"Don't worry about anything," Lois said with reassuring serenity. "I have everything worked out. All you have to do is get well."
Under the blankets, her hand moved slowly down his arm and rested on his hand. She wiggled his brand new wedding ring. "That feels good," she said.
"Yeah." Clark closed his eyes and concentrated on her.
They had to get Lois back to Sydney before anyone noticed she was missing, and to do that, he had to regain his strength.
And being with Lois was the best possible way to achieve that.
Part 48
Clark spent the next hour listening to Lois breathe, enjoying the feel of her weight on his chest, and mulling over the many wonderful moments that had filled his life since he'd met the woman of his dreams.
There was the moment at the airport when he'd looked to see what had caught the attention of the West Coast fans - and had been instantly captivated by the woman called ‘Flinders’.
And the moment the next morning when Lois had shown him the skills of footy - and their attempts to practise tackling had left them in a jumbled heap.
And the moment when she'd agreed to hold his hand on the boardwalk in Geelong.
And the moment when she'd so staunchly supported Superman despite Trask's damning accusations.
And the moment she'd come to him the morning after he'd told her his secret.
And the moment at Torquay beach when she'd looked into his eyes and said the three words he had dreamt of hearing.
And the moment in the tree house when she'd agreed to be his wife.
And now, here he was - in bed, in the honeymoon suite, with his wife.
But not in the way he'd envisioned.
Lois had fallen asleep, which was not surprising considering the late hour in Melbourne.
Clark felt almost normal. He wasn't sure if normal would equal super, but he was ready to find out.
He eased out from next to her and paused for a moment as his eyes lingered lovingly on her face. Even in the mask - which was now slightly askew - she was utterly beautiful.
And she was his wife.
With difficulty, he pulled his gaze away.
He went to the balcony and looked down on Metropolis.
The most intense pain from the green rock had lasted only a short time - giving him cause to hope that the effects of his exposure would be significantly less than when Trask had trapped him.
Clark shot up into the air. He felt great - at full strength. Better than full strength, because he was now a married man, and his beautiful bride awaited him.
He shot across the United States, did a wide U-turn over the Pacific, and flew east to land on the honeymoon suite balcony less than a minute after leaving it.
Once back inside, Clark quickly scanned the walls and discovered that Perry's information was good - there were at least ten cameras placed to intrude upon their honeymoon. He considered disabling them with a barrage of fiery darts but decided against it. Many people had heard Jimmy deliver the message. Clark didn't want the Star to guess Perry’s involvement and retaliate against the Planet - not that Perry wasn't up for whatever Carpenter and King could throw at him!
Clark crossed to the bed, put his hand on Lois's shoulder, and gently shook her.
She woke instantly. "Are you all right?" she asked.
He smiled to reassure her. "I'm absolutely super," he said. "All I needed was a dose of Ultra Woman."
Lois grinned. "Let's go somewhere we can talk." She rose from the bed and pulled on her pink boots.
Clark picked her up and strode to the balcony. He flew them both into the air, high enough that they would be out of sight. They hovered above Metropolis - together, and safe from prying cameras. And, Clark realised, he had no idea what to do next. Within him, conflict raged as his joy fought against the apprehension brought by the knowledge that some of the green rock remained on Earth.
His wife, however, seemed to have no such dilemma. She pulled the mask from her face and beamed at him. She looked so incredibly happy that he just had to answer her smile. "You said you have this worked out," Clark said. "Were you just saying that so I wouldn't worry?"
"Not at all," she said vehemently. "I have the perfect plan. It's obvious really."
*Obvious*?
Lois grinned at what was probably a bewildered look on his face. "Mayson Drake has the green rock," she announced.
Her words seemed incongruous with her cheerfulness. "Mayson?" Clark spluttered.
"Yup," Lois said.
"How do you know?"
"Because when I was in the bathroom getting out the eyelash, she was in there, too. I heard something drop … something that sounded sort of clinky … almost like a metal, but not quite … perhaps like a pebble. I didn't see it, but later, I realised it had to be a piece of the green rock."
"You didn't see it?" Clark said, trying not to sound like he doubted her.
"No - but when Mayson was dragged out by the security guards after trying to take the photos - that was precisely when you stopped feeling so bad."
"Surely she would have known that a Planet reporter taking photos was the one thing the Star wouldn't tolerate?"
