked him as he grabbed his coat.
“With you,” he said.
“The police never gave any indication that I needed a bodyguard, Clark. And honestly, if I did,” she watched as he tripped over his left foot as he came around his desk, “you would not be my first choice.”
“Well, then,” Clark said, “that shouldn't be a problem since you don't need one anyway. Humor me, Lois. Please.”
Lois rolled her eyes, but she let Clark walk her home.
***********************
“That's him!” Lois said loudly. Clark turned around.
“Who's who?” he asked.
“That man,” Lois said pointing to a short mild-mannered looking man who had just entered. She and Clark had ended up going back to Winninger's on the way back to her apartment. The police were there looking for fingerprints or any other clues the killer may have left. “He's the one who killed Winninger. Henderson,” she called. “That's him. That's the killer.”
Henderson gave her a strange look and the man she was pointing to looked positively horrified.
“I'm… I'm Vincent's associate. I like him. Why would I…,” the man stumbled for words. “I didn't kill him,” he finally finished meekly.
“I saw him kill Vincent Winninger this morning,” Lois insisted.
“I was in Washington, D.C. this morning at a conference,” the man said, sweating. “I gave a presentation. There were thirty or forty people there, including the Vice President.”
Henderson gave Lois a look. “Thanks, Dr. Hurbert,” he said. Turning back to Lois he finished, “Sounds like an alibi, Lois, doesn't it? I'm sure Ms. Lane here is very sorry for the confusion,” he turned back to Dr. Hurbert.
Clark reached over to give Lois' hand a squeeze, but she just stalked off.
***********************
“I saw him!” Lois hissed as she exited the building.
Clark jogged to catch up with her and placed a hand on her arm, “So, you made a mistake. It's not a big deal, Lois. You've had a stressful day.”
Lois whirled around and fixed him with a glare. “I did not make a mistake, Clark! I saw him there this morning.”
“Okay,” Clark said, deciding that agreeing was the best idea for now.
A moment later, as they reached her doorstep, Lois turned to Clark. “Well, here we are,” she said to Clark. “Thanks for the escort.”
Clark tried not to grin at the look on Lois' face. She was biting her tongue to keep from pointing out that no one had jumped out of the bushes to attack her. It was clear that being right had put her in a better mood. She was so predictable.
“We're not there, yet,” he said looking at the entrance to the building. “When I offer to walk someone home, they get door-to-door service.”
“Of course they do,” Lois smiled. “You're from Kansas.”
“How do you always manage to make that sound like it's a bad thing?” he asked.
Lois laughed as she walked up the steps.
Clark turned slightly. He thought he heard something besides Lois' laughter. Shrugging his shoulders at himself, he turned back towards Lois. Just before she opened the door however, he heard it again. Pushing Lois against the door, Clark covered her body with his own.
“Clark, what are you doing? Get off of me?” Lois mumbled against the door.
Clark said nothing. One, two, three bullets struck his back and bounced off. Then things got quiet.
“Sorry,” he mumbled as he backed away. “I thought I heard something.”
“Yeah,” Lois said, “a car backfiring. Just a pointer, Farmboy, if you want to be a body guard, you have to be less jumpy.”
Clark smiled at her. “Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.”
He turned around while she opened the door, but who ever had shot at her was gone now.
A moment later, he stood nervously at the top of the stairs while she worked the locks to her apartment door. He could still feel the shadow of the bullets hitting his back. The idea of her being here all alone tonight…
“Lois,” he said and she turned to him just as she opened the door to her apartment. “Maybe I should stay here with you tonight.”
Lois smirked. “Nice try, Farmboy.”
“What's with the "Farmboy' today,” he said, smiling.
“What?”
“You haven't called me that in months. This makes twice in five minutes.”
Lois laughed. “It's the bodyguard thing. You're being so… chivalrous.”
“Again,” Clark laughed, “you make that sound like a bad thing. Besides, what's so chivalrous about asking to spend the night with you?” he asked, his eyebrow raised.
“Nothing,” Lois laughed back. “That's what made it so funny.”
“So?” he asked her.
“So, what?”
“Can I stay the night? I'll really feel much better if you let me…”
“Go home, Clark,” Lois laughed. “I'll be fine.”
“Are you sure? Maybe I should check for monsters first?” Clark said. He was not sure why he was making a joke out of this. He really did not like the idea of her being home alone. He was just hoping that maybe, as ridiculous as the thought was – maybe if he got inside her apartment, she would consider letting him spend the night.
Lois placed a hand on his chest and pushed him backwards softly. “Go home, Clark.”
“Good night, Lois,” he said, lingering at the top of her stairs.
“Good night,” she replied more forcefully as she closed her door.
***********************
Ten minutes later, Lois was standing in her apartment with the phone in her hand. “Pick up, will you?” she demanded into the headset.
