Single White Kryptonian By Shayne Terry Rated: PG-13 Submitted: November 2005 Author's Note: I'd like to thank Wendy Richards for her help as a beta reader and occasional cheerleader. I'd also like to thank Sheila Harper for last minute help in finishing my story, as well as Dave, who also helped. I'd also like to thank the enormously patient readers on the fic boards. Their support helped me start the story again after months of being blocked. Rights to all recognizable characters in this story belong to DC Comics and Warner Brothers, and no infringement is intended by their use in this story. Other characters are mine. ____________________ Single white Kryptonian male, 27 seeks native counterpart for companionship or more. If you're an intelligent, ambitious professional female, I'll sweep you off your feet and take you for long moonlit flights above the clouds. Agoraphobics need not apply. Non-smoker preferred. ***************************** "Am I asking too much?" Clark Kent ignored the voices in the next room. It was something he'd have to get used to now that he was moving into the big city. It was still overwhelming sometimes, the sheer sound of the living, breathing city. He smiled to himself. Clark was glad that he'd ignored the impulse to lead with "Mating Habits of the Knob Tailed Gecko." He'd put his more exciting stories on the top of the list, and along with his other references, he'd gotten the job. Once he filled out the paperwork required by accounting, he'd be hired. "There has to be one man in the city of Metropolis who isn't a wimp, a creep, or a loser!" This caught Clark's attention. Curious, he looked around, then lowered his glasses. Looking through the wall was simple, though what he saw on the other side made him gasp slightly in surprise. "You grow up thinking there's a perfect someone out there for you, and you look for him. That's when you learn the ugly truth. The men who are intelligent, funny and handsome are dishonest married creeps. The honest and trustworthy guys are dull as dishwater, and all of them are threatened by an intelligent, competent woman." Two women stood on the other side of the wall, one approximately his age, the other much younger. It was all Clark could do to keep from gaping. The older woman was stunning, and he was surprised to feel himself responding to her on a visceral level. Clark felt as though he'd been struck between the eyes. He'd known beautiful women before and even dated a few, but none of them had affected him on a physical level before. It had been easy to remain aloof; it had driven the women crazy. Until this moment Clark had thought that he couldn't be affected by a woman; he was different enough from other men that it wouldn't have surprised him that he was different in this as well. He had yearned desperately to be fully human, to feel the hot surges of desires he heard his classmates talking about. He hadn't had anyone to talk about his feelings with since his parents had died; he'd been lonelier than he knew. "They aren't all like that, Lois!" The younger woman bore a distinct familial resemblance to her older companion. "There are good guys out there!" "Maybe...but they get snapped up like blind little baby turtles headed out to sea. The good ones are married, and that leaves ninety percent of women out in the cold." "Stuck with losers, wimps and creeps?" The younger woman's voice was skeptical. "If you really believe that, why bother placing a personals ad in the paper?" "To get you off my back! I'm going to convince you once and for all that there are no good men left in Metropolis!" Lois shook her head. "I'm surprised you wanted to do it yourself. You date all the time!" "Well, I haven't exactly been the best at choosing my dates. This sounded like something a little different." "I still think it's a little tacky. A personals ad? How's that going to help me find the one person who will make my life complete?" Lois hesitated, then hurriedly continued, "Not that you actually NEED a man to make your life complete. I'm always telling the women in my NOW chapter…" "It'll be fun, Lois. You haven't met anyone at work, and it's not like you have much of a life outside of work, so…" "I have a life outside of work!" Lois's protest sounded a little forced to Clark and his lips quirked in amusement. "You'll do the posting for me, right? I wouldn't want anyone around here to get wind…I hear enough gossip in the bullpen." "We could have gone to another paper." "Any man who reads the other rags in Metropolis instead of the Planet is certainly not my idea of a dream date." "Maybe he just needs to be educated." "Haven't you learned yet, Lucy? If you go into a relationship expecting to change a person, you're bound to be disappointed. That's why all the guys you date end up being thugs and losers." Lucy scowled, and then she spoke again. "I'll tell you what. I'll let you pick the guy from anyone who responds to my ad if you'll make me a promise." "It depends on what it is…" "You'll go on a date, and not once will you talk about your job or where you work." Lois protested. "What a person does for a living tells a lot about them. How are you ever going to evaluate a person if you don't know where they spend a third of their day…or more?" "Think of it as a challenge." Lois grumbled under her breath. Someone bumped Clark from behind, and he looked around. The line behind him was growing longer; he only had time for one more peek through the wall. He quickly memorized the ad the two women were working on, and the section number. "Are you done yet, buddy?" Clark shook his head, irritated. The man who had spoken looked like a reject from the teamsters union. "I'll be done in a second." He looked back through the wall and the women were gone. Clark sighed and finished filling out his paperwork. He resigned himself to waiting in line for a while. As he waited, he found himself wondering about the effect the woman had on him. He'd always liked women, in a friendly way, but none of them had ever made him feel what this woman had at first sight. He'd assumed that whatever had endowed him with abilities far beyond those of ordinary men had also cursed him with an inability to be attracted to anyone. He'd been resigned to a lonely life; he wasn't able to confide in anyone, and without the ability to love, he was destined to be ultimately unhappy. At least that's what he had come to believe. While he had never been struck by cupid's arrow, the whole idea of love fascinated him. He'd read the Kama Sutra, and the love writings of a dozen different nations, all in their original language. He'd even explored the possibilities involved in sex, though he'd always been disappointed. He hadn't done it often; while he might not need to worry about pregnancy or disease, he'd always been concerned about the emotional well being of his partners. He'd come to believe that he was incapable of love; leading a woman to hope that more was possible was deeply wrong. He'd wondered if it would have been easier had his parents survived. They'd always seemed to know the answers, and Clark had had many questions since their deaths. If he'd only been a little faster, everything might have been very different. He certainly wouldn't have lived the life he had; on the other hand, he might not have been so driven to succeed. It would have been so much easier if he'd had someone with whom he could entrust his secret. He'd been utterly without guidance growing up, and it had been terrifying at times. There'd been moments he'd feared being institutionalized for odd behaviors, and only quick thinking and the determination to live a normal life had managed to keep him safe. He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. He'd asked himself a million times how things might have been different, and it had never done him an ounce of good. As his third foster father had told him, you have to be practical. As he collected his materials, his thoughts strayed back to the woman again. Her ad would go out in the afternoon edition. It seemed odd that such a beautiful woman would need to place an ad, but her sister's comments had seemed to explain part of it. She was obviously a professional, both by dress and manner of speaking. Her sister seemed to implicate that she was a workaholic, and Clark had heard that it was harder to meet people in the big city. People weren't as trusting, or as open to speaking to strangers. Luckily, he'd managed to accumulate enough of a nest egg to stay at the Lexor hotel; if he hadn't found a job so quickly, he might have been forced to stay at the Apollo, which was a dump. The Lexor was nice enough to impress without creating a false impression of wealth. He wasn't quite sure when he decided that he'd try and call the woman. Something about her had caught his attention, and he found himself thinking about her more and more often. As the hours passed, he became increasingly certain that it would be the right thing to do. Clark had been alone for such a long time; he'd have to be careful about placing too many expectations on the meeting. It was possible that she wouldn't even call him back. Nevertheless, it would be worth it, if only for the excitement he felt low in his stomach. It had been years since he'd felt anything strongly; his parents' deaths and subsequent events had beaten much of the color out of his life. It was worth any risk to feel alive again. The afternoon edition of the Daily Planet came out, and Clark found himself flipping rapidly through the paper to find the personals ads. He felt elated when he found the ad he was looking for. He had to chuckle at the ad this Lois had written. Her list of qualifications for an ideal dream date was quite extensive; anyone who applied would be sure to fail in at least one of them. Can you Keep Up? Single White Female, slender, brown eyed brunette, seeks financially secure honest, well-educated, athletic Single Professional Male for romantic dinners, walks in the park, movies and trips to the theater. Tall, good-looking, non-smoker a bonus. Must be a man who isn't threatened by a strong woman. Hypochondriacs and narcissists need not apply. Access Code: 12694 There would be many men who would relish the challenge. Clark was one of them, and he found his fingers dialing the number almost before he could think. The recording was a blank, generic female voice. Clark felt a moment of panic as he realized that he didn't know what to say. Confidence was the key in these cases, and it took him only a moment to regain his composure, just in time for the recording to begin. "My name is Clark Kent, and I'm calling in reply to your ad in the Daily Planet. I'm new in town, and I'm looking to make a few friends." For a moment, he was at a loss as to what to say next. Perhaps honesty would be the best tactic. "I haven't called one of these before, and I'm not really sure what to expect. Blind dates are so... risky. You have all these expectations, and they almost never pan out. All I can really promise is to be a pleasant dinner companion and possibly a good friend. Anything else would have to be left up to luck." Clark glanced downward for a moment at the personals ad. "I don't smoke, I'm six feet tall and I haven't noticed my face cracking any mirrors lately. You'll have to be the judge of how well I really fit your qualifications. Give me a call. My number is 555- 6232." The beep of the recording ending made Clark wince, and he slowly hung up the phone. All he could hope was that she selected him out of all the other phone calls she would undoubtedly be receiving. In the meantime, he had some apartment hunting to do. He couldn't live out of a hotel forever, even one as nice as the Lexor. ***************** "Hey baby, gimme a call. You need a man, I need a woman, it'll be a match made in heaven!" The recorded voice was oily and smug, secure in the idea that any woman desperate enough to need a personals listing would be easy pickings. Lois shuddered, staring across the table at Lucy. "That sounded a lot like Ralph, from work." "Maybe it wasn't him," Lucy said hopefully, looking down at the speakerphone. "That'd be a big coincidence." "Ralph is exactly the sort of man who answers personal ads like this, which is precisely the reason I never wanted to do this in the first place!" Lois stared challengingly at her sister. "You've purposefully found something wrong with the last fourteen calls." "They were all losers, freaks or geeks!" Lois said. "I could tell just by hearing their voices!" Lucy shook her head. "If I'd known you weren't going to take this seriously, I wouldn't have pushed you into it." Pushing a button on the speakerphone, Lois shook her head. "There's only one more call. If this one's a loser too, I'm just going to give up on the whole idea." Lois sat up straighter as the voice on the line began to speak. Absently, she noted the pleasant Midwestern accent and the endearing sense of hesitancy in the voice. She'd have been able to dismiss him out of hand, but there was something about the voice that called to her. "My name is Clark Kent, and I'm calling in reply to your ad in the Daily Planet...." Lois felt a chill go down her spine as she realized that this call wasn't remotely like the others. It was reasonable, confident enough to convince her the man on the other end of the line wasn't a wimp, yet hesitant enough to keep from seeming arrogant. Lucy grinned at her, even as the voice concluded, "I don't smoke, I'm six feet tall and I haven't noticed my face cracking any mirrors lately. You'll have to be the judge of how well I really fit your qualifications. Give me a call. My number is 555-6232." The recording faded to silence, and Lois stared at her sister for a moment. "If you don't go out with this one, I will." Lucy said quickly. "He's probably fat and bald with four children," Lois said grumpily. She hadn't really thought she'd get a single reasonable message. "Give him a call," Lucy said. "Set something up for tonight." "Tonight?" Lois said, abruptly flustered. "Isn't that a little soon?" "The longer you leave it, the more excuses you'll come up with for why you won't be able to go." Lois could already think of several. She'd need to buy the perfect dress, she'd need time to do her hair and makeup and to pick the perfect spot for the date. Perhaps Lucy was right. Overanalyzing the situation would be giving it more thought and worry than it was worth. Most likely, the man on the line wasn't what he seemed, and Lois would be best off proving that as soon as possible so that she could go back to her regular life. Lois sighed. "Fine. I'll call him." **************** Lois Lane was more overwhelming than he'd expected. Clark sighed as he placed the receiver back in its cradle. He hadn't expected to get a response so quickly, but he was glad she'd given him a chance. They hadn't talked long; apparently, Lois Lane wasn't much for small talk. She'd called, arranged to meet at a restaurant near the Daily Planet building, and warned him not to try anything funny, all without giving him a chance to get a word in edgewise. Being with her was going to be a challenge. Clark found an unfamiliar sense of excitement. That he'd had an intense visceral reaction from the moment he'd first seen her had surprised him. He'd only been mildly attracted to women he'd met in the past. That he was already interested in her mind was an unexpected bonus. He'd have hated to be interested in a woman with nothing to offer mentally. Glancing at the clock, Clark realized that he didn't have much time if he was to reach the restaurant by the time she'd specified. He suspected that she'd purposefully given him less than an hour in order to disconcert him. Already she was attempting to undermine the date. With anyone else, her prediction would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Fortunately, Clark Kent wasn't just anyone. He had abilities beyond those of normal men, and he suspected that he might need all of them to keep up with the mercurial woman he was about to meet. Within fifteen minutes he chose an outfit, ironed it, took a shower, and gave himself a last sprits of cologne. Fifteen