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Part 9

Thursday – Mid-Day

Superman sat quietly in Detective Henderson’s unmarked police car. He had so many questions buzzing around in his head, but he had no idea if the policeman would be able to answer any of them. He finally chose one.

“Am I really Charlie King, husband to Lola King?”

Henderson smirked. “Lola Dane, actually.”

Superman’s heart plummeted. He felt awful. “I am?”

The detective shook his head as a chuckle escaped. “Sorry, too tempting. No, Superman, your name is not really Charlie King. And your wife… and you don’t have a wife named Lola.” He sighed. “Linda King had it coming to her the way she kept throwing herself at you. Sometimes I just can’t resist knocking her down a peg or two. I apologize for the confusion. I forgot you could hear us. Obviously, you’re no impersonator.”

Superman exhaled, reassured that at least there wasn’t some woman out there pining away for him. Someone wondering where he was while he had been freely and easily tossing his heart to Lois Lane. He felt nothing for Linda King, except possibly nausea.

Lois Lane – on the other hand – was all he could think about. He felt almost embarrassed about the depth of his feelings for this woman to whom he had technically only spoken for a minute. He didn’t know if he would still love her as much as he did at this moment when his memories returned; he hoped not. She was another man’s wife. He still had no idea why that bespectacled nerd appealed to Lois much more than he, Superman, did.

“Why Clark Kent?” Oh, God, he had spoken his thoughts out loud. Again. Superman turned to look out the window, hoping Henderson hadn’t heard him. He really needed more self-control.

He saw Henderson glance at him out of the corner of his eye. “Because anyone you date might as well paint a giant target on themselves. Besides having her apartment trashed, burglarized, and bugged, Lois was also threatened by The Toasters and kidnapped by a psychopathic billionaire, who wanted her to reveal your secrets to him.”

Superman flinched. Yeah, that would kind of diminish his allure in any woman’s eyes. He now knew why she and Clark had rushed off… Had they rushed off? Maybe their engagement was one of long standing. Superman had no idea.

Then he realized that Superman would never be able to have a relationship with any woman. He was destined to be alone for the rest of his life. No wife. No children. No family. He would never chance putting them in danger. He would always be apart from the others on this planet. That thought saddened him.

Of course, Superman reminded himself that he would be pining away for Lois Lane for the rest of his life, so it didn’t matter anyway. He wondered why he had chosen to come to Earth in the first place. He sighed.

“Clark’s the rock in Lois’s life. He takes good care of her,” Henderson assured him.

“He wouldn’t hurt her, would he?” Superman asked softly.

“Not intentionally.”

“She said that Clark would kill her if she…” What? Rescued Superman from the police station? Claimed him like a lost puppy? Took him home? Oh, goodness, he wanted nothing more than for Lois to take him home with her. To be her lost puppy. He was pathetic.

Henderson chuckled. “Kill her with his annoyance maybe, but not with death.” He pulled the car over in front of a closed restaurant. MJ’s Café. “Here we are. MJ stands for Martha and Jonathan; those are Clark’s parents. They live in the apartment upstairs.”

A note on the door announced that the restaurant was closed due to a family emergency. Superman surmised the emergency to be Clark’s disappearance. They must love their son very much to close down their restaurant when he had been missing less than twenty-four hours.

Superman didn’t want to get out of the car. He wasn’t sure the type of reception he would get from these people after what he had done to their family. He decided on a delaying tactic instead. “How do you know Lois and Clark?”

“I was the officer who responded after Lois’s apartment was burglarized. You and I met when you brought me another burglar and told me that if I… or the police… ever needed you that I was to tell Clark Kent, because he knew how to contact you,” the detective explained.

Superman nodded. “That’s how you knew that Clark was my best friend?” It was more of a statement than a question. “How does he contact me?” he asked.

Henderson shrugged and then nodded to the restaurant. “Maybe the Kents know.”

“I guess I should go find out,” Superman mumbled to himself.

The policeman pointed to the door next to the café’s entrance. “You can buzz their apartment there.”

“You aren’t coming?” Superman inquired, pushing open the car door.