Lois nodded. "Probably. I don't think she meant too much damage this time. She just wanted to test the rock and prove that it has a detrimental effect on you."
"Well, she did that," Clark said grimly. The knowledge that there was some of the green rock on Earth was bad enough - that it was in the hands of Mayson Drake was worse. "How could she have gotten it?"
"The last place we know there was green rock was the base where Trask sent it into orbit. We also know Mayson was there. Maybe she found some while she was Trask's hostage."
"I flew her to the hospital. I'm sure she didn't have any with her then."
"Maybe she went back later. I don't know how exactly, but the rock was there, Mayson was there, and that means she might have had an opportunity."
That was possible. "You think she's had it for a while, and she kept it until the wedding?" Clark asked.
"That's exactly what I think," Lois said. "Probably to embarrass us - perhaps because she didn't get the exclusive interview."
"But next time," Clark said as foreboding constricted his heart, "I doubt she will be content to merely embarrass me."
"Probably not," Lois agreed, not sounding at all worried. She reached for his face and gently ran her fingers down his cheek. "And that's why we have to make sure there is no 'next time'."
"How are we going to do that?"
"We are going to take it away from her," Lois said as if that were a simple thing.
"I can't go anywhere near it."
"No, but I can."
"Lois," Clark said as every internal warning light started flashing across his brain. "No. You're not going anywhere near -"
She put her hand over his mouth and grinned. "OK," she declared. "Now that I'm your wife, I can speak freely. We have less than eight hours for a honeymoon ... But before we can get to the really fun stuff, we have a few loose ends to tie up. The longer you argue with me, hunky husband, the less time we will have to sample the delights of marriage."
Clark cleared his throat. "Tell me the plan," he said.
||_||
"Is she there?"
"No."
"Can you see it?"
Ten minutes later, they were hovering high above Mayson's apartment building. Clark was peering down through the maze of rooms, trying to locate a small piece of green rock without seeing anything he had no right to see. Then, he found it. "Yeah - got it," he said.
"Where is it?"
"It's in the closet in her bedroom. There's a fake floor on the left side of the closet with a space below it. The green rock is in there, hidden in the pages of an old book."
"Are you feeling OK? We aren't close enough for it to affect you, are we?"
"No," Clark said. Then he grinned at his wife. "I guess it's a good thing I have totally avoided going to Mayson's apartment."
"A *very* good thing." Lois kissed him briefly. "To think, you thought *she* was the most dangerous thing in there."
"I *still* think that," he muttered.
"OK," Lois said. "Let's get back to Smallville and get out of these suits."
Clark paused. He was still ruminating over Lois's plan. She had explained it to him, he had questioned her extensively, and her easy answers and simple reasoning had stunned him. More than that, he was in awe that, today, she'd watched her team lose a final, she'd gotten married, she'd supported her debilitated groom through the wedding, she'd coped with cameras in her honeymoon suite ... and she'd still been able to devise a plan that seemed entirely workable.
And it was a plan that so totally encapsulated the concept of team. What he couldn't do, she was going to do. What she couldn't do, he would do.
Together - they were perfect.
"You are an amazing woman," Clark said. His mouth sought his wife’s, and he indulged in a long, deep kiss. He'd thought that by now, they'd be together. *Really* together.
Lois pulled away with a regretful smile. "Not long now, big guy," she said.
His reply was a frustrated groan.
||_||
Clark dropped gently at the back door of his parents' farm and looked into the kitchen to ensure they didn't have company. His mother was in there alone, bottling peaches.
He slid his hand into Lois's, and they walked in together.
His mom looked up. Her initial joy at seeing them was quickly replaced by concern. "What happened?" she said.
"We're fine," Clark assured her.
"Shouldn't you be ... in the honeymoon suite?"
"They put cameras in there," Lois said.
Martha stared at them in horror. "Did you do anything? I mean ..." She looked at Lois. "Did you take off your mask?"
"No," Lois said. "Perry White discovered the Star wanted photos of the honeymoon to go with their shots of the wedding."
Martha gasped.
"He told me before the wedding," Clark said. "It's OK."
"So, you've come here to ..."
"Get changed," Clark said. "And to ask you if you have some of the lead sheeting lying somewhere in the barn."
"Lead sheeting?" The colour drained from Martha's face. "The green rock ..." she said. "There's more?"
Clark crossed to his mom and put his hand on her shoulder. "There *is* more, Mom," he said. "But you're not to worry. Lois and I are going to get it, and I'm going to throw it into space."
