It Might Have Been
By Ray Reynolds <rhreynolds262@comcast.net>
Rated: PG-13
Submitted: December 2006


All trademarks and copyrights are assigned to their respective
owners. I make no claim against any of them. Characters outside the
normal Lois and Clark universe are created by me and remain my
property. Any additional comments or feedback can be directed to
rhreynolds262@comcast.net


Acknowledgements:

I owe a great debt of gratitude to my beta readers, without whom this
story would never have seen the light of day.

First, I'd like to thank Wendy Richards. I sent her the original story
to READ since she had encouraged me to write it. You can guess
how shocked I was to get the story back beta read with my many
grammatical errors corrected and suggestions for the plot as well. 
Her work was above and beyond the call of duty.

Next I'd like to thank Terry Leatherwood. We didn't see eye to eye
on a lot of scenes, sorry your revelation scene didn't make it, but
without his suggestions of how to add meat to the bones of my story
it would be a lot less interesting. You really made me think and for
that I thank you.

Lastly I'd like to thank Sherry Finkel Murphy. She took a rambling
beast of a story and tamed it with her excellent comments and
insightful suggestions. She really pulled this story together into its
final form. She also taught me how to use the track function in MS-
WORD which is a really cool feature!

Thank you all so very much, for all you time, effort and willingness
to put up with my poor writing skills, I hope you like the final
product as much as I do.

Introduction:

It is probably not a secret to many that first season Lois Lane is not
my favorite person. She seemed to me to be cruel, condescending,
and really not very likable, in my opinion. She changed as the show
progressed and I came to like her very much for her loyalty,
especially during the New Krypton arc, so I'm not a total Lois hater. 
While Clark was not perfect, far from it, I've always felt he was
treated badly and kept coming back for more. His rare flashes of
backbone were not enough to change my opinion of him as Lois's
doormat.

A long time ago I postulated to authors a particular scenario: What if
Lois married Luthor and not only doesn't Lex end up smashed on the
sidewalk, their marriage progressed and seemed happy. This
situation would force Clark to make a decision. Does he spend his
life pining for his lost love or does he move on? It is, again, not
surprising that no one was interested in writing this kind of story.

The idea languished for years in the back of my mind and, since I've
never had the desire to write, the story was never written. I changed
my mind recently, though it was no one event that motivated me to
write the story that explored my idea. I'm still not a writer, I hope
that you will be understanding, and I promise I won't be doing this
again, I'm sure. I just had to get this off my chest.

There are a few minor changes to the villain in my story. Lex is still a
sociopath, but he is not obsessive. He was *not* sprayed with the
100% solution of Miranda's 'Revenge', so he is not obsessed to the
point of sloppiness. I feel this makes him even scarier as a villain, but
that is my opinion only. It does make it easier for me, though, since
he is able to maintain his façade and not confirm Superman's
suspicions about him, to the detriment of all involved. A number of
clues that our Clark had about Luthor's evil were not available to this
Clark.

I also wanted to explore the theory espoused by HG Wells the first
time he met Lois and Clark. He told Lois that soul mates did not
always get together. Sometimes they didn't meet, or if they met they
might not like each other, or, due to other circumstances like those in
my story, might not fall in love.

This theory was rendered moot by the writers on the show once they
decided that Lois and Clark could fall in love and marry, and by then
it would have been sacrilege for them *not* to be together. However,
at this time period, there *is* the possibility for them not to get
together if circumstances conspired against them. I wanted to show
that Clark might be able love another woman, not in place of Lois—
he never stops loving her—but as another love, different but no less
valid for the characters involved.

If you've read this far, thank you, and I hope you enjoy the story. If
you've read this far and decide not to read it based on what I've told
you, thank you anyway and I understand your decision. I look
forward to hearing from you, pro or con.


"It Might Have Been"

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"

>From the poem "Maud Muller" by John Greenleaf Whittier

It Might Have Been
By Ray Reynolds ©

Lex Luthor sat behind his immense mahogany desk smoking a
Cuban cigar, looking out the floor-to-ceiling glass doors at the city of
Metropolis. His city. His plans for acquiring Lois Lane were
progressing nicely. In fact he expected Nigel St. John any minute so
they could finalize the next phase.

As if summoned by Luthor's thoughts, St. John appeared, standing
silently in front of the desk. He cleared his throat softly.

Luthor turned his chair to face his second in command, set his cigar
in the ashtray, and leaned back with his hands clasped in front of
him. "Ah Nigel, just the man I've been looking for."

"Indeed, Sir. How may I be of assistance?"

"It is time to move to the next phase of my plan to wed Lois Lane. I
want to move ahead with the destruction of the Daily Planet
building." Thinking about the removal of the next obstacle caused
his lips to curl into a cruel smile.

"Should I contact Joe 'the Blow', as we discussed earlier?"

Lex thought for a second. "No. I've decided that setting a bomb
engenders too much risk. I think we need to make this look like an
accident. There will be less chance that someone could trace this back
to me."

"I have an idea along those lines, if you'd care to hear it."