“Nah. You can handle it from here. I’ve got lots to do down at the station. Clark isn’t the only missing person in Metropolis right now,” Henderson told him.

“Thank you.” Superman nodded to him and climbed out. He shut the car door and raised his hand in a slight wave. After walking to the building, he pressed the buzzer next to the Kents’ name.

“Hello?” said a woman’s voice.

“It’s Superman,” he told her and the door clicked open for him. Superman glanced over his shoulder to Henderson, but the man had already driven off. He pushed open the door and walked up the stairs.

An older, petite, strawberry-blonde woman ran down the stairs and threw herself into his arms with a huge embrace. “We’ve been so worried,” she told him. Unlike the hug that Linda King had given him, this one was as far from uncomfortable as possible. It must have been the best hug in the history of hugs, because Superman was sure he had never felt so loved. No matter what else he might discover, he would always consider this woman his home.

***

Lois awoke on a couch in one of the interrogation rooms.

“Here,” said a portly policeman, handing her a donut. “Bill was worried you hadn’t eaten all day. Low blood sugar.” Then he handed her a cup of coffee. “Hope black is okay.”

“Fine,” she whispered and took the offered food.

Clark’s alive! Clark’s alive! Lois’s inner voice hadn’t stopped chanting that since she first spotted him across the crowded squad room.

“Where’s Superman?” she finally asked, after a few bites of donut and a sip of probably the worst coffee she had tried in her life. It tasted burnt. Her head was really throbbing. She couldn’t believe she had passed out. But Bill – did the policeman mean Henderson? – was right. She hadn’t eaten since the peanuts on the plane yesterday afternoon.

“You mean Charlie King? The Superman impersonator?” the policeman asked.

Superman impersonator? No, that had definitely been her husband. Lois may have been out of it, but she knew her husband. And her body had zinged at his touch; that couldn’t be faked.

Charlie King? Wasn’t that the name Henderson said Clark was using?

She took another bite of donut. “Yes, him.”

“Henderson offered to drive him to his parents.”

Lois nodded. If they were going to look for Clark, the Kents’ place was the best place to start. She couldn’t believe she had sent Clark on such a fool’s errand. She hoped he would forgive her for refusing to take responsibility for Superman at such a public locale. When Clark got his memory back, he would… maybe.

The Kents! You should warn them.

“Can I borrow your phone? I should check in with my in-laws and see if they’ve heard from Clark,” she asked to the policeman. “Thanks for the donut.”

He nodded. “Why don’t we give you a few moments to rest first?” he suggested. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

A good ten minutes later, the portly policeman returned and waved her out of the interrogation room. Lois grabbed what was left of the half-box of donuts to take with her.

“I’m sure Bill won’t mind if you borrow his telephone,” said the policeman, leading her to the visitor’s chair at an empty desk and handing over the phone. Lois told him the phone number to dial and it rang several times before someone picked it up.

“Hello?” Clark’s sultry voice said into her ear.

“Clark?” she gasped. “It’s Lois.”

“No, I’m sorry, Ms. Lane. It’s Superman, not Clark,” he replied.

Lois winced. Her husband’s mind was still missing, but at least his body was somewhere safe.

“I… uh… was just wondering if the Kents could stand a little company,” she mumbled through her excuse for calling. Even to her it sounded flimsy at best.

“I’ve just arrived here to interview the Kents about their son,” Superman told her.

“Your… his parents. How… how… That’s great!” Lois tried to push enthusiasm into her voice.

“I’m sure they’d love for you to come over, Ms. Lane. Shall I ask them?” Superman inquired.

“Oh. No. No… uh… I wouldn’t want to intrude at a… you know… a family time,” she said. Lois wanted nothing more than to be with Clark. But Clark wasn’t Clark. He was Superman. She didn’t know if she could be around him and pretend he wasn’t the man she loved with her entire being. She didn’t have enough self-control for that kind of act at the moment.

“Family time? Are you sure, Ms. Lane? You are part of this family,” he reminded her.

“Oh, no. No. I have a lot to do. I’ll see you later,” she whispered, as she closed her eyes with a wince, her heart breaking with every lie she told Clark.

