The dreaded call from the lawyer finally came. Perry received the news late one afternoon that the courts had ruled in their favor agreeing the Daily Planet could be reopened, but he was also told the remaining forty-nine percent ownership had sued to have their partnership dissolved and wanted to be bought out. Clark had received the same call from the lawyer’s office, and he knew that Perry would soon be calling or stopping by the apartment. An idea was beginning to form in the back of his brain about how to solve this problem, but he did not feel free to discuss it openly yet. Clark’s total lack of greed had made him ignore some of the options before, but now he gave them some serious contemplation.
That evening, when in total despair Perry had told Clark he was ready to throw in the towel and give up the fight to reopen the Daily Planet, Clark told him that he had discussed the problem with Superman and they were working on a solution. He explained to Perry that Superman needed a voice to tell the world what was truly just and right. His own voice was weak in comparison to the printed word of the Daily Planet. Perry pressed him for details, but Clark said that he did not have details right at that time, but needed for Perry to find out the total amount needed for them to buy out the remaining investors. Perry was not convinced that his problems were over, but he left the apartment in a much better mood.
Lois tried to get details from Clark about what he had in mind, but he resisted telling her. He just grinned at her and said, “it is Superman’s secret and I do not tell tales on the big guy.” The look on Lois’ face made him consider that joke was unacceptable. He wasn‘t going to risk stepping back where Lois did not trust him. “Actually, honey, I don’t know the details yet. I want to help Perry get the Planet back and I’m sure I can do just that. I found a gold mine in Alaska when I was up there last month. I don’t have any details yet, but it is a possibility I can help if there is enough gold. Can you wait for me to work it all out before I tell you the specifics I don’t have yet?” She looked grim, but shook her head yes. At least this time Clark wanted to share with her, and she understood that a plan was forming in the back of his head and he didn’t really know exactly how it would work, yet.
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The search for the location of the kryptonite cage was a worry for both Lois and Clark. Lois called Bill Henderson and told him that Superman had been to their house for breakfast that morning and had mentioned that he had been locked up in a cage at Lex Towers about the same time Lois was marrying Lex. Lois relayed the message to Bill that the cage was lethal and that the green glow could maim or kill Superman. She told Bill that Superman would love to go to the Police Department and have a discussion with him about the cage and its handling and/or destruction. Since neither Superman or Bill knew what their schedule would be for the next day, they agreed to a flexible appointment for the next day at three o’clock. Both Lois and Clark were glad to know that soon that worry would be resolved.
Meanwhile, Lois’ investigation into Intergang was going pretty well. She had met with a few of the hookers she knew from a story about the world’s oldest profession, and they had told her they were getting a lot of pressure to come into the Intergang family. It seems that Intergang thought the way to make something happen was by using an iron club to beat people into submission, not by spreading a lot of cash around. The ladies were not too happy about the pressure on them to join Intergang. They assured Lois that they would not only cooperate with her, but would relay any information they found about the group to her. They wanted Intergang to quit leaning on them as much as Lois wanted to squash their takeover of the
underworld of the city. It was a very satisfactory meeting for both sides, with both having the same goal--the end of Intergang.
Lois and Clark were satisfied that they had laid the building bricks to take care of these pressing problems before either became a permanent thorn in the side of Superman and Metropolis.
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When both Lois and Clark were not busy with all that was going on, they were also planning a life together. Neither wanted a big, fancy wedding where their wealth could be shown, but they wanted family and friends to celebrate their love and happiness. Clark reminded Lois that they had the floral services of Superman who could fly into the rainforests and pick orchids by the basketful. They also had Superman Airways who could deliver them to their honeymoon destination. The only things they did not have was a preacher or a place to conduct the wedding. The rest of it was a piece of cake, although they also needed to order a cake. Lois had secretly been looking at the bride’s magazines for dresses and had an idea what she wanted to wear. They set a date in two months for the big day. Lois planned to go to the Hallmark store and purchase inexpensive invitations to their day, and they decided to have their reception catered by Tony’s Italian Inn, where the owner knew them both and would love to let them use his back banquet room for their reception. Nearby was the First Presbyterian Church and when the couple walked into the sanctuary they both knew instantly they had found the place they wanted to be married, even if the size of the place was out of proportion to the size of the wedding. The dark, richly polished woods of the pews were tinged by the sunlight streaking in through the stained glass windows at the front of the church and down each side. The beautiful glass picture of Jesus holding a little lamb in his arms in the front of the sanctuary reminded Lois of her groom. He had the ability to lift rockets into space or pick up trains like they were toys, while his gentle spirit was broken by the tiny infant that was hurt or the kitten stuck in the tree. And as they were introduced to the pastor of the church, Rev. Anthony Potter, both instantly knew they had met a new friend.
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Perry got back to Clark about what the eleven owners of the Daily Planet wanted: a total of $15 million for their interest in the paper. Mr. Smith was sure that they could be talked down to a more reasonable figure. Perry was back to the despair he’d had earlier. Where could they get that much money? If all four of them kicked their money back into the pot, it would barely cover what was asked. Perry was sure that Clark would give his share back, but Jimmy and Jack would not be as reasonable. Every time Perry began to think it was a possibility that the Daily Planet would reopen, he had the props knocked back out from under him. Clark told him not to despair, that he would relay the message to Superman. He told Perry to keep the faith. Superman was on the side of the Daily Planet.
