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“Yes, he was determined that Santa was living in the fireplace; every time we went to light it, he would scream bloody murder: ‘STOP! You’re going to kill Santa!’ We finally had to set him straight on the myth of Santa,” Martha laughed.

Clark wrapped his arms around Lois from behind as he entered the room. “What mischief are you all up to?”

“Yes, he was determined that Santa was living in the fireplace; every time we went to light it, he would scream bloody murder: ‘STOP! You’re going to kill Santa!’ We finally had to set him straight on the myth of Santa,” Martha laughed.

Clark wrapped his arms around Lois from behind as he entered the room. “What mischief are you all up to?”

“Mischief???” Lois scoffed, “I’ve been entertaining while you have been off saving the world. You better have an exclusive for me. You leave your poor parents here on the edge of their seat like that and…” She was cut off by her mouth being captured by his.

He slowly broke off the kiss. “I apologize from the bottom of my heart. Yes, I have an exclusive for you, but I’ll tell you about it later. Now, before anyone else needs saving let me get this out. Lois seems to have developed some complications with the pregnancy…”

At Martha and Jonathan’s concerned look, Lois continued speaking for Clark. “I have something called preeclampsia. It’s a pregnancy disorder.”

“How serious is it?”

“It’s very serious,” Clark replied solemnly. “Lois has to avoid stressful situations at all costs. She had a close-call during the venture with Tempus. We aren’t sure what prompted her bout with nausea a few months earlier either. She hadn’t been having morning sickness for a while and then it was back full force. It could be the preeclampsia, or it could be just normal pregnancy symptoms. We don’t know.”

“We also have a lot of unknown factors in regard to Clark’s heritage as well. We don’t know if this pregnancy is absolutely normal, or if it may differ due to the Kryptonian genes,” Lois replied.

“Oh, my… What are you going to do? Have you seen a doctor yet?” Martha asked.

“We have a doctor picked out. She’s the best in her field. My dad recommended her,” Lois explained.

“Is that safe? What if your doctor detects something?” Jonathan asked, concerned.

“We’ll have Dr. Klein take a look over Lois since he’s the only one that is specialized in my physiology. We need to make sure the pregnancy itself will be normal,” Clark replied.

“My biggest concern right now is Lois and the health of our child. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you guys sooner. It’s just been one thing after another, so we just haven’t had the time to think let alone tell everyone properly.”

He sipped at his coffee in spite of the steam still rising from his mug. “No news is good news, Lois.”

She scoffed. “Maybe for Superman it is. For us? We’re gonna be out of a job.”

His answering sigh of exasperation had her hackles up again. He muttered something under his breath, and that did it. She rolled her chair out from under her desk sharply and stood up, planting her hands firmly on her desk. “What?”

“I said,” he met her gaze head on, “maybe everyone’s just burned out. The city might need a break after, you know…”

“After what? After Lex? You can say it.”

She felt a couple of other stares landing on her at the mention of the name, and she crossed her arms and jutted out her chin proudly. He was her fiance. Heck, he was nearly her husband, had Clark and Perry not stepped in when they did. Even then it’d taken her longer than she was proud of to admit the truth to herself, so if anyone had the right to bring the man up, it was Lois.

Clark’s gaze traveled around the room quickly and came back to meet hers. “Why don’t we go take a break? Maybe get some air?”

Lois wanted to be stubborn and refuse, but some air would probably do her some good. Begrudgingly, she nodded and turned to grab her purse. He followed her over to the elevators, behind a couple of steps, lost in his own thoughts even as they stepped into the elevator car together.

The doors closed them off from the rest of the world, and quickly the silence filled the space between them uncomfortably. He smelled nice. Lois tried to shake the thought away, but his cologne in this tight space was inescapable, and she let out a small sigh of contentment. Clark turned to look at her oddly, but she didn’t even acknowledge the motion, keeping her eyes trained on the numbers as they slowly approached the ground floor and striving valiantly to keep any embarrassment from staining her cheeks.

The doors opened, and together they slowly ambled out of the building and towards their usual spot in Centennial Park. A twinge pulled in her stomach. It was their spot, until she’d ruined it. They hadn’t been back since that day.