"You and Lois?" she said. "Clark, I'm not sure ..."
"Do you think I'd agree to anything that might hurt Lois?"
"No," Martha said. She drilled into his eyes, and Clark knew more questions were coming. "How do you know there is more green rock?" she asked. "Did you get hurt by it?"
"Yes," Clark admitted. "But it was over in seconds," he added quickly. "I flew Lois here - I've recovered already. Really, Mom, I'm fine."
Martha nodded alowly, although the anxiety didn't clear from her face. "I'll ask your dad to find the lead sheeting. I'm sure there was some left over from when we found the green rock all those years ago."
"Thanks, Mom," Clark said. "And also, we're wondering if you'd be able to make an outfit for Lois - something that will make her look like a young man."
"You want Lois looking like a man?"
Clark winked at Lois. "Only for a short time."
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Martha asked suspiciously.
"Not yet, Mom," Clark said with an apologetic smile. "We don't have much time. But I promise I'll bring my wife home for a proper visit very soon."
Martha's face cleared, and she smiled. "So, despite the green rock, the wedding *did* go ahead?"
Clark grinned. "Yup," he said. He put his arm around Lois. "This beautiful woman is now my wife."
Martha hugged them both. "I'm so happy for you," she said. She leant back and smiled at them. "I guess it was too much to hope for an uneventful wedding?"
||_||
In his bedroom, Clark spun out of his suit and into jeans and a shirt. Lois looked on. "I wish I could do that," she said.
Clark grinned. "OK," he said. "Now that I'm your husband, I can speak freely."
Lois laughed. "OK, Mr Diplomatic. This should be good."
"I have wondered if it would be possible - after ... well, after I'm more familiar with ... well, if I could have you out of the suit and into clothes in as little time as it takes me to change."
She squealed with laughter. "You’re gonna spin around me?"
He grinned. "Dunno," he said. "But I reckon we should try it."
She pointed at him. "I love it when you speak Aussie."
He took her into his arms. "I just love you." He nuzzled into her neck.
"We haven't got time for this," she said with longing in her voice.
Clark looked from his wife to his bed and sighed. "You're right." He gestured to the door. "I'll get out of here while I can."
||_||
"Do you still have concerns about what we're going to do?" Lois asked as they flew towards Sydney.
"I'll be glad when it's over," Clark said.
She giggled. "Obviously." She stroked his cheek. "Seriously, big guy, are you worried?"
"I wish the plan didn't involve any possible danger to you," he said.
"There's minimal danger," she reminded him. "I'll have the piece of lead sheet with me. And you'll be watching me."
"But once you have the green rock, I won't be able to come, even if I can see that you're in danger."
"That will only be for a few seconds."
"Yeah," Clark said, still unconvinced. "Are you sure about asking Seb?"
"Yes."
"Do you trust him?"
"Totally."
"What if he says 'no'?"
"We'll go for Plan B," she replied. "But Plan A is better."
||_||
It was after two-thirty local time when Lois and Clark landed in a dark alley near the centre of Sydney. Lois dropped to her feet. She was no longer in the Ultra Woman outfit but was again dressed in her Hawthorn jumper and a pair of comfortable jeans.
"I'll meet you back here," she whispered.
"Lois," Clark hissed. "I can stay."
They'd already had this discussion. "You can watch me from up there," she said, looking into the darkness above them. "There too much risk that someone from Melbourne will see you - Hawthorn fans are out drowning their sorrows. Don't forget that Clark Kent's photo has been in the Herald Sun. Just because you don't know them, doesn't mean they don't know you."
"OK," he said reluctantly. "Be careful." Faster than her eyes could follow, he shot into the air.
Lois slipped her mobile phone from her pocket and called Seb's number.
He answered quickly. "Lois," he said. "What are you doing still up?"
"I've been ... around."
"Is Chris with you?"
"No, she went back to the hotel room."
"Are you all right?" His tone had become serious. "You're not in any trouble, are you?"
"No, Seb," Lois said. "But I need you to do something for me."
"Anything," he said. "You know that."
"Meet me at the shop."
"Now?" he exclaimed.
"Yes," Lois said. "Please, Seb. I need to see you now."
"OK," he said. "Where are you? Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No - just get to the shop as quickly as you can."
"I'll be ten minutes."