minutes after that, he reached the restaurant. ******************* Dating was an institution created by sadists, Lois thought as she arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes late. Between doing her best to choose the perfect dress, getting her hair and makeup perfect, and listening to Lucy complain about how long she was taking, she'd been suffering as only the perpetually single could suffer. Of course, being married wasn't any better. Thinking about her parents' lives together still made Lois shudder. Lois had long ago concluded that bringing children into the world was worse than irresponsible; it was nearly criminal. She'd never met a single person who didn't come from some sort of dysfunctional family. Glancing at Lucy, Lois said, "I really don't need you to watch over me. I've got a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, a bottle of mace in my purse, and I've been dealing with informants in dark alleys for the past three years. " "I don't mind," Lucy said quietly. "I'll just get a seat where I can see you. It's better to be safe than sorry, after all." Lucy didn't trust her not to renege on the date. Lois grimaced. "If the guy is a pig, I'll give you a signal to page me." "Fine," Lucy said. "But if I think you are just dumping a good guy..." Lois shook her head impatiently. "I'll give him a chance, don't worry." "Just because the guy isn't good looking isn't enough reason to..." "Do you really think I'm that shallow?" Lois snapped irritably. "If anything, you are the one more likely to go after the pretty boys." Lucy shrugged. "Just give it a chance." Nodding, Lois reached for the door of the restaurant. She'd give the man until dessert; she couldn't be expected to go any further than that. She'd already formed a picture of him in her mind. He'd be a plain man; handsome men tended to be arrogant. He'd be a little shorter than the six feet he claimed to be, and likely a little overweight. Most likely, he'd have lived in a small town all his life, and he'd be opinionated in the way small town people who didn't know any better usually were. Antoine's was a little pricey for the Daily Planet employees. Lois had chosen it specifically for that reason. It wasn't the sort of place she'd be seen with her blind date, and it would give her a chance to see if he was cheap. She pulled the door open and stepped into the cool dimness of the interior. She was pleased to note that little had changed since the last time she'd been here with Claude. The interior walls were still painted in various hues of olive, taupe and cream and lovely Parisian scenes still adorned the walls. Live greenery hanged from a planter by the door. The tables beckoned with crystal and silver and spotless white tablecloths. This early, and especially as it was the middle of the week, the small dining area was almost deserted. An older couple sat under the window enjoying their meal, as did a pair of professional looking businesswomen. Only one figure sat alone, and as she looked, it was already rising. With her eyes trying to adjust to the dimness after emerging from the brightness of the sunlight outside, she couldn't quite make the figure out. A voice spoke beside her. "Would you like a table for two?" "Actually, I believe she's with me." Lois found herself gaping at the figure who'd approached. She'd assumed he was a plain man because of the way he'd answered the ad, but she could see now that he'd been purposefully modest. He was good-looking; stunningly so. After Claude, Lois would have thought herself immune to the effects of a good-looking man's smile, but apparently she wasn't. Immediately, Lois was suspicious. A man as good looking as Clark Kent should have no need to respond to personal ads. Something had to be seriously wrong with him. "Mr. Kent, I presume." Lois fought to keep her suspicion out of her voice. Interrogations always worked best when the interrogated person didn't realize they were being questioned. Nodding slightly with a half smile, Clark Kent gestured toward his table. "Would you like to take a seat?" Lois stepped forward quickly, carefully not looking back toward her sister. Lucy undoubtedly was gawking at Clark Kent like a schoolgirl, and Lois didn't want to call attention to that fact. She stumbled slightly as she felt him move around behind her. It took her a moment to realize that he was pulling her chair out for her. "A modern woman is fully capable of pulling her own chair out, Mr. Kent," Lois murmured reprovingly. Undoubtedly he was old fashioned and chauvinistic, the sort of man her father had been. "We've made that much progress in the last hundred years." Clark Kent nodded as he found his own seat. "The modern woman can do anything she puts her mind to. That doesn't mean the modern man shouldn't be polite." Grudgingly, Lois reached for her glass of water. He paid lip service to the idea of being a liberated man, but that didn't mean he was one. "So you aren't the sort of man who orders for your dates?" "I don't know you, Ms Lane, though I'd like to," Clark said quietly. "I don't know your likes, your dislikes, your favorite foods, or anything about you really. That's the whole point of having first dates; getting to explore the life of someone new. I wouldn't dream of ordering for you." Sipping her water, Lois regarded the man sitting across from her. He was an enigma. Handsome almost to the point of being pretty, he was dressed well. His charcoal gray suit set off his red tie quite nicely. "You dress like a man who has a woman," Lois said bluntly. "Your shoes match, your clothes are obviously hand tailored, and you dress like a GQ model. Most men don't have the fashion sense to match their shirts with their pants, much less an entire ensemble." "Now who's being the chauvinist? Like you said, we've come a long way." Clark paused for a moment, then grinned sheepishly at Lois's expression of polite disbelief. "I dated a woman in Italy for a time," Clark finally admitted. "She saw me as a project, a fashion victim in need of a clue. The relationship didn't last, but the wardrobe did. How about you?" "How about me what?" Lois asked quickly. The man had been to Italy? Lois wouldn't have expected a small town boy to have traveled much. Could he be bragging? Lois wasn't sure. "You're a very attractive woman. You dress well, you look like a professional. It's hard to believe you aren't dating someone." "I date sometimes!" Lois protested. "I'm just a very busy person. Work keeps me swamped, and when I do get a minute of free time.... well, it's not exactly easy to meet people in a town like this." Clark nodded, then said, "So what do you do?" The man had asked the question, and Lois could hardly refuse to answer. As she opened her mouth to speak, she noticed that Lucy had found a seat at the table directly behind Clark. She was gesturing. Lois had promised not to talk about work. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to duck around it though. Perhaps honesty was the best policy. "My sister pushed me into posting that personal ad. She thinks I work too hard, and that work is all there is to my life these days. She made me promise not to talk about my work at all." Clark grinned, and if his face had been handsome before, it was almost overwhelming now. Lois hoped she didn't have a stunned expression on her face. "That sounds fair. There's a lot more to people than just what they do for a living, and not talking about the one thing will give us more time to explore the other." He paused then said, "Just so you won't be tempted, I won't talk about my work either." They stared at each other for a long moment. Lois found herself at a loss for what to say. Normally, she'd attempt to fill the awkward silence with some sort of long, rambling stream of consciousness babble, but she didn't really know this man well enough to come up with a topic of conversation. The arrival of the waiter was almost a blessing. Lois took the proffered menu gratefully, quietly ordering the house wine in French. She was proud of her command of the language, though Claude had always told her she had a thick accent. To her surprise, Clark Kent ordered a couple of heavy appetizers in flawless French. "I thought you said you didn't order for your dates, Mr. Kent," Lois said tartly. Clark glanced up from his menu and said, "I've got a healthy appetite. You can try the appetizers or pick something else if you'd like. I wasn't ordering for you." Given the prices at Antoine's, that was a generous offer. Clark didn't seem concerned about the expense, and Lois couldn't help but wonder what he did for a living. Either he was simply willing to splurge a great deal, was good at concealing the winces of pain caused to his wallet, or he was fairly wealthy. "You've done some traveling," Lois said quietly. It was a safe statement, given his story about Italy and his skill at French. Clark nodded. "I've spent the past four years traveling through Europe and Asia. I've got a natural talent for languages, which comes in handy when it comes time to order breakfast and you are a thousand miles from the nearest American embassy." "I always wanted to travel," Lois said. "I was an exchange student in Ireland when I was in High School, and I got to go across the channel to France a few times, but there never seemed to be enough time. Then once I got involved in work..." Again Lucy glared at her from the table behind Clark. Lois sighed. "Let's just say there was never enough time to do the traveling I wanted to do." Clark hesitated. "I'd like to lie to you and say that traveling is overrated. If all you do is take the tourist packages, it is." His eyes took a far off look. "Still...meeting the Dalai Lama, dancing with a Nigerian Princess, hiking across the Andes Mountains in Chile...there's nothing like the experiences you can find if you look hard enough." "You traveled in South America too?" Lois asked quietly, her voice carefully neutral. Clark nodded. "I didn't really spend nearly as much time there as I did in Europe and Asia though. The Indian tribes there have some fascinating herbal remedies..." "I'm sure," Lois murmured. She wondered if Clark Kent really thought she'd believe his stories of being a world traveler. Bragging about the places he'd been wasn't an attractive quality. "Still," Clark continued, "While travel has its place, I think there's value in finding a place to call your own. I haven't had that in a very long time." "Surely there were your parents," Lois said. "It's never the same once you leave, but still..." Clark coughed. "I lost both my parents when I was ten. I bounced around in the system until I managed to get a football scholarship to Midwestern University. The rest is history." Lois froze. "You're the Clark Kent who played for Midwestern University?" Sipping his water, Clark nodded. "My father had a great deal to say about you. He always thought you'd go pro." "He followed the game?" Clark asked. Staring at Clark, Lois said, "My father is Sam Lane, and he said you sent more people to surgery than any other player in collegiate sports." Clark Kent stared at her for a moment, his face slowly flushing a dull shade of red. *********************** "That was only in my first year," Clark said defensively. It had taken him that long to strike a balance between aggressiveness and the safety of the people he was playing against. "And while I might have caused a few twisted knees, I never really hurt anyone badly." Given his power, that said a great deal. Although he still wasn't sure about the real limits of his power, he did know that killing someone could have happened in the blink of an eye if he hadn't always been careful. An instant's distraction could have meant a lifetime of guilt. As it was, he'd had trouble balancing his competitive spirit with the safety of his fellow players during the first year. He'd wondered occasionally whether he'd have had the same drive to win if his parents had survived. While winning the games themselves had been completely hollow, considering that he could have covered every position on both teams without breaking a sweat, he'd enjoyed the approbation and acclaim that came with victory. His lifetime of drifting from home to home without any sense of stability had left a huge gaping hole in his soul, a need for acceptance and love that he still struggled with at times. Lois's voice was quiet. "My father didn't get called in for sprained knees." Sighing, Clark said, "I didn't know what I was doing at first, and people got hurt." He was silent for several moments. "I still feel sick every time I think about it." "My father did say that none of the injuries looked deliberate." Lois looked at him carefully. "He watched the game footage carefully. Still..." Taking a sip of water, Lois said, "You seem to have solved the problem by your second year. Why didn't you turn pro?" Shrugging, Clark said, "Football was never my real interest. I always wanted to be a writer, and... " "You've done some writing?" Lois asked quickly. "I..." She stopped after a quick glance over his shoulder. Undoubtedly she was looking at her sister, who Clark had recognized immediately. "I wrote a couple of travel books," Clark said. "It doesn't have anything to do with what I'm doing now, so I suppose it's a safe enough topic." Lois's face brightened, as though the chance to talk about work without breaking her promise to her sister was a real treat. "I've wanted to do some writing. Does it pay well?" "Nonfiction pays better than fiction," Clark said. "I've toyed with the idea of writing a novel, but I can't ever seem to really get started." He'd been stalled on the first chapter for the past two years. "I've been working on a novel too!" Lois said. "It's a romantic thriller, about a female reporter who gets involved with an organized conspiracy to kill a prominent senator." For a moment, Clark was tempted to talk about his own reporting. Getting the job at the Daily Planet was a dream he'd had for as long as he could remember. The Daily Planet had been the paper his father had read every morning before heading out for yet another backbreaking day on the farm. Instead, he simply said, "So have you gotten very far with it?" Lois sighed. "It stalled out after the first three chapters. I keep trying to go back to it, but it really isn't going anywhere fast." "The truth may be stranger than fiction," Clark said, "But it's a heck of a lot easier to write." Lois seemed to have something to say, but their waiter arrived with Clark's appetizers. Clark grinned. Lois seemed surprised at the size of his appetizers. "Are you sure you wouldn't like any?" Clark watched Lois carefully as she shook her head slightly. "Isn't Vichyssoise usually the main part of a meal?" Lois asked. "Cold potato soup isn't really my idea of hearty eating," Clark said, grinning. "But I think it goes great with a salad." Lois looked wistful. "It must be nice to have a man's metabolism." "I've got an iron stomach," Clark said. "Considering some of the things I've eaten, it's a good thing, too." If it hadn't been for his alien immune system, Clark had no doubt that he would have had food poisoning at least once during his travels, as well as a host of intestinal parasites. Luckily, he seemed to be able to eat anything without any problems. "I know a man with an iron stomach," Lois said. "Maybe you and Bobby Bigmouth should get together and..." She froze again, undoubtedly at another signal from her sister. After a moment, Lois said, "Excuse me, I need to go wash my hands before dinner." Clark stood up as Lois rose from the table, and he smiled at her. From the corner of his eye, he could see Lucy heading for the ladies room. Undoubtedly they had a great deal to talk about. The temptation to listen in was almost irresistible. ****************** "I'm going home." Lucy spoke quietly as Lois stepped into the ladies room. Lois protested. "I haven't talked about work, not once." "You've been good," Lucy said. "But I can see I'm not needed here." She nodded in the direction of the mirror. Lois stepped forward to the mirror over the sink. Examining her reflection, she could see something that she'd only