A Matter of Destiny Part Three
By ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
Rating: PG-13
Submitted: July 2001



No copyright infringement is intended. I recognize that the characters are not 
mine. I am just borrowing them for a little fun and not for any profit. 

* * * * * * * * *
A MATTER OF DESTINY
PART THREE
By: ML Thompson
* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood in shocked silence as Lois disappeared into her room, the slammed 
door echoing in his head. This was all his fault. He would give anything to turn 
back the clock to the moment he'd awoken in his bed to find Lois kissing him. He 
mentally kicked himself. He should have immediately understood the significance 
of her first muttered comment. 'I'm vulnerable.' Instead, he had insisted on 
promises - promises she hadn't been ready to give. And given how her life had 
gone, promises he should have known she couldn't give.

It had driven her out of his bed and into a bar in the middle of the night. By 
the time he'd made up for his stupidity and gone to get her, it had been too 
late. He suspected that in her mind her inability to make love - something other 
women took for granted - emphasized the difference between her and the rest of 
humanity.

Trask hadn't seen her as a member of the human race - even going so far as to 
question her ability to feel. Clark didn't doubt that she had feelings. In fact, 
she was the most human woman Clark had ever known. She was also, in spite of her 
strength and speed, one of the most vulnerable. 

Then, tonight, when he'd finally had a chance to show her just how beautiful, 
how desirable and how very human he thought she was, he'd hesitated. As a 
result...

He looked again at the door Lois had disappeared through. He understood her need 
to get away from him. It was his fault. It hadn't even occurred to him that they 
might not have much time. He figured they had at least the night. When he'd 
realized they were floating, he'd been more amused than anything - until she'd 
asked about her face, of course.

He drew in a deep breath. He couldn't leave things like this. He made his way to 
the door that had been closed to him. As he stood outside listening to her 
jagged breathing and quiet sobs, his heart felt as if it would break in two. 
This was all his fault. He had to find a way to make it right.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois threw herself on her bed, muffled sobs wracking her body. She had delayed 
too long. If only she hadn't backed away from Clark when they'd entered the 
apartment... Or if she'd just stuck around when Clark told her that he couldn't 
make love to her and made him understand... Instead, she'd wasted what little 
time she'd had. Now. Now it was too late. The kryptonite had been destroyed. She 
was once again invulnerable. And it was all because of her stupid fears.

She had had one chance at having a normal life. Maybe it couldn't have included 
Clark on a long term basis, but she could have at least known what it was like 
to have a man make love to her. If the way he was able to make her feel just by 
holding her and kissing her was any indication, it would have been wonderful. A 
small sob escaped from the back of her throat. Too late. It was just one more 
disappointment in a life full of disappointments. 

She almost should have expected something like this to happen. It was the way 
her life normally went, after all. She should have learned by now. Don't want 
anything, don't love anything, because only then will you not be hurt. Life had 
taught her that again and again. Yet, she still insisted on reaching for more. 
And every time, her heart was smashed to pieces. Well, never again. Her powers 
were back. The military knew where she was. It was time to leave.

"Jess?" said a man's voice through her door.

Lois stiffened. The one person who could undermine her resolve was standing 
outside that door. He was as dangerous to her - even if in a very different way 
- as Trask had been. She had to guard her heart - especially against him. 

"Go away," she responded.

"Jess, come on. We need to talk," said Clark again.

"There's nothing to talk about," Lois answered. Then, after a moment, she added, 
"I'm leaving tonight, Clark. I promised I wouldn't just disappear again, so take 
this as your goodbye."

* * * * * * * * *

Perry growled again as they rounded another corner. There was no sign of the 
truck. How had they possibly managed to lose it? He really needed to work on his 
surveillance skills. He had been stuck behind a desk too long. He wanted to stay 
far enough back to avoid being spotted. He'd obviously stayed too far back. 

"Do you see anything?" Perry asked. 

Jimmy shook his head. 

"It's got to be around here somewhere," growled Perry.

"It could be anywhere, Chief," Jimmy responded. "I mean, look at all these 
warehouses. It could have disappeared into any one of them."

Perry drove for a little bit longer before giving up. Jimmy was right. There 
really wasn't any point in continuing to drive around. They could be anywhere.

"Okay, let's call it a night. At least we know they came to the warehouse 
district. Maybe that will be of some help."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark's heart froze when he heard Lois' words. She was saying goodbye. No! He 
wasn't going to let it happen. There was no lock on the door so, in spite of how 
she might take the intrusion, he let himself in. If she was saying goodbye, he 
was going to insist that she look in his eyes while she did so.

As soon as the door opened, Lois scrambled from where she was lying prostate on 
the bed so that she was now seated on the side of it, her back to Clark. He 
stood motionless in the doorway for a moment. This was probably the defining 
moment of his life. He was determined not to blow it.

He slowly walked up beside her. She moved slightly, so that she was still facing 
away from him.

"Jess," he said softly.

"Go away," she responded. 

Clark shook his head. "Not until we talk." When she didn't respond, he stepped 
closer and gently touched her hair. A small noise escaped from the back of her 
throat. Afterwards, he wouldn't be able to say what it was about that noise, but 
it gave him the courage to do what he did next. 

He climbed onto the bed and settled himself into a seated position behind her, 
with a leg on either side of her body. She shifted to the very edge of the bed 
in response - but didn't get up. He moved closer until his legs were hanging 
over the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around her waist. He pulled her 
against him before wrapping his second arm around her.

She struggled briefly, but he just tightened his grip. He knew she could break 
free of his grasp if she really wanted to. But he suspected her struggle was as 
much to find out if he would let go as any sort of real protest. When she quit 
struggling, he put his mouth next to her ear. 

"I'm not letting go," he whispered. 

Lois almost burst into tears at the words. She struggled again to get free of 
his hold, but it was a half-hearted struggle. After a moment, she surrendered.

"I'm sorry," Clark whispered. "It's my fault and I understand if you hate me. I 
should never have stopped us when we were in bed earlier."

"No, Clark," she responded immediately. "It's my fault. When we got back here, I 
wimped out - not you." 

He let out a breath. She wasn't blaming him. That was the good news. The bad 
news was that she was blaming herself. He had to put an end to that. It would 
only complicate her feelings of insecurity. "Jessica, tell me something."

"What?" she asked, when he hesitated.

"I'm just wondering..." He let out a frustrated breath, not quite knowing how to 
ask this. "Well, most of us... I told you before that Cat was the first woman 
I'd ever been with, right?" When he felt her nod, he continued, "Well, that 
didn't mean I hadn't gotten close before."

"What are you getting at?" she asked, by now thoroughly confused. 

"Well, I guess what I'm asking is how far you've actually gone. I mean, with a 
man."

He felt her grow tense in his arms. 

"You've never let yourself get close, have you," he said, more than asked.

She swallowed hard. "It didn't seem right," she said slowly. "I mean, when I 
knew I couldn't... you know."

"So how far have you gone?"

"You're the only man I've ever really kissed," she whispered after a moment. 

His arms tightened around her. "And you wonder why you got spooked? Don't be so 
hard on yourself."

"But, Clark..."

"Do you have any idea how much I love holding you?" he asked softly.

Lois closed her eyes. She had to admit she loved being held. She absentmindedly 
began running her fingers over his arms. "I still have to leave, Clark. They 
know where I am," she said.

Now it was Clark's turn to swallow hard. "Well, before you go, there are one or 
two things I want to say."

"Maybe it would be best if you didn't," Lois cut in.

"If I don't, I'll always regret it. Besides, if you have your powers back, you 
can get out of here quickly if you have to. Right?"

"I guess. Unless, they have more kryptonite."

"How did he get the kryptonite close to you last time?"

"He had it in a lead lined box."

"You mean, as long as it's in a lead lined box you don't feel it?"

She nodded. 

"You have x-ray vision, right?"

Again she nodded.

"Then couldn't you have x-rayed him to see if he had any?"

"I guess so. I can't see through lead, but I could have seen the box. Of course, 
I wasn't expecting him to have any so..."

"But you are expecting it now. So, can't you stay a bit longer? Just until we 
find out if the military try again. I mean, now that Trask is dead..."

"I really shouldn't..."

"Probably not. But I sure would like it if you did."

She didn't respond. How could she possibly stay? How could she possibly leave?

"Look," continued Clark when it became obvious that she wasn't going to respond, 
"just tell me one thing."

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

"Clark, we shouldn't be..."

"I know, but please answer the question. Do you love me?"

She took one of his hands and raised it to her lips. She briefly kissed it 
before whispering, "With all my heart."

"Thank God," Clark whispered in response. "I think it would kill me if you 
didn't. You see, Jess, whether we can ever be lovers, there's one thing that I 
know for certain."

"What?"

"You're my basherteh. Now I know that you don't know what that means, but..."

"Soulmate," she said.

"How..."

"Lana."

She could feel his chest move as he softly chuckled behind her. "Is there 
anything you two haven't discussed about me?" he asked.

"No," she responded.

"Plato also believed in soulmates," Clark continued softly.

"He did?"

Clark nodded. "Plato theorized that since the earth was full of duality, it 
followed..."

"Duality?" Lois interrupted.

"You know light and dark, black and white, good and evil. Anyway, he believed 
that each soul is split into two parts before birth - a male part and a female 
part. You're my other half, Jess."

"But, Clark, even if you're right, even if we are soulmates, that doesn't 
necessarily mean that we can be together. You must know that..."

"The only thing I know is that you complete me."

"Clark..."

"Shhhhh," he whispered into her ear. When she fell silent, he pulled her even 
closer. "There's one more thing I want to ask," he said.

"What?"

"Well, if I couldn't... I mean, if I had an accident and I couldn't..." His 
voice trailed off. He couldn't even get the words out.

Lois fought against the grin that was pulling at the corners of her mouth as the 
meaning of his words began to sink in. "Have sex?" she completed when he 
obviously couldn't. She felt him nod.

"Anyway, if our situations were reversed, would you still want to be with me?"

"Of course I would," she responded automatically.

"Then how can you think our not being able to make love is going to keep me from 
wanting to be with you?" Clark gave her a moment to let that sink in before 
continuing, "Besides, Jess, with your healing abilities, even if we had made 
love tonight, how do you know your hymen wouldn't have healed? Or did you think 
of that? Is that why you said you couldn't promise me anything beyond tonight?"

Lois gasped. That possibility hadn't even occurred to her. But Clark was right. 
There was a very real possibility that making love tonight might not have solved 
the problem. "I didn't even think of that," Lois said softly, almost to herself. 

"Spend the night with me," Clark whispered.

"Clark..."

"I just want to hold you tonight. I want to fall asleep with you lying next to 
me. I want you to be the last thing I see when I close my eyes. I want you to be 
the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. Don't think about it, Jess. 
Just tell me if you want to hold me as much as I want to hold you. For once in 
your life, don't worry about tomorrow. Spend tonight in my arms."

She knew she should say no - that she was only encouraging his feelings for her. 
But he had made a point. She could hardly believe how effective his argument was 
about how she'd feel if their situations were reversed - especially since no man 
ever wanted to even think about not being able to make love, much less voice 
those ideas. Finally, she nodded.

"Good," said Clark, releasing her to move off the bed. "Then why don't you get 
ready for bed and come and join me?"

She smiled and lightly shook her head at the look of sheer delight on his face. 
"I'll be there in a few minutes," she promised. She still wasn't sure it was a 
good idea. On the other hand, he was right about one thing. She wanted to spend 
the night curled up in his arms. She wanted it more than she would have believed 
possible.

Clark began to move towards the door when something caught his attention. He 
made his way over to her night stand and picked up a picture. He glanced back at 
her. It seemed crazy to spend money on a frame for a Polaroid picture.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"The night of our first date," she said, diverting her eyes.

Clark looked at the picture for a moment. It was obviously the night of Luthor's 
ball. "And you kept it all this time?" he asked. When she blushed, he smiled. 
"I'll see you in a few minutes," he said, before taking one final look at the 
picture, setting it down and heading out of the room.

* * * * * * * * *

"How did it go, Mrs. Cox?" Luthor asked.

"We got it all moved - just in case the police decide to follow up." She paused. 
"Of course, I'm not keen about doing Nigel's tasks as well as my own."

"Still no word?"

Mrs. Cox shook her head.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois stood in the doorway to Clark's bedroom for the second time tonight. This 
time, he was awake and watching her in return. The soft glow in his eyes 
immediately wiped out all her doubts. Basherteh. He was her basherteh. Unlike 
her feelings earlier tonight, this time she knew she was exactly where she 
belonged, doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing.

She flicked off the light before walking over and crawling into bed next to him. 
He removed his glasses and laid them on the night stand before moving his arm so 
that she could curl up next to him. She laid her hand on his t-shirt clad chest 
and her head on his shoulder. He felt so warm and solid under her touch. For the 
first time in as long as she could remember, she felt incredibly safe and 
completely loved. 

She glanced up at his face. Their eyes met in the soft light coming in through 
the window before he bent his head, touching her lips with his. He drew back 
almost immediately. 

"Lois," he whispered.

"You should call me Jessica," she reminded him.

Clark shook his head. "Not here. Not in my bed. Here you're Lois."

She regarded him curiously, trying to understand what he was saying. When it 
finally sunk in that he didn't want any walls between them here, a tear slipped 
slowly down her cheek. It had been so long since she had been allowed to be 
herself with anyone. Yet he was telling her that in his bed, he had no intention 
of seeing her for anyone other than who she really was. His comments somehow had 
the power to touch her soul as surely as his lips had touched hers only moments 
before. Suddenly, all she wanted was to experience that kiss again.

She shifted positions slightly, bringing herself further up so that she could 
resume the kiss. He didn't object. His hands found their way around her, pulling 
her closer as the kiss deepened.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois felt the warm rays of the sun begin to touch her skin. Without opening her 
eyes, she ran her hand over the naked chest of the man still asleep beside her. 
She smiled slightly as the memories of last night swept over her. Things had 
gone further last night than just kissing. She could still almost feel his touch 
on her skin.