In fact, they hadn’t done much together since that day, about three months ago. The Planet had reopened about a month and a half ago, but during that gap time she’d hardly seen Clark. And even since it’d been open, they’d hardly even had a chance to work together on anything. He was always keeping a polite distance, leaving her at an arm’s length. Perry didn’t put them together on as many stories, and suddenly she was wondering if Clark had said something to him, or if he could just see the tension in the air between them. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was a little of both.

New quote :

The doors closed them off from the rest of the world, and quickly the silence filled the space between them uncomfortably. He smelled nice. Lois tried to shake the thought away, but his cologne in this tight space was inescapable, and she let out a small sigh of contentment. Clark turned to look at her oddly, but she didn’t even acknowledge the motion, keeping her eyes trained on the numbers as they slowly approached the ground floor and striving valiantly to keep any embarrassment from staining her cheeks.

“Son, let me give you some advice…” Perry began.

Jerry scoffed. “Save the advice, Dad. I’ll just do what you didn’t, and Sandy and I should be just fine.”

“You need to spoil her rotten,” Perry said, as if Jerry hadn’t interrupted.

“Duh!” Keith chimed in. “You keep this act up, bro, and some other dude is going to steal her away.”

“What do you know?” Jerry rebutted.

“Hey, I watch television,” Keith countered. “And the lame ass jerks always lose the babe.”

“Cl…” she squeaked out painfully. Her head was pounding and her arms and legs were stiff from being tied up.

“Shhh…it’s okay, Lois,” Jonathan whispered, shifting against her. “They haven’t been back in here for hours…”

“Cla…” She squeaked out again with a bit more strength in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Jonathan said grimly.

“Hurt…” She managed, finding more strength in her voice as she swallowed hard. “They’re…going…”

“Clark can take care of himself,” Jonathan said adamantly. “I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you and I’m a man of my word. Just try to relax…” Jonathan said, shifting against her back. “We’re gonna get out of here…”

Farm boy, says Lois Lane, and something hidden inside Clark Kent thinks I wish.

“You should be on my side, Superman,” Cole informed him arrogantly. “She threw you over for Clark Kent — and believe me, he’ll be nothing without her. My plan will kill two birds with one stone.”

Clark picked up the tape recorder and slipped it into another pocket in his cape. “The police will be interested in this.” He picked up a machine that sat on the ground near Cole. “What’s this?”

“Your little mind could never comprehend it — not with the way you fell for it.”

Clark switched it on. A perfect replica of Superman appeared in the alley.

“A hologram machine? That’s your brilliant design?” Clark switched it off. “That’s not even a new design. Hollywood’s been using it for years.”

Incensed, Cole shouted, “It’s not a hologram machine, you cretin! It’s a hallucination machine. How do you think I got everyone to see it out on the street when I was back here?!”

Superman flashed back a real smile this time. “Do you still need my help sorting it out?” Now his voice held nothing more than concern and friendship.

Lois stayed silent.

How could she repay his kindness by blurting out, “I wish you were Clark?” It would be mean and she had already used up a year worth of cruelty today.

So she settled on the more considerate “Can you travel through time? And take me back with you?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, no.”

“Too bad it’s not one of your powers. Would it be too much to wish for H. G. Wells’s Time Machine?”

At his mystified look, believing he didn’t grasp the reference, she explained: “A dead English writer. It’s one of his better known works. The book’s boring, really, but I wish it were true…”

“What would you undo, if you could?” he cautiously asked.

She focused inwardly. “Easy.” She leaned towards him, her eyes intent. “I’d go back to early afternoon and tell Clark that—” A heartbeat later, Lois lowered her red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t–”

She shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“It does to you.”

How would she explain what she had done to Martha and Jonathan, the people who had welcomed her into their family with open arms? How would she explain to them that she killed their only son? How would she explain it to Perry, Jimmy and the police? As far as they were concerned, the machine responsible for her misery didn’t work anymore.

How could she tell them what she had done?

How could she still go on?

She couldn’t even think straight. Her head hurt from the returning memories, the crying and the guilt. Her thoughts were turning ’round and ’round in her head.

What should she do now? Call the police? Confess what she had done? Would they believe her that she wasn’t responsible? Did it matter if they convicted her or not?

No, her life had ended anyway the second Clark’s life was over. It didn’t matter if she would end in prison, on death row, or if she was lynched by a mob. Her body might be alive but her soul had died.

Without Clark she was merely existing.

She was completely caught up in her despair never noticing a movement nearby.

“How was it?” she asked once he was completely inside.

