The Hand that Rocks by Christy Landrum Rated PG-13 Submitted June 2001 ------------ "Somebody help! The bridge is going to collapse!" The frightened voice made Clark Kent jerk his head up suddenly, earning a few skeptical looks from his Daily Planet colleagues. Clark looked over at his partner and fiancee, Lois Lane. She raised her eyebrows questioningly, and made a quick hand motion under the table. Clark nodded furtively. "Ah...Perry...?" "Clark has to..." Lois and Clark started at the same time. Perry slowly looked over at the two of them expectantly. "Any particular reason why you two are disrupting my staff meeting?" he drawled. "Yes, actually," Clark answered, standing up. "I...uh..." "Doctor's appointment," Lois filled in. "Right," he said as he turned to the door, then as an afterthought, coughed for good measure. He walked briskly through the bullpen of the Daily Planet until he got to the stairwell. Then he zoomed up and up over the stairs until he came to the roof, where he spun into his suit and took off with a sonic boom in the direction of the cries for help. He sped through the air over Metropolis, following the screams, which were originating from the New Troy suspended bridge. He hovered in the air, watching in horror as the normally proudly standing structure leaned dangerously to the leeward side. Thankfully, all the travelers had made it to the other side of the bridge by now, so he wouldn't have to worry about them. His eyes widened as he saw the reason for the bridge's unsteadiness. Two of the huge cables that helped support it were gone. There was no clue that they had ever even existed. They were just...gone. Impossible. Clark flew higher into the air so he could better grasp the situation. To his even greater bewilderment, upon x-raying the gray water underneath the bridge, Clark found the huge cables spread to their full length at the bottom of the river. This was just too weird. Shaking his head sadly and doubting his sanity, he dove down and into the water. The most important thing now was to fix the problem before anyone got hurt. He could figure out how it had happened later. He wrapped his arms around one end of one of the cables and heaved upwards. A huge rumbling sound filled his ears as the cable moved from its accepted grave on the bottom of the river. He exploded out of the water with his heavy burden and surveyed the situation. He was no engineer, so he wasn't exactly sure how the bridge actually fit together. He quickly came to the decision that he could weld the cable into the bridge with his heat vision for the time being, until the real deal could repair the damage. That thought in mind, he hauled the cable up and up. Screams were still coming from the sidelines with each lurch the bridge took. Clark could imagine that the citizens were as frightened and confused as he was. As he set to his task, Clark couldn't help but notice a strange feeling, one that he hadn't felt before. At first, he couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly, but as he sent furtive glances over his shoulder every few minutes, he realized shamefully that it was paranoia. It felt like he was being watched. the sane part of his mind argued against him. There were a hundred, if not more, people watching him from the ground. But even as Clark told himself that, he couldn't quite give an explanation for the way he felt right now. Suddenly, Clark was in the air over Metropolis, zooming over the tall skyscrapers. He stopped himself in midair, and looked around his surroundings with incredulity. How in the world...? Remembering his previous engagement, he flew towards the New Troy Bridge. It stood as it always did, in completion, with the normal noonday amount of traffic. What was going on? Was Clark going insane? It sure seemed that way. He slowly turned in the air and found himself on the roof of the Daily Planet. No, this was *definitely* not right. Not even he could move that fast. Especially when he hadn't meant to. He stood still, afraid to move for fear that he might find himself in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean or somewhere worse. "You dealt with that terrifically, though I'm sure I could have done better," a jovial voice called out from behind Clark. Clark whirled around, and was taken aback by the figure he saw behind him. The figure that was *floating*, with its legs crossed and its hands clasped in front of it. It had dark, curly hair, and the dark green clothes it wore reminded Clark of one of Santa's elves. Clark watched the figure as it floated up and down with a mixed look of anger and amusement. The creature unfolded its legs and stretched them out in front of him, then landed on the ground softly. He held out his hand to Clark in a friendly gesture. "Mxyzptlk. Well, Mr. Mxyzptlk," he corrected. "But you already know me, so why the need for introductions?" "I think if I knew you, I would remem... hey!" Clark jerked his hand back from Myxzptlk's. He had shaken it, but then something like an electric shock, or what Clark thought an electric shock would feel like, had gone through Clark's hand and up his body. It tingled, and for a moment, Clark felt his whole body shudder. He looked up angrily at the creature, who was smiling savagely. "What are you?" Clark asked, still shaking his hand slightly to rid it of the tickling sensation that seemingly ran through his veins. "Oh, come on, Supes! I'm hurt. You don't know who I am?" "No, I don't. And I don't think I'd care to either." Mxyzptlk pulled an enormous watch out of his pocket. He studied it for a moment before groaning loudly. "Sorry, my mistake. I arrived a few years too early. Oh well, no matter." He stuck the watch back into his back pocket. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to leave the 5th dimension? No wonder there was some confusion about *when* I actually wanted to arrive." "Hold on, 5th dimension?" Clark echoed, still very confused. This whole conversation wasn't really happening, was it? "Yes, dearest Clark, I'm Mxyzptlk, imp from the 5th dimension," the creature said patiently, as if teaching a child something. Clark faltered when he noticed that Mxyzptlk had called him Clark, and not Superman. Mxyzptlk rolled his eyes at Clark. "And yes, I know you and Clark Kent are one and the same person. But I really don't care. It's kind of a long story. How about I just show you instead of trying to explain everything?" Before Clark could protest, the imp grabbed his hand. Suddenly, they were floating directly above a huge Christmas tree. Clark realized he wasn't floating on his own accord: he couldn't move. He moved his finger experimentally, but nothing happened. It was as if he had been paralyzed; he was completely without control. "Day 1." Clark noticed that Mxyzptlk was floating beside him when the nasty little creature spoke. "What did you do to me?" Clark demanded, trying desperately to free himself of the invisible hold that had been put on his limbs. Ignoring Clark, Mxyzptlk continued. "It's Christmas Eve. You go out to do your Boy Scout doings, and when you're done, you come back to the Daily Planet." Images floated through Clark's head. A bank robbery. A man falling off a building. The Daily Planet elevator. "Enter: me. See, I don't really...like you. At all. You're much too good for my taste. So here was my plan. Take away tomorrow. If there were no tomorrow, there would be no hope for tomorrow. Right? And everyone would fall into despair, and look up to me to help them. A foolproof plan. But you just had to be there, didn't you? Always messing up other people's plans. I needed to get rid of you, too, because you're a sickening beacon of hope, and if the humans still had you to turn to, they would never lose their hope. So I tried to get rid of you, but you very unfairly condemned me back to the 5th dimension. And that's pretty much where we now are." Clark didn't exactly remember the events, but it did seem as if he recognized them from somewhere. It was as if he was watching a movie that he had seen long ago, and was now watching it on fast forward. He saw himself, Lois, his parents, and everyone else moving at unnatural speeds at Mxyzptlk went on to explain their actions. Several times he noticed the wedding ring on both his and Lois' hands, but they weren't married yet. When he was certain his brain would explode from all this baffling information, he found himself suddenly back on the roof of the Daily Planet, with control of his body again. "So, let me get this straight. You've been here before, but in the future. And Lois and I sent you back to the 5th dimension. I think I'm following the main idea. But I'm still confused...why are you here now?" Clark asked very slowly. He noticed that the tingling in his hand was back again, and he shook it slightly, trying to rid it of the uncomfortable feeling. "I thought I had made myself clear! I don't like you! And I want to rule this world." "And how are you going to do that? I won't let you do anything," Clark said, folding his arms across his chest. "Easy. I already have you." "Have me? What are you talking about?" Clark was afraid of where this conversation was leading. Mxyzptlk just grinned wickedly and changed the subject. "Did you like the job I did on the bridge? I give it an A+." "You did that?" Clark asked incredulously. Maybe he was underestimating this little demon. "Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head. I put everything back to normal." "But what if someone had gotten hurt?" Clark shook his head. He was fighting a losing battle. And he was still utterly confused. He would love to get his hands on the little creature and wring its scrawny little neck until he got some answers. Mxyzptlk suddenly giggled. Clark narrowed his eyes at the imp, who was again floating in the air. "Oh, it's nothing against you, Clark. It's just...well, wouldn't you just love to get your hands on me right now?" Clark looked at the imp suspiciously. Could he read minds as well as everything else? "Because if you did," the imp continued, "well, I would just say that it would be trouble for you to get your hands on anything at the moment." Before Clark could even begin to answer, Mxyzptlk suddenly disappeared with a poof of smoke. Just like that. Gone. Clark looked around his surroundings in perplexity. *Now* what did he do? He turned to head back down the stairs and get Lois' opinion on everything when he heard a cry for help. With a sigh, he lifted into the air. He would have to wait until later to sift through all his thoughts and try to figure out what exactly had just happened to him. **************** Superman looked grimly at the woman preparing to leap from the ledge nine stories high. He floated slowly down towards her and then hovered a foot in front of her. Her eyes that had been clenched in fear now opened and sent Superman a wide-eyed look of terror mixed with relief. "Superman!" she cried. "I...I don't think I want to do this anymore," the young woman said, continuously sending furtive glances to the busy Metropolian sidewalk below. She couldn't have been older than 25, Clark decided. Her knuckles were white from the strength she was using to clutch the stone wall behind her. "I don't think I can turn around though, so can you please help me get down?" Clark floated closer to her and gave her a gentle smile. "Of course. And I'm glad you decided not to jump. Believe me, your life is worth living." She nodded. "I think I figured that out." Clark smiled again, feeling good that with all that had gone wrong that day, at least he could save a life. He put one arm under the woman's arms and one under her legs, waited until she had a tight hold around his neck, then started floating slowly towards the ground. Unexpectedly, Clark felt the woman suddenly tense in his arms, and then she dropped her hold on his neck. He stopped and hovered in the air, wondering what could possibly be wrong. Suddenly, without warning, she let out a cry of agony. Clark looked down at her, confused, and saw that tears had begun to stream down her face. "What is it? What's wrong?" Clark asked anxiously. The woman didn't answer; she tried to roll out of Clark's grasp, but he caught her before she could. Had she decided she was suicidal after all? Clark realized she would probably be safer on the ground, so he floated quickly to the sidewalk. People around them stopped and watched in amazement as Superman laid the screaming, crying, writhing woman on the sidewalk. The young woman said something, but her voice was so marred by her crying that even Superman couldn't make out what she said. "What is it?" he asked, leaning closer to her. "It...hurts. So bad," she gasped out. "What hurts?" When she didn't answer, he said, "I'll take you to a hospital." At her nod of consent, he placed his arm under her head again. She exhaled a sharp burst of air and moaned in agony. Something was seriously wrong with the girl, Clark decided, but he didn't know what it was. She needed to get to a hospital quickly. He placed his other arm under her knees and lifted her up into his arms. "No!" she cried in pain, and Clark faltered. Was he holding her wrong? Was something wrong with her neck or back that would make this position hurt? He placed her back on the ground and looked up at the crowd of people milling around. "Someone call an ambulance!" he said tersely, and several people pulled out a cell phone at his commanding tone. The woman lay on the ground, still twisting from the pain. Clark waited anxiously for the sound of the sirens. Couldn't anything go right today? He lay a hand on the woman's arm comfortingly. "Your touch...hurts!" Those three words echoed in his head for a very long time after the woman gasped them out. He jerked his hand back. How could he be hurting her? He was just...touching her. No grip, no pressure. But when he looked, he found four dark red marks on her arm, all in a row. As if someone had branded their fingers into her skin. He jumped back very quickly, but then the world seemed to slow down. He looked down at the woman on the ground. He looked around at the crowd, who was now staring at him with accusing eyes. He looked down at his hands. "What did you do to her?" A presumptuous voice broke through to Clark's mind. He looked down at the angry man standing beside him with a deer-in-the-headlights look. What *had* he done to her? "I-I don't know...I mean, nothing..." Clark said quickly, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman on the ground. Her eyes were closed, and she was quiet except for an occasional moan. Clark could guess that she had fainted, but he was too frightened to get close enough to be sure. Finally, the wail of sirens filled Clark's ears. He sighed with relief. Someone would be here to help. He stood back as the ambulance parked beside the scene. Four paramedics immediately jumped out, one carrying a stretcher. A fifth man, the driver, walked over to Clark. "What happened, Superman?" the man asked. Clark faltered. What could he tell the man? What did he even know? "She was on the ledge," he distractedly pointed upwards. "And she decided that she didn't want to jump. So I brought her down to the ground, but she started screaming. I don't know what's wrong, or what happened, but she fainted after a short time. I tried to bring her to the hospital, but she said," Clark paused, "I was hurting her." The man didn't seem to notice Clark's discomfort. He just nodded. "Something could be wrong with her back, do you think?" Clark nodded numbly. Clark thought to himself miserably. He floated up in the air, watching as the ambulance drove away. He needed to get away. Think. His head was so cluttered with the different events of the day that he couldn't even being to sort through them. He rose up, higher and higher above the city, without even realizing it. But was