Description: Lois, Clark, and Superman makes for an interesting love triangle. But what if there was another Superman and Lois can’t get it all straight? Could she be in love with one of them? Two of them? Or maybe when the dust settles she finds her heart going out to her mild mannered partner who just might be delusional? (Not an else-world / alt-Clark story)

Story: Clark Kent vs. Superman
Author: Rhea
Email: rheajediknight@yahoo.com
Rating: PG

I posted this earlier than I anticipated due to a very quick and wonderful beta Mrs.Mosley! This one's for you!

Previously:


Lois's eyebrows drew together and she said, "Are you going to help him or not, Superman?" The way she said the last word, Clark almost felt pity for the man. Maybe this would mark the end of his charade. "I'll get some help." He jogged out of there with a speed borne of adrenaline. Clark almost chuckled and he realized that at some point he had slumped to the floor. How had that happened?

Lois helped him to his feet. "I'm sorry Lois. I was really looking forward to that dance."

"Let's just get you out of here."

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Part Two

By the time they were in the cab, Clark was mostly recovered. He had been sitting in the back seat with his eyes closed and his head thrown back. He slowly raised his head and saw Lois watching him closely.

She was clutching his hand and they both seemed to realize it at the same moment. She hastily let go of him and placed the back of her hand to his forehead solicitously. "Your fever seems to have gone down and your color is looking better. How do you feel?"

"Much better now. Thank you, Lois." Clark smiled reassuringly. He reached for the hand on his forehead, and pulled it toward his mouth. He placed a gentle kiss on her palm and felt her pulse leap.

Flustered, Lois pulled her hand out of his grasp. Her palm throbbed where his lips had touched. She involuntarily closed her fingers as if to trap the sensation and keep it with her. She wanted to lower her gaze and avoid looking at him and because of this impulse she brazenly met his eyes as if to tell him that she was completely unaffected.

"Who was that man on the dance floor? Did you know him?" Clark asked with studied casualness.

Lois shifted uncomfortably and then she did drop her gaze. "Oh. . . uh. . . . I'm not really certain."

Interesting. Either she was determined to keep Superman's secret, or she was in doubt as to his actual identity. "You seemed to know him pretty well."

Lois flushed bright red, realizing that he had seen her kissing him. "Well . . about the kiss. I didn't exactly plan that. I was actually kind of glad that you got sick when you did." She looked at him in horror, "That's not what I mean. Of course I didn't want you to get sick. . . I just wanted to . . . leave." She ended in a small voice.

The sight of Lois kissing another man had made Clark’s stomach turn sour. The feeling had remained even after the effects of the kryptonite had begun to wear off, but hearing her admit that she had wanted to leave the man behind made all his negative feelings evaporate in an instant.

She raised her head to meet his gaze. "You didn't do that on purpose, did you?"

"I have many abilities, Lois, but running a fever and becoming physically ill on command are beyond even my skills," Clark said dryly.

"Of course not. Sorry." Lois became immediately contrite. The cab arrived at Clark's apartment and they both exited.

"Do you want to come up?" Clark asked.

Lois nodded her head. "I still think you should go see a doctor. I've never seen anyone look as green as you did back there."

Clark suppressed a snort. Kryptonite sometimes did that to him, but he couldn't tell Lois that.

"Must have been the shrimp cocktail," Clark said.

"But I ate that with you." There was a hint of worry in her tone that made Clark feel guilty about his deception. In that moment, he felt no better than the man on the dance floor claiming to be Superman.

"Maybe it was something else." Clark unlocked his door and they went inside to the apartment. He had left the entry light on. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back."

Lois waved her hand at him and went into the kitchen as Clark disappeared into the bathroom. For a long time he stood staring at his reflection in the dark. Should he do a quick flight over to the reception hall to see if he could find that man? No, he had a gut feeling that he was long gone and it would only serve to make Lois more agitated. He could hear her wander about his apartment, her step quicker than usual. She really was worried about him. In a relatively dark day, there was a small glimmer of light. He washed his face, flushed the toilet unnecessarily and made his way out of the bathroom.

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When Clark disappeared in the bathroom, Lois wandered about the kitchen intent on making tea. She gave it up quickly, unable to focus on such a mundane task. Her thoughts continually replayed the events of the evening, trying to make sense of them. Her wandering shifted to pacing. She decided to approach this mystery as she would any story. Lois wrung her hands in front of her as she went over the options.

One, the man was really Superman, and for some reason when he approached her as a normal man she was no longer interested. He had looked a lot like Superman, and he certainly seemed to know her.

