"Hindsight--." HG Wells looked down at the hat in his hands, turning it slightly as he struggled for words. "It really is nearly perfect."

The silence that followed this remark felt awkward, so Wells bowed his head in deference and tried again to explain. "It seemed so simple. Alter one little detail, speed up the process, just a bit, and you can effect a change for the better. So that's what I did."

Thud! Clark woke up with a start as he landed flat on his back.
"Huh?....What?" He tried to recall what had caused him to awaken so
abruptly. He must have been dreaming, but about what?

Originally posted by Aria:

Quote

Thud! Clark woke up with a start as he landed flat on his back.
"Huh?....What?" He tried to recall what had caused him to awaken so
abruptly. He must have been dreaming, but about what?

Clark yawned and stretched before curling back up under the
covers.

He wanted to stay in that netherworld – halfway between awake
and asleep where the dreams he'd had since childhood were
reality.

Where he was married to a beautiful woman – a brunette, usually,
whose face he could never quite see.

Where he had children he loved and doted on.

Where he could use his gifts openly and still have a life
without threatening either of those things, but he was never
quite sure how he did it.

And so he settled back in and tried to go back to sleep, to
recapture that dream; to try to hold on to it for just a few more
minutes.

But it wasn't to be.

Why was it there was never anything to wear in her closet? Lois
surveyed the two blouses lying on the bed, insisting that today
she was going to dress to impress. In the end, she chose another
of the soft, worn tee shirts she always did. She'd get paint on
it was the excuse she used. She headed into her kitchen for
coffee, and flipped the television on to see what was making the
news.

"Clark Kent was in New York last night promoting his new book."
The camera panned out to focus on a tall, dark-haired man winding
his way through a crowd outside a bookstore on a busy city
street. "An early review in from the critic of the Daily Planet
says that this is the best novel the super man has written. It's
a chilling tale of betrayal and intrigue that's sure to keep
readers on the edge of their seats." Another shot showed the
writer signing autographs and laughing at a lady in front of
him.

It all seemed to take place in slow motion. His hand came up to her
cheek. She raised her head slightly as he stepped closer. She
moistened her lips in anticipation of what would come next. Her heart
began to race. He lowered his mouth to hers, barely touching her lips
with his. Feeling the back of her knees go weak, she steadied herself
by placing her hands on his chest. They seemed to linger that way for
a moment before he stepped back.

"Good night," he said softly.

"Good night," she replied, turning to step through the already open
door of her apartment.

It all seemed to take place in slow motion. His hand came up to her
cheek. She raised her head slightly as he stepped closer. She
moistened her lips in anticipation of what would come next. Her heart
began to race. He lowered his mouth to hers, barely touching her lips
with his. Feeling the back of her knees go weak, she steadied herself
by placing her hands on his chest. They seemed to linger that way for
a moment before he stepped back.

"Good night," he said softly.

"Good night," she replied, turning to step through the already open
door of her apartment.

He waited until she closed the door and he heard her turn the locks
before walking - he had to remind himself not to float - back down
the stairs of her apartment building and out onto the street. He
turned and glanced back at her window. A smile lit up his features
when he saw her standing there, watching him go. He paused for a
moment before turning around and walking away. He turned the corner
and, slipping into an alley, spun into the superman suit and sprinted
into the sky - reminding himself that airborne cartwheels were not
permitted until he was sure he would not be seen.

A man with straggly dark hair, wearing a toque, watched in disbelief
as Clark Kent disappeared around the corner and, only a moment later,
Superman reappeared.

He waited until Superman was gone before making his way into the alley.
There was no exit and no Clark Kent. He smiled. It couldn't be that easy.

Originally posted by Ank. K. S.:
Sorry.. ok so reposting the above quote (extended version)

Quote

It all seemed to take place in slow motion. His hand came up to her
cheek. She raised her head slightly as he stepped closer. She
moistened her lips in anticipation of what would come next. Her heart
began to race. He lowered his mouth to hers, barely touching her lips
with his. Feeling the back of her knees go weak, she steadied herself
by placing her hands on his chest. They seemed to linger that way for
a moment before he stepped back.

"Good night," he said softly.

"Good night," she replied, turning to step through the already open
door of her apartment.

He waited until she closed the door and he heard her turn the locks
before walking - he had to remind himself not to float - back down
the stairs of her apartment building and out onto the street. He
turned and glanced back at her window. A smile lit up his features
when he saw her standing there, watching him go. He paused for a
moment before turning around and walking away. He turned the corner
and, slipping into an alley, spun into the superman suit and sprinted
into the sky - reminding himself that airborne cartwheels were not
permitted until he was sure he would not be seen.

A man with straggly dark hair, wearing a toque, watched in disbelief
as Clark Kent disappeared around the corner and, only a moment later,
Superman reappeared.