“Bye, Ms. Lane,” he replied aloofly before hanging up the phone.

“Bye,” she whispered to dead air. Superman had finally mastered the art of being detached around her, just at the moment she wanted nothing more than to be attached to him.

“Did they hear from your husband?” asked the portly policeman.

“Yeah,” Lois said with a nod. “He…” She swallowed. “He just got there. I should go.” She stood up and pointed over her shoulder. “He’ll probably need me to let him in at our apartment.”

“You okay to drive, Ms. Lane?” the policeman asked her, eyeing her warily.

She smiled weakly. “Yeah. Sure. I’m taking these, though, just in case,” she said, tucking the box of donuts under her arm. “Wouldn’t want me to cause any accidents.” Her joke fell flat, but at least he let her go on her own recognizance.

Where are you going? inquired her inner voice as Lois went down the stairs.

Home, she replied. She was exhausted. She hadn’t slept all night and was still wearing the clothes she had put on the day before. She could use a nap and shower.

Like that matters. Go to the Kents. Get your husband. Take him home.

Lois paused her step. Could she? Would he accept her? Would he want her after she had rejected him so soundly upstairs?

Who cares what he thinks? The man has amnesia. He doesn’t know what he wants. He’s probably very confused and scared and, being Superman, unwilling to admit it. Clark needs you, Lois, and you need him. But do whatever you want! As long as what you want is to be with your husband.

The man on the phone hadn’t known her though. Hadn’t wanted her. Hadn’t been Clark. Hadn’t been her husband.

And whose fault was that? Of course, he’s still your husband. If you can’t convince Superman that he’s your husband, then you’ll never be able to convince anyone of anything. You’ll have no right calling yourself a reporter.

Besides, Lois would have Clark’s parents to help her.

Are you going to let a little bump on his head stop you? In sickness and in health …

“For better or for worse…” she mumbled as her feet started down the steps again.

***

“Who was that?” Martha Kent called from the kitchen in the Kent’s small apartment. As they had walked into the apartment, the phone had rung and the timer had gone off. Mrs. Kent had asked Superman to answer the phone, so she could pull the brownies out of the oven.

He hadn’t known if Clark’s family would accept him. If Superman truly had been the cause of the rumors that Lois Lane was cheating on their son, so much so that Clark had felt impelled to marry his girlfriend all of sudden just to squash said rumors… Or at least that was why he thought Clark and Lois had gotten married. Wasn’t that what Ms. Lane had implied?

Jonathan Kent returned from the bathroom and patted him on the back as he sat down at the table.

“Lois Lane,” Superman told them matter-of-factly, who had been on the phone.

Or is she Lois Kent now? the hero wondered. Superman winced. He had forgotten to ask Lois how she was feeling. He felt like a total heel. No wonder she had chosen Clark over him. No, she had been dating Clark before he even arrived, Henderson had told him. He was sure Superman had never been an option in her mind. His heart sunk lower into his stomach. He sat down at the dining table next to Mr. Kent.

Superman felt that he should be completely honest with the Kents about his current mental disability. Especially after that hug Mrs. Kent gave him when he came in, Superman knew he would never be able to lie to the woman. Anyway, didn’t Lois write that part of his credo was truth? And he would do anything to make Lois happy and if what Ms. Lane wanted was her husband…

“I don’t know if she’s more upset that Clark is missing or that my brain is on the fritz and it’s going to make it even more difficult to find him.” That sounded horrible. Of course, she would be more worried about her husband than Superman!

Mr. and Mrs. Kent exchanged a perplexed look as Martha Kent gave them each a glass of milk. Mr. Kent informed Superman, “Clark isn’t missing.”

Superman was confused. “Sure he is. Ms. Lane told Detective Henderson that he never came home last night. She hasn’t heard from him. Didn’t she tell you?” Or was that why she called just now to warn them that he was on his way over to ask them about their son?

Standing behind him, Martha Kent set her hands on Superman’s shoulders as she looked over at her husband. “Jonathan, I don’t think he knows.”