Still, things hadn't gotten completely out of control. At least now she knew 
what it was like to get to second base - or was it third base. She never really 
had understood the baseball metaphor. She'd have to ask Clark - if she worked up 
the nerve, of course.

She slowly opened her eyes and found that Clark was still asleep. She looked at 
her beloved's face for a moment before running her eyes and then her hand down 
his chest. She noticed that one of his hands was draped carelessly across his 
stomach. She smiled. She loved his hands. She loved the things he could do with 
his hands. Impulsively, she leaned over and planted a soft kiss on the top of 
his hand.

"A penny for your thoughts," came Clark's voice.

Lois jumped and then turned red. Clark chuckled slightly - her reaction telling 
him exactly what she was thinking about.

"I didn't know you were awake," said Lois somewhat shyly. 

"I wasn't. But I tell you that of all the ways to wake up, this has to be on my 
top ten list," Clark replied with a grin.

His grin provoked a smile from Lois. But after a moment, the smile faded and she 
broke eye contact. "Clark, about what happened last night..." she began.

He placed a finger over her lips and shook his head. "Don't do it, Lois."

"Do what?" she asked.

"Take back what happened last night."

She looked into his eyes again before nodding. How could she take back touching 
him and having him touch her? How could she, when it meant so much to her?

"Lois, you've got to quit focusing on what we can't have," said Clark. 

"What do you mean?"

"Last night was incredible. Holding you, kissing you... Do you have any idea 
what you do for me?" He paused for a moment. "How am I going to get you to 
understand? God, Lois, last night... There is more than one way to make love." 
He placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up to look in her eyes. "Do 
you understand me? Instead of focusing on what we can't have, think about what 
we can have. How can you turn your back on that? How can you turn your back on 
me?"

Tears began to make their way slowly over Lois' cheeks. "I don't want to, 
but..."

"Just promise me you'll think about it," Clark interrupted.

She studied him for a moment before nodding. "I do love you, Clark Kent," she 
assured him softly. "And I promise I will think about it." She laid her head 
back on his shoulder. "How is it that you always know the right thing to say?" 
she whispered.

He smiled. "I'm just saying what I feel."

After a moment, she propped herself up on an elbow and looked down at Clark.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, last night..." her voice trailed off. When she continued, she wasn't 
looking at him. "Did we get to second base or third base?" she asked.

A grin slowly made its way across Clark's face. Trust Lois to wonder about 
something like that. "Well," he said after a moment of reflection, "I'd say 
second base with a pretty big lead to third."

She thought about that for a moment before nodding and lowering herself back 
against Clark.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked. "I mean, the military knows I'm here." 

Clark considered the question before responding. "Well, I would think that by 
the end of today, we'll have a better idea whether Trask was working on his own 
or if what he did is official military policy."

"Clark, of course it was official military policy!"

"I'm not so sure. After all, there were only two of them. And since when does 
the military break into people's houses and torture them in their own homes? 
Even if the military sanctioned torture in this case, wouldn't it have been 
safer to kidnap you and take you to some secure base before torturing you?"

"So you think that Trask didn't have the support of the military?"

"I think that's a definite possibility. If that's the case, we might not have 
anything to worry about now that Trask is dead."

"There was the other man. The man who showed up pretending to work for the Daily 
Planet."

Clark nodded. "Okay, so there was one other person involved. But I'm still not 
convinced it was an authorized military operation."

"And if it was?"

Clark was thoughtful for a moment. "Then I think we consider going public."

"What?" Lois exclaimed. "Clark, I don't want anyone knowing..."

"It's just an idea. Just consider it, okay? I think if the public were to find 
out what happened here yesterday, they'd be horrified."

Lois looked at him seriously. "I'll think about it," she said after a moment. 

"Good," Clark replied. "Then we should probably get up. I need to go into work 
today. I want to find out what happened on Perry and Jimmy's stakeout last 
night."

"What stakeout?" Lois asked.

Clark proceeded to tell her what he had done the day before. When he informed 
her that he'd stood Mayson up and needed to reschedule his appointment, Lois 
filled him in on what she'd discovered about Mayson. 

Once they had finished filling each other in on the information they had found, 
they discussed the upcoming day. Now that the military knew where she was, 
Luthor was probably not much of a threat to her. But since they didn't know 
exactly how the military would respond, they decided that Lois should stay here 
for the time being. After all, she could escape easily enough if they decided to 
come after her - as long as she didn't have to worry about other people finding 
out about her. And if she was at the Daily Planet when they came for her, there 
would be too many people around to be sure she could escape without notice.

"Oh," said Clark, remembering something he'd forgotten to mention. "When I went 
to get first aid supplies last night, I also picked up some makeup."

"Makeup?" asked Lois.

"Well, given what I knew about you, I wasn't sure how quickly your bruises would 
heal. So I found some makeup that I thought might help you fake that you still 
had a black eye. It's in the washroom."

Lois smiled at him. One thing she could say about Clark Kent was that he was a 
pretty thorough guy when it came to details. She looked down, pushing a strand 
of hair behind her ear as her thoughts again drifted back to last night. Yep, he 
sure did pay attention to details.

"What?" he asked.

When her face seemed to get a red tinge to it, Clark let the question go. 
Whatever it was that he'd said had somehow taken her mind back to last night. 
And with it, his mind had gone there as well. Well, he might need to get to 
work, but there was one thing he needed to do first. He pulled Lois back into 
his arms and gently kissed her.

* * * * * * * * *

Henderson stood watching his officers as they finished their search of Lex Labs 
pursuant to the search warrant he'd obtained on the basis of Clark's article 
this morning. However, if there had been anything here, it wasn't here anymore. 
He took one final look around before exiting the building. Next time it would 
likely be more difficult getting a judge to issue a warrant.

He wished Clark had given him some advance warning about the story. He would 
have to talk to Clark about that later today. Kent and Miller were obviously 
keeping things from him. He hadn't even known Miller was still around before 
yesterday.  That reminded him. He glanced at his watch. He had to meet with 
Brigadier General Burton Newcombe in about half an hour.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark was whistling as he entered the Daily Planet. Last night had been 
incredible, fantastic, phenomenal and about a hundred other words that kept 
drifting through his mind. For the first time, he really thought they might end 
up together. The knowledge left him feeling slightly drunk. As did the knowledge 
that she loved him. She really loved him.

"Kent!" Perry's voice echoed through the newsroom.

Clark immediately headed for the boss' office. "Yeah, Chief?" he asked from the 
doorway.

Perry got up from behind his desk and led Clark into the conference room. He 
closed the door before turning to Clark.

"So what was so all fired important that you couldn't go on the stakeout?"

"Jess was attacked yesterday," Clark said.

"Is she okay?" asked Perry, his attitude changing from annoyed to concerned.

Clark nodded. "But it was touch and go there for a while."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story and I'd really prefer that you hear it from Jess," said 
Clark. After all, they hadn't discussed exactly what she was planning to tell 
Henderson. "So, anyway, how did the stakeout go?"

Perry snorted. "I think I've been behind a desk too long. You were right. There 
was a late night removal of a lot of barrels from Lex Labs. Jimmy and I followed 
them into the warehouse district, but then we lost them."

Clark was silent as he considered the problem. "Well, if we assume Luthor is 
behind this, then why don't we check out any warehouses that he owns in the 
area?"

Perry smiled. He knew there was a reason Clark was his star reporter - or should 
he say, one of his two star reporters.

"Good idea, son," he responded.

* * * * * * * * *

"Mrs. Cox," Luthor said.

"Yes, Lex," Cox's voice came through over the speaker phone. 

"Come in here for a moment."

It was only a moment later before Mrs. Cox had entered Luthor's office.

"That story by Clark Kent is a real embarrassment. He's getting far too close 
for comfort. He even failed to attend his appointment with Mayson yesterday. If 
it hadn't been for that call from Ralph Cooke, the police would have found the 
advanced formula mustard gas."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Cox.

"I've decided to take care of Kent the old fashioned way."

Cox smiled. "I've always liked the traditional solutions best," she commented.

"I thought you'd enjoy this assignment. Try to make it look like an accident or 
a mugging."

"Yes, Lex."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois wandered into the washroom and found the makeup Clark had gotten for her. 
She wasn't sure that this would work, but there was no time like the present to 
see. She pulled out the supplies and began experimenting. It wasn't long before 
she had managed to get her eye and the area around it a fascinating shade of 
purple. She sorted through the medical supplies and found butterfly bandages, 
like the ones the paramedics had used on her last night. She took a drawing 
pencil and, after several frustrating attempts, managed to get a cut drawn, 
approximately where the other had been. She pretended to close it with the 
butterfly bandages. 

Once she was finished, she stood back and looked at her work. Not bad for an 
amateur, even if she did say so herself. Of course, she'd have to remember to 
walk, turn and hold herself in such a way that people would think she was in 
pain. She put a grimace on her face and tried to look as if she was in pain. She 
burst out laughing. She wasn't sure if her laughter was because she looked so 
ridiculous or if it was just the result of the tension of the past twenty-four 
hours.

Twenty-four hours. How could so much have changed between her and Clark in such 
a short period of time? It almost didn't seem possible. She did briefly wonder 
if she was being foolish continuing to stay here. Was she allowing her emotions 
to corrupt her better judgment? Of course she was, she finally admitted with a 
sigh. And for a moment, she was tempted to leave. Then she flashed back on the 
feelings of emptiness that had consumed her the last time she had left Clark. 
After last night, she knew it would be even worse this time. Maybe Clark was 
right. Maybe this was where she should make her stand - with Clark at her side.

Lois was just about to remove the makeup - she could put it on again if she had 
to go out - when she heard a noise outside. She tensed when she realized that a 
car had pulled into a parking space just outside the apartment. She looked 
through the wall and grew even more nervous when she saw who disembarked. It was 
Henderson and a man in an Air Force uniform. She didn't know much about military 
insignia, but didn't a star on the shoulder mean the man was a general?

She was about to flee, but then hesitated. She trusted Henderson, but then he 
didn't know the full story. She thought about Clark's idea of x-raying the men. 
She hesitated briefly - not really wanting to see too much. And given the lack 
of practice she had using her x-ray vision, would she really be able to just x-
ray them enough to see if either were carrying kryptonite? But the choices were 
to x-ray them and hear what they had to say or to leave now. And if Clark was 
right, if the attack on her was not an official military operation...

She took a deep breath before x-raying the men now approaching the door of the 
apartment. She turned bright red, but was able to determine that neither had any 
kryptonite. So when they knocked, she made her way to the door and opened it. 
She looked suspiciously at the man in the uniform before turning to Henderson.

"What's this about, Inspector?" she asked. 

"I told Clark that I'd need to come by today to ask you some questions," 
Henderson said. "Didn't he tell you?"

"He did. He didn't say anything about him though," Lois said, gesturing to the 
general. "Why is he here? After yesterday, I'm really not keen about inviting a 
military man into my home." It didn't even occur to her to wonder when this 
place had gone from being Clark's apartment to her home.

"I think you should hear what he has to say," said Henderson. "You can tell me 
if what he says makes sense. I'm still having problems believing it."

"What did he tell you?" asked Lois suspiciously.

"May we come in?" asked Henderson.

Lois glanced between the two men before making her way back into Clark's 
apartment, by implication inviting them in. She was careful to move slowly, to 
appear that she was still in pain as a result of being beaten. They accepted her 
unspoken invitation and followed her in. Once inside, Henderson spoke again.

"This is Brigadier General Burton Newcombe," he informed Lois. "He was Jason 
Trask's commanding officer."

Lois tensed and her eyes narrowed. She cautiously lowered herself onto the couch 
as the two men also took seats. She grimaced slightly, as if the movement hurt 
and was gratified when the two men flinched slightly in response. Maybe this was 
going to work.

"He tells me that your name isn't really Jessica Miller," Henderson continued.

"Oh, does he?" Lois replied, the contempt in her voice unmistakable. 

"He says your name is Lois Lane," Henderson continued.

"Really," Lois said, not taking her eyes off the general. 

"I understand why you'd be upset at the military, Ms. Lane," Newcombe cut in.

"Do you really?" Lois replied, each word thick with sarcasm.

Newcombe pulled in a breath. "I just want you to know that Jason Trask was doing 
this on his own."

"Are you seriously trying to claim that the military wasn't behind any of this?" 
Lois asked in disbelief. 

"Not exactly," conceded Newcombe. "When your father first published that article 
- you know the one where he claimed..."

"I know the one," Lois said cutting him off.

"Well, Trask decided it needed to be followed up on. He was the senior officer 
in Bureau 39 at the time. You see, Bureau 39 was set up under Project Blue Book 
to determine if there was an alien threat to national security. The bureau was 
officially closed in 1969, but as you are undoubtedly aware, it continued 
operating well into the eighties.

"However, even after the bureau really did close, Trask continued the work on 
his own.  After your father published his second article, we did everything we 
could to discourage his activities, but..."

"Wait a minute," Lois said. "What second article?"

"You didn't know? Well, about a year after publishing the first article, he 
published a second article, admitting that his first article was a hoax. Of 
course, that ruined his career. As a doctor, he held some credibility - which 
was why Bureau 39 followed up on his first article. When he admitted that he'd 
made the whole thing up, it ruined him. The bureau saw to that. He's been 
working since in some free clinic here in the city I think.

"Anyway, that's when Bureau 39 was told to quit trying to find you. When it was 
brought to my attention that they were still pursuing you, I ordered Trask to 
quit. When he didn't, we finally decided to shut down Bureau 39 and reassigned 
the men to other units. After all, it had already been decided that this whole 
UFO nonsense was an embarrassment to the Air Force. There never was any 'threat 
to national security.'"

"But he's been following me since then," Lois objected.

Newcombe nodded. "No matter what we did, he wouldn't let go of his obsession 
with you. I had him assigned to my unit so that I could keep an eye on him. But 
even I couldn't keep an eye on him all the time."

