Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic I've Got a Crush on You

Chapter 1

“You rotten, backstabbing hillbilly!” Lois screamed, slamming the door behind her. She flung Clark’s spare key on the entryway table and stomped to the kitchen, fuming. She got even more infuriated when she saw Clark calmly brewing tea. “You know that innocent, boyish exterior might fool some people, but not me!” Lois proclaimed. “Not anymore!” she slapped his chest. Clark recoiled, and his boyish exterior cracked for a second, fear consuming his features.

“Tea, Lois? Clark crossed his arms as if to shield himself from her.

Good. He should be scared. She wasn’t finished with him. She thought they were friends! She thought she could trust him! How could he betray her! The Toasters were her beat! She never asked for his help. She didn’t need Clark Kent’s help or Charlie King! The lamest disguise on the planet!

“It’s a calming herbal blend.” Clark turned his back on her and poured two mugs of steaming tea. He pushed the mug across the counter to her. She had half a mind to pour it over his head. “I learned it from a medicine man in Fiji.”

Oh, and did he also learn how to be a jerk from a man in Fiji!

“I don’t suppose you care, but you’ve completely blown the story! MY STORY!”

“Lois, I had no choice,” Clark said, having the decency to look guilty. “At least my cover is still safe.”

“Oh, well, merry Christmas and happy New Year!” Lois said sarcastically.

“You know, sometimes on a team, the person carrying the ball gets hemmed in, and she has to hand off to another member of the team who’s in a better position to score.”

The doorbell rang, jarring and intrusive.

Lois and Clark froze with identical shocked expressions. She had no idea he had a doorbell. She usually just barged in. Clark lowered his glasses and looked at the door with concentration. Lois scowled. For someone who claimed he was nearsighted, Clark sure peeked over the rims a lot.

“You better go.” Clark dumped the extra mug of tea and tossed it in the sink. She’s here,” he said in a frantic whisper.

“How do you know who it is?” Lois studied him quizzically, looking between him and the door. Did he have some high-tech glasses with a secret camera?

“Because I’m expecting a dinner date.”

“Who would be crazy enough to date you?”

Lois had been with him at the Metro Club all day. Any eligible girls were either strippers or too snobby to notice the bartender. When did he have a chance to ask a girl out?

“Toni Taylor,” Clark said, biting his lower lip apologetically. He cocked his head toward the door. Shit. He was serious. He should have run this by her first. The last girl he dated was a federal disaster! Toni wasn’t good enough for him.

“Oh, I get it,” Lois said. “You don’t have to draw me a diagram.”

“You’re jealous.”

“You’re out of your mind!” Lois retorted. “I just hope she doesn’t try to kill you in your sleep!”

“No time!” Clark hissed. “You’ve got to hide!”

“I don’t want to hide!” Lois slammed down her heels stubbornly.

“Look, I’ll find some way to distract her, and you sneak out.” Clark frantically guided her behind the alcove near the front. It was the perfect hiding spot to watch Toni walk all over Clark with her deadly high heels.

She peeked around the corner and watched Clark switch his spectacles for even dorkier glasses. Her breath caught in her throat. Briefly, his profile looked like Superman. He had the same squared-off jawline and midnight black hair that almost looked indigo. The light played tricks on her mind, and she thought his eyes were a piercing cerulean blue, like Superman's. She blinked, and the moment ended. She shook her head. No. That would be insane. Superman was adopted. Clark was not. They were not the same person.

Clark straightened and answered the door.

“Once again, I’m in your debt,” Toni said, holding a bag of groceries.

Lois rolled her eyes. That was the corniest pickup line she had ever heard. And idiot Smallville was falling for it. The blonde snake pushed into Clark’s apartment. From her hiding spot, Lois couldn’t see Toni’s face, but she had a front-row seat to Clark’s dopey smile. Come on, he couldn’t be seriously falling for this act? After what she had overheard in the meeting, Lois was positive that Toni had something to do with the Toasters harassing the West side. She just couldn’t prove it yet.

“I thought I’d pay you back with a home-cooked meal. How does lasagna sound?”

Lois’s stomach plummeted. Aunt Opal always said, ‘The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’ She would follow with, ‘That’s why you’re still single, baby.’ Aunt Opal would then pinch Lois’s cheek, even though she was a grown adult, and rope her into helping in the kitchen, which was always a disaster.

“Delicious,” Clark said, the raw eagerness sounding all too real. How hard could baking lasagna be? Lois pursed her lips and remembered the time she burned pasta. Clark miraculously fixed her screwup. Somehow.

“Nice place,” Toni said approvingly.

She should have seen the dump before Clark moved in. It suddenly dawned on Lois how quickly Clark had renovated the rundown apartment. The faucet had been so bad it was leaking brown water. How had she not thought about this before? Renovations should have taken longer than two days. He was close friends with Kal. That had to be it. Kal-El helped Clark fix his apartment. But that didn’t explain their striking physical similarities. Brothers maybe? One superpowered, the other a normy. She shook her head, inwardly laughing at her stupidity.

“It belongs to a friend of mine; he lets me stay here when I’m in Metropolis,” Clark said easily. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would have never believed it possible. Clark Kent lying and doing a damn good job. She would be impressed, except she wondered what else he lied about.

“You know you don’t have to do this,” Clark said. “I’m not looking for a reward,” he said in a thick, husky accent.

“I want to,” Toni said.

“You always get what you want?” Clark asked.

Lois leaned forward to get a better look and immediately regretted doing so. Clark was smiling at Toni in the same way he smiled at Lois —that crooked, teasing smile she naively thought was meant only for her. She had been so gullible. He was as two-faced and despicable as the rest of the men on the planet.

“Not always. How about you?” Toni said, with a teasing smile.

“Let’s see.” Clark deepened his voice. Lois shuddered. He sounded like Indiana Jones. He swiftly grabbed Toni and twirled her around. He bent his head and kissed her. Lois stared dumbfounded. A small part of her wished he’d kiss her like that. He expertly held Toni like a classic hero from a black and white movie. They hardly knew each other! She could be the head of the Metro Gang! She would trample right over his poor sensible heart.

It took her a long while to notice Clark waving frantically at her as he slobbered all over Toni Taylor. She didn’t want to leave him alone with a vipress, but there didn’t seem to be another choice. Lois took her heels off and tiptoed out of his apartment.

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

She took the long way home and walked. All she could think of was Clark’s lips on that bimbo. He seemed to enjoy himself far too much for it to be an act. Who could blame him? Toni Taylor was a commanding queen, and he was her loyal knight. And she could cook. Lois’s culinary skills ended at the microwave. Toni was successful, ambitious . . . and quite possibly a gangster queen. But she had no proof of that. Clark was blinded by lust-- he would never believe her.

Well, they deserved each other. She didn’t need Clark. She had Kal-El, a god among men. She closed her eyes, and she could almost feel Superman’s strong arms around her as they flew above the city. His warm breath against her neck. She brushed her fingers against her lips where he had kissed her.

Except he hadn’t. She threw herself at him like some lovesick groupie. Lois’s eyes shot open, and she pivoted, nearly missing walking headfirst into a lamppost. Fortunately, it was late, and nobody was out to see her blunder. She hated herself for getting worked up over some guy. Even if he was the story of the century. Kal was more than a story to her. He was her closest friend . . . next to Clark, of course. Since she interviewed Superman seven months ago when he first flew onto the scene, they had grown closer. Lois Lane didn’t know when or how it happened. Superman had started visiting her after a difficult mission. She comforted him after the General called him ‘a dangerous criminal.’ They kept each other sane when they were trapped inside the Collector’s zoo. Kal spent the night at her apartment when Luminus was trying to kill her... even after she had wrongly screamed at him for failing to save Clark.

Oh, Clark .

She missed him. She gave Smallville grief for taking over her investigation, yet she was secretly glad of it. It almost felt like old times before Superman. It seemed the closer she got to Kal, the more distant Clark became. He didn’t bring her breakfast anymore or call her at odd hours to bounce off ideas. He no longer walked her home from work. That was partly her fault. Clark had asked her out months ago, and she had turned him down flat. She couldn’t bear to lose her best friend. Every relationship she ever had ended badly. She liked the status quo as it was. Anything more would have ended in tears . . . but wasn’t she already losing him?

Lois blindly unlocked her apartment and slumped against the door. She had lost him. He was in the arms of that woman. “I’m not jealous,” she said to the empty apartment. “Not a chance.”

She pulled off her heel, wincing at the sting of a blister. She kicked the other shoe off. It flew across the room and landed on the sofa. The sofa Clark and she used to binge Netflix on. Why did he have to be such a jerk? So, she wouldn’t go out with him? That didn’t mean he had to stop being her friend. Clark couldn’t have picked a worst girl to fall for. At least Clark was consistent. Hopefully, Lois was wrong, and Toni wouldn’t turn out to be a supervillainess like Leslie. She angrily tore the gown off–he hadn’t even spared her a glance before dumping her in the garbage. That’s all she was now. Trash. Yesterdays news. Clark had moved on to his next conquest. The pretty, fraudulent blonde. And if she uttered a single word about her suspicions, she would sound like a jealous ex-girlfriend.

“Oh, no.”

That’s exactly what she was. Lois haphazardly wrapped herself in a robe. They might not have put a label on their relationship, but Clark did everything a boyfriend would have done. Right up to the point where she rejected him. She stumbled to the kitchen and grabbed a tub of ice cream from the freezer.

“I am jealous,” she realized, slumping onto the sofa. She wiped at her damp eyes. She wished Clark were here with her. No. Superman was a better hugger. And even better kisser. He’d be along shortly. He had a sick sense when it came to her well-being. This classified as an emergency. She lumbered to the window and opened it. Deep down, she wished Clark would be the one on her doorstep, not Superman.