“You've reached Clark Kent…” droned the machine on the other end and Lois slammed the phone down.
“You know, if he was going to get me all nervous about every little sound, the least he could do is be home to listen to me rant!” she said to herself as she looked around the apartment.
She was trying to find something to keep herself occupied. She had tried watching the latest episode of “The Ivory Tower”, but found she could not concentrate on it. She had tried cooking, but that was not any fun and she wondered why she even thought of it.
With a sigh, Lois looked around the room again. Maybe she should redecorate. Not really, of course, but rearrange the furniture. Remembering the room Lex had shown her in his bunker a few weeks ago, she decided that was a very good idea. Something about there being an exact replica of her apartment in LexTowers made her very uncomfortable.
Of course, this would be much easier with Clark around she mused as she tried to move her couch. With a sigh, she looked around. Did she really want to do this? She decided that she did. The exercise would be good for her and would keep her distracted.
Maybe, though, she would start small – like the end table rather than the couch.
***********************
“Nice night out,” Superman said as he sank onto the bench beside Clark.
Clark smiled at him, “Hi.”
“Hi,” Superman replied. “So, um, Lois… saw Winninger get murdered today, huh?”
Clark smiled at him. “It's so weird that you know all this stuff. That you could tell me if she's about to get killed or not. Although, now that I think about it, she's probably okay, right? I mean, you're married to her.”
Superman smiled. “True, but that doesn't mean she's not in danger. What would have happened to her earlier if you had thought of that and let her walk herself home? That guy in the wheelchair would have…”
“What guy in the wheelchair?” Clark asked.
“The one who…” Superman looked confused. “Wasn't Lois shot at today?”
“Yes.”
“By a man in a wheelchair.”
“No,” Clark said. “By a sniper or something, I guess. It was someone in the bushes. I didn't even see him.”
“Oh,” Superman said, feeling a bit nervous. He knew there was no reason to, but the idea that things were different in this world made him uneasy. What if this Lois didn't make it? “In my universe it was a guy in a wheelchair,” he said, sounding disgruntled.
“All the more reason for me to stay out here tonight,” Clark said, sobered by the revelation that things were not exactly the same as they had been for Superman. Like his doppelganger, he worried that this could mean bad things for Lois.
“Right,” Superman replied, still sounding decidedly less cheerful than when he sat down.
“I wish she would let me spend the night there,” Clark said. “I worry that from here there's not as much I can do to help.”
“Do you want me to go check on her? Make sure she's all right?” Superman asked, wondering as he did if that was a bad idea.
“Would you?” Clark asked, his eyes alight with hope. “Just maybe spend a few minutes with her, make sure she's not nervous. Maybe suggest she let me stay?” Clark smiled.
“Sure thing.”
***********************
“Need a hand?” Superman said from the doorway.
Lois dropped the edge of the coffee table she had been holding. She had been so lost in memories she had sort of forgotten about the outside world.
Superman swooped in and grabbed the table just before it crashed onto the floor.
“Thanks,” Lois said. “You startled me.”
“Sorry,” he said, but he smiled at her. “Where do you want this?”
“Did Clark send you here?” she asked him suspiciously. “He told you, didn't he?”
“He's just worried about you, Lois,” Superman pointed out.
“So he sent you over here to watch out for me since I wouldn't let him do it,” she said, sounding annoyed.
“He cares about you,” Superman insisted. “He's not trying to butt into your life, Lois. He's just trying to make sure you're around to see tomorrow.”
Lois raised her eyebrows at him. “What? Are you channeling Clark now?” When he looked at her in confusion she clarified, “No need to be so melodramatic.”
“Sorry, but I'm not being melodramatic. If the killer reads your story…”
“Good night, Superman.”
He stood still in the middle of her living room. She was asking him to leave. His Lois never asked Superman to leave. What was going on?
“You want me to leave?” he asked.
“You're being…” Lois floundered, not finding the words she wanted to describe her feelings. “You're being like Clark,” she finally said. “If I wanted to hang out with him lecturing me on being careful all night, I would have let him stay.”
Superman said nothing. She was right – he was being like Clark. He was being like Clark in front of Lois. The reason his Lois never asked him to leave was because he was not real to her, Superman was just a fantasy. He was real to this woman. She still saw him as something as a fantasy, but when he really screwed up, like now, she treated him like a person. That was the last thing he wanted.
“Take care of yourself, Lois,” he said, his voice strained as he floated out the window.
He was too embarrassed to tell Clark what had happened, how much he was having trouble keeping himself distant from Lois. So instead he told Clark briefly that Lois was safe, but he had no luck getting her to agree to let Clark come by and then claimed he needed to head to a Neighborhood Watch Meeting and he was running late.
