How I Spent My Christmas Vacation -- One Year Later
By Nan Smith <hachiban@earthlink.net>
Rated: PG
Submitted: January 2007

Disclaimer: The familiar characters and settings in this story
are not mine. They are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros.,
December 3rd Productions and whoever else can legally claim
them, nor am I profiting by their use. Parts of this story are
adapted from the episode: "Ultra Woman", and credit is hereby
given to the writers of that episode or of any other episode
where scenes and/or dialogue may be used or adapted. Any new
characters, settings, dialogue and the story itself belong to
me.

This is part of the Alt-world (Christmas Vacation) series and
follows First Case.



"'Billionaire Philanthropist Scorched in Arson Probe,' by Lois
Lane and Clark Kent," Lois said, happily. "Special contribution
by Charles A. King." She regarded the headline with the deep
sense of satisfaction that was born of a difficult job well
done.

Their investigation had begun nearly a year before with a series
of unexplained arsons and coincidental robberies. Between them,
she, Clark and his alter ego, Charlie King, had followed the
trail slowly but relentlessly, always careful not to alarm their
quarry. When they had required the help of an expert computer
hacker, they had gone to James Olsen for help. They had
presented him with their evidence and suspicions, and after due
consideration, the young business magnate had offered his
services -- after securing their promise that the subject of his
part in the investigation would never pass their lips.

Lois was secretly of the opinion that James Olsen had discovered
a previously unrecognized talent for investigation, for he
turned in a superior job, locating information that they hadn't
realized existed before, and then erased his tracks with
masterly skill. The information he uncovered led Lois and Clark
to other, and more incriminating, evidence that Lex Luthor had
left undisturbed apparently in a calculated effort to avoid
drawing attention to any appearance of irregularity or cover-up.
And when they had amassed enough evidence to convince even the
cynical Inspector Henderson, Lois thought smugly, they had
presented it to him.

"I don't think I've ever seen Henderson smile before," Clark
said, evidently following her line of thought without
difficulty. "Especially not like that. I wasn't even sure the
man had teeth."

Lois giggled. "I know. I wasn't surprised to find out he'd been
doing some investigation on his own, though. He just didn't have
the advantages of Superman or James on his team."

"Or," Clark said, "you in a low cut cocktail dress."

"Oh?" Lois said, giving him an innocent look. "I didn't think
you particularly noticed."

"A guy would have to have been dead not to have noticed," Clark
said. "Luthor never stood a chance."

The phone on her desk chose that moment to ring and Clark
reached over to pick it up. "Lois Lane's desk. Clark Kent
speaking."

He held the receiver away from his ear, grimacing slightly at
the shout that issued from it. Even from several feet away, Lois
could hear Perry White's voice, and had to suppress a laugh.

"Easy, Perry," Clark said. "You don't need to shout. I can hear
you fine."

Their former editor's voice lost some volume, but Clark's eyes
met Lois's in a broad wink. "Yeah, we think so, too. Yes, Lois
is right here." He put a hand over the mouthpiece. "He wants to
talk to you."

"Well, he *did* call my phone." Lois held out her hand for the
instrument and Clark passed it to her. She put the receiver to
her ear. "Hi, Perry."

"Honey, I'm so proud of you two I could bust a seam!" Perry
said.

"Thanks," Lois said. "We're pretty proud of us, too."

"I see a Kerth in your future," Perry said. "How come I didn't
know anything about this? I've had my suspicions about Luthor
ever since that business where he ended up selling the Planet to
James, but evidence always tended to slip away when Luthor got
involved in things."

"We know," Lois said. "It wasn't easy. We started investigating
this thing on New Year's Eve -- and it's nearly Christmas
again."

"Well, the point is, you did it," Perry said. "I want you to
come over for dinner tonight -- all three of you. I've heard a
little about this Charles King guy. He sounds like a real
promising investigative reporter, pink earring and all. Why
isn't he working for the Planet?"

"Charlie says he likes being a free-lancer," Lois said. "He
doesn't like set schedules, and since he's got another source of
income, he can afford to do it his way." She winked at Clark.
"We'll pass the invitation along, but I think he's got a date
tonight. Clark and I will be there, though."

"Okay," Perry said. "Seven o'clock."

"All right," Lois said. She saw Clark's hand stray to his tie.
"Gotta go, Perry. Breaking story."

"See you tonight," Perry said. "I want to hear all the
details."

"Right. Bye." Lois set down the receiver. "What's going on?" she
asked Clark.

"Jewelry store robbery," he said. "I'll tell you about it when I
get back."

"Just be sure you get a couple of good pictures," she admonished
him. "Got your camera?"

"Leave that to Charlie," Clark said. He ran for the stairs,
pulling at his tie.

Ralph looked after him and glanced sourly at Lois. "Why aren't
you going, Lane?"

"Clark will take care of it," Lois said. "I've got a follow-up
on the Luthor story to finish before the deadline."

Ralph grunted. "Anybody could have broken the story, Lane. You
got lucky."

"Oh?" Lois raised an eyebrow. "I'll bother to take that
seriously when you turn in something half as good."

"Ralph," Eduardo's voice said. Their editor appeared beside
Lois's desk. "Where's that bit I assigned you on the demolition
derby?"

"Uh, it's coming," Ralph said. He glanced sulkily at Lois. "I
don't see why I don't get assigned stories like the Luthor
expose. How come Lane and Kent always get the juicy stuff?"

"Could be because they go out and find it," Eduardo said,
mildly. "How's that follow-up coming, Lois?"

"I'm on it," Lois said. "I've already got it roughed out, but
I'm waiting for a call-back from a source before I have all the
details."

"Just be sure it's ready by deadline," Eduardo said. He turned
back to Ralph. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get moving!"

"I'll bet if you didn't have Superman on your team, things would
have turned out different," Ralph grumbled.

"A good investigative journalist uses whatever advantages he
has," Lois said. "The problem you and your buddies had wasn't
that you didn't have Superman helping you. It was the fact that
not one of you had any clue that Luthor was up to anything -- or
if you did, you didn't have the guts to investigate him. Clark,
Charlie and I did. The fact that Clark can bend steel bars with
his pinky finger has nothing to do with his investigative
ability. And no matter how hard you tried, I doubt that you'd
ever look good enough in a cocktail dress to interest Lex
Luthor."

"All right, break it up," Eduardo said. Lois could swear that he
was trying hard to keep a straight face. "We've got a
deadline."

Lois's phone rang again and she reached out to answer it. "If
you'll excuse me," she said pointedly to Ralph, "Unlike you, I
have some work to do. Lois Lane," she added, speaking to the
caller. "Oh, hi Bobby. You do? Good. Yeah, I'll reserve a dinner
for you at the Mandarin Palace. Go on." She grabbed a pencil and
began jotting notes on the scratch pad on her desk. "Yeah --
okay, that makes sense ... good. Thanks, that's exactly what I
need. Yeah, I'll give them a call right away. Uh huh. You'll be
hearing from me." She set the receiver down with a flourish and
almost immediately lifted it to her ear again. Without pausing,
she punched in a number and proceeded to order Bobby Bigmouth
his favorite Chinese dinner. Then, with an air of satisfaction,
she turned to her computer and began to type, pointedly ignoring
Ralph. The other reporter walked away, muttering under his
breath. Lois summarily dismissed him from her thoughts as not
worth her time. She had long ago pigeonholed her fellow reporter
as a man with big aspirations but not the initiative or
determination to ever realize them. Ralph was destined to remain
mediocre all his life unless a miracle somehow happened -- which
didn't seem likely.

Finished with the follow-up well before the deadline, she LANned
it to Eduardo and leaned back in her chair to stretch. A glance
at the calendar pad on her desk reminded her that she still had
some Christmas shopping to do this afternoon before she and
Clark attended the Mayor's informal dinner tonight.

It was December 21st. In two days, it would be exactly a year
since Clark had brought her back to 1997. As a matter of fact,
according to Clark, HG Wells had shown up on this day, one year
ago, to take him back to 1993 in time to save her life. And what
a year it had been.

At first, she had been afraid that she wouldn't be able to adapt
to a world that seemed to have leaped forward tremendously in
the nearly five years that she had skipped, but Clark stood by
her like a rock, helping her to adapt to the changes. And it
rapidly became evident that he needed her help as much as she
needed his. The Media had set its sights on Superman as a source
of news, almost to the exclusion of Superman's real purpose, and
was making his life a shambles. She had made it her business to
step in, and now the new rules were finally, if reluctantly,
accepted by the various news services. Clark Kent was to be left
severely alone as an object of news, and woe to the reporter or
news crew that was foolish enough to violate that prohibition.
Their newspaper or news service would be summarily blacked out
of any Superman news, except for the stuff available to
everyone, for the next two weeks. No quotes, no original photos,
no interviews, no nothing, and Superman would go out of his way
to be certain that their chief competitor got extra attention
for that same period of time. It worked like a charm, and while
it made neither Lois nor Clark particularly popular with the
news services thus affected, it did inspire reluctant respect.
And Clark had his life back.

The introduction of Charlie King had also been an innovation of
Lois's. The independent, free-lance journalist slowly but surely
began to establish a reputation for himself and as Lois had said
to Clark early in the experiment, people saw what they expected
to see. Charlie wasn't well known, but his work was respected,
and it was known that he was a friend of Lane and Kent. It gave
Clark the freedom that had been missing from his life since
Tempus had revealed his secret to the world.

Lois smiled as she began to clear her desk. She hoped that Clark
would be back before she was ready to leave. Spending time with
him away from work had become second nature to her over the last
year, and he no longer made any effort at all to hide his
feelings, at least from her.

Five minutes before deadline, Clark stepped out of the stairwell
and jogged down the ramp to the newsroom.

"All done?" Lois asked.

He nodded. "Give me a minute to write this up and we're outta
here," he said with a quick smile. "Charlie got three pictures
that I think will work with the article, and sent them to
Eduardo." He seated himself before his computer and his fingers
became a blur of speed.

The science editor, Catherine Grant, glanced wistfully at him as
she passed by their desks on the way to the stairs. "Oh to be
able to type like that," she said.

"I know what you mean," Lois agreed.

The other woman smiled. "Oh well, at least he works for the
Planet and not some other paper. What are you two planning for
Christmas this year? I noticed neither of you are on the
schedule for Christmas Eve."

Lois nodded. "I covered for Jacob on Thanksgiving and he's
covering for me on Christmas Eve," she explained. "Clark and I
are taking the day off in Aspen."

"Nice," Catherine said. "After this last investigation you
deserve it. Congratulations on the story, by the way. Superman
or not, I imagine investigating Luthor wasn't easy, no matter
what Ralph says."

"It wasn't," Lois said.

"I wondered about him after the scandal," Catherine said. "I
know the whole thing was pretty much hushed up, and then James
bought the Planet, but it made me think a bit. Considering what
you found out, that was just the tip of the iceberg. It's hard
to believe he was the kingpin of an entire international
criminal network. He'd established such a reputation as a
philanthropist."

"Yeah," Lois said. "I thought I'd seen it all until we started
to turn up the evidence. I guess it emphasizes the old saying --
if something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

"That's for sure," the other woman agreed. "It must have been a
little scary when you realized what you'd found."

There had been a time when Lois would have denied being afraid
of anything, but the last year had made its mark. "Definitely,"
she said. "But now -- well, considering the convictions en
absentia in other countries, he'd better hope he never gets
released from Stryker's Island. East Umbrito has a death
sentence just waiting for him, and they're not particularly well
known for their record on human rights."

"I noticed that," Catherine said. "Well, congratulations, is all
I can say. You and Clark have done the world a big favor."

Clark glanced up. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate that,
Catherine."

"You're welcome," Catherine said. "I guess I'll see you
tomorrow. Have a nice evening."

The science editor went to reclaim her coat and fur hat from the
coat rack and Lois turned to Clark, who was shutting down his
computer in preparation for leaving. "Is Superman free for the
evening?"

"More or less," Clark said. "I guess you have to finish your
Christmas shopping, huh?"

"I'm afraid so. I put the last of it off until the last minute,
as usual."

Clark grinned. "Well, just by coincidence, I did, too. Shall we
go together?"

"I was hoping you'd ask. Just as long as you don't peek at what
I'm getting you."

"Scout's honor," he told her.

"Aren't you going to make me promise the same?" she asked.

"Nope. I got yours months ago," he said, looking smug.

She swatted his arm. "Show off. All right, let's go. We've only
got a little while before we have to be at Perry's."

They went up the steps and he retrieved her coat for her. She
slipped into it and buttoned it up, only to find him holding the
door to the stairs open. She didn't comment but proceeded
through the door. As it swung shut, a pair of blue-clad arms
lifted her lightly. The stairwell blurred around her and then
she felt the tiny flecks of cold as the snowflakes of the outer
world brushed her face as lightly as feathers. They were flying
through the late afternoon air of Metropolis and below her she
could see a snow-enshrouded city with the tinsel decorations
waving in the stiff breeze that accompanied the snowstorm.

"Where to, Ms. Lane?" he inquired.

"I was thinking of the Metro Center Mall," Lois said. "I have
six more people to buy for, including you. If I'm lucky, I can
pick everything up in an hour and then we can head back to the
apartment house and be ready for Perry's dinner in plenty of
time."


"Metro Mall it is." Clark changed direction. "I can't help
thinking that it was about this time a year ago that HG Wells
showed up on my doorstep with news of you. That was a defining
moment in my life."

"And mine," Lois said. "Have I ever thanked you for coming to
save me?"

"More than you'll ever know," Clark said with sudden
seriousness. "Do you have any idea what a difference you've made
in my life?"

"A little," Lois said. "I think you would have made the same
changes eventually, though."

"Maybe the ones that involved the media," Clark said, "but there
have been a lot of other changes that have nothing to do with
that. The most important one was just you being there. I was
missing something incredibly important, but I didn't know how
important until --" He broke off and she could see that his
cheeks were pink. "I'm sounding pretty mushy, aren't I?"

"Mushy isn't always bad," Lois said. She rested a hand on his
arm. "It's almost scary to know that I mean that much to you."