“I…uh…” he stammered, wide-eyed.

“Clark?” she asked, concerned for him, stopping short of the hug she’d intended on giving him.

It didn’t take much to see that the rescue had deeply affected him in some way. His features were drawn tight. He’d gone pale. His eyes were wide and staring. His expression was haunted, like a man who’d seen a ghost.

“Honey?” she asked, more forcefully this time, putting her hands on his shoulders. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“A fire,” he said, his voice sounding far away, his eyes looking straight ahead, unblinking. “A grease fire,” he elaborated after a couple of seconds. “In a kitchen up at one of the campsites north of the city. You know the ones…they have all the little cabins and one big mess hall. I just…I can’t unsee it, no matter how hard I try.”

“Mike?”

“Hello, Clark. Nice night, isn’t it?” Mike smiled benignly at Clark, who immediately relaxed.

“Yes. I didn’t know you drive a cab.”

“It’s something new. How are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“That’s great!”

After a few minutes, Mike spoke again. “Just so you know we’re being followed.”

“A dark gray sedan?”

“Yes.”

Inside the cab, Clark gave the driver the address of the Fifth Street Mission. He did a double take as he recognized the cabbie.

“Mike?”

“Hello, Clark. Nice night, isn’t it?” Mike smiled benignly at Clark, who immediately relaxed.

“Yes. I didn’t know you drive a cab.”

“It’s something new. How are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“That’s great!”

After a few minutes, Mike spoke again. “Just so you know we’re being followed.”

“A dark gray sedan?”

“Yes.”

Clark chuckled. “That’s Lois, my partner at the Planet. She’s determined to learn my biggest secret.”

“And you’re going to tell her?”

“No! I’m going to give her another secret I hope is big enough to satisfy her.”

“Ah. Think it will work?”

“No idea, but I have to try.”

The rest of the ride was made in companionable silence. Mike made sure that it wasn’t too easy for Lois to follow the cab, while also assuring she didn’t fall too far behind. At the mission, Mike stopped his cab in front. Clark paid him with a generous tip.

“Thanks, Clark. Hope this works out.”

“I do too.” As Clark stepped out of the cab, he focused on entering the mission and promptly forgot Mike was his cabbie.

"Lois, you're naked!" Superman exclaimed.

‘Oh God, no, no, no!’ She cried out in her mind as she felt a moment of blind paralyzing panic. She forced down the panic with the iron determination that she had inherited from her mother. ‘What would Lois Lane do?’ She asked herself. Keeping her eyes closed, she cast back through her hazy memory looking for anything to explain her apparent predicament. Her last clear memory was the post graduation party that she had attended with her two best friends, Roxanne and Janet.

“Sleep does sound good.” She smiled. “Are you sure you still want to date a self-absorbed, judgmental, know-it-all that steals stories from her friends?”

“I have it on good authority she’s worth it.” He reached over to cup her cheek. “So, is it a date?”

She ran her hands up his chest until they were resting on his shoulders and whispered, “It’s a date.”

His smile spread across his face, and he held her gaze. “You won’t be sorry.”

She looked back at him with a smirk. “You seem pretty confident about this date. What if it doesn’t work out? What makes you think I’m not going to have a horrible time and leave?”

“That won’t be possible.” he responded with a twinkle in his eye.

“Pretty sure of yourself there, aren’t you, Kent?”

“I am.”

“Well?” She looked at him impatiently, walking toward him with her arms crossed over her chest with an irritated expression on her face.

“Well, what?” he asked, confused.

“Oh, for God’s sake, do I have to do everything myself?” She fumed, closing the distance between them. She reached up, cupping both sides of his face, pressing her lips against his in a fiery kiss. After what felt like an eternity she pulled away, “Now was that so hard?” Before he could respond she captured his mouth with hers once more.

“What would you undo, if you could?” he cautiously asked.

She focused inwardly. “Easy.” She leaned towards him, her eyes intent. “I’d go back to early afternoon and tell Clark that—” A heartbeat later, Lois lowered her red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t–”

She shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“It does to you.”

She surrendered to his quiet urging.

“I’d tell Clark…” she began slowly. “I’d tell him that I’m miserable without him.”

“But for right now why don’t you give Wanda Detroit a break and come to bed?” With that he closed the laptop and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her toward the staircase.

