TOC ~
Part 8
~ - ~
Alt-Metropolis – December 22, 1983
“Investigative Partners”
~ - ~
Lois tucked her tongue between her teeth and leaned closer to the lock. She adjusted her hold on the tool and then felt the pins align with a satisfying ‘click’.
“Ha!” she said
“Shh! You want to get caught?”
Lois pushed the door open and felt Star place a hand on her shoulder as she leaned forward to look into the darkened room. Lois took another look down the hallway before she crept into Dr. Klaus Mensa’s office and then motioned for her friend to follow. After shutting the door, Lois stuffed a towel into the gap between the door and floor before switching on her flashlight. She handed another flashlight to Star.
“You look in the desk drawers and I’ll take the file cabinet over there.”
Star nodded and then hugged herself to Lois’s arm as Lois started to move.
“Star!?”
“I’m too scared of getting caught to be by myself. I’m coming with you.”
Lois rolled her eyes and then hobbled to the desk, Star gripping her arm in a vice. As fast as she could, Lois quickly searched through the drawers and then moved on to the file cabinet against the wall. She scanned the file labels in several drawers before pausing. “Dynomonics. Where have I heard that before?”
“It’s Mensa’s telekinesis project.”
Surprised, Lois turned her flashlight on Star, who shrugged. “I was bored during the testing session today, so I swiped one of his notebooks and read it. ‘Dynomonics seeks to train the underutilized portions of the human mind to control their surroundings’. It sounds to me like ‘Doctor Mental’ wants super powers.”
“Huh.” She handed the file to Star. “Let’s take it with us.”
Lois continued to look through the files. “This looks interesting; a list of project donors. Angelica Draden of Draden Enterprises. Who is that? Oh, wait! What’s this about drug testing?”
Lois pulled out several files and started leafing through the pages. Her decision to snoop in Dr. Mensa’s office had sprung from an overheard conversation between the creepy doctor and her father, one in which they were debating something ‘unethical’ that Sam Lane was “unwilling” to participate in. Lois knew how far her father was willing to go for his research. He’d treated his own daughter like a lab rat for almost four years, for goodness sake! Whatever it was that Mensa had in mind must be really bad if her father refused to take part in it.
And she was right. The file in her hand proved that Dr. Mensa wasn’t just trying to use the psychic abilities she and Star had to spy on others, he was trying to figure out how to control them and their abilities using drugs.
“Star, look at this. Mensa has been looking into another Army project called Valhalla. They are using a drug on babies. This says that the drug opens the minds of the subject, leaving them in a subdued, lethargic state. Highly subject to suggestions. When combined with trigger words, this can be used to embed the subject with subconscious directives that can be carried out unknown to the host subject. He’s looking at an adaptation for psychics called ‘Oracle’. This is it, Star. It has to be. Star?”
Lois turned to look at her friend who was staring at another file, a look of disbelief on her face. Lois glanced at the label and saw her name before grabbing the file from Star and skimming the contents. Lois swallowed the bile that rose to her throat before reading out loud.
“Set to proceed with plans to perform open-brain surgery to see how the subject’s amygdala differs in structure. Will first strip membranes to see if total reception is restored before we begin experimentation to reproduce in other subjects. Project deadline: EOY 1983.”
Lois closed the file. “Well, that settles it.” She looked at Star. “Grab your file, too. It’s time to shut this place down.”
“How do we do that?”
Lois closed her file and taking Star’s files, shoved all of them into her pack. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll think of something.”
Lois had just turned off her flashlight and removed her towel from the floor when she sensed Mensa coming toward his office. Quickly, Lois tapped her lip with her finger and then scanned the room for an escape. Lois motioned for Star to step back behind the desk and thanking her lucky stars that she’d taken “Mission Impossible” to heart, she pulled a Philips screwdriver from her pack and set to work opening the air conditioning vent cover. She and Star had just settled into a huddled mass in the duct and closed the cover when Mensa inserted his key into the lock.
Lois leaned forward just far enough to see through the vent. Mensa entered the room and walked straight to his desk. He opened his drawer and removed a medical kit and then paused. Lois felt Star silently press into her back and she held her breath. Mensa tilted his head to the side and then carefully turned a circle, looking around the room. Seeing nothing out of place, he shrugged, picked up his case, and then left the room.
Neither girl moved for a full minute after they heard the click of the door lock. After another brief pause, Lois said, “Are you ready to go?”
“No,” Star squeaked. “I’m too scared to move.”
