Escape From New Krypton
By: ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
Rated: PG-13
Submitted: January 2007
								
* * * * * * * * *

This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois and Clark:
The New Adventures of Superman. No copyright infringement is
intended. I'm borrowing these characters for a little fun and
not for any profit. For a complete disclaimer, go to:
http://www.thompsonlawoffice.ca/Disclaimer.htm. 

My thanks to both Carol Malo and Gerry Anklewicz for all their
hard work Beta reading this monstrosity. They both gave great
ideas and helped make the story much more enjoyable for you, the
reader. Also, my thanks to everyone on the Fanfic message boards
for your answers to all my silly questions. Finally, thanks to
Janet Owens for editing this story for the archives.

I've actually had this story sitting on my hard drive for the
past number of months, unsure if I was going to post it. You
see, although I love writing, I find posting very, very
difficult. It's like taking my child and flinging her to a rabid
mob <g>. And it just seems to get more difficult with every
story. But Carol has been bugging me to post so... I guess I'll
give it a shot. Anyway, as a result, feedback is not only
welcome, it is encouraged. Only feedback can let me know if
enduring the stomach cramps that posting gives me is worth it.
My email address is thomplaw@tbaytel.net 

When writing this story, I knew that the premise meant that I
had to make Clark more aggressive, harder, more demanding. I
mean, he wasn't raised to be the Kansas farm boy with loving
parents and in a constant struggle to control his powers; he was
raised to be the ruler. And it wasn't as if his parents were
still alive. He had to be the 'ruler' from the time he was a
child. So I felt I had to change his character. On the other
hand, I don't want people thinking that means I don't like our
Clark. I love our Clark - just like I love our Lois. But...
Well, here's the story.

WARNING: This story contains some violence and the death of some
minor characters.

* * * * * * * * *
Escape From New Krypton
By: ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
January 2007
* * * * * * * * *

****************
CHAPTER ONE
****************

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

A large fireball streaked across the evening sky finally
disappearing below the horizon. A moment later, a tremor shook
the ground on the outskirts of Metropolis. 

* * * * * * * * *

Pain. Kal's first conscious thought was of unbearable, crushing
pain in his chest. Still, he forced air into his lungs, knowing
he had to breathe. The second breath was slightly easier than
the first. Once he'd conquered the art of breathing, he looked
around, noticing, amidst the rubble of what had once been his
craft, sparks jumping from one of the panels. He tried to move,
push his way through the rubble to reach the door. His leg
rebelled against the effort. Still, he had to get out now,
before the entire place was swarming with curiosity seekers.
After all, his final descent had been more of a crash than a
landing. But he'd lost consciousness during the final minutes.
Only wishful thinking would allow him to believe his landing had
gone unnoticed.

When he arrived at the door, he tried opening it, only to
realize that it, too, had been damaged in the crash. As he was
trying to figure out why it wouldn't open, his sense of smell
noticed... 

Fire! 

He spun around. Some of the sparks had sprung to life in a
full-fledged fire. He turned back to the door. If he didn't get
out soon, the fire would eat up all the oxygen. He felt a moment
of panic as he began pulling blindly at the door.

Realizing what he was doing, he forced himself to calm his mind.
Panic was certain to kill him... almost as certainly as panic
would transmit his thought waves to the enemy. He took a deep
breath, letting calm sweep through his body. It was only then
that he saw the problem. A wayward piece of metal had wedged
itself in the bottom of the door. He quickly tended to it. Once
it was removed, he was able to pull open the door and hobble
outside, only to collapse to the ground when his injured leg
gave out beneath him.

Breathing hard, he reached out and touched the wound on his leg,
drawing away a bloody hand. He must have re-injured it during
the landing. Reaching for some of the soft, white, wet stuff
covering the ground, he used it in an attempt to staunch the
bleeding.

He allowed himself the luxury of a moment to get his bearings
before, fighting against the pain in his leg, he rose to his
feet. Turning around, he surveyed the damage to his craft.
Whatever else happened, there was no way that thing would ever
fly again. He was trapped on this primitive planet.

He closed his eyes, attempting to activate the cloaking device
on the craft. He was unsuccessful. That meant... He wasn't
looking forward to it, and he doubted it would do much good, but
he had to at least attempt to hide the craft. The only things he
had going for him was that it was small and was already
half-buried in the ground. Knowing he had to move fast, he
pushed aside his own pain and went to work.

* * * * * * * * *

Don't think too loud. Kal took a deep breath and closed his eyes
as he attempted to calm his mind. Unless he was able to control
his thoughts, they were certain to track him. Normally,
controlling his thoughts was second nature. He could still
remember Trey's admonitions on the subject. Kal had been
sparring with Ching at the time.

"The future Lord of New Krypton's mind must not be filled with
stray thoughts," Trey had said even as Ching's drei, a large
staff, had come down hard against Kal's drei, causing him to
stumble back in an effort to maintain his balance.

Kal's thoughts flooded back to the present when a bolt of
lightning-like pain shot through him. Without conscious thought,
his hand went to his leg. Blood. He was bleeding again. For all
he knew, he'd been bleeding the whole time he'd been hiding the
ship and heading out of the area. He'd simply pushed the pain
out of his mind - a technique he'd learned from the time he was
young. Sinking to the ground, his back to a building, he cut a
jagged strip off the bottom of his shirt to use as a bandage.
Once he had his leg bandaged, he allowed himself a chance to
rest as his mind drifted back to Lord Trey's exhortation.

"You must learn to control your thoughts, m'lord. Make them
serve you. Not the other way around."

"But, my lord," Kal had responded, "how am I to do that while
engaged in battle?"

"Engaged in battle, in pain, sick... it makes no difference. One
stray thought. One slip is all it takes for your opponent to
know enough to bring you to your knees. And control your fear! I
can sense it even from here. Emotions must be controlled for
they, more than anything else, will betray you. Your opponent
can ride your emotions into your mind. Never forget that."

Kal had let down his guard momentarily as he'd attempted to
digest his teacher's words. He'd yelped in pain when Ching's
drei smashed into his hand.

"No! No! No!" Trey's rebuke had been immediate. "You are
allowing yourself to become distracted! Do it again!"

Kal had fought back the tears as the pain radiated out from his
bloody knuckles. Twelve years old. His opponent fifteen - and
almost twice as big. It was his first day with the new boy as
his sparring partner. But Trey had insisted that it was not the
size of the boy - but the size of his heart which would
determine who would win the battle. And in the past few months,
Kal had been defeating, on what Trey considered a far too
regular basis, his former sparring partners. And so, this
morning, Kal had been introduced to Ching.

The boy had only said, 'It is an honor, my lord,' and given a
slight bow before attacking. Kal had been on the defensive ever
since.

Kal felt his mind calm, allowing him to think. Surely they would
not have followed him. After all, for hundreds of years the
people of Krypton had not been to any world with a yellow sun.
The mystics of old had expressly forbidden it - foretelling
gloom and doom, as mystics were prone to do, if their commands
were not obeyed. Kal had never been much of a believer in the
mystics, but he figured it was enough to keep the forces of Lord
Nor from following him there - assuming they had even figured
out where he'd gone.

Forcing himself to his feet, he ignored the crippling pain in
his leg. There were still miles to go. He'd simply have to
control the pain and move before his leg stiffened up
completely. He'd already put some distance between himself and
his ship, but it was imperative that he keep moving. If they did
track him to Earth, they would undoubtedly find the ship first.
He planned to be long gone before that happened. And then...
he'd take his chances with the yellow sun.

Concentrating, he forced himself to set one foot in front of the
other. Pain shot through him every time the foot attached to his
injured leg hit the ground. The alley was dark and deserted. His
vision blurred. He had to find a safe place quickly. Taking a
deep breath, he continued moving forward.

After a month of fighting, he was so desperately tired. Watching
everyone and everything he cared about destroyed around him.
Nothing mattered now. Nothing except, perhaps, living to fight
another day.

* * * * * * * * *

People barely looked at Kal, his odd clothing or his blood and
bruises, as he'd made his way through the streets. A side effect
of being in a big city. Not that New Krypton was much better.
Still, it was time he got inside, out of the sight of prying
eyes. But where... and how?

He stopped in a quite neighborhood. Residential - if he was
reading the signs correctly. But the lack of traffic would make
it the ideal place. It would be harder for someone to sneak in
here undetected - just in case they did come looking for him. He
glanced around at the multi-dwelling buildings, wondering about
the small colored lights many of them had strung on their
balconies. Some mystic tradition, no doubt. Perhaps to keep the
evil spirits away. Primitives, like the ones he'd seen of Earth
on the ship's computer, always believed in evil spirits. No
matter. One of these small dwellings would do nicely. Besides,
something about this place just felt right.

He moved into the shadows and withdrew a large knife from his
belt. Only one option existed. He needed a place to hide. He
needed someone who could treat his wounds. So although he hated
doing this, it really was the only way. No one... at least no
one who was sane would offer him shelter in his current
condition. Not of their own free will anyway. And he dared not
go somewhere that normally provided such help - he assumed such
places were available even in this backward society.

Now he just needed to wait for the right person. Someone who
could be 'persuaded' to provide assistance. He closed his eyes
and gathered his strength for the task ahead.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois Lane was in a rush. The commute home had taken longer than
normal. Christmas traffic. It was only the beginning of
December, for crying out loud. Surely people could wait until a
more reasonable time before clogging up the roads with their
endless parties and shopping trips. If she didn't hurry, she
wouldn't be ready when Dan arrived to pick her up for their
date.

It had crossed her mind to call and cancel the date. After all,
she wasn't exactly in date mode these days. In fact, for the
past month, she'd been in something of a funk. Nothing she could
actually put her finger on. But for reasons she couldn't name,
she felt... unsettled was probably the best way to describe it.
A feeling that all was not right with the universe. And yet,
when she tried to analyze the reasons for her mood, she'd found
herself at a complete loss. 

Things in her life were going well. She and Dan were into their
second month of dating. He was her first serious relationship
since Lex Luthor and... it was good. Not
the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music good. But... good.
Perhaps the way a pair of old slippers were good. It was...
comfortable.

Things at work were going well, too. She'd just won her fourth
Kerth award. She was at the top of her game. Perry had even
given her a raise. Of course, it had probably helped that she'd
let it slip that the New York Times editor had given her a
call.

As a result, it wasn't anything she could put her finger on that
had her in this funk. It just... was.

Still, Lois Lane was not a moper. So she'd thrown herself even
more completely into her work. And that was the reason that,
even if she wasn't 'in the mood', she wouldn't cancel her date
tonight. Pulling herself up by her bootstraps was the only way
to go. Besides, Dan was always fun and energetic - a good
distraction for the unrest that had gripped her soul.

Swerving her jeep into a parking spot near her apartment, she
got out, fumbling with her briefcase, fumbling with her keys.
She managed to juggle the briefcase so that she could click the
lock button on the remote entry for her jeep. It beeped once.
Turning, she headed towards the steps to her apartment
building.

Where he came from, she had no idea. She'd heard nothing. Seen
nothing. But suddenly, he was holding her from behind, a knife
blade pressed firmly against her throat.

She froze, fear turning the blood flowing through her veins to
ice water.

"I do not wish to hurt you." 

The man's voice was deep, steady, not the sound of someone drunk
or stoned. But there was a determination, a desperation that
came through loud and clear. And there was what he wasn't
saying: 'but I will.' It might not be verbal, but the threat was
definitely there. And she did not doubt that he meant it.

"Take me to your place of abode."

Place of abode? In spite of her current predicament, she
couldn't help but be caught off guard by the expression. Her
head turned slightly, trying to see who was holding her. She
stopped when the knife was pressed even more firmly against her
throat. She thought about using her Tai Kwan Do moves on her
attacker, but immediately rejected the idea. She'd make her
move. She'd teach him exactly what a mistake it was to mess with
Lois Lane. But now was not the time. One move, even
accidentally, and the knife at her neck could easily end her
life before she had a chance. No. The time would come. But now
was not that time.

She began leading him towards her apartment building.

* * * * * * * * *

No one had seen them coming into her apartment. Lois had mixed
feelings about that. In spite of the circumstances, or perhaps
because of them, Lois had been nervous about running into
someone on the way in. Although the idea of someone seeing them
and calling the police was not at all an unpleasant thought, she
was afraid of spooking the man holding her. No. Her best bet for
surviving this encounter was to wait until he relaxed his grip
and then make her move.

"What are you doing?"

"Just getting my keys," Lois responded, holding the keys out
where he could see them and then, moving carefully, inserting
them in the various locks on her door.

Opening the door, she waited until he pushed her into the room.
And then the moment came. His knife slipped off her neck as he
turned slightly to close the door behind them. Jabbing him in
the ribs with her elbow, she spun away from him, kicking the
knife out of his hand before using her other foot to smash him
in the ribs, sending him flying into the door. 

As he crumpled against it, she recovered her stance, ready to
attack again. She was shocked when his chin lolled against his
chest.

What?

Surely she hadn't killed him. Cautiously, she stepped forward,
kicking the knife further away from his grasp. She let out a
breath of relief when she saw his chest moving slowly. Killing
him would not be good for her karma. It wasn't until that moment
that she took a good look at him. 

His face was streaked with blood and dirt, matting the several
days' worth of stubble covering his cheeks and chin. Yet
underneath was a jarringly white face except, of course, where
the skin had been discolored by purple and blue bruises. A
jagged cut ran from the center of his forehead into his eyebrow.
According to her admittedly untrained eye, he hadn't received
the bruises tonight, but the cut on his forehead was fresh and,
like all head wounds, had bled badly. He was wearing a long
black coat made in a style that was unfamiliar to her. It was
wrinkled and covered with stains. His coat was open, revealing a
torn black shirt and a bruised and blood spattered midriff. His
black trousers were also crinkled and dirty.

Well, she couldn't just stand there.

The phone was on a table next to the door. She stepped across
his still unconscious body, picked up the phone and punched in
the number nine.

His hand instantly gripped her arm in a clutch that was close to
being painful.

"Help me."

Lois was caught off guard, not by the words, but the tone with
which they were uttered. It was not said as a request. In spite
of the fact that the man was lying on the ground, it was a
command.

"Like hell I will!" She moved to snatch her arm away from him
when she suddenly stopped. On his finger was a ring that made
her breath catch in her throat. She shook her head, trying to
clear her mind, and pulled her arm away. She hit the number one
on the phone.

"No! No, do not! Cannot... Do not. No authorities."

She hesitated. The smart thing was undoubtedly to call 9-1-1.
They would help him. Besides, she was still ruffled from being
held at knifepoint and then commanded to help him.

"No one can know I am here." Each word was a gasp as his eyes
pleaded with her, softening the previous command.

"But I..." She looked at the ring on his finger once again.
"Aw...hell," she muttered, hanging up the phone. She supposed he
wasn't strong enough to be a real threat to her - if she were
careful. It wasn't the wisest course of action. But what she had
noticed... No. The very thought was crazy. Still, she couldn't
help but suddenly realize that she was willing to take the
risk.

All at once it struck her that now wasn't exactly the right time
to be standing around thinking about his ring - or what it might
mean. Right now, he needed help. Now how to do that? She
couldn't exactly leave him lying inside the door, bleeding all
over her carpet. But where to move him? There was really only
one choice. She rushed to her bedroom and made some adjustments
before returning to her uninvited guest.

"Okay," she said, crouching down beside him. "You're going to
have to help me out here." She slipped his arm over her
shoulder, put her arm behind his back and assisted him in rising
to his feet.

At least during her years as a reporter, she'd learned a thing
or two about first aid. She'd just have to hope it was enough.
And if not? Well, she could always call for help then.

But for now... there were too many unanswered questions. And in
spite of the circumstances that had brought him into her
apartment, she had to admit, she couldn't help but wonder why
he'd come to her. Did he know she was a reporter? Did he somehow
sense what she had discovered in a small town in Kansas? Maybe.
Regardless... she'd see what she could do on her own before
calling for help. After all, this wasn't the first time she'd
seen the crest he had on his ring. A 'S' inside a stylized
upside-down triangle.

By the time she got him onto the bed and wrestled his coat off,
he was barely coherent. Actually, he was not at all coherent. He
was mumbling something in a language she didn't recognize.
Still, she pulled off his long, black boots and made him as
comfortable as possible even as she wondered what demons were
tormenting him.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

The Ceremony of Union was almost over. Trey bound Kal's wrist to
Zara's with a gold rope, before handing Kal the wedding cup. Kal
raised it to his lips before offering it to his bride.

Zara of the House of Ra was Kal's birth wife. Sent with him to
New Krypton - the future rulers of their people. They were both
seventeen, a little young for the Ceremony of Union, but given
the circumstances, the elders had decided that it was best to
solidify the young couple's relationship as quickly as possible.
After all, the winds of discontent had already begun to move
through the population of New Krypton. 

Life on New Krypton had proven to be a challenge - much more so
than had been expected. In the sixteen years since their arrival
on this barren rock, almost half of the original population had
died. Life was hard. It was only the continuity of leadership
and the solid foundation of tradition that would keep the people
united. Kal understood all of this - as well as his role in it.
Besides, he liked Zara. She was pretty and smart and during
their years together, he had become quite fond of her. It was
much more than most arranged marriages could hope for. 

Her father had been the First Lord of Krypton at the time of the
exodus. Kal's own father's position had not been nearly as
exalted. But he was the First Lord's second cousin. So the First
Lord had decided that Zara's third cousin, Kal, would have the
honor of marriage to his daughter and thereby become the First
Lord of New Krypton. As a result, the marriage had been
performed. Today, however, was a special day. After the
ceremonies of today were finished, they would truly be man and
wife.

Besides, there was Lord Nor to consider. Twenty-two years of age
and already making rumblings of discontent. Given that by virtue
of his birth, his standing was higher than Kal El's, he had
begun to question the legitimacy of the birth marriage of Kal
and his bride-to-be. As Trey had explained when first suggesting
the idea of moving the marriage date forward, if Nor found a way
to challenge the marriage before the Ceremony of Union was
performed, everything could unravel. 

A cheer rang through the crowd gathered as the final words of
benediction were uttered, completing the ceremony. Only the act
of union was left to perform, and still no sign of opposition
from Nor.

Kal looked around. Nor was simmering on the far side of the
room. Kal couldn't help but be amused. He looked around for his
best friend, Ching, intending to gesture towards Nor so that
Ching could also see the man's expression. Kal frowned slightly
when he realized that Ching's expression was much the same as
that of Lord Nor. He brushed it off quickly. Ching had never
been much for ceremonies. So he was probably thinking about some
tiff with his latest concubine. 

Ching's status was not high enough to merit official access to
the professional caregivers. But as a result of his friendship
with Kal, and Ching's own natural charm with the ladies, he'd
managed to bypass the rules and make regular use of the women
meant to provide distraction and comfort for the leaders of New
Krypton. Kal had been subjected, more than once, to stories of
Ching's conquests. Although... Kal's eyebrows crinkled slightly
as he led his bride down the hall towards the royal chambers
where the final act of union between him and Zara would be
performed. ...come to think of it, Ching's talk of his exploits
had been almost non-existent in recent months.

Pushing that thought aside, he concentrated on what was to come
as he stepped into the bedchamber. He could feel Zara's hand
tighten on his arm and knew she was nervous. He was nervous,
too. But with the knowledge he'd received from the professional
caregiver assigned the task of providing him with instruction in
this matter, he was confident he could lead Zara through this
with only minimal discomfort. And then, if she felt up to it,
they would join the festivities he could already hear beginning
in the main banquet hall.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

Lois didn't need to take the man's temperature to know that he
was burning up. In fact, given his current state, it was hard to
believe that only minutes before he - she didn't even know his
name - had been holding her hostage.

She retrieved a wash cloth, soaked it in cool water and ran it
over his face, hoping both to remove some of the dried blood and
sweat mingled with more than a modest amount of dirt, and to
help with his temperature. It seemed to work. At least he
quieted slightly and his breathing became deep and regular. 

Moving on to her next task, she proceeded to determine his
injuries. When she finally managed to remove the remnants of his
shirt, she was shocked by what she saw. The skin of his chest
was almost entirely covered with bruises. There were also a good
number of cuts and scars. Whoever he was, he had accumulated
these over a period of time. Still, a number of bruises and
welts were obviously quite new. And crossing one arm and his
upper torso were a series of cuts, as if he'd been slashed
several times with a knife blade.

The slashes were no long bleeding. Still, the dried blood and
dirt surrounding them told Lois that none of these had received
proper medical attention. She would have to clean them out. But
right now... As she turned her attention to the leg he had
wrapped in what appeared to be the missing piece of his shirt,
he began to mutter again, resuming the battle with his inner
demons.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Kal's footsteps were slow as he made his way back to the royal
chambers. It had been a good day - albeit an exhausting one. He
had finally managed to mediate a dispute over mining between two
of New Krypton's most powerful clans - the Houses of Dor and
Ren. Neither side was exactly happy with the results, of course.
But Kal figured that meant the compromise was probably equally
fair for both.

But the final signing of the contract would keep the mines
active and the ore being processed, which was good for the
workers on both sides who were trying to feed their families as
well as for the society itself which was still trying to build
and desperately needed those alloys to do so.

And there was nothing quite as satisfying as finishing up early.
When he'd left this morning, he'd told Zara not to wait dinner
for him since he expected he'd be with representatives of the
two houses for most of the night. But here the sun had barely
set and he was walking towards the royal chambers.

It would be nice spending an evening with Zara. Maybe they could
take in a game of krasta on the vid-screen. It had been a long
time since he and Zara had asked Ching to join them for the
evening so maybe they could do that. Or perhaps he would see if
Zara wanted to go out. The possibilities were endless.

Ching. He had become a good friend over the years. Still, Kal
wished the head of his imperial guard would settle down and take
a wife. Given that Ching, unlike those born to noble rank, had
not had a wife negotiated for him at birth, he was free to
choose from the many women of Kryptonian society who had not
already been promised in marriage. Kal had even offered his and
Zara's services to help Ching negotiate for a wife. Given the
rank Ching had achieved, it was even possible he could, with
Kal's help, negotiate for a wife from one of the lower noble
families, thereby solidifying his position in Kryptonian
society. But Ching had merely dismissed the idea, saying he had
no interest in taking a wife.

But then Ching was the exception more than the rule. After all,
he was one of the few people on New Krypton who had managed to
rise beyond the standing of his birth to become head of the
Imperial Guard - something no commoner had ever before managed
to do. But his abilities, as well as Kal's trust in him, had
made him the most logical candidate for the job. No one would
dare challenge Kal's right to the throne while Ching was
defending it. Even Nor had been forced to concede to Ching's
superior talent and approve the appointment. A small smile
settled on Kal's face as he thought about the look on Nor's face
the day he'd been forced to approve that. It was worse than the
look he'd given Kal on his wedding day. For a moment, Kal had
almost thought Nor's head was going to explode.

Kal chuckled slightly to himself as a guard opened the door to
the royal chambers for Kal to step through. It was good to be
home. As the door closed behind him, Kal became aware that...
something was off. But what? It was a feeling more than anything
else. He hadn't felt it outside his chambers - which undoubtedly
meant that the thought dampeners were on. Not that that was
unusual, of course. In a society able to communicate
telepathically, it was necessary to have technology that could
allow one to think without such thoughts being picked up or
recorded by outsiders.

He stopped just inside the door and concentrated on the feeling.
It was Zara. After eleven years of marriage, he found their
telepathic connection had grown, allowing him to pick up on her
surface feelings - at least when she wasn't actively working to
keep him out. But this... This was something new, feelings
stronger than anything he'd ever felt before.

Cautiously, he headed in the direction that his feelings were
taking him until he heard sounds coming from their bedchamber.
Not unfamiliar noises, but... noises he wasn't quite ready to
identify. Pushing open the partially closed door, he moved into
the doorway of his room and stared in stunned disbelief at the
scene before him.

No. Whatever else was happening it wasn't this. Arms, legs
entangled. So caught up in each other that neither had as much
as sensed his presence. And... he could feel his wife's
pleasure. It surrounded him. It saturated the air, making it
difficult for Kal to breath. In eleven years of marriage, not
even during their most intimate moments together, had he sensed
such a strong feeling of passion emanating from his wife.

He stood there for a moment in disbelief before stepping
silently back. He was in shock. He knew that. But in a moment,
shock would fade and then... No. The level of emotion that was
sure to follow would be impossible to hide. And... he needed to
be out of there before that hit. He backed towards the door as
the sounds of lovemaking coming from his wife and his best
friend chased him from the royal chambers. Once outside, he
began walking, each step quicker than the one before, towards
his offices. His last few steps until he could fling closed the
doors and hit the thought dampeners were almost a run. And then,
as the general noise that was always in the background in a
telepathic society faded to complete silence, Kal stood in the
middle of the room, the images he'd just seen flooding his
mind.

Ching and Zara had betrayed him.

"No!" he yelled out to the spirits before sinking to his knees
in the dense carpet, his chin falling to rest against his
chest.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

"Kine, Zara. Kine." 

Although Lois was unable to understand the words, the anguish in
the man's strangled gasp came through loud and clear.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay," Lois responded as she gently ran the
cloth across his face.

He drew in a jagged breath, but relaxed under her touch.

When he again seemed settled, she turned her attention to the
makeshift bandage on his leg. Did she dare?

She began gently prying at the cloth, but stopped when she
realized that, although the black of the makeshift bandage hid
it, the bright red blood on her fingers told her that this blood
was fresh. Still, she needed to see his leg to determine how bad
it was. To see if, in spite of her instincts which were warning
her not to, she needed to call a doctor. But before she
unwrapped the wound, she'd best be prepared. She got up and made
her way to a linen closet, removing an old set of sheets.
Placing them on the bed, she went into her kitchen to find a
number of items.

Returning to her room, she cut the sheets into strips. After
setting them beside him, she retrieved a bowl of water and a
couple fresh wash clothes before cutting the shirt off his leg.


"Oh, god," she breathed when she finally saw the angry wound
beneath it. She suspected that in spite of the other numerous
injuries he had received, this was the main source of his
problems. 

This wound was deep. It appeared to have been caused by some
sort of blade - a knife or even a sword. She carefully felt on
the back of his leg and judging by the blood on her fingers when
she withdrew them, it appeared this wound went all the way
through his leg, severing both muscles and tendons. This wound
might well have been made at the same time as the wounds on his
chest. But this one had obviously received some new trauma
recently causing it to begin bleeding again. Not surprising if
it hadn't been treated correctly in the first place.

Still, it was bleeding again and so it was time for her to quit
speculating and get to work treating it. She picked up the
scissors and quickly cut his trouser leg. Once she'd carefully
cut and pealed away the old material, she used the washcloth to
clean out some of the dirt. Having completed that, she poured
rubbing alcohol over the wound, flinching when he reacted in
pain. She grabbed her newly made bandages, wrapping the wound as
tight as she dared.

