World Tour By: Gerry Anklewicz, Artemis, Anna Botsakou, Paul Gabriel Wiener, LabRat, Carol Malo, Saskia, ML Thompson Rated: PG-13 Submitted: November 2004 * * * * * * * * * This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. No copyright infringement is intended. We are borrowing these characters for a little fun and not for any profit. Two quick disclaimers: I, ML Thompson, charged with assembling these wonderful stories, took a little liberty with the series in order to make it fit in with our story. Second, in the universe of Lois and Clark, the baseball season is a little longer than it is in our dimension. Archive EIC's note. If you want to send feedback/comments to any author involved in writing this story, look for the author eddresses below, in the story text. * * * * * * * * * World Tour By (in alphabetical order): Gerry Anklewicz, Artemis, Anna Botsakou, Paul Gabriel Wiener, LabRat, Carol Malo, Saskia and ML Thompson Rated PG-13 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * October 19, 1996 * * * * * * * * * Lois snuggled up to Clark, sliding her leg over his as she lay her cheek against his shoulder. His arm immediately pulled her closer. The small groan that escaped his lips put a smile on her face as her hand roamed freely over his chest. "You know, I think this is my all time favorite honeymoon." Clark chuckled. "Oh, and you've had a lot of other honeymoons to compare it to." "Well, not exactly. But if you judge honeymoons based on the number of times one leaves, or more accurately, neglects to leave the bedroom..." "Neglects to leave the bed," Clark corrected. "...well, I'd say this one has to rank up there somewhere in the top ten." Clark gently kissed her hair. "I guess we have been a little..." "Insatiable?" "Well, you know we have a lot of time to make up for." "A lot of lonely nights." "A lot of cold showers." "But it was worth it." Lois raised her head from where it was pillowed on Clark's shoulder. "Don't you think?" Clark smiled. "Every excruciating moment. It's been perfect." "Perfect," Lois purred, putting her head back on Clark's chest. "Almost..." "Almost?" "Almost too perfect," said Lois, the lightheartedness of only a moment before now noticeably absent from Lois' voice. "Lois?" "It's just... Clark, the last two weeks have been remarkable. But face it, this isn't real life. We've been living in a cocoon. And tomorrow that all ends. What happens then? I'll tell you what happens then," she continued, when he looked as if he was about to respond. "People will start trying to kill us again for getting too close to a story. People will start trying to kill Superman again for... well, just for being Superman. Everyone will be making demands on our time. Perry will be expecting us to put in long hours. Jimmy will always have some relationship problem he needs your advice about. Our parents will be calling, expecting us to go to dinner or whatever. And even if that isn't a big problem with your parents, my mother... Well, you know how my mother can be. The point is we'll never get any time alone. Soon this entire two weeks will be nothing more than a distant memory. We'll probably never even have a chance to make love again, let alone... Eek!" Lois' scream was a direct result of Clark suddenly rolling her over onto her back. She was about to bawl him out, she had been in the middle of making an important point, after all, when his kiss completely distracted her. She wound her fingers into his hair as a pleasant, almost mindless, feeling of pleasure coursed again through her body. But before she could become completely lost in it, Clark pulled back. She gave a small whimper of protest, attempting to pull his head back down so that she could continue kissing him. When he resisted, she finally opened her eyes. "Clark?" "Lois, we'll definitely have time for this even after our honeymoon is over," said Clark. Huh? It took Lois a moment to figure out what he was talking about. "But, Clark, even you have to admit that our lives get a little hectic at times." "A little? Lois, a sailor trying to keep his fifteen foot boat afloat in a hurricane finds it less hectic than we do." "See? That's what I'm talking about. How are we ever going to have time for us?" "We'll make time." "How?" Clark was silent as he contemplated the problem. Suddenly, his expression cleared. "Okay, how about we do this? You said it's been like we've been in a cocoon for the past two weeks." "Yeah?" "Well, anytime either of us needs a break, we'll just say the word `cocoon.'" "And then what happens?" "I fly us somewhere private..." He leaned over and kissed her. "...exotic...." He kissed her again. "....exciting..." Another kiss. "...fun..." "Really?" she asked. "No matter what's going on at the moment, all I have to do is say the word `cocoon' and you'll drop everything to take me somewhere?" "Or I say the word `cocoon' and you drop everything." She chewed on her lower lip as she considered his proposal. "I think you've got a deal." They locked pinkies to seal the deal. "Now," she said softly, "I think we've still got some honeymoon time left to use up." She reached up, tangling her hands in his hair to pull him down to her. This time, he didn't resist. * * * * * * * * * October 25, 1996 * * * * * * * * * Lois had never felt better. Their own house. It was all theirs - or would be soon. They'd just signed the papers. Now as soon as escrow closed... But why, oh why couldn't it happen today? What she wanted more than anything was to go right now and `christen' their new home. But that wasn't possible. She glanced over at Clark as they walked, hand in hand, out of the lawyer's office. A slow smile made its way across her face. Well, if they couldn't go to their new house, maybe she should try out something else. "Clark?" "Yeah?" asked Clark, glancing over at her. "Cocoon." A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth for a moment and then, glancing around, he led them quickly into a nearby alley. Without saying a word, he picked her up and headed into the sky. * * * * * * * * * > Clark scanned for nearby people. The track was deserted on this beautiful fall day. After he quickly helped Lois over the ditch, he looked around breathing in the nice smells and absorbing the nature around him. "So then where are we?" Lois wondered as she stared at the high treetops above her. "This is the Veluwe, honey," he replied. Her head made a sharp turn. "The Faylight."she said incredulously. "The fay-*leww*-eh", he said carefully. "This is the biggest nature reserve in the Netherlands, located in the east. It's a bit hilly and you'll mostly find it covered with forests." "Clark, we have forests at home. What's so special about this one?" "Well, you just looked up at the sky through all the branches. This forest came into existence around the Ice Age." He started to walk down the road and Lois had to run a bit to catch up with him. "So it's an old forest. There are a few very special species around here, like toadstools, plants and herbs. Besides, you'll find a few old mills around here, and if I'm not mistaken, there's even an old bread factory nearby." "A bread factory in the middle of a forest? Wow! Is that where we're headed?" "No, honey," Clark answered as he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "We're just going to walk around a bit, enjoy the beautiful nature at its best and relax a bit. We've worked hard this week and we could use something calm without excitement." Lois understood what he meant. This last week, with Veda Doodsen and her stupid obsession with being young had taken its toll on both of them. She could use some time away from it all, even if it were just a few hours. She nodded her response before snuggling closer to Clark. Even though the sun made a watery appearance, it wasn't very warm. It was fall, and for the first time, she noticed the changing weather. Fortunately, for her, Clark had his ways to keep her warm. As she walked on, Lois noticed the plants Clark had mentioned. Now and then, she stopped to admire things from up close, to touch it and to ask what it was. Her husband had an answer for everything. The beauty of the nature really surprised Lois. Instead of leaves turning brownish and falling to the ground, they had colors like gold, yellow, red and brown. The color display, the fresh scents and the exercise did her well. She could feel herself getting more energetic. Her cheeks were slowly turning red from the wind. The forest was no Metropolis, but for a little while, she appreciated its beauty. "Look, Clark, a picnic table!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Can we sit down for a while?" "You aren't tired yet, are you?" he asked in return. His voice sounded sincere and worried, but his eyes betrayed he was only teasing her. "No, I'm used to a busy life, buster." To put a little force behind her words, she hit him on the chest with a flat hand. Clark slowly rolled his eyes at her. "You wanted us to relax, so let's relax right there." She giggled as she suddenly thought of a nice way of how she could really relax. With raised eyebrows, Clark led the way to the bench. He sat down with a leg on both sides of it as he pulled Lois close to him again. They just sat there for a while, enjoying the fine fall silence in the forest and each other's company. Lois was the first to break the silence. "Thanks for bringing me here, Clark." She shifted a bit so she could look at his face. "It's just what I needed." Clark smiled at his wife. "You're welcome, honey. It's doing wonders for me as well." Suddenly, two squirrels hopped on the table, playfully running around until one of them held still. The other one didn't notice the abrupt halt and bumped right into him. Lois had to giggle at the sight. She'd never seen wild squirrels from that close, and definitely not ones that weren't even afraid of humans. The animals turned their heads at Lois as they heard her make noise. Curiously, they looked at her. "Aren't they cute, Clark?" "Yeah, they are," he softly whispered in her ear. "But I think they put up the show for some food." "Food?" "Tourists often eat here and leave food for the animals. They saw humans and probably were hoping for a nice treat besides all the food they can gather at this time of the year." "Oh." The realization sank slowly in. "Well, do you have something to give them then?" "Me?" Clark replied, startled. "Yes, you! I don't have food with me, so it's up to you!" "No, I don't. But isn't it better to not." he trailed off as the squirrels disappeared out of sight again. They probably were impatient and went off to find more food. "Now look what you've done, buster," Lois told him with a wink. "Why is it my fault again?" Clark asked with a mocked hurt tone of voice. Before Lois could reply, however, he lowered his mouth to capture her lips in a sweet and loving kiss. After the kiss ended, Lois let out a happy sigh as she let her head rest on his shoulder. "It's beautiful here, Clark. Is this the only place like this?" "No, this country has smaller forests like these, and they are all just as beautiful during this time of the year. And the surrounding countries have them as well." "So why specifically this one?" she asked interested. "Well, in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France you'll find more hills. I thought we'd take it easy today. Just a bit of walking without climbing." "Oh." "If you wish, we can go there, too, today," Clark hastened to add. "No, that's okay. I don't think I'm up to doing some climbing." Clark had to laugh at that comment. That was typically his wife. She was always full of energy, ready to fight the world and do whatever was necessary. However, nowadays, if she had the opportunity, she knew perfectly well how to relax and enjoy some quality time with him. Days like these were rare, and Clark fully intended to use them to the maximum. "Good! Since there was something else I wanted you to see here. It's very rare these days, but around here, it's still around a lot and in good shape," he told her. "Especially now," he added in a seductive tone of voice. "Let's get going, then," she murmured in his ear. They both got up and resumed their stroll down the path. Just out of curiosity, Lois asked, "How much further is that special place of yours?" "A ten minute walk, I guess. Why?" "There was something I was wondering about and I'm sure you can explain it to me." "Try me, honey." "Okay," she replied. She put her arm around his waist to be protected by his body heat. The wind felt a lot colder, all of the sudden. "Is there any particular reason why the Netherlands is a plural country name?" "That's what you want to know?" Clark wondered out loud. "Yes, anything wrong with that?" Her voice betrayed the bit of offence she felt. "Nonono," he told. Quickly, he dropped a kiss on top of her head. "It's just that my beautiful and intelligent wife usually asks questions that are much harder to explain." That comment earned him a thwap on his arm with her free hand. "So?" she challenged him. "Okay, but remember, it's just something I've been told. I'm not exactly an expert on Dutch history." When Lois didn't respond, he started his story, hoping it would make sense to her. "A couple of centuries ago, this country was ruled by Spain. The northern regions came into protest against their king. They wanted freedom. For eighty years, that's what they fought for. In the end, they got that. They called themselves something like The Republic of the United Netherlands. Seven regions had joined their forces and that was the easy solution to say they were all still independent in a way." Lois slowly nodded her head while she thought it over. "That makes sense. But it's one country now, so why still the plural name?" "I'm not entirely sure," Clark replied as he got a thoughtful look over his face. "The name in Dutch is singular. Maybe the plural name just stuck in English. who knows." "Ooo-kay." Lois wasn't sure that made much sense. She didn't get any time to think it over. They must have reached the place Clark had mentioned. The trees gave way to an open field. She could see many sheep on the other end of the field. The ground was covered with plants that seemed to be purple. If she wasn't mistaken, it was heather. With the trees around the field, the sight was absolutely breathtaking. A color display at its best. "Wow," she heard herself saying. "Isn't it just beautiful?" Clark whispered beside her. "Yeah." She said it so softly, it was barely audible. But with a husband like hers, she didn't have to worry that he hadn't heard it. "This place is usually not visited by people, only the sheep and their shepherd. We're. unlucky that they're actually here today." "Hmm, did you have something in mind, Mr. Kent?" she said with a mischievous smile on her face. "Nothing you wouldn't agree with, Mrs. Kent." "Too bad, maybe we should try it at home then." "I guess that's an option." "You betcha!" Lois released her grip on Clark and slowly walked into the open field. Before she realized what had happened, a wild boar stood before her. She stared at it, bewildered. The animal took a few steps toward her, and that was all it took for Lois to run away screaming in the opposite direction. Of course, the wild boar followed her, which only made Lois scream louder and run faster. Clark just watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes. He had to do his best to suppress the laughter that was threatening to overcome him. He knew he'd be in trouble because he just stood there without helping; he'd only make matters worse if he started laughing now. "Clark, do something! Help me!" she suddenly started to yell. "Hurry up!" While he quickly scanned the area for witnesses, he only noticed animals. So he raced to his wife, grabbed her and sped into the air. When they were above cloud level, he halted. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I am now. Couldn't you have flown to my rescue sooner? I mean, think of what he could have done to me!" "Lois, he wouldn't have hurt you one bit. He only ran after you because you started running. It's what they do," he shrugged. "But still, you could've gotten me out of there sooner!" Clark knew she was about to launch into either a rant or a babble, so he stopped her before she could even start with a kiss. She responded immediately, so he just deepened the kiss. When they both came up for air again, he just said, "Let's go home," before he started their way back. * * * * * * * * * October 29, 1996 * * * * * * * * * Lois felt miserable. Even watching Clark find the bullet, which could very well be the clue that got the charges against her dropped, had done nothing to lift her spirits. Spending last night in jail had been horrible. And then most of the day had been spent with Superman trying to get her out of jail. She wasn't sure she could stand another night like last night or another day like today. If only... Suddenly, her disposition lightened. "Cocoon," she said. "Huh?" asked Clark, turning to look at her. "Cocoon." Clark looked around guiltily. "Lois, now?" "Yes, now, Clark. I just need to get out of here. Just for the night. I promise, we'll work on figuring this out tomorrow. But tonight..." She stepped up in front of him, playing gently with his tie. "Let's just go somewhere. Alone." "We can't. Superman promised the D.A. that he'd make sure you stayed in Metropolis." "And Superman promised me that if I said the word `cocoon,' no matter what was going on, he'd drop everything and take me somewhere." "Lo-is." "Come on, Clark. What's more important to Superman? Keeping a promise to some scumbag District Attorney or keeping a promise to his wife?" Clark looked up at the heavens, as if silently beseeching the deities to give him strength against one small, yet very determined, woman. "Great!" said Lois, figuring that his expression meant victory. "Fine," said Clark, taking her hand and leading her into an alley. He looked around carefully before sweeping her up in his arms and taking to the air just as the sun was beginning to set. * * * * * * * * * > As they flew over exotic New Jersey, Clark pointed out the sights. "Over there is exit 13. It's known for the powerful smell of its refineries, which helps keep the state immigration rate down. That's a vital service, since it's already the most densely populated state in the country." Lois laughed and smacked him playfully. "It's true!" Clark insisted. "It does have its benefits, though. You know, a friend of mine told me about a question on the state driver's test. New Jersey, as it turns out, has one of the lowest rates of fatal car accidents in the country. Guess why." She looked at him. "Does it? Oh. Well, it looks like a lot of people have cars, so it can't be that. Oh, I don't know. Strict traffic enforcement?" "Nope! The official reason is that there's so much traffic that most people can't get up to fatal speeds." She looked at him. "You're kidding!" "No, I'm assured that it's true." She didn't quite seem to believe him, but rather than protesting, she decided to look around more closely. The traffic on the road below them certainly seemed to be moving fast enough. She was about to point it out when something else caught her eye. It was an almost ethereal landscape, made up of a myriad of glowing lights liberally adorning a complex of gleaming towers and what looked like twisting metallic vines. "Clark, what's that?" "Where?" "There, that place with all the lights that looks like it was pulled out of a movie about some futuristic paradise." "What? You mean the CoGen plant?" "CoGen? What's that?" "Cogeneration. It's a power plant that also produces steam." "Oh. It's so... beautiful." "You know, I never noticed that before. In the daytime, it's just an ugly industrial mess. You're right, though. At night, like this... just a field of lights... It is beautiful, and I'd never have seen it if not for you. Somehow, the whole world is more beautiful when I see it with you." They watched it in silence, appreciating the strange wonder of the place. Below them, hundreds of people sped by, seemingly oblivious to it all. Clark hovered, Lois cradled in his arms. They were alone, and this sight was only for them. At least, that's how it seemed until a 747 roared past them from the crowded runway of Newark International Airport. Between the roaring in their ears and the feeling of detached solitude so rudely stripped away, the moment shattered. Suddenly, they were just two people above an overcrowded highway staring at a brightly lit power plant. Clark turned south, carefully flying around the long line of planes waiting for landing clearance. They had travelled many miles before either one was ready to speak again. "Down that way is East Brunswick," Clark said after a while. "There isn't much to it, really. That there is the bowling alley, and that building is the other bowling alley. That one is called 'Midstate Bowl' because it's very close to the geographical center of the state. Oh, and that mess over there used to be the Dairy Queen, which was owned by the mayor of the town. He sold it to a bank earlier this year, though, so that's why you can only see a bunch of metal poles where the building used to be." "Uhm, okay." "What can I say? It's a much nicer place to live than it is to tour. One of the best libraries in the country, and one of the best public schools, too. Not much to see, but you can't have everything. Over there is one of the last remaining farms in the area." Lois nodded. There didn't really seem to be anything to say. Soon, Clark moved on. They flew south again, over yet more suburbs. As far as Lois could see, most of the state consisted of suburbs. There were a couple of real cities, but mostly it seemed like suburbs. It hadn't been quite as suburban at the northern reaches of the state. At least, it hadn't been as developed. It had looked like a fairly wealthy area. Large homes with plenty of land. Now, looking south, she started to see more greenery. Rural areas, and some patches that looked like they might be park land. So, the suburban area was a wide belt. One which would, if she was properly oriented, stretch from Philadelphia to Metropolis. So, basically, most of what she was looking at consisted of the combined suburbs of two major cities from two different neighboring states. She had never realized that such an odd situation was possible. "Take a look over there, Lois," Clark suggested, breaking into her thoughts. "What? Where? All I see is a lake and some woods." "Yeah. That's what I was pointing out. It's a park. A fairly big one, actually. There isn't much to it, as you can see. It's mostly for camping, boating, and hiking." "So why are you pointing it out?" "Because there is one reason it's very unusual." "What's that?" "The name." "Oh?" "If you can believe it, you're looking at Turkey Swamp Park." "No!" "Yep. Apparently, there are, or at least were, wild turkeys living there." "So they named the whole park for them?" "Hey, why not? Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird..." "That wasn't exactly his best idea." He laughed. "No, I guess it wasn't." * * * * * * * * * "What? That's it?" asked Lois when Clark set her down again in the back alley. "I say cocoon and you take me to Jersey?" "What happened to your fascination with the Turkey Swamp Park?" "Come on, Clark. I need more than a flight over New Jersey tonight." "But the D.A..." "Did you make a pinky swear with the D.A.?" "Lo-is." "A pinky swear is the highest form of promise. Are you telling me that Superman, of all people, would break a pinky swear?" Clark let out a slow breath. Suddenly, Lois remembered something, something she'd completely forgotten about until this moment. Something that might very well win her this argument. "Clark, did you know that your Mets are playing the Blue Jays in Toronto tonight?" "Well, yeah, but. What does that have to do with anything?" Lois fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Tell me that a pinky swear made to your wife means more to you than a lousy promise made to a scumbag District Attorney and you'll find out." Lois nearly stood up on her toes as she waited for his next words. * * * * * * * * * > "Wow!" Clark exclaimed as he opened the curtains of the hotel room. "We're right over the first base line!" And he was right. The room of the Skydome Hotel Lois had brought them to had a large window which, when the curtains were open, looked directly into the stadium - sort of box seats with the bonus of a bed. He grinned at the thought of what they could do with the bed after the game was over. He stood at the sliding glass door, his eyes following the pitcher's wind up and release. "Ster-rike!" he called. "Lois, this is terrific! Thank you so much." "Nothing but the best for you, my love," she said coming up behind him and running her hands up his muscular back. "How did you manage this room?" "Anita in travel owed me and the Skydome Hotel owed her." She trailed kisses along his shoulders. "When I told her that I wanted to take you somewhere special--and she knows how you feel about the Metropolis Mets and they were playing the Blue Jays today." "But then she knows that you skipped out on the terms of your release." "Clark, would you relax. I made these arrangements long before these stupid murder charges." Her voice trailed off and her eyes became remote. Clark immediately stepped in before the depression could overtake her. "You're right. Everybody knows how I feel about the Mets..." He turned his head to encourage her to move her kisses to his lips. "Almost as much as I feel about you." His attention diverted from her lips to the field below. "Look Torres is up to bat. His ERA in this half of the season has been .345." "Mmmm," she said as she traced the muscles down his back to his waist and reached around to his muscular stomach. "Darn. He struck out." "I'm glad you're enjoying the game so much," she said moving her hands to ruffle his hair. "I think I'll let you watch while I unpack our bags." He easily lifted a plush easy chair in front of the picture window. "Now I can sit down and watch the game." Lois moved a small end table beside the easy chair and placed a bag of peanuts and a can of beer on top. "Just remember, Clark, this isn't the stadium. The shells go into the garbage can, not on the floor." He chuckled. "Yes, double play. Way to go." During the seventh inning stretch, Clark joined Lois who was on the bed leafing through a magazine about Toronto. "There're some interesting places we can visit in this city...after the game, of course," she said. "There's the Distillery District which has art galleries, restaurants and live music. It's all built in old factories. Lots of theatre, shopping in upscale Yorkville...there's a science center, a planetarium. The Royal Ontario Museum has Egyptian mummies...and in the evening we can talk a walk along the harbourfront...Look Clark, they spell `harbour' funny..." "Lois, you're beginning to sound like a tourist brochure." "And there are tours of the Toronto Star." "A newspaper is a newspaper. If you've seen one, you've seen them all." " It says here that it is one of the city's oldest newspapers." Clark leaned closer to Lois in order to see what was written. "Listen to this: Originally it was called the Toronto Daily Star. And this writer speculates that the original publisher of the Daily Planet, Joel Shuster, who had lived in Toronto before moving to Metropolis, named the Planet after the Star." "Sounds to me more like this Toronto Star wants to jump on the bandwagon of the Planets' stellar reputation." Clark kissed the top of Lois's head. "Game's on again." Clark made himself comfortable in the easy chair. Lois, feeling at a loss without her husband at her side, straddled her husband's lap and placed her head on his shoulder. There, she studied his handsome profile, running a single finger along his jaw line as if painting his features. She could hardly believe how much she loved this man. She ran her fingers slowly through his hair, enjoying this chance to explore her husband's features. "Damn. Whitman struck out again." Her eyes and fingers drifted down his face to his neck. She slowly traced the lines of the muscles she found there, following each one down until it disappeared inside the collar of his shirt. She noticed a vein pulse in his neck and couldn't resist leaning over and placing a light kiss on the spot. It didn't take long before she began nuzzling and nibbling at him. Clark sat up straighter, trying to peer around Lois, but it only took a few nibbles to make him lose track of the game and search for Lois's lips. He slid his hands under her shirt and felt the warmth of her skin. "You are so delicious, Lois." "Mmmm," she hummed as her fingers undid the shirt buttons. "I really do love this cocooning," he said as he removed her shirt and undid the clasp of her bra, his hands running slowly over the soft curves of her back. "Mmmm. Great idea." Lois let her tongue travel from Clark's neck to his jaw, to his chin, to his lips. As she began tracing his lips, he opened his mouth letting his tongue meet hers, and then he drew her into a deeper kiss. Time stopped. All he could feel was her taste and her warmth. All he could hear was the rhythm of their breathing. It didn't matter where they were as long as they were together. And then Clark's superhearing picked up the noise from the stadium. The crowd was hooting and clapping. Then Clark heard one of the TV announcers say to his colleague: "Well, Dan, I never realized that baseball could be x-rated?" "Me neither, Bob," Dan answered laughing. "Do you suppose we've just topped Janet Jackson's nipplegate?" "Well, we certainly will if that woman turns around." Clark wondered what they were talking about. He looked past Lois's shoulder to the jumbotron that was facing their window. There he saw a woman's naked back, the woman straddling a man, a man's muscular arms around the woman, and the man's head was beginning to stare out behind the woman. And then he realized that he was the man, Lois was the woman, and the television cameras were pointed at them. Lois, at the same time, felt Clark's distraction, and began to turn around to see what caught his attention, when he quickly hugged her close to him and moved at a fast, but human pace, to the curtain's chord. He pulled it quickly, and then let go of Lois. "What was that all about?" she asked. "Umm, we sort of became more interesting than the ballgame. We were the main attraction on the jumbotron for a short while." "Good thing you had your glasses on," she said as she ruffled his hair some more. "Do you want to watch the end of the game?" "What game?" Clark asked as he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. "Are you telling me that there is something else you feel more strongly about than your Mets?" Lois put her arms around Clark and began kissing him again. Just before he lost awareness of the world around him, Clark heard the announcer say, "Well, those folks are going to remember their stay in Toronto for a long time." * * * * * * * * * November 14, 1996 * * * * * * * * * Lois woke up in the middle of the night in her own room. Her own room. After the events of the past couple of weeks, she could hardly believe it. There were times when she had seriously believed she would spend the remainder of her life in a nine by six cell. And yet here she was... free as a bird. She reached over to the far side of the bed, opening her eyes when she didn't feel her husband's body. She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on Clark who was sitting in a chair watching her sleep. She snuggled back into the covers, watching