Curiosity... The Continuing Saga
By: ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
Rated: PG-13
Submitted: October 2005


* * * * * * * * *

This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois and Clark:
The New Adventures of Superman. No copyright infringement is
intended. I'm borrowing these characters for a little fun and not
for any profit. For complete disclaimer, go to:
http://www.thompsonlawoffice.ca/Disclaimer.htm. Special thanks to
the writers of All Shook Up. I use a number of scenes from that
episode in this story. But trust me, my plan is to take this
story in a different direction. I also use a scene or two from
Honeymoon In Metropolis.

I would like to dedicate this to those of you who let me know you
wanted a sequel to Curiosity Killed The Reporter - without whom I
would not have directed my mind to the idea of coming up with an
asteroid story that was different than previous asteroid stories.
I hope I have succeeded.

As always, I'd like to thank my Beta readers, Carol and Gerry,
for their assistance with this story. Also, thanks to Shira for
her input and her inspiration for the final section of the
epilogue. And my thanks to Tricia Walpole for editing this story
for the archives. Finally, thanks to all those who answered
questions for me on the message boards.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the chapter names are all the
names of movies. Don't ask me why. It was an impulse decision
<g>.

This story is a sequel to Curiosity Killed The Reporter which can
be found here: http://www.lcfanfic.com/stories/2005/curiosi.txt.
It is not necessary to read Curiosity Killed The Reporter to
enjoy this story. All you really need to know about that story
can be found in the following clips.

PREVIOUSLY FROM CURIOSITY KILLED THE REPORTER (SPOILER):

Which came first, Lois didn't know: the sharp pain in the back of
her leg or the sound of a gun being fired. She stumbled slightly,
searching desperately for something to grab onto to keep herself
from collapsing. Her leg betrayed her, crumpling beneath her. She
reached out to grab onto the cast-iron railing that ran along the
edge of the water, trying to pull herself back to her feet. Just
a few more steps and she'd be at the front doors of the Lexor.
She couldn't give up now. Calling on every ounce of strength she
still possessed, she continued pushing forward. The footsteps
behind her slowed, telling her that they had caught up to her.

Having no choice, she turned to face her attackers. Maybe she
could still find a way to stall until another chance to escape
presented itself. As she turned, her eyes first landed on the gun
no more than a foot away from her chest. She felt as if she were
in a dream as her eyes followed the trail upwards from gun to
hand to arm to shoulder before meeting the grey eyes of the man
before her. And in that instant something passed between them,
some unspoken understanding of murderer and victim.

"Sup..."

Bang.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest. Her hand came off the railing
and she lost her balance, tumbling over the railing and plunging
into the river.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood on the rooftop of the Daily Planet, staring off into
the distance. Dead. Lois was dead. Henderson believed it. Perry
obviously believed it. Everyone believed it. And in spite of his
bravado to Perry, Clark himself had to admit that he believed it.
All the evidence pointed in that direction. Still, how could she
be dead? She'd always been the epitome of what it meant to be
alive. So animated. So driven. So full of energy. So... so alive.

He silently cursed the universe. He cursed the forces of nature
that had directed his small spacecraft through the enormity of
space to land on this small, blue planet. Better to have died in
the darkness of space than to live only to know this type of
pain. He cursed his powers - powers which had betrayed him when
he'd needed them most. What good were these powers if he were
unable to save the one he'd loved most in the world? What was the
point of any of it?

A shaky breath escaped his lips. How was he to go on if she were
dead? How would he be able to get up in the morning and do the
million little things that had to be done every day knowing what
he had lost? Without her, it would mean nothing. A future which
had been alive with possibilities, now looked more like a
nightmare.

Suddenly all the strength left Clark's legs and he collapsed onto
his knees. Burying his head in his hands, he finally allowed
himself to weep.

* * * * * * * * *

What made Madam Benoit the most exclusive madam in Metropolis was
not only the quality of her girls, but her extraordinary
discretion. Never did she give away her clients - not to anyone
for any reason. About ten years previously, she'd gone so far as
to do a short stint in jail rather than give up her client list.
It had solidified her reputation especially among men to whom
discretion was important - like politicians. But Superman wasn't
exactly anyone. He had an advantage - and if any time was the
time to collect, it was now.

"Superman," Madam Benoit said, breezily sweeping open the balcony
doors to allow Superman to enter. "So good to see you again. Have
you finally decided to take me up on my offer?" She swept up
beside the superhero, slipping her arm through his as she led him
into the grand sitting room. Although her English and diction
were perfect, she retained just the slightest hint of the French
accent of her youth, giving her a slightly exotic air.

Clark smiled, ignoring the startled look of the young woman
watching the two of them. Right now he had other things on his
mind beside his reputation. He was only thankful Madam Benoit
remembered her promise. It had been given shortly after Superman
had first arrived on the scene. He had stopped an overly-brutal
customer from abusing one of Madam Benoit's favorite girls. He'd
flown her back to this luxurious apartment only to be embarrassed
so badly his face had nearly matched the color of his cape when
she'd promised him any girl of his choosing whenever he wanted
her - free of charge. He'd been even more embarrassed when, as a
result of his reaction, she had guessed at his lack of...
experience. Madam Benoit was not someone who missed much. She
read people as well as anyone Clark had ever known. Still, once
she'd realized he couldn't be tempted by the promise of sexual
favors, she'd gone on to tell him that if he ever needed anything
from her, he need only to ask.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark looked around, concentrating all his efforts on using his
x-ray vision to find a way out. He suddenly saw one. If only they
could get through the blockage of the cave in, the tunnel
branched out and one branch headed back to the surface.

He heard shouts echo through the mine. There was no choice. He
had to try.

Clark set Lois down before rushing towards the cave-in, moving
rocks out of the way as fast as his body would allow. He was
relieved to realize that he was able to move them easier and
faster than anticipated.

Once he cleared a path for them to crawl through, he turned back
to Lois. He stopped only when he saw the stunned look on her
face.

"Okay, now that I definitely didn't remember," she said.

* * * * * * * * *

She met his gaze, seeming to search his eyes for something. She
finally broke eye contact. "Clark, is this a date?" she asked.

"What?" asked Clark. "Lois, coming over here for supper was your
idea. If it's just two friends sharing a meal or if it's
something more... I think that's pretty much your call. You know
how I feel about you. And if friendship is all you can offer,
then I'll be happy with that. But..." He gathered his courage
before continuing. "I love you. And after almost losing you, I'm
not prepared to pretend I don't. I won't be left with those kinds
of regrets again - regrets about things I'd never told you,
things you never knew. I couldn't live with myself if something
happened to you and I..." His voice trailed off. "Now if it makes
you uncomfortable, I'll never say those words to you again. And
we can pretend I never said them in the first place. But I won't
take them back. I can't."

* * * * * * * * *

She let out a short breath when the truth hit her. She was
falling in love. That was what she'd been trying to fight when
she'd first made reservations at the Lexor - before then even.
That was what her heart had been trying to tell her when she'd
had amnesia. Without the memories which made her so reluctant to
admit what was happening between her and Clark, her feelings for
Clark had been able to penetrate all the barriers her past
experiences had erected around her heart. She gave her head a
slight shake, a small smile pulling at one corner of her mouth as
she finally let go of her heart, giving it permission to take her
in the direction it seemed determined to go.

* * * * * * * * *

"I just got a call from the Lexor. They felt really bad about
someone breaking into my room while I was staying there."

"And?"

"And they offered me the suite again this weekend - for free."

"Lois, please tell me you're not going to spend another weekend
relaxing. 'Cause I'm not sure I can take another week like this
past week."

"No, silly. We're going to spend the entire weekend relaxing."

"We?"

Lois nodded.

"As in you and me?"

Lois nodded again.

"In the honeymoon suite?"

Lois finally laughed, linking her arm through his. "Well, only if
you think you can put up with me for an entire weekend, Mr.
Kent."

Clark smiled. He was suddenly certain that nothing, except
perhaps for an asteroid destroying the entire planet, could spoil
his good mood. But what was the chance of that?


* * * * * * * * *
Curiosity... The Continuing Saga
By: ML Thompson
PG-13
October 2005
* * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 1: BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT
* * * * * * * * *
MONDAY
* * * * * * * * *

"I love the morning. Anything is possible in the morning," said
Clark, his arm around Lois as they headed towards the Daily
Planet early on Monday morning.

"Mmm," murmured Lois, snuggling in closer as they made their way
through the streets of the city. "I'm actually starting to
appreciate the weekends more myself - at least weekends we both
have off."

He smiled down at her. She was right. This past weekend had
been... remarkable. Incredible. Beyond his wildest dreams. To be
able to hold her, to touch her, to really be himself with her, to
kiss her whenever he wanted... He wasn't sure the weekend could
have been any more perfect. The only problem was that he wasn't
entirely sure how he was going to get any work done today with
the images of this past weekend so fresh in his mind.

As they crossed the street towards the Daily Planet, she suddenly
straightened, as if preparing to shift from 'girlfriend' into
'partner' mode. He smiled. Only Lois... He wasn't sure he'd ever
known someone who could so completely focus on something to the
exclusion of everything else. She was obviously in the process of
relegating the events of this weekend to a safe corner of her
mind so that she could concentrate on work. Not that he had a
problem with that. He loved being her partner almost as much as
he loved his new status as her... boyfriend? They really hadn't
defined their relationship. Although, to tell the truth, he'd
really felt no need to.

The ring from Moishe Weissman had stayed firmly in his pocket all
weekend. He had wanted on several occasions to bring up the
subject of marriage, but the timing had never felt quite right.
Still, there was no rush. He was content for now simply to bathe
in the fresh flush of falling in love. She hadn't said it yet,
but given the way their relationship had taken several giant
leaps forward during the course of the weekend, he was fairly
certain she was falling in love with him as well. He wasn't sure
he could feel any more complete if she were currently wearing his
ring on her finger.

"Still, I hope you're right and that anything is possible in the
mornings," said Lois, still refusing to release her grip from
around his waist, making it clear that she was also having
difficulty setting aside the weekend. "Because as of right now,
we don't even have the tiniest fragment of something that, with a
lot of work, might resemble a page one story for the next
edition."

"Come on, Lois. We had a great story on Friday," Clark said as
they neared their usual coffee stand. "Several great stories, in
fact. Hi, Devon," he said to the man at the coffee stand as Lois
slipped out of his embrace. "We'll take the usual."

Clark felt her absence immediately, as if someone had suddenly
cut off one of his appendages. It was going to be a long day
waiting until he could hold Lois again. Still, Perry would not
likely take kindly to his top reporting team being draped all
over each other in the newsroom. And, even Clark had to admit, he
was having problems thinking clearly with Lois' body tucked
against his.

"You know Perry," Lois responded. "You're only as good as today."
She pulled some money out of her wallet, handing it to Devon.
"It's on me," she said.

"Short nonfat milk, decaf, no foam, no sugar, no whip," said
Devon, handing Lois her coffee.

Devon picked up a second cup, handing it to Clark. "Grande latte,
full caf, whole milk, three sugars."

"Thank you," said Clark, glancing at Lois before looking down at
his coffee with a smug grin.

"Still on that health kick, I see," said Lois, shooting Clark a
dirty look that conveyed her irritation over his body's ability
to eat anything he wanted without being affected by the calories.

"Life is short, Lois. Order what you want."

"Life is long, Clark. And you are what you eat." She ran her eyes
down his body. "Most of us anyway." Her tone was one of
annoyance. Still, she bumped his shoulder playfully before
heading away. He grinned, shared a look with Devon and headed
after his partner.

Suddenly, a strange darkness fell over the city.

"What's going on?" asked Clark.

"A solar eclipse?"

"But they always announce them."

Using his enhanced vision to see in the dark, Clark spotted a red
sports car speed around the corner, heading straight for them at
full speed. The sudden darkness had obviously caught the driver
off guard. Clark instinctively jumped in front of the car, his
hands on the hood as he braked the car so that it stopped
harmlessly near the curb. At that instant, the darkness receded.
Realizing he was going to be spotted standing with his hands on
the hood of what had been a fast moving car only moments before,
Clark threw himself backwards into a pile of garbage.

"Clark!" Lois exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Are you all
right?" She began frantically helping him to his feet, checking
him over before a suddenly sheepish expression crossed her face.
"Oh. Right," she finally said.

He grinned. She had obviously, for just a moment, forgotten who
he was.

Her embarrassment only lasted for a second, however. "Typical,"
she said, turning Clark's attention to the direction in which she
was looking. The driver of the car had gotten out of his vehicle
and instead of rushing to see if Clark was okay, he was checking
to see if there was any damage to his car.

"It's all right, Lois."

"Well, only because you're you. I'm going to give him a piece of
my mind. He could have..."

"It's okay, Lois," Clark said again, this time grabbing her arm
to keep her from going over to give the driver of the car a
tongue lashing he would likely never forget. "I really don't want
to draw attention to myself."

She stopped, looking up at him as understanding sank in. After a
moment, she nodded.

"So what happened?" Clark asked, looking up into the sky.

"The sun just blocked out. But why?"

"Good question."

"Yeah..." Suddenly the expression on Lois' face changed. Clark
knew the look immediately. "It'll make an even better story. Come
on," she said, grabbing his arm to drag him towards the Daily
Planet. "This could be our lucky day."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois Lane knew furious. She understood every nuance and variation
of the emotion. She'd perfected the stance that accompanied it
and had learned how to shoot it across the room with just a look.
Yes, fury was an emotion with which she was intimately
acquainted. And no one had perfected it the way she had. And yet
right now, furious didn't even begin to do her emotions justice.