She stood up to inspect her handiwork. Not bad. Still, he needed
a doctor to examine the wound on his leg. And even if he was
afraid of the authorities finding him, he needed more help than
she was able to give. His continuing fever told her the wounds
were already infected. And a knife wound that went all the way
through his leg... At the very least, he'd require stitches. So
what...

She was snapped out of her deliberation by loud knocking on the
door to her apartment. Dan! In all the excitement, she'd
forgotten all about him! "I'll be there in a moment, Dan!" she
yelled in the direction of the door.

Glancing back at the man in the bed, she satisfied herself that
he was still asleep. Her hands were spattered with blood. So
were her clothes. Moving quickly, she stripped off her clothes
and washed her face and hands before slipping into her
housecoat.

Another knock on the door, this one more insistent. Taking one
more glance at her patient, she closed the door to her bedroom
and headed for the door.

She was just about to open it when she noticed the knife lying
on the floor. Retrieving it, she quickly stuffed it beneath the
cushions on her couch before returning to admit her visitor.

"Hi, Dan," she said as she opened the door.

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Lois, what
took..." His voice trailed off when he realized she was in her
robe. "I thought we were going out tonight," he said instead.

She gave him a wistful smile. "I'm sorry, Dan. Would it be okay
if we went out tomorrow instead? I'm not feeling too well
tonight."

"You know, I could always tuck you in." Dan wriggled his
eyebrows suggestively while bringing his hand up to her cheek,
telling her he was only half joking.

Lois forced herself to smile even as she turned slightly,
causing his hand to lose contact. "I think we should leave that
for another time." Stepping past him, she reopened the door,
silently inviting him to leave.

He let out a breath, understanding the hint. After stepping into
the doorway, he turned towards her again, leaning in to give her
a brief kiss, before disappearing out the door. Giving a look of
absolute relief, she closed the door behind him before leaning
against it as her eyes settled on the door to her bedroom.

So now what?

It only took her a moment to make a decision. She needed help.
And there was only one person she could trust to help her in
this situation. Making her way to the phone, she picked it up.

Once she'd placed her call, she returned to her bedroom to
discover that her 'guest' was tossing and turning restlessly in
his sleep.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Kal moved silently as he pushed open the door to his
bedchambers. He'd stayed at his offices half the night, trying
to come to terms with what he'd discovered. How long had it been
going on? How could they have betrayed him like that?

His first thought had been to bring them up on charges of high
treason and see their molecules scattered over countless distant
galaxies. For not only had his wife betrayed him, she had
betrayed the First Lord of New Krypton with a commoner - a
commoner who had achieved a rank just below nobility because of
the trust his lord and master had placed in him. For that, they
both deserved to die. He'd given them both his affections. He'd
given them his trust and his loyalty. And they had thrown it
back in his face.

In fact, he'd had his hand on the com-unit to call the guards to
arrest them both when he'd hesitated. His fury had not yet
calmed. Did he dare make a decision like this while the anger
and grief were still flowing through his brain? If he was unable
to separate his feelings from matters of this importance, he
didn't deserve loyalty - he didn't deserve to be the First Lord
of New Krypton.

The light of the moons coming through the window lit up Zara's
face as she relaxed in sleep. Standing there, Kal found himself
looking for some sign of betrayal on her face, something he had
missed before. But he could find no indication that she was
disloyal to him. A long time passed before he could tear his
eyes away from her.

Finally, he stripped out of his clothes and slipped into his
side of the bed.

Zara stirred.

Kal froze.

Rolling towards him, she looked at him through sleep-filled
eyes. "How did the negotiations go?" she asked.

His stomach lurched. How could she act as if everything was
normal? "Fine," he responded.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What is wrong?"

Damn! He quickly quelled his feelings. "Nothing. Just
distracted."

She reached over, gently running a hand across his cheek. "You
work too hard," she said softly, tenderly even.

The muscles in his jaw flinched. "Duty above all else." It was
an indictment. 

The flicker of emotion that crossed her face told him he'd hit
his target. She rolled away from him as if she would go back to
sleep.

He felt a flash of anger. Without thinking about his motives, he
reached for her, running his hand down her side and around her
waist, dragging her to him. She quickly moved his hand, pulling
away.

"Not tonight."

He let out a breath, which she seemed purposely to ignore,
before relaxing back onto the bed and burrowing his eyes into
the back of her head. How many times had he heard 'not tonight?'
How many times had she pulled away from him still feeling
Ching's hands on her body? How many times had she betrayed him?

"I am sorry, Kal," she breathed.

He wasn't entirely sure what she meant. Did she suspect he knew?
Was she apologizing for pulling away from him? Was she
apologizing for betraying him? Would he ever look at her again
without seeing her with Ching?

He lay there, struggling with his thoughts for a long time after
her breathing settled back into the regular pattern of sleep.
His decision had been the right one - the one born of duty, not
emotions. Together, he and Zara presented a united front to
their people. If this came to light... He shuddered at the
possible ramifications. Still, not only was his pride injured,
but his heart was also badly beaten. The two people he should
have been able to trust above all others, for whatever reason,
had betrayed him. Even if the leader could live with that, how
could the man? 

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

"What?" gasped Ran. "But, m'lord..."

Lord Nor's hand darted out, wrapping itself around the other
man's neck. "Yes?" he asked without giving Ran enough air to
reply.

"I think what he is saying is that Earth has a yellow sun. We
are forbidden to go to a planet with a yellow sun," Drull
responded.

Nor rolled his eyes, dropping Ran to the floor. With rocket
scientists like Ran and Drull around, his kingdom was secure. "I
do not care if its sun is black," he informed both men. "I just
care that our tracking of Kal's brain waves showed a small blip.
And that blip came from...?"

"Planet 785938. The planet its inhabitants call Earth?"

"Very good, Drull. Now prepare to go. I don't care what a bunch
of old men said about some mystic prophesy of a planet with a
yellow sun. I want Kal. I want him brought to me. I want his
death at my hands to be witnessed by all of New Krypton. As long
as he is out there somewhere, there will be those who will
attempt to make him into some kind of myth - hoping he will
return someday. I will not allow that wannabe to undermine my
authority. Dead, he's no threat. Alive he will become an icon,
something for the people to place their hope in. And if I do not
get to kill Kal, I just might have to settle for your dead
bodies instead. I suggest you think on that."

"Yes, m'lord."

"What are you two still standing here for? Go!"

Ran scrambled to his feet and quickly he and Drull rushed from
the room to follow their master's instructions. Only one thing
was sure to be more dangerous than going to a planet with a
yellow sun, and that was angering Lord Nor.

*********************
CHAPTER TWO
*********************

Kal struggled against the darkness. Opening his eyes, he looked
around the unfamiliar room. "Kysee...?" His voice cracked.

"Hey, relax," said an older man. "I'm a doctor. I'm here to help
you."

Kal tried and failed to remember how he'd come to be here.
Before he could work it out, the darkness and the dreams
overtook him once again.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Kal knew there was a problem the moment Nor entered the council
chamber. For the past few years, Nor had been quiet and Kal had
hoped the man had given up his ambitions. But today, a sense of
dread filled him as his eyes met Nor's. Nothing on the other
man's face gave him away, but Kal could sense almost a smirk in
Nor's mind.

Kal glanced at Zara who was seated next to him, wondering if she
was sensing the same thing. In the corner of his eye, he saw
Ching's hand move to the hilt of his sword. So he felt it, too.

"Nice of you to join us, Lord Nor," Trey said from his position
at Kal's right hand. "It has been a while since you have deemed
fit to join the council."

"Well, I dare not miss so important a day," Nor responded,
maintaining eye contact with Kal as he moved to his designated
seat.

"Important?" asked Trey. "I know there are concerns about the
crops this year, but..."

"Yes, there are. And my people want to know what our great lord
and master plans to do to ensure that all the people are fed."

"The council has been working on plans to open trade
negotiations with..." Trey began.

"In other words, you have nothing," Nor interrupted.

"Excuse me, Lord Nor," Kal began, "but that is not what Lord
Trey said. And if you had deemed fit to attend any council
sessions this past season, you could have given us your ideas.
Or if you have ideas now, we would be happy to entertain them."

"Oh, I have one idea," Nor said, leaning back in his chair and
linking his fingers behind his head. "I say that the spirits are
punishing us for the sins of our leaders."

Kal tensed.

"And what sins would those be?" asked Trey.

Nor's eyes swung to Zara before looking back at Kal.

"For ignoring the fact that our great Kal-El's wife has betrayed
him." His eyes drifted over to Ching. "We are being lead by a
cuckold, my lords."

Kal, ignoring the gasp from his left, sprang to his feet. His
hand rested protectively on Zara's shoulder as he fought back
his anger - and his fear. This was the one thing that could
cause the council to desert him. If he didn't handle this just
right, it was over. A leader who was seen as weak would never be
followed. And a man being made a cuckold would be seen as unable
to control even his own wife. No one would follow such a man. It
was obvious by the fear radiating off Zara that she realized the
same thing.

'Control your feelings,' he snapped at her telepathically. It
was a risk communicating with her telepathically, but the way
she was transmitting her feelings was sure to destroy
everything. Besides, the risk was minimal considering the fact
that his hand was still on Zara's shoulder. He doubted anyone
would be able to pick up on the short communication. And even if
they did, he'd said nothing that could be used against them.

A small breath caught in her throat as she seemed to realize
that he already knew about her and Ching. He could feel the
apology forming in her mind and instantly broke the connection
between them. For now, he had to deal with Nor. He couldn't do
that and deal with his wife's guilt at the same time. Besides,
he suspected she was about to say something damaging, something
Nor could use to convict her. And right now, Kal's best hope was
that Nor was fishing - that he was looking for a reaction or a
mind slip that would allow him to confirm his theory. If that
was the case, the only way to handle it was by not giving him
anything that could be used against Zara and confronting the
issue directly.

"If you have proof, Nor, present it. Otherwise, I will not have
you making such accusations about me or my wife."

It was a fatal mistake - the opening Nor had been waiting for. A
smirk settled on his lips. "Very well, my Lord."

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

"How is he?" Lois asked anxiously the moment her father emerged
from her room, wiping his hands on a towel.

"He gained consciousness for a moment, but..." Her father made
his way over to her. "Look, pumpkin, if we don't get that man to
a hospital, he could die. He lost a lot of blood. I gave him
some antibiotics to fight the infection and I stitched up his
leg, but I don't have an x-ray machine in my bag to make sure
there is no damage to his leg. Even if he lives, he might never
walk again. He needs proper treatment. And judging by the bruise
pattern on his chest, I suspect he has at least a couple of
broken ribs. How did you even get him here? Or at least I assume
you didn't do all that."

Lois rolled her eyes. "He walked," she said, neglecting to
include the part where he had a knife to her throat.

"Then he's got a lot more inner strength than I do," Dr. Samuel
Lane responded. "But why won't you let me take him to a
hospital?"

"It's... complicated," Lois said, wondering if she should bow to
her father's advice.

"It always is," Sam responded. He set down his black bag and
placed both hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure you know what
you're doing?"

She swallowed. No. No, she didn't. In fact, she had no idea what
she was doing. All she did know was that after seeing his ring,
it felt like the right thing to do. "I'm sure."

He looked at her for a moment longer before releasing her. "Here
are some antibiotics," he said, reaching into his bag to place
some items on the table. "He needs to continue taking these to
fight the infection. I'll leave both syringes and pills. If he
wakes up, give him the pills. Otherwise... I assume you remember
how to use a syringe?"

She nodded. She'd made him show her how when she was a child,
when showing an interest in medicine was the only way she could
get his attention. In fact, she'd practiced for an entire day on
an orange, determined to get it perfect for when he finally got
home to see it. Unfortunately, he'd been too busy or tired or...
whatever to take the time to appreciate all her effort. That was
when she'd decided that no matter what else happened, she would
never be a doctor. She was amazed he even remembered that he had
taught her.

"Good. The instructions are on the containers. Otherwise, just
try to keep his temperature down. And the bandage on his leg
needs to be changed every day." He placed some more items on the
table for treating the young man's leg before picking up his
bag. "If you need me, you know how to contact me," he said as he
headed for the door.

"Thanks, Dad," Lois said as she walked him out.

Once he was gone, she locked the door and turned back towards
the bedroom. What exactly was she doing? She didn't even know
this man.

She made her way to the bedroom, leaning against the doorframe
as she watched the man's troubled sleep, wishing she had some
magical way to calm him.

As she did, she thought once again about the symbol on the ring
he'd been wearing on the index finger of his right hand. It
reminded her of those old movies she'd seen where the nobles
wore a signet ring so that they could affix their seal to
important documents. She'd never thought to see that symbol ever
again. Almost immediately, her mind drifted to the previous
year. To a previous assignment. To Perry.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Lois stepped into the doorway to Perry's office. "You wanted to
see me, chief?"

Perry rose from behind his desk. "Yeah. I need you to get
packed."

"Where am I going?"

"I got a ticket booked for you on the next flight to Wichita,
Kansas."

Lois' eyebrows rose. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "What
business does the Daily Planet have in Wichita?"

"Not Wichita, exactly. From Wichita you'll make your way to
Smallville."

"Smallville? There's actually a place called Smallville?"

"I just got a tip that a farmer out there, a Wayne Irig, was
thrown off his property by the feds who then start tearing up
his place with bulldozers - something about pollutants in the
soil."