“It’ll be alright, Star. He’s already leaving the building. I won’t let him do it. Not to me. Not to you. Not to anyone. I won't give up. I will end this, but I don’t think I can do it alone. I think we need back up and I just had an idea about who to call.”
~ - ~
Alt-Metropolis – July 7, 1997
~ - ~
Clark leaned back on his sofa and stretched. Lois had gone to the kitchen to get a second helping of the shrimp dumplings they’d brought from Shanghai and he took the opportunity to reflect on the progress he and Lois had made over the past week.
True to his word, ‘someone’ from the Mayor’s office had leaked a story to the Planet’s gossip columnist that their argument had been a lover’s spat, that Lois had been upset and worried about the time he had been gone and that ‘Mad Dog Lane’, as her colleagues had called her, had lost her temper. Lois’s Op-Ed piece that ran alongside the Daily Planet’s article about the press conference had gone a long way toward convincing the public that they were already an item. Clark felt a little uneasy about how it had been portrayed as all Lois’s fault, but she had dismissed his objections with a wave of her hand.
“Superman has to be above all those petty human emotions, Clark. We need to maintain his untarnished image.”
“Lois, you are aware that everyone knows I'm Superman. Why are you talking in the third person?”
“You’re not dressed in the suit now.”
“True, but he is me. I am him. There really isn’t any difference.”
“Is that true, Clark? Is he the real you? You changed into the Superman suit to fly us to Shanghai. You’re careful never to perform superhuman feats while in your regular clothes. I suspect that you don’t really let that many people see the real you,” she had told him solemnly.
No one saw him as clearly as Lois did. She even understood him better than he did sometimes. He and Lois had spent as much time together as they could over the past few days and she kept surprising him like that, saying things that made him reevaluate and reassess both his own life and what he thought he knew about her.
There were so many similarities between her and the other Lois, that it was hard to keep the two women straight in his mind. This Lois was just as high-strung as the other, just as talented, smart, and loyal as the other.
This Lois was fiercely independent, competitive, opinionated and pig-headed. Just yesterday, a disagreement over what information to print in their investigation of an alleged invisible man had gotten so loud and heated, that Cat had whistled and sent them to opposite corners of the newsroom. The newsroom gossip had only fed into their cover story and Clark had heard various theories sprout to explain their tempestuous relationship.
The arguments notwithstanding, Lois was also fun loving and brilliant. She had more courage in her little finger than most people had in their whole bodies. Their game night had really whetted both of their appetites to know more about each other and tonight they’d finally gotten the chance to ask more questions. He was intrigued by her and the insights he’d gained from their earlier conversation about journalism helped him understand who she really was.
“How did you decide to study journalism, Clark?” she had asked. “I know you were the editor of your high school paper. Was there something that drew you to the field?”
“It was my mom. For as long as I could remember, she devoured the newspaper every day. She also wrote frequent letters to the editor of the Smallville Post.” Clark had smiled. “My dad used to call her a ‘free spirit’. Anyway, one day, a reporter showed up at the door to interview my mom about her blue-ribbon apple pie, but his real motive was to meet that ‘rabble-rouser Kent lady’ his editor was always griping about. How about you?”
“I knew I wanted to be an investigative journalist since I was ten years old. I used to read out loud to my sister, Lucy. One day I was reading a biography of Nellie Bly and when I read the chapter about her going undercover in an insane asylum, Lucy had burst out laughing. I asked her what was so funny and she said, ‘She’s you, Lois! You would totally do that.’ After thinking about it for a while, I realized that Lucy was right. After that, Investigative Journalism was the only option for me.”
And she was amazingly good at it, too. They had talked about old cases, but whenever Clark tried to dig for details about how she had broken her stories over the years, she dredged up the same ‘psychic ability’ line. He couldn’t find fault in her for deflecting his questions to protect her sources, though. It was one of the things that made her the best in the business.
Clark gave Lois a smile as she handed him a plate of food, the rice and dumplings arranged in a strange, geometric pattern on the plate. She smirked at his quizzical look and sat down on the couch beside him. That was one of the new things he had learned about this Lois, she had quirky sense of humor. She also liked TV soap operas and had a secret desire to write a romance novel.
Clark had also discovered how tactile this Lois was. Where the other Lois had always carefully avoided touching him unless they were deliberately playacting, this Lois touched him all the time. Whether it was a backhanded slap to the arm for a tease, a sideways bump while laughing, or a consoling hand when he felt sad, Lois always seemed to be touching him. A little awkward at first, he now found himself craving it and doing the same with her; offering his arm while they walked together or touching the small of her back as they walked through a doorway.
