The Accidental Husband
by Erin Klingler <erinklingler@cableone. net>
Rated: PG
Submitted: Oct. 2001
A suggested alternate ending
by Ken Janney <ken.janney@kjanney. com>
Rated: PG
Submitted: March. 2011
Author's Note:
I just finished Erin's story.
Erin - no offense, personally I prefer a more WAFFY ending.
This is my first attempt at writing so please be gentle.
As usual, any and all feedback welcome!
If you haven't read "The Accidental Husband" please do so prior to reading this attempt. It will make a lot more sense that way.
Disclaimer: As usual the characters are the property of DC Comics and December 3rd Productions. I have just borrowed them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From The Accidental Husband
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
By seven o'clock that evening, Clark still hadn't heard from Lois. And just as he'd warned her he'd be doing, he was worrying.
He knew she had a lot on her mind right now, but the haunted, depressed look in her eyes made his heart lurch, and he couldn't
stop himself from wondering if she was okay.
For what felt like the millionth time that day,
Clark crossed his apartment and picked up the phone. Punching in the number he knew by heart, he waited through two, three, then four rings. By the time it rang for a fifth time, he sighed and hung up. She still wasn't there.
'Or maybe she's just not answering the phone,' he suddenly thought. He briefly toyed with the idea of flying over to her apartment to see
if that was the case. 'But if she's there and not answering the phone, wouldn't that mean she's not *ready* to talk? ' he countered silently. 'If you go flying over there, demanding to talk, you're just going to pressure her. '
He paced back to the other end of his apartment as he contemplated that. It made sense, but it didn't make him feel any better. He'd just about decided to fly over her apartment to just see if she was even there when he heard a sudden knock on his door. His heart pounding, he practically flew up the steps and reached for the doorknob. When he pulled the door open, he sighed with relief. It was Lois.
"Lois, I've been worried about you! How come you didn't call like you said you were going to?
" he asked, putting a hand on her elbow and quickly ushered her into his apartment.
"So I came by instead of called," she told him, smiling a little at his fussing. "What's the big deal? "
He shut the door behind her, then turned back to study her carefully. While the bags were still evident beneath her eyes and her face showed the
telltale signs of crying, her countenance seemed a little brighter, her demeanor a little less dispirited.
Under his conspicuous scrutiny, Lois shifted uncomfortably. Clark had always been the only one she'd ever known who was able to see
right through her carefully-managed, hardened veneer to the emotional, sensitive person hidden beneath. She didn't know whether to be grateful
for that or not.
When he didn't say anything right away, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "So, uh, can I come in? I was hoping we could. . . um. . . you know, talk. "
That seemed to shake him out of his studious reverie. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry," he stammered, his cheeks coloring. He quickly waved his hand toward the living room couch. "Do you want to sit down? "
"Yeah, that sounds good," she replied softly.
She followed Clark over to the couch and sat down, her nervousness growing as he sat down next to her and then leaned forward apprehensively.
"So how are you doing? " he asked with obvious concern. "Are you feeling any better than you were this morning? "
"I think so," she admitted with a tired sigh.
"I guess getting those papers hit me pretty hard. "
Clark nodded sympathetically. "I could tell.
Do you want to talk about it? "
Lois hesitated, and when she did, Clark reached out and gently slid his hand around hers and began to rub the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. It was an encouraging, patient gesture, and it went a long way to reassuring
her and giving her the strength to talk to him about what was in her heart.
"Yeah, I guess I do," she finally answered wearily. She dropped her gaze down to her joined hands for several moments as she tried to gather her thoughts. Finally, she took a deep breath to give herself strength, then looked back up to meet his gaze. "I've been kind of struggling these last few days, and getting the papers this morning just sort of capped everything off. "
He nodded encouragingly. "What is it that's been bothering you? "
Taking a deep breath, she told him, "I don't know if you'll be able to understand any of this, since you come from a very different background than mine, but I thought I'd at least get all this off my chest. " When he gave her hand a patient squeeze, she continued. "Our partnership's never been dull, Clark, that much is obvious. And if our partnership's never been dull, what makes you think our relationship's
going to be anything different? "
His brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm not sure I'm following you, Lois. "
"Well, think about it," she rushed on, her voice gathering strength. "Since we've been partners, we've argued too many times to count, battled each other for stories and leads, and challenged each other's ideas and investigative methods.