She resumed her pathetic position on the sofa and hunkered down to drown her sorrows with ice cream. She flicked through the channels till she found an old favorite movie, When Harry Met Sally . But it only upset her even more. Harry and Sally’s bickering reminded her how things used to be with Clark. Harry was right. A man and woman couldn't be friends. Clark and she were living proof of that. She was naive to think things would remain the same after she rejected him. He was an attractive man. She couldn’t expect Clark to remain off the market forever. But why did he have to fall for Toni Taylor? She was part of their investigation! Had she taught him nothing? Never get involved with the story!

But that was exactly what she was doing with Superman. It didn’t matter that their late-night talks were ‘off the record.’ At the end of the day, she was still a reporter and Superman a source. He was her bread and butter. Nothing more, despite her conflicting feelings.

There was a knock at her door. Lois leaped off the couch, still holding the tub of ice cream, spoon in mouth. Without looking through the peephole, she flung the door open. Her stomach dropped when she saw the bald billionaire on her doorstep.

“Let’s do it,” Lex smirked. His smile might have made him handsome if it didn’t seem so fake. She glared at him and folded the robe tighter around her front. She didn’t appreciate his suggestive tone.

“Are you insane?” Lois pulled the spoon out of her mouth. “I’m not doing anything with you.

His eyes sparkled with amusement. “Typical. Just like you to assume the worst,” he said. “It’s a song request. Let’s do it . . .” he snapped his fingers in tune, tapping his foot side along to the music in his head. “Let’s fall in love . . .” he sang in deep tone. “Care for an encore, Ms. Lane?” He sounded drunk.

“My singing career is over,” she said crispily. She was miffed he wasn’t Clark. She scanned the clock on the wall. It was almost eight o'clock. It was still early. The lasagna will be coming out of the oven by now. Clark was one bite closer to making the hugest mistake of his life.

Luthor looked baffled at her. “Why? You were magnificent tonight.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat. When she saw Luthor in the audience, she had been certain he would blow her cover, but he hadn’t. It was her lovesick partner who screwed her over.

“You know it was just an act,” Lois said. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, acutely aware she was wearing lacey pajamas underneath her robe. She had been hoping for someone much taller with more hair and a different kind of handsome.

“No,” he said with confidence. “It was the real you. Passionate . . . sultry and seductive,” he dipped a finger into the ice cream tub and licked his finger clean. Is that supposed to be attractive? “Got an extra spoon, Lois?”

There were so many ways she could answer that. The most appealing option was to shove a spoon into his oily mug. But why should Clark be the only one to have fun tonight? And who better to make Clark Kent jealous than Lex Luthor? Luthor’s gaze roved over her body hungrily.

“Don’t get any ideas, Luthor.” Lois stepped aside and let him through. She grabbed a dirty bowl from the dishwasher. While Lex was distracted, drinking in family photos, Lois spit in his bowl and then scooped the iciest, frostiest ice cream into his bowl. It was juvenile and petty. If Clark were here, he would have scolded her. Lex tried to kill Superman. Lex deserved worse than freezer-burned ice cream.

Lex held a framed photo, studying it intently. Lois looked over Lex’s shoulder. It was an old college photo of her and Clark. They sat together in the bleachers. Clark wore his MetU sweatshirt, surprised as he caught the football. Lois recalled how he expertly threw the football back to the player.

“I didn’t realize you and Kent went this far back.” Lex mused.

Lois took the frame from him and placed it back on the mantle over the fireplace. He scanned the other frames. There were a few pictures of her and Lucy before puberty hit. A large oval frame of her mother was dead center. The remainder of the mantle space was taken up with photos of Clark and her through the years. Lois milking Dolly for the first time; Clark competing in the Annual Smallville Pie Eating Contest, his face hidden under a mountain of whipped cream and chocolate; Lois and Clark dolled up for the Excalibur Awards. She was embarrassed there were more photos of Clark than of her family. Her cheeks flared.

Lois couldn’t remember a time before Smallville. He was the one constant in her chaotic life. At least, he used to be. Things were rapidly changing and getting out of control.

“You make an adorable couple,” Lex observed.

It was impressive how he could make a simple compliment sound like a threat. He didn’t think her relationship with Clark was cute. It was a weakness, a bargaining chip to file away for future dealings. She felt a sudden chill slither down her spine; she was scared for Clark’s life. She had no trouble picturing Luthor dancing over Clark’s corpse. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew the type of man he was, and yet she let a predator enter her home. All because she wanted Clark to suffer like she suffered.

“We’re just good friends,” Lois said, keeping her voice steady. “He’s the brother I never wanted.” The lie tasted sweet down her throat. “Careful he doesn’t catch you here,” Lois smirked. “He’s a bit overprotective. He might just rearrange your face.”

Why had she said that? Clark was a sensitive boy scout who would rather save a spider than squash it. He was no threat to Luthor. Luthor smiled as if he saw through her empty threat.

“You’re lucky to have Clark Kent in your life,” Lex said wistfully.

She sometimes forgot Lex and Clark used to be friends. It was a touchy subject. Clark got all cagey any time she pushed him for details. There were always two sides to a story.

“Why isn’t he in your life anymore?” Lois offered him the bowl of ice cream and pulled back a chair for him. She knew she was going to regret this decision later.

“The usual suppose,” Lex slid into the chair opposite her. “A woman.”

It wasn’t the answer she was hoping for, but it was more than Clark had ever told her. She found it hard to believe Clark would cut all ties with a friend over a girl. He wasn’t that shallow.

“Does this mysterious lady have a name?” Lois probed.

“It’s history,” Lex dismissed. “No sense dredging up the past.” he took a bite of ice cream. “Oh, wow, this is stupendous.”

Lois shrugged. It was one of the many ice creams Kal had brought her from abroad. She was grateful she had the foresight to serve Lex in a bowl. He wouldn’t take kindly to knowing he was eating Superman ice cream.

“Tastes as good as the gelato I had in Italy once,” Lex smacked his lips. “Where did you get this?”

She hadn’t been thinking when she served him. “I don’t know,” Lois shrugged. “WayneMart, probably.” She hurried to change the subject. “I owe you a thank you,” Lois said, forcing the words out.

“Oh?” Lex asked.

“You could have blown my cover at the Metro Club, but you didn’t. Why didn’t you?”

“We’re friends, Lois,” Lex said earnestly. “Friends don’t betray each other’s trust.”

“Somebody should have told Clark that,” she angrily sucked on the spoon.

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Lex said. She was surprised to hear Lex Luthor defending Clark. “I’m not trying to make excuses for him, but I imagine it must be hard for him to live in your shadow.”

“What were you even doing at the club?” Lois asked. She didn’t feel like talking about Clark, surely not with Lex Luthor. He was as bad as Toni Taylor, worse if what Superman had told her about him was true.

“I was meeting with the new leader of the Metro gang,” Lex admitted.

Lois uncrossed her legs and sat up straighter. “Toni Taylor?” she guessed.

“Clever girl,” Lex smiled. “Nothing gets past you.”

“I knew it!” Lois slapped the table elatedly. Clark was getting into bed with a mobster.

“According to her, we have similar interests in the West River district.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“So do I,” Lex conceded. “But she talks a good game. Slum clearance, uplifting the neighborhood, micro-management, growth and prosperity . . .”

Exactly her point. Lex Luthor wasn’t interested in improving a downtrodden neighborhood. He was only interested in two things: 1) killing Superman and 2) being the most powerful man on the planet.

Lois’s jealousy might have prejudiced her against Toni. She was a deadlier adversary than she thought if she wanted to improve the West side, not invade it. It was the sort of altruistic thing Clark or Superman would have done. She was trying to rid her neighborhood of crime as best she could. She didn’t want to make the same mistakes as her brother. But there was still the question of the Toasters.

“Do you believe her?”

“Not for a minute,” Lex said. “I think the whole thing was designed to get me to slow down my plans for reviving the area.”

She doubted his plans were so chivalrous.

“She even suggested a . . . partnership of sorts.” he slowly clasped her hand across the table.

Lois drew her hand back. “Lex, I already have a partner.”

Two, if you count Superman.

“I don’t see him here.” Lex inched closer, his fingers grasping her robe. Lois shot to her feet and pushed away from him.

“This,” she indicated between them. “Is never happening.”

“I love a woman who plays hard to get.” Lex sulked toward her. Lois rolled her eyes. This was her own fault. She should have never invited him inside. She calmly grabbed his wrist. In the next few breaths, she had Lex’s arm twisted behind his head. Lex sputtered in shock.

“Touch me again, I dare you,” Lois purred in his ears. She shoved Lex away. “Get out!”

“I just wanted to warn you about Toni . . .”

“I said, GET OUT!”

“I’m just trying to help,” Lex said. “If I were a reporter looking for answers, looking for the source of the problems in West River, I wouldn’t look any farther than Toni Taylor.”

“Thanks for the tip.” Lois walked him to the door. “I already knew that. Now, unless you have anything more useful to say, goodbye.”

She slammed the door in his face. She sagged against the door, breathing hard. She was such an idiot. Make Clark jealous! Bah! How could he be jealous when he didn’t even know Luthor visited her? The pity party was over. It was time Clark knew the truth. She traded her PJs for a sensible black turtle neck and gray raincoat. Lois climbed into her jeep and headed for Clark’s apartment in the Suicide Slums, not caring about the late hour.



Her original plan went up in smoke when she saw through the window how happy Clark was. She couldn’t bear to ruin his date, not after all the heartache he had been put through. Even if it meant allowing him to make another dumbass decision. So she hid behind his planter, waiting out the night. Finally, after what felt like a thousand years, Clark walked Toni to the door. He kissed her goodnight, and Lois felt a knife twist in her chest.