They had become much closer these past few days, too. It didn’t hurt him to spend time with her, not the way that he’d feared. The hug he had offered when she had told him about the Congo and the one he had accepted after talking about the death of his parents earlier had banished the loneliness he hadn’t known was his companion. Lois had expressed such love and admiration for his parents, that he knew her experience of losing her own mother and sister had affected her similarly.
Tonight was the first night that he’d offered to fly her somewhere for dinner and she’d practically leapt into his arms. The excuse, he told himself, was to get into character and let the public see them together out of work hours, but Clark had been curious as to whether he could hold this Lois in his arms without feeling the sorrow he associated with losing the other Lois.
He hadn’t.
Clark had taken Lois to Shanghai and after a momentary feeling of doubt, he had relaxed and enjoyed the flight. Lois had been enthralled. She had laughed, looked at everything, exclaimed over each new natural beauty, and had even dared to fly with him side by side instead of cradled in his arms. He’d never flown with anyone that way before, but he knew he loved it.
He looked at her, now seated at the other end of the sofa. She placed a dumpling into her mouth and closed her eyes as she bit down. Her moan of pleasure caused Clark to look away, embarrassed that his thoughts turned carnal at her little sound of ecstasy. To distract himself, he dug into his own plate of food and tried not to hear Lois enjoying hers.
When she was finished with dinner, Lois set her plate on the coffee table and then sighed. “I talked to Star today. She mentioned that you and she talked about her features on our three celebrity couples.”
“Yeah. I was hoping that she had information about them that she didn’t put in her articles, something that might provide another link between them.”
“Did she?”
Clark shook his head. “Not that I could tell. Most of what she could remember we already knew. She did mention that Mr. Paget had been engaged before, but his fiancé had called it off. She also mentioned that Mary had a very strained relationship with her stepfather due to his penchant for solving arguments with his fists. Nothing that seemed relevant to all three, though.”
Lois nodded and reached down to rub her ankle.
“Is it still hurting?” Clark asked.
“It’s nothing. I’ve had worse sprains. An ice pack and a good soak tonight and I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Clark hesitated and then offered his hand. “Give me your foot.”
Lois narrowed her eyes at him. “What for?”
Clark chuckled. “Nothing nefarious. I was just going to help take the swelling down.”
Lois gave him an assessing look and then turned on the couch and lifted her sprained ankle. Clark held it tenderly and pulled off her shoe and unwrapped the bandage. Gently, he softly blew an icy mist around the swollen areas. Lois gasped and then closed her eyes and moaned again.
“You’re hired,” she stated.
Pleased, Clark smiled. “There. You’ll be chasing bad guys in no time. Now if we could just keep them from chasing you...”
Lois tossed a pillow at him.
~ - ~
Alt-Metropolis – July 8, 1997
~ - ~
As muffled sounds of shouting came from the rising elevator, a few Daily Planet staffers rolled their eyes and did their best to ignore the commotion. All the rest paused in their work to enjoy the show. Lois-and-Clark-watching had become a company-wide spectator sport since Superman’s return to the skies last week. No one bothered to wonder about the topic of these frequent arguments – that would soon be clear. There were at least three different office pools going about how they would end: one would kill the other, one would quit, or they would finally put everyone out of their misery and have sex.
Cat Grant sighed as the elevator doors slid open and the reporters in question spilled into the bullpen. She had already threatened everyone in the newsroom with a pink slip, including Lois and Clark, if the Planet’s quality suffered due to these fights, but that hadn’t reduced their frequency.
Cat walked to her office door and winced as she heard the tone and the decibel of Lois’s words. She wondered again why she had ever thought those two working together would be a good idea. She silently cursed Lois, Perry, and Henderson for partnering them up anyway. For her sanity, she hoped they would announce their ‘engagement’ soon and catch this serial killer. Otherwise, Henderson might have another couple of homicides in his docket.
~
Lois pushed past Clark and headed for her desk, limping slightly as she strode resolutely down the ramp. “I don’t know why we’re even talking about this Clark. My personal investigations have nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with me? Lois, I’ve rescued you four times this week.”
“So?”
“So, it’s only Tuesday!”
Lois smiled tightly at her fuming partner and set her bag down. “Look, Clark. I’m sure that all the other women you rescue fall down at your feet and promise everlasting devotion, among other things, but I’m not like that. I can take care of myself.”
“Really? Since we’ve met, you’ve gotten a concussion, five stitches, sprained your ankle, and received who-knows how many scrapes and bruises. That limp of yours is proof that you’re not even waiting to heal before tumbling headlong into another dangerous situation. Is that what you call taking care of yourself?
Lois pulled several singed notebooks out of her bag and slapped them on her desk. “So nice to see you’re paying attention. I don’t know why you’re so bent out of shape. I’m still breathing.”
Clark threw his hands into the air. “Only because I swooped in at the last minute.”
“I would have been fine.”
“Fine? Lois, he had you strapped to an overheating boiler. It was so close that my cape was smoking from the explosion.”
“Look, I’m sorry if saving my life is such an inconvenience. I didn’t ask for your help.”
“It’s not an inconvenience, Lois, but you’ve got to stop taking so many risks. ”
“Listen Farm-Boy. No one tells me how to do my job.”
“Of course not. You’re Lois Lane.”
Clark’s voice contained such conviction that Lois paused. It thrilled her that he saw her clearly now, but then she reminded herself that she couldn’t back down from this argument. She knew how much danger he was in from the Kryptonite that was still out there and she had to protect him from danger. Her expression darkened.
“And what is *that* supposed to mean?”
“Just that you wouldn’t be you if you weren’t constantly dangling over the jaws of death. Has it ever occurred to you to call for back-up?”
Lois growled in frustration. “Of course it’s occurred to me, I’m not a rookie. But I’m not going to call for *you*.”
“Why not? Is rescue by Superman not good enough for the ‘Great Lois Lane?’”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? These guys are ruthless and some of them have Kryptonite! Why in the world would I call for your help?”
~
Clark paused in shock. Lois’s admission that she was protecting him by taking these risks distressed him slightly less than the fact that criminals around Metropolis were kidnapping and hurting Lois to get at him, a thought that caused a dreadful sinking feeling in his gut.
They hadn’t even announced their supposed engagement yet, but half of Metropolis already believed they were an item based on the footage from the mayoral debate with Tempus. The other half believed that his search for her was proof that his love for her was so strong, that he couldn’t bear to let her go. Then there was last week’s rumor of a love affair in the tabloids that Clark was sure had it’s source in the Mayor’s office. Now that he had agreed to work undercover as her fiancé to catch this serial killer, there would be no way anyone would be convinced otherwise.
Clark crossed his arms in determination. This had to stop. He’d tell Perry and Henderson that they needed to find someone else to playact as Lois’s groom-to-be, someone that wouldn’t put her in more danger than she was already in doing her job as an investigative reporter. He opened his mouth to tell her so, when she hissed a warning.
“Don’t you dare try to weasel out of this partnership, Clark Kent. You promised and you are *not* backing out. I don’t care if it makes me a target for every criminal in Metropolis. We are in this together.”
“Lois,” Clark lowered his voice and pleaded with her. “I can’t allow people to use you to get to me.”
“We knew that was a possibility when we agreed to get married. I understand you’re worried, but if this marriage is going to work, you have to trust me.”
Clark held himself still and fumed. How did she do that? How did she know that he was about to pull out of their agreement? But she definitely knew and she had usurped his decision. Peripherally, Clark noticed a hush settle over the newsroom. Those that had tried to ignore their argument now stared in stunned amazement. It wasn’t long before an excited buzz filled the room as people started to debate Lois’s words about marriage.
“No way would Clark marry Lois.”
“If I hadn’t heard it from Mad Dog’s lips, I’d say it was a joke.”
“It makes their relationship make more sense.”
“Are you kidding? It’s gotta be a hoax.”
“It’ll never last.”
“They’re going undercover, right? This is just some assignment for the Planet?”
This last question was directed to Cat, who along with Star, had approached them quietly and now stood beside Lois.
Cat looked at the two irate reporters and shook her head. “This isn’t any assignment that I’ve given them.”
Cat’s pronouncement halted the speculative talk. Clark glanced gratefully at Cat, but got a stern glare in return. Cat’s comments gave their cover legitimacy without her uttering a single falsehood. Clark acknowledged the much-needed reminder. The two reporters had to get their act together if they wanted to pull this off.
“Fifty bucks says that they break off the engagement in the next week.”
“Hey, we’re not two thoroughbreds at the Sunday afternoon track. Mind your own business, Packer.”
“Well, if the horseshoe fits…”
Clark grabbed Lois around the middle as she lunged toward Ralph’s desk. She struggled against Clark’s grip for a moment until he pulled her tight against his body and leaned to whisper in her ear. “Lois, stop. If you want to make this at all believable, we have to get in character. Now.”