"If he was still after me, even after he'd been ordered to stop, why wasn't he 
charged? Don't you guys have to follow orders or risk a court martial?"

The general shifted uncomfortably. Lois narrowed her eyes as she watched him. 
When he spoke this time, she was less sure of the truthfulness of his 
statements. "Well, it wasn't quite that easy. If we had put Trask on trial, it 
would have come out that the UFO project had continued into the eighties. We 
would have been a laughing stock."

"So instead, you chose to let him terrorize me," she gasped. Suddenly, her 
thoughts took her in another direction. "You said Trask was working on his own, 
right?"

"Yes," the general replied.

"Well, he wasn't the only man who broke in here yesterday. Who was the man with 
him?" Lois asked.

"I really don't know who that could have been, Ms. Lane."

Lois studied Newcombe for a long moment, trying to gage the truthfulness of what 
he was saying. 

"All I can say, Ms. Lane," Newcombe finally continued, "is that I am sorry for 
the effect Colonel Trask's obsession has had on your life. Inspector Henderson 
told me about Trask's attempt to kill you and Mr. Kent yesterday. If there is 
anything either the Air Force or I can do to try to make up for this 
misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding," Lois gasped. "I have lost the last ten years of my life 
because I had to keep running, praying every night that Trask wouldn't catch up 
with me. I couldn't risk friendships. And until the last few months, I never 
dared take a job that I actually wanted. I've had no contact with any member of 
my family. And you have the audacity to call what Trask did to me a 
'misunderstanding.' And now what? I suppose you just want me to bury all of this 
under the rug. To say, fine. Hey, no problem. I don't hold any grudges against 
the military for letting this sicko ruin my life all because they didn't want to 
be 'embarrassed'."

"Now, look," said Newcombe. "The military admits that it is partially at fault 
here. And we are more than prepared to do whatever is necessary to make things 
right for you."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

"Well, we were sort of thinking of some form of compensation."

"Money?" Lois asked.

"Well, yes."

Lois got up and headed towards the door of the apartment - remembering at the 
last moment to hold herself stiff. She opened the door and looked back at the 
general.

"Get out!" she snarled. 

Newcombe rose to his feet as did Henderson. They both made their way to the 
door. The general turned as if he would say something more, but seemed to change 
his mind and instead, headed for the car. Henderson stayed. 

"So what he was saying... I take it that he was telling the truth - I mean about 
why Trask tried to kill you."

Lois forced her temper to subside. She took a moment to focus on Henderson's 
question before nodding. Henderson gave her arm a gentle squeeze.

"The good news is... Now that Trask's dead, you won't have to keep running."

Lois gave him a sad smile. "I hope you're right, Henderson. But there were two 
of them. Still no word on who the second man was?"

Henderson shook his head. "If you do have any more problems, please call me 
directly." He took out a business card and wrote a number on it before offering 
it to her. "My home number is on the back," he explained. "Listen, Jessica... or 
Lois, I've seen it all. Trask was obviously a nut. Chances are now that he's 
gone, whoever was working with him will be scurrying for cover. I don't expect 
you'll ever see him again. But if you do, call me. Whenever."

"Thanks, Inspector," she said softly, taking the card. Henderson really was a 
good man.

"Oh, by the way," Henderson continued. "I take it you've been working with Kent 
on this Lex Labs thing." When Lois nodded, Henderson continued, "Well, I'll be 
by this evening. I think we need to have a long talk."

"Sure, Henderson," said Lois. "I'll let Clark know."

Henderson nodded before turning around and making his way to the car, where the 
general was already waiting.

Lois watched them leave before it sank in what their visit meant. Even if there 
was another man out there who believed Trask's theory, without the military 
supporting him, no one would take him seriously. After all, Henderson hadn't 
batted an eyelash at Newcombe's story - as if he heard things like that all the 
time. So that meant... She was free. Lex had nothing on her now. She didn't have 
to leave. And of course, she knew what that meant. She might actually have a 
chance at a life.  

Clark. She had to tell him. She had to tell him now. She grabbed her jacket and 
headed for the door.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark had found three warehouses owned by Lex Corp in the area where Perry had 
lost the truck. There was only one thing to do now. He had to go and check them 
out in person. He grabbed his jacket and was putting it on as he headed for the 
Daily Planet parking lot. He had decided that for this, he wanted his own 
vehicle. After all, he couldn't very well ask a cabby to wait to give him a ride 
to a second warehouse while he broke into the first. 

He was slightly concerned that his jeep could be spotted and identified, but if 
he did this right, no one would even know he'd been there. Then, if he could 
find out where Luthor had sent the barrels, he could contact Henderson who could 
raid the warehouse. It still might take some doing to connect Luthor back to the 
mustard gas, but once they had proven Lex Corp's involvement and got some of the 
minions in custody, someone was bound to break. That and what Lois had found out 
about R.T.W. Inc. - Clark wondered briefly what the initials stood for - should 
surely be enough to bring Luthor down. At least, in Clark's experience, once you 
managed to dislodge the first bricks, the entire house tended to crumble. 

Once Luthor was behind bars, they'd turn their attention to the military.

He watched the numbers on the elevator as it descended. When the ding announced 
that the elevator was stopping on the first floor, Clark sighed - frustrated by 
the delay. After all, the sooner they nailed this story, the sooner he and Lois 
could turn their attention to dealing with the military and then... He smiled.

The elevator doors slid open and a dark, attractive woman stepped in. Clark gave 
her a smile of acknowledgment, but didn't speak. When no one else entered, Clark 
again pushed the button for the parking garage and the doors slid shut.

* * * * * * * * *

Luthor didn't take the phone call. He didn't want to talk to Mayson Drake right 
now. For the amount he was paying her, she had been quite a disappointment. She 
couldn't seem to keep Kent's interest - he had once again stood her up. And she 
hadn't managed to find out about the story Kent was planning to write. He really 
had no use for failures. He would have to carefully consider how to deal with 
that particular problem.

* * * * * * * * *

"What do you mean he won't talk to me?" demanded Mayson.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Drake, but Mr. Luthor is tied up at the moment," the 
receptionist responded.

"This is urgent," Mayson insisted. "Was he told that I was on the line?"

"Yes, Ms. Drake, but I'm afraid he really can't speak to you at the moment."

"Fine!" said Mayson, slamming down the phone. It had just been brought to her 
attention that Nigel St. John was in custody - awaiting a deportation hearing. 
If Luthor didn't think she was important enough to talk to, why should she try 
to get this information to him?

But after a moment, as her temper subsided, Mayson thought of another 
possibility. If Luthor was refusing to take her calls, it must be because he no 
longer needed her services. And if that was the case... She shivered. She knew 
Luthor had to be behind Gables' death. So what was she to do?

She picked up the phone again to place a call to the Daily Planet. She wasn't 
sure exactly what she was going to say. All she did know was that Clark Kent was 
the one person she knew for certain was not on Lex Luthor's payroll. After a 
moment, she set the phone back down.

She couldn't call the Daily Planet. After all, although she didn't know who 
Luthor's source was inside the Planet, he must have someone - not to mention the 
surveillance devices she knew were there. Besides, could she really risk 
betraying Luthor? Telling what she knew could earn her a few years in prison. 
And since she was certain that Luthor had gotten to Gables in jail...

After a moment's hesitation, she got up and went to her filing cabinet. She 
opened the bottom drawer and removed her gun. She'd had it for years, but hadn't 
fired it since shortly after she'd first purchased it. She checked to make sure 
she knew how and, once satisfied, checked to be sure it was loaded. If Luthor 
had decided that she was no longer a useful ally, he might decide she was 
expendable. She didn't intend to go down easily. 

She stuck the gun in the lower drawer of her desk, leaving it open far enough 
that she could get the gun out in a hurry if necessary.

* * * * * * * * *

Mrs. Cox was pleasantly surprised to find Clark Kent in the elevator that would 
take her to the parking garage. She had intended to cut the gas line on his jeep 
and was going down to do so, but now that he was actually here... She smiled. 
Lex did say that she could make it look like a mugging. 

Mrs. Cox had decided to handle this assignment personally for two reasons. 
First, when it came to murder, the less people involved, the better. Second, 
this was the fun part. Of all the assignments she'd done for Lex over the years, 
murder was the one she liked best. Knowing that her actions had extinguished 
another person's life always left her with such an incredible adrenaline rush. 
In a way, she was almost pleased that her original plan, the one to cut Kent's 
gas line, had failed. After all, the high was so much greater when you got to 
look into a person's eyes the moment that light died.

She allowed Clark to get out of the elevator first before stepping out behind 
him. She removed the gun from inside her jacket and pointed it at her intended 
target. But she didn't fire. She wanted to see his eyes the moment the life went 
out of them.

"Mr. Kent," she purred to the back of the man now walking away from her.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois waited impatiently for the doors to the elevator to open. When they finally 
did, she stepped into the newsroom, looking around for Clark. She reminded 
herself to act as if she had been beaten up last night. Although it was unlikely 
that Henderson, or anyone who knew what had happened, would be here, it was 
better to be safe than sorry.

"Great shades of Elvis," said Perry's voice when he saw Lois' black eye. "Clark 
said you were attacked. What exactly happened?"

"I'll explain later, Perry," said Lois. "Is Clark here? I have to talk to him."

"Jessica," said Jimmy coming over, "that's some shiner. Hey, I thought you'd 
left Metropolis. What brings you here?"

"Clark," Lois repeated. "Where is he?"

"You just missed him, honey," Perry replied. "But what are you doing out and 
about, I thought you said..."

"I'll explain later, Perry," Lois responded impatiently. "Do you know where he 
was going?"

"He was going to check out some warehouses," Jimmy cut in.

"Cab or jeep?" Lois asked.

"Jeep, I think," responded Jimmy.

Lois immediately turned to the stairs. She had to tell Clark now or she was sure 
she'd burst. With a quick 'thank-you' flung over her shoulder, she headed for 
the stairs.

"What was that all about?" asked Jimmy.

"Darned if I know," Perry replied, shaking his head and returning to his office. 
He just hoped Lois' excitement meant that she'd broken this story.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark was lost in thought as he stepped out of the elevator. Maybe he had been 
wrong insisting that Lois stay. Was he being selfish? After all, if he was wrong 
and the military came up with some way to expose her to kryptonite without her 
knowing, her life could be in danger. But if she left... He had seen what 
leaving last time had done to her. It was time to start fighting back. Of 
course, if something happened to her, he'd never forgive himself.

Someone saying his name pulled him out of his thoughts. However, it wasn't until 
he heard it a second time that it really registered. He turned towards the sound 
of the voice.

"Mr. Kent," the woman who had rode down in the elevator with him said.

"Yes?" he asked, before he noticed the gun in her hands. He froze, his eyes 
stuck on the small black barrel pointing at his chest. He swallowed hard. He had 
thought Lois was the one whose life was in danger. But why? "Luthor?" he asked.

An evil smile lit up her face. "Not bad, Mr. Kent. Yes. It seems you've written 
one story too many," the woman said as she pulled back the hammer. Since the gun 
was a semiautomatic, she really didn't need to cock the gun, but she always 
liked to drag out the moment. After all, it allowed her victim to realize he was 
about to die. The look of terror in his eyes was always so rewarding. She 
focused her attention exclusively on his face as she began to depress the 
trigger.
 
Suddenly, her hand was hit, pushing it up into the air as the gun sounded and 
resounded in the quiet of the parking garage. It was only a moment later when 
the woman felt a foot in her stomach. She let out a pained breath as she crashed 
to the floor behind her - the gun flying out of her hands. She lay on the floor, 
struggling to regain her breath.

Lois looked over at Clark. "And you wonder why I take Tai Kwan Do," she said, a 
grin lighting up her face. 

Clark let out a breath. He hadn't even heard her enter. He was sure that she had 
moved at superspeed to get there in time. However, she had kicked the gun out of 
the woman's hands and sent her flying into the floor using her Tai Kwan Do 
techniques - thus, keeping the woman from knowing that she was slightly 
different. She was brilliant.

Lois looked at the woman still lying incapacitated on the floor before glancing 
back at Clark.

"Take off your belt," she instructed.

"I'm not sure this is the right time, Jess," Clark responded. Lois just rolled 
her eyes. However, in spite of the words, Clark understood immediately what she 
was suggesting. He removed his belt and used it to tie the woman up. "Why don't 
you call Henderson?" he suggested. 

She looked at the woman, making sure she really was no longer a threat to Clark, 
before going to place that call.

* * * * * * * * *

"You two are almost a full time job," Henderson said when he arrived. He looked 
at the fuming woman sitting on the floor, her hands strapped behind her. "So how 
did you disarm her?" Henderson asked.

"Jessica used her Tai Kwan Do," Clark said, in obvious awe.

Henderson raised an eyebrow. "Pretty impressive, considering how badly you were 
beaten yesterday."

Lois and Clark exchanged quick looks before Lois responded.

"I think it was the adrenaline. I'm sure I'll be hurting tonight. It's just when 
I saw that woman about to shoot Clark..."

Henderson looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"So what was this one about?" Henderson asked. 

"Apparently Lex Luthor decided he didn't like my latest story," Clark responded.

"Do you have any proof of that?"

"That's what she told me when she was holding the gun on me," Clark said 
pointing at the woman on the floor.

Henderson walked over to the woman. "What's your name?" he asked.

"I believe I have the right to remain silent," the woman replied. 

Henderson chuckled. "Not about your name. Of course, we could go down to the 
station and take your fingerprints - something tells me you've been printed 
before. Of course, if we have to do that, I will be laying a new charge of 
obstruction of justice."

"Angelica Cox," Mrs. Cox replied.

Lois and Clark exchanged glances mouthing the word, 'Angelica', both astounded 
by the irony that a woman who was so unangelic could have been named 'Angelica'.

With that, Henderson read her her rights and got her into a proper pair of 
handcuffs. When he informed her that she was under arrest for attempted murder, 
she finally spoke.

"Can't we make a deal here?"