him watching her. "Whatcha doing over there?" she asked. "I was just thinking about how close we came to losing everything," he said softly. "But we didn't." "No, but..." His voice trailed off. She let out a slow breath. "Clark, come back to bed." She moved the sheet just low enough to tempt him. She knew it was working when he sat up straighter in his chair, as if hoping that the higher elevation would help him get a better look. "Then tomorrow..." She paused. "Cocoon." He smiled. "Cocoon?" "Isn't that exactly what you need right now?" He licked his lips. "Not at this exact moment. I need something else at this exact moment. But... well, yeah - tomorrow." She let her head fall back against the pillow, watching him through her eyelashes, and slipped her hand beneath the sheets, running it slowly down her body. "Well, what do you need at this exact moment?" He smiled, rose to his feet and walked towards the bed. * * * * * * * * * > Clark glanced around to be sure no one could see before lowering them to the ground in northern Ontario, Canada. Once he set Lois down, he spun back into his Clark clothes and took her hand, leading her down the wooden planks towards the sound of rushing waters. The Niagara of the North as it was known. Kakabeka Falls. They rounded a corner and were confronted with the sight of the falls. The setting was perfect. The wooden walkways did not detract from the unblemished nature, which still surrounded the falls. There was snow on the ground, but not enough to cause any problems for the young couple. "If you look carefully, you can see fossils which have been exposed by the water," Clark said. "Where?" she asked, straining to see over the railing. Clark glanced around briefly to be sure they were alone before picking her up in his arms and flying her closer to the fossils. The mist of the water was wetting her clothes. But she didn't seem to mind as she ordered him closer to get a better look. Once he landed her on the walkway, Clark gave her a quick blast of his heat vision to dry out her clothes to ensure she didn't get a chill. Even if it was a beautiful day for Northern Ontario in November, it was still, quite obviously, winter here. "So why did you bring me here in particular?" Lois asked. "I mean it's beautiful and everything..." She glanced again at the fast flowing water cascading over fifty meter cliffs to the rocks below. "But what's special to you about this place?" "Uhh," Clark responded as he took her hand and they began walking along the wooden walkway along the river, heading ever closer to the falls itself. "Well, I first found this place shortly after I met you. And there's an Ojibway legend that goes with this place that has stayed with me ever since because it reminded me of you." Lois glanced over at him. "Well, are you going to keep me in suspense or are you going to tell me the story?" He crinkled his eyebrows. "I'm not sure I should. After all, I don't want to give you any ideas." "Clark!" She dove at him, digging her fingers into his sides through the winter jacket as she found with unerring accuracy the places he was most ticklish. "Uncle. Uncle," Clark responded through his laughter as he fought to get her hands away from his stomach. "I'll tell you the story." Just then, another couple appeared ahead of them on the ramp. Trying to look grown-up, Lois and Clark linked hands and silently continued their journey until the other couple were gone. "So what's the story?" Lois asked immediately. "Well, it happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." "Clark!" "Okay. The legend of Princess Greenmantle." "Sounds good so far." "Wait. It gets better. Greenmantle was the daughter of a peace- loving, Ojibway cheiftain named White Bear. White Bear learned about a plot by a group of Sioux warriors to destroy his tribe. But White Bear was getting old - too old to lead his people into battle. Realizing how distressed her father was, his daughter..." "That would be Greenmantle." "That's right. Anyway, she devised a plan." "Ooo, I'm liking her already." "I thought you might. Anyway, she made her way to where the Sioux warriors were camped on the Kaministiquia River. And she walked into their camp." "Was she an idiot?" "She had a plan, Lois." "Doesn't sound like a very good one so far," mumbled Lois. "I could have come up with a better plan than that." Clark rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to continue or not?" Lois mumbled something, which Clark deliberately chose to ignore, before agreeing that he should continue. "As I said before I was so rudely interrupted, Princess Greenmantle wandered into the Sioux camp, deliberately pretending to be lost." "Okay, this sounds better. She obviously has a plan." "That's what I said, Lois." Lois rolled her eyes. "Would you just stick to the story?" "Fine. Well, obviously, when she walked in the Sioux took her prisoner." "She would have expected that," Lois informed him. "She wasn't an idiot, Clark." "Right. She did. In fact, when they realized who she was, they planned to kill her. She pretended to be frightened and began bargaining with them. She agreed that in exchange for them sparing her life, she would lead them to her father's camp." "It's a trap, Clark. I can smell it. She has something in mind." "You think?" Lois reached over and swatted Clark, provoking a chuckle out of him. "Okay, well they agreed - her life in exchange for taking them to her father's camp. It was too late that day to head out, so they waited until the next morning. Then they put her in a canoe. It was tied to all the other canoes. And she, together with all the Sioux warriors, headed down river towards the Ojibway camp." "Down river?" "That's right." "This river?" Lois asked for further clarification as she pointed to the river the falls was on. "Yes." "Suddenly, I've got a very bad feeling about this. Did she tell them about the falls?" "No." "Oh no. So what happened?" "Well, by the time they rounded the bend in the river and saw the falls, it was too late. They couldn't get out of the current with all the canoes tied together. They plunged over the falls and all of them, including the princess, lost their lives." "That's so sad." "Yes, it is. But there is a happy ending." "There is? Did Superman rescue her?" Clark rolled his eyes. "Greenmantle had saved her entire tribe. And..." He stopped Lois' forward movement, pulling her in front of him and pointing towards a certain spot in the falls. "...as her reward she was granted a place in history. If you look just right, you can still see her in the mist of the falls." Lois squinted her eyes and looked into the mist. After a moment, she smiled. She could almost see Princess Greenmantle smiling back at her. She grabbed Clark's hands, which were wrapped around her waist, and pulled them tighter. "The falls is a monument to her - to the memory of her courageous act of self-sacrifice for her people," Clark concluded. "That's beautiful, Clark," Lois whispered. "Thanks for bringing me here and telling me her story." "Your welcome." "But I could have found a way to defeat the tribe without losing my own life." Clark laughed. "I'm sure if anyone could, Lois, it would be you." They were interrupted by other people making their way down the ramp. "What do you say we head out?" asked Clark. "This place is never really crowed this time of year. But it might be best if we..." He made a wavy motion with his hand. "...before too many people are around who might see us." * * * * * * * * * January 10, 1997 * * * * * * * * * Clark felt almost giddy. It was good having his powers back to normal after that horrendous deal with the red kryptonite. Being afraid that he was going to hurt someone, especially Lois, had taken a toll on him. But that was all behind him now. A little green kryptonite had counteracted the effects of the red. But now he felt as if he was about ready to crawl out of his skin with all the newfound freedom. He wanted to go somewhere, do something. He wanted to be alone with Lois. His playful attitude manifested itself when Lois stepped into the elevator. He lowered his glasses, using his x-ray vision on the posterior of her trousers. "Excuse me? What did you just do?" asked Lois. "Well, you are such a good poker player, I figured that'd probably be as close to a win as I get tonight." Lois smiled playfully at her husband. "Well, you should let me know when you're going to do that. I'll put on my good lingerie." Good lingerie. What Clark had seen during his brief excursion into voyeurism had been pretty good. As a result, he had to wonder exactly how good the good stuff was. The thought suddenly had him just a little bit... hot. He was hardly able to wait for the elevator doors to close before kissing his wife. Giving a small moan, she wound her hands into his hair, deepening the kiss. "What do you say we go somewhere?" Clark asked, pulling back slightly. "How about the brownstone?" Lois countered. "It's been a long day and..." "I was thinking more like finding a beach somewhere... watching the sun rise..." "Clark the sun has just set. Where were you thinking..." "India." She studied him seriously, obviously tempted. He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "We do have all of tomorrow off." "That's true." She hesitated. "Still, there's laundry that needs to be done. Not to mention all of the furniture that needs to be repaired as a result of the..." "Come on, Lois. All that can wait." She crinkled her eyebrows. "Isn't there a word you should be saying right about now? You know, a word that will make me inclined to drop everything and follow you to the ends of the earth?" A slow smile lit up Clark's face. "Cocoon." Lois leaned in and gave him a lingering kiss. "Now how could a girl resist an invitation like that?" * * * * * * * * * > It was still quite dark when Lois and Clark landed on a deserted beach somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Soon, the sun would come up and they were going to watch that wonderful event. For the right feeling, they would watch a sunrise first. There was nothing more romantic than watching the sun set or rise and it made them feel like they were a part of nature whenever they watched it. "I'm still confused about all those time differences," Lois stated as they made themselves comfortable on the beach. It was mid-January, and in this area of the world, the temperature was nice, even in the early morning hours. Clark just looked at his wife and she could read in his eyes he didn't understand her. "We just had dinner and it was getting dark in Metropolis. Here, it's morning, a day later and the sun's coming up. It's just weird," she explained. "It's one of the advantages of Super Express," Clark simply replied. "Oh yeah." Lois sighed as she remembered a few of the other advantages. Their love life was quite interesting to say the least. Clark now lay on his back and he pulled Lois close to his side. With one arm around her, she lay on her side in his embrace, while she used his chest a pillow. In comfortable silence, they watched the sun come up out of the ocean. In the far distance, it seemed like the water was on fire as the sun slowly changed its color from red to bright yellow. The only sounds they occasionally made were a few sighs or happy moans. Clark's free hand had found its way to Lois's hair and he gently stroked the dark locks. In the mean time, Lois traced circles on his chest. When the sun was entirely visible, Clark rolled around until he lay on top of Lois. He lowered his head as he hungrily found her mouth. Lois responded immediately and she allowed his tongue inside her mouth. As their tongues did a dance of their own, Lois let her hands roam over his shoulders and back until she reached the hem of his shirt. Clark pulled his arms out of her hair and placed them beside her head as he shifted his weight off her and broke the contact of their mouths. "Hey!" Lois softly protested. "As much as I love this, especially what you had in mind, I don't think this is a good idea," he whispered seductively. A groan was her only answer. "I mean," he hastened to explain," it's not like I *don't* want it to happen, on the contrary. But we have other things to do, unless you want to skip the Taj Mahal." "Well, yeah. Maybe. No! I want to see it now that we have a little time." "In that case, are you ready to leave for our next stop?" "Almost." "Almost?" he asked. "Yeah, it would help if I could get up," she replied between a few giggles. "Ooh." Clark floated off her and quickly stood beside her. He reached for Lois's hands as he helped her get up. They both shook the sand off their clothes, shared another kiss, before Clark swept her off her feet into the sky. Pretty soon, land came into view. High on a cliff over the ocean at Bali's south-west, they reached the temple of Ulu Watu. They landed on the path leading up to the temple. In the early morning hour, it was still quiet with very few people around. As they followed the path to the top of the cliff, they could clearly hear the ocean's breakers pounding loudly against the cliff. The higher they got, the better their view became. At the end of the cliff was a house, shaped like a Christmas tree. From ninety yards high, the water below looked brilliantly blue. It was a very magnificent view. They were well prepared for their visit. Since Clark knew it was required to be dressed appropriately in order to view the temple - most of it was closed for visitors - they had no problems entering the grounds. Lois wore a long blue skirt, a white blouse with sleeves and tasteful yet easy-to-walk-on shoes. Clark had put on a pair of dark gray pants, black shoes and a blue collared shirt. They both got a yellow sash tied around the waist before they walked on the compounds of the temple. Once they were alone again, Lois asked what the sash was for. "I believe it's a sign of respect for the sacred ground, especially during religious rituals." "Is there a ritual today, then?" "Not that I'm aware of." They walked around for a while, viewing the beautiful area and the Hindu statues in garden. "Why can't we visit the temple, Clark?" Lois asked after a while. "We can't get closer to this temple. Many other temples are completely open for tourists, but here, they believe it's a danger to the religion and the people who still live here." "Like we'd harm them," she mocked. "Not everyone is like us, honey," Clark teased her. "Right." She snuggled closer to Clark and he put his left arm around her shoulders to keep her close to him. Before they could continue their walk, a loud shriek resounded in the area. Ten seconds later, a few monkeys showed themselves on the compounds. "Erm, have I told you about these monkeys?" "No," Lois replied as she suspiciously eyed the animals. "They're pretty friendly as long as you don't harm them. They're also very fast, and you usually don't see them coming. But most importantly, they like to steal stuff from the visitors who have loose items on them. Like your sunglasses on top of your head," he pointed out. Lois reached with her free arm for her glasses. Before she could grab them, they were rudely snapped away from her as a monkey landed in front of her. "Couldn't you have warned me a bit sooner?" Lois said, somewhat irritated. "Sorry!" Clark sounded positively guilty. The monkey didn't wait around for them to stop talking and ran away in the direction of the trees. Lois didn't hesitate one second and ran after him. They were her good sunglasses, once a gift from Clark and they had a special meaning, so she would like to get them back. Unfortunately for her, the monkey was faster and he raced into a tree. He looked down at her from a branch, with the glasses dangling in his hands. Lois started to jump to grab them back, but she wasn't tall enough. Clark had just followed his wife in a relaxing tempo and had only just reached her side. "Let me, Lois, before he gets angry." Within a few seconds, he had the glasses back and held them tightly in his fist so the animal couldn't get hold of them again. "Thanks," Lois muttered. "I think I've seen enough here." "I can understand that. Come on, we'll go down the same path and then leave from the forest." As they made their way back, the monkey stared at them for a bit, trying to find a way to defeat that big guy. Soon, he gave up and went off to find a new victim. Ten minutes later, Lois and Clark were airborne again. On high speed Clark sped away over the ocean until it was impossible for any human being to spot them. "Lois, are you okay?" he asked, concerned. She gave him a smile. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay?" "That monkey. I mean... I don't know. It's just that you never were that good with animals." "You mean, animals can't deal with Lois Lane." She gave him a smile that said he was right. "If you want to put it that way." Clark gave her a big smile in return. "So should we go to the Taj Mahal now?" "Oh yes! I can't wait to see it. I'm sure it will erase the memory of that monkey." "Otherwise I'll make sure of that, honey." "Good!" "Hold on tight then." "Wait!" she suddenly shrieked. "What?" Clark had no idea why Lois didn't want to go yet, so he gave her a questioning look. "My sunglasses?" she asked with an outstretched hand. "Aaah. Here." He dropped a kiss on her forehead before he put the glasses back on her head. The sun could hurt her eyes easily, especially with the reflection from the water below them or the clouds above. Their flight went westward, and soon, they flew high over a clouded India. Clark had warned her that, since it was always crowded around the Taj Mahal, he had to make a very fast landing. He'd found a somewhat secluded spot, and they should be able to land and leave from there without being noticed, but it all had to happen very fast. Luck was with them, and one swift landing later they were only a few steps away from the gate. In the far distance, Lois could already see the contours of the majestic building. Clark paid a ridiculous high price for the entrance. Hand in hand, they explored the gardens first before they used the walkway to head to the former castle. Lois let out a happy sigh. "It really looks just like a castle from a fairy tale." "Maybe that's because the story around it sounds like a romantic fairy tale." "Oh, will you tell me?" Lois pleaded. "Sure, let's sit down there." Clark pointed to a few benches that were halfway down the walkway and from there, they had a wonderful view at the Taj Mahal. As they both sat down, Clark started the story. "The Taj Mahal, which means Crown Palace, is an abbreviation of the former queen, Mumtaz Mahal." "What kind of name is that?" Lois interrupted. "It's an Indian title." "What was her name then?" "Will you just let me tell the story? You'll find out then." "Oh, okay," Lois gave in. "A normal citizen called Bano Begum won the heart of the Mughal prince Khurram. He was the third son of the Emperor. The couple in love married when the girl was just 21." "That young?" Lois interfered again. "Lo-is," Clark warned. "Okay, okay, I'll be quiet." "The married couple stayed together, during good and bad times, in luxurious palaces and in the transient tents of war camps. After nearly a decade, the prince became king of India after a bloody battle. He took on the name Shahjahan, which means King of the World. He showered his beloved wife with titles as Mumtaz Mahal, exalted of the world, and Mumtaz-ul-Zamani, exalted of the age." Clark paused for a moment before he came to the sadder part of the romantic story. "At the age of 39, the king and queen went on an expedition to the south. She died there in childbirth. The couple had fourteen children, and seven of them survived. With the death of his one and only queen, Shahjahan was devastated and inconsolable. It's been said the royal court mourned for two years. In honor of his wife, he built this palace just to hold her tomb. It was a token of his love for her." "Wow," Lois was impressed with the story. The sort of love Clark had described sounded much like their own love: deep, forever and soul mates. "A palace just for your dead wife." "Yeah, it's quite amazing. But that's not all of it yet." "There's more to it?" "Yeah. At some point near the end of his life, the king lost his throne to his eldest son. He was placed under house arrest at a fort. His only request was that he could see the Taj Mahal from his room. And that's where he died, in his room, watching the last resting place of his love. In the end, his tomb was placed beside her." "Wow, that's just incredible." Lois stared dreamily at the palace in front of her. She could sympathize with the former king. She would be devastated without Clark in her life. She quickly shook the thought out of her mind; now was not a time to dwell on sad things, today was supposed to be a happy day. "It must have taken a long time to build the castle and the gardens," she said in an attempt to change the topic a bit. "Indeed, it took nearly twenty years before everything was ready. And look at it now, everything is based on architectural styles. You can still see the symmetrical parts everywhere, even after centuries of ravages and neglect. It's completely made out of white marble, so you can see it from afar." "I suspected as much, but with all the dirt and smog from these times, the white looks more gray now." "True, especially from a close look it has lost some of its beauty." "I still think it's breath-taking. Just to show how much you love someone, you build a beautiful thing like that. Who does things like that nowadays?" Lois told her point of view. "I could think of someone," Clark replied mischievous. "Besides my super husband, that is." They both laughed at the relaxed atmosphere that surrounded them. They resumed their walk to the palace. "Shoes here! You can't continue with your shoes!" a man's voice suddenly shouted at them. "Oh, that's right. The last part of the route is sacred, so we have to take off our shoes," Clark explained. "You're wearing socks, aren't you?" "Yeah, it walks easier with these shoes." "Okay, the marble floor can be quite cold so early in the day." They handed over their shoes and continued on in their socks. It felt a bit weird, but it was comfortable at the same time. They walked around the entire Taj Mahal first. Past the steps and walkways, they admired the marble carvings along the walls. Only then, did they enter the palace to look at the tombs of Mumtaz and Shahjahan. The inside was lit by natural lighting, so it was quite dark inside as the sun wasn't too high yet. Again, the walls were carved, this time with wonderful inlay work and intricate detail. "Is it my imagination or is it smaller on the inside than the outside?" Lois voiced her suspicion. "It's smaller here because of the thick marble walls." "Of course, I should have known." "Look," Clark suddenly whispered. "The tombs!" "They actually allow people to see the real tombs?" "No, these are fake ones. The real tombs are below, but the entrance to it is securely closed. It's over there," Clark pointed out after he had used his enhanced vision. Pretty soon, they had seen everything and made their way back. Lois yawned as she pulled on her shoes. "Are you tired, Lois?" Clark asked, a bit worried. "Just a bit. It must be late in Metropolis by now." "It's after midnight there." "I could use some sleep," Lois replied with another yawn. "Yeah, me too. It's been a long day. They hurried back to their earlier landing spot, completely ignoring all the children trying to attract their attention with special Taj Mahal souvenirs. They had only eyes for each other and without problems, they soon were on their way home. * * * * * * * * * March 11, 1997 * * * * * * * * * "You are the luckiest man alive," said Alt-Clark, his eyes drifting from Lois to Clark. "I know," said Clark, glancing briefly at his wife. "If my Lois had lived, my world would have been a better place. Especially for me." Clark didn't even hear the remainder of the conversation as his mind remained firmly on the woman at his side. Alt-Clark was right. He was the luckiest man alive. He couldn't even imagine what his life would be like without Lois. It seemed to take forever before the door closed, leaving him alone with Lois. Turning towards Lois, Clark pulled her to him. His hand came up and slowly traced the line of her jaw. "Clark?" she asked. "Cocoon," he whispered in return. * * * * * * * * * > Clark held Lois tightly, as he flew to one of his favorite destinations on the Earth. A city that had him charmed for a long time, although he didn't really know why. As they were approaching the city, he felt the charm being cast upon him again. He had seen blue skies again and it was the same sun that shone everywhere, but it all felt so different and unique here. It was as if spring had a special interest in this small country and tried its best to make it unforgettable to anyone who had the good luck of spending some time here. They had finally arrived. The capital of Greece now lay beneath them. "Here we are," he said, as he slowly hovered over the big city. "This is Athens. Or Athina, by its modern name." Lois was a bit disappointed. "It doesn't look all that pretty. Although it's very big." "Its beauty lies in other things, not its buildings. These are built with 'the more people in less space, the better' motto in mind. Lois grinned. "But there are beautiful regions in the city too. Look. Right beneath us is the center. This hill," he pointed somewhere near them, "is where the Acropolis was built. I'll take you there later. Over there," he pointed in front of them, "to the north, are the north suburbs. They are the most beautiful in the city, and some of them are for expensive lifestyle: Kifisia, Politia, Filothei, Psychico. See the forest?" "Forest?" Lois was surprised. "Oh yeah, that green space." "It's a real forest inside the city. It's called Anavryta. It once belonged to a very rich man. Now it belongs to the municipality of Marousi and the buildings have become schools: a junior high, a high school, a technical high, as they call them here, and an agricultural school. To the left are the eastern suburbs. These are the least expensive ones, and there are a lot of immigrants and gypsies there. If you notice, there are no tall buildings and there's a lot of clear space." Lois nodded. "Now, look to the right," Clark continued. "These are the western suburbs. Nothing special about them. They're not very Athens, though. it's like expensive country houses close to the big city. A pleasant change." He turned them around to change the view, and continued. "Now we're facing to the South. In front and to the left are the southern suburbs. Including mostly expensive regions too, as they are so close to the sea and the beaches. The big avenue right by the sea is called 'Posidonos'. Posidon is Neptune, the ancient God of the sea. On this avenue there is a lot of night clubs and generally, this part is the best for the 'Athens by night' part." "And to the right?" Lois asked impatiently. "This is Pireas and its suburbs. This used to be a separate city, but that's where the port of the region is, so it attracted a lot of people. Nowadays Athens and Pireas still have different names, each one has its own mayor and are generally considered different cities. But you can't tell where one starts and the other ends, except for a few signs here and there." Lois nodded again. "What do you think?" Clark asked. "Sounds interesting. Shall we begin our visit?" "Where do you want to start from?" "I don't know. You choose." Clark thought for a second. "I think we should start from the Acropolis. It's the must-see of the city, plus it would be better to start from the 'past' and move to the 'future'." Lois smiled. "Sounds great." * * * * * * * * * Clark spotted a clear space behind the Parthenon. There was no one there at the moment, so it was ideal for landing and spinning into his normal clothes. Once he did, he realized that Lois was staring at the ancient building in shock. He smiled, amused by her reaction. "Lois?" "I hadn't realized it was that big," she said, not taking her eyes off it. "Almost fifty feet tall, if I recall correctly." She just kept looking at it, and he decided to let her admire it. After all, he had been amazed the first time he had visited it, too. He understood her all too well. "How old is it?" Lois suddenly asked. "Its construction was finished in 432 B.C.." "432 B.C.! And it's still standing!" "Yeah. Amazing, isn't it?" Lois nodded and turned to Clark. "This is the Parthenon, isn't it?" "Yeah," he replied. "This was the main temple. Right there," he pointed to a temple to the right, "is Erehtheion, dedicated to Erehtheas, the king that named the city after Athena. To the front, the small temple, is the temple of Apteros Niki. This means 'wingless victory'." "Wingless?" "Yeah, so that it would never leave Athens." Lois chuckled at that. "Oh my God!" she suddenly exclaimed, taking a second look at Erehtheion. "These statues are wonderful!" "They are the 'Caryatides'," Clark provided. Lois forgot her excitement for a moment and eyed him suspiciously. "How many times have you been here?" "Several," he smiled. "But I know about these mostly from reading." Pleased with his response, Lois turned to the statues, approaching to get a closer look. "Look what these people did with ancient tools, over two thousand years ago. And now that the artists have everything they need, they just sculpture nonsense." Clark smiled in agreement. "You know, these aren't the originals." Lois turned at him. "They're not?" "No. They are very good imitations. The originals are in the museum, to be protected from the acid rain." "Where is the museum?" "Just there." He pointed to their right. "Can we visit it?" "Sure." * * * * * * * * * They entered the museum and Clark led Lois to the place where the Caryatides were kept. "Here they are," he said. "Well, the five of them. The sixth is in the British museum." "Why?" "Long story. When Greece was under the Turks' possession, Lord Elgin from England asked for permission to take whatever he wanted from the Acropolis. They gave it to him, and he took a lot of things, including one of the Caryatides." "Oh, yeah, I've heard about it," she said, looking at the statues. "The Greeks want them back, don't they?" "Yes. But the British don't want to give them back." "Who would want to give them back if they possessed them?" Lois commented, still admiring them. "I've seen them in pictures, but pictures are weak compared to seeing the real thing in all its glory." "Wanna stay a bit more and see the rest of the exhibits?" "No." Lois replied. "I want to see as much of Athens as possible." "Okay, then how about visiting Plaka? It's the 'Old Town' of Athens, and there are a lot of tourist shops. We could buy some souvenirs there." "Good idea," she agreed. * * * * * * * * * Lois and Clark enjoyed a quiet walk in Plaka for about an hour. "Let's enter a shop," Lois said finally. "I'd like to buy something." "Sure." They found one that looked promising and went in. Lois spotted at once the miniature-Parthenons and the miniature-Caryatides. "Oh, look! They're lovely!" "There are a lot of things there, don't you wanna take a look first?" "Let's buy a couple of them, please!" Clark stared lovingly at his wife. She was the most adorable woman on Earth, and he could never deny anything to her. Besides, he'd liked these miniatures too. "All right," he said. "How much do they cost?" Lois turned they miniatures upside down. "They don't have a tag on." "Oh. I'll ask the clerk." The clerk was a man in his sixties. Clark doubted he spoke English, so he tried to remember how to ask the question in modern Greek. 