"Send Myerson... Or send Ralph. I've got things to do, leads to
follow, here."

"Now, Lois, let's keep an open mind. 'The Poisoning of America.'
I'm seeing a Planet special investigation."

"Really? I'm seeing guys in overalls discussing hog futures."

"Private property rights versus the public good."

"We've got that story here in Metropolis."

"Urban and rural. It's the same story. Same problem. Sometimes
it's easier to understand in a smaller setting. A microcosm."

Lois was starting to feel a little desperate. "Perry... It's...
Smallville!"

"Yeah, I got you."

Relief flooded through Lois.

"That's probably how the first reporter at Love Canal felt.
Say... didn't that reporter pull in a Pulitzer Prize?"

Lois' heart sank as, at that moment, she realized she'd lost the
argument. She was going to Smallville, Kansas - to a meeting
that, although she didn't know it at that moment, would change
her outlook on life forever.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

The unconscious man in Lois' bed started to mumble again,
thrashing from side to side. Rushing to his side, Lois took a
seat before reaching for the bowl of water. Taking a washcloth
she began gently bathing the man, making soothing noises in an
attempt to provide relief and comfort.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

"Arrest them!" Nor demanded when the lights in the council
chamber came back up.

"Now just a minute," Kal responded, setting aside his outrage at
Zara and Ching for the indiscretion - making love on the beach
of New Krypton's largest lake where no thought dampeners could
control what might be picked up and recorded. Without that
idiotic move, Nor might have had his suspicions, but without
proof Kal could have quelled any rumors. But the images they'd
seen, in living color, until Kal had commanded that the playback
be stopped, had been undeniable. Still, there must be a way to
control the situation. He just needed a little time to think
things through. "Before we decide on any course of action, I
think it is important that..."

His voice trailed off when the council chamber erupted as Ching,
in response to Nor's command, drew his sword.

"Ching, no!" Kal commanded, but it was too late.

Nor's forces moved forward to be stopped by the first swing of
Ching's sword. Moving with a skill that was second to none,
Ching fought three men at once, swords clashing as he spun,
holding each of them at bay. Kal called out to Ching again,
trying to get him to stop. As long as he didn't kill...

Kal's thought trailed off and he almost felt it when Ching's
sword plunged into one of Nor's men, killing him instantly. As
if everyone in the room realized the significance of the moment,
silence fell for a split second before... Ching moved fast,
turning to fight the two remaining men.

Briefly, Kal hoped Ching would succeed. After all, what was left
for either Ching or Zara here but humiliation and death? And in
spite of everything, Zara was still Kal's wife and Ching, his
best friend. Far better for all of them if they did escape.

But then... escape, at least for Zara, became hopeless when Nor
moved, grabbing her and tossing her to one of his men as Ching,
realizing he could not rescue Zara, began fighting his way to
the door. The desire to grab his wife and help her escape was
overwhelming. But Kal couldn't do it - not unless he was
prepared to surrender his world to this monster. And everything
inside Kal, every impulse he had been taught since birth,
rebelled against that idea. So he stood, watching impotently as
Ching fought his way to freedom while Zara, held by two of Nor's
men, looked at her feet, an expression of hopelessness and
humiliation on her face.

"My lords," Nor said, releasing Zara when Ching had finally
escaped. "How can this man lead us when he quite obviously
cannot even control his own wife or the head of his armed
forces?"

Kal glanced around, realizing that Nor had the full attention of
the council. Being labeled as a cuckold would brand him as a
weak man - not one fit to lead the royal houses. A man who could
not control his own wife would never have the blessing of the
gods to lead the people of New Krypton.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

Lois rose from the side of the bed. The man had calmed again.
Stretching, she glanced at the clock. It was after two in the
morning. Looking back at the man in the bed, she again caught
sight of his ring and her mind drifted once again.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Lois used the bushes to sneak slowly closer to the large tent
set up on the Irig property. After doing everything she could to
find out what was going on from the outside, the only option
left was to trespass onto the property and get a look for
herself. 

In spite of her hesitation about coming to Smallville and in
spite of being subjected to what she could only describe as some
sort of ritual crop worship on her arrival in the small
community, she'd quickly figured out that something out of the
ordinary was happening on the Irig property. A check at the town
hall showed that no citations or permits had been issued on the
Irig property. Nothing that would attract the attention of the
federal government. She'd also obtained a working list of
clean-up sites from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Smallville hadn't been on the list. Then there was the woman who
was entirely too competent to work for the government. Finally,
Wayne Irig, the farm's owner, had simply disappeared. No. There
was definitely something going on there - and not just some sort
of environmental clean up.

She made her way slowly closer to her destination. The men
around the tent certainly weren't EPA. They looked more like
military. When she saw a dark-haired man exit the tent, she
raised her camera, snapping off a couple of pictures. She'd bet
her bottom dollar that he was in charge of this operation.

A few minutes later, her chance came. Using a knife to slit a
hole in the side of the tent, she managed to sneak in only to
discover an older man inside, tied and gagged. Rushing over to
him, she removed the gag and began working on the ropes binding
him.

"Are you Wayne Irig?" she asked, going with her hunch.

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"Lois Lane. Daily Planet. What's going on here?" The final ropes
came undone.

"We got to get to the Kent's," Irig said, rising to his feet.

"But what..."

"How about we leave explanations for later. We gotta get out of
here before those thugs come back."

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

Ran and Drull slipped further back when they saw the crowd of
people digging up and exposing the remains of the crashed
spacecraft. Their instruments, once they had gotten close
enough, had led them to this spot. But now... they didn't dare
get any closer.

"What do you think?" Ran whispered. "Do you think he could have
survived that crash?"

"No," Drull responded. "Look, I got a bad feeling about this.
What do you say we just tell Nor he is dead?"

"And if he is not?" asked Ran.

Drull shrugged his shoulders. "Without a craft, it is not like
he is coming back to New Krypton. How would Nor ever know?"

Ran nodded slowly. How would Nor ever know? "Let us get out of
here."

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Kal flinched when the door closed behind him, locking him in the
small cell. His eyes settled on Zara. She knew he was there. Of
that, he had no doubt, but she didn't look up, didn't
acknowledge his presence for a long moment.

"You came," she finally said.

"Of course I came." Walking closer, he took a seat on the far
side of the cot. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a
portable thought dampener, turned it on and set it on the cot
between them.

Zara glanced at it before speaking. "I am so sorry, Kal. I never
intended..."

"It does not matter now," Kal said, his voice flat.

"Yes! Yes it does," she responded, looking at him for the first
time. "I need you to know that I respect you. I admire you. I
never..."

Kal sprang to his feet. "Never what? Never intended to hurt me?
Well, you did, Zara! Maybe we never had a love like the gods,
Zen and Fath, but you were my wife! I have always treated you
well!" Suddenly, he realized he'd lost control of his feelings.
He lowered his eyes as he regained his calm. "It does not matter
now." He sat back down on the cot.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"How long have you known?" The question hung in the air between
them for a long time.

"For almost a year."

Silence.

"They want me to sign your death warrant," Kal finally said, his
voice once again devoid of all emotion. "Rumor has it that Nor
will back down if I show myself to be a leader and sign the
warrant to kill you for high treason."

"Then that is what you must do. You cannot let our people suffer
because of my transgressions."

A lump rose in the back of his throat. "I will not do it."

"You have to."

"Do you not understand, Zara?" he asked, turning towards her.
"Do you really think Nor will back down if I kill you? Do you
think he actually believes the lack of rain is due to my being a
cuckold? That is propaganda for the masses. What he is after is
the throne. He is not going to let it go just because I have you
killed."

"But surely the other houses will support you."

"How can they? My power to rule comes from my marriage to you.
If I sign the warrant for your death, Lord Nor's rank is greater
than mine. His case to be declared the undisputed leader only
gets stronger if you are dead. The houses will not dare stand
against Nor if he tries to claim the throne. He has been
planning this for years, Zara. He has only been waiting for his
opportunity." His voice dropped to a mere whisper. "If only we
had a child..."

There was a moment of awkward silence. Years ago, the doctors of
New Krypton had discovered that Zara was incapable of bearing a
child. Since giving New Krypton an heir was one of her greatest
obligations, her inability to have one had been a great failure
- one he knew she felt keenly. She'd gone to doctor after
doctor, trying anything suggested to correct the problem before
finally admitting defeat. His throwing it up in her face now...
He instantly felt bad - a feeling he wasn't entirely comfortable
with.

"I am sorry, Zara," he said softly.

She waved his concern away, but he knew the damage had already
been done. He sat silently as he struggled to find a way to make
up for his careless remark.

She cleared her throat, and played nervously with her hands,
making it clear that she had something she wanted to ask. Kal
was fairly certain he knew the question. Maybe his fumbled
comment had made her bold enough to ask. He could simply answer
the question - not forcing her to ask it. But he couldn't do it.
In spite of his previous blunder, he couldn't seem to force
himself to make it easier for her.

"What about Ching?" she finally asked, not looking at him. "Is
he still..."

"Alive? At large?"

She nodded slowly, all the while playing with her fingers.

"Yes to both questions. He has simply disappeared. The council
has declared him an enemy of the state. If he is caught, his
body will be disintegrated and his molecules scattered over
countless distant galaxies. Hopefully, wherever he is, he will
know enough not to return."

She gave a small nod, trying not to let him know her relief at
hearing that Ching was still alive. But even with the thought
dampeners on, her feelings came through loud and clear in her
facial expression and body language. It was almost as if she had
been dying inside until he'd told her that Ching was safe.

"So what are you going to do?" Zara asked, disrupting Kal's
thoughts.

"What I have to. I will not just stand by and let that monster
seize the throne. There are houses that I think I can still
convince to remain loyal to our joined houses. If I can rally
enough of them, maybe I can still convince Nor to back down.
Rumor has it, though, that he has already assembled his
forces."

"I wish I could be there with you... for you."

Silence fell again. Finally, Kal rose to his feet, making his
way over to crouch down in front of her, taking her hands in
his. "I wish you could be, too," he said softly before raising
her hands and gently kissing her knuckles. "If I am successful,
I will return for you - and we will try to find a way out of
this mess."

He rose to his feet and walked towards the door. 

"Goodbye, Kal. You might find this hard to believe, but I do
love you. You are the best man I have ever known."

Kal leaned his forehead against the cell door for a moment
before opening it and, without looking back, leaving the room.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

His fever seemed to have broken. Lois was grateful for that. He
still hadn't woken up, except briefly while her father had been
there. But still, the anxiety that he was going to die faded
into the background as each passing hour he seemed to get
stronger.

Lois pulled a chair up next to the bed and settled into it to
watch his chest rise and fall. It was strange, but sitting here
with a half-dead man who had only hours ago held a knife to her
throat, she felt more at peace than she had for the past month.
In fact, she felt more at peace here than she had since that
trip to Smallville.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

"Wayne!"

The back door of the old but obviously well cared for farmhouse
swung open and an older woman rushed out as Wayne opened the
door of the old pick-up and stumbled out. She was followed
closely by an older man. Still, Lois got to Wayne first,
preventing him from falling.

"Let's get him into the house," said the man without ceremony as
the two older people worked together to get Wayne inside.

Lois hung back, just watching as the woman got a bowl of water
and the other man began treating Wayne's cut lip.

"Sorry. We seem to be ignoring you," the woman said, finally
turning her attention to Lois. "I'm Martha Kent. And this is my
husband, Jonathan."

"I'm Lois Lane," Lois responded, moving forward as Martha
gestured her to take a seat.

"So what happened, Wayne? Where have you been? Those
environmental guys told us they had relocated you. But then,
when we didn't hear from you, we got worried."

"They didn't relocate me," Wayne said bitterly. 

"So what happened?"

"When I brought that do-hicky to you the other day, I never
imagined what would happen. Those government men showed up,
asking me all sorts of questions about it."

"So what did you tell them?"

"I wasn't going to tell them nothing," Wayne responded
defiantly. "I told them I didn't know nothing. They didn't
believe me, of course." He touched his lip to demonstrate what
they'd done to him to get him to talk. "If it hadn't been for
this one..." He pointed to Lois. "...I'd have never gotten out
of there."

The attention of Martha and Jonathan turned towards Lois.

"I work for the Daily Planet. My editor heard that a farmer had
been thrown off his farm for an EPA cleanup. When I started
snooping around, it became obvious that this was no EPA
operation. And then I found Mr. Irig tied up in an operations
tent they had set up on the property." She shrugged.

"So you snuck in and rescued him?" Martha asked. "Honey, don't
you think that was a little dangerous?"

Lois smiled. "Most of my work is a little dangerous. Anyway, I
wasn't about to let him stay there. So what exactly is going
on?"

Martha, Jonathan and Wayne all shared looks.

"Would you mind waiting in the living room for a moment?" Martha
asked.

Lois couldn't say she was very happy with this development. They
were obviously trying to decide whether or not to trust her.
Given that she'd saved Wayne, she couldn't say she liked being
shut out. Still, it wasn't as if she had much choice. Nodding,
she rose to her feet and went through the door Martha indicated.
Just before it closed, she turned back to the people in the
room. "Just so you know, I'd go to jail before revealing a
source."

Once she was outside the room, she stopped, listening as well as
she could through the door.

She didn't get a lot of the discussion. Only bits and pieces.
'Is telling the Daily Planet better than telling those federal
men?' 'At least by telling her, we might have some control over
how it is presented.' 'She did save my life.' 'I have to say,
she gives me a better feeling than those government men did.'