“Just … let me at him.”
Clark tried not to smile at her fierce struggle to reach their foolhardy coworker. Ralph stepped back in fear as Lois made another lunge in his direction and Clark tightened his grip around her middle. He had thought that the other Lois was passionate, but this Lois made her seem like a cute little kitten next to the tiger in his arms.
~
Lois didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As they had discussed her recent injuries and kidnappings, Lois could feel Clark’s genuine concern for her and it rekindled her hope of being loved by Clark. She mercilessly squashed it. She didn’t know if she would survive risking her heart further during this assignment. Clark had agreed to pretend as her fiancé in order to catch a killer, but for now, an assignment is all it could be. All the planning and preparations would be wasted if he backed out now, so she put the plan in motion.
It was clear now that their arguments had hurt their cover. Ralph was the most vocal in his doubts, but he wasn’t alone. Still, Lois was furious and she struggled against Clark’s arms, reaching out to wrap her hands around Ralph’s blotchy neck. When it was clear that Clark wasn’t going to let her throttle Ralph, she laid her hands over Clark’s, trying to pry his fingers open. It was no use; he may as well have been made from the wrought-iron lampposts he favored to tie up muggers.
The same electrical charge she always felt when Clark touched her slammed through her body. She felt her heart pounding against her chest as if it was trying to break out. She closed her eyes against the sudden realization that despite her best efforts and her denials, Lois hadn’t been able to keep her traitorous heart from falling head over heels in love with Clark Kent.
With increasing regularity, daydreams and thoughts of Clark had been infiltrating her waking moments. She hadn’t admitted it to anyone, but her sloppiness this week had been in large part due to her being increasingly distracted by him. Dreams of Clark had also been invading her sleep at night. Her dreams were becoming ever more sensual, her physical desire for him increasing in conjunction with each moment they spent together.
She couldn’t take this. Why she thought that she would be able to fake an engagement with Clark was beyond comprehension. She couldn’t even be in the same room with him without her treacherous mind and body turning into a moony-eyed cheerleader. And with her back pressed firmly against his chest, it was all too easy to imagine that he was really holding her in an affectionate embrace. The thought caused a soft whimper to slip out.
Clark must have heard the tiny, distressful sound and, mindful of their audience, turned his head to whisper in her ear.
“Are you okay?”
Her fingers scrabbled against his hands again, trying to pull them away from her body before she gave up completely. Her body relaxed against his and an image popped into her head – of Clark holding her in a loving holding embrace. She could almost feel the gentle caresses as she imagined Clark lavishing kisses down her neck. She heard Clark’s breath catch and she forcefully shoved the image away.
“Let go, Clark.”
“Are you going to strangle Ralph if I do?”
Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes at Clark’s teasing words. Tender teasing from Clark proved to be too much to maintain her tenuous hold on her emotional barriers. She dropped her guard and saw an image of herself facing Tempus and she squeezed her eyes shut against it. The other Lois – why did Clark always think of the other Lois when she was close to him?
“Please, Clark,” she whispered. “Please let me go.”
He must have heard the pain in her voice because he released her immediately. She stepped away from him and after glaring at a cowering Ralph, she stalked into the conference room and slammed the door.
~
Clark watched her go along with everyone else in the newsroom. Her mercurial moods were becoming more familiar, but Clark still felt dizzy from this encounter with Lois. What could have moved her from white-hot anger to the vulnerability he’d heard in her voice? He stood wondering about what to do next when Cat answered his dilemma for him.
“Go after her.” She patted his shoulder. “Star will come to interview you in about five minutes. It’s time to kiss and make up … for all our sakes.”
The last she said under her breath for Clark’s benefit. He looked at Cat, who arched her eyebrow. He took a deep breath and let it out through puffed cheeks; message received. If they wanted to catch the killer and keep their jobs at the planet, then it was time go undercover. They needed figure out how to get it together and they needed to do it fast. Next to him, Star nodded as well, and stepped back to her desk to gather her things.
Cat smiled and then clapped her hands loudly. “Alright, people. We have a deadline to meet. The last one to submit their assignments takes tonight’s school board meeting assignment.”
A flurry of activity followed Cat’s statement and Clark turned resolutely to the conference room. He took a quick, fortifying breath and opened the door. He slipped inside and closed it quietly behind him. Lois was standing, silent and unmoving, next to the window facing Metropolis’ financial district.
