Day Follows Nightfall
By Tank Wilson  <TankW1@aol.com>
Rated: G
Submitted: March 2002


Author's notes: Okay, recently a spate of 'All Shook Up' 
rewrites hit the message boards.  So, of course, I had to 
think up one of my own.  Thus was born this story.  As 
sometimes happens, this story seemed to go the way it 
wanted to, and it wound up deviating a bit from my original 
intention.  Whether that turned out to be a good thing is 
for the gentle readers to decide.
Special note: The chapter designations represent the 
breakdown of the instalments as they were posted on 
Zoomway's message boards.

As always, are characters are copyrighted and trademarked 
to their respective owners.  Any and all feedback is 
welcome at TankW1@aol.com



CHAPTER ONE

Lois Lane's brow was furrowed as she pulled her jeep out of 
the Daily Planet's parking garage.  It had been one crazy 
day.  First there had been the unexpected solar eclipse 
this morning on their way to work.  Then her partner, Clark 
Kent, had been hit by that runaway car.  Thankfully he 
hadn't been hurt.  She had been surprised by that.  The 
impact had thrown him quite a distance, yet he seemed no 
worse for wear than a little dirt on his clothes.  It 
wasn't till later that morning that they found out the 
eclipse had been caused by some huge asteroid that no one 
had ever heard of.  The scientists called it Nightfall.

Once she and Clark got back from the EPRAD press conference 
Perry had called a staff meeting.  He had been in rare 
form, like some eager general in his own personal war room.  
Lois had to smile as the memory of the look on Cat's face 
came back to her.  Perry had suggested that Cat use 
Applegate to help her on a sidebar story.  A 'Where Were 
You When the Lights Went Out' piece involving whatever 
local celebrities that Cat could get to talk.  Needless to 
say, she declined the help.

Her smile turned to a frown as she recalled her surprise 
when the story conference broke up and she went back to her 
desk.  Clark had left the meeting so he could start writing 
up their story about the EPRAD press conference.  But when 
she'd gotten back to the newsroom, he was gone.  He'd left 
her a message that said he'd be back soon, but he never 
came back.  The article had been finished and was on his 
computer so she could just add her input and send it off to 
Perry.   Still it rankled that he'd ducked out on her.  

Her frown deepened as she remembered the phone call.  Just 
before she was about to leave for home Clark called her.  
He gave her some line about needing to speak to her, that 
it was very important and could she please come over to his 
place as soon as should could.  When she asked him what it 
was all about, he just claimed he couldn't say anything 
over the phone and pleaded with her to come.  Lois shook 
her head.  It would serve Clark right if she didn't come 
over.  Teach him that she wouldn't just come at his beck 
and call.  But her curiosity had been aroused, and she knew 
that she had to find out what he wanted. The thing that 
galled her the most was - she knew that Clark knew it too.

Lois guided her Jeep onto Clinton Street and found a 
parking spot very near Clark's front door.  She grabbed the 
rear view mirror to take a quick check on her appearance, 
then immediately wondered why she had done so.  It was just 
Clark.  She purposely slowed her walk up his outer steps 
and waited a few extra moments before she knocked on his 
door.

"Come in; it's open."

Lois pushed the door open, while shaking her head in 
exasperation.  "Clark, how many times do I have to tell you 
about locking... Superman?"

Standing in the middle of the living room, where she 
expected Clark to be, in all his colorful glory, was 
Superman.  He smiled when he saw her and motioned her to 
come in.  Lois closed the door behind her and quickly took 
the couple steps down into Clark's living room.

"Superman, not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are 
you doing here?  Where's Clark?  He asked me to come over."

Clark gestured for Lois to sit.  "I know.  I wanted to 
speak with you."  Clark let his Superman persona slip for 
the briefest of moments.  "I have some favors to ask."

Clark watched her as she approached and quietly sat on the 
couch facing him.  She was so beautiful.  It nearly took 
his breath away every time he saw her, but that was only a 
small part of what attracted him to Lois.  She was 
brilliant, and so full of fire and passion one couldn't 
help but get carried away by her determination and 
enthusiasm for what she loved.

Once Professor Daitch had outlined their plan for dealing 
with the Nightfall asteroid, Clark knew he had some serious 
thinking to do.  He knew that there was a very real chance 
that he wouldn't be coming back from this vital mission.  
There wasn't any choice, really.  It was something that he 
had to do, but it also made him aware of certain things.  
If this truly was to be his last mission, there were things 
that Lois needed to know.  If he died in this planned 
action against the asteroid, he didn't want his 
relationship with Lois to end the way it stood now.

Lois had a schoolgirl-like crush on Superman.  He knew 
that.  But he also knew that she considered him more than 
just her partner.  She considered him her friend, possibly 
her best friend.  He remembered the look on her face when 
he said goodbye the time that the unnatural heat wave was 
forcing Superman to leave the city.  She had been truly 
hurt by his leaving.  Also there was that time with 
Miranda's pheromone spray.  Afterward they found out it 
didn't create feelings, but merely lowered the inhibitions 
and allowed for deeply buried feelings to come forth.  Lois 
had gotten a face full of the stuff, as had most of the 
others, but she hadn't gone running after Superman.  She 
had come on to Clark.

He couldn't gauge how deep Lois' feelings for her partner 
were, but she was  *his* best friend and she deserved to 
know the truth.  She was also the one person he trusted to 
carry out some last requests that he felt would be 
necessary should he fail to return.  It was a tough 
situation that he found himself in, and it would help ease 
his mind if he knew he had a 'partner' in this.   He would 
call his folks tonight but would downplay the danger and 
his doubts with them.  There was no sense in causing them 
any undue worry.  They would have enough to deal with if 
the worst should happen.  It may not be totally fair to 
her, but Lois was the only logical choice.  She was also 
the only emotional choice.

Lois stared up at her hero, as she gnawed on her lip.  She 
couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.  He looked so 
serious.  But he should know that he could ask her 
anything.  "Anything, you know that," she said quickly.

Clark sighed as he tried to think of the best way to broach 
the subject matter he wished to discuss.  "You should know 
that EPRAD's Professor Daitch asked to see me tonight."

Lois cocked her head as she searched Superman's face for 
clues as to where the conversation was going.  "Is that why 
he took Clark aside after the news conference, to have him 
contact you?"  Lois frowned as Superman just nodded.  "So 
why didn't he tell me that?  Why cover it up with that 
ridiculous comment about Daitch enjoying our Superman 
coverage?"  Lois folded her arms across her chest.  "What's 
going on here?"

Clark couldn't help but smile at Lois' impatience.  "All 
will be explained, but first I have to have your promise 
that what you hear from me tonight you can't publish."  He 
held up his hand to forestall her complaint.  "Part of what 
I tell you will become public knowledge tomorrow with an 
announcement by the President, but it can't get out before 
then.  As for the rest, it's highly personal and I'm asking 
you to keep it to yourself.  I'm sure you will understand 
why."

Lois eyes narrowed as her lips drew into a tight line.  "If 
it's going to be public knowledge, why can't I have an 
earlier exclusive?"  Lois saw the look on Superman's face.  
"Okay, I'll be good and just listen.  And as far as any 
personal stuff you want to share with me? You know you can 
trust me, don't you?"

Clark smiled a sad smile.  "Yes, I know I can."  He came 
over and sat at the other end of the couch and faced her.  
"Tonight I found out that this Nightfall asteroid poses 
more of a threat than just causing unexpected solar 
eclipses."

"What kind of threat?"  Lois shifted uncomfortably in her 
corner of the couch.

Clark tried not to look too grim.  "Nightfall is seventeen 
miles across and... in about four days it will collide with 
the earth."

Lois stifled a gasp.  Her mind immediately flashed on old 
sci-fi films depicting the end of the world, then she 
switched over to memories of documentaries on the 
destruction of the dinosaurs.  Her hands clenched and 
unclenched several times.  After composing herself with a 
deep breath she searched out Superman's eyes.

"This could wipe out civilization as we know it, couldn't 
it?"  The look on Superman's face was answer enough.  "They 
can't keep this a secret!"

Clark almost smiled at her words, and how they mirrored his 
own thoughts when he found out.  "No, the President will 
make an announcement tomorrow morning at a world wide press 
conference.  They just wanted to make sure that I was on 
board first, before they made their announcement."

Lois raised her brow.  "On board?"

Clark sighed.  "They expect me to fly out into space and 
destroy the asteroid."

Lois' eyes grew very wide.  Her voice was whisper soft.  
"Can you?"

Clark avoided looking at her directly.  "I'll be outfitted 
with some communications equipment, and probably some sort 
of extra oxygen supply.  Then I'll fly off to rendezvous 
with the Nightfall asteroid in deep space."

Lois reached over and, with her hand, redirected his face 
toward hers.  "That's not what I asked."

Clark stared into Lois' eyes for several moments.  "I don't 
know."  Clark sighed.  "Lifting a space shuttle into orbit 
is nothing compared to this.  This asteroid is the size of 
Metropolis and I have to fly a million miles out into space 
and strike with a force greater than I've ever exerted 
before."  Clark shrugged.  "The scientists think that if I 
hit precisely the right spot with enough force, the 
asteroid will be shattered into pieces.  Most of those 
pieces will then miss the earth, and those that don't will 
be small enough so they'll burn up in the atmosphere."

Lois just shook her head back and forth as Clark was 
explaining things.  "It sounds way too dangerous for you."  
Lois grabbed his hand.  "You've got to tell them you can't 
do it.  It's much too risky."  Lois found herself having 
trouble taking a breath.  "You could... you could be 
injured, or even..."

Clark placed his finger against Lois' lips.  "Lois, you 
know I have to do this.  If this asteroid isn't stopped, or 
at least deflected off course, it could literally mean the 
end of the world."  Clark shook his head sadly.  "Measured 
against something like that, my life isn't really too much 
to ask."

Lois pulled back, clearly in an agitated state.  "Of course 
it is.  There must be another way.  Couldn't they just 
shoot some atomic missiles, or something, at it?"

"Well, we did discuss that possibility, but it has to be 
held back as a last resort only."

"Why?"

"The effective range of our nuclear arsenal is such that 
they would have to let the asteroid get awfully close in 
order to ensure they would have a strike with the needed 
accuracy, and they couldn't even guarantee that.  But the 
main problem is the payload would have to be such that the 
fallout from the blast would blanket a good portion of the 
Northern Hemisphere, which I think you'll agree, is 
something to be avoided if at all possible."

Lois chewed her lip as her mind worked furiously.  "Why do 
you have to smash into it?  Why can't you just fly up and 
give it a nudge.  You know, push it off course."

Clark marveled at how Lois kept bringing up all the 
arguments he and the Professor had gone through while 
working out their plan of action.  "I wish I could, but 
it's a matter of mass and inertia."  He smiled when he saw 
the confusion on Lois' face.   "Lois, Nightfall is huge and 
is traveling at nearly 30 thousand miles an hour.  Now, 
while I can exert more force than my body mass would 
normally allow due to my powers, even I would find it 
impossible to slow, and change the course of, that much 
momentum in the time I'd have to do it."  

He saw that she still wasn't entirely with him.  "Let's say 
that you had a bullet in your hand and in a fit of anger 
you threw it at someone.  Now that bullet is just a little 
piece of lead, weighing only ounces.  Backed by the force 
generated by your throw, when confronted with a big massive 
person, it would just bounce off.  At best you might raise 
a bruise.  But if that bullet were fired from a gun, it 
would tear into that person destroying tissue and muscle as 
it passed through.  Like that bullet, I need the added 
advantage of great speed to augment the force I can bring 
to the asteroid."

Clark picked her hand back up and rubbed the back of it 
with his thumb.  "Do you understand?"

Lois bit down on her lip and nodded.  "Yes.  I do 
understand.  And I understand the danger, but..." Lois took 
a deep breath, not truly believing she was about to say 
what she was going to.  "Why are you telling me this - now.  
You obviously don't want any of this to get out before the 
official announcements tomorrow, so why did you want to see 
me?"

Clark sighed and released Lois' hand.  He stood and paced 
for a few moments before he turned back to face her.  "As I 
said earlier, I have some favors to ask.  But beyond that, 
there are some things, well, some *thing* that I want you 
to know."

Lois felt a slight chill creep up her spine.  "And as I 
said, you can ask me anything."

Clark nodded.  "This mission is one that is going to test 
my limits like they have never been tested before.  I'm 
fairly confident that I can produce the necessary force to 
achieve the results the scientists want, but I'm not so 
confident in my ability to survive the impact.  There's a 
very good chance that I won't come back from this mission."

Lois jumped up from the couch and stood in front of him, 
her hand on his chest.  "Don't say that.  You're 
invulnerable.  Of course you'll survive."  Lois stared down 
at her feet and whispered under her breath.  "You have to."

"Believe me, Lois, I'm not suicidal, but I am realistic."  
Clark led her back to the couch and the two of them sat 
again.  "If I should - not - come back, I need you to do 
some things for me."  Clark took a deep breath.  "And in 
order for you to do these favors for me, I have to share a 
secret that I've been keeping from you... from everyone."

Lois' heart began to hammer.  If it weren't for the 
seriousness of Superman's attitude she'd be thrilled at the 
prospect of him sharing his secrets with her.  As it was, 
she couldn't completely stifle a spark of excitement.

Clark almost smiled when he saw that he had Lois' rapt 
attention.  He took one last breath before he began his 
confession.  "Superman has only been around for a few 
months now, but I have been on this planet since I was a 
baby.  I was found and raised as the adopted son of two 
very wonderful people."

Lois gasped.  "What you said to Amy Platt," Lois blurted 
out, remembering that first time she met Superman.  "You 
said your mother made your suit for you!"

A sardonic smile forced its way onto Clark's face as he 
joined Lois in the memory.  "That's right, I did, and she 
did."  Clark took Lois' hands in his as he captured her 
eyes with his.  "Superman is just a facade.  He's a 
character I created in order to help people and still be 
able to have something that resembles a normal life.  
Superman is this larger than life super hero, but me, I'm 
really just a farmboy from Kansas."

Lois thought her heart was going to stop beating as her 
lungs forgot how to breath.  "You, you mean... "  Her mind 
refused to wrap itself around the obvious that he'd just 
revealed to her.  "You're..."