he overreacting? There could be a hundred reasons why the girl had said she was hurt. Maybe she really had hurt her back. Or maybe... she had epilepsy. Or maybe... And those marks on her arms were probably already there. Clark, in his panicked state, had just imagined that they were shaped like his fingers. There were hundreds of reasons to explain why she had been hurt. Thousands, really. Hundreds of thousands. But, as much as he tried to deny it, he knew there was the one chance that, somehow, he had hurt her. That somehow, he had sent an innocent girl, who had just realized she wanted to live, to the hospital. Clark came back down to float over the city, and then landed on top of the Daily Planet glove. He sat and pulled his knees up to his chest then dropped his head to let his chin rest on his knees. He couldn't believe that there was even a chance that he had hurt someone. He, *Superman*, of whom millions of people all over the world depended on and trusted. How he wished with all his heart that he wasn't responsible. He sighed as he realized he needed to go to the hospital where the girl had been taken. He needed to be sure that it wasn't his fault. **************** Lois Lane glanced anxiously at her watch for the umpteenth time. It was still 5:02. She was really starting to worry. In the past three hours, she had gone from anxious to nervous, nervous to worried, worried to angry, angry to really angry, and really angry to really worried. And Clark still hadn't shown up. She had checked the TV several times already to see if Superman was being kept away by some emergency, to no avail, but she stood up to check again. Why hadn't he called her? The only answer that her now paranoid mind could conjure was that he had been hurt or captured and he was now lying somewhere dying and she had no idea where or how he was. That *better* be the reason he hadn't gotten in touch with her, she thought, because if he had gotten her so worried over nothing, well, she would personally shove a piece of kryptonite- "Lois?" Lois spun around and threw her arms out to her fiance, all previous negative thoughts forgotten in her relief. Her arms found nothing but empty space. Clark had stepped back from her reach. She glared at him for a minute before her gaze softened. He looked more...drained than she had every seen him. That was the only way that she could think of to describe him. His eyes were dark, darker than normal, and tired. His lips were turned down into a distressed frown. His hair was ruffled, and it contrasted severely with his pale skin. "Oh God Clark! What happened? Are you OK? Are you hurt?" "I-I'm fine," Clark stuttered, his voice weary. "Really." Lois stepped forward again to wrap her arms around him for comfort, but he flinched away from her. He stepped back, but his sad gaze never wavered from her face. His behavior was especially upsetting to Lois because their relationship normally consisted of a lot of touching, and not to let her even give him a hug was seriously abnormal and extremely disconcerting. They stood silently for a few moments, then without making an attempt to move forward, Lois asked simply, "What's wrong?" Clark took in a long, slow breath and then let it out even slower. Something had happened to him, that was clearly evident, but... how bad had it been? Lois knew Clark normally tried to mask his emotions and act outwardly fearless, but she also knew that inside, he could be very sensitive. "Maybe we should go somewhere quieter," Clark suggested softly, nodding towards the conference room. Lois understood. The Daily Planet newsroom, even late in the afternoon, was loud and busy. Not the sort of place someone would want to pour his or her heart out. "It's almost time to go home anyway, so let me just go tell Perry we're leaving, OK? Then we can go grab something to eat or something." Clark nodded and sank down into the chair at Lois' desk. Lois walked towards Perry's office slowly, fighting the temptation to turn around and see Clark's sorrowful expression again. Being truthful with herself, she realized that his behavior was scaring her. Lois stuck her head in the door of Perry's office and found that he wasn't in. She shrugged to herself and stepped back, closing the door. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to face Clark again. Then she turned, and gasped. She realized with horror that the reason Perry wasn't in his office was because he was out in the newsroom. And seemingly having a hearty chat with Clark. She didn't yet know what was wrong with Clark, but she had a feeling that he wasn't up to a tete-a-tete with their editor. Perry looked up and caught Lois' eye. "Lois! I was just asking your fiance here about his lo-ong doctor's appointment." He turned to Clark. "You don't look very good, Son. Why don't you two go home for the evening and get some rest. I expect you back in here tomorrow morning to write on the King murder story though, all right?" Clark's back was turned towards her, but Lois could guess by his tense and still shoulders that he wasn't enjoying this encounter at all. Lois nodded towards Perry. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him." She prepared to wrap her arms around Clark's neck, but he swiveled his head around and shot her a warning look, and she held back, feeling very put down. Perry sauntered away towards his office, and Clark stood up, heading towards the elevator. Lois rolled her eyes at his back in frustration, then grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and followed him. They entered the elevator and stood silently for a full three seconds before Lois suddenly pulled the emergency stop button and whirled around to face Clark. "OK, buddy, spill it. What happened today? Why are you being so distant and stubborn and...and pale?" Clark averted his eyes from Lois' inquiring gaze, staring down at the floor instead. "I'll tell you, Lois. I promise. I'm just...really tired. Can we wait till we get home?" Lois stood silently for a moment, watching the defeated Clark, before she conceded. "Fine. But you will tell me." The last sentence was said more as a statement than a question. "Yes, I will." Lois turned and pushed the emergency stop button in, and the elevator moved down to the lobby. **************** Clark sank down onto his couch, mug of oolong tea in hand. He was exhausted, which was mildly surprising to him since he hadn't done anything too incredibly "super" that day. But he was tired, and Lois' investigative instincts weren't helping matters. He knew she was trying her hardest not to push him, and he loved her for that, but it was against her nature not to be curious. Lois sat down beside him, but stayed awkwardly distant. It pained Clark to see Lois so worried for him. He hadn't meant to give off such a depressed air, but it could hardly be helped. The trip to the hospital hadn't done much to soothe his guilt. If anything, it had made it worse. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. What he wouldn't give to just sleep away all his trepidation. But he couldn't, yet, because he owed Lois an explanation. The last thing he wanted at a time like this was for her to be angry with him. So he opened his eyes and sat up, resting the mug of tea on his knee. He looked up into Lois' apprehensive eyes, then began to unravel his day, beginning with the mysterious bridge collapse and on to the strange little imp from the 5th dimension. Not to Clark's surprise, Lois had a hard time believing him as he told her about Mxyzptlk. "Hold on. You were fixing a bridge that had very mysteriously been damaged, and suddenly a gnome, from another dimension, brought you to the roof of the Daily Planet, and then took you to the future, where we were married-" Clark cut her off. "You're making this sound way too complicated," he said with a slight laugh, the first Lois had heard since he had returned. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true." "Well, what did he say to you? And what were his motives? Was he here to help you, or...what?" Clark leaned back against the couch again with a sigh. "I don't know. And that's part of what's so frustrating. But I'm sure he wasn't here to help, because he very bluntly said that he didn't like me." "Why not?" "I'm not sure. Something I, or we, did in the future. This is all as mind- boggling for me as it is for you." Clark stifled a yawn and leaned forward again, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. Lois took this all in as calmly as possible. At least things between Clark and she had returned to normal. For a while, she had been afraid that he had been angry with her, the way he kept jerking away. But here they were, albeit the circumstances, sitting on Clark's couch for another possible late-nighter. Or not, she reasoned, as she watched Clark take another break in his story to stretch. It was normally Lois who grew tired first, for the obvious reason that Clark had super-endurance. But she knew he had had a long day, and he probably was looking forward to a long sleep too. She reached over to put a comforting hand on his knee, but he stopped her with a sharp, "Lois!" She leaned back to her side of the couch, startled and hurt. Clark removed his glasses and set them on the table, then clasped his hands tightly around his mug of tea, staring into the liquid intently. "I'm sorry. But there's more, Lois. Something else happened." At Lois' urging, Clark reluctantly related to her the incident with the girl. How he had saved her, only to find that he had possibly caused her more pain. He didn't tell her, however, how that in turn had caused him more pain than he would have liked to admit. He tried to tell her with as little emotion as possible. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want her to know how much this was eating him up inside. "So that's why you've acted reserved. You're afraid. Afraid that you're going to hurt someone. Me." Clark didn't meet her eyes. "Clark, I'm sure there's some other explanation for whatever happened to that girl. Don't beat yourself up when you don't even have proof that you did anything to her!" "But the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her. They had thought that it was maybe a seizure or something, but they couldn't find anything wrong with her. Just that something had caused her so much pain that she'd fainted." "Well, I for one am not going to believe that doctors know everything. Don't obsess over this; we'll get to the bottom of it, just like we do everything else." Clark managed a weak smile. "All right," he conceded, then he stood up. I know it's early, but I'm beat. I would offer to fly you home, but..." "Of course I understand. I have the Jeep anyway. I'll call you in the morning, see if you're up to going to work, okay?" Clark nodded, then followed her up the steps to the door. Without thinking, he leaned forward to kiss her. Realizing what he was doing, he froze. They stood unmoving for a few seconds before Clark leaned back and forced a smile. He brought up his hand and curled his fingers down in a small wave. Lois too forced a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow," Clark said, trying his hardest to hide the pain in his voice. "Yeah. Tomorrow," Lois echoed as she stepped out the door. She stole one more quick glance at Clark before hurrying out to her Jeep. How she hoped that nothing was really wrong with Clark, because she didn't think she could stand it. **************** Clark shut the door behind Lois and turned around, leaning against the door and breathing heavily. That was hard, harder than he had imagined it would be. How much longer could he do this, not knowing if one touch, one kiss, could hurt his soon-to-be wife as much as it had hurt the girl? He undressed quickly, then collapsed into his bed. As tired as he was, he couldn't coax himself into sleep. The day's events kept flashing through his head. It was like a nightmare replaying itself over and over. The little imp, what was his name, Mixerpiddle? Something like that. He was definitely the weirdest thing that had occurred during the day. Clark would have to try to find him, and get some answers as to what he wanted. And then there was the girl and the trip to the hospital. Clark had decided to visit her as Clark instead of Superman. Superman would have been treated on a higher level than a normal person would, and frankly, Clark had felt no higher than anyone else. Anyway, he hadn't wanted to see the girl; he just wanted to know if the doctors had found out what was wrong with her. So he had gone, and even managed to talk to the girl's doctor. He found out that her name was Erica Angel, and she was a 23-year-old undergraduate at Metropolis U. She was also diabetic, and the doctor had said that it was possible she fainted because of low blood sugar, but after testing, it was clear that her blood sugar was at a normal level. The doctor then said that it could have been a seizure, but that was unlikely because Erica had a good health record. Clark remembered the doctor's words clearly: "Of course, there are other possible explanations for Erica to have lost consciousness, but they're all either rare, or they wouldn't apply to her. She's a healthy girl. My belief is that maybe it was fright that caused her to faint. Perhaps she was afraid of heights? However, I don't suppose that would justify her choosing to leap from a building." Clark had just stood, nodding at the appropriate times, but not really listening. He already knew what had happened, just not how. He had somehow hurt the girl. That was why the doctors could find no explanation: there was none. He had declined the doctor's offer to see Erica; she wouldn't know him anyway. There wasn't much reassurance in the hospital visit at all, because she still hadn't woken when Clark had arrived. He left with the doctor's promise to call if he found anything else. But Clark knew he wouldn't. Because there was nothing to find out. The darkness of night finally claimed Clark, and he drifted off into a sound, yet troubled, sleep. **************** Lois woke early the next morning after a night of restless sleep. Her anxiousness to see Clark, and maybe to try to prove that the night before had been nothing more than a bad dream, spurred her to prepare for work very quickly. She was out the door and on the way to Clark's apartment within half an hour of her original awakening. She parked the Jeep across the street from Clark's apartment and sat for a few moments, watching his door. Inside, she could see that it was dark and quiet, and she was tempted to let him sleep. She should have at least called first. But she knew that they needed to get the low-down on that elf, and Clark would probably want to check on the girl in the hospital. Besides that, Lois had to write up a story for Perry. It would be a long day. Lois let herself in to Clark's apartment quietly, being careful not to make too much noise. She heard no sound coming from the house until she walked further in. The soft sound of Clark's steady breathing confirmed that he was in fact still asleep. Lois smiled as she walked towards his bed. He was floating a few inches off the mattress, and his blanket was wrapped tightly around him. She stood unmoving for several minutes, doing nothing but watching her soon-to- be husband sleep. Knowing that she, Lois Lane, was lucky enough to be marrying him still sent a shiver of pleasure through her body each time she thought of it. But if she was so lucky, why did this have to happen? Even if Clark's worries turned out to be nothing, they were both still getting hurt. Things always seemed to happen to them. Why couldn't they just be left alone to plan their wedding in peace? Lois was broke out of her reverie by movement from Clark's bed. He had floated back down to his mattress and awoken. He smiled at Lois