Lex looked at Nigel with a raised eyebrow, waved his hand in a
manner that said 'proceed' and sat back in his chair to hear the
proposal. He picked up his cigar and inhaled deeply, letting the
smoke escape from the side of his mouth.

"I have been studying the Daily Planet blueprints in preparation for
deciding where to place the bomb, had you decided on that method. 
I have found a long neglected gas main in the basement. It resides
very near the presses in the same room as their flammable storage.

"With a judicious use of force, that gas main could develop a slight
rupture, allowing gas to fill the area. It would be more than enough
to destroy the presses and seriously undermine the structural
stability of the building itself, all while looking like a natural failure
of an old pipe."

Lex was intrigued. He pondered for a minute before following up. 
"What kind of ignition source would be needed to cause this
unfortunate accident to take place?"

Nigel's smile would have frozen anyone else's blood, but only made
Lex more excited. "That is the beauty of this plan, sir. There is an
exhaust fan in the room that is controlled only by a circuit breaker in
another part of the building. My plan is to trip the breaker and
'adjust' some of the fan wiring so that when it is turned on again a
spark results, thus setting off the gas. Additionally, all of the
flammable chemical drums kept in the room will rupture, adding to
the conflagration."

Lex smiled, pleased with the beauty of the plan. This was much
more elegant than a mere bomb. That would be so plebian, so
mundane, beneath him really. This plan had style, panache. There
was still one more detail to ascertain, however. "How can you be
sure the fan will be turned on at the proper time? I want this to
happen in the early morning hours, when there are the fewest people
in the building."

"I am surprised, Sir. Loss of life has never figured into your plans
before."

He leaned farther back in his chair and rested his feet on the corner of
the desk. "Oh it doesn't, Nigel. I just want this to happen when there
are a minimal number of people around so that our 'accident' has the
least probability of being discovered. I want to reduce the chance of
failure to near zero."

"Ah, I see. This is most fortunate, then. I have had my spies
documenting the night watchman's routine for a few days. Every
night between 3:00 and 3:15 a.m. he checks this particular room. No
one on the second or third shift goes in there as all chemicals needed
for them are put out by the day shift. If the leak happens to start
during the second shift, there will be more than enough gas escaped
into the room when the watchman checks."

"Does he check inside the room? He could smell the gas and raise
the alarm." Lex sat straighter in his chair, a frown crossing his
normally placid features, fearful that a minor flaw could derail the
plan.

"No, sir. He merely verifies that the fan is running, as a safety
measure. It *is* a flammable storage area."

Lex digested this information for a few seconds before a sly smile
played across his face and his eyes met those of his major domo. 
"Excellent, Nigel. I applaud your industry in having this information
at hand so readily."

"I do try, Sir. I hate to bring up negatives at a time like this, but what
about Superman?"

"Ah, yes, Superman. He is an unknown in our little equation, isn't
he? Let me ask you this. Once the fan is turned on, how long do you
estimate before the conflagration is beyond even Superman's abilities
to stop it?"

Nigel paused for a few seconds then replied, "I would estimate five
to ten seconds at most. The gas would ignite immediately, of course,
and the chemical drums should ignite thereafter. Once that happens
almost nothing can stop it, since the gas main will rupture even
further in the explosion. The chemicals will flow everywhere,
spreading the flames throughout the basement. Unless he is actually
sitting atop the Daily Planet, I doubt he would be able to arrive in
time."

Lex weighed this last bit of information before making his next
statement, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I like it, but to
further reduce the chance of Superman's interference, I'd like you to
arrange a diversion large enough to get Superman's attention. I think
it should be in another city to further our chances of success. Use
your initiative as to what you think will best suit my purposes. Just
make sure that whatever it is will keep him occupied long enough so
that Superman will be busy during the crucial time at the Daily
Planet."

"I have just the thing Sir. Now, to the heart of the matter. When
should this 'accident' take place?"

Lex leaned forward resting his elbows on the desk. His eyes gleamed
ferally; soon Lois Lane would be his. "As soon as you can get all the
pieces in place, preferably tomorrow. I want no more delays. Now
that Lois is considering my marriage proposal, I want to remove her
last bit of support. With the Daily Planet gone, she will come to me
in her hour of need and I will be here to offer my support and
condolences, as is my right. I will be leaving within the hour for a
meeting in Paris. Keep me informed."

"Very good, Sir," Nigel said and turning on his heel he exited the
office without a backward glance.

Lex leaned back in his chair, took a deep drag on his cigar and blew a
perfect smoke ring into the air, then chuckled softly.

*****

Superman was flying the third circuit of his patrol of Metropolis. It
was now just about 3 a.m. He had spent the evening chasing minor
criminals and traffic accidents. If he didn't know better he would
have sworn that every mugger in the city had decided to work
tonight! As if that wasn't enough there had been a light drizzle that
made the roads just wet enough to cause hundreds of fender benders. 
While the work wasn't hard, it was draining. It finally looked like
the city was becoming quiet enough so that Clark felt he could wrap
up his patrol and catch a few hours sleep before work that morning.