"To me, too, a little," Clark said. "I don't know what I'd do
without you now. I'm used to having you as my partner. Let alone
that you're necessary for Utopia to come to be, you're necessary
for me, too. I still have that question I'd like to ask you
whenever you tell me you're ready to hear it."

She knew what that was. She'd asked him not to ask her that
until she was ready. Clark's style was about as subtle as a
sledgehammer, she thought. Her record with men wasn't good. She
tended to scare the male of the species away, and it was hard to
reconcile that fact with the knowledge that this incredibly
superior male specimen not only wasn't scared, but would be
satisfied with no woman but her. He'd said so often enough, but
almost subconsciously she kept expecting him to change his
mind.

"I'll let you know soon," she promised. The idea scared her
silly, although she would never admit it to him. If she once
committed to Clark, it would be much more painful if he were to
back out than it would if the agreement had never existed.
Still, she recalled thinking at the New Year's party, nearly a
year ago, that if she wanted him, Clark was hers for the taking.
She'd been thinking it over ever since, but every time he came
near to asking her, she backed skittishly away. What was wrong
with her, anyway? It wasn't as if he had given her any reason to
doubt him over the last year.

The mall came into view through the dancing snowflakes and Clark
dropped into an alley between two buildings across the street
from the entrance. A few moments later, a completely
unremarkable couple strolled through the entrance to
Broadhurst's Emporium. Lois was still chewing the subject of her
own skittishness over in her mind as they entered the warmth and
glitter of the big store, decorated lavishly for the holiday
season. She'd promised that she'd tell him soon. Now she was
going to have to carry through. She glanced quickly at him out
of the corner of her eye. He was everything any woman could
want. For that matter, he could have any woman in the world that
he wanted. What made her so special that Clark Kent would be
satisfied with no one but her? And what would she do if he ever
changed his mind?

On some level she was aware that the whole line of reasoning was
a little silly. For some months, now, Clark had made no secret
of the fact that it was Lois Lane or no one. So why was she so
afraid of making the commitment?

>From somewhere, there came the shrilling of an alarm bell.
Clark lowered his glasses, glancing quickly around.

"What is it?" Lois asked.

"There's a baby trapped in an elevator, stuck between floors.
Come on." Clark slipped an arm around her waist and an instant
later they were zipping over the heads of the mob of shoppers
that packed the mall during the Christmas season. They exited
the department store into the main body of the mall and whisked
up an escalator. A crowd of humanity was massed around an
elevator door, where a man in the uniform of a security guard
was restraining a shrieking woman.

"I don't know how it happened!" she wailed. "I turned my back
for a second and when I looked back he was in the elevator and
the doors were closing! Somebody help!"

"Ma'am, the fire department is on its way," the uniformed man
was saying. "Calm down --"

"*You* calm down! He's not your baby!"

Clark set Lois on the floor and stepped forward, changing from
Clark to Superman in the blink of an eye. "I'll get him, ma'am,"
he said quickly to the woman and vanished instantly. In another
instant he was back, a howling child held in his arms.

The woman grabbed her baby. "Oh, thank you, Superman! I don't
know how it happened!"

"Just keep a closer eye on him after this," Clark said with a
smile. He turned back to Lois. Then he looked past her.

Lois didn't see what happened next. One instant, Clark was
standing in front of her; the next he had spun her around,
shielding her body with his own. A bright red glow enveloped
them both.

A wave of dizziness swept over her and the world around her was
abruptly blotted out.

**********

Clark's arm was holding her up. "Lois?" his voice asked.

She raised her head, struggling to orient herself.

"Lois? Are you all right?" He sounded very worried.

"Yeah -- yeah." Things were steadying down. She blinked at him,
trying to clear her head. "A little dizzy. What happened?"

He released her, keeping a steadying hand on her arm. "Someone
shot us with a red beam."

"Well, go get him," she said. The dizziness had gone now,
leaving only a faint tingle along her nerves.

Clark took a quick step forward and paused. He looked back at
Lois, his brows contracted in the slightest of frowns.

Something wasn't right. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Uh -- I think they went this way," he said, jerking his thumb
over his shoulder. The message was clear. He wanted her to
follow him. Lois extricated herself from the crowd of people
around the woman and baby and started after him.

Moments later, she caught up with him, standing at the entrance
to Robertson's. The big department store was a blaze of red,
green, gold and silver, glittering brilliantly in the glow of
the fluorescent lights. The crowds of shoppers swarmed through
the aisles as they hunted frantically for gifts. Clark was
peering into the crowd, looking back and forth.

"What is it?" Lois asked. "What's wrong?"

"I can't fly!" Clark's voice was very low but nonetheless
intense for all that.

"*What*?"

"And," Clark continued, "no x-ray vision, no super-hearing --"

"Clark ..."

He looked at her. "How do *you* feel?"

"Fine," she said almost rhetorically and then realized that it
was the exact truth. She had never felt so well, so full of
energy. "No, honestly," she said, at his skeptical glance. "I
really do feel fine. But what do you suppose happened?"

"I don't know!" He paused and took an audible breath. Lois could
see him deliberately take control of himself. That was one of
the things that always astonished her about him -- how he could
manage to keep calm under circumstances that would completely
freak her out. "The only thing I can figure is that it had
something to do with that red beam."

"Then we'd better go back to where it happened and see if we can
find some clues," she said. "Did you see where it came from?"

"There were two women," Clark said. "I only caught a glimpse of
them. One was holding what looked like a camcorder. That was
what shot out the beam of red light." He turned. "You're right.
We need to look for clues."

"And then," Lois said determinedly, "we need to go see your
friend, Dr. Klein, over at STAR Labs. Maybe he can figure out
what happened."

**********

The crowd had largely dissipated when they returned. The
security guard was still present, and two men in the clothing of
paramedics had appeared on the scene and were speaking with the
woman whose baby had caused the disturbance. A short distance
away on the floor tiles lay what appeared to be a camcorder. One
side of it was obviously blackened, and a little curl of smoke
was still drifting up from it.

"Is that it?" Lois asked.

Clark nodded and went to examine the device. The security guard
looked around as he knelt beside it. "Thanks for the help,
Superman," he said.

"No problem." Clark picked up the camcorder, turning it slowly
over but, Lois noted, he didn't open the cassette compartment.
The enormity of what had happened was gradually dawning on her
and she let out her breath in a controlled exhalation, trying to
regain mastery over her jumping nerves. If whatever this thing
was had somehow robbed Superman of his powers, it was dangerous.
It made sense to wait and let Dr. Klein open it.

"I'd better take that to Lost and Found," the security guard
said.

Clark shook his head. "I doubt the owner will be back to claim
it," he said. "If he does, you can tell him to contact me."

The man hesitated. "Why do you want it?"

Lois stepped forward. "If you can't trust Superman, who can you
trust?" she asked.

The guard grinned faintly. "You got a point," he said. "All
right. If someone comes looking for it, I'll tell him you have
it."

"Thanks," Clark said.

"I guess the Christmas shopping is going to have to wait," Lois
said, as they walked toward the escalator.

"I guess so." Clark said. He was examining the camcorder but he
still didn't open the case. "This thing's lined with lead," he
said suddenly. "The cassette compartment, anyway."

"Lead?"

"Uh huh. Now that's interesting."

"Yeah," Lois said. "Either those women didn't want you to
accidentally see what was in it, or --"

"Or what?"

"I don't know," she said, "but I think you'd better wait to open
it. If it could take your powers away like that, whatever's in
there might be dangerous. Are you sure Kryptonite is the only
thing that can affect you?"

He shrugged faintly. "Lois -- the other one -- didn't mention
anything, and I've never come across anything else that could."

"That doesn't mean there isn't anything," Lois said, "but it
makes me suspicious. Promise me you're not going to open that.
Let's let Dr. Klein do it. If it turns out there's Kryptonite in
it, it wouldn't do you any good at all."

"You don't have to convince me," Clark said. "I think you're
probably right."

"But," she continued, "I think we'd better stop at the Men's
Shoppe here."

"Huh?"

"Unless you want to walk out in the snow in a spandex outfit,"
she elaborated. "Without your powers you're going to freeze."

He looked surprised. "I hadn't thought of that. You're right."

"Wait for me on that bench," she directed. "I'll be right back.
And maybe you should phone Perry."

Clark glanced at her in surprise. "Why?"

"To cancel dinner, of course."

Clark shook his head. "I don't want to disappoint him," he
said.

"But --"

"Lois, my powers are gone, but I'm not sick or anything," he
said. "I don't want anyone to know what's happened. If the
criminals find out I've lost my powers --"

This probably wasn't a good place to discuss the loss of
Superman's powers, Lois thought. "All right. Stay here and I'll
get you the coat. Be right back. And while you're waiting, you'd
better phone a cab."

"Okay." Clark started to turn toward a pay phone that was
situated by one wall and stopped. "Have you got a couple of
quarters?"

She fumbled in her handbag and produced the required cash.
"Here. I'll be right back."

Lois hurried toward the store. The less time Clark hung around
the mall in his extremely conspicuous outfit the better, as far
as she was concerned. The whole episode hadn't really hit her
yet, but the thought of Superman without his amazing abilities
was enough to make a chill run up her spine.

Ten minutes later she walked out of the shop to find Clark
sitting on the bench, waiting patiently for her. A woman with
two small children was sitting on the other end and the older
child, a boy of about four, was unabashedly staring at the
bright costume. As Lois approached, he parked himself directly
in front of Clark and leaned forward.

"Are you really Superman?" he asked in a conspiratorial tone.

Clark opened his mouth to reply when the boy's mother
intervened. "Of course not, Billy," she said. "What would
Superman be doing sitting here in the mall?"

"Well, actually," Clark began.

"There you are, John," Lois said, interrupting quickly. "I've
been looking all over for you. Your coat was in Lost and Found,
just as I thought. Come on; we're going to be late." She smiled
at the little boy. "He's just here to advertise Superman action
figures at the toy store. They're running a special."

The child's mother nodded. "I figured it was something like
that."

"I want a Superman toy!" Billy announced.

"Well, we'll have to see what Santa brings," his mother said.

Lois and Clark walked away, as the little boy's voice rose to a
wail behind them. "But I *want* one! I *want* one! I *want*
one!"

"What if she finds out the toy store doesn't have a special on
Superman action figures?" Clark asked in a low tone.

"She'll figure it's a different toy store," Lois said. "Don't
borrow trouble."

A few minutes later, walking out of the mall, Clark pulled the
coat tightly around himself. "Brr!" he commented. "I'd forgotten
what it was like to be cold."

"Did you ever get cold?" Lois asked. "Actually it doesn't seem
particularly cold. It's usually warmer when it's snowing,
though."

"Well, it feels cold enough to me," Clark said. "I got cold when
I was a kid. I didn't start getting my powers until I was around
ten."

"That probably explains it," Lois said. "It's been a long
time."

"I guess so," Clark said. "I hope the cab shows up pretty
quick."

"I think that might be it," Lois said as a cab pulled up at the
curb.

"Are you Lois?" the cabbie asked as they approached the cab.

"That's me," Lois said. Clark reached out to open the door for
her, but Lois was ahead of him. She grasped the handle and
pulled.

The handle of the door came off.

"Hey!" the cabbie said. "What'd you do to my cab?"

"I didn't!" Lois said indignantly. "The handle fell off! You
better get this thing fixed."

"Shall we get another cab?" Clark asked.

"And wait around in the cold? Forget it." Lois got in and Clark
slid in after her, closing the rear door with care.

"Take us to Clinton Avenue," Lois said. "Anywhere on the block
will be all right." She looked at the broken door handle in her
hand and frowned.

**********

"...On the way to dinner." Lois glanced at Clark, who was
fastening the buttons of his jacket, and spoke into the phone.
"Yes, we'll bring the camcorder -- or whatever it is."

Clark sat on the battered sofa that had belonged in his mother's
living room. He fastened the last button of his jacket with
hands that tried to shake and certainly would have if not for
his determination not to show anyone, even Lois, how the loss of
his powers had affected him. Superman, after all, was supposed
to face all situations with calm and stoicism.

Lois set the phone down and crossed to the sofa. She sat down
beside him and suddenly put her hand over his. "Clark, I promise
we're going to figure out what happened; do you understand me?
We're Lane and Kent. We'll find whoever did this and get your
powers back."

Well, he decided, that effort had been short-lived. His attempt
to put on a brave face hadn't worked with Lois. She'd seen right
through him, just like she always did. He gave a faint sigh,
almost of relief. Pretending in front of her wasn't something he
liked to do, anyway.

"I know you're scared," Lois said. "I am, too -- a little. Just
because you're Superman doesn't mean you don't have feelings --
no matter what the news services used to say about you."

"I'm not very super right now," he said.

Lois shook her head vehemently. "You'll always be super, powers
or not. It's just the kind of person you are. We're not going to
panic over this, though. Not yet, anyway."

He smiled a little at that. "Aye aye, sir," he said. "You're the
boss."

"Then if I'm the boss," she said, "I'd better go and change.
We're due at Perry's in an hour and we still need to stop by
STAR Labs."

"Is your Jeep here or at the Planet?" Clark asked.

"Here," Lois said. "If you recall, we flew in to work this
morning."

"Yeah." Clark bit his lip. "Let's hope it wasn't for the last
time."

"We don't know anything about it right now," Lois said. "We're
not going to think that way until we know for sure. I'll be back
in fifteen minutes and we'll head for STAR Labs."

She went to the inner door of his apartment that opened into the
living room of hers. Her place was next to his, which was a
distinct convenience at times. Clark liked hearing her moving
around next door, and he usually ended up in her kitchen in the
evening, where she would cook dinner for both of them, after
which he would clean up the dishes in two seconds flat. It
wasn't that Clark couldn't cook, of course. Like any bachelor,
he had acquired the basics through necessity. Lois, on the other
hand, hadn't learned much about cooking from her mother, who had
apparently spent most of Lois's teen years alternately drinking
and drying out. As an adult, she had become frustrated with her
lack of cooking skills and taken a cooking course at a French
school of culinary arts. After some initial fumbles, she had
graduated second in the class. Following that particularly
rigorous introduction to cooking, she'd experimented with other
styles, and proudly displayed her expertise for Clark the day
after they had moved her into her new apartment.