'Thelo. gnorisi.' No, definitely not. He could use ancient Greek though. He spoke it much better, and it wasn't much different than the modern form anyway. "Voulome gnone poson timode." "Sori, I dont spik Inglis." (*) Clark's jaw dropped. Lois turned around to see if Clark had already found out the prices of the miniatures, and she got him staring at the clerk in amazement. "Clark? Is everything okay?" Clark blinked. "I tried to ask him about these thing's price in ancient Greek, and he told me he doesn't speak English!" Lois chuckled. "Really?" "Yeah! This is." He was so astonished that he couldn't speak. A young man entered the shop from another room of the building. "Can I help you?" he asked with a broad smile and a not-so- English accent. "Sure." Clark said. "How much do these cost?" "All these miniatures are 4.000 drachmas each. They're made of marble." "How many do we buy, Lois?" "One and one." Clark turned to the young man. "Just these two, please." "Okay." He grabbed them from Lois's hands, walked to the cashier and began wrapping them up. "Excuse my grandfather," he said while doing it. "That's all the English he knows." "It was ancient Greek I used," Clark pointed out. "Oh." The young man smiled. "Seriously, sir," Clark began. "Is ancient Greek all that different from the modern? I have knowledge of both, but I don't see too many differences." "Oh, well, the modern Greek is a." He paused for a moment, looking for the best word. ".It's the same language," he finally said, "but there have been a lot of changes over the past two thousand years. Not everyone can understand ancient Greek, especially if he's not educated." Clark nodded. The young man carefully put the small packages in a plastic bag. "8.000 drachmas." Clark handed him the money and got the bag. "Thank you." "You're welcome. Have a nice day." The couple exited the shop, very pleased. "Now what?" Lois asked. Clark glanced at his watch. "It's noon. We can go have lunch if you want to, but people here usually eat at about 2 p.m." "I can wait until then." "Hmm. then, I have an idea." She stared at him questioningly. "We can go to Kifisia. A lot of people gather in its center. We can have a walk and then go to an excellent souvlatzidiko I know." "Souvlatzidiko?" "It sells souvlaki, a traditional Greek food." "Is it nice?" "Yeah. It's a piece of dough, with well roasted meat or chicken, vegetables and tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki is yogurt with garlic and cucumber." Lois grimaced. "Sounds a bit weird." "It's delicious. And, well, you can omit the tzatziki." "Whatever. Let's go." * * * * * * * * * Kifisia was indeed a very interesting place. People of all ages walked all around. There were lots of shops of every kind, many cars, noise. Lois thought it reminded her of Metropolis, only it had a different. shade. Cleaner, clearer. brighter. Maybe the walls were painted in lighter colors, or maybe it was the weather. "Mama, pinao! Pote tha fame?" "Me pire tilefono htes..." "Prepi na perasete apenadi ke na stripsete dexia..." Hundreds of voices all around her spoke an idiom incomprehensible to her ears, but nice and pleasant whatsoever. She found herself trying to listen to the people talking and smiling enthusiastically every time she recognized a word. They had a long walk around the center of the suburb, with occasional pauses here and there. Then, they headed to the souvlatzidiko Clark had suggested. They sat outside and the waiter brought them two menus. Thankfully for Lois, it was written in both Greek and English. "What do you suggest, pork or chicken?" she asked Clark, after taking a look. "I prefer pork, but if you like chicken better." "No, no, pork's fine." "Okay, pork and. what else? In your souvlaki, I mean." "Tomato, onion, fries, tzatziki." Lois read from the menu. "Everything?" "Yeah." "How many?" "More than one?" Lois looked up in surprise. "They're relatively small." "No, no. one sounds enough." The waiter came by soon. "Tria me ap' ola," Clark ordered in modern Greek. "Pota, anapsiktika?" the waiter asked. "Lois, something to drink?" "Water's fine." "Nero, parakalo," Clark turned to the waiter. Lois stared at Clark with a suspicious smile, until the waiter left their table. "What?" Clark asked, when he noticed her look. "Okay. The truth. Where did you learn Greek?" "Ancient Greek I studied at school. That's why I speak it better." "And modern?" "Here. I worked for a while for the English edition of a Greek newspaper." "You did?" "Yeah. I didn't do translations, of course, but wrote for it all the same." "Aha. So can one really learn a foreign language by spending some time in the country?" Clark shrugged. "I don't know. It worked for me." A while later, their meals were served. "So you ordered two for you?" Lois asked, looking at Clark's plate. "Yeah. See, they're not very big." "Yeah, but they look so. full." Lois cocked her head and tried to see inside the souvlaki. "How do you eat this thing?" Clark chuckled. "Just grab it." He grabbed one of his souvlakis from the edge that was wrapped in paper. "And bite." He took a big bite. "Messy," Lois commented, but followed his instructions. "Mmmm!" she added, after the first bite. "Nice!" "I'm glad you like it. I like it a lot myself." She swallowed. "It's strange how eating meat and vegetables and yogurt at the same time can taste good." "That's the way Greeks eat. They like putting it all together. Another Greek food, mousakas, is like a pie with potato, eggplant, meat and cream. Another is named with the greek word for 'mixed up', because it has onion, potato, eggplant, tomato, garlic." "Oh my God," Lois cut him, taking another bite. "Yeah. They also eat the salad, the cheese and the appetizers at the same time as the entree." "You're kidding!" "Not at all. When you go to a restaurant they don't serve them at the same time, but no real Greek will finish the salad before their meal come." Lois nodded. "Maybe that's a better idea, after all. I mean, after having tried souvlaki." Clark laughed. * * * * * * * * * After they finished their meal, they went to Kifisia park and sat on a bench. "What's next?" Lois asked, lazy resting her head on Clark's shoulder. "I don't know. I would like you to see Athens from above when the sun will be down, but it's many hours until then." "Ah, Clark. There's no way we've seen everything!" "We've seen the basics." "Come on, are you out of ideas?" Clark thought for a minute. "The train station is just outside the park. We could take the train and go back to the center, but not at Plaka this time. The modern one." "All right, then." * * * * * * * * * About an hour later, they had arrived at Omonoia Square. From there they had a rather long walk, up an avenue, down another. They also visited the Old Parliament museum, where Clark taught Lois many things about Greek history, and she realized that a big part of Greece's rich history is more recent than two thousand years ago. Last, they visited Monastiraki, a place that made quite an impression on Lois. An old part of town, kind of like Plaka, but with just shops, shops and more shops in its narrow streets, selling everything and anything. No houses at all. More people there than at Plaka, too. They had spent a lot of time, and it was now getting dark. "Did we miss the sunset?" Lois said, staring at the darkening sky. "Not yet. Come on, let's go." They found an empty alley and took off. "Where are we going?" Lois asked. "To Penteli Mountain." In a matter of minutes, they landed on top of the mountain. Lois held her breath as she watched the sun hiding behind another mountain, on the other side of the lowland. "Look," Clark said, when the sun couldn't be seen anymore. "Athens takes up the whole lowland. It even climbs to the foots of the mountains. The view is nicer from here." "Yeah." Lois said, looking down to the big city in awe. "Lois," he smiled, "you've seen big cities in the past." "Oh?" she said, not paying attention to him for a second. "Oh! Yes, I have." "Then why are you so amazed?" "I don't know." She fell in his arms. "Are you cold?" he asked, concerned. "No. It's a bit chilly, but I'm fine." He kissed her neck as he held her closer. She turned to kiss his lips, and soon they had forgotten everything else, surrendering to the overwhelming pleasure of each other's mouths. When the kiss ended, the night had fallen for good. "Look," Clark said. "Athens is wearing its evening gown." "Purple..." Lois murmured. "To iostefes asty, they called it once upon a time. The violet- crowned city." Buildings were hardly seen anymore. Now they could see the lights, covering the lowland, reaching up to the foothills and down to the sea. Up on one of the hills of the center, the Acropolis, illuminated and looking majestic, dominated the city. Athens, a city with a past that began more than three thousand years ago, was still there, still alive, far from perfect, but with a promising future. "Thank you, Clark," Lois whispered. "Thank you for letting me share your experiences." Clark didn't say anything. The good old charm was back, he thought. It had come to capture his wife's heart, as it once did with his. He silently promised they'd come back one day. * * * * * * * * * April 13, 1997 * * * * * * * * * Lois moped at her desk, unable to get Leslie Luckabee's comment out of her mind. `Looks like Superman found himself a mate.' She knew that by her reaction, everyone must now think that she was still infatuated with Superman. And she was, of course. Only not the way they thought. Still, was it possible that Clark wanted someone more like Vixen? After all, she had superpowers. They could, indeed, play together in a way that he never could with Lois. With her, he always had to control his powers. What if he wanted someone he could be himself with? How could she possibly live up to that? Well, she might not be superpowered, but she could be fun, too! She could! She could even play hooky if she wanted to. Was it her fault that she'd just never wanted to? She glanced up when the elevator dinged, her sixth sense telling her that Clark had just entered the newsroom. Without thinking it through, she acted on impulse. Rising to her feet, she met Clark as he was half way down the ramp. "Cocoon," was the only word she said. * * * * * * * * * > If the people in East Germany paid close attention to the sky, they would have seen two figures hovering just below cloud level and one of them wore a red cape. Fortunately for those two, no one noticed them. Lois and Clark were visiting Germany today, but before they headed to their destination, Clark wanted to show her the entire country from the air. Clark slowly flew towards the east as he told her some of the things he knew. "Germany is one of the biggest countries of Europe and it holds a special place in history. Even nowadays, you can still see parts of that. For example, if you watch through your binoculars, you'll see buildings in a style that are a bit old and somewhat poor. The more we go to the west, the more wealth you'll see," Clark explained. "Okay," Lois replied while carefully nodding. "And where were you taking me today again?" "The Black Forest, an area in the south west of Germany. I don't know why, but it has a hold on me. It's beautiful there, and at this time of the year, it's also quite romantic." "You won't hear me object to that," she said with laughter in her voice. "So let's go." "Your wish is my command, my lady," Clark answered his wife. He flew past the country, fast, but not too fast for Lois to be able to see the spots he pointed out. In about fifteen minutes, they reached the first trees and hills that indicated the Black Forest, and Clark stopped their flight. He wanted to give Lois a chance to admire the view as he always did. She was the only person he could share this feeling with. Lois grabbed her binoculars again. Clark had told her to bring them along, and she now realized why. The view was breathtaking. Far into the distance, she could see hills covered with trees, displaying different sorts of green shades. "Clark, aren't those pine trees?" she asked. "Yes, they are. The entire forest is about 2000 years old. When the first inhabitants came, it was quite dark here. So they called it the Black Forest. Nowadays, it's much lighter and there are a few cities and many small villages. But it's still a region of incomparably unspoiled nature with its forests, mountains and meadows." "Wow!" Lois exclaimed. "Are there things you don't know?" Clark had to laugh at that comment. She knew he wasn't all knowing, yet she kept being surprised by all the things he did know. Like general stuff about countries, areas and cultures he had learned during his travels in his early to mid 20s. "I often wonder how that mind of yours works," he told her. The comment earned him a well-intended slap on his chest as well as a big smile on her face. "What else should I know about this area before we head to that city?" she questioned her husband. "Let's see..." Clark said thoughtfully. "Most of the things I'll tell you when we are there or fly over it. But, you might like to know that this forest is known for its half-timber houses, which are often three hundred years old. They were made by craftsmen of the area who are nowadays well known around the world for their cuckoo clocks and nutcrackers. Hey, maybe we could buy one of them for our Christmas tree," Clark voiced his sudden idea aloud. "A cuckoo clock in a tree, Clark?" Lois teased him. He wisely decided to ignore the remark and resumed their flight. Gradually, Lois could see the landscape beneath them change. Where she could first only make out mountains and trees, she began to see some open uplands and a few towns. The view was still gorgeous, so much different from what she'd seen in her own country so far. If she wasn't mistaken, she'd even spotted a castle once. However, Clark had flown too fast to confirm her suspicion. Lois was so engrossed in the flight and the view, that she almost didn't notice they were slowing down and losing height. "Hold on tight, I'm going to increase some speed and land us on a safe spot," Clark practically yelled so she could hear him above the wind rushing past her ears. She nodded her response. Her arms around his neck tightened and she let her head rest on his shoulder. She loved this type of transportation. No queues, no delays, no turbulence... everything went just smoothly. In a few seconds, they stood on an open place on a hill among many trees and before them, a large city was waiting for exploration. Clark steadied her and held her until he was sure her legs supported her weight again. "Welcome to Freiburg, honey." Lois looked around her. The city was built between the hills and was surrounded by the forest. It looked very picturesque; it was as if she was staring at a painting in some museum. Only this was real. She saw the many white houses and red roofs, a church, the squares, and the people bustling through the narrow streets. She couldn't wait to walk around there. It was no Metropolis, but it looked to be just as busy right now, from where she was standing. Clark noticed the enchantment on his wife's face and he knew he'd brought her to the right place today. Yes, they'd have a fun afternoon in the German city. "Are you ready to start our little tour through the city, honey?" Her broad smile said enough, so he linked his arm through hers and lead the way down into the alleyways toward the Mnsterplatz - the biggest and busiest square. They discussed the style of the buildings in comparison to Metropolis while they walked through the small streets. Even Lois admitted that it must be cozy to live in the houses there, and they seemed large enough for an entire family. The only problem they'd have would be a secret entrance for Superman. He would be very hard to hide here. The closer