Table of Contents
From Part 2:Lois continued to shake her head. "If I come home with all my hair chopped off, Lex is going to kill me."
A chill ran down Clark's back. "Lex?"
"Yeah," Lucas interjected, a definite note of disapproval in his voice. "Lex Luthor, her husband."
Clark was stunned. "Luthor! But he's a criminal."
********
Now read on...A shocked silence descended on the room.
Clark bit his lip, wishing that he could sink through the floor. How could he have been so indiscreet? So *stupid*? Just because he’d met the *real* love of his life - the woman he was sure, thanks to his trip to the other universe, was his soulmate - only to find that she was married to another man, a man he’d been assured was a master criminal, he had to act like the biggest idiot since the dawn of time?
And anyway, what if this world’s Lex Luthor *wasn’t* a criminal? After all, in the other Lois and Clark’s universe Lois wasn’t a twin.
Lois and Luc were looking at each other with what Clark suddenly realised were awkward glances.
Awkward. Not outraged. Not angry. Not disbelieving. So what...?
The only person in the room who seemed completely at a loss was Lucy, who was looking from her siblings to Clark with a completely baffled expression on her face.
“What gave you that idea?” Lois demanded bluntly, finally, glaring at Clark.
But he wasn’t fooled. She’d delayed too long in answering him; too long for him to let her get away with assuming that expression of injured innocence.
To Clark, the implication was clear: this world’s Lex Luthor was up to shady dealings, at the very least, and his wife knew all about it. And so too, judging by the looks they’d been giving each other, and Luc Lane’s increased heart-rate, did her twin brother.
Were they all in cahoots? Was this world’s Lois dirty too? And Luc? Luc, his colleague, who’d fast been becoming his friend?
He had to answer Lois’s question. And he was going to call her bluff.
Giving her a cool look in response to her angry challenge, he said casually, “I have my sources. And they’ve been pretty reliable so far.”
Lois and Luc exchanged another glance. Lucy shook her head, frowning again. “Lois? What’s going on? Lex isn’t...?”
Lois and Luc spoke simultaneously. “Lucy, stay out of this!”
“Come on! You two can’t pull that one on me now!” Lucy retorted, furious. “What’s going on?”
“Maybe Mr Kent here would like to explain that,” Lois countered, giving Clark a challenging look.
Clark shrugged. “Like I said, I have my sources. Where would you like me to start? Fraud? Bribery? Graft? Corruption? Blackmail? Sabotage? Or should I skip all the trivial stuff and go straight to murder?”
“Luc!” Lois exclaimed. “What’s going on here?”
“I have no idea, Lois!” Luc said, clearly frustrated. “Look, Clark,” he began, his tone impatient and irritated. “I don’t know where you’ve got any of this stuff from, but this is *our* story, so butt out! If you’re looking for a front-page byline, there’s plenty of other stuff going on. Luthor’s ours!”
So his hunch had been right, Clark thought triumphantly - and with some measure of relief, too. Lois and Luc knew the truth about Luthor. Lois wasn’t blissfully in love with the man.
But she was still married to him...
Why? He simply couldn’t understand that. Had she been in love with him in the beginning? Had she married him and only then found out the truth about him? At what point had she gone to her reporter brother and asked him to investigate her husband?
She was Lex Luthor’s *wife*. Whether or not she believed that he was a criminal, she was still married to him.
Trying desperately to squash the depression which had resurfaced at that realisation, Clark focused on Luc. “You said... ‘our’ story. Just who would that ‘our’ be?”
Watching Lois and Luc then was like looking at a person’s reflection in a mirror. Luc bit his lip and, a second later, Lois imitated him. Then Luc sighed.
“Ours, as in mine and... Lois Lane, the other half of L. Lane, award-winning investigative reporter,” he explained.
“You... what?”
At the same moment, Lucy demanded, “Just what’s going on here? Lois, are you saying that Lex...?”
It was Lois’s turn to sigh. “Like he said, Luce, Luthor’s dirty. And Luc and I are investigating him. I’m undercover, and Luc’s on the outside.”
“You’re... undercover?” Clark echoed. “As... Luthor’s *wife*?”
“What?” Lois exclaimed. “I’m not *married* to him! No way!”
“But...” Clark gaped, swallowed, looked from Lois to Luc and back again. “But Luc called him your... your husband!”
“Oh, he always does that!” Lucy said. “It’s because Lex is so... well, I guess domineering. He always knows what he wants and what he prefers, and he likes to get his own way. So Luc complains that Lois jumps to do his bidding too much - when he wants to make a point, he calls Lex Lois’s husband instead of her boyfriend.”