She reminded herself she still had Superman, but it wasn’t the same. She was more or less Superman’s therapist, not the grounds for a healthy relationship. The only time she saw Kal was when something bad happened. She wanted a guy who knew how she took her coffee, was able to follow her tangents, and told her when she was being an arrogant know-it-all. She wanted Clark Kent. It only took her six years to realize that.

She held her breath as Toni walked past her hiding spot. Lois expected her to get in her car and drive away. Instead, Toni dragged a briefcase out of the back and walked in the opposite direction. Lois worried at her bottom lip, watching as Clark cleaned his kitchen. He flicked the TV on, and the evening news blared through the thin wall. ‘We interrupt your regular programming to bring you this unfortunate news . . .earlier this evening, there was a breakout at Stryker’s Island.’

Nothing she could do about that now. Clark was going to have to wait. She slinked from shadow to shadow, tailing Toni. There were a few close calls, but Lois knew how to use the shadows to her advantage. She was thankful it was a pitch black night.

Sirens blared softly in the distance. It was going to be a long night for Superman, too. She caught snippets of the headlines on her iPhone. Volcana and Firefly at large. Her heart had skipped a beat when she saw Luminus had escaped. He couldn’t do any damage without his red solar suit. She banished Edward Lytener from her mind and focused on Toni. She had faith that by the end of the night, Luminus would be back behind bars.

She followed Toni to an abandoned warehouse. Why was it always a warehouse? The villains were so predictable. By the door, a poster hung on the wall, advertising the upcoming development of Lex-Harbor.

“Any spare change?” A homeless guy offers a hand to Toni. Lois quickly slipped behind a trashcan.

Toni gives him a courteous glance and moves past the beggar. Yellow tape stretched across the entrance to the warehouse. Without pausing, Toni ducks beneath and opens the door. The beggar follows her inside slowly afterwards. This would be the part where Clark tells her to call the police. But then she wouldn’t know what’s in the briefcase or why Toni was meeting with fake homeless people. Lois waited an appropriate amount of time and then snuck in behind Toni.

Toni maneuvered through a row of stringed-up mannequins and discarded shelves. Lois kept pace with her, careful not to knock into one of the mannequins. Suddenly a man lands in front of Toni. Lois covered her mouth to stifle a scream. Toni whirled to face her assailant, but two more men jumped from the shadows. The three of them cornered Toni, quickly grabbing her by the shoulders.

“Is this necessary?” Toni sounded bored.

A fourth man, wearing a bandana, stepped forward. “You got the money, princess?”

Toni shoved the other two off her. Lois’s breath hitched, and she fumbled in her purse for the recorder, flicking it on.

Toni held up the briefcase. “One-hundred-thousand.”

“You said two!”

“Considering how badly you botched the hit on my brother, you’re lucky I’m here,” Toni said. “You could have killed me!”

Bandana Man gave a nonchalant shrug. “That would be a real shame, princess.” Laughter rumbled through the group.

“Don’t forget who’s running this show,” Tonis said. The fires were supposed to stop after I took over. What do you think you’re doing?”

Bingo. Lois had it all on recording. Clark would see Toni’s true colors.

“Having fun,” Bandana Man jeered.

“The fun ends here,” Toni demanded. “Give me the toasters back.” He smacked Toni’s fingers with the end of a gun. Toni squealed and recoiled, cradling her swollen hand. She dropped the briefcase, and one of the Toasters caught it.

“I don’t think so, princess,” Bandana Man said. “We’ve decided to hold onto them for a while.”

“Listen, punk —” Toni struggled against the two men holding her.

“No, you listen!” he spat in her face. “You and the Metros are nothing. We could wipe you out just by pulling the trigger.”

“Then why haven’t you?” Tori retorted with a sneer of her own. Her gaze drifted toward Lois’s corner. Lois quickly retreated deeper into the darkness, hiding underneath an old staircase. “Because you don’t have the weapons,” Toni answered her own question. “I made you. I can unmake you.”

“Take her away,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand.

“The four of you don’t stand a chance against the Metros!” Toni taunted. “If the Metros don’t stop you, Superman surely will!”

“Superman will be otherwise engaged,” he laughed. “And you, you’ll be sleeping with the fishes.”

There was a pitter-pattering and then a loud CLAH-UMPH. Lois’s heart jumped into her throat. She froze. Had she caused that? She scanned the space around her, nothing seemed to have fallen. He signaled for his men to go check it out. The other three went to investigate. The leader aimed his gun at Toni.

“Truly, it’s a pity it had to come to this,” he said. “Under other circumstances,” he trailed the tip of the gun down her arm. “We could have had a good time.”

Lois had heard enough. She jumped out of her hiding spot and kicked the gun out of his hand. He screeched. At the same time, the gun went off, decapitating a nearby mannequin. She didn’t give him a chance to come to his senses. Lois kneed him in the balls and grabbed Toni’s hand.

“After them!”

They were already outside by the time his buddies realized he had been attacked. Lois didn’t stop running till she reached the docks. Toni hugged the briefcase to her chest, staring at Lois in stunned silence. “You saved me.”

“Not yet, I haven’t,” Lois said.

Sure enough, she heard the echo of footsteps in the distance and angry screams. She was fast, but not super fast. She scanned the boats tied up by the pier, searching for a familiar fisherman’s boat. “This way.”

Lois dragged Toni toward a muggy, rickety boat called the ‘Amara.’ It was Friday night, so Bibbo would be doing his shift at Ace O’ Clubs. Lois jimmied the door open and indicated for Toni to follow her. And not a moment too soon.

“They couldn’t have gone far! Find that briefcase!”

Lois grabbed the rifle Bibbo kept by the door. She watched from the porthole as one of the Toasters released a stream of fire on a nearby boat. Black smoke enveloped the sky.

“You idiot!” he screamed. “We need that money! We can’t risk burning it.”

“Sorry, boss.”

Lois didn’t dare speak. She mimed for Toni to help her move the trunk. Together, they heaved the heavy trunk loaded with equipment and blocked the only entrance. She ducked her head as a face appeared in the window. Lois held her breath and recited the alphabet in her head. A: Adorable; D: Dork; B: Bibbowski; C: Clark . . . S: Superman. He wasn’t coming to their rescue. He’d have his hands full with the breakout.

Toni and Lois sat in awkward silence for hours, neither one of them daring to speak. The Toasters continued their search of the docks – a few times, a member tried Bibbo’s door and quickly gave up when it didn’t open. They were going to be here a while. Lois let her feet guide her to Bibbo’s kitchenette and blindly searched in the darkness for a snack.

“Are you crazy?” Toni whisper-screamed. “What if whoever owns this boat returns?”

Lois returned to the couch and munched on the Dorito chips she found. “Crazy is hiring thugs to do your dirty work.”

“I didn’t have a choice.” Toni whispered. “Johnny was out of control.”

“A lot like the Toasters.” Lois popped a chip into her mouth.

“I thought I could control them,” Toni sighed heavily. “I didn’t mean for so many people to get hurt,” she said. The anguish in her tone softened the ice around Lois’s heart. She saw why Clark fell so easily under her spell. She was a good person who made a poor decision. Under the circumstances, would Lois have done anything differently?

“But you did,” Lois said, unable to forgive her for kissing Clark. She could cook, and she kissed her man. Lois shuddered at the revelation. Her man – as if she owned Clark. He could kiss anyone he wanted. Lois Lane did not care.

“I know,” Toni said weakly. “And that’s something I’m going to have to live with,” she said. “Why did you save me?”

“It was the right thing to do,” Lois said. “Plus, I hate bullies.”

“Me too,” Toni smiled.

They fell back into an uneasy silence. Lois pulled up the live newsfeed on her phone. Green Lantern stood with Angela Chen, giving a recount of the night’s breakout. All prisoners were accounted for except for one, a John Dee. She shoved down the stab of jealousy. It was silly. She shouldn’t be jealous. Angela and Lois were on the same team. Perry had offered the Channel 52 slot to Lois first, but she turned it down, preferring to be an investigative journalist. But now she was sourly regretting her choice. Angela was in the thick of the action. She probably saw Superman in one day more than Lois saw him in one week.

“Do you think they’re gone?” Toni asked. Lois scanned the time. They had been holed up in here for nearly three hours. It was almost two in the morning.

Lois peeked out the window. The boat across the way burned bright as a bonfire in the bay. There was no sign of the Toasters. “Looks that way,” Lois admitted. She studied the briefcase clutched in Toni’s arms. “We better hide that.”

“Where?” Toni asked. “The bottom of the bay?”

“You crazy, that’s evidence!” Lois protested. “We need to take it to the police.”

“I don’t want to go to prison,” Toni said.

“You’re a pretty girl,” Lois said. “I’m sure you can charm your way out.” Her tone was icy.

They settled for concealing the money in a backpack they found on the boat. Lois would bring it to Clark’s for safekeeping till the police apprehended the Toasters. They dumped the empty case into the harbor. Toni agreed to go to the police in the morning and gave Lois the exclusive on her story.

Lois reached Clark’s apartment without incident, buzzing with excitement. “Clark, I know it’s late.” She rapped her knuckles on the door. “Or early, depending on how you look at it, but I have news!” The apartment stayed dark. “I’m not mad at you anymore.” she tried again.

This was unlike him. Maybe he was out. She scanned the parking lot and found his beaten, dirty red pickup truck. Okay, so he was home. “SMALLVILLE!” she hit the door. “This isn’t funny anymore. Open up. You can’t leave me out in the cold!” She squinted through the window. She saw the bare outline of furniture and a soft glow coming from the direction of the bedroom.

“Come on Smallville,” Lois wrapped the jacket around her fist and punched a hole in the window. She reached through the opening and unlocked the door from the inside. “You hear that?” she taunted. “I’m breaking in, You’re going to want to stop me now.”