Superman glanced between Clark’s parents. There was something else going on here. It was very possible he didn’t know. There was a lot at the moment he didn’t know. “Knows what?” he asked, taking a sip of his milk.

The Kents had him follow them into their bedroom. Martha Kent opened her closet and pulled a Superman suit with cape out of the back with an exasperated sigh. “I sewed them for you,” she told him, handing it over to him.

Superman walked over to the closet and saw that there were several more suits inside. “Why would you want Superman costumes?” he asked her.

Jonathan Kent stared at him. “Because our son Clark is Superman.”

“What?” Superman replied, baffled. That didn’t make any sense. He was Superman. Not Clark.

Jonathan nodded. Superman looked over at Martha. She nodded emphatically as well.

“That’s crazy,” Superman said, handing the suit back to Mrs. Kent. Oh! They meant he was also their son? “I may not be able to remember much, but everything I’ve heard about your son so far is…” Clark Kent was married to Lois Lane. Allowed to kiss her. Touch her. Make love to her. “Unreal,” he finished as his heart started to pound against his chest. He walked back into the living room. How could he be their son? “They say I’m not even from this planet,” he told them.

“Then what are all these costumes doing in there?” Martha Kent asked, following him.

“I… I don’t know,” Superman stammered. Was Mrs. Kent his seamstress? Or was it something more wicked. Superman thought Detective Henderson had answered all of his questions. Perhaps this was another practical joke? Like the one the policeman had played on Linda King? Why would the Kents play along? “Maybe you aren’t really Clark’s parents!” he shouted at them. “Maybe this is just some weird game that I don’t know the rules to… but… but…” He shook his head. “This certainly does not prove that I am your son Clark Kent.”

Mr. Kent squatted on the floor and reached under the bed.

“What are you doing?” Mrs. Kent asked him.

“He needs proof,” he said, pulling a box from under the bed. From inside the box he pulled a navy blue blanket with a Superman crest on it. “When we found you as a baby, you were wrapped in this blanket.”

“What?” Superman said, reaching out and touching the blanket. It was soft and felt good against his skin. He shook his head in disbelief.

“I’ve got an idea, Jonathan. Go get that picture Lois gave us…” Martha Kent suggested, grabbing a pair of black-rimmed glasses off her dresser. She handed the glasses to Superman. “Mess up your hair and put these on.”

Superman rolled his eyes and did as she requested, just to prove to her that their theory was preposterous. If he was their son that would mean he was married to Lois Lane and he wouldn’t let himself even dream that. That would be…

“Ready, Jonathan?” Martha asked her husband. He nodded. Both of them held up their items at the same time. Martha held a mirror and Jonathan a wedding photo of Clark and Lois.

Except for the blue suit, Superman was the spitting image of Clark Kent. He pulled off the glasses and stumbled backwards to the couch in shock. “I’m Clark Kent?” He shook his head. “I’m married to Lois Lane? I can’t be married to her!” If he were married to Lois, then that meant that they… His eyes went wide. “There must be some mistake.”

“No mistake, son. Superman is really Clark Kent,” Jonathan told him, grabbing a chair and sitting in front of Superman.

“I may look like him but I don’t know how to be Clark Kent,” Superman said, looking up from his hands into Jonathan’s eyes.

“Martha,” Jonathan said to his wife with a hint of a smile and wink. “I think I know what’s going on here. Can you get us some brownies?”

Martha nodded and went into the kitchen.

Jonathan lowered his voice, handing Superman the wedding photo. “Son, does this doubt have something to do with Lois?”

Superman stared at the photo. Lois looked so beautiful and she was holding on to his arm. No, not his arm. Clark Kent’s arm. That man – that Clark Kent – seemed so happy. Of course, Clark was happy that the stunning woman next to him just pledged that she would love him forever. Would let him talk to her. Laugh with her. Kiss her. Touch her. Make love to her. Superman’s hands began to shake and he set down the photograph. “Ms. Lane married Clark and I’m not him. I’m… I don’t know who I am.”

“You are both Clark Kent and Superman. And you are our son,” Jonathan told him, softly. “And we love you.”

