I don't mind the Clark-less chapter either. In fact, I'm impressed that Lois was able to pull her appearance together (even with that huge assist from Bruce) in time for her Luthor interview. And she may be more confident in being a woman than she is in being a reporter. She was nervous about meeting Luthor, which would be perfectly understandable if she'd been at the top of her game, but she wasn't nervous about giving both Bruce and the young waiter a once-over! I guess it's all right if she doesn't actually taste that eye candy.
The only niggle I had was that you put a plus-sized woman with a badly twisted ankle in three-inch heels! Ow! Fashionable is one thing, but safety should be a major concern here. Even with no injuries, I'd think Lois would opt for flats or low heels, simply because she would have had little occasion to wear them while in the jungle. She's not used to them, and a swollen ankle would make it even harder to wear them, much less walk in them.
But you did tell us that her ankle was "screaming at her" and that she was enough in control to ignore the pain. This is a very strong woman. And Clark had better get back quick, or Lex and Bruce are going to end up arm-wrestling over her.