"On an attempted murder charge?"

"I can give you the person who ordered this."

"You mean Luthor?" Henderson asked. He shook his head. "I need more than the 
word of an accomplice," Henderson said, before proceeding to direct her towards 
the police car. "Besides, you already told that to Clark. It might be hearsay, 
but I think we can find an exception to get it admitted."

"Wait," said Clark. "You might not be able to deal with the attempt on my life, 
but you might be able to help us nail Luthor for the mustard gas."

Cox finally smiled. "I might be able to do that. But if I do, I walk away from 
this and for complicity in any crime I might admit to along the way."

"I can't..." Henderson began.

"Deal," said Clark.

"You don't have the authority to make that type of deal. This woman is going to 
be charged with attempted murder; I can't very well let her walk away from 
that," said Henderson.

"It was my life she attempted to take," Clark said. "And the sooner Luthor is 
behind bars, the less likely anyone will be to try to take my life again."

Henderson studied Clark for a moment before turning to Mrs. Cox. "If what you 
give us helps us nail Luthor, I'll see what I can do to get you your deal."

Cox smiled. "I have one other condition."

"What's that?"

"I assume I'm going to be in custody for a while. I want protection."

"In prison?" Henderson asked.

"Where was Gables when he was killed?"

Henderson looked at her for a moment before nodding. He could certainly do that. 
He was looking forward to this interrogation. He had no doubt it would be very 
informative. Henderson put Cox in the police car before coming back to Lois and 
Clark. He told them that he would come by their apartment later that evening. In 
the meantime, Clark told Henderson that there were a couple of leads he wanted 
to check out as well.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark turned to Lois as soon as Henderson's car began pulling out of the Daily 
Planet parking garage. 

"What are you doing here, Jess?" he asked. "I mean, I'm glad you are, but do you 
really think it's a good idea."

"That's what I came to tell you, Clark," she said, before proceeding to tell him 
about her meeting with Henderson and Newcombe.

"So..." he prompted.

"I don't have to leave. You were right. It seems that Trask was working on his 
own. At least, I think I believed most of what General Newcombe had to say."

"And what was that?"

"He said that... Oh, Clark, I almost forgot. Apparently my father published a 
second article claiming that the first one was a hoax."

"That's great."

"Anyway, Newcombe said that the bureau responsible for following up on UFO 
reports was shut down some time ago. They had decided there was nothing to 
investigate - especially after my dad recanted his previous article. Trask was 
working on his own. So now that he's dead..."

She was immediately lost in an enthusiastic hug. She laughed as he began 
nibbling his way up her neck.

"Clark, we still have a couple of things that need to be taken care of," Lois 
said, pushing him away.

"Well, yeah, but... Well, all we have to do is catch the bad guys and then..." 
His face broke out in a smile and he hugged her again. "Let's get going," he 
said when he released her. "The sooner we catch the bad guys, the sooner I can 
prove to you that I'm your basherteh."

"I'll look forward to it," Lois responded with a smile. "Although, I must warn 
you that it will probably take a lot of convincing. Do you really think you're 
up to it?"

"Please," groaned Clark. "It will be like taking candy from a baby."

Lois smiled. "You mentioned to Henderson that you wanted to check out a couple 
of other things," she said.

"Right," said Clark. "Late last night Perry and Jimmy tracked a number of 
barrels from Lex Labs to the warehouse district. I found three warehouses there 
that are owned by Luthor. I thought I'd check them out."

"You were going to take the jeep?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, I'm going with you. And since I think your jeep is probably bugged, why 
don't we catch a cab?"

"I'm not sure we can ask a cab to wait while we break into a warehouse."

"So we get out near the first one and then walk to the rest. The warehouse 
district can't be that big. Besides," she continued, patting his stomach, "you 
could probably use the exercise."

"Hey, watch it! I didn't hear you complaining last night."

She laughed before turning and walking towards the elevators.

Clark looked down at his stomach. "There's nothing wrong with my stomach," he 
grumbled. "I get plenty of exercise."

Lois reached the elevator and looked back. Clark still hadn't moved. He was 
running a hand over his stomach. She rolled her eyes. "Would you relax," she 
yelled back at him. "I was just kidding. I think you look great."

Clark looked at her for a moment. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Of course you do," he 
continued, before making his way towards her.

She heard his comments and rolled her eyes again before hitting the up button 
for the elevator. And men thought women were vain!

* * * * * * * * *

"This is the last one," said Clark as they made their way to the final 
warehouse. 

"Then this must be it," Lois replied.

When they got past the warehouse, Clark placed a hand on Lois' arm and directed 
her around the corner. They quickly made their way behind the warehouse and 
began trying doors. When they finally found one that was open, they slipped 
inside.

* * * * * * * * *

Henderson was heading back to the interrogation room when he was diverted by a 
page that informed him that an F.B.I. agent had entered the police station and 
was asking for him. 

When Henderson returned to the station with Cox, she told him that she would 
only accept protection from the F.B.I. Although she refused to confirm that 
Luthor had sources inside either the M.P.D. or the D.A.'s office until she had a 
deal in place, Henderson suspected that that was the reason she wanted F.B.I. 
protection. As a result, he contacted the F.B.I. who agreed to send over an 
agent who could make a deal and provide protection.

"Inspector Henderson?" the man asked, when Henderson approached the front desk.

Henderson nodded. "And I take it you're Scardino?" Henderson asked in return.

"Please," said Scardino, "call me Daniel."

"All right, Daniel," Henderson said. "And I'm Bill," Henderson began before 
filling Scardino in on the situation.

Afterwards, the two of them made their way into the interrogation room where Cox 
was waiting.

"This is Daniel Scardino," Henderson informed Cox. "He's with the F.B.I.

Cox slowly ran her eyes over Scardino, sizing him up. "Is Agent Scardino the 
best the F.B.I. has to offer?" she asked skeptically.

Dan smiled. "Well, it's the best you're going to get," he responded. "So why 
don't you drop the attitude and we can get down to business? The states 
attorney's office is prepared to ensure you get full immunity - provided you can 
give us what Henderson here seems to think you can."

"And protection?" Cox asked.

"You'll be put up in a room at the Mariano - until the trial. After that you'll 
be placed in the F.B.I. witness protection program."

Cox regarded him critically. "Lex will just buy one of your men," she said.

Scardino smiled. "Not these men."

"Anyone can be bought - if the price is right. How do I know that you aren't 
bought already?" Cox responded.

Scardino lowered himself into a chair across from her. "Well, if you don't like 
my deal, we can just forget the whole thing. Of course, if Luthor really is the 
man you say he is, how will he respond when he finds out you're in prison for 
attempted murder - a murder you claim he ordered?" When her face fell, he 
continued, "So do we have a deal?"

Cox let out a short breath and nodded. 

"So where do you want to begin?" Henderson asked.

"How about where the advanced mustard gas is being stored?"

Scardino snorted. "We could find that out easily enough," he said.

Cox raised her eyebrows. "Not unless you know that it isn't in a warehouse owned 
by Lex Corp," she said. "Perhaps I should begin by telling you about a company 
called R.T.W. Inc."

* * * * * * * * *

"I can't believe it wasn't in any of the warehouses," said Lois in frustration 
after she and Clark left the final warehouse owned by Lex Corp. "Clark, are you 
sure these are all the warehouses Lex owns?"

"Yes," said Clark.

"I don't understand. If Lex is behind the mustard gas, and we know he is, and if 
Lex had the mustard gas removed from Lex Labs last night, and we know he did, 
then where is it? Clark, this is just so frustrating. I mean, every time we 
think we have him, he seems to slip through our grasp. I wish that just once..."

Clark shook his head and chuckled slightly. One thing he could count on was Lois 
going ballistic.

"What's so funny?" Lois demanded. 

Clark laid a hand on her arm, turning her towards him. "I just happen to think 
you're absolutely adorable," Clark said, before leaning over and running his 
lips across hers. When she didn't resist, he pulled her fully into his arms and 
deepened the kiss.

All thoughts of Lex Luthor, or mustard gas, or the story, were suddenly banished 
from Lois' mind. She moaned softly. After a moment, he pulled back.

"What was that for?" she finally managed to gasp.

"I just thought you needed to clear your mind," he said with a smile. "So, what 
do you say we go see if my next lead pays off any better?"

Lois nodded, still feeling slightly stunned. This kissing stuff was new to her. 
Would she ever get over the way her knees seemed to get weak and every nerve in 
her body seemed to come alive whenever he kissed her?

"So, what's..." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she lost her train of 
thought. "Umm... what's your next lead?"

Clark smiled. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her towards a 
busier street so that they could hail a cab.

* * * * * * * * *

Henderson and Scardino listened to Cox's story mostly in silence. It was so hard 
to believe that this man, who had done so much good for the city of Metropolis 
over the past few months, could be such a monster. Mrs. Cox had only been with 
Luthor for the past year. As a result, she was unable to tell them when or how 
Luthor had made his first billion. However, she did confirm that Luthor had 
Gables working on an advanced form of mustard gas. Apparently, Luthor even had a 
buyer. Mrs. Cox wasn't able to say who.

Cox explained that Luthor insulated himself by working through a company called 
R.T.W. Inc. - she didn't know where the name had come from. She and Nigel St. 
John always handled whatever dirty work was involved in order to keep Luthor's 
hands clean. 

By the end of her story, Henderson and Scardino realized they had a problem. 
They believed her - and even knew where the mustard gas was being stored. 
However, they had no way of linking the mustard gas directly to Luthor except 
for the word of an accomplice. 

"Don't you have anything solid? Or at least someone who can back up your story?" 
asked Scardino.

Cox shook her head. "The only one who can support most of what I've said is 
Nigel St. John - and he seems to have disappeared. There are other people who 
know little bits and pieces - for example, Assistant D.A. Mayson Drake can tell 
you that Luthor wanted Gables' death declared a suicide - but only Nigel St. 
John can corroborate the whole story."

"If you want your deal, you're going to have to do better than that," said 
Scardino.

"What do you want from me? I've told you everything I know."

Scardino tossed her a cell phone. There was only one way to nail Luthor. "Call 
Luthor," he said. "Tell him to meet you tomorrow morning at the warehouse."

"Are you crazy?" she asked Scardino.

"Do you want your deal or not?" he asked in response.

Cox let out a short breath. Then she looked at the phone and swallowed hard 
before beginning to punch in a number.

* * * * * * * * *

Mayson tensed when she heard a noise outside her office. The court house had 
closed about twenty minutes ago. She had thought she was alone. Slowly, almost 
silently, she reached down into the bottom drawer of her desk - never taking her 
eyes off the door. When her hand came up again, she was holding the gun.

The noise was getting closer now. She raised a trembling hand to point the gun 
at the door. She watched in increasing terror as the door handle began to move. 
She held her breath and closed her eyes as the door suddenly swung open. The 
sound of the door opening caused Mayson to jump. The gun accidently went off in 
her hands. 

"Woe!" exclaimed a male voice.

"Clark!" Mayson exclaimed, when she opened her eyes and recognized him.

Clark glanced at the bullet hole in the door frame not more than half a foot 
from his head. He was almost instantly pushed from behind. He fell into the 
room, Lois almost on top of him. 

"Sorry," gasped Mayson, immediately lowering the gun.

Lois and Clark both looked up cautiously. Once Lois was satisfied that Mayson 
wasn't about to fire again, she crawled off Clark.

It briefly crossed Lois' mind that it might look crazy for her to be protecting 
Clark. But had someone really been trying to kill Clark... She shuddered. It 
seemed everyone was trying to kill Clark.

Now that the danger was over, Lois was furious. She approached Mayson, fighting 
to keep her temper under control. She grabbed the gun from Mayson's hand and had 
to keep herself from crushing it into a little metal ball.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lois demanded.

"I didn't mean... I mean, I didn't know... Oh, God, I'm sorry. I could have 
killed you!" Mayson suddenly gasped.

"No kidding!" Lois exclaimed.

"Look," said Clark softly, "let's all just calm down a little bit."

No one said anything for a moment as they took seats around Mayson's desk. The 
silence was finally broken by Mayson.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, addressing Lois. "I heard that you left 
Metropolis."

"Who told you that?" Lois responded. "Luthor?"

When Mayson tensed, Clark laid a hand on Lois' arm. He had an idea about how to 
get Mayson to talk and didn't want Lois' obvious anger to cause Mayson to clam 
up.

"We know you're working for Luthor," Clark said. "He's been paying you eight 
thousand dollars a month."

"I'm not..." Mayson began.

Clark held up a hand, cutting her off. "Mayson, I suspect that if you really 
weren't trying to kill me with that gun, you had it because of Luthor." 
Something in Mayson's reaction told him he was right. "The way I figure it is 
that you think Luthor is going to do to you what he did to Gables."

Suddenly Lois caught on to where Clark was going with this.

"So, he isn't satisfied with your performance?" asked Lois, trying 
unsuccessfully to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Well, that really is a 
shame." She glanced over at Clark. "I suppose if Mayson doesn't want to 
cooperate with us, we really shouldn't try to force her. I'm sure she can take 
care of herself against Lex."

Clark nodded and together, Lois and Clark got up and headed for the door.

"Wait!" exclaimed Mayson, causing Lois and Clark to stop and turn around.

Mayson watched them in silence for a minute more, still debating in her mind 
exactly what her next step should be. She knew she could trust them - at least 
to try to help her against Luthor. On the other hand, they would undoubtedly 
print whatever information she gave them. And, she was likely looking at a 
police investigation into her activities - which could well result in some jail 
time. 

"Okay," she finally said, gesturing them back to their chairs. "But before I say 
anything, I need to know that you will help me with Luthor."

"You really think he's going to kill you, don't you?" said Lois.

Mayson nodded. "I think he's decided that I'm not useful anymore. That makes me 
a liability."

"What do you know that could make you a liability?" Clark asked.

