This is my official submission for the Location challenge. Also, if you read the prologue before, I am sorry. I was having MAJOR writer's block with what was supposed to happen next, and the best way to solve it was to just go back and re-write the whole thing. That being said, I hope you enjoy.
CHAPTER I
LOIS LANE
METROPOLIS USA, JUNE 22, 1994
It’s been a long day, and it’s not even noon. I’ve been at LNN since eight o’clock this morning, and while it is exciting, it’s also starting to get overwhelming. Which is why I am extremely glad to hear that Clark is finally here. My hope is that I can convince him to come and work with me. At least that way, we could return to some sort of normal. We can stay in Metropolis, and still be partners. I need that.
I find Clark upstairs, looking a little lost.
“Clark!” He turns to face me, and I greet him with a hug.
“What’s going on?”
“Plenty. I’ve been here all morning.”
“Well, what am I doing here?” He clarifies.
“I’m going to work here,” I start, taking his arm, and leading him further into the room. “and I want you to work here with me. So we can still be partners.” He grimaces, and I can tell he’s trying to come up with some sort of excuse to let me down gently, not that I’m going to let him.
“I’m a newspaper reporter, Lois.” And what am I, a copy girl? No, I shouldn’t say that. I called Clark here to get him to work with me. The last thing I need is an argument.
“You’d still be writing the news.” I reply instead. “I mean, look around. Everything is so modern.”
“Sterile.” He corrects.
“It’s efficient,” I counter.
“It’s soulless.” He retorts.
“Clark, where’s your open mind? I mean, sure, it’s not the Planet, but nothing is going to be the Planet, and at least this way–”
“You know I can’t believe you gave up on the Planet so easily. Did it really mean that little to you?” That was a low blow. And completely unfair!
“The Planet meant as much to me if not more than it did to you. But it’s gone. And we have to find some way forward. At least I’m trying.” I can tell I struck a nerve with that one, but before Clark can get a word in, I continue. “I still want us to be partners, Clark. And this is good, exciting work.”
“I will never work for Lex Luthor.” Great. Here we go again.
“This isn’t about Lex. It’s about us. Aren’t we supposed to be partners?” Some sort of look flashes on Clark’s face, but it’s gone before I can figure out what it is.
“Lois, can we go somewhere to talk?” Isn’t that what we’re doing? “In private?” Oh.
“Well, sure. It’s about lunchtime, anyway.”
We walk to the park in almost silence, save for a few comments about the weather– it really is gorgeous today– and a little bit of small talk about Jimmy and Perry. We find a street cart selling Greek food, and Clark orders gyros for both of us.
“Thanks.” I smile as he hands me the food.
“No problem.”
It’s not that silence between us is weird. There have been plenty of times that we’ve sat in silence when we’re working, or after a long day when we’re sitting on the couch in his apartment watching TV. But there’s clearly something that Clark wants to say, and he’s not, which is starting to scare me.
“Clark?” Looking intently at me in a way that I can’t explain, he takes a deep breath, before abruptly looking away from me, and shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I’ve been thinking about the future a lot lately.” Oh. Well I think we all have.
“Clark, that is exactly why–”
“Lois,” He interrupts. “Will you just let me finish?” Normally, I wouldn’t. But I’m trying not to start a fight today, and there’s something desperate in his eyes that concerns me. He looks almost… afraid? But why? Nodding for him to go on, I make my way to a nearby bench, because I have a feeling I should be sitting down for this.
“I’ve been thinking about Metropolis. And the Planet.” Right… I really don’t know where he’s going with this. “Perry, Jimmy. My job, my friends… and I realized that I could lose all of that, and still go on.” He’s not talking about leaving Metropolis, is he? “I realized that there was really only one thing I didn’t want to live without, and that was you.” Wait, please tell me he’s not– “I love you, Lois.” No. “I have been in love with you for a long time.” Why now? When everything else in my world has been turned upside down? I just wanted my partner back! Why did he have to go and ruin everything? I mean, I guess it’s not really his fault, but… I can’t… “You had to have known.” Did I know?