Superman gazed into Jonathan’s eyes. There was no humor there, just love. He had a family who loved him and a wife… “But I don’t have Clark’s memories and I don’t have Superman’s memories.” He closed his eyes with a wince. “If she was my wife, why didn’t she say so at the police station? Why did she kept blathering on about having to find Clark Kent if he was standing right in front of her?” Superman’s eyes flashed open. “She knows, right?”

Jonathan nodded.

“Then why?” Superman asked this man who claimed to be his father.

“I bet she was scared,” said Martha, entering the room with a plate of brownies.

“Why? Because she was married to an alien?” he asked, taking a brownie off the top of the stack and stuck it in his mouth. Heavenly.

Martha smiled reassuringly. “Of course not, sweetie. She was scared about revealing your secret identity.”

Oh. “When did they get married?” he asked.

“Last Friday in Niagara Falls,” said his father.

“Last Friday? A week ago?” Superman said falteringly, taking another brownie.

Mrs. Kent nodded.

O-K. He would set aside the information that Superman had had to deal with the Nightfall asteroid during what was essentially his honeymoon until later. He didn’t want to think about Lois and a honeymoon together in front of these people… any people, really. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. But he had to know if it were a real marriage, not just a faux marriage to get the tabloids off Lois’s back. He swallowed and lowered his voice, “And Lois and Clark… they’re friends, right?” He cleared his throat, lowering his voice and hoping it didn’t sound like he was gossiping about their son.

“Sure, you’re friends, son,” replied Clark’s father, confused.

“Are they… more than friends?” he asked, hoping he was getting his meaning across to Clark’s parents without having to be explicit.

“More than…?” Clark’s mother gaped at him.

“You’ll be partners at the new Daily Planet. You’ll work closely together,” explained Mr. Kent, wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist.

“How close?” Superman asked warily.

“Close,” replied Mr. Kent.

“Close, close,” Mrs. Kent said with a nod.

“Did Lois and Clark…” Superman pressed his lips together. This question would have to be asked directly as his previous ones seemed too vague. “Consummate this marriage?”

Martha laughed a full belly chortle, finally understanding. “Most certainly. She could hardly keep her hands off you before you were married.”

Superman gulped, taking another brownie. The deep, rich flavor was really soothing. “She married Clark for love?” he finally asked, a part of him thrilled and a part of him in disbelief. Dismayed, because he still couldn’t believe that Lois loved Clark. And he was Clark! Lois Lane loved him? He was getting dizzy from this revelation and its natural consequences.

Martha’s reassuring smile broadened into a grin. “Oh, yeah.”

He looked between the large grins these people who claimed to be his folks displayed.

Jonathan nodded to his wife again and she returned to the kitchen. “What’s really bothering you, son?”

“Is she expecting me to return?” He zipped over the table and swallowed his milk in one sip, before returning to the couch two seconds later. He took another brownie. “Am I supposed to live with Lois Lane?”

“She is your wife, son.”

“I can’t go to her,” he whispered to Jonathan Kent as he started to wring his hands. “I feel more comfortable as the hero than the man and she’s going to expect… well… her husband… not me.” He wasn’t explaining this well.

“Are you afraid that she’s going to expect you to share her bed? To make love to her?”

“Can I stay with you until my memories return?” Superman asked hopefully.

Jonathan raised a curious eyebrow. “Don’t you want to sleep with your wife?”

He wasn’t describing his reasoning well at all, Superman realized. “I woke up in a hole in the ground this morning to someone calling me Superman. All day I was secure in the knowledge of who I am, just without my past... my memories. I spent all day researching myself, Superman me, with this nagging feeling – a hope really – that there was more to me than that hero everyone kept talking about… Then I learned that Lois Lane was Superman’s girlfriend and I was ecstatic. Finally, there was someone with whom I had shared my secrets. Who would know about me. And then when I saw that first photo of us, just standing and talking, I… I know this will sound crazy, but I sort of fell in love with her.” He looked down. “There was something about her that I… she…”

Mr. Kent smiled. “It’s plain that the memories are gone but the love is still there.”