Then there was the time you made me think you were quitting your job at the Planet and going
to work at the Star, and that kind of deceit you used to fool me doesn't even begin to include all the times you deceived me while you were pretending to be two entirely different people. You even said goodbye and left when everyone thought Superman was causing that heat wave--breaking my heart in the process, I might add.
We've had a rocky year together, Clark," she pointed out matter of factly. "Wouldn't that say something about how our future's going to be? "
"Lois," Clark replied gently but firmly, tightening his grip on her hand. "I won't deny that the past year has been. . . interesting. " He smiled. "But you're just focusing on the stumbling blocks we've had. Do you want to know what I see?" When Lois nodded imperceptibly, he continued. "I see that in spite of those troubles, we're still together, and doing better than ever. And not only are we still friends, we're in love and in a loving, committed relationship. Don't you think that's a good indication about how we've come through all of those trials? "
Lois nodded. "I'm not disputing that what we have is something special. But what happens when things continue to be rocky? " she persisted. "I mean, my parents probably thought they had something special, too, and look how they ended up. They traumatized Lucy and me by going through a nasty, bitter divorce.
That doesn't exactly leave me with the best example to follow. "
Clark reached out for her other hand and held both of them firmly in his own hands.
"But that's not going to happen to us, Lois--"
"How can you know that, Clark? " she interrupted. "I mean, things happen in relationships, Clark; it's sad, but true. Most people going into relationships probably insist that 'that's not going to happen' to them, but often it does. " Clark opened his mouth to argue, but she hurried on. "All I know is that I looked down at those divorce papers today and I panicked. I couldn't help thinking, 'Is this going to be our future? Is this some sign, some warning about what's eventually going to happen to us? '"
"Lois," Clark broke in. "I know you worry about this because you've had some bad relationships, both with your family and with others, but I honestly believe that if we truly love each other, we can get through everything that comes along. "
He paused for a long moment, seemingly searching for just the right words. When he continued, his voice was gentle but firm. "Lois, I'm not going to tell you that there won't be any hardships in our future because there will be. Any relationship has them. I know because I've seen my own parents go through them. But I firmly believe that two people who really love each other can get through those hard times because they love each other, and are always there for each other. Just like we are, Lois. And if you want to look at it this way, we already have a head start on having a successful relationship. We started out as friends. "
He smiled gently as he reached up to tuck a stray strand of her silky, dark hair behind her ear. "Because of that, we've come to know each other so well that we can practically tell what the other person is thinking before they say it. We've been through everything together, Lois, and have been there for each other and have helped each other through everything. I feel like we've *already* spent a lifetime together because of everything we've already been through. "
He met Lois's gaze steadily and continued. "But how I feel about this doesn't matter if you
don't think it's worth the risk. It's obvious what your head's telling you, Lois. But what's your heart telling you? "
Lois let out a shaky breath. "It tells me that I love you, and that I want to be with you more than anything. I'd like to think you'll always love me and be there for me, just as I will be for you, but it's just such a hard concept for me to grasp. "
"Then let me prove it to you, Lois," he insisted emphatically. "I told you before, we don't have to rush this. We can take things slow, and I'll prove to you over time that my love is for real, and that I'm going to be here for you, no matter what. "
Lois's eyes misted over at his words. Feeling a rush of emotion and gratitude to have such a wonderful man in her life, she slid her hands out of his and moved into his arms. When she buried her face in the hollow of his neck and he responded by wrapping his arms around her, she sighed contentedly. "Thank you, Clark, for being so understanding. . . for not running away when I temporarily freak out. " She smiled against his neck, and he chuckled softly.
"I think I'm getting used to you freaking out from time to time," he teased, tightening his arms around her. "I'm just glad you finally wanted to talk to me about this. " He held her
for another minute, then released her and tipped her chin up until she was forced to meet his gaze. "Lois, if it would make things more comfortable for you, let's just take things one day at a time and go from there. No pressure, no stress-inducing expectations. " He grinned. "The bottom line is, you're the most important person in my life, and the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm going to do everything in my power to prove to you that what we have between us is going to last. I love you, Lois. And nothing in the world is ever going to change that. "
Lois felt a wonderfully warm shiver of happiness rush through her as he continued to gaze lovingly down into her eyes, and her heart soared. "Oh, Clark," she breathed, feeling as if all the stress, emotional struggles and seemingly insurmountable insecurities from the past two weeks had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you. And I love you, too. "
Clark smiled softly, his eyes twinkling merrily as his face moved imperceptibly closer to hers,
causing Lois's heart to beat wildly. And when he slowly shifted his position on the couch, moving himself even closer, Lois realized just what it was that Clark's nearness did to her.