Then the conversation fell silent as they made a decision -
although Lois didn't know what that decision might be. Still,
she rushed to the sofa, collapsing on it just as Martha opened
the door. 

"Could you come back in here, Lois?" Martha asked.

Lois had to admit, she was extremely curious as she entered the
room to discover that Jonathan was gone. "So what did you
decide? Am I trustworthy enough to be let in on what is
happening here?"

"Sit down, Lois," Martha said, gesturing her to a seat. "I guess
you're wondering what all the secrecy is about. But... well, we
discovered something a couple of weeks ago that... is sort of
sensitive."

"Okay."

She looked towards the back door when Jonathan entered holding a
heavy looking metal box. She watched as he set it on the table.

"A couple weeks ago, lightning struck a tree in the back of
Wayne's place. When he looked in the hole it left when it
toppled over, he found these." Jonathan opened the box.

Lois looked in to find two items. One was a glowing green
crystal. The other was a small metal ball with some strange
lettering on it and an 'S' symbol inside a stylized upside down
triangle. She looked up at the others for an explanation.

"Wayne didn't know what they were, so he brought them here,"
Jonathan continued. "We decided to send a small piece of the
crystal to a lab in Metropolis."

"And?" asked Lois. "Did they find it was created by some kind of
pesticide contamination? Is that what got the federal government
interested?"

"No. In fact, they said..." Jonathan looked at his two other
conspirators for backup. "They said it was like nothing they'd
ever seen 'on the Earth.'"

Lois took a moment to let this sink in before responding. "So
they think it came from space? But... why all the secrecy?"

"A couple days later, some government men showed up at Wayne's
place. He didn't trust them."

"And with good reason... given what they did next," Wayne added,
pointing at his face.

"So why not just tell them what you found?" Lois asked.

"Because they aren't here for scientific understanding. They are
looking for a way to destroy anything that might be out there,"
Martha said. "And if this ball..." She pointed to the ball in
the box. "...is connected with the crystal and came from another
planet, then we know that there is sentient life out there."

Lois crinkled her eyebrows, still not understanding the problem.
This could be big. So why were these people so reluctant to say
anything about it?

"Lois, Jonathan and I were involved in riding the busses back in
the sixties - fighting against segregation," Martha began.

"It was really something," Jonathan added. "Dogs, guns,
beatings. One thing we learned was that people fear anything
that is different, that they don't understand, that changes the
status quo. We've met those men digging up Wayne's farm... and
trust me, they are the same type that wanted to prevent us from
riding the busses. If there is sentient life out there, those
men want to destroy it - if for no other reason than because
they don't understand it. We aren't about to be part of that."

Lois finally nodded. Idealists. Worried about the civil rights
of aliens. And... given the way these federal types had trod
roughshod over Wayne Irig, she suddenly understood their
concern. But...

"Are you certain the ball is also from outer space?" Lois
asked.

"No. The only thing we know is that it was found with the
crystal."

"And are you planning to send it away for analysis?"

"After what happened when we sent the crystal, no." There was a
moment of silence.

Lois looked between the others at the table. There was no way
she could write the story without analyzing the ball. After all,
this was life on other planets they were talking about. But
then... really... was there much chance the ball really was from
outer space? 

"What if I told you I know people at Star Labs who could analyze
it for you - discretely?"

"No!" said all three people in unison.

"But..."

"Here," said Wayne handing her the ball.

She took it, turning it over in her hands. And suddenly... she
could feel it. The ball didn't want anyone examining it.
Unexpectedly, Lois found herself not wanting it to be analyzed
either.

"What do you think the ball is?" Lois asked.

"We've been talking about it. We suspect it's some sort of
probe."

"Why would someone send a probe?"

"Probably because they are as curious about us as we would be
about them."

Lois nodded slowly. If they were right, this story was huge.
But... the ball didn't want her to write it. She rebelled
against the very idea, but still couldn't shake the feeling. A
connection. Something that reached into her soul, begging her
not to betray him... it. Besides, was the ball the real story
here? Wasn't the story about the government men torturing a
citizen in their effort to get a strange crystal of otherworldly
origin?

After a moment, she nodded, her decision made. "Then we expose
those government people using the crystal you found."

"And the ball?"

Lois shrugged. "As far as I know, it's just some sort of child's
toy. I don't need it to expose this story. A government bureau
using its power to kidnap a man, torture him and tear up his
property all to get some meteorite. Trust me. Heads are going to
roll."

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

Lois still wasn't entirely certain why she hadn't insisted that
the globe be analyzed. And until she'd seen that same symbol on
the ring of the man currently lying in her bed, she hadn't
really questioned herself or her decision. She'd managed to
bring down a man named Jason Trask and exposed a secret
government agency known as Bureau 39. But as for the existence
of life on other planets... Nothing had ever gone to print.

Still, Lois had never again looked at the stars quite the same
way. Looking into the heavens, she could almost feel the same
connection she'd felt the moment she'd held the ball. As if her
fate were tied up with those same stars. It was a foolish,
romantic notion, but one she was unable to shake. Not that she'd
ever told anyone that - except for the Kents, of course.

Ever since that day, she'd kept in touch with the Kents.
Something about that ball had bound them together. And only they
were able to understand her feelings about it - because they had
felt it, too. So when she'd seen that ring, a tremor of fear and
a small thrill rushed through her body to settle in her heart.
She couldn't turn him in. Not now. Not without some answers
anyway.

She glanced over at the clock. It was almost six. 

Getting up from her chair beside the bed, she headed for the
phone. Perry was likely in the newsroom by now. Picking up the
phone, she punched in the familiar number.

"Hi, Perry," she said when Perry came on the line. "I'm just
calling to tell you that I won't be in today. I'm... sick." She
stumbled slightly on the final word, not entirely comfortable
with lying to Perry. "A cold or something." She tried to sound
slightly nasal.

"Honey, this isn't a good day to get sick."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Turn on the television."

She made her way to the television, turning it on with one hand
while holding onto the phone with the other. LNN instantly lit
up the screen, showing a scene of people digging up what could,
according to the correspondent, only be described as some sort
of spacecraft. And on the side of the ship... an 'S' inside a
stylized upside down triangle.

Her eyes flicked from the screen, through the open door of her
bedroom to the man she could see sleeping in her bed.

"Who did you send over there?" she asked into the phone.

"I was just about to call you."

"I'm sorry, Perry. But I really can't."

She could hear a sigh come over the line.

"Fine. I'll send Myerson," he finally said. "Hope you're feeling
better tomorrow."

"I do too," she responded before hanging up the phone and
turning back towards her room. Making her way to the doorway,
she leaned against the doorframe as her mind moved at a hundred
miles an hour.

The symbol on his ring. The spacecraft. The strange language he
seemed to be using during his fever-induced rambling. Could he
be the reason she'd refused to tell the world about the
existence of that strange ball last year? And why exactly did
she feel this overwhelming need to protect him now?

Might he not be some forerunner to an alien invasion? What if
she were risking her own people's future by helping him? He had
tried to hold her hostage, after all. That type of behavior
didn't exactly engender trust.

Still, her heart rebelled against the very idea of turning him
in. On the other hand, she'd learned long ago just how
unreliable her heart could be. She glanced over at the phone.
Maybe she should just...

No! No, she couldn't do that - at least not until she'd heard
his side of the story. She could only hope that when he did
finally come to, he'd recall the story of the mouse taking the
thorn out of the paw of the lion. Did that story have a happy
ending?


****************
CHAPTER THREE
****************

Kal groaned in pain as he regained consciousness. The
surroundings were unfamiliar. He instantly began struggling to
rise.

"Wait," said a soft female voice, coming quickly to the side of
his bed from where she had been seated in a nearby chair.
"You're pretty beaten up." She slipped an arm around him,
helping him move into a seated position before handing him a
glass of clear liquid from a small table beside the bed.

He took the glass and stared at it for a moment before
cautiously sniffing it. Satisfied it was water, he raised it to
his lips, only looking at the woman again as he took a sip.

She was watching him curiously. It was the first time he'd
really taken a good look at her and... Even though she was
somewhat rumpled, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she
was. He felt a small, unfamiliar twinge touch his heart.

"Thank you," he said, breaking eye contact in order, with
trembling hands, to set the glass on the table once again.
Taking a breath, he swung his feet off the bed.

"Hey, what..." Her voice trailed off when she practically had to
jump out of his way. "That's not a good..." 

He rose from the bed.

He crumpled to the floor.

She rolled her eyes as she moved back to him, putting her arms
around him to help him back into the bed. "Men," she muttered.
"All that macho crap. 'I'm dying, but getting up - hey, no
problem.'" She quieted in order to put all her concentration
into helping him get comfortable. "So," she asked, "finished
proving what a man you are?"

Kal looked at her in confusion, not entirely sure what she was
talking about.

She rolled her eyes again and took a seat again on the side of
the bed. "So why don't you tell me your name?"

"You did not call the authorities." It wasn't a question.

"I still could." 

She met his eyes, communicating in a mere look that she was
prepared to do that if he wasn't forthcoming with some answers.
She gave it a moment to sink in. If she did choose to turn him
in, he wouldn't exactly be able to stop her in his current
condition.

"What's your name?" she asked again.

"Kal."

Her eyebrows rose. "Just Kal?"

"Kal..." He hesitated slightly, trying to remember what he'd
seen on the computer records about the way the people of this
planet identified themselves. He couldn't remember. He'd been
spending so much of his time during the trip concentrating on
learning the main language of the place on Earth the ship's
computers told him he was going to land. Finally, he realized
he'd have to guess. "Kal of the House of El."

He thought he noticed a small grin crinkle one corner of her
mouth for a brief moment. But then it was gone.

"Well, Kal of the House of El, I'm Lois of the House of Lane."

He relaxed. He'd obviously guessed correctly on the appropriate
way to identify himself. He only hoped her other questions were
as easy. Still, there was something wrong with this picture. Why
was he answering her questions? "Where is your husband?" he
asked.

"I'm not married. So why don't you..."

"But then, do you not live with your family?"

"No. But enough about me. Why don't you start by telling me how
you got so beaten up?"

He took a moment to recover from that information. How could she
support herself without either a man or her family to take care
of her?

Giving his head a shake, he directed his mind to the question.
"I was thieved."

Lois raised an eyebrow. "You mean you were mugged?"

"Right. Sorry. I am still a bit..." He struggled to find the
word. He noticed that she was watching him carefully.
"...tussled."

"Tussled?"

He nodded.

"So, Kal, where are you from?"

"Umm... Ohio?"

"Was that a question?"

"No. No, of course not. I am from Ohio."

"Funny. That doesn't sound like a mid-American accent."

"I have been doing a lot of traveling recently. I must have
acquired an accent during my travels."

Lois nodded slowly before picking up a small item from the table
by the bed. Turning towards a black box, she hit a button,
causing the box to spring to life, lighting up the room with...

Kal gasped when he saw pictures of his craft on the black box.
"What...?"

"Now," said Lois, turning back towards him, "why don't we start
again?"

He stared at her in disbelief. How had she figured it out? And
now what was he supposed to do?

"Telling me the truth would be a good start," she suggested.

Kal looked at her, stunned. Had she read his mind? He didn't
think the people of Earth were supposed to be telepathic.
Besides, even if they were, he knew how to control which of his
thoughts got out. So how had she done it?

"Look, we're not going to get very far here if you keep
wondering how much to tell me. After you held a knife to my
throat... And after I helped you anyway..." She gestured to him.
"...I think we're intimate enough for you to tell me the
truth."

He looked down then, realizing for the first time exactly how
little he was wearing. Instinctively, he pulled the bedclothes
up further his body.

A small grin quirked at one corner of Lois' mouth for a moment
before disappearing.

Kal cleared his throat. 

Lois let out a breath. "Okay, let's start again, Kal - is that
your real name?"

He nodded.

"Where are you from?"

He let out a breath, finally conceding defeat. He'd proven only
minutes before that he wasn't even strong enough to stand on his
own. If she decided to betray him, she already knew enough to do
so. And so far, even though he'd held a knife to her throat,
she'd kept his secret - even nursing him back to health. He
wondered if she knew the story about the kafta that took the
thorn out of the paw of the netsel.

"I am from a planet called New Krypton."

Lois nodded, and he could see in her eyes that she knew he was
now telling the truth.

"New Krypton," she said slowly. "Usually when you call something
'new,' it means there is an old one."

He nodded. "My people originally came from a planet called
Krypton. When I was an infant, my parents sent me with a group
to a new planet. We named it New Krypton."

"Your parents sent you to another planet when you were an
infant? They didn't go with you?"

"Krypton's core became destabilized. It led to a reaction that
resulted in Krypton exploding. There was not time to save
everyone. So every family and every class was given a specific
number of passes so that they could save as many young people
and children as possible. Then, once those quotas were filled,
the remaining positions went to those in our society who had
something specific to offer - scientific experts, teachers,
craftsmen, military men. That sort of thing."

"So your home planet is no longer there? Your parents were...
killed when it exploded?" When he nodded, she continued. "I'm so
sorry, Kal."

Something in the way she said it told him she meant it. But why
should she care about some planet that, until this moment, she'd
never even heard of?

"How many of you escaped?" she continued.

"In some ways, not enough. In others, too many."

"I don't understand."

"Life on New Krypton has been hard. We have had a lot of deaths
there over the years."

"So... what are you doing here? Were you... looking for some
place better?"

"No. It... was not exactly my choice to leave."

"I don't understand."

