Being as how the muse has been extremely cooperative, I've taken advantage. Besides, we needed another story to keep up with! laugh Enjoy!

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Looks were deceiving, Clark thought as he he stared at himself in the mirror. To outward appearances, one would never know it took every once of strength he possessed to get up and get dressed today. It was early spring and the birds sang a happy melody. The wind blew softly and warmth from the sun made one glad to be alive. Everything was new again. Spring was a time for starting over; starting fresh.

But not today. Today was a time for endings. Today his world would end.

For days, he'd carried out the investigation of his life, but had come up disasterously short. He'd played every hand he knew to play and had still been forced to fold. Out of weapons in his arsenal, he prepared to surrender. Defeated and battered, he gathered up the last pieces of his shattered heart and left his apartment.

Twenty minutes later he stepped from the cab across from the hideously ominous building that represented total agony. He'd dressed in his suit and tie, prepared to admit that he was the better man. Yet, he just couldn't bring himself to go inside. So, he sat alone, on a bench across the street, and watched a tall, skinny chauffeur smoking cigarettes by a long, white limousine.

He imagined what was taking place inside. She was probably as beautiful as ever, dressed in a gown fit for a queen. He could see her there, smiling as the sunlight danced across her face. Would she have flowers in her hair? Definitely a twinkle in her eyes. She would be nervous, excited. A gorgeous smile would grace her lips as she stood at the alter.

And him... *he* would stand in a place Clark had only ever dreamed of being. *He* would be the one her smiles were directed at.

“Do you take this man…?” An age old question, asked over and over through time to every bride and groom in history. It would be asked of her. And did she? Did she really want that man?

Suddenly Clark didn’t want to know the answer. However, in less time it would take for his tears of grief to fall, bells rang out like thunder and the doors to the building flew open. His eyes were riveted to the couple as they made their way through the crowd of well wishers. She was laughing and looked like she might be crying as well. She stopped and tossed the bouquet. And when they climbed into that limo, Clark walked off the other way.

She’d made her choice, he told himself as he stepped up to the next curb and summoned a cab. He’d be damned if he’d stay around to watch as Lex Luthor destroyed the dynamic person Lois Lane had been. For weeks he'd wondered. He'd wondered how she could be so blind. He'd wondered why she wouldn't listen to the person who was supposed to be her best friend. He'd even wondered if she'd actually follow through with her wedding. Now he didn't have to wonder anymore.

As the metro cabbie drove away, the disheartened man inside felt himself going under. Until today there had been hope; there had been a chance. That had all changed just a short time ago.

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Nearly two weeks had passed before Clark had read the headline on the front page of the Pershing Publisher. ‘Lex Luthor Behind Bars-- Billionaire Speaks Out’. He couldn’t believe what the words said as he sank to a park bench and tried to make sense out of what he was reading. The small town was shut out as he skimmed the article about the Fall of the House of Luthor. Perry, Jimmy, and Jack had done it. They’d really done it. The evidence had been discovered to nail Luthor to the wall.

A broad smile, the first one since that day, spread across Clark’s face. The police had stormed Lex Towers while the man was still away on his honeymoon. At the same time, a raid was underway at his island hideaway in the South Pacific. They arrested Luthor in his suite as he rose to spend another day getting to know his new bride. Luthor was hauled off to jail, and Lois was left to sort out the mess left behind.

Immediately Clark’s thoughts turned to his former partner. She had probably been devastated. So sure Lex was someone she could spend her life with, she’d married the man. How must she have felt when the man she thought she knew was proven to be an illusion? Clark had tried to tell her what Luthor was, but as obstinate as ever, Lois had refused to listen to him. She’d been convinced that he was merely jealous. What must she think now?

Clark sighed heavily as he leaned back against the bench. His relationship with Lois had deteriorated severely over the weeks leading up to her wedding. She’d resented him for his interference in what she thought was the happiest time in her life. They'd argued countless times; Clark accused her of getting in bed with the devil. He’d even demanded she investigate Luthor, see for herself what kind of person the billionaire really was. He’d walked away from Lex Towers that day, and Metropolis later, because he’d been unable to take anymore. For so long he’d ached for a relationship with Lois Lane. Around every turn she'd refused to see him… really see him. Then she’d had the gall to tell him she would love him if he were just an ordinary guy.