Just as he was beginning his last sweep over Suicide Slum, he caught
an LNN broadcast of a warehouse fire in Chicago. Normally this
wouldn't have caused Clark to alter his plans for sleep, since the
emergency services in Chicago should be able to handle a single
warehouse fire. But this one was different. The warehouse was right
next to an oil refinery on the South Side and was presenting a very
real danger of spreading to that refinery. Since things seemed quiet
in Metropolis, Superman decided to head over to Chicago and lend
his help.

Once out of Metropolis air space, he sped up and arrived in Chicago
in seconds. He could see the glow of the fire as he neared the city. 
Quickly spotting the fire marshal, he landed and asked what he could
do. The fire marshal told Clark that he was having trouble reaching
the back of the warehouse with his hoses due to the number of hot
spots in evidence. The firefighters were forced to spread out so that
none were available to get to the back. While they had called in units
from other precincts, those had not yet arrived.

"Chief, I'll get some water on that fire, you keep your men where
they are," Superman said, and he took off. He noted some empty
coal cars in the nearby rail yard, so he picked one up and headed for
Lake Michigan. After three trips to the lake, the fire was out and the
firefighters were starting to pull back and clean up.

Checking back with the Fire Marshall and finding nothing more he
could do, Clark noticed it was heading toward four o'clock and he
should be getting home. Just as he was taking off, he heard a female
voice calling him.

"Superman! Hey, Superman! Could I ask you some questions?"

Looking down he saw a woman. She was about 5'7" and slim but
shapely. She had ash blonde hair pulled away from her face with a
clip. He guessed her hair would fall to her shoulders if she were to
free it. Her face was pleasing though no one would mistake her for a
runway model. Her determined expression reminded him of Lois
when she was on the trail of a story, though that was the only
similarity. He noticed her eyes were blue-gray and they twinkled in
the dim light. He estimated her age as between 25 and 30.

Superman floated back to the ground and crossed his arms over his
chest, accentuating his height. "Yes, Ms... ?"

"Blake, Pamela Blake, but everyone calls me Pam. Chicago Tribune."

"How can I help you, Pam?"

"I was wondering why you turned up here and what you can tell me
about the fire."

"I'm here because I heard a broadcast on LNN giving details of this
fire and the potential danger to people and property due to the close
proximity of the refinery. Luckily, I heard that report in time to
prevent more damage to the surrounding area. I was able to bring
water to the back of the warehouse where the firemen were not able
to reach with their hoses. I can't tell you any more than that. You'll
need to get the official report from the fire department.

"If I may ask, what are *you* doing here at this time in the morning? 
You seem to be the only reporter on the scene."

She blushed a bit at being 'interviewed' by Superman. "I was in the
area. I was at my brother's for a party that ran quite late. When I saw
the glow of the fire I got over here as quickly as I could. Looks like
this will be another scoop for the Trib! My editor should be pleased. 
We don't get a lot of first hand Superman coverage. I'm going to be a
big shot in the newsroom, at least for a couple of days! Thanks so
much for taking time to talk me Superman; I hope you stop by
Chicago more often."

"I can't promise that Ms. Blake, sorry, Pam, but I'll be around if I'm
needed." With that Clark took off toward Metropolis and, he hoped,
bed.

*****

Pam watched as Superman flew from the scene. 'He sure is
handsome, much better looking in person, that's for sure. His
pictures don't do him justice,' she thought. He was taller than she'd
imagined; especially when he crossed his arms over his chest like
he'd done, he looked positively huge. The most striking feature of
his face was his eyes. They were a deep chocolate brown; she didn't
think she'd ever seen eyes quite that shade before. And she'd have
remembered because she had a really good memory for faces.

'God, I just met *Superman*,' she thought. She had always wanted to
meet him but working in Chicago wasn't exactly conducive to first
hand interviews so her meeting tonight was a real coup. She had
admired him and his work since his first appearance at EPRAD. His
actions since that time proved to her that he was a man to be
admired. He selflessly used his amazing abilities to benefit mankind
when most people would have used them for personal gain if not for
actual evil. Meeting him had caused a warm feeling to settle over her
that hadn't gone away.

She shook her head and put thoughts of Superman out of her mind as
she headed toward her car. She needed to get to the newsroom to
write up the story.

*****

Clark glanced down as he lifted off; following Pam as she made her
way to her car. Were all female reporters so intense, he wondered. 
Even though there was no similarity to them physically, she
reminded him of Lois. He could see some of the drive that was
present in abundance in his partner in this woman as well. "I hope
she got some good quotes for her story,' he thought as he sped up;
wanting to get to bed before anything else happened.

As soon as he neared Metropolis, Clark knew there would be no
sleep this night. It seemed that every police and fire siren in the city
was wailing, with all those vehicles converging on one place. The
place looked to be very near the Daily Planet, so he sped up. He
pulled up short, shocked at the sight. The Daily Planet building was
engulfed in flames which seemed to be spreading ever higher
throughout the building. The emergency services were doing a
valiant job keeping away curious onlookers and fighting the fire, but
were obviously in need of his assistance. Quickly spotting the fire
marshal, Clark landed.

"Superman! Boy, am I glad you're here! Where have you been?" The
fire marshal looked relieved now that Superman had arrived.