Clark had been suitably impressed. The first Lois Lane he'd
known had admitted to being a poor cook. This was one of the
differences between the Lois of his universe and the other one.
That first night had been the model for many others to come, and
they had continued it ever since.

"Why don't I wait in your living room," he suggested, getting to
his feet. "I promise not to peek."

She laughed. "If I was worried about that, I'd never have moved
in next door. Come on." She opened the door quickly and stumbled
backward as it collapsed inward, literally ripped from its
hinges. Clark rushed forward in an instinctive attempt to catch
her, sure that she was seriously hurt, but almost at once she
was rising to her feet, pieces of the wooden door falling
harmlessly to the carpet and the shocked expression on her face
was almost ludicrous. Clark stepped forward to give her a hand
up, staring at the mess she had made with sudden, dismayed
comprehension. Lois met his eyes and the same understanding was
reflected in her face.

"Oh boy ..." Clark said.

**********

"Well," Lois said, as they walked slowly up the pathway that led
to the Mayor's residence, "at least we know where your powers
went. They aren't gone -- just temporarily misplaced."

"I hope it's 'temporarily'," Clark said.

"Sure it is," Lois said. "If it can be done, it can be undone."

"That's not always true," Clark pointed out. "If you shoot
someone dead, that's it."

"Yes," Lois countered, "but neither one of us is dead. Let's not
give this up until we've found out all there is to be found out.
Somehow, someone transferred your powers to me. If that can be
done, they can probably be transferred back. Dr. Klein *said*
he'd get back to us as soon as he figured out what that red
crystal stuff inside the camcorder was. I'm betting it's
Kryptonite."

Clark shook his head. "Kryptonite is green."

"You mean," she countered, "all the Kryptonite that we've *seen*
was green. How do we know there aren't any other kinds?"

Clark opened his mouth to answer and shut it again, a stunned
expression transfixing his face. After a moment he nodded.
"That's true. I *don't* know. Lois -- the other Lois," he
clarified, "never said anything about it, but that doesn't mean
anything. She might not have known about it, or it might simply
be that there wasn't the time. The subject didn't come up,
except at the Mayoral Election debate."

"So," Lois said, "we wait until we get Dr. Klein's report. In
the meantime, though, who knows about Kryptonite and what it
will do?"

"Well --" Clark frowned. "Everybody who was watching that
so-called debate saw what happened when Tempus exposed me to the
Kryptonite. But Perry found it and he and James gave it to Dr.
Klein."

Lois nodded thoughtfully. "Was Tempus acting alone?" she asked.
"Was anyone helping him?"

Clark stopped. "He was running for mayor," he said. "He had
several people on his campaign staff, but there was one man --"
His voice trailed off. "Why didn't I think of that before?" he
muttered under his breath, but Lois heard him clearly. "The
guy's name was Major Domo."

"You're kidding," Lois said.

Clark shook his head. "I know -- talk about corny. That was his
name, though. I doubt that Tempus told him much, but he had to
have known about the Kryptonite. I did some research on him
after Lois went back to her own universe. He didn't have any
kind of criminal record, but he'd been a paid political
operative for several years. He was associated with several
pretty sleazy political campaigns, and there were a lot of
allegations that he was behind some major political dirty
tricks."

"In other words, a typical politician," Lois said. "Guys like
that walk a fine line between the legal and illegal all the
time, but maybe this time he's strayed a little bit over the
line. Do you know who he's worked for since?"

Clark shook his head, starting up the walk toward Perry's home
again. "No, but we can probably find out."

"I think we should," Lois said. "He's at least a suspect until
we find out something more."

The door opened as they mounted the steps, and Lois decided that
the Mayor had been watching for them.

"Come on in!" Perry said. Then he stopped, looking back and
forth at their faces. "Either you don't want to be here, or
something has happened that shouldn't have," he stated in no
uncertain terms. "Do I want to know what it is?"

Lois glanced at Clark. "You think we should tell him?"

Clark sighed. "Yeah," he said. "I think we should. Maybe he can
help."

**********

"That's when we found out where his powers had gone," Lois said.
"I have them. All of them."

"And you're completely normal? No powers at all?" Alice White
was holding her husband's hand tightly as Lois and Clark
concluded the story.

Clark nodded. "None. I checked out every one of them. I have no
more super powers than you do."

"What do you think could have caused it?" Perry asked.

"Well," Lois said, "it obviously had something to do with that
camcorder, or whatever it really was. I think the red crystal
that Dr. Klein found in there might be some kind of Kryptonite.
There was lead on the outside of the casing, and Dr. Klein said
there was a coating of it inside as well. Somebody was awfully
determined not to let Clark see what was in the camcorder."

"Could the stuff be dangerous to ordinary people?" Alice asked.

"Maybe. Dr. Klein was careful with it, just in case, but he said
he'd never seen anything like it before, except for Kryptonite,
which is green," Clark said. "He said he'd get back to us as
soon as he found out anything. We left him with the camcorder
and the crystal."

"That was smart," Perry said. "What're you doin' about Lois,
though?"

"What do you mean?" Lois asked.

Clark bit his lip. "He means that I need to teach you to control
your powers as quickly as possible. If I don't, you're going to
hurt someone without meaning to."

Alice was nodding. "He's right. If you don't know how to handle
them, you're going to try to use them, sooner or later, and
there's going to be a tragedy. Clark needs to give you some
lessons in the use of super powers -- fast."

"I haven't hurt anyone so far," Lois protested weakly.

"Not yet," Perry said. "You're just lucky the handle on the
cab's door wasn't somebody's hand."

Clark nodded. "Remember the door at the apartment," he pointed
out gently. "Doors can be fixed, but --"

Lois heaved a sigh. "You're right. I guess we'll take some time
tomorrow to go somewhere private and Clark can teach me what I
need to know."

Alice smiled. "I think that's a very good plan," she said. She
got to her feet, glancing at her watch. "Why don't we go in to
dinner, now? It was ready fifteen minutes ago."

Dinner, necessarily, was a fairly quiet meal. What conversation
they exchanged was somewhat bland, concerning the weather, the
current state of Metropolis politics, and like subjects, as
might be expected, Lois thought, considering the fact that they
couldn't talk about the one burning topic occupying the minds of
all four of them.

Perry had mentioned to her more than once that having a cook,
and five other members of the Mayor's house staff, was something
to which he had difficulty adjusting. Considering his job,
however, and the political events that he was obligated to host,
they were as much of a necessity as his office team. Lois knew
it was absolutely true, but it sure put a crimp in the dinner
conversation.

Considering the company tonight, Perry's cook had apparently
felt it necessary to put in his best efforts on dinner. Clark,
at least, evidently thought that Jacques' cooking deserved a
word of thanks, and sent a message to the kitchen, expressing
his appreciation for the meal -- one of many little things, Lois
supposed, that was expected of Superman. Being a superhero
wasn't as easy as most people thought. She had learned that fact
over the previous year while she had helped him reclaim his life
from the various persons and organizations that seemed to
believe that they had some sort of right to intrude on his
privacy any time they chose. Still, there were probably a lot of
things that she didn't know about -- perhaps things that even
Clark didn't consider.


They had retired to the sitting room after dinner and were alone
for the moment, but that situation could change any second. Lois
had opened her mouth to speak to Clark when the horrifying
thought occurred to her that now those same organizations and
individuals that she had been thinking about in relation to him
might decide to take the same kind of liberties with her if
anyone discovered what had happened. That, she decided, couldn't
be allowed. At least no one knew that she had received Clark's
powers. Maybe they could keep it that way.

Clark seemed to be watching her more closely than she realized.
"What's the matter?" he asked in an undertone.

"Later," she whispered. The last thing she needed now was for
one of Perry's staff to overhear their conversation. The media
would be lying in wait for her by the time she and Clark left
the Mayor's home. Clark nodded quickly and turned to Perry.

"So, Chief, how's business going down at City Hall?" he
inquired.

"All right," Perry said. "The usual wrangles with the City
Council. They're pressuring me to okay an initiative to build a
new stadium for the Metropolis Tigers."

"Where would the funding for it come from?" Clark asked. "I
thought the city budget was pretty tight. At least that's what I
heard at the last council meeting that they let the press
into."

"Not everything they do is done in the light of day," Perry said
dryly. "You know that rule allowing them private sessions in the
case of city crises?"

"I've noticed there's been a lot of them recently," Clark said.

"Yeah. They want to have a session without the press listening
in, they just declare a city crisis and closet themselves up in
the Council Room, where they debate how to waste the taxpayers'
money in ways that'll best ensure their re-election," Perry
said, somewhat cynically. "They want to take money from the
taxes collected for school repair and funnel it into the
stadium. You didn't hear that from me, by the way. If you quote
me, they'll just deny it and figure some other way to wangle it.
You gotta remember, Luthor was the major donor for three of
these guys' campaigns. It wasn't exactly because they're pillars
of the community."

"Maybe we should start investigating their finances next," Lois
said.

"I'd recommend it," Perry said. "Leave me out of it, though."

"No problem, Chief," Clark said. The door opened and one of the
staff came in with a tray of after dinner coffee.

"So are you going to tell us how you got onto Luthor's trail?"
Alice said, filling the silence that had fallen. "What was it
that made you suspect him?"

"Do you remember the fires last year about this time?" Clark
asked. He accepted the coffee from Perry's butler with a small
nod of thanks. "There would be one in downtown Metropolis and
almost at the same time one would pop up in Suicide Slum.
Someone gave us a tip that someone was buying up land on the
fringes of the slum, and that every time there was a double
fire, there was also a robbery --"

"Suicide Slum?" Alice said.

"Yes," Lois said. "That was the beginning. We've been tracking
down hundreds of financial transactions of dubious legality
since, and it led us to a lot more -- including several murders.
And drug dealing, prostitution, gunrunning, extortion -- every
kind of crime you can think of. The Planet's only printed a
small portion of what we know. There are going to be more
trials, and we'll cover them and give the background after it
can't influence the case anymore. By the time it's over,
Luthor's going to have more life sentences than you can count on
the fingers of both hands, so if his lawyers manage to get him
out of one or two, it won't matter. It could go on for years."

Perry shook his head. "I guess it just goes to show that you
shouldn't take anyone at face value," he said. "All of
Metropolis thought he was a knight in shining armor, and look
what happened. LexCorp is being broken up and bought by dozens
of its competitors. I hear that Church Enterprises is bidding on
the LexSave chain."

"Church Enterprises?" Clark asked. "Aren't they the ones that
own Cost Mart?"

"That's the one," Perry said. "I hear they're looking to expand.
The City Council is all for that -- it'll keep the tax base
stable."

"Yeah, I guess that would matter the most to them," Lois said.
"Never mind that Lex was running a crime empire of legendary
proportions. After all, we're talking about the City Council
here."

Perry snorted. "No comment," he said.

The grandfather clock that stood against one wall of the sitting
room began to chime nine p.m. and Clark got reluctantly to his
feet. "We both work tomorrow, and Lois and I have that
appointment in the morning, so I guess we'd better go."

"Yeah," Perry said. He heaved himself to his feet.
"Ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow morning," he said. "And
another dratted appointment with my trainer."

"Trainer?" Lois asked, startled.

"Yeah." He shot his wife a rueful look. "Alice and my doctor put
me on a diet and exercise routine for my blood pressure.
Again."

"Well," Alice said, with composure, "if you hadn't let your
physical fitness slide, you wouldn't have to work so hard at
it."

**********

"All right!" Clark said. "A-plus on the heat vision!"

Lois looked resignedly at the thoroughly crisped log. "I was
aiming for the bottle." The glass beer bottle that somebody had
discarded on the ground was, naturally, completely untouched. "I
don't know if I'm ever going to get the hang of this."

"You just have to focus," Clark explained calmly. "Only think of
the thing you want to use your vision on. Look at it and nothing
else. Try it again, now."

Lois concentrated, trying as hard as she could to obey the
instructions. She knew very well that she wouldn't have nearly
the patience that her partner was demonstrating to deal with her
ineptness -- especially with something this important. As she
had learned in the last hour, as she strained to follow Clark's
instructions and learn what he was trying to teach her, super
powers, used incorrectly could easily kill or maim someone. She
was like a loaded weapon just waiting for someone to
inadvertently pull the trigger. Her respect for Clark, already
very high, had grown by increment each time she had muffed the
use of another power.

A pale red shimmering of heat in the air between her and the
bottle told her that this time she had managed to aim correctly.
She seemed to feel the power she was putting into the heat
vision. She concentrated on limiting the beam to a pinpoint on
the neck of the bottle and saw the tiny pinhole form.

"You did it!" Clark's voice held a note of triumph.

Lois relaxed and walked forward to pick her target up, examining
the results of her experiment with a surprising feeling of
accomplishment. Clark had been right after all. She *could*
control the powers with a little practice. Still, it was a slow
process.

Centennial Park was a winter wonderland at five-thirty in the
morning, its coat of new snow gleaming luminously in the rosy
light of pre-dawn. To the east, above the buildings, the sky was
brightening, presaging the rising of the sun. Beside her, Clark
looked like a grizzly bear, swathed in a heavy coat, heavy boots
and furry hat, with thick gloves on his hands. Lois's muffler
was wrapped incongruously around his neck. Lois, of course,
though she was aware of the cold, wasn't in the least
uncomfortable. It only underlined more vividly for her the
change in their status. She bit her lip, looking again at the
incinerated log as doubts assailed her once more. "Clark, I
don't like this. I don't trust myself."

"I know," he said. "You're having to learn all at once what I
learned over time. At least you aren't going to set any
haystacks on fire. Most of what I learned, though, I had to
figure out on my own. It was pretty scary, because I never knew
what was going to happen to me next. I kept expecting to wake up
in the morning with green tentacles growing out of my hands, or
something."

She was diverted. "Really?"

"You bet. For a while I spent most of my time hiding in my room.
It wasn't until I was about fifteen that I figured out that
whatever was going on, I probably wouldn't wind up looking any
different than a regular person."

She stifled a giggle. "I wouldn't say that. You're the
best-looking guy I've ever met."

"Lo-is!"

"Well, you are! You have to know that!"

He shrugged. "Looks don't matter. Look at that assistant of
Luthor's -- Mrs. Cox. It didn't matter how beautiful she was on
the outside. Inside she was evil. I've always tried to believe
that there's some good in everyone, but the only good she did
was to turn state's evidence on Luthor, in exchange for being
admitted into the Witness Protection program."

"She needed that," Lois said. "Luthor would have had her killed,
otherwise -- even in prison."

"I know. That's why I spoke in her favor." He took the bottle
from Lois's hand and deposited it in a wire trash container. "I
think you have enough control of your heat vision not to hurt
anyone. Shall we move on to the next power?"

"Which one is that?"

"Well, there are a lot, but we've mostly covered the ones that
could hurt anyone. I think we should try flying, now."

Flying was the one power she wasn't afraid of. "Okay."

"It isn't as hard as you might think," he said. "You --"

The sound of screeching tires and sirens interrupted them. Lois
swiveled her head toward the sounds, almost instinctively using
her enhanced hearing to zero in on the location.

"What is it?" Clark asked.

"That car!"

"What car?"

Lois took off in a run toward the sounds. It was a police
pursuit, she thought. As she watched with Clark's super-vision,
the man in the passenger seat of the fleeing vehicle leaned out
the window to fire his handgun at the pursuing police car. Even
at 5:30 in the morning, there were other cars on the road. This
was a recipe for a disaster.

She burst out onto the road ahead of the car as it rounded a
turn and came racing toward her. Instinctively, she braced her
feet and thrust out her hands in time to contact its bumper. She
had seen Clark do this more than a few times and if that was how
he did it, that was the way to do it.

The momentum of the car pushed her backwards, but she exerted
Clark's super strength and pushed back. She could hear the
screech of tires and smell the burning rubber as the vehicle
began to slow in spite of the efforts of the driver. The
passenger aimed his weapon at her and fired, and she felt the
bullet bounce harmlessly off her forehead.

Thanking Providence that it was almost certainly too dark for
them to get a good look at her face, Lois pushed harder and
brought the car to a halt. The pursuing police cars were
screeching to a stop as she sped forward, faster than the eye
could follow, disarmed both men, fastened their hands behind
them with their belts, shut the car doors again, and left the
road with the same speed as she had come.

Clark was standing on the hill above the roadway, looking down
at the scene as she joined him. He blinked as she appeared
suddenly beside him and then looked back at the scene of the
drama. The police were opening the doors to pull the stunned
felons from their vehicle.

"Not bad at all, even for a first try," he said slowly. "Good
job."

Her heart was beating fast more from the excitement than from
exertion. For several seconds they stared at each other, and
then Lois sank down on a fallen log. Clark sat down beside her.

"Well, at least they didn't get a good look at me," Lois said
finally. "They'll probably think it was you."

"Probably," Clark said, "But this brings up something I meant to
mention last night -- only I got distracted. You're not the kind
of person who can stand by when someone's in trouble and do
nothing."

"I'd already thought of that," Lois said, soberly. "Until we
figure out how to get your powers back where they belong, I'm
probably going to have to substitute for you. But I'm darned if
I want the media turning my life upside down, and I want it even
less after things go back to normal."

"If they ever do," Clark said.

"They will. But they don't know who I am -- and I want it to
stay that way."

"I agree," Clark said. He frowned, thinking. "The other Lois
made my costume, but she's not here. Can you sew?"

"Some. I got a 'C' in Home Ec."

"Alice sews," Clark said. "I wonder if she could help us ..."

**********

"Where's Lois?"

Eduardo's voice, coming from behind him, almost made Clark jump
out of his skin. Their editor had a way of quietly walking up
behind people to watch their work and surprising them with his
presence. It had never worked with Clark before, since his
super-hearing always detected the man long before his arrival,
but this time he didn't have that advantage. He covered his
start of surprise and glanced around at his boss.

"Lois is meeting a source of ours. We happened to see that
police pursuit this morning near Centennial Park."

"Didn't you stop the car?" Eduardo asked, a faint note of
surprise in his voice.

He and Lois had discussed the way to handle this, since she was
undoubtedly going to have to make a public debut in the near
future. It might be just as well to establish in as many minds
as possible that Lois was not the mystery woman. "No. That's
what we're working on right now. If anyone has any idea who it
was, it will be Bobby Bigmouth."

"That's Lois's infallible snitch, right?"

"Well, not infallible but at least pretty reliable," Clark said.
"Bobby is one of the best sources of information in Metropolis.
If he doesn't know something about it, either nobody does, or
it's not worth knowing."

"Sounds good enough to me," Eduardo agreed. "I'm glad to see
you're on it." He was frowning. "Is it possible there's another
person like you around? Another ... Kryptonian?"

"Anything's possible," Clark said. "Lois and I heard the sirens,
and I got there a few seconds after the car had stopped. Whoever
was responsible was gone. We interviewed several of the pursuing
officers, but they hadn't been able to tell what happened. The
perps weren't talking, of course."

"Big surprise there," Eduardo said. "Okay; stay on it. I guess
if anyone's uniquely qualified to find out what happened, it's
you."

"Not necessarily," Clark said. "We'll do our best, though."

Mentally, he was crossing his fingers as he spoke, but, as Lois
had told him firmly, there was something more important than the
transfer of Superman's powers to be protected here, and that was
Superman, himself. If it became known that Superman's powers
could be transferred, even if he got them back, it wouldn't be
long before some enterprising soul came up with another way to
do it, and before long his powers would be up for sale to the
highest bidder. This was something that the public didn't need
to know about.

He'd agreed in principle, but pointed out that someone already
knew how to do it.

Lois had apparently been thinking about this, in the way that he
admired so much about her, for she replied to that instantly.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" he'd asked. "They did it, didn't they?"

"They did it," Lois had replied, "but I'm inclined to think that
it wasn't what they planned."

"Why not?"

"Simple," she'd said. "If they knew it was going to happen,
they'd have arranged for your powers to be transferred to one of
them -- and once your powers were gone, they might have even
tried to get rid of you. Most bad guys really don't like you
much, you know. I'm betting that they don't even know what
happened. I think they intended to use this red Kryptonite stuff
to hurt you, and when it didn't, they took off. If we don't let
on that it had any effect on you, and can get your powers back
to you without anyone finding out, I think we can bury this
whole thing."

"That is, if this red stuff turns out to be Kryptonite."

"Even if it isn't, I'll bet they expected it to hurt you.
Anyway, I'm still holding out for Kryptonite."

Upon reflection, he'd had to agree, and that was when they'd
come up with their plan.

After Eduardo had gone on to harass some other employee of the
Planet, Clark finished putting the final touches on his article
and LANned it to his editor. That job taken care of, he got to
his feet. Bernard Klein hadn't gotten back to him yet, but it
was awfully hard to wait. He thought he'd drop in on the
scientist just to see, and then change his identity to go meet
Bobby Bigmouth, as he and Lois had planned. Contrary to what
he'd inferred to Eduardo, Lois was otherwise employed at this
moment. Right now, it was his job to do everything he could to
track down the one person on Earth at this moment, besides
Bernard Klein, of course, who might know about things that could
harm Superman. Tempus's associate, Major Domo, was their best
lead, at least as of now. If he wasn't behind this, perhaps he
could point them toward the person, or persons, that were.

The newest office employee was just crossing the Pit toward the
coffee machine. Jonetta Pickford, the young woman who had warned
Lois last New Year's Eve about Leo Nunk's intention of
manufacturing a scandal about Superman, had recently applied and
been accepted for the position of researcher in the office.
Clark touched her elbow.

"Jonetta --"

Jonetta turned, a bright smile lighting her face. Clark was well
aware that the young woman had a mild crush on him, but at least
she didn't drool over him the way many Superman groupies did.
"Hi, Mr. Kent. Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can," Clark said. "I need you to research someone for
me -- a political operative by the name of Major Domo."

She blinked. "Are you serious?"

He couldn't help smiling. "I'm afraid so. The guy's name -- at
least the one he goes by currently -- is Major Domo. I can't
quite imagine any parents actually naming their child that, but
it's all I've really got on him -- that and the fact that he's
been an operative for politicians of both parties. I need
background, current employer, address, if it's available, and as
much as you can find out about his recent activities. It's
important."

She nodded. "You've got it, Mr. Kent. I'll have it for you as
quick as I can."

"Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."

"Hey, Gorgeous." It was Ralph. "Can I talk to you a sec?"

Jonetta grimaced slightly but turned with a bright, if somewhat
strained smile on her face. "Yes, Mr. Stevenson?"

Clark proceeded up the ramp, rang for the elevator and waited
impatiently for the car. This was no good, he thought. He needed
to act exactly as he did before he lost his powers. If he
didn't, sooner or later someone was going to notice.

He opened the door to the stairs and hurried down the steps.
Hopefully, no one would think it odd if they saw him driving
Lois's Jeep. He did it often enough. Once he was away from the
Planet, after he saw Dr. Klein, he could become Charlie King and
never get a second glance from anyone -- except for Charlie's
peculiar style of dress, of course. The whole point, however,
was that no one realized that the guy with the blond, spiked
hair, the loud, casual clothing and pink earring was also
Superman. And therein lay Charlie King's charm, as well as his
advantage. As Charlie, he could go places and do things that
Superman couldn't -- at least without a crowd of rabid newsmen
following in his wake. In the past year, he had come to like
Charlie King very much.

Once in the basement, Clark found the Jeep where he and Lois had
parked it a couple of hours before and climbed behind the wheel.
A few moments later, he rolled out of the Planet's parking lot,
waving casually to Bill, who manned the gate. Bill waved back
and Clark paused at the exit to the lot, waited for a break in
the traffic and pulled out into the street. STAR Labs was only
twenty minutes away, and after that Bobby Bigmouth would be
waiting for Charlie behind Ralph's Pagoda.

**********

Bernard Klein raised his head from his microscope when Clark,
clad in the Suit, knocked politely on the doorframe of the lab.
His eyes widened as they took in the sight of Superman in all
his splendor.

"Superman! -- Uh ... Mr. Kent." Clark watched him consciously
shift gears, going from hero-worshiping groupie to dignified
professional in the space of about two seconds.

"Hello, Dr. Klein," Clark said with his most charming smile.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I was wondering if you had any
news for me."

The scientist nodded. "Actually, I was just going to call you.
It might be best if you don't go into the lab right now." As he
spoke, he exited the lab, pulling the door closed behind him and
glanced in both directions as if to assure himself that no one
was close enough to overhear.

"Oh?"

Dr. Klein nodded vigorously. "Why don't we step into the
conference room across the hall?" He proceeded to hustle his
visitor into the small room opposite the lab, and closed the
door behind them. He turned to Clark, lowering his voice. "I
thought that you probably didn't want the information about this
known -- even to my colleagues, so I haven't exactly mentioned
what my current research is all about to them. I have a very
tiny sliver of the crystal under the microscope at present," he
explained. "The crystalline structure is amazing -- but, of
course, that's not the part that interests you." He cleared his
throat. "I've managed to analyze its structure and from all the
tests that I can devise, it *is* Kryptonite. You can tell Ms.
Lane that she was right."

"She usually is," Clark said.

"I'm aware of that," Dr. Klein said with the faintest of dry
smiles. "Ms. Lane has a very unusual method of reasoning. She
takes a minimum of information, analyzes it with, from what I
can observe, a completely unscientific process, makes leaps of
what she loosely calls logic, and arrives almost invariably at
the correct, or nearly correct, conclusion. If I knew how she
did it, I'd write a treatise on it. It might be a very useful
scientific tool. The trick, of course, lies in defining the
process."

It took Clark several seconds to realize that the doctor was
making a joke. He grinned slightly. "I'm not sure even she
knows. It may be some kind of psychic ability. So," he added,
"you said this *is* Kryptonite?"

"It's Kryptonite," Dr. Klein said. "I have a piece of it in the
lab, unshielded and since I don't know how sensitive you might
be to this red variety, I'd rather not risk having you go
anywhere near it. If that first dose removed your powers, the
next might kill you, for all we know."

Clark didn't comment. "I thought Kryptonite was green. The piece
that Tempus had sure was, and so were all the pieces we found
around Smallville."

Dr. Klein nodded. "From all that I've been able to tell, the
basic form of Kryptonite is green. I've analyzed the molecular
structure of this new kind and it's only very slightly different
from the first sort. The red variety appears to be an isotope of
the green. You remember the definition of an isotope from your
high school chemistry, don't you?"

"Sure," Clark said. "An isotope of an element is one with the
same chemical structure as the original, but with a slightly
different atomic weight -- like ordinary water. Its isotopes are
deuterium and tritium."

"That's right," Dr. Klein said. "The difference in their atomic
weight is caused by extra neutrons in the nucleus of the atom.
The same is true of the Red Kryptonite."

Clark digested that. "How about the camcorder?" he said at last.
"Any information on that?"

"It's actually a laser," Dr. Klein told him. "The circuitry was
damaged, but we're trying to repair it."

"How does it work?"

The scientist shrugged. "Like any other laser, actually --
except that all the power seems to be refracted through the
chunk of Red Kryptonite in the cassette compartment." He frowned
at Clark. "How are you feeling?"

"All right. Just -- normal, I guess." Clark hesitated. "I need
to get the thing working again as fast as possible. There's been
another development."

"Oh? Something I should know about?"

Clark hesitated and made a decision. Dr. Klein had always been
discreet when it came to Superman. They had trusted him with the
piece of green Kryptonite, and now with the fact that Clark's
powers had vanished. "Dr. Klein -- we have a doctor/patient
relationship, don't we?"

The scientist blinked in obvious surprise. "Of course."

"That means that anything I tell you in confidence stays that
way, right?"

"Naturally," Dr. Klein said.

Clark took a deep breath. "We know where my powers went," he
said.

"I beg your pardon?" Dr. Klein said.

"After we stopped by your office yesterday, Lois and I
discovered something --"

Bernard Klein listened, his eyes getting wider and wider as
Clark described what they had discovered but by the time he had
finished the scientist was frowning in obvious thought.

"Incredible," he said. "So the beam hit you and somehow
transferred your powers to Ms. Lane. Before you leave, I wonder
if you could spare a minute for me to take a blood sample? I
want to run a couple of tests, if you don't mind."

Clark would never admit it, but being poked with needles wasn't
an experience that he actually desired to have happen to him.
Superman, however, had an image to consider. He couldn't afford
to be perceived as squeamish. "I guess so. What for?"

Klein chuckled evilly. "My fellow vampires and I have always
wanted to taste Superman's blood. Now's our chance." At Clark's
widened eyes, he relented. "Actually, I want to look at the
chemical structure and do a DNA analysis. Plus a few other
things. If anything actually pans out, you'll be the first to
know what I find. In the meantime, I'll put a priority on
getting the laser fixed. Deal?"

Clark hesitated. "Well -- as long as it stays confidential. I
don't want just anyone finding out too much about me."

"Oh, that goes without saying," Dr. Klein said. "I won't even
label it as such."

"In that case, okay," Clark said.

"Come into my office," Dr. Klein said. "We'll do it there, where
no one will see it. And you might as well call me Bernie.
Considering what I'm about to do, I think we're past the formal
stage, don't you?"

**********

"How does it feel?" Alice White asked.

"It's a little tight," Lois's voice said from behind the
screen.

"I know, but Clark says it cuts down on wind resistance," Alice
said. "I figured I couldn't do better than talk to the expert."

"I suppose not," Lois said. "How on Earth does he get into his
outfit so fast?" A faint grunt of effort. "Okay, here goes
nothing." There was a rustle, and Lois stepped from behind the
screen. "How do I look?"

"Oh to have a figure like that again," Alice murmured wistfully,
surveying the results of her work with a critical eye. Lois's
figure was always enviable, but in the dark blue suit that
molded itself to her body, the effect was devastating. Alice
looked down at her own, actually very fit and trim body and
sighed. In spite of all her efforts, there was no way that she
could ever have her youthful figure back. Not that it had ever
been as good as Lois's, but still ....

Beside her, she could practically see the thoughts running
through Lois's head as she regarded the suit's effect in the
room's full-length mirror.

Alice had copied the general color scheme of Superman's uniform,
but had put it together in a somewhat different style. The suit
was of blue spandex but of a darker shade than the electric blue
of Clark's suit. Alice had forgone altogether the red shorts.
They might look good on Superman, but, as she delicately put it,
Lois's assets were somewhat different than Clark's, and they
were trying to take people's attention away from her face. Even
masked, if someone looked too closely, they might see something
that Lois didn't want them to see. The sleek tight suit would
definitely draw the attention. Her cape was of a dark red color,
as were the boots. Yellow-gold gloves edged with red covered her
hands and the lining of the cape was of the same gold shade. She
wore a mask of the same red color as the cape, and the effect
was unexpectedly both dramatic and impressive.

"Wow," Lois said after a minute. "You really went for the color,
didn't you?"

"Distraction," Alice said firmly. "If people are dazzled by the
colors -- and by your figure, if I may say so -- they're not
going to be looking too closely at your face. That's what you
want."

"I guess you're right." Lois hesitated. "I guess it'll do -- if
Clark doesn't mind."

"Take it from me," Alice said, "he won't. On the other hand,
he'd think you were beautiful wearing a gunny sack." She watched
her young friend turn an interesting shade of scarlet. "Don't
tell me you didn't know. Clark's crazy about you."

"I know that," Lois said. "It scares me sometimes."

"Scares you?" Now that was a new one. "Why should it scare you?
Do you know how many women would give anything to have him look
at them the way he looks at you?"

"A lot," Lois said. "But that's exactly what scares me. He could
have any woman he wants. Why does he want me? And what would I
do if he ever changed his mind?"

"Do you think that's likely?" Alice asked quietly. "Clark is a
unique guy in more ways than one. That's why I never thought
that Ms. Lang was the right woman for him. He was loyal to her,
but I could see exactly how that marriage was going to turn out.
She'd have ruled the roost, forced him into her idea of what his
life should be -- and he'd have been miserable. In the end, it
would have either ended in divorce, or one of those marriages
where neither partner speaks civilly to the other. But you --"
She smiled. "You haven't tried to make him anything but what he
is. Clark has changed a lot in the last year. He was always a
nice, charming guy, but I've never seen him so happy -- and it's
all because of you. He's no fool, Lois. The day he brought you
to see us, after he found you in the South Pacific, I could see
that he was head over heels in love with you, and I don't think
that's likely to change. Do you? -- Really?"

"No," she said. "I don't -- but there aren't any guarantees."

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said.

"Then why are you scared?"

"It's -- just such a -- a risk," Lois said.

"And you're afraid of risks? Am I speaking to the woman that
helped bring down Lex Luthor, himself?"

"Yeah." Lois's voice had dropped to a whisper. "My mother risked
it all like that once. She fell in love with a superior man --
and look what happened to her."

Alice was silent for several seconds. Finally she said, "Living
is never safe and secure -- and in the end it doesn't matter how
safe you play it, does it? In the meantime, if you take chances
you can be hurt terribly -- no one's denying that. But if you
don't take them, you can miss out on life itself. I guess it's
up to you to decide if the potential reward is worth risking
everything -- and no one can decide that but you."

"I know that," Lois said. "And I will."

"Just don't take too long," Alice said. "Clark might be willing
to wait forever -- but not even Superman lives that long."

**********

A year ago, Clark thought, as Charlie King drove Lois's Jeep
toward Ralph's Pagoda, he and Lois hadn't even been in this
time. They had skipped two days in the current time because
Tempus had marooned Lois over a thousand years in the past. They
-- or more accurately, Lois -- had managed to overpower Tempus
when he had shown up to finish the job and turned the tables on
him. But when they returned to the present, they had arrived in
the late evening of December twenty-third, so technically, at
this time a year ago, neither Lois Lane nor Clark Kent had
existed. But in the end everything had worked out all right.
When he and Lois worked together they accomplished miracles and
there was no reason that this time should be any different.
Superman might be temporarily out of action, but Lois Lane was
substituting for him. If the past year was any example, the bad
guys of the world had better watch out, he thought with a
certain wry humor. Super-Lois would probably be tougher on them
than Superman had ever been.

Speaking of which, if the time came when she was forced to
appear in public, they had better have some kind of name for
her. There was always Superwoman, of course, but Clark suspected
that Lois might not like such an obvious spin-off of his name.
If Lois was anything, she was fiercely independent. It was
probably that independence that was getting in the way, now, of
her accepting his proposal, but given time he hoped he could get
past that. Lois was gun-shy of making the kind of commitment
that he wanted. Given the train-wreck that her parents' marriage
had been, he could understand but it was still frustrating.
Still, the Lois he had first met had married her Clark. He was
just going to have to be persistent.

He pulled the Jeep into a parking space by the curb. Snow was
beginning to drift through the air again. It had been snowing on
and off since yesterday, which made for a great Christmas
atmosphere, but it was a pain in the -- well, it was definitely
a nuisance when it came to getting anywhere when you didn't have
super powers. He had never fully appreciated the advantages
those abilities gave him -- not, of course, the grand super
feats, but the simple, ordinary things in life, like avoiding a
traffic jam caused by bad weather, or not feeling the cold.
Brr!

He adjusted his pink Calvin Klein sunglasses, wrapped the heavy
coat around him, pulled the knit cap down over his ears, making
sure the pink earring remained visible, and got out, slamming
the door behind him. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets
of the coat and stepped onto the sidewalk. As he did, the
advertisement on the back of a bench, provided for the
convenience of waiting bus passengers, caught his eye.
Ultra-Vitamins, the sign proclaimed. He stopped, eyeing the
words thoughtfully. Ultra-Woman? Well, it was certainly a
possibility. He'd run it by Lois and see what she thought.

Bobby Bigmouth was waiting in the alley, just as he had
promised, leaning casually against the chipped, blackened brick
of the building. Their snitch looked him over critically. "That
hat don't match your coat, Charlie," he informed him bluntly.
"You need to get one in fake fur if you're gonna keep your
image."

Clark made a note of that. Bobby had been invaluable in the
finer points of his Charlie disguise over the year. Clark often
wondered if he had seen through the whole thing, but if he had
he never said a word. "Thanks. I'll do that as soon as I can get
to a department store," he said. "Now, I need to know if anyone
has a clue about who stopped that car during the police chase
this morning."

Bobby nodded. "You got my lunch?"

Clark produced a gift certificate. "I figured you'd rather have
something hot, and nothing's going to stay hot for very long in
this weather."

Bobby examined the certificate. "Bronco Bob's All-You-Can-Eat
Western Smorgy," he said with something approaching enthusiasm.
"Y'know, Charlie, you got good taste." He folded the certificate
carefully and tucked it into a heavy leather wallet, and then
with equal care, slid the wallet into an inner pocket of his
battered coat. "Okay, the chase this morning. The word's
startin' to circulate that it was a woman."

Clark raised his eyebrows. "A woman?"

"Yeah. One of the guys the cops caught told one of the guys in
the cell next to his -- acquaintance of mine named Norm
Campbell. Norm's wife bailed him out this morning and he
mentioned it to me when I happened to look him up a while ago."

"Do they know who she was?" Clark asked.

Bobby shook his head. "Nope. Just a woman, he said. I guess it
was too dark to see much."

"Probably," Clark agreed. "Anything else on that other thing?"

"Yeah," Bobby said. "There's a rumor that there's some group
trying to move into Luthor's old territory, and they're looking
for a way to neutralize Superman."

"Do you know who?"

Bobby shook his head. "It's a big, underground criminal
organization is all I know, but it might be behind the attack on
him yesterday. Lucky for Clark whatever that red beam was, it
didn't work."

"That's for sure," Clark said. "If you find out anything more
about it, give me a call. There's a Peking duck dinner in it for
you if you can get me some of the names involved -- or any
information on the organization itself. If somebody's going
after Superman, we need to know who it is."

"You got it," Bobby said. "Just remember, I gotta look out for
my skin, too."

"If you tell me something in confidence, I promise I'll be very
careful what I write," Clark said. "I'll clear it with you,
first. Deal?"

"Deal," Bobby said. He straightened up from his slouch. "Anyhow,
that's all I know. I think I'll drop by Bronco Bob's now and get
out of the snow for a couple of hours."

Clark nodded. Watching Bobby walk away, he hoped he hadn't done
Bronco Bob's a disservice in pointing Bobby Bigmouth in their
direction. Still, once probably wouldn't be too bad. After all,
how much could one man eat?

Trying not to contemplate the answer to that, he headed back
toward the Jeep. A glance at his watch told him that he had time
to drop by Broadhurst's Department Store and find a fake fur hat
before he met Lois for lunch. Charlie King was always a work in
progress, he reflected as he maneuvered out of the parking
space, but he was a good place to hide while Superman was out of
action. The last thing he and Lois needed was someone from this
mysterious organization that Bobby had mentioned going after him
again while he was powerless, and with any luck whoever was
behind this would discount Charlie King as a lightweight. It
gave him a certain amount of cover. It had become very plain to
him why the Clark of the other universe needed his secret
identity. It was just too bad that going back and undoing
Tempus's work was impractical, but he had learned first hand
what tampering with the timeline could do. With an example like
HG Wells and Tempus in front of him, the very idea gave him
chills. No, he and Lois would simply have to deal with things as
they were.

**********

"I like your hat," Lois told him as she climbed into the Jeep in
front of the Daily Planet. "Did Bobby suggest it?"

"Yeah," Clark said. He glanced over his shoulder and pulled
carefully out onto the snowy street. The snow was gradually
becoming thicker and with it the potential for an accident.

"I thought so," Lois said. "Sometimes I wonder about him. You
don't suppose he's guessed, do you? I know he's never said
anything but with Bobby you can never be sure."

"If he has, Clark said, "it doesn't look like he wants us to
know."

"I guess not," Lois said. "I guess that's one investigation that
we won't do."

Clark nodded. "I've noticed that, for all that he's a snitch,
Bobby can be pretty closemouthed about some things." He applied
the brakes as a big, black mongrel decided to dash into the
street, followed by a child about the same size as the dog. The
Jeep slid slightly, but came to a stop. Brakes screeched and a
horn sounded behind them. He glanced back at the red Volkswagen
that had barely avoided a collision with the Jeep's rear bumper.
The driver gave him a one-finger salute. Lois returned the
favor.

"Idiot! What does he want you to do, hit them? I guess he
doesn't care, as long as you don't slow him down!" she said,
turning around to face the front again. The child had seized the
animal by its collar and was attempting to drag the creature
back to the sidewalk. The horn sounded behind them again. Clark
ignored it. Lois stuck her head out the window. "Cool off,
moron! He can't run over a kid!"

The horn sounded a third time, followed by several more from
farther back down the line. Lois muttered darkly under her
breath about idiots with driver's licenses. Clark grinned.

The dog and its apparent owner finally made it back to the
sidewalk. Clark started the Jeep forward again, moving slowly on
the snowy road. The Volkswagen continued to hug their bumper.
Lois gave the driver another salute and faced the front,
resolutely ignoring the offending vehicle.

"Anyway," she said, "On the subject of your powers, Jonetta
found some interesting information for us. Since you weren't
around, she gave it to me to give to you."

"That was fast," Clark said. "Did she find out anything
useful?"

"She said she'd keep looking for anything else, but that Major
Domo pretty much disappeared from the political scene after that
scandal with President Winfrey broke last year. Nobody could tie
it to him, but there's a lot of speculation that he was behind
it," Lois said. "Anyway, he was hired a few months ago by the
board of Cost Mart to handle their public relations campaign for
them. Apparently there's been some resistance to the idea of
their taking LexSave's place in the city."

"So he probably didn't have anything to do with yesterday?"
Clark said, aware of a deep sense of disappointment.

"Don't know," Lois said. "Remember, you said that a lot of
people were trying to find out about Kryptonite after Tempus
used it on you at the debate. It makes sense that someone might
have thought to ask him, since he was Tempus's right hand man."

