DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine. This story's villian (er, villianess) was loosely based on a villian in the Animated Series called Live Wire. She is not mine, the characters are not mine - just the story idea is mine. Please don't sue! I'm just a poor college student!
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It was a few days after the incident at Metropolis Light and Power, and things were once again quiet - or as quiet as they could be. Because of her expertise in advance technology, Linda had been able to properly duplicate false documents with Lois and Clark’s help. Everything was properly loaded and secure to the point where no one wouldn’t know that her life was just a story she had made up.
After all that was cleared up Clark brought his parents in, and the four adults helped Linda choose a disguise. In the end they all decided that, since she couldn’t shape shift anymore and Linda was refusing to wear a wig or contacts, the best look for her would be something similar to Clark’s disguise: black-rimmed glasses, different clothes, and her blonde hair pulled up away from her face.
With Linda Lee’s identity and appearance secured, Clark called Perry to let him know that Linda would be able to start her job on Monday, and she’d have all the documents he requested. Having been told earlier that Linda was sick with the flu, thereby explaining her not being able to start sooner, Perry was none the wiser and agreed.
Finding an apartment proved to be a bit more difficult, due to the fact that Linda would need some place to hide the spare costumes Martha made for her. They spent most of Friday looking with no luck, but their luck turned around when they found an ad that caught Clark and Lois’ eyes. It was for an apartment available at Clark’s old apartment complex; it turned out to be his old apartment, in fact. Linda accepted the apartment, and Lois and Clark pitched in to pay the deposit and first few months’ rents. As an added bonus, they even bought some furniture that Linda liked and complimented the apartment, and Martha and Jonathan bought her clothes and food to tide her over until she received her first pay check. By Saturday night Linda was comfortably settled in her new home and enjoying her first night alone, despite Clark calling a few times to check up on her.
Monday morning rolled around, and Linda was riding the elevator up to work with Clark and Lois after the couple picked her up. The two reporters were dressed in their normal attire. Linda had chosen to wear black slacks, dressy black boots, and a nice green sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a French roll, and she pushed her glasses up closer to her face while her free hand clutched a bunch papers - all the documents she was bringing to Perry.
Clark and Lois noticed how nervous Linda looked and shared a smile. They were secretly nervous too, since no one at the Planet was aware of Linda’s sudden change of appearance. They only hoped that people would be as blind to the young woman’s appearance as they had been in the past with Clark’s.
The elevator doors opened to the newsroom, and the trio took a deep breath before walking out. The place had been cleaned up, and everything was fully operation, as evident by the hubbub that Clark and Lois were very familiar with. A few people noticed the young woman with the two reporters and were startled by her new appearance, but no one seemed to notice her similarity to Supergirl. The trio made their way over to Perry’s office, and Clark knocked on the closed door.
“Come in,” the gruff voice replied.
Clark walked in with Lois, and Linda was behind them. Perry was sitting at his desk, talking with Jimmy over some photographs he had taken. They both stopped and looked up as the trio came in, but Linda was behind the reporters, so they didn’t notice her right away.
“I thought you said Linda was going to make it today, Clark,” Perry said. “Is she still sick?”
“I’m here, Mr. White,” Linda said, stepping out from behind Lois and Clark. Both Jimmy and Perry gave her quizzical looks.
“Linda, is there something different about you?” Perry asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Linda replied, trying to feign being surprised. “I, uh, dyed my hair back to its original color.”
“What about your eyes?” Jimmy asked. “They used to be brown.”
“Contacts,” Lois answered quickly. “She was complaining about them drying her eyes out, so she switched back to wearing glasses.”
“I was going for a new look when I moved here,” Linda added. “New hairstyle, new eye color, new life, but it didn’t seem right, because I wasn’t really me, so I went back.” She and the reporters watched silently, seeing if Perry and Jimmy would accept it.
“Well, that’s fine,” Perry said after a few moments, looking convinced. “One thing I pride around here is honesty.” He cleared his throat and looked gruff again. “Okay, then, don't you all have work you should be doing?“ He handed one of the photos he’d been holding to Jimmy. “I want this taken down to editing. Have them put it on the front page.”
“You got it,” Jimmy replied. He glanced at Linda and smiled. Linda returned the smile as Jimmy walked past her.
Perry looked at Lois and Clark. “And I want that story about the Mayor’s proposed tax plan on my desk ASAP.” The reporters nodded and smiled before leaving, and Linda turned to Perry. “Linda, do you have the papers you said you were bringing.”
“Right here, sir,” Linda replied, holding up the papers. She handed them to Perry. “Thank you again for giving me this opportunity to work here, sir.”
“Everyone deserves a chance, Linda,” Perry replied.
“How did you know I was looking for a job, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Lois said you were looking for one,” Perry replied. “But if you really want to thank anyone, it was Jimmy who really convinced me to give you a chance.” He glanced at Linda’s papers, jotting some things down on an application form while Linda contemplated what Perry had said to her with a small smile on her face.
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Later that day, Linda was at her new desk, which was in reality Clark’s old desk space. After the damage had been repaired and Clark and Perry talked about Linda working as Perry’s assistant, Clark agreed to give up his desk, which was the nearest desk space to Perry’s office, save for Jimmy’s desk. Clark’s new desk was now facing Lois’, giving them easier access to each other while working. The reporters were using that time to work on their story, while Linda was working on getting a database organized for Perry. The young woman glanced up as Jimmy walked by on his way to his desk.
“Hey, Jimmy, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked, getting to her feet.
“Sure,” Jimmy replied. He put some stuff he was holding on his desk and turned to face her. “What’s up?”
“Mr. White said you were the one who convinced him to me a chance,” Linda replied. She saw Lois and Clark pretending not to watch out of the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t care.
Jimmy shrugged. “Hey, what are friends for?” he asked, smiling.
Linda leaned over, kissing his cheek. When she pulled away, she was smiling, partly from gratitude and partly from the surprised look on Jimmy’s face. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“Uh . . . um . . . it was nothing, really,” Jimmy stammered nervously. “I just knew you needed the job, and Perry already knows you, because you’re Clark’s cousin, and . . .”
“Jimmy, you’re rambling.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Linda smiled. “I think it’s cute.” She turned and walked back to her desk, sitting down and focusing her attention back on her computer.
Jimmy back slowly over to his desk and sat down, but he miscalculated and nearly sat right on the floor. He grabbed his desk to stop himself and managed to get seated, but he jarred his lamp into nearly falling, and he caught it before it could break. “Heh,” he said softly, grinning as he held the lamp. “She thinks I’m cute.” He glanced over at Linda as she worked on the database, unaware that she had heard what happened and what he said.
The photographer put his lamp back, glancing cautiously over at Clark. He was surprised to see that he and Lois were talking, wondering if they were pretending to work or actually working. He only wondered about it for a moment before he smiled and got back to work himself.
THE END
(The ending sucked like a straw, didn't it? Be honest, please.)