"Thanks, Seb." Lois shut down her mobile and slipped it into her jeans pocket. As she did, her engagement ring snagged on the denim and horror coursed through her.
She’d nearly forgotten to remove her rings.
Seb was a *jeweller*. He, of all people, was going to notice if she was wearing a wedding ring.
Lois slipped both rings from her finger and carefully lodged them in the coin pocket of her jeans.
||_||
At this time of night, it wasn't difficult to find a place to park. Seb locked his car and looked towards his shop. There was a figure near the door - small, female, and dressed in a Hawthorn jumper.
Seb shook his head. Who would traipse around Sydney in a Hawthorn jumper in the hours after a final? Lois Lane would. At least Sydney had won - that made it marginally safer because the locals would be more interested in celebrating than picking a fight with a lone Hawthorn fan.
He saw that she didn’t have her bag with her and his fears returned. Had someone already hurt her? He jogged the final few metres, and Lois turned at the sound of his footsteps. She smiled when she saw him, but Seb immediately sensed she was uneasy about something.
What had happened?
He unlocked the shop, stood back to let her in, shut the door behind them, and disengaged the security system. "Come through to the back," he said.
Once in the room behind the shop, he switched on the light and faced Lois. She was rubbing her arms as if she were cold. He turned on the heater and then hugged her for a long moment.
Seb was worried.
Lois wanting to see him at this time of night was disconcerting enough, but there was something about her. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour, perhaps it was because she was away from her hometown, perhaps it was because she was scared that she had just watched Hawthorn's last game ever ... he wasn't sure, just as he didn't know whether her shivering was due to cold or something else.
But he was incredibly grateful that - whatever the problem - she had come to him.
He drew back and smiled down at her. "Better now?"
She nodded. "How did the exhibition go?"
"Finished up about half an hour ago. Sold everything at top price, and took enough orders to keep me busy for at least a couple of months."
"Wow, Seb, that's fantastic. Congratulations."
He knew she hadn't come here to talk about his exhibition. "What are you doing here, Lois?" he asked. "What happened? You're worrying me."
Her brown eyes cannoned into his. "Seb," she said a little breathlessly. "I'm going to ask you for something, and I can't tell you why I need it. I'm going to beg you not to try to work it out. And, more than ever in our friendship, I need you to trust me."
A thick rope wound tightly around Seb's heart. "You're in some sort of trouble, aren't you?"
"No," she said. "I promise you, Seb, I haven't done anything wrong."
"You're in trouble because of what someone else has done?"
"I'm not in any trouble. I just need something from you."
"What?"
"I need that big piece of opal you showed me earlier."
Seb felt his mouth gape open. "What?!"
"I need that big piece of o -"
"I heard what you said, but Lois ... *why* do you need that opal?"
"That's what I can't tell you."
Seb stared at her for a long moment. "Why do you need money?" he said.
"I don't need money," Lois said. "I need that opal."
“Does this have something to do with Operation Payback? If they need money that badly ... if it means that much to you ... just say so, Lois. I'll give you however much you need.”
“It’s not for Operation Payback.”
Seb searched every nuance on Lois's face. Her eyes met his without flinching - openly, honestly - as she had always done. There was none of the teasing that was often there - she was deadly serious. She needed the opal - and she'd come to him to ask for it.
"OK," he said.
Shock cloaked her uneasiness. "S...Seb?" she gasped.
"Come on." He walked into the back room and turned on the light. He opened the safe, pulled out the box, picked out the biggest piece of opal, and held it up for her to see. "Is this the piece you want?"
Still wide-eyed, Lois nodded. Her eyes dropped from his face to the opal in his hand.
He held it out to her. "Take it," he said. "It's yours."
Gingerly, Lois took the opal and clenched it in her fist. She hugged it against her Hawthorn jumper. "Seb," she said. "Th... thank you."
He replaced the box in the safe and locked it. When he turned back to Lois, she was examining the opal. She looked up to him with eyes that were damp. "How ... how much is it worth?" she whispered.
Seb shrugged. "That doesn't matter," he said. "I gave it to you because I love you ... and even though there's not one official record in the world that says you and I are family, we are."
Lois threw herself at him and hugged him. Seb held her closely, hoping he had done the right thing. When she looked up at him with shiny tear-laden eyes, she said, "If I could choose my brother, I'd choose you every time, Seb."
"Even if Hawthorn merge?"
She nodded. "Even then."