This whole time, I'd thought that Clark Kent was the underdog. That he won fair and square. But turns out I had no chance at all. Not when Clark and Superman were the same person all along.

I was competing with the man of steel.

And that's not even what gets me the most. It's that we've been friends for twenty years. All the time and effort and care that I put into that friendship, and for what? To be treated like this? To lose everything?

“Every star is different and unique in its own way.” He brushed his hand against her cheek, “Just like you.”

“Star?” Lois asked in surprise.

“So don’t just sit there. Open it.” She grinned happily, clapping her hands.

“Okay,” he nodded and began to carefully peel back the wrapping paper. Inside was a small velvet box. “What is this?” He peered at her in amusement. He opened the box, and she watched in anticipation, waiting for him to put the pieces together. “A key?”

“To my apartment,” she said shyly. “I just thought…” she shrugged, “…it would be easier when you’re coming and going.”

He leaned in to kiss her. “Thank you,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ll have a key made for you when we get back.”

Her face relaxed, and she smiled back at him. “I’d like that.”

He pulled out a small box from his pocket wrapped in a blue ribbon and handed it to her. She pulled the ribbon loose and opened the box, revealing a simple silver chain necklace with a small star-shaped pendant on it. “Oh, Clark, it’s gorgeous,” she gasped in surprise. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“And you won’t,” he responded carefully. “Every star is different and unique in its own way.” He brushed his hand against her cheek, “Just like you.”

“Star?” Lois asked in surprise.

“Just one of the smaller ones.” He said, fingering the crystalized star with his thumb.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you,” she whispered, leaning against him.

“Merry Christmas, Lois,” he said, stroking her cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Clark,” she murmured against his lips, capturing his mouth with hers.

Rules of Family by Folc4evernaday

From the first moment I gathered her in my arms, I knew she was different. Instead of seeing me as either an alien threat or a frightening monster, she saw a friend. She actually relaxed in my arms as we flew to the Planet!

“She's been asleep for two days,” Lex proclaimed boldly. “It's time for action. I am taking lead. These are, after all, my bunkers which protect and sustain us. Kal-El, are you ready to move forward?"

“I am ready to act, Lex. I am not comfortable doing so without informing Lois of our plans.”

“And if I demand otherwise? You said you would support the resistance. Has your intent changed?”

“My intent has not changed,” Kal-El responded calmly, keeping his tone even and his manner steady. He could tell that the others in the room were very nervous in his presence. All except for the four doppelgängers. “Lois Lane is the leader. I promised to abide her wishes.”

“Because you feel guilty,” Lex spat. “Believe me, she isn't the only victim of this godforsaken invasion. She's not even the only rape victim around here. There are many women in our ranks who were violated by your clone. The woman directly to your right, to start with -”

Lois's gasp cut him off. Her pallor was noticeable in the wake of his brutal words.

“How dare you harass Lois just to win a point against Kal-El,” Lane exploded angrily. “She's suffered enough.”

“It is not my intent to harass anyone,” Lex retorted angrily, even as Lois attempted to calm Lane down by placing a hand on her arm and speaking to her in a low voice. Kent and Clark were visibly agitated, but they remained silent, not wanting to make things worse.

“All I'm doing is reminding everyone our true purpose. Our goal is, and always will be, to free Earth from it's brutal overlords. Right at this moment, people are being tortured and killed. Delay means more people suffer, and more people die. Our only hope of success is if Kal-El can convince his people to stand down. And that is what we need to be discussing. Lois is sick. I'm sorry for that. I hope she gets better. But she is not the lynchpin.”

“How interesting that you are singing the praises of a plan you were so opposed to earlier,” Lane rejoined sarcastically.

“You look a little pale. Are you okay?” She ran her hand up his cheek.

He gave her a weak smile trying to lighten her up with a joke, “Sure. I just got blown up. No biggie.” At her wide-eyed expression, he chuckled, “Lois, I’m fine, really. Go.” He leaned in to kiss her.

Lois looked at him skeptically, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He leaned in to kiss her. “Go. Save the lead. I’ll be here when you get back.” He closed the door behind her and let out a long sigh. He really didn’t feel that great, but he wasn’t about to give Lois something else to worry about right now.

“Help! He’s got my car!” The cry for help reached his ears, and he let out a long breath. It seemed rest wasn’t something that would be happening tonight.