they got to the square, the busier it got. People just strolled about, talked, and looked around. The weather was nice with a temperature in the high seventies. That would explain the many tourists. They could clearly hear several languages. Lois figured Clark could all place them, but to her, it all sounded like Chinese. Finally, they stepped out of a narrow alley and a wide square opened up in front of them. Lois gasped in astonishment as she took in the charming view that was presented to them. An old Minster with a high tower and artfully chiseled stone sculptures stood in the middle of the stone cobbled square and around it was a colorful hustle-bustle of the many stands of the local market. A mouth-watering scent of hot dogs and pastries filled the air and Lois could see all kinds of fruits and vegetables, homemade pies, salami and cheese lying on the market stands for the customers to taste and buy. Other farmers presented handcrafted things made of wood or bee wax, herbs or flowers while chatting with their neighbors. They walked slowly around the Minster to watch the buildings that were surrounding the market square. Some were quite big, others pretty small, and many of them were built with some sort of port on the front. They appeared to be in a very old style. One building in particular caught Lois's attention. It had an archway on the front side and two small bay-turrets on each side, covered with rainbow-colored tiles. The house itself was painted in a warm red tone and the gold-painted glass windows had beautiful chiseled figures on each side. Lois asked Clark what it was. Obviously, it had to be important for some reason. "That's the Trading House," he explained. "In the Middle Ages it was the focal point of business life and even today it serves as one of the most impressive buildings in the city for celebrations and events." Clark guided Lois past a small fountain that some kids had claimed as their playing ground and through the middle of the busy market until they stood directly in front of the Minster. "The gothic cathedral is the symbol of Freiburg. It's over 800 years old and it's still used as a church." "Can we go in? It must be special to be inside," Lois wondered. "It's possible, and we can even go up to the tower. Actually, I've never done that before. They say you have an amazing view from there." "Like you need that," Lois responded. She continued with a lowered voice, "Superman can see stuff all the way from the air." "Ah, yes, I knew there was a reason," he replied with one of his mega-watt smiles. He put his arm around Lois's waist and he guided her into the Minster. Inside it was quite dark; the only light came through the many colorful windows that displayed scenes of the bible or portraits of ancient benefactors of the cathedral. After they had looked around for a while, and admired the artfully ornamented pillars and sculptures, they decided to head for the tower. They climbed 208 very narrow stone steps before they reached a small platform. Clark needed a little time to catch his breath there. There was nearly no light in the tower, it was small, especially with oncoming traffic, so he'd felt a bit claustrophobic. Lois looked at him with a worried expression. "Are you okay?" He took a few deep breaths before he answered her. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I prefer Superman Express though," he attempted to joke. She chose to ignore it, however. "Do you wanna go back?" "No," he said resolutely. "We've made it this far, I'll be okay." Lois wasn't entirely convinced, but she followed him anyway. Another 127 steps later they reached the top platform and Lois saw Clark relaxing as soon as they stepped out of the narrow stairwell into the bright sunlight. They had a magnificent view over the city, and as far as they could look, there was forest. "The city is really intertwined with the forest, isn't it?" Lois remarked. "Indeed, it must be nice to live here." "Maybe... I don't know. It's no Metropolis. Look below, the town centre is pretty small, especially from up here. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing it. But I doubt there is much investigative work to do here." Clark couldn't help it; he just had to shake his head. "It's all about work for you." "No!" She tried to sound offended, but she couldn't hide from her husband how much she loved their teasing. "There are other important things in my life." "Like?" he queried. Instead of telling, she decided to show him, so she reached up and pulled his head down to hers, and planted her lips on his. He responded immediately and pulled her closer to him. * * * * * * * * * Lois and Clark exited the Minster some time later to explore more of the city. They strolled through the streets, admiring the buildings and watching the people. After a while, they reached the main street, the Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse. It was quite busy there. Pedestrians, bikes, and tramways made their way past the many stores. This was more like Metropolis with the comfortable rush. The only clear difference was the red stone cobbles instead of concrete on the street. They made their way between the other people while looking at the different articles displayed in the store windows. Lois noticed some chocolate and swiftly walked toward it. She headed straight for her goal hurrying in front of Clark when she suddenly stumbled and nearly fell. Lois cursed when she realized, that she had stepped in one of the small streams of water running on either side of the street. "Great, now my shoe is wet," she muttered under her breath. Clark had reached her side again and offered to dry it for her while trying to hide his amusement. "Sie wissen aber, dass sie jetzt einen Freiburger heiraten mssen, weil Sie ins B„chle getreten sind?" Bewildered, Lois stared at the man who had stopped next to them and was clearly talking to her. She hadn't understood one word of what he was saying, so she turned to Clark for help. "I think he's saying you should get married, Lois," Clark translated. "I... what? But I'm married!" she exclaimed. "Excuse me, sir?" Clark addressed the man. "What's going on?" "She stepped in the B„chle, the little stream. It's our tradition that any stranger who inadvertently does that, has to marry someone from Freiburg," the guy, who was clearly a local resident, explained. "What? But I'm already married!" Lois declared in a voice loud enough to attract some attention. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but that's how we do things here," the man said with a twinkle in his eyes, which Lois failed to notice. "How can you say that! How was I supposed to know about that rule! I'm just a tourist, who doesn't even speak German. So what's this all about?" she practically yelled at the gathered public. Clark couldn't keep his face serious anymore, and he burst out laughing. The stranger joined him immediately. "Clark! You're supposed to be helping me!" she said angrily. "I'm sorry, honey, it's just a joke." "What!?!? You knew about it and didn't even warn me?" "Ma'am, it's just a tradition. It happens all the time. If we really did that, there would be no single people in Freiburg left. Just think of it as a being initiated to Freiburg now," the man told her. Lois just stared at him, not sure what to think of it. In the end, she just shrugged her shoulders. She had come here to have a good time, maybe later, she'd appreciate the joke. "All right. But I still think you should warn people about this." "It would spoil the fun for us," the man said with a wink. "Have a good time in Freiburg, you two," he added before he walked away. Lois turned to Clark. "You knew about this?" He nodded guiltily. "And still you didn't tell me?" He gave her another nod. "Care to explain it?" she demanded as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's fun, Lois," he started, but she just rolled her eyes at him. "The same happened to me when I first visited the city. Believe me, I was just as surprised as you were." "But you still didn't warn me." "No, I mean, come on, Lois," he squirmed. Only then did he notice the twinkle in her eyes, indicating she was once again making fun of him. "Just dry my shoe and we can continue on our route, Clark." Shortly after that, they resumed their walk. With all the adventure going on, Lois had forgotten what had caused her wet shoe and the chocolate remained unseen in the shop window. After a short stroll over the Rathausplatz where Lois admired the old and new town hall while carefully avoiding any other encounter with the B„chle that was flowing there, the two of them made their way through narrow alleyways towards the University, passing small pubs and bistros. "Hmm, that smells good," Lois said. "Do you want to sit down and grab a bite of food?" Clark asked. "Sure, all this walking made me hungry," she replied excitedly. They sat down at a bistro called the Schlappen. Clark told her it was the local dialect for "old, worn out shoe." They ordered a typical local dish: Flammewaie. Lois had no idea what it was, but Clark recommended it. Before the food arrived, they enjoyed watching people walk by. She could pick up many languages again. "What languages do I keep hearing, Clark?" "You hear a lot of German, Allemanic - that's the local language - English, and French. I've also picked up some Italian, Spanish and Dutch, plus the occasional Chinese and Japanese." "Wow, it's a really multi-cultured place then." "Yeah, but that also has to do with the fact we're close to the border with France and Switzerland." "Oh." "Actually, not far from here, the three countries meet at the river Rhine. There's a monument there. If you want, we can go there later on." "Excuse me. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I heard you talking about the Pylon, the monument," one of their neighbors said. "If you really want to see a place with a lot of foreigners around here, you should go to Basel, it's really not far from here." "Thanks," Lois automatically replied before she turned a questioning look at Clark. "We could do that. That city is only a few minutes away for us, it's impressive, and I think you'd like seeing it." "Okay, after we're done here, we'll go see that *thing* then, whatever it is." Their food was brought at that moment. Their "flame pie" looked like a pizza. It was a very flat, thin, and crispy pastry with crŠme fraŒche spread over it. Lois had it topped with small- chopped pieces of bacon and onion and Clark's came with tomatoes, ham, and cheese. Lois took a careful bite, and to her surprise, it wasn't as hot as she'd suspected. It tasted just like pizza, only the crŠme fraŒche gave it a special taste. She wouldn't mind having more of those in the future. When both of them were stuffed and Clark paid the bill - Lois let him pay since he'd pulled a little prank on her - they resumed their walk. According to Clark, they were nearly back to the place they'd started from. Via the Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse, they followed the road to the south until the Martinstor, the old town gate. From there, they followed a ditch to the west. Along the road, there were still parts of the middle aged town wall left from the Middle Ages. At the end of the path, there was another gate, the Schabentor. They walked underneath it into the forest of Schlossberg, the place where they had landed a few hours earlier. As they put some distance between them and the city, the trees gave them a perfect cover again. The air was still filled with some clouds, so they could leave without being noticed easily. "Are you sure you also want to see the Pylon?" Clark asked. "Yes, Clark. Take me there." "But we've walked a lot already... aren't you too tired?" He was only trying to protect her. "Cla-ark! Just because I don't have superpowers doesn't mean I can't walk around for longer distances. I'm used to doing a lot more. Besides, this is more like strolling. And I have to burn the calories that lunch gave me. So are we leaving yet or what?" Quickly, he scanned the area for nearby people and found no one. It was quiet on the Schlossberg. He picked up Lois in an elegant sweep and sped into the sky. The only reference to Superman's present was the sonic boom that could be heard, but no one paid attention to it. If they were going to Basel and the Pylon, he could fly over Weil am Rhein, too, Clark figured. He'd found that town recently on his way back from a train crash in Switzerland and the looks of the town had surprised him. Back home, he had done a little research on it. He couldn't wait to see Lois's face when she'd see the town. Although he didn't know how to explain it to her, yet. To reach that town, they flew to the southwest. "Grab your binoculars again, honey," Clark whispered softly in her ear. Lois dug in her purse to retrieve them. She could definitely better see changes in the landscape now. The hills weren't so high anymore and the peaks were more rounded now. The forest made way to many open valleys. The pine trees were all gone, too, and had made place for apple and cherry trees. They had beautiful white and red colors as they blossomed in the early spring sun. People lived here, that much was obvious too her. Vineyards and meadows with sheep and cows came into her vision. The fields were all covered with yellow narcissuses, blue, yellow and white crocuses, yellow forsythias and other wild spring flowers as dandelions and violets. Lois thought this view was even more beautiful than the mountains with the pine trees. There was more color, as the trees were blossoming in the early spring sun and the flowers completed the image. They flew over yet another town, and Lois didn't pay much attention to it. Suddenly, Clark slowed down and made a weird move, which caused her to stare at the houses beneath her. "Erm, Clark, correct me, if I'm wrong, but. are those *chairs* mounted on top of the houses?" Lois asked bewildered. "Yes, quite unique, eh?" Clark had slowed his flight, so that Lois could get a better look at the houses beyond them. "Unique? Try weird, crazy and completely nuts!" Lois exclaimed, shaking her head as they were flying over a house where a particularly ugly big red chair was mounted on top of a building. "Yes, maybe that too," Clark admitted and grinned at her. "I mean, it is not as if there aren't any things in this area you could use to represent your town," Lois said, "Look at the beautiful cherry trees we've flown over!" "Or the many old vineyards this area is famous for." Clark agreed. "But for whatever reason, some guys of the city council decided they prefer to be known as the *City of Chairs*." Lois was eying the oddly shaped chairs suspiciously: "Do you think these people actually climb on top of their roofs to sit on these things? I for one don't want to try that." "Oh, I know, you prefer to dangle from flagpoles," Clark winked at her while Lois swatted his chest in mock indignation. Clark took that as a sign to move on. Again, there was a shift in the landscape. This time, they followed a river. On the adjoining land, there were mainly meadows. The trees now were mostly poplars and willows. Soon, a pretty large city came into view. "So that's Basel?" Lois asked. "Yes, that's where the Pylon is - the meeting point of Germany, France and Switzerland." "I still think it's weird to have so many countries on such a relatively small land." "Trust me when I say these people like it this way." "Oh, I don't doubt that, Clark." "I'm now hovering above the exact spot where the three countries meet," Clark informed her. "Where?" Lois inquired. "I don't see a thing." "It's in the river, honey." "Oh." She was lost in thoughts for a moment, before she continued, "How do they know the exact spot is there then?" Clark stared at her. She had just had one of her infamous moments of illogical