To cover the sound of her pounding heartbeat echoing in her own ears, she swallowed noisily.
Then, without even meaning to, she found herself starting to babble nervously. "Clark," she began softly, trying not to think about how incredible he looked close up, and how full and inviting his lips looked as they neared hers. "Just so you know, I should warn you that
just because we've cleared some things up, that doesn't mean I won't still panic from time to time. But even if I do, I want you to know that it doesn't mean I'm not happy being with you.
It just means that if I start to get a little anxious about things--"
"Lois? " Clark interrupted, lifting a hand to trail a finger lightly along her jaw line from ear to chin.
His touch immediately stopped her rambling, and she tried to force her stomach to stop turning somersaults as his face slowly moved within mere inches from hers. "Yeah? " she managed weakly.
His lips now only a breath away from hers, his eyes danced mischievously before hers as
she stared helplessly into their depths and watched as a soft smile played slowly
across his lips. "Shut up," he said simply.
An answering smile found its way onto her own face, but before she could move, respond,
or even breathe, his lips parted imperceptibly and hovered over hers for a delicious, eternal moment. She saw him glance down at her own lips, inviting and hungry, then lift his gaze up to hers once more, as if waiting for some sign of silent permission to be given. Her heart pounding crazily with anticipation, she slid her arm around his neck and traced her finger along the smooth skin along his collar. Obviously, that was all the encouragement Clark needed. She saw him close his eyes, and she let her own eyes drift shut, waiting eagerly for what she was sure was going to be her own little piece of heaven.
With a gentleness she'd never before experienced, she felt Clark's lips touch hers lightly, just an instant before his mouth closed rhythmically upon hers with the contact, sending a firestorm of ecstasy coursing through her veins. Heady and breathless, Lois felt his lips lift gently away from hers, and in that moment of pure elation, the softness of his kiss made her wonder if she hadn't simply imagined it. But before she could wonder further, his lips were on hers once again, moving over hers softly, his mouth opening and closing in time with hers in a passionate, arousing rhythm. Lois tightened her arms around his neck, enjoying the beautiful intimacy of the
moment as his lips continued to roam over hers, nibbling, tasting, and best of all, telling her
without words just how much he loved her.
When they finally pulled apart, Lois struggled to catch her breath and tried to stop the
world from spinning around her as Clark let his forehead fall against hers. For several long,
wonderful moments, they simply leaned into each other, reveling in the intimacy of the moment.
When the sound of their deep breathing slowly diminished, Lois forced her heavy lids open,
still reluctant to leave the comfortable, warm, heart-stopping moment behind. When she did,
she saw Clark's eyes staring lovingly back into her own.
"Wow," she added breathlessly, her head still reeling from their kiss.
Clark grinned slowly. "I know. That was. . . "
". . . incredible," she finished with a smile.
Nodding in agreement, Clark's arms tightened around hers, then he leaned in for one more kiss. But in the moment before he closed his eyes to kiss her, Lois caught sight of something
incredibly marvelous in those beautiful, warm depths that she'd never seen in them before.
Or maybe she'd just never let herself see it before. Either way, she knew there was no more denying it.
In his eyes, she had seen their future. And from what she could tell, it was going to be wonderful.
* ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Lois, come on! We're going to be late. "
Looking up from her computer screen at the sound of Clark's pleading voice, she saw him hurrying over to her desk, shrugging into his suit jacket as he went. "Almost ready," she replied. "Just one more paragraph. "
She turned her attention back to her monitor and typed furiously for another minute as Clark stood next to her desk, straightening his jacket and fidgeting with the knot on his tie. Then, with a flourish, Lois hit the last two keys and sat up excitedly in her chair. "Voila! One fact-filled expose sure to make Lex run for cover. "
Clark watched as she LAN'd their story to Perry, then shut down the program. Dropping his hand from his tie, he held her chair for her while she stood up. "Are you sure we're ready to go public with this? " he asked as she turned and reached for her satchel and coat. "I mean, the police haven't even finished going through all
the evidence we've presented them with. Maybe we're jumping the gun here. "
"Clark, thanks to some mighty fancy talking and heavy persuasion on my part, Tony Cochran
just turned state's witness a mere hour ago. And even if he hadn't, the paper trail on
Lex and his empire that we were lucky enough to uncover before it mysteriously disappeared
is enough to convict him and his cohorts and put them away for the next fifty years. By the time the officers read Lex his rights for numerous counts of accessory to murder, extortion, blackmail, and many other crimes too numerous to mention, they're going to be hoarse. Whether he believes it or not, he's going to go away for a looong time. " She lifted her coat from its hook and threw it across her arm with a victorious smile.