It was odd to be in a room full of people who all seemed to look up to my dad like he was some kind of hero. A part of me wanted to see him through their eyes just for a moment. I tried to picture him as they did — a brilliant doctor who’d saved the careers of countless sports icons. I wanted to see him as the man who’d invented new medical techniques and improved upon existing ones. I wanted to see him as a genius, the way they did.

“So, not exactly how I imagined tonight’s dinner. Staring up at the stars over Chinese takeout.” Lois smiled at him, taking another bite of her food.

“How did you imagine it?” Clark set his glass down, looking at her expectantly.

She smiled, “I don’t know. I mean, we’ve shared hundreds of meals together over the past year. I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

“Are you…disappointed?” his tone remained hesitant as he looked at her quizzically.

“No,” she said softly, meeting his gaze. “Just trying to figure out where to begin.”

“I know,” He smiled good-naturedly at. “Most first dates begin with getting to know you and we….already do.”

It had started out as it always did: with one stupid comment. Simple, mundane, something nobody would read into, except of course for Clark. He was a good sport, as he always was. He’d smiled, laughed, thanked the person for their flattery… But the smile didn’t reach his eyes like it usually did, the laugh came out a little too airy, and the thanks were far from genuine.

It was all downhill from there.

Superman: “All the comforts of home, courtesy of LexMart.”

Luthor: “You’ll never get away with this!”

Superman: “I know. While this island is rather off the beaten path, you’ll be found. In a year or two or three or twenty. I’m betting your, shall we say less public, activities need your firm hand on the rudder. By the time you’re found the whole world will know what I know. In which case I’m not sure how eager you’ll be to return to Metropolis.”

Superman slowly rises upward, smiles, waves.

Superman: “Bye now.”

“It was like I momentarily lost control of my powers. Then it turns out that nobody actually robbed the bank. The door was jimmied just enough to set off the alarm.”

“Red kryptonite!” Jon blurted out, standing. He’d heard this story before, too. And his brother had lived through something similar. Both Lois and Clark looked at him, confused. “It was a test,” he said, starting to pace. “Someone set up a situation that they knew you’d react to, then exposed you to red kryptonite to see what would happen.”

“How…?” Lois asked.

“I’ve seen it happen before,” Jon said, which was more or less true. He’d seen the after effects of red kryptonite poisoning, and it was not pretty. More to the point, he knew how this story ended, and if he said too much more, he might change history. Willing himself to stop, he addressed his parents again. “Look, you need to keep an eye open for that stuff. For the next few days, you have to assume it’s around wherever Superman shows up. If they expose you again, the effects could be worse.”

“Worse than 50 feet underground?” Lois asked.

“Have either of you heard from Superman?”

Lois was the first to shake her head, Clark a beat behind her.

“Not since he disabled the plant.”

“And you don’t have any idea where he is?”

Again, the dual head shake.

“He’s disappeared before, Chief. I’m sure it’s just— temporary,” Lois offered.

Perry snorted softly, dismissing the two reporters with a reminder to keep searching for Superman. The Daily Planet’s publisher had taken to phoning hourly to ask for updates, and he was just as eager to get the scoop on Superman’s return.

“If she changes her mind—”

Clark looked back over his shoulder at the saleswoman.

“She won’t.”

“If she does… the ring will still be here.”

The ground beneath them buckled and shifted and the console rang its alarm. Lara felt Jor-El’s comforting arms surround her, even as she felt his worry increase. The pieces of metal instrumentation and synthetic casings strewn about the table bounced and jangled until the ground settled again, but the pedestal stood firm, their baby, Kal-El, safely nestled inside beneath the nourishing mists.

When the shaking subsided and all returned to normal, Lara extricated herself from her husband’s embrace and returned to her workstation. Her mind was already on another equation that could boost the examining power of her algorithm when the door chime sounded. Lara looked up in surprise; they had not had a guest visitor since the tremors began a fortnight ago. She looked toward Jor-El, but he was in deep concentration and had not heard the chime. Lara decided to answer the door, as whoever it was must be in dire need of help.

Lara made her way to the door and pressed her palm against the lock. The door slid open to reveal the most peculiar stranger that she had ever seen. A tall, thin man in an unusual suit of brown stood looking at her, a delighted grin on his face. Lara took in his wind-swept hair and his sand shoes and invited him in to rest. The weather must have taken a turn for the worst.