sleepily. She sat down on the edge of his bed. "Morning," she greeted, catching herself just in time when she almost leaned down to kiss him. She had to admit to herself, she was halfway just humoring Clark by going along with his story. It *was* kind of hard to believe. An imp? Come on. But hey, she was engaged to a flying man. Stranger things had happened. He mumbled a greeting back and blinked lazily at her. She glanced at her watch. "Do you feel up to going to work? Because Perry expects us to write the story up on the Marion King murder story, and I thought you might want to try to figure out what happened yesterday." Clark lay silent for a moment. Lois waited patiently. This would be hard for him, she knew. To think that he might hurt people just by touching them would tear him apart. He sat up with a slow sigh. "I was hoping I would wake up and it would all be a dream." Lois turned so that they faced each other, then she took a deep breath. "Do you think that you could be overreacting? Just a little? Because I think that maybe you...we could be stretching this to more than-" "Lois," Clark said, cutting her off mid-babble. "I know what I saw. I saw a bridge suddenly repair itself. I saw some eerie being that knew what happened in the future. I saw a healthy young woman suddenly faint with no explanation. I don't know how, or exactly what, happened yesterday, but I don't want to risk you or anyone else. Please, trust me." "I do trust you, Clark. You know that. But what you saw isn't necessarily what happened. Maybe it was some sort of an illusion. So I think we need to investigate further, see what really happened yesterday." "I think so too, Lois, but what if what I saw happen... really happened? What if I hurt someone?" "You didn't." "How can you be so sure?" "Well, we could test it." Before Clark understood what she meant, she was reaching for his face. Then suddenly, he was gone. There was a whoosh of air that swept through the apartment, and then Clark was standing before her, dressed in a black suit, ready to leave for work. He solemnly watched her for a few seconds. "I'll go to the Planet, and we'll try to prove my theory wrong, but Lois, I won't do anything that could possibly harm you." "Clark..." Lois started, but didn't know what to say. What *could* she say? "Let's just go to work. We have a lot to do," Clark said, smiling weakly at Lois. Lois thought stubbornly. She stood up and followed Clark out of his apartment. **************** The elevator bell rang, signaling that it had reached its destination. Clark inhaled several long, slow breaths, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. He longed to reach for Lois' hand. He may have been the strongest man in the world, but at that moment, he would have given up all his powers for a bit of Lois' strength and love. But he couldn't, not until he figured all this out. He looked over at Lois. She gave him a brave smile, and he tried to return it. But it was difficult, because he was frightened. There were few times in his life when he had felt real fear, been truly scared. But this was one of those rare moments. If his speculations were correct, then he was dangerous wherever he went and whatever he did. One pat on the back, one handshake, one...kiss. They could be lethal. The elevator door opened, breaking apart his thoughts. Clark faltered as the onslaught of voices and newsroom sounds met his ears. There were so many people, everywhere. So many helpless, innocent people. They were all familiar to him, and none would refrain from giving him a friendly greeting as they did everyday. He shouldn't have come to work; he had known it all along. Lois met his spooked eyes and smiled gently. She hated that she couldn't hug him, couldn't hold his hand. All she could do was smile. As if it was doing Clark a lot of good. She felt like a grinning idiot. She leaned forward towards his ear. "Come on, Clark. You're just calling more attention to yourself." "I can't do this, Lois." "Yes you can. You've done it a thousand times." With that, she stepped out of the elevator. Luckily, no one had been looking their way, or else they would have seen Clark's hesitation stepping out of the elevator, even after Lois had. But finally, Lois sensed Clark behind her, and she turned around. He was there, and the elevator doors had closed. She felt a small sense of victory having completed this test, however minuscule it was. As they walked towards their desks, Lois spoke in a voice so low that she was sure Clark was the only one that could hear her. "All we have to do is go to our desks, sit down, and stay at our computers for the rest of the day. I'll get anything you need; you just work on finding out about Erica and the imp. I'll write the story that Perry expects from us." She turned her head slightly and saw Clark nod. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, boisterous Jimmy appeared. "Hey CK! The Chief got 3 tickets to the Metropolis-Orlando baseball game next Saturday! You wanna go? It's supposed to be a heck of a game." Lois rolled her eyes heavenward and then turned around, preparing to fill in for Clark whatever he couldn't. To her astonishment, Clark was smiling widely at Jimmy, looking as Clark-ish as ever. "That sounds great, Jimmy. We don't have anything to do that night, do we, Lois?" Lois was gaping at him, completely taken off-guard by his sudden change in mood. She half-expected Clark to throw his arm across her shoulders as he so-often did. "I...I don't think so, but I'll have to check our schedule, I guess..." "Great!" Jimmy said, but he was interrupted by a call for assistance from across the room. He looked apologetically at Lois and Clark. "I'll catch you later," he said, then dashed away. Lois looked over at Clark, her eyebrows nearly at her hairline. Clark shrugged almost ashamedly. "I'm trying to act normal." Lois nodded slowly. They made their way to their desks and settled down for a long, slow, and hopefully eventless, day at the Planet. **************** Clark was finally starting to relax. The day was over halfway through and he had made it without too much mishap. He had had one close call earlier with Perry, but Lois had successfully, though a bit suspiciously, managed to intercept a friendly pat on the shoulder. He had had one call for Superman, but it too had been safely executed. It had been a car robbery, and Clark had only had to stop the car and wait the few minutes it had taken the police to arrive. He wasn't exactly feeling good, but he was content for the moment. He and Lois, instead of having to deal with a lot of unnecessary questioning from Jimmy, had decided to do their own research. So Clark had been on his computer all day long, harmless to those that could be hurt. Lois appeared at his desk, holding a can of soda. "Thought you might like some caffeine, even though I'm not sure if it has any effect on you anyway," Lois said, handing him the can. She leaned over the computer to peer at his screen. "So, what have you found out?" "Not much, actually. You'd be surprised how little factual information there is on the Internet about imps, or anything of that sort. But I still have other places to check, so I'm not losing hope yet. I wish I knew how to contact this Mxy-guy, or know if he's even still here. Mmmmm, thank you," he said, referring to his soda. He sat thoughtfully for a moment. "Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if he was ever here. I mean, maybe I was hallucinating or something. But if he wasn't here, than I don't know any other explanation for why I can't touch anyone without hurting them. Speaking of which, Erica Angel was released not long after I left the hospital. They wouldn't give me any details over the phone, but from the bit they said, I concluded that the doctors had made no firm decision on what really happened to her." He shot Lois a despondent look. "I told you I did it. There's no other explanation." "That's not what it means, it just means that they...aren't entirely conclusive. Yet." Clark started to argue, but decided against it. He knew what had happened, but it was just a waste of energy trying to persuade Lois to think differently than she did. And after all, she was only doing it for Clark. "Well, what about you? Did you finish the story Perry wanted us to write?" "Yeah, I just sent it to him. It's kind of a strange story though. You know how Marion King was a prominent member of the Board of Directors upstairs?" She motioned with her hand towards the ceiling, referring to the group of people who ran the Daily Planet's sales and other business transactions. Clark nodded. The two had worked on this story the week before. "And they never found out who killed him, did they?" Clark asked. Lois shook her head. "No, and no one could think of any motive either. He was just a nice, rich, old man. It bugs me though-" "Hey Lois, CK, check out the monitors," Jimmy suddenly appeared at their sides, breaking off their conversation and pointing towards the television mounted on the wall. Clark looked towards the screen, his annoyance at being disrupted melting away into concern. Normally, the only time he or Lois would be alerted of a television program was when there was a breaking news bulletin, and those normally turned out to be trouble. The camera was giving an aerial view of the highway outside of Metropolis. Clark took a double take when he realized what it was. There were at least 30 cars in one huge wreck. It was right around a bend in the road, so cars going 70 mph didn't realize what was happening until they had hit it themselves. Clark shot Lois an uneasy look. There was a strong possibility that there were injured people out there. They needed Superman. But could Superman do anything? Lois sidled over next to Clark where no one else could hear them. "They need you, Clark. You have to go. Just forget about this thing for now. Please?" Clark was torn. They did need him, he knew that. But he couldn't help but think that all he would cause was more distress. "Clark, they're saying the ambulances are having a hard time getting to the people in the most need." Clark faltered for one more moment, then he took off towards the elevator, pulling at his tie. **************** Only moments later, Superman was flying over the highway. He was relieved to find that several police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks had already arrived at the scene, and were trying to figure out who needed help the most. He hovered in the air overhead for several moments. He needed to be smart about this; he couldn't just go diving in there in his regular manner, because his regular manner was dangerous right now. "Superman!" Clark jerked his head down to see one of the cops calling his name. He took in a deep breath, then flew down towards the mass of rescuers and uninjured people who were milling around. "Who needs help the most?" Clark asked, crossing his arms across his chest and speaking in his most Superman-like voice. He stayed floating several feet off the ground so he could talk to the group at one time, and so that he didn't have to risk anyone touching him. "Superman, there are several cars in the center that we can't reach, and that seem to be completely crushed together." Clark nodded towards the man who had spoken, then flew a few feet over the wrecked cars, x-raying down through the tops of the cars as he went. He decided that instead of taking his chances on actually picking someone up and flying them to the hospital, he could just pick up the cars and carry them back to the paramedics, then let them take care of them. This decided, he swept down and effortlessly lifted up an old gray Sedan, its occupant an unconscious elderly man. Clark didn't take the time to check for what type of injuries the man had suffered, instead deciding that he would be of more help just freeing as many people from the wreck as quickly as he could. He set the car down carefully, trying not to cause too much movement to the man. "Thank you, Superman," Clark heard the paramedic's voice behind him as others rushed forward to help the man in the car. Then suddenly, he felt the paramedic's hand on his shoulder. He wrenched his body forward away from the man's touch, even as he heard and felt the man shudder. A heavy thud filled his ears as the paramedic fell to the ground behind him. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. He was unwilling to turn around, to see another person he had hurt. But it really had happened; he couldn't just ignore that. The people around him, the cops and other paramedics, had all frozen when they heard the man's cry of pain. Clark shut his eyes tightly against their stares, and then he slowly turned around and opened them. He was a young man, probably Clark's age. He lay on his back on the ground, unmoving. His chest rose in jerky, erratic movements. Clark almost broke apart in front of all those people as his world came crashing down on him. So it was true. His fears, they were true. He suddenly took off, flying so fast that he didn't even hear the shouts from the ground below him. He flew as fast as he dared, trying to blow away his anger and fear. Why did this have to happen to him? He was supposed to get married! All he wanted was to have a normal life, or as close to normal as he could get. But now... He landed in the empty Arctic, reasoning that this was as close to how his heart felt at the moment. He hit his knees and let his face fall into the soft blanket of snow. He lay motionless for some time. All he could think was 'why.' Why was this happening? Why couldn't he stop it? Why were innocent people getting hurt? Why, just when he thought things were going to be okay, did life have to be so unfair? **************** Lois had always thought of Clark as a very strong person, inside and out. This weaker side of him was a stranger to her, and a frightening one at that. He wasn't normally the one to just break down, so Lois didn't really know how to deal with it. And he wasn't letting her try to comfort him; he just burrowed down under his heavy guard and wouldn't let her through. For instance, instead of coming to her for comfort, he had disappeared again. The newscasters at the scene of the wreck had said that Superman had arrived, but only minutes later he had left for no apparent reason, and he hadn't come back. The rescuers had been forced to try to help the injured people as best they could, though they all said it would have been much easier with Superman's help. So instead of coming to her for help, he had gone off to who-knows-where. It annoyed Lois to think that he didn't have enough trust in her to share all his feelings, but her heart also leaped out for him, to know that he was dealing with this all alone. She still didn't even know exactly what he was dealing with, but she was sure she could help him if he wanted her too. From personal experience, she knew that it wasn't easy to deal with things alone, after all, she had had to do just that until Clark had come along. She just wished that he understood that she was here to help him. She knew that he wasn't used to needing comfort, since he was usually the one offering it to others. That was one of the traits Lois loved about Clark, he had always been there to comfort her. Even back when she hadn't been exactly friendly with him, he had been there for her. She just wanted to do the same for him now, when he needed it the most. She sighed loudly as she pushed her chair back from her desk. He hadn't checked in with her, so he was probably off in some secluded place, like the top of a mountain or something. She had to admit, it was certainly easy for him to just get away from everything whenever he wanted to. Another day had nearly passed, and Lois had made no progress as to what had happened to Clark the day before. She still had no idea