Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Challenge A Hairy River (non)Revelation

A Hairy River (non)Revelation (It Has a Happy Ending, I Promise!)
by Alicia U. lxu2@cwru.edu

The first thing that Lois Lane realized as she struggled to open her eyes was the extreme darkness. Had it been so black before she closed her eyes? Did someone block out all of the light? She just needed a second to clear her cloudy thoughts so she could fixate on what was happening.

Suddenly, an intense realization of her impending eminent death hit her. This was big trouble. She was going to die. When her eyes were completely open, she was aware that water was rushing past her on every side. That meant that she was under water!

She blinked quickly and tried to remember what had happened. Why was she surrounded by water? Where on Earth was she? What had she done that had caused her to end up here? Who had done this to her?

Even though her senses were impaired, she knew that she couldn’t open her mouth. If she did, her struggle would be over quickly. She only had a finite amount of air that needed to be conserved. Since she didn’t have gills, her survival depended on her ability to hold her breath. If she planned to come out of the water alive, she had to use her stored oxygen sparingly.

Her next thought drifted to her possible sources for escape. Wait a second: where was Superman? Didn’t he know that something was wrong? Then she stopped for a second. She hadn’t been able to call for help. How would he even know that she needed him? Unless they had some sort of telepathic connection, there was absolutely no way he could be aware of the fact that she was in danger.

Finally, someone – whoever had put her in this harrowing situation - had neutralized the Superman factor. She couldn’t cal for him so he would not even know that she was in trouble. Thus, he wouldn’t be able to rescue her. Okay, so no Superman. That meant that she would have to get out of this situation on her own. Fine. She had defied death on many occasions in her life before Superman even came on the scene. And this time was no different. All she needed to do was figure out how to bring her head above the water. Once she could breathe again, she would be able to think clearly.

Yes, she was in trouble. Her air supply was running low and she had the intense desire to obey her reflex that wanted her mouth to open. She needed to breathe. Okay, she just needed to get her head above water. Saving that, she needed to keep her mouth shut until she felt air rather than water on her lips.

Another sense came back to her at that moment. It was than that she realized just how cold she was. This water was almost frigid. Now she was struggling to conserve her oxygen and she was shivering.

One large question remained unsolved: how did she end up in the water? No, it was more than just one question plaguing her. Who had put her in the water? Where was she? Why was she there? What time was it? How could she get out? Would she ever get out? Right now, none of the questions looked like they would ever be answered. The more she struggled, the harder it became for her to try to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn’t breathe in water.

No more air! No more air! She started to panic and opened her mouth gasping for breath. Her reflexes finally won against her better judgment. The water rushed into her lungs. She fought to turn her body around.

It hit her just then that she was upside down in the water. Her head was brushing up against something soft and there were plants growing next to her left ear. Then she realized that her feet were sticking out of the water because she felt air. Her feet were out of the water! It wasn’t very deep at all. If she could turn herself around, then she would be able to breathe cool, fresh air again.

She struggled against the current to try to re-orient her body, but she was stuck on something. What was she stuck on? Her head was scraping against the bottom of the water – maybe it was a river or an ocean. But there was something that wouldn’t let her turn her body around. In addition to scraping against the ground, her head was also stuck on something. Great, leave it to whoever had captured her to weigh her head down when they threw her in the water so she would be more likely to drown. It was just so typical; sometimes kidnappers were so predictable.

The one thing that was completely obvious to her was that her lungs were on fire and filling up with water quickly. She didn’t have long before she completely lost consciousness. Even though her lungs were one fire, she knew that the water wasn’t going to put it out. The fire was getting worse.

While she struggled to right herself, but failed miserably her mind drifted. It was easier to focus on things other than her eminent death.

As much as she tried, she couldn’t get the situation out of her mind. The one time she wanted to clear her mind completely, she couldn’t shut off her racing thoughts. How long had it been since she had realized where she was?

Thirty seconds?

A minute?

An hour?

Where was she? Would Superman find her? How could he ever know where to look?