"Never mind that now. What can I do to help?"

"We've shut off the gas main that was feeding the major part of the
fire. We need to get some foam on the chemicals that are stored in
the basement and my men are having a hard time getting in there
due to the heat."

"No problem. Just point me to the chemicals storage area you want
me to hit first."

"There's only one Superman, thankfully, but it was pretty full
according to the night supervisor. This blueprint shows the room is
in the back of the building behind the presses. But due to the
explosions, there may be chemicals all over that area."

"I'll be sure to watch for that. Get me the foam and I'll get on it right
away."

"Jack!" the fire chief called, "Give Superman that chemical foam
retardant equipment, he's going to try to put out that part of the fire
for us!"

"Yes sir! Thanks, Superman," Jack said.

"No need to thank me, it's what I do." Superman could see the look
of relief in the fireman's eyes.

"Yeah. There's plenty of foam here and I'll make sure it keeps
flowing for you."

"Thanks, Jack. I'll get this out as soon as I can." With that, he
grabbed the hose and headed into the fire.

Superman could see why the firefighters were having such a hard
time getting the foam to this area. The flames were so hot that the
presses were starting to melt. He started spraying foam at his feet
and spread it slowly and completely throughout the area. About five
minutes later, after a major portion of the flames were extinguished,
he was able to survey the basement more thoroughly. What used to
be the chemical storage area was mostly gone. The internal and
external walls were destroyed. There was a massive hole in the back
wall and there was major structural damage to the building in this
area.

After ensuring that any chemically-fueled flames were extinguished,
Superman surveyed the damage with an eye toward stabilizing the
building. He zipped back to the fire line, dropping off the equipment
he no longer needed. He headed to the Metropolis Salvage Yard to
grab some I-beams. It took him another fifteen minutes to shore up
the back of the building so that it was no longer in imminent danger
of collapse. He hoped to make it safe for the fire inspection teams he
knew would soon be swarming this area.

*****

Perry White hated to be awakened in the middle of the night. It was
never good news. To say this call was not good news was a major
understatement. The night supervisor told him that there had been
an explosion and a fire in the basement of the Planet. He was able to
assure Perry that while there were some injuries, there were no
fatalities, for which Perry was very grateful. Before he left the house,
he called Clark but did not find him at home. Frustrated, he left a
terse message and called Lois next. He also called the head of the
Planet board and asked her to notify Lex Luthor and anyone else she
needed to call. He then got dressed and headed over to survey the
damage to his beloved Daily Planet.

Upon his arrival, Perry's heart rose into his throat. The building was
engulfed in flames and every window in the building was gone. The
explosion had caused damage to structures that surrounded it as
well. It seemed to him that the building might even be leaning
slightly but he couldn't be sure. This was bad, very bad. Given the
current financial state of the paper, he seriously feared for the
continued existence of the Daily Planet.

He moved toward the nearest policeman and identified himself. He
was immediately taken to the fire marshal, who was calmly directing
his men.

"Excuse me. I'm Perry White, editor of the Planet. What can you tell
me about what happened?"

"Mr. White, Dan Rogers. I can't tell you much at this time. All we
know is that about 3:15 there was an explosion that your night
watchman seems to think took place in the chemical storage room. 
He'd noticed that the exhaust fan wasn't on when he made his
rounds, as he says is sometimes the case. He went to the circuit
breaker panel and reset the breaker that turned on the fan. The next
thing he knew he was picking himself up off the floor across the
room. He got up and started to give the alarm. Not that much alarm
was needed, because when your employees felt the explosion, they
started running for the exits.

"There were a few minor injuries. Your night watchman has a
broken arm, but thankfully there were no fatalities. We were lucky
this happened while there were very few employees on the scene. 
Superman is in there right now getting foam on the chemical fires
and my men tell me he's making great progress. It's a good thing,
too, since we couldn't get near there because of the heat. As soon as
the fire is contained we'll start the investigation into the cause."

"Thanks, I know you're busy so I'll let you get back to what you were
doing. Keep me posted if anything important changes, would you?" 
Perry ran his hand over his face trying to digest the information he'd
just been given. His thinning hair fell into his eyes and he felt like
he'd aged ten years in the last hour.

"No problem Mr. White, I'll talk to you later." With that he turned
back to his directing his men in their battle against the flames.

Perry started to head over to the lines of ambulances to check on his
people when he noticed Lois fighting her way through the crowd. 
"Lois! Over here!" Perry called.

*****

"Lois! Over here!"

Lois, upon catching sight of Perry, ran over to him. She took one
look and saw that things were bad. From the look on his face you'd
think someone close to him had died. She quickly pushed that
thought away to concentrate on what he was telling her. Perry
recounted everything Dan Rogers had told him and then paused,
wilting like a balloon with a slow leak. The weight of the situation
clearly showed on Perry's face and Lois tried to cheer him up.

"Chief, everything will be OK. Remember, Lex owns the Planet now. 
He'll rebuild, I know he will." She placed her hand on Perry's arm
and squeezed, trying to give him some support.