There were tears in her eyes.
Their earlier arguments felt inconsequential; he was angry at himself in that moment – why hadn’t he been there for Ellen, why hadn’t he just admitted that he’d been wrong? Was God punishing him?
He came over to her and looked her over. Ellen had instinctively known the truth – she was miscarrying. Their child was due in a little less than a month, but now…
“I’m sorry,” he said to Ellen. He wasn’t sure what it was that he was the sorriest about: the lie, the arguments, the insults, the leaving her for the overnight shift or their current situation.
She seemed to understand.
“I love you,” he said. The words felt empty, not enough.
Ellen screamed.
It was 2:45 AM.
Two grueling, horrible hours later, Ellen Lane gave birth to a tiny, dark haired daughter.
The child was already dead.
It was 4:45 AM.

The future Superman looked nervous again. "Pardon?" he asked.

"If you're me from the future," Clark said, "then you should be older than me. You look too young!"

"Kryptonian aging!" the new Superman said, confidently.

"But you look younger than me!" Clark protested.

"Kryptonians age backwards," the other Superman replied.

"So how old are you, then?" Clark asked.

"Twenty," the other Superman responded automatically, then quickly added, "hundred."

"Twenty hundred?" Clark echoed. "Do you mean two thousand?"

Clark shrugged, feeling embarrassed. "Glad I could help. But, I have to be honest, listening in like that...I feel...dirty, for doing it. These powers I have...I should only be using them to help."

"You did help," Bruce reminded him.

"That's not what I mean. I mean, I should be using them to help those who need help fighting injustice. This? This was just...I don't want to say 'wrong,' but..." His voice trailed off as he sought to put his feelings into words.

Bruce sighed. "I understand. But, for what it's worth, I'm grateful you did listen in. Now I have time to fix this mess." He paused, then, "You did good, Clark."

Clark nodded distractedly. "Yeah, I guess. Listen, I...uh...I think I need to get out for a bit. Get some air. Besides, I'm sure you have phone calls to make."

"By all means," Bruce nodded.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back," Clark said, in response to Bruce's unvoiced question.

Then he was gone, out the front door - just a blur of colors and an unexplained, out of place breeze marking his passing. There was nowhere he felt like going, so he flew straight up into the sky, tearing holes in the clouds and breaking free of the atmosphere to hover in that space between the Earth and the rest of the universe. He sometimes went to that place, when things on Earth became a little overwhelming. Out there, floating freely, unattached to the world, but not part of the stars, it was peaceful. It gave him a place of solitude, a place where he could collect his thoughts, far from the usual distractions of life.

But this time, he wasn't comforted. He still felt guilty over using his powers the way he had.

It's no different than if I were using them to uncover a criminal as a reporter, he told himself in his mind. And maybe, just maybe, I've finally found a way to start repaying Bruce for everything he's done for me these past couple of years, plucking me off the streets and all like he did.

That thought made him feel a little better. It was true that he felt more than indebted to Bruce.

For what felt like the billionth time, he wondered why he had the powers he did. And, more importantly, he wondered if he would ever have a concrete answer. His parents had always assured him that he was exactly as God intended him to be, but that didn't satisfy Clark. While it was all well and good to believe that he had his powers for a reason, he still wanted to know why. Was he some kind of science experiment? Was he even a human being? Was he some kind of advanced robot - a cyborg, he'd heard it called when flesh and machine comprised a sentient being.

"Who am I?" he shouted into the nothingness of space, his voice nothing more than a ghost in that perfect vacuum of sound.

It was odd to be in a room full of people who all seemed to look up to my dad like he was some kind of hero. A part of me wanted to see him through their eyes just for a moment. I tried to picture him as they did — just an alien superhero, separate from them, above them, different in every way. Non-human. They couldn’t know what it was like, to not view him like that. To see him as the sometimes flawed, very human, normal man he’d kept so well hidden behind the flashy Spandex of his uniform. To see him for who he truly was — a loving and devoted husband and father.

"Alice was visiting her sister when it all happened. She can't get a flight out of Des Moines."

"I'm sorry."

"She knows how I feel about her and what she's meant to me. That's the important thing," Perry said. "How's Clark doing?"

"Things started coming back last night," Lois said. "Having his parents here really helped. But still… a lot's still missing."

"Maybe he's the lucky one," Perry mused. "If he doesn't remember the way it was, maybe he won't miss it."