Forbid her! How dare he! "Superman doesn't have a partner, Lois,"
she muttered sarcastically. "Fine! Well then, maybe Lois Lane
doesn't have a boyfriend!" She hadn't said that to him, of
course. But maybe she should have.

No. She couldn't do that to him. She wouldn't have been able to
handle seeing that wounded puppy-dog look she knew would settle
on his face. The look he'd given her when she'd sent him back to
the Daily Planet alone had been bad enough. 'If you don't leave
right now, Clark Kent, I won't be held accountable for my
actions!' His hands had plunged deep into his pockets and the
light in his eyes had dimmed reminding her very much of a little
boy who had just received the gift he most wanted for Christmas
only to have it break the first time he played with it. And damn
him anyway for making her feel like the Grinch who stole
Christmas. She was in the right here. He had no right - she
stomped her foot for emphasis - to make her feel guilty about
this.

"Hurry up, Lola. The company doesn't pay you to stand around all
night painting your nails."

The man's voice from the doorway snapped Lois into action. She
quickly pulled the light grey coveralls with the small patch
saying 'EPRAD Cleaning Service' over her clothes. One size fits
all. Please! She rolled up the cuffs and sleeves. Pulling her
hair back into a ponytail and putting on a pair of wire rim
glasses, she looked in the mirror. Satisfied that anyone who'd
seen her at the press conference this afternoon wouldn't
recognize her now, she headed out of the lockers.

The press conference. That was where things had started to go so
terribly wrong. She and Clark had gone to EPRAD, The Extra-
Planetary Research and Development Agency, to find out what had
happened to the sun this morning. An impromptu press conference
had been set up so that a Professor Daitch was able to address
all the press who had also found their way to the EPRAD Space
Center.

An asteroid, which Professor Daitch had called Nightfall, had
apparently traveled between the Earth and the sun, blocking out
the sun for a short period of time. The asteroid was seventeen
miles across and traveling at a speed of thirty-thousand miles an
hour. Throughout the press conference, Lois had kept her eyes on
the professor. He had seemed... nervous somehow. As a result,
she'd left the conference absolutely convinced that he was
holding something back.

As she'd been on the phone after the conference ended, telling
Perry about her suspicions, Professor Daitch had cornered Clark
for a very serious discussion, confirming her suspicions that
something more was happening with the asteroid. Clark had come
clean afterwards - telling her that Professor Daitch wanted to
speak to Superman this evening.

Okay, so maybe he had been right that Superman couldn't very well
show up with Lois Lane, Daily Planet reporter, on his arm. And
after the events of last week, it wasn't as if she didn't
understand the dangers of being associated too closely with
Superman. Now, if he'd simply said that, discussed the issue with
her... She could be reasonable, after all. She could have even
suggested a solution. He could have simply set her down somewhere
where she could have overheard the conversation without being
seen. She might even have agreed that they both had to agree to
go to print before confidential information was released. But
instead...

Forbid her! How dare he! Who did he think he was? Her lord and
master? Was this what she could expect of him now that she'd
begun dating him? It was almost as if he simply saw her as a hood
ornament - nice on the front of a car, but of no worth, other
than decoration. They were partners - or had been until she'd
lowered her defenses and allowed them to become something more.
Yet without even consulting her, he'd simply told her that she
was not invited to this meeting.

Hell would freeze over before she allowed Lois Lane to become a
hood ornament! Now was the time for them to establish the ground
rules of this very unusual relationship. And that started
tonight. Fortunately for her, she had sources too. Louie really
did know guys who knew guys - at least in the cleaning business.
Thanks to him, Clark was going to learn that he wasn't the one
calling the shots in this relationship. Lois Lane did not take
orders from any man - not even one who could bench press cars!
The sooner he understood that, the better.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark took a few calming flights around the world, keeping his
pace slow. Professor Daitch had asked to speak to Superman this
evening. Since he hadn't given an exact time for this meeting, he
probably should consider heading over there.

After his fight with Lois, he'd gone back to the Daily Planet. He
knew Lois was mad - okay, maybe that was an understatement. She
was furious. But he'd thought that if he just gave her a little
time to think about it... What was he thinking? This was Lois.
She had a gift for being able to stay mad. But what could he do?
Superman worked alone. She had to accept that sometimes he would
have to leave her behind. After all, she was far more likely to
get hurt than he was. And they had to guard against people
connecting her any more closely to Superman than they already
did. Surely she could see that after the events of the past week.
Still, maybe he shouldn't have left her at EPRAD this afternoon.
But she'd been so determined to have him go.

The problem was that she had not put in an appearance at the
Daily Planet since he'd left her. He'd covered for her with
Perry. He'd even written up the story of the asteroid under their
shared byline. He gave a small snort. It was ironic that the
first time one of them covered for the other since Lois had found
out about Superman, it would be he covering for her.

He was in the right. He knew that. But that didn't make it any
easier for him to fight with her. After the closeness they had
shared this past weekend, there was an emptiness inside him, a
Lois-shaped hole. She was a part of him now. Fighting with her
before had always been... well, at times it was almost fun. She'd
get mad. He'd find it amusing. And realizing he was not affected
by her temper, she'd get past it and forgive him for whatever
unintentional faux-pas he had committed. The problem was that he
couldn't find anything amusing about fighting with Lois now.

Still, there wasn't time to worry about Lois at the moment.
Professor Daitch had seemed insistent that he needed to talk to
Superman. And Lois was certainly right about one thing. If that
was the case, then they hadn't been told the whole story about
the asteroid.

Turning in mid-air, he headed back towards Metropolis, and his
meeting with Professor Daitch at EPRAD.

* * * * * * * * *

Slipping away from the attentive eye of her supervisor had been
easy enough. Lois briefly wondered if the cleaning company knew
about the man's drinking problem. Still, it gave her, after a
short time, unlimited access to the facilities at EPRAD. And that
was a good thing, too. After all, she didn't know the exact time
Superman was expected. Clark had conveniently forgotten to
mention that.

Still, since she knew Superman was Clark, she suspected he'd come
after he filed their story for the morning edition. And given a
story this big, and the fact that they had only found out about
the asteroid this afternoon, she suspected Perry would push back
the filing deadline. Clark would be writing the lead story since
she hadn't gone back to the Planet following the press
conference. But there would undoubtedly be a lot of extras.
Probably a sidebar by Cat - something silly like 'where were you
when the lights went out?' Or scientific articles about
asteroids. And when Perry extended a deadline, he usually chose
to push it back to nine p.m. Clark would likely show up at EPRAD
sometime shortly thereafter.

As a result, shortly before nine, she got into position in the
observatory. Avoiding detection by Professor Daitch was simple
enough. However, he was not the only one present.

"So you understand what you need to say?" asked a man in a
military uniform sporting general's stars on his shoulders.

"I understand," Professor Daitch responded.

"I can't stress how important it is that you get him to agree to
this," said an older man with a full head of white hair, wearing
a suit and tie.

"I understand," Professor Daitch repeated, this time sounding
slightly annoyed.

"It is a matter of national security," said the general.

"Look! I understand. But that doesn't mean I have to like it,"
Daitch said.

"Just remember what's at stake," said the white-haired man, a new
steel in his voice. "Especially for you."

Lois caught a look of... was that fear on Daitch's face?

"Anyway, we should be going. Once you explain the situation to
Superman, tell him what we need him to do," said the general.

Daitch nodded and then, as the two other men left the room, he
turned towards his telescopes and monitors, as if checking to
make sure everything was set up correctly. He seemed nervous. And
with every additional minute that he had to wait for Superman, he
seemed to get increasingly so. Soon Lois was almost feeling the
man's anxiety.

Lois held back a gasp as she watched Superman float majestically
into the observatory. It was the first time she'd seen Superman
like this since she'd found out the identity of the man behind
the suit. And she had to admit, he seemed even more impressive to
her now.

Daitch was so lost in thought, that he seemed to miss the
superhero's arrival, only looking up in shock when Superman began
to speak.

"You've been looking for me, Professor?"

"Superman," Professor Daitch gasped.

"Mind if I take a look?" Superman began walking up the steps
towards the largest telescope.

"I thought you had enhanced visual abilities."

"I do. But I also have my limits, too."

Limits. For some reason, it had been a long time since Lois had
thought of Superman having limits. But he was right. He must have
limits. She wondered how much he actually knew about his powers.
After all, given how little he knew about his origins, he likely
didn't know much about the extent of his powers either. Trial and
error. Walking into a building only to have it blow up around him
- thereby teaching him he couldn't be hurt by explosions.
Catching a Cruise Missile - thereby discovering he couldn't be
hurt by cruise missiles. Storming into a nuclear power plant -
thereby realizing he couldn't be hurt by radiation. Facing down a
man with a green crystal - thereby determining he could be killed
by kryptonite. Trial and error. Lois shivered as the implications
of that really sank in for the first time.

"Fascinating what kind of surprises the universe can turn up,
isn't it?" said Superman, snapping Lois out of her thoughts.

"Hmm," Daitch responded uncommittedly. "Nightfall is
approximately seventeen miles across. Traveling at close to
thirty thousand miles an hour."

"You told Kent and the other reporters that much at the news
conference. Why am I here?"

Lois found herself unexpectedly amused. She wondered how strange
it must be to refer to himself in the third person. She quickly
pushed her amusement aside. Clark's question was the big one -
and she was pleased that Clark was getting straight to the point.
What did they need Superman for?

"If my calculations are correct," Daitch said as he walked over
to a computer monitor. He punched in a few numbers, pulling
something up on the screen that Lois couldn't see. Still, he and
Superman stood in front of the monitor, looking at the picture,
as Daitch continued, "in a little more than four days, it's going
to hit the Earth." He let out a breath. "The sky, literally, is
falling."

Lois' breath caught in her throat and she felt a definite jump in
her pulse rate as images of all the asteroid movies she'd seen
flashed through her mind. Only this was no movie.

"What kind of damage could this cause?" Superman asked.

Lois unconsciously nodded as Superman asked the question she
wanted to know. Maybe this wasn't as bad as it seemed at first
glance.

"Superman, it could knock the Earth off its axis. It could throw
us out of our current solar orbit. See this one is larger than
the meteor that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. The
crater it creates will throw enough dust into the air to start a
new Ice Age."

"We're not alone," Superman said, startling Lois. He must have
realized she was there. Still, she wouldn't have expected him to
betray her presence to Daitch. She was just about to stand up,
hurt and disappointment rising in her chest when Superman
continued speaking. "You might as well come out, gentlemen. I
know you're there."

Gentlemen? What? Who? She was stunned when the general and the
white haired man she'd seen talking to Daitch earlier emerged
through a door. They must have been hanging around just outside
the door, eavesdropping as they waited for Superman to talk to
Daitch. Suddenly, something felt very strange about the whole
situation. Why were they eavesdropping - unless they weren't sure
they could trust Daitch to say what they wanted him to say?

"My apologies, Superman," said the general. "But we felt you
should hear the news from Professor Daitch before being
introduced."

Lois gave her head a slight shake, not entirely sure she believed
the explanation.

"I'm General Robert Zeitlin..." the general continued, stepping
forward to shake Superman's hand. "This is Secretary John
Cosgrove." He gestured to the man beside him.

"You can't keep this a secret."

Lois gave her head a sharp nod. This was information the public
had the right to know. She was glad the reporter in Superman
understood that.

"I think it would be better if we keep the public in the dark
about..." began Daitch.

"I can guarantee that it will get out," said Superman. "A secret
this big doesn't stay buried for long. And if it doesn't come
from the proper authorities, it will create a panic."

"The President will tell the people," said Cosgrove immediately,
"but he needs to avoid the very panic you mentioned. Put simply,
he needs to get you on board before he makes an announcement. The
country needs your help, Superman. So does the world."

"But you're asking me to fly a million miles into space to stop a
piece of rock the size of Metropolis."

Lois' heart came to an abrupt halt. She'd always thought of
Superman as capable of anything. But he wasn't saying: 'Just a
second,' before disappearing to simply take care of the problem.
That in itself told Lois that stopping the asteroid was not
something he was certain he could accomplish. But then, that made
sense, given her previous thoughts about Clark's knowledge of his
powers.

"You're our only hope, Superman."

Lois felt a flash of anger. How dare they lay this type of
responsibility on Superman's shoulders? Maybe he was the world's
only hope. But he didn't need the extra pressure of hearing them
say it.

"What exactly is it you want me to do?" Superman asked.

"The EPRAD science team has carefully studied the situation and
they've pin-pointed the asteroid's structural weak point. If you
hit it at maximum speed, they believe that you'll achieve a fifty
megaton explosive force."

"What about using tactical nuclear weapons?"

Lois nodded, approving of Superman's question. Surely there were
other options. They simply needed to find them. The world
shouldn't be expecting Superman to save them from all their woes.

"We're concerned about the risk of nuclear fallout," said the
general. When Superman nodded thoughtfully, the general
continued. "I guess my first question would be whether you can
survive flying in a vacuum. Or would flying in outer space tear
you apart?"

Lois' eyes narrowed. Although it made sense to her that these men
would need to know Superman's vulnerabilities in order to
determine if he could accomplish this task, she still didn't like
hearing the questions asked. If there was anything out there,
besides kryptonite, that could hurt Superman, she didn't want
anyone to know about it unless absolutely necessary.

"That's not a problem. When I made my first appearance, I flew
the space shuttle into orbit without any difficulties."