~
Lois heard Clark enter the room and closed her eyes. She cursed herself for the hundredth time, wondering why she had let Perry and Henderson talk her into this. Ha! Who was she kidding? She never let go of an investigation. Everyone knew that Mad Dog Lane was tenacious to a fault.
Lois knew how to succeed in this assignment, to make their cover believable, but she was terrified of what it would cost her personally to catch this killer. She decided to stop fighting herself and love Clark Kent openly. Heartache be damned! Lois inhaled deeply and turned to face him.
“Okay, it’s time, Clark,” she instructed. “You and I are undercover as an engaged couple. As of this moment, we are deeply in love. Whatever you do, you have to believe that you really love me and that our cover story is real.”
“You make it sound like we’ll have to convince the killer in person,” he joked.
“We might. All the murders and disappearances – they were celebrities, well-known and recognizable public figures. If we can’t convince the media that this is real, then the killer is never going to buy it.”
“That we haven’t exactly been getting along isn’t a well-kept secret, Lois. How are we going to convince everyone that we love each other?”
“We’ve been going over the cover-story details for a days. Just… stick to the plan and we’ll be fine.”
Clark nodded and dropped his gaze. He studied his shoes for a minute before he cleared his throat. “And public displays of affection?”
Lois stopped pacing to smile wistfully. “I’m pretty sure I can make it look real. You, well, you can just imagine I’m the other Lois.” Clark’s head snapped up at that and Lois chuckled sadly. “I mean, we look alike, right? I’m sure it can’t be that hard.”
Clark smiled at her deprecating comment and Lois thought her heart would burst at the beauty of it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. She was going to forget that Clark resented her presence and loved the other Lois. She imagined that Clark knew her as intimately as she knew him, that he had longed for her, and that he had swept her into his arms the first time they had met. Just like she’d imagined he would over the years, especially during those dark days imprisoned by Luthor and during all of those long, lonely months of hiding.
She opened her eyes to see Clark open his mouth to respond before cocking his head to the side, listening to something outside of the room. He answered her unspoken question with a quirk of his lips. “Star is coming now. And you’re right, our coworkers are still arguing about whether we are really engaged, in love, or even on speaking terms.”
“Well then,” Lois said as she stepped next to him,” Let’s give ‘em a reason to really talk.”
Without looking to ensure their curious colleagues were watching through the conference room windows, Lois grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him into a determined kiss.
Clark’s arms flailed briefly in shock before she felt him wrap his arms tightly around her back. She practically melted against him when Clark ran his hand up her back. Lois slid her fingers through his hair and then wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders as he pulled her against him and deepened the kiss. A pleasurable little moan escaped as she lost herself to their kiss.
Lois’s feet left the floor as Clark pulled her body closer for another kiss. She had thought to put on a good show, to practice in the semi-privacy of the conference room before having to perform in front of their co-workers, but she hadn’t expected the rush of emotions as their lips had touched. Every barrier she had ever erected came crashing down at his touch. She’d felt the joy of coming home, the excitement of falling desperately in love, and an almost uncontrollable desire to touch bare skin.
~
Clark’s stumbled in shock before wrapping his arms tightly around Lois’s back. He certainly hadn’t expected her to just dive into a deeply passionate kiss in the conference room, but he probably should have. If he had learned anything about this Lois over the past week, it was that once she decided something, it was full-speed ahead. He had thought that the other Lois was passionate, but now she seemed tame compared to the spitfire in his arms.
As Clark recovered from Lois’s surprise kiss-attack, he decided to make it a good one. He ran one hand up her back to hold Lois’s head while the other wrapped tightly around her waist in an attempt to pull her closer. He found himself gasping for air at the contact. Clark felt Lois pull away just far enough to drop her mouth to his jaw and then inch sensually around to nibble his ear. He took advantage of the angle to taste the crook of her neck and his knees almost buckled when she gently moaned in his ear. He thought he had felt desire when he’d almost kissed the other Lois in her brownstone, but that was nothing compared to the four-alarm blaze that was now burning in his chest.
He watched raptly as her lips parted and felt her heavy breath against his mouth, which sent a pulse of heat straight through his body. He dove back in for another kiss and Lois shifted to accept him. When he felt her tongue touch his lip, all rational thoughts ceased.
There was a soft rap at the door and their kiss finally came to a hesitant end. Clark set her down and pulled away from Lois just far enough to see her face, eyes still closed, lips gently parted. He placed a hand against her cheek and watched, mesmerized, as she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth and opened her eyes, gazing directly into his. Her eyes were dilated, almost black and luminous. He felt another spark in his chest that spread rapidly to his extremities and he leaned back in for another kiss. He was about to lose himself to the sweet taste of her when a more insistent knock reminded him of where they were.