They moved towards the shop. "How are you going to get where you're going without getting mugged?" Seb said.
"I have someone waiting for me not far away."
"You're leaving a jewellery shop in the middle of the night and walking through Sydney in a Hawthorn jumper," Seb said solemnly. "I need to know you're going to be safe."
"I will be."
"Will you let me come with you?"
"I can't, Seb," Lois said. "But I can tell you that I won't be in any danger."
Seb stood in the doorway and folded his arms. "I want three things from you, Lois."
"OK."
"When you safely arrive wherever you are going, you are to call me and let me know."
She nodded.
"And I want you to tell me something."
"I might not be able to tell you," she said.
"You can tell me this," he said. "If I knew the whole story ... If I knew the real reason why you need this opal, do you think I would give it to you?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I think you would give it to me."
He studied her face and realised that she truly believed what she said. In all the time he had known Lois, she had always been truthful with him.
"What's the last thing?" Lois said.
Seb looked at the floor, and when he looked up again, he tried to keep his smile from showing in his eyes. "Is Chris with anyone?"
Lois grinned. "No."
"Did she mention me? After you'd left?"
"She said you seemed nice."
"Nice?" Seb echoed, feeling crushed. "That was it?"
"That was it," Lois confirmed. She grinned. "But don't be discouraged by that, Sebby. I'm sure Chris has great taste in men."
"Do you think she'd mind if you weren't able to get to breakfast tomorrow?"
"I don't think she'd mind at all."
"Any chance you could develop gastro or something?"
Lois grinned. "I could ... but there's a problem."
"What?" he asked quickly.
"Chris knows - or thinks she knows - something about me ... something that you know isn’t true ... Please don't ask her, or try to work this out."
"Lois!" Seb said as his worries came flooding back. "The more you say, the more this concerns me. Is Chris involved in your big secret?"
"No. But she guessed something that isn't true, and I didn't lie to her, but I couldn't tell her the truth, so I let her think that what she had guessed was the situation, but it wasn't."
Seb took a deep breath and tried to unjumble his brain cells.
Lois put her hand on his wrist. "Please trust me, Seb," she said. "Please trust that I haven't done anything wrong."
Seb put his hand over hers. "I trust you," he said.
"Thank you," Lois said. She smiled at him. "Chris is a lucky girl."
"I haven't said more than two sentences to her."
"Ah," Lois said knowingly. "I saw that look on your face ... I've never seen you look like that before."
Seb unfolded his arms and stood aside. "Get out of here," he said. "And remember, I'm not leaving the shop until I get the call that you're OK."
Lois gave him a final hug and kiss and walked out of the shop.
Seb locked the door and leant against the counter, deep in thought. Chris thought he was nice. That was a start.
And he'd arranged to have breakfast with her - alone.
His phone shrilled through the stillness, and he picked it up. "Sebastian Stone," he said.
"Seb, it's me."
"Are you all right, Lois?"
"Yes. I'm safe. And I'm with someone who will keep me safe."
"You're going to stay with them?"
"Yes."
"OK. G'night, Lois."
"G'night, Seb. And thank you."
Seb replaced the phone, his mind whirling.
He had promised Lois he wouldn’t try to figure out why she needed the opal ... and he wouldn’t.
But a man couldn’t help what he noticed ...
||_||
Lois closed her eyes as heaviness assaulted them. She was determined not to fall asleep. Clutched tightly in her hand was the precious green opal. Not for anything was she going to risk losing it.
Clark's voice came above the whistling of the air as they flew east over the United States. "We're nearly back in Smallville," he said.
She opened her eyes and smiled up at him.
"Are you getting tired?" he asked.
"No," she said. "But it was nice to close my eyes for a few moments."
"We should be finished with this soon ... then I'll take you to Perry's fishing shack, and you can sleep."
Lois snorted. "If you think for even one moment that I'll be sleeping, you are in for a shock, big guy."
Clark grinned. "OK, hold on for landing."
They dropped next to the back door of the farmhouse and went into the kitchen. Martha was working at the sewing machine on the kitchen table. She looked up and smiled her welcome. "Almost done," she said. "I've altered some of Clark's old clothes."
Lois unfurled her fingers - her palm was marked where the ridges of the opal had embedded in her skin as she had clutched it so tightly.
Martha stood from the table and examined the opal in Lois's palm. "That looks exactly like ..."
"Yeah," Lois said. She gave it to Clark. "Do you remember the shape of the green rock?"