“You’re not married!” Clark gasped. “Oh, thank god!”
********
Lois groped for a nearby chair, sinking into it gratefully. Just what was going on here? And who was this Clark Kent, anyway?
Oh, she knew that he was Luc’s new partner at the Planet; Luc had talked about little else for the past week. How cute he was. How intelligent, but also fun to be with. How he had a terrific smile - well, that was certainly right, as was the cute part.
Luc was on the verge of falling in a big way. And, Lois already knew, one thing about herself and her twin hadn’t changed. They still had the same taste in men.
But Kent wasn’t just a cute guy, she reminded herself firmly. He was a rival - a threat. And that was a problem which had to be dealt with.
“So... Clark, is it?” she said sweetly, giving him a bright smile. “How did you manage to find out all this stuff about Lex Luthor?”
He reacted exactly as if he’d spotted a piranha in his path. He stilled, and his expression grew wary and very intent. Then he smiled back, but carefully. “I don’t think so, Lois. At least, not yet.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, what do you want?”
“For starters?” Kent began. “We work as a team to bring Luthor down. We pool all our information. We keep nothing from each other. And we all get the byline.”
“You don’t want much, do you?” Lois commented sourly. “And you think we’ll go for it? How do we even know that you have anything worth using?”
“How do I know that you two’ve got anything?” Kent retorted. “After all, if your posing as Luthor’s girlfriend had got you any decent results, you wouldn’t still be worrying about what your *boyfriend* thinks of your appearance!”
“How dare you -!” Lois began.
Luc cut across her. “Clark, cut that out. You don’t know the first thing about my sister, so don’t judge her, okay? Now, your deal sounds as though it might have potential, but I want to know more about your sources before I’m even going to be willing to consider it.”
That was what she should have said, Lois told herself, instead of letting her temper get the better of her at Kent’s accusation. Yes, Luc was right. She wanted to know about these so-called ‘sources’ of Kent’s.
Kent was looking thoughtful, she noticed. But not worried in any way. He must be pretty confident about his information, she concluded.
“Yes,” he said finally. “Agreed. Can we talk after dinner? Just the three of us,” he added, gesturing from Luc to Lois. “I don’t mean to be rude by excluding you, Lucy,” he continued. “It’s just that... well, this is sort of confidential work-related stuff...”
Now he seemed less sure of himself. Lois let him flounder on for a few seconds before she decided to rescue him. “Luce, you know what it’s like when Luc and I are working on a big story. There are times we just can’t tell you what’s going on.”
Lucy pouted. “Okay, okay. But I want you to tell me everything you can later. Like just what the deal is with Lex! And I can’t say I’m sorry that you’re not really dating him. I never liked him - I don’t care that Mom thinks the sun shines out of his - ”
“Lucy!” Luc interrupted. “Come and help me serve dinner.”
*********
As the apartment door closed behind Lucy later that evening, Clark took a very deep breath, trying to calm himself down. This was it: he was taking a huge leap of faith here. He was about to do something he’d never done with anyone before. He was actually going to trust someone - two someones - with his secret.
But it was his experiences in the other universe which had told him, before dinner when Luc had asked about his sources, that this was the right thing to do.
“So,” Lois said, turning to face him with a challenging look on her face. “What have you got? And who are your sources?”
If he let her steamroller him now, Clark realised, he’d never have a chance. She would walk all over him if he showed a sign of weakness - and he suddenly remembered that the Lois from the other world had hinted at exactly the same thing.
“Who said I get to go first?” he retorted. “Why don’t you spill what you’ve got?”
“No way!” she countered. “Look, you’re the one who wanted this - ”
“And you’re the one who’s worried about what I know and what it’ll do to your chances of an exclusive,” Clark pointed out.
“He’s right, Lois,” Luc said, moving over to stand close to his sister. “We have to share what we’ve got too. That’s what we agreed.” Turning to Clark, he added, “The problem is that at the moment we don’t have much that’s concrete. A lot of suspicions, sure. Some circumstantial evidence. Sources who only talked to us on condition that we never name them or reveal anything which could identify them. Nothing at all which even approaches the concept of proof,” he concluded wryly.
“I don’t have any hard proof either,” Clark said. “But I think I know how to find it.”