“I– I mean, I guess I knew you liked me, or that you were attracted to me, but–” Love? How could he love me? And why did he have to say it now? What am I supposed to say? “I’m sorry, Clark. But… I can’t… I…” Oh, this is a nightmare. “I mean, you’re my best friend. And my partner. But I don’t…”
“What about Luthor?” What? What does this have to do with Lex? “Do you love him?”
“Clark, that’s not fair!”
“Do you?”
“I don’t know! I mean, I respect him, and I trust him–”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Oh, so now you’re an expert on love?” I don’t really know why I said that, except that I’m mad at him for dropping this on me and turning everything upside down just when I needed him the most.
“No. But I do know that you can’t love someone if you don’t know them.” Seriously? This again?
“And you think you do? What do you know that I don’t? Honestly, Clark. Where is your evidence? ”
“I wish I had more than what I've seen and heard. But we've started investigations based on far less evidence before.”
“That was different!”
“Why? Because it was your idea? Because you always have to be right?” Now he’s just being completely unreasonable. “You know, sometimes you are so infuriating! You can’t see what’s right in front of you because you’re too stubborn to admit that you might be wrong!”
“Well if I’m so infuriating, why did you agree to be my partner?”
“Because I–” I can physically see him biting his tongue before he says, “Because I love you.” Instead, he shakes his head and lets out a heavy breath. “Forget it. The Planet’s gone now. We’re not partners anymore anyway.” And with that, he turns and leaves.
..................................................................................................................................
I never wanted a partner. I was fine on my own. But Perry decided to pair me with a hack from– well that’s not really fair. Clark may be from nowheresville, but he’s not a hack. He’s a pretty good reporter, actually. And a great partner, or at least he was. After all, he was right. With the Planet gone, we’re no longer partners, really. And if I was the only thing keeping him in Metropolis, he’s probably halfway to Kansas by now.
I just can’t believe he could be so stubborn! And he won’t even tell me why he doesn’t trust Lex. And ok. I’m not naive. I know that men in power don’t usually get there by purely altruistic means, but Lex has done a lot of good for this city, and I don’t believe that he could be as awful as Clark thinks he is. What would be in it for him? He practically owns half the city already, and his companies make more in a day than I make in a year. Why would he need to be involved in any criminal activities? It doesn’t make sense. And Clark has always been jealous of Lex, from the very beginning. Which is understandable, I suppose, but that doesn’t excuse his completely irrational behavior anytime anyone even mentions the name Luthor.
Slamming the door to my apartment shut, I make a beeline for the kitchen, and pull out a spoon and a carton of Double Fudge Brownie ice cream. I slam the freezer closed for good measure, too, before making my way back to the living room, and flopping onto the couch.
How had everything gone so wrong? In the space of two weeks, my life had gone from nearly perfect to a complete disaster. The Planet’s gone. Perry’s moving to Florida. I haven’t heard from Jimmy since the Planet exploded, and now Clark is probably going to leave, too. Not that there’s much that I could do to stop him, not after today. Why can’t things go back to the way they were? What am I supposed to do now?
A glare on the television catches my attention. That’s odd. I didn’t turn on any lights yet. It’s still too early. And the TV is purposefully positioned so as not to catch the glare from the window. Turning around, I notice my old mirror standing in the corner, looking almost like it’s glowing. My first thought is to close the curtains, because it’s probably just caught the reflection of the afternoon sun. Except it’s not quite at the right angle to catch the sun, and, as I mentioned before, the lights aren’t on. Well now my interest is piqued. Setting the ice cream on the coffee table, I approach the mirror, and am even more confused when the light doesn’t change. There’s no shadow from where I’m standing. It’s almost as if the light was coming from inside the mirror. But that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? Reaching out, I touch the mirror, and am astonished when my hand disappears into the glow. I try to pull it back, but it seems to be stuck. Wonderful. As if my life couldn’t get any worse, now my furniture is attacking me. I try to brace myself against the frame of the mirror with my other hand to push myself out. and end up slipping, and literally falling through the mirror.