Nothing. Not so much as a giggle. Now she was getting worried. She flicked the light on. A tray of lasagna sat on the stove wrapped in tinfoil. Dirty dishes were piled in his sink. His black tee was discarded on the floor in the kitchen, along with his pants. Lois beant and picked up the shirt. “Such a slob.” She tossed the clothes in the hamper on her way to the bedroom.

“You better be decent,” Lois warned. She pushed the door open. Clark sprawled under the covers, breathing deeply. She visibly relaxed. He was just asleep. She glided into his room, picking up more clothes off the floor. She deposited the backpack with the money and all of Clark’s dirty laundry into the wicker basket at the foot of his bed. She brushed a hand through his moppy black hair, smiling faintly.

The phone by his bed rang. Lois jumped a millimeter in the air. Who could be calling Clark at this hour? Lois was already here. Sleeping Beauty was dead to the world. “Aren’t you going to get that?” Lois nudged Clark. He didn’t register her presence.

“I’ll be over in a few minutes,” a deep, grim voice said. “Whatever you do, Clark, don’t fall asleep.”

“Too late for that, buster.” Lois wandered to the telephone and checked the caller I.D. It read, B. Wayne. Huh. That tracked at least. Bruce Wayne was a known playboy. He probably wanted to go bar-hopping with Clark. At three in the morning? Lois frowned. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t sound like the Bruce she knew. He was too serious and somewhat panicky. Why would he panic about Clark sleeping?

Clark’s body suddenly convulsed. “No . . . LOIS,” He screamed.

“I’m right here, Smallville.” Lois grabbed his hand. It was soaked through with sweat. His eyes were scrunched tight as if in pain. He kicked from her beneath the covers. Her head spun with pain, and she grasped her bruised stomach. He hadn’t kicked her that hard, had he?

“What have I done?” Clark wildly flung his arms in his sleep, knocking the lamp off the bedside table. “No . . . no . . no!”

“It’s just a nightmare.” Lois stroked his face tenderly. “Wake up, Clark!” She shook his shoulders. He continued to scream and thrash. She slapped his face and recoiled as her fingers stung. She looked down at her limp fingers, stunned. They were purple, and it hurt to bend them. What just happened? She had hit Clark before and never got hurt. She studied his gaunt face. He wore blue, long-sleeved pajamas, which helped complete the image. She could easily imagine the El crest on his chest.

“Oh my God,” Lois jumped off the bed, cradling her hurt hand. “I was right. You idiot.” He led her to believe he was two people all this time. She even confronted him a few times and insisted on this dumb farce. But why push her away? Didn’t he know that Clark was as important to her as Superman? It wasn’t one or the other. Of course, she could be just imagining things. She grabbed a fork from the kitchen and experimentally poked his side. The metal beant like putty against the Man of Steel’s flesh.

“This is not how I was supposed to find out!” Lois screamed. It was supposed to be more romantic. Sweat drenched through his pajamas, turning them black.

“I didn’t mean to!” Clark twisted away from her and blindly swatted the alarm clock. It flew across the bedroom and crashed into the ceiling. “All my fault,” Clark curled in on himself, clawing at his eyes, but still he remained fast asleep. “Blood . . . Lois.” He hugged the pillow, and there was an explosion of fuzz. “So sorry!”

“You didn’t hurt me!” Lois pleaded with him. Despite her aching hand, she grabbed his shoulders. “I’m right here! YOU DIDN’T HURT ME!” she repeated. She grabbed his shoulders and shook. “Come on, damn it, I need you to snap out of this! We have work to do!”

She tenderly cupped his face, urging him to face her. She rested his head over her heart. “It’s okay,” she brushed dark strands out of his sweaty brow. There was time to be angry at him later. He needed her now. “It’s just a dream, you’re not a monster. You didn’t hurt anyone.” Gradually, his breathing evened out. “That’s it,” she hugged him tighter. “You’re safe . . . you saved everyone,” she choked out. “Nobody’s hurt.”

“Lois,” he said in a weak whisper. Slowly, he opened his eyes, bleary and unfocused. “Are you a dream?” Clark cupped her face. “I killed you.”

“No, silly,” Lois kissed his knuckle. “It was a nightmare.”

“Felt so real coulda sworn. . .”

“Ah-ugh!” Darkness seeped through the crack under the door and devoured Clark. Clark screamed and moved no more.

“No!” Lois shook him frantically. A gloved hand grabbed her from behind. She swallowed a scream as she stared into the white skeletal face of a monster. Its crimson eyes dug through her soul. “Nighty, night, pretty lady,” Smoky fingers slithered through her earlobe.


A set of soul sucking, red eyes glowed in the darkness as bright as dying coals. Lois reached toward the shadowy figure, taking comfort in knowing there was nothing to fear. Kal’s warm gaze will keep the cold at bay. Clark heard her . . . he was no longer trapped. She understood. She wasn’t angry that he had hidden for so long. The truth had set him –both of them free. Kal didn’t need to hide anymore.

A wiry skeletal hand snared her wrist. Lois blinked rapidly, disbelieving. The hold on her wrist tightened painfully. She whimpered. “Clark, you’re hurting . . .”

She sucked in a breath, heart thundering inside her chest. A ghostly, skeletal head poked out of a hood built of shadow. The skeleton grinned, baring its yellowed teeth. Her body was submerged in ice water. She struggled to free her hand; the more she fought, the harder it was to breathe—a pressure mounting on top of her breasts. Through a frozen haze, she registered there was a warm body beside her. She feebly reached for Clark’s hand, but her fingers refused to cooperate.

“Interesting.” The shadow spoke, echoing inside her head like a trombone. “You. A. Mere. Mortal woman.” Cold seeped into her lungs. “No matter. Superman will be dead in minutes.”

A primal scream tore out of her throat. Lois gasped awake, the sheets drenched in sweat. She hugged the pillow tighter, banishing that terrifying face from her mind. It took her a moment to realize that was no pillow she hugged. It was sturdy and warm, a very familiar, muscular arm.

“Clark!” She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She rolled around to face him, relieved when she felt his hot breath against her neck. There was still time. She could still reach him – he was just having a nightmare. “Smallville?” Lois brushed hair out of his blotchy, sweaty brow. “Oh, please, don’t let this nightmare be true.” She nudged him urgently. “Clark!” she whacked his chest.

“Go back to sleep, Lois,” he groaned.

“You’re okay?” She ran her fingers over his bare torso, not trusting her senses. “There was a man in the apartment . . . he said . . . he said,” she stammered, afraid to speak the words. “You’re alive?” She pinched him experimentally.

Clark flinched away from her. “Lois!” Clark clutched her hands under the covers. “I’m alright.” He brought her trembling hands up and kissed them. Lois frowned. Since when was Smallville so affectionate? “It was just a bad dream, Snoop.”

His arms enveloped her, and they burrowed under the covers together. She hugged his arm around her. The nightmare felt so real . . . but so did Clark’s touch. “I don’t know, Smallville,” Lois whispered. “It felt different.”

“Want me to make you some tea?” He untangled himself from her. She immediately felt cold.

“No,” Lois drew him back to bed. “Just hold me.”

“I can do that,” he said, drawing her into his lap. He kissed her, his fingers straddling down her back in a way no friend should. She deepened the kiss, not wanting to let go. A siren blared in the distance. She paused, out of breath, and looked at Clark expectantly. This would be where he made some lame excuse and pulled his trademark disappearing act. Clark snuggled closer, the rising sun on his shoulders. It turned his skin golden.

There was the sound of a sonic boom, and a red-blue blur shot across the window. Lois scowled, looking between Clark and the window, perplexed. Had she been so royally wrong? She studied Clark’s face. He had the same iconic cerulean-blue eyes as Superman and a smile that could lift any shadow. He had the same windswept, unkept black hair. But then, how did you explain Superman? Had she imagined him flying by their window? Had she imagined breaking he hand against Clark’s chest?

The alarm on the nightstand blared. That was supposed to be broken. It had all been a dream, a feverish dream. She was safe within Clark’s embrace. He was awake and handsome as ever.

Clark groaned. “I wish we could stay in bed all day.”

“Me too.” Lois kissed him. “But duty calls.” She crawled out of bed, momentarily stunned at her dress . . . or lack of clothes. She hurriedly slid into Clark’s robe.

“You know,” Clark said. He ran a dangerous finger along her arm. “We could always call in sick.”

“And miss out on all the action?” she whacked him playfully. “I don’t think so. Get dressed.”

“As you wish,” Clark said.

The Planet was a buzz with preparations for the Daily Planet’s 78th anniversary. Larry instructed interns on hanging a banner for the celebration. Cat was busily fixing her makeup at her desk. Lois filed the Toasters story and started working on the Intergang connection. Clark brought her coffee and gave her a chaste kiss on the mouth. What was with him? One night together, and he suddenly thought he owned her. It was strange. She thought she would remember more details. She wasn’t complaining. She loved having Smallville at her beck and call.

“Lois,” Superman materialized by her desk in all his sculpted glory. Lois’s heart stopped. She gazed down at her undamaged hand, baffled. That had been part of the dream, too. She shook off the uneasiness that had settled when she saw the hero.

“I brought you breakfast,” he said, setting a platter of French cheese and croissants on her desk.

“I cooked her breakfast,” Clark said petulantly. “Served in bed.” Was that jab really necessary?

Lois looked between Clark and Superman, dumbfounded. She had a weird memory of breaking her hand on Clark’s chest. Yet, Superman and Clark were both in the same room, together at the same time. A dream, just a dream. She silly to think Clark and Superman were the same person.

Superman scowled, his face morphing into an ugly expression she had seen a thousand times on Clark . . . when looking at Luthor. “When you get tired of this meat sack.” Superman looked over Clark critically. “You know where to find me.”

“What was that?”

“I know,” Clark sulked. “You would think a being of superior intellect would have some manners.”

“You’re both acting so strange.”

“Lois, Clark, in my office now!” Perry hollered. Lois and Clark shared bemused expressions and followed Jimmy and Perry into his office.

“You’re not going to believe what happened to us this morning,” Jimmy said.

“Try me,” Lois said. “It’s been a weird morning.”

“We were almost killed!” Jimmy said. “I saved us!” he said excitedly.

“The kid’s leaving out a few details, but the bottom line is we got carjacked.”

“Are you alright?” Lois asked.

“Somebody should have been paying more attention instead of buying breakfast in France,” Clark scoffed

“Sure, we’re okay, but they got away with that vintage car we were going to use for the celebration.”

“Let me tell you how I saved us . . . Picture this . . .”

“Hey, Jimmy,” Perry warned. “Go splash some cold water on your face.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Jimmy sighed.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Perry said. “Gave a very detailed description to the police. Then they looked at me like I had three heads.”

“Why?” Lois and Clark said together.

“Because I told them we’d been carjacked by Bonnie and Clyde.”

“Chief,” Lois said, feeling sick to her stomach. “Bonnie and Clyde died over sixty years ago.”

“I know that, Lois,” Perry sighed. “They took my car, not my senses,” he said. “But believe me, they did quite a job. Costumes, makeup, the whole shebang.”

Clark and Lois spent the day hunting down local acting agencies that specialized in stunt doubles. She went through the motions and let Clark do most of the talking. Her mind was back in the bedroom with a terrified Smallville screaming. She remembered shaking him — Clark, delirously calling her name. That had been last night in Clark’s apartment. Yet, she woke in her apartment, snuggled beside him. She didn’t recall going home last night. She broke her hand against his chest. Had that been a dream?

She shook her unharmed hand. She thought Clark was Superman. This new reality was even whackier than that. Bonnie and Clyde, who’s next, Elvis?

The door slammed open, and Superman strutted in. “Superman!” Lois jumped to her feet. “What are you doing here?”

“Gets them every time,” the agent chuckled. “Miss Lane, meet Bruce, Bruce, Lois.”

“As in Bruce Wayne?” Lois frowned.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he smirked at her. “I see my reputation precedes me,” he shot her a blinding white smile.

“He’s a lookalike?” Lois’s mouth fell to the floor. Superman was an alien. There was nobody on the planet that looked like him.

“Don’t ask me to fly, lady,” he said. “I only fly in planes,” he drawled out. Clark rolled his eyes.

Lois left the agency feeling more confused and out of place than ever. They stopped for lunch, and that was when she noticed something peculiar. It looked as if someone had put the words through a whirlpool. She couldn’t make heads or tail of the jumbled mess. She tried to focus on one letter and was rewarded with a a splitting headache. The food was tasteless. She caught her reflection in the window and a pair of red eyes glared back at her. The skeleton grinned toothily, his dark hood melting into the shadows.

“There’s something strange going on,” she said. She pushed her food aside, not hungry anymore.

“No stranger than an alien flying around and branding the city with his superiority complex.”

“Like that right there,” Lois pointed at him. “Clark would never say that,” Lois said. “Superman would never hit on an . . .” she faltered as she glimpsed the engagement ring on her finger. “Engaged woman,” she finished. Now she knew she was dreaming. A proposal was a huge thing to forget. She pinched herself, willing herself to wake up.

“You chose me,” Clark clutched her hands. “Me, the ordinary farm boy, not the alien, not the superhero. Me,” he kissed her knuckle. “Superman can’t accept that.”

“I can’t accept that,” Lois said. “You’re the same person!” she had been so sure. “This doesn’t make any sense.” She waved aimlessly at the world around them.

“I thought we were past this,” Clark said, ripping his hand away from her. “I’m not Superman, never have been,” he argued. “I’m a farmer’s son, he’s an alien immigrant. That’s never going to change, no matter how much you wish we were the same person.” She had heard this argument before many times. It was reasonable, sound, sensible even. Clark had gone as far as to show her his birth certificate. She might have bought it if Superman hadn’t acted like such a jackass. The Superman she knew wouldn’t flirt with an engaged woman. And when did that happen?

“Superman is showing his true colors,” Clark said. “Better late than never.”

“Clark, it’s not just Superman acting weird,” Lois said. “Look at the menu! The words are all wonky.” Lois leaned forward. “I think we’re dreaming . . . or at least I am. None of this is real.”

“You’re dyslexia acts up when you’re upset,” Clark said. That was true. He cupped her hand. His touch was warm as sunlight, just like she remembered. His pulse beat strong against her, strong and absolutely real. Clark Kent wasn’t a dream. She was engaged to the best man on the planet. As much as she wanted to lose herself in the dream, there were gaps in her memory that didn’t make sense.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Are you having second thoughts . . . about us?” he sounded so timid and unsure. Achingly like the Clark she knew and loved.

Where did that come from? They weren’t even dating yet. The sparkly ring on her finger said otherwise. She was saved from answering when Clark’s phone rang. “Slow down, Jimmy,” Clark cautioned. “What? Are you absolutely sure?” Clark’s expression clouded with trepidation. He hung up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Al Capone just tried to bomb the Planet,” Clark said. “Superman saved Perry.”

“Give me a break,” Lois rolled her eyes. “He’s been dead for decades.”

“It’s a science experiment gone wrong,” Clark said. “Dr. Emil Hamilton played Dr. Frankenstein.”

“You don’t actually believe that.”

“We live in a city with a flying alien. What do you think?”

“Fair point,” Lois conceded. “So, what’s the plan, partner?”

“You’re asking me?” Clark’s jaw dropped. “You’re the senior investigator,” he reminded her playfully. He teasingly gnawed at her lower lip. Lois gladly opened her mouth and deepened the caress. He tasted like cinnamon and hope. Strange how she could taste him, but the food was cardboard.

“Lois!” A voice called her from afar. She craned her neck to see who it was and was met with a sea of strangers.

Each civilian that walked past was faceless. And she didn’t mean like strangers. Where the faces should have been was an all-encompassing black hole. She gasped and fastened onto Clark. “LOIS. LOIS.” The black holes swirled and contorted, green mist whirling at the center. Red eyes poked through the green mist. “It’s all a dream,” the faceless mob atoned. “Wake up!” The faces merged into one, a long, slimy, green face that was the thing of nightmares. His red eyes were too big for his weirdly shaped skull. “Superman needs you!”

“No,” Lois sobbed and buried her head into Clark’s chest. “So many faces,” she shook her head. “Make it stop.”

“It’s okay,” Clark kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got you.” She drew strength from his embrace. Her racing heart gradually slowed. “We can call it a day, huh?” he tilted her head up gently. “You’re sleep deprived,” he said.

“Yes,” Lois agreed. “That must be it.”

Lois closed her eyes and slept on the ride home. She curled into Clark’s side, scared to open her eyes. At one point, she thought she heard Bobby Bigmouth. She craned her neck and found him in the back seat. “Look, there’s this guy,” Bobby said through a mouthful of dessert. “He’s got this illegal gambling club downtown on Hobb’s street,” he said. “His name’s Georgie Hairdo. Capone’s thugs have been leaning on him pretty hard.”

“What’s Capone’s interest in the club?” Clark asked.

“Oh, come on. Come on,” Bobby laughed, spitting food out. “He wants a piece of the action just like the old days.”

The entire city had lost their minds. Clark wasn’t buying this? People didn’t just come back from the dead.

“All I know is something big is going down at the club tonight,” Bobby said.

“Thanks, Bob,” Clark said. “You’ve been a huge help.”

“I thought you said we were going home,” Lois said once Bobby had left.

He smiled sheepishly at her. “Awe, is Mad Dog Lane a wee-bit tired?” he tickled her side. Lois slapped his hand away.

“You don’t find this the least bit odd?” Lois scowled. ‘Dead people walking, Superman acting arrogant”

“That, I don’t find the least bit odd,” Clark said. “He hasn’t been the same since you rejected him.”

Another thing she didn’t remember happening.

She clutched her head. She didn’t know what was real anymore. “I just-” Lois swallowed hard. “You’re the only thing that makes sense in this crazy world.”

“I know what you mean.” Clark snatched her arm and kissed the inside of her palm. “This won’t take long,” Clark said. “Besides,” he smirked. “You’ve always wanted to be in the middle of a gang war.”

As she fixed her makeup, the mirror shimmered. Suddenly, the green man stared back at her. “No,” Lois said. “This is not a dream, this is not a dream.” She twisted the engagement ring on her finger to remind her of reality. She was marrying Clark Kent. Superman was a jerk. Clark was her amazing fiance. It’s all she ever wanted.

“We’re running out of time,” the alien said. His voice was strained and weary. “I’m failing. I can’t wake him . . . either of you. He’s too far gone.”

“Who?” Lois asked.

He stepped aside and showed her the room beyond. Superman lay motionless in a medic chamber, hooked up to a monitor. Beads of sweat cascaded over his chest. He was barely breathing.

“I don’t understand,” Lois said. “He just saved Perry from a bomb,” she thought out loud. “Perry wouldn’t lie about it.”

“All of this is a lie,” he said. “Take my hand, Lois Lane.” His wrinkly hand cut through the glass. “Time is of the essence.”

“You ready, honey?” Clark hugged her from behind, nuzzling against her neck. She smiled and greeted him with a heartfelt kiss. When they broke apart the man inside the mirror was gone. It was just an ordinary mirror again. She touched up her lipstick, and smiled lovingly at Clark.

“I never pictured myself as a honey,” Lois grinned goofily. “Say it again,” she hugged Clark.

“Honey,” he kissed her on the mouth. “Honey,” he said huskily, grazing his lips against her neck.