"I don't know, honey. With the current financial status of the Planet,
losin' advertisers like we've been, I just don't know. Combine that
with the extensive damage visible from here and I don't know if the
insurance will cover it all," he said, his voice breaking.

"Chief, don't think about that now. I'll talk to Lex in the morning,
well later this morning I guess. Once we know the full extent of the
damages I'll get him to commit to rebuild! The city needs the Planet. 
Heck, the *world* needs the Planet. We'll be up and running soon,
you'll see! By the way Chief, where's Clark? I thought he'd be here
by now." Her annoyance at Clark was clearly reflected on her face.

"I don't know. I called him before I talked to you but nobody
answered. I don't know where he could be this time of night but he's
not around. I guess that's something we'll have to ask him when he
shows up."

"You want me to interview the employees and the crowd, Chief?"
she asked hopefully. If she could get him thinking of the story maybe
he'd snap out of the mood he was in.

"If you want to, though I don't know where you're goin' to print the
story once you get it." He paused and looked at her but she had the
feeling he wasn't seeing her. "Maybe you can sell it freelance to the
Star; I bet they'd be real pleased to get a first hand account by Lois
Lane," he said ironically.

Lois's hackles raised on that statement. "Don't say that Perry! We'll
be back in business soon, you'll see! I'm going to talk to some
firefighters, get their take on the situation; I'll see you in a while."

"You do that, I'm gonna to sit down here and rest for a bit, it's been a
long night." She saw him lower himself to the curb holding his head
in his hands as his beloved Daily Planet was consumed by the flames.

*****

Perry watched Lois as she made her way to the first firefighter she
could see. He shook his head in wonderment. Lois seemed so sure
Luthor was going to rebuild the Planet, but he didn't share her
optimism. The Planet was currently losing money, a lot of money,
and Lex Luthor didn't like that. He'd heard rumblings from the suits
upstairs of closing the paper if the losses continued much longer.

He couldn't get over how quickly the Planet had fallen into financial
trouble. It seemed as if half the advertisers cut back their business in
the first month. The cancellations happened soon after. Perry had
connections in the business world. He had tried to find out the cause,
but he couldn't get any concrete evidence. It was damn frustrating! 
There was something going on. Someone was sabotaging his paper
and there wasn't one thing he could do about it.

Perry sat alone as the turmoil continued around him. His gaze was
drawn to the building as a crash caught his attention. Something
large had fallen but he didn't know what it could be. He was no
engineer, but to his untrained eye it didn't look like the shell of the
building could be salvaged. The block where the Planet resided was
prime Metropolis real estate. If rebuilding required the complete
razing of the building, he was positive Luthor would not rebuild. He
could easily sell the property for more than he would get from the
insurance. The Planet's old board had been woefully remiss in their
duty. They had failed to keep the insurance updated to current
property values in recent years. There had been a boom in real estate
prices that hadn't been taken into account when renewing the policy. 
They were probably too cheap to pay the increased premiums.

He wasn't ready to give up yet, however. This fire was too
convenient to have been accidental. There had to be someone
responsible and he intended to find out who that was.

He stood up slowly, his old knees complaining at having to haul his
body off the curb. He scanned the crowd looking for Lois but
couldn't find her. He had to admire her spirit. That girl wasn't going
to stop being a reporter just because the Planet was going up in
flames, but he felt she was going to be in for a major disappointment. 
She actually believed she could convince Luthor to rebuild the Planet
on nothing more than the newspaper's reputation and her force of
will. While he'd concede that if anyone could influence Luthor she
could, but he didn't feel that she carried that kind of weight with
him, despite what she thought. She might think that Luthor loved
her, and maybe he did, but Perry doubted that as well, what Luthor
loved was power, the more the better.

The Daily Planet, especially in its current position, did nothing to
increase his power base. Luthor had never needed the Planet to
augment his media empire. He couldn't figure out why Luthor had
ever bought the business in the first place. Maybe Luthor bought it to
impress Lois, but he doubted that as well, since Lois never cared who
owned the paper as long as they stayed out of her way. None of this
made sense— not Luthor buying the Planet, not the advertisers
leaving in droves, and especially not this fire. There was something
wrong; of that he was sure. He just needed to figure out what, and
more importantly who, was behind it. He just hoped he wasn't in
over his head.

*****

Superman spent the next two hours assisting the fire service
personnel. He had done everything he could and was about to leave
when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Superman, may I talk to you?"

"Good morning Lois. Though on second thought, what's good about
it?"

"Nothing, that's for sure. What can you tell me? I know about the
explosion, the subsequent fires and the injuries so you can skip all
that."

"The explosion in the chemical storage room destroyed a large
portion of the rear of the building, causing major structural damage. 
I was able to shore it up with I-beams so that the fire investigators
can get in and check for signs of arson. I didn't see anything overt in
that direction and I looked pretty thoroughly. I'm sure the
investigators will confirm it if that is the case. They've just entered
the building and are going over everything with a fine-toothed comb. 
I heard them say that it will be at least two hours before they can
have a preliminary finding."

"The fire chief told me the explosion was caused by a gas leak in that
room. I didn't know there was gas in the building," Lois said,
looking confused, as if she couldn't believe there was something
about the Planet that she didn't know.