* * * * * * * * *
THE PAST
* * * * * * * * *

Kal brushed the damp hair off his forehead, breathing heavily as
he looked around at what remained of his pitiful troops. Like
him, they were beaten and bloodied. They'd been pushed back and
battered again and again. Like him, they'd seen their friends
fall in battle. They'd held their comrades' hands as they
watched them die. But their grief was cut short as they lost
themselves in battle once again.

Yet, in the faces of his men, he could see the determination he
was also feeling. All of them imperial guards. All of them, to a
man, ready to lay down their lives for him. All of them
determined to fight 'til their dying breath. He couldn't have
asked for better men. He doubted Lord Nor had men as loyal.

And yet... only the imperial guard had stood by Kal. Not that it
had started out that way. At first, he'd begun to believe that
he would be successful. He'd managed to persuade Gin from the
House of Vele and Rack from the House of Swen to come out in
favor of his continued leadership. Given that Kal was seen now,
by the majority of the houses, as a cuckold, and therefore a
weak man, the move by Gin and Rack had been shocking. Kal wasn't
entirely sure if it was the force of his personality or that Gin
and Rack realized, as Kal did, the horror of having Nor leading
the people of New Krypton.

Maybe it was a mixture of both. Other houses began coming
around, making noises about supporting Kal. Then it had
happened. Both Gin and Rack had died of some mysterious, and
fast, illness.

The thud had been heard around New Krypton. And try as he might,
and Kal had definitely tried, he'd been unable to swing the
other houses to come over to his side ever since. Nor had
definitely timed his move perfectly.

Still, Kal had refused to back down. But no one would step
forward unless others did so first - and proved that it could be
done safely. In the end, all of his bargaining had served for
naught. The lords had all maintained the Kryptonian ideal -
pragmatism. In fact, most of them had reluctantly provided Nor
with troops to bring Kal down. As a result, the war had been
short. Of course, being short hadn't prevented it from being
bloody. Even Kal was unable to see a good outcome now. Several
hundred men could hardly stand against Nor's army.

But Kal still couldn't back down. Nor was a monster. Under him,
no citizen would be safe, no law secure. Kal was determined that
for as long as he could draw breath, he would fight for his
people.

Sirens sounded, announcing that the enemy was again on the move.
In a few short minutes, their final battalion was over-run by
Nor's men. Kal drew his sword and dove into the battle, slashing
out with his sword, fighting against overwhelming numbers. Sweat
soaked his clothes and dripped off his chin as he continued to
move, panting hard as he fought.

He didn't even see the sword that was buried in his leg -
although he felt the stifling pain. He turned towards the man
who'd inflicted the wound, using the man's distraction at having
wounded him to plunge his own sword into the man's heart. The
man's eyes met his in horror as he slowly sank to the ground,
the life going out of him. And then, from behind, Kal felt
something hit his head and everything went black.

* * * * * * * * *
THE PRESENT
* * * * * * * * *

"Well? What happened?" demanded Lois. "You're here - so you
didn't die. But... why didn't you die?"

Kal shrugged. "Lord Trey."

"I don't understand."

"Trey was my counselor growing up. When the war came, he, like
the others, did not dare support me. But when he realized my
cause was doomed, he made arrangements to make sure that if the
situation became hopeless one of my men would make sure that I
escaped Nor."

"So...?"

"So when I regained consciousness, I was in the spacecraft you
saw on the black box..." He pointed at Lois' television, which
was softly playing in the background. "...Trey had left a
hologram for me - telling me that he had loaded information
about Earth into the ship's computer and programmed the ship's
destination. He told me to live to fight another day. But..."
Kal shook his head.

"What? You're alive. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Men died for me. Do you not see that? I tried to turn the ship
around. I did everything I could think of to get back. But Trey
must have anticipated that. I should have stayed there. I should
have died with my men."

"No!" Lois was as shocked as Kal appeared to be by the strength
of her emotions. Turning away from him, she rose from the side
of the bed, struggling to understand why she even cared. "No,
don't you see? Trey was right. You couldn't do any good for your
planet if you were dead."

"And what good can I do for it trapped here - on this primitive
planet?"

She subconsciously hugged herself even as moisture clouded her
vision. "You're alive. That's got to count for something," she
whispered as her fears for him the previous night flooded
through her again. How could he even suggest that it would be
better if he were dead? Although why it bothered her so much,
she wasn't sure. Maybe it was just that she thought all life was
precious and to hear him say that he should have stayed on his
own planet, fighting to the death, went against her belief in
the sanctity of life.

"How does this work?"

Kal's question interrupted Lois' unsettled feelings. She turned
towards him to see that he was fumbling with the television
remote. It was playing so softly, she'd forgotten it was even
on. But now her eyes went to the screen and her ears began
picking up the words.

"...a spokesperson from Star Labs confirms that the craft we see
here was indeed in outer space..."

She took the remote from him and turned up the sound.

"...well, apparently when they analyzed a piece of the craft, it
was emitting very weak cosmic rays, Tom," said the correspondent
for LNN.

"And that means it's been in space?" asked the anchor.

"That's what they tell me."

"What else have you been able to learn? Was there any sort of
indication of what type of creature might have been piloting the
craft? Or was it on some sort of remote control device?"

"They're keeping a pretty tight lid on that. But something
inside the craft has officials here spooked."

"Well, thanks, Steve," said the anchor. "We're going now to Sue,
down at the Governor's mansion. Sue, can you hear us?"

"Yes, Tom. As you said, I'm currently waiting outside the
Governor's mansion. We've been told that the Governor is meeting
with the general in charge of New Troy's national guard and will
be out to give us a statement when he's finished."

"Do we know what he will say?"

"No, Tom. We in the press corps have been trying to find out.
But so far everyone is being very close-lipped. But the Governor
should be out here within an hour or so and should be able to
give us a better idea about what is going on then."

"Very good, Sue. While we wait for him, and for those of you
just joining us, last night a large fireball..."

Lois turned towards Kal. "What might they have found that is
scaring them?"

"I do not know. There were not any particularly powerful
weapons, nothing like that on the craft."

Lois nodded slowly as she considered the situation. "I've got to
get out there."

"What? Why? This..." He gestured towards the television.
"...thing seems to be telling us what is going on."

"The press often knows more than it says," said Lois, grabbing
some clothes from her closet and heading for the bathroom. "It
can't say anything until it has confirmation, but there have to
be rumors. And this is what I do. This is my job."

"You work?"

"I'm a reporter. My job is to dig out the secrets people,
especially the government, don't want you to know and reveal
those secrets to the public. And I'm good at what I do. In this
case, I want to know what's going on in response to your landing
before the public does. And the only way I can do that is by
being there."

"I do not understand. Do your leaders just stand by and let you
do this?"

The question caught Lois off guard. "Are you telling me they
don't have reporters on New Krypton?"

"Of course not. The council tells the people what they need to
know."

"How can you..."

"But that is beside the point," he interrupted. "You are not to
leave this residence."

Lois' eyes flashed. "Excuse me?" If he knew what was good for
him, he'd recant that last statement as quickly as possible.

"This is not your problem. When I am well enough, I will go. But
until then, you are forbidden to leave your residence."

Lois narrowed her eyes. "You may be the First Lord of New
Krypton... Oh, forgive me, former First Lord... But you are in
my world now. And I take orders from no man."

"Then it is no wonder you have no man to take care of you."

Lois wasn't entirely sure if she had been more furious before in
her entire life. "I don't need a man to 'take care of me,'" she
began slowly, every word measured. "And the reason there's no
man living here is because I haven't found anyone good enough.
And furthermore, you are not my lord and master." Each sentence
was louder, less controlled than the one before as the fury
inside her increased. "If you want to stop me from leaving this
apartment, you're going to have get off your butt and make me.
Prove what a 'man' you are. If not, I've got a job to do. And
not you... not anyone is going to tell me what I can or can't
do." With that, she stormed towards the bathroom.

* * * * * * * * *

Even when she finished showering, Lois was still fuming. How
dare he be issuing orders? He might have been some high
muckety-muck on New Krypton. But right now... he was a guest in
her apartment. It would serve him right if she kicked him out.
He was just damn lucky she was such a good sport.

She had just finished up and was about to leave the apartment,
not even intending to say goodbye, when Kal's voice from the
bedroom stopped her.

"What?" she asked, coming to stand in the doorway, arms folded
across her chest.

"Before you leave..." Kal seemed to hesitate, acting slightly
nervous.

"Yes?" she asked again, extremely curious now about his reasons
for wanting to talk to her. Maybe he was about to apologize.
That was probably it. No wonder he was acting so funny. The
Grand Pooh-Bah of New Krypton was obviously not used to giving
apologies.

"Before you go," he began again, "do you think you could do
something for me?"

"Yes?" she asked a third time, reasonably certain she was no
closer to knowing what he wanted now when he'd first called to
her, but suddenly doubting her previous thoughts about what he
was going to say. What could he want her to do? And how dare he
ask her for anything when he'd tried to order her around before?
But... unlike his previous order, he suddenly sounded... almost
differential.

"I am wondering if you could help me go to the..."

She raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to finish.

"...the water closet?" he asked, seeming slightly unsure of the
expression and unable to meet her eyes directly.

"The..." It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking
about. "Oh, you mean the bathroom," she said, unexpectedly
amused by the expression he had chosen. Suddenly, what he was
asking sunk in and her smile died. He was no longer the only one
feeling... uncomfortable. Help him go to the bathroom? Nowhere
in the description of her duties was helping him go to the
bathroom. Maybe she should just tell him to... To what? Her mind
drew a complete blank. Still... She wasn't a professional nurse.
And this... No. She couldn't do that. But then, what did she
expect him to do? Hold it until he could get up and go on his
own. But what if he needed her to stay there with him the whole
time to help him stand? How could she possibly survive the
embarrassment?

Swallowing hard, she nodded slightly, making her way over to the
bed. She couldn't quite look him in the eye as she slipped her
arms around him, helping him rise to a seated position.

He was able to swing his feet off the bed on his own. But she
almost buckled under his weight as she had to help him to his
feet. Taking small steps, she helped him into the bathroom and
over to the toilet.

"Do you know how this works?" she asked, the flush in her cheeks
growing deeper.

He shook his head, looking at the bowl of water. 

"Well... You... Well, you know... In there... Then there's paper
for... Well, you know... there. Then you press the handle there
and it makes... it flushes and... Well, there's a sink there for
washing up. And towels. That's cold water and hot water and you
just turn..." She reached over, turning the tap to demonstrate.
"I think that's about it. Do you... Are you able... I mean, do
you need me to stay here while you..."

"No!" he responded.

"Thank god," she breathed. "Okay, then..." She helped him
maintain his balance against the wall before darting from the
room, closing the door behind her and leaning against the wall
herself. "Call me when you're ready," she called back to him,
hoping that he wouldn't have a problem and have to call her
before he was finished.

She was relieved when, once he called her, she found him decent
and anxious to have her help him back to bed. As soon as he was
again safely tucked in, she hurried out the door, wondering if a
person could actually die from embarrassment.

* * * * * * * * *

Kal struggled to rise from the bed again the moment Lois left
the apartment. He really should try to be gone before she
returned. For all he knew, she would tell someone he was in her
residence - someone capable of putting his picture on that black
box. After all, if he'd understood correctly, that was her job -
exposing secrets to the world.

It only took a moment for him to realize there was no way he was
leaving this bed - much less getting out of this apartment. 
He'd been able to go to the bathroom by himself, standing on one
leg and even taking one small hop over to wash his hands in the
sink. But he hadn't, until this moment, realized exactly how
much work Lois had been doing just to get him out of the bed.

Still, if she was intending to expose him, she could have done
so at any point the previous night. So why would she wait until
now? It made no sense. And besides... there was something about
her, something he couldn't quite put a finger on, but it made
him inclined to trust her. He'd tried, of course, to read her
thoughts, to be sure she had no intention of betraying him to
the black-box-people. But he'd been unable to do so. He assumed
that was because she was of a different species - or at least at
a different point in the evolutionary process, if his theory
about the people of Earth were true. But as a result, he hadn't
been able to get definitive proof that she would not betray
him.

Finally, realizing he had no choice but to trust her, Kal
relaxed. He wasn't going anywhere. If she chose to betray him,
he had no way to prevent her anyway. So there wasn't much point
worrying about it.

Still, he wasn't sure he'd ever met a woman who made him quite
so furious - or confused him quite so much. She seemed willing
to stand up against her own government to protect him. And yet,
when he'd given her a direct order, she'd acted as if she didn't
know her place in the order of things. He let out a breath. Lois
of the House of Lane was definitely a puzzle. He just hoped that
she continued to be on his side. Maybe he should have tried to
smooth things over with her before she left. 

He gave his head a shake. What had even possessed him to think
that? One did not 'smooth things over' with women. Maybe Nor was
right. If he couldn't even control a single woman, one without a
husband or father to protect her, maybe he wasn't fit to lead.

He closed his eyes, trying to push the uncomfortable thought
from his mind. The sun coming in the window began spilling
across the bed. And although the warmth against his skin felt...
great... still, warnings about a planet with a yellow sun
plagued him. He had to try to stay out of the sun. But it felt
so good, as if the warmth was sinking into his skin, actually
healing him.

Unable to actually get off the bed, he still managed to move out
of the way of the sun's rays. Totally exhausted now, he forced
his mind to go blank. He'd just rest for a moment and then
figure out what it was about Lois that had him feeling so off
balance.

As he drifted off to sleep, he was vaguely aware that the sun
had moved enough so that the rays were again falling across him.
But... It was too much effort to move. Besides, it felt so, so
good.

* * * * * * * * *

Leaving the apartment, Lois headed towards Star Labs. She hoped
to have time to talk to Dr. Klein before going to the Governor's
mansion. She briefly wondered why she was even doing this for
that male-chauvinist creep currently sleeping in her bed. "Then
it's no wonder you have no man to take care of you," she
muttered sarcastically under her breath. Of all the
chauvinistic, arrogant.... She'd been engaged to the third
richest man in the world. She snorted, thinking of how Kal would
react to that little tidbit. If she'd wanted a man to 'take
care' of her, Lex would certainly have fit that bill. Yet, she'd
been the one to call off the wedding.

Still, why should she care how he would react to her
almost-marriage to Lex? Kal was the most infuriating man she'd
ever met. Maybe that was why he'd been overthrown. Maybe she'd
have overthrown him, too. Perhaps she should be writing a
congratulatory letter to Lord Nor instead of harboring the
deposed leader of New Krypton.

Maybe she should just do as he had suggested - and let him go as
soon as he was well enough to do so. After all, what was he to
her? Stubborn. Demanding. Issuing commands. Everything she'd
always hated in a man. And yet... there was something about
him...

No! That was crazy! And she was crazy for even thinking like
that. She was helping him only because of the connection she had
made between him and that ball Wayne Irig had found.

She stopped. Star Labs was right in front of her. She'd worry
about what to do with whatever information she could obtain
later - when she wasn't quite as mad at Kal as she was at the
moment. Now it was just too confusing. 

Not seeing a parking spot, Lois pulled her jeep to a stop in
front of a fire hydrant. Getting out, she headed for the doors.


"Sorry, miss," said a guard just inside the front doors of the
building. "No one is allowed inside today without a special
pass."

"I'm not just anyone," Lois responded. "I'm... a friend of Dr.
Klein's. Just give him a call - let him know his... niece is
here."

The guard picked up a nearby phone and placed a call while Lois
held her breath. Truth was, she'd never actually had occasion to
meet Dr. Klein. She only hoped he had a...

"Sorry," said the guard. "But Dr. Klein said he's an only
child."

Damn. Lois took one final look past the guard before realizing
that the security in the lobby seemed especially heavy today.
Whatever was going on, someone was determined to keep it from
the public. Sighing, she turned and headed for the door. First,
she'd go to the Governor's mansion, see what she could learn
there, and then she'd return here, try to find a way to get the
information she needed.

* * * * * * * * *

The swarm of reporters in front of the Governor's mansion was
made up of the usual suspects. Lois was confronted by the
standard, 'Quit pushing, Lane,' as she made her way through the
crowd, looking for someone from the Daily Planet. She rolled her
eyes when she spotted Ralph. Still... Taking a deep breath, she
made her way over to him.

"Hi, Ralph. What's happening?"

"Lois," Ralph responded, turning towards her. "I heard you were
off sick for the day. Picked quite a day to get sick, too. It's
been a madhouse. So what're you doing here?"

"Just checking things out for myself. Any word yet on what the
Governor is going to say?"

"Well, I'm not sure I should be telling you anything. After all,
Perry assigned this to me. And I'd hate to have you scoop it
right out from under me."

"Come on, Ralph. Spill it."

"I'll tell you what, Lane. You agree to have dinner with me and
I'll tell you anything you want to know. It's a win-win
situation."

Lois resisted the urge to hit him. "Just spill it, Ralph."

"Okay, fine. Scuttlebutt is that he's going to declare martial
law."

"What?"

"Something found on that spacecraft has freaked everyone out."

"Any word on what might have been found?"

Ralph shrugged.

"What else can you tell me?"

"Word going around is that they are waiting to get roadblocks
set up on all the roads out of Metropolis before the Governor
will announce martial law. No vehicles will be allowed in or out
of the city without a thorough search. And they are going to
suspend civil rights and begin conducting house to house
searches."

"What are they looking for?"

Ralph shrugged.

Lois clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Maybe if
she got moving now, she could get Kal out of the city before the
roadblocks were set up. The signal that it was too late would be
if the Governor... A sudden change in the atmosphere told her
something was up. She looked towards the steps at front of the
mansion just in time to see the Governor step out in front of a
sea of microphones. Too late.

****************
CHAPTER FOUR
****************

Ralph had been right. In Lois' experience, that was probably a
first. Martial law. The suspension of civil rights. The national
guard having the right to search homes without warrants. The
Governor had said that there would be a systematic search made
of every building in the entire city. The search could take some
time. That was the only good news. The bad news was two-fold.
First, Lois still had no idea what they were looking for.
Second, it was only a matter of time before her apartment would
be searched. And before that happened...

Lois pulled her jeep off to the side of the road in front of a
payphone. Jumping out, she rushed to the phone and placed a
call.

"Hi, Jimmy. I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, Lois. What's up?"

"I need to know exactly where every roadblock is being set up.
And I need to know the search pattern being used to search the
city."

"Sure. But... Well, it almost sounds like you need this so that
you can figure out how and when to sneak something out of the
city."

"Cute, Jimmy. I'll be in shortly. Can you have that information
for me then?"

"Yeah, sure. What's going on, Lois? I thought you were off sick
today."

"Change of plans," Lois said. "Anyway, I'll be in as soon as I
can. There's something I need to do first."

* * * * * * * * *

The worst part of any stakeout was the boredom. The sun had set
and Lois was into what she called 'stage two' boredom - the
point at which she was ready to crawl out of her skin - when the
door to Star Labs suddenly opened and into the street stepped a
man she'd seen several times during news conferences - Dr.
Bernard Klein. 

Quickly getting out of the jeep, she followed him until he
disappeared into a parking garage. Running then, she closed the
distance between them. 

"Dr. Klein," she yelled.

Dr. Klein stopped, turning to look at her. 

"I need to speak to you for a moment."

"Do I know you?"

"Not officially. But you might have read some of my stories. I'm
a reporter for the Daily Planet. Lois..."

"...Lane. Yes. I'm a big fan of your work. What can I do for
you?"

"I think you know."

Dr. Klein tensed. "Ms. Lane, I'm afraid I don't have
anything..."

"Dr. Klein, you can't approve of what is happening. We're under
martial law. People's civil rights have been suspended. Don't
you think people at least have the right to know why?"

Klein looked at her for a long moment. "I'm just not sure..."

"I won't use your name. I promise. And I have never violated my
word to a source."

Klein let out a breath. "Okay. But... Let's sit in my car as we
talk. I'm sort of nervous about talking out here."

Lois looked around. She couldn't see another living soul. But
given how jumpy Dr. Klein was, it was probably easiest just to
go along with his request. She nodded and then was silent as she
followed him to a small, red sports car. 

"Okay, so what's going on, Dr. Klein?" Lois asked once they were
both safely inside. "What did they find in that spacecraft?"

"Evidence that there was an alien on that craft - and that it
didn't die in the landing."

"So... they suspect that there is an alien loose in the city?"
Okay, they could deal with that. After all, they were likely
looking for a little green man, not the infuriating, although
admittedly gorgeous specimen that was currently lying, barely
clothed, in her bed. Her mind flashed back to the vast expanse
of skin she'd seen while helping him to the bathroom. He
certainly seemed to have all the parts of a man. The mere memory
caused heat to rise in her cheeks.

"That's not the worst part," Klein said, dragging Lois out of
her unintentional daydream.

"Then what is?" she asked.

"Well, the controls and chairs and... well, the entire set up in
the craft indicates that the alien is about the same height and
weight as a human. Two arms. Two legs. One head. Everything
about the craft is set up for someone who looks completely like
us."

"Just because something has two arms and legs doesn't mean it
looks human."

"True. But then we found something..." He reached into his
inside jacket pocket and withdrew a picture. "I brought a copy
of it with me. Given the panic the authorities are in, I was
afraid they might try to cover this up by destroying the
picture. So I made a copy.

"The reason they are so panicked is that they think this picture
proves that the alien looks human. And if that is the case, it
could infiltrate society without anyone knowing it was even
here. Doing... who knows what damage. It might even send reports
back to its home planet about our weaknesses, our
vulnerabilities."

Klein handed Lois the picture.

Lois couldn't quite stifle the automatic gasp that rose in her
throat as she looked at the picture of Kal, standing straight,
looking proud, almost aloof, his hair slicked back, dressed in
some sort of ceremonial robe - all in all, looking very regal.
Well... Kal had told her he was some bigwig and town halls, city
halls, that type of place often put up pictures of the
president. It very much reminded her of that type of picture.
But with this picture... they would have no problems recognizing
Kal when they found him.

"Can I keep this?" Lois asked, indicating the picture.

"Sorry, Ms. Lane. That is one thing that will link me to this
leak to the press. Only a very small number of people have seen
this picture so far."

"But what about the men conducting the searches? Surely they
have seen this picture."

"My understanding is that they have been given police sketches
and been told only that this individual has information about
the craft that is vital to national security. But the photo
itself and the fact that it was found on the ship is being kept
under tight security. We don't know, of course, if this picture
is of the individual who was in the craft. All we know is that
it was mounted inside the craft. And why would an alien craft
have a picture of a human? So they will look for this individual
- but be asking everyone for identification. They are to bring
in anyone without it."

"But that could mean bringing in thousands of people. Illegal
immigrants, especially, wouldn't have proper identification."

"True. But we found blood in the craft - alien blood. Once we
have everyone without identification in a controlled
environment, we can run blood tests. It shouldn't take us long
to identify the alien."

"But..." Suddenly, Lois was struck by an inspiration. "Maybe the
reason there was a picture of the human on the craft is because
the craft was actually made on Earth. Isn't that a more
reasonable explanation than thinking an alien would look like a
human?" If she could raise doubt in the mind of one of the most
prominent scientists involved in this case, it might buy her
some time to figure out what to do with Kal.

Unfortunately, Dr. Klein immediately shook his head. "There are
alloys in that ship that don't come from Earth. That craft was
made somewhere in outer space."

* * * * * * * * *

Kal awoke, missing the feel of the sun's warmth on his skin. In
spite of his determination to stay out of it, he'd found
himself, during those brief periods when he was awake, craving
it. He wondered if a yellow sun was somehow addictive to
Kryptonians - acted like some sort of drug. Maybe that was why
Kryptonians were forbidden to come to planets with yellow suns.


That theory was further proven by the fact that now that the sun
had set, he missed it. On the other hand, other than the black
box which was still playing softly on the far side of the room,
without the sun, it was dark. So it wasn't necessarily an
addiction that was causing him to miss the sun.

"Lois?" he called out. When there was no answer, he took another
approach. "Lights on." When nothing happened, he tried again,
louder this time. "Lights on." Still, no light flooded the room
at his command.

Remembering the device Lois had used to turn on the black box,
he reached over and picked it up. He tried pushing numerous
buttons, turning up the volume, turning down the volume and
changing the picture on the black box to... He tilted his head
to the side as he watched the barely clothed woman lying
horizontal on the screen, her legs raised about five inches off
the ground.

"...and one and two and three and down." She lowered her legs.
"And one and two and three and up." She raised her legs again.
"And one and two and three and down. And by now you should begin
to feel the burn in your stomach. And one and two and three and
down. And one and two and three..."

Kal's eyebrows rose into his hairline. Still, he forced his eyes
away from the sight as he directed his mind again to his current
problem - the lack of light.

He tried to sit up, surprised when he was able to do so without
much difficulty. Carefully, he placed his feet on the floor and
tried rising. He smiled when he was standing on his feet. That
sleep must really have helped.

He cautiously made his way around the room, lit only by the blue
light from the black box. There had to be a way to make light.
But how? Spotting a switch of some sort on the wall near the
door, he made his way over. He smiled at the small victory when
he flicked the switch and light flooded the room.

Okay, so now what? Lois had not yet returned. Had something
happened to her? Or was her absence proof that she had betrayed
him. No. No, there was no point thinking that way. He was either
going to trust Lois or he wasn't. And so far, she'd done nothing
to betray his trust. She might still be the most infuriating
woman he'd ever met. But nothing she'd done had led him to
believe she wasn't trustworthy.

He ran a hand over the grimy stubble covering his cheeks and
chin, suddenly feeling very much the need to be clean. How could
he expect to think clearly when he was so grubby? He recalled
what he'd seen in the bathroom. Making his way back there, he
smiled. What he needed right now was to be clean. And it seemed
Lois had the means to accomplish that.

Once Kal had finished his... he thought it was called a shower,
if he recalled correctly ...he began searching for something
sharp to remove the hair off his face. He finally found a small,
pink device with a sharp blade inside. He moved it across his
wet bristles, satisfied that he'd found the right instrument
when it removed the stubble. It was crude, but did the job. He
was quite pleased with himself when he was finally able to study
his smooth reflection in the mirror - even if he couldn't help
but grimace at the number of small cuts he'd left behind.

He found it amazing how much each of these little victories
meant to him. Now the only task left was to find his clothes. 

Locating his shirt and trousers was not difficult. On the other
hand, when he picked them up, he realized that they were not
much more than rags. She'd obviously been forced to cut them off
his body. Still... he had to find something. He couldn't very
well be almost naked when she returned.

And so began his search of her apartment. Locating a shirt that
fit was not difficult. He found one he suspected was far too big
for her. It had a large number on both the front and back. But
when it came to finding something to cover his legs, his task
became much more difficult. 