“But I don’t know her! How can you expect me to…” Superman brought his eyes up to Jonathan Kent’s.

“There is more to a marriage than sharing a bed, Clark,” Mr. Kent told him.

Superman swallowed. Clark? That was the thing. He wasn’t Clark. She fell in love with Clark, not this superhero. What would Lois do, when she saw Superman dressed up like Clark? Would she think that her husband had returned from the dead? And he hadn’t. He had only been replaced by someone else. Would she kick him out? Would she ask him to stay? Would she want to make love to him? Maybe. Probably not.

Even if he looked like Clark, without Clark’s memories Superman wasn’t Clark. He couldn’t play make-believe with the woman of his dreams. Well, he could, but he shouldn’t. Did he want to make love to Lois? Stupidest inquiry in the history of questions! Of course! Just thinking about the possibility of seeing her again was making his hands shake. But as her husband – especially a new husband – would she expect more than just him looking at her, right? She would expect some touching. A kiss perhaps? Hand holding? Caress of her cheek? And if she wanted to make love with him…?

She was fresh off her honeymoon, maybe she was sated already. Of course, Lois had thought he had died, so maybe she would want more from him. What would he do if the most beautiful woman he had ever seen asked him to make love to her? He had told himself earlier that he would do anything to make Lois happy… but… but could he make love to her while pretending that he was the man she loved? That just seemed sneaky, somehow. Underhanded. Creepy.

And, yet, tempting. Oh, so tempting. He was the worst man ever to even consider doing such a thing to Lois. Would he have the willpower to say ‘no’? Superman buried his head in his hands.

“And how would that look? If a young man fresh off his honeymoon returns to his parents’ apartment instead of moving in with his wife?” Martha Kent had returned and sat down next to him.

“I don’t care how it looks,” Superman told them. “It isn’t fair for Lois to share her home, her life…” Her bed. “… with a stranger.”

“Isn’t fair to her or to you?” Martha Kent raised a curious eyebrow at him. “You aren’t a stranger to her. For better or worse, you are her husband,” she said, patting his knee. “Anyway, Lois’s sister Lucy is staying in your old room right now, so you can’t stay here. And if she moves back in with your wife, the tabloid reporters stalking Lois are surely to notice.”

Superman’s jaw dropped. Once again he would be guilty of spreading lies in the tabloids about her. There was no winning. He only wanted what was best for Lois and there seemed to be no right answer.

Jonathan stood up. “That reminds me, son. Superman can’t go to Lois’s apartment without garnering attention, so we’ll have to get you changed.”

Martha stood up as well. “I’ve been packing your stuff into your father’s old army duffel bag for the move.” She picked up the empty brownie plate.

“Oh, sorry, Mrs. Kent. I seemed to have eaten up all of your brownies. They were delicious.” Superman blushed. He would be needing some extra large tights if he kept pigging out like that.

Martha glanced back at him. “Feel free to call me ‘Mom,’ Clark. And I’ll fix you up another plate to take home to Lois.” She smiled at him with a wink. “She’s a bit of a chocoholic herself.”

Superman ran a hand down his face. What could he do to delay his inevitable meeting with Clark’s wife? “Would you mind if I borrowed your shower and a razor?” he asked Mr. Kent.

Jonathan chuckled, holding out his arm. “A razor isn’t going to cut it, son. Come on, I’ll show you how you shave.”

Superman nodded. These people were too wonderful words. Clark was one lucky man.

***

Thursday – Late Afternoon

Jonathan pulled up the truck in front of an apartment building and looked up at the number. “I think this is it, son. Does it look familiar?”

Martha had called Lucy at work for the address because Lois hadn’t answered the phone when they had tried her number, and neither of the Kents had ever been to Lois’s apartment.

Superman shook his head. As far as he knew, he had never been here before. “No, Sir.”

He had gotten into the habit of calling Mr. Kent ‘Sir,’ which seemed more comfortable for him than ‘Dad.’ Although he was dressed for the part, he still felt more like Superman than Clark Kent.