"Luthor wanted me to have Gables' death declared a suicide. It wasn't that hard. 
The doctors were vacillating about the cause of death, so I just applied a 
little judicious pressure and pushed them in the appropriate direction." She 
shrugged. "Then, when you started asking questions, Luthor wanted me to find a 
way to distract you. I tampered with the file and tried..." Her voice trailed 
off. However, her meaning didn't go unnoticed. After all, all three parties to 
the conversation knew she had been trying to get close to Clark.

"I think we should call Henderson," said Lois. When it looked as if Mayson about 
to object, Lois continued. "We can trust Henderson," she said. "Look, Mayson, 
the only way you'll be safe, long term, is if we put Lex behind bars."

Mayson took a deep breath before nodding.

* * * * * * * * *

Brad opened the side panel on the gun and placed the kryptonite inside. The 
scientist was certain this would work. But the scientist wasn't the one who 
would undoubtedly die if it didn't. He closed the panel and checked the sights. 
He then placed the gun back in its case and stuck it under his bed. This would 
be finished tomorrow.

* * * * * * * * *

"Is it done?" asked Luthor when he picked up the phone and heard Cox's voice.

"Yes, Lex. Clark Kent will no longer be a problem. But there is something else," 
Cox said into the cell phone.

"What?"

"Well, I've been approached by a representative from the buyer. He wants a one 
on one."

"Why did he contact you?" Luthor asked suspiciously.

"He said he couldn't find Nigel," she responded.

Luthor snorted. Nigel's disappearance was really becoming worrisome. "Did he say 
what he wants?"

"He was concerned about the safety of transporting the substance. He wants to 
meet tomorrow morning at the warehouse. He says if you're willing to meet with 
him where you're storing the gas, he can be confident that it won't kill his men 
before they can use it."

Luthor was silent for a moment. "Tomorrow morning's fine with me - as long as 
it's early enough. Why don't we say seven?"

"I'll let them know, Lex," Cox replied. "By the way, it's getting late. I think 
I'll just go straight home. I'll see you at the warehouse tomorrow," she 
concluded, before hanging up the phone. She looked at the two men watching her. 
"Well, we're set," she said.

As Scardino was preparing to take Cox to the hotel where the F.B.I. would be 
holding her, Henderson approached him with a different problem.

"Listen, Daniel," he began, "I'm concerned that Cox might not have given us the 
names of all Luthor's sources inside the M.P.D. so I need help with something 
else."

"Name it," Scardino responded.

"Well, this case was originally brought to my attention by a couple of 
reporters. Luthor tried to have one of them killed today. I was just 
thinking..."

"That they needed some protection," Scardino completed.

"Well, yeah."

Scardino considered the problem for a moment. "It's going to be very difficult 
to assemble a second team that I know we can trust for tonight. I could set 
something up for tomorrow, but..."

"There's got to be something you can do."

"I'll tell you what. I can't get another team in place until tomorrow, but once 
I'm finished getting Cox settled, I'll come over and keep an eye on your 
reporters tonight."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois and Clark waited for Inspector Henderson to arrive at Mayson's office. 
Mayson had told them everything she knew - which was that Luthor had wanted 
Gables' death to be reported as a suicide and that she was to get close to Clark 
and report back to Luthor on Clark's activities. She also told Lois and Clark 
something they already knew - that Luthor had bugged Clark's work place and that 
he had a source - she didn't know who - inside the Daily Planet. 

The information didn't prove that Luthor was involved with the mustard gas, but 
it did show some sort of involvement with Gables' death. It was one more piece 
in a very complex puzzle.

About half an hour later, Henderson finally arrived. Once they had exchanged 
greetings and Lois and Clark had brought Henderson up to date, Henderson told 
everyone that he needed a moment to speak to Lois and Clark.

They moved to the other side of Mayson's office where Henderson spoke in hushed 
tones. "We have a plan in place to nab Luthor. It's going down tomorrow. You two 
can have front row seats - as long as you don't print anything until I say it's 
okay to do so. In the meantime, Clark, Luthor thinks you're dead. Keep it that 
way. Go straight home and don't talk to anyone. I have an F.B.I. agent coming 
over to keep you two safe tonight."

"What?" exclaimed Lois.

"Look, in the past two days, there has been one attempt on your life and one on 
Clark's. I want to be sure no one succeeds."

Lois and Clark exchanged a look. As long as no one had kryptonite, they would be 
safe enough on their own. But how could they tell Henderson that?

"Okay," Clark finally conceded for both of them.

"What about Mayson?" Lois asked. "Can you get someone to protect her too?"

Henderson glanced over at Mayson before looking back at Lois. "We don't have any 
more men for tonight. Tomorrow we could..."

"She could be dead by tomorrow," objected Clark.

"Can she stay with you tonight?" Henderson asked. Then to their obvious look of 
displeasure, he continued. "I have one agent coming to your place. The only way 
he can possibly protect Mayson as well is if she's staying there too."

Lois and Clark looked at each other for a moment more before they agreed.

"Thank you," said Henderson. "Now, I don't want either of you talking to anyone 
tonight."

"We need to talk to Perry about the story," said Clark.

"No story, Clark," said Henderson. "If Luthor gets suspicious..."

"We don't have to print anything tonight, but we do need to bring Perry up to 
date."

Henderson looked between Lois and Clark for a moment before nodding. "Then have 
him meet you at your place. He might as well know what's going on too. But stay 
out of sight. If Luthor finds out you're still alive, he'll know he's being set 
up."

"You mean this whole mess might be over by tomorrow night?" asked Lois, with a 
quick, hopeful glance at Clark.

"If we get really lucky," Henderson responded.

"Oh, by the way," said Clark. "We checked out warehouses that Luthor owns in the 
warehouse district. There's no sign of the mustard gas."

"Have you ever heard of a company called R.T.W.?" Henderson asked.

Lois and Clark looked at each other in disbelief. How could they have failed to 
think of that possibility? "We should go back..." began Lois.

"No!" Henderson interrupted. "We know where the warehouse is. I want you two to 
stay out of sight. And that's non-negotiable if you want to be in on the bust."

When they both nodded, he walked back to Mayson. "You do know, Ms. Drake, that 
you don't have to say anything," he said. "After all, although there is nothing 
illegal about trying to work Clark here over, covering up a crime is obstruction 
of justice at the very least. Of course, I should tell you that even if Clark 
hadn't called me, I'd have been by today. I have a witness who claims you were 
involved in a conspiracy to cover up a homicide. That's accessory after the 
fact. So before you say anything, you might want to talk to a lawyer."

"I know my rights, Henderson," Mayson said. "I'm hoping that cooperating with 
the police will get me immunity, but even if it doesn't, prison won't kill me. 
Luthor might."

"Well, then after you give your statement, I'll take you over to their place," 
Henderson said, gesturing to Lois and Clark.

"What?" exclaimed Mayson.

"You'll be staying with them tonight. I've arranged to have a F.B.I. agent there 
as well. Tomorrow we'll have something more permanent set up for you."

"You two live together?" Mayson asked.

"We share an apartment," Clark said, not really wanting to say anything more 
than that.

"I'm not sure I'd be comfortable spending the night," Mayson objected.

"Would you rather hide out in some seedy motel holding a gun all night?" Lois 
asked.

"Well, no, but..."

"Then I suggest you take us up on our offer."

"Thank you," Mayson finally said.

"Now that that's settled, I need Mayson to come with me to give her statement. 
I'll bring her by your place later. We'll talk then," Henderson said.

* * * * * * * * *

"So what do you think we should make for supper?" Clark asked.

"I was thinking of chili. After all, we don't know when Perry or Mayson or 
Henderson or this F.B.I. agent will show up. If we make a big pot, then people 
can help themselves when they get here."

"You know, that brings up an interesting problem," said Clark.

"What's that?"

"Sleeping arrangements. I suppose we could put the agent on the couch and you 
and Mayson could share a room."

"Bite your tongue!" exclaimed Lois.

"Well, I just thought..."

"Unless you have a problem with it, I'll give Mayson my room and I'll sleep with 
you."

Clark smiled. "I don't have a problem with it, but do you really want people to 
think that we're lovers?"

"Clark, according to the Daily Planet grape vine, you and I have been lovers 
since the first time we went to Casey's," Lois informed him.

"What?" gasped Clark. "How do you know?"

Lois tapped her ear. "Apparently, someone saw us on the park bench when you 
hugged me."

"Oh, Jess," exclaimed Clark, "I am so sorry. I never meant..." 

"Don't worry about it, Clark," Lois interrupted and then, knowing how much 
something like this could bother him, she added, "Besides, I don't want people 
to think I'm the only woman who couldn't get you into bed." The grin in her 
voice was unmistakable.

"Jess," Clark groaned, remembering back to his comments to her about why he 
thought his reputation had continued even after he'd given up his wild ways.

Lois and Clark had just finished up their supper when there was a knock at the 
door. Clark glanced at Lois who, understanding the hint, took a quick look 
through the door. Although Newcombe had been quite convincing that the military 
hadn't sanctioned the attack on her, there was still Trask's accomplice to worry 
about - not to mention Luthor.

"It's Perry," she informed Clark.

It was only a moment later when Clark opened the door to admit their boss. By 
the time he was inside, Lois had a bowl of chili to set in front of him. He ate 
while Lois and Clark talked. Once they had brought Perry up to date, he let out 
a low whistle.

"Anyway," said Clark, "Henderson has agreed to let us in on the bust - but only 
provided that we don't print anything until it goes down."

"And when is that?"

"Tomorrow morning. Henderson's coming over tonight to compare notes. Between 
Mayson, Cox and the information we've found, I think we have a pretty good case. 
However, we really do need to have Luthor connected directly to the gas."

Perry nodded. "Are any other reporters on to this?"

"I don't think so," said Clark. 

"Then I don't see any problem waiting 'til tomorrow."

"Oh, by the way," said Lois nervously, glancing over at Clark. "There is 
something else I should tell you. It has to do with what Lex used to blackmail 
me."

Perry leaned forward in his chair.

Lois looked down intently at her hands, trying to figure out how she was going 
to explain this to Perry. Would he forgive her for lying to him? Suddenly, 
Clark's hand was reassuringly grasping hers. She looked up at him and saw the 
look in his eyes - telling her everything would be okay. She relaxed when she 
saw his confidence.

Perry noticed the silent communication taking place between the greatest news 
team he'd ever seen and smiled to himself. He had known those two would be good 
for each other.

"Well, I don't know exactly what happened," started Lois. "But Lex must have 
figured out somehow that I was still around, because it seems he carried out his 
threat."

"What?" asked Perry.

Lois shrugged slightly. "Well, I've sort of been lying to you, sir," she said 
softly.

Perry noticed the use of the term of respect. She was obviously scared about his 
reaction to whatever it was she was about to tell him. "What exactly is it that 
you lied about?" he asked.

Lois swallowed hard. "My name's not really Jessica Miller."

"It's not?"

Lois shook her head. "It's Lois Lane. I've been living under various names since 
I ran away from home when I was fifteen. I've been trying to stay ahead of..." 
She glanced at Clark. "...well, his name was Jason Trask. He was a colonel in 
the Air Force. He developed a weird sort of obsession for me. I've been running 
from him for the past ten years. Given the resources he had available to him 
through the military, he's been able to track me all over the world."

Perry glanced over at Clark in disbelief. Clark nodded, backing up Lois' story.

"So, I assume that Luthor somehow found out about this and threatened to tell 
this nut where you were?" Perry asked.

Lois nodded. "Trask and the guy you sent over here to get the letter from me 
yesterday beat me and threatened to kill Clark."

"What?" exclaimed Perry.

"Yeah," said Clark. "It was definitely the guy you hired a couple of days ago. 
Did he come in today?"

"No," said Perry. "I was about to tell his father that he..."

"You know his father?" gasped Lois.

"Who's his father?" interrupted Clark.

"Joe Guthrie," Perry informed them.

Clark shook his head. "I know Mr. Guthrie's son. It wasn't him."

"So you're telling me that I hired the wrong guy and then sent him over here 
where he and this Trask character attacked you and Clark?" asked Perry.

"I guess that about sums it up, Chief," said Clark. "Fortunately, Henderson 
showed up. He had no choice but to kill Trask. The other guy got away in the 
resulting confusion."

"Jessica, or... umm... Lois, I am so sorry," said Perry.

Lois shook her head. "Just tell me that you forgive me for lying to you."

"Well, given the circumstances, I guess I can understand," Perry assured her. He 
looked at her for a moment more. He was convinced there was more to this story 
than he had been told, but he wasn't about to pry. Her demeanor told him that 
she really was uncomfortable with this whole conversation. "So are you going 
back to your own name now that this Trask guy is dead?" he asked.

Lois looked between Perry and Clark as she considered the question. Now that 
Trask was dead and the military knew where she was, there really was no need for 
her to continue to live under an alias. She nodded.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Lois glanced through the door and 
nodded cautiously at Clark, being sure Perry wasn't paying attention. Clark made 
his way to the door to admit Henderson and Mayson.

"So do you want to tell us what this great plan of yours is, Henderson?" asked 
Lois, while Clark handed the two new arrivals bowls of chili.

Henderson glanced at Mayson. He really didn't want to say anything in front of 
her. After all, she could decide that it was still safer to side with Luthor and 
sneak out of here tonight to warn Luthor. Mayson picked up the hint.

"Maybe I should get out of here for a while," she suggested, setting down her 
chili and rising to her feet.

"I don't think that is such a good idea," said Lois. "Why don't you get yourself 
settled? You can stay in my room tonight. Take your supper with you."

"I really don't want to put you out," Mayson replied.

"Don't worry about it," said Lois. "I'll be fine."

Clark almost smiled at the words.

"I'll just get some of my things," Lois replied, rising and heading for her 
room. She appeared a couple of minutes later with some things in her arms. "It's 
all yours," she informed Mayson who immediately made her way to the room. "Thank 
you," she said awkwardly to Lois as they passed.

Once she was gone, Henderson filled Lois, Clark and Perry in on his plan. In 
response, Perry agreed that nothing would be printed until Luthor was in 
custody.