leaps that at some level, still made sense. Unfortunately, he didn't know the answer. "I don't know, Lois. Should I find us a spot to land so you can admire the monument?" "Oh yes, after what I've been told, this is something I want to see." "Okay." Clark hovered about the port for a moment, before he noticed an alley not too far away that was entirely deserted. Without being noticed, he landed them there. It was a short walk to the monument, which was situated on a platform in the river, and it had to be their lucky day; there were hardly any other tourists near the Pylon at that moment, so they had a perfect view when they got close. Lois's jaw about hit the ground when she eyed the weird looking thing. From a little distance, she would describe it as an oddly looking sculpture, which was quite similar to a rocket. The only difference was the three silver wings. Each wing pointed to one of the countries. The rocket was about 25 yards high and it was quite an eye catcher, although Lois wasn't sure it was one she liked. "That's it?" she asked incredulous. "That's it," he confirmed. He grabbed her hand and softly pulled her a bit so they continued walking. "Now that we're here, we should walk around it. I can visit twenty countries in a minute with super speed, I'd like to experience what it's like to just walk and do three countries within ten seconds." "Okay, flyboy, let's take a closer look then." As they walked around the platform and watched the Pylon more closely, Lois concluded it wasn't really her style. If she ever came across Dan Scardino again, she would tell him to come here, it was so his style if she had to go by that *thing* he'd once given her... Even Clark wasn't really impressed. "I prefer the speed visits in one minute," he said. "At least I see more countries that way." "I agree. This isn't as romantic as I thought it might be." "Definitely. Are you ready to go home now?" She nodded as she linked her arm through his. They used the same alley again. Clark didn't worry about being seen this time. Darkness was creeping up in Europe. As they headed toward the west, land changed into deep blue pools of water and the dark sky turned into a spotless blue sky with the sun set high above them. Before too long, they were back home after a long but satisfying day in Germany. * * * * * * * * * April 24, 1997 * * * * * * * * * Clark watched Lois sleeping peacefully. But he was unable to do likewise. He should have been here. But his jealousy over Leslie Luckabee making a pass at Lois had made him pout, staying out when he could have been here, with her, keeping her safe. And it had almost cost Lois her life. If he had arrived home any later... He gave his head a shake. He didn't even want to go there. How did one go about making up for something like that? He trusted Lois. He knew she loved him. And she had forgiven him - their activities before she had drifted off to sleep proved that. Still, he couldn't seem to forgive himself. Suddenly, he had an idea. It wouldn't make up for his stupidity, of course. But he wanted to share with her something he found very special. She rolled over, her eyes fluttering open. "Clark?" she asked when she noticed that he was awake. "Cocoon," he responded. * * * * * * * * * > Side by side, Lois and Clark stood, arms entwined around each other's waists, heads titled toward each other as they stared at the Eiffel Tower. "Hmm, Clark it is smaller than I thought." "You know, Lois, I believe you are right." "In fact, it looks about half as big as I remember." Lois turned to Clark with a smirk on her face. "So, Ms. Lane, intrepid investigative reporter that you are, do you suppose that has something to do with the fact that we are in Las Vegas, Nevada and not Paris, France?" Lois put her free hand to her face and said in what she called her Mindy voice, "Why? Could that be the cause?" Clark laughed and turned her and hugged her to him. "And for the record, it is a half scale model of the original in Paris, but is still 460 feet or 50 stories tall. Do you want to see the view from the top?" "Of course, but why are we out here at 4:30 in the morning?" "Because we have an appointment at dawn in Death Valley." "Why does that sound like an invitation to a duel?" "Just because you have a fertile imagination." Clark leaned in for a kiss, ignoring the sparse crowd still out and about at such an hour of the morning. "And with you it would be a duel of wits." "The best kind. Besides I know it's only 7:30 on a Saturday morning in Metropolis. *You* just had to come here because you knew the best coffee shop that had a full breakfast at 3 a.m." "Well, wasn't it? This town has a 24 hour 'Open' sign on it. It never sleeps. Shall we go get our transportation?" "Why certainly, sir." Lois put her hand in his and followed him. "So where to?" "You'll see." Clark led her to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel multi- tiered parking structure's elevator and pushed the "up" button. "Oh, we're collecting our car?" She couldn't resist giving him another smirk. "Ha, ha. No our ride." They entered the empty elevator and Clark pushed the button for the top level. "Speaking of that, it is a little harder here out west to pop in an out of places because there is no cover, like buildings or trees. We're going to fly as we are and just try to blend into the scenery." "So that's why you had me wear my best 'Breaking and Entering' gear." Lois looked down at her black tennis shoes, black pants, black tank top and black windbreaker and then pointedly over at his black sweater and chinos and black shoes. He was smiling at her in the too bright light of the elevator. "Thing is, if *you* want to remain hidden, you can't smile. Your teeth are like a beacon." He grinned even broader at her comments. "And to think, we could still be in bed at home, pretending to be newlyweds!" A look of concern flashed across his features and then he saw she was teasing. He leaned in closer and said mysteriously, "Sometimes you get both." The elevator dinged its arrival and they exited. Clark scanned the place for the darkest corner. "I think we left the car over there." "Yes, honey." Surveillance cameras were everywhere, especially in casinos and parking structures and they wanted to not be noticed. Clark found a corner with less light and not many hotel windows facing it. People tended not to spend much time in the hotel window staring out in Las Vegas, but one could never know. He hugged Lois to him and whispered, "Going up." Clark stopped and hovered, even with the top of the Eiffel Tower, but out of the bright lights illuminating it, and slowly rotated around so Lois could appreciate the view. "Wow. This is some sight! Look at the bright lights in a long ribbon and then the darkness of the desert and mountains. What a contrast! Oh, look at the moonlight on the mountain! That is so pretty." "That's Charleston Peak at 11,918 feet. It's the local ski area. Keep an eye on it because we are going to the left of it and we will be seeing the other side of it." With that, Clark moved her to their comfortable flying hold, making sure she could see Charleston Peak. Suddenly, Clark rotated to the right and stared into the east. "What is it?" "A flight of Air Force F-117's taking off from Nellis Air Force Base. I'm making sure they get up to altitude before we start. They can't fly over the city, but the sensors on the aircraft are both multi-spectral band and pretty sensitive and I want them above and ahead of us. And, " he paused again, gesturing to their left, "there's a commercial flight just taking off from McCarron International. We'll let them get on by too." "I never realized your life was so complicated." He gave her a smile. "Not really. It is habit now. And if I'm in the Suit, it doesn't matter. I want this trip to be just us." With that he began flying to the northwest. As had become their custom on these journeys, Clark entertained her during the leisurely flight with an explanation of the area they were flying over or to. "Some 500 million years ago, this whole area was flat and tropical. That's because at the time the continent was near the equator. Plate tectonics later caused it to move into the Northern Hemisphere. We know it was originally a shallow sea because fossil clams, snails, sea stars, urchins, sea lilies, trilobites, and brachiopods were found in the layers or strata we'll see today. Sand and shells were deposited in this flat sea for 350 million years, leaving 20,000 feet of sediment. That stuff is under this whole area, but only in Death Valley can you see it because it was revealed by the push of the Pacific Ocean floor under the western edge of the North American plate. The up thrust of the North American plate and the sinking of the Pacific Ocean floor caused increased geologic pressures and volcanic activity. Deposits of gold, lead, silver, zinc and copper were then injected into the rising terrain. Compression forced huge blocks of rock to slide horizontally. This resulted in the so- called Basin and Range topography. Death Valley is just one of those basins. The fault lines are still there and some movements have been in excess of 50 miles." Lois was taking this all in as she gazed at the terrain ahead of them, noting the moonlight glinting off the sere volcanic landscape. A lone road wound its way through the hills. Clusters of light indicated small communities; occasional ranches were lit by yard lights. Seeing her interest, Clark felt inordinately pleased she enjoyed sharing this with him and continued, "From 2 million to 10,000 years ago, this area was again very wet and more or less in its present location north of the equator. There were woods of juniper, pinyon and scrub oak. Mastodons, horses, camels, sloths, antelope and some large cats roamed the area and fed on smaller mammal life. Their fossil tracks were revealed after Lake Manley dried up." "A large lake, called Lake Manley in honor of an early pioneer to the area, once filled Death Valley to a depth of 600 feet The lake was 8 miles wide and 90 miles long. There are up to 25 horizontal water lines where the depth stabilized for a long time that shows this story. The lake totally dried up by the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. From 5,000 to 2,000 years ago the climate got wetter again and a smaller lake filled the bottom of Death Valley. Rain and water flow sculpted major portions of the Valley. And 'sculpted' is the right word. You won't believe it until you see it. The small lake eventually dried up too and left the salt crystals that cover the valley floor." "Rainfall in a desert can cause extreme flooding because there is nothing, neither soil nor plant life, to absorb the water and it simply runs to the lowest point. There is no outlet for water here, and it simply accumulates in the Valley and then evaporates and dries up again." "The steep sides of the Valley cause the air to rise and heat, losing its moisture, and then it sinks again, heats and rises. Essentially it is a gigantic convection oven. That is why you must always carry water, which I have brought for you, and be careful of sun exposure and heat prostration. Also, this is why we are here in April, when the average high temperature is 90 degrees and the low is 62 degrees. However, on the heights, it is cooler, as you will see." Lois turned and looked at him. "Have you been here in August?" "Sure. In fact I find it refreshingly dry. I get a great sun recharge here." "Yeah, you would." "But, interestingly enough, I'm not alone in August. European tourists flock here to feel the heat and marvel at the desert. Ever since the National Park opened all year, the summer tourist business has been amazing. They usual bus in from Las Vegas. We got here a lot faster though and we are almost there. I want you to see something." Clark landed in a deserted pre-dawn parking lot near the end of what looked like a very lonely road. Lois stood and he gestured to the moonlit view to the east. Lois looked where he indicated. She was puzzled. "Well, I just had breakfast, so I shouldn't be thinking of food, but it looks like a hot fudge sundae. A whole mountain of hot fudge sundae. On vanilla ice cream." Clark smiled and gave her a kiss. "Oh, I know my Lois. You are exactly right. It's a unique sight even in the west. It is a deposit of dark earth on top of very white borax -well, what becomes borax." "It looks like it has dribbled down the sides." "Exactly. There is a range of mountains in California called the Chocolate Mountains and these are not them. But the minute I saw these in person, I thought of a chocolate mountain. Come on, only a little further." Clark scooped her up again and flew up a barely visible mountain path. He landed on the top of the local peak a little back from the edge and set Lois down again. "Here, take my hand. Even in the moonlight, it is hard to see the right steps. I won't let you fall, I guarantee." Lois squeezed his hand in reply and they walked hand-in-hand to the west, into the setting moon. Lois and Clark gazed out upon Death Valley. "Ohhh, my," Lois breathed. "It's, it's, awe inspiring." They looked out into a great long gash in the world, illuminated by the moon. The vast white barren valley stretched before their eyes, a winding white river in the middle. "Look down," advised Clark. "That's Badwater, 282 feet below sea level. We're at Dantes View, 5,475 feet above sea level. Directly across the valley is Telescope Peak, at 11,049 feet. From the bottom of this valley to the top of that peak is 13,869 feet of geology open to view. But the best is yet to come." Clark found a large rock and pulled Lois into his lap. "Watch and listen." The silence was complete except for a small sigh of wind on the peak. In the clear sky the pink boundary between night and day slowly descended until a far snow-covered peak beyond several lines of blue was hit by the rising sun and became a beacon. Telescope Peak still in shadow before them, they could do nothing but marvel. "That's Mt. Whitney, at 14,491 feet the highest peak in the contiguous U.S. Only Denali, or Mt. McKinley in Alaska is higher at 20,320 feet." Suddenly Telescope Peak also came in brilliant focus from the background as the daily panorama of sunrise continued. More details of the Valley became clear as the daylight line descended the far wall. "To the left, the south, are the Avawatz and Owlhead Mountains and to the right of that is Wingate Wash, used by some of the 1849 emigrants to escape Death Valley. Later it was the route of the legendary 20 mule team borax wagons. To the right are the Cottonwood Mountains on the far side and the Grapevine and Funeral Mountains on this side." As they sat and watched in amazement, heads turning left and right as more sights were revealed, small sounds began to intrude as the day animals awoke. Small noises carried long distances in the silence. A lazy crow flew over, perched on a rock and eyed them. A lizard scooted across the sparse ground cover. A thin pale snake poked its head out of a hole and froze in position, looking like a plant and waiting for a small mouse to think the same thing and make a fatal error. "A crow, a snake? There *is* life here." "Oh, most definitely, Lois. Even down in Badwater, which is our next stop, there are things that live in the highly saline water, believe it or not. Speaking of that, I think it is time to go there. But first I want you to see something else here." Clark stood up and turned Lois around and pointed east again. "See. Charleston Peak in the sunlight. Three major mountain peaks in one view." Lois turned around and then back again, as if comparing the sights. "It is really gorgeous, honey." Clark stroked her arms and gave her a hug. He really loved the fact that she enjoyed the things he was showing her. It increased his enjoyment too. Clark then