seen in the middle of big stories. Her face was flushed, alive with interest, and she almost glowed. Clark Kent seemed to fit the qualities she'd asked for in her ad, almost suspiciously well. He was college educated, spoke flawless French, and was undoubtedly athletic, given his earlier football career. He didn't look as though he'd put any weight on since college either, as so many ex-athletes had. He was tall and good-looking, and so far, he didn't seem intimidated by her. Clark Kent had the appearance of a young professional, and his travel books had to have made him financially secure, given the amount of money he was spending on dinner. Antoine's wasn't cheap. The only other requirements that she could recall having made were that he be honest and single, and those were the most important. Clark didn't have the pale patch of skin around his ring finger that might show that he was married, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. She had doubts about his bragging about his travels, but something within her suggested that he might be telling the truth. "You didn't hire an actor to play this guy, did you?" Lois asked. It would have been just like her sister to hire an actor to play the part of her dream date. Lucy snorted. "Where would I get that kind of money? I'm the one leaving after getting appetizers, remember?"" Looking at Lois's refection in the mirror, Lucy said, "Besides, I want you to find someone to have a relationship with, not some short term fling." A relationship wasn't something that Lois was ready for at the moment. She was busy with her career, was at the top of her game, and she didn't really have the time to be Lois Lane, Clark Kent's girlfriend. The idea of a short-term fling though, that almost seemed to have merit. Lois hadn't been with anyone since Claude; she hadn't been interested in anyone. It shocked her to realize that she was interested in Clark Kent, interested in a deep, visceral way, one that made her toes tingle. Lucy grinned at the expression on Lois's face. "I won't be coming home tonight. Joe wants to take me to a rave later." Frowning, Lois turned to Lucy. "I really wish you wouldn't spend so much time with him. He's nothing but trouble." Although she couldn't be sure, Lois suspected that Joe Johnson was involved in criminal activities. She didn't have any proof yet, but she still hated it every time Lucy left with him. "Besides, why would you run the risk of getting arrested at a rave?" "I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions." Lucy grabbed her purse and said, "Just like you. Why don't you go out there and show Mr. Kent a good time?" With that, Lucy stepped out of the room. Glancing one last time at the mirror, Lois sighed and headed out the door. She wouldn't be able to enjoy her meal for worrying about Lucy. Of course, Clark Kent was already showing a disconcerting habit of proving her wrong. ****************** Stepping back into the dining area, Lois felt surprisingly uneasy. The evening had gone well so far; the fact that her sister had left shouldn't have any bearing on how she felt about the date. Clark Kent had been a perfect gentleman, despite the way he enjoyed bragging about all the places he'd been. Even if he didn't continue to be a gentleman, Lois knew she'd be able to handle herself with him. She was hardly going to allow herself to be alone with a man she'd only met this evening. Relaxing, Lois stepped forward to the table. She was surprised to see that the waiter had already brought the food; usually the service was slow. Only a certain cultural masochism made the place popular; the food was good, but the prices were high and the service was poor. Lois supposed that subconsciously, she'd been testing Clark Kent. If he'd been a chronic complainer, she'd have been vindicated in thinking him a loser. If he allowed the waiters to intimidate him, he'd have been a wimp. Instead, he'd spoken to them flawlessly in their own language and somehow won them over. The man had sidestepped that trap just as easily as he'd sidestepped all the others she'd laid for him. He smiled and rose to his feet as she came around the table. Lois was surprised at the effect he continued to have on her. She'd thought that Claude had burned any last thoughts she'd had about spending time with attractive men completely out of her mind. She sat slowly, and found herself returning his smile. They ate in companionable silence for quite some time, and Lois was surprised at how comfortable she was with the silence. With anyone else, she'd have felt compelled to fill the void with a stream of thought babble about any subject that came to mind. With Clark, however, she felt immediately comfortable, as though they'd been old friends who'd only recently fallen back into their old roles. She couldn't help but be suspicious of it. She wondered if this was what Lucy felt with each new boyfriend. An instant attraction burgeoning into an insane conviction that this person was some kind of soul mate. Lois had seen how Lucy's affairs always ended up- in heartbreak and disappointment. Clark spoke, finally, saying, "I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed a dinner so much." "After eating in all the great cities in the world, I'd hardly think that this was the best of them all." Lois frowned. "The food here is good, but it's not THAT good." She looked at him suspiciously. He'd probably been lying about all the traveling he'd done just to impress her. She felt a moment's disgust. He probably hadn't actually had anything published either. Men would lie about anything to get into a woman's bed. Clark shook his head. "It's not the food...It's the company." Lois froze. The compliment was so unexpected, especially in the middle of her mental tirade that she couldn't help but stop. Heat rushed to her face, and she hated the way that her face immediately lit up into a pleased smile. The best con men were always flattering. Still, Lois couldn't help but feel a small rush of pleasure. She'd been nothing but Mad Dog Lane for the last two years, and she couldn't help but respond to compliments about something other than her skill as a journalist. Clark Kent really seemed to like her, and there was something almost irresistibly attractive about that. "I haven't been having a horrible time," Lois admitted slowly. "The food is good, and the company has been...nice." "Just nice?" Clark grinned. "I don't think my ego can take it." Grinning, Lois said, "If you are like the other men I know, you'll have your ego reinflated in no time." Leaning forward, Clark said, "I'm not exactly like the other men that you know." Of that, Lois could believe. If Clark had been like the other men she knew, Lois wouldn't feel this off balance. She wouldn't be tempted to reach out and touch his hand, to allow that physical contact to lead to other, more intimate things. Clark Kent was a temptation that she didn't need. "That's what they all say," Lois said, her voice sounding off kilter and nervous. "How did you get to be such a cynic?" The tone of Clark's voice was nonjudgmental. If someone who'd known her as Mad Dog Lane had made that comment, she would have taken their heads off. Clark, however, seemed genuinely curious. Lois realized, to her surprise, that she didn't want him to see her as Mad Dog Lane. She wanted to see her simply as Lois, a woman. "Live in Metropolis for a while and ask me that again," she said quickly. "An idealist is really just someone who hasn't been around long enough to know better." Clark frowned. "You don't think it's possible to maintain ideals?" "We live in the real world, with real problems," Lois said. "Ideals are for dreamers." Shaking his head, Clark said, "I think that's sad. Just because people can't always live up to their dreams doesn't mean the dreams don't have value. We wouldn't live in the world we live in if people hadn't struggled to make their dreams a reality." "Crime, pollution, war, terrorism," Lois said. "If this is the world that dreams have left for us, then I'm not sure I see..." "What about freedom?" Clark said. "What about happiness and joy?" "What about them? You can't think that we've accomplished them." Lois asked. There was something about Clark's face as he spoke, a certain sincerity that was almost overwhelming. "Ideals set a goal for us to strive for," Clark said. "And even if we don't always reach them, the fact that we try moves us much closer to our dreams." Lois nodded slowly. "I suppose I can see that. Without something to dream about..." "Right." Clark touched her hand, and for a moment, Lois felt as though she'd been struck by lightning. "Haven't you ever had a dream?" Looking away from Clark was almost impossible. Lois felt as though she was hypnotized, her entire consciousness focused on his hand touching hers. There wasn't any way that she'd tell him the truth. The white knight she'd dreamed about when she was thirteen had been the fantasy of a young girl desperate to escape into fantasy. She'd wanted a man who was as tall and strong as her father, a handsome, intelligent man. Unlike her father, however, this prince would love her. He'd never turn away from her, drowning himself in his work. He'd love her and only her, and they'd have a love that would last forever. It was the typical romantic nonsense of a young adolescent girl. Lois had given up that dream long ago, as her experiences with men led her into disappointment after disappointment. Claude had laid the final nail into the coffin of her prince, and Lois had given up on the idea of romance altogether. Even watching soap operas and dreaming impossible dreams had become too painful for her. Lois had learned to sublimate her desire into her work, and she'd been happy. Clark stared at her with his deep brown eyes, and Lois sighed. She hadn't been happy. She'd been miserable. It took her a moment to realize that Clark seemed to expect some sort of answer. She fumbled for a moment before saying "I may have had some when I was younger, but I don't remember them now." The look of mild disappointment in Clark's eyes wasn't nearly as bad as telling the truth would have been. The prince she'd dreamed about when she was thirteen had been remarkably like Clark Kent. ********************** The woman was a cynic. She didn't believe in dreams, she refused to admit to ever having any, and she was continuously suspicious of him. Clark thought he was in love. Lois Lane was impossible, infuriating, and dangerous. She was also beautiful, intelligent, and despite her tough veneer, she was enticingly vulnerable. When she'd talked about dreams, he'd seen a sort of desperate longing in her eyes, as though she wanted to believe but just couldn't. Now she was staring at him as though he'd grown a second head. She looked down at Clark's hand on hers after a long moment, and said, "I suppose that love is a kind of dream." Clark found himself nodding. "Love is the only dream worth having. Everything important comes from it. Honor, integrity, altruism...it all comes from love." "Integrity comes from love?" Lois asked, her expression doubtful. "Where else? Integrity comes when you love yourself enough to do what's right, even if you have to face consequences." "Love yourself?" Clark sighed. "When you see someone else doing something wrong, does it make you think less of them?" "I suppose…" Lois said. "So why should it be any different when you see yourself doing something wrong?" It took Clark a moment to realize that his thumb was moving slowly over Lois's hand as he looked her in the eye. "We can lie to ourselves," Lois said. "Make up excuses." "It never really works, though," Clark said. "In the end, you know the difference between right and wrong, and eventually you have to face the truth. In the end, integrity is all about love." Clark saw Lois glancing down at his hand on hers. "And what about romantic love?" ****************** After all his talk of honor and integrity, Lois expected Clark Kent to segue smoothly into talk about romance. In her experience, men who had to talk about honor and integrity were the least likely to have any of their own. Those who had it rarely needed to talk about it. Instead, Clark simply sat and stared at her for a moment before speaking. "I really wouldn't know about romantic love." "Surely you've dated," Lois said. "You haven't exactly been in a monastery all these years." Unaccountably, Clark Kent flushed. "I've dated, sure. I just haven't ever been in love." "Men seem to confuse lust and love," Lois said. "At least as far as I've seen." "I don't," Clark said flatly. "I remember what my parents had, and it bothers me to see just how rare that sort of relationship is. Finding the right person isn't easy." "The next thing you'll be telling me is that you believe that there's only one ideal person out there for each of us." Lois couldn't help the cynical tone in her voice. Who did he think he was fooling? Men weren't great romantics. Clark seemed to consider the question seriously for a moment. "I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far…but I do believe that the number of people with whom we can find true, lasting love is really limited." That seemed reasonable to Lois. In a city the size of Metropolis, Lois had yet to meet an available man who wasn't some sort of loser or creep. The thought that she might be sitting across from the one exception was vaguely unsettling. Clark Kent was too good to be true, and Lois felt an almost moral obligation to prove it. "You know," she said casually, "I'm a bit worried about my sister. Her boyfriend isn't exactly a good influence on her, and he's taking her to a rave this evening." "So you want to drop by and check on her?" Clark asked. "That sounds fine with me." He was too accommodating. Lois wondered what he'd do if she asked him to drop everything right at the moment. After the amount he'd spent on dinner, most men would be irritated to say the least at the prospect of leaving most of it on the table uneaten. She didn't ask, however. She was still hungry, and the food suddenly tasted really good. "I managed to get the address. Why don't we drop by after dinner?" ***************** Clark stepped out onto the curb, his hand outstretched to hail a taxi. He was still wincing about the final price of dinner, but luckily, Lois hadn't been looking when he finally saw the bill. It was a good thing that he didn't actually HAVE to eat, because it would be a couple of weeks before he got his first paycheck from the Planet, and much of the money from his travel guide sales would go into making the first and last months rent on an apartment. He glanced over at the woman beside him. It had been worth it though. He hadn't been sure, at first, but the longer they'd talked the more certain he'd become. She was the one. The initial reaction of infatuation had only grown the longer he'd talked with her. She was stubborn and opinionated, cynical and yet had flashes of deep vulnerability. She was nothing like the woman he'd imagined himself as eventually falling for, and yet now that he knew her, he couldn't imagine falling for anyone else. He'd have to be careful. Women didn't like men who were obsessed with them, and at this stage, he suspected that the best he'd do by revealing his feelings would be to frighten her away. A battered yellow cab stopped in front of them, and Clark quickly ushered Lois inside. He followed her, and listened as she gave the cabbie the address. In the confines of the cab, he was more intensely aware than ever of the fresh, clean scent of her. She intoxicated his senses, excited him, and aroused feelings that he thought forever dead. He'd thought that there was something about him that was innately uninterested in earth women. He'd feared that he'd always be lukewarm to every woman he met, that he'd always be alone. The thought that he'd never find a love like his parents had shared had always been a bitter pill to him, but he'd become resigned to it. Lois gave him hope that it wouldn't always be the case. When he was with her, he could ignore the horrible odor of the cab, the fumes from the street, the cries of countless people across the city