“Oh, God,” Lois lamented. “I don’t want to leave, Smallville.”

“Me either,” Clark moaned. “But we owe it to Perry to get to the bottom of this.”

“Why must you be so sensible?” Lois whined.

“One of us has to be the responsible adult.” He held the door open for her. “After you, milady,” he bowed his head.

“Thank you, my good sir,” Lois pinched his butt as she walked past. Clark laughed.

There was already a long line outside the Metro Club when they arrived. Gentlemen and ladies all dolled up as if they were going to an embassy ball. Little fairy lights wrapped around the roof of the building, adding to the ethereal atmosphere. She felt like she had stumbled onto the set of The Sound of Music. Soft, Jazz music leaked out.

“Classy crowd for an illegal gambling club,” Lois mused.

“Is that Congressman Haines and his wife?” Clark watched an older couple ahead of them in line.

“Our tax dollars at work.”

They drew nearer to the front, and Lois froze. “Clark!” she whispered. “We don’t know the password.”

“That’s too bad.” Superman landed in front of them. “I’ll share, but rules are rules,” he said. “You understand.”He leaned forward and pinched Lois’ cheek patronizingly. “I can’t be seen showing favoritism.”

“Let go of her!” Clark lunged. Superman merely hovered out of the way. Clark tripped and fell in a puddle of mud. The people gathered gave Superman a wide birth.

“My, how the mighty have fallen,” Superman cackled.

Lois ran to Clark’s side and crouched beside him. “What is wrong with you?” Lois screamed. “You used to be friends!”

“He is gutter trash,” Superman snarled. “I could never be friends with a nobody.”

“I love him,” Lois sobbed. “Can’t you at least pretend to be happy for me?”

“You once loved me.” Superman advanced on them and hauled her to her feet. “I would have given you the world.” Superman slammed his mouth onto her and dove his tongue forcefully down her throat. She struggled against him, unable to breathe or think. Finally, she managed to slap his face. Her bones groaned in protest, but it was worth it to see the betrayed look on his face.

“How dare you,” Lois sobbed through her anger.

“How dare I?” Superman repeated incredulously. “How dare you!” he screamed. “We could have been happy together.” There was a raw ache in his voice. “I loved you . . . still do.”

“I love, Clark,” Lois reiterated. “I’m sorry, please try to understand. What we have is real.”

“And what we had was what exactly?” Superman challenged. “Were you lying when you said you didn’t care I was an alien?” he asked. “Was I just another story to you?”

“No, of course not,” Lois hugged herself. She felt Clark wrap his strong arms around her protectively. “I was your friend . . . am your friend,” she amended. “Please try to understand, I fell in love.”

“With the wrong man.”

“I think you should leave,” Clark said. “You’re scaring civilians.” Most of the people gathered had pulled out their phones and were videoing them.

“You haven’t seen scary yet, Smallville,” Superman taunted. “This isn’t over,” he promised. He disappeared in an angry swirl of red.

“I can’t believe Superman did that,” Lois trembled.

“It’s over now,” he cradled her into his chest. “He can’t hurt you.”

“That’s just it,” Lois croaked, hugging Clark tightly. “The Superman I remember would never hurt his friends. He threatened you. I’m so scared, Clark. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” Clark said confidently. “They’re empty threats, that’s all.”

“How can you say that?” Lois pulled away. “He’s the most powerful man on the planet!”

“Because I know him,” Clark said. “He loves being the hero too much. He couldn’t live with himself if the people were scared of him.”

“I hope you’re right,” Lois said.

One good thing came of Superman’s meltdown. The bouncer let them through without asking for the password. Clark tipped him for his efforts. Jazz music drowned out the bustle and chatter of people. The room was crowded and smelled like the burnt end of a cigarette. A modest bar wrapped around the entire room. The only light came from red lamps spaced sporadically around the place.

“Clark!” Lois pinched his arm. “That’s her,” Lois nodded to a bedazzled blonde at the bar. “Got to be,” she said. Bonnie looked swell for a dead girl. An old dead girl.

“Good eye, Holmes,” Clark said. “What do we do?”

“She could just be a cosplayer,” Lois guessed.

“You don’t truly believe that,” Clark said.

“I want to believe.” Nothing made sense ever since she woke up. “It’s a bit crazy.”

“Welcome to Metropolis,” he laughed.

“Should we go talk to her?” Lois whispered.

“She’s a known criminal,” Clark whispered back. She hadn’t realized how close to the bar they had gotten. Bonnie had glided right up to Clark, lust in her gaze.

“Howdy partner,” Bonnie smiled broadly at Clark. “How ‘bout some company?”

Lois made herself scarce, subtly nodding to Clark to proceed. He shot her an annoyed look as if to say, ‘I can’t believe you’re making me do this.’ He glared at her one last time and hunkered down by Bonnie. He wasn’t in any real danger. She was just a mentally disturbed cosplayer.

“Sure,” Clark leaned against the counter.

“So, you come here often?” he asked.

“I haven’t been here in years,” she twirled her scarf sensually. “Actually, I haven’t been anywhere in years.” Lois caught Clark’s eye and mimed drinking.

He smiled tightly. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Surprise me,” she said.

“Could I get a white wine for the lady, and a club soda for me,” he told the bartender. Lois facepalmed. The naive boyscout. He was going to look like virgin, ordring club soda.

“You seem a little wound up,” she deftly toyed with his tie. “Why don’t you loosen your tie and relax.” He was going to ruin everything.

“Ugh.” Clark pried the tie out of her fingers.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, uh oh . . . I just get a little shy sometimes,” he said. “I don’t like to show people my underwear.” Lois scribbled on her notebook and held it up behind Bonnie’s head. Clark suppressed an eyeroll. “Do you live around here?”

“That’s a pretty forward question for someone who wouldn’t show me his underwear.”

“I’m sorry,” Clark slouched his shoulders. “I’m bad at talking to girls . . . woman, I meant to say woman,” he said. “You’re a stunning woman.” Her smile was predatory.

“Hey, back off, pretty boy,” Clyde shoved Clark away from her. “The lady is taken.”

“Knock it off, Clyde,” Bonnie said. He whispered something in her ear and she rolled her eyes.

“Look it was nice meeting you, both of you,” he waved awkwardly at Clyde. “I should get going . . . find my keys. I think I lost them.”

“Keys?” Lois repeated incrediously once alone with him. “Of all the lame excuses you could with and you went with that?”

“What did you want me to say, that my fiance would be wondering where I am?”

“Yes . . . oh, I don’t know,” Lois said. “Something that didn’t make you sound like such a loser.”

“You know, I’m bad at lying,” Clark said. “I get all tongue-tied and sweaty. I forget how to speak.”

“We didn’t learn anything of importance,” Lois sighed.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Clark smiled cheekily. “This might come in handy.” He showed her a S.T.A.R. lab key card. “Love me again?”

“How did you manage that?” She stared stunned.

“Catwoman’s not the only one with slippery fingers,” he pocketed the key card.

Gunfire erupted, shaking the ceiling like an earthquake. Instinctively Lois latched onto Clark’s hand. Her heart hammered inside her chest, drowning out the noise of the other patrons. Clark hurriedly shoved her behind him. An old, sour-faced man wearing a fedora stood in the center of his gang. He needed no introduction. She remembered seeing him in a documentary. If he was a cosplayer he was a really good one.

“My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, for this little interruption,” Al Capone said. In the same breath, Bonnie and Clyde drew their guns and flanked him. “I dropped by to inform you, Georgie Hairdo has wisely decided to retire from the hospitality business. From this day forward, this joint is owned by Al Capone.”

“Hey Al, maybe we can make this cutie our new hostess,” A tall, smartly dressed man gave Lois a once-over.

“Leave her alone,” Clark shielded her from view.

“Clark, no,” Lois whispered.

“Who are you?” He curled his lip with distaste. “Her big brother?”

“You’re not laying another hand on her,” Clark lunged forward.

BANG

BANG

BANG.

Lois’s heart stopped. Her mind couldn’t process what she was seeing. Blood blossomed through Clark’s white shirt. Distractedly, she thought it would be hell to wash out the stain. Clark hated stains. She watched petrified as Clark flung his hands over the gaping hole. Thick, dark liquid seeped through his fingers. A continuous river of red. Any moment now she’d wake up. They were supposed to grow old together. Clark glanced her way with a sad almost wistful smile. His knees buckled and collapsed into the growing pool of scarlet at his feet.

“Smallville!” Lois caught Clark, his weight crushing her arms. He was a big guy, much too big for her to shoulder alone, but somehow with sheer force of will she kept him upright.

“This isn’t supposed to happen!” Her voice came out hoarse and croaky.

He cupped her face, palm sticky with blood. It was hot and slippery against her flesh – a cruel reminder this was really happening. He feebly traced the contours of her cheek, like he had done so many times before. There was a finality to the gesture now, as if he was trying to memorialize this moment.

“Don’t cry,” he croaked in a gurgled whisper. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. “I hate to see you sah . . .” he faltered, his eyes gradually losing the light in them. The light she had taken for granted and come to rely on. The anchor sunk into the bottomless deep.
“No, no, no!” Lois frantically shook Clark, heedless of the blood staining her gown. “This is not the end!” She desperately kissed his cold lips. He stared blankly at the ceiling. “Please, Clark, don’t be dead.” She bowled over, ugly sobs tearing out of her. She screamed. She met Al Capone’s dead gaze.“I’m going to kill you!” She lunged at him, hands raised like claws. She imagined his face bloodied and disfigured.

Her nails were inches from his ugly mug when strong arms enveloped her. It felt achingly like Clark’s embrace — Briefly she allowed herself to hope and dream. But the man holding her was the alien. Angry tears poured out of her eyes.

