Once again, I'm struck by how attractive your writing style is, Terry, and how easily the text flows.
And occasionally, there is a pun or an unexpected expression to liven things up.
-* Um. I think I'd like to wait a bit. *-
-* Suit yourself. Or, you could let my mother suit you. *-
Well, Lois mentally groaned at that one, or she told him how unimpressed she was. I groaned a bit, too... but I still liked it.
Her eyes flashed and her words snapped out. “Watch it, farm boy! I have seniority!”
Clark's voice crackled through the room. “Older, maybe, but certainly not any wiser!”
Ouch! That hurt. But, wait... they are just creating a diversion so that they can be called into Perry's office and share their suspicions with him.
Lois leaned forward and almost whispered, “We have a mole in the newsroom.”
Good! Lois knows it. Perry knows it. And, uh... Clark is sceptical.
Clark frowned at her. “Sorry, I don't trust Lex Luthor. He doesn't think as highly of me as he does of you.”
“He respects you.”
“That's because I haven't kissed him yet.”
<giggle>
Lois took a step towards him, but Perry grabbed her arm to stop her. “Wait up! Now hold it! Look, you two – for cryin' out loud, Lois, you been liftin' weights in your spare time?”
Careful with that strength, Lois!
They turned to look at the editor with wide eyes. “Good. Now that both of you are listening to me – which is what you should have been doing in the first place – lemme tell you that this thing about a spy in the newsroom sounds right. It's bad, of course, but it fits the circumstances. There was no way for anyone who didn't work here to know that you two would be over at that lab on Monday morning.”
Clark doesn't believe in the information that they got from Luthor, but Perry does. Good.
Then Lois straightened up and stepped back. “Anyway, Perry, we need to let you in on something else that happened on Monday.”
Perry nodded and sat down. “What might that be?”
Lois took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then said, “I have Superman's powers now.”
Good, Lois. Perry needed to know.
They shrugged in unison. “We don't know,” sighed Lois. “One minute I was normal as fresh apple pie, and the next minute I was tougher than last week's cafeteria special.”
<snort>
She made a face. “My official heroic designation is still up in the air.”
“'Still Up In The Air,' huh? That's got a nice ring to it, but it's kind of an awkward name, don't you think?”
Oh, groan... but it was funny, all the same!
Everyone, that is, except Cat Grant. She stared at Clark and Lois as they settled back into their seats, and then she dropped her face into her hands. She sat that way for almost a minute, then she sat up in her chair and attacked her keyboard as if trying to beat her computer to death.
Maybe she was concerned for her friends, or maybe just for Lois. Maybe she was looking to become the office gossip in word and not just in print. Maybe she was just naturally drawn to situations like that.
But somehow Jimmy didn't think so, especially since Perry had asked him to watch her.
He watched her for the next half-hour, until it was beyond clear that he had no more copying to do. She hadn't moved from her desk in all that time, and in fact was still typing away furiously at her workstation. She hadn't look away from the monitor, except to glance at her notes.
Maybe she wasn't the mole. Maybe she looked so pale and drawn because she was sick or was coming down with something. Maybe she was still recovering from her concussion.
But Jimmy didn't think so.
Yes! I hope and think that they are about to put a stop to Cat's activities. (Of course, I wouldn't put it past you to make Cat get away and do something really bad before she is taken down for good.)
“You two are going to talk. You're both going to listen. I've had enough of my husband being rude to a young woman whose only crime is being zealous in her pursuit of the truth.” She pulled out a folding chair and thumped it down beside the desk. “Sit here, Lois. You tell Jonathan what you think and what you feel. Then he'll tell you what he thinks and what he feels. And they you'll both shake hands and either be friends or come out fighting.” Her voice trailed off as she headed towards her sewing room. “I'll be here to call the paramedics if it comes to that.”
Hooray!! Go, Martha!
“Lois, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. I said some things the other night that I deeply regret and wish I'd never even thought of. My only lousy reason is that I loved Lana like a daughter and I still miss her terribly, but that doesn't excuse how mean I was to you. I apologize for what I said and I hope you can forgive me.”
Lois nodded slowly. “I do forgive you, Jonathan. And I'm sorry you feel the way you do. Believe me, I'd give almost anything to change places with Lana.”
“Really? You'd be willing to give up your life so that Lana could be alive?”
“Yes. I think she was worth about eight or ten of me, at least.”
He gently placed his large, calloused hand over her small hands. “You shouldn't feel that way. You should be thankful for the second chance you have at life.” He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “And you should be grateful for the opportunity you have to do something for the world that only one other person can do.”
I was very glad to see this.
She smiled shyly. “Thank you. I just hope I can live up to Clark's example.”
“Why should you?”
The question startled her. “What? What do you mean?”
“Why should you have to live up to what Clark has done? Why not create your own legacy? You can start from scratch, just like he did.”
“Oh.” She sat upright. “I hadn't thought about it like that.”
“You should. Whatever you call yourself, you shouldn't expect to exist in Superman's shadow for the rest of your life. You should learn from his example, listen to his advice, and follow his lead, especially when you're just starting out, but you shouldn't define yourself by his image.”
She nodded slowly. “I think I understand what you're saying. Superman may be my mentor and my guide, but he isn't my absolute ruler.”
He nodded and sat back. “That's pretty much it.”
“Okay. Okay, I get it! Thank you, Jonathan!”
And this is great! Suddenly Jonathan is sharing the wisdom of his years. And Lois understands that he is giving her really good advice.
Look at what? thought Clark, as he followed the sound of the voice.
Then his eyes beheld a bird whose plumage had never seen the light of day.
