“We need to dump the body,” Dillinger’s voice broke in. “Drive toward the wharf and find a convenient alley,” he informed the driver.
There was no more conversation as the car sped on its way. Finally it lost some speed, the door opened, and Clark allowed his body to fall to the pavement and roll into a pile of garbage. The car continued on its way.
He heard nothing but a few rats nearby. He lifted him self and brushed at his suit, his fingers catching on the holes created by the bullets from Clyde’s gun. Clark’s heart was aching as he lifted into the sky, heading towards the only place he could go. Kansas. Dead, dead, dead, Clark Kent is dead. *I’m* dead.
*****
He caught his parents just as they were heading up the stairs for the night and relayed the story to them. “You’re going to be getting some phone call, maybe visits. I wanted you to know I’m fine. Well, Superman is fine.”
“Clark-” Martha’s voice was thick with tears.
“I’m going out. I don’t know where. I have to think. I-” His voice shook with the strain of trying to keep his emotions under control. Everything he’d ever wanted, his job, his friends, a real life, *Lois*. . . it was all over.
“What about Lois?” Jonathan asked.
Clark spoke bitterly. “The man who could love Lois is dead. How would it comfort her to find out he was a “super” liar as well as Superman?”
“Lois deserves-“ began Martha.
“Lois deserves a whole man, more than what Superman can give her.” With a flash of his cape, he was gone.
*****
He flew for hours. He would occasionally land and pace back and forth, An uninhabited island, the deserts of Africa, the icy plains of Antarctica. What should he do? Could he be Superman full time? Clark Kent was dead, but should he invent another identity so he could be. . . human, at least some of them time? What about his parents? Could he still visit them and take the risk that someone would notice that the late Clark Kent was still alive on the Kent Farm?
Still, without realizing the direction he was heading, that was where he ended back up at. His parents were in the cellar, supposedly cleaning it out, although it looked to Clark as if they were just moving things around. He couldn’t blame them for trying to find “busy work” to help them deal with this trial.
“Mr. White called this morning. He was very nice, wanted to know if there was anything he could do for us.” Martha informed him.
“Did he say anything about Lois?” Clark asked guiltily.
Martha and Jonathan exchanged furtive glances. “He said that she was planning to come in to the Planet later today. Comfort of the familiar.”
“I just don’t understand why you have to cut yourself off from your friends at the Planet, from Lois. *You* are still alive. Clark Kent may be. . . a persona you have to retire, but *you*,” Jonathan tapped his son’s chest, “are alive.”
“Superman doesn't work at the Daily Planet. He doesn't go to ballgames with Perry and Jimmy. He doesn't listen to Lois go off on some weird tangent... and secretly love it.”
“But you can still see them,” Martha argued.
“Not the way I want. They treat me so differently as Superman. And Lois. Eventually. . . well, I don’t even know if I could stand to watch Lois get over me and move on.”
“I wish I could knock your heads together,” muttered Martha under her breath. In her normal, though concerned, voice she urged, “Clark, just *tell* her.”
Clark shook his head, “I don’t know. . .”
“One thing I *do* know,” Jonathan broke in,” is a lot of people you care about are still in danger. And Metropolis needs Superman.”
“Yeah, well. I don't even know where to start looking for them. All I have to go on is a ticket stub that Dillinger dropped.”
Jonathan started in surprise, “Clark, don't you know? That's how they caught him eighty years ago. He was coming out of a theater. Dillinger's a real movie buff.”
A determined look crossed Clark’s face. “Then perhaps Superman will spend a day at the movies.” But first. . .
*****
The guards and receptionist in the STAR Labs lobby merely stared at Superman.
“Please,” he repeated, “I need to speak to one of your scientists about cloning.”
“Um, uh, um, that would be-,” the receptionist pulled a directory from a file on her desk.
Superman gently took it from her and sped-read through it. “Dr. Klein. I need to talk to Dr. Klein.”
It appeared that Dr. Klein dabbled in everything from genetics to high-tech gadgets. He was certainly qualified to answer a few questions.