Frank Madison came on the television screen as LNN started airing the news conference. Again Daitch stood at the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, people of the world. As you have no doubt read, there is evidence that Superman did return to Earth. However, he has not, as yet, made contact with us. We don't know why he has not contacted us and we fear the worst, that he was injured and is now unable to help us. However, there is no need for panic. Even without Superman's help, we are confident we can handle this latest challenge with existing resources." Daitch moved aside for Zeitlin. "General?"

"We have several delivery systems," Zeitlin stated. "Notably the Asgard booster, which we are in the process of re-programming. At the same time, we're currently attaching nuclear payloads which, if we can deliver them, should break up the second asteroid, 'Shiva II'. We hope to be ready to launch in a few hours."

"And the chances they can hit something like that?" someone in the newsroom asked.

Jimmy chuckled but there was no mirth in it. "You know how many times the chief's VCR's been in the shop? Things break. Things don't work. And they gotta hit this moving target and get it right the first time. I'm not feeling lucky, are you?"

He smiled at her. “When have you found me not ready for anything?”

A touch of acid crept into her voice. “Let me see – yes, I’ve got it. I’m thinking of a long weekend ski trip with me back in late January where you stood me up because you weren’t ready.”

The smile melted away and she missed it immediately. “That was almost three months ago, Mayson. Besides, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Lois is, for all intents and purposes, drugged. In her right mind, she wouldn’t contemplate acting this way. And there’s no way she’d contemplate any sort of romantic or sexual relationship with Clark Kent. Unfortunately for me, she’s made that perfectly plain.

Lois rolled her eyes. “Oh Clark, stop it. I know you’re Superman. And you have a terrible poker face. Besides, I’m an investigative reporter, Clark. Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?” She patted him on the chest as the elevator doors opened with a merry ‘ding’. “You don’t have to worry about me, Clark. But I do think you need to do something about Wayne Irig.”

Lois’s eyes widened with interest. “Have I told you how much I love your powers? I wish I could have read through them myself. Can you share anything with me that jumped out at you?”

“A few things. There were copies of his research from MEPWar, files on the members of Dynonomics, files on the girls, Trisha included. He also had a financial file that listed ‘Draden Enterprises’ as his main sponsor, and a file that contained a chemical formula with a one word heading in Greek, ‘Oracle’. Does any of that mean anything to you?”

“Draden Enterprises was Mensa’s original sponsor for MEPWar. It came up again during my Lex Luthor investigation. It turned out to be a shell company associated with several scientific projects, but I never found anyone else associated with it.”

“And ‘Oracle’?”

“‘Oracle’ was a drug that Mensa was working on when I first started investigating him. The drug would allow him to implant instructions along with a trigger word in the subconscious of a psychic’s brain. With it, Mensa could use someone like me to do whatever he wanted and all the while, I would be unaware. My guess is that he wanted to continue with his criminal aspirations using these girls as his pawns.”

On your marks. Leila Kent, with the unruly mess of hair and the long legs and the seriousness of her determination on the running track, flitting between the different groups in school and never really fitting into any one of them. Get set. The crowd in the stadium is hushed, waiting. She imagines for a second, impossibly, that she can hear her brother squealing excitedly with her grandpa in the field behind her, imagines the sound of her grandmother humming in the kitchen, the familiar rumble of a truck on the dusty roads leading to the farm, the rustling of the earth under her feet, no, it must just be in her head, it must just be her imagination. There’s the starting gun — and she goes.

“Stop? Why would I stop? Stopping is for inferior people, not me.”

“There are rules about impersonating someone!”

“Those don’t apply to me. They’re only for little people like you.”

At that moment, Clark’s powers kicked back in. Ignoring the sudden deafening babble of voices and other city sounds, he lunged at his opponent — and went right through him.

"Super-ventriloquism," he repeated louder.

"What on Earth is super-ventriloquism?"

“I’m the part of you that you want to deny.” He snapped at him with an icy edge in his tone as he continued to circle him. “That damaged part of you that you’ve buried so deep inside you don’t even know it’s there. You can deny it all you want, but you know what I did today was something you’ve wanted to do for a long time. You wanted to make those men pay. You wanted to keep those children safe. You know it and I know it. I’m a part of you. Every memory you have, I have. You can’t deny it and you can’t destroy yourself.”

“I’m nothing like you!” Clark growled angrily.