“You moron!” Capone screamed. “What you do that for? Now we got to get rid of the body.”

“Over my dead body,” Superman growled. “You’re not moving Kent.” He calmly stepped over Clark’s body. “I dare you, shoot,” his eyes flared dangerously. Their guns smoked and one by one the gangsters screamed and dropped the scorching weapons. Superman glowered at them, promising more pain to come. They shrieked, wrestling over each other to skedaddle out of the bar.

The other patrons were frozen in shock. Their nagging eyes bore into her back, sharp as needles. Her arms hung limply around Clark – as limp as his body. Body. Corpse. That was all he was now. The man she loved was gone. She glared at Superman. It was all his fault.

“You could have saved him,” Lois sobbed. “Why didn’t you!”

“I came as soon as I heard the gunshots.”

“Why didn’t you?” she repeated. “I hate you!” she threw her shoe at the alien. “I don’t want to ever see you again. You’re dead to me.”

“Lois, you got to believe me . . . I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“GET OUT!” she threw her other high heel at him.



She stood statuesque in the rain, watching the raindrops form swirling patterns on the coffin. Lois Lane died alongside her fiance. Her heart continued to beat, but it was an illusion. Her heart was buried with Clark. Sweet, too-good for this world, Smallville. She woke this morning, naively believing it had been a feverish dream. A nightmare Clark and she would laugh at when she told him over breakfast —a breakfast he cooked and served in bed. But the kitchen was abandoned and dead just like him.

A calloused, leathery hand rested on her shoulder. “He’s in God’s hands now,” Martha patted her reassuringly. Lois took no comfort in her empty words. If there was a God, he was a crooked and unfeeling one. How could He allow for her to remain in this cursed realm when her better half was missing?

Yes. Missing. Not dead. She continued to tell that lie to herself, even after the casket was lowered into ground, and the mourners had dwindled down to nothing. Their words flowed down her back, feeling them but not truly hearing. They didn’t know Clark like she did.

“Lois, honey,” Perry hovered at her shoulder. Martha squeezed her hand urgently. It was supposed to be comforting, but all her touch did was remind Lois of Clark. Perry tilted his head and swallowed contemplatively. “Oh, honey, I’m going to miss him.” Perry enveloped Lois in his warm, fatherly embrace. He wasn’t her father, yet, somehow, Perry knew exactly what she needed. He whispered words of comfort in her ear and rubbed her back soothingly – in such a way her birth father never bothered to.

The General hated Clark Kent. It was one of the reasons she broke ties with the Lane family. Clark was the only family she needed. And he was six feet underground. The General would be happy his baby girl was free of the menace. She faltered, her breath catching. Her jumbled mind struggled to form a coherent thought. A memory tore through the storm — Daddy raising a kryptonite blade, Superman slumped at his feet, face unrecognizable under the bruises. Why was the alien consuming her thoughts when her best friend suffered? Lois shook off the conflicting memories.

“Anything you need, I’m here for you.” Perry held her at arm's length. “Even if it’s in the middle of the night, you call me?” Lois nodded to show she understood. She didn’t trust herself to speak.

The next hour and a half was filled with numb words of condolences. She smiled when Clark’s friend, Pete, shared a funny memory about Clark. She laughed at the appropriate times, only half listening, her soul trapped six feet underground. Lana Lang was as distraught as Lois. “He can’t really be gone!” Lois hugged the other woman as they cried together.

Lois was relieved when the funeral ended and she was allowed to go home. Her relief was short lived. She returned to an empty apartment. The stack of realstate brochures were on the kitchen table, where Clark had left them. He had wanted them to buy a real home with a picket fence and backyard. A place for them to start a family. She felt so stupid for insisting they waited to make love till after marriage. They had come close the last time she was with him . . .She wished she had.

She scrounged around the fridge for something to eat – anything to distract her from the loss of him. It was her turn to do the grocery shopping, which naturally meant all that remained in the fridge was chicken salad and two boiled eggs – the last that remained of Clark’s culinary skill. She decided to save the eggs for a rainy day and grabbed the store-bought chicken salad.

She finished her third bite and the curtains rustled. Superman lightly landed beside her, holding a bag of Chinese takeout.

“You’ve got quite some nerve showing your face here!” Lois dropped her fork on the table, glaring daggers at the alien.

“I thought you could use a friendly face,” Superman set the takeout on the table.

“We’re not friends,” Lois said, standing and turning her back on the Man of Steel. She dumped the dirty bowl in the sink and braced her hands on the counter. Her arms trembled fiercely. His hand rested on her shoulder —warm and smooth just like Clark’s. It was easy to trick herself into believing Clark stood behind her when she didn’t see the iconic blue and red.

“I know, I failed you,” Superman said. “If I could go back in time and save Clark I . . .”

“Don’t,” Lois brushed his hand off. “We both know you’re happy the fleshbag is gone,” Lois threw his words back at him. Superman’s eyes shifted, antsy and uneasy.

It was unsettling how much he looked like Clark in that instant. If his hair was messier and he slouched more he could have easily passed for Clark. It was stupid. She buried Clark this morning. It took her hours to scrape Clark’s blood from under her nails. It was just a coincidence the one man who could have saved him looked exactly like Clark Kent.

“He was my friend too,” Superman said seriously. “I might have been jealous of him,” he conceded. “But I never wanted Clark to die, not like this.”

“Then why didn’t you save him?” Lois demanded. “You’re always there for me. Why couldn’t you be there for Clark?”

“There was an earthquake in Nepal,” Superman said, face scrunched in pain. “You know how hard earthquakes are for me . . .” his voice cracked. “By the time I realized where the gunshots were coming from I was too late.”

“If it were me with a gun to my head, you would have made it in time.”

“I don’t know what more I could say for you to believe me,” Superman said. “I never meant for Clark to die.”

“Well, he did,” Lois finally turned to face him, vision blurred by tears. All she saw was the foggy outline of the cursed ‘S’ that was not an ‘S.’ “Some beacon of hope you turned out to be,” Lois said icily. “I wish you were never born.”

“You don’t mean that,” Superman said quietly, tone clouded with pain.

“The General was right,” Lois said. “You’re a menace to society. Everything you touch you destroy.”

The gut-punching look on Superman’s face was something she would remember even after she left this plain of existence. She collapsed to the floor after Superman left, body trembling uncontrollably. In the span of a few days she had lost the two most important people in her life. The alien and the lover. She could never look at Superman without seeing his failure.

In daze she dressed for bed, movements robotic and tense. He once shared the sink space with her. The bottle of cologne neatly stood on his side of the sink, the toothpaste still open from when he left in a hurry. The comb taunted her. She lunged at the toiletries with a cry of anguish and flung the cologne across the bathroom. It slammed into the mirror and shattered to pieces. A crack shot across the miror. Lois crumbled to her knees. She wouldn’t ever be able to sleep again . . . not without him.

“All is not lost.”

A deep, otherworldly voice echoed from all around her. Lois gasped and shrunk away from the long mirror on the door. A tall, green humanoid stared back at her with eyes as red as lava. “You’re just in my head,” she reassured, pinching herself. “None of this is real.”

“You’re right Ms. Lane,” the stranger said. “This is all happening inside your head. Clark is not dead.”

Lois’ head shot up. “You mock my pain.”

His scaly, green hand broke through the mirror. “No, the situation is more dire than you could comprehend,” he said. “Clark is on the brink of death. He needs your help.”

“Clark is already dead,” Lois whimpered. “I buried him.” What was she doing arguing with her reflection? A weird, demented, reflection, but a hallucination nevertheless.

“No, you didn’t,” he squeezed through the mirror and stood beside her. “It’s only a dream.” He waved his hand.

The mirror rippled like disturbed water and suddenly she was looking into an infirmary. A row of transparent coffins sprawled before her. Inside were league members hooked up to a monitor. Superman lay in the tube nearest her, body encased in sweat and unmoving.

“Any attempt to wake Superman failed,” he said. “Dr. Destiny’s grip on his mind is too strong. You’re his last hope.”

“This is just a dream,” Lois said, hopefully. That meant Clark was still alive. It seemed too good to be true.

“Yes, I can take you to him,” he offered her his hand. She had nothing to lose. Nothing could be worse than the nightmare of waking up in a world without Clark Kent. She clutched the alien’s long hand.

He guided her through the mirror. There was a moment of disorientation and lightheadness and then she smelled apple pie. Not any pie, Martha Kent’s apple pie. The air was laced with the homey fragrance. The yellow farmhouse shone in the night like a shooting star. She searched behind her for the alien, but couldn’t find him. Suddenly a scream she knew all too well tore through the still night.

“Smallville!”

She followed her instincts and ran in the direction of the barn. It was pitch black inside and smelled of decay, the air musty and thick with despair. The shadows seemed to pulse with a life of their own, holding her back with arms of steel. A whimper sounded to her left, coming from a large trunk.

She opened it with a heavy heart. Superman curled inside the trunk, fighting to make himself smaller. If weren’t for the El crest, she won’t have recognized him. His body mass had exploded — to the point he looked like Solomon Grundy. Silver scales fanned around his burning eyes. Horns sprang from his wild mane of black hair.

“Lois,” his voice was rough and gutteral. “How are you here? I killed you.”

It took her only two heartbeats to process the truth. She had been right. Superman and Smallville were the same person. She’d deal with his lies later, right now he needed her. She cupped his scaled face, unafraid. “It was just a nightmare, Clark. You will never hurt anyone.”

“But I did . . .” his voice shook, and he won’t meet her eyes. “Jimmy . . . I hugged him and broke his neck.”

“No,” Lois massaged his bulging biceps. “That never happened. Try to remember . . .”

“I remember everything,” Clark said. “I hurt those close to me. You need to leave,” his eyes flared dangerously.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Lois met his fiery gaze.