* * * * * * * * *

Mayson looked around the room. It didn't appear that Jessica had been living 
here long. At least the room seemed to reflect a man's taste in pictures on the 
wall. However, there was one thing that obviously belonged to Jessica.

Mayson walked over and picked up the picture sitting on the night stand. It was 
of Jessica and Clark - both in formal attire. Jessica had her arm through 
Clark's and the photographer had caught them looking at each other. There was an 
expression of wonderment on Clark's face and an almost shy look on Jessica's The 
picture spoke of two people falling in love. She had never had a chance with 
Clark.

And, in spite of what Jessica and Clark might think, her interest in Clark 
predated Luthor's instructions to get close to Clark. She sighed. 

* * * * * * * * *

Once Henderson finished filling everyone in on the plan, there was another knock 
at the door.

"That must be the agent who is going to be watching over you tonight," said 
Henderson rising to his feet and heading for the door.

Lois took a quick peak through the door and gave a small gasp.

"What?" Clark whispered in response. Lois just shook her head, causing Clark to 
look back at the door. "Be careful, Henderson," he said. However, Henderson was 
ahead of him. He had his gun drawn and was standing to the side of the door.

"Who's there?" he yelled through the door.

"Scardino," the man replied. 

Henderson immediately holstered his gun and opened the door to admit a man who 
Clark immediately recognized.

"What is he doing here?" Clark immediately demanded.

"This is Agent Scardino," Henderson replied. "Why? Do you two know each other?"

"We've never been properly introduced," Scardino said, extending a hand to 
Clark.

Clark glanced at the hand for a moment before taking it - telling himself that 
he was being unreasonable. Lois had only been at the bar because of his 
stupidity, and he couldn't really hate Scardino for liking Lois. After all, he 
couldn't believe anyone wouldn't like Lois. Besides, Lois liked him, not 
Scardino. In fact, Lois loved him.

"Clark Kent," said Clark.

"Kent?" Scardino asked, with a quick look at Lois.

Lois suddenly blushed as she remembered that she'd told Dan that her last name 
was Kent. He was probably going to think that she had been at that bar to cheat 
on her husband.

"And it's good to see you again, Jessica," Scardino said to Lois.

"Actually, it's Lois Lane," she said.

Scardino raised his eyebrows. Whether she knew it or not, she'd just told him 
that she wasn't married - or at least she probably wasn't. He glanced at her 
left hand as he had that night at Casey's. Still no rings. He smiled.

Clark noticed where Scardino was looking and immediately tensed. It was 
painfully obvious what Scardino was doing.

Lois glanced over at Clark and could tell that he was struggling to retain 
control of his temper. She reached out, taking hold of Clark's hand, and 
immediately felt him relax. 

"Agent Scardino," Lois said, "there's some chili on the stove. Would you like 
some?"

"That would be great," Scardino replied, plopping himself down on the sofa. "But 
please, call me Daniel."

As Lois went to the kitchen to get Scardino some chili, Perry and Henderson took 
their leave. When she returned, only Clark and Scardino were in the living room. 
The tension in the room was unmistakable. This was her fault. If she hadn't gone 
to that bar... Before things could erupt, Lois decided to take action.

"Well, it's going to be a long day tomorrow," she said handing Scardino his 
chili and then going to a cupboard to pull out some sheets and blankets and a 
pillow. "I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch," she said to Scardino, 
laying the items on the couch beside him. "Anyway, it's getting late. I think 
I'll turn in."

"No problem," Scardino responded.

"Are you coming, Clark?" she asked, offering Clark her hand. 

Clark smiled for the first time since Scardino had entered his apartment. He 
took her hand and then, looking extremely pleased, followed her into his 
bedroom.

Once the door was closed, Lois turned to him.

"Are you still upset about Scardino?" she asked. "He doesn't mean anything to 
me."

"I know that. It's just... Well, in case you haven't noticed, he's obviously 
very attracted to you."

"I don't care, Clark," she said softly, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm 
in love with you."

He looked into her eyes for a moment before relaxing. "I know that, Lois," he 
said, before lightly kissing her lips. 

* * * * * * * * *

The knock at the door came much too early.

"Tell them to go away, Clark," grumbled Lois, pulling the sheet up over her 
head. It felt as if she had just gotten to sleep. She moved the sheet down only 
far enough to get a look at the clock on the night stand. "Five-thirty," she 
groaned before pulling the sheet once again over her head.

Clark smiled and pulled his equally exhausted body out of bed. He was going to 
have to learn that spending half the night kissing Lois was not a good idea if 
he wanted to be able to get up in the morning. He headed for the door to his 
room.

He opened the door to reveal Scardino.

"What do you want?" Clark asked.

"If you and Lois are planning on being part of this sting, you're going to have 
to get ready. One of my men has already arrived to babysit Mayson. I leave 
in..." He glanced at his watch. "...fifteen minutes.

Clark closed his eyes for a moment - he'd forgotten how early they had to leave 
if they wanted to be there when Luthor was arrested - before nodding and heading 
back into his room.

* * * * * * * * *

Cox adjusted her blouse for the tenth time in as many minutes. She really hadn't 
wanted to wear a wire when she met with Lex. However, Henderson and Scardino had 
insisted. Lex never searched her these days. Still... She glanced down again, 
hoping the bug wasn't as obvious as it felt.

* * * * * * * * *

When the surveillance van containing Lois, Clark, Scardino and Henderson pulled 
into an alley near the warehouse, Scardino picked up a radio and, holding it to 
his mouth, pressed the button. 

"Teams report," he said into it. Those words were followed by a six different 
men - one from each team - checking in.

"Does everyone have protective suits?" asked Lois.

"They all have gas masks," Scardino responded. 

"You don't understand," said Clark. "This is a new form of mustard gas. We don't 
know how dangerous it is. But even with protective suits, people get sick. You 
can't send those men in with just gas masks."

"Luthor isn't going to expose himself to an environment that's dangerous," 
Scardino objected. "Gas masks are more than sufficient given the level of 
threat."

"You don't know..."

"Gentlemen," interrupted Henderson. "We're running out of time here. Don't you 
think we should make sure the bug Cox is wearing is working?"

"Right," said Scardino before doing so. It seemed to be working.

The van fell silent as a large black limo pulled up to the front of the 
warehouse.

"All teams, stand by. It seems the target has arrived," Scardino informed his 
men.

Everyone seemed to hold his or her breath as Luthor emerged from the limo and 
made his way into the warehouse.

"Is... yet?" came Luthor's voice over the speakers.

"No. He... minute," Cox's voice replied.

"What's going on?" demanded Lois.

"I don't know," said Scardino, fumbling with various nobs and switches.

"...what he..." came Luthor's voice again.

"This is crazy," said Lois, as Scardino continued working with his equipment, 
trying to correct the problem. She focused her extraordinary hearing on the 
warehouse and found that she could finally hear. However, there was no way she 
could claim to hear them from here - not without letting the world in on her 
secret. She caught Clark's eye and jerked her head towards the door of the van. 

Clark understood what she was saying and, while Henderson and Scardino were 
focused on the equipment, the two of them slipped quietly out of the van. 

"If I concentrate, I can hear them, Clark," Lois whispered once they got 
outside. "However, I can't say anything. Otherwise..."

Clark nodded in recognition of the problem. "Come on," he said after a moment of 
contemplation. He took her hand and headed towards the warehouse. 

It only took her a moment to figure out what he had in mind. She quickly 
followed. There was an unlocked door at the back. The two of them were through 
it before Scardino or his men could stop them.

* * * * * * * * *

"What are they doing?" gasped Henderson.

Scardino smiled slightly. "What I only wish I could do? They're getting the 
evidence." At the look Henderson gave him in response, he continued, "Look, 
Henderson, I'm not any happier about this than you are. However, from what you 
told me, they're the ones who got us this far. If they can hear this 
conversation better than our equipment, they'll make excellent witnesses." When 
Henderson continued to look at him, Scardino continued, "Let's just concentrate 
on getting this equipment working. If we do, we'll at least be able to get in 
there before they get into serious trouble."

Henderson nodded and they both concentrated on the equipment. It was only a 
moment more before they had it working.

"If only they'd given us another minute," Henderson groaned.

* * * * * * * * *

Brad drove slowly up the street on which Kent's apartment was located. He didn't 
stop. Instead, he checked out the buildings on either side of the street until 
he found what he was looking for. Almost directly across the street from the 
entrance to Kent's place was an apartment building that seemed to fit all of the 
requirements. He drove the car around the corner and got out before pulling a 
small suitcase out of the trunk and quickly making his way back to the apartment 
building he'd spotted. It was only a few minutes more before he was on the roof.

He made his way to the edge and took a seat before taking the gun out of its 
case. He checked it one more time - making certain that it was in operating 
condition. Then he settled in to wait for his target. He didn't know if the 
creature was inside or not. However, he suspected it would be on the street 
below him sooner or later. Although he hoped it would be sooner, he planned to 
sit here until he had his chance.

He checked the kryptonite in the gun one last time. That was one of the wild 
cards in this plan. After all, the green kryptonite had been left behind during 
their last attempt to kill the creature. All he had left was this piece of red 
kryptonite. He hoped Trask was right. He hoped it would have the same effect on 
the creature as the green. 

The other major wild card was the delivery system. He hoped the scientist was 
right and this method of killing the creature would work. He looked again over 
the edge of the building. 

* * * * * * * * *

"Maybe you should wait outside," said Lois as she and Clark settled behind some 
barrels that were clearly marked as dangerous.

"Why?" asked Clark.

"Well, I'm not likely to be affected by this stuff. You remember what you said 
to Scardino," she reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. "Lois, Luthor doesn't even know we're here."

She let out a breath and turned her attention back to Luthor and Cox. He was 
probably right. After all, as Scardino had pointed out, Lex was not likely to do 
anything that would endanger himself. Besides, she could get Clark out of the 
warehouse very quickly if necessary. And if Clark left alone, it would certainly 
seem strange to the men watching outside - perhaps even resulting in the men 
coming in before Lex had put the final nail in his coffin. They were so close, 
she couldn't stand the idea of letting that happen.

"What's taking them so long?" Luthor said looking at his watch. 

"I don't know, Lex," Cox responded. "Who exactly is this Mr. X you're planning 
to sell this mustard gas to?"

"First of all," said Lex. "This isn't just mustard gas. This stuff I had Gables 
invent before his... Well, shall we say fortunate death. ...is much more lethal. 
It will get through all types of protective clothing and gas masks. Full 
exposure will result in instant or almost instantaneous death. As a result it is 
much more expensive and has a much more discerning customer."

"Who?" asked Cox again.

"Our own military," Luthor said, savoring the moment.

"What?" gasped Cox.

"It's highly illegal, of course - violates a number of treaties. However, there 
are some... let's call them highly pragmatic men in the military who want to 
ensure our military has the most advanced chemical weapons in existence."

"Does the government know what they're doing?" Cox asked.

"Of course not, my dear! Politicians can't be trusted to make this type of 
decision. They tend to think in terms of what the people will tolerate - and the 
people would not tolerate their military using gas in warfare."

"But from what I know, this stuff is incredibly deadly. What if there were an 
accident or something at the storage facilities? I thought this stuff was being 
shipped out of the country."

"Give me a little credit," said Luthor. "Don't you think I would have thought of 
that. There is an antidote. That's what makes this stuff so effective. You don't 
think I would be getting such a generous income from it if I didn't also have an 
antidote."

"How did you ever get involved with mustard gas in the first place?" asked Cox. 
"I mean, it seems a little... well, strange, I guess."

Luthor looked at her for a long moment before responding. "A few years ago I 
found out that a little company called Disposals Inc. had received a military 
contract to dispose of a large amount of the mustard gas the U.S. military had 
manufactured and then stockpiled between the two world wars. I approached the 
company's chief chemist, Stanley Gables, and made him a proposal he couldn't 
resist. Instead of disposing of the mustard gas, he turned it over to me. I had 
a contact in the U.S. military who introduced me to Sadam Hussein. Hussein was 
in the market for weapons. I had one. After some negotiations, I sold the 
majority of the gas to him.

"I used the money to pay off my military contact and Gables. I then used the 
rest to incorporate Lex Corp which then purchased Star Labs," Luthor continued.

"Why didn't you sell all of it?" Cox asked.

"I kept a small amount for further research. I hired Gables and had him work 
with the gas to invent an advanced version. Given how much I was able to make 
from the sale of ordinary mustard gas, I just knew that having a version that 
was even more deadly would be even more profitable."

Luthor chuckled. "You have no idea how right I was. I find it almost poetic that 
I'm selling it back to the military."

There was only one more thing Cox needed to find out. "So who exactly is your 
current military contact?" she asked.

Luthor shook his head. "The one condition of this sale is that he is to be known 
only as Mr. X."

"Do you know who it is?" she asked.

"Of course, I know. The only other person who might be able to put it together 
is Nigel. Any word yet on where he is, by the way?"

* * * * * * * * *

"I think that's all we're likely to get," Scardino said to Henderson. When 
Henderson agreed, Scardino picked up his radio and said, "Now." Suddenly men 
were streaming towards the warehouse in full combat gear, guns drawn.

* * * * * * * * *

"What is this?" demanded Luthor as men stormed into the warehouse. All of them 
with a single mission. Every gun pointed at him. They were followed by two men. 
One in a suit and the other, a younger man, in a pair of jeans and a brightly 
colored shirt.

"Luthor, you're under arrest," said Henderson.

Luthor looked at Henderson in disbelief before spinning towards Cox, who was 
slowly backing away. "You!" Luthor exclaimed. "You did this. You set me up. You 
little bitch."

"You have the right to remain silent," Henderson said, continuing to approach 
Luthor. "If you give up the right to remain silent anything you say can and will 
be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and the 
right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you can not afford 
one..."

"I can afford a thousand attorneys," Luthor said, while backing away from the 
cop.

"Not anymore," said Scardino.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Luthor.