Just as she was about to close her eyes again and gather all of her energy for a final struggle to free herself and bring her head above water, she felt strong arms around her. Then she had a rising sensation. Either this was what dying felt like or something or someone was pulling her out of the water.

Suddenly she heard a voice frantically saying, “Lois! Oh my God, Lois, are you okay?”

That voice was familiar. She knew that voice. But who was it? It was a friendly voice. Was it God? Lois didn’t feel the water rushing by her any more. Maybe she was saved. But whose voice was that?

Again, she heard the voice, “Lois! Come on, breathe!” Then she felt the man patting her on the back so she would cough up the water that she had sucked into her lungs.

Before she opened her eyes, she found herself obeying the man’s voice. He was right. She had to try to breathe. Since she was out of the water, it was okay for her to take in the oxygen she needed. Yes, she was going to live!

I took her a few seconds to expel the water from her lungs and she still hadn’t opened her eyes. The voice was so familiar, but who was it? She felt a warm sensation throughout her body. Warmth was exactly what she needed. Once she was able to stop shivering, she would be able to think clearly once again.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a bright blue shiny fabric. Who did she know that wore such shiny clothes? And red boots? Then she stopped her thought process right there. Was she really that stupid? Nearly drowning couldn’t have impaired her senses that much! There was only one man who wore blue spandex and red boots! It was Superman, of course. Who else could it have possibly been?

The one thing that struck her as odd was his voice. It just didn’t sound like Superman’s voice. It was softer, less distant. Yes, his voice didn’t sound at all like the superhero she knew and loved, but it did sound familiar. She knew the owner of that voice.

“Lois, are you okay?” he asked again in that anxious voice that she recognized as someone other than Superman’s. “Talk to me!”

“S-s-s-superman?” Intellectually, she knew it was Superman, but her mind was telling her that the voice belonged to someone else.

But who did it belong to. Then it hit her like a two-ton brick. The voice belonged to someone she knew so well. “C-c-c-clark?”

It was Clark. Superman was Clark. It only took a near drowning for her to realize how stupid she had been. She had known both men for over a two years, but she hadn’t made the connection until now.

Clark obviously hadn’t heard her or was trying to ignore her because he said, “Lois, can you sit up?”

Lois found herself nodding slowly and allowing her partner to help her sit up. Everything was spinning around her, but she forced herself to try to regain her equilibrium. She wasn’t sure if the dizziness was caused by the lack of oxygen to her brain or the revelation that Clark was Superman.

She repeated, “Superman. Clark. You’re, you’re…”

“Lois, honey, you knew that already. You’ve known for almost a year. Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“Honey?” She wasn’t sure why, but Clark calling her “honey” sounded right. “I know? Really?” Maybe she did know.

Then she stopped talking and took a deep breath trying to collect her thoughts. Oh that’s right. She did know. No, she hadn’t known him for two years; she had known him for three years. It was all coming back to her. Yes, she did remember. That knowledge was just back in the recesses of her mind – one of those things that she pushed back as she was trying to survive. Clark was Superman. She knew that. Yes, and of course she was in love with him. They were engaged to be married.

Then she noticed the look of pained surprise on Clark’s face. Obviously he was afraid that she was suffering an adverse effect from the near drowning that she was suffering from a type of amnesia.

She smiled at him warmly and said, “Oh, Clark, of course I know. It just took me a minute to recover. I’m fine, sweetheart.”

“Are you sure?” Clark wondered. His eyebrows were raised in disbelief.

“Clark, I’m fine, believe me. Okay, so I might have pneumonia, but I do remember. You are Superman. And I am madly in love with you.”

“Oh thank God!” Clark exclaimed. Then he pulled her close into a strong, tight hug and pressed his lips to hers.

Lois responded eagerly with the passion of knowing that he was the man she loved and also the man who had just saved her life for the millionth time. When their kiss broke, Lois’s curiosity again got the better of her. Now that she felt safe, the questions began to flow. “What happened, Clark? How did you find me? What was I stuck on? How did you get me out?”