"Right," said the general. "What about breathing? Is that a
problem?"

"I can hold my breath for twenty minutes."

"Would you die if you had to hold your breath longer than that?"

Superman shrugged. "I really don't know. I've never had to hold
it longer than twenty minutes. I do know that after twenty
minutes, I get... lightheaded. I suspect I'd lose consciousness.
What would happen if I still didn't get air... I just don't
know."

"Then I guess we'll need to provide you with some breathing
apparatus," said the general, making a mental note. "How long
will it take you to get there?"

"I suspect it will take me a few hours."

"Okay, then all we need is your okay, and we can get our
scientists to work on ironing out the details. They will need
your assistance of course, Superman. Finding out as much as
possible about your limitations will significantly increase your
chances of success."

Superman nodded slowly. "I guess we're about to find out what my
limits really are."

Lois felt a knot form in her stomach. She waited as Superman made
arrangements to meet with the science team, but her mind was only
half following the conversation. 'We're about to find out what my
limits really are.' As a result of her distraction, she missed
Superman's departure. When she finally realized he had left, she
immediately began to sneak out of the observatory.

She stepped out the doors to EPRAD, into the back alley. She took
a deep breath, her fear for Clark practically outweighing her
fear for the entire world. Was this one of the downsides to
loving Clark? When he was just 'Superman', she worried about him.
But now she felt downright terrified.

A sudden rush of wind directed her attention to the man suddenly
in front of her. In the suit, standing at his full height, a
stern look on his face, arms firmly folded across his chest, he
cut an imposing figure. Still, she instantly set her chin,
refusing to be intimidated, as her eyes met his.

* * * * * * * * *

Like swords clashing in midair. That was how Clark would
afterwards describe the moment his eyes met Lois'. He'd faced
down criminals, confronted acts of nature, dealt with thousands
of fans, everyone wanting a piece of him. But all it took was one
small woman, her eyes flashing, to make his legs tremble. Had
anyone been watching, he suspected they would be amused by the
sight. In the battle of wills, Superman had nothing on Lois Lane.

He'd known Lois was there almost from the moment he'd first
landed in the observatory. But it had been too late for him to do
anything about it, having already been spotted by Professor
Daitch. In fact, he'd been so caught up in listening to Lois'
reactions to what Professor Daitch was telling him that he'd
almost missed the presence of two other men in the observatory.

Still, maybe it was just as well that Lois had overheard his
conversation. It saved him from having to repeat everything to
her. Although, to tell the truth, he would probably have played
down the danger to himself were he telling the tale. At least,
given her outfit, he now knew how Lois had spent the afternoon -
becoming the newest employee of EPRAD's cleaning service. His
eyes left hers to drift involuntarily down her body as a small
smile suddenly began to pull at one corner of his mouth. How was
it she could look so incredible in a sloppy pair of overalls?

"What?" she demanded.

"Huh? Oh. Uhh... You're... adorable."

She broke eye contact, obviously trying to remain mad. But, same
as he, she seemed to be having problems doing so.

He let out a breath. "Would you like a lift home, Ms. Lane?"

She met his eyes again, holding them for a long moment before
nodding almost shyly. "By the way, the name is Lola Dane."

He grinned. Stepping forward, he easily picked her up in his
arms, suddenly fighting images from the past weekend. He should
be angry with her for using privileged information to get the
inside scoop on the asteroid story. But for a reason he didn't
quite understand, he just couldn't rustle up those emotions when
her body was snuggled up against his.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois used the time as she slipped into a sweatshirt and jeans to
think about everything she had learned while staking out the
observatory. She had to admit that her fight earlier with Clark
suddenly didn't seem all that important - not in the face of
world-wide destruction and the risk to Superman should he try to
stop it. If they lived past the next four days... well, then
there might be something for them to work through, but for the
time being...

She opened the door to her room and walked into the living room.
Clark, now in his regular clothes, had obviously been pacing but
he came to a stop when he heard her. She headed straight for him
and without words, slipped her arms around his waist and buried
her face in his neck. He pulled her close.

They stood silently like that for a long time, neither having the
will or the inclination to release their grip. And Lois
understood immediately that this was what she'd been looking for
all her life - that safe place where she could feel completely
and totally loved. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye. It
was ironic that she should have found him just as the world was
going to be destroyed.

"I'll stop the asteroid, Lois," Clark said as if he reading her
mind. He tightened his arms ever so slightly around her, as if
determined to protect her personally from the giant piece of
space rock currently hurling itself towards them.

"If you can."

He pulled back, cupping her face between his two large hands and
staring intently into her eyes. "I'll stop it, Lois," he
repeated.

She nodded, unwilling to let him see exactly how much that idea
terrified her. He had to help. She knew that. He wouldn't be
Superman... Actually, he wouldn't be Clark if he didn't at least
try.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

"I'm meeting with the EPRAD scientists at six o'clock tomorrow
morning." His arms gathered her close once again.

Her arms left his waist so that her hands could run up his chest
and around his neck to pull his mouth down to hers. He
surrendered willingly, meeting her kiss with the same sense of
love and desperation she knew she was conveying. Her hands fisted
themselves in his hair as she pulled her body tighter against
his. He responded in kind. One hand slipping down her back and
over the curve of her buttocks as the other buried itself in her
hair, both hands pulling her closer, as if seeking to make them
one person.

It was with difficulty that Lois pulled away, nuzzling his neck
as she forced her desires to surrender to her will.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Lois, finally breaking
contact between them

Clark shrugged. "What do you mean? I'm going to fly into space
and destroy the asteroid."

Lois immediately met his gaze. "Are you crazy, Clark? Have you
thought about this? They expect you to fly a million miles into
space and then, when you've finally exhausted yourself with the
long flight, plow at full speed into an asteroid, hoping that you
can hit the... what was it now? ...structural weak point. And if
you do manage to do it, they think you will achieve a thirty
megaton..."

"...fifty megaton..."

"Don't edit me, Clark. A fifty megaton explosion, causing a hunk
of space rock the size of Metropolis to explode into dust. And
they expect you to do that with no protection. No oxygen - well,
except for a couple of air tanks, I suppose. I'm not sure who is
more insane! Them for suggesting it. Or you for planning to do
it."

"What do you want me to do, Lois? Just sit around here, twiddling
my thumbs waiting for the world to be destroyed?"

"No. Of course not. I know you can't do that. I just think there
has to be a better way."

"If the EPRAD scientists couldn't come up with a better way, what
makes you think we can?"

"I heard your doubts, Clark. I was there. I know you think this
is a suicide mission. Do you really want to die so badly?"

"I knew it was a mistake letting you be there."

"Letting me?" she gasped in disbelief. "Clark, if I recall
correctly, you forbade me to be there! And by the way, don't
think I've forgotten about that!"

"Lois, what's your point?"

"I just think there has to be another way."

"There isn't."

"And how do you know that?"

"If the scientists at EPRAD..."

"You said that before. But what makes you think we can even trust
the scientists at EPRAD?"

"Excuse me? Why would they lie about something like this? If they
are wrong, if they give me bad advice about how to destroy the
asteroid, the world will be destroyed."

"It's just something I heard before you arrived. Secretary
Cosgrove told Professor Daitch that if he didn't convince you to
go into space to destroy the asteroid, he was in danger."

"Of course he's in danger. After all, there's an asteroid heading
towards Earth. An asteroid that's large enough to destroy all
life on the planet."

"No, Clark. It sounded more personal than that to me."

"You're reaching for straws, Lois. I think you're a little too
close to be objective here."

"Don't dismiss me, Clark! I've been working with you for months
now. You used to trust my gut instincts. Is this new attitude
because you don't like being challenged as Superman? Or is this
what I can expect if I date you?"

His expression softened, as if brought back to reality by her use
of the word 'if.' "Lois..." He reached for her.

She instantly stepped away. "Don't."

He let out a breath as his hand dropped impotently to his side.
"Okay, let's say you're right. Let's say that there is more going
on here than they are telling us. It still doesn't matter."

"How can you say that?"

"Because a huge rock is going to hit the Earth in less than four
days. And I still am the best chance this world has."

"That gives us four days."

Clark shook his head. "I'm meeting with EPRAD scientists at six
a.m. tomorrow morning. An announcement will be made about the
asteroid at nine. And I expect they will want me to leave shortly
afterwards - both to destroy the asteroid as far from Earth as
possible and to keep public panic to a minimum. There's no more
time. I just want to spend the night holding you."

Once again, he reached for her. Once again, she avoided him.
"Quit dismissing me. I won't be treated like an imbecile. We
might not have much time. But we do have some. And if you expect
me to just give up, I..." Lois' voice was cut off by a sob.
Instantly, she felt Clark's arms around her. She cried quietly
into his shoulder for a moment before pulling away again. This
time, she didn't try to talk. She simply walked over to where
she'd tossed her jacket on the back of a chair. Picking it up,
she headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Clark.

"You just told me we don't have much time. That means we
certainly don't have time to stand around here, debating the
issue." She stopped at her door, looking back at him. "Coming?"

"Lois..."

"Fine!" she said, stepping out the door and slamming it behind
her.

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 2: FOOLS RUSH IN
* * * * * * * * *

Clark watched her head out of the building, torn. He hated this
distance between them, and there was a part of him that was
tempted to follow her, as he always had. But he knew in his gut
the EPRAD scientists were right. Destroying the asteroid was the
only way to save Earth. And he was the only one who could do it.
Lois was grasping at straws. Going with her would only encourage
her. Maybe if he didn't go, she'd give up quickly, return to her
apartment and then... well, at least they could spend a few hours
of quality time together before he had to leave. Besides, there
were a few things he needed to do before tomorrow morning. And
now was as good a time as any to get them done.

He had no illusions. Lois had called this a suicide mission. And
although Clark didn't exactly see it as a suicide mission, he was
acutely aware of the risk. He might not know the limits of his
powers, but smashing into the asteroid at full speed... At the
very least, he suspected he would be knocked unconscious. And if
that happened, there was a very real chance he would not make it
back to Earth. No. He figured he had about a fifty-fifty chance
of survival.

And that meant... He spun into the Superman suit and headed into
the sky. He wanted a chance to say goodbye... uhh... to see his
parents.

* * * * * * * * *

It was a surreal experience - heading through an unwitting
Metropolis, knowing four days from now everything could be gone,
knowing she was one of the few people on the planet who had any
idea any of this was happening. The darkness in the newsroom bore
witness to the world's ignorance. No people scrambling around,
trying to get more facts. As far as her colleagues were
concerned, the paper was put to bed and all was right with the
world.

Clark really should be helping her. She could hardly believe he'd
simply refused to come. He really could be a mutton-headed dolt
at times. It just wasn't like Clark to give up. Her mind flashed
back to the heat-wave Metropolis had experienced only a few
months previously. He'd done the same thing then - giving up
instead of fighting like mad to save Superman. Still, there was
no time to worry about this pattern of behavior in Clark right
now. She had to find another solution to this current crisis -
then she could take the time to beat some sense into that thick
skull of his.

She slowly made her way to her desk, wondering where to start.
The scientists at Star Labs had undoubtedly left for the night.
The chances that she could contact anyone at Lex Labs was
practically non-existent. She suddenly wondered why she had even
left her apartment. Maybe Clark was right. Maybe there simply
wasn't enough time to come up with another way for him to deal
with the asteroid - if there even was another way. She could be
spending whatever time they had left with Clark.

No! She wasn't going to think like that. There was something more
going on. Something they were missing. She felt it in her gut.
She knew Clark thought she was reacting emotionally, but she knew
she was right. And maybe somewhere in the city was a scientist
who could help her. If there was, she simply had to find him or
her.

She sat down at her desk, switched on her lamp and pulled out her
phone book. She dialed the number for Star Labs as she began
searching for a pen.

"Star Labs," came the woman's voice on the other end of the line.

"Umm, yes. This is Lois Lane of the Daily Planet. And I'm looking
for an astrophysicist."

"Well, you called the right place," came the slightly sarcastic
response.

Lois ignored the tone of the woman's voice. "Is there anyone
there that I can speak to?"

"Could you tell me what it's concerning?"

"Are you saying that there is more than one astrophysicist there
at this time of night?" asked Lois, tossing the woman's sarcastic
tone back at her.

"Just a second please."

Lois wasn't entirely sure the woman hadn't hung up on her. Still,
there wasn't much she could do but hope she was on hold. As she
waited, she juggled the phone on her shoulder as she began
flipping through the phone messages lying on her desk. She
stopped when one message in particular caught her attention. It
was from Lex. 'Lex Luthor wants you to stop by whenever you get
the chance. Apparently he has information about the Nightfall
Asteroid and he wants to discuss it with you.'

"Hello," came a man's voice on the other end of the phone. "To
whom am I speaking?"

"Oh, umm... my name is Lois Lane. I'm a reporter with the Daily
Planet. And you are?"

"The chief of security: Derek Tyler. I understand you are wanting
to speak to one of our scientists."

"Yes. Particularly one who has knowledge of astronomy. I need
some information about the Nightfall Asteroid for a story I'm
working on."

"Surely you must be aware of the time. All of our scientists have
left for the night. Now I can put you back in touch with our
receptionist. She can have someone call you when they come in
tomorrow morn..."

"I don't have time for that," interrupted Lois. "Surely you can
get hold of someone who can help me."

"Ms. Lane..."

"Come on. This is important. I can't tell you how important this
is." She hesitated for a second. "The fate of the world is in the
balance."

