Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Favorite Revelations: Fanfic Quiz

He lowered his hand as his own anger rose. He'd seen how she'd spent the night Clark died. He knew what Clark meant to her. How dare she pretend Clark meant more to her than that? How dare she blame this on him?

"Don't be melodramatic," he growled. "I know exactly how little Clark meant to you."

"How dare you," she spat. "Clark meant everything to me."

He snorted. "He meant so much that you were in bed with another man before my body was even cold! You didn't think I knew, did you? Yeah, I was there," he continued in response to the look of shock that appeared on her face. "I came by to make sure you were all right. And I saw you in bed with that man. So don't tell me how much Clark meant to you. How you died when he was killed. How his death is my fault. I know the truth, Lois. I know exactly what Clark meant to you," he hissed.

"What?" he asked, when she didn't respond. She looked confused, shocked even. Didn't she think that Superman could lose his temper, too? He stood there for a moment, trying to read the series of emotions that were flitting across her face.

When she finally did speak again, her voice was no more than a whisper. "Clark," she said, her voice half statement and half disbelieving question.

He interrupted before she could finish. "I just wanted to
let you know that... if you ever do want a 'wild ride', I'd
be happy to oblige... any time you want..." His voice
sounded almost sad; wistful, as if he was wishing for
something he knew could never happen.

Then, before she could ask what he meant, he'd bent and
scooped her up into his arms, murmuring, "Trust me, Lois."
Holding her against him with just one arm for a brief
moment, he pushed the window open.

And then stepped up onto the sill with her held against his
chest... and then stepped off, into thin air.

"Clark - CLARK!!" she yelled in terror, clutching at him.

And then she realised that they weren't falling. In fact,
they were climbing... moving upwards... they were *flying*!

His jaw clenched stubbornly for a moment. Wait a minute, this
wasn't all *his* fault. He scowled. How'd this get to be all
*his* fault?!

He raised his head to advance this point and then Lois' voice
rushed to fill the void that guilt and then annoyance had made
of his heart and, as he focused on what she was saying, it
stopped cold in his chest for the second time in so many
minutes.

"I had the right to *know*, Clark! Didn't you think I had the
right to know? What you are? *Who* you are? Didn't you think I
needed to know that, before we ... we ... " She waved a hand at
him, at a loss and then blundered on in full Lois Lane fury,
"Before we took things that far? I deserved to know!" That last
was almost a wail and then she paused, eyes narrowing on him.
"Or is that it?"

"What?" Clark said warily.

"Well, it seems to me, there's one good reason why you didn't
think it was important to tell me you were Superman before you
... you ... we ... " she stumbled on the words again and
trundled over them again like a tank advancing on enemy lines,
"If you didn't think it was any kind of ... commitment ... if
you thought it was just a ... a ... *thing* ... a one night
stand ... just a roll in the hay with your partner, huh? I mean,
we do everything else together, right? Watch a few movies. Share
some popcorn and soda. Might as well throw sex into the frame! I
mean, why the heck not?!"

In the midst of his horror at her conclusions, one part of
Clark's mind took wry note of the fact that she seemed to have
no trouble with the terminology when she was dismissing their
lovemaking as a casual encounter which had meant nothing to him
at all.

How could she *think* that?

"Lois, that's not true," he said and there was a faint frisson
of anger beneath his tone now.

How *could* she think that?

"I'd never think that way about you, Lo - S-Superman?" His
irritation dropped away into instant panic as that one word
leapt at him out of what she'd just said and smacked him hard in
the face.

"Clark? You okay, buddy?"

Henderson's concerned enquiry made him realise he must have drifted off for too long. "Sorry," he replied, looking up. "Got a lot on my mind."

"Well, how about sharing some of it with me?"

His heart was hammering even before he knew he'd made the decision. "You have to promise me that what I'm about to tell you goes no further than this office."

"As long as it's not material evidence, sure."

He shook his head. "I need more than that. No-one else knows, or I can't tell you."

"Then what?"

"Then I guess I'd have to stop co-operating with the investigation."

Henderson considered him for a long time before replying. "Okay, Clark, you got my word. This better be good."

"You're sure?"

"You want me to swear on my badge? It won't mean any more, because when I give my word, it's binding. Simple as that."

"Okay." Clark pulled his glasses off and looked steadily at Henderson. "The reason I need the investigation stopped is because I have an identity to protect. The kidnappers weren't after Clark Kent, reporter at the Daily Planet, they were after Superman."

Henderson frowned. "Superman? So you were the bait?"

Why was it that when he wanted to tell someone, they never caught on, and when he didn't want to tell someone, they figured it out right away? "No, I was the target."

"But you just said Superman was the target."

Clark nodded. "Exactly."

"So you're trying to tell me that you're...?"

"Yes."

Clark could only watch, helpless, as the doctor paced about the laboratory,
clearly agitated. He made several attempts to interrupt, but Bernard Klein
wasn't listening.

"Lois, Clark, I've been Superman's doctor for seven years now, and I
consider him to be my friend - and now I feel like I've betrayed him!"

Clark stepped forward and laid his hand heavily on the scientist's shoulder
from behind. "You haven't betrayed me, Bernie. And I do consider you a
friend - a very good and true friend." In his need to console his friend
and doctor, he momentarily forgot that he wasn't in the Suit and spoke in
Superman's voice; Klein stopped abruptly and swung around, confused,
clearly looking for someone.

"Clark... I thought I heard Superman!"

"You did," Clark explained quietly, thinking that this was the easiest way
to do it. "Bernie...." He increased the pressure on Klein's shoulder, then
added softly, "You've been a good friend to me for a long time, and you're
the only real friend Superman has. That's why I'm surprised you haven't
already guessed."

"Guessed what?" Klein was wild-eyed, confused and almost at a loss for
words as he stared at Clark.

"About Superman - about me," Clark answered. Slowly he removed his glasses,
brushing back his hair with his other hand and then standing straight and
tall in front of the doctor.

"Oh my lord... it's you!"

"Believe me, Lois, I'm not suicidal, but I am realistic." Clark led her back to the couch and the two of them sat again. "If I should - not - come back, I need you to do some things for me." Clark took a deep breath. "And in order for you to do these favors for me, I have to share a secret that I've been keeping from you... from everyone."

Lois' heart began to hammer. If it weren't for the seriousness of Superman's attitude she'd be thrilled at the prospect of him sharing his secrets with her. As it was, she couldn't completely stifle a spark of excitement.

Clark almost smiled when he saw that he had Lois' rapt attention. He took one last breath before he began his confession. "Superman has only been around for a few months now, but I have been on this planet since I was a baby. I was found and raised as the adopted son of two very wonderful people."

Lois gasped. "What you said to Amy Platt," Lois blurted out, remembering that first time she met Superman. "You said your mother made your suit for you!"

A sardonic smile forced its way onto Clark's face as he joined Lois in the memory. "That's right, I did, and she did." Clark took Lois' hands in his as he captured her eyes with his. "Superman is just a facade. He's a character I created in order to help people and still be able to have something that resembles a normal life. Superman is this larger than life super hero, but me, I'm really just a farmboy from Kansas."

Lois thought her heart was going to stop beating as her lungs forgot how to breath. "You, you mean... " Her mind refused to wrap itself around the obvious that he'd just revealed to her. "You're..."

Superman stood up and stepped a few feet away from the couch. He began his spin. The gaudy suit blurred into a swirl of primary colors, then quickly blended into a more sedate combination of black and tan. When he stopped he was dressed simply in a pair of tan slacks and a black pullover shirt. He slipped on a pair of glasses.

Lois' mouth hung open. "... Clark."