Clark sighed deeply. “Um, do you really want to know?” He answered his own question. “Of course you want to know. Well, we are down by the Hobbs River just outside the city. I had brought you dinner, but your apartment door was open.” He took a deep breath before he could continue. It had obviously been very painful for him as well – maybe even more painful than it had been for her. “And you weren’t there, Lois. The first thing I did was listen for your heartbeat. I zeroed in on it and knew you were in trouble because it was racing. So I followed the sound until I found you here. I was shocked when I realized that you were under the water drowning. But do you really want me to tell you what you were stuck on or how I got you out?”

Lois raised her eyebrows imitating Clark’s trademark expression. “Clark, tell me. I need to know what happened. Is it really that bad?” Then she answered her own question. “Yes, it has to be that bad. If it wasn’t that bad you wouldn’t be hesitant to tell me.” Then she gave him a pleading look – the one that always worked with him. “Please, Clark.”

“I am so sorry, Lois, you had a weight tied to your hair. The only way I could free you was by, well, um…”

“Clark, don’t beat around the bush. What did you have to do?”

“Don’t rush me, Lois. I did save your life, didn’t I?”

“Clark!”

“Um, honey, maybe you just shouldn’t look in a mirror until you can get to a hair stylist.”

“What?” Now that caught her by surprise. What did a hair stylist have to do with her being stuck in a river?

“I’m sorry, Lois, but your hair was stuck on a tree trunk. I had to cut it with my heat vision to free you.”

“Oh my god! My hair?”

She wasn’t sure if she was happy that he had been able to free her or afraid of what the rescue had entailed. No, no, she wasn’t afraid of what he’d had to do, but of what she looked like. That stupid long hair of hers had always been a hassle. It was always hard to take care of and now it had almost led to her death. Maybe she was happy that Clark had to cut it. That was he had made the decision for her. It wasn’t like she was indecisive – of course she wasn’t. But it had always been hard for her to decide to change her looks. She had been hedging about cutting her hair again for a while now, but now someone else had made the decision for her. Even though it was uncharacteristic, she was almost thankful that he had made the decision for her.

She reached her hands up to feel its length. Hmm, it didn’t see, too horrible. And just to her touch, it felt like it was fairly evenly cut.

Suddenly she said, “Give me a mirror, Clark.”

“Are you sure?”

“Clark!”

“Okay, okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He gathered her in his arms and flew off towards her apartment. When they flew through the window, Lois immediately ran into the bathroom to look at her new haircut.

“Wow,” she said in amazement.

“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” Clark asked with a hint of trepidation.

Lois gazed at her reflection and grinned. “Definitely a good wow. I’ve never had hair quite this short before.”

Clark walked up behind her and squeezed her tightly. “I think you look better with shorter hair, anyway. Even if this style isn’t exactly the best, the length is great, though.”

Lois touched the ends of her hair and nodded slowly. “You’re right, Clark. I do look better with shorter hair. I just need to get it styled tomorrow. Heat vision is definitely efficient, but it doesn’t give the neatest hair styles.” She pulled the ends of her hair in front of her face and realized that although they were both short, they definitely were far from being even.

“You look amazing,” Clark said softly. “You’re alive and you remember me – so that is all I need. You’ll always be beautiful in my eyes.”

“Thank you,” Lois whispered. “Thank you for saving my life and giving me the courage to go out and get an amazing new hair-do. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to cut my hair otherwise.”

“My pleasure,” Clark breathed into her now-exposed neck. “I love you, Lois.”

“I love you, too, Clark.”

The End

This story was written to satisfy both the haircut challenge and the dark fic, deathfic challenge. I know it wasn’t a deathfic, but I could never write a story where Lois or Clark dies. Also, this story is sort of a celebration that I am alive - a year ago last week, I was in a bad canoeing accident and I am very thankful to be alive . I just wish I would have had a Superman to rescue me when I was drowning .