shouting and laughing, loving and dying. When he was with Lois Lane, the world seemed to shrink until only he and she existed. It took him a moment to realize that he was holding her hand. When he realized that she wasn't objecting, he felt a small rush of pleasure. Touching her was a privilege and a gift, and somehow, holding hands with Lois Lane felt more intimate than all the evenings he'd spent in Milan and Paris. Before he even realized that it had started, the trip was over, and Lois was shoving money into the hands of the cabbie. Before Clark could protest, she'd pulled him from the vehicle to the end of a long, abandoned stretch of road near a warehouse. Other than a few vehicles parked on the street, there weren't many signs of what was going on. Clark, of course, could hear the pounding beat of the music already, and he grimaced. Listening to loud, painful music wasn't his favorite experience; it was almost infinitely louder for him than it was for anyone else, and it left him feeling off balance. Of course, he could still hear better than any human, even in the middle of all the noise and confusion, but compared to what he was used to, he was effectively deaf. Nevertheless, he followed Lois as she quickly made her way down the alley to the single doorway at the end. She pounded on it, and he could tell that even her human ears could make out the music by now. It took only a moment for them both to be ushered into the cavernous warehouse, which was packed with bodies. The music was a pounding, driving rhythm, fast and furious, sexual. Flashing lights illuminated the scene as a series of stills. Young girls in baby doll dresses, young men in baggy pants and tight shirts, couples in corners doing unspeakable things to one another. Clark could see Lucy near the impromptu bar that had been set up at the other end of the warehouse. She looked as though she was arguing with a large, bald, tattooed man. Not being able to hear what they were saying was frustrating. Being forced to struggle through the crowds of drunken teenagers was even more so. Lois had obviously seen Lucy as well. She was forcing her way through the crowds like a linebacker on a mission. Clark hurried to catch up. It wasn't easy; the crowds closed behind Lois almost immediately. The pungent smell of marijuana wafted through the crowd, and Clark could tell from the glazed looks on the partygoers' faces that at least half the crowd was stoned out of its collective mind. Nearby he saw an older man passing something to a young teenager. Around the room, he could see several teenagers who weren't dancing, but who had a hardened, almost predatory look in their eye. They were watching the crowd carefully. Feeling distinctly uncomfortable and out of place, Clark quickly pushed his way through the crowd. Someone in the crowd groped him, but after checking to see that his wallet was still in place, Clark didn't look to see who had done so. Being groped by a young girl who was dressed to appear even younger than she was would be bad enough; being groped by one of the young men would be even worse. All in all, Clark preferred not to know. Pushing his way through the crowd, Clark could see that Lucy's argument with her date had grown more vehement. Lois had seen it as well, and she was moving more quickly. Clark recognized several of the tattoos on Lucy's date as being prison issue, made by amateur tattooists using needles made from sharpened staples and home brewed ink. Clark hadn't spent any time in prison, but he'd had foster siblings who had, and he knew that the tattoo patterns spelled out nothing but trouble. He could hear them now, shouting at each other over the din. "My sister was right about you!" Lucy's face was flushed and her eyes were slightly unfocused. "I can't believe I defended you to her." "I'm sick of hearing about your sister. This isn't about her…this is about us." The bald man was more in control of himself, though Clark could see that he too wasn't completely sober. "You knew this was the one thing I wouldn't tolerate, and you did it anyway." Lucy's swaying grew more pronounced, and Clark realized that she was more than just drunk. Her face was sweaty and she seemed as though she was having trouble concentrating. Before the older man had a chance to reply, Lois reached him. She grabbed his arm and tried to swing him around to face her, but the big man didn't budge. Seeing that he was barely paying attention to her, she stepped between him and her sister. "What have you done to my sister?" Lois had obviously seen the same thing Clark had, and come to the same conclusion. Lucy had been drugged. The big man put a hand on Lois's shoulder. "Get lost. This is between me and your little sister." The music came to a sudden halt just as Clark clapped a hand on the other man's arm. "Take your hands off her," Clark said quietly. "Or I'll do it for you." In the silence, Clark's declaration seemed to ring out. Lois knew it was only an illusion however; most of the people in the room were probably still deaf from the music. She'd been careful to stuff cotton in her ears before entering, and she could still hear her ears ringing. Lucy's date stared at Clark dumbly, as though he hadn't heard the challenge that Clark had issued. In all probability, he hadn't. The hand on his arm and the look in his eye, however, left little to the imagination. "You don't want to be involved in this," Joe said, his voice unnaturally loud in the silence. Clark apparently tightened his grip, because Joe winced, and slowly released Lois's shoulder. He took a step back, and Clark allowed him to pull away. "Why don't we discuss this in the morning, when everyone is feeling cooler? Miss Lane looks as though she could use a little sleep." Though Clark's tone was mild, the look in his eyes was not. Despite herself, Lois was impressed. He showed no fear at all at the thought of a physical confrontation with a man three inches taller and fifty pounds heavier than he was. Lois could see people moving quickly out the doors, and for a moment she entertained the fantasy that it was in response to the tableaux before her. A moment later, however, the voice of the DJ blasted from the loudspeaker. "The party is over, people. The cops are on their way. Let's file out in an orderly fashion." Giving a collective angry moan, the crowd pushed forward. Lois could understand the irritation. The sun had barely set and the party was almost over. It wouldn't be easy for most of the partygoers to find an alternate venue to dance in. "Why don't you just pay em off!?!" One teenager yelled angrily. "It's not like we didn't pay you enough at the door!" The price had seemed reasonable to Lois, but then, she had a decent salary. She doubted that most of the people in the crowd had worked a day in their lives. Lois glanced back at the two men, noticing that Joe had backed off. Both men had a look of concern on their faces. "I think it's time to go," Clark said. The sounds of the crowd were growing angrier, and for the first time Lois realized that they might be trapped in the middle of a riot. "I'm not leaving without Lucy," she said. Clark glanced at the doors. "I think the cops just reached the front. Is there a back way out?" "How the hell should I know? I didn't organize this." Joe Johnson's voice was sullen. Lois could see people returning through one of the doors, and the crowd surging away from that point. While she had little doubt that she'd be able to use her press pass to escape jail, claiming that she was covering a story, Lucy and Clark didn't have that same assurance. Lucy's swaying became more pronounced, but before she could sway bonelessly to the floor, Clark had caught her and swept her effortlessly up into his arms. "Let's go this way," he said, gesturing with his head. Lois glanced at Joe, who was staring at them uncertainly. After a moment he cursed under his breath and stepped away, vanishing into the crowd of milling teenagers. Clark moved as though he knew exactly where he was going, pushing his way carefully, but quickly through the crowd until they were behind the DJ's booth. Lois could see the DJ and promoters hastily packing equipment onto a cart, which was pushed halfway through a door hidden by a set of red curtains. Shifting his grip on Lucy, Clark grabbed the cart and quickly pulled it back through the doorway. Ignoring the angry shouts of the promoter, he stepped through the door, with Lois following closely behind. The door led out into a loading dock. From this side, Lois could see that the curtains had covered a large, overhead hanger style door on the other side. Several vehicles sat waiting in the darkness, but none of them were running. Lois wasn't quite ready to add grand theft Larceny to her small list of crimes anyway. Clark moved quickly through the maze of cars, as though he knew the route well. Lois could see a heavy gate leading out to the street. She could also see the distinctive red and white flashing light patterns that told her that the police were outside waiting. "This'd be easier if we had a phone." Clark said. "We'll need a cab when we get out of this." Asking for a cell phone had been like asking for the moon, at least from the way Accounting acted. Eventually, everyone would have them, but for the moment, she was stuck doing without. She gritted her teeth. She'd have a word with Perry in the morning. It'd be nice if his reporters, while hanging over the jaws of death in pursuit of the story could at least call for help. Clark found a door into the warehouse next door. He reached for the knob, and Lois thought she heard a metallic sound. The door swung open. The odds that the door would have been left unlocked were slim, but Lois wasn't willing to look a gift horse in the mouth. The darkness inside was total. Lois reached into her handbag and pulled out a small flashlight. A quick check showed her that other than the offices on the other end of the building, the warehouse was empty. "There's no way out, here, "Clark said, looking around. "But I'll bet there's a phone in the back office. I'll go check." He moved quickly through the darkness, and moments later, she lost sight of him. Lois would have called out to him, but she heard the sounds of people moving around outside. She closed the door behind them, and switched off her flashlight. Lucy moaned beside her, and Lois quickly shushed her. Lucy's head was hot and feverish, and Lois wondered what her boyfriend had given her. While Lucy might occasionally drink to excess, she wasn't a drug user. Still, Lois had heard that Raves were dangerous in part because it was easy to slip drugs into someone's drink unexpectedly. The voices came nearer, and Lois forced herself to be still. After almost a minute, the voices subsided. She heard the light sound of footsteps coming toward her. "I've got a cab coming," Clark said. "Let's get your sister out of here." "There are people outside," Lois said. "It'll take them hours to sort everything out and load everyone up." For a moment, Clark was silent. Then he said, "I think we can make it. Come on." Lois felt Lucy being lifted again, and she quickly grabbed on to Clark's sleeve. "Are you sure about this?" "I've been traveling for quite some time, Ms Lane. I've got an instinct about these sorts of things." A moment later, they were out the door and moving rapidly. The red and blue lights were still flashing, but the gate was open. Apparently, the police had chosen to take some people out through that exit. Given the number of minors who were undoubtedly imbibing any number of illegal substances, they apparently weren't taking any chances. Lois didn't see how they were going to get by the police, unless they simply waited them out. However, she wanted to have Lucy looked at by a doctor to make sure she wasn't seriously ill. Even alcohol poisoning could be deadly, and Lois wasn't sure exactly what else Lucy had been exposed to. One by one, the bulbs in the street lamps around them began to explode, plunging the area into darkness. "Is someone shooting?" Lois asked quickly, instinctively ducking. "Let's move," Clark said, and a moment later they were. It didn't take the police long to shine the headlights of the police cars on the place that they'd been, but by that time they were around the corner. Lois didn't have any doubt that someone had seen them in the red lights from the cruisers. It wouldn't take the police long to find them, and running from the police was only going to get them into more trouble. She sighed. She'd promised Perry that he wouldn't have to bail her out again for at least a month. To her surprise, a cab was already waiting on the street corner. Clark opened the door and carefully slipped Lucy inside. Lois followed, while Clark walked around the car and got into the other door. "Hey, you aren't one of my regular customers!" the cabbie said as Clark moved into the back seat. Clark leaned forward and handed the cabbie a bill. "Let's just pretend, shall we?" **************** Clark was glad that he'd simplified matters by looking for the closest cab to the scene and requesting it specifically when he'd called the cab company. The other cabs in the area had already taken some of the people from the rave out, and so it was the only one that would have been able to reach them in time. Everything would have been much simpler if he'd just been able to fly Lois and her sister out of the same skylight that he'd flown out of to find a phone. In a better world, he wouldn't have had to hide his secret. Still, no matter how much he liked Lois Lane, he wasn't stupid. His father had been quite clear about what would happen if he was ever to reveal his secret to the world, and in the years since Jonathan Kent's death, Clark hadn't seen anything to disprove that. He doubted that anyone would be able to cut him up like a frog, of course. At this point, he had to wonder if there was anything on the planet that could hurt him. Still, once he revealed his secret, he'd never have a life again. He'd be hounded by the government, by the media, by curious on-lookers and gawkers. He'd be a freak in a fishbowl, always looking out at a world that would never accept him. Still, it would have been nice to have had someone to share his fears and dreams with as a teenager. The desire...the need for comfort and reassurance was something he hadn't been able to eradicate from himself, no matter how hard he tried. Lois called out an unfamiliar address, and the cabbie quickly pulled away from the street corner. Glancing over at Lois, he wasn't surprised to see how focused she was on her sister. Lucy was only semi-coherent, but Clark thought she'd be all right. He could smell alcohol on her, and traces of other scents which had been wafting through the air of the warehouse, but he didn't smell any of the sickness that usually preceded serious illness. "She's going to be ok," Clark said quietly to Lois. "I just wish I knew what he'd given her," Lois muttered, not bothering to look at him. Watching Lucy carefully, Clark said, "I think you'd better pull over." The cabbie glanced into the back seat, then pulled over without making any comment. Lucy crawled over Lois in her hurry to get out of the cab, and moments later, she began to heave. Clark grimaced. The smell would have been overwhelming if he hadn't been used to it from when he was younger. Being a foster child wasn't easy; many of his siblings had taken the hard route out, and he'd been forced to hold their heads for them as they vented their sorrow. Clark was out of the taxi and around the back, helping Lucy wipe her mouth. "She'd better not puke in the cab!" The cabby's voice was belligerent. From the faint traces in his cab, Clark could understand the man's irritation. He'd had this problem before. "We'll see that she doesn't," Clark said. It was probably best that Lucy's body reject the alcohol before it really hit her system. Her body wouldn't have as much to process, and she'd be less likely to have her system overwhelmed. He wiped her mouth gently. "Are you all right?" Lucy nodded. Her eyes were clearer now, though the misery in them was apparent. "Did your boyfriend give