Clark chuckled. "The one lesson in life Luthor obviously never learned: Never mess with Mad Dog Lane. "
She grinned. "You'd better believe it. " Reaching up to grab his tie, she tugged him
toward the elevators. "Come on, Kent. We've got a hearing to go to. "
"Hey, watch it, lady," Clark protested with a laugh, brushing her hand off his tie and straightening the silk fabric she'd rumpled. "There's a lesson you need to learn.
Never mess with a man's tie. "
"Oh, really? " Lois asked as they started up the newsroom ramp. "And just what do you think you're going to do about it? "
"Mmmm," Clark contemplated as they stopped in front of the elevators. "How about this? "
Then, before she could utter another sound, he moved forward and captured her lips with his own, sending a shiver of delight through her. When they pulled apart, Lois was simply speechless.
"You know what? " he asked, flicking a friendly finger down her nose. "I think I like you speechless. " Then, with a maddeningly triumphant smile, he stepped into the open elevator and pulled her along with him.
As the elevator doors shut, two pairs of eyes turned away from the scene. "I'd say they're back on the mend," came the gravelly, yet happy, voice of the Daily Planet's Editor in Chief. "What do you say, Jimmy? "
"Well, they certainly look happier than ever," Jimmy agreed with a smile. "I never would've guessed it, but obviously that little accidental marriage of theirs turned out to be a blessing in disguise. "
Perry gave a throaty chuckle as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and rocked forward and then back on his toes. "Yeah, well, sometimes, Jimmy, love just needs a little shove. And I have to admit, when it comes to shoving, I'm the best around. "
Jimmy's jaw dropped as he turned to look at his boss. "Chief, are you saying that you were behind all this? "
"Now, Jimmy, don't go jumping to any conclusions," Perry interjected gruffly. "I'm not saying that I did anything. All I'm saying is, a man in my position wouldn't be a man in my position if I didn't know a few things about life and love. Besides, whoever did something like that would've had to be familiar with some rather interesting arcane laws, had some connections down at City Hall, and knew that Lois and Clark were going to be at the Lexor Hotel that night. " After a brief pause, Perry gave Jimmy a secretive smile as he turned to walk into his office. "I don't know anybody like that. Do you, Jimmy? "
Then, in the instant before Perry shut his office door between them, Jimmy could've
sworn he caught the hint of a wink. But then the door shut, and Jimmy could only stare
after his boss in stunned silence. As he turned to leave, though, he suddenly caught an
unmistakable sound coming from the other side of the door. He raised an eyebrow. If he didn't
know any better, he would've thought he'd just heard Perry yodel.
Smiling and shaking his head, Jimmy headed back to work. Confessions or not, his boss knew way more about life and love than anyone gave him credit for.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later that afternoon. . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Now – the alternate ending
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hall of Justice – hearing room #5
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois and Clark had gotten to the appropriate hearing room about 10 minutes before their case was to be called. They were sitting together in the back of the room talking quietly about the ramifications of the Luthor story that
they just broke when they heard their names called. They both rose from their chairs and proceeded to the front of the hearing room, Clark’s hand at the small of Lois’s back. Clark held open the little swinging gate for Lois and passed through after her. The Judge observed this behavior and decided that some
comments were appropriate before announcing the decision of the court. After they were seated the judge looked both of them over as they were exchanging glances across the space that separated them.
The Bailiff called the room to order –
“All rise. Hear Ye, Hear Ye the court is now in session The Honorable
Judge Franklin Meyers presiding. Be seated"
“Lane vs. Kent a divorce petition”
The judge looked down at the papers before him. After a few minutes he looked up and addressed the couple. “I see here that you have completed the mandatory counseling with Dr. Jenkins. I see in the notes of the session provided by the Doctor that the session was ended rather abruptly by Mrs. Kent. Might I ask why?
Lois rose to her feet and addressed the judge. “Your honor, during the session some things were brought out which struck me very hard, emotionally and in view of all that had been happening that week I couldn’t face the issues.”
Judge Meyers – “Do you feel that in the time that has elapsed since the session in question, do you feel that you would be able to participate in a complete session if I were to order you to repeat it?”
Lois looked over at Clark biting her lower lip for a few seconds before answering.
“Your Honor, I don’t think that will be necessary. After giving this additional
thought since that session and after the time discussing the situation with Mr. Kent, I would like to withdraw my petition.” Lois looked over at Clark. Clark head snapped up and he turned and looked utterly dumbfounded at her statement
and then slowly got one of his hundred megawatt smiles. “That is as long as Mr. Kent has no objections.”
The judge turned to Clark. “Mr. Kent, what do you say to this change?"
Clark stood and faced the judge. “Your Honor, nothing would make me happier than to remain married to Lois.” And he looked over at her with bewilderment and love in his eyes.
The judge nodded to himnself and after a few seconds picked up his gavel and banging it down declared “Petition - DENIED.”
Clark turned to Lois and held out his hand. She took it in one of hers and they turned and exited the hearing room.
Once outside Clark pulled Lois aside and said “You never cease to amaze me. Let’s go somewhere, private, to talk.”
Lois nodded her agreement and allowed him to guide her to her car. They got in and silently drove back to the planet.
After parking in the parking garage they entered to stairwell and Clark floated them to the roof where he changed into the suit and picked her up. He looked deep into her eyes and took off, headed south and east. After they were airborne Lois turned in his arms to look into his eyes again and then leaned in for a kiss.
When Clark recovered 1) altitude, 2) his composure and 3) his bearings he realized
that they were off course. He corrected his direction and shortly landed on the beach of an uninhabited island in the Caribbean. Clark spun into his civies and taking her hand again led her up the beach to a stand of palms where they sat down.
Neither of them had spoken a word since they were in the street in front of the hall of justice.
Clark looked over at Lois and said “I don’t know why you did what you did, I am extremely happy that you did it - but …. Why?
Lois put her head down and looked at her hands, clasped in her lap. After a while she looked up shyly, through her lashes and said. “Over the course of the last few days I have come to realize that you were right. We have been
better together than anyone I have ever been with before, I *DO* love you, *You* love me, together we can work anything out, I’ve seen what can happen, it happened to my parents and I don’t want to go through that, but I don’t want to lose what we have, I still don’t want to consider us to have failed, before we even give it a try, how will we know for sure if we don’t give it a try now." Clark seeing that Lois is
entering a full blown babble leans in and delivers a soft sweet kiss which quickly
deepens into one of quiet passion and then beyond to soul shattering proportions. When they come back up for air and recover some semblance of composure Clark takes his hands and cups both sides of her face and looks deeply into her eyes for what seems like an eternity. She can feel herself almost drowning in their liquid depths.
Clark breaks the silence that ensues by saying, “Lois, I have loved you since the first
minute I saw you, when this little tornado swept into Perry’s office interrupting my interview.
I knew from that minute, my life would never be the same or be complete if you weren’t in it. When I thought I was losing you to Luthor, I didn’t know how I would survive. I have loved you from the beginning and I will love you till the end. I want you to know that whatever it takes to make ours a fantastic marriage I will do all within my powers to make it happen. I know that it has only been a few days since I revealed my secret to you and there are many things that I still haven’t told you about myself, there are still some things I still don’t know about myself that we will find out together. One thing I am finding out is this – we have a connection, it goes beyond love and passion, I can feel it whenever we touch even when just holding hands. It is like an electric spark that I can feel throughout my entire body."
While he had been saying all this Lois’s eyes had been opening wider and wider. She interrupted him by saying her voice full of wonder “I have felt that too!” I thought I was just imagining things or it was static electricity or something.”
“Lois, I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but,I think it has something to do with my Kryptonian heritage. I don’t know a lot about it, but I think it is an indication to a Kryptonian as to who their true mate is. As you know, I have dated others, but, I *never*
experience this connection with *anyone* else. In a way, it should be a relief. If you
would ever have any question about the rightness of this relationship or my fidelity just
think about our connection and the rightness of it all and feel certain that you have my
entire heart and soul and I would *never* do anything to hurt you.”
“I know we said that we would take it slow and I am still OK with that, but, if you are sure that this is the way you want it to be, I would like to take you out to pick out a ring.”
“Clark, ever since I came to the realization of my true feelings for you I have been in
something of a quandary as to how we should proceed. Since I returned Luthor’s ring we
have been too busy to really actively think of our relationship because of the expose we were doing on Lex it just was what it was. Now that we have decided that we want to have this relationship my hand feels kind of naked. I would love to wear your ring. I would like to make one request though, since we are already married and cannot get a license, could we go to a church and have a ‘re-dedication’ ceremony where we exchange rings. To everyone else it will be a re-dedication, but to us it will be a declaration of our love and our ‘official’ ceremony.”