Two, the man on the dance floor was an imposter. He was just claiming to be Superman to get her attention. It certainly had worked. She had danced with him, even kissed him. There was also the nagging feeling that he hadn't looked quite right. She tried to picture him in the Superman outfit, but she found that she couldn't remember his face quite well enough. Lois had certainly felt different in his arms. Usually, she was reluctant for Superman to let her go, but this time she was more than ready.

Three, she was more than a little drunk and none of this had really happened and tomorrow she was going to wake up with a hell of a hangover tomorrow. But she had only had two glasses of wine. That was hardly enough to induce hallucinations. She felt pretty lucid.

Clark reentered the room, and Lois spun on her heel to face him. "Clark, do I seem drunk to you?"

He gave her a puzzled look. "Not really. Do you feel dizzy or anything?"

She shook her head standing there wringing her hands. She hadn't seen that 'Superman' do anything . . . well . . . super to give evidence to his claim.

"You know Superman pretty well, don't you? You're friends right?" She knew the answer to that already, but she needed to hear if from him.

Clark understood her anxious behavior now. This was about the guy on the dance floor. "I guess I know him just about as well as anyone." He answered carefully.

"Does he . . . Have you ever seen him dressed in anything besides the Superman suit?"

Clark adjusted his glasses nervously and sat down on his couch. This was exactly what he had feared. He had this great desire to give his lamp a quick burst of heat vision, so that they were suddenly plunged into darkness.

Instead, he answered. "Is this about whether the suit comes off? Cause I can't say that I ever tried to see him naked."

That did the trick. Lois flushed and sat beside him on the couch. "That's not what I meant."

Of course he knew that, and he eyed the lamp longingly. This was not the time to use any of his powers. He did not need to arouse any of Lois' suspicions right now.

Unable to sit still under her shrewd gaze as she continued this line of inquiry, Clark jumped up almost too fast, jostling the table lamp in the process. He quickly steadied it.

Lois continued, "I mean, does he ever wear, oh I don't know, sweats or a jacket with a tie. Does he ever borrow your clothes?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and asked, "You want some tea? I think I really need a drink right now." Clark almost ran into the kitchen.

"You'd be about the right size." Lois continued, following his retreat.

"Oolong, Darjeeling or maybe you'd like something decaffeinated?" Clark buried his head in a cupboard.

"Forget the tea, Clark. I'm trying to figure out if the man I met was Superman."

“The one you were with on the dance floor?” Clark finally faced her then, a tin of tea in his hand. “Was he that good a kisser?”

Lois flushed and she moved agitatedly, her hands smoothing non-existent creases on her black dress.

“Not exactly.”

“Then why did you think he might be Superman? He didn't look like him.”

"What do you mean, he didn't look like him?”

“You know . . . spandex, red cape, big S on the chest.” Clark's tone had a faintly mocking tone and Lois shot him a quick glare.

“What if he was just dressed in normal clothes? Then do you think he would look like him?”

“Lois. I don't understand. Why do you think you danced with Superman?”

“Because that’s who he told me he was."

Clark had heard this, but he couldn't admit to her that to Lois, especially right now when she was in full investigative reporter mode. “He just came right up to you and said he was Superman. Did he prove it to you in any way?”

“Not really. That's kind of why I let him kiss me.” Lois turned away, unable to face Clark at this admission.

“Did he . . . .?” Clark cleared his throat and then tried again, “What was your conclusion?”

“I have my doubts.” She said in a small voice that Clark wondered if he would have been able to perceive without his exceptional hearing.

This confession made him feel eminently better. “Do you really think that Superman would just throw on regular clothes and arrive at a reception just to tell you his secret? Don't you think that's odd? I mean, why now?"

Lois rolled Clark's words around in her head. Clark had said “his secret.” His secret. Did he know something? Why would he know that Superman had a secret unless he knew the truth? Had Superman shared the truth with Clark and not her, or is that why he had shown up at the dance floor? To even the score? Either way, Clark knew something about Superman, and she was going to get the truth, even if she had to pry it out of him.

"To be honest, Clark, I probably wouldn't feel comfortable talking about this if you weren't his friend too. I mean, let's face it, if Superman were really hiding out as a normal person would he just come out and tell me? Unless he's done the same for you.”

Clark started coughing, more to conceal the facial expression on his face. She was watching him so closely now and he had no idea how he was going to survive this conversation intact.

“I've often wondered what Superman does when he isn't flying around saving people. Now I have to wonder if he isn't just walking among us as a regular person. You know, don't you? You know who he really is. Why would he find it necessary to dress in regular clothes?”

“Maybe he wants a normal life.” Clark tried to say it casually, as if it had just occurred to him.

Lois studied him closely. She nodded as if that made sense. “If that's true, why tell me now? Don't you think he would try a little harder to keep it a secret?"

Clark shrugged. "I guess. But if you found out, it would make quite a scoop for the Planet."