“You should be,” Clark said. “I’m a monster.”

“No, you’re my best friend,” Lois desperately grabbed his bicep, her fingers unable to reach around the large mass of muscle. “This isn’t you. You’re a savior, the kindest man I know, not a monster.” Her words seemed to sooth him, slowly wiping away the scales on his face. “I can’t live in a world without Clark Kent.”

She was going to regret this in the morning . . . their relationship was already on rocky ground. But this called for drastic measures. She cupped his face with both hands and kissed the beast. He gradually warmed up to her, deepening the kiss with an animilistic hunger she would never associate with Clark. With each caress the darkness melted away. His arms trembled. Lois carefully guided hhis arms around her. He slowly relaxed. The clouds parted and night turned to day.

Her feet dangled midair, bare feet tickling the tip of the clouds. “You saved me,” Clark whispered against her mouth. His crimson cape flapped in the wind behind him, a stark contrast against the clear blue sky.

“About thime somebody saved you,” Lois smiled, content.

They flew in blissful silence, the serene cornfeeds going on for miles. In the distance the skyline of Metropolis rose to meet the sky. The noise of the stirring city broke through the silence, birds singing their morning tune, a taxi honking in the maze below. People hustling to get to work. Clark landed on the roof of the Daily Planet. His eyes were glassy as if he had been crying.

“You know, this doesn’t have to be the end of the dream, Smallville,” Lois said, clinging to his arm. She knew him well enough to know the battle wasn’t won. The monster within will rear its ugly head, even in waking hours. This was the closest she’ll come to breaking down his walls.

“People close to me always get hurt,” Clark said, cupping her face tenderly. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face with the back of his thumb. “Goodbye, Lois.” he gave her a chaste kiss. An ambulance blared in the distance. “Duty calls,” Clark said. There was gust of wind and he vanished. The blaring siren persisted, slamming against her skull.

She rolled over with a groan and slammed a hand over the foul alarm clock. She blinked awake, mouth tasting like armpit. She stretched and paused, staring at the wobbly ceiling. The bed was empty beside her. But what had she expected? It was just a dream. Wasn’t it? Clark and her were not engaged and living together. She reached for her slippers and grimaced as her hand throbbed. Had that been a dream also? She remembered punching Clark. Nothing she did woke him from the nightmare. Her blood turned to ice. She whipped her phone out and called Clark. “Come on, please pick up.” It went straight to voice mail. What if he never woke?

She jumped out of bed and haphazardly threw clothes on, not quite paying attention, and rushed out of her apartment. She could still be trapped in that nightmare. She went through her morning routine with overbearing sense of trepidation. Lois bought two cups of coffee and a box of cake donuts. She held her breath, praying for a sight of Superman, anything to ease her nerves.

Clark sat at his desk, hunched over the computer and typing furiously. “Have you been here all night?” Lois gaped at him.

“No rest for the wicked,” Clark said, distractedly, not meeting her eyes. He was lying. The bounce of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed was a dead give away. As she feared the monster was rearing its ugly head.

“Oh?” Lois crossed her arms. “So, the date with Toni Taylor didn’t go as planned?”

A muscle pounced along his cheekbone. Lois smiled like a cat who had caught a mouse. He risked being caught in another lie if he persisted he’d been here all night. “Toni Taylor is behind bars,” Clark said. “Just finishing the last touchups on the Toasters story. You’re welcome,” he said woodenly.

She did not appreciate his tone. He was acting as if she was sleeping on the job and he had to pick up the slack. How dare he act so indifferent toward her, after the night they shared! Surely he wasn’t going to pretend like nothing happened.

“You owe me a thank you,” Lois perched on the keyboard forcing him to look at her. “You won’t be alive if it weren’t for me.”

“Did Lombard spike your coffee?” Clark wheeled back and looked at her worriedly. “You’re acting strange.”

“I’m the only sane one in this relationship!”

“Relationship?” Clark echoed sardonically. “There’s you and there is I,” Clark parotted, mirroring her voice expertly. “There is no we.”

Lois scowled. Clark’s ability to mimic any voice used to be an endearing quirk. Now she realized the truth he guarded so closely. “We can never be more than friends if you don’t trust me.”

“I trust you with my life,” Clark said seriously. That was not reassuring consdidering only one thing could hurt him.

“You don’t have to be ashamed of who . . .”

“I’m not ashamed of anything,” Clark thundered. “You’re clearly confused.”

“No, I’m seeing clearly for the first time,” Lois matched his angry tone. “You're a coward!” Lois screamed. “The nightmare is over but you’re still the monster scared to leave his prison!” She shot to her feet. “It’s a prison of your own making.” She threw the box of donuts at him. Clark caught it clumsily.

Clark’s breath hitched. He dropped the box and snatched her hand. “How did this happen?” he surveyed her bruised knuckle. Lois’ heart broke for him. She saw the self-loathing reflected in his eyes, and softened her gaze.His face crumbled with dismay and he retreated deeper into his shell. Oh, Smallville.

“I got in a fight,” Lois said, willing her voice to remain steady. His gaze lifted to her hopefully. For his sake, she’ll pretend last night never happened. “I was so stupid.” He watched her expectantly, no doubt listening to her heartbeat. “I let Luthor into my apartment last night.” It was the truth, but not the truth that mattered. “He hit on me . . . this is the result,” she showed her battle scars.

“You should have called me,” Clark said. “I’m so so sorry you had to face him alone.”

“I can take care of myself, Smallville,” Lois punched him in the shoulder. She noticed how his body rolled with the punch, bones slackening so he won’t hurt her. “Lex doesn’t scare me.”

“He should,” Clark said. She sensed he was referring to himself more than Luthor. “You’re lucky he didn’t do more.”

“He’s lucky I let him live,” Lois said.

Clark was never going to trust her, was he? She wished she could forget last night happened. She wanted to throw the computer at the lunkhead. He was being super stupid. But after what she saw . . . she understood why he was so guarded. It didn’t make facing him any easier.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Clark said. At least one of them was okay. Clark reached for her like he had in the dream. At the last second his hand dropped. He’ll be okay, eventually.

Lois grabbed his hand. Clark tensed the color draining from his face. She wanted to hug him and tell him the nightmare was over, but that would only push him farther away. “I’ll be better if somebody didn’t drive me to insanity,” Lois snapped. Her hand remained on his, a silent reassurance, but her eyes drowned in anger. “I would have never done something so stupid if my partner hadn’t thrown me in the garbage.”

Clark offered a tight smile. “Yeah, you should probably bathe . . . you stink.” Suddenly he tilted his head, eyes wide. “I just remembered,” he loosened his tie. “I forgot my wallet at home.” He rushed into the elevator, bumping into Cat Grant on his way out. He muttered a hurried apology and was gone.

“Rough night?” Cat greeted, ogling Lois’ outfit. She took note of her mismatched socks and disheveled shirt. Not just any shirt, Clark’s sweatshirt, which was three sizes too big on her.

“You could say that again,” Lois sighed, too tired to spar with Cat.

Lois watched on the news as Superman apprehended yet, another bank robber. Social Media exploded with alerts of Superman. He reunited a child with their parents. Fought a malfunctioning robot at S.T.A.R Labs. Put out three fires in Suicide Slums. Delivered a heart to a hospital, saving a sick little girl. The day flew past without a single sight of Clark Kent. Any time she tried to approach Superman at a crime scene, he whooshed right past her. She broke into his apartment at night and found it empty – the bed made and unkempt in. The next few days was much of the same, nonstop Superman rescues and the occasional ghost of Clark Kent haunting the bullpen. The third day he didn’t bother to show up to work till after closing hours. She only caught him because she also was pulling an allnighter. He acted like she wasn’t there.

“LANE!” Perry screamed the fourth day. She grit her teeth and marched to the office, no doubt in her mind what this was about.

“Where is Kent?” Perry got right to the point.

“I don’t know,” Lois answered honestly. “I’m not his keeper.”

“You tell him if he’s not back here in five minutes, he’s fired!”

“I’m sorry,” the bumbling fool lumbered into the office. “I slept through my alarm clock. Then the traffic was brutal.” Clark stammered. Lois rolled her eyes. The alarm clock in question was in pieces inside his closet.

“Here’s the prison breakout from the other night,” Clark dutifully handed Perry his articles. “I also covered LexCorp’s prototype for the police. John Henry Irons, the leading engineer on the suit, fears its not ready.”

Perry leafed through the stories, grunting as he read. He needlessly marked up Clark’s copy. “Not terrible, Kent,” Perry acknowledged. “Do we have a follow up for the Metro Gang?”

“Working on it, Chief,” Lois said. “I was planning to interview Toni Taylor in prison.”

“Excelent,” Perry said. “And the prison break?” he looked to Clark.

“Batman apprehended the last of the escaped inmates, a John Dee.”

“Any chance you’ll get us an interview?”

“Afraid not,” Clark said. “The prisoner is catatonic.”

“Not the prisoner!” Perry explained. “Batman.”

“Batman doesn’t give interviews,” Lois said.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Clark said. “No promises.” Clark nodded to Perry and left the office. Lois moved to follow, but Perry indicated for her to stay put with a hard look.

“I can read between the lines,” Perry said. “That boy hasn’t slept in days. You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

The last time Clark went without sleep Lytener had threatened to kill her.

“He’s fine,” Lois said dismissively.

“Lois,” Perry warned. “Don’t bullshit me. He’s seconds away from crashing. What happened?”

She supposed she could offer him a nugget of truth. “Clark had a pretty bad nightmare.”

“That’s it?” Perry pressed for more. Lois shrugged in response. “Tell him to drink tea, it calms the nerves.”

She wished it were that simple. She feared they hadn’t seen the last of the monster. It would be a long time before Clark was comfortable in his own skin again.