~
Lois couldn’t believe how incredible it was to kiss Clark. Letting go of him now was the last thing she wanted to do. Reluctantly, she untangled her arms from around Clark’s neck and stepped back so Star could come through the door. She straightened her jacket and smoothed her skirt as Star slipped through the door, smirking at her friend as she entered. Lois pushed the door closed while Star fanned herself with her notepad.
“That was either the sexiest argument I’ve ever seen you two have, or you really are romantically involved. Boy, I could have sworn that the animosity between you was real, but after that kiss… Whew! Enough said. I can admit it when I’m wrong.”
Lois peeked at Clark and saw that he was staring at her, a dazed expression on his face. He shook his head and then motioned for Lois to follow Star to the conference room table.
Lois cleared her throat and took a step after Star, but when Clark placed his hand on her lower back, she halted at the feeling that coursed through her and they shared another heated gaze. Lois started when Star cleared her throat loudly and then saw a tape recorder and pad of paper on the table. Lois took the seat next to Star and Clark sat on the other side of Lois.
Lois felt Clark start with surprise when Lois reached for his hand. He raised his eyebrows in question and she shrugged.
“Secret’s out now, Clark. There’s no reason to hide it anymore.”
Lois watched warily as Star squinted her eyes at her and then at Clark. Lois didn’t like lying to her long-time friend, but until the killer was behind bars, the fewer people that knew the truth the better. She would apologize to Star after the investigation was over, but until then, they had a story to sell. Given Star’s psychic training and that searching look, Lois knew it was time to put her plans in motion.
Lois focused on her true feelings for Clark and consciously lowered her barriers, opening herself up just in case Star was looking beyond the exterior for the real scoop. She felt Clark shift in his seat next to her and she wondered why he didn’t seem to receive from her the way she read his feelings. As always, his feelings were as clear as a summer’s day. She sensed his interest and admiration, mixed with a little confusion and curiosity. But everything else was practically eclipsed by his palpable desire to kiss her again.
~
Clark returned Star’s searching gaze and tightened his grip on Lois’s hand. He didn’t really understand why she was so adamant about playacting in front of Star, but even in the short time he’d known her, he’d learned enough to trust Lois Lane’s judgment when it came to a story. He tried doing as she suggested, focusing his thoughts on the other Lois, about the way he had felt when they had worked together to save the other Clark from John Doe, but he couldn’t. His mind kept returning to this Lois, to the things he’d learned that made her unique, to the kiss they’d just shared, and the feelings it had evoked in him.
He had been so resolute in his love of the other Lois. Last year, she had come into his life, seen him as no one else ever had, and had helped him to realize his potential. The other Lois had been high strung and exciting and his time with her had been an exquisite torture. However, everything he thought he’d known had been turned on its head after meeting his own world’s Lois Lane. This Lois made him feel confused and confident, exasperated and encouraged, scared and exhilarated.
All of the sudden, he felt a wave of warmth crash over him and Clark shifted in his seat. It was an amazing sensation as images flashed through his mind along with a jumble of emotions: he felt the peace and safety of the Kent home, the excitement of a daring and successful rescue, mixed with the exhilaration of flying for the first time. Along with it came the uncontrollable desire he’d felt while kissing Lois. He heard Lois’s heart speed up and felt his jump to keep pace.
Clark turned to look at Lois with wonder when he realized what was happening to him. Contrary to everything he’d believed a week ago, Clark was falling in love with *this* Lois Lane.
~
Lois could feel Clark gazing at her, but couldn’t look at him. She continued to watch Star’s reaction until her friend smiled and shook her head.
“Wow,” Star said finally, breaking the silence. “I never would have guessed it. Clark certainly didn’t give me any clues.” Star turned to Lois. “I’m not sure why you kept this a secret from me, but at least I get the exclusive.”
Lois reached over and touched Star’s hand. “You know we would never tell anyone else first.”
Star stared at her for another minute, her expression inscrutable before she finally smiled. “You’re not alone anymore. That’s what counts.” She chuckled. “Hey, if Superman can’t accept a psycho-freak from Club Weirdo, no one can.”