"Well, the thing is, that I have another part of my life that you
know nothing about. I'm not really all that sure how to tell you
this. But the first thing is that I lied to you. I don't have an
illness. I'm perfectly healthy. In fact, I CAN'T get an illness."

"Clark, you don't have to pretend, I won't tell anyone about it," Lois
interrupted.

"Lois, please!"

"Sorry. Carry On."

"I told you that I was ill, because I chickened out of telling you
the real truth. Heck, I'm just going to come out with it. Every time
I rush off, well it's because I'm ... Superman," Clark finished;
feeling better that it was in the open now.

"Ha! Clark, that is the most stupid joke to pull on anyone! You are
so thick sometimes," Lois retorted.

"But it's the truth!"

"Yeah, of course. And I'm King Kong"

"Okay, Lois. I'll prove it."

With that, Clark got up of the couch. Lois' smile faded slightly.
Clark spun out of his normal clothes and into his Superman suit. Lois
stared at him open mouthed.

"Oh my Lord! You were telling the truth! Oh I can't believe this. Oh
my! Oh my oh my oh my," Lois gasped. After a few minutes or so,
Lois recovered, and felt very angry.

Her foot brushed against something, and she noticed the bedspread
lying in a heap on the floor, where they'd no doubt thrown it some
time earlier. Grateful for the distraction, which meant that she
*didn't* have to turn and face Clark just yet, she bent and grabbed
for it, intending to throw it back on the bed.

But, as she lifted it, she caught sight of some brightly-colored
fabric underneath. Blue. Bright blue. And red. A very familiar shade
of red.

Spandex.

Red spandex.

With a stylized 'S' on it.

Stunned, Lois dropped the bedspread and bent to pick up Superman's suit.


*********************

"Do clothes make the man, Lois? I know that sounds a bit shallow but I want to know what you think. If I were to dress in more fashionable clothes, would you see me any differently than you do now?"

"Clark! What kind of question is that? I wouldn't think any different of you if you still wore that old suit from when you first started. I'll admit, it wasn't the most up-to-date suit that I've seen but I'd still feel the same way."

"If Superman wore that old suit of mine, what would you think of him?"

She stared at him in half-shock and realized that he was serious. "He'd still be Superman to me; but he'd never fit into it; it's way too small."

"What if I wore Superman's suit, would you see me any differently?"

"Clark, what is all this about? I'm beginning to worry about you."

"Lois, I was at your apartment all weekend. I was the one blinded by the device. You let me sleep on your couch and I flew with you in my arms when I couldn't see." He took his glasses off and smoothed back his hair briefly. "You made me feel as though you honestly cared for me. I just wondered why you don't feel that way about Clark."

"Clark, you didn't bash your head against something, did you?" She took a closer look to see if he had a bruise on his forehead.

"It's the truth, Lois. I don't want to be with any other woman except you. I'm tired of making silly excuses and covering up for my other identity. I wanted you to care about who I really am, Clark Kent, farm boy from Kansas, the friend who loves watching Mel Gibson videos with you, the man who adores the very ground you walk on. I'm beginning to think that you don't know me as well as I thought you did. Maybe my eyesight is not the only thing that was blinding me. Maybe it's time I faced the truth that you only care about me according to what I'm wearing."

Warm fingers touched hers and she felt cloth pushed into her hand. "Breathe through that," Superman's voice whispered. "It will help."

She opened her eyes and found that the cloth in her hand was a handkerchief. In fact, it was Clark's handkerchief. The CK in the corner, carefully embroidered by Martha Kent's hand, was unmistakable.

"Where--" she was beginning, when he put a finger across her lips.

"Keep your voice down," he whispered. "This place could go any minute."

She nodded. "Where did you get this? Where's Clark? Is he all right?" The intensity of her whisper made echoes bounce around the mine again. A little rain of gravel answered it.

Superman bit his lip and Lois felt her heart sink. "He's all right! Say he's all right, Superman!" Appalled, she felt the prickle of tears in her eyes and a sudden ache in her throat. Clark couldn't be hurt--or-- She couldn't even bring herself to think the word. "Please!"

He put a cautioning hand on her wrist to stem the flood of words. "Shh! He's all right, Lois. I promise."

The relief was almost overwhelming, and she felt the tears spill over. She wiped them away, fiercely trying to regain her self-control. "Where *is* he?"

"Here." The word was so low she wasn't sure she heard it correctly.

"What?"

"He's here, Lois. *I'm* Clark."

"I've missed you." He said planting quick little kisses on her neck.

"You've only been gone a half an hour." She said giggling. "Clark, stop, I've got butter all over my fingers."

Lois had been trying to find a way to put her arms around Clark without getting butter all over the back of the suit. Clark took her hands and began to suck on Lois' fingers one at a time.

"Mmmmm," Clark rumbled low in his throat. "I should have tried buttering you a long time ago."

"Clark, stop it!" Lois said in a fierce whisper which quickly turned into a soft moan of pleasure. She tried to regain her focus. "Clark, you'd better change, Lucy could come in here any min..."

"Hey Lois, where's that popcorn? Oooops."

As if on cue Lucy had stuck her head through the kitchen door and was treated to the sight of Superman sucking on the fingers of her sister. Lois and Clark seemed frozen in place like deer in headlights.

She ignored the warning, pushing away all cynical thoughts that dared to intrude into her happiness. She wouldn't let anything cloud this moment. Everything in her world felt right; in fact, it was as if she was floating on a fluffy mattress of warm air, held by nothing but her lover's arms and...

... and...

She blinked and frowned, her feelings suddenly too real to be ignored. Something wasn't quite right here. Being invaded by the bliss that came with the afterglow of lovemaking was one thing; realising that the floating sensation wasn't *just* a sensation was...

Oh... god...

She let one of her legs slide off Clark's solid thighs, afraid that the truth she dreaded might be confirmed. Her toes groped for the mattress and found it... a foot below her.

Now fully awake, she scrambled off the body floating - oh god, he was really *floating* - beneath her and jumped to her feet. She didn't turn around and ran to the bathroom, locked the door, and slid against the wall until she was
sitting on the floor of cold tiles, hugging her knees to her chest and releasing tears she couldn't hold back any more.

Clark turned back to Lois. "There was a train accident tonight. I heard about it on the neighbor's radio after you fell asleep. I didn't have a choice. I had to go." He turned off the television and returned to where he had been
sitting on the coffee table. "The reason I smell of fresh soap is that I got covered with grease while I was helping out at the train accident. I stopped by my folks' place to clean up before coming home. There is no other woman, Lois. There never has been."

Lois found that although her mind was racing, it was going in circles. He was Superman. She was married to Superman. But Superman had rejected her. It made no sense. Clark reaching out to touch her hand snapped her out of her thoughts. She jerked away. It registered in the back of her
mind that he looked hurt, but right now she didn't care.

"How dare you?" she finally hissed, her voice so low that it was almost indistinguishable to an ordinary human. "You.... We... What did... God, Clark... Or whoever the hell you are. I don't even know you anymore," she concluded in agony, staring at him as if he were a stranger.

He'd grabbed some supplies from the conference room shelves, and, less than a minute later, handed her the envelope.

Her curiosity had eaten at her, but, remembering the trust that her partner had put in her, she'd kept it hidden and sealed. She'd almost opened it when Clark had died, but couldn't bring herself to do it. When Superman had brought him back, she'd been glad that she'd held off. Now, over a year later, he'd finally told her that she could open it. The fact that he'd given permission in lieu of an excuse confirmed her suspicion that at least one of the two secrets in the envelope had something to do with his disappearing act.

Slowly, almost reverently, she opened the envelope. Inside were two scraps of paper. Each had three words on it. "I am Superman." "I love you."