“Oh, um, okay. I’ll just call him.”
“Do that. In the mean time, I’m heading up to his office.” The guard quickly slid his card in the ID reader and opened the door for Superman to enter.
Allowing the flustered receptionist time to alert Dr. Klein to his impending visit, he took the steps and then walked slowly down the hall to Dr. Klein’s lab. The door opened as he reached it.
“Superman. I’m honored. You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes. I’d like you to take a look at something and tell me if it is even possible, and then what you know about the whereabouts of the scientist.” He handed Dr. Klein the file he had shown Lois the day before. Dr. Klein looked through it as he turned and walked back into his lab.
“Cloning is not really my area of expertise. Actually, I don’t have an area of expertise. . .” he mused distractedly as he read.
Clark tried to remember what he had read about Dr. Klein. Thanks to his photographic memory, he recalled that Dr. Klein was considered a genius by his peers. Unfortunately, he dabbled in so many different fields that many of his theories would lie unproven for years because his focus had drifted to another subject. However, Dr. Klein had managed to stay with one project long enough to invent some sort of computer device that earned STAR Labs a great deal of money in royalties and Dr. Klein tenure and a guarantee of laboratory space.
“This theory is interesting. Officially, no humans have been cloned, but it certainly does not discourage people from attempting it. He does mention accelerated growth, which I feel is one of the major reasons why many attempts at cloning are unsuccessful. Life takes time. Haven’t we learned anything over the last billions and billions of years?”
“Could his experiment work, in theory?”
“Possibly. He has a good grasp on the technicalities. Actually, I think this technique would be better applied to reviving dead tissue, as in healing tissue still part of a live human. Taking tissue from a long dead body and trying to re-create that person’s personality and memories. . . it’s pretty out there.” Dr. Klein shook his head.
“Do you know Dr. Hamilton?”
“We may have met once or twice. If I recall, he is quite the recluse. Given many people’s objections to cloning, he may have had trouble finding funding for his work. It’s doubtful that he had the funds to test his theories on behavioral modification.”
“Wait a second, you said these techniques could be used for healing?”
“Yes, burn victims, maybe. Flesh eating viruses. . .”
“Do you know where Dr. Hamilton might have his lab at?”
“Sorry, Superman. There’s not exactly a directory of mad scientists.” Dr. Klein laughed at his own joke.
“Well, Dr. Klein, you’ve been very helpful.” He turned to leave.
“Superman! Wait.”
Clark turned back to look at the strange man.
“I just wanted to tell you, Superman, if you ever need anything, anything at all, I’d be honored if you would contact me again. I’m a qualified medical doctor and researcher. I know, I know, you’re invulnerable. But if you did ever need help, I would be happy to be of service.”
Clark’s impatience to leave was momentarily forgotten. Not many people looked at Superman and saw. . . a man. The hero in tights, the man of steel, yes. Dr. Klein had been surprised to see him, but the admiration in his eyes was for someone he saw an equal, a man. “Dr. Klein, *I’m* honored. If I do need assistance, yours will be the first I seek.”
*****
Clark’s mind mulled over his conversation as he flew over Metropolis. After checking several theaters, Clark found his prey in an old revival theater. He watched as Dillinger came out of the movie theater pulling up his collar and putting on a pair of sunglasses. Superman swooped down to land in front of him. Dillinger started, “What the... when did people start to fly?”
“Not long before they started coming back from the dead. Enjoy the movie?”
Dillinger’s shoulders fell, “How'd you find me?”
Clark held up the ticket stub he found in the bank. “The same way the FBI found you seventy years ago. Coming out of the Biograph Theater. I guess old habits die hard. Die Hard. Now there’s a movie you should see, Dillinger. It involves a very tall building.” Superman grabbed Dillinger by the collar and hoisted him up onto the roof of a nearby 30 story building. “Kindof like this one.”
“Wha-?”
“Where's Capone and the others?”
A sneer crossed Dillinger’s face. “I don’t rat.”
“We’ll see about that!” He removed the hat from Dillinger’s head and tossed it into the wind. They both watched as it floated to the street below. “One more time. Where's Capone?”
“I know you good guys never hurt nobody,” Dillinger said smugly.
“Like I said, you should watch Die Hard. See, when the villain threatens the life of someone that the hero cares about, he finds himself acting, well, shall we say, a little ruthless. Clark Kent was a very good friend of mine.”
“Oh? I... I didn't know you two were so close.”
“Two people can't get any closer. Now where's Capone?”
“I uh... don't remember.”
Clark was fast getting fed up with these gangster clones. If it weren’t for them, by now Lois would know he was Superman. Instead, she believed that Clark Kent was dead. “Well, maybe it will come to you on the way down.” Knowing he could easily beat the gangster to the sidewalk, he pushed Dillinger off the roof. Dillinger began to scream and wave his arms and legs wildly as he fell towards the earth. Heaving a sigh, Superman pushed off the roof and caught the gangster before he impacted with the concrete.
“I have been known to miss. . . . on occasion.” It was a lie. He had never missed a jumper yet. But there was a first time, and he was flirting with the edge of his morals by using such tactics to scare a confession out of Dillinger. Fortunately, Dillinger seemed to believe the motive behind Superman’s actions and he quickly sputtered out, “1500 Old North Road.”
*****
After delivering Dillinger into the police’s eager hands, Superman flew to Old North Road and “let” himself into the building. Spotting lab equipment behind a locked door, he slid open the lock and entered. Something was bubbling in a vat. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what- or who- it was. Spying a stack of papers with a blue cover proclaiming “DNA: Our Hope for the Future”, he read through it in seconds.
He thought back to his conversation with Dr. Klein. Could this possibly be the answer he was trying so desperately to find that could bring Clark Kent back from the dead?
Taking the manuscript with him, he flew to STAR Labs and entered for the second time that day. This time the receptionist greeted him, “Hello, Superman. Dr. Klein told us to allow you access to his lab.” The guard slid his ID card through the reader and held the door for him. What a difference!
Reaching Dr. Klein’s lab, he knocked on the door. A few seconds later he knocked again, “Dr. Klein?”
Still nothing. He put his hand on the knob. It wasn’t locked so he opened the door slightly. Spotting Dr. Klein at a microscope he asked again, “Dr. Klein?”
He must have reached Dr. Klein this time, because he lifted his head, “Superman! How long have you been here?”
“Not long. Dr. Klein-”
“I’m sorry. I was examining this fingernail underneath the scope. At high magnification, it is amazing what you can tell from just a simple-”
“Dr. Klein!” he interrupted. “I found a copy of Dr. Hamilton’s notes. You said that his technique might work for tissue regeneration. Could you look over this section here and tell me if it is at all feasible.”
“Certainly, Superman.” Dr. Klein accepted the ream of paper from him and pondered the section that Clark indicated.
“Hmm. Well, it would need trials, that sort of thing, but it is certainly a possibility. If you do find Hamilton, I would enjoy discussing this with him.”
Clark took the manuscript back, “If I find him, I’ll let him know.”
*****
Clark felt like a fraud entering the Daily Planet as Superman, but he had to find Lois and tell her what he had found. He had decided to give out the story that Superman had noticed the antique vehicle travelling at a high speed. Superman had begun to descend to investigate when Clark’s body was thrown from it and the vehicle sped into the night. Rather than chasing down the vehicle, Superman decided to take a closer look at Clark. By some strange miracle, Clark’s heart was still beating faintly, though he noted no respiration, and feared that Clark was only seconds away from death. In a split second, he made the decision to freeze Clark with his super-breath and hope that by some miracle his injuries could be repaired and his life restored.
Then Superman would explain how Dr. Klein had told him how Dr. Hamilton’s practices could be used to restore dead tissue and that Superman had taken it upon himself to follow Dr. Hamilton’s instructions to the letter in hopes of restoring Clark Kent’s life.
But to Lois, once the shock had subsided, he would tell the truth. Because he felt sick that his “death” might be causing her grief and because he did not want to keep the truth from her any longer, no matter how mad she would be at his years of prevarication. Yes, once they got the clone gangsters put away and Lois enjoyed a good night or two of peaceful sleep, he was going to tell her. . . no matter what.
Jimmy was at Clark's desk sadly looking at the items displayed on its neat surface, his hand touching Clark’s nameplate. He turned upon hearing Superman’s approach. “Superman. I guess you heard about C.K. being murdered.”
“Yes, I did. In fact, I have some news about that for Lois. Do you know where she is?”
“She left a while ago. She’s pretty upset. I've been trying to reach her to see if she wants to get together, maybe talk about it a little bit, but she's not answering her phone.”
“Do me a favor. Call her cell phone. And just keep calling her. I’ll follow the sound.”
“You got it,” Jimmy assured him, picking up the phone.
“Oh, and Jimmy? I know that Clark considers you one of his best friends. Thanks for being there for Lois.” He didn’t wait around to hear Jimmy’s response. He wanted to say something more to comfort his friend but this story belonged to no one else but Lois Lane-Kent.
*****
Soaring over Metropolis, he strained with his superhearing for the ring of Lois cell phone. He finally located it at a construction site in one of the new subdivisions just outside of the city limits. What in the world was she doing there?
But as he got closer he saw Lois and Hamilton struggling to stay above a rising sea of cement. He touched down and pulled them both out of the grimy moat. Seeing that their hands had been tied, he snapped the ropes that bound them.
“Superman! Oh, I’m so glad to see you!” Lois cried.
“Are you all right?” he asked, mainly to Lois.
Hamilton nodded, a little in awe at his first close encounter with Superman.
Lois rubbed her arms as she joked, “Just a little stiff. I’m glad you got here when you did.”
“I didn’t come alone. I think I found someone that you will want to see. I’ll just let him know it is safe to come out.” He quickly flew into the shadows and changed into Clark Kent. He slowly walked back out towards where Hamilton and Lois were trying to wipe the cement from their clothes.
Her head shot up as if someone had called her name. Was the connection between them so strong that she sensed his presence? He walked into the light.
“Clark?” Despite the weight of her cement laden clothes she rushed towards him. “Clark! Clark!” When she reached him, her arms wrapped around his neck. “You’re back, you’re back. I was so afraid-” She interrupted herself layering his face with kisses, not even caring that Professor Hamilton was watching. Finally she lifted her head and ran her hands over his chest, “How?”
He began with the explanation that he had invented. The truth would come later. “Superman found me just after they dumped my body. He froze me with his superbreath to preserve my tissue, then took me to Professor Hamilton's lab and followed the procedures in his manuscript.”
“Of course!” Hamilton interrupted, earning a famous Lois Lane-Kent glare, but he did not even notice. “Freezing the tissue means no permanent damage.”
“So it's as if I never died,” Clark continued.
“Exactly,” Hamilton confirmed.
“Oh Clark, I don't care how, I’m just so, so, happy isn’t even a strong enough word! You're back!” She hugged him again.
“Mr. Kent, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. Thank God some good finally came of my work.”
“Clark!” Lois gasped suddenly, “The Planet! We've got to warn them! Capone and his gang are going to kill everyone at the party tonight! Too bad Superman took off before he could give us a ride.”
That did it, if Hamilton wasn’t here-. He noticed her cell phone still ringing on the ground. He snatched it up. “I’ve got her, Jimmy. And she says the gang is headed your way.” He hung up and pressed speed dial for MetroTaxi.
“Give that to me!” Lois grabbed the phone from his hand. “Yes. Get me a taxi, the Sunset Meadows subdivision ASAP and there’s an extra fifty in it if you get here before I can walk back to Metropolis!” She hung up with a huff. “Let’s start walking. We can flag him down when he gets here.”
“Lois, you’re going to have trouble walking in that,” he indicated her quickly stiffening clothes.
“Well, since there isn’t an alternative-“
Clark pointed to a pump head with a short hose attached. “You could wash off. We won’t look. And here’s my jacket.” He shrugged out of his sports coat. “As small as you are, this will cover the essentials.” I hope, he added to himself.
Though obviously impatient to be on their way, Lois nodded, accepted the coat from him and stepped toward the hose.
Clark and Professor Hamilton slowly walked away. “Sorry, I really don’t have anything else to loan out.”
“That’s fine, Mr. Kent. Once Ms. Lane-Kent is finished with the hose, I may try to rinse some of this off. I see some plastic over there. I’ll just wrap that over my suit and hope the cabbie will still let me ride.”
*****
The cabbie certainly looked askance at them as he picked them up but in response to Lois’ glare, he only asked, “Where to?”
“The Daily Planet, and forget the speed limit. If any cops follow us, all the better!”
*****
Either the cabbie really needed fifty bucks or he was ecstatic about the opportunity to drive fast. Either way, they arrived at the Planet in record time. When it came time to pay, Lois looked at him, “Clark, I didn’t take my purse with me, so can you get it? I’m
heading upstairs.”
Clark rolled his eyes, “I suppose now is not the time to bring up that I’ve been dead and don’t happen to have any cash on me.”
They both looked at Hamilton. He patted his pockets and shrugged.
“We take credit cards,” said the cabbie disgustedly. “Perhaps you have one of those.”
Lois rushed past him into the Planet. Clark pulled out his wallet and handed Hamilton a card. "Can you take care of it?” and rushed into the Planet after Lois.
He took the stairs, though, not the elevator with Lois on board that had already left by the time he arrived in the lobby. On his way up the staircase, he changed back into Superman.
He could hear Perry’s voice, “... Clark Kent. A man who was an inspiration to us all and one of the best damn reporters ever to have a byline in the Daily Planet.”
Clark heard the murmur of agreement and then he also heard something else, the opening of the elevator doors and Capone’s voice, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, my name is Al Capone. And we'd appreciate it if all of you would just line up.”
“Capone, this isn't nineteen forty. The police are probably already in the lobby. Don't make things worse for yourself,” Perry tried to reason with the gangster.
“Already on their way, Chief. Lois said these guys were headed our way,” Jimmy broke in.
“The only person things are about to get worse for is you,” Capone threatened. He gave a hand signal to his gang.
“Capone! No!” With a rush Superman reached the gang just as they fired into the crowd of partygoers. He caught the bullets and the shooting stopped as the gangsters realized they were ineffective.
“Looking for these?” he asked revealing two handfuls of bullets. He crushed the bullets to a powder. The gang turned to fire at him, but with a blast of heat vision, he heated the metal guns causing the gangsters to drop them as their hands began to burn. He saw Capone dart into the stairwell. As he rushed to intercept him, Bonnie and Clyde ran for the elevators. Bad choice. Mad Dog Lois had just arrived and was looking for someone to burn. Jimmy had given chase and now caught Clyde and delivered and impressive punch. “That’s for CK,” he crowed.
He caught up to the gangster as Capone reached the bottom of the stairs and headed for the stairwell exit. He lifted Capone up by the back of the collar.
“Hey! What's going on?!” Capone shouted as his infamous cigar fell from his mouth.
“Alcatraz is closed, Capone. But I'm sure they'll find something nice for you.” With great satisfaction Superman pushed Capone through the door into the arms of the policemen rushing into the lobby of the Daily Planet building.
Rushing back to the stairwell, he changed into his work clothes- minus the jacket which Lois still wore- and entered the newsroom just as the police led Bonnie, Clyde and the other thugs away in handcuffs.
Lois approached Jimmy and Perry, wiping dried cake goo from her hands with a towel. His jacket was never going to be the same again! She glanced around, ”You guys seen Clark?
Perry and Jimmy exchanged a look, then Perry spoke gently, “Lois. You've been through a horrible ordeal. We all have. But Clark is gone.”
Well, now was as good a time as any other to make his comeback. He hurried down the ramp to the newsroom floor, “I don't know about that, Chief.”
Jimmy and Perry stared at him opened mouthed for a second before Jimmy asked, “CK?”
Clark nodded happily. He was back. The clones had taken his life, but due to the very process that created them, he had been given it back. And now he was where he belonged, with Lois moving to his side, Perry and Jimmy in front of him, and the other Planet staffers milling about, giving statements to the police. Jimmy caught him in a tight hug.
“How... I mean... what..?” Perry stuttered.
“It's a long story, Chief. Why don’t we talk about it over coffee at that little place next door? I won’t make you wait to read Lois’ story in tomorrow’s issue.”
*****
When they returned, the detective in charge approached them. “I know you were concerned about Professor Hamilton. You'll be happy to know my men found him at the address you gave us. He wanted you to have this.” He handed Clark’s credit card back to him.
“Is he okay?” Clark asked worriedly as he inserted the card into his wallet and pocketed them.
“Oh yeah. But he burned down his lab.”
“What?!” Clark gasped.
“Probably just as well,” Lois said. “Life and death are matters best left to nature.”
Professor Hamilton’s procedures could have been used to help so many though! Clark wanted to protest. But then, no one would now be able to critique those theories and find any holes in his own story, so maybe it wasn’t completely a bad thing.
“If you'll excuse me,” the Detective said, “I've got to get back downtown. Dillinger's already got himself a lawyer and he's willing to testify against Capone. By the way. You're the first homicide case I ever had that solved itself. Thanks.”
“Uh, you’re welcome,” Clark said, awkwardly.
“ C'mon son,” Perry spoke, clapping Jimmy on the back, “I'll drive you home.”
“See you tomorrow, C.K.,” Jimmy called moving to follow Perry.
“Want a lift home?” Lois asked.
He hesitated, afraid that if he spent too much time with Lois right now, his exhaustion would loosen his tongue and he would blurt out the truth at the most inopportune time. Lois needed some rest herself. It had to have been a great shock to lose a man you had been close to for thirteen years, the man that, maybe, she even. . . loved. The adrenaline was wearing off and he stifled a yawn as the stress of the last forty-eight hours began to catch up with him. “Yeah. Thanks. Being dead really takes it out of you.”
“That’s not funny, Clark,” she chastised him with a quiver in her voice.
“Sorry,” he apologized instantly. The rest of their ride was completed in an uncomfortable silence.
*****
“Well, thanks for the ride, Lois,” he said a little awkwardly. He needed to say so many things, but he was exhausted, and so was she. Now was just not the time.
“I’m coming in with you.”
“You are?” Lois had already turned off the Jeep and was headed towards his front door. “I guess you are.”
He unlocked the door and opened it so that Lois could enter. She grabbed his tie as she passed him to go through the door and pulled him in, slamming the door shut. She grabbed his face in her hands and began to kiss him frantically, hardly allowing him time to recover from the shock and respond. When she showed no signs of stopping her assault on his mouth, he took her by the shoulders and set her away from him.
“Lois, what is this?”
“Clark, you almost died!” her voice broke. “I want you to make love to me *now*.”
“Lois, I don’t think we’re ready. . .”
“I’ve waited forever, Clark, and I’m tired of waiting! What if you had died?”
“Lois, when we make love, it is going to be because we both agree that it is the next step in our relationship, because we both love each other and are committing to a long-term relationship, not because we’re emotional. There are still things about me that you don’t know. And there are things about you that I don’t know either.”
“What are you talking about Clark? We’ve known each other for thirteen years. You know everything about me.”
“No, I don’t. At work, I’ve seen the Mad Dog Lois that everyone talks about but why have I never met her? Why have I never been on the receiving end of your anger?”
“You’re doing a good job of trying to get there now, “ she grumbled.
“So, why don’t I ever remember you blowing up at me?”
“I love you.”
“And that makes everything I do okay in your eyes? I have a hard time believing that.” She did love him. He wanted so much to respond, but he had to get the Superman issue out of the way first. When the time was right.
“I guess I just always excused anything that you did that I didn’t like. I was mad about the Godzilla doll.”
“But you weren’t “Mad Dog” over it.”
“I was mad when you threw me in the dumpster at the Metro Club.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one, but Lois, this relationship needs to be a partnership. You need to feel free to express your feelings to me-”
“I just tried-“
“-whether they are feelings of anger or sadness as well as passion. We are going to take this slow and build a solid foundation for our relationship, Lois. We’re going to do this right because it is the most important thing in the world to either of us. Because it is the last relationship of this sort I hope to ever have.”
Lois shoulders began to shake and he put his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. “I didn’t know what to think. I was so scared. I didn’t know where you were or if I’d ever see you again. I just wanted to be as close to you as I could, to really feel like I was a part of you. To assure myself you were really alive. To never let you go.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Please, could I at least stay here tonight? I just want to be close to you.”
He squeezed her tight. “I’d love it. I missed you too, you know.”
*****
Clark roused sometime in the night and noticed that Lois was no longer next to him. “Lois?” he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he looked around.
“Here, Clark,” Lois said as she rose from the seat in front of the large windows.
“Come back to bed. You’ll get chilled.” He lifted the covers up. She hurried to the bed and slipped under them.
“Thank you, Clark.”
“You’re welcome. For what?”
“You were right last night. I haven’t always been my self around you. I’ve just, well, worshipped you from afar. I can’t believe I even found the courage to tell you how I felt. Don’t take what I said the wrong way. I *love* you, Clark, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself as your equal.”
“Why?” Clark looked completely horrified.
She shrugged. “You were always older, bigger, stronger, smarter, swooping in to save the day. I’m just. . . Lois Lane. Little girl struggling to keep her head above water, trying to make everyone think that I was strong and smart, but inside I’m just afraid. Afraid my mom would start drinking again, afraid I’d lose my sister, afraid I’d lose you, but afraid to show you how I felt. Afraid Perry will find out I’m really not a great reporter, I’m just lucky. I-“
“Lois! You are strong and smart! You graduated number one in your class at Metropolis University. And you’re one of the strongest people I know. Maybe not physically, but inside.”
“But I’m not! I have all these fears.”
“You’ve always been strong, Lois. Even when I first met you, I was jealous because you knew exactly what you wanted and you were taking steps to make it happen. You kept your sister innocent of your parent’s problems. You were the rock your mom has leaned on many times. You’ve always been there for me. You’re my best friend. And you’re beautiful, brilliant, sexy, wonderful. . . I don’t know why you even want me.”
“Guess we’re two peas in pod. Maybe while we are getting to know each other better, we should work on some of our emotional insecurities.”
“Build each other up.”
“You can start back at the beautiful, sexy part. That was working.”
Clark laughed and pulled her in for a hug and a very passionate kiss. When he finally broke it to allow her some air he said, “I’m just glad you listened to me so quickly last night. Too much more of that and I wouldn’t have been able to find the brain cells to protest.”
“Clark!”
“Hey, I am far from immune to your charms.”
“We could still. . .” she said, only half jokingly.
“No, temptress. We are going to sleep. We have to work in the morning, remember?”
“I’m sure Perry wouldn’t mind if we were late,” she grumbled, but she pulled the covers over her shoulder and snuggled into his chest, closing her eyes.
*****
Clark had never enjoyed working with Lois more than he did that day. They worked together in such harmony it was almost as if they were one person. Their talk the night before had removed so many of the barriers between them as they finally expressed their buried fears about their relationship. Only one secret remained and he intended to remedy that as soon as possible. Maybe he should have told her last night, but after being put through his “death” he wasn’t ready to lay the fact that the man she loved was a liar on her as well. Forget Smallville. There were quiet places in Metropolis and Superman was going to be strictly off duty. He just wanted one last evening with her before he told her. She had her Tae Kwon Do class tonight, but tomorrow night he would go all out and give her a night she would never forget. He sighed. No, she wouldn’t forget it, but he hoped that that would be because it was a good memory. He would make all the arrangements and then ask her out tomorrow morning.
*****