led Lois to the very edge of the outcropping. "See. Down there is Badwater." He pointed down to their right. Lois craned her neck as far as she dared. "I see just the white stuff. No water." "Yeah, it's tucked under the hill, sort of. You'll see. So you like roller coasters, right?" Lois turned toward him and searched his face, trying to figure out what he was planning. "Yes, I do. But I don't see one here." "You trust me, right?" "Of course." With that implicit permission, Clark grabbed Lois in front of himself and dove headfirst off the cliff, bobsledding without touching any surfaces down the mountain in a ravine cut deep cut into the cliff by rain . Lois let out an initial shriek, then started laughing wildly. She was breathless as they landed at the bottom. After giving her moments to recover, Clark took her hand and they walked across the deserted road to the back of a cinder block structure by the parking lot. "Restrooms," he said and gestured to the building. Clark looked around the building and muttered, "Oh, oh." Seeing Lois's inquisitive glance, he explained. "There's only one car in the parking lot and a guy with a camera and tripod taking pictures of the reflection of the mountains in the water," he whispered. "The thing is, no one walks to Badwater, so there should be a vehicle and we don't have one. That's one of the problems I mentioned about showing up here. If it's deserted or crowded there is no problem. But just one car makes us stand out as unusual. People pay attention to those things out here because it could save someone else's life. Speaking of that, I think it's time to take off your jacket, Lois. It's about 30 degrees hotter here than where we were at Dantes Peak. The sudden change in temperature is a danger in itself." Lois readily took off her windbreaker and tied the arms around her waist. Clark pulled his sweater over his head, revealing a black tank top. He tucked the sweater through the strap to the water bottle and let it hang. Then suddenly realizing Lois had been unusually quiet for quite a while, he unslung the water bottle, opened it and offered it to her. "Here, have some. You need to keep sipping this constantly." "Wow, that's good and cool, " Lois said after taking a big swig. "I didn't realize how thirsty I was." Just then a large van pulled in and a group of tourists piled out, chattering excitedly to each other. Clark grinned and pulled Lois forward. "Arrival problem solved." They strolled casually over to the sidewalk and rail around the parking lot and read the signs explaining the history of Badwater and showing a sketch of the points of interest on the opposite mountains. Lois marveled. "Two hundred and eighty two feet below sea level!" "You want to get a feel for how low that really is, look at the cliff." Lois turned to where Clark was pointing and saw a large sign on the cliff face above the road that said "Sea Level." It seemed very high up. Lois and Clark walked down the broad steps to the boardwalk resting on the salt. Signs warned them not to step off the walk to save more of the salt marsh and pickleweed that grew in the high saline areas. "Badwater got its name when a pioneer's mule wouldn't drink the water even though it was very thirsty. There's a reason miners used mules. They are very smart when it comes to their own health." Clark pointed down into the shallow water. "Soldier fly larvae and bronze water beetles live there. The Death Valley pupfish, a small transparent fish, lives in the saline water over at Amargosa Springs." "Despite how harsh this all looks," Clark gave a sweeping gesture to the octagonal crust of the salt flats and to the valley, "more than 1000 kinds of plants live within the park boundaries. Those here on the valley floor have adapted to a desert life by a variety of means. Some have roots that go down 10 times the height of a person. Some plants have a root system that lies just below the surface but extends out in all directions. Others have leaves and stems that allow very little evaporation and loss of life-giving water. With height, moisture increases until on the high peaks there are forests of juniper, mountain mahogany, pinyon pine, limber pine, and even bristle-cone pine. In winter the peaks surrounding the valley are covered in snow. And the snow-melt does help get water into the Valley since the average rain fall is only about 1.8 inches of rain a year. There have been years when there was no rain at all. Sometimes when it comes, it evaporates before it hits the ground." "Nonetheless, the wildlife has learned to deal with the heat and the night and day temperature extremes. Animals that live in the desert are mainly nocturnal. Once the sun sets, the temperature usually falls quickly because of the dry night air. Night is actually the time of the comings and goings of pack rats, squirrels and mice. Larger animals, such as the desert bighorn sheep, live in the cooler higher elevations. Look, Lois." Clark positioned Lois so that she was looking at a clear reflection of Dantes Peak in the still water of Badwater. "Badwater is a spring continuously fed because it is below the elevation of an ancient aquifer that covers nearly all of Utah and Nevada. This water is 2,000 years old before it comes here." The photographer continued to take pictures as the daylight changed the mood of Telescope Peak, but the still chattering tourists were getting back into their van, ready to roar off to the next stop. "Clark, I think we'd better go too. Our cover story is leaving." "You've got it. Next stop, Natural Bridge." They walked casually back toward the restroom building and donned their respective tops again and Clark picked up Lois and lifted off fast. The photographer, looking at the water for a good view of the east side of the Valley, caught a reflected movement out of the corner of his eye. "Wow, that's one big crow," he thought. At Natural Bridge there were no cars and Clark felt free to land on top and then slowly fly down to the river bottom to give Lois the full effect of the rain eroded arch. Similarly, in Artist's Palette, they landed on a hilltop across from the best area of colors. Lois was really intrigued. "I never knew dirt came in so many colors," she exclaimed as she stared at the pinks, greens, purple, grays, yellows and toffee brown. There was a white plant with white balls on it growing in several places. It was like nothing she had ever seen. They went on to Twenty Mule Team Canyon. The way Clark could fly it, it was about 20 miles shorter than the road. "Remember the Hot Fudge Sundae Mountain early this morning?" "Of course!" "Keep an eye on that mountainside as we go down." They began to descend into the very wide canyon. At first they were even with the volcanic topping and as they lowered, the mountain was worn away more, so that the ranks of hills had less topping. and then soon they had none. They landed on an empty dirt road. Clark automatically handed the water bottle to Lois. She sipped as he explained. "This was the big deposit of borax found in 1881. It is tall, it is big and it was just laying on the ground in hills, as you see. The raw ore was hauled out of here and over to the old Harmony borax works, where it was recrystalized into hydrated sodium borate and shipped to the railhead at Mojave, California, southwest of here, through Wingate Wash. They needed to haul as much as they could the 165 miles of dirt road to Mojave, so they invented the Twenty Mule Team concept, which became famous as their logo." "The twenty-mule teams actually consisted of eighteen mules and two horses. The 500-pound-heavier horses, called "wheelers," could handle the wagon's heavy tongue better. Five sets of double wagons freighted the borax in one trip every few months. They had a water wagon for the men, mules and horses. A pair of wagons carried a payload up to 36.5 tons. The larger steel tires, one inch thick by eight inches wide, were about 7 feet tall and 22 feet in circumference, each weighing 600 to 1000 pounds. For the return trip to Death Valley they brought much needed supplies." Lois sauntered over to Clark from where she had been standing, admiring him in his black tank top. She put a hand on his chest. "You know, Clark, remind me never to play 'Trivial Pursuit' with you. He captured her hand with his. "Oh, and why is that, Lois?" "You know everything. Not that I'm not fascinated, but that *is* a lot of data." "I enjoy being your personal tour guide. And I've been here a lot. I even helped during a flash flood here some years back. Besides," he grinned, "I read up on the internet before we came. Amazing what you can find there. Not all of it the truth, though." Clark looked down at Lois smiling face. "Somehow, I'm getting the feeling we may be at the end of the tour for today. How about some lunch? Did all this give you an appetite after that big breakfast?" Lois kissed him. "You know the way to my heart." Clark lovingly stroked Lois's hair, then cupped her jaw gently. "Among other things," he teased. He kissed her again and stepped back. "O.K., jacket on." "It's got to be ninety degrees here, " Lois protested. "Not where we're going." Clark took the near empty water bottle and finished it off, then slung the strap on his shoulder and put on his sweater. Clark picked up Lois and shot up fast, heading west. He landed amidst a pinyon pine forest near the sound of rushing water. Lois looked around and inhaled the cool air. "Oh, that's wonderful! Where are we?" "Below Telescope Peak at the head of Hanaupah Canyon. The view is less impressive in the direct light of noon, so I thought we'd have a little picnic." "A picnic?" Lois watched as Clark went over to the base of a rock and came back with blankets and a large picnic hamper and ice chest. He opened the ice chest and reached in for a cream soda and handed it to her. Lois put it to her throat and enjoyed the coolness before opening it and gulping down the soda. "You know exactly what I like! When did you bring this here." "While you were getting dressed this morning." He kissed her again. "And you know what I like too. By the way, no one else can get to this place unless they are a mountain goat, so we are very much alone." "Really alone?" "Really alone. Just like if we'd stayed home. Or maybe more so." He kissed her cold cream soda covered mouth. "Yeah, alone." * * * * * * * * * May 3, 1997 * * * * * * * * * Lois sat in the dark and sipped on a glass of wine as she waited for Clark to return from his Superman rescue. He had killed her to rescue her from Lex Luthor's son. And then he'd brought her back from the dead. And, to top it all off, he'd been called away on a Superman emergency. She chuckled slightly. Their life really was weird. She should be in bed, getting some sleep. But sleep wasn't what she needed right now. She smiled when she heard the telltale sound of Clark spinning out of his Superman suit. She heard him ascend the steps and open their bedroom door. He looked slightly confused when he didn't see her in bed. He looked around the room before his eyes landed on her, sitting, her legs up under her, in the chair in their bedroom. "Lois?" he asked. "Cocoon," she said quietly. * * * * * * * * * > A person with a very powerful telescope could have seen the bright red figure on the top of Mt. Tallac overlooking Lake Tahoe, but they would not have observed the small additional figure enveloped in the red cape. Clark hugged Lois back to his chest as they watched the sun rise over the Sierra Nevada, the shadow line retreating before the assault of the new May day. As the forest was warmed by the sunlight, the aroma of pine began to ascend to the heights. Below them, still in darkness was small, tranquil Fallen Leaf Lake. To their left and north was the vast expanse of the 10th largest lake in the world and the deepest lake in the United States. The water was so clear that even Lois could see the lake bottom near the shoreline. Clark, if he chose, could have tracked the large sport fish deep in the lake, or even perhaps the fabled "Tahoe Tessie", their version of the Loch Ness Monster. Right now he chose to nibble gently on his wife's ears, switching conscientiously from right to left and back again. It was cold up here, he reasoned, and he was keeping her ears warm. He could hear her purring softly from his ministrations. "Happy Anniversary." Lois giggled. "How many have we had this year?" "I've lost count," Clark breathed. "You warm enough?" Lois nodded, then laid her head back on his shoulder, opening the right side of her neck and right shoulder for more attention. He obliged contentedly, then softly stroked her arms under his cape. Her hands were occupied holding it together in front. Clark slid his arms down hers and hugged her more tightly to him. It was so wonderful to feel her here with him, enjoying one of his favorite sights, the wonder magnified with the sharing. She watched in contentment as the town of South Lake Tahoe was slowly revealed to them, a curtain rising on a new day. On Heavenly Valley, snow still gleamed on the ski runs, just now dormant for the languid summer days to come. Daylight sparkled off the cable lines running up the mountain. The town began to come alive with traffic. "It's still early," he said softly in her ear, "and I have something I want to show you before the visitors come." Lois let loose of the cape and turned in his arms, reaching up to his neck and head, presenting her lips for a kiss. " You're the tour director here. Whatever you want." "And I want a *lot*," he growled before kissing her thoroughly. Lois giggled softly as he scooped her up to fly away. "First, I'm going to change into something a little less...flamboyant." He flew down the mountain to the unpopulated north end of Fallen Leaf Lake, stepped into the cover of the trees and spun into blue jeans, black T-shirt and windbreaker. He stepped back to her to see her transfixed by the perfect sight of the glass smooth lake fringed by rustic cabins and small boats reflected on the water. "How perfect is that," Lois stated as he resumed his previous posture of hugging her back into him. He looked out at the view too. "As perfect as the woman watching it with me. And I have something better yet to come." Lois looked up at him, "You always do." "Sweet talking will get you anything, my dear. Come on, there's more. For this, I want you to close your eyes until we get there." Lois gladly obliged and snuggled her head under his chin as he scooped her up once more. It was a short flight until she felt the ground under her feet again and once more was held with her back against his chest. "O.K. Open them." She opened her eyes and gasped. "It's gorgeous." She was standing in small unroofed enclosure looking toward the opening of a small bay. Looking around, she saw they were on a steep island in the center of the bay. The ground on top was smooth and she stepped away from him to take in the full panorama around them. The hillside of the bay was very steep with small boat anchorages along the shore of the emerald colored water. Nestled in the trees at the head of the bay was an imposing but rugged structure. "A castle!" Lois gasped. Clark stepped into exaggerated tour guide mode. "It's a grand summer villa modeled on a Scandinavian castle circa 800 A.D. Vikingsholm, which is *only* accessible by boat, on foot..." Clark looked at her and winked, "or air, was built by Mrs. Lora Knight, a wealthy Chicago widow, in 1928, as a summer home. No tree was felled in construction on the site. From its completion in 1929 until 1944 she spent two months of every summer here, inviting notable friends to stay the summer with her. Servants would prepare a sumptuous afternoon tea and row them out to this little island with the tea house, where they would spend a leisurely afternoon. The tea house originally had a roof, but it was lost