Lois’s relief at having fooled Star was palpable. She smiled at Star’s reference to her psychic abilities and glanced quickly at her ‘fiancé’. Lois saw Clark’s eyebrows dip at Star’s cryptic and not-so-flattering comment and she squeezed his hand. She knew Clark had misunderstood her fumbled attempts at sharing her own secret and she knew that she had to come clean soon about her abilities, but she definitely didn’t want to do it with a witness. She decided to keep this conversation moving in the right direction.
“Well, we both felt something significant the very first time we met. I think we’re perfect for each other.”
Star acknowledged her comment with a salute and picked up her pencil. She turned on the tape recorder, pulling their attention back to her. “So, let’s start with the most important question; when’s the wedding? Have you picked a date yet?”
Lois looked at Clark and he smiled encouragingly. “July 18th.”
Star’s eyes widened comically before she sputtered a response. “Of *this* year? That’s only a little more than a week away. Are you nuts?”
“Maybe,” Clark admitted. “But we knew what kind of media circus would surround us at the announcement. There’s enough of that in my life as it is. I didn’t want to subject Lois to that kind of publicity any more than necessary.”
“You know us, Star. We lead pretty intense lives. A long engagement doesn’t appeal to either of us.”
“But how can you possibly get it arranged so quickly?”
“Superspeed?” Clark joked.
Lois smiled and rolled her eyes. “Neither of us wants a fancy wedding. All we want is a simple ceremony with a Justice of the Peace and a few close friends, including you, if you’ll come. This isn’t how I wanted to ask you, but I’d love it if you would be my maid of honor.”
Star looked a little dazed. “I … I, um… I’d love to, Lois, but it … it’s so soon. I need to check my calendar.”
“You’re free,” Lois said with a grin. “Remember when we talked a last week? You penciled me in for dinner and movie night.”
Star’s mouth twisted as she mock-glared at Lois. “You are a conniving sneak.” She turned her attention to Clark. “And you? The public isn’t going to be happy that their hero isn’t going to let them have a huge celebration. People will be clamoring for all the pomp and circumstance.”
“That’s exactly what we don’t want,” Clark answered. “Given what we both do for a living, we knew that there’d be no way to do this privately, but we don’t want a spectacle.”
“I may have to share Superman with the world,” Lois added, “but I’m marrying Clark Kent. We want to get married as quickly and quietly as possible like any normal couple.”
“You guys are anything but a normal couple. What’s the rush?” Star gasped as a new thought occurred to her and her eyes dropped to Lois’s midriff. “Are you pregnant?”
“What?”
“No!”
Lois vehemently denied the possibility at the same time that Clark half-rose from his chair. She held tight to his hand and encouraged him to sit back down with a pat on the hand before answering Star’s question as calmly as she could.
“No, Star, it’s nothing like that,” Lois started.
“It’s just … as people suspected,” Clark continued. “I found Lois in the Congo a year ago and we fell in love before Lois went into hiding to expose Lex Luthor. I continued to search for her in the Congo to help maintain her cover.”
“Now that Lex is in prison and Clark is back, we didn’t see any reason to wait.”
Lois felt the tension ease as Clark relaxed. Lois kissing him had really thrown him for a loop and she could tell that Star’s piercing gaze and comments had been unnerving to him. Now, though, their planning was bearing fruit. She and Clark traded off the practiced answers with the kind of ease someone would expect from a couple that knew each other well.
“Okay,” Star replied. “Whew! Boy, would that have been the scoop of the year! Okay, so what kind of details can you tell me? Where you will honeymoon?”
“The honeymoon will be an undisclosed location reachable only to those that can fly under their own power. After the wedding ceremony, we will be inaccessible for a week until we return home.” Lois had insisted that they announce that they would be unreachable after the wedding. She hoped that it would force the murderer to rush and try to strike beforehand. She hoped it would make him sloppy.
“And where will home be?”
“Clark’s place,” Lois answered. “People are used to him living there already, so it will cause the least disturbance to his neighbors for me to move in with him after we return from our honeymoon.”
Star opened her mouth to ask another question, but Clark was distracted when the police scanner in the newsroom crackled to life. He sprang to his feet, startling both women. “Oil fire at the refinery. I’m sorry, ladies. I’ve got to go.”
Clark hesitated for just a fraction of a second and then leaned down to plant a good-bye kiss on Lois’s lips. He may have meant it to be a quick peck, but the moment his lips touched hers, that same magnetic pull drew him back for more. Lois finally ended the kiss when she laid both hands on his neck and pulled her head back.
“Fire,” she whispered.
Clark looked abashed at getting sidetracked. He nodded and then sped through the newsroom leaving a flurry of scattered papers in his wake.
~
TBC