you anything?" Lucy shook her head, slowly. "The drinks were stronger than I'd thought they'd be. When I saw Joe..." "Let's get you someplace safe," Clark said. With Lois's help, he managed to get Lucy back in the car, though this time with him following Lucy into the passenger's side. "Take us to the emergency room," Lois said to the cabbie. Turning to Lucy, he said, "I'm going to have you looked at." Lucy shook her head. "I don't have any insurance." "I'll pay," Lois said. "Don't worry about that." Lucy looked as though she was going to protest, but Clark placed a hand on hers and said, "Your sister is just worried about you." Sullenly, Lucy settled down. The ride to the ER was made in silence. *********** It took Lois three and a half hours to finally calm down. They'd spent three hours in the waiting room, amidst a host of the world's walking wounded. Things had finally quieted down, and Lucy was in with the doctors. Clark Kent sat in the chair across from her, looking as cool and unflappable as he had from the very beginning. He didn't even have the grace to look bored, or to fidget, or to complain. He'd been nothing but supportive the whole time and he'd shown quick thinking earlier. "I'm sure this wasn't what you expected out of a first date." Lois said, finally. "Well, it wasn't exactly how I thought it would go, but as dates go, this isn't so bad." Clark smiled slightly. "At least you made a memorable first impression." Lois grimaced. "You've been really patient about all of this..." "I've seen it before," Clark said. "You just do what you can and hope for the best." Closing her eyes, Lois groaned. "Mother is a reformed alcoholic. I'd have thought Lucy would have learned her lesson." "Do you drink?" Clark asked quietly. Lois nodded. "Sometimes. I try not to do it to excess though...I don't want to end up like my mother." "You don't want the people in your life to have to make excuses for you." Clark stared down at the floor. "You don't want them to watch you self-destructing." Soberly, Lois looked at him. "I just feel helpless sometimes. It's not just the partying...this is the first time Lucy's done anything like this, and it may not even be her fault. It's the men. Lucy makes bad choices." Not that her choices had been much better. Lucy's choices were just more obviously bad for her. Lois's relationships had always ended in disaster, and most likely, it was the choices that she'd made in picking her partners that had set her up for failure. That was part of what made her attraction for Clark Kent so suspect. She opened her mouth to speak again when she realized that a doctor was approaching. "Ms Lane?" The doctor asked, looking at his clipboard. At her nod, he said, "I'm Doctor Wilder." "Is Lucy going to be all right?" Lois watched the doctor closely for any signs that he might be sugar coating the truth. Dr. Wilder smiled. "She'll be fine. Mixing MDMA and alcohol isn't a good idea, and she had a minor reaction, but she'll be just fine." "Someone gave her ecstasy?" Clark asked. "Is that what she told you?" The doctor's smile was patronizing. "We see a dozen cases like hers here every day, and they all try to claim that they weren't taking the drug voluntarily. I wonder sometimes why they even try." Lois felt her face flush. "My sister doesn't take drugs." Better than anyone, Lucy knew the damage that drugs could do. She'd lost a close friend to an overdose. Lois had barely known the girl, but Lucy had been affected deeply. "I'm sure it makes you feel better to think that, but I doubt many drug dealers are slipping free samples into people's drinks." The doctor shook his head. "Now if it were Rohypnol, I could believe it, but..." Before Lois could lunge at the doctor, Clark said, "When can we take Lucy home?" "As soon as her mother comes by to collect her. She'll be sleepy tomorrow, but I understand that Ellen Lane was a nurse once, and she should be able to monitor her." "You called my mother?" Lois asked, her heart sinking. "She was listed on the insurance forms as the next of kin." The doctor glanced back at his clipboard, then said, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Lois opened her mouth, prepared to tell him exactly what he could do with himself. Before she could say anything, she felt Clark's hand on her shoulder. "I think that'll be all." Clark said. Before Lois could deny that, the doctor turned and headed down the hallway. Angrily, Lois turned to Clark. "What gives you the right to butt in? You know as well as I do that Lucy wasn't taking ecstasy." "You weren't going to convince the doctor," Clark said calmly. "And you were about to say something you'd regret." "Who made you my thought censor?" Lois felt her anger grow. "We barely know each other, and you already think you can made decisions for me? What sort of arrogant-" "Lois?" The sound of Ellen Lane's voice stopped Lois in the middle of her tirade. Lois closed her eyes for a moment. The evening had turned into every nightmare she'd ever had. It had started out well, but as they always did, it had ended up with her mother." "Lucy's fine, mother," Lois said, hoping to forestall the inevitable barrage of questions. "The doctor said that she could go home at any time." Ellen Lane bustled into the room and said, "I know, dear. I know the charge nurse here, and she told me the whole story." Of course Ellen knew the charge nurse. She'd probably been called as soon as the name on the insurance forms had registered. "This isn't something you have to worry about, mother. I'll take Lucy home and give her a chance to sleep it off. You didn't have to come all this way." "Don't be silly," Ellen said. "I'm taking Lucy home. She'll need someone with training to watch over her." Lois could see the first moment that Ellen noticed Clark standing in the background. "Lucy lives with me, mother. She'll feel more comfortable in her own room." Ellen snorted. "Sleeping on your couch? She needs a warm bed and a good breakfast. I've got that. What are you going to offer her? Cold cereal?" "I doubt she'll want to eat anything in the morning anyway." Lois fumed. Ellen couldn't cook any more than Lois could. Of course, Lois didn't have someone who came to cook for her three days a week either, but still... "Who's this?" Ellen asked, looking up at Clark. Clark smiled. "This is Clark. He's a friend. He helped me bring Lucy in." "That was very generous of you, Mr...?" "Kent." Clark reached out to shake Ellen's hand, but she ignored it. "I didn't expect to be meeting Lois's family quite this soon, but..." "As far as Lois is concerned, she has no family. She hasn't called in weeks and getting her to attend family functions is like pulling teeth. What exactly is it that you do, Mr. Kent?" "Mother!" Lois felt herself flush. She hadn't realized just how embarrassing her mother could sometimes be. "I don't suppose it matters," Ellen said. "You won't last any longer than any of the others." Before either Lois or Clark could reply, Ellen began ambling down the hall. A tall orderly stood at the end, with Lucy in a wheelchair. Ellen made clucking noises, then bent down to speak to her daughter. Lois stared at her mother for a long moment before finally admitting defeat. Turning to Clark, she said, "Let's go." "You aren't going to-?" "She's not going to change her mind, and she'll win in the end. There's no reason to even bother fighting about it. She'll take good care of Lucy." "If you want to go with them…" Clark began. "I haven't slept under the same roof as that woman in years, and I'm not about to start." Lois knew better. Right now, her mother was focused on Lucy, but the moment Lucy fell asleep, she'd turn on Lois. Lois really didn't feel like listening to her mother carp on for hours about her lack of responsibility in reference to her younger sister. She already felt guilty enough. She should have gotten Lucy away from her drug dealer of a boyfriend the moment she saw him. Instead she'd been indulging in her own pleasure. Her mother would have hated Lucy's boyfriend. Then again, she really wouldn't like Clark either. Glancing back at her mother, Lois realized that the idea of doing something her mother wouldn't do had more and more appeal. "Take me home," she said quietly to Clark. Staring silently into the darkness of the empty streets, Lois felt her anger begin to ebb, replaced by an inevitable sense of defeat. She'd failed Lucy, and it was only the latest of a long list of personal failures. Claude, her relationships with men, her relationship with her father- she'd been a success at none of them. Somehow her mother was able to bring all her old feelings of defeat with a single glance. When Lois was around her mother, she was no longer the award winning career woman, the top journalist in a city of eleven million people. She was a little girl again, begging for every scrap of love and attention she could find. Lois knew what her mother would say when they next spoke. Ellen Lane would claim that Lois should have taken better care of her sister, that Lucy wasn't old enough to make her own decisions. Lois could agree with that in part; she suspected that none of the Lane women were mature enough to make good decisions. Ellen's track record wasn't any better than Lois's or Lucy's. They were all intrinsically flawed somehow, damaged by forces they weren't even aware of. The interior of the cab was dark, and Clark was carefully allowing Lois her own space. She appreciated that; most men she knew would have felt compelled to fill the silence with talk, no matter how banal the subject matter. She'd been guilty of that herself at times. He'd been the perfect companion this evening- handsome, intelligent, non-judgmental. Lois suspected that Lucy would be in jail if it hadn't been for Clark's help. While Lois might have used her press pass to keep out of trouble, that wasn't an option available to Lucy. That all assumed that her boyfriend hadn't had something more sinister in mind when he doped Lucy's drink. Lois shuddered at the thought of what might have happened. Lucy was the only family she had left, or at least she was the only one Lois really cared deeply about. Lois still loved her mother and father, but she couldn't stand to be around them. With Lucy, however, Lois had been developing a deeper relationship, one that was better than the one they'd had as children. Then Lois had been the bossy older sister, trying to be the mother because her own mother wasn't able to do so. They'd never gotten along as children. Lucy had hated being told what to do almost as much as Lois did, and she'd rebelled. Lois, in turn, had resented the special treatment Lucy received. Lucy had always been her father's favorite, and her mother's as well. She'd never had to face the pressures Lois had, and Lois had never had the feeling that Sam Lane wished Lucy was a son either. She'd been accepted by her parents for who she was, and that was something Lois had always envied. Lucy hadn't been unaffected by life in the Lane household; if she had, she'd have made better choices and wouldn't be in the situation she was in today. Still, she'd never really born the full brunt of parental disapproval, and she'd never really had to take responsibility for her own actions. Envying her sister's free spirit, Lois had consistently chosen the path of work and responsibility. Whereas Lucy lived life on her own terms, Lois had done everything she could to please an uncaring, impossible to please father. She'd done what was expected of her, rebelling only in her choice of professions. She'd struggled her way to the top faster than her peers, being one of the youngest reporters ever to win a Merriweather award, and later, two Kerths. Success required dedication. If her father had left her with any message, it was that. In her father's eyes, work transcended friends, family and every other part of life. Lois had accepted wholeheartedly the message that Lucy had rejected. She'd dedicated everything to finding success and gaining her father's respect. Until tonight, Lois hadn't really envied Lucy. Lucy's footloose ways, and her continuous string of fun but hopelessly flawed boyfriends had worried Lois, as did her lack of ambition. Lucy hadn't had any more success with her romantic choices than Lois had, though there had been far more of them. Lucy seemed to center her life around the search for love, which was something Lois rarely had time for. Glancing at Clark for a moment, Lois had to admit that she might not have been tempted because she hadn't met the right person. Claude had been handsome, but Lois had known the moment that she met him that he was a misogynist. Mitch was hopelessly weak, and Paul had never had any real interest in her other than as a reporter. Clark Kent wasn't like any of the others, and on a fundamental level, that worried her. He was too good to be true, too attractive in any number of ways. He made her want to throw her inhibitions to the wind and do something wild and uncharacteristic. Lois was startled when she felt the cab pulling to a stop. She'd been so lost in thought that she couldn't remember most of the trip. She glanced over at Clark and opened her mouth to thank him for a lovely date and to wish him a nice life. That was what the level headed, sensible Lois that her mother and father knew would have done. Of course, her mother and father had rarely been right when it came to her. "Would you like to come up for coffee?" Lois found herself asking. Clark hesitated, and for a horrible moment, Lois thought he was going to reject her offer. She'd thought that he liked her as well as she did him, to learn otherwise would be a colossal blow to her ego. After a moment, he nodded. "I'd like that." Before Lois could offer to pay, he handed several bills to the cabbie. Lois slipped out of the cab, and Clark slid across the seat to join her on the sidewalk. "You live in a nice part of town," Clark said. "It's close to where I work," Lois said, "And it's safer for Lucy." She was better off avoiding the poorer parts of the city; she'd made enemies already. At least security was good in her apartment. Lois fumbled for her keys, uncomfortably aware of Clark's presence behind her. She wondered for a moment what she was doing. Many men interpreted coffee as an invitation for much more, and Lois wasn't sure she was ready for that. Lois's hands shook, and the keys fell from them. Clark kneeled and picked them up. "I'll go if you want me to," he said quietly. "And if I do come up, you don't have to worry. Sometimes coffee just means coffee." Lois stared at him for a moment, wondering how he'd known about her worries. She accepted the keys from him and felt a thrill of excitement as her hand touched his. She felt a long forgotten sensation in the pit of her stomach, one that she only vaguely recognized as anticipation. Sometimes coffee only meant coffee...but it didn't have to be. Stepping through the Lobby, Lois headed straight for the elevators. At this time of the night, there was no one around, which was a slight relief. Lois didn't want to have to face anyone after the night she'd had; that she actually wanted to be with Clark instead of alone was something of a revelation. Lois allowed herself to look at Clark's reflection in the mirrored surface of the elevator door. He was tall and strong, dark, mysterious, and handsome. He was everything the romantic heroes of her imagination had always been. Giving up the books, the television shows, the soap operas had been a mistake. While Lois had avoided thinking about romance at all for almost a year, it was all flooding back to her now, the loneliness, the desire, the endless aching need. She'd been numb for a long time, and the return of feeling was almost painful. The elevator opened, and Lois quickly made her way down the hall. With her keys ready in unsteady hands, she made her way inside the door. ***************************** Clark wasn't certain that following Lois into her apartment was a good idea. He could tell that she was upset, unsteady on her feet, and that she'd been deeply affected by what had almost happened to her sister. He'd seen the look in her eye, and he knew what it