“And that’s *it*?” Lois demanded incredulously. “You *think* you know how to find proof. You don’t have anything? Heck, I have hunches - dozens of ‘em! And if I could only get the combination to Luthor’s safe I’d have all the proof I need for some of the stuff we want to nail him with!” She pulled a face. “Night after night I have to spend time with him, smile at him, pretend I’m enjoying myself. I have to let him paw me and kiss me - and let me tell you, he may have been with some of the most beautiful women around, but they sure weren’t with him for his technique! And I still can’t get close enough to find what I need.”
“Lois, I can help,” Clark said firmly. “If you need a combination to a safe, I’m your man.”
She threw him a sceptical glance. “Look, Kent, I’ve broken into some of the toughest locks around. If I can’t get into Luthor’s safe, then I doubt very much if you can.”
Clark bit back a laugh, contenting himself with giving her an enigmatic smile. “Let’s just say, Lois, that there’s a lot about me that you don’t know - yet. And until you do, you might want to hold off on deciding what you think I’m not capable of doing.”
“Okay, so why don’t you tell me?” she challenged, calling his bluff.
He shrugged. “I intend to. But first I need to warn you that what I’m about to tell you will sound... well, pretty weird. In fact, I already know that you’re not going to believe me - heck, I wouldn’t have believed me if someone had told me this before it actually happened to me. But, please, hear me out.”
Luc made an expansive gesture. “Go right ahead.”
“I’ve just come back from spending two weeks in an alternate universe,” Clark began.
Before he could continue, Lois had interrupted with a loud “What? You actually expect us to believe that?”
Luc, speaking almost at the same time, was just as sceptical. “Come on, Kent - what is this? Taking your Star Trek fantasies a bit too far, aren’t you?”
Clark held up his hand; they subsided. “I know. You probably don’t believe that there are any such things as aliens from other planets, either. And yet I’m telling you that I’m from another planet.”
“You’re... WHAT?” Luc almost yelled. “Look, this is rid -”
“Who is this lunatic you brought home?” Lois demanded, cutting across her brother. “I’m out of here. This is a complete waste of my time!”
“Wait, Lois,” Clark commanded, in what he’d come to think of as his Superman voice. And then he allowed himself to drift several feet off the floor.
*********
It felt as if her entire world had shifted on its axis. Since that evening, two days ago, nothing had been the same. Clark Kent, the amazingly good-looking guy her brother had brought home from work - the amazingly good-looking guy Luc was attracted to - was really from another planet. Or, at least, so he assured them. And since he was able to bench-press practically all the furniture in her apartment - at once - she kind of believed him.
He could fly too, and his demonstration of that ability had been... cool. Very cool.
But his tale of having been to another universe, where he’d met another Lois Lane and a Clark Kent, had been the most amazing of all. She hadn’t wanted to believe him, but the things he’d told her had been just too convincing. He’d known things about her - her childhood, her career, her ambitions - that he simply couldn’t have known without actually having spied on her for years, and she was sure he hadn’t done that. He couldn’t have without her knowing.
So he really had been to another universe. And his hosts had told him enough about Lex Luthor’s criminal activities to give them enough leads to nail him. Which was what they’d been working on the past couple of days. While she was still playing the role of Lex Luthor’s dutiful girlfriend, of course. She was *really* looking forward to relinquishing that role!
Clark had been very puzzled about her role in relation to the Daily Planet, and they’d finally managed to explain much later that night. It was a jobshare arrangement which she and Luc had come up with a long time ago, when they’d first graduated, both with degrees in journalism and both desperate to work for one of the best newspapers in America. But each of them had also wanted to travel the world, something they’d never managed when in full-time education - Sam Lane’s early death from a rare blood disorder, and associated medical expenses, had left the Lane family with insufficient money for college funds and Lois and Luc had needed to work their way through university to pay for whatever scholarships hadn’t covered.
So they’d proposed an arrangement to Perry White whereby he got two reporters for the price of one. The Lane siblings wrote under the byline of L. Lane, but most of the time only one of them was actually in residence at the Daily Planet. That had been a very useful cover, too, once Lois had decided to investigate Lex Luthor: Luthor had no idea that the Lois Lane who’d approached him at a charity benefit, pretending to work for a glamour magazine, was actually L. Lane, the reporter whose work he loathed. And Luc had arrived back in time to become the Planet reporter again. He and Luthor had treated each other with a stiff politeness, and Lois had simply pretended that she and Luc didn’t get along very well.
She couldn’t wait to see Lex’s smarmy face turn purple when he learned who Lois Lane really was!