"Well, your money comes from proceeds to a crime. Your assets will be frozen by 
the end of the day," Scardino said with a grin.

Luthor continued backing up slowly. It was then that he spotted Lois and Clark, 
who had emerged from their hiding place now that the situation appeared to be 
under control. 

"You did this, didn't you?" Luthor demanded.

Lois and Clark looked at each other briefly before Lois spoke. "Yeah, I guess we 
did," she replied.

Luthor snorted. "It might interest you to know, Henderson, that Ms. Miller here 
is really Lois Lane. The military is looking for her."

"Not anymore," Henderson responded. 

Lois almost grinned. Luthor obviously hadn't known that his threat was no longer 
a threat. 

Luthor narrowed his eyes, still continuing to slowly back up. "Well, she's 
wanted by the police in New York. Did you know that?"

Henderson looked back at Lois who simply shrugged. 

"It's a long story," she informed Henderson.

"Listen," Luthor continued, "surely we can work something out here."

Henderson simply smiled and then gestured to two of Scardino's men. They began 
to move forward to take Luthor into custody. Luthor waited until the men were 
close before striking back. A well placed foot and a fist gave him the moment he 
needed. He rushed to one of the nearby crates - one that was open - and reached 
inside. He withdrew what appeared to be a small grenade.

"No one move," he said. "If I release this... or for some reason drop it, it 
will only be seconds before everyone in this room is dead."

Scardino gestured his men to stop, guns still focused on Luthor. Luthor looked 
around at his now captive audience. His eyes focused on Lois for a moment. 

"Lex Luthor will not live in a cage," he said.

The entire team watched in appalled fascination as the container in Luthor's 
hand fell, as if in slow motion, to the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces. 

	'Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling,
	Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
	But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
	And floundering like a man in fire or lime.
	Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
	As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
	In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
	He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

Lois watched for only a second - as if frozen to the spot. Yet in that time, she 
saw a lot. Officers fumbling frantically to get gas masks in place. Cox was 
running at full speed towards the entrance to the warehouse. Luthor standing in 
the center with an almost translucent look on his face.

Then the gas hit him and he began to gag. He threw his hands over his eyes and 
let out a blood curdling scream before dropping to his knees.

Lois was pushed out of her reverie by a sudden realization that Clark was still 
standing beside her. It was only a second more before he was outside the 
warehouse. Lois then flew back in and, in the confusion of the moment, was able 
to inhale all the deadly gas. Then with a swallow and a burp, it was gone. Only 
one person was lying dead on the floor - Luthor - although everyone else was 
frantically scratching at his or her skin while fleeing from the warehouse.

Once she had finished, Lois returned to where Clark was now standing, a slightly 
stunned look on his face.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly.

"I'm fine," he replied. "What about you?"

"I told you. That stuff can't hurt me."

"And the rest?" Clark asked.

"It seems that the rest of the men got their gas masks on in time, but they were 
otherwise exposed. I didn't see Cox. Luthor's dead. I got the gas out of the 
warehouse, so there's no more threat."

"How did you do that?"

Lois grinned at him. "I breathed it in and swallowed it," she said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Clark gasped.

Lois smiled. "Fine. Although..." She took a moment to drag her tongue over her 
teeth. "...what I wouldn't give for a toothbrush right now. That stuff tasted 
awful."

Clark chuckled and shook his head. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and 
leading her towards where the F.B.I. agents were gathering.

"Is everyone okay?" Clark asked as they approached. 

"We have a number of people with burns on their skin," Henderson said. "Other 
than that, everyone appears to be fine. Except Luthor, of course. He's dead."

Clark moved Scardino and Henderson away from the men before responding. "Look, 
this stuff... this gas... We have to find the antidote Luthor was talking about. 
No one breathed the gas in directly, except Luthor, but everyone was exposed. If 
we don't find that antidote, they will continue to get sicker."

"Are you sure?" asked Scardino.

"The men who brought the bodies out of Lex Labs after the accident with this 
stuff are getting sick. And they were fully protected. Yeah, I'm sure," Clark 
told them.

* * * * * * * * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lois asked for about the hundredth time since they'd 
got in the jeep.

"I'm sure, Lois," Clark responded. 

Lois pulled the jeep up in front of Clark's apartment. She turned off the motor 
and turned in the seat to look directly at him. He suddenly sniffed.

"It's just a little cold," he objected, pulling at his seat belt.

She laid a hand on his arm when he reached to open the door. "Look at me, 
Clark," she demanded. 

He hesitated for a moment before turning to look at her. He looked away again 
when Lois' face fell as a result. 

Lois' breath caught in her throat. Clark's eyes were definitely watering. 

"If you're okay, why are your eyes watering?" she demanded. 

"I got something in them."

"Please, don't lie to me, Clark."

"Okay, I smelled something like mustard," Clark finally admitted.

"Clark, why do you think it's called mustard gas?" Lois exclaimed.

"But that was only for a second," he continued immediately. He reached out and 
took her hand. "We'll find the antidote, Lois. Everything will be okay."

She looked at him for a moment. A tear slipping down her cheek matched one that 
had escaped from Clark's watery eyes. Glancing down at their joined hands, she 
nodded. It was the only hope they had - to find the antidote before the gas did 
irreparable damage to Clark's system.

"Good," said Clark. "Then let's go in. We'll tell Mayson that she's safe now. I 
imagine Henderson will be contacting her, but at least she doesn't have to worry 
about Luthor anymore. Then we'll do up the story for the evening edition. Once 
that's done, we'll get to work on finding the antidote."

She nodded soberly and they both proceeded to get out of the jeep.

* * * * * * * * *

Brad noticed the jeep pull up in front of Kent's apartment. He raised the gun, 
waiting for the right shot. He saw the creature step out of the driver's door 
and lowered his face to line up the shot. He pulled back on the trigger. 

Nothing. He tried again. Still, nothing. He lowered the gun, letting out a 
frustrated grunt when he realized that the safety was on. He corrected the 
problem and raised the gun, once again looking for his target. It had 
disappeared into the safety of the apartment. He lowered the gun in frustration. 

* * * * * * * * *

When Lois and Clark brought Mayson and the F.B.I. agent up to date on the events 
of the morning, Mayson didn't think she'd ever been more relieved. She asked a 
couple of times if Clark was okay - he seemed to have a bad cold and his eyes 
were very watery, but he assured her that he was fine. The F.B.I. agent got a 
call from Scardino saying that Henderson wanted Mayson brought down to the 
station. Mayson presumed that it was to lay charges, but the relief she felt as 
a result of Luthor's death could not be diminished.

It wasn't long before Lois and Clark were alone and free to write up the story. 
Lois kept looking over at Clark, her concern growing by the minute. He was 
obviously starting to have some real difficulties. Soon, she couldn't sit by any 
more.

"Come on, Clark," she said. "We're going to the hospital."

"What are they going to do?" Clark asked.

"I don't know. But maybe they can do something."

"But, Lois..."

"I'm serious. I'm not waiting any longer just to satisfy some he-man thing 
you've got going on."

"Lois..."

"Either you come with me, or I take you. Now what do you think that would do to 
your ego?" Lois asked.

Clark ran a hand across his eyes. They really were beginning to hurt. His lungs 
were also beginning to burn. Every breath was more difficult than the one before 
it. If there was something they could do... After a moment of silent 
contemplation, he nodded, and together Lois and Clark made their way back out of 
the apartment.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark's eyes were watering terribly as he stepped out of the apartment - his 
body's natural defense system fighting to expel the remnants of gas from his 
eyes. Everything was becoming fuzzy, but Clark was unable to discern if he was 
losing his eyesight or if the tears were blurring his vision. He reached up and, 
removing his glasses, wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands, trying to 
clear them. As he did so, he missed the first step outside his apartment and 
stumbled slightly. 

Lois noticed and immediately reached out to steady him. He seemed to collapse 
into her arms. 

"Clark!" she gasped, lowering him onto the steps. She looked at him in horror. 
He appeared to have passed out.

* * * * * * * * *

This time Brad was ready when the creature came into view. He raised the gun and 
focused it on the creature before beginning to depress the trigger. The creature 
moved towards Kent. But Brad was committed to his course of action. The trigger 
depressed and the steady beam of the red laser landed squarely in the middle of 
the creature's back. It appeared to be working. The creature had gone completely 
still. But then the creature turned and looked at him. Brad immediately fled, 
carrying the gun with him. Fortunately, for some reason, the creature chose not 
to follow.

* * * * * * * * *

While lowering Clark onto the steps outside his apartment, Lois felt an intense 
heat in the middle of her back and turned slightly to look. She saw a red beam 
of light. She followed the beam back to its source - the roof of the apartment 
building across from Clark's place. She glanced at the roof and briefly saw a 
man, but almost immediately, he disappeared from view.

"Clark, are you okay?" she gasped looking back at Clark.

"Yeah," he grunted. "Yeah, actually, I think I feel a little better." He brushed 
the tears off his cheeks and glanced around. "Boy, that was intense. For a 
moment there, I thought I was losing my vision."

"But you can see fine now?" Lois asked.

Clark glanced around and nodded. 

Lois relaxed slightly. "There's something you should know. There was a man with 
a gun on the roof across from your place."

"What?" Clark asked, shifting positions to make himself more comfortable.

"I think he shot at us," Lois continued.

"What? Then why didn't I hear a shot?"

"It was some sort of red laser beam," Lois explained. "You're sure you're all 
right?"

"Yeah. Are you?" he asked bringing a hand up to her cheek. She looked... He 
wasn't sure exactly what it was, but she looked pale somehow. 

Suddenly, Clark grabbed his ears. The noise was unbearable. He closed his eyes. 
In the distance, he was vaguely aware of Lois trying to get his attention, but 
the noise blocked out the sound of her voice. It felt as if he could hear every 
noise in the city - all screaming at him at once. He had to make it stop.

"No! No! No! No!" Lois heard Clark yell.

"Clark, what's wrong?" she asked in alarm. When he failed to answer, still 
chanting that single word, she grabbed his hands. She used all her might, but 
was unable to remove his hands. What was happening here? How could he possibly 
be able to... Suddenly she gasped. She tried using her enhanced hearing. It 
wasn't working. X-ray vision? The same. What if... It wasn't possible. Still... 

"Clark, look at me. Come on, Clark, please." When he still didn't open his eyes, 
she shifted strategy. His hands were over his ears. So it had to be... Of 
course! When her hearing had started to develop she could definitely remember 
times where she'd felt as if all the sounds in the world were crowding in at 
once. "Clark, listen to me," she begged.

His voice had weakened to a whimper now, but his hands were still firmly over 
his ears and his eyes were squeezed shut. She had to do something. Something to 
take his mind off his ears long enough so that he could hear her. Unable to 
think of anything else, she grabbed his head between her hands and kissed him 
hard.

The sensation of Lois kissing him had the same effect on him it always had - the 
entire world faded to nothing. His hands left his ears - no longer hearing the 
world around him. He buried his hands in the hair of the back of her head in 
order to deepen the kiss.

Now that she had his full attention, Lois pulled back. "Listen to me, Clark. 
Concentrate on my voice," she said softly, keeping his head between her hands, 
her lips only inches from his and her eyes holding eye contact with him. "As 
long as you just listen to my voice, everything will be fine. Do you understand 
me?"

"Do you know what happened to me?" he asked. "All of a sudden, it seemed as if I 
could hear everything going on in the city - all at once."

"Yes, I think I know. Whatever that beam of light was, I think it transferred my 
powers to you."

"What? How is that possible?"

"I have no idea. But I don't have any of my powers and you... Well, we know your 
hearing has been sensitized. What about my other powers? Do you have them too?"

"Umm..." Clark said. "How would I know?"

"Well, can you see through things?"

Clark looked at the exterior wall of the apartment building across from him. 
"How do I do this?" he asked.

"Well, it's sort of hard to explain. I guess, what you need to do is..."

"Wow!" Clark gasped. He quickly closed his eyes and shook his head. Having the 
exterior wall of the apartment building suddenly disappear from view left him 
disoriented, dizzy and even slightly nauseous.

"I take it you did it," Lois said.

Without opening his eyes, Clark nodded. Lois glanced around. They were still 
sitting on the steps. It was probably best if they continued this inside. 

"Do you have any of the mustard gas symptoms? Or did my powers take care of 
that?" Lois asked.

Clark thought about that for a moment. His eyes no longer felt as if he had 
something in them, his throat was no longer sore and breathing was no longer a 
problem. "I think I'm okay," said Clark cautiously.

Lois closed her eyes briefly. At least there was one advantage to Clark having 
gotten her powers. 

"Then why don't we go back inside? That is, if you feel up to it," she said. 
When Clark nodded, she helped him to his feet and the two of them made their way 
back inside.

* * * * * * * * *

Brad had failed. Once again, he had failed. That damn gun. That left only one 
other option. It was more likely that he would be killed or taken captive by 
that creature if he failed, but... He would not be taken captive. No matter what 
he was not going to be the subject of some bizarre alien experiments. That 
meant... There was one thing he had to do before trying again. This time the 
creature would be dead or he would.

* * * * * * * * *

"The story is almost finished, Perry," Lois assured Perry over the phone an hour 
later. "Okay, we'll be e-mailing it to you shortly... We have a few ideas for 
follow up stories. There's still the matter of finding an antidote for those 
people who have been affected... Yeah, I guess that would include Clark and me. 
But we got out of there quickly. Neither of us seem to have any symptoms. At 
least not yet."

Once she'd hung up the phone, she turned back to Clark. "How you doing?" she 
asked.

"Great," said Clark. "I mean, now that I've figured out how to control my 
eyesight and my hearing. I am wondering about the flying thing, though. I mean, 
do you think I can do it."

"I don't know. Why don't you give it a try?"

Clark got up off the couch and took a little jump into the air. He immediately 
landed on the floor again. "So how do I do this?" he asked. "Do I need to find 
my happy thought or something?"

Lois slapped him in the chest. "That's Peter Pan," she informed him. "Although, 
extreme emotions can make you float."