He stopped and stared. His mouth slid open and he forgot to breathe for a moment.
Lois was wearing a super-heroine costume that beat all hollow the ones his mother had made for him and which that he'd rejected that day so many years ago.
A fragment of an old novelty song popped into his brain: "She wore an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini – "
But this was no bikini. And it wasn't itsy-bitsy. It was – it was like nothing he'd ever imagined.
It was a skin-tight body suit like his, but pink and purple. With purple gloves that came almost to her elbows. And a greenish-blue cape. And there was a yellow stripe which wound its way down the outside of her left leg, crossed over her knee, and ended somewhere near the inside of her ankle.
At least she wasn't wearing her underwear on the outside of her suit.
And she wore a mask. It was pink. It covered her face around her eyes. It was diamond-shaped around each eye, and two of the corners merged across her nose. Her hair was slicked back and held in place with what looked like a double handful of mousse.
And her boots were – high-heeled? Shades of Nancy Sinatra!
I love this description! I particularly love how much Clark is affected by seeing Lois that way! So, uh... the farmboy thinks he is being attracted to Rebecca?
“Um – that's – it's – uh – very tight.”
She ignored Jonathan's muted snort. “Of course it is. Cuts down on wind resistance, but you already knew that. Tell me what you think about it.”
He inhaled and tried not to say something completely stupid. He wracked his brain for two long seconds, but all he could come up with was, “Well, they won't be looking at your face!”
<snort>
Lois pulled her mask off and held it in her hand. “You know, I was hoping you'd be a little more supportive here.”
“Yeah.” He blinked twice and looked just below her chin. “Supportive.”
Lois followed his gaze and frowned, then she exhaled sharply through her nose and poked him in the chest.
Am I correct in assuming that Lois just observed an, uh, involuntary physical reaction from Clark?
She looked out the window and sighed. “I've been having second thoughts lately. On a lot of subjects, not just the powers thing. I wonder if I handled Claude too roughly, or maybe not roughly enough, or if I've missed something on the gun-runner investigation because I'm so close to it, or if I'm moving too fast with Lex – this isn't me, Clark! I don't do the introspective thing very well. And I don't understand why I'm doing it now.”
She is being affected by her link with Clark. I like it.
He pursed his lips. “I think it may be a side effect of the link. Remember, Bob told us that we'd tend to share aspects of our personalities with each other whether we wanted to or not. I know I've had a shorter fuse on my temper lately, and the other night when I nearly slapped you was – I don't have a term to describe how badly I feel about that.” She didn't respond. “And I know I'm way late with this, but I want to apologize for that. No matter how much we disagree, I have no right to try to physically force you to do what I want you to do. I was wrong. I'm sorry. And I give you my word that I'll never do it again.”
I'm very glad that he apologized. Better late than never.
See what a corrupting influence you are on me?”
He chuckled. “As long as you're aware of it, you should be able to compensate for it.”
“But I'm not sure I want to. My limited understanding of the matter is that being honest with people is a good thing. Besides, you're the one with the strong moral compass. It's only right that you share it with me.”
But here I must object. I think that Lois has got a very strong moral compass of her own. The fact that it doesn't prevent her from breaking in now and then is of little importance when you take her larger beliefs into account.
“Yes. I want to get them.” He shifted in the seat before continuing, “But only because I don't want anyone else to be hurt. I don't want to take revenge on anyone.”
She resumed her feast and didn't reply.
As he pulled the truck to a stop in his parents' driveway, he put his hand on hers and softly said, “You shouldn't want revenge either, Lois. It won't make everything all right again.”
I don't think of Lois as particularly vengeful. When did she ever take revenge on anyone in the show? And I don't remember her being vengeful in the comics, either.
Martha patted her shoulder. “Nonsense. We'll all eat. Besides, I like feeding someone who enjoys eating as much as you do, especially since you don't gain weight from it.” She sighed. “What I wouldn't give for just that one super-power.”
“But you're so slender, Martha! Why would you want that for yourself?”
Martha lowered her voice. “Not for me, dear, for Jonathan.”
I love this little piece of realism.
“Hold it. You said something about Power Man?” She stood and posed with fists against her hips. “What about – Power Woman?”
Martha lifted one eyebrow. “Well, dear, to tell the truth – “
Lois waved her off and sat down again. “Never mind. On second thought, it sounds like a brand of deodorant.”
So funny! Yes, it does!
Jonathan nodded. “Do you want me to keep going?”
“Yes, please. Wait!” Lois rose quickly to her feet again. “What was that last one? Ultra Man?” She turned in a circle. “Ultra Woman?” Her face brightened and she struck another heroic pose. “I like the way that sounds. Ultra Woman! Cower, all ye evildoers! Behold Ultra Woman!”
There was contemplative silence for a moment, then Clark said dramatically, “Ultra Woman, the heroine of La Mancha!”
Lois as Donna Quijote of La Mancha!!! I love it! Will Clark be her Sancho Panza?
![[Linked Image]](http://www.velo-touren.ch/Suedspanien-F-CH-06/Bilder/DonQuijote040.jpg)
Hey, Lois, don't go attacking any windmills, okay?
![[Linked Image]](http://www.papilionis.org/banquet/images/stories/Don_Quixote1_Monika_Faber.jpg)
Jonathan and Martha exchanged a "look' which required no mental link for communication. They both feared that the closeness that Clark and Lois shared might not be the best thing for either of them.
Or for the two of them together.
Well, I'm going to disagree with Martha and Jonathan. i think that Lois and Clark were meant ot be close and to be together.
This was a very enjoyable part, Terry!
Ann