But he wasn’t ordinary. Her refusal to see him and his bruised ego kept him from telling her that he was Superman. Clark was tired though. He was tired of loving someone who would never return it. He was tired of just being a best friend when he wanted to be more. Most of all, he was tired of being drooled over one minute only to be ignored the next. So, he’d packed a bag, changed his clothes, and left the city. He wasn’t sure where he was going or how long he’d be gone. All he knew was that he needed time alone. Time to think… without deadlines, Superman, or Lois Lane.

He cast another glance at the paper he held. Lois had refused to comment about her husband. Clark knew she was probably reeling from all that had happened. Part of him wanted to be there for her, but another part, a part he hadn’t known existed until recently, just wanted more time to decide if he could ever live in the same city with Lois after everything that had happened.

With little effort, he heaved his bag back onto his shoulder, dropped the copy of the paper in the trash and headed once again for the highway. Just outside the city limits another blackout occurred. There had been several periods of darkness over the last few days, as if something completely blocked the sun. Officials insisted it was not eclipses, but would not elaborate further. Again, Clark wondered if he should be worried about the incidents. He’d thought about checking with officials as Superman, although he’d abandoned that thought immediately. He hadn’t used his powers since he’d left the city. Mostly because he’d felt he needed time to think. He was being just an ordinary guy and had admitted more than once it was nice to pretend not to have a care in the world.

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Sometimes it would take Clark a while to flag down a ride on the highway, hitchhiking being his chosen mode of transportation when he set out on his road to discovery-- as he‘d dubbed his journey. He didn’t mind because walking at normal speed wasn’t much of an effort at all. The only thing he didn’t like was the time it gave him to think. Thinking meant pain because his mind seldom drifted far from Lois and everything he didn’t have.

With a thumb stuck high the air, destination anywhere, Clark turned toward a particularly thick line of traffic. He’d just started walking again after having rested beneath an underpass, which had allowed his mind to drift off to sleep for a bit. He was bone weary and no closer to a decision about what to do when a car stopped way up ahead, braking suddenly when it passed him. He hurried to keep whoever had been generous enough to stop from having to wait too long. He climbed inside and thanked the female driver for the ride.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a smile.

Clark sank into the passenger’s seat as the woman pulled the small, black Nissan back onto the interstate. They rode several miles in silence before she introduced herself.

Kathy was a beautiful lady with dark red hair, a college student on the way home to Texas. Very talkative, she barely took a breath for the next ten miles. Clark would nod, smile, and try to say anything to be polite. He laid his head back and closed his eyes when she pulled into a convenience store for something to drink. Thoughts of everything he’d learned earlier in the day about Luthor chased their way around inside his head.

“To repeat the top story… Eprad confirms that the recent blackouts are the result of a asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Approximately four hundred miles across, the rock scientists have named ‘Nightfall’ will make contact in three short days. Its sheer size will cause havoc the likes of which is almost unimaginable. Several experts warn that ‘Doomsday’ is around the corner…”

The call to Superman wasn’t heard by the dark haired man that scrambled from the car he rode in because he’d already made it around the back of the store and was airborne. There was no question about using his powers anymore. The world would be destroyed if Clark chose to remain in the middle of nowhere.

A confused lady returned to find her rider gone. She waited for several minutes before shrugging and continuing on her way.

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He’d had no choice. He was mankind’s last hope for survival. Clark had flown straight to his folks' farm, apologized about his recent absence, and explained that he had to fly to Eprad and offer his services. Of course, Martha and Jonathan both knew he’d go.

She was there, as he’d known she’d be, among the many reporters that surrounded the launching platform from which Superman would depart. Clark refused to look directly at her for fear that he’d betray his emotions. And to her credit, Lois held her head high with a professional air to rival the strongest competition.

There was a plan. He’d fly directly into the asteroid after gearing up to maximum speed. He was certain he’d hit it with enough force to destroy it. It was time for Superman’s limits to be tested.

A small, state of the art air pack was strapped to his hip, a microphone and speaker hooked to the side of his head so he could communicate with officials at Eprad, and a final statement was made before he took a look back. A look back at her. Their eyes locked and for a moment he wanted to go to her, tell her how he felt, and beg her to love him. With such a monumental task ahead of him, he might never get another chance. But he refused to think about not succeeding or that he might not make it back. Instead, he turned his head and focused on the task before him. With a final deep breath, Superman launched himself into the air.

Lois watched with the rest of the media, and the world, as the blue streak left their field of vision. In less than an hour he’d collide with the massive structure threatening life on the planet. She gathered a few final quotes, then headed off downtown to the temporary offices of the Daily Planet.