Her husband nodded. He looked around the kitchen. "I should do this outside. Stay in here - just in case there are flying shards."
Lois and Martha went to the kitchen window and watched as Clark held the opal at arm's length and began shaping it with his eyes.
"Who has the green rock?" Martha asked quietly.
"Mayson Drake."
Martha groaned. "Oh, no."
"Don't worry," Lois said. "She won't have it for much longer."
"What is it that Clark has? When I first saw it, I thought it was the green rock - except I knew you would never bring that near Clark."
"That is a prime piece of Australian opal," Lois said. "A friend of mine is a jeweller, and when he showed me some rough opal, my first thought was how much it looked like the green rock that I'd seen on the television when Trask showed off his collection."
"You're going to swap it? For Mayson's?"
"Yes."
"Why not just take the piece she has? Why bother swapping?"
Lois looked at her mother-in-law. "Because having what she thinks is green rock will keep Mayson occupied for weeks," Lois said. "That means she won't have the time or the inclination to try to seduce my husband."
Martha smiled. "Knowing how Clark feels about you, there's no chance of anyone else seducing him."
"I know," Lois said. "But that woman grates on me." She looked back to where Clark was still whittling the opal with heat from his eyes. "Did he tell you she tried to ambush him in his own bed?"
"Yes, he did."
With some difficulty, Lois pushed aside her lingering annoyance. "If the green rock disappears within a few hours of the wedding, Mayson is going to assume it was us who took it."
"And if she thought that? What could she do?"
"She could start taking more notice of Superman. She might keep track of his appearances. She might notice that they line up with Clark's disappearances. The difficulty in living two lives is when somebody looks too closely - we definitely don't want Mayson doing that. If we swap the rock, by the time she knows for sure that it's not working, she'll still have a lot of possibilities to work through before she concludes that the piece she had was stolen."
"What if she gets it tested - and discovers it's *Australian* opal?"
"I don't think she'd be willing to risk someone else getting hold of it."
"That's true," Martha said. "I assume you're the one who's going to get it and wrap it in the lead? Clark couldn't do it."
"That's right. And that's why I need to look like a boy."
Martha nodded thoughtfully. "So Lois Lane is in Sydney. Ultra Woman is on her honeymoon. If anyone sees an unknown male entering the apartment building, he'll be the prime suspect ... assuming anyone even remembers him when Mayson finally starts asking questions."
"Exactly," Lois said with a grin. "And Mayson Drake will be the proud possessor of a piece of Australian opal - beautiful, probably worth a fortune, but absolutely harmless to handsome aliens."
"How are you going to get into her apartment?"
"Probably the same way she keeps getting into Clark's," Lois said grimly. "I'll pick the lock."
Martha chuckled.
Lois grinned suddenly. "I've already told Clark he doesn't have to watch that part if he doesn't want to. I'm sure he's not comfortable with breaking and entering even in these circumstances."
"What did he say?" Martha asked with a wide grin.
"Nothing, but I could see in his face that he wasn't happy with the idea." Lois laughed. "And then he said that nothing was going to induce him to take his eyes from me, no matter what laws I break."
The two women were still laughing when the door opened, and Clark stepped in. He held out the piece of opal - it was still rough in places, but it had been skilfully shaped. "How's this?" he said.
"I haven't seen Mayson's piece," Lois replied as she moved to him and took the opal from his hand. It was still warm. "Are you confident?"
"Yeah," Clark said. "The colouring is slightly different, and the markings aren't identical, but unless she's spent a lot of time studying it, I don't think she'll notice." He looked up hopefully. "And if she does, there's always the chance she'll think that because it's of alien origin, it might change over time."
"I guess it's time to take back what's yours," Lois said.
"I'll help you with the disguise," Martha offered. "It's all ready."
Lois followed Martha up the stairs. "From Lois Lane to Ultra Woman to generic young American male," Lois muttered. "And all in one night."
Precious opal is identified and characterised by its possession of a visible play-of-colour that emanates from the opal's oft-contrasting black, dark, or light body tone. The play-of colour of precious opal consists of a random "pattern" of colour patches (or grains) that show typically "spectrally pure" colours or colours of very narrow wavelength. These colour patches often vary in size and shape, that change hue (colour) as the location of any overhead light source, orientation of the opal, or direction of viewing is changed, this constitutes the pattern shown in the opal.