“Lois, I think that is a wonderful idea. We can get the engagement ring and give it some time to find the right minister, you know I think Perry might be willing to officiate.
He mentioned once that he was an ordained minister in the ‘First Church of Blue Suede
Deliverance'. In the mean time we can act like an engaged couple, dating, planning, working together no pressure. In a few months, when you feel ready we can have the ceremony.”
“Sounds like a plan. Now, come here and kiss me to seal the deal, handsome.”
He did and after a long interval they were both laying on the palm fronds enfolded in each others arms.
After a while Clark picks her up and flies slowly back to Metropolis landing on the
roof of the Planet building and spins back into his civies. They go down to the newsroom. As soon as they exit the stairwell and start toward their desks they hear Perry calling them into his office.
Perry watched as they headed for his office, hand in hand. Perry sat on the corner of his desk as he indicated that they should take seats on his office couch. "First I wanted to show you a copy of the special edition we put out this afternoon."
He handed them a copy, fresh off the press. The banner headline proclaimed –
*************************************************
The Boss Revealed
Lex Luthor exposed as Criminal Mastermind behind
Rackets in Metropolis and Worldwide
Exclusive by Lois Lane and Clark Kent
*************************************************
After giving them a chance to read through he dropped his next bomb.
“I have submitted this to the Pulitzer committee for evaluation.”
Lois and Clark looked at each other and both broke out with huge grins. Lois got up, ran over to Perry and hugged him while Clark shook his hand.
Lois said “Perry, I, we, don’t know how to thank you!”
Oh, Darlin’ you don’t need to thank me, that was a top notch piece of journalism if you ask me. Now, you got to keep in mind you are up against some stiff competition. It’s not a shoe in. But I think you got a good chance. Now have a seat”
Perry looks down and sees that they are holding hands again and gets a knowing look in his eyes. He sits back down on the corner of his desk. After they are seated he asks how things went at the hall of justice.
Lois looks at Clark and still looking at Clark says. “I told them that I had changed my mind and didn’t want the divorce.”
Perry got a smug look on his face and asked “ Why?”
“I realized that what Clark and I have is something special and I didn’t want to lose it. After we left the Hall of Justice we went away for some privacy and discussed what we are going to do about it. We are planning to
have an engagement period and then what for us will be an official wedding calling it a re-dedication ceremony.”
Clark jumps in with “Chief, we would like you to officiate at the ceremony.”
Perry stood up and crossed over to them and placing a hand on a shoulder of each of them said “I would be more than happy to do that for you kids.”
Perry went back to sit behind his desk and said “Oh, incidentally, while you were out at the Hall of Justice and elsewhere as the Special Edition hit the streets, the police raided LexTower and attempted to arrest Luthor on the
charges arising from your investigation. He went berserk, shouting that Lex Luthor would not live in a cage. He leaped from the balcony of his penthouse.”
Lois gasped and Clark nodded.
"The authorities found additional evidence linking him to even more crimes – murder, fraud, extortion and conspiracy than you two uncovered. If he hadn’t leaped to his death he would have been looking at the electric chair or at least a hundred consecutive life sentences. They also found in his wine cellar a cage which was coated with a green glowing material. (Lois stifles a gasp) There is speculation that it was designed as a trap for Superman. The police are having it dismantled and shipped to a secure location."
“OK, now. We got the scoop but, now we are going to need a lot of follow-up on this.
Are you two up to it?”
“We’re on it Chief.” They said in unison.
“Good, now get out of here and get to work.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few months later
December 3rd to be exact
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The re-dedication ceremony of Lois Lane-Kent and Clark Kent went off without a hitch followed by a reception arranged for the bride by her mother. The Maid of Honor was Lois’s sister Lucy lane and the Best Man was Jimmy Olsen.
In attendance were most of the staff of the Planet as well as both families. Lois’s father even gave her away. Some people, not in the know, thought that this was somewhat strange for a re-dedication but chalked it off to the whim of the bride.
Immediately after the reception the re-dedicated couple (newleyweds) left on what they called a delayed honeymoon citing their work at the planet as the cause for the delay.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Three Months later
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The announcement of the winners of the latest Pulitzer Prize for Journalism
was announced. The winners were the team of Lane and Kent for their investigation
into and expose of the international criminal activities of the former head of LexCorp – Lex Luthor
Fin