Getting the evidence together to expose Lex was just one great thing about the last couple of days. And a tangential benefit, Lois thought with a mild twinge of guilt, was that she’d just been too busy to be Lucy’s model after all. Her mind boggled at the thought of what bizarre style Lucy might have thought was appropriate for her! No doubt something so short her neck would’ve been completely bare - a style which definitely wasn’t for her. She’d had a moment’s pause at the reminder that Clark had said a shorter style would suit her - he’d had to have been talking about the other Lois, she’d realised. And suddenly she’d wanted very much to reinforce in his mind that she was *not* that Lois. She was her own person, and she wanted him to know that.
She’d almost managed to persuade Luc to take her place, but he’d pleaded equal pressure of work, and in the end Lucy had dragged their mother along.
Clark’s powers had been incredibly useful in enabling them to find some of the proof they needed - and he’d proven to her that he could break into Luthor’s safe, much to her mingled chagrin and delight.
Clark.
Thinking about him suddenly, Lois stilled her attempt to search through the bundle of financial records Luc and Clark had left with her - though Clark had promised to go through them himself later if she didn’t have time. He’d be able to analyse them in a couple of minutes, he’d assured her.
Clark Kent. The most attractive man she’d ever met. And the most intriguing - and that was even before she took his amazing powers into account. Or the fact that, as he’d told her, he wanted to become Superman in this world too. He’d already, it seemed, got his costume.
He was thoughtful - very, very considerate. He had an utterly gorgeous smile. He had a great sense of humour; sometimes corny, but never cruel. He had beautiful hands. And a body to die for. He was intelligent and very, very quick on the uptake. One look from his brown eyes made her feel as if she was drowning. And sometimes when he said her name she just wanted to melt.
She was falling in love with Clark Kent.
But Luc was interested too - and Luc had seen him first.
But was Clark interested in Luc?
That was the great imponderable. Lois had been watching the two of them over the past couple of days - in her position as Luthor’s fake girlfriend, she hadn’t been able to do much of the legwork for fear it would blow her cover, and so Clark and Luc had been spending a lot of time alone together. So far, she had no idea whether Clark was in any way attracted to her brother, or whether he just saw Luc as a friend.
But then, she had no idea either whether he was attracted to her...
Okay, he’d stared at her in a very particular way when they’d met - but was that just because he hadn’t expected to meet a Lois Lane in this universe? He’d told them both, after all, that when he’d been introduced to Luc at the Planet he’d come to the conclusion that this universe’s Lois must be male. Or maybe it had been that he was surprised because she looked so much like Luc.
Was he interested in Luc... or her? Or maybe neither of them?
It was driving her to distraction, this need to find out how Clark felt about her; whether there was any possibility that he might be... well, interested.
He had seemed to be very pleased to discover that she wasn’t married, of course... but that could just have been relief that she wasn’t married to Luthor, as Luc had led him to believe.
She hadn’t talked to Luc about it, but she knew that he was aware of her feelings, just as she was of his. It was just one of the minor downsides of being a twin, this awareness of each other’s emotions. And, of course, Luc being gay, the fact that they were forever finding themselves interested in the same men.
In the past, it had never mattered all that much; neither of them had been all that serious about any of the men they’d dated. So if one had been inclined to swing Luc’s way, Lois had just given him a wry smile and a thumbs-up. Where it was clear that the guy in question preferred women, Luc had given Lois a shrug and blown her a good luck kiss.
Only this time, she had a sneaking suspicion that Clark Kent was special. Would be special to whichever of them he showed an interest in - assuming, of course, that he liked either of them romantically.
Lois sighed again, then laid the bundle of documents back on the table. She was getting nowhere fast, and the men were due back soon.
And, right on cue, she heard a key in the apartment door. Oh god... Clark was back. And she wasn’t ready to let him see her like this - he was bound to know that she’d been distracted. With his special powers, too, she wouldn’t put it past him to figure out why...
“Hey, sis!” Luc’s voice preceded her twin into the room. He sounded cheerful, but Lois knew her brother too well to be deceived. He was putting on a good act, but there was something wrong.
She gave him a loving smile. “Hey, yourself.”
“Not getting anywhere?” He nodded at the pile on the table.
“Nope.”
He snagged a chair and sat beside her. “Got some news for you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.” He picked up her pen and began to fiddle with it. “Once this story’s broken, I’m going to go back to London. Remember I told you that when I was freelancing there, one of the papers I wrote for offered me a job? I’ve decided to take it. I think it’s about time that L. Lane became Lois Lane, anyway.”