"I don't think many people did. It was on old line that had been
capped off at least twenty years ago. I think it was even buried
behind some cabinets, based on the debris I saw. There was evidence
of corrosion on the line when I looked. Maybe there was some
dampness that led to the failure. I don't want to speculate too much,
though," he said wearily.

"I appreciate that. Whatever the cause, the Planet is in real trouble,
that's for sure. This is the last thing we need with everything we've
been through in the last few weeks. I'm going over to see Lex in an
hour or so to get the insurance information from him so we can get
the claims process going immediately."

At the mention of Luthor, Superman's face hardened into a grimace,
but he said nothing. Though the look did not go unnoticed by Lois
she decided not to comment on it.

"Superman, have you seen Clark? He wasn't home last night when
Perry called and he hasn't been around all night here either."

Clark saw the annoyed look on her face and paused for a second. 
What could he tell Lois about his absence? He'd have to think about
that, but for now he'd tell her nothing. "I'm sorry Lois, I haven't seen
him, but I've been pretty busy tonight. You'll have to ask him when
you see him."

"Oh I will, believe me! He'd better have a good excuse for not being
here." She clenched her fists in anger, her frustration with Clark
evident in her stance.

"I'm sure he will, Lois," Superman said hoping that would be true by
the time he and Lois met again. "I have to get going now, I'll check
in with you later."

"Thanks for the interview Superman, and thanks for everything you
did tonight. I'm sure it would have been a lot worse without you."
She placed her hand on his arm gratefully, a soft smile on her face as
she looked into his eyes.

"I only wish I could have done more, Lois."

*****

Lex Luthor returned to his suite at the Hotel De Crillon. Looking at
his watch, he noted that it was about 6:00 a.m. in Metropolis. He
turned on LNN to see that coverage of the explosion and subsequent
fire at the Daily Planet was the major story. He smiled a smile that
Satan would have been proud of.

He picked up the phone and called Mrs. Cox, directing her to put
Nigel on the line.

"Yes sir," Nigel said upon picking up the phone.

"I see there was some 'difficulty' at the Daily Planet last night," he
said the pleasure evident in his voice.

"Yes there was, it seems that an unfortunate accident has befallen the
great newspaper, Sir."

"And where was the city's protector when all this was going on?"

"Superman was dealing with a warehouse fire in Chicago, sir, one
that was threatening an oil refinery. He dealt with it in short order,
but was too late to avert the disaster at the Planet," Nigel said with a
wry tone. "I'm sure he feels terrible about his... failure."

"I'm sure he does. What is the status of the building?"

"There is nothing official yet. Unofficially, there is major structural
damage to the rear of the building and if not for Superman's efforts at
shoring it up there may have been a complete collapse of at least the
rear half of the structure. The fire marshal's investigators are trying
to determine the cause of the explosion. Preliminary reports point to
a rusted gas main and some faulty wiring, nothing that would hint at
arson."

"Nigel, please express my concern and thanks to the authorities and
the board of the Planet for me if you would. Tell them I will meet
with them when I return."

"Of course. Is there anything else you require?"

"Not right now. Please put Mrs. Cox back on. I have need of her
services." he said.

"As you wish, Sir."

Completing his call Lex opened the complementary champagne he'd
received. While it wasn't up to his usual standards it was a decent
vintage. He poured himself a glass and took a sip. He sat down in
the Louis the XIV chair, took another sip and savored his latest
triumph. He had a few hours before his next meeting and he
couldn't think of a better way to pass the time than in anticipation of
his ultimate goal, the complete possession of Lois Lane.

*****

Clark made his way to work that morning after zipping home for a
shower and a quick change of clothes. He kept rehearsing his excuse
for his absence when Perry had called. He could tell by the message
that Perry was upset that he wasn't around. After what Lois had said
earlier, he knew he'd better come up with a better alibi than his usual
excuses. He rounded the corner and before he saw him he heard
Perry yelling at people. Oh boy, this wasn't going to be fun at all.

"Kent! Where in the Sam Hill have you been! I've been tryin' to get
hold of you all night!"

"I know, Chief. I'm sorry. I was out of town helping a neighbor. I
didn't get back until a half hour ago. When I heard your message I
came right here after changing my clothes. Could you fill me in?" He
looked down at his shoes and shoved his hands deep into his
pockets.

Perry seemed to accept Clark's excuse and started to bring him up to
speed on everything that had happened. While he knew most of it,
there were a few bits of information that were new, so it wasn't a
total waste of his time. Just as Perry was finishing his final point,
Clark saw Lois walk up to where they had gathered.

"Clark! Where were you last night? We've been worried! We could
have used you here!" Clark could see anger and frustration evident
in every step she took toward him.

"I know, Lois; I was just telling Perry I was out of town helping a
neighbor. It was too late to come back last night so I stayed over with
them. I got back early this morning. Once I heard Perry's message I
came straight here. What can I do now to help?"

"I don't know," she said, her frustration getting the better of her. 
"We have to wait for the investigators and engineers to finish before
we can get more information. I'm not even sure what we can do
next. We don't have a place to work. We don't have a place to print
a paper even if we did have a place to write it! Oh, Clark, what are
we going to do?"