Clark got off the phone with Perry and told Lois that he was going to have to go out of town for a few days to arrange the financing that Superman had promised. He reminded her that he had already seen a gold mine. He told her he would be home each night, but needed to leave early in the morning and stay gone all day long until he accomplished the task of amassing that kind of fortune. Lois asked if he always could have made that kind of money, and he assured her that he never wanted to, but he was capable of making a living by using Superman’s special abilities. And to think that she had been worried about unemployment funds being enough or running out.
The next morning, Clark left shortly before dawn and flew northwest to Alaska. It was barely light for some time after he arrived. He surveyed the territory that he had spotted a few weeks earlier and went in for a closer look this time. He was sure that the vein of gold he had spotted was even larger than he had first estimated. It would be hard for him to stop mining at $15 million. As the orange sun arose over the area, it found a very excited man in a red and blue outfit with a cape flapping in the breezes waiting in front of the assay office to file his claim with the county. He pulled out his fee to stake claim to mine on public lands and took off less than an hour later to harvest the first and most shallow part of his mine. He carried a train coal car with him so that he had somewhere to put the gold. Later that afternoon, he returned with the coal car loaded to the brim with pure, very clear gold. He took it to the office and was told it would take them overnight to weigh and grade all that he had brought. Superman told them that he would be willing to pay the office to stay open and do just that. He explained that it was a gift to a friend, and he needed to finish his mining as soon as he could. All the workers of the office were not only happy to meet and shake hands with Superman, but they were also willing to make some extra money to weigh and grade his gold. When Clark returned to their apartment, Lois could definitely spot the difference in his disposition.
The next day, Clark repeated the process of leaving early in the morning and returning late that night. When he returned he told Lois that he would not have to return because two days work had netted him more than $15 million he needed. That made Lois stop speaking, but her mind kept working. Superman could make that much money in that short a time? And she once upon a time thought he was a hick from Nowheresville? He excelled in all he did. WOW!
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Two days later, a picture of Superman appeared in the newspaper under the title, “Saving a Friend’s Business.” The Wasilla Register had been tipped off that Superman was going to pick up a check from the assay office for $21.6 million dollars. The Register said he planned to save the business of a friend and donate the balance to the Superman Foundation, a non-profit that helped the less fortunate. When the AP picked up the article and it appeared in the lower forty-eight states, questions started about what kind of friends would Superman have that needed those large sums of money? Perry White received permission from Superman to go on Larry King Live to explain that former employees were purchasing the Daily Planet back from other investors with the funds raised by Superman. Perry explained that Superman wanted the Daily Planet to survive since it was a crime fighter just like he was. Clark and Lois listened to their editor speak and took great pride in being able to help rescue the paper they both loved.
Lois wondered why they had purchased her diamond when he could have mined it, and the answer surprised her. Clark told her that the velvet case that the owner of the store had brought out was a selection of the diamonds that Superman had mined. He told her that the money from those stones had gone to fund the replacement of sewer systems and water pipes in a small West Virginia town. Clark said that the residents were sick from the bad water conditions, and that Superman had put the money in the town’s account without telling them where he got it. He had simply said it was a gift from the Superman Foundation. Lois was so proud of her guy! He managed to use his foundation to help others without calling attention to himself. The Superman Foundation was making the world a better place, one project at a time.
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Wedding plans proceeded, with Lois taking a more active role in getting the atmosphere she wanted for her wedding. She went to the corner, hole-in-the-wall florist right down the street from their apartment. She had always loved the flowers that Clark had given her from that florist, and knew that the artistic tastes of the florist were much the same as hers. There would not be a clash of wills in what she wanted for her wedding. It was agreed that the florist would take the orchids on the stems, add ferns, and blanket the front of the church with flowers and greenery. Lois also wanted lots of candles, all scented in vanilla. She and the florist went to the church and sketched out how they wanted it to look. It was soon estimated that they needed about 200 orchids to blanket the front of the church as Lois saw it. Clark assured her that would not be a problem.
Lucy had been in touch with Lois since the almost-wedding with Lex. She had not attempted to go to that wedding, but was not only planning to be at the wedding of Clark and Lois, she had consented to be Lois’ maid of honor. This thrilled Lois to death. She and her sister had spent so many years as best buddies when their world was collapsing around them, and it did not seem that it would work out right if Lucy was not also there when everything was going right. Lois told Lucy to go to the Mall and to Lois’ favorite store, Gina’s Glams, and put a dress on her account there. Since Lucy loved lavender so much, and because orchids of purple hue were available near where the white orchids that Clark planned to pick, it was agreed that she would get a dress of a purple palate. Lois had her dress from Gina’s and was busy sewing her something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue to the hem of her dress. She also had a six pence for her shoe. No one ever accused Lois of being sentimental, but she was participating in all the traditions to insure that this marriage not only went forward, but that it was happy for a long time. She just was not going to tempt fate and take a chance that something went wrong when she could have prevented it.