meant. He'd been exposed to enough women to know the signs of arousal. Under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn't have been a problem. He'd never had trouble controlling himself around women. When they'd pursued him, he'd always made a conscious decision about whether to be caught, or not. He'd experienced passion, but never as the overwhelming, uncontrollable thing that other people seemed to sometimes experience. He'd always been in control. With Lois, it was different. He found himself fighting the desire to touch her, to comfort her, to take away her pain. He wanted to kiss her, and he had to fight to keep his eyes from drifting to her lips. Her scent alone was almost enough to overwhelm him...not the perfume she'd chosen, but the deeper, intoxicating aroma that was uniquely her. She'd have been mortified to know that he could smell her, that he could have picked her heartbeat, and her delicate scent out in the middle of a crowded smoke filled room. If he never saw her again, he'd always remember everything about her; how she walked, how she smiled, her look, her smell, her taste. Losing control was dangerous. That was a lesson he'd learned over and over again since his parents had died. Yet Lois spoke to a part of him deep inside that wanted to surrender control, to allow him to throw caution to the wind and simply feel. She frightened him, and yet he was drawn to her, inexorably. Lois switched the light on, and he glanced around the apartment. Her touch was in almost everything he saw, from the uncomfortable looking couch to the almost perfectly hidden shelf full of awards. The place spoke of feminine impulses at odds with masculine strength, professionalism with romantic influences, utility and frivolity. The same contradictory impulses he saw in Lois Lane, he saw in the apartment, and it only intrigued him more. "How do you like your coffee?" Lois asked. She glanced back at him nervously, as though she was afraid of what he would do...or of what she would. "I like lots of cream and sugar, but I can drink it black if that's what you have." Lois frowned. "I'll see what I've got." She moved quickly into the kitchen, and Clark found himself alone in the entryway. He stepped into the living room, and found himself drawn toward the shelf with the hidden awards. He was tempted to peek using his special vision, intrigued at the thought of awards that were hidden rather than being fully displayed. However, that would be an invasion of privacy, and it would be a poor way of beginning what Clark hoped would be a beautiful relationship. Getting her to tell him about the awards would be more fulfilling in any case. Lois was a guarded person; Clark sensed that she was very particular about who she trusted with her personal secrets. He very much wanted to be part of that inner circle. He'd never even been tempted to reveal his own secrets until tonight. The thought of having someone to share his own vulnerability with was almost more than he could imagine. He'd been alone for as long as he could remember, even when he was in the midst of a crowded room. Lois seemed like the sort of person who would understand, who wouldn't look at him like the freak of nature that he was. Clark turned slightly as Lois reentered the room. "I hope decaf is ok," Lois began. She began clearing off the small coffee table in front of her sofa. "It's getting pretty late, and I'm going to need to get some sleep before work in the morning." "If this makes you uncomfortable, I can leave," Clark began, his heart sinking. Lois hadn't looked at him since she'd reentered the room. Lois glanced up at him, seemingly startled. "No, I...I want you to stay. You've been great tonight." "You don't owe me anything," Clark said soberly. "I told you from the beginning...no expectations." "That was a bit idealistic, don't you think?" Lois smiled weakly. "No matter how much we try to deny it, we all have expectations. You aren't at all what I expected from a blind date." "Let me guess," Clark said. "You expected me to be short, overweight and bald, with an ego the size of Manhattan." "I was thinking Texas, quite frankly," Lois said, smiling weakly. "I'm not like other men, Lois." This was truer than he was willing to admit at present, but she had no need to know that. She'd had enough shocks for one evening; discovering that her blind date was actually an alien freak was hardly what she'd want to hear. Lois slowly lowered herself to the couch, as though the mere act of sitting hurt. She grimaced, and Clark found himself quickly reaching for her. "Are you hurt?" Lois shook her head, grimacing again. "It's just stress. I get tension headaches whenever I have to deal with my mother." Hesitating, Clark said, "I learned something about pressure points and therapeutic massage when I was in Asia. It's said to be helpful in treating migraines." "I'd say that was the oldest line in the book," Lois said, staring at him cynically. "You aren't as different from other men as you'd like to think." Until tonight, Clark would have disagreed with her. Lois had aroused something within him that he hadn't known existed. His entire life, he'd known that something was missing. Tonight, he had the feeling that he'd found it. "I really do believe that I can help your headache," Clark said. "You have no reason to trust me, but I'd like to help." Lois watched him closely for a moment before sighing. "All right. But if this involves scented oils, strange religious rituals, or me getting naked, you're out of here." Clark grinned. "You seem to be the one with expectations here. Don't worry...it won't hurt much." "Much?" Lois asked quickly, staring at him dubiously. "I won't lie to you, Lois. It might hurt a little at first...but you'll feel much better afterward." Hesitating, Lois glanced at him again, then sighed. "What do I need to do?" "Just turn around so your back is to me," Clark said. "If anything I do makes you uncomfortable, let me know." Lois nodded, wincing at the pain in her head. She slowly swiveled in her seat, glancing back at him one final time before facing away. Clark used his special vision to make sure she didn't have any spinal problems before beginning. He rubbed his fingers together rapidly, warming them, then he placed them on the places where her muscles were most knotted. The moment he touched her shoulders, he knew it was a mistake. He'd thought he could maintain his composure and simply give her the relief she'd asked for, but he was finding himself reacting far more strongly than he ever would have dreamed. There was something remarkably intimate about touching a woman's shoulder, about touching the gentle arch of her long, graceful neck. He hesitated for a moment, feeling the blood rushing to his face. He was glad that she was facing away from him, or she would have certainly noticed the way he was reacting to her. When he noticed her beginning to look back at him, he quickly began to use the techniques he'd been taught by an acupuncturist in Shanghai. Lois moaned, and it was almost all he could do to continue. *********************** Clark's fingers were exquisite agony, pain followed by pleasure as the knots in her muscles released and relaxed, soothed by the warmth of his fingers. For the first time in recent memory, Lois found herself living in the moment, feeling instead of thinking, basking in the enjoyment of physical pleasure. To her surprise, her headache did seem to be fading away, leaving behind only a sense of languorous warmth. That warmth was replaced in turn by a growing awareness of the feeling of Clark's hands sliding slowly over the bare skin of her neck. To her horror, Lois found herself moaning. She flushed, glad that he couldn't see her reaction to his touch. It had been a long time since she'd enjoyed the touch of another human being, and she was surprised to discover that she'd missed it. Submerging herself in work had allowed her to forget, but the memory of that basic human need was coming back to her in a torrent. Lois stiffened, but Clark's ministrations quickly had her relaxing again. This was why many people saw massage as a prelude to seduction. She never should have consented for him to do this. He was attractive, intelligent, exciting...it would be easy to fall for a man like him. Considering his behavior this evening, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. However, Lois knew better than to become physical immediately. Hard experience had shown her that it wasn't healthy for a new relationship, no matter how tempting it might be. She'd resolved after Claude that she would move cautiously, that she would only become physical with someone she could be sure that she trusted. This time around, she was determined to hold out for love. She'd lost her belief in love, and so she'd thought that the physical side of life was a chapter that would be forever closed. Her blush was gone. Lois said, "Clark..." His hands stilled instantly on her shoulders. A moment later, Clark removed them entirely, leaving Lois feeling bereft. She turned to face him, only to catch him watching her with a curious, intense gaze. In his face, she could see desire that mirrored her own, and she felt a thrill of alarm. In the heat of passion, it was easy to lose sight of what was right or wrong. "Maybe I'd better go," he said, clearing his throat. Lois hesitated, then nodded. It would be the safest thing for both of them; sex this early in the relationship could only damage the feelings they had for each other. She slowly rose to her feet, surprised to realize that her headache was gone. In truth, the tension that she'd carried in her shoulders for years was gone as well, and Lois felt curiously lethargic. She could have simply leaned back and rested against Clark forever, and she thought that it would have felt cozy. Lois forced herself to look up at Clark and smile. "Despite everything, I had a good time tonight." He nodded slowly. "I'd like to see you again." "I'm sure that can be arranged," Lois said. She looked up at him for a moment, and realized again just how dangerously handsome he was. "Maybe next time we can do without the visit to the hospital." "Just a calm, quiet evening out," Clark agreed. "I think I'd like that." Lois nodded, then grabbed his hand. She pulled him toward the door. "I don't know about you, but I have to get to work in the morning." "It'll be my first day on the job," Clark agreed. "I can't be late." As they reached the door, Lois said, "I don't usually kiss on the first date, but..." Before she could complete the sentence, Clark leaned down and kissed her. It took Lois less than a second to realize that she'd just made a huge mistake. One kiss was more than enough to fan the flames of passion, more than enough to make her lose control. One kiss seemed to last forever, and before Lois knew it, her back was against the wall, and she felt faint. Clark pulled away from her, and Lois could see a faint hint of satisfaction in his eyes. He leaned down again, and Lois closed her eyes, thinking he was going to kiss her. Instead, she felt his lips brush by her ear. "You knock me off my feet," he murmured. "But if I don't leave now, I don't think I ever will. I'll call you tomorrow...maybe we can schedule some more time to spend together." Lois nodded slowly, her lips feeling swollen. She knew what she had to look like...her lips, her eyes heavy lidded with passion. She had to look like a mess while Clark somehow managed to look perfect. Before she could say another word, he was out the door. Lois was left staring after him, wondering what she'd gotten herself in to. Clark Kent certainly wasn't like any man she'd known before. ******************** Between her concern for Lucy and her sudden realization that she didn't have Clark Kent's telephone number, Lois was finding it very difficult to focus on the staff meeting. Staring into the distance, Lois almost missed Perry's shocking statement. It took her a moment to realize that the other staff members had already filed out of the room, leaving her alone with Perry. "You've got a new partner, Lois." Perry was saying. "He comes highly recommended, and I need someone to..." Lois blinked. "You want *me* to drag a rookie around for the next few days?" Perry had tried forcing her to work with a partner on several occasions since Claude had left, but he'd never been foolish enough to demand that she work with someone new. He had the idea that having a partner would make her pay more attention to her own safety. As far as Lois was concerned, a partner would only blunt her effectiveness as a reporter. She was the best reporter in the city primarily because she was willing to take risks that other reporters avoided. Her string of Kerth and Merriweather awards was proof of that. It took time and effort to frighten a new partner away, time she could ill afford if she was going to have a personal life again after a long hiatus. "You've just finished the cloning story," Perry began. "After what you went through with that, I'd figure you could use the time off." "I know I've been working on the cloning story for the past few months," Lois said, her mind racing, "but I've already got a few leads on new stories. I won't have time to be dragging a rookie around by the nose." "Honey, if you were anyone else, I'd force you to take a couple of weeks off. You were nearly shot twice last week. The boys upstairs are starting to worry that you are an insurance liability." Lois shook her head. "I wasn't in any danger. The secret service wouldn't have shot me...they'd have just thrown me in jail. As for the rest...I haven't cost the company any more in medical premiums than Eduardo." "Eduardo has seven children and a wife," Perry said. "And despite that, you've spent more time in the Emergency room in the last four months than his entire family has in the past six." "It was a tough story," Lois said, shrugging. "And I never had any serious injuries." Perry stared at her silently for a moment, as though he could make her admit the truth through sheer force of will, but Lois only stared back impassively. Finally, he continued. "As I was saying, if you were anyone else, I'd make you take a week off. You've been focused on this one story for far too long, and it takes time to shift gears." Before she could protest, he continued. "I won't ask you to take time off, but I will ask you to take it easy for a few days. Show the new man the ropes." "Can't you get Eduardo, or Ralph to do it? Are you really sure I'm the first person you want a new employee to see?" Lois found her voice slipping into uncertainty, which she hated. She'd been Mad Dog Lane for so long that it was hard to remember a time when she'd been anything else. "You can't keep this up forever," Perry was saying, and Lois realized that she'd missed more of what he was saying. "You'll have to start working with other people sooner or later, or it's going to get you killed." Shaking her head, Lois said, "I work best alone." Until last night, she'd thought that was true in all areas of her life. Claude had only been the final nail in the coffin; her experiences with men had been universally dismal. Her experiences with women had been just as poor. Linda King had been only the first in a long line of competitors who had used every means necessary to get ahead. Perry spoke firmly. "Not this week." Lois rarely heard that tone of voice from Perry. Usually, she could persuade him to do whatever she needed in pursuit of a story. Unfortunately, this time, she could tell that he would accept no arguments. She could only hope that she wouldn't frighten the new employee completely out of the company. If she did, Perry would have only himself to blame. "All right," she sighed. "I'll show him the ropes." Helping a rookie couldn't be any worse than focusing on Lucy and her mother, or trying not to think about how easily last night might have turned out differently. Lois had never been the sort of person to wait anxiously by the telephone, and she wouldn't do it now, even if Clark Kent HAD impressed her. Lois continued, "But if he slows me down, I'm going to leave him behind." Perry nodded. "I don't think