Luc was running away - that was the only conclusion Lois could come to. And, for once, she had absolutely no idea what was bothering her twin. Why was he leaving? Had Clark said something to him? Rebuffed him?
If Kent had hurt her twin, she’d tear him limb from limb. Somehow. There had to be a way, even if he was invulnerable.
She said nothing, knowing that he’d tell her more if he wanted to. And, after several moments, he did.
In apparently idle tones, Luc observed, “Did you know that, in the other universe Clark went to, the other Clark Kent was married to that world’s Lois Lane?”
“What?” Lois exclaimed. “You’re kidding... he is?”
“Yep.” Luc nodded, emphasising his answer.
So that was why Clark had said very little about their other-universe counterparts, Lois realised. It would have been a pretty embarrassing addition to their conversation about his visit there - “Hey, do you know that in that other world you and I are married?” - yeah, that would have been a fun conversation, all right!
“And that’s why you’re going,” Lois concluded. “You’re... leaving the field clear for me?”
Luc shrugged. “It makes sense. And anyway, I always planned to go back to England. I told you that, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but... Luc, how do you know that this world will be the same? That Clark -”
“He told me, sis,” Luc said quietly. At Lois’s puzzled look, he continued. “The thing about the other Lois and Clark being married - well, that just sort of slipped out. I could see by his reaction afterwards that he’d never meant to say it. And then - well, a while after that, he asked me if you were seeing anyone. Well, apart from Luthor, that is. And when I said you weren’t... well, he was pretty darned happy.”
“He asked you?” Shocked, Lois reached out to grab Luc’s hand, holding it tightly between both of hers. “How insensitive can he get? He must have realised...?”
Luc shrugged again. “Why should he? Though you’re right. He did know. I mean, he was aware that I’m gay - the Planet grapevine filled him in on that one soon enough. And I’m pretty sure that he figured out I was... interested. Anyway, that’s the only explanation I have for the apologetic look he gave me when he asked about you.”
“Oh.”
“Lois, Clark is attracted to you. He wants to date you,” Luc pointed out. “And I know you want him too. So go for it. Anyway, I can tell you that even if you weren’t on the scene there’d be nothing between him and me - he just doesn’t swing that way.”
“You weren’t sure of that before,” Lois pointed out.
He lifted one shoulder. “Oh, I knew it - I was just... well, hoping, I guess. Or maybe it was just that until I’d actually heard him say it, it was as if it wasn’t true.”
Lois could understand that. “Luc, are you sure about this? You don’t have to go away -”
He gave her a crooked smile. “Oh yes, I do. But it won’t be for ever, I promise.” He squeezed her hand. “Just give me a couple of years. I couldn’t stay away permanently, you know that.”
He stood then, bending to drop a kiss on her head. “Just do me a favour, Lois?”
“Sure! What?”
“Go for it with Clark. Don’t hide what you feel for him, or keep him at a distance the way you usually do with men you like.”
He knew her too well. But he was right, too. It would be a pretty poor return for Luc’s gift to her if she didn’t act on her feelings this time.
So she nodded. “Okay. I promise.”
*********
Waiting outside the apartment, Clark battled to resist the urge to listen in on Luc and Lois’s conversation. He didn’t know why Luc had asked him to wait outside, but he had his suspicions based on their conversation earlier.
Luc was probably telling Lois that he - Clark - had been asking about her. About whether she was available. And maybe, Clark thought, assuring his sister that he wouldn’t get in the way. The unspoken exchange he’d had with Luc earlier had made that clear; they knew where they stood with each other. He regretted causing Luc pain, but Clark knew where his true feelings lay.
He was in love with Lois Lane.
Just then, Luc came out. Giving Clark a friendly clap on the shoulder, he said, “I think she could use your help, pal. Those financial papers defeated her.”
“Sure, that’s no problem,” Clark agreed.
“Right. I’ll see you later, then.”
“You’re going somewhere?” Surprised, because they’d originally agreed to spend the rest of the afternoon going over what they had so far, before Lois had to go out for a date with her ‘boyfriend’, Clark frowned at his partner.
Luc shrugged lightly. “You two don’t need me. I’ve got some stuff to sort out.” He gave Clark a friendly, yet wistful, smile. “She’s all yours, pal.”
About to go inside, Clark hesitated. Something was telling him that there was more to Luc’s actions than he was letting on. He wasn’t just talking about this afternoon, of that Clark was sure.
“What are you talking about, Luc?” he asked sharply.
Luc hesitated, then said wryly, “There’s no fooling you, is there? Look, we both know the score. And - like I’ve just told Lois - I’m overdue for another trip abroad. I’m going to get a job in London for a while.”