Her face fell and Clark pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. 
"I don't know Lois, I just don't know. I do know that we cannot give
up. We have to stay focused. This is going to be a trying time for
everyone and we need to be there for them and for each other."

*****

Lois arrived at the LexCorp offices at 9 o'clock that morning in higher
spirits than a few hours ago. Her boyfriend owned the Planet and
she was confident that he'd want to rebuild as much as she did. She
was certain that he'd agree with her on the need for a strong Daily
Planet to act as a watchdog over corruption and wrongdoing in the
city. The Star—God, she hated to even think that name—couldn't
even begin to do the job the Planet did, not on their best day. They
were a bunch of hacks and practiced tabloid journalism. Now there
was an oxymoron!

'I wonder if Lex knows about the fire. Of course he does, it's been all
over LNN all morning! He's probably called my apartment a dozen
times already. He's always so concerned for me and he'll know how
much this means to me. I'm sure he's already thought about what
will need to be done to get the Planet back on its feet,' she thought as
she stepped into the elevator. She pressed the button for the
penthouse and settled back against the rear wall as the car made its
long journey.

With quiet of the elevator and the lack of activity the stress of the
previous few hours crashed over Lois like a wave. Her knees
buckled and she slid down the wall until she was crouched down
with her head in her hands. "The Planet is gone!" she wailed as the
tears flowed unbidden down her cheeks. The image of Perry,
slumped on the curb looking ten years older, caused more tears and
sobs to wrack her body. It hurt her terribly to see a good man like
Perry brought so low by the loss of his beloved Daily Planet. 
Glancing at the panel she saw that her destination was fast
approaching. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and
stood back up. She knew she needed to get her emotions under
control. She couldn't go to Lex looking like a distraught woman, not
if she wanted him to respect her. She had to convince him that
rebuilding the Planet was the right thing to do, she just had to. She
couldn't live with the image of Perry she'd seen that morning and
she'd do whatever it took to make sure she didn't see it ever again.

The car stopped, the doors opened, and she stepped out into the
spacious waiting room. She walked into Lex's office and was met by
Mrs. Cox.

"I need to see Lex right away," Lois said as she tried to get by the
woman who barred her way.

"Mr. Luthor is not here, Ms. Lane. He had an emergency and flew to
Paris yesterday afternoon," Mrs. Cox said with a smirk on her face.

"Paris?! I need to talk to him right now! Please get him on the phone,
this is important!" Lois paced the office like a caged animal as the
secretary placed the call. Once Mrs. Cox had Luthor on the phone
she handed the instrument to Lois.

"Lois, darling, I'm glad you called! I saw the news about the Planet,
I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, Lex. The Planet is the reason I called. I want to talk to you
about rebuilding." She stood next to the desk, her body vibrating
with frustration.

"Don't you think you're jumping ahead a bit here, darling? The
report on the cause of the fire hasn't been released, nor has the
engineers' report on the building itself."

Lex's lack of enthusiasm struck her like a cold slap in the face. "I
know that, but you are going to rebuild, right?" she asked pointedly.

"I'm not sure Lois. I've been on the phone to the accountants
already. There might not be enough insurance money to rebuild."

"Insurance?" she said incredulously. "This is the Daily Planet we're
talking about here. The most respected paper in the country, if not
the world! How could you not rebuild?"

"Lois, my dear, I've been in contact with my engineers and it doesn't
look good for the building. Based on their experience, they feel the
damage is quite severe. I have been told that if Superman hadn't
shored it up when he did, it might have collapsed completely. If that
is the case, and I feel it is, when you combine that with the problems
of the last few months, the Daily Planet may not be a financially
viable operation."

"But Lex... "

"No 'buts' Lois. Let's wait for the final reports so I can make an
informed decision. I promise I'll do everything I can, within reason."
His tone was one that might be used with a recalcitrant child.

Lois was devastated, but she also knew now was not the time to
press further. Hiding her disappointment she continued. "OK. 
We'll wait for the final reports. Look, I have some things I need to do
so I'll be leaving now."

"Oh, Lois? We are still on for the ballet tomorrow night? 8:00 pm?"

"What? Oh, yes, thanks for reminding me. With all that's gone on
today I've forgotten completely. I'll be ready tomorrow at eight. See
you then." The ballet, however, was the last thing on her mind. How
could he be thinking about the ballet with the Planet in the shape it
was! Was he totally without feeling? This wasn't over, not by a long
shot! She'd go to the ballet, but it would be a total waste of her time. 
Her mind would be on the Daily Planet and nothing else.

*****

Three weeks later, Lois opened the locks on her apartment door and
plopped herself on one of her couches. It had been a rough day,
probably the roughest she'd had in quite a while. Not only had she
just started her new job at LNN the week before, which had been
stressful enough, but she'd had a very uncomfortable meeting that
day with Clark.