you'll have any problems with that. By all reports, Mr. Kent is an experienced world traveler with an impressive resume. He should be fast on his feet." Lois froze. "What did you say his name was?" "Clark Kent...he's a world traveler. He's a minor celebrity in the travelogue circuit, and he has an impressive portfolio of freelance articles from around the world. Rumor is that he'll be up for a Kerth this year." Lois spoke slowly, her voice sounding odd in her own ears. "I've heard of him. He used to play football for Midwestern, right?" "That's right. You won't have any trouble giving him the grand tour, then?" Perry asked. "I'll do what I need to do," Lois said. She felt oddly numb, curiously betrayed. Objectively, she knew that they'd both agreed not to talk about their work. What Perry had already told her about Clark Kent's background matched what he'd told her himself the night before. Yet the odds of two people meeting randomly on a blind date and discovering that they'd be co-workers seemed outrageous. "He's waiting in my office," Perry said. "I didn't want to bring him in until I had your agreement." Perry had been afraid that she'd make an embarrassing scene. Lois felt a moment of shame, wondering how she'd come to a point where she couldn't be depended on to behave like a normal human being. Perry would have been right; she had little doubt that she would have said something acidic and asinine if she'd been forced to confront Clark Kent with no preparation. Lois nodded and rose to her feet. "I guess now is as good a time as ever." She smiled, though the expression felt frozen on her face. Perry watched her cautiously for a moment before turning and heading out of the room. "Kent!" he said as he stepped into his office. "You'll be partnered up with our number one reporter this week." Lois stepped out from behind Perry, watching Clark to see what his reaction to her would be. She saw a moment of surprise flicker across his features before it disappeared. His face lit up with the smile that she'd found so devastating the night before. "You must be Lois Lane," he said. "I've been catching up with past issues of the Planet this morning, and I've found myself becoming a great fan of your work." Clark Kent was smooth, smoother than Claude had ever considered being. He hadn't actually lied, but he'd left the impression that they'd never met. Lois wasn't sure whether to be grateful or angry. She'd had a lifetime to learn to dislike dishonest men, but on the other hand, she'd have been embarrassed for Perry to find out that she'd already been involved with him romantically. "You weren't reading the Planet while you were traveling?" Lois found herself asking archly. She'd reserve judgment for now, but she'd give him enough rope to hang himself if he so chose. He smiled again, apologetically. "Despite the Planet's reputation, it hasn't been distributed to many of the places that I've been in the last two years. Otherwise, I'd have recognized your name immediately." Obliquely, he was saying that he hadn't known who she was last night. If Lois could believe that, it would resolve many of her fears. As it was, she wasn't sure that she could believe anything he'd told her. "We'd better get going," Lois said. "I'm thinking about doing a story on drugs on the underground party circuit." Clark Kent nodded gravely, as though he wasn't surprised at all; in all likelihood, he wasn't. Given their experiences last night with Lucy, he couldn't have expected anything else. "Unless you've got a U.S. senator supplying the drugs, I'm going to have to ask you to hold off on the story." Perry said. "I've got another assignment in mind for the two of you." Although Lois was anxious to do anything she could to help Lucy, her newswoman's instincts told her to keep quiet. Something about Perry's tone of voice told her that he had a big story. "I've got friends in high places," Perry began, "People who travel in the highest circles of power. They occasionally let me know when something big is going to happen. I trust these people...they've never led me wrong about anything important." Lois knew that better than anyone. Without hints from insiders that something was wrong with the President, she'd have never been able to piece the puzzle together on the cloning story. Perry's contacts were extensive, and as far as she knew, they'd never led him astray. "Still, I didn't exactly fall out of the turnip truck yesterday. When I'm told something that seems impossible, I'm a little bit skeptical." For some reason, Clark Kent shifted uneasily in his chair. Lois glanced at him for a moment, before allowing her attention to return to Perry, who was continuing. "Three people in the state department have told me the same thing, people that I've never known to lie, and yet I'm still not sure I believe what I've been told." Lois found herself leaning forward. "Something has been found in Kansas...something utilizing a level of technology unlike anything that anyone has ever seen. The materials it is made of seem to consist of metals and polymers that don't exist on earth." Lois blinked. "You're telling me that they've found a UFO." Perry nodded. "A farmer found it out in his field, and the entire town knew about it before the feds moved in. The government is claiming that it's a hoax, but they have quarantined the immediate area, claiming a toxic waste spill." Glancing at Clark, Lois was surprised to see that he wasn't looking at either of them. For the first time since she'd met him, he looked pale and shaken. ***************** It was his every nightmare come to life. The government knew, or if they didn't already know, they'd know soon. Jonathan Kent hadn't lived long enough to see the true extent of his son's abilities, but he'd seen enough to warn Clark against ever revealing them to anyone. "They'll dissect you like a frog." His father had been adamant, and he'd frightened a ten year old Clark with stories of the possible consequences should the people in power ever find out about what he could do, about what he was. Objectively, Clark knew that there would be little that they could do to him. His skin was impervious to any conventional weapon, and after he'd deflected the Nightfall asteroid from its course, he'd known that he was truly invulnerable. However, deflecting Nightfall had undoubtedly turned the suspicions of the government toward the presence of an alien presence on earth, no matter what interpretation the world religious community had placed on the event. The government couldn't hurt him, but they could make his life a living hell. He'd only now found a place that he could envision settling down in, and given the world wide communications network, even wandering as he had been wouldn't be enough to hide. Clark didn't want to have to live on top of a mountaintop in solitude for the rest of his life. He'd spent too much time alone to contemplate living apart from the rest of humanity. His enforced secrecy was already almost too much to bear. For the first time he noticed Lois and Perry White staring at him. He struggled to compose himself. "Are you sure it isn't exactly what they say it is? Perhaps your informants have an ulterior motive for leading you on a wild goose chase." "I know it's hard to believe, son," Perry said. "I'm not sure I believe it myself. But if I just let this one slide by, I wouldn't be the newsman I think I am. You'll both be on the first flight to Smallville tomorrow." Clark hesitated, then glanced at Lois. Killing the story wouldn't be easy; it'd be infinitely harder with a reporter like Lois Lane at his side. "I'll look into it," Clark said. "I know the town and it shouldn't be that hard to find leads." He hesitated. "Sending two reporters might be overkill, though. If Lois feels that the Rave story is important, maybe..." "The decision has already been made." Perry said. "Lois is the best reporter in Metropolis, and if this story is anything like I think it will be, it'll take someone with her talents to get to the root of the problem." Although Clark didn't know Perry very well, he could tell that the discussion was closed as far as the other man was concerned. Clark didn't want to return to Smallville. He certainly didn't want to bring the first woman to whom he'd ever been really attracted to the place of his greatest sorrow and shame. It'd been ten years since he'd been in Smallville, and if he'd had a choice, he'd have never returned. ************* Managing to avoid Clark Kent for the rest of the day hadn't been easy, but Lois had made the effort. Speaking to him immediately would have been a mistake; she'd have said things she'd have regretted. Despite the fact that her cozy plans for a relationship would have to be placed on hold, it looked as though she'd have to work with Clark for a long time. She'd spent the evening reading through his news articles and travel books, and she'd been reluctantly impressed. The man didn't have quite her hard edge when dealing with news stories, but he had an unerring sense for the human side of issues. Unlike many human-interest writers, however, he was good about writing unbiased reports. According to his bio, he'd been in the Congo at approximately the same time she'd been doing her drug running story. Given the size of the country, it wasn't a surprise that they hadn't run into each other, but Lois couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if they had. He'd been writing freelance at the time, and they could have worked together without actually being co- workers. She hadn't had a hard and fast rule about dating people she worked with then. Before Claude, it had seemed only reasonable to be interested in someone who shared a similar work schedule and similar interests. She'd been naïve enough not to think about the aftermath of a breakup, about the awkwardness of being ex-lovers and having to work together. Lois was older and wiser now, though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. Clark Kent had seemed perfect, exactly the sort of man she could envision herself dating. He wouldn't have been threatened by her career, and he wouldn't have been a threat to it either. Finding that the Lex Air tickets were non-adjacent had been a relief. Lois wasn't looking forward to the inevitable talk. She'd been dumped in enough relationships to cringe at the idea of telling a man that they couldn't see each other anymore for reasons that had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her. Even two seats back, she could hear him engaged in a conversation with an older man. "Presley won't be re-elected," the man was saying. "After putting so much of an emphasis on the drug war with nothing to show for it, he's a political liability for the Democratic Party." Lois couldn't hear Clark's reply over the sounds of the engines and the low conversations of the other passengers. "Even the Democrats don't like him. They think he's a Republican in disguise. The Republicans think he's soft on crime and defense, and the Democrats don't see him as being liberal enough. At least Heston has a clear and simple message." The repeated scandals that had rocked the presidency wouldn't help. Despite the likelihood that it'd be throwing the vote to the Heston Campaign, Lois, like many Americans, was planning on voting for a third party candidate. Which one, she didn't yet know. She stiffened as she felt the plane roll in preparation for landing. She'd always hated flying; the feeling of being confined in a coffin made of tin foil had always made her uncomfortable. It wasn't that she was afraid of heights; it was the feeling of a loss of control. Losing control had never been good for her; Claude had shown her that, as had a seemingly endless string of disastrous relationships. Clark Kent had been dangerous because he made her want to give up a little of the rigid control that she kept over her own life. Sighing, Lois closed her eyes. She always wanted things that weren't good for her. She'd just have to make do with her life as it was. ********************** Lois still hadn't spoken to him. She'd ignored him the previous day, and had barely arrived at the airport in time to catch the plane. He almost wished she had. While he hated the idea that she might be angry at him, concealing the truth would be easier with her a thousand miles and more away. Facing the people he'd once known would be hard enough without Lois by his side. His legacy of shame was the last thing he wanted paraded in front of her. Given a choice, it was something that he wouldn't have told her until they were deeply committed to each other. He wanted her to think the best of him, and that would be impossible in a place like Smallville. In Metropolis, he was the man he presented himself to be, suave, intelligent, successful. His secret life had little bearing on that. In Smallville, however, he had little doubt that the others would try to force him to become what he once was. He'd left that person behind long ago, and had little interest in revisiting it. Other than a letter twice a year, and a check, he had no interest in ever revisiting his childhood. The world was everything he'd dreamed it would be, now that he'd found Lois Lane. Returning now, after so long, would only mean trouble in his life that he could ill afford. Commercial air travel was maddeningly slow. On his own, he could have reached Smallville in a matter of seconds. Being forced to sit in a metal box for two hours would have been intolerable without something to keep his mind occupied. As the plane taxied in for a landing, Clark returned his attention to the man beside him. The man had introduced himself as Simon Hunt, and he wore the same suit and tie as most of the other businessmen on the flight. In his forties, the man seemed intelligent, but opinionated. Simon Hunt seemed primarily interested in politics, and after two hours, Clark found himself wishing he were anywhere else. "The Presley administration has made great strides in health care and welfare reform," Clark said quietly, feeling that he had to say something to refute the man's grudge against the current administration. "I haven't seen a great deal from the Heston camp about any of the domestic issues." "Presidents don't have any power over domestic issues. Congress hamstrings them. Foreign policy is their real job, and you have to admit that the president has had a few too many failures on that front." As the man had spent much of the past two hours enumerating those failures, Clark didn't feel the need to respond. He was glad that he'd avoided admitting his profession; the man would have been even more likely to attempt to bend his ear. At least Simon hadn't pushed the issue of the scandals that had rocked the White House over the past few years. He'd confined himself to substantive issues. "You've got business in Wichita?" Clark asked, hoping to change the subject. Smallville wasn't big enough to have its own airport, and so Wichita was the nearest city with an airport. The man beside him shook his head. "I'm heading for Smallville. It's a small town a couple of hours northwest of Wichita." "You have family there?" Clark asked. There weren't many business reasons to go to Smallville. The older man grimaced. "I work for the National Inquisitor. Some farmer claims to have found a UFO on his property, and I'm being sent out to investigate." Clark fought to keep his features composed. More reporters would mean that he was at more of a risk of discovery. "I wasn't aware that the National Inquisitor actually sent reporters out," Clark said carefully. "I thought they just made all their stories up." Simon Hunt shrugged. "You can't believe everything you hear. I expect that I'll get a few pictures and a few quotes and be back on the first plane back to New York in a couple of days." Nodding, Clark pretended to turn his attention to the landing as the plane made its final descent. A man like Simon Hunt was intelligent enough to see the seeds of a real story if he knew that two reporters from the Daily Planet were sniffing around. Clark would have to be careful. In this, at least, he could enlist Lois's aid. She wouldn't want