Of course, Clark understood why. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“Just be good to my sister,” Luc warned him. “Because if you’re not, then invulnerable or not I’m coming after you.”
Clark smiled. “I hate fighting with family - and since I want to be your brother-in-law, I promise that’s not going to happen.”
“See that it doesn’t, *brother*,” Luc said, then tugged Clark to him for a quick hug before walking away.
********
Lois looked up again as Clark came into the room, and her heart immediately did flip-flops at the warm smile he gave her. “Luc says you could use my help?”
She pushed the pile of paperwork towards him. “Be my guest. Want a coffee?”
She was treated to another brilliant smile. “Sure.”
He worked beside her in silence for a couple of minutes, speeding through the papers at a rate which seemed, to her, to break all laws of physics... but then, of course, he was the man known in other universes as Superman. Most documents remained in the main pile, but a smaller, growing bundle appeared beside her. Evidence. A step closer to sending Lex Luthor to jail.
“Luc tells me he’s going back to London.”
Lois almost dropped her coffee. She hadn’t been expecting Clark to speak; he’d seemed engrossed in his work.
“Yes,” was all she could find to say.
“I’ll miss him,” Clark told her. “I hope he doesn’t stay away too long.”
Clark would miss Luc? What did that mean?
About to find a way to change the subject, Lois remembered her promise to Luc. And the longer she left it, the harder it would be.
“Why will you miss him?” she asked abruptly.
Clark looked across at her, frowning slightly. “Because I like him. It’s been great working with him for the past week or so. He’s a nice guy, and someone I’d like to consider a good friend.”
“But... no more than that?”
He shook his head. “I like him, but... no. Not *that* way. Uh, Lois...” Now he was looking awkward and avoiding her gaze.
She took a deep breath. “Clark, is there a possibility that...”
“Lois, would you go out with me some time? When all this is over, I mean, and you’re not pretending to be Luthor’s girlfriend any more?” he asked, the words coming out in a rush.
Lois’s breath caught. “I’d love to!”
Another blinding smile took her breath away completely. And then, slowly, they leaned across the table towards each other, and their lips met. And the world melted away.
********
“What’cha reading, honey?”
Lois looked away from her monitor to smile at her boyfriend of exactly one month. Clark perched on the edge of her desk, a position he was adopting as his own, and caught her hand in his.
“Email from Luc,” she explained. “He sends his congratulations to us on the Luthor series.”
“Took long enough for it all to get into print,” Clark grumbled good-naturedly. They both knew why it had taken so long; in order not to prejudice the trial and so enable Luthor to get off, they’d had to agree to sit on most of what they knew until the police told them it was safe to print. Just in the past week, the DA’s office had negotiated a series of plea bargains with close aides of Luthor, to the point where the man himself was trapped with no escape. And one night, alone in his cell, he’d committed suicide.
They’d been able to go to print the following day. And already the industry was talking in terms of award-winning potential. If they didn’t get it for the Luthor material, Lois thought with a satisfied smile, then they were sure to for the story which had launched Superman into the public gaze.
“So how is he?” Clark added, bringing her attention back to her twin.
“Claims he’s having a great time,” she said, scanning Luc’s email again. “Course, we’ve seen some of his work in print - he might not be getting the sort of exposure we are here, but he’s had some pretty great stories lately.”
“Yeah.” Clark smiled, clearly pleased. “If you think he’d like it, I could always arrange for him to have a Superman exclusive,” he added with a grin.
“That’s sweet of you.” Lois leaned across and kissed him; even one month on, that was still an incredibly distracting activity, so it was several minutes before she could tell him the rest of her news.
“I don’t think you’ll need to,” she said at last. “Arrange that exclusive, I mean.”
“Why not?”
“Well, this is going to sound very weird, but Luc says he’s met this guy -”
“Didn’t take him long,” Clark interjected, raising an eyebrow.
“Clark! Not like that! Well...” She hesitated. There’d been something about Luc’s comment... “He didn’t say, but reading between the lines, I’m wondering whether... Anyway, he says he thinks this guy can do some pretty strange things. Not like y- well, Superman, but not normal human stuff, all the same.”
“Oh?” Now she really seemed to have piqued Clark’s curiosity. “Who is this guy?”
Lois shrugged. “Means nothing much to me, but Luc says he’s a wealthy businessman based in London. Name of Bruce Wayne...”
~ The End ~
...unless Tank has other ideas! 