They had agreed to meet for lunch, and she'd taken the time to show
him around LNN, give him an idea what she did there, the
opportunities television journalism presented, that kind of thing. 
Then she'd made her first mistake of the day, she'd asked Clark to
come to work with her. While he wasn't mean about it, he made
himself very clear that working for Lex Luthor, in any capacity, was
not something he'd ever do. No matter how much Lois prodded and
cajoled him, he stood firm. Finally, Lois relented rather than have
their meeting degenerate into a shouting match. She could always
bring the subject up again later when she felt he might be more
receptive.

They'd had a nice lunch, considering, talking about what they had
been doing since the Planet closed. Clark told her about his job
search. He hadn't applied to any other Metropolis newspapers,
which had surprised her. Clark had said he didn't feel comfortable
working at the Star, and the other papers were even smaller, some
being only weeklies, so his choices were rather limited. He'd sent
resumes to the Washington Times and the Chicago Tribune, among
others, both of which he knew had openings on the city desk. He
was really hoping for Chicago. It would put him closer to his parents
and make it easier for him to get home to help out at harvest time
and the like. Of course, none of that was certain. He had heard
nothing from either paper yet.

Lois had felt a bit lost when he'd said that. Clark was her best friend,
what was she going to do if he left town for a new job? Why did he
have to be so stubborn? Here she was offering him a good job, at
more pay she might add, right here in the city. He had dismissed
Lex's offer out of hand because of his 'feelings' that Lex was not what
he seemed. What really angered her was when she had pressed him
for any tiny bit of evidence to support his claim, he could produce
none! He had brought this up to her before. He'd had no evidence
then and he had none now. She'd never have believed that Clark
could be jealous. She'd have sworn he didn't have a jealous bone in
his body. Besides there was nothing to be jealous of! Lex and Clark
traveled in different circles. Clark was a good, maybe even great,
reporter but he'd never be a captain of industry like Lex, nor did she
think he wanted to be, so why was he jealous of Lex to the point that
he wouldn't even work for him? It just didn't make sense and that, if
nothing else, frustrated her to no end. If he kept this up he was going
to hurt their friendship!

If it wasn't jealousy, then the alternative made even less sense. Clark
was always the one to give a person the benefit of the doubt, whereas
she didn't trust anyone. If she didn't get any bad vibes from Lex,
why couldn't Clark see that? Her reporters' instincts told her Lex
was a businessman who, while tough in his business dealings, was
fair. Hadn't he taken care of all the Planet employees? He'd done
everything he could for them once he'd determined that remaining
open wasn't feasible. She was still hurting about that! She'd begged
and pleaded. She'd tried to appeal to his civic pride, to no avail. 
Not being able to convince Lex to keep the Planet open was her
greatest regret but she'd had to move on. Why couldn't Clark? How
could he be so totally unreasonable? Did he really value their
friendship, *her*, so little that his pride would take precedence over
their friendship? If he could do that then she had to question the
kind of friendship they had.

After lunch there was still some time before she was due back at
work, so they'd decided to take a stroll through the park. They'd
walked for a while when Clark asked her if she wanted to sit and
rest. They'd sat on a bench, enjoying the sunny day in
companionable silence. Clark broke that silence when he'd picked up
her hand and turned to look into her eyes.

"Lois, I have loved you for a long, long time. Ever since I saw you
during my first interview with Perry. You had to have known," he'd
said, his eyes reflecting his love for her.

Lois was surprised at his courage to make this declaration given the
circumstances but managed to respond, "Yes Clark, I guess I knew
you were attracted to me but..."

"Lois, it's not just attraction. I love you. I love everything about you. 
I want to have a relationship with you."

She was stunned, how could he do this to her? How could he
embarrass her like this? Not once, in all their time together, had he
ever taken the initiative to ask her on a date and *now* he wanted a
relationship? He knew she was seriously dating Lex and that he'd
proposed for God's sake. What did he expect her to do, fall at his feet
and thank him for falling in love with her? Did he really think she
was going to drop Lex like a hot potato because he'd decided he
wanted to have a relationship? As angry as this declaration had
made her she could see in his eyes that he was sincere. Thinking
back on their friendship if he'd only said something before she'd
gotten serious with Lex she might have been more receptive to the
idea than she had allowed herself to admit prior to today.

She dropped her gaze to her hands and paused. She loved Clark, as a
friend, and she knew that what she had to tell him was going to hurt
but she couldn't allow him to think that he was going to change her
mind. She looked directly into his eyes and squeezed his hands with
hers. "Clark, you have to know that I love you too, just not that way. 
We've talked about this before. I love you very much; you're the
brother I never had. I love going over to your place, eating pizza and
watching videos and just talking, but—that's all it is, two good
friends enjoying each others company. I'm sorry, Clark."

"I understand, I guess. I had to make one last effort to tell you how I
feel before you made a final decision on... that proposal. I guess
we'd better head back now." Clark's face showed his deep
disappointment but there was more than that, there was
embarrassment as well.

"There is one thing I need you to do. I need you to contact someone
for me; I need to talk to him before I make a final decision."

"Who's that, Lois?"

"I think you know."

"Yeah." Clark stood and started to walk toward the park exit, his
shoulders hunched and his head down. He'd stopped to wait for her
to catch up. He'd escