I'm still reeling after the amazing part eight of this fic. Well, part nine was no sloucher, either.
Lois, flanked on both sides by Perry and Jimmy, frowned in confusion at the numerous voices fighting for her comprehension. Then, she saw what all the fuss was about.
“…bird!”
“…plane!”
*Something* that looked to be dressed in a blue outfit embellished with a red cape was plastered to the nose of the speeding space shuttle that was descending upon Metropolis. Every jaw in the room dropped at the same time – the moment the shuttle froze in mid-air, and the blue and red object proved to be a man.
“Holy shit.” Lois clapped a hand over her mouth – she *had* to stop reacting like that.
Hah! I love it! You put that old "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!" thing to good use!
"What does the S mean?'
"Superman!'
Lois couldn't help but smile as she read the last one. That had been her idea – and it had stuck. But other than speculation, none of the news hounds had anything to report – Lois included.
No, Lois hadn't reported what she knows, because although she is an ambitious reporter, she knows that winning a Pulitzer isn't worth selling her soul for.
“Lane!”
The sound of Perry's voice nearly made her fall over in the chair she was tilted back in. Jimmy's eyes widened and he took off in the opposite direction.
“Chicken,” Lois muttered, righting her chair and making the short walk to her editor's office.
“You bellowed?”
)
Clark looked at her searchingly. “Is this on the record?”
Lois crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch. “You tell me,” she answered sarcastically. She figured he would know by now that she wasn't going to out him.
He sighed and looked at his hands. “You were right. I needed to stop running.” He lifted his gaze to hers again. “I read the book.”
Lois's expression gave nothing away. “It's amazing the difference one person can make, isn't it?” she asked evenly.
“It's a lot of pressure.”
I love the terse dialogue.
She looked at him intently for a moment, studying him. He seemed… different, somehow. “How has it felt to help people without hiding your powers?”
Clark allowed a smile to flick across his face. “Liberating,” he answered. And yet, he had a feeling she already knew that.
Good, really good...
“Listen, I came here because I can't do this alone. You said you wanted to help, and this… creation… it's half yours.”
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! Clark wants Superman to be a joint Lois and Clark venture!!!!
What about your parents? Do they know you're talking to me about this?”
Clark nodded curtly, the amusement he'd had a minute earlier replaced with anxiety. “It was a stipulation, actually.”
Her head tilted in confusion.
“You won my mother over right away, you must have realized that.”
He is saying that his parents didn't
allow him to be Superman unless he sort of cooperated with Lois about it?
“And your dad?”
Clark rubbed his hands along his thighs and sighed. “My dad recently suffered his second heart attack,” he revealed.
I hope you won't kill Jonathan. It irritates me how everyone is killing Jonathan these days. First it happened in Superman the Movie from 1977, then it happened on Smallville, then it was confirmed in Superman Returns, and now it is seeping into the comics.
“Somehow, my mother got the idea that letting me live at home was not protecting me so much as enabling me,” he said grimly, meeting Lois's eyes again.
That's
priceless!!! You've gotta love Martha!!!
She couldn't hold back the chuckle. “You've been kicked out of the nest,” she surmised. “There's nothing like dragging a superhero into his destiny.”
That's another way of putting it!!!
Lois's eyes narrowed. “Is that why you're wearing those glasses?”
Clark's right hand rose subconsciously to adjust the aforementioned items. “Yes. I needed them when I was younger.”
Wonder what he means by that?
“Anyway, as you mentioned, if I don't want people to think I have a secret, I need to not act like I have something to hide. You are a world-renowned investigative reporter. If I can pass your test, I can pass anyone's. It's more important that I do that now, than it has ever been.”
Good, Clark.
“Because Superman's gone public?”
Clark ran a hand through his hair. “In part – but mostly because I'll have Jory with me.”
Lois's jaw dropped. “You're bringing him with you?” It seemed irrational to her.
“I don't really have a choice,” he answered. The expression on his face seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and anxiety. “It seems that my powers aren't the only things my parents think I'm running from. I'm told that it's time for me to be a father.”
“So, what are you going to do?” she asked.
Clark pressed his lips into a line. “Well, depending on your answer, I have two weeks to get settled and a system planned before they bring him up here to stay.”
Is he asking her to help him take care of Jory????
Lois put the pen and notepad aside. “You know, the Planet has a daycare service. It was put in a few years ago after a story about fair facilitation of women in the workplace came out.”
Clark smirked as he caught her reflection in the glass. “Let me guess… It was your story?”
Lois shrugged. “It is one of the best in the city.”
Hah!!! I love it!
Clark turned away from the window, but remained of the far side of the room. “I'm sure that it's a great facility. I'm just not sure it'll work for us.”
Lois looked at him blankly, not understanding.
At her expression, he sighed. One more secret coming right up. “Jory has some special needs. He can't hear.”
Well, wow... was his mother deaf?
This is just so incredibly intriguing!
Ann