who, or exactly what, this Mxypickle guy was. She was beginning to think the Fates were against her and Clark actually having a normal life. Or even a normal week. The phone rang at her desk, interrupting her thoughts. She reached for the receiver. "Lois Lane," she answered, her weariness evident in her voice. "Hi." "Clark!" Again, Lois felt that sense of peace at knowing Clark was safe. Funny, normally she didn't have to worry about him. "I'm just calling to let you know that I'm home." Fatigue dripped from his voice. "You're home?" "Yes." Silence. "And I love you." "Clark...can I come over? Do you want me to?" Lois twirled the phone cord, feeling as nervous as if she had just asked him out on their first date. What if he was going to push her away from him now? She didn't think she would be able to stand that. "Yeah." Lois could hear Clark let out a breath from the other side of the phone, and she wondered if she didn't do the same. "Okay, I'll be there soon." "Okay." "Do you want me to bring dinner?" Lois turned off her computer, then shuffled through her papers, preparing what she needed to take home. "I'll cook something here." "Okay, don't go anywhere." "I won't." "I love you." "Love you too." Lois hung up the phone, then stood up from her desk. She hoped this night would go better than the previous one. Perhaps Clark would be in a better mood. But no, he would probably be the same. Depressed, quiet, withdrawn. Not Clark at all. She sighed as she headed towards the elevator. This wasn't going to be easy. **************** Mxyzptlk floated on his stomach high over Metropolis. He giggled aloud. This was just way too easy. Okay, yeah, so he had made a few mistakes actually arriving in the 3rd dimension. His plan would still proceed perfectly. Why wouldn't it? It was so simple it was laughable. If he wanted to rule the 3rd dimension, he didn't have to go through as much trouble as he had the last time that he tried. Sure, that plan had been ingenious too, he had to give himself that, but this one was ingenious *and* simple. It didn't get much better than that. He laughed jubilantly as he pulled his watch from his pocket. Now all he had to do was wait, and the world would be his. **************** Far below in the streets of Metropolis, a figure ducked behind a van parked on the side of the road. He glanced from the woman walking down the sidewalk down to the newspaper he held in his hand. The setting sun distorted his vision, but he was still able to compare them. So this was the woman he was after. He glanced up again, then narrowed his eyes. She was gone. It wouldn't take a lot to find her again, of course; he only needed a phone book to find where she lived. It was only one more inconvenience. He folded the newspaper up and tucked it inside his jacket, then stepped out from behind the van. He shrank back as a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled out from a nearby parking space, but then he stepped up onto the sidewalk and hurried away. **************** Clark stood up from the couch as he heard footsteps coming towards his door. He was incredibly relieved that Lois had arrived, because the silence of his apartment was ready to tear him apart. He reached the door almost before she had time to knock, and he ushered her in quickly. Her sweet scent hit his nostrils as she entered the apartment. How he wished he could just touch her, just kiss her once. A feeling of longing passed over him, but he pushed it away, deep down inside him. He needed to stay calm and controlled, or he wouldn't make it through the night. He followed her down the steps into the living room. "I made a pizza for dinner, it should be just about done." He passed her and headed towards the oven. Lois watched with amusement as he pulled out the pan with his bare hands. "It's perfect, as all your cooking is. I want to know why you are such a marvelous chef, and I can barely boil an egg," Lois complained good-naturedly, sitting down at the table. "Well, you've never had time to learn how to cook, so I figure the sole reason I was sent to Earth was to cook dinner for you. I hope you like it." He handed her a large slice of pizza, then pulled two cans of cream soda out of the refrigerator. Loaded with dinner, they headed into the living room. Had Clark not been worried about how he was going to get on with his life living with the guilt of injuring two innocent people, or about whether he was ever going to be able to take back the curse that had been cast upon him, or if he was ever going to be able to kiss Lois again, it could have seemed like a normal evening. Clark sat on one end of the couch, and Lois sat on the other. It pained him that they couldn't cuddle up together as they should have been able to, but he knew this was as good as it was going to get. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts as they chomped on their pizza, until Clark finally spoke. "I suppose you want to know where I was all day." Lois shifted her legs so that she was half-lying on the couch, but still not touching Clark. "The question has been running through my mind." So Clark told her about the wreck, and how he had injured another person. Another strong, healthy, young, perfectly happy person. He told her where he had disappeared to for the rest of the day: the Arctic. He told her everything he had felt and thought as best as he could remember. She sat silently, letting him talk, and he realized that it felt okay to be transferring some of the weight from his shoulders to hers. When he had related the events up until the point that he had called her, and Lois had had time to soak them it all in, Clark slouched down into the couch. He removed his glasses and placed them on the coffee table. Then he looked over at Lois. "Have you heard what happened after I left the wreck?" he asked quietly, not entirely sure he wanted to know. Lois answered just as quietly. "There were two fatalities. Six people are in critical condition, and they might not make it past tonight." She paused. "If the paramedics had been able to reach them, they would be in much better shape." A long silence stretched between them. "So it's my fault they died," Clark finally said in a monotone voice. "No, Clark, it's not your fault. I didn't mean that." "Right," he said. "Did you find any more information about the imp?" he asked, deciding to change the subject. Lois hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say more on their previous conversation, then decided against it. "No, I don't know where to look now." "I was thinking...maybe we, or I, could try to contact him. Do you think that's a...safe thing to do?" Lois looked at him doubtfully. "I don't know. What if he's dangerous? We have no idea what he can do." "You're right, we should probably do more research first before we decide to do anything. So...now what?" He wasn't really sure if he was asking about the investigation, or their lives. He knew both were thoroughly confusing him. "There are a lot of things we haven't done yet. We could ask Dr. Klein to look you over and run some tests, see if he can find anything that's changed you." "I already know there's something that's changed me. I can't make physical contact with anyone. I don't need a rocket scientist to tell me that." Lois glared at him for a moment. "I just thought it would be a good idea-" "I know. I'm sorry," Clark apologized. "I think my fuses are a little short right now." "That's understandable, I guess," Lois said. The silence stretched between them, each of them watching the other, until Clark suddenly leaned forward. "I want to just...touch you. So much. This is worse than Tim and Amber Lake's cages, because now you're so close, but I just...can't." "Clark...I love you, and no matter what happens-" "You can't say that, Lois! If we don't figure this out we can't have a future. You have to see that." "I do see that. But I don't believe it." The urge to reach out and wrap his arms around her was so strong that Clark was nearly shaking. He gripped the edge of the couch tightly with both hands. "Lois, I..." he started, his voice husky. But he couldn't think of anything to say. **************** The alarm clock finally went off, its annoying beeping filling the previously silent apartment. Clark heaved a sigh of relief. After lying awake for so long, he had begun to wonder if morning would ever come. In fact, he wasn't completely sure he had ever slept at all. The whole night had just been a twisting nightmare. Clark was so tired, and so lonely. After Lois had left the night before, he had been convinced that since he was so tired, he would be able to sleep and escape reality, at least for a few hours. But he couldn't even do that. Clark rolled, very slowly, towards the edge of his bed. He cut off his alarm, and silence again filled the room. Today was going to be a very long day. The last thing he wanted to do was go into work, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to call in sick. There was too much to be done. Then again, he could probably work better at home on his laptop. That way, he wouldn't have to worry so much about other people, and he would be able to concentrate better. He reached for his phone. He needed Lois' expert advice on what to do. **************** Lois agreed that Clark should work from home. She popped two pieces of bread into the toaster, the telephone wedged firmly between her shoulder and ear. Clark's rationalizing was good, she knew he would get a lot more done when he didn't have to constantly worry about other people's health. However, she hoped that he wasn't going to start distancing himself from the outside world. If they didn't find some type of cure to this disease, or curse, would Clark ever go back to work? Would he even leave his house? Lois didn't think of Clark as one who would ever reach the point of just mulling around all day in a depressed state, but she knew it happened to some people. And Clark definitely had reason to do so. She shivered despite the warm summer sun that poured in through her kitchen window. If this was frightening to her, she could hardly imagine how scared Clark must be. She mentally shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and returned to the matter at hand. Okay, so Clark could stay home that day, but she would take him out somewhere later, if only to dinner. He needed to keep contact with the outside world. She felt slightly strange at making decisions for Clark, but she wasn't about to let him allow his life to crumble. And, it sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine at thinking that this was what being married would be like. Making decisions for the benefit of the other. Taking care of the other. "Okay, so you're going to stay home. Are you going to keep researching Mix...Mixer..." She stumbled over the strange name. "I think it was Mixelpiddick, or something. And yes, I'm going to find out everything I can on him. If there's anything *to* find out," Clark replied dejectedly over the phone. "There's got to be something out there, somewhere," Lois said firmly. "Meanwhile, I'll go into work and write up something to keep Perry happy." She took a bite of her toast. "I'll call you later and see what you've found out, okay?" "All right. I love you." "Love you too," Lois hung up her phone. Her thoughts were grim as she prepared to leave for the Planet. She and Clark needed to get to the bottom of this quickly, because Lois didn't know how long she would be able to listen to the desolation in Clark's voice. **************** The shot rang out and echoed through the empty warehouse, but no one was around to hear. The man smiled crookedly to himself and pocketed the gun inside his trenchcoat. Perhaps he could get used to these villainous acts. He stared down at the body on the cement ground for a moment, then stepped over it disdainfully. He slipped out through a small door on the side of the building, the mid- afternoon sun such a contrast to the darkness of the warehouse that he felt nearly blinded. Before stepping out onto the sidewalk, he pulled his hat down firmly on his head so as not to draw attention to himself. He still wasn't familiar with the Suicide Slums area of Metropolis, even though he had spent quite a bit of time there lately. In fact, he had never even imagined he would step one foot onto its soil. But here he was, becoming a regular with the homeless. However, he thought cheerfully, he would only have to come back here one more time. He pulled a small sheet of paper from inside his jacket. He read through the three names; one already had an 'X' through it. Uncapping a pen that he found in his pocket, he put another 'X' through the second name. There was only one left. Lois Lane. She would be the easiest of all. **************** Clark had the sudden urge to pound on his keyboard. Instead, he pushed the laptop from his knees and inhaled slowly. There was nothing out there, on the whole World Wide Web, about Mixerpiddle. Or whatever it called itself. How did he expect to find anything if he didn't even know how to spell the name? He did get some search results for imps, but all that came up was fiction stories. Nothing that could give him any hard information. But could he really expect to get hard facts? How many people could possibly know everything about a mythical creature? Clark stood slowly, deciding he needed a break. His knees wobbled a bit as he put his weight on them, and he reached for the sofa for balance. "Whoa," he said aloud to the silent house. He must have been sitting down for way too long. He took a few unsteady steps forward before he could continue on normally. He entered the kitchen, bright from the late afternoon sunlight. Despite the time of day, he headed for his coffeepot. He had already made the coffee earlier that morning, so there was no work required. He reached for the handle on the side of the coffeepot, and lifted it off the counter. To his horror, his hand shook dangerously with the weight. He dropped it back onto the counter and reached desperately behind him for a chair. He found one and fell into the seat. He clasped his hands and held them tightly together. What was wrong with him? Since when was a pot of coffee too heavy for him? He was Superman! Hands still clasped together, he dropped his elbows on the table and watched a drop of cold coffee run down his arm. Maybe he was making too big of a deal of everything. There just hadn't been much circulation in his arms that day, since he had mostly been lounging on the couch with a computer in his lap. That was why he had dropped the coffeepot. Or maybe he was going insane. No, it couldn't be the latter. He was thinking clearly, and was very aware of what was going on around him. He just needed to get a hold of himself. Mechanically, he stood up and returned to the coffeepot. Concentrating, he again wrapped his hand around the handle, and picked it up. Steadily, he poured coffee into his mug, then set the pot back down. There. He had control of himself. He warmed the coffee up with his heat vision, then took a sip. He was fine. He had been concentrating so hard on controlling himself that the ring of the telephone completely took him by surprise. He jumped, and half of his cup of coffee splashed out onto his shirt. He muttered a mild curse word and stood still, considering whether he should clean up the coffee or answer the phone, and wondering when he had become so spastic. At least the hot coffee that was now seeping through his T-shirt couldn't burn him. Finally, after three more insistent rings, he stumbled over to the phone, still carrying his coffee. "Hello?" he answered. "Hi." It was Lois. "How are you doing?" "Fine," Clark answered, albeit a bit grumpily. He eyed his mug of coffee suspiciously before taking another sip. "You sure?" Lois asked anxiously. "How are you doing?" Clark