"Yeah. What a story. It would probably win a Kerth, but we're dealing with a person's life here. I don't think Superman's privacy is worth a moment of fame. He does too much good without asking for anything in return. Don't you think he deserves a little more discretion on our part?"

Clark gave her a slow devastating smile. "You constantly surprise me, Lois Lane."

"Besides, I don't see you turning in your best friend just for the sake of a story. It doesn't stop you from getting an unfair number of Superman exclusives, though."

He felt his face go warm with embarrassment. Clark put a kettle on to boil, just to keep his hands busy. "I can honestly say that I know him well, maybe about as well as anyone, but I wouldn't call him my best friend, Lois." He gave her a warm smile and reached out to give her hand a quick squeeze.

Lois felt her insides turn to warm liquid. She found herself smiling at him, grasping his hand in response, noticing how dark and beautiful his eyes were. She enjoyed being with him. He smelled good, warm and clean and male. He really filled out a suit coat nicely, and she found herself leaning in toward him, yearning to make the moment between them last.

Clark caught his breath at the look in her eyes. Her smile sent a bolt of awareness through his entire body, and when he caught his breath he could hear that her heat rate had accelerated. Whatever was happening between them was not one-sided.

"You look really good, Clark," Lois said in a surprisingly husky voice. "I mean, you don't look sick at all," she said, waving her hand absently as if trying to diffuse the emotion in her voice.

Her words stopped him. She seemed vulnerable, looking at him with that gleam in her eye that seemed to say ‘I dare you to say anything about my comment’. Even so, he decided to take a chance and said, "You look beautiful."

Lois dropped her gaze, lowering her chin and sucking in her breath. Her hair swung like a shield between them and she tucked a lock behind her ear in a nervous gesture that tugged at Clark's heart.

Suddenly Clark heard sirens and focused his attention on a passing police car. He could hear the dispatcher report that Superman was on the scene. It had to be the imposter.

Lois glanced up at him as her mouth tightened and her expression seemed to close. Clark closed his eyes and sighed. He had to go. He had to find out what was going on, and it was going to kill him to leave Lois behind.

“Lois, I’ve got to go.” Clark rose to his feet, his eyes darting around the room seeking inspiration for a plausible excuse for his sudden departure.

Lois jumped to her feet, recognizing that look, the almost nervous air that Clark got just before he made up some inane excuse for running away from her.

“Forgot to return a video? I’ll go with you and we can pick out a new one together to watch tonight.”

Clark turned to regard her with surprise on his face. He opened his mouth to say something and Lois continued.

“No? Maybe you need to go buy a new gallon of milk because the old one’s gone bad. That’s okay, because I don’t really want milk in my tea anyway.” She had moved closer to him so that her face was only inches from his chest. Their height difference was insignificant in her growing wrath. “Have to go to the post office? Let’s go. I need stamps too. Or maybe you doddering old great aunt Matilda needs her medication and you just have to go or she’ll die! Well, you know what, Clark? I am sick of your excuses.”

He knew that there was nothing he would say that could make this right. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he couldn’t do that and then just leave her behind. Not to mention that she would insist on coming along, but since he didn’t know what he would be facing, that out of the question. But above all, right now he really didn’t want to lie to Lois. “I’m sorry, Lois. Really. I have to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can. We’ll talk about this later, I promise.” With that he ran for the door.

“Clark!” Lois yelled furiously. He had left her alone in his apartment. What was he thinking? She was just beginning to feel comfortable with the fact that there was something important between them. More than partners, more than friends even. But he had to remind her of his biggest flaw, his constant disappearing act. Well, no more. She was going to find out what made Clark Kent run off all the time and she had a tingling in her gut that it was going to make one hell of a story!

Had Clark left her to pursue a story without her? That dirty snake! Lois ran to the top of the steps intent on yelling at Clark’s retreating back, but he was nowhere to be seen. The sonic boom that she had grown to associate with Superman rattled the windows and Lois looked around trying to locate him.

Maybe she could get Superman to help her find Clark for her. The image of Superman holding Clark by his jacket collar was amusing enough to get her to smile, but the man in blue was no where to be seen.

“Superman?” Lois asked tentatively, but there was no answer. She looked up in the sky and saw the entail of a passing airplane. It hadn’t been Superman after all.

She went back to grab her purse and then left the apartment, slamming the door shut so hard that a potted plant on the landing toppled over. Lois kicked it out of her way, causing a streak of pain to shoot up her calf. She hobbled her way into the street as she heard sirens blaring in the distance. She waved a taxi to a halt. She was out of leads on the case of Clark Kent, so in the meantime she might as well get another story. But next time she saw Superman, she was going to grill him about Clark Kent!