Clark nodded slowly. "You're right. I guess we need to find Mr.
Domo and have a little talk with him."

"Did Bobby have anything useful for us?" Lois asked.

"Some. There's a rumor that the mysterious person that stopped
the car chase this morning was a woman."

"How did that get out so fast?" Lois asked.

Clark told her. Lois shook her head. "It figures that Bobby
would be one of the first to hear it," she said. "Did he have
anything to say about the attack on you, yesterday?"

"A little. Just a rumor, really. Bobby says that there may be a
big criminal organization trying to move into Luthor's old
territory and they might be looking for a way to neutralize
Superman."

Lois stared at him for a moment. "Bobby said that?"

"Yes, but he said it was just a rumor."

"Clark, don't you know Bobby by now? His credibility is his
stock in trade. He wouldn't have told you that unless he was at
least 75% sure it was true! We *have* to find this Major Domo
guy. Don't you see? Someone got hold of him and found out about
Kryptonite. They must have gone to Smallville and looked around,
but instead of finding green Kryptonite -- because you and I
cleared out all that we could find -- they found the red stuff!
We weren't looking for that, because we didn't know about it."

Slowly, Clark nodded, remembering what Dr. Klein had said about
his volatile partner's reasoning processes. He had been joking
but it had been a joke with genuine respect at its core. However
Lois reasoned, she was right, or nearly right, much more often
than she was wrong.

"So what do we do about it?" he asked.

"Well, I'd say the next thing for us to do is to head for
Smallville," Lois said decisively. "Maybe someone saw them
hunting for the Kryptonite and we can get a description -- and
even if we don't, there's something else we have to do that's
almost as important."

"What's that?"

"We have to find any of the Red Kryptonite still in the area. We
don't know how much they have, but the last thing we need is for
them to get hold of any more!"

"Do you think you can fly us to Smallville?" Clark asked.

She hesitated. "I think so. You'll have to hold on tight."

"Oh, I think I can manage that without any problem," Clark said.
"When do you think we should make this little foray?"

"There's no time like the present," Lois said, a note of
determination in her voice. "Park the Jeep in the garage at the
apartment and we'll go -- assuming we ever get home in this
stuff." She gestured at the clouds of flakes obscuring the view
ahead of them. "The sooner we get any remaining Red K under
control, the better off we'll be."

The snow was getting thicker by the minute, Clark thought,
maneuvering the Jeep cautiously through the streets. The wheels
had a disconcerting tendency to slide unless he applied the
brakes with extreme care. "'Red K'?" he asked.

"Well, Kryptonite is such a mouthful," Lois said. "Besides, if
someone overhears us, I don't want him to know what we're
talking about."

He grinned faintly. "Okay. Didn't I say you're the boss?"

Lois stuck her tongue out at him. "And didn't I say way back
when we met that I didn't want to be in charge? If this Utopia
thing flops, I don't want all the blame."

"That was then," Clark retorted. "This is now. Can I help it if
I like being bossed around by you?"

She sobered. "Do you -- really? I've heard a little more about
Lana, now -- from other people who knew her. She bossed you
around, and I don't think you liked it."

Clark's hand closed gently over hers. "That was a completely
different situation. Lana and I weren't suited for each other.
I've realized that pretty clearly since we broke up -- and even
more since last year. If we'd married, it would have been a
disaster. Your counterpart saved me from that, at least. And
then I met you."

"I'm pretty bossy sometimes," Lois said.

Clark chuckled. "'Sometimes'?"

She scowled at him. "I'm not bossy *all* the time!"

"No," he agreed amiably. "Just when you're awake. The difference
is, I *like* it when you're bossy."

"Hmmmmph!"

They were approaching the intersection of Sycamore and Broadway.
The traffic light, only partially visible through the cloud of
flakes, flashed yellow and Clark applied the brakes well in
advance, in order to avoid the Jeep's tendency to slide. The
driver of the Volkswagen behind them had apparently had enough.
He squeezed out from behind the Cherokee, crossed the double
line and accelerated past them in the opposing lane, blowing his
horn as he did so. The driver of the oncoming car, evidently
blinded by the snow, saw the approaching vehicle barreling
toward him too late to avoid it. He slammed on his brakes and
jerked the wheel sideways in a vain attempt to miss the other
car. The Volkswagen plowed into his rear door, just behind the
driver's seat. The cars skidded and spun, locked together, and
came to a sudden stop against the curb. The drivers of other
nearby cars slammed on their brakes, attempting to avoid the
accident, skidding and sliding in all directions. By the time
all of them had come to a halt, the street and intersection were
completely blocked by several minor collisions, one rollover
accident and a pickup truck with its nose buried in the
shattered display window of Piltman's Bakery. The driver of the
Volkswagen was slumped in his seat, while the driver whose car
he had rammed was climbing unsteadily out the driver's door.
From under the car, Clark could see a thin trickle of liquid
beginning to pool in the muddy snow.

*********

The Jeep was resting diagonally against the curb with its nose
jammed against a badly bent parking meter. Clark winced at the
sight of the broken headlight and the large dent in the hood and
grillwork. If the driver of the Volkswagen survived, Lois was
probably going to kill him.

He cut the Jeep's engine and opened the door. No matter how
obnoxious the man had been, he had to get the guy out of the
Volkswagen. If the other car was leaking gas, the results could
be deadly.

Lois had shoved open the passenger door. She gave one furious
glance at the damage to her Jeep and vanished in a gust of air.
Clark blinked. A woman, clad in dark blue and red spandex, and a
gold-lined, scarlet cape, had appeared out of thin air by the
Volkswagen and without a pause wrenched the door from its
hinges.

>From somewhere, he heard the wail of a siren. Clark climbed out
of the Jeep and hurried to the car that had rolled. A woman was
attempting frantically to squirm out the broken window.

"Hold still a minute," he called. "You're going to cut yourself
that way."

The woman paused. Clark knelt, trying to see in the window. "Is
there anyone else in there with you?"

"No!" The woman's face was streaked with blood and tears. "Help
me! The steering wheel's pinning my legs!"

Clark grabbed the door handle and pulled. There was a crunching
sound and the tinkle of glass and the jammed door came partway
open. He heaved, dragging it open a few more inches,
peripherally aware that, even as a normal man, he was still
respectably strong. Crouched on hands and knees wasn't exactly
the most advantageous position for forcing open a stuck door. He
braced his hand against the side of the car, trying to improve
his leverage. The metal on the side of the car dented slightly
under the force he was exerting, and the door moved another
inch.

Lois was suddenly beside him, and she grabbed the door,
wrenching it open. It came free of its hinges and she dropped it
onto the snowy pavement.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

The woman shook her head. "I don't think so. I had my seatbelt
on. Get me out of here!"

Lois rocked the car upward slightly with one hand, releasing the
victim's legs, and Clark leaned forward, assisting her to squirm
free. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I think so." She made an attempt to get to her feet.

"Better sit still," Clark suggested. "The paramedics will be
here in a minute. You should have them look at you before you
try to move around."

"I'm all right." She used one hand on Clark's shoulder to help
boost herself upright.

Lois had gone to assist the driver of the truck that had crashed
into the bakery. The man had a deep cut on one cheekbone where
flying glass had just missed his eye, but he was walking
steadily when Lois helped him out of the bakery window. The
paramedics had arrived in the short time they had been
conducting rescue operations, as had several police officers and
a fire truck, the crew of which was drenching the leaking fuel
in foam. Clark found himself being interviewed by a young
officer who looked to be barely out of his teens. He gave his
name and his account of the accident, reflecting that the driver
that had caused it was likely to see his insurance rates rise
rather sharply after he got out of the hospital. Two paramedics
were lifting the driver in question into their van, secured to a
gurney, with his head strapped firmly to a backboard against
possible neck injuries. He was just lucky, Clark thought, that
Lois had been too busy to give him much attention following the
mess that he had caused. He doubted that the guy had seen the
last of Lois Lane, either. He had damaged her treasured Jeep,
and if he survived his accident -- which now seemed likely --
Clark suspected that he would shortly wish that he hadn't.

Despite the heavy snowfall, reporters were collecting around the
perimeter of the accident, he noted, and news crews with their
cameras predictably focused not on the accident but on Lois. The
appearance of a super powered woman was going to be big news --
as big as the appearance of Superman had been. Lois was about to
get first hand experience of what it meant to be a superhero.

He saw her glance at the assembled news media, as the civilian
authorities moved in to clean up the last remnants of the
accident, and as suddenly as she had appeared, she vanished. A
few instants later, Lois Lane quietly materialized beside him.

The police officer turned to her. "Were you involved in the
accident, ma'am?" he inquired politely. "If you weren't, the
Press is supposed to wait behind the barrier." He pointed.

"She was my passenger," Clark said. "That's her Jeep."

"Oh. In that case, I'll need a statement."

The woman that he had helped from her wrecked car approached
while he waited for Lois to speak to the youthful officer, a
bandage now adorning her forehead. "Someone said your name is
Charles King?"

Clark turned. "Yes?"

She handed him a business card. "My name is Constance Hunter.
I've read your articles in the Daily Planet, and I admire your
writing tremendously. Thank you very much for your help."

"You're welcome," Clark said.

Constance smiled, nodded, and turned away.

Clark glanced at the card, and then took a second look.
Constance Hunter, Attorney at Law, he read. He glanced around,
but Constance Hunter had vanished into the crowd and the falling
snow.

**********

"I guess I'd better call my insurance company," Lois said sourly
as they climbed back into the Cherokee. She glanced at the
dented hood of her Jeep and took out her cell phone. "Who was
that woman?"

"Which woman?" Clark asked.

"The one that was talking to you a few minutes ago."

"Oh, her. Her name was Constance Hunter," Clark said. He showed
Lois the card. "She's a lawyer."

"Oh. Did she offer to sue that guy for us?"

Clark shook his head. "She just wanted to say thanks."

"Amazing," Lois said. "A lawyer that isn't looking for business?
I guess miracles will never cease."

Clark concentrated on driving carefully for the next few minutes
while Lois finished the call to her insurance company. As he
pulled up to the entrance to the apartment house's garage, Lois
closed the phone. "They said to bring it by tomorrow morning so
they can evaluate the damage," she said. "They're going to
contact the police for the report. I guess they want the name of
the guy that caused the accident."

"Probably." Clark pulled into Lois's parking spot. "Do you want
to get some lunch before we head for Smallville or do you want
to eat once we're there?"

"Let's eat once we get there," Lois said. "I want to get moving
on this."

"Okay," Clark said. "Maisie's Diner is a good place. She's
always got the latest gossip, too."

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Lois asked.

Clark paused in the act of opening the door to take stock of the
vaguely familiar gnawing feeling in his middle. "Yeah, I guess I
am."

"Welcome to the world of mortals, Superman," Lois said. "Okay,
let's get going. We can stop at Maisie's and eat, and maybe we
can talk to some of your old friends and see if there's been any
unusual activity around Shuster's Field in the last months. Just
remember, Charlie King doesn't know anyone in Smallville."

"Yes, but Clark does," Clark said. "How is anyone going to know
if Superman brought one or two people with him?"

"You have a point," Lois said. She grinned suddenly. "'Superman'
can leave Charlie and Lois at the diner, and come back later, I
guess. The mysterious super powered woman doesn't need to make
an appearance. That way we won't have to explain anything."

"Exactly" Clark said, "And I think you and I should control the
information on her, too, don't you think? At least for now."

"Definitely," Lois said. "You -- Charlie, I mean -- can
interview her when we get back."

"Sounds good," Clark said. He locked the Jeep's doors and
pocketed the key. "I guess I'm ready."

Lois nodded and abruptly her form blurred and resolved itself
into the costumed woman.

"Nice outfit," Clark commented.

"It's a little tight," Lois said.

"I know, but it cuts down on --"

"Wind resistance. Alice told me," she said. She approached him
and put an arm around his waist. Clark took the opportunity to
slide his around her waist as well.

"Anyhow, tight or not, I like it," he said. "And, believe me, no
one is going to be looking at your face."

"Oh, you --" She swatted his arm lightly. Clark pretended to
wince.

"Hey! No beating up on me just because you have super powers!"

"Then watch your mouth, partner," she said.

"You mean, you *don't* want me to notice?"

"We...ll ..."

He laughed. "Good thing."

"Now all I need is a name," Lois said, changing the subject
quickly.

"I was wondering about that a while ago," Clark said. "There's
always Superwoman, of course, but that might be too closely
associated with Superman, and we don't want anyone to think that
there's any connection between you and me. How does Ultra Woman
sound?"

"Hmm. Not bad," Lois said, after a few seconds of consideration.
"You're right about 'Superwoman' being sort of obvious. Ultra
Woman's a bit corny, but I can't really think of anything that
isn't. I think I'll take it." Her arm tightened slightly. "Are
you ready?"

He could see that she was trying to hide her nervousness.
"Ready."

"Okay, hold on tight. This is the first time I've ever done
this, you know."

"You'll do fi ... ne." The wind whipped his voice away as Lois
took off fast, probably to avoid observation, he thought. Bare
seconds later, Clark found himself face down, with Lois's arm
clamped around his waist, looking down at the city of
Metropolis, which was shrinking as he watched. "You're doing
great," he told her a little breathlessly. It was a new
sensation, being held by someone else instead of providing the
motive power on his own. He found it strangely disconcerting.

"Hang on," Lois told him. "I don't want to drop you by
accident."

"I will," he said. The worst thing he could do now would be to
let Lois know that the situation unnerved him slightly. "Just
head west. We'll pick up on the landmarks as we go."

Lois nodded and Clark could feel the arm around his waist
tighten again, and then slowly relax, as if his partner were
forcing the muscles to obey her will. The city beneath them
began to move toward the rear, and after a few moments had
fallen far behind as Charlie King and the newly minted Ultra
Woman flew west toward Smallville, Kansas.

**********

Smallville hadn't changed a lot from when he was a kid, Clark
thought, as he and Lois landed quietly in the alley behind
Maisie's Diner. It was a little bigger, but not much, and the
Middle-America atmosphere was the same. The town was decked out
for Christmas, with tinsel garlands and flashing Christmas
lights that outlined the windows of the stores that lined Main
Street.

The alley was quiet and sheltered from the brisk breeze that
whipped down the streets, carrying a flurry of light snowflakes
with it. In spite of the sunlight that glittered from the snow,
there was an icy bite to the air that hadn't been present in
Metropolis, he thought. He'd never really noticed it before.

Lois changed quickly from Ultra Woman to Lois Lane and paused to
check her clothing. "Do I look all right?"

Clark pulled the fur hat down a little farther over his ears,
automatically checking to be certain that the pink earring was
still prominently displayed. "Yeah, you look fine. How do I
look?"

"Better put on your pink glasses," Lois said. "Although I'm not
sure what the people around here are going to think of Charlie
King's taste in clothing."

"You'd be surprised," Clark said. He pulled the heavy coat more
tightly around him. "Brr. Am I imagining things, or is it colder
here than it was in Metropolis?"

"I think the air is dryer," Lois said. "Humidity always makes it
seem warmer. Come on; let's get inside Maisie's."

The little town of Smallville was bustling in spite of the
weather. Clark saw Rachel Harris, the town sheriff, busily
writing out a ticket for a vehicle whose driver had apparently
despaired of finding a parking place and left his car in a
handicapped spot. He'd been casually acquainted with her during
his time at Smallville High, and had even asked her to the prom
when Lana had come down with the flu two days before the big
day. As he had expected, however, Rachel had refused. Her father
had told her to stay away from the Kent kid, he recalled, a
little bitterly. Sheriff Harris had always regarded Clark with a
skeptical air because of the history of the numerous foster
homes in which he'd stayed. No kid, Clark had heard him say,
with that kind of background ever amounted to anything, and
usually wound up in trouble with the law, especially loners like
Kent. Rachel hadn't agreed with her father but she'd kept Clark
at arm's length all the same. It was too bad, he reflected, that
Sheriff Harris had died six months before Clark's debut as
Superman. Petty though it might be, showing the sheriff how
wrong he had been would have been satisfying.

"Do you know her?" Lois asked, and he saw that she had followed
his gaze.

"Yeah. That's Rachel Harris. She took over as the town sheriff
after her father died a few years ago."

"Old girlfriend?" Lois asked, and he noted the deliberately airy
tone to her voice.

"No, not really. Her dad didn't approve of me," Clark said.

"Why not?" Now Lois sounded genuinely surprised.


"I'd been in half a dozen foster homes by the time I got into
high school," Clark said, deliberately keeping his voice casual.
"Her father figured I'd be a deadbeat or a petty crook and
didn't want me associating with his daughter."

"*What*?" Her voice was louder than she apparently intended, and
she lowered it quickly. "Why that bigoted so-and-so!"

Clark shrugged, surprised at how much better her obvious outrage
made him feel. "It was a long time ago. I don't think Rachel
felt the same way, but she had to do what her dad said."

"I guess," Lois said. "What a jerk! He didn't even give you a
chance!"

"You'd be surprised how many people felt the same way," he said,
keeping his voice carefully expressionless. "Of course, now that
I'm Superman, a lot of people think differently."

"I guess I can see how you sort of drifted to Lana," Lois said
thoughtfully. "I guess it never occurred to me that it was as
tough for you as a kid as it was for me. It's too bad we didn't
know each other back then."

"Yeah. Moral support and all that. If your father had let me
associate with you," Clark said. "Anyway, I think I've proven
myself since then, but I guess it still rankles a bit."

"He wouldn't have had any say at all after he left, and Mother
was so smashed most of the time that she'd never have noticed,"
Lois said. "Then, after I was in college, Dad paid for my
education, but he never took much interest in anything I did
after he found out that I wasn't going to go into medicine, so I
could have associated with Jack the Ripper and he'd have never
known. And you had to be more socially acceptable than Jack the
Ripper." She took his arm. "Come on, let's go get some lunch."

**********

Maisie's Diner was moderately busy just before eleven in the
morning, Kansas time. Lois Lane and Charlie King stood in the
entrance for a few seconds before Lois spotted an empty table
near the rear of the room. They took their seats, and Clark
pulled off his hat, careful not to dislodge his blond wig.

"Do I look okay?" he asked.

Lois was busy removing her coat. "You look fine. Your wig is
straight and you don't look a bit like Mr. GQ Kent."

Clark grinned a little, fingering the pink earring. Hopefully
his old acquaintances in town wouldn't recognize him either.
When he'd left he'd been a lot rougher around the edges, and
he'd only been here a couple of times since, mostly to take care
of business at the farmhouse. He and Lois had come here last
year to get rid of as much Kryptonite as they could find but
they hadn't been anxious to advertise the reason for their
mission and had avoided the residents of Smallville.

He squirmed out of his coat and half got to his feet to hang the
article of clothing over the back of one of the empty chairs at
their table, glancing around as he did so. He was a stranger in
town, he reminded himself. Charlie King didn't know Pete Ross,
the biggest bully in high school when he had been there, or
Aaron Wilkins, whom he had tutored in English during his senior
year. He didn't even recognize Rachel Harris, who had just
walked in the door.

Maisie Allen, who had run the diner for as long as he could
remember, wended her way through the maze of tables and chairs,
to pause beside their table. She smiled at them with the
friendly smile that he remembered from his days in high school.
"How are you folks today?"

"Fine," Lois said.

She set a pair of menus down on the table. "Can I get you
something to drink while you decide?"

Clark nodded. "Thanks. That would be nice. I'd like coffee,
please. It's pretty cold today."

Maisie cast him a sharp look, and Clark saw her glance at his
pink earring, but she said nothing and turned to Lois. "Would
you like anything?"

Lois ordered coffee as well and Maisie left them to peruse the
menus.

"Maisie's added stuff to her menu," Clark said after a minute.
"It all looks good. I can't make up my mind what I want."

"That's because you're really hungry," Lois told him. "Better
pick something. She'll be back any minute."

Clark nodded, scanning the menu again, his mouth watering. "I
guess I'll have the steak sandwich and fries," he said finally.
"And maybe a side of onion rings, and a bowl of soup, and I
think some Cole slaw. That carrot cake looks good for dessert,
too."

"Take it easy," Lois said with a grin. "You're going to get fat
at that rate. Perry would say your eyes are bigger than your
stomach. If I were you I'd stick with the sandwich and fries,
and maybe the soup. Order the dessert after you've eaten, if
you're still hungry. And if you're *still* hungry after that,
you can order something to go."

"I guess I'm not used to being really hungry," Clark admitted
with a small grin. "Okay; I guess I'd better take your advice.
You have more experience with this being hungry thing."

Rachel Harris crossed the room and took a seat at the table next
to theirs. She gave them a curious glance and then a second one.
"New in town?" she asked.

"Yes," Lois said.

"Just passing through?"

"Not really," Lois said. "I'm Lois Lane, from the Daily Planet
in Metropolis, and this is Charles King, who sometimes works
with me."

Rachel glanced curiously at his earring. "The Daily Planet?
What's a big newspaper like yours doing in a little town like
ours?"

Lois glanced at Clark. "Charlie and I are in the middle of an
investigation. Superman dropped us off here a while ago."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Superman? Why didn't he stay around?"

"He had an emergency he needed to handle," Lois said smoothly.
"He left us to find out what we can. He'll be back later to pick
us up."

"Oh," Rachel said, frowning slightly at Lois. "You work with
him, don't you?"

"We're partners," Lois said.

"Yeah, I remember seeing your name on his articles," Rachel
said. "So, what are you investigating for him?"

"We're trying to find out," Lois said, "if anyone has been seen
on or nearby the Kent farm in the last few months -- people who
aren't from this area. I guess the first person to ask would be
the sheriff, so, do you know?"

Rachel frowned. "Out-of-towners? Now that you mention it --"

"You mean you saw someone?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, but Wayne Irig -- that's the owner
of the farm nearest the Kent place -- saw some treasure hunters
on the property a couple of months ago."

"Treasure hunters?" Clark said.

"People snooping around the place with metal detectors," Rachel
said. "We get 'em out here, sometimes. There's some stupid
legend that the Dalton Gang buried the gold from a bank robbery
somewhere in the area of Smallville."

"I see," Lois said. "Is that all? No other strangers?"

"Kind of." She scowled, obviously making an effort to remember.
"Wayne mentioned seeing a survey crew over at the Kent farm, a
while back."

"A survey crew?"

Rachel nodded. "He thought Clark was having it done. Maybe going
to sell the property or make improvements or something."

"He isn't," Lois said. "When was this?"

"A couple of weeks ago, I guess. After he saw the treasure
hunters, I think. What's this about, anyway?"

Maisie set two cups of steaming coffee on the table along with a
little bowl of containers of half-and-half, and packets of
artificial creamer. "Here you go. Have you decided?"

Lois nodded. "I'll have the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich
with fries. Charlie?"

Clark ordered the steak sandwich, virtuously limiting his side
dishes to the soup and fries. Maisie picked up the menus with a
smile. "It will only be a few minutes."

Rachel waited until she had walked away. "What's going on,
anyway?" she asked. "If Clark didn't send those survey guys, who
did?"

"We're not sure," Lois said. "There have been some rumors that
some criminal group is trying to find a way to attack
Superman."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "That's not all there is to it, is it?"
she asked suddenly. "You wouldn't be here if it was. Why did you
think someone might have been on the Kent farm?"

Lois hesitated, glancing at Clark. Rachel was too bright for
their good, he thought, but then, she always had been pretty
smart. "Do you remember what happened at the Mayoral Debate,
when Mayor White's opponent exposed Kent as Superman?" he asked,
in his best Charlie King voice, with the trace of Brooklyn
accent that he had adopted with the identity.

Rachel nodded, and then her eyes widened. "You mean, when he
used that green rock on Clark?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lois said.

"But what does it have to do with someone hunting around the
Kent property? You think they were looking for more of that
green stuff?"

"We think so," Lois said. "Like I said, we've heard rumors that
there's a criminal organization moving into Metropolis and that
they're looking for a way to neutralize Superman. I can't go
into everything that happened, but we have good reason to
suspect that they've been snooping around his old home, trying
to find out what they could, and possibly find more of the green
rocks. Charlie and I are trying to help Clark figure out what's
going on."

Rachel nodded. "Well, I'd think the person to talk to would be
Wayne Irig," she said. "Do you need directions to his place?"

"Clark drew us a map," Lois said, "but you could point us to the
nearest place to rent a car."

"That's easy," Rachel said. "Two blocks down from here.
Barclay's Car Rental." She hesitated. "If I can help any other
way, let me know, would you? Clark and I were sort of casual
friends in high school. I always thought he had a kind of raw
deal -- but don't tell him I said so."

"I won't," Lois said. "Thanks."

**********

Lois vaguely recalled the country around the Kent farm but she
had only seen it once, and then from the air. She and Clark had
been here nearly a year ago on a mission to locate and remove
every green-glowing crystal that they could find in the area.
Clark had floated high above Shuster's Field and scanned the
countryside for miles around, looking for the deadly stuff. When
he'd located it, he'd flown Lois to within fifty feet of it and
then hovered directly above the spot so that she could find it,
dig it up and place it in a lead-lined bag. There hadn't been
many, but fourteen pieces in the wrong hands would have been
more than enough to kill Superman. When they had been as sure as
it was possible to be that they had found all of it, Lois had
wrapped the pieces in the lead foil supplied by Dr. Klein and
Clark had hurled them into space hard enough to be certain that
they would escape the Earth's gravity field and continue on out
of the Solar System, never to return.

The car slowed as Clark turned onto the dirt road that led to
Wayne Irig's small farm. A few chickens wandering around the
snowy yard were pecking at the snow and withered brown grass in
search of who knew what, Lois thought. There weren't likely to
be any bugs or ants in this temperature, but they were evidently
finding something, for they continued to peck as Clark pulled
the car into the area of packed dirt in front of the old
farmhouse and cut the engine. As she opened the passenger door
and got out of the car, the door of the farmhouse opened and a
short, thin man, probably in his late fifties, Lois thought,
stepped out onto the broad, wooden porch.

"That's Wayne Irig," Clark said in a low voice.

"Will he recognize you, do you think?" Lois asked, softly.

"I don't think so," Clark said, as he got out of the car. "The
last time he actually saw me was over two years ago. We've
spoken on the phone a few times since, but that's all." He shut
his door and together they approached the big porch. Lois noted
the two-seater swing that dangled from the porch roof seemed the
best kept up part of the structure. Wayne Irig stood waiting,
looking back and forth from one to the other as they mounted the
peeling wooden steps.

"Mr. Irig?" Lois asked.

"I'm Wayne Irig," he said. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe. I hope so." Lois gave him her best smile. "We're looking
for some information."

"If it's about the Kent house again," Irig said, "I told the
other people that it's not for sale, as far as I know. You'll
have to talk to the owner."

"Other people?" Lois and Clark looked at each other, and then
Lois turned back to Irig. It sounded as if they might have hit
pay dirt. "It's kind of about the Kent house, but --" She
stopped. This wasn't the time to get distracted. "We're hoping
you can help us. I'm Lois Lane -- Clark's partner at the Daily
Planet, in Metropolis. This is Charlie King. He sometimes works
with us." She produced her press pass.

Irig squinted at her and then at the identification. "Yeah, I've
seen your picture in the paper. Weren't you the reporter that
Clark rescued from some island in the South Pacific last year?"

"That's me," Lois said. "I'm surprised you remember."

A dry smile stretched the farmer's lips. "I've followed Clark's
career," he said. "The tabloids are always makin' up stuff about
him and this woman or that woman." He snorted. "Gossipmongers!"

"What do you mean?" Lois asked.

"Clark never was a skirt chaser," Irig said. "Lonesome. Lost his
parents too young, but he was a good kid. When he got to be
Superman and the tabloids started printin' that stuff about him
and women, I knew they couldn't find any dirt to spread around
so they were makin' it up. But then I started seein' his name
with yours in the paper, so I took note. He made you his
representative. I remember now. Smartest move he ever made. Got
the press off his back."