He paused when he found an item he suspected would work. It had
a stretchy waist and at least he didn't need to worry about how
far it would come down his legs. Besides, it sort of reminded
him of the outfits the honor guard wore in the royal court.
Satisfied, he put it on before resuming his search of her home -
studying pictures and ornaments, trying to get a feel for the
infuriating woman who had taken him in and cared for him even
after he had held a knife to her throat. Should he leave before
she returned or not?

* * * * * * * * *

"Where have you been?"

Lois looked up, startled out of her thoughts when she stepped
off the elevator and heard Jimmy's voice. "I told you I had
something to do, Jimmy," she said as she headed down the ramp
into the newsroom.

"That was hours ago. I was just about to give up on you. Oh, and
Scardino was looking for you."

Lois flinched.

"So was your dad."

Lois' eyebrows rose. She headed directly for her desk. If her
father had called, it was undoubtedly about Kal. She needed to
talk to him immediately - before that sketch of Kal hit the
airwaves. She had to admit she was nervous about that
conversation. After all, her father wasn't always the most
understanding person. Still, there was little choice - now that
she knew what had been found inside that craft. He was the one
person who could betray Kal to the authorities. The mere thought
of what the government would do to Kal if they got their hands
on him left her feeling cold inside. No - even if he was a
male-chauvinist pig, she couldn't let that happen.

That was where the final line was for Lois. After her fight with
him this morning, she realized she might never exactly like Kal.
But what the government would do to him was unconscionable. She
wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy.

As for Dan... Dan was probably just wondering where she was.
After all, it was after seven and she hadn't been at home to be
picked up for their date. She could only hope that Kal hadn't
answered the door. She doubted he would. But if he did... that
would lead to more questions than Lois was willing to answer.
She was only grateful that her relationship with Dan hadn't
progressed to the point where he had his own keys.

On the other hand, she wouldn't particularly mind for Kal to
realize that some men wanted her. Not that it mattered to her
what Kal thought. It didn't. Not at all. She'd just like to see
him, for once, at a loss for words.

"So did you get the things I asked for?" Lois asked Jimmy as she
arrived at her desk.

"Yeah, sure." He pointed to a stack of papers on her desk. "It's
all there."

"Thanks, Jimmy."

"Oh, and Perry was looking for you."


Naturally. Nodding, she picked up the phone. First, her father.
Then, Perry. Dan... well, Dan could wait.

"Hi, Dad," she said when a familiar voice sounded over the phone
line. Had he realized that Kal was the alien everyone was
looking for? Or had he discovered that Kal had some other
problem that he had overlooked? Whatever happened, she had to
convince him to keep what he'd seen the previous night to
himself.

"Hey, pumpkin. I've been trying to get hold of you for hours."

"I've been working on the story. I assume you've seen the
news."

"I have. But that's not why I'm calling. I was just wondering
how your friend is doing."

"When I left him, he was weak, but conscious and talking.

"Good. Good. Well, that's really all I wanted to know. So I
guess I'll let you get back to..."

"Before you go, Dad..." Lois said, interrupting him before he
hung up. When he fell silent, she glanced around to make sure no
one was close enough to overhear her. "I need to ask you for a
favor."

"What's that?"

She hesitated. What she was about to do would raise a lot of
questions in her father's mind. But what were the chances that
he wouldn't eventually see the sketch of Kal? When it did get
out, everyone would be looking at it - looking for someone
exactly like Kal. And if she didn't say something now, she might
not get another chance.

"What is it, pumpkin?" he asked, reminding her that she was
taking too long to make her decision.

"I need you not to ask any questions, but... no matter what you
see... what you might learn... you can't tell anyone about the
man you treated at my house last night."

For a long moment, silence reigned supreme.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, honey?"

She closed her eyes. "I do, Dad. You're just going to have to
trust me."

He seemed to contemplate what she was saying for far longer than
Lois could stand. Still, eventually she heard him let out a slow
breath. "Okay. I'll trust your instincts on this. But if you get
yourself in over your head, you have to promise to call me."

"Thanks, Dad. I will."

Hanging up the phone, she headed towards Perry's office. She
knocked on the doorframe and then leaned against it. 

Perry looked up, a huge smile spreading across his face. "I knew
a cold wouldn't keep you away today. Ralph told me you were at
the Governor's press conference. Do you have a story for me?"

"No. But... Perry, I've got..." She hesitated. How on earth was
she going to sell this?

"What is it, honey?"

"Look, I need some time off."

"What? Now?"

"Right now."

"But... Lois, this is the biggest story since... well, since the
ice age. Aliens in Metropolis. How can you, of all people, walk
away from that?"

"My reasons are... personal."

Perry got up from behind his desk, coming around to where she
was standing. "You're going to have to do better than that,
Lois. I've got all my people covering this story. We need you
here now. Can't this wait?"

"No, Perry, it can't. I'm sorry, but a friend needs my help. I
need to take some time off to do that."

Perry shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't approve this. I need
my best reporter on this story. You're just going to have to
wait until..."

"Are you going to force me to quit?"

Perry fell silent.

Lois swallowed hard, almost unable to believe she'd just made
that threat. Was she really willing to give up a job she loved
for an alien she didn't really know and wasn't even sure she
liked? She just hoped it wouldn't come to that. Her heart
pounded painfully as she waited for Perry's answer.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois juggled her briefcase and a pizza box in one hand and her
keys in the other. She wasn't entirely sure what New Kryptonians
ate - what if they ate human flesh? Kal might look human, act
human, even go to the bathroom like a human male, but he wasn't
human. So who knew what he ate. The unexpected thought caused
her to squirm slightly. Still, pizza had to taste better than
human flesh.

She inserted the key into the first lock, wondering if Kal were
even inside. After all, they hadn't parted on the best of terms.
On the other hand, he hadn't exactly been in any condition to
leave. But with that ego of his, she could almost picture him
crawling out of her apartment on his hands and knees. That
thought touched a nerve. For a reason, she couldn't name, she
didn't want him to be gone.

"An awfully big pizza for one person."

She flinched. Dan. Turning, she looked at him, forcing herself
to smile. She had hoped that when he hadn't found her home, he'd
have left, deciding that she'd been detained by the story that
was currently unfolding in Metropolis. She had to find a way to
get rid of him before opening the door. If he saw Kal... She
hated to think what might happen then.

"Sorry, Dan. But I'm sure you know what's been going on in
Metropolis. Perry's had me running all day. I should have called
and cancelled our date, but... I guess it just slipped my
mind."

"Damn. And here I thought you'd decided to get a big pizza so
that we could eat in tonight - and then I could tuck you in."

She let out a breath. "Dan, I told you before that I'm not ready
yet to take our relationship to that level."

"So then... how long before you are ready?" He attempted to take
her keys.

"No, it's okay," Lois said, moving her hand.

"At least let me unlock the door. After all, you've got that to
hold." He gestured to the briefcase and pizza box.

"No, it's okay." She stepped up to the door, set her briefcase
down, and began working the locks herself, hoping that at least
her bedroom door was closed because she had no idea how she was
going to explain having a man in her bed. Of course, that
assumed Kal was still there.

"So who's coming over?"

"Excuse me?"

"That pizza. You really don't think you're going to be able to
eat all of that yourself, do you?"

"No, of course not. I just thought that, since the next few days
are bound to be hectic, it might be smart to have some cold
pizza in the fridge."

"Why don't I at least come in and eat with you?"

"I'm just going to be grabbing a slice of pizza and sitting down
in front of my laptop." She gave him what she hoped looked like
an apologetic smile.

"So now I come second to a laptop?"

She let out a breath, stopping her task of undoing the locks.
"Of course not." She looked at him for a long moment. "It's not
personal, Dan. But you know what's going on out there. And I'm a
reporter. It's what I do. This is the biggest story since the
ice age. I'm sorry, but I'm going to be tied up for the next few
days at least."

Dan reached out, turning the last key in the lock. Unable to
think of how to prevent him, Lois stood by and watched him open
the door. When it swung open, she glanced nervously inside,
noting that the door to her room was closed. She let out a
breath of relief. Kal must at least be strong enough to have
gotten up and closed the door. That was important - not only
because of Dan's presence, but also for what she had in mind
given what she'd learned today.

"Call me when you want to get serious about us, Lois," Dan said,
turning and walking away.

"Dan..." she called after him, but he kept moving. Watching him
disappear, she sighed before turning to walk into her apartment.
She didn't have time to worry about Dan at the moment. She'd
straighten it all out after this was over - assuming he was
still interested, of course. Frowning, she closed the door and
turned the locks, puzzling over why it no longer seemed to
matter if he was.

* * * * * * * * *

Kal was surprised to discover exactly how easily sound made its
way through these primitive walls. Hearing the voices outside,
he recognized one. Lois. The second, that of a man, caused him
some concern. Had she brought someone back here with her? He'd
listened in, trying to decide on the appropriate course of
action. Maybe he should have left when he had the chance. Maybe
he had, for the second time in his life, trusted an
untrustworthy woman.

He shook the thought from his mind to concentrate on what was
taking place outside the apartment. It didn't take him long to
realize that Lois was trying to get rid of the man. It also
didn't take him long to realize that there was some sort of
relationship between this man and Lois. He found that thought
unsettling. It wasn't that he was jealous. He wasn't. Why would
he care what that infuriating woman did? His only concern was
whether she would betray him.

When he heard the keys in the locks, he got up, closed the door
to her room and turned out the lights. Still, he continued to
listen until he was satisfied that the man had left. He heard
Lois step inside her residence and close the door. His heart
felt unexpectedly light when she opened the door to the room and
his eyes met hers. She'd come back - alone.

At first, her expression seemed anxious and then, as she took in
his appearance, her expression softened and she smiled.

"I like the outfit," she said softly.

He glanced down at himself.

"I guess we need to pick you up some clothes."

"That would be appreciated."

She smiled. "In the meantime, if you feel up to it, I picked up
a pizza."

He crinkled his eyebrows. 

"It's food," she clarified.

Not entirely sure, and yet feeling a rumbling in his stomach, he
followed her into the kitchen where he saw a large red box
sitting in the middle of the table. She gestured him to a chair
before getting some plates and cutlery and placing them on the
table. These were followed by a couple of glasses and a carton
of something from the cold box. She poured some white liquid
into the two glasses before setting one in front of him and
taking a seat.

He picked up the glass and sniffed it.

She set a small container in front of him. "The milk is to help
you take two of those." She pointed to the container.

"Milk?" Kal gasped, looking at the glass in horror. On New
Krypton only infants drank the milk of their mothers. "Mother's
milk?"

"Wh..." Suddenly, a smile appeared on Lois' face. "No. Cow's
milk. On Earth only infants drink the milk of their mother."

Still slightly suspicious, he looked at the milk again. He
wasn't entirely sure what a cow was. But at least it wasn't
human milk. Did he dare? He cautiously raised the glass to his
lips and took a small sip. Then, liking the way it tasted, took
a larger sip. "It is good," he confirmed, setting the glass of
milk down to examine the container she'd set beside it. "What is
it?"

"Antibiotics. They will help you fight off the infection from
your injuries."

He hesitated only for a second before opening the container,
removing two pills, popping them into his mouth. If she wanted
to betray him, she'd already had plenty of chances. It was time
for him to trust her - the way she was trusting him.

"You clean up pretty good," she said before taking a sip of her
milk.

He smiled slightly when he realized that not only did she seem
unable to look directly at him, but a blush was also flushing
her cheeks - almost as if she hadn't meant to say that last
comment out loud. Given their fight when she'd left, he supposed
he understood that. In spite of the lightness of their
conversation, there was a strange kind of tension in the air
between them.

"About this morning," she said, almost as if she had again read
his mind.

"Yes."

She let out a breath. "Look, Kal, I know you were some bigwig on
New Krypton. And I don't know exactly how things work there -
and honestly, I don't exactly care. But if we're going to spend
time together, you've got to learn that I'm not one of your
servants. I don't take orders."

He nodded slowly. She was right. She was taking on her own
government to help him. He had to try to remember that. Still...
"I will keep that in mind. But, Lois, you are going to have to
give me some time getting used to that. I have been giving
orders all my life. And I am used to being obeyed."

"Then consider meeting me a learning experience." There was a
teasing tone in her voice, although underneath he had no doubt
she was deadly serious.

"Fair enough. Well, in that case..." He hesitated slightly.
Maybe he should have asked before going ahead and using her
facilities. "I hope it is acceptable that I borrowed your
bathroom."

"And my clothes," she added, a grin again pulling at the corners
of her mouth.

He looked down at his outfit. Why was it that every time she
referred to what he was wearing she seemed almost... well,
amused? 

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but..." She paused. "...any
particular reason you chose to wear my skirt?"

"Is that what it is called?" he asked, looking down at the
garment he'd chosen to cover the lower half of his body. "It had
a stretchy waist and I did not have to worry about it being long
enough for me. Why? Is there a problem?"

"No. No." She seemed to assure him far too quickly. "Well, not
if you're Scottish."

"Scottish?"

"Never mind. Although... are you wearing it Scottish style?"

He looked down at himself. "I do not know. Am I?"

She cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject. "So what
do you say we eat?" she asked, opening the box.

Something in the way she asked told him that he'd been forgiven.
His heart suddenly felt much lighter. It was an odd feeling -
this need to have her like him. Never in his life could he
remember caring if someone liked him. Not even Zara.

The smells that filled the room got Kal's attention, wiping
other thoughts from his mind. He had no ideas what the people of
Earth ate, but this smelled wonderful. His stomach rumbled
again.

"Go ahead," Lois said.

He reached in and picked up a