He looked up at the front stoop, hesitant on this next step on finding out about his life. “Do you think Ms. Lane will be at home?”

“A couple of things, son,” Mr. Kent told him, handing him the keys Clark had left when he went to battle Nightfall the first time. This had all been explained to him back at the Kents’ apartment. “You call your wife ‘Lois’, not ‘Ms. Lane’.”

Superman nodded. Right. His wife. Lois. He swallowed. He was both excited and terrified all at the same time.

“Just because she has all the memories doesn’t give her more power in your relationship. And having all the strength doesn’t give it to you either. Just talk to Lois about anything that makes you uncomfortable, Clark,” his ‘father’ reminded him. “Communication is the key to any good marriage.”

Superman nodded again.

“And, son…” Mr. Kent touched Superman’s arm gently for a moment. “If you ever feel that this isn’t working, give me a call, and I’ll come and get you.”

Superman turned and looked up at the front stoop again; this time with a sigh. He would make this work. If he failed with Lois… “Thank you, Sir, for all your assistance this afternoon.”

Mr. Kent pressed a little smile onto his face and nodded. “Anytime, son,” he choked out. “Go on.”

Superman opened the door to the truck and grabbed the olive green duffel and a small picnic basket out of the back of the truck. Mom had made them dinner, figuring they had enough on their plate without having to worry about cooking as well. Calling Martha Kent ‘Mom’ had felt right, natural.

He nodded towards Mr. Kent again and then went up the front stoop. Setting down the duffel, he pulled out his keys. He tried two keys before he found the right one and got the door open. He turned and waved at Mr. Kent, who had been waiting as Superman somehow knew he would be. Clark Kent – AKA Superman – picked up the duffel and went inside.

‘Through the main building, out past the pool to the back building,’ Lucy had told his mother. He swung the duffel bag over his right shoulder and carried the picnic basket with his left. He was lucky that Lucy had given such good directions. This would be a bad time to get lost.

As he passed into a courtyard, a thin, silver haired man accosted him. “Clark Kent, isn’t it?”

Superman raised a brow at the man and slowed his pace. “Do I know you?” he asked warily, hoping he did not.

“We haven’t been formally introduced,” the man said, extending his hand. “Leo Nunk, National Inquisitor.”

Superman’s eyes turned into slits as he remembered the negative publicity garnered from that man’s ‘newspaper.’ “You’re the man who’s been harassing Lois.”

“Harassing seems like such a strong term…” Leo tried to correct him as Superman continued towards the basement apartment in the back building. “Mr. Kent, please. Just one quote. That’s all I’m asking. One reporter to another. We all have deadlines.”

Superman stopped and stared at the man. “Do you live in this building?” He shook his head to clarify. “This complex?” At Leo Nunk’s slightly embarrassed grin, he continued, “How did you get in here?”

“We all have to protect our sources,” Nunk told him.

“If I see you in this courtyard again or hear that you’ve been bothering my wife, I’ll have a restraining order placed against you,” Superman told him.

Nunk’s eyes lit up. “Wife? You and Lois got married!” The slime practically did a little dance and he skipped backward to keep up with Superman. “When? Where? Was Superman there? What was Lois like on …”

“Stay away from my wife!” Superman growled. With one slight nudge with the heel of his hand, Nunk went flying into the swimming pool with a huge splash. Oh, dear. Superman hoped he hadn’t exerted any of his extra strength to swat that fly. He watched as Nunk splashed around in the pool for a moment, glaring at him.

“Clark!” a beautiful feminine voice called to him, gleefully. Suddenly, a pair of arms surrounded his neck and a pair of lips covered his as she jumped into his full arms. “Oh, Clark.”

Superman’s felt his nerve endings explode with joyous fireworks at this barrage of kisses. With his free hand, he surrounded the waist of this beautiful woman who attacked him and then slid it down her curves to under her bottom to hold her better. He felt like he could kiss her forever.

An image of making love to this woman in a cave flashed across his mind, causing his body to respond more vibrantly to her stimuli. He carried her inside their apartment, their lips never parting.

*** End of Part 9 ***

Part 10G

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