asked, disregarding her question. There was a small pause. "I'm fine..." Lois answered slowly. "I still didn't find anything about the imp," Clark told her despondently. "Oh. Well, there's big news over here at the Planet." "Yeah?" Clark asked, his curiosity sparked in spite of his mood. "Yeah. Another Suit upstairs was murdered this afternoon. That's two Daily Planet employees in two weeks." "Coincidence? Or is someone after the Daily Planet?" "The police are running tests now on the bullets used, but they're not hopeful they'll be able to find out who murdered them. Both bodies were found in an old warehouse in Suicide Slums. The police went back to investigate more on the first murder, and when they arrived, they found another body." "Weird," Clark said. "Yeah," Lois agreed. There was another pause, and Clark took another sip of coffee. "How about we go out to dinner tonight? We could go get a bite to eat, maybe see a movie, we haven't really been out together in a long time." Lois said this in such a rush that Clark had to go back and think about what she'd said. "Lois, I don't know..." Clark started. "Look Clark, I know it upsets you to think that you can hurt people, but I really want to go out to dinner and there's no way I'm going without a date, and since I'm engaged to you, you're the first person I thought to call and ask out." Now it was Clark's time to be silent. He didn't know exactly why Lois wanted him to get out of the house, but he knew that was what her true intentions were. So... Would he go and make Lois happy and perhaps have a good time after such a morose day, but run the risk of hurting another person? Or would he stay home and do nothing, but run no chance of hurting anyone else? "Please, Clark." How could he refuse his fiancee's plea? Anyway, he didn't feel like staying home; every minute alone pushed him farther and farther away from his normal self. "Okay." **************** Lois was coming to pick him up in a few hours. Clark was really grateful that she was being so supportive of him; he had begun to see after the incident in the kitchen that perhaps he was being a bit unreasonable about everything. Lois seemed so calm, so collected, so in charge, but here he was, breaking down over a pot of coffee. He would have to be sure to act more cheerful when she came to pick him up. But it was hard for him to act calm or collected, because he felt anything but those. How was he supposed to act cheerful and suave when his life was careening wildly out of his grasp? For the first time in his life, he felt truly alone. Yes, he had Lois, and he was frightened to think what shape he would be in if she weren't here, but how could he keep her love in his condition? If they didn't find a cure, he knew that eventually Lois would drift away from him. She would always love him, he knew that, but he couldn't help but think it would turn into nothing more than pity. She would feel sorry for him: a man with superhuman powers who was confined into his apartment for as long as he lived, which could be a while, since he couldn't get sick or injured. So here he was, a man destined to be alone for an eternity, and no way to escape life. Wait, what was he thinking? He wasn't really wishing that he would die sooner than he was supposed to, was he? He needed to get a grip, quickly. What he needed to do was figure out how to cure this. He needed to find the imp, but he wasn't sure if that was possible. What if it had just come for one day and then left Clark here on Earth with no solution? So he needed a more plausible solution. He had considered going to see Doctor Klein, but he had dismissed that idea after some thought. What would the frazzled scientist be able to do for Clark? He couldn't help but think there was no cure for magic. He walked back into his living room, but then switched directions and headed into his bedroom with the notion of changing his coffee-stained T-shirt for a slightly less odorous one. However, the telephone by his bed caught his eye. He hadn't talked to his parents for days, so they knew nothing of his condition. He should probably call them, but truthfully, he wasn't in the mood to explain everything that had happened all over again. They would ask a lot of questions, and he was just too tired to answer them all. Still, he felt guilty about leaving them in the dark about it. And so, he sat on the edge of his bed and picked up the phone. He began to dial their phone number, but he faltered mid-way when his superhearing suddenly kicked in. He paused, listening. A girl was shouting for help. Without thinking, he slammed the phone down. In a whirlwind, he zoomed towards his closet, grabbed a Suit, and spun into it. But then he just stood there dumbly in the middle of his bedroom. What was he doing? He couldn't save anyone in his state. But the cries became more insistent, and some force outside of his rational thinking urged him towards the window. He could at least go and see what was wrong. Maybe he could call an ambulance if it was needed. And so, from his window he followed the voice towards the center of the city. It led him to an alley between two apartment buildings. He stopped in the air, attempting to stay high enough off the ground so he wouldn't be spotted. If someone saw him at the scene, but then he couldn't save the girl, there would be unwanted attention drawn to him. He searched the alley with his aerial view, not automatically seeing the girl. But upon closer inspection, he discovered what he had hoped he wouldn't. A young girl, maybe sixteen at most, was pinned against the brick wall of the alley by a much larger and older man. His heart dropped when he realized that she had by now stopped struggling and screaming. Now she was just weeping silently. He felt so stupid! Why had he come out like this? He couldn't do anything to stop the man without causing him, and possibly the girl, pain. He should have just stayed at home for all the good he was doing. But it was too late now, because he had come out. He thought quickly, deciding he needed to take a different approach to this. He scanned the street. There! About a block or two down from the alley was a parked police car. He could just tell the cop what was happening, and then *he* could handle it. Clark could still be of some help. He landed in a different alley closer to the squad car and spun back into his regular clothes. He winced when he saw he was still wearing his white coffee- stained T-shirt and large sweatpants, but he would just have to just ignore that for now. He jogged over to the police car, but then to his disappointment, he found that the car was empty. He jerked his head up, searching the busy sidewalk around him. He spotted the cop sitting at an outdoor caf‚, sipping some juice. Holding back a growl of frustration, Clark headed briskly towards the policeman. Dodging carefully around the people on the bustling sidewalk, he finally made it to the cop, who was facing away from him. "Officer!" he exclaimed, dropping his hands onto the table to get the cop's attention. The policeman turned his head to look at Clark. He raised his eyebrows at Clark and gave him a skeptical look. His gaze was drawn to the large liquid stain on the front of Clark's shirt. "What can I do for you, Son?" he asked, wearily running a hand through his graying hair. Clark shifted his weight from one foot to the other impatiently. "In an alley a couple of blocks down there's a man attacking a girl," Clark said breathlessly, not from really being out of breath but from anxiety. The cop gave Clark one more speculative glance, then he stood up from his table. "All right. Two blocks down?" Clark nodded. "It'd probably be faster to run then to try to park again down there," Clark advised. The officer gave Clark another long look and Clark groaned inwardly. Just because he didn't look in top condition didn't mean he wasn't sane! Finally though, the cop nodded. He started to walk past Clark, and hesitated for only a moment when he was directly beside Clark. He turned his head in the slightest of movements and sniffed the air. Clark was afraid his mouth was going to drop straight down in astonishment. The man thought he was drunk! Clark shot a very disapproving look at the cop's back as he started down the road. At the rate that man was going, Clark could have stopped a volcanic eruption halfway around the world! Clark sucked in a long breath, then headed down the street. He spun back into his Suit and took to the air again, determined to keep a watchful eye on that cop. To his relief, by the time he had made it into the air, he found that the police officer had the man handcuffed already. Still, his heart tore at the sight of the poor girl on the ground. She was leaning up against the wall, a light blanket around her shoulders and her head in her hands. He knew it would have saved her a lot of pain had Superman been there. But Superman wasn't. He shook his head slightly and flew back towards his apartment. **************** Lois hung up the phone, then studied the Post-It note that she had written down significant information on. The inspector that she had just spoken with said that, at the scene of the last murder, the police hadn't been able to find any information on who the murderer was. They didn't find any fingerprints anywhere on or around the body, and the bullet had come from a common semi-automatic pistol, which was owned by a quarter of the population of Metropolis. There had been no witnesses, since most that lived in Suicide Slums stayed out of other's business. So there were no clues as to who was the murderer. It bothered Lois that both of the men who had been murdered worked for the Daily Planet, but she couldn't quite decide whether she felt that that was coincidence or not. However, the police were pretty confident that the two murders were connected somehow. So, either the murderer had something against the Daily Planet, or... well, Lois didn't think it was just a coincidence. The murderer must have had some personal vendetta against the Planet's employees. The clock on her computer read 5:49. She wondered briefly where the day had gone. However, she had told Clark she would be there in a few hours, and that had been three hours ago. She had nothing else to do at the Planet anyway. The investigation seemed at a dead end, and Lois would let the police try to break the case. She had more important things to deal with, like Clark's condition. She stood up, went to Perry's office, and told him she was leaving. He reminded her to tell Clark to get well soon, and Lois promised she would. If only that would fix everything. She rode the elevator down to the parking garage and climbed into her Jeep. She would go home first and change, then go pick up Clark. Driving towards her apartment, she noticed something out of the ordinary. Was it just her, or did that black Camaro seem to be following her? She locked her doors. She turned down the road that led to her apartment, and narrowed her eyes when the driver of the Camaro followed her actions. Slightly spooked now, she turned down another road away from her home. The sports car followed her. She decided that it would be a much better idea to get off these side roads and back onto the main one. Instead of going to her apartment, she headed straight to Clark's. Even though he wasn't his normal self, she knew she would be much safer with him than alone. To her relief, when she parked in front of Clark's apartment the Camaro drove past. She clambered out of the Jeep and briskly walked up to the door. It took Clark a few moments to get to the door, but to Lois it seemed like hours. When he finally did open it, she rushed in past him and waited for him to close the door. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. "Someone was following me," Lois said. She felt a hundred times safer now that she was with Clark. She noticed that he had showered and was dressed in jeans and a black Polo shirt. "Who was it?" Clark asked, now even more troubled than he had been before. "I'm not sure. I forgot to get the license plate number," Lois admitted. "That's understandable," he said. Lois watched him as he walked down the steps and towards the kitchen. Did he look different from his normal appearance? She didn't think so. He seemed like normal Clark. Maybe he was feeling better, or maybe he found something about a cure... No, she shouldn't get her hopes up. She was sure that Clark would have called her if anything had changed. "So are you ready to go to dinner?" she called, plopping down onto his couch. He looked back towards her. "Are you sure you want to? Someone was just chasing you-" "Clark, worse things have happened. I'm fine. I think you're just trying to back out of it." He was silent for a long moment, and Lois was afraid she had said something wrong. Clark was awfully fragile lately. But finally, he answered. "Maybe you're right, I'm a little apprehensive about going out like this. But if you want me to, I will," he said, his dark, deep eyes looking into hers. "I do," she replied, feeling like the bad guy for making him do this, even though she knew it was momentous that he did. "All right," he answered softly. "Do you want to stop by your apartment so you can change into more comfortable clothes?" Lois nodded, relieved that he wasn't making a big deal about this. She would have really felt villainous if he had. But she was so proud of him for being brave. She was beginning to see that his Superman spirit never left him, even in the darkest moments. **************** He made a U-turn when he came to the end of the street and parked a slight way away from the apartment that Lois had just entered, trying to stay out of sight. So what if he was being a bit conspicuous? He knew what he was doing. After all, he had plenty of practice. He pulled out his pocket-sized binoculars when he saw movement at the door, and closed in on Lois and the man she was with. He guessed that the man was Clark Kent, Lois's partner. The dark hair and glasses gave him away, matching the pictures the man had seen. He leaned back into his seat. There were two choices. He could a) kill them both now or b) wait until Lois was alone again. He was a bit reluctant to go with A, because technically Clark Kent wasn't part of his plan, and if he murdered him, then it would be in cold blood. He wasn't a ruthless killer, just a man who liked to do his work thoroughly. However, he was getting a bit tired of waiting for Lois. She was always just out of his grasp, for one reason or another, and he was anxious to get on with the rest of his plan. Even so, he would have felt a bit guilty if one more person died. So, sighing, he pulled away from the curb and drove off down the street. **************** Lois was beginning to grow a bit fidgety as she drove away from her apartment. Yes, she felt a bit more comfortable now that she had changed clothes, but Clark had said hardly a word since they left his apartment. She felt constantly on edge and at a loss of words. What if she said something wrong and upset Clark even more than he all ready was? She scolded herself immediately after thinking this, because she and the annoying voice in her head both knew that it was for Clark's good that she had made him leave his apartment. She just didn't know what to do. She had never been good in awkward situations, because she was normally the one that caused them. But this was different. This was Clark, for heaven's sake! She never felt awkward with him, but maybe that was because they were always completely open and honest and trusting with each other. Now it seemed as if instead of Lois and Clark, there was Clark, and then there was Lois. The only thing she could think of to do to comfort him was give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be all right, but she couldn't do either. Maybe it wouldn't be all right. Maybe, after all they'd been through together, this would be the end. Wait, what was she doing? She was Lois Lane, the world's best reporter! She wasn't the type to just give up. And she wouldn't let Clark either. She looked over at him. He was staring out the window at the passing city landscape. She couldn't even begin to guess what he could be thinking. She cleared her throat and started in her best light-hearted voice, "So, Italian or Mexican?" Clark blinked a few times at her sudden break in the silence, but he recovered quickly. Okay, they could pretend nothing was wrong. They could hide from reality. "Whatever you want, you choose," he said. "Well, Tony's is closer to the movie theater, so we'll do Italy tonight. Sound good?" "Sounds wonderful," Clark said, though not completely truthfully. No, what sounded wonderful was curling up on his bed and never getting up. But that certainly wasn't an option tonight, and he was going to be cheerful. No matter what, he would have fun. Actually, he had been dangerously close to falling asleep. The mesmerizing lights outside the window had lulled him into some strange stage in between consciousness and slumber. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. In order to be cheerful, he needed to be awake. And he was cheerful. Since it was right at dinnertime, they had to wait for a while to get a table. Much to Clark's discomfiture, the silence that separated them was almost welcome. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy being with Lois, it was just that, lately, he was finding her curious nature a bit annoying. She was always asking him questions and pressuring him into pouring his heart out. So what if it felt good to let someone else take some of the weight off his shoulders? He would rather do that on his own time than to have her constantly badgering him to tell her his feelings. The confusing thing was, at the same time that he had these feelings, he also wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go. When...*if* they ever found a cure, he would never keep his hands off her again. He almost smiled at this thought. He watched her, her slim form leaning up against the brick wall of the restaurant. The street light illuminated her face that was turned slightly away from him. He could tell that she was more than a bit perturbed at having to wait in line to get into the restaurant. She was staring stonily into the restaurant, and her left hand was on her hip. Her engagement ring caught the light from the street lamp and shimmered whenever she moved her hand, and Clark's heart leapt. How could he even think of them getting married at a time like this? It was crazy, thinking that maybe things would work out. Their luck had to run out at some point. Their name was finally called, and Clark followed Lois into the restaurant. There were people everywhere. Clark could hear his own heart pounding wildly. This was a stupid idea. He followed Lois through the mass of people, stupid, darting through the crowd, stupid, stupid. They were showed to a table in the middle of the large room, but before Lois sat down, Clark interjected himself in between her and the waiter. "Don't you have anything, oh, I don't know, out of the way?" he said in his best innocent voice, shooting a sultry glance towards Lois, then looking back at the waiter. Clark could almost feel Lois's barely contained laughter. He laughed sheepishly, and the waiter, a bored looking teenager, rolled his eyes at them. Then he put on a mock jovial voice and said, "Sure! Right this way, please." They reached their new table, a booth in the darkened part of the restaurant. Lois and Clark slid into seats opposite each other, and the young waiter informed them he would be back soon with their drinks. Clark looked across at Lois, and she giggled when they met eyes. This was the Clark she knew, the joking, loving Clark. If only he would come to stay. "I had to get away from all those people somehow," he said, reddening. But at least he was here for now, and Lois was convinced that she had made the right decision to take Clark out. She knew it would do them both good to get some air and think about other things for a while. She picked up her menu and studied it for a moment, and noticed that Clark did the same. Even though they didn't speak, Lois didn't feel the same taut atmosphere that had been strung between them recently. She took this as the perfect opportunity to breach a possibly touchy subject. "Clark, I was thinking, have you thought about maybe wearing gloves or something? Because then, you wouldn't have to worry about touching people, because they couldn't touch you anyway." The look he gave her when she said this wasn't entirely clear to her; it wasn't anger exactly, but it wasn't content either. "I've already thought of that, but my aura extends several millimeters from my skin, so gloves wouldn't do any good." He took in a deep breath before he continued. "Anyway, I wouldn't want to risk testing it." Lois wanted to reach across the table and wring his neck. His it-would-be-too- much-trouble-and-I-don't-really-care-anyway attitude was ready to drive her insane. Couldn't he see that what they needed here was hope and optimism and confidence? She took a deep breath to calm herself. One of them needed to stay in their right mind. "Well, have you thought any more about calling Doc-" "Can we not talk about this?" Clark snapped at her, and Lois stopped mid- sentence. It took a minute for her to recover from his unexpected attack, but then she looked across the table at him, daring him to meet her eyes. He was staring at the wall with a stormy expression on his face. Lois thought stonily. Fine, if he was going to act banefully, she wasn't going to exert any effort trying to make him enjoy himself. She stared daggers through her menu, fuming. "So, have you decided what you're going to get?" Clark asked her, seemingly unaffected by his rude outburst. Lois continued to glare at the menu, curious as to just where he found the nerve to act as if nothing had happened. "Yeah, I think so," she answered in a high, controlled voice. They said nothing else to each other until the waiter returned with their drinks. Clark took his drink and sipped on it glumly. He hadn't meant to lash out at Lois like that, and he really had no excuse. It had been completely uncalled for, and he had regretted it immediately. She was only trying to help, and he loved her for doing that. Here she was, suffering with him, *for* him, and all he could do was act selfishly. He needed to apologize quickly before things heated up even more, but the waiter had returned to take their orders, so it would have to wait for a few moments. Clark gave the waiter his order, and Lois followed with hers. Clark winced at her dejected voice, and mentally slapped himself again for being so self- absorbed. The young waiter returned moments after leaving and faced Lois. "We're out of rigatoni. What would you rather have?" Clark shook his head slightly. Not what she needed at the moment. "You're *out* of rigatoni? How can you be *out*? Isn't this an Italian restaurant? Where I can get Italian food?" Clark thought desperately, staring down at his folded hands in his lap. The last, the *very* last, thing he wanted was for her to draw attention to them. "Lois." He interrupted her rant with a low, earnest plead. She stopped, taken off-guard by the seriousness in his voice. She glanced at him, and at the look on his face, she let her words hang. After what seemed like several long moments of them looking into the other's eyes, Lois finally turned back to the waiter. She gave him an almost-apologetic look and placed a new order. When the teen left, Lois turned back to Clark. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." "No, I should be the one apologizing. Really. I snapped at you for no reason, and I'm sorry." "Things seem a little tense now, don't they?" Lois asked, knowing it was true but needing reassurance for why she had gone into a rant over her dinner, or lack thereof. Clark blew out a breath. "Yeah, I guess they do." "Well, I'm sorry. This is all just so hard to deal with." Too many 'sorries.' "I definitely know what you mean. I guess we need to just calm down, and at least *try* to deal with this in the best way we know how." "Investigate," Lois finished for him, smiling slightly. She dipped her finger in her wine and idly stirred it a few times. At least Clark was sounding normal again. For a moment there, she had thought he had lost it. And if Clark stopped being Clark, what would be left of Lois? **************** Clark swung open the door, then turned around to watch Lois drive away. The smile that adorned his face felt almost foreign, since his muscles weren't used to it. But it felt good, extremely good. After dinner, he and Lois had gone to the movies, and while Clark couldn't remember the plot or the characters, he could remember smiling when Lois had begun crying during a particularly mushy scene. He remembered how Lois had playfully yet ferociously hogged the popcorn the whole time, and he remembered the slow car ride home, when they hadn't talked and yet communicated more than they had in days. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt content. He sighed happily and stepped into his dark apartment. Floating down the steps into his living room, he shed his jacket and threw it across the back of his sofa, then followed with kicking off his shoes. They flew across the air until they hit the wall and fell to the ground with a clunk. He floated towards the couch and landed softly, leaning back and closing his eyes with his arms folded behind his head. He wished that Lois could have come in with him, but she had rationalized that neither of them had had much sleep lately, and Clark had conceded that it was late. So she had left, after making him promise that he would show up for work the next morning. There hadn't been too much of an argument there, because Clark was almost looking forward to spending a regular workday with Lois. A strange noise jerked Clark out of his reverie, and he sat up, listening for it again. It had sounded like...chimes. There it was again, a sound like high-pitched bells. He stood up from the sofa, his curiosity piqued. Subconsciously tiptoeing across his living room, he headed towards the kitchen, where the sound appeared to be originating from. The streetlights from outside cast an eerie blue glow across his kitchen floor, and he scanned the room quickly. The large kitchen window was cracked, so he strode across the floor to close it. The sounds must have come from outside; after all, he lived in Metropolis. Strange sounds were of the norm. He stood at the window for several minutes, gazing out at the city. Even though the normal hustle and bustle of the city had quieted down for the night, the excited spirit of Metropolis still hung in the air. People moved from one place to another at their own pace, without being distracted by the lives of others. Life was running smoothly as it always did, with or without Clark. In the cool magic of the night, he could see that no matter what happened, Life rolled on its way, and nothing anybody did would change that. And being the sneaky thing it was, Life could take a huge dive for the better or the worse. Maybe Clark was just rolling with the punches, and after a while, he could learn enough to raise his defenses. Suddenly, ice cold hands clamped down on his shoulders and he literally jumped out of his reverie. Before he could even realize what was happening, or register the feeling of human contact, he was turned around. "Lois!" he yelped. "Oh God, Lois. Where'd you come from?" Her face was mere inches from his and her hands clasped down on his shoulders. He reached up and wrapped his hands around her petite wrists. "How is this possible?" She didn't answer, instead, she just smiled impishly at him. She removed her hands from his shoulders and moved them up to his cheeks, then leaned forward and planted a quick but passionate kiss on his lips. Clark nearly melted. He didn't care how or why this was happening, he was just in complete rapture at being able to touch her, feel her after so long of an absence. Then suddenly, she was no longer in his arms. Again, before he was able to process exactly where she had gone, he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He whirled around and found the imp standing before him. "Just kidding," it said, grinning wickedly. "She's not really here. None of that really happened." The imp laughed a high-pitched evil laugh that made Clark want to clamp his hands over his ears. Clark suddenly felt very weak and shaky, and he reached for one of the kitchen chairs for support. This wasn't happening. Lois had been there! In his arms! He had felt her, felt her delicate body against his, felt her kiss. "Don't look so stunned, Clarkie-pie. I was just being the friendly imp I normally am, giving you something that you won't have for a lo-o-ng time." He reached up and gave Clark's cheek a light slap. A deep, sudden rage billowed up inside Clark and he lunged forward at the imp, but it had dodged out of the way, even faster than Clark's super-speed. Clark grasped empty space, and twirled around in frustration to find the imp floating in the air. Clark crossed his arms across his chest and gritted his teeth. "What are you doing here, elf?" he demanded, trying to sound controlled and stern, even though inside he was boiling. *This* was the thing that had caused the hell that Clark was living in. His fury surged as he fought the desire to charge at the imp again. Instead, he clenched his fists at his sides and stared through fiery eyes at the creature. "There's no need for such brutality, Clark!" The imp said, sounding shocked. "And please, call me Mxyzptlk," he continued disdainfully. Clark filed this information away for future use, memorizing the name. "Now, why am I here? Well, I just wanted to check up on you. Oh wait," he giggled devilishly, "that's a lie. Actually, I wanted to see your face after 'Lois' kissed you. My tricks get better all the time!" Clark closed his eyes for a few seconds, desperately trying to hold on to sanity. He needed to get information from Mxyzptlk, not become psychotic. And he needed Lois back in his arms. Oh, how he needed her. "Why did you do this to me?" Clark demanded. "I thought I made that clear at our last rendezvous. I don't like your insane everlasting goodness or the way you think you have to help everyone and stop the bad guys, and I *especially* don't like how you banished me from this world." He leaned closer until his face was only inches away from Clark's. "You really made me angry, Clark, and I don't have much understanding or forgiveness. There's just no time for it. But I'm sure you understand that, you used to be a busy guy. What with being a reporter and a superhero, oh, and you were engaged, too..." He let his words hang purposefully. "What are you talking about?" Clark countered in a low, dangerous voice. "Nothing you do will stop me from being any of those things." "That's what you say now, Clarkie. But wait a few weeks, when you're too scared to even leave your bed, and then see what you think." Mxyzptlk backed up. "I'm not going to stay around forever, I have places to go and people to see." "What do you want from me?" Mxyzptlk crossed his legs Indian-style in mid-air and put one hand under his chin in a thinking pose. "Now that you mention it, I guess there's really nothing else I want from you. After all, I can do *anything* I want in this universe now, since you're out of the way." "I'm not out of the way yet, imp, and if you think you're going to get away with *anything* at all, you've got the wrong idea. I'm going to find a way out of this, and when I do, I definitely wouldn't want to be in your place." "Oh, I'm *so* scared, Clarkie! Don't flatter yourself though, you're not going to find a solution. I've taken precautions this time." Mxyzptlk extracted his huge pocket watch from his thin green jacket. "I'm off, because like I said, I have people to see. Great-grandchildren of someone who banished me before, you understand. Well, ta." And he was gone. Clark stared at the space that Mxyzptlk had just occupied. Suddenly, with a cry of fury, Clark drove his arm through the brick wall of his apartment. Then, his chest heaving and breath raggedly escaping through his open mouth, he collapsed onto the cool linoleum of his kitchen floor. He pulled his legs up to his chest and let his forehead hit his knees. And for the first time in his memory, Clark began to cry. **************** Lois fought the urge to slam the phone down in her mother's ear, but being the collected person she was, she instead set it down calmly, then broke a pencil in two. How *dare* that woman call at a time like this and demand to know what color scheme Lois wanted her wedding to have! What a joke! The way things were going, Lois didn't even know if there would be a wedding! That last thought brought tears to the backs of Lois's eyes, and she fought them away mentally. There was no time for self-pity. Anyway, there would be a wedding. Of course there would be a wedding. She realized that she might have been a bit harsh on her mother, after all, she didn't even know what was going on. And Lois would be excited about planning her wedding if so many things weren't in the way. She guiltily moved her hand to the phone to call her mother back, but she stopped it halfway and turned to her computer. She would apologize later, when she was actually ready to continue on with the wedding plans. When she was sure they would need wedding plans. She angrily thrust this thought away. Lois pulled up the search engine on her computer and typed in 'imps'. When she received the same worthless matches she had seen for the past two hours, she typed in 'magical creatures'. Again, that was a no-go. A few days ago, she had been wary about letting anyone else know what was going on. Now, however, she was sure that Jimmy would be able to help them better than they could help themselves. She glared towards the elevator. She needed to have Clark's consent before she even let out a word about what he was going through, but she didn't know where he was. She had been *sure* that Clark would arrive at work that morning, as he had promised. He had seemed so much happier the night before that Lois was positive he had been telling the truth when he said he would meet her at the Planet. The elevator doors opened, and Lois held her breath expectantly. She let it out in an exasperated growl when Ben and Liz from accounting stepped out. Not Clark. She picked up her phone and pressed the speed dial for Clark's apartment. It rang four times, then the answering machine clicked on. Lois left a hurried message for him to call her back, then replaced the phone on its holder. Where could he be? Normally, she would have just figured he was out as Superman, but that didn't seem likely considering the circumstances. So where was he? "Lois!" Perry barked from behind her. Lois reflexively closed her Internet browser before turning around. "Clark still sick? I thought he was feeling better." Lois faltered. Should she continue the lie, or...make up a new one? There didn't seem to be any other choice. "Yeah," she answered breezily. "He said he might feel well enough to come in later though." That sounded plausible, and Perry seemed to buy it. "Well, tell him to call me next time and let me know when he's not going to show up. I'm still his boss," he said gruffly, then softened his tone. "Let him know we're all thinkin' of him." Lois smiled. "I will, Chief." Perry picked up his gruff tone again. "Anyway, there's a robbery goin' down on West Main. Get down there now." He walked away, muttering about what a slow news day it was. Lois thought ruefully. "Sure, Chief," Lois said instead, standing up from her desk. She grabbed her keys. This would be the perfect time to see if Clark was on Superman duty. Jimmy jogged towards her, his camera around his neck. "The chief told me to come with you." Lois nodded, but frowned slightly. Would Jimmy tagging along conflict with her talking to Clark? Probably not. She hoped not. "Ready?" Jimmy asked. Lois nodded, grabbing her notepad. She hoped with fierceness that Clark was at this robbery, because if he wasn't, something must have happened to him between the time that she dropped him off at his apartment the night before and now. And in his fragile state, she thought with dismay, there were pretty good odds that something could have happened. **************** The ringing of the phone awakened Clark from his restless sleep. He mistook the clanging for his alarm and reached towards his bedside, then he realized that his alarm wasn't going off. By the time his sleep-filled mind calculated all this information, the phone had stopped ringing and he had missed the call. He rolled over sleepily, and the events from the night before flooded his mind. He had seen the extremes of good and bad, from being on top of the world with Lois to being lower than pocket lint with Mxyzptlk. He was in his bed, and for just a moment he thought that his meeting with Mxyzptlk had just been a dream. Then he realized he was still wearing his khaki slacks and his white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and he could feel the hard trail of dried tears on his cheeks. He must have somehow dragged himself into bed after Mxyzptlk left. The meeting seemed like a dream, or more so a nightmare. Clark shuddered and shifted so his knees were now drawn up nearly to his chest. At first, when Mxyzptlk had just arrived in his apartment, Clark had been almost excited. He had thought that maybe Mxyzptlk would give Clark some kind of a clue as to how to get rid of the curse. But instead, the little demon had practically vanquished any hope that Clark may have had about returning to normal. His alarm clock really did go off this time, and he slowly leaned across the bed and clapped his hand down on it to stop the clanging. He didn't make any move to get up though, because he didn't see any point. Why should he even waste the energy going to work when he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything? It was only a matter of time before something happened that gave more innocent people pain. He had known all this from the beginning, but the imp's appearance the night before only resulted in rubbing salt in the wounding truth. Clark couldn't hide from it; the only way to be sure that no one was injured was to stay in isolation. Isolation. The word sounded so lonely. So... final. And he knew, in his head, that sulking around his apartment was just what Mxyzptlk wanted him to do; but in his heart, he knew that he just couldn't, *wouldn't*, chance putting others in danger. In the same way, his heart was yearning for Lois, but his head knew that being with her only raised the chances of her getting hurt. The distance between his head and his heart had never seemed greater. He sank back into his bed, pulling his comforter over him. At least he could escape from the harsh reality by sleeping, if only for a short time. He had gotten so little sleep the night before that he was tired enough not to really care about what happened now. He was so drained, whether it was emotionally or physically, that he could slip back into the protective covers of sleep easily. A siren suddenly screamed through downtown Metropolis, awakening Clark's enhanced hearing. The piercing whine roughly jerked him back into unveiled reality, where there was no dark curtain to shield him from the trepidation of life. He tensed and held his breath, listening carefully to be sure that everything was okay. Not that he could do anything whatever the crisis was; the way things were, Superman was useless. The sirens finally quieted, and Clark let out the breath he had been holding. There had been a robbery, and the Metropolis Police Department had been able to handle it. He was thankful that there hadn't been a more serious emergency, but he knew that one day there would be. What would he do then? He shut his eyes again, waiting for sleep to once again claim him, but it didn't. There was no escaping the severe, yet completely accurate truth. **************** "Thank you," Lois said to the inspector, pleased with the professionalism she was holding despite her circumstances. She swung her purse over her shoulder and stuffed her notepad into one of the pockets, then headed back towards Jimmy. He was shooting pictures of the elegant jewelry store that had been burglarized. Lois came up behind him and yanked on his sleeve to get his attention. "Come on, Jimmy. There's nothing else here," she said, glancing towards the sky. No Superman. No Clark. "Pretty wack stuff, huh? Triple-time burglars caught in the act with no help from Superman." Lois looked at him sideways and noticed him gazing upwards in much the same way she had just done. "Wonder where the big guy is? I haven't seen him in a few days, have you?" Lois grunted indeterminately. It wasn't good that other people were beginning to notice Superman's absence. Pretty soon, people would start asking why he wasn't ever seen anymore, and Lois didn't know what explanation Clark would give then, if any. She quickened her pace. *She* was beginning to wonder where Superman was. "Why the rush?" Jimmy called, hurrying to stay with Lois. Lois didn't pause. "We have to get back to the Planet and write the story up," she said, unlocking her Jeep and slipping in behind the wheel. That was true, of course; the robbery story needed to be written for the evening edition, but that wasn't why she was in such a hurry. She wanted to find Clark, and the only way to do that would be to drop Jimmy off at the Planet and then go to his apartment. If Clark wasn't there, then Lois didn't know where she would look. That was the trouble with trying to find someone who could fly; they could be anywhere when they wanted to get away. Once Lois and Jimmy were steadily heading back towards the Daily Planet, Lois turned to Jimmy. She had decided that, even without Clark's consent, drastic measures needed to be taken. Superman hadn't even shown his face at the robbery, so either Clark was away at another rescue, or he had decided he wasn't going to come out anymore. "Jimmy, when we get back to the Planet, I need you to do some research for me." Jimmy looked a bit glum at this, he had thought that Lois might let him help write up the robbery story since Clark wasn't there. "Research on what?" "Imps. Anything you can find out about imps, fantasy creatures, whatever." Jimmy gave her an amused look. "Imps? What are you doing, writing a comic?" Lois rolled her eyes. "Work with me here, okay? Just do it." "Alright," Jimmy answered, still sounding a bit skeptical. The rest of the short drive back to the Planet was filled with only a bit of small talk. Lois was too engulfed in her worry for Clark to really be aware of the outside world at the moment, and it was all she could do to pay attention to driving. There were hundreds of questions flying through her mind. Where was Clark? Why wasn't he answering his phone? Where did that teenager that pulled out in front of her learn how to drive? Would Clark be mad that she had let Jimmy know about the imp? How many more red lights could she possibly get stopped by before making it to the Planet? Where was Clark? She finally pulled into the parking garage under the Planet, and she hurried to the elevator, very anxious to get this story done with. She needed to see Clark. Jimmy was almost in as big a hurry as she was, and when she questioned this, he replied that he wanted to get his film developed quickly and see how the pictures had turned out. Lois smiled at this; she knew how excited she was when she knew she had done a good job. Well, maybe 'excited' was too light a word. More like 'aflame'. They rode the elevator up to the newsroom, and immediately after stepping out, Lois heard her name bellowed from across the room. Perry was storming from his office towards her, and she cringed slightly. An enraged Perry was not a nice Perry, and from the look on his face, she could tell he was upset. She squared her shoulders and tilted her head up as he headed towards her. She wouldn't go down without a fight. "Where've you been?" Perry barked, coming to stand before Lois and Jimmy with his hands making wild animated motions. "At the robbery," Lois said slowly. Something major must have happened between the time she left and the time she returned to exasperate her boss this much. "Let Jimmy write up the robbery; we have much bigger news." With that, he turned and headed back in the direction of his office. Lois looked over at Jimmy and shrugged. He appeared a bit bewildered over the whole thing, so Lois just slapped her notepad into his hand then followed Perry to his office. She was now very anxious to know what the 'much bigger news' was. She found Perry behind a closed door pacing back and forth across the floor. She couldn't recall ever see him pace so, and it made her quite nervous. He looked up as she entered. "Where's Clark?" Lois hesitated, taken back. "He's...sick, remember?" Perry waved his hand in the air off-handedly. "Oh, right. Have you seen the news?" Lois shook her head. Perry stopped pacing and stood in front of Lois. "You won't believe it comin' from me, but something insane has happened." Lois let her eyebrows raise in a questioning look. "The mayor of Metropolis and the sheriff of Smallville switched places!" Lois pulled a face. "Switched places? Why would they do that?" "I don't mean switched places. I mean... *switched places*! Suddenly without any explanation at all, the sheriff was here, in Metropolis, and the mayor was in Smallville!" Lois stared at him blankly, shaking her head in confusion. "Wha...What do you mean?" Of course, she thought she knew what he meant, but if what she was thinking and what he was saying were the same thing, then Lois obviously wasn't as sane as she prided herself on being. Perry seemed to have missed her question in his tirade though, since he didn't slow down. "No one knows *how* it happened, and it's all being kept very hush- hush. But Lois, do you have any idea what kinda story this would make? Was it a hallucination? A hologram? Or somethin' else? I want you to find out *exactly* what happened with those two people quickly and efficiently, and don't you dare get scooped." Lois was obviously not sharing Perry's enthusiasm, since she was doing nothing more than staring bleakly at the floor. Only one explanation came to her head. It was the imp. The same one that had taken away Clark from her. He was doing something, maybe playing games with them. Why else would he have picked the sheriff of Smallville? If it hadn't been for Clark, Lois would never even have heard of Smallville, Kansas. There was definitely something very strange going on. Perry looked at her expectantly. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She was clearly upset over this, and he could understand why. He was sure upset! "You have an idea of what happened already, don't you?" Lois looked up. Maybe she was jumping too fast. Was there really an imp? Or was it just something from Clark's imagination? Lois didn't doubt that something had happened to him, but he did act horribly different than he used to. So maybe he had just imagined the imp. If someone had told her a week earlier that she would even be *considering* a fantasy creature from the fifth dimension was behind this, she would have knocked them off their feet. She wasn't the kind of person to believe in magic, because everything had a reason and a way behind it. However, she admitted that she now definitely needed to talk to Clark before she did anything else. She turned to leave Perry's office. "Where're you going?" he asked curiously. He knew that look, it meant that Mad Dog Lane was on a mission. He smiled. He loved that look. "I'll be back later," Lois said as she stepped out of his office, not directly answering his question. She grabbed her purse off her desk and headed back towards the elevator. Now she could only pray that Clark was all right. **************** Lois parked her Jeep across from Clark's apartment. She had tried calling him on her cell phone on the way over, but again there had been no answer. Lois was sufficiently worried now. She sat in the Jeep for a few minutes, glaring out at the pouring rain that had begun falling only minutes earlier. However, her anticipation for seeing Clark won over her fear of getting soaked, so she swung the car door open and sprinted for his porch. She made it to his door and stood under the overhang, and immediately knocked loudly. After several minutes went by with no answer, she knocked again. He didn't come to the door. Lois pulled the key that Clark had entrusted her with several weeks ago from her purse. As she thrust the key in the lock, she was almost afraid of what she might find. What if Clark was lying unconscious on the floor or something? She shook this thought away and pushed the door open. The apartment was quiet and dark. Was he even here? Lois hoped with desperation that he was, because she had no idea where to look if he wasn't. She kicked off her wet shoes at the door, then proceeded down the steps into his living room. With a sigh of relief, she heard his deep breathing coming from his bedroom. He was lying on the mattress of his bed with the blanket covering half his body, sound asleep. Lois frowned when she saw that he was still wearing his clothes from the night before. Even his glasses still sat crooked on his nose. Lois checked her watch. It was nearly 1:00 in the afternoon. She had *never* known Clark to sleep in this late. She leaned forward and pulled the glasses away from his head, then watched him blink sleepily a few times. His eyes snapped open as he realized that someone else was in the room with him. "Lois!" he exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you were coming to work," Lois snapped accusingly. "Yeah. I was. But something happened," he replied, sitting up on his elbow. Lois walked towards his kitchen in search of a glass of ice water. "Like what?" she called behind her back. She looked around the kitchen. The same dishes sat in the sink, undisturbed since the day before. At Clark's always-neat apartment, this was an odd occurrence. "You haven't been out of bed all morning, have you?" She heard his footsteps behind her. "No," he confessed. Lois turned around and caught him raking a hand through his sleep-tousled hair. "Why not?" Lois asked. "I was really tired," he said, then realized that wouldn't be good enough. "And like I said, something happened last night." "What would that be?" Lois questioned again. She knew she was sounding a bit harsh, but it annoyed her that she had been so worried about Clark when he had been here, safely asleep. She took a towel that Clark offered her and attempted to dry her rain-soaked hair. Clark sat down in one of his kitchen chairs. He decided that it would be a lot easier just to tell Lois everything that had happened rather than try to make up lies. "The imp, Mxyzptlk, came here last night." "Oh Clark!" Lois exclaimed with sympathy. She felt horrible now for being annoyed at Clark, who knew what the imp had done to him! She sat down beside him, towel in hand. "What did he do?" Clark held back saying anything for a few moments. What would she think if he told her that Mxyzptlk had created an illusion of her? She would probably be scared. This Mxyzptlk was turning out to be far more powerful than Clark had first imagined. Lois would be afraid when she found out that the imp could create an illusion so much like herself that even Clark had been confused. Then again, she needed to know what they were up against. What the world was up against. So, very hesitantly, he told her what happened in his kitchen the night before as best he could. He had been so wrapped up in his anger and disbelief that the exact things that had been said were a bit hazy to him. But he told the key points and most important information. He didn't, however, tell her about his breakdown afterwards, for two reasons. First, he didn't want her to think of him as weak. That would just upset her more than he already had. He could tell by the look on her face that just knowing the imp was really and truly on Earth spooked her, and letting her know that Clark had crumbled underneath Mxyzptlk would only cause more panic. The other reason was that Clark was ashamed. He was a grown man, a grown *super* man. He shouldn't have cried, no matter the state of affairs. It was very embarrassing, now that he thought about it. He had never been a fragile person, but then he had gone and blubbered all over his kitchen floor like a child. He was angry with himself, as well as with the imp. Lois shifted uncomfortably in her chair. What did she do now? She tried to pull herself away from the situation and look at it rationally. Here she was, in the kitchen of the most powerful man in the world who she was also engaged to. This man, by some strange and evil twist of fate, was condemned to a life of misery. And she had to figure out how not only change fate by switching things back to normal, she also had to cheer this man up. And, she thought grimly, giving him a cookie and a pat on the back just wouldn't do it. She was going to suggest they take a walk outside, until she looked out at the rain pattering against window. Clark caught her gaze and followed it. "The weather is quite appropriate, don't you think?" The torrential downpour was gone now, leaving in its wake a misty sprinkle of rain. Clark watched the droplets hit his window. "I've always hated days like this, ever since I was a kid. Everything's just so dismal and gray. I think the lack of sunlight is what puts me in such a depressed mood, you know? I depend on the sun, and when it's gone, it's like I'm missing something." He looked back at Lois, realizing she was watching him intently. He smiled wistfully at her. "Of course, that was all before I met you. Now, even these dark days are bright. The sun is always shining. The sky is a blue that I've never seen before." He dropped his gaze quickly, pulling himself up. He realized that he had been on the verge of doing something stupid, like kiss her. He needed to get a hold of himself here. He couldn't forget that things weren't like they used to be. They were different now, and would always be. He cupped his chin in his palm and leaned on the table, then finally allowed himself to look up at Lois again. Lois tried to say something, well, anything, to break the awkward silence that followed Clark's emission, but she choked on her words. It was times like this that reminded her of how lonely her life had been before Clark. And how horribly desolate it would be if she lost him. A renewed sense of determination flowed through her. They *would* win. "Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you! Something very strange happened this morning," Lois said suddenly, breaking the mood. "Another murder?" Clark asked, frowning. He was a bit fearful of hearing the answer. Lois shook her head. "Even weirder. Out of nowhere, the sheriff of Smallville appeared in the mayor's office. And the mayor suddenly found herself driving the sheriff's car down Smallville's Main Street. Too weird, huh?" she said with a grin at Clark's perplexed look. "You mean, they suddenly just switched places?" Clark asked. "Exactly. No clues as to how they did, either. Just suddenly, boom, they took a one-way trip across the country." Clark noticed that old spark in Lois's eyes. "You know how it happened, don't you?" "I have a hunch," Lois admitted. "I think it was the imp. I think he's trying to get your attention." Clark let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, he's got it." Lois studied Clark carefully. She hadn't overlooked the flash of pain that had crossed Clark's face when she'd mentioned the imp, but she figured this was as safe a time as any to bring up the subject, since he seemed to be opening up for her. "Clark, last night, did you ask the imp *what* he did to you exactly?" Clark turned to her suddenly, a feeling of shame running through him. "I wasn't really thinking clearly. I should have asked, I guess I was just so confused about everything..." He rambled off quickly, then let his words hang. Lois almost reached over to place her hand over his comfortingly, but caught herself. Clark, however, noticed the gesture. He looked at her blankly, which in turn caused a twang of sadness to run through her. "Clark, believe me, it's not your fault that your mind was on other things last night. You had plenty of other stuff to think about than the hard facts. Hey, can you imagine what *I* would have been like?" she said with a bark of laughter. Clark gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "A wreck." Lois looked at him in mock horror, but couldn't keep up the charade for very long. "Exactly. So just be happy you're not me." She wasn't very good at comforting. She had almost made Clark feel more worse than better. Things needed to get back to normal soon, she thought for the millionth time. "So. Now what do we do?" Clark asked. "We need to talk to the mayor or sheriff. Perry didn't say whether they had returned to their proper places yet, so whichever one is here, we talk to." "You talk to," Clark corrected, a serious expression locked on his face. "I'm not leaving the house. It's too dangerous." One moment she wanted to give him a hug, the next she wanted to scream. "Since when has walking down the street been too dangerous for you?" she flung at him. "Since I became a walking King Midas," he shot back. They sat glaring at the other for several moments before Lois sat back with a flustered laugh. "This isn't getting us anywhere," she said. "So...you stay here. And I'll go see what I can find out." "Maybe I can find the imp," Clark said as Lois began to stand up. "How?" Lois questioned, sitting back down. "Call him?" Clark suggested, shrugging. "He seems to know everything. Maybe he would hear if I just call his name." "Clark, wait," Lois said. Sure, he seemed better, but she had known Clark long enough to recognize when he masked his emotions so others wouldn't see how he was really feeling, or when he hid them down so far that even he didn't know. She didn't think he was ready for another encounter with this creature, if it had been as bad as Clark had described. "What?" Clark said, looking slightly annoyed. "It's just...are you ready to see him again? The imp?" Clark didn't answer right away. He stared out the window at the calming rain. "I don't know. It had been such a surprise last night...I think if I was prepared to deal with him, then it would be all right. Anyway, we need some answers. The end result of returning to normal would definitely make up for anything bad that happens now." Lois smiled uncertainly. "Well, if you're sure. You're right, we *do* need answers. What do you think we should ask him?" "Well, we need to ask what he did exactly." Lois nodded. "And it would be nice to know how the curse can be broken." Clark smiled sadly. "I don't think he's going to tell us that." "Yeah, I get that feeling." "We could ask him what he is exactly, and what's he planning on doing here." "Oh!" Lois exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "I asked Jimmy to get us everything he could on imps." "You told Jimmy about me?" Clark asked, paling. "What? No! I just told him we need some information. I didn't say why. I wouldn't do that," Lois huffed, feeling put down that Clark even thought she would break his trust like that. "Sorry," Clark said, smiling apologetically. "I guess I overreacted. I hope he finds some information we can use, because I haven't been having any luck." He switched the subject suddenly. "Do you think we should try calling Mxyzptlk now?" Lois nodded, deciding to let his sudden change in topic slide, for now. Anyway, she was strangely excited to meet the imp. She felt a bit apprehensive... okay, scared about actually seeing him, but that tingle of excitement that always followed danger boosted her adrenaline. She had never believed in magic, and meeting it face to face would be unusually exhilarating. The underlying fear was still there, and it would only take a slight push for that fear to surface, but they needed answers. Going to the source was the only way to get what they needed. Clark stood up, and looked down at Lois. She stood too. "Imp?" Clark said loudly, feeling slightly dumb yelling into his kitchen. They stood in silence, waiting for anything to happen. Finally, Lois spoke in a stage whisper. "Maybe we should try using a Ouija board." Clark laughed nervously. Still, nothing happened. "Mxyzptlk?" he called again, this time using the imp's name. Several seconds passed. Then, out of nowhere, a sudden and intense flash of light filled the apartment. A rumbling sound like thunder followed, and Clark was nearly knocked off his feet by the vibrations. Lois yelped in surprise. "Lois? Are you all right?" Clark yelled over the noise. The flash of light left a dense blue haze that was impenetrable even to Clark's eyes, and he couldn't see where Lois was. Lois leaned against table for support. The fog was so thick that she couldn't see anything at all. The thundering noise died down, and Lois was able to release her hands from her ears. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding them. "Clark?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. "What's going on?" "I'm not sure," he answered, his own voice unsteady. "Don't move, you might accidentally bump into me. I'm going to try to get rid of all this smoke." He sucked in a long, deep breath. The fog's density decreased until all that was left was a hazy mist of blue sprinkling through the air. Clark hurried over to his balcony and opened the doors, then blew the foreign smoke out of his lungs. He coughed slightly, trying to clear his body of the strange, magical fog. He turned around to find Lois staring down at his kitchen table. He followed her gaze. Engraved in the wood were the words: NOT WHILE YOUR GIRLFRIENDS THERE MXYZPTLK Lois and Clark exchanged a long glance. Clark shook his head, running his hand over the enchased tabletop. "Well, Lois, maybe you should lea-" "Don't even think about. You're not coming within 10 miles of that imp alone." "He must be nearby, if he was able to get here that fast." Clark traced the letters on the table. "There must have been an easier and less destructive way for him to tell us what he needed to without ruining my table." Lois pointed out the last eight letters. "At least now we know his name." "Yeah, I guess that might be useful," Clark conceded. He gave his table one more sorrowful glance. "It's almost 2:30 already," Lois said, glancing at her watch. "I should probably be leaving if I want to catch up with the mayor or sheriff today. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?" "Of course I am," Clark said. "Don't worry about me. Just go and get as much information as you can." Lois walked towards the door, but when she got to the steps, she turned around to face Clark again. "You'd do anything for me, right?" she asked. The corners of Clark's mouth tweaked upwards. "Lois, for you, I would walk through fire without flinching." Lois rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Cute, Kent. But really...please promise me you