anyone else to scoop them on a story. He already knew she was competitive enough to want to avoid that. As the plane pulled to a stop, Clark turned his focus on Lois. She wouldn't be able to avoid him once they were on the ground. He simply had to find the right words. ******************* "You've been avoiding me," Clark said. "And I'm not entirely sure why." Lois grimaced. She'd hoped to avoid a confrontation, until doomsday if need be, but apparently Clark was going to push the issue. She grabbed the ticket from the rental agent and turned to Clark. "We can talk about this in the car." "I'll drive," Clark said, making as though to take the ticket from her. "Why? Because I'm the little woman?" Stepping away from the counter, Lois hissed. "I thought I made it clear that I do the driving." "At work I suppose that's true." Clark's expression turned mild. "However, I'll be able to get us there without asking directions. I grew up around here, remember?" Lois scowled. "From the way you were talking back in Perry's office, I'd have thought you wouldn't care if we ever reached Smallville." Clark hesitated for a long moment before saying, "If I had a choice, I wouldn't be going back. But the man I was speaking to on the airplane was Simon Hunt…" "Simon Hunt?" Lois said stopping. "If he's already on his way, we'd better get moving." She grabbed the only small bag that Clark had allowed her to carry, and set off moving quickly. She refused to admit that she was impressed by the way he moved while loaded down with enough baggage to drop an elephant. "He told me that he worked for the National Inquisitor," Clark said, catching up to her. "Do you know him?" "He won the Merriweather award the year before I did. He was a legitimate journalist until just a few years ago, and he's not stupid. If there is anything to find in Smallville, he'll dig until he finds it. He's not like the other Inquisitor hacks. He actually knows his business." Lois almost thought that Clark paled, but she dismissed it as being a trick of the light. She walked as quickly as she could without running, and it took her only a few moments to find the attendant waiting with their car. She handed her ticket to the attendant, allowed him to take her bag, and waited for Clark to catch up. The attendant handed the keys to Clark. Under normal circumstances, Lois would have protested the attendant's chauvinistic assumptions, but at the moment she was preoccupied. Clark slid into the driver's seat and Lois closed her eyes, silently wondering how she was going to bring up a subject that she'd been wanting desperately to avoid. Slipping the vehicle into drive, Clark spoke. "You have to talk to me sometime. We're going to be partners." "That's the problem." Lois said. "We're going to be partners at work." "I'm not entirely certain how that could be considered a problem. I'm looking forward to working with you." Clark glanced at her, "I'll do my best to hold up my end professionally." "I'm not worried about the professional end of things." After reading Clark's resume and his articles, Lois had little doubt that he'd be a competent reporter. "I'm relieved to hear that," Clark said, pulling out into traffic. "From what I hear, you don't exactly like playing with others." Playing was exactly what she wished she could do. Instead, she had to give him the bad news. "My concerns are more about the private part of our relationship." "You didn't enjoy our date?" Clark asked. "I know it ended badly, but I can promise that most of my dates don't end like…" "I don't date people I work with," Lois said flatly. She stared out the side window out onto the passing road, refusing to look at him. Clark was silent for a long moment. "That's not exactly what I was expecting to hear. Can I ask why?" "Experience," Lois said tersely. "Ask around at the Planet, and I'm sure you can get all the juicy details." "I'm not going to tell anyone anything that you don't want me to tell them." Clark said. "I don't like to lie, but I'm pretty good at keeping a secret if I have to." "I could see that," Lois said. She hesitated, then forced herself to ask, "You pretended as though we didn't know each other when Perry introduced us. Why?" "I thought that if you'd wanted him to know, you'd have told him." Clark looked away for a moment. "Sometimes interoffice romances can be sticky." "Then you understand why I can't…why we can't…" Lois fumbled with the words. "I said they could be sticky, not that they couldn't work." Clark glanced over his shoulder and pulled out onto the highway. "Sometimes it's worth it." "That's easy for you to say," Lois said. "Men don't face the same sort of pressures women do." "I'm not sure that I believe that, Lois, Clark said. "These days a man has as much to…" Lois interrupted him. "Do you have to work twice as hard as anyone else just so you can receive the same respect? If you did, you wouldn't be so willing to throw that respect away for a few days of pleasure." "Is that what happened, Lois?" Clark shook his head. "You seem to have the respect of everyone at the Planet." Lois shook her head. "I have three rules, farm boy. Never get involved with your stories, never let anyone get there first and never sleep with anyone you work with." "I never said anything about sleeping," Clark said. "I don't think we know each other well enough for that." Lois felt herself flushing. "I had those rules a long time before I met you." Her new partner was much too perceptive for her taste. She'd been tempted by him from the moment she met him; letting him know that would be a mistake. "It's probably a good idea while we're on the job in any case," Clark said. "If this Simon Hunt character sees us sniffing around and finds out who we are, you can bet he'd figure something was up." Grateful for the respite, Lois said, "Maybe we shouldn't admit to working for the Planet. Nobody back home knows that you work for it, do they?" Clark shook his head. "I haven't spoken to anyone back home in years." "Then we can just be passing through. I could pretend to be your fiancé." The idea had popped into her head with a flash of inspiration. "You could just pretend to be coming home for a visit. Simon doesn't know me by appearance…I could just pretend to be the little woman." Pleasant possibilities flashed through her mind. The pretense of intimacy could be almost as good as the real thing. She should know; she'd had that with Lex, before he was killed. Discovering after he was dead that he'd been as much a liar as every other man in her life had been hard. "You wouldn't want to do that," Clark said, turning to watch the road once again. "I didn't exactly have a happy childhood in Smallville." Lois grinned. "So you were a nerd in high school? It'll do your reputation a world of good to be seen with a woman like me." ************* Smallville loomed on the horizon. For more than ten years, Clark had done everything he could to leave the past behind him, and he'd believed that he'd never return. Becoming the sort of man his parents would have been proud to know hadn't been easy; he'd had to struggle to change. Leaving Smallville had been the best thing he could have done; leaving being who he was and starting an entire new life for himself. Yet with every advancing mile, he could feel the old persona settling back into place like an old tattered coat. Returning to Smallville was a mistake; Clark knew it with a sense of uneasy certainty. He was a new man, but the people of his youth wouldn't allow him to be. Despite himself, he found himself growing more silent the closer he came to home. Lois, fortunately, didn't seem to notice. "It doesn't look like much," Lois said, looking up from the stack of papers in her hand. She'd been silent for much of the journey, poring over the sketchy information in the files again and again, as though she'd be able to read something hidden between the lines. "Perry hasn't given us anything concrete to work with," Lois continued. "Just rumors of a hoax." "There's probably nothing to find," Clark said. "Sometimes a hoax really is just a hoax." "There's something here, or the government wouldn't have such an interest in it. I'm not sure that I buy the idea of little green men in Kansas, but generally, when people try to hide something, it's because they have something * to * hide." "So you think that the government is really trying to cover something else up? Smallville isn't exactly the place where you'd expect to find spies or weapons' testing." "Which is why you'd have them in a place like this. It's the last place that anyone would expect." "You can't hide anything like that in a small town, Lois. Everyone knows everyone else, and people have a tendency to talk." "Small towns are full of secrets," Lois said. "Sex, crime, deceit. Human nature doesn't change just because you change your street address." Lois was more right about that than she knew. Clark forced himself to reply. "A government facility would either have to hire a lot of locals, or it would at the very least involve a lot of strangers moving through town. It's not exactly the sort of thing you can hide in the back of a closet." "What do you have in the back of your closet, Mr. Kent?" Lois looked at him curiously. "You haven't exactly been thrilled about coming to Smallville." "I've already told you that I didn't have a happy childhood. My parents died and I was bounced around from foster home to foster home." "It looks like you'd want to come back and show everyone what a success you've become." "I haven't exactly made the sort of life that most of the people in Smallville would respect. I've never been married, I have no kids, and I've never lived in one place for more than six weeks since I got out of college." "You've been to a lot of interesting places," Lois said. "And you are working for the best newspaper in America." "That's not something I'm going to be able to talk about though," Clark said. "Writing a few travel guides is hardly the sort of resume to impress. If I'd become a doctor, or even a lawyer, maybe." Given his past, he doubted they'd have accepted him even then, any more than he'd have wanted their acceptance. The first buildings came into view just as Lois was turning to ask him another question. She reconsidered, then spoke. "We'll drop our bags off at the hotel, then go directly to the farm of this man Irwin, who says he saw the UFO." 'Irig...the man's name is Wayne Irig.", Clark said absently. He hadn't realized how viscerally the sights and sounds of Smallville would affect him, how much they'd take him back to a time he'd rather have forgotten. "Whatever," Lois said dismissively, flipping through the papers. "We'll probably get the run-around by the government people, but I'll have Eduardo run background checks on the people we talk to. If they aren't really employed by the agencies they say they are, we'll have them." "I'd imagine they'd have something like that covered, Lois." Clark said. "That's what you'd think," Lois said, "But we might get lucky. They haven't had a lot of time to set all this up; according to what Perry was able to discover, the craft was only discovered four days ago." Clark made a right hand turn and grimaced. The incident would still be fresh in everyone's minds. "They'll have moved the ship, if there really is one. If Wayne Irig was able to carry it around in the back of his truck, it'd be easy to move to some undisclosed location." Lois scowled as Clark pulled into the cracked driveway of a dilapidated motel. "The Feds are still here; that means they are still looking for something." As Clark pulled into a parking space near the front entrance, Lois said, "You couldn't find us anything better?" Shaking his head, Clark said, "There's a bed and breakfast down the road, but the Feds have taken all the rooms." "If I have to fight off roaches the size of poodles, I'm coming after you Kent." Clark shrugged as Lois shoved her door open. While he hated making her uncomfortable, having her distracted might be for the best. The sooner she wanted to leave the better. ******************** "We are conducting a routine investigation, Ms Lane, into the possibility of soil contamination." The African American woman facing them appeared to be the epitome of the professional businesswoman, appearing as though she'd be more comfortable in a boardroom than as a government spokesperson. "This seems to be a large scale investigation," Lois said. "There have been government agents seen all over the county." "It's in the best interest of the public to discover the true extent of the contamination before it spreads. Most of our searches have turned up negative results, but we couldn't know that until we looked." The woman gave an obviously rehearsed smile. "So the fact that the owner of this property was seen around town showing off an unknown piece of equipment and claiming that it was a UFO has no bearing on your investigation?" The woman shook her head. "I can't comment on Mr. Irig's mental stability, or about his sense of humor. Our concern is to keep the public as safe as we possibly can." "Speculation around town is that an experimental aircraft from the McClellan Air force base crash landed around here, and that the government is trying to cover it up." Clark looked hopeful, as though he actually expected the woman to change her story in midstream. Despite his experiences in foreign countries, Lois suspected that he had a great deal to learn. "Speculation isn't reality, Mr. Kent. Do you have any other questions?" Glancing conspicuously at the clock on the wall, the woman rose o her feet. "If this is an EPA Matter, why are there several army units stationed outside?" Lois asked. "Before my father went into sports medicine, he worked as an army doctor, and I know the look." "Several governmental organizations are working in concert on this operation, in an effort to best serve the public." Given the usual interdepartmental strife, that was in itself suspicious. Lois allowed herself to smile weakly. "I'm sure the public would be pleased to know that it was being so well served." "Despite the beliefs of the lunatic fringe, the people ARE being well served, Ms. Lane. We live in an era of unprecedented governmental cooperation." The woman spoke stiffly. "We're here to do what's best for the people of Smallville, and of the United States." "Who gave you the right to decide what's best for the people?" Lois scowled. "You did, Ms Lane, along with the millions of other voters who elected people whose job is to make those decisions, and to hire others to implement them. The law is representative of the will of the people." "Is there anything else you can tell us about what's going on here?" Clark asked smoothly. "I have no further comment at this time, Mr. Kent. If that changes, I'll have my secretary contact you." Ready to protest, Lois began to speak again, only to stop when she felt Clark touch her arm. Glancing at him, she saw him shake his head slightly. Turning back to the woman, she sighed. The woman most likely wouldn't budge, and pushing any further would only serve to antagonize her. If they were able to confront her with more evidence, they might be able to get a more honest answer. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Houston." Lois said. "If we have any more questions, we'll be in touch." The woman nodded, dismissing them with a look. Lois turned to Clark and followed him out of the makeshift tent that had been set up as the local headquarters of the "EPA". "She's hiding something," Lois said. "I could see it in her eyes." Clark had a far away look for a moment. He hesitated, then said, "She was irritated with having to waste time talking to us. I didn't see anything to suggest otherwise." "That's why you're the rookie and I'm the experienced reporter. Sometimes you have to look beneath the surface." Lois grinned at Clark's expression. "Despite all appearances, you aren't on the farm any more." *********************** "It's started." The woman spoke only two words into the phone, and all Clark could hear from the other end was the ever-present electronic hum of the telephone and the sound of an indrawn breath. The wo