Superman stood up and stepped a few feet away from the 
couch.  He began his spin.  The gaudy suit blurred into a 
swirl of primary colors, then quickly blended into a more 
sedate combination of black and tan.  When he stopped he 
was dressed simply in a pair of tan slacks and a black 
pullover shirt.  He slipped on a pair of glasses.

Lois' mouth hung open.  "... Clark." 

CHAPTER TWO

Lois' mind threatened to explode.  It was too much.  A huge 
asteroid was going to crash into the planet.  Superman was 
going to fly out and crash into it at super speed, and hope 
that it would be destroyed, and hope that he wouldn't be 
killed.  Now, this selfless hero tells her that he was 
really just a farmboy from Kansas.  A person she had worked 
beside on a daily basis for the last several months.  A 
person who she had grown to respect as a partner and come 
to think of as good friend.  And she never guessed.

What kind of investigative reporter was she?  Why hadn't 
she seen it?  Her emotions were all tangled up.  She was 
shocked at his admission.  Yet she was also angry that he 
had kept this from her, and she was hurt that he had lied 
to her to do it.  She thought they were more than just work 
partners.  She stared at him as he came over and sat next 
to her, taking her hand in his.  She stared down at their 
hands, then shifted her gaze back to his face.

"Why?"  It was all she could think to say.

Clark cocked his head and gave Lois a combination grimace 
and smile.  "Why a secret identity?  Why am I telling you?  
Why didn't I tell you sooner?  Why am I telling you now?"

Lois, still slightly in shock, nodded her head.  "Yes."

Clark sighed.  He knew this wasn't going to be easy.  
"Lois, I hope you can believe that, besides my parents, you 
were the only other person who I ever wanted to share this 
with.  I had hoped that the time would come when I could 
share my dual identity with you.  I have hated having to 
lie to you about this, but I had to be careful.  I had to 
be sure."

Lois was close to tears, but she sniffed them back and 
forced herself to glare at Clark.  "Really? Care to 
explain?  I thought we were friends, yet you felt it 
necessary to lie to me."

"Lois, we are friends.  You are my best friend."  Clark's 
voice took on an added note of sincerity.  "But we haven't 
always been."  Clark ran his hand through his hair.  
"I've... had feelings for you ever since I first saw you in 
Perry's office that day, but at first you merely tolerated 
me."  Clark paused as he saw her blush. 

Lois jumped into breach.  "But I got over that fairly 
soon."  Lois began to use her hands to emphasis her words.  
"Even if I haven't told you enough, I do respect you.  You 
are a good reporter, a great writer, and the only person 
I've ever been able to stand to be partnered with."  Lois 
took in a deep breath.  "We're friends, close friends."

Clark raised an eyebrow.  "You say we're close friends, but 
how close?  Are we close close?"

Lois squirmed under his gaze.  "Well, maybe not close 
close, but close."  Suddenly she sat up straight, as if 
just remembering something.  "Wait a minute!  I've never 
made it any secret how I felt about Superman.  You've 
always known about that - and you're Superman!"  Lois 
blushed, embarrassed, as she realized how silly her dual 
feelings for this one man must seem.
 
Clark, sensing Lois' discomfort, still couldn't hide his 
own grimace.  "That's another problem."  He stood and began 
to pace again.  "Lois, Superman isn't real.  He's just a 
disguise I wear in order to help people.  I'm really Clark 
and do you know how frustrating it was to see you moon over 
a cartoon cut-out while practically ignoring the real 
person?"

Lois turned away from him and stared at her hands for 
several moments.  Her own frustrations over Superman's 
inconsistent behavior toward her sprang to the forefront of 
her mind.  She did understand Clark's frustration.  Even 
more so now that she was beginning to realize that Clark's 
feelings for her might be a bit stronger than 'just 
friends'.  The thought scared her and excited her at the 
same time.  

Loving Superman seemed like the ultimate expression of love 
between a man and a woman.  It was pure, chaste, and safe.  
She could admire him for all his admirable qualities, 
marvel at his incredible powers, and lust after his 
exceptional good looks.  Yet, no matter how much she wished 
that he would sweep her off her feet and fly her to some 
exotic love nest, a small, practical part of her mind knew 
that such thoughts were fantasy and one could never be hurt 
by their fantasies.

Clark was a different matter.  He had all of Superman's 
wonderful qualities, heck he was Superman, but he was also 
Clark.  He was the guy who put up with all her moods.  He 
was the guy who brought her coffee, just the way she liked 
it, every morning.  He was the guy who came over and had 
pizza and watched bad videos with her when she was lonely.  
He was her friend, and he was real.  And that was very 
scary.

She bit her lip.  There was a lot for her to think about, 
but she knew that right now she had to focus on the 
present.  There was a serious threat facing the world and 
Superman - Clark - needed her help.  They would have time 
to talk this out later.

She turned her gaze back to his face.  "I believe you might 
be selling your  *creation* a bit short, but I think I can 
understand how you feel.  Let me just say that once this is 
all over we will have to sit down and discuss this whole 
Superman, Clark, and Lois triangle in great detail.  We 
both have a lot of questions to ask... and to answer."  
Lois allowed herself a little sly smile.  "And you just 
might be surprised by some of my answers."  Lois patted the 
cushion next to her and waited for him to sit next to her.  
"So, I accept that  *maybe* this might have been earlier 
than you would have liked to confess your secret to me, but 
you have.  Now, I guess, is the time to tell me... why?"

Clark first broke into a shy smile, but then quickly lost 
it for a more grim look.  "What it comes down to, Lois, is 
that I might not come back from this and if that is the 
case I didn't want you wondering about what happened to 
your friend and partner.  You deserved to know the truth."

Lois bit her lip.  "Don't talk like this."

Clark shook his head.  "I have to, Lois.   Trying to live a 
normal life was just one reason to keep Superman and Clark 
Kent separate.  In the relatively short time that Superman 
has been on the scene he's managed to make more than a few 
enemies."

Lois gave him a puzzled look.  "Do you always refer to 
yourself in the third person when talking about Superman?"

Clark chuckled briefly.  "Now, you sound like my mother."  
He turned serious the next moment.  "But if it were known 
that Superman was, in fact, really Clark Kent, my folks, 
you, Jimmy, Perry, anyone known to be a good friend or 
loved one of mine would be in danger.  Criminals wouldn't 
hesitate to strike back at me through them.  I can't take 
that risk.  The secret must be protected."

Lois nodded warily in agreement.  "Yesss,  I can see that.  
But what does that have to do with this?"

Clark's tone was apologetic.  "Lois, I know this isn't fair 
to put on you, but if... the worst should happen, I'm 
counting on you to help preserve my secret.  Just because I 
might be gone wouldn't mean that my loved ones wouldn't 
still be in danger."

Lois found herself staring into his earnest face.  A tear 
slowly slid down her cheek.  "Clark, nothing is going to 
happen to you." 

Clark reached over and placed his hand against her cheek.  
"I hope you're right, but in case something does, I have 
another favor to ask."  Clark saw Lois' lips tighten but 
she said nothing.  "My parents think the world of you and I 
know it would be a great comfort to them if you could..."

Lois jerked back.  "Could what?  Visit them?  Talk to them?  
Clark, do you honestly think that I could be any comfort to 
them if they lost their only son?"  Lois couldn't help but 
wonder who would comfort her.  Didn't he understand that 
his parents wouldn't be the only ones affected by his not 
coming back.  Just the thought of that happening was like a 
sharp stab in her heart.  How could he ask this of her?  
She shook her head slowly but couldn't look him in the eye.  
"Your parents are great people, but they hardly know me!"

"Believe me, Lois, my parents admire you, and my mother 
already takes your side in all the arguments I've mentioned 
to them."

"Well, I could see that your mother was a bright woman."  
Lois managed a small grin but it never reached her eyes.

"Yes she is, as are you.  I need you, and them to 
perpetuate the myth."  He recaptured her hands.  "The world 
may know what happened to Superman, but it will be up to 
you and my folks to come up with a reason as to Clark's 
disappearance."

Lois pulled away from Clark.  She stood and it was her turn 
to pace.  "Clark, I can't accept your doom and gloom.  I'm 
not the type to comfort anyone.  You can't ask this of me."

Clark sighed.  "Lois, you can do anything." 

Lois voice became more animated as her denial grew 
stronger.  "No, no way that I can do such a thing."  She 
shrugged her shoulders.  "So I guess you'll just have to 
come back."

Clark couldn't help but give her a resigned smile.  "Okay, 
Lois, I guess I'll just have to come back."

********************

The sun shone down brightly on the crowd gathered at the 
EPRAD center the next morning.  If one could forget the 
reason they were all gathered there, it would seem the 
start of a truly beautiful day.  Lois hoped that it would 
prove to be a wonderful day, but for reasons that had 
nothing to do with the pleasant weather.

The President had made his announcement about the Nightfall 
asteroid and its apparent impending collision with the 
earth.  He hadn't minimized the catastrophic effects that 
such a collision would have, but he had emphasized the 
positive.  The positive was Superman.  The President had 
used examples of many of Superman's phenomenal exploits in 
the past to calm any obvious fears that the public might 
have.  He had presented the image of a man supremely 
confident in Superman's ability to handle the crises in his 
typically proficient manner.  From the general buzz of the 
crowd milling around, he'd done a good job of communicating 
that confidence.  Of course, this was Metropolis, where 
people were more used to Superman routinely saving the day.

Lois nervously licked her lips as she pushed her way up to 
the front of the crowd being held back by the ropes placed 
to keep the reporters and gawkers out from under foot.  
Lois soon managed to find herself right at the front of the 
crowd, and not surprisingly just in front of the 
restraining ropes.  She looked around for Superman.  Within 
moments, he came from the back, as the crowd parted for 
him, and passed next to Lois.

She turned as he reached her spot.  "How do you feel?"  Her 
voice betrayed her anxiety as thoughts of last night 
flashed through her brain.

Superman looked confident as he glanced around and nodded.  
"This will work."

Lois sighed and smiled at him.  "That's a relief.  Why are 
you so sure?"

"Because it has to."  It was almost, but not quite a 
question.

Lois kept her feelings in check, but just barely, and gave 
him another nod and smile.  "The power of positive 
thinking, huh?"

They stared at each other for a few awkward moments.  "How 
are you feeling, Lois?"

"Scared enough for both of us," she said in a much softer 
tone.

Superman's lips drew into a tight line.  "I'll be back."  
He stepped forward and caressed the side of her face with 
his hand.  "We'll go flying," he finished in a comforting 
voice.

"I hope so."  She felt a sting in the corner of her eye as 
she repressed the tear that wanted to fall.

"I have to go."  His concern was clearly written on his 
face, for the mission, and for her.

Lois tried to put a lighter tone to her words.  "Good 
luck."

She watched as he turned to go, suddenly, impulsively, she 
reached up and turned him back to her.  Without a thought 
as to the appropriateness, or how it might look to the 
assembled crowd of reporters, she rose up and captured his 
lips with hers in a kiss that was both desperate and 
longing.  It communicated her fears along with her desires.  
Though she wouldn't allow herself to think of it in that 
context and instead would claim it was a good luck kiss, it 
was very much a kiss goodbye.

She watched as the military, and Professor Daitch outfitted 
Superman with some communication equipment and an 
additional six hour air supply.  Lois' heart was in her 
throat as Superman calmly rejected the general's tactical 
nuke offer and reiterated the plan that the scientists had 
come up with.  True to who he was, Superman felt they 
should try this plan first.  In his mind it was better to 
risk his life than to risk a massive nuclear fallout 
potential.  

Superman purposely strode to a cleared spot in the middle 
of crowd.  He glanced around, his eyes landing last on Lois 
and holding there for several meaningful moments.  With a 
final sigh, Superman launched himself into the sky to the 
audible gasps of the crowd.  Within seconds he was out of 
sight.

Lois, up until that moment, had been holding her emotions 
in check.  She was a professional reporter as were most of 
the others gathered there, and she couldn't let them see 
what Superman... no, Clark's departure was doing to her.  
Now that he was gone, the dam threatened to burst as the 
true realization hit her - hard.  That wasn't just the hero 
of millions who had taken off on a potentially deadly 
mission only moments ago; it was Clark, her partner, and 
her best friend.  She hurried away from the crowd so no one 
could see the tears which had begun to force their way from 
the corners of her eyes.

*************************

Lois hurried back to the Daily Planet and soon found 
herself part of the crowd of Planet staffers who were 
crowded around the television watching the coverage of 
Superman's desperate mission.  No one seemed too concerned 
about their own pending tasks at that moment.  Everything 
seemed trivial in light of the possible end of the world.

Lois had managed to take control of her feelings before she 
entered the newsroom, though no one would have noticed any 
extra apprehension on her part since everyone was in a 
somber mood as they watched the drama unfold.

Suddenly the television anchor said that they were going to 
be able to take a live feed from Superman.  Lois' insides 
did a little dance as she heard Clark's exchange with 
mission control.  He sounded so confident.  Lois just 
wished she were as confident.

The voice of mission control cut through the stillness of 
the room.  "Impact in five - four - three - two..."  There 
was no sound for several moments.  "This is EPRAD control.  
We have lost transmission with Superman."

A fist closed around Lois' heart as her co-workers gasped 
and began murmuring amongst themselves.  She fought off the 
fear that threatened to overwhelm her.  Instead she forced 
herself to deny that there was any problem.

"Well, his microphone went out," she said in her most 
logical sounding voice.  "He's fine."  She looked about her 
at the shocked faces of the Planet staffers.  "He has to 
be."  She wasn't nearly as sure as she sounded, and she 
didn't sound all that sure.

Lois numbly went back to her desk and sat down.  She stared 
at her blank computer screen as her mind tried to sort out 
what she knew and didn't know.  She knew that Perry was 
bellowing orders in the background, but she didn't really 
hear him.  Clark had told her that the impact was going to 
be comparable to that of a 50 megaton bomb.  Surely no mere 
communications equipment would be able to survive a blast 
like that.  It only made sense that the transmission would 
be lost.  Why couldn't people realize that and just accept 
that it would take a while for Superman to return and tell 
everyone he was all right?  Why couldn't she? 

"Lois!"  Perry's bellow cut through her musing.  "You and 
Clark get down to EPRAD pronto.  We need to know exactly 
what happened.  Did Superman smash the asteroid like he was 
supposed to?  Is the danger over?  And try to find out if 
anyone knows what happened to Superman."

Lois had to shake her head to refocus on her editor's 
words.  "Okay, Chief, I'm on it."  She rose to go.

Perry peered around the office obviously looking for 
something or someone.  "I told you and Kent to go.  Where 
is Kent anyway?"

Lois had to swallow before she could effect a nonchalant 
look.  "I don't know, Chief."  She shrugged.  "Maybe he's 
already down there?  Maybe he stayed there to cover the 
mission?"  The last was hurled over her shoulder as she 
hustled to the elevator.  The elevator doors opened and she 
jumped in.  "If he shows up here, tell him I've already 
gone."  The doors closed.

Perry stared somewhat bewildered at his favorite reporter 
as he watched her disappear into the elevator.  He hoped 
that Superman was all right.  Perry was well aware of Lois' 
feelings for the Man of Steel, and he could tell that Lois 
was very worried about him.  If this, indeed, had proved to 
be Superman's last mission, Perry wasn't sure how Lois 
would cope.  He shook his head sadly.  She would need her 
partner more than ever if that was the case.  He pursed his 
lips.  Where was that boy anyway?

********************

Lois sat in a chair just staring out her window into the 
ever darkening sky.  The brilliant reds and oranges of the 
sunset were now gone, replaced by the ever deepening blues 
and purples of the coming night.  She brushed a single tear 
away as she looked out into the part of the sky where the 
Nightfall asteroid used to be.

The news from EPRAD had been both good and bad.  The 
Nightfall asteroid had been, for the most part, destroyed, 
and, thanks to Superman, the world was no longer faced with 
the threat of extinction that had claimed the dinosaurs.  
Still the scientists pointed out that there were still 
several large pieces that could possibly survive a plunge 
through the atmosphere.  As many as a dozen large chunks of 
the asteroid were projected to still be on a collision 
course with the planet.  None were of a size that could 
cause widespread devastation.  Meteorites merely the size 
of a football to a few yards across might survive reentry, 
but the localized damage could be significant.  There was 
no way to plot exact courses for those errant meteors, but 
indications were that the east coast of the United States 
was most likely.  The hope was that most would fall into 
the ocean.  They would know for sure in three days.

There had been no word of Superman.  Professor Daitch had 
speculated that perhaps Superman had been rendered 
unconscious by the impact with the asteroid.  If that were 
the case, he would not be flying back under his own power 
but be dependent on the rebound momentum created by the 
collision for his return velocity.  This could mean that it 
might take an unconscious Superman several hours to effect 
a return from a point that only took him about a half an 
hour to reach under his own power.  

Lois asked about Superman's air supply and if it was likely 
to have survived the collision impact.  The professor had 
shrugged apologetically when he said that he didn't know.  
He did point out that Superman had been given a six hour 
air supply and if it had survived the impact it would allow 
him several hours of additional time to return.  Daitch 
added that, if Superman were in an unconscious, or semi-
conscious state, he was likely to require less air as his 
respiration would be lowered.  That could effectively 
extend his air supply by a respectable amount.

Another reporter had, to Lois's dread, brought up the 
question of whether Superman would make it back at all.  
Was it possible, she had asked, that Superman, if 
unconscious or injured, might miss the earth entirely.  
Lois clenched her fists as Professor Daitch explained that 
while it was possible that Superman could have been 
deflected on a course that might miss the planet, he felt 
that it was equally likely that he could have been sent on 
a path that would send him back to earth.  Just where he 
might come to earth was anyone's guess though.

Lois had chosen that moment to leave.  She had enough for 
her article and didn't need to hear any more talk of 
Superman being forever lost in space.  She brushed back 
another tear as she glanced at her watch.  It had been over 
nine and a half hours since Clark took off earlier that 
day.  Lois couldn't help but glance over at the phone.  She 
had called Clark's apartment the minute she had gotten 
home.  There had been no answer.  She had called three more 
times, leaving a more desperate message each time.  Still, 
there had been no return call.  

If it had only been Superman who was still missing, Lois 
might have been concerned but not terribly worried yet.  
After all, it wasn't as if she would expect Superman to 
check in with her whenever he completed a mission.  But 
this was different.  This was also Clark, and she knew that 
if Clark hadn't checked in with her, or the Planet by now, 
it was because he couldn't.  Something had gone wrong.

Turning her eyes once more to that section of the sky that 
had once held such a catastrophic potential, she saw only 
the normal stars twinkling in their innocence.  She 
surrendered to her tears as her heart seemed to shrivel, 
and her mind succumbed to the fear that had been nibbling 
at its corners the entire day.  Lois sobbed in silence as 
the night marched inexorably on.

CHAPTER THREE

Lake County Sheriff Lauren Larson slowed her Ford Bronco as 
she caught sight of a shooting star streaking low across 
the horizon to the north.  She was on her way home and 
looking forward to her day off tomorrow.  The streak across 
the sky had been quite bright as it lit up the early 
evening twilight.   Wondering if it might not be a piece of 
the Nightfall asteroid that Superman had destroyed, she 
watched as it seemed to disappear behind the tall pines of 
the Superior National Forest.  A smile tugged at the corner 
of her mouth as she fought the urge to 'wish upon a star'.  
Wishing wouldn't change anything.  Her life was what it 
was, and she didn't think that any sort of divine 
intervention to magically change things was 'in the stars'.  
She sighed as she turned onto the old logging road that led 
to her home. 

It wasn't as if she hated her life or anything.  She liked 
being a county sheriff.  Law enforcement was what she went 
to school to learn.  It was just that she had hoped to ply 
her trade where the action was a little more exciting than 
dealing with drunken tourists.  Lake County, Minnesota was 
about as far from the hustle and bustle of a large 
metropolitan area as you could get and still be considered 
a part of civilization.  It wasn't the end of the world, 
but you could definitely see it from here.  There weren't 
even eleven thousand residents in the entire county, let 
alone in any city or town.  The two largest cities nearby 
were Ely and Duluth, neither of which was even in the 
county.

Lauren had enjoyed growing up in northern Minnesota.  She 
loved the outdoors.  The beauty of the lush pine forests, 
the crystal clear lakes, and the fast rushing rivers and 
streams were a balm to an energetic, but lonely young girl.  
Her mother had died when she was only ten, and she'd lived 
with her father, a former logger, in their small three room 
cabin outside of Isabella.  

He had been very proud of her graduation from the 
University of Minnesota, Duluth, majoring in criminology.  
Unfortunately, before she could take her new skills and 
attitude out into the real world, her dream had to be put 
on hold.  Her father took ill, and she had no choice but to 
stay and take care of him.  

In one respect she had lucked out.  A retirement in the 
ranks of the county sheriff's department gave her a job 
close to home.  Even though the county offices were in Two 
Harbors, about sixty five miles away, the job required the 
sheriffs to have areas of patrol in various parts of the 
county, so she was able to draw the area along Highway 1 
from Isabella north to Winton, White Iron, and Silver 
Rapids.  It wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she 
graduated, but she had figured it would be good experience.  

Unfortunately, fate didn't agree with her plans.  Her 
father had lingered for several years, finally succumbing 
late last winter.  Now that she was supposedly free to do 
whatever she wanted, she didn't know what to do.  Seven 
years as a sheriff had become a comfortable pattern for 
her, too comfortable.  She knew that she was getting into a 
rut, but she also knew it was a rut that she had dug for 
herself.  The only question that remained now was - did she 
really want to climb out of it?

Suddenly she caught some movement out of the corner of her 
eye.  One always had to be alert for deer or other wildlife 
darting across the roadway.  These old logging roads were 
cut out of the forests themselves and any animal would be 
literally in the road before you could see them.  Lauren 
had learned early to be particularly wary while traveling 
these routes, especially at night.

When she eventually caught sight of the 'animal' she nearly 
drove off the path,  Lauren slammed on her brakes as she 
stared, completely confused, at the sight before her.  
Standing on the side of the road, blinking in the glare of 
her headlamps stood a man.  A completely naked man.

Still in a state of bemused bewilderment, Lauren slowly 
opened her door and exited her vehicle, leaving the 
headlights on to illuminate the scene.  The fellow seemed a 
little old to be the victim of a fraternity prank from UMD.  
Never having actually seen an incident, she had heard tales 
of hapless pledges being stripped naked and left out in the 
middle of nowhere to find their way back.  But this was 
winter, and a person could quickly suffer from extreme 
exposure being out in this weather in such a state of 
undress.  

Other possibilities flashed through her mind as she 
approached the mystery man.  They weren't close to any of 
the local motels, or resorts, but she supposed it was 
possible that he was a lost tourist.  It wasn't uncommon 
for cross-country skiers to get lost, especially if they 
wandered off the marked trails.  Of course, that didn't 
explain why the fellow was naked!

"Can I ask what you are doing out here - like that, sir?"  
Lauren sniffed the air but didn't smell any indication of 
alcohol.  

The fellow shaded his eyes from the bright lights of her 
car's headlamps as he seemed to try to focus on her.  He 
was an incredibly good looking man.  He was a little taller 
than she was, with thick dark hair and dark eyes.  He was 
obviously either a fitness nut, or blessed with spectacular 
genes because he was very fit looking.  *Very* fit looking.  
She had to consciously force herself to look up at his face 
and not let her gaze stray to the hard planes of his chest 
and his washboard abs.  Not that staring at his face was 
all that much of a chore either.

He didn't seem ready to talk.  "What's your name?"  she 
asked, hoping to get a dialog started.

He finally appeared to realize that she was talking to him.  
"I... I don't remember."  His look spoke of confusion and 
frustration.

Going against common caution, Lauren, stepped a little 
closer.  "You don't remember who you are?  Do you know 
where you are, or why you are out here... er, undressed?"

The man stared at her for several moments, not seeming to 
really notice that he was naked.  "No, I can't seem to 
remember anything."  His breathing began to quicken.

Lauren could tell that the man was beginning to panic.  His 
agitation over his loss of memory was showing clearly on 
his face.  She had to think that he would be freezing also.  
Luckily there wasn't much of a breeze that night, but it 
still was well below freezing and he had to be cold.  She 
noticed him looking all around him, as if trying to find 
something that he might recognize.  Then he started to 
shake.  His level of agitation was increasing.

"Where am I?  What's going on?"  His voice raised in pitch 
and volume.

She wasn't sure how much exposure he'd already suffered 
from, but she thought she recognized signs of shock setting 
in.  She rushed back to her vehicle and grabbed the 
emergency blanket out of the back.  By the time she had 
returned he had collapsed.  She wrapped the blanket around 
his shoulders and tried to hoist him to a standing 
position.

"Damn, you are one heavy sonofagun!"  

Lauren grunted as she half lifted and half dragged the 
mystery man toward her car.  It took some effort, but she 
finally managed to bundle him into her back seat.  She 
positioned him as best she could, with his head resting 
against the back of the seat and his body covered the best 
she could.  Her training told her that she had to keep him 
warm if it was indeed shock he was slipping into.  She 
cranked the heat to the maximum as she shifted the vehicle 
back into drive and spun her wheels on the gravel of the 
road.  

Proper procedure would have been to call in the incident 
and head for the nearest medical facility.   But against 
what should have been an automatic response on her part, 
she instead continued toward her home.  She was only a few 
minutes from her house and the most important thing was to 
get this man out of the weather and into a warm bed.  At 
least that was her rationalization to herself.  She could 
always report everything in the morning.

It did cross her mind that she knew absolutely nothing 
about this man, and here she was taking him to her home.  
It really didn't make any sense, but for some reason, she 
just knew that she could trust this mystery man.  After 
all, he didn't seem to know any more about himself than she 
did.

It was another serious workout getting him into her house.  
She left him on the couch while she made up the bed in what 
had been her father's room.  Within minutes she had some 
clean linens on the bed and a thick comforter rolled back.  
She then dragged him into the bedroom, which like her own, 
opened to the combination kitchen /living room. 

Once she had settled him into the bed she took his 
temperature.  Having had to take care of an ill parent for 
many years had left Lauren with many minor medical 
instruments.  She was puzzled by the fact that despite 
having been out in the cold for what must have been a 
considerable time, and the fact that she had originally 
thought shock might be setting it, his temperature was 
fairly normal.  Maybe a little higher, but nothing out of 
the ordinary, or at all dangerous.  His pulse rate was 
strong, and he seemed to be breathing well.  By all 
appearances he just seemed weak and exhausted.  She was no 
doctor, but it seemed that sleep would be the best medicine 
for her strange visitor.

As she turned to go she was stopped by some mumbling.  She 
went back over to his bedside and listened intently.  Most 
of it was too soft for her to understand.  Actually she 
only understood three words that he spoke.  Two were names, 
Lane and Kent; perhaps one or both were his.  The last was 
a bit more of a puzzle since there was no understandable 
context to put it within.  She didn't know what he was 
saying, but the word 'sorry' came through quite clearly.

Lauren shook her head once again in wonderment at what she 
was doing.  She was considered a fairly conservative, good 
girl, by those who knew her well, which in this part of the 
country was nearly everyone.  Yet here she was bringing 
some strange, good looking, amnesiac into her home without 
a second thought.  Maybe the cabin fever was setting in 
early, or maybe she was just tired of her predictable life 
and saw this mystery man as a chance for a little 
excitement for a change.  Whatever her reasons, they could 
wait until the morning for further study.  She turned out 
the overhead light as she left the room heading for the 
kitchen and a late supper before bed.

****************************

Lois dragged herself into the Daily Planet the next 
morning.  There were dark circles under her eyes from a 
lack of sleep, and her eyes were still a bit red and puffy 
from crying.  While the rational side of her told her that 
she'd probably never see Superman... or Clark ever again, 
her stubborn side wasn't quite ready to give up on her 
partner and friend.

"Lois!  You and Kent, in my office."  Perry's bellow 
greeted her before she could even boot up her computer.

Lois dragged herself toward the Chief's office.  She wasn't 
looking forward to this, but she'd promised Clark that 
she'd help him keep his secret.  Trouble was, she had no 
idea what she was going to tell Perry.

"You bellowed, Chief?"  Lois tried to put a humorous edge 
to her voice, but it didn't work, and she could tell that 
Perry wasn't fooled by it.

"Sit down, honey."  He indicated the chair in front of his 
desk with a wave on his hand, not waiting to see if she 
complied.  "I notice that Clark is not with you.  Mind 
telling me why?"

Lois avoided his eyes for several moments as she clenched 
her fists.  Finally, after a small sigh, she unclenched her 
hands and looked up into her editor's expectant face.  "He 
didn't call you?"  Lois bit on her lip as she watched Perry 
silently shake his head.  "Well, that surprises me.  Clark 
is usually much more conscientious than that."  Lois took 
another deep breath.  "You know how it was, Chief.  Nobody 
knew what was going to happen, whether the world was going 
to come to an end or not.  You know how close Clark is to 
his folks.  He hopped the first flight out to Kansas to be 
with them during this time."  Lois shrugged.  "He told me 
before he left, I'd just assumed he'd told you too."

Perry's eyebrow had raised itself during Lois' little 
speech.  He folded his hands in front of him on his desk.  
"Didn't you tell me that you thought he might be down at 
the EPRAD center yesterday when I asked?  If you knew that 
he'd already gone home, why didn't you say so?"

Panic began to well up in Lois.  She was already making 
mistakes!  How did Clark ever think that she could cover 
for him, and why did he have to make it necessary for her 
to do so!  Lois tried to put her most innocent look on her 
face as her hands seemed to flutter about furtively.

"I guess I forgot," she finally answered with a weak smile.

"You forgot?"

Lois made a vague gesture over her shoulder toward the 
general vicinity of her desk.  "Do you want me to call his 
folks, out in Smallville?  See if he's on his way back 
yet?"

Perry leaned back in his chair.  "Yes, why don't you do 
that, Lois.  I do appreciate knowing where my reporters 
are."  Perry leaned forward again and fixed Lois with a 
stare that made her uncomfortable.  "Tell him I'll cut him 
some slack this time.  Hell, I would have liked to have 
been with Alice and my kids yesterday too, if they had been 
around."  Lois started to get up, but Perry stopped her 
with a hand on her arm.   "But just this time."

Lois quickly nodded her head and left Perry's office.  It 
was all she could do not to run.  Once back at her desk she 
had to clasp her hands around her arms to keep from shaking 
noticeably.  She knew she had to take the next step.  She 
had to call the Kents.  But what would she say!  What would 
they say?  She had only met them once, and she had to admit 
that she had liked them.  But who was she to them?  She was 
only their son's partner at work.   Yet now, because of her 
promise to Clark, she had to confront the parents of 
Superman and tell them that their son might not be coming 
back.

Suddenly her nerves took another jolt as her phone rang, 
startling her.  Lois just stared at the phone for a couple 
of seconds before her mind reengaged and she picked up the 
receiver.

"Lois Lane," she said with a bit less conviction than one 
would think.

"Lois, it's Martha Kent.  Sorry to bother you, but Clark 
didn't answer his phone."  Lois could hear the hesitation 
in Martha's voice.  "I was wondering if you might know 
where he was.  We, ah, need to get a message to him... 
about a sick aunt."

It felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach.  
Lois had a hard time catching her breath.  It was Clark's 
parents.  They wanted to know where he was.  They knew what 
their son had been forced to do, but they didn't know where 
he was.  They hadn't heard from him.  She wasn't ready for 
this!

Lois tried to calm herself.  "Ah, Martha, Clark's not here.  
I don't know where he is right now."  Lois paused.  She 
really needed to talk to the Kents but this was not the 
time or the place.  "I can't really talk now.  Can I give 
you a call back later... after I get home?  There are some 
things I think we need to discuss."  

"Okay."  Lois could tell that Martha sensed something was 
wrong, but she was willing to let Lois dictate the 
situation.  "Jonathan and I will be home all night.  Do you 
have our number?"

Lois breathed a short sigh of relief.  "Thanks, and yes I 
have your number.  Clark gave it to me in case I ever 
needed to reach him when he was visiting you."  Lois 
swallowed a small just forming lump.  "I promise to call 
you soon.  Bye."

Lois' hand shook just slightly as she hung up the receiver.  
She turned her attention to booting up her computer, not 
really knowing what she was going to do.  She already gave 
Perry her story from the press conference yesterday.  Her 
attention was suddenly grabbed by the television in the 
newsroom.  Someone had turned up the volume as LNN 
announced a special report from EPRAD.

The impeccably groomed newscaster gave the camera his best 
grim look.  "We are here at EPRAD with Professor Daitch, 
who has some news regarding the remnants of the Nightfall 
asteroid."  

The microphone was stuck in the professor's face.  He 
backed away a half step before answering.  "Yes, well, 
after numerous calculations and precise tracking of the 
larger pieces, we are confident that no more than three or 
four remaining chunks of Nightfall will survive their 
descent into the atmosphere."

The newscaster pulled the microphone back.  "And do you 
have any idea where these rocks might hit?"

Daitch's mouth formed a tight line.  "There are too many 
variables for us to be able to predict with any real 
accuracy.  Our best guess is somewhere along the east coast 
in an area roughly from Metropolis to New York.  Hopefully 
they will fall harmlessly out to sea, but there is a chance 
that one or more might strike inland."

"Professor, what kind of damage could that cause?"

"Well, that depends on how large a piece actually survives 
to strike the planet.  Nothing on a world-wide catastrophic 
scale, but a local strike in a heavily populated area could 
cause significant property damage and heavy loss of life.  
We are continuing to monitor the progress of those rouge 
pieces, and as we get more data, we hope we can get a 
clearer picture on where they might strike."

"Do we know when they will hit?"

"They should begin entering the atmosphere in approximately 
36 hours."

"One more question, Professor Daitch."  The newscaster 
stopped the professor who had turned to leave.  "Any word 
yet from Superman?"

The professor just shook his head sadly and turned away.  
He walked quickly off camera and into the EPRAD building.  
The newscaster presented himself back to the camera his 
well rehearsed, concerned face firmly in place, but someone 
mercifully turned off the set before he could speak.

Before Lois could turn back to her computer screen Perry, 
who'd come out to watch the newscast with the rest of the 
bullpen, turned to her.  "Lois, get down to EPRAD and see 
if you can get any more details out of those scientists.  
If they have any idea where those rocks might hit, I want 
the Daily Planet to know about it."  Perry came in close 
and spoke at a volume only Lois could hear.  "Honey, I know 
he's a friend of yours.  Have you heard anything from 
Superman?"

Lois bit her lip and shook her head.  "No, Chief."

Perry nodded.  "Okay, you get down to EPRAD and see what 
you can find out."  Lois turned to grab her bag.  "Oh, 
Lois, did you get in touch with Clark yet?"

Lois was about to shake her head when she was suddenly 
struck by an idea.  "Well, I did just talk to his mother.  
She called to tell me that Clark fell off a ladder helping 
his father doing some... you know, farm stuff.  Apparently 
he broke his leg.  He'll be laid up for a while.  Won't be 
able to travel for at least a week or two."

"Great shades of Elvis, doesn't anyone bother to call me 
anymore?  It's not like I'm the boss or anything."  Perry 
threw his hands up in annoyance.   "It's a good thing I 
have you to take messages for me, Lois.  Maybe I should 
take you off the city beat and hire you as my personal 
secretary."

Lois had to grin sympathetically at her harried boss.  
"Sorry, Chief, you couldn't afford me."   Lois hurried up 
the ramp toward the elevator, leaving her editor sputtering 
incoherently in her wake.

CHAPTER FOUR

Lauren dragged herself out of bed in disgust.  She hadn't 
slept much all night.  She kept tossing and turning, her 
thoughts constantly straying back to the mysterious 
stranger sleeping in the other room.  She had checked on 
him a couple of times, but he seemed to be sleeping 
peacefully.  Early on he had continued to moan and mutter, 
but after a few hours, he'd settled down to what appeared 
to be a deep sleep.  Only one other word had been 
recognizable coming from his mouth.  He'd mentioned the 
name Lois several times.  Lauren wondered who Lois was, a 
friend, a girlfriend... a wife?  She didn't think that it 
was  *his* name.

She sat up on the edge of her bed and ran her hand through 
her sleep tangled locks.  She pushed the shoulder length 
hair out of her eyes and stared at the wall that separated 
the two bedrooms.  What was she going to do?  She knew what 
the logical thing to do would be.  That was to take him 
into Two Harbors, Ely, or better yet, Duluth and drop him 
off at a competent medical facility and wave bye bye.  But 
she couldn't.  

There was something about him, something that touched her.  
He almost seemed familiar somehow, yet so different.  He 
was a mystery and she was supposed to be an officer of the 
law.  She was supposed to solve mysteries.  Would it be so 
wrong to try and help this fellow find out who he was, and 
where he was supposed to be?  Wouldn't he be better off 
with a friendly partner to help him rather than some 
stuffy, officious bureaucrats shuffling him from one 
department to another?

Lauren frowned as she got up and dragged herself into the 
kitchen to make some coffee.  She needed the coffee to get 
her brain cells firing.  Thinking this early in the morning 
just wasn't her thing.  

After starting the coffee, she popped a couple of slices of 
bread into the toaster and ambled into her father's old 
bedroom.  Her guest was still sleeping.  She stared at him 
for several moments.  The panic of the night before was no 
longer etched onto his face.  He seemed at peace.  She was 
mesmerized by the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he 
breathed easily in his slumber.  Sometime during the night 
he had tossed the covers partially off him.  His bare chest 
was exposed as was his stomach.  Only the lower half of him 
was still covered, which was a good thing since he was 
still naked under that blanket.  Well, he might think it a 
good thing.

She went over to the dresser, which still had most of her 
father's old clothes in it, and pulled a drawer out.  Her 
father had been a big man, but the disease had taken much 
of that from him as the years dragged on.  He had been a 
shadow of his former self before he died.  Most of the 
things in the dresser hadn't been worn in years.  She was 
sure there was something in here that the stranger could 
wear, at least for now.

Pulling out a soft, well worn, flannel shirt and a pair of 
very broken-in blue jeans, she tossed them on the end of 
the bed.  She then turned her attention to the top drawer.  
The infamous underwear drawer.  Somewhere in the back of 
her mind was the memory of several pair of brand new 
undershorts which she had bought for her father years back, 
but he'd never worn.  She had accidentally bought him 
briefs, but he was strictly a mid-length type of guy.  In 
later years he took to wearing his long underwear nearly 
all year around.

With a sigh of relief she found a package of those shorts 
still in their store wrapper.  She threw those on the bed 
with the shirt and pants.  With a bit more exploration she 
came up with a pair of heavy woolen socks.  Considering how 
cold it got up here, and especially how cold the wooden 
floor could get, a nice pair of heavy, comfy socks were a 
must.

Lauren edged back toward the door.  "Hey, buddy, time to 
get up if you want some breakfast."  The stranger continued 
his slumber, giving no indication that he'd heard her.  She 
walked over and shook his shoulder.  "Hey, friend, up and 
at 'em.  It's a new day."  She was answered by his gentle 
snoring.

Lauren frowned.  This was one heavy sleeper.  She knew that 
he'd been through some sort of trauma, though he bore no 
physical signs of any injury or distress.   She shrugged.  
Maybe his ordeal just took a lot out of him.  She turned 
away figuring he'd wake up when he woke up.  In the 
meantime, she'd put a call in to headquarters to see if 
there had been any reports of missing persons, or just 
unusual happenings in the last day or two.  Might as well 
start her investigation sooner, as later.

She punched the remote to turn the television on as she 
munched on the toast that she'd forgotten about and was now 
burnt.  A couple swallows of coffee and she was able to 
focus on what the morning newsman was telling her.  The 
local anchor was giving some sort of update on the 
Nightfall asteroid.  Apparently the scientists felt that 
the real danger of the asteroid was over.  No thanks to 
them, Lauren thought sourly.  It was Superman who had 
sacrificed everything for them and the rest of the world.  

The news program then showed a clip from some press 
interview with a Professor Daitch who warned that a few 
pieces of the asteroid might still hit the earth.  He said 
they would impact somewhere along the east coast.  Lauren 
hoped that no one would be hurt by any falling asteroid 
pieces, but that was far away and she didn't concern 
herself much with it.  She was saddened to hear that there 
had been no word yet from Superman.  She, like many others, 
was convinced that Superman had been killed while 
destroying the asteroid.  

The closest anyone from these parts ever got to Superman 
were the specials that occasionally aired on television.  
It wasn't like he ever spent anytime out here in the middle 
of Nowhere, Minnesota.  Still, like any prominent public 
figure, it was a shame when they died before their time.  
And in this case, Superman died saving the world.  Not a 
bad legacy.

Lauren turned off the tube and made her way over to her 
two-way radio, which occupied a prominent spot on a side 
table in one corner of the living room.  It took a couple 
of minutes for the older set to warm up, but soon it 
crackled to life.  With practiced ease she dialed the 
familiar frequency and pushed the call switch.  Within a 
few moments she heard a familiar voice.

"Lake County Sheriff's Department."

Lauren smiled.  "Hey, Marty, it's Lauren."

"Hey beautiful, what's up?  I thought it was your day off?"  

Martin Mackey was the grand old man of the department.  He 
had turned sixty-five just last week but had no intention 
of retiring.  He was like a father to the small close knit 
group of sheriffs.  Lauren had often suspected that she was 
his favorite though.  Marty and her father had been friends 
growing up together in Ely, but had taken different career 
paths.  Still they had managed to stay friends.  Lauren was 
sure it was Marty's influence that got her the job in the 
first place.

"Oh, it is, but you know how it is.  Can't stand the 
thought of missing something big.  Anything exciting or 
interesting come across your desk in the last day or so?"  
Lauren tried to make it sound casual but her more than 
normal curiosity must have been evident in her voice.

"No, nothing of any consequence.  Some kids trying to steal 
some city signage from Beaver Bay, and a couple got 
separated from their snowmobile group, but they were found 
a few hours later.  Any particular reason why you're 
asking?"

"No, not really."  Lauren forced herself to chuckle.  "Just 
wondering if I might be rescued from having to clean my 
place today.  You know how much I love housework."

"Uh huh."  He didn't sound convinced.  "If I hear of any 
major prison breaks or international intrigue taking place 
in our area, I'll be sure to call you in."

She could only shake her head, grinning.  "Okay, you be 
sure you do.  I mean who else would you trust on the big 
ones."

"Nobody but you, sweetie.  Gotta go now.  Funny, even 
though we don't have a lot of crimes to solve, we still 
seem to have a lot of paperwork to fill out."

"Ain't that the truth.  Take it easy, Marty.  Talk to you 
later."  She flipped the switch turning her radio back to 
its standby status.  It was never completely turned off if 
she was home.  

Lauren wondered why she hadn't told Marty about her house 
guest.  Perhaps he could have helped her by doing some 
checking for her.  But for some reason she just wasn't 
ready to share the stranger with anyone else.  She tried to 
tell herself that she needed to talk to him more fully 
before she would be able to formulate a plan of action.  
Truth was she didn't know why she didn't want to tell 
Marty, but for some strange reason she wanted to keep the 
handsome newcomer a secret, at least for now.  She glanced 
back toward the bedroom where her guest continued to sleep.  
"So exactly what is your story, my mysterious friend?"

***************************

Lois sat numbly in the chair as she unconsciously placed 
the phone receiver back on its cradle.  She had just 
finished a lengthy conversation with the Kents and it had 
left her drained, yet strangely hopeful.  

She had been very nervous about calling them up.  What 
would they think?  What would they say about her knowing 
'the secret'?  Well, on that score Lois needn't have 
worried.  Martha was delighted that Clark had told her.  
Lois could tell Jonathan wasn't quite as enthusiastic about 
her knowing, but he supported Clark's decision.  He did 
make a point of stressing that knowing about Clark being 
Superman did put her in extra danger, and that might not 
have been fair to Lois.

The conversation quickly took a serious tone as Lois 
explained the conversation she'd had with Clark the night 
before.  Martha had been adamant that 'her boy' was not 
dead, that she would know if he were.  Something else must 
have happened to prevent him from showing up.   Jonathan 
had tried to interject some pragmatic caution, but didn't 
try to dash his wife's hopes too much.  Lois got the 
impression that Martha often listened to Jonathan's 
homespun practical advice, then went ahead and thought what 
she wanted to anyway. 

They discussed possibilities.  Martha had mentioned that it 
was conceivable that the impact had been such that it used 
up most of Clark's energy reserves.   Perhaps he was back 
on earth, but lost and powerless.  It could take days for 
the sun to recharge him sufficiently to get back to 
Metropolis, or even Smallville.  Maybe longer if he was in 
a place where the sun didn't shine a lot.  It was doubtful 
that he'd have any money or means to get around other than 
by foot.  Being little more than a vagrant, it would be 
difficult for him to get word to either of them.

That cheered Lois somewhat, but being who she was, she had 
to broach the subject that he might be lying injured 
somewhere.  Jonathan assured her that even if that were 
true, once his powers kicked back in he would heal very 
quickly and be okay.  None of them wanted Clark to be 
suffering, but if he wasn't dead they were confident that 
he'd be all right soon.  

When Lois tried to tell them about the press conference 
where Prof. Daitch mentioned that it was fifty-fifty as to 
whether Superman would even land back on the planet Martha 
interrupted her.  She scolded Lois for thinking negative 
thoughts.  There was no reason to dwell on such things now.  
If Clark didn't turn up after several days then they could 
deal with such ideas, but for now they must think positive 
and be ready for when he does come back.  And that meant 
keeping the secret.

The Kents had complimented Lois on her cover story to 
Perry, and Martha promised to call Perry in the morning to 
lend more credence to the story by giving him an update.  
The trio agreed to regular calls to keep each other 
informed of any happenings that might affect their ability 
to safeguard the cover story.  That way they could also 
keep their story 'straight'.

After that the conversation began to shift into more small 
talk, or more accurately, girl talk.  Jonathan sensing the 
shift, excused himself and hung up the extension, leaving 
the two women to talk in private.  It had been nice for 
Lois to have such a talk with Martha.  It was the kind of 
conversation she wished she could have had with her own 
mother but never did.  

They talked about inconsequential things like, fashion 
trends and how thickheaded men can be.  Martha asked about 
Perry and Jimmy and had laughed when Lois told her how 
frustrated Perry had been that no one seemed to think he 
needed to be called about anything anymore.  Lois asked how 
Maise was doing and to have Martha tell her not to expect 
that novel anytime soon.  

Finally Lois got up the courage to ask Martha the one 
question that had been eating at her the whole night... 
why.  Why had Clark decided to share his secret with her?  
She still remembered the reasons he'd given her, but she 
wanted to know what Martha thought.  Martha had surprised 
Lois when she chuckled at the question.  The words still 
echoed in her mind.

"It's simple, Lois, really.  He trusts you."

********************

Lauren put the book she had been reading down as she 
finally heard some movement coming from her father's old 
bedroom.  She leaned back in the comfortable old recliner 
as she followed his progress with her ears.  She heard the 
wrapper being torn off the underwear she'd left him.  Then 
the soft rustle of the shirt and pants going on.  She felt 
a brief flash of embarrassment as she realized she hadn't 
tried to find him a belt.  She hoped the jeans fit well 
enough so he wouldn't have a problem.  She turned her 
attention to the doorway as her 'guest' shyly exited the 
room.  He had a strange look of entreaty on his face.  

She laughed as she guessed his question before he could ask 
it.  "Down the end of the hall, to the left."  She pointed, 
her grin getting wider seeing his grateful response.

She watched him as he came slowly back into the main room, 
idly tucking his shirt into the jeans while looking around.  
"Lane?"  she said while his attention was focused on 
inspecting his surroundings.  There was no response.  
"Kent?"  she tried.  There was a slight twitch to his 
shoulders at the mention of that name, but no definitive 
response.  

He ran his hand along the wood paneled walls, and along the 
natural granite counter tops.  "Very nice, " he said as he 
turned his attention to her.  Suddenly it struck him that 
she had spoken.  "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

She smiled at him.  Her father had built this house with 
his own hands, and it had always held a special place in 
her heart.  Not only was it a pleasant and cozy place to 
live, but in a sense it was like keeping a piece of him 
alive for her by just being here.  She indicated that he 
should come over and sit in the other chair.

"Nothing important.  How are you feeling?"  She watched him 
closely as he seemed to search for an answer.

"I feel... okay.  I slept very well, and I don't seem to 
have any injuries, or even any aches or pains."  He took a 
moment to look around the cabin.  "But I can't remember 
anything.  Nothing looks familiar."

Lauren loosed a short bark of a laugh.  "Well, I certainly 
hope not, since you've never been here before."  She 
favored him with another smile.  "I think I would have 
remembered if you had."

He blushed.  "That's not what I meant." 

She chuckled.  "I know, and I'm sorry if I embarrassed 
you."  Lauren replaced her smile with a look of sympathy.  
"So, you still don't remember anything? Not where you come 
from, or who you are?  Not why you were wandering around in 
the woods totally naked?"

He colored again.  "No, it's just so frustrating.  But I 
can't remember."

Lauren nodded, then proceeded to play a game of twenty 
questions with her mystery guest.  He got the date wrong by 
a day but he knew who the President was, how to do simple 
math, and that Minnesota was a state in the U.S.A.    It 
was typical of what her advanced first aid courses told her 
about amnesia victims.  They retained a general memory of 
places and events, but their personal life and identity 
were missing.  She also knew that in such cases, the memory 
often came back on its own.   From his confusion over the 
exact date, Lauren assumed that whatever trauma induced his 
condition had happened sometime yesterday.   Marty hadn't 
mentioned any reported discovery of an accident or 
abandoned vehicle, but she'd check back later.  It was 
possible that it just hadn't been discovered yet.  If it 
had happened far enough out in the forest, back on one of 
the old abandoned logger roads or lesser used snowmobile 
trails, it might not be discovered for several days.

She reached out and took one of his hands in her own.  "If 
I'm going to help you, I'm going to need to call you 
something.  In your sleep last night you called out the 
names, Lane and Kent.  Do either of those names mean 
anything to you?  Are one or both of them yours?"

He shook his head slowly.  "It seems like I should know 
them, but I don't."

"Okay then, do you mind if I pick one?"   She saw the shrug 
of his shoulders.  Remembering how he reacted earlier she 
made her choice.  "How do you feel about Kent?  If anyone 
asks, your name is Kent... Kent Lane."  

He shrugged.  "I guess that's as good as any."  'Kent' 
favored Lauren with a smile.  "Not that I don't appreciate 
your help - but why am I here and not in some cell, or 
hospital room?"

It was Lauren's turn to blush, then shrug.  "I'm not really 
sure.  It was late, and you looked like you needed help.  I 
am an officer of the law, and as such it's my job to help 
people."  She shrugged again.  "Besides, you just struck me 
as someone I could trust, and for some reason it was 
important to me to help you."  Lauren shook her head in 
irritation.  "Does that make any sense to you?"

Kent shook his head in wonderment.  "No, but I have to say 
I'm glad you did.  I'm feeling particularly in need of a 
friend right now.  It's very scary not knowing who you are, 
or why you were out in the woods of northern Minnesota... 
you know."  He blushed again.  "I can't say for sure why I 
feel this way, but I don't think I've ever been here 
before."

"Really!"  Lauren glanced up at the clock on the wall.  
"Well, there's still plenty of time before we have to worry 
about any dinner.  Perhaps you'd like to take in a little 
sight seeing, Minnesota style."

"Minnesota style?" 

She grinned.  "Yeah, when was the last time you were on a 
snowmobile?"

Kent shook his head in confusion.  "I can't say as I've 
ever been on a snowmobile."  He smiled at her.  "But then, 
I'm the one with a faulty memory."

"Well then, you are in for a treat.  Nothing like seeing 
the real beauty of Mother Nature at 50 miles an hour as 
cold snow and wind tear at your face."

Kent raised an eyebrow.  "Sounds great."  His voice belied 
his words.

Lauren laughed as she stood up.  She reached down and 
dragged him to his feet.  "Come on, let's find you some 
warm clothes."

CHAPTER FIVE

*SNIP*

The sound of the stylist's shears was unnaturally loud in 
Lois' ears.  Her level of anxiety rose as she watched more 
long, silky, dark locks join the ever growing pile of hair 
on the salon floor.

*SNIP*,  *SNIP*

"I don't think this is such a good idea."  Lois' voice 
betrayed the nervousness she felt. 

"A little late for that now," her stylist, Cindy, laughed.  
"You were the one who said you wanted to try something new 
and different.  Believe me this will be different."

Lois sucked in another breath as more dark tresses fell 
into her lap.  "Yeah, but I didn't expect to look like a 
Marine recruit when you finished." A little exasperation 
crept into her voice.

"Oh pooh, it's not going to be *that* short, Lois, so 
relax.  Trust me, you'll look great."  Cindy couldn't help 
smiling at her long time client and friend's imagined fear.   
"Now sit quietly while I finish.  We're almost done here."

Lois pulled her lips tight together as she watched her 
final transformation in the big mirror.  It had been a 
strange day.  There had been nothing new on Superman's 
disappearance.  EPRAD had no new details on the still 
coming chunks of Nightfall, but they had promised to hold a 
news conference if there was any new data to report.

Lois had managed to avoid discussing Clark with Perry, but 
the continued absence of her partner had led her to mope 
around the newsroom, depressed.  She didn't know what to do 
with herself.  There was literally no news out there.  It 
was like the city was on hold, just waiting to see what 
finally would happen with the last remnants of the 
asteroid.  The call from Lex had come as a complete 
surprise.

Ever since that strange dinner interview she'd had with 
Lex, she'd had the impression that Lex liked her.  It was 
flattering to have someone as rich and powerful, not to 
mention handsome, interested in her.  They had gone out on 
a couple of dates, but at the time she'd not thought much 
about it.  She'd still been carrying her torch for Superman 
so anyone, even Lex, didn't quite measure up.  But then 
Superman had never asked her out, so a date with Lex was a 
nice diversion.  They always went to the finest restaurants 
and saw only first run shows.  Perhaps she was a little 
guilty of using Lex, but then it wasn't like she'd ever 
promised him anything beyond pleasant companionship for the 
evening's festivities.

She knew that Clark, for some reason, didn't like Lex.  
After the traumatic discussion of the other night, Lois now 
knew that Clark had stronger feelings for her than she had 
originally thought.  Maybe Clark was jealous of Lex's 
attentions?  It was something that she hadn't thought of 
before.  Of course, she now knew that Clark had been... no 
she wouldn't think like that.  Clark *was* Superman, and he 
still was, wherever he may be.  But if Clark didn't like 
Lex, that meant that Superman didn't like Lex.  

Was Superman jealous of Lex too?  How could Superman be 
jealous of Lex?  He knew how she felt about him!  But then, 
he was also Clark so he could be jealous, or was there 
something more?  Something that only Superman knew about?  
Lois put the thought out of her head.  It was just too 
confusing.  Lois didn't think that anything serious would 
ever come of her and Lex.  They were too different.  Lex 
was just a friend... wasn't he?

So, if he was just a friend, why was she going to all this 
trouble just to go out with him?  Simple, she told her 
irritating little voice of conscience, she needed a 
diversion right now.  Something to take her mind off the 
distressing fact that Clark hadn't resurfaced yet, if only 
for a night.   No big deal really, she'd gone out with Lex 
before.  It's not like they were serious about each other 
or anything.  So why did she have this nagging feeling that 
she was betraying Clark in some way?

Lex had called this morning with an offer to take her to 
the opera tonight.  Her first impulse had been to decline.  
She felt like she should be doing something to find Clark, 
but she didn't know what.  All her snitches had been 
instructed to let her know as soon as they heard anything 
that could possibly be about the missing super hero.  She 
hadn't heard anything back from any of them, and all she 
could do was sit around, wait, and be depressed.  So, she 
had decided to take Lex up on his offer.  A night out on 
the town wouldn't solve anything, but it might give her a 
few hours of reprieve from all the worry and fear.

Since there was nothing happening at the Planet she left 
early.  Deciding to do the night up right, she'd gone to 
her favorite dress shop and picked out an entire new outfit 
for the evening.  Then she then found herself at Cindy's 
salon.  Why not go the whole nine yards, she'd thought.  A 
new dress, some new accessories, and a new hairstyle.  
Nothing like a complete makeover to take one's mind off 
one's troubles.  Problem was, it hadn't helped.  She was 
still depressed and worried, and she wasn't looking forward 
to her date tonight either.

"All done."

Lois was pulled out of her musings by Cindy's triumphant 
tone.  Lois stared at the stranger who looked back at her 
from the other side of the big mirror on the wall of the 
salon.  The familiar chin to shoulder length page that had 
defined Lois Lane's look for so long was now gone.  Most of 
it was lying on Cindy's floor.  Instead the face staring 
back at her was framed by a soft, layered, helmet of dark 
hair.  The long line of her neck was now exposed, and her 
eyes seemed even bigger.

"Soooo, what do you think?"  Cindy had a smug smile on her 
face.

The corners of Lois' mouth twitched upward on their own 
accord.  She nodded.  "I like it."  

After paying Cindy, Lois exited the shop fingering the 
short ends of her new style.  She couldn't help wondering 
if Clark would like it.

**********************

The past two days had been torturous for Lois.  She sat at 
her desk staring at the blank screen.  The only stories of 
note were ones about the impending strikes by the few 
pieces of the Nightfall asteroid that were expected to 
survive their trip through our atmosphere.  EPRAD had 
released a bulletin stating that they were fairly certain 
that three of those meteors would definitely strike the 
planet somewhere along the east coast, but they still 
couldn't narrow it down to an area smaller than a circle a 
hundred miles in diameter.  According to  Professor Daitch 
and his crew, the meteors would enter the atmosphere around 
nine o' clock tonight.

The light show should be pretty spectacular.  The progress 
of the space debris would be quite visible as they heated 
up and burned due to the friction of their passage through 
the air.  The city had reopened a few of the old air raid 
shelters that still existed from World War II.  Those, 
along with the subway system would be available for any 
citizen who wished to avail themselves of their protection.  

Many scoffed at those who planned to 'hide' underground, 
and instead figured that the incredibly long odds of a 
meteor striking near where they were made it unnecessary to 
seek such shelter.  It was their intention to be out in the 
streets, watching the show.  For all that EPRAD counseled 
caution, there were many more 'experts', being touted in 
the various media, who claimed that the pieces of Nightfall 
would most likely fall into the ocean and not even pose any 
threat to the citizens of Metropolis at all.

Perry had 'suggested' that Lois go to one of the old air 
raid shelters this evening to cover the thoughts and 
attitudes of the people who chose to wait out the coming 
meteor strikes in apparent safety.  Lois had looked her 
boss directly in the eye and told him, in no uncertain 
terms, what she thought of his idea.  She then informed him 
that her plans were to stake out the roof of the Daily 
Planet with a camera and her tape recorder.  She would 
dictate her thoughts and observations into the recorder as 
she watched the progress of those possible bringers of 
destruction.  It was likely she would only get a human 
interest story out of this, but she wanted to be prepared 
if there was more.

Lois accessed EPRAD's news data base to see if there had 
been any updates.  There weren't, so her mind began to 
wander.  Her date with Lex had gone very badly.  He'd had 
the nerve to suggest that if he'd known Lois was looking to 
have a makeover that she should have come to him first.  He 
could have had the finest designers provide a special 
ensemble just for her.  And rather than allow some 'common' 
barber butcher her beautiful hair, he could have secured 
the top stylist in the city for her.  It had gone downhill 
from there.

The opera had been wonderful, at least she thought it had 
been.  She continued to fret about Clark most of the 
evening and barely paid any attention to the stage, or to 
Lex.  She knew he could tell that she was preoccupied when 
he continually tried to get her to tell him what was wrong.  
She put him off with one word answers or unintelligible 
grunts.  The evening ended early and it hadn't been too 
soon for Lois.  She gratefully escaped to her apartment and 
a tub of Choco-Fudge Ripple.  

She didn't even know why she was upset.  True, Lex had been 
rather insensitive with his remarks, but that was Lex.  He 
thought he was being helpful.  Heaven forbid that anyone 
would think that they could do anything better than Lex 
could, even for themselves.  A wry smile found its way onto 
Lois' face as the memory replayed itself.  She didn't think 
that Lex would be asking her out again anytime soon.  And 
that was just fine with her.

She turned her computer off.  There was nothing there.   
She had spent part of the morning searching for any odd 
news reports that might indicate the presence of Superman.  
Remembering Martha's contention that Clark might have been 
hurt and was somewhere out there trying to get back, Lois 
scanned the news wire for any odd mentions that might 
relate to a missing or injured Superman.  She had turned up 
nothing.  

Reaching down for her bag, Lois got ready to leave.  Since 
she planned to be back here for the big sky show tonight, 
she figured she would go home now and grab a bite to eat 
and dress appropriately for the chill of the evening.  
Flinging a 'see ya later' at Perry as she passed him on the 
ramp, Lois pushed the call button for the elevator and was 
soon gone.

***************

The wind was biting as its chilling breath played with the 
short strands of hair around Lois' ears.  She cursed 
herself for not remembering to bring along a hat to keep 
her now less protected head warm.   She pulled her coat 
tighter around her as she scanned the sky.

Luckily it was a clear, moonless night.  According to 
EPRAD's estimates, the fragments should become visible 
anytime now.  Lois glanced down at her watch, then back up 
to that part of the sky where the meteors where expected to 
show.  

Many of the rooftops of Metropolis held folks all doing 
what Lois was doing, watching for the arrival of 
Nightfall's last threats.  The sky was filled with a myriad 
of quick, bright flashes as the tiny pieces of the 
Nightfall asteroid burned briefly in incandescent splendor 
as they entered the Earth's atmosphere.  It was a pretty 
light show, but those momentary streaks of light weren't 
what Lois was up on the roof to watch for.  Her concern was 
for the light show that wouldn't disappear almost 
immediately.

Suddenly a collective gasp from the building to her right 
reached Lois' ears.  She quickly gazed over to see several 
people pointing up into the northeastern  portion of the 
sky.  Looking up herself, she could just barely see the 
tiny streaks that were now making themselves visible.  
Unlike their transitory brethren, these luminescent trails 
didn't disappear after a brief moment.

Lois watched, fascinated, as the tiny, glowing streaks 
became brighter.  There was little perception of motion 
since the meteors were basically heading in their 
direction.  They continued to grow brighter as time passed.  
There were definitely three separate glowing trails.

The brightest and most probably the closest, Lois reasoned, 
seemed to be veering away from the others.  All three were 
brighter than the surrounding stars but the wandering 
fellow was actually bright enough to cast a shadow.  All 
eyes were glued to the first visitor.  Lois hurriedly 
readied her camera and snapped several shots of the meteor 
as it appeared to pass off to the east.  Within a few more 
moments a bright flash could be seen quite far out past the 
harbor into the open ocean.   It was several more seconds 
before the sound of the explosive impact reached their 
ears.

Lois had been giving a running commentary of her 
impressions as the small meteor had passed by and struck 
out to sea.  She now turned her attention to its two 
brethren which had perceptively grown quite a bit brighter 
and larger.   Lois began to get nervous as the two other 
pieces of space debris didn't seem to be veering off in any 
sideways motion.  The only indication of their movement was 
their growing brightness and size.  Her anxiety was being 
mirrored by the mutterings and exclamations of the crowds 
on the streets and other rooftops.  Lois knew with an utter 
certainty that one or both of those rocks were going to 
strike Metropolis.

Sounds, like that of a jet plane, were becoming noticeable.  
Lois had to speak louder into her recorder as she snapped 
more pictures of the flaming guests.  It became apparent 
that the two remaining meteors were noticeably different in 
size.  It was possible to perceive the closest one was also 
the smallest.  Lois began to notice a side movement as a 
tail stretched out from behind the closest meteor.  

The small meteor made a noisy impact down in the Hobbs Bay 
area.  Lois was easily a half mile or more away yet the 
sound of the explosion washed over her as she watched the 
flames burst into life amongst the old warehouses on the 
waterfront.   

She was busy snapping pictures of the blaze when she became 
aware of it getting warmer.  She turned and nearly dropped 
the camera.  Her eyes grew wide as the fiery ball that 
filled nearly half the sky seemed to be coming right at 
her!  Instinct forced Lois to duck but she held the camera 
up and kept snapping pictures as the meteor roared a couple 
of hundred feet over her head.   She could hear the screams 
of the people as the crowds began to panic.

Lois watched in horror as the meteor descended, zeroing in 
on the uptown area of Metropolis.   She would have screamed 
if she could've found a way to make her lungs work.  Her 
entire body was frozen in a state of shock and terror.  
Disbelief warred with denial as she watched the ball of 
fiery destruction smash into the tallest building in 
Metropolis.  The explosion of the impact knocked her off 
her feet and shattered windows for blocks around as flames 
enveloped the top floors of the LexCorp, LexTower.

LexTower was the heart of LexCorp and Luthor Industries.  
While there wouldn't be as many people in the building at 
this time of night, still it was a 24/7 type of facility.  
There could be hundreds of support staff and night shift 
workers inside.  Also, the upper floors of LexTower 
contained many apartments.  Most of the senior management 
of LexCorp lived right in the tower, including...

Lois stared at the rapacious nature of the flames that 
engulfed the upper floors.  Lex lived in the penthouse of 
that tower!  Lois had a hard time catching her breath as 
she wondered if Lex had been home.  She closed her eyes 
briefly as the likelihood of Lex having been home forced 
its way into her mind.

Tears streamed down Lois' face as she crawled to the edge 
of the Daily Planet roof.   Finally finding her voice, 
Lois, between sobs, described the devastation she was 
witnessing and snapped the pictures that would end up 
lending the visual impact to her words.  

*CHAPTER SIX*

Clark kicked the snow off his boots at the front door of 
the little cabin in the woods.  He was tired from his walk, 
but the peace and serenity of the deep woods was like a 
calming balm to his troubled mind.  He still had no idea 
who he was or why he was here, but the beauty of the forest 
allowed him to put those thoughts behind him for a short 
time while he just enjoyed the natural splendor around him.

The lush, fragrant pine woods filled him with a feeling of 
harmony.  The clean white snow and the crystal clear 
streams that burbled nearby were like something from a 
different world.  The troubles of the larger world seemed 
remote and insignificant when measured against the 
tranquility of unspoiled nature.   He smiled at the memory 
of the few deer he'd seen scamper away once they realized 
his presence.  For some reason he was able to 'sense' a 
great many of the small furry creatures that made this 
forest their home.  He would have thought that they would 
be harder to detect in their native habitat.  

The only thing that would have made his walk more 
pleasurable would have been some sunshine.  The cloud cover 
had been quite extensive.  He'd yet to see the sun since 
he'd woken up in this part of Minnesota.  And a part of him 
missed it.

He began to unbutton the coat he'd worn on his stroll.  He 
was surprised that he hadn't felt the cold more than he 
had.  True, the longer he'd been out there, and the more 
tired he became, the more he felt the cold, but it was 
almost like he really didn't feel it unless he focused on 
the fact that he should be cold.  He dismissed the thought 
as he turned his attention to the small kitchen.

He knew that Lauren had to work a bit late tonight.  She 
was covering half of a shift for one of the other sheriffs 
who was out sick.  Aside from her normal patrol she had to 
go into the County Sheriff's office and take a few hours 
shift at the dispatcher's desk.  The night dispatcher would 
then come in early to take the rest of the shift for the 
missing person.  Apparently it wasn't a big deal.  It 
wasn't like they had a lot of emergency calls to respond 
to.  Still, it was a tourist area, and they did have to 
have twenty-four hour coverage.  

She had mentioned that she'd probably be home between eight 
and eight-thirty, so Kent decided that he'd have something 
ready for supper when she got in.  He wasn't sure why he 
was confident that he knew how to cook, it just seemed 
natural to him to prepare a meal.  Was he a chef of some 
sort or just a single guy used to cooking for himself?

While rummaging through her cupboards seeing what she had 
available to fix, his thoughts strayed back over that last 
couple of days.  A smile tugged up the corners of his 
mouth.  He had been incredibly lucky to have run into 
someone like Lauren.  Rather than just turn him over to the 
nearest authorities to deal with, she had, instead, 
befriended him.  They had spent her days off just getting 
to know each other.  Well, at least as well as he could not 
really knowing who he was.

They had gone on quiet walks out in the woods.  They'd 
played cards, watched television, a few old videos, or just 
sat up and talked.  He found himself attracted to her.  
Maybe he was just partial to pretty brunettes, with a great 
figure and a dazzling smile.  But then who wouldn't be?  He 
grinned as his reaction to Lauren as a beautiful woman 
assured him about at least one aspect of his missing life.  
He definitely liked women.

Lauren seemed so much more than her physical appearance 
though.  She was bright, and funny.  She seemed more 
worldly than having lived her entire life in one area would 
suggest.  Kent also sensed a certain sadness about her too.  
He knew she missed her dad, but he suspected that deep down 
there was some buried resentment against him also.  His 
illness had effectively trapped her in her present 
existence.  An existence that he felt she wasn't entirely 
satisfied with.

She had talked of some of the dreams she'd had when she'd 
graduated.  She was going to make a splash in the 'real 
world' as she called it.  Go down to the 'cities', which 
Kent later found out meant the Twin Cities of Minneapolis 
and St. Paul, and make a name for herself in law 
enforcement.  

Cop shows had always been her favorites growing up in the 
calm, quiet environs of the north woods.  The hustle and 
bustle of the big cities and the danger and excitement that 
seemed to lurk around every corner had had a profound 
effect on the lonely young girl.  They had laughed together 
when she'd shyly revealed that she'd had a secret crush on 
James Darren while watching T.J. Hooker with her father 
when she was a teenager. 

He'd asked her why she hadn't tried to pick up her dreams 
once she had been free to do so after her father's death.  
She had just shrugged, given him a sad smile, and replied 
that she was older and wiser now.  Sometimes a young 
woman's dreams didn't stand up to the harsh light of day in 
the real world.  Kent was saddened by her admission as it 
spoke of a certain lack of self confidence in her ability 
to actualize those dreams and a fear in even trying.

It wasn't too long before Kent had the makings of a simple, 
yet tasty, stir-fry going.  He was going to have to have a 
word with Lauren about her pantry.  She was woefully 
lacking in many of the staples for even the most basic 
cooking, though he did find a lot of frozen dinners in the 
freezer section of her refrigerator.  Kent shook his head 
in wonder as he set the table.  He was almost afraid to ask 
Lauren how she ate, since she obviously didn't get a lot of 
delivery out here in the middle of the north woods.  He 
shrugged, maybe that was how she kept herself so slim and 
fit.

Knowing that she should be home soon and that the meal 
would be able to be heated up within minutes after her 
arrival, Kent turned his attention back to the tiny 
television stuck back in one corner of the small living 
room.  He clicked on the set and was just about to surf 
around the channels looking for something interesting when 
the picture was replaced by a grim-looking national new 
anchor.

"We break into your regular programing to bring you these 
late breaking developments regarding the Nightfall meteors.  
We take you out to Metropolis, and Bonnie Devlin... 
Bonnie?"

Kent was shocked by what he saw.  A young woman was 
standing in the street in what was undoubtedly downtown 
Metropolis.  Behind her a mass of confusion of firemen and 
their equipment was seen hustling about.  It was evident 
that something horrendous had happened by the panicked 
nature of the first responders.

"This is Bonnie Devlin in downtown Metropolis, where just 
minutes ago the last three fragments of the Nightfall 
asteroid made their final assault on our planet.  The first 
meteor struck far out into the ocean, merely causing some 
higher than normal wave action.  The second, and the 
smallest fragment, struck in a little used section of the 
waterfront.  There are reports of a couple of abandoned 
warehouses currently burning."  The young reporter moved 
over to one side as the camera shifted its focus.

Kent let out an involuntary gasp as the camera panned up to 
show the inferno that was the LexTower burning brilliantly 
against the darkness of the night sky.

"As you can see, the final, and by far the largest meteor 
impacted some seventy stories up on Metropolis' most famous 
building, LexCorp's LexTower.  Engine companies from all 
over the city are still responding to the call."  The 
camera swiveled to show several more fire trucks screaming 
onto the scene, then switched back up to the skyscraper 
blazing like a torch in the inky blackness.  "As of now 
it's not known how many people might have been injured or 
killed by this tragic collision, but some folks estimate as 
many as seven to eight hundred people could have been in 
the building at the time of impact, though many of those 
who were on the lower floors can be seen streaming out of 
the building as I speak."  The camera panned to a shot of 
the front entrance and the chaotic crush of people running 
from the doomed building.

So transfixed by what he was seeing, Kent didn't hear the 
front door opening, nor feel the cool burst of air which 
accompanied it.  Lauren took in the set kitchen table and 
the ingredients all laid out and ready to heat up.  She 
stuck her nose over the preparations and took a whiff.

"Hey, someone was busy."  She grinned as she took in the 
basket of fresh bread on the table.  "Smells wonderful... 
what's that?"  She had just noticed what had been holding 
Kent's attention.  She came over and sat on the arm of the 
chair he was sitting in.  "Omigod," she said, her voice 
dropping to a whisper.

Kent merely nodded as he, unconsciously, reached for her 
hand.


**********************

Lois fiddled with the lapel on her coat.  She didn't want 
to be there.  She hated funerals, but she knew that she had 
to attend this one.  Not only was it necessary from the 
standpoint of her job, and even though her last evening 
with him had led her to some conflicting thoughts, Lex was 
still a friend... sort of, and she felt duty bound to 
attend.

The tragic night was still indelibly etched into her mind.  
After describing the horror she'd seen into her little hand 
held recorder while waiting for the fire crews to arrive, 
she then went directly down to the newsroom to begin 
writing up her story.   No surprise, Perry had still been 
there.  

It had been hard to write up the story as she constantly 
had to wipe tears out of her eyes so she could see the 
screen.  Jimmy had been called in from his assignment at 
the old 5th street air raid shelter to develop the pictures 
Lois had taken.  She had been able to capture a couple of 
dramatic shots which companioned well with her prose for 
the full effect.  Of course, by the time the morning 
edition came out most folks had been inundated with the 
video coverage of the LexTower blaze, but Lois was able to 
put into words what everyone was feeling.  While the 
average citizen of Metropolis could only wrestle with the 
conflicting thoughts and emotions over what they had 
witnessed, Lois was able to give voice to those sentiments.  

Lois had given her readers a hard-hitting eyewitness 
account, factual and terrifying in its depiction of the 
coming of the Nightfall meteors and the destruction they 
wrought.  She accurately described her feelings watching 
the approach of the flaming fragments and the horror in 
seeing the last meteor slam into the proud symbol of 
LexCorp, the LexTower.  Lois had also painted a vivid 
picture of the shock and confusion that immediately 
followed the impact.  It was her gift.

What had been missing from the article was an examination 
of the tragedy's cost in human terms.  The suffering that 
was to come.  The victims and the terrible price that would 
be exacted on their surviving loved ones.  That had been 
Clark's gift and Lois missed him.  She not only missed the 
contributions to their joint articles, but she missed his 
presence.  The support he was always able to provide.  The 
grounding he gave her during particularly trying times, 
like these last few days had been.  Even given how he felt 
about Luthor, he would have been here at the funeral with 
her... for her.

That meteor had taken a terrible toll on LexCorp.  Not only 
had it left one of the largest business conglomerates in 
the world leaderless, but it had also stripped LexCorp of 
many of its senior management.  The company was in chaos. 

Unfortunately, there had been many symbolic funerals all 
over the city.  The impact had happened approximately two 
thirds the way up the LexTower, somewhere around the 70th 
floor.  The inferno that had followed that impact went up 
from there.  While most of the regular, blue-collar support 
staff escaped serious injury, the luxury apartments 
occupied the top floors and that's where most of the 
LexCorp's ranking management lived.  The intensity of the 
blaze had totally destroyed much of the upper third of the 
building, and in many cases there wasn't enough left to 
identify the casualties.  Authorities in many cases had to 
rely on the security records to know whether or not the 
occupants had been home at the time of the event.  This had 
been the case with Luthor also.

Lois pulled her neck down into the collar of her coat, 
turtle-like, trying to block the effect of the chill wind 
against her exposed cheeks.  The priest had finished his 
eulogy over the ornate, but empty, coffin a few minutes ago 
and Lois just stood amongst the crowd staring at the 
casket.  She could hear the growing murmurs of the crowd.  
Most of the people there were admirers and supporters of 
Lex.  Folks who included: the mayor, most of the city 
council, the governor of the state, and many dignitaries 
from all over the country... and the world.

Lois tried to ignore the comments, but she couldn't help 
but hear the anger in the voices around her.  Voices that 
were caught up in their own uncertainty and fear of what 
was to come now that Luthor was gone.  Voices that were 
looking for some reason for this to have happened, for 
someone to blame.  That someone was Superman.

"How could Superman have let this happen?  Wasn't 
Metropolis supposed to be his city too?" a woman to Lois' 
left complained.  

"He's dead, isn't he?  Didn't the Star, just this morning, 
print a story stating the the odds of Superman having 
survived his collision with the asteroid as a hundred to 
one, or less?"  This came from someone behind her.

Lois' ears burned as another fellow chimed in.  "I dunno.  
It was no secret that Superman didn't really like Lex.  I 
think he was jealous of all the good that Luthor was able 
to do without any of those fancy powers.  I wouldn't be 
surprised if Superman was just hiding out, that he knew 
that a piece of the asteroid would take out his chief 
rival."

She whirled around and stuck her face close to that of the 
blowhard.  "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever 
heard!  Superman just saved the entire world.  It might 
have cost him his life to save us all, yet you stand there 
and bad mouth him for it?  Only a fool would think that 
Superman would have let this happen if he could have 
stopped it."

"Yeah, well he may have saved the world, but he sure didn't 
save Metropolis.  His inability to do the job right the 
first time has cost this city dearly."  An ugly sneer 
crossed the fellow's face.  "I, for one, hope Superman is 
dead.  It wouldn't seem right for him to have survived and 
Luthor to have died because of his gross incompetence.  If 
given a choice, I'd take Lex Luthor over Superman any day 
of the week, and I think most of Metropolis would too."

Lois was enraged beyond belief.  She swung her arm and 
slapped the offending person's face.  The loud crack of her 
blow shattered the respectful silence of the place as 
shocked mourners turned their attention to the crazy woman 
near the front of the crowd.  Without uttering another 
sound, Lois turned and stalked off toward where she had 
parked her jeep, ignoring the shocked mutterings that 
followed her.  She knew that several people there knew who 
she was and that they were shocked by such behavior by 
someone who had been dating Luthor.  She didn't care.  
Anyone who thought like that idiot didn't deserve any 
consideration from her.

The really terrible part was that Lois could almost 
understand where that jerk was coming from.  While her own 
personal opinion of Lex Luthor might have been changing 
somewhat, to most of the people in this city he was their 
greatest benefactor.   Superman may have fought crime and 
stopped disasters from taking as great a toll as they 
could, but Lex Luthor signed most of their paychecks.   All 
they really knew was that Luthor employed them and allowed 
them to live their lives on a day to day basis.  But now 
that day to day existence was threatened.  Their livelihood 
was threatened.  Without Lex Luthor and a sound LexCorp, 
the future looked very uncertain to many Metropolis 
citizens.  They feared that uncertain future, and fear made 
people do and say things they may not truly mean.

Lois jumped into her jeep, brushed a stray tear from her 
eye and fired up the engine.  She had to get away from 
there, the sooner the better.   She stared at the city 
traffic as she pulled away from the cemetery, not looking 
back.  It was time to get back to work.

*CHAPTER SEVEN*

"I don't believe these people!"

Kent turned away from the pot he had simmering over the 
stove and looked over at Lauren, who was frowning at the 
television screen.  "What is it?"

Lauren looked over her shoulder at her handsome houseguest 
and gave him a look of confused exasperation.  "These 
idiots they keep interviewing on the news.  Superman really 
went to bat for this planet, probably saved the world from 
the Nightfall asteroid, at the cost of his life.  Yet these 
yahoos from Metropolis are all bad mouthing him just 
because a couple of hunks of the rock got through and 
smashed into some buildings in their town."

Kent shook his head sadly as he came over and began to 
massage Lauren's tight shoulder muscles.  "Well, I'd hardly 
call it just smashing into some buildings.  If I understand 
the articles I've read, one hundred and sixty two people 
died when the meteor collided with the LexTower, including 
Lex Luthor himself."  Kent had to fight off a frown.  For 
some strange reason just thinking about Lex Luthor gave him 
chills, yet he had no idea who the man was, beyond what he 
had recently read.

Kent gave Lauren's shoulders a couple of more squeezes.  
"It also put Metropolis in a state of financial chaos.  
It's really a shame what happened.  I know I'd hate to have 
those deaths on my conscience."

Lauren glanced up, again, at the gentle man sharing her 
cabin in the woods.  "You don't think Superman survived 
Nightfall do you?"

Kent shrugged.  "I don't know.  I don't remember anything 
about him, but from what I've seen and read over the last 
few days, he seemed virtually invulnerable.   Could a 
collision with a giant rock be enough to kill him?"

Lauren thumbed off the television and got out of the chair.  
"I can't say I'm any expert on Superman.  Never met the man 
myself, nor have I ever met anyone who has, but I do know 
one thing."  She reached out and put her hand on Kent's 
chest, gently rubbing it as she spoke.  "He has to have 
either died from the collision or was lost forever in 
space."

Kent cocked a brow at the confident Ms. Larson.  "Really, 
and why is that?"

"Because if he were alive, he never would have let that 
meteor destroy that building or hurt those people."  She 
tapped her index finger against his nose to emphasize her 
point.  "That's why.  Now, let's eat.  I'm hungry."

Kent obediently followed his friend back to the kitchen 
table, but his mind was troubled by her words.  He didn't 
doubt the veracity of her statement.  Actually it made 
perfect sense.  He had himself felt very bad about what had 
happened, very bad.  The depth of his own despair over the 
tragedy made him wonder.  He was reacting almost as if he 
knew those people personally.  Had he ever been to 
Metropolis?  He didn't know.  Maybe he was just the 
sensitive type.  He knew he should feel bad and have 
sympathy for the survivors, but it wasn't as if there were 
anything he could have done.

Dinner conversation, at first, revolved around what Lauren 
had done on her patrol that day and what Kent had seen on 
his daily walk in the woods, amidst Mother Nature's serene 
beauty.  Kent had again told her how lucky she was to be 
able to be surrounded by such natural splendor every day.  
She laughed and told him that, like all things, you got 
used to it.  He shook his head not being able to understand 
such a thought, but he did grump to her about the continued 
cloudy conditions.  Did the sun ever shine here, he whined 
to her.  It only made her laugh louder.

Finally the conversation wound down, away from the daily 
small talk.  Lauren toyed with her food, not looking at 
Kent.  He let the silence build for a time, giving her the 
space he thought she needed.  It was obvious to him that 
she had something on her mind but wasn't quite ready to 
talk about it.  They were overdue for a serious discussion 
about the situation the two of them found themselves in, 
but Kent felt a bit skittish about bringing it up just yet.  
She had been so wonderful to him.  Helping a total 
stranger, bringing him into her home, just trying to help.  
He didn't want to seem ungrateful, and he *knew* that she 
was trying to find out what had happened to him and find a 
clue to who he really was.

"Kent?"  Lauren's voice was soft and hesitant.  "I know you 
think that I'm not doing a very good job at finding out who 
you are."

He shook his head.  "Don't say that.  I'm sure you are 
doing all you can."

It was Lauren's turn to shake her head.  "No, I'm not.  If 
I were to go 'by the book' I'd have your description and 
maybe even a picture sent through the police and FBI wire 
services days ago.  It would be the quickest and most 
logical way to proceed if we wanted to hook you up with 
someone who was looking for you."

Kent stared at the tentative look on her face.  "But... ?"

Her shoulders sagged.  "But I just keep thinking about the 
strange way I found you.  Wandering naked through the deep 
woods, in the midst of winter!  That just wasn't normal.  
And there weren't, nor have their been, any reports of 
missing snowmobilers or skiers.  There have been no 
reported accidents of any kind!"  

Kent spread his hands in confusion.  "So?"

Lauren sighed, then bit her lip, an affectation that looked 
surprisingly familiar.  "I can't help but wonder if, maybe, 
you might not want to be found.  That maybe you were 
running from something or someone?"

Kent leaned back in the chair studying the uncertain woman 
in front of him.  "Are you trying to say that you think I'm 
some criminal on the run from the law?"

Lauren suddenly became animated.  She reached over and 
grabbed his hand.  "No, no, no.  You can't believe that!  I 
would never think that of you!  I'm a cop remember.  I'm 
also a fairly good judge of character.  No, I don't think 
that you are some escaped criminal."  She licked her lips 
before speaking again.  "But that doesn't mean that maybe 
some criminals aren't looking for you!  What if you are 
some protected federal witness or something?  I couldn't 
take it if I thought I was putting you in any danger, even 
inadvertently."  

Lauren clenched and unclenched her hands nervously.  
"That's why I've been taking it slow.  Rather than putting 
you out on the circuit to see if anyone recognizes you, 
I've been checking into all the police and federal data 
bases to see if anyone is looking for someone answering 
your description."

A sardonic smile crept its way onto Kent's face.  "Are you 
sure that's the only reason?"

Lauren couldn't stop the bright crimson blush that flamed 
her cheeks.  She lowered her head and peered up at him 
through a curtain of dark hair that had fallen in front of 
her face.   "I admit that I like having you here."  She 
shook the hair out of her face.  "But it hasn't been so bad 
for you, has it?"

He reached out and caressed the ruby cheek with his hand.  
It was a gesture that felt very natural.  "No, actually 
it's been really quite pleasant.  I'm not sure what would 
have happened to me had you not come along.  But I can't 
just sit around your house waiting for my memory to come 
back... if it ever does."  Kent allowed a little of his 
frustration to slip into his voice.

"So you still don't remember anything?"

Kent shook his head.  "Sometimes it seems like I'm close to 
remembering something.  Something I read, or something I 
see on television sparks a reaction, but before I can grasp 
its meaning, it just slips away."  Kent sighed.  "It's very 
frustrating."

Lauren reached across the table and recaptured his hand.  
She gave it a squeeze as she bit her lip again.  "Who's 
Lois?"  she asked, her voice dropping to nearly a whisper.

Kent was surprised by the question.  His face betrayed the 
chaotic nature of his thoughts.  Lois?  It wasn't exactly a 
common name, yet it seemed quite familiar.  It was another 
one of those instances where he felt that he should 
remember something, but he couldn't.  It was still just a 
name.  Agitated, he looked up at Lauren.

"I don't know.  Why?"

Lauren took a deep breath.  "Well, the first night you were 
here, remember I told you about your speaking the names 
Kent and Lane in your sleep?"  Kent nodded but didn't 
speak, so Lauren continued.  "Well, you said one other 
thing that was intelligible.  You spoke the name Lois."

Kent shook his head, disappointed.  "Nope, nothing."

The two of them sat in silence again for several minutes, 
each letting the evening's conversation replay in their 
minds.  Kent, finally rose and began to clear the dishes 
away from the table.  Lauren rose to follow suit when she 
suddenly set them back on the table.

"Hey, I just remembered something."  Her voice held a note 
of anxious optimism.  "This might be a solution to your 
creeping boredom?"

Kent leaned against the sink and watched her fumble for the 
right words.  "And that would be?"

"Well, I was talking to Pete Marshall today."  Her hands 
began to move of their own accord as her speech speeded up.  
"He's the guy who owns the Antler Inn in town.  It's not a 
big place, but it is the main restaurant and motel in 
Isabella.  He caters mostly to the tourist trade, but many 
of the locals eat there also."

"And... ?"  The eyebrow went up.

She swatted his arm with her hand.  "Let me finish."  She 
took another breath.  "Apparently his cook is retiring in a 
few days, and he's in the market for a new cook."  She gave 
him a coy look.  "I thought since you are wondering what to 
do with yourself while we try to find out more about you, 
and since you have shown yourself to be such a good cook, 
that maybe..."

Kent chuckled.  "You thought that maybe I would be 
interested in a job as a cook for your friend Pete?"

Lauren smiled up at him.  "Are you?"

Kent laughed.  "Let me sleep on it."  He turned, grabbed a 
towel and a dishcloth, then turned back to her.  "Wash, or 
dry?"


******************

Lois stormed off the elevator as its doors opened for her 
at the newsroom's floor.  She had a paper clutched in her 
angry fist.  She slammed the offending newsprint into the 
nearest trash can.  She felt like she was the only sane 
person left in the asylum that Metropolis had become.

The banner headline from the Metropolis Star was left 
crumpled and ignored in the trash can where she had so 
abruptly deposited it.  But, unfortunately, not forgotten.  
"Did Superman's Blunder Doom Metropolis!" it had screamed 
in 72 point type.  She would have passed it by, not giving 
it a second glance, if it had just been one of the Star's 
typical sensationalistic, yellow-journalism inspired 
headlines.  If it had been the lone braying of discontent 
in a crowd of reason she could have dismissed it as the 
aberration it deserved to be.  Woefully, that was not the 
case.  Over the past week there had been entirely too many 
headlines, newscasts, talk shows, and just plain chatter on 
the streets that echoed similar sentiments.

Lois threw her bag onto the floor as she dropped heavily 
into the chair at her desk.  She punched the button to boot 
up her computer.  She had written several articles and 
opinion pieces taking those who expressed such thoughts to 
task.  Granted, Metropolis was experiencing some tough 
times while the effects of the recent disaster played 
themselves out.  LexCorp employed, either directly or 
indirectly, over half the people in Metropolis and the loss 
of nearly all its senior management staff had to have 
consequences.  

Lois began to furiously pound away at her keyboard.  Sure, 
things were rough right now, but they'd get through it.  It 
was an unfortunate, cruel twist of fate that had sent that 
meteor into the LexTower.  Superman had nothing to do with 
it!  Didn't these idiots realize that they wouldn't even be 
alive today to be complaining now if it wasn't for 
Superman's heroism.  Hell, there probably wouldn't even 
have been much of a planet left for anyone.  Her brow 
furrowed as she glared at her screen.  If some of them 
thought her articles had been hard-hitting before, they 
hadn't seen anything yet.  The kid gloves were off.

"Lois, in my office, please."

Lois jerked away from her screen and looked over her 
shoulder at her boss, crooking his finger at her from the 
door of his office.  She frowned, glanced back at her 
screen, then sighed.  Pushing the save key, Lois quickly 
got up from her chair and marched into her editor's office.  
She sat in the chair Perry indicated, sitting ramrod 
straight with her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"What's up, Chief?"

Perry sat silent for several moments studying his favorite 
reporter.  He noticed her stiff posture and how her hands 
couldn't seem to relax.  She continually clenched and 
unclenched them while trying to keep them still lying in 
her lap.  He took in the dark circles under her eyes and 
knew that she hadn't been sleeping much, if at all, for 
that last couple of weeks.  Her hair was often unwashed, 
and she had on several occasions worn the same outfit on 
successive days.

"What were you working on, honey?"  Perry watched as Lois' 
lips drew into a tight line.  "Another op-ed piece?"

Lois' anger broke through her pretended calm exterior.  
"Did you see the latest claptrap that the Star is trying to 
pass off as news!  If Superman were here now, he could sue 
them for libel!"

Perry closed his eyes for a moment.  When he opened them 
Lois' stare was still defiant.   "But Superman isn't here, 
honey.  He's gone, and I think it's time you accepted 
that."

Lois let her eyes drop to her lap.  She watched herself 
wring her hands.  "We don't know that."  Her voice was 
barely a whisper.

Perry nodded.  "No, we don't."  Perry leaned back in his 
chair, his gaze never leaving his prize reporter.  "Talked 
to Clark lately?"

Lois was visibly taken aback by Perry's abrupt switch of 
topic.  She fumbled for her words.  "Ah... no, not 
recently.  I've been real busy, as you know."

"Yes, I know.  That's how you always cope with problems 
isn't it?  When things get rough in your life you wrap 
yourself up in your work, like it's gonna save you."  Lois 
was about to protest but Perry held up his hand to 
forestall any comment.  He fixed Lois with a sympathetic 
look.  "I had a long conversation with Jonathan and Martha 
Kent this morning."

Lois had to stifle an exclamation of surprise.  "Oh, 
really?  That's nice.  What did they have to say?"

Perry's eyes gave away the fact that he wasn't going to 
like what he had to say to her.  "They agreed with me that 
maybe it's time for you to get on with your life."

A single tear slipped unnoticed from the corner of Lois' 
eye.  "What are you saying?"  Her voice was soft, almost 
little girl like.

Perry reached over his desk and grabbed one of Lois' hands 
and held it in his own.  "I think you know what I'm saying.  
Honey, it's been no secret that Clark would walk on water 
for you, or drown trying.  If he were able, he'd be here 
for you now.  But he's not, is he?  And we both know that 
he's not in Smallville either, don't we?"  Perry gave her 
hand a compassionate squeeze.  "It's time to accept that 
he's not coming back."

Lois' heart thumped loudly in her chest.  He knew!  There 
would no longer be any reason to feed him the false reports 
she and the Kents had cooked up about Clark.  Perry knew 
the secret.  It didn't matter to Lois whether he had worked 
it out for himself or if the Kents had confided in him 
while they talked.  It was enough to know that he knew and 
that he was telling her that Superman...  Clark, was not 
coming back to her.  It was not something she wanted to 
hear.

Tears flowed freely from her eyes now.  "No."  It was more 
a plea than a denial.

Perry got up and came around his desk.  He eased Lois out 
of the chair and over to the comfortable old couch which 
occupied the corner of his office.  He just held her 
tightly as sobs wracked her nearly exhausted body.  Perry 
gently stroked her hair in tacit empathy as his own heart 
ached both for the devastated young woman in his arms and 
the loss of another whom he cherished like a son.

After several minutes Lois's sobs finally began to subside.  
Perry reached into his pocket and handed her his 
handkerchief.  She accepted it gratefully, giving him a 
tight, sad, smile.  She wiped at her eyes and cheeks, then 
handed it back.

Perry pulled back, his arms outstretched, but still holding 
Lois in a gentle embrace.  "Lois, I want you to forget all 
about these idiots and blowhards who are spewing all this 
nonsense right now.  They're just scared.  Once LexCorp 
gets itself back running close to normal, all this 
foolishness will go away."

Lois sniffed loudly one last time.  "So, what am I supposed 
to do?"  Her voice betrayed the pain she obviously felt.

Perry tried to switch to his gruff editor-in-chief mode, 
but it came off more fatherly than authority.  "Lois, I 
want you to go home and try to get some rest."  Perry 
sighed when she shook her head.  "Lois, take a pill if you 
have to, but you have to get some rest.  Then, in a day or 
two when you feel ready, I have another assignment for 
you."  

"What?"  Her response was flat and disinterested.

"I've arranged for you to interview Vincent Winninger."

"Winninger?   Isn't he that reclusive scientist who claims 
to have discovered some incredible secret during his 
studies down in the Amazon?"  Despite herself, Lois' 
curiosity was slightly piqued.

Perry smiled for her.  "Yes, that's the one.  Now just do 
as I ask for once, without any fuss.  Go home and get some 
sleep."

Lois sighed deeply.  "Okay."  She shrugged her shoulders.  
"It's not like I have anything else to do."  Lois got up 
and slowly dragged herself out of her boss's office.

Perry watched as she left, his heart breaking for her.  He 
had known what he was doing when he had paired Lois with 
Clark.  She had been alone for a long time.  Her work had 
been everything to her, but Clark had begun to change that.   
He had managed to slip through some of her defenses and 
become not only her partner, but her friend.   

Together they had been a terrific team.  Individually they 
were still the best in the city at their craft, but 
together they were unbeatable.  Now that team had been 
broken, forever, and it was hurting Lois even more than she 
knew.  Perry hoped that time would allow Lois to regain 
that spark that had driven her in the past.  That passion 
for finding the truth that had allowed her to become the 
best investigative reporter that he ever knew.  They said 
that time heals all wounds.  He prayed that it would be 
true in this case too.  He hoped that she would be able to 
heal.  But somehow, he wasn't sure that she ever would.  He 
suspected that Clark Kent had been more important to Lois 
Lane than anyone realized, Lois included.  

The loss of a Superman and what it meant to the world at 
large was obvious.  But the loss of Clark Kent had no less 
an impact on those who knew him.  In the short time he'd 
been around he'd managed to touch many lives, and all those 
lives would be diminished by his passing.

Three days later Lois Lane was in the hospital fighting for 
her life, after having been shot in front of her apartment 
building by an unknown assassin.

*CHAPTER EIGHT*

"Hey, Kent, table six sends their compliments to the chef."

"Thanks, Pete."  Kent smiled as he checked on the thick 
steaks he had sizzling on the grill.

He'd been working for Pete Marshall and the Antler Inn for 
a little over a month now.  It wasn't a particularly 
exciting job, but it did occupy his days when Lauren was at 
work, and Pete was good about letting Kent try new dishes 
every so often.  It was a pretty basic restaurant, but 
Kent's weekly specials were becoming a treat for the 
locals.

He'd been worried at first about how he could take a job 
when he didn't have an official identity.  No driver's 
license, no social security number, nothing.  Lauren had 
interceded with her friend.  She claimed Kent was an old 
boyfriend from college staying with her for a while.  She 
made it clear to Pete that this wasn't someone looking for 
a permanent job, but just something to keep themselves busy 
while here.  Pete was disappointed, but he was desperate, 
and even a temporary cook would give him the time to find a 
competent full time cook.  Especially a temporary cook this 
good.

So Kent had gone to work for the Antler Inn as their cook.  
He was paid in meals and a little cash under the table.  It 
wasn't a perfect situation, but for the time being it would 
do. 

Kent absently scratched his bearded jaw as he turned the 
heat down on the potatoes.   The morning after he'd been 
found by Lauren,  Kent had tried to shave using one of her 
disposable razors.  It had been quite a struggle.  Getting 
his face scraped smooth had been an ordeal.  He was amazed 
at how tough his beard actu