"Ms. Lane, I'm quite sure that not having a quote from a
scientist for your story doesn't qualify as having the fate of
the world hanging in the balance."

"No. You don't understand. I need..." Her voice trailed off, not
entirely sure how to make the urgency of the situation clear
without giving out classified information. By tomorrow, the world
would know that the asteroid was heading to Earth. But it would
be irresponsible of her to release that information now, before
the President and the experts had a chance to announce it in such
a way as to avoid panic.

"Good night, Ms. Lane," came the amused voice from the other end
of the line before the phone line went dead.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark floated silently above the old farm house as he observed
his parents go through the familiar routine of getting ready for
bed. He watched his mother begin turning off the lights on the
main floor while his father made sure the doors were locked. When
he was a child, there had been no need to lock the doors at
night. But one of the misfortunes of the modern age was that
crime was no longer a stranger, even in rural Kansas.

It was an hour earlier here than it was in Metropolis. Still, it
was a little past his parents' regular bedtime. He wondered what
had kept them up later than normal.

He was glad, however, that they were still awake. Not that he
wouldn't wake them up tonight, but he was pleased he didn't have
to. There was always something comforting just watching the quiet
activity of his home. It took him back to a time when his biggest
worry was whether Lana Lang would agree to go to the Corn
Festival Dance with him. He was so lost in memory that he almost
missed his parents heading together towards the stairs.

"Jonathan!"

His mother's giggle when his father came up behind her and
grabbed her brought Clark back to the present. His mother turned
in his father's arms to kiss him.

Clark's head suddenly snapped up as he realized he'd better move
fast - before things between his parents got out of control. That
too was a familiar memory. After all, as a teenager with super
hearing, he was aware that this was a common activity for his
parents. Unlike other children, he wasn't able to pretend his
parents had only had sex often enough for him to be conceived -
and in his case, that wouldn't have even been once.

He quickly darted down to the door of the farmhouse and knocked.
He could simply have gone through a window and been standing in
the living room. But he figured it might be wise to give them a
moment to compose themselves.

"Who could that be, Jonathan?" Clark heard his mother say.

"Why don't we just ignore them? Maybe they'll go away."

"Jonathan!" his mother rebuked. However, the rebuke lost some of
its punch when followed by a very feminine giggle. Clark could
swear he even heard his mother slap his father's hand and
whisper, "Don't."

"Come on, Martha. It's not as if..."

"What if it's Wayne? He's been having problems with his generator
all week. You know that."

Clark was relieved when he heard his father sigh, finally
admitting defeat. Still, Clark had more than a little color in
his cheeks when his father unlocked the door to find him standing
outside.

"Clark?"

"Hi, dad."

"Martha, it's only Clark," Jonathan called back over his
shoulder. "Why don't you get him a piece of that apple pie you
made today and a glass of milk? I'll stick a movie he likes in
the VCR and we can sneak upstairs while he's watching it to..."

"Jonathan!" Martha interrupted with a laugh. "Don't mind him,"
she said to Clark as he stepped into the house. "He's just
feeling a little frisky tonight." With that, Martha slapped her
husband's butt and headed into the kitchen.

"Mo-m," Clark groaned. Okay so maybe they weren't exactly
celibate these days. But did they have to be quite so obvious
about it? There was only so much a guy - even a super powered one
- could stand to know about his parents' love life.

"Come in, Clark," said Jonathan with a laugh at Clark's obvious
discomfort. "So what brings you by this evening?"

"Not that you're not welcome here anytime." Martha's voice came
from the kitchen.

"I know that, mom," Clark called back, coming further into the
living room. "I assume you two know about the asteroid."

"Yeah. It's fascinating, son, to think that a rock that big could
get so close to Earth without anyone spotting it before now."

Clark and his father were just getting settled on the couch when
Martha reentered the room carrying a small tray containing three
pieces of apple pie and three glasses of milk.

"Thanks, mom," said Clark, taking an offered piece of pie and
watching his mother set his milk on a coaster on the coffee table
in front of him. "So what's the problem?"

He smiled. His mother always knew when he was troubled. She had
since he was young. It was both comforting and, at times,
bothersome - especially when he had been trying to hide the
emergence of a new power when he was a kid. He let out a breath,
knowing he had to tell them about tomorrow's mission, yet
downplay the dangers in an effort to keep them from overreacting
the way Lois had.

* * * * * * * * *

"We're standing precisely five hundred meters below Metropolis
street level," Luthor explained as he led Lois down a sterile
looking hall. "Surrounded by sixteen-inch reinforced concrete
walls. Originally designed to withstand a nuclear attack."

"A bunker?" Lois was getting more confused by the minute. She'd
come here because the message Lex had left for her claimed he had
information about the asteroid. And since Lex Labs had hundreds
of scientists on payroll, not to mention Lex's funding of at
least half of the scientists in Metropolis, she'd wondered if one
of them could come up with something useful. But when she
arrived, the only thing he would say was that he had to show her
something. And then she found herself being brought down here.

"Well, I prefer to think of it as an ark," Luthor responded. "I
assume you know... about the asteroid."

"Everyone knows about the asteroid," Lois responded, unwilling to
give away the clandestine information she had obtained just in
case Lex didn't know about it.

"I'm not speaking of its existence."

Lois' eyebrows rose. "Then what are you talking about, Lex?"

"I'm talking about the fact that the asteroid is on a collision
course with Earth."

"What are you talking about?" Lois said. If Lex was fishing for
information, if he had heard a rumor or something, she wasn't
about to give him confirmation.

"It's not public knowledge yet. But I know you, Lois. If anyone
has a gift for uncovering information that isn't public
knowledge, it's you."

"If it isn't public knowledge, how do you know about it?"

"I take care to ensure that I'm well informed about anything of
significance that is happening. And this is significant, don't
you think? Anyway, in case you didn't know, the scientists at
EPRAD are saying that when the asteroid hits the Earth, it will
likely destroy all life here."

"So why are you telling me this?"

"I wanted to show you this place." He walked over to a mounted
sketch of the facility in which they were standing. "We've got
room here for two hundred people, supplies to last three years,
tools and implements for farming and manufacture for when we
reemerge."

"So if the world dies, you live?" She felt vaguely sick. Less
than an hour before, she'd been arguing with a man who was the
exact opposite - willing to give his life that the world might
live. How could the two men in her life be such complete
opposites? And why was it that she'd never noticed that before?

"The survival of the species doesn't depend on the survival of
all of its members," Luthor continued, oblivious to her thoughts.
"In fact, were the dinosaurs possessed of a somewhat larger
brain, they too might have survived their fate. Fortunately for
us, they didn't. But now, the chance is ours."

She felt a moment of admiration. He could almost make this
flagrant attempt to save his own ass seem... almost honorable.
She watched as he moved over to a fresh bouquet of flowers,
picked up a pair of scissors and cut one for her. Why was it that
she suddenly suspected he would have fresh flowers in this place
during the entire time he was forced to live there?

"Did you want me to write about this?" she asked, trying to
figure out why she was being shown all of this.

"No. No. I seek no publicity. In fact, considering the
circumstances, I think advertising the existence of a place like
this might be somewhat cruel."

She bit her tongue on the immediate thought that it might also
have millions scrambling to get into this 'ark' of his. Or,
should the asteroid strike, notify people that food and supplies
could be found down there. "So why am I here?"

He looked as if he had been waiting for the question. However,
instead of answering, he led her further down the hall, opened a
door and gestured her inside.

"This is my apartment," she gasped when she saw the furniture,
the pictures, every single detail of her apartment recreated in
the midst of this sterile environment.

"Well, at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. I hope you like
it."

"Of course I like it. I decorated it." She sunk down onto 'her'
couch, suddenly feeling slightly violated. To her knowledge, Lex
had only been in her apartment once - and that was only for a
matter of minutes. And yet somehow, he'd managed to have her
apartment recreated down to the smallest detail. She pushed her
revulsion aside to concentrate on what she needed to know. "But
I'm a little confused."

"I'm offering you a chance, Lois, to become a passenger on this
ark. To be my special guest on mankind's next great adventure."

"Lex, why me?" She suddenly felt a little suspicious - although
she wasn't entirely sure what she thought Lex was guilty of.

"Because I care. And because I must admit that three years will
be a long time without... companionship."

The color drained out of Lois' face and she refused to meet his
eyes. She wasn't under any illusion about what he meant by
'companionship.' Essentially, he was asking her to sell herself
to him in exchange for her life, to become his... paramour.

"May I send someone to pack your personal belongings?"

Clark! Thoughts of him instantly sprang to mind. Even if she was
mad at him at the moment... furious actually... there was no way
she'd leave him behind. For a moment, she was tempted to ask Lex
if she could bring Clark with her. Clark would never come. She
knew that. Even if he were unable to stop the asteroid, he'd be
out there, trying to save whatever lives he could. And she would
never leave him behind. Still, she almost burst out laughing at
the mere thought of Lex's response to such a request. 'Certainly
you can bring Kent. I never object to my paramours bringing their
boyfriends along.'

"What's so funny?" he asked, obviously realizing that she was
fighting back laughter.

"Nothing. It's just... well, I can't stay here."

"Surely you'd not allow a meaningless affair with someone like
Kent to cause you to sacrifice your own life?"

"It's not meaningless. And how did you know that I'm involved
with Clark?" Lois was suddenly on her feet as the question, and
its possible implications, penetrated her brain.

"You haven't exactly been... discreet."

Lois felt the old insecurity surface - the fear of losing her
status as one of the most driven, dedicated reporters in the
world; finding herself the laughing stock of the press corps; a
sex kitten, like Cat, that no one would ever take seriously
again. She quickly forced those feelings aside. "Have you been
spying on me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I just don't want you to throw your life
way on account of someone like Kent. And that's exactly what
you'll be doing if you turn down my offer because of a temporary
infatuation with that giblet."

"Giblet? Giblet? Clark is the most remarkable man I've ever met!
I'm lucky he's even interested in me! And how dare you..." Anger
cut off her words. Okay, so maybe Clark was a mutton-headed dolt
at times, but... he was her mutton-headed dolt. And furthermore,
she was the only one who had the right to insult him like that!

"Come on, Lois. I know you. You aren't the type to settle for a
house in the suburbs and the two point four kids that go along
with it. Living from paycheque to paycheque. Having Kent trying
to support you while you stay home to raise the kids. Never quite
making ends meet. You were meant for greatness. All Kent has to
offer is a life filled with the mundane. Besides, is Kent so
selfish that he'd prevent you from saving your own life? If he
really cared about you, he'd tell you that I'm offering you a
chance to live."

Lois shot him a look that could freeze water. "I'm leaving now,"
she announced before, without a backward glance, leaving the room
and heading towards the elevators. She only hoped Lex would let
her leave as it suddenly occurred to her that no one, not even
Clark, knew she was there. Her heart pounded painfully as every
second seemed to take forever. She needed to get out. Whether he
knew it or not, Clark needed her help - and she wasn't going to
be able to get it for him if she was trapped in this dungeon.

As she pushed the button for the elevator, she heard Lex approach
her from behind. She was certain her blood pressure rose yet
again. She stared intently at the elevator doors, silently
willing them to open.

"If you change your mind," she heard Lex say, "the offer will
remain open. But ask yourself this, Lois: are you really so
determined to die with your lover?"

The elevator doors opened, allowing her to step inside. Once
inside, she turned, watching with relief as Lex made no move to
stop the elevator doors from closing. She raised her face,
breathing hard, as she silently watched the numbers as the
elevator took her back to the surface. She could only hope he
didn't have men at the surface waiting to take her back into that
prison.

* * * * * * * * *

"That's a tough one, son," said Jonathan when Clark had finished
filling them in on the Nightfall asteroid and EPRAD's request of
him.

"Are you sure that this is the only way to solve the problem?"
asked Martha. "I mean, you might have incredible strength, but
this seems... just a little drastic. Surely there is another way
you can keep the asteroid from destroying the Earth."

"Now you're sounding like Lois," said Clark.

"Lois?" Martha looked over at her husband briefly. "Superman was
talking to Lois about this?"

"Oh, right," said Clark. "I haven't had a chance to tell you yet.
But... Lois knows."

"Knows what?" asked Jonathan.

"You know... that I'm Superman."

His parents shared another look.

"Don't worry. She won't tell anyone," said Clark, trying to
alleviate his parents' fears.

"No, it's not that," said Martha. "It's just... well, we were
under the distinct impression when you were here with her a
couple months ago that you didn't want her to know."

Clark shrugged. "It wasn't exactly my intention to tell her. But
when we were trying to get away from the kidnappers last week, I
sort of gave myself away."

"Is this a good thing?" asked Jonathan.

Clark shifted shyly.

"Of course it is, Jonathan," Martha replied. "Can't you tell? Our
boy's in love."

"Mom," groaned Clark.

"Are you sure she's not just... wanting to be with Superman?"
asked Jonathan. "I mean, from what you've told us, she's been
pretty infatuated with Superman since he first appeared on the
scene."

"I'm sure, dad. We spent last weekend together and... yeah, mom's
right. I'm definitely in love. And I think she might be falling
in love with me, too."

"So what does she have to say about all this Nightfall stuff?"
asked Martha.

"She seems convinced that there is something... underhanded going
on here. But she doesn't have any evidence to back up her claim.
She doesn't even have a good reason for her suspicions. I think
she is just worried about whether I will survive if I try to
destroy Nightfall."

"I'd say that's a legitimate worry," said Jonathan. "I can't say
I feel really good about it myself. Do you really think you can
do it?"

"I don't think I have a choice - not when the only other option
is to let everyone on Earth die. Let's say I don't do this and
all life on Earth is destroyed. Even if you don't consider the
loss of life, I'm not sure I would want to survive - live on this
planet without anyone else. I'm just not sure..."

"What?"

"Well, this whole thing has made me wonder if it's fair for me to
get involved with Lois. Is it fair of me to expect Lois to have
to deal with Superman? I've made myself a target. Even if I don't
die, can I really take the risk that someone will find out who I
am and take out their revenge on Lois? Or is it fair to her to
have to watch the man in her life put his life on the line for
strangers - never knowing when or if he's going to make it home
alive. She deserves someone she can count on - not someone who
can be called away at a moment's notice."

"Ahh, well, that's not really a question we can answer, son,"
said Jonathan.

"But don't you think this is something you should be discussing
with Lois?" added Martha. "She's a grown woman. She knows what
she can and cannot live with."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois was part way back to the surface when she was hit by the
stupidity of her sudden fears. She had no idea what had come over
her. She'd known Lex for a number of months now. She'd gone out
with him several times. He was a well respected businessman. So
what exactly had she expected him to do? Had she really expected
him to hold her there against her will? Suddenly, the entire idea
seemed ridiculous and she found herself laughing.

She'd panicked - although why she wasn't entirely certain. And as
a result, she hadn't managed to accomplish what she had come for.
So now what did she do? After her call to Star Labs, she knew her
best chance of finding a scientist who could help her was Lex -
given his connection to Lex Labs. Star Labs and Lex Labs were the
two most prominent scientific research facilities on the east
coast. And Lex should be able to contact a scientist or two who
were familiar with astronomy, someone who could help her save
Superman.

She cringed. After the way she'd behaved in the bunker, she
wasn't entirely sure he would help. And there was a part of her
that was too humiliated to ask. But this was too important to let
her ego stand in the way of getting the information she needed.

She stepped out of the elevator and headed over to a chair in the
lobby, waiting for Lex to make his way out of the bunker. As
foolish as she might feel asking him now, she needed his help.
And surely, for the sake of saving both the world and Superman,
he would help her - no matter how he might regard her after her
unreasonable behavior.

"Lois?"

Lois' head snapped up at the sound of Lex's voice saying her
name. She hadn't heard the elevator doors opening.

"I hadn't expected you to be here waiting for me," he said. "I
thought I'd spooked you somehow."

"It wasn't you, Lex," she responded, although even now she felt a
weird crawling sensation on the back of her neck. "I just... I
guess I'm a little more stressed out about this whole asteroid
thing than I like to think I am."

"That's understandable."

"Anyway, the reason I waited was... well, the truth is Lex, I
need your help."

She pushed away the unsettling feeling his resulting smile
provoked in her. Why hadn't she noticed before the number of
underlying meanings that seemed to exist behind his smile?

He took her arm, helping her to rise from her chair. "So what can
I do to help?"

* * * * * * * * *

Clark made his way through the skies of Metropolis doing his
regular patrol. But the city seemed at peace this evening - the
calm before the storm. The same couldn't be said for him. Telling
his parents about his upcoming mission had not managed to
alleviate his personal fears. Not that he had told them of his
fears, any more than he had told Lois. Still, both seemed to
sense that he had serious concerns about ability to survive his
task.

What he didn't understand was why he had these fears. After all,
he'd been in potentially deadly situations before. Trask with the
kryptonite. Stopping his first missile. Walking into a nuclear
power plant to shut it off. Each of these situations had called
for him to test his powers. So what was it about this situation
that was causing so much fear?

'You've got more to live for now.' The little voice in the back
of his mind was right. Lois. For the first time in his life, he
was seeing a home, a place where he belonged, a future. The idea
of losing all that when he'd just found it... The truth was that
for the first time in his life, living mattered.

He sighed, changing directions so that soon he was flying high
above Lois' apartment. He quickly x-rayed the building. When he
didn't spot her inside, he headed towards the Daily Planet. He
needed her tonight. He wanted, even if just for a few hours, to
forget about tomorrow and what that might bring and get lost in
her arms. He let out a breath when his search of the Daily Planet
also turned up nothing. Where could she be?

* * * * * * * * *

Lois leaned back in her chair, raised her face to the ceiling and
let out a primal scream. "Don't give me that crap again, Dr.
Samba! There has to be another way."

"I don't know what you want me to say," Samba responded. "Since
Mr. Luthor contacted me with your request, I've been studying the
information he got from EPRAD. And they are right. There is no
other way to stop the asteroid."

"What about having Superman fly out to the asteroid and plant
explosives - you know, like the movie Armageddon?"

"Ooo, the one with Bruce Willis? I loved that movie."

"Dr. Samba, please. Just answer the question. Could it work?"

"The only explosive that would be powerful enough would have to
be atomic."

"So... Superman flies some sort of atomic devise to..."

"But as I said before, that would be unwise."

"And how is that?" Lois asked. She knew the answer. He had
explained the whole thing to her several times already. But there
had to be a way for Superman to accomplish this task without such
a risk to his life. Maybe if she heard him explain it to her
again, she'd see the way around it.

"The risk of nuclear fallout would be unacceptable."

"How is that possible? The asteroid is still... what? A million
miles away? Surely..."

"We have no way to know for sure how radiation will react in
space. If particles from the asteroid do make it to Earth, we
have no way to know how much damage could be done from such
radiation. Superman can achieve the explosion necessary without
taking that risk."

"All right. Let's assume the worst-case scenario if an atomic
bomb was used. What are we talking about here?"

"The total annihilation of all life on Earth, slowly, painfully,
from radiation poisoning."

Lois closed her eyes and dropped her chin onto her chest. Maybe
Clark was right. Maybe she had just been hoping for another way
to save the Earth. Maybe she was emotionally too close to this
issue. "And Superman?" she asked without opening her eyes. "What
are his chances of surviving this mission?"

"Well, they say he is invulnerable. So I imagine he'll be just
fine."

Was that what everyone was thinking? Was it possible that in the
few months since Superman's first appearance, people had simply
come to accept that he could do anything? Were they taking
unacceptable risks with Superman's life rather than even
considering other solutions? Or was she just too personally
involved here? After all, Dr. Samba worked for Lex Labs. He had
no reason to support the claims made by EPRAD about the lack of
any other means of stopping Nightfall.

"Well, thanks anyway, Dr. Samba," Lois said rising to her feet
and heading for the door. It was time for her to go home - maybe
Clark would be waiting for her there. She certainly hoped so.

"Was Dr. Samba helpful?"

Lois blinked when she saw the man standing in the doorway. "I
thought you'd gone home, Lex. How long have you been there?"

"Not long. I had an all night meeting. I just thought I'd stop by
to see if I could be of any further assistance."

Lois gave him a sad smile. "No. I think I found out what I needed
to know."

"Can I get someone to give you a ride home?"

Lois shook her head. "I'm going to stop by the Planet before
going home. I've got a couple things to clear up there before
covering EPRAD's announcement about the asteroid tomorrow
morning."

"Then I'll get someone to take you to the Planet. Is there anyway
you might have reconsidered my offer of a place on the ark -
given what you know now?"

She tilted her head to the side, studying him intently for a
moment. There was something... She shook the disturbing feeling
from her mind. Lex had been more than helpful with her
investigation tonight. There was no point in telling him, once
again, how much his previous offer still troubled her. "Thanks
anyway, Lex. But I think I'll take my chances on the outside.
Hey, I haven't given up on Superman yet," she said, trying to
lighten the mood.

He let out a breath. "Well, then let me get you that ride."

* * * * * * * *

After a quick stop to rescue a cat from a tree, Clark landed on
the balcony of his apartment, spun out of the Superman suit and
stepped inside. He'd been unable to find Lois anywhere. Not that
that meant anything. After all, she was Lois. And that meant she
could be anywhere - literally. Still, he really could have used
some time with her.

Sighing, he made his way to his bedroom, took a pad of paper and
a pen from the nightstand beside his bed. Making his way to the
kitchen, he sat down at the table and began to write.

'This is the last will and testament of me, Clark Kent...'

* * * * * * * * *

Lois was more anxious than she could say to wrap up things at the
Daily Planet and head home. She hoped Clark had decided to wait
for her there. She supposed if he hadn't, she could go to his
place. After all, she wanted more than anything to let him know
that she understood. Dating Superman might be difficult. If she'd
learned anything in the past twenty-four hours, it was that.
Still, she'd never actually considered before this past week that
he could be hurt or killed. That was why she was so terrified of
having him fly into space on a mission which could very well
result in his death.

She found it slightly ironic, given the number of times she'd
fantasized about having a relationship with the Man of Steel,
that it should be Superman with whom she should now fear getting
involved - not Clark. Not only did she understand that, should he
survive this mission, there would undoubtedly be many times when
she would have to wait and worry about whether he would survive a
rescue or would die at the hands of some force beyond her ability
to control. She also understood that there would be many times,
like today, although that was not a good example since he had not
needed to leave her behind when meeting with the EPRAD officials,
when he would take off at a moment's notice to do what only he
could do. It would require sacrifice and unconditional love. Was
Lois Lane capable of such unselfish love?

Still, it was not fair of her to let him know how scared she was
about this mission. She could no more cease to be Lois Lane, with
everything that entailed, than she could ask him to quit being
Superman. He needed her love and support, not her fears, to be
the last thing on his mind as he flew out into space. Her mission
to find another way to deal with Nightfall might have failed, but
that didn't mean there was nothing she could do. Her entire mind
now focused on what needed to be done - and telling Clark that
she loved him was on the very top of that list. As for the
rest... Well, she would just have to take that one step at a
time.

She didn't wait for the chauffeur to open the door to the limo.
The instant the car pulled to a stop in front of the Daily
Planet, she opened the door and stepped out. She needed to leave
a note for Perry to let him know she wouldn't be in before the
press conference tomorrow morning - a press conference EPRAD
hadn't even announced yet. Then she planned to head home as
quickly as possible.

"Do you wish me to wait for you, miss?" asked the driver. "Mr.
Luthor told me to put myself at your disposal for as long as you
need me."

She was about to tell him she could find her own way home when
she suddenly decided differently. Calling a cab and waiting for
it to arrive would take time - time she... they didn't have.
Ironic that Lex was the one making it easier for her to spend the
short amount of time she had left with Clark. Given Lex's
comments earlier, she had no doubt that Lex felt about Clark much
the way that Clark felt about Lex. No love loss there. "Wait for
me. I'll only be a few minutes."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark finally put down his pen and picked up the paper. Leaning
back in his chair, he read through it one last time before
crinkling up the paper. He couldn't do it. After many attempts,
he'd finally realized that there was simply no way he could say
goodbye to Lois. Even though he was a writer, no words could
adequately express his feelings for her, his hopes for their
future. And even if he could, would it be fair to tell Lois about
those hopes and dreams when they could never be? Maybe there were
some things better left unsaid.

Tossing his final attempt to write a letter to Lois in the
direction of the garbage can, he used a little super breath to
ensure it reached its destination. Rising to his feet, he picked
up his will. He stared at it for a long moment. It would be easy
for Lois or his parents to find it if he left it on the table. On
the other hand, there was always the possibility that someone
else would find it if he left it in such a public place. Still,
what were the chances that someone would break into his place
between now and the time that he returned from destroying the
asteroid - assuming he did?

No. He really didn't want to take that chance. He stuck his will
in a plastic bag before sticking it in his fridge. Someone
breaking and entering probably wouldn't raid his fridge. At least
he hoped not. On the other hand, Lois would probably end up in
his apartment at some point if he didn't return. And if she did,
she'd end up looking for a cream soda at some point - always
assuming she still wanted anything to do with him. Or his mother
would undoubtedly clean out his fridge. Either way, one of them
would find his will.

Satisfied with his decision, he spun back into his suit and
headed towards Lois' apartment. Even if she wasn't home yet, she
likely would be soon. And he really wanted to see her one last
time before he had to leave. He needed to know at the very least
that she didn't hate him for doing this.

* * * * * * * * *

"Ms Lane, you're still here?"

Lois stopped when she heard the older security guard at the front
counter address her. "Yeah, Willie. I'm still around. I just had
a couple of things to finish up before heading home. Why?"

"Well, about five minutes ago, some scientist over at Star Labs
called."

"What?" asked Lois, instantly changing directions to head towards
Willie. He wasn't much of a security guard and Lois had to wonder
why Perry had recommended him for the job. But he was always
friendly. And it wasn't as if most people were looking to break
into the Daily Planet these days. The computers and other
equipment were too old to be of much value. "Did he leave a
message?"

"Yeah. I got it here somewhere." Willie began rustling through
papers on his desk before he found what he was looking for.

Lois practically ripped the paper out of his hands. It was from
someone named Dr. Bernard Klein. "Heard you needed to talk to a
scientist about Nightfall. Said he might be able to help you,"
Lois read. Without asking for permission, she grabbed Willie's
phone and punched in the number on the message.

Only a minute later, Lois was on her way out of the Daily Planet,
all thoughts of going home wiped from her mind. Dr. Klein had
apparently been working late at the lab. And although astronomy
was not his specialty, he had been fascinated by Nightfall's
appearance yesterday morning. So with no more than a passing
glance at the time, she headed back to the limo Lex had put at
her disposal.

* * * * * * * * *

"So they told you it was headed for Earth?" asked Dr. Klein.

Lois nodded. "I even confirmed that with a scientist from Lex
Labs."

"Hmph."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing. I wonder where I went wrong in my
calculations," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. So what's their solution?"

"They want Superman to go into space and, flying into the
asteroid at full speed, pulverize it."

"Hmph."

"What?" asked Lois.

"Nothing."

"Dr. Klein, is that really all you have to say? Because I really
don't have time to play games here."

"Well, I'm no expert, but... Well, just give me a few minutes to
make some calculations."

* * * * * * * * *
TUESDAY
* * * * * * * * *

Superman's mind was distracted as he stood, allowing the
scientists at EPRAD to do... well, whatever they were doing.
Instead, he was concentrating on the crowd of reporters and
television cameras that had gathered outside EPRAD, looking for
one reporter in particular. But try as he might, he couldn't see
her. He couldn't hear her heartbeat. He couldn't smell her
shampoo.

"This will be your communications link to Ground Control," said
one of the men, placing some sort of headset on him. "We'll be
able to hear everything you say and we'll be able to uplink our
response through the satellite."

"Sound check, Superman," said a voice on the other end of
Superman's ear-piece.

"Testing, testing," Superman obediently replied as he continued
to search the crowd.

"Now we're assuming you'll be out there longer than the twenty
minutes you say you can hold your breath. This should provide you
with enough oxygen for your trip." The man helped attach the
small oxygen tanks to Superman's chest.

"Thank you," Superman replied, still not taking his eyes off the
crowd. Surely she wasn't so angry with him that she would fail to
come, at least stand in the crowd, wish him luck, let him know by
her expression that she didn't hate him. She would come. He just
had to wait.

"It's time, Superman."

The words brought Superman's attention back to the man speaking.
"I just need..." His voice trailed off. He just needed to look
into Lois' eyes. He just needed to see her love and trust in him
one more time. But there wasn't time. He gave a small nod,
turning his mind to what needed to be accomplished.

"Superman!"

Superman turned towards the woman's voice to see a good-looking
woman with strawberry blonde hair.

"Linda King. LNN," the woman said, pushing her way through the
police barrier.

The action brought a small smile to Superman's face. In some
obscure way, she sort of reminded him of Lois - determined,
pushy, uncompromising. His smile faded and a darkness settled on
his face when he recalled the estrangement between him and Lois.
Was she really so angry with him that she couldn't even be
bothered coming to see him off?

"The world's watching, Superman," Linda King continued. "Do you
have any last minute words for us?" She thrust a microphone in
his face.

"I'll do my best," Superman responded before looking around one
last time, hoping to spot Lois.

* * * * * * * * *

"Come on. Come on. Come on." Lois mumbled the entire time the
taxi pushed its way through the crowded streets of Metropolis.
What was it about people that induced them to clog up the streets
in the event of an emergency? Didn't they know how important it
was for her to make it to EPRAD before Superman took off?

After her conversation with Dr. Klein, she'd tried calling EPRAD.
Unfortunately, it seemed everyone was too busy to come to the
phone. But Dr. Klein's plan, even though he'd prefaced everything
he said with, 'of course, I'm no expert,' made sense to Lois. Dr.
Klein had even worked out the details. Instead of trying to
destroy the asteroid - and risk both Superman's life and the
possibility of some of the larger pieces still being a threat to
Earth - Dr. Klein seemed certain that Superman could push the
asteroid off its present course. A simple nudge - at least a
simple nudge for Superman - was all that would be required to
change the asteroid's trajectory, sending it harmlessly past the
Earth.

She had no idea why the experts at EPRAD hadn't thought of the
idea themselves. Of course, they seemed to think Superman could
do anything - so why would they even be considering other
options. But she had all the specs from Dr. Klein. It had taken
them the remainder of the night, but he was as certain as someone
who was not an expert in astronomy could possibly be about his
figures. Now all Lois needed to do was to get the plans to Clark.
He could confirm Klein's figures with the EPRAD scientists - save
the Earth and not risk his life. Her only problem was getting
there in time.

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 3: PRIMAL FEAR
* * * * * * * * *

The taxi inched slowly forward. Taking a look outside the cab,
Lois realized she was only a couple of blocks from EPRAD.
Grabbing some money from her wallet, she tossed it to the cabby
and crawled quickly out of the cab. "I'll walk from here," she
said, taking off at a run towards her destination.

When she'd heard Linda King's question on the radio in the cab,
she had instantly fumed. Linda King. A miserable part of her past
had picked the worst possible time to rear its ugly head. She
hadn't even realized Linda King was back in Metropolis - let
alone taken a job at LNN. Typical. Linda had always been the
television type - all flash and no substance. Still, it must be a
new job or Lois would surely have heard she was working at LNN,
spotted her at news conferences or seen her on television before
now. How could Superman give her a quote? He probably didn't
realize exactly how much of a scum-sucker Linda actually was.
Clark really could be a little naive at times.

Still, now was not the time to be worrying about Linda King.
There were more important issues - including getting her
information to Clark.

She spotted a crowd of reporters up ahead and rushed towards it.
Pushing her way to the front of the crowd, she looked around,
desperately searching for that tell-tale red and blue. "Where's
Superman?" she demanded when she didn't see him.

"You're too late, Lois."

Lois bristled, turning around slowly even as she realized who was
addressing her. Her eyes narrowed the instant they landed on
Linda King.

"He just took off. Too bad you didn't get a quote for the Daily
Planet. I'd say you've just been scooped."

Lois rolled her eyes and bit her tongue. After all, getting the
scoop, for the first time in her life, was not Lois' biggest
concern. Besides, the quote Superman had given Linda King had
gone out over the airwaves - so it wasn't exactly a scoop. It was
more accurately a sound bite. Instead, Lois directed her
attention to the sky, trying to see if she could spot Superman.
Wait a minute? What about yelling for him? Given Superman's
hearing, he still might hear her even if she couldn't see him.

"Superman!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I need to talk
to you!" She wondered why the idea to yell for him hadn't come to
her sooner. It was just so hard to think of Clark as Superman.
And so now, as a result of her stupidity, when she really needed
him to hear her, she was too late.

"Give it up, Lois," scoffed a voice behind her. "Face it. You
missed him."

Lois turned and scowled at Linda before walking towards EPRAD.
Maybe there was still a way to get word to Superman. After all,
surely EPRAD officials had some way to keep in touch with
Superman during his mission.

"Professor Daitch," Lois called when she saw a familiar face
conferring with a bunch of others at the doors of the building.
When he looked up, she hurried towards him. "Professor Daitch, do
you have some way of contacting Superman?" she asked. "I really
have to speak to him. It's important."

"Give it up, Lois," Linda said again from behind.

Lois scowled. Did that woman have no shame? When Professor Daitch
began to turn away, seeming to hope that the two women quickly
approaching would keep each other occupied long enough for him to
make his escape, Lois grabbed his arm. "Please, Professor Daitch.
It's urgent."

"Do you really expect Superman to come back just because you were
too late to get a quote, Lois?"

Lois' muscles tensed but she kept her hand and eyes focused on
Professor Daitch.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lane," Daitch finally said, as if realizing that
she wasn't going away until she got an answer. "We really have no
way to contact Superman until this is over."

Lois released his arm, allowing him to hustle towards the
building. She really was too late. She turned her attention from
Daitch, looking up into the sky. "Be careful up there, big guy,"
she whispered.

"Oh, now isn't that touching," Linda King said.

Lois finally spun on her. "Okay, what is it with you?"

"I heard about you and Superman. Every reporter at the Star says
that you think Superman is your personal property. Well, I'm here
to tell you that those days are over."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe the only reason Superman's been giving you the majority of
the Superman quotes is because he's only been on Earth for such a
short period of time - so he's swept off his feet by a moderately
pretty face. Well, those days are over, Lois. From now on, you're
going to have to fight for your Superman... time."

"Is that all you think about? The scoop?"

"Isn't that all you think about? Or are you trying to tell me
there's something of a... personal nature going on between you
and Superman."

"No, of course not," Lois snapped back, suddenly fumbling for
words. "I just had something I wanted to tell him before he left
- that's all."

"What's that, Lois?"

Lois bristled. Linda was better than she had remembered. "I
just... wanted to wish him luck."

Suddenly, Linda's look changed. "No. Really. What was so
important?"

"Nothing," said Lois, quickly turning and walking away.

"Is there something else going on here, Lois?" Linda called after
her. "What do you have?"

Lois ignored her as she stepped into the street to hail a cab.
She really was getting sloppy. She should have simply let Linda
think she was trying to get a quote for her story. As it was,
she'd had to correct Linda. And the last thing either Lois or
Clark needed was to have Linda King digging into her relationship
with Superman.

Still, even that thought didn't stay with her long. She was
simply too concerned about Superman. There was nothing to do now
but to wait and hope that Superman could survive a close
encounter with an asteroid. And if he couldn't... Lois would have
no one to blame but herself. She'd been too late to help
Superman. How had she let that happen?

She gave a small snort. The irony was that not only had her
research failed, but she'd also missed what might very well have
been her last opportunity to spend time with Clark, to tell him
she loved him, to make sure he knew she understood why he had to
go. Instead, he'd left believing she was angry with him. If he
returned, she was never going to get angry with him again.

* * * * * * * * *

The entire newsroom crowded around the various television sets in
the Daily Planet, much like they were doing all around the world,
as the time for Superman to arrive at the asteroid approached.
The sound of keyboards clicking, heels on linoleum floors and
voices fell silent as everyone seemed to hold their collective
breaths, waiting for the moment of truth - the moment where the
Earth would either live or die.

"Several hours ago, Superman said his final goodbyes to the
crowd."

Lois tried to hold back the nausea that rose in her stomach when
Linda King's face appeared on the screen. Right now she was the
best source for information about Superman. And to find out what
was happening with Superman, Lois would even put up with that
whinny voice.

"He was described as calm but determined," Linda continued. "His
last words were, and I'm quoting now, 'I'll do my best.' He took
off. And this time, the entire world was watching.

"I'm being told that we have a live transmission from Superman,"
Linda continued, listening to the small devise in her ear. "We'll
take that live feed from Mission Control."

"I can see it now. In fact, it's hard to see anything else. It's
immense."

Lois instantly recognized the deep voice Clark always used when
in his Superman suit. For a moment, she was distracted, as she
had been several times since she'd found out about the connection
between the two men, by the way she could have so easily been
fooled by his disguise. Then it suddenly hit her. They were
talking to Superman - something Professor Daitch had told her was
impossible. She rushed for a phone. She had to tell him what
she'd learned. She had to prevent him from...

"Roger, Superman, we copy you on the ground. Do you have stress
point acquisition and visual?"

She pulled out a phone book and flipped it open.

"Yes, I do," Superman responded.

"Lois, aren't you watching?" asked Perry.

She ignored the question as she located the number for EPRAD and
began dialing.

"Stand by for a final briefing procedure," said the man from
Mission control over the television.

"Come on. Come on," Lois mumbled into the phone.

"I know what I have to do," Superman responded. "Well, here I
go."

Lifting her head as she listened to the phone ring, she watched
the television.

"Impact in five, four, three, two..."

Silence. The whole newsroom, the whole world, held its breath
waiting for word on what had transpired. Somewhere in the back of
her mind it registered that there was a voice, either real or
recorded, speaking on the other end of the phone line as Lois
slowly hung up the phone.

"This is EPRAD Control. Come in, Superman." There was a long
pause. "Superman, this is EPRAD control. Do you read?" After
another moment came the words Lois was dreading. "We have lost
transmission with Superman."

Everyone, as if of one accord seemed to turn and look at her.
"Well, his microphone went out. He's fine. He has to be." She
looked back at the television screen, her thoughts in complete
and utter turmoil.

"We have word from EPRAD," Linda King said, her hand at her ear
as she listened for the latest update. "They say the asteroid has
been completely destroyed. Superman did it. The mission is being
declared a total success."

"I'd have thought they'd need more time to analyze the debris,"
said Perry.

"And besides, how can it be a total success if they don't know
what happened to Superman?" Jimmy added.

Lois said nothing. She couldn't. She stood in complete stunned
silence, staring at the television screen as everyone began
talking almost at once as excitement over their near death
experience began to permeate their minds.

"Okay, people. We still have a newspaper to get out here," barked
Perry, sending people scurrying back to work. "Lois, I need you
to..."

"Not now, Perry," said Lois, grabbing her coat and heading
towards the elevators. She had to find out what had happened to
Clark. The rest of it was meaningless if he hadn't survived.

* * * * * * * * *

"You're late."

"Sorry," Lois said sheepishly as she slipped into her coveralls,
glad now that she hadn't informed the cleaning company about
their supervisor's drinking problem because obviously he hadn't
realized that she'd done virtually no work the previous night and
had slipped out early. With her undercover disguise still intact,
she hoped to use EPRAD resources to see if they had any idea what
had happened to Superman. Maybe they had been able to track
Superman's descent back to Earth. Maybe they had some idea of
where he might have landed, or, if he was still out there, where
he might be expected to land.

If only she could find some lead, some possible place to search,
she would be there to take him home. After all, it seemed obvious
that now that the threat to Earth had ended, people seemed too
interested in their own close encounter with death to care about
Superman's fate. Her trip over to EPRAD had proven that. Revelers
had already begun to appear in the streets. She doubted the city
would be getting much sleep tonight as the citizens of Metropolis
took to the streets to celebrate their good fortune.

Having finished dressing, she began pushing the cart with the
cleaning supplies down the hall - towards the observatory.
Although the observatory was not on her list of places to clean,
she figured that was her best bet for getting information on
Superman.

She was just nearing the doorway to the observatory when she
heard voices coming from inside. She cautiously made her way
towards the partially open door and snuck a peak inside. She
could see Professor Daitch. Pushing the door further open, she
discovered the man to whom he was speaking was Secretary
Cosgrove.

"Is there any reason to believe anyone is questioning the story
about the asteroid?" asked Cosgrove.

"Lois Lane. A reporter from the Daily Planet. She was wanting to
speak to Superman after he left this morning. I managed to get
rid of her by telling her we had no way to contact Superman. But
I got the distinct impression she knew something. And if she
didn't, that idiot at Mission Control went and broadcasted that
communication with Superman to the whole world."

"Don't worry. We'll handle Ms. Lane. Anything else?"

Daitch shook his head.

"Good. Then we need you to make a second announcement tomorrow."

"What announcement?"

"We need you to tell the world that there is still a piece of
that asteroid heading towards Earth. If Superman is still alive,
we need to flush him out."

"But we already announced..."

Lois gasped and then jumped away from the door when Daitch looked
in her direction.

"What was that?" Cosgrove asked.

"I don't know. No one should be around tonight. I gave everyone
the night off."

Lois darted down the hall, ducking into a nearby office. She got
the door closed and locked just in time to hear someone in the
hall outside. She quickly looked around the darkened room.
Spotting a window, she headed towards it just as she heard
someone try to turn the doorhandle.

"I saw someone go in here."

Lois turned her attention to the window. She managed to get it
open just as she heard the jingle of keys coming from outside.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois held her breath as light appeared around the hinges of the
door to the cupboard she had managed to crawl into. When she'd
heard the jingle of keys and realized she didn't have time to
escape through the window, she'd chosen this as her hiding place.
Her knees were almost touching her chin in the confined space.
Still, hopefully with the open window to distract them, they
wouldn't bother checking cupboards in which no rational person
would ever consider hiding.

Still, she automatically closed her eyes as she heard footsteps
and voices enter the room. She tried to listen, but for some
reason their sound was blotted out by the echo of what she'd
discovered while standing outside the door to the observatory.

Her instincts had been right once again. From the sounds of it,
the entire thing had been an elaborate set-up. There had to be an
asteroid - otherwise how could they have blotted out the sun? But
whether it had even been a threat to Earth was entirely up for
debate at this point. The entire incident had been orchestrated
to get rid of Superman. That was the only way she could find to
interpret the comment about flushing Superman out with an
announcement about a further threat to Earth. They wanted to know
if their plan had succeeded - if Superman was truly dead. What
other interpretation could there possibly be?

But who would do such a thing? Daitch was obviously in on it. And
Secretary Cosgrove. General Zeitlin was likely involved, too. But
there had to be more behind this than just a three person
conspiracy. After all, what motive could any of these three have
on their own for wanting Superman dead? So how were they all
connected - other than that they all had high-level jobs in the
government, of course? Was this some sort of government
conspiracy then? And if so, how far up the chain of command did
it go? Did it reach into the highest levels of government? Who
could she trust? Or could she trust anyone anymore?

She wondered if this was how Woodward and Bernstein felt when
they had first begun to wonder how far up the chain of command
the Watergate conspiracy went. At least Woodward had Bernstein,
and right now Lois' partner was MIA. And where was her 'Deep
Throat?' She was suddenly aware that she had never felt more
alone.

She'd let Clark go. Why hadn't she forced the issue, made him see
that she knew something was wrong? Why had she just stormed out
on him instead of insisting that he go with her to find the
answers they needed? If she had, he would have known that pushing
the asteroid off its trajectory was all that was required of him.
And the conspirator's plans would have been thwarted before they
even got off the ground - so to speak. That must have been the
reason why Daitch had lied to her about being unable to reach
Superman after he lifted off from EPRAD this morning. Of course,
they would have needed a way to keep in touch with Superman, to
follow his progress. How could she have been so gullible?

They also seemed aware that she was snooping around. Not that
that was her primary concern. Her primary concern right now was
to find Superman before they did - assuming he was alive. And, of
course, to find out who was behind this plot against Superman. If
only she had some idea where to start...

It suddenly occurred to Lois that her hiding spot was again dark.
Cautiously she pushed open the door and uncrinkled herself from
her position. Taking a moment to stretch her muscles, she headed
for the window. They must have decided she was gone or that they
were mistaken about seeing someone come into this room. Either
way, now was her chance to escape.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois moved the flowerpot and found the hidden key. Slowly, she
opened the door to Clark's apartment. For a long time, she stood
there, as if simply unable to find the energy to enter through
the open door. When she realized what she was doing, she gave her
head a brief shake, trying to clear the cobwebs which were
clogging up her cognitive abilities, making her unable to process
even the most basic of information.

Putting one foot in front of another, she finally found herself
standing on the top step leading into Clark's apartment. She
wasn't entirely sure what had brought her there. But after she'd
finished writing up the asteroid story for tomorrow's edition of
the Daily Planet, the idea of going home to her lonely
apartment... She simply had been unable to face the prospect.
Besides, if they - whoever 'they' was - were planning to 'handle'
her, it was probably best if she kept from being found - at least
for now. And if Clark made it back to Earth, surely this was
where he would come.

In fact, when she had first approached Clark's apartment, her
heart had been in her throat with the hope that he would already
be there. That hope had been crushed when her taxi had rounded
the corner to discover that Clark's apartment was one of the few
bathed in darkness. Not that she'd really expected him to be
there. Given the length of time it had taken him to get to the
asteroid, he wouldn't be expected to return for a couple more
hours - and that was assuming everything had gone off without a
hitch. Of course, that hadn't stopped her from hoping.

She should have realized that the whole asteroid thing was a
trap. She should have prevented Clark from going into space. She
had realized something wasn't right. But she had ignored her
instincts because there was a part of her that had believed, like
he did, that she was just overreacting due to her fear of losing
the man she loved.

The man she loved. She slowly made her way down the steps into
Clark's apartment, fumbling her way towards his couch to sink
down onto it. She'd never even told him how much she loved him.
Given the way things had gone the last time she'd thought she was
in love, she'd wanted to wait.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Clark loved her. Not really.
She'd just... She wasn't entirely sure what the problem was. But
in some subconscious part of her mind, she was holding back from
him, not wanting to give too much of herself. She was still
protecting her heart. And so she'd let him go to his death with
so many things left unsaid - thinking there would be lots of time
to say those things to him in the future.

Things had not only been left unsaid. There were things, other
things, which had been left undone. Her mind flashed back to the
previous Friday evening.

The slinky little black dress she had chosen for their dinner
alone in the honeymoon suite of the Lexor Hotel had her feeling
utterly desirable. His eyes had been telling her all evening that
he appreciated her choice of attire. His charcoal suit, his
compliment to her little black dress, had made her slightly
breathless.

They'd eaten supper and then kissed on the couch for quite a
while. She'd managed to dispense with his jacket and tie. Then
she'd begun working on the buttons on his shirt until it was
hanging open. She'd explored every inch of his massive chest with
both hands and mouth until it and the sides of his open shirt
were stained with the remnants of her lipstick.

He was slightly more reserved. He always backed off before
finding dangerous territory to explore. Finally, after driving
them both to the point of utter distraction, Lois silently rose
from the couch and held out her hand to him before leading him
towards the bedroom.

Still, neither said a word, communicating in ways that went
beyond words, as he stood in front of her in the half-light at
the doorway to the bedroom. His eyes traveled deliberately down
her body, taking in every line, every curve, as if allowing her
mere appearance to penetrate every fiber of his being. When his
eyes again met hers, she felt an undeniable spark of electricity
jump between them.

Her breathing deepened as she observed his eyes. She'd never seen
them as dark. Gone was her mild mannered partner and in his place
stood a man with depths of passion greater than any she'd ever
seen. He had obviously kept that passion well buried until now,
but with each passing second, it bubbled ever closer to the
surface. His hunger inflamed hers and instinct suddenly took
over.

She growled, grabbing onto his open shirt to pull him to her, her
lips claiming his sending sparks through every quadrant of her
body. He groaned, deep in his throat, a low, guttural sound that
she responded to on some primal level. Pushing her up against the
doorframe and, holding her in place with his body, his lips left
hers to begin running over her throat.

"Oh, god, Clark," she groaned, fisting her hands in his hair in a
way she suspected would be painful for an ordinary man as she
leaned her head against the doorframe behind her. But even if she
had wanted to, she wasn't sure she would have had the power to
release her painful grasp as he continued to use lips, tongue and
teeth to provoke the most intense feelings she'd ever
experienced. At some point during the evening, his powers must
have returned for he made no complaint about her continued grip
on his hair.

Her right foot left the floor so that she could run it up the
back of his leg. His hand slipped down her side to pull her leg
further around him.

"Are you sure you want..." He forced out the gasped words.

She pulled his mouth back to hers, cutting off his words. She
didn't want to hear them. She didn't want to think. She wanted to
feel. And what she did feel... A hoarse growl rose in the back of
her throat which she couldn't completely fight back. It spoke of
desire. Of want. But more than that, it spoke of need, pure and
simple. She needed him.

His hands slipped under her legs, picking her up so that her legs
were wrapped around him even as he moved them over so that he
could push her against the slightly more comfortable surface of
the wall.

Suddenly, his head snapped up.

"What?" she panted.

He looked back at her, anguish clearly written on his face. "I
just..."

She closed her eyes. "Your powers... they're back... aren't
they?" she asked between gasped breaths.

Given how close they were, she could feel him nod as his hand
slipped from between her legs. She instantly felt... almost
relieved. She squirmed out of his arms until she could put her
trembling legs beneath her, leaning against the wall in the hope
that her legs would hold her weight. "What do you hear?" she
asked, not meeting his eyes.

"Train accident."

"Go."

"But..."

"Go."

He hesitated for a moment more before stepping back, giving her
some breathing room. She finally looked up, just in time to see
him spin into the Superman suit. At his grin, probably a response
to the stunned look she knew must be on her face, she again
diverted her gaze.

"Lois?" he asked.

"Just... go." She gathered her courage, meeting his eyes. "We'll
talk later," she promised, forcing a reassuring smile onto her
face.

Her smile seemed to relax him. He gave a brief nod and a moment
later only a gust of wind announced his departure.

Lois snapped back to her present surroundings. Friday night. Had
that really only taken place four days ago? It felt like an
eternity, another lifetime. A lifetime in which she had thought
her time with Clark was unlimited.

The rest of the weekend had been great. Still, never again had
she allowed things to get quite so intense. They'd kissed and
cuddled, but she had always kept him at arms' length.

Feeling utterly wretched, she rose from the couch and wandered
into the kitchen, intent on searching his fridge to raid his
never-ending supply of diet cream soda. She gave her head a
slight shake. He had kept a supply of her favorite cold beverage
since she'd first started coming over to his apartment. Just one
more way he'd been telling her how he felt about her. Why hadn't
she been listening?

Opening the door to the fridge, her eyes landed on a can of cream
soda. As she was reaching for it, she noticed a plastic bag lying
on top. Redirecting her hand, she pulled out the bag, noting as
she did so, that it contained a document of some sort. When she
realized what she was holding, all thoughts of getting a cream
soda were instantly banished. She stumbled back, absently seeking
a chair at his kitchen table. But she didn't make it to a chair.
Instead she sank to the floor, still grasping the ghastly
document in her hands.

She had no doubt, given where she'd found it, that he must have
written it the previous night. She closed her eyes, doubling over
as if in pain, when the implications of the document really set
in. He had known this was a suicide mission - and had used his
final night to ensure his affairs were in order. "No!" she cried
out to the deafening silence around her before dissolving in
tears.

She'd been such a fool. She'd had her chance. Her chance to know
what it was really like to make love and she'd thrown it away.
He'd seemed to understand instinctively and had never again let
things get out-of-control himself. But none of that stopped her
from needing him now. What if she'd lost him and never had the
chance to let him know... to surrender herself completely to
another human being... to let herself feel what she had always
believed would be forever denied to her?

Was this how Clark had felt when he thought he'd lost her and had
never told her how he felt about her? She suddenly understood how
the events of the last week had changed him, changed his
willingness to be vulnerable, to make it clear that he was in
love with her even if she never reciprocated his feelings. She
would give anything to relive Friday night when he had returned
from his Superman rescue.

"How'd it go?" She'd been unable to look at him when he'd
returned some hours later, still dressed in the Superman outfit.
The time he'd been away had given her time to think. And she'd
realized that she was in over her head. And although it might
have felt... good, she still couldn't shake the feeling of relief
she'd had when he'd been called away. "Would you like something
to drink?"

She rose from the couch, making her way over to the bar and
beginning to explore it as if seeing it for the first time.

"No. I'm fine," said Clark.

She could hear the confusion in his voice. She immediately turned
towards him, attempting a smile to assuage his fears. Still, she
was unable to continue looking at the demigod standing near her.

"What's wrong, Lois?"

"Nothing."

"Lo-is?"

She glanced at him again. "Do you mind changing out of that
suit?" she finally asked, not meeting his eyes.

There was a moment of silence before she heard the spin she'd
seen earlier. When it finally stopped she glanced back at him,
letting out an unconscious breath of relief when he was again
standing in front of her dressed as Clark - his charcoal trousers
and white shirt. His jacket and tie were gone, but unlike when
she'd last seen him in his Clark clothes, his shirt was done up.

She finally met his eyes, giving him a soft, unspoken apology -
although not understanding exactly the reasons for that apology.

"It's the Superman thing, isn't it?" His tone held no sign of
ridicule, although she couldn't miss the sadness in his voice.

"No. Of course not." It never even occurred to her that he was
responding to something she had never verbalized, as if he'd
somehow read her thoughts.

"Lois." The single word was uttered softly.

She met his eyes. Was that what had spooked her so badly? It
wasn't as if she was a virgin, after all. He was the virgin in
this relationship, and he hadn't seemed to be having any problems
catching on.

So what was it? Was it his sudden change earlier that had
reminded her that not only were things getting... intense with
Clark, but that she was on the verge of taking Superman to bed?
Was that what had caused her to panic? Maybe. Maybe it was a
mixture of things. Maybe it was the knowledge that, in the past,
crossing that final intimacy threshold was always the beginning
of the end of a relationship. Maybe it was the idea that she not
only had to worry about pleasing Clark, she had to worry about
whether or not she'd be enough to satisfy Superman. Maybe it was
her fear of... needing someone. After all, she doubted she'd ever
forget the powerful feelings of need she'd experienced earlier.
Needing someone could only end one way - in disaster. Maybe if
she thought if she could control that aspect of their
relationship, she couldn't need him as much. Whatever it was, she
no longer knew.

"Listen," said Clark, closing the distance between them. "Why
don't we just slow things down a little? I mean, things were
moving a little... fast there - even for me."

She crinkled her eyebrows in question.

"Not that I minded," Clark said, a disarming, lopsided grin
appearing on his handsome face.

She let out a breath, moisture accumulating in the corners of her
eyes. "I'm sorry, Clark."

"I'm not," he responded, surprising her. "Hey, we're here. We
have the whole weekend, just to get to know each other. And I got
to tell you... holding you, being able to kiss you and touch
you..." He sucked in a breath through his teeth, provoking a
genuine smile from her. "But I don't want just a weekend. I
want... so much more." He gave a small shrug. "So why don't I
stay on the couch - that is assuming you still want me to stay
here?"

"Of course I do."

"Good. And we can talk, and... I think I even saw a few games
around here. We can just get to know each other on a good casual
basis - and then take it from there. What do you say?"

She smiled, surprised yet again at how he could see through her
fears and put all of them to rest. At the time, she'd felt good.
And it had been a remarkable weekend. Lots of talking. Lots of
kidding around. Lots of fun. Even lots of kissing and cuddling.
And by the end of the weekend, she had begun to think that maybe
she might have been ready to take things a little farther. But
they'd settled into a comfortable pattern and she didn't have the
nerve to let Clark know that she was ready for more.

Oh how she wished now that she hadn't panicked. She loved him.
She loved him more completely than she had ever thought she could
love. Oh, sure. She'd read the romance novels. There was even
part of her that was a hopeless romantic. But although she'd
dreamed of finding that one great love that would change
everything, she'd never really thought she would.

She picked herself off the floor in the kitchen, placed his will
on the table and wandered into the living room. Picking up a
pillow from the end of Clark's couch, she hugged it to her chest
and sank down onto his couch, her thoughts drifting once again.
This time, however, she was in the darkness of space. The
loneliness. The fear. The Earth no more than a bluish ball in the
distance. No air. No warmth. She shivered. Was he still alive,
out there somewhere, fighting desperately to get back to her? Was
he dead, drifting among the rubble of the asteroid, his last act
one of futility all because she hadn't managed to get to the
truth in time? Had he destroyed an asteroid that was of no threat
to Earth? Had he died for nothing? She was unable to prevent the
sob that rose in the back of her throat as the previous tears
threatened to overtake her once again.

What had she done? She'd held back from him when he'd given
everything for her, for her world. Even when he'd begged her to
stay with him last night, she'd left, determined to find the
truth. And had she done so, she could have forgiven herself for
leaving him that way. But she'd failed him. When it really
counted, she had failed. She'd found the information that could
save his life but then had completely forgotten that all she had
to do was open the window and yell his name. But then, wasn't
that typical? After all, if there was one thing Lois Lane could
count on it was not saying to Clark the words he needed to hear.
Not even that one phrase he was so desperate to hear. Three
little words. 'I love you.' Simple words really. And yet she'd
been unable to utter them either. She'd been so afraid of getting
hurt, of being disappointed by yet another man that she hadn't
even sent him to his probable death with confirmation that she
returned his feelings.

Her melancholy thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the
phone. Without thinking about how someone might react to her
answering Clark's phone, and instead clinging to the hope that
Clark might have made it back and be calling for her help, she
grabbed the phone, gasping out her greeting even before she had
it to her ear.

"Oh, hi, Martha." Her voice dropped perceptibly in
disappointment.

"I take it you haven't heard from Clark yet," came Martha's
equally subdued response on the other end of the line. Obviously,
neither woman was speaking to the one person from whom they
wanted to hear.

Lois let out a breath. She hadn't spoken to Clark's parents since
she'd found out that Clark was Superman. She hadn't even been
sure that Clark had told his parents that she knew. There simply
hadn't been time. Martha's question made it clear that he had
talked to them. "No. But then, given the length of time it took
him to get to the asteroid, I really wouldn't have expected him
back yet." She'd been telling herself that since overhearing the
comments about Superman at EPRAD - but she couldn't say she
really believed it. "But there's something you need to know."

"What?" asked Jonathan, informing Lois that he too was on the
line.

"Well, I did find out something. And it's not good news."

"What?" There was a slight tremor in Martha's voice.

"I snuck into EPRAD - hoping they might have some information on
Superman's whereabouts."

"And?"

Lois let out a breath, not entirely sure how much to tell her
boyfriend's parents. Did Martha and Jonathan really need to know
that Nightfall might not even have been a danger to Earth? Would
it be fair to let them know that their son had possibly died for
nothing? "I found out that someone involved in this mission had
hoped that Superman would die trying to destroy the asteroid."

"Do you think they did something to decrease his chances of
survival?" asked Martha.

"I don't know. I suppose they might have, but... I really don't
know. Right now I'm just hoping they didn't succeed."

"Did they have any information that might lead you to find out
what happened to Clark?" asked Jonathan.

"No. They said something about a plan to try to flush him out if
he's alive - so I guess that means they don't know if he's alive
or..." Her breath caught in her throat, preventing the final word
from escaping. "So I take it if you're calling, it means he
hasn't shown up there either?"

"No. But give him time," said Jonathan, although Lois suspected
he was talking to both her and his wife. "He's a strong man. And
he's got a lot to come back to now."

Lois could feel herself blushing. Obviously, Clark had told his
parents more than just that she knew about Superman.

"Do you need us to come there?" asked Martha.

"Uhh..." Lois hesitated. She might not know Martha and Jonathan
well. Still, she really could use someone to lean on right now -
someone who knew what she knew: that Clark was Superman. "No,"
she finally said. "If he shows up in Kansas and you're not
there... No. It's probably best if you stay there for now."

"You'll let us know if you hear from him?" asked Martha.

"Yes. You'll do the same?"

"Of course."

There was a long moment of tense silence, as if no one knew quite
what to say but were still not willing to let go of the other
people important to the life of the man they all loved before
they finally said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.

* * * * * * * * *

A good-looking teenager with grimy hands and wearing a ratty
over-sized coat slipped into the abandoned alley and leaned
against the wall of a building before reaching into his pocket to
remove a wallet. Opening it, he quickly pulled out the cash
before tossing the wallet towards an overflowing garbage bin. He
smiled. Almost fifty dollars. This partying thing sure was good
for picking up a little wayward cash. The drunken fool he'd
stolen that wallet from would never even know what happened to
it. Besides, Jack had a better use for the money - namely, buying
food for himself and his little brother, Danny.

He was just about to slip back in amongst the revelers when
something in the sky caught his attention. A large ball of fire
was speeding through the sky in his direction. He crouched,
covering his head just as it crashed into the alley, shaking the
ground beneath his feet.

Slowly rising, he inched his way closer to the fire rising from
the hole in the ground. Raising a hand to protect his face from
the heat, he spotted a bright blue suit and red cape amidst the
flames. Superman! He stood transfixed for a moment before
suddenly snapping into action. Tearing the coat off his back, he
began trying to beat out the flames burning up Superman's suit
and cape while trying not to think about what might be happening
to the man inside the suit. Sweat was soon dripping from his nose
and chin as he hit the flames again and again.

When the flames finally died, he saw the now naked man lying in
the hole. Cautiously, he laid his coat aside and approached the
still form, unsure if he was alive or dead. The burn marks,
scratches and blood he could see on the man's body were not as
bad as he would have expected given the fireball the man had been
only moments before. On the other hand, they were worse than what
he would have expected to see on Superman. For a moment, he
wondered if he could somehow have been mistaken about the man's
identity. Still, were he not Superman, could he possibly have
survived that crash to Earth and fire as well as it seemed he
had? Not to mention the flying through the sky thing. Of course,
he'd only seen the fireball at the last moment, so he supposed
the man could have fallen off the roof of one of the adjoining
buildings.

"Hey, you," Jack said. "Are you okay, man?"

When there was no response, Jack crawled further into the hole.

"Hey, are you alive?" he asked, touching the man's shoulder. He
instantly jumped back, his hand burned by the heat still on the
man's skin.

"What's going on in there?"

Jack glanced at the body he thought belonged to Superman one last
time before crawling out of the hole. "Nothing, man," he said to
a drunk standing in the entrance to the alley. He quickly made
his way towards the drunk, leading him out of the alley and back
into the party - lifting his wallet as he did so.

It was a couple of minutes before he was able to shake his new
buddy and make his way back into the alley. He was unsure what to
expect as he approached the hole. What was he to do if Superman
was dead? On the other hand, if he was alive... maybe there was a
reward in this somewhere. He'd have to play it by ear.

The body had not moved since Jack had left. Jack quickly
reentered the hole, crawling down to where the man was lying.
Suddenly, he had to know if he really was looking at Superman. He
looked around him for something, anything that might confirm the
man's identity. Spotting something half buried in the rubble
created by the crash landing, he reached over, pulling out a
piece of fabric and turned it over. He swallowed hard when he
realized what he was holding. "Wow," he breathed.

Most of it had burned away in the fire, but there was no
mistaking what remained of Superman's crest.

Jack rocked back on his heels, watching the still unconscious man
as his mind evaluated the situation. After a time, he came up
with a plan.

* * * * * * * * *

The long, black limo made its way slowly though the noisy crowds
littering the streets of Suicide Slum, pulling to a stop in front
of a deserted alley. The driver's door opened and a tall, elegant
man in a chauffeur's uniform and cap emerged, making his way
immediately to open the door for his employer.

"So exactly why did you call me?" the employer asked Jack.

Jack shrugged. "Word on the streets is that you know Superman.
And I thought..."

"You thought...?"

"Well, I thought you might be willing to pay a reward for finding
him."

"Uhh..."

After a look and a nod from his employer, the chauffeur removed
his wallet, took out a sum of money and handed it to Jack who
immediately began counting it.

"So where is the great man?"

Jack stuck the money in his inside coat pocket and began leading
them further down the alley to the hole in the pavement.

"What's this?"

"Superman," Jack responded, pointing to the man in the hole.

"What makes you think that's Superman?"

"I saw him land in a ball of fire." He pointed to the burn marks
on his coat. "And I found this." Reaching into his pocket, he
removed the remnants of the Superman crest.

After looking the symbol over, the employer handed it to the
chauffeur who also examined it.

"Get him in the car, Fred."

The chauffeur nodded before making his way into the hole to get
the unconscious man.

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 4: RISKY BUSINESS
* * * * * * * * *

Lois wandered absently around Clark's darkened apartment dressed
in one of Clark's oversized sweatshirts, a pair of leggings she
had left at Clark's apartment after an all-night stake out and
some of Clark's socks which she was using as slippers. The
sweatshirt hadn't been washed, at least according to her sense of
smell, since the last time Clark had worn it. It was for that
exact reason she'd chosen it. She'd heard once that when a dog's
owner took the dog to a kennel, he or she was supposed to take an
old t-shirt, something that had been worn by the owner and not
washed. The theory was that the dog would be comforted by both
the smell of the owner and the knowledge that if the owner had
left the shirt behind, he or she would be back to get it again.
She buried her face in the collar of Clark's sweatshirt, hoping
if the theory was correct, it would bring Clark back to her. It
was a stupid thought. She knew that. Still, she clung to the
shirt as if it were her only hope of getting Clark back alive.


For a reason she couldn't name, she turned off the lights. The
television softly playing in the background and the occasional
blast of fireworks in the sky outside were the only sources of
light in the apartment. The parties to celebrate the destruction
of the asteroid were obviously in full swing. Lois wasn't exactly
watching the news anymore. With nothing new to report, they
seemed to be replaying the same footage over and over again. They
had experts who weren't really experts theorizing about where
Superman was. Others were talking about the danger asteroids pose
to the planet and the types of things that could be done to
prevent a disaster in the future. But the only new information
seemed to be when the television cameras told about another party
taking place in Metropolis or around the world. Even Linda King,
correspondent in Metropolis, was starting to look bored with her
coverage. Still, Lois couldn't quite bring herself to turn the
television off. After all, it was possible, however unlikely,
that they might receive word about Superman.

She'd been keeping a close eye on the clock. By her calculations,
it would be more than an hour before she would expect Clark to
return. She knew that. She'd known that when Martha and Jonathan
had called. Still, she couldn't help hoping with each passing
minute that he would get back before the time passe