Lois almost laughed. Wayne Irig was definitely a no-nonsense
sort of man. "Yes, he did. And right now, Charlie and I are
trying to help him. We need to find out --"

"Look," Irig said, "It's freezin' out here. Come on into the
house and have some coffee while we talk." As he spoke, he
opened the door and waved them through.

A woman of about the same age as Wayne Irig was standing in the
entryway. She looked questioningly at Lois and Clark.

Irig closed the door. "Nettie, these are Lois Lane and Charlie
King, from Metropolis. Friends of Clark's." He added to Lois and
Clark, "My wife, Nettie. Come on into the living room. This
way."

"Would you like some coffee?" Nettie asked. "It's pretty chilly
out."

"That would be nice," Clark said.

"I'll bring it," she said. "Make yourselves at home."

Lois and Clark followed Wayne Irig into a small, cozy living
room. A two-foot Christmas tree glittered on a table and the
room was strung with garlands of pine and holly. Irig gestured
them to chairs and took his place in a heavy wooden rocking
chair. The padded cushions on the back and seat had obviously
been embroidered by hand, Lois thought. Sort of like the throw
cushions that Clark kept on his sofa.

"So," Irig said, getting right down to business, "you said this
was about the Kent house?"

"Kind of." Lois had appointed herself spokesman. The less
talking Clark did around Wayne Irig, the safer it would probably
be. "Mr. Irig, Rachel Harris said you were the person to talk
to. She said you saw some strangers on the Kent property. Do you
know who they were?"

Irig rubbed his chin with one finger. "I don't know, exactly,"
he said. "A couple of months ago, I happened to be drivin' by
the place after dark and noticed lights --"

"In the house?"

He shook his head slowly. "No; not in the house. In the wheat
field. People walkin' around with flashlights, and some kinda
equipment. There was one guy with a metal detector. At least,
that's what it looked like from a distance."

"What did you do?"

Nettie entered at that point with a coffeepot and cups. She
distributed the cups to her husband and guests and set a tray
bearing cream and sugar on the coffee table. Lois poured two
teaspoons of sugar into her cup and followed it with a generous
helping of cream.

Wayne Irig took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his
chair. "Wasn't much I could do," he said in answer to her
question. "I drove home and called the sheriff, but by the time
she got there they were gone. Rachel figured they were just
treasure hunters. I wasn't so sure, but I didn't see 'em
again."

"What about the 'other people' that asked about the Kent
property?" Lois asked. "Someone wanted to buy it?"

"I guess it was about a month ago," Irig said. "These people
came by. Two women. Said they were representin' somebody that
was thinkin' of buyin' hereabouts, and wanted to look the place
over. Somebody in town had told 'em I looked after the land for
Clark. I told 'em I didn't have no authority to take 'em onto
the property, and that they'd have to talk to him."

"Do you remember what they looked like?" Clark interjected.

Irig frowned, obviously trying hard to recall. Finally he shook
his head. "One of 'em was a tall, skinny blond gal," he said.
"Dressed kinda flashy. Looked like a good stiff breeze would
blow her away. Don't remember the other one in particular.
Mighta had brown hair." He leaned forward, clasping his hands on
his knee. "What's goin' on?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Lois said. "Somebody's
out to get Superman. That's all we know. Possibly some organized
criminal organization. We think they're looking for some way to
harm him."

"By lookin' around his old home?" Irig asked.

"Sort of."

Irig scratched an eyebrow. "S'far as I know, the only thing that
can hurt Superman is that green rock that guy used on him back
when we first found out about him," he said. "It disappeared,
didn't it?"

"Yes," Lois said uncomfortably. "We think they're looking for
more. Sheriff Harris said there was a survey crew here?"

"Yeah. A couple of weeks ago." Irig frowned. "They showed up
with some legal papers. Said they were supposed to survey the
property. They were around a couple of days, and that was it."

"Legal papers?" Lois asked. "What kind of legal papers? Did you
see them?"

"Sure." The farmer nodded vigorously. "I was drivin' to town and
saw all the men and equipment out there. I went over to ask 'em
what they were doin' and the man in charge, I guess he was,
showed me a bunch of legal-lookin' stuff, about takin' a survey
of the property for the county or somethin'. I figured those
gals might have got hold of Clark and maybe he was gonna sell
the place. Didn't hear anything more about it, though, after
that."

"Clark didn't know about it," Lois said. "Whoever they were, he
didn't send them. Do you remember the man you talked to? Did he
tell you his name or anything?"

"Yeah," Wayne Irig said. "He was a short guy, had kinda broad
shoulders and white hair. Had a sorta funny name. Gene
somethin'."

"Do you remember what it was?" Lois held her breath.

"Let me think," Irig said. He rubbed his chin, scowling deeply.
"Newton? Newrich? Somethin' like that ..." He snapped his
fingers suddenly. "I got it. Newtrich! His name was Gene
Newtrich!"

**********

A short time later, having said goodbye to the Irigs, Lois and
Clark headed for the Kent farm to complete the next part of
their mission. They parked the vehicle that they had hired from
Barclay's Car Rental and removed a piece of equipment that they
had bought in town to deal with any Kryptonite that they might
discover. Hovering in the air, directly over the spot where his
ship had landed, Lois, dressed in the red, blue and gold outfit
of Ultra Woman, began to scan the snowy ground below, as far as
her super-powered eyesight would allow her to see. No sign of
Kryptonite, red or green, was revealed, so she began to move
outward in concentric circles, taking in more and more of the
countryside around the spot where Clark had first come to Earth.
For two hours she circled, scanning every inch of the ground
below her but no sign of the glowing mineral emerged. At last
she landed beside her partner amid the skeletons of last years
crops. "I've covered an area twenty-five miles around in all
directions," she said. "Do you think we've gone far enough
yet?"

"I hope so," Clark said. "I think that's well beyond the area
where the survey crew or the treasure hunters were, at least
according to Wayne."

Lois nodded. "Good. I'll tell you what. I'm going to make a
couple of final circles just to be thorough and then we can head
back to Metropolis. Did you make those calls while I was playing
'Ring Around the Rosie'?"

"Yes. Jonetta is researching Gene Newtrich for us. She said as
soon as she found anything significant, she'd get back to us."

Lois glanced up at the sun. It was mid afternoon, and snow
clouds were gathering in the west. "Good." She stretched her
arms above her head, feeling the energizing rays of the sun.
"Let's hope it's soon. In the meantime, let's finish this." She
launched herself again and began her next slow, concentric
circle.

She was nearly halfway around the circle when she saw it -- a
flicker of sickly green, visible only to her x-ray vision, which
alerted all her senses. She zoomed in on the flicker to verify
what she had found.

It was a tiny sliver of green crystal, covered with a layer of
dirt and withered weeds, but glowing with a terrible light of
its own. Marking its position, Lois continued her circle, but no
more Kryptonite came to light. Quickly, she landed next to
Clark, scooped him up and deposited him some distance from the
sliver.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A piece of green Kryptonite," Lois said. "We don't dare leave
it here. I'm going to mark it, and finish my next circle. I
think I'll make a couple more, just to be on the safe side,
since this one turned up. Then I'll come back and we can deal
with this piece."

"All right," Clark said. "I'll have the lead foil ready."

"*You're* going to stay away from it," Lois said in a tone that
brooked no opposition. "Just because you have no powers at the
moment doesn't mean you're suddenly immune to the stuff."

"I agree," Clark said. "I'll wait for you to get back."

Lois took off again in a rush, feeling her heart pounding almost
sickeningly hard in her chest. Most likely, she told herself,
the "treasure hunters" and the "survey crew" had limited their
search to the area a few miles around the spot where Clark's
ship had landed in Shuster's Field. They probably hadn't found
any more of the green stuff, or they would have used it. But
they had obviously found a piece of the red variety. It must be
much rarer than the green sort, or she and Clark would
undoubtedly have found it on their first foray to the area.
Maybe it was the only piece there.

She completed the circle and started her next one, scanning
furiously for any sign of an unnatural red or green crystal
glow. And on the return leg, she saw it: a faint red flicker
that stood out to her like the landing beacon for an airliner.

Instantly, she zoomed in on it with her vision.

It was a cluster of crystals, the size of a man's fist,
apparently growing out of a chunk of very ordinary granite.
There was a large projection, like the central spire of a
miniature skyscraper, glowing cherry red, and surrounding it
were several lesser projections of red and two sliver-thin ones
of green. It, too, was buried under a layer of dirt and snow.
Again, Lois carefully marked the location and continued her
circles. It was obvious to her now that there had been a
scattering of smaller pieces that had landed at a greater
distance from the ship than they had at first realized. She
resumed her circles, out and farther out, scanning every inch of
the ground. It was nearly an hour later that she landed by Clark
in the field some hundred feet from the first piece that she had
discovered.

"How many?" he asked.

"Three," she said. "On the last forty circles I didn't find any
more. I was a good hundred miles from Smallville on the last
one, so I think that's it. Let's hope Mr. Newtrich and his
friends didn't find many samples of the red stuff in the area
they searched."

"I don't see how they could have," Clark said. "If there had
been many of them, I'd have most likely noticed them. They sure
don't look like anything from Earth."

It was what she had been thinking. "I hope you're right. Maybe
all they found was the one. All right, let's get this stuff
under control. Give me the lead foil -- and the arm."

"We don't know you aren't susceptible to it either, now that you
have my powers," Clark protested. It was an argument that he had
raised a little while after leaving the Irigs' home.

"True," Lois said, "but I'm going to keep my distance and make
the exposure as short as I can until I see what happens." She
took the mechanical arm -- one of the devices available for
reaching and gripping items on high shelves -- in one hand and a
sheet of lead foil, provided by Bernard Klein, in the other.
Moving at a speed faster than the eye could follow, she
approached the first sliver of Kryptonite.

The metal arm allowed her to keep her body several feet away,
but as she neared it she began to feel a strange sensation. Her
joints began to ache, and her muscles to twinge. A cramp in her
gut nearly made her double over, but if she let Clark know that
the green sliver was affecting her, he would never let her do
this job.

Her arms felt shaky and weak as she reached out with the
mechanical gripping device and scooped away the shielding dirt.
The green-glowing sliver came into view. Lois could feel the
perspiration break out on her skin.

The faster this was done the better, she knew. The piece of lead
foil lay on the ground, ready for its occupant. Lois gripped the
crystal with the mechanical arm and transferred it to the foil.
Still using the arm, she folded one side of the foil awkwardly
over the tiny, malevolent fragment of Kryptonite.

Almost instantly the symptoms let up. They weren't gone, but
they lessened to a minor irritation. Lois dropped the mechanical
arm and snatched up the foil, wadding it tightly around the
poisonous green sliver and, as she did so, the aches and pains
dwindled and vanished. The job done, she breathed a sigh of
relief, wiping the wetness from her forehead. She could feel the
strength returning to her limbs as the seconds went by, but now,
for the first time, she could truly understand why Clark feared
this stuff. She had seen Tempus use it on him a year ago, her
time, on that tropical island a thousand years in the past, but
personal experience drove it home like nothing else. The shards
of his home planet were deadly to him, and she was just
beginning to realize how deadly.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked back to Clark.

He was waiting anxiously. "Are you all right?"

"Sure. Nothing to it. Come on; let's get this job done."

The symptoms of the Kryptonite were gone. She felt normal again.
Taking a deep breath, Lois hurled the wad of lead foil straight
up. The little ball of foil, containing the deadly green sliver,
flew upward like a rocket and vanished. She followed it with her
telescopic vision as it exited the atmosphere like a meteor in
reverse, and vanished into space.

"Nice work," Clark said.

"Two to go." Lois put an arm around his waist and lifted off
toward the last sliver that she had found. The second, with its
combination of green and red, she planned to deal with last.

Disposing of the second piece was a repeat of the first except
that Lois was careful to move at super speed, so that her
exposure to the vicious piece of crystal was as short as
possible. The ache in her joints and muscles receded a little
more slowly this time. She gripped the ball of lead foil and
took a deep breath, waiting for her full strength to return.

"Lois, are you all right?" Clark put an arm around her
shoulders.

The aches were fading now, and the strength was flowing back
into her muscles. "Yeah. Stand back, Clark." Lois inhaled a
lungful of the cold, Kansas air and flung the ball upward like a
softball pitcher. Following it with her special vision, she saw
it flash upward and vanish into the void.

"What's the matter?" Clark rested a hand on her forehead.
"You're running a temperature!"

"I'm okay," she assured him. "Really."

"You can feel the Kryptonite, can't you?" he said. "It's
affecting you, isn't it?" It really wasn't a question. "Why
didn't you say so?"

"Clark, it wasn't bad. Yes, I could feel it, but they were only
tiny little slivers. It only lasted a few seconds."

"I don't want you to go near that last one. We don't know what
it could do to you. You said it's made of green *and* red!"

"We have to get rid of it," Lois said. "Don't think for a minute
that I intend to leave it where someone could find it and use it
against you!"

"Well, look," Clark said. "It affects you now that you have my
powers. It may not bother me at all, since I don't have any. I
can --"

"Absolutely not!" Lois couldn't help raising her voice.
Deliberately, she brought it down to normal levels. "There's no
way you're getting near that stuff!" She stopped again and took
a deep breath. "I've got it. Stay right here. I'm going to go
get help. And when I get back, stay away until I take her back
to town."

**********

"What --" Clark said, but he was speaking to empty space. Lois
had vanished in a rush of air and an instant later the clap of a
sonic boom rattled the atmosphere.

"Her?" he repeated, belatedly. Now what the heck did his partner
have in mind this time? However, Lois had proven to him over the
last year that he could trust her to do what was best for him.
The news organizations in Metropolis had found out the hard way
that Lois Lane stood unyieldingly between them and Clark
Kent/Superman. She had been a tiger in protecting his interests,
and every member of the media knew without a doubt that if they
wanted their Superman news, they had better not annoy Lane or
even allow her to *think* that they might consider violating
their promise to respect his privacy. So he stood obediently in
the field, waiting for whatever she intended to do.

It was completely silent except for the blowing of the