Clark smiled. "You mean like the other night when we were kissing."

Lois pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah," she said shyly. "Like 
that. Nightmares are another good example."

"So how do I do this?" he asked. 

She thought about that for a moment before an idea came to her. "Have you ever 
had a dream where you were flying?" she asked.

"Actually, yeah," said Clark suddenly reflective.

"What?"

"Well, I use to dream of flying a lot when I was a kid. But then... It was just 
before we met. The night before, in fact. I dreamt I was flying over the city. 
It was night time. There was a cape or something billowing out behind me." He 
shook his head. "I don't know why I thought about that right now."

Lois looked at him for a long moment. "Clark, do you remember what you said 
about soulmates?"

"Of course," he responded.

"Well, I was just wondering. I mean, it seems strange to me that I could go all 
my life with these powers and then just suddenly lose them. Maybe the reason 
it's possible is because there really is some sort of connection between our 
souls. Maybe the reason my powers can be transfered to you has something to do 
with that connection. After all, you dreamt of flying just before we met... Nah, 
that's crazy."

"Maybe not so crazy," Clark responded. "Anyway, why were you asking if I'd ever 
dreamt of flying?"

"Can you remember how you flew?"

Clark thought about that for a moment before nodding. "I just sort of held my 
breath and thought of myself as light. Soon I'd find myself floating."

Lois nodded. Her flying these days was more instinctive than that, but what he 
was saying did remind her of those first steps where she would stay airborne a 
little longer than normal. "Give it a try," she suggested.

Clark closed his eyes and thought back to those dreams. When he finally opened 
his eyes, his first sight was of the wall. The picture in front of him was way 
too low. He glanced down. His feet were definitely a good foot off the floor. He 
looked for Lois. The grin on her face confirmed what his senses were telling 
him.

"This is incredible," he said. He slowly floated back to the floor and did it 
again. This time he didn't need to close his eyes. 

"That's great, Clark!" exclaimed Lois, immediately closing the distance between 
them. Suddenly, and much to her surprise, Clark backed away from her. "Clark?" 
she asked, thoroughly confused. Suddenly, she understood. He was obviously upset 
with her for having done this to him. She could certainly understand that. After 
all, having those powers had caused her nothing but problems. She looked down. 
"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry?" Clark asked. 

"For doing this to you," Lois explained. 

Clark took a step towards her but didn't touch her. "Lois, honey, this isn't 
your fault. I don't blame you."

Lois wasn't sure what to respond to first. Finally, she focused on the most 
important question. "But then why did you back away from me?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you. Lois, I've got a lot of powers here that I 
don't know how to control. Until I do... I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

Lois nodded slightly. She guessed it did make sense. A slow smile crept across 
her face. 

"What?" Clark asked.

"Did you call me honey?" she asked.

Clark cleared his throat and Lois could swear that there was increased color in 
his cheeks.

"Do you mind?" he asked. 

She cocked her head to the side and regarded him curiously for a moment. "No, I 
don't mind. Actually..." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I sort of 
like it coming from you."

Clark smiled. "Good," he said softly. "'Cause something tells me you're going to 
be hearing it again."

Lois chuckled slightly. "So what do we do about all of this?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? Me having your powers or the antidote?"

"I guess both," she said softly. 

"Well, I think our priority has to be the antidote cause even if I'm no longer 
affected there are a lot of other people who need that antidote."

Lois nodded. 

"Did you get a look at the person who shot the laser?"

"Only in passing. But I think it was the same guy who was working with Trask."

"That figures. Okay, so we know he's still around." Clark paused. "He's likely 
to be back, so I guess we'll just have to deal with that when it happens. In the 
meantime, let's finish getting the story written up and then find that 
antidote."

"At least we now know there is an antidote," said Lois.

Clark nodded. "That's the good news. Also, Luthor mentioned someone else. 
Someone named Nigel. Any ideas about that?"

Lois shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow we should go have a talk with Angelica Cox. 
She might know who he is."

With that, Lois made her way back to the laptop. They finished typing up the 
story and were about to send it to Perry when Clark noticed something.

"By Clark Kent and Lois Lane?" he asked.

"I figure it's the easiest way to tell everyone what my real name is," she 
responded with a shrug. "I still don't know how I'm going to explain why I was 
using the name Jessica Miller. I mean, I really don't want to be telling 
everyone about Trask's obsession - or the reasons for it. It's just a little too 
close to the truth for comfort. But I guess I'll figure out something when the 
time comes."

* * * * * * * * *

Nigel picked up the morning copy of the Daily Planet. Splashed across the front 
page was a forty-two point headline. It read, 'LEX LUTHOR DEAD.' Then in smaller 
lettering were the words, 'LEX LUTHOR LINKED TO MANUFACTURE OF CHEMICAL 
WEAPONS.'  He looked at the byline. His eyebrows rose when he read, 'by Clark 
Kent and Lois Lane'. She was still around and going by her real name!

Obviously, things had changed a lot. His deportation hearing was scheduled for 
next week. He had to make a deal. With Luthor dead, this was both easier and 
more difficult. He didn't have to worry about Luthor killing him for his 
betrayal. On the other hand, now that they had the story on Luthor's production 
of an advanced formula mustard gas, did he have anything to sell? 

He carefully read the story. When he finally looked up, he smiled. It seemed 
they didn't know everything. Maybe he did have something worth selling.

"I'd like to make my phone call now," he told the guard.

* * * * * * * * *

When the elevator doors slid closed to take Lois and Clark to the newsroom the 
next morning, Lois, taking note of the fact that they were the only two people 
on the elevator, slipped her hand into Clark's. He looked over at her in 
response, but to her satisfaction, his hand closed around hers. 

"I missed you last night," she said softly.

"It wasn't because I didn't want you sleeping next to me," he said, holding eye 
contact. "I just wasn't sure it was a good idea. I mean, what if... I'm just so 
afraid of hurting you. I need some time to get control of these powers. Tell me 
that you understand," he begged.

"I understand," she said. "It's just... this is just so frustrating. I mean, now 
that I can..." her voice trailed off. She growled in frustration. "Won't we ever 
get a break?"

Clark understood her frustration. The two nights they'd spent together - instead 
of alleviating the tension had only managed to increase it. "You have no idea 
how much I want to kiss you," he whispered.

A small smile played around the corners of her mouth for a moment before she 
said, "Then just stay still and I won't get hurt." With the words, she stepped 
closer to him. He took one small step back and his back was against the elevator 
wall. She smiled slightly and continued to move closer. She placed her hands on 
his chest and slowly ran them up until they were around his neck. Her hands 
slipped into his hair.

He grabbed the railing on either side of him. He desperately wanted to touch 
her, but didn't dare. It was only a moment more before her lips lightly brushed 
against his. After a couple of light touches, she deepened the kiss. He groaned.

"Well," she said, slowly stepping back, "it is good to know I have something of 
an effect on you."

"What?" he asked.

She gestured to one of his hands. He glanced down and realized that his hands 
had made indentations in the railings. He quickly removed his hands and had just 
got the railing fixed when the elevator doors slid open.

"See what I mean about not being in complete control of my powers - especially 
around you," Clark whispered into her ear as they stepped out of the elevator.

The entire newsroom seemed to turn and look at them when Lois suddenly burst out 
laughing. There was a moment of silence before there was applause. 

"Hey, C.K., Jessica... or I guess it's actually..." Jimmy said, before trailing 
off as he struggled to remember Lois' real name.

"Lois Lane," Lois said.

"Yeah, well congratulations. That was some story, guys," said Jimmy.

"Thanks, Jimmy," said Lois.

"Can I ask you something?" Jimmy asked. 

"Why did I tell everyone my name is Jessica?" Lois replied.

"Well, yeah."

"Another time, Jimmy. It's sort of a long story."

"Great story," Eduardo said, joining the crowd.

"Thanks," Clark replied.

Several other people came over and congratulated them before Perry's voice 
sounded in the newsroom.

"All right everyone. Back to work. This is a paper not happy hour at Casey's." 
However, as he spoke, he crossed the newsroom floor to where Lois and Clark were 
standing. "Good work, kids," he said. "So any idea yet about that antidote?"

"We were just about to start looking into that," said Clark.

"So what are you waiting for?" Perry demanded. "Get me that story."

Lois and Clark shared a small grin as Perry turned around and headed back to his 
office.

"You're only as good as your next story," Clark said, walking over to his desk 
and picking up his phone messages. Lois followed and then watched as he briefly 
scanned them. Suddenly, he stopped, holding one longer than the rest as if lost 
in thought.

"What?" asked Lois. When he passed her the piece of pink paper, she read the 
name, the concentrated look that had been on Clark's face a moment before now 
also on hers. "Nigel St. John," she read out loud before looking again at Clark.

"Isn't Nigel the name of the man Luthor mentioned?" asked Clark.

"And St. John is the name the men who bugged your apartment mentioned," added 
Lois.

Their eyes met for a moment before Lois reached over and picked up the phone 
dialing the number St. John had left. It was only a moment more when Lois heard 
a voice say, "Metropolis Jail. How may I direct your call?"

"Do you have a Nigel St. John there?" Lois asked, as Clark moved closer to 
listen in. Although it was unnecessary, given Clark's new hearing abilities, 
Lois moved the phone away from her ear to place it between them.

"Prisoner or employee?" the voice asked.

"I'm afraid I really don't know," Lois replied.

"One moment please," the receptionist said, following which soft music began 
playing. It really was only a moment later when the receptionist came back on 
the line. "Mr. St. John is an inmate. I'm afraid he can't come to the phone."

Lois glanced at Clark. "Do you think we could set up an appointment to come down 
and see him?"

"Certainly," said the receptionist. "Visiting hours are between nine and eleven 
and between two and four. When would you like to come?"

It was only a matter of moments more before Lois and Clark were waiting for the 
arrival of the elevator, on their way out of the newsroom for their nine o'clock 
meeting with Nigel St. John. The doors slid open and Clark noticed two people 
inside. When they didn't move to get out, Clark took a step towards the 
elevator. He was stopped by a small gasp coming from Lois. He glanced over at 
her. She was as white as a sheet.

"Mom? Dad?" her whispered voice asked in disbelief.

"It really is you," the woman whispered in response. 

"When we saw your name on the article this morning, we thought... we hoped..." 
the man added before his voice trailed off.

The elevator doors began to slide closed. Clark reached out a hand and stopped 
them since it was obvious that none of the others had even really noticed. When 
no one said anything more, Clark decided to prompt them. 

"I take it you're Dr. and Mrs. Lane," Clark said, offering Lois' father his free 
hand. 

"Umm... Yes," said Dr. Lane, dragging his mind and eyes away from his daughter 
long enough to take the hand being offered to him. 

"I'm Clark Kent. Lois' partner," Clark continued. "Please," he said, gesturing 
the two people out of the elevator. This action seemed to bring Lois' parents 
around and they entered the newsroom.

There was another moment of awkward silence before Sam began to speak, only to 
be cut off by his ex-wife. 

"We are both so sorry," Ellen Lane told her daughter.

Lois looked at her in disbelief. Her mother never apologized. It was one of the 
most vivid memories Lois had of her mother.

"We should have believed you right from the beginning about the Colonel," Ellen 
continued. "I spent the last ten years blaming your father for your 
disappearance. But I was as much to blame as he was. Can you ever forgive us?"

"Mom?" Lois whispered and a moment later, she was lost in an awkward embrace.

* * * * * * * * *

Nigel St. John wasn't the only one who had read the Daily Planet's article with 
interest. Brigadier General Burton Newcombe also carefully read every word. He 
was relieved to find that the article contained no mention of Jason Trask. He 
scanned through the rest of the paper quickly. There were no other articles by 
either Clark Kent or Lois Lane and no mention of the incident at Clark's 
apartment a couple of nights ago. He laid down the paper and closed his eyes 
briefly. That had been close.

* * * * * * * * *

"I hope you don't mind me inviting them to come for supper," said Lois as she 
and Clark made their way up the steps to the Metropolis Jail. 

"Mind?" gasped Clark in disbelief. "They're your parents, Lois. I think it's 
great." His voice then got much more contemplative. "Although I am a little 
nervous about what they'll think when they learn we share an apartment."

Lois snorted in amusement. "Clark, I've been on my own now for ten years. Do you 
really think I care what they think?"

Before Clark could respond, they were interrupted by a familiar male voice.

"What are you doing here?" the voice asked.

Lois and Clark turned to see Henderson approaching.

"We have an appointment to see a man named Nigel St. John. He left a message for 
us this morning," Clark explained.

"He called me too," said Henderson.

"Well," said Lois, "let's go find out what this is all about."

"Oh," said Henderson. "Lois, before I forget. I contacted the N.Y.P.D. 
yesterday."

"Yes?" asked Lois nervously, remembering Luthor's comments about her being 
wanted by the New York Police.

"They've agreed to withdraw the outstanding charges against you - given 
everything you did to bring this Luthor thing to light."

Lois felt Clark gently squeeze her shoulder. "Thank you, Henderson," she 
responded. Even if the charges hadn't been overly serious, it was good to 
finally have yet another issue resolved.

* * * * * * * * *

Having Henderson there moved things along quickly. As a result it was only a few 
minutes before Nigel St. John was brought into a large sitting room. Everyone 
introduced himself before taking a seat around a circular table. 

"Do you mind telling us exactly who you are and why we're all here?" Henderson 
asked.

"Well, I was Lex Luthor's right hand man. After reading Lane and Kent's article 
in the Daily Planet today, it occurred to me that there is still a lot that you 
don't know."

"So you want to tell us the rest?" asked Lois.

Nigel smiled. "I want to make a deal."

"I don't see why we need you," said Henderson. "After all, Luthor's dead, so 
there won't be a trial. Why would I want to make a deal with you?"

"Because you still don't seem to know where to find the antidote," Nigel said, 
causing the three other people at the table to sit up straighter and look at him 
with greater interest. "Because I'm sure there are still a lot of other 
q