He waited until Superman was gone before making his way into the alley.
There was no exit and no Clark Kent. He smiled. It couldn't be that easy.

Lois fumbled for the keys in her purse while Clark gave his
commentary on the night's events.

"Well, that was one of the more interesting birthdays I've
had."

"I'm sorry, Clark...I really tried to pull off a party for
you."

"That's okay. I like this anyway." Clark Kent put his arm
around his beautiful and vivacious wife, Lois Lane.

"You're sure?" she asked. Lois almost sounded disappointed
as she got lost looking into her husband's chocolate brown
eyes.

"Yeah. Just you and me."

"Ha! Alone at last!"

Another two hours had passed. Lois and Clark were so
clearly turned on from their brief roll around the living
room floor that they tried to find little corners of their
house where they could get away with having some sex.

They tried behind the stairs, behind the kitchen door, in
the closet, under the table. But no success.

Just when they thought it was safe to go to the next base,
someone would interrupt. That someone was either Jimmy
asking for another beer, or Perry trying to introduce them
to another one of his peculiar friends.

Lois and Clark counted the minutes until this surprise
party would FINALLY be over.

I went to Smallville, Kansas, because it was the most
insignificant place I'd ever been. I went there because the one
time I'd been there before, I'd been sure I'd found the exact
spot people were talking about when they referred to "the last
place on earth."

It certainly was the last place on earth anyone would ever
expect to find Lois Lane.

It's not easy being dead.

We tumbled onto the sofa together. Probably a good thing as I
wasn't sure my legs would've held out much longer. Our tongues danced together as we teased each other with our touches. Her fingers played up my back, her touch light and delicate, yet each
point of contact joined together to create a fiery trail. I was no stranger to kissing girls, but somehow with her . . . it was different. Breaking our kiss for a moment, I pulled back to look at her. Soft hair tumbled around her face in disarray, and her sharp brown eyes flashed up at me.

As we enter the elevator Clark's fingers brush the small of my
back. I can't decide what irritates me more - the fact that he's
touching me, or that usually I like it when he's unconsciously
possessive like this.

Make no mistake about it - Clark Kent is persona non grata to me
at this moment.

Wedged between the door and seat of my jeep, I cock one eye open
to stare at my partner again, trying to figure out his secret.
His *biggest* secret. He thinks I'm asleep, but in reality, I
can't shut my mind off long enough to snooze. I watch him stare
out the front window at the darkened office building across the
street, glasses perched precariously on the tip of his nose. I
figure it's because he's farsighted, but it's just one of the
strange things that are just ... Clark.

"The Nightfall Asteroid is on a direct course for Earth.
This piece of space rock is seventeen miles across,
traveling at close to thirty thousand miles per hour. If
nothing stops it, it will hit the Earth in a little more
than four days." Professor Daitch, Chief Scientist at the
EPRAD command and control center based in Metropolis,
paused at the end of his announcement and added, almost
under his breath, "The sky, literally, is falling."

"What kind of damage could this asteroid do?" The inquiry
came from Phil Morrison of the Star.

Daitch took a deep breath. "It could knock the Earth off
its axis, even throw us out of our current solar orbit.
It's far larger than the meteor that caused the extinction
of the dinosaurs. The crater alone will throw enough dust
into the air to start a new ice age."

Professor Daitch stepped back from the microphone and the
general who had introduced him took his place. Lois Lane,
like the other reporters at the press conference, had been
momentarily stunned by the announcement. It was hard to
absorb the meaning of the astronomer's words -- that the
entire world could die in four days. The whole concept was
unreal to her. Science had never been her strongest
subject and the idea that a piece of rock traveling from
the depths of space could cause the end of civilization, as
she had always known it, was almost unbelievable.

Frank Madison, from LNN, appeared to recover first. "Is
the government doing anything about it? What's being done
to protect the Earth from this thing?"

"Of course, the government isn't standing idly by," General
Zeitlin replied, sounding slightly outraged at the mere
idea. "There is no need for panic. We are confident we
can handle this challenge with existing resources. We have
several delivery systems, 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, will eradicate this threat from our
skies."

The press conference concluded a few moments later. Lois
charged out ahead of the other reporters and headed
straight for the phones, snatching up the receiver of the
nearest from under the reaching hand of Linda Watkins. The
reporter from the Register gave her a dirty look, which
Lois ignored. The biggest story of the century was
breaking, and it might be the last one she would ever
write. She was darned well going to be the one to write it
-- first.

**********

"Clark, come and see this!"

Clark Kent, the Acting Editor of the Smallville Press,
turned at the shout from Jennifer Douglas, one of the
little paper's two full-time reporters. The small
television was on in the main newsroom -- a cramped space
about fifteen by fifteen, crowded with several desks, a
copy machine, the coffeepot and various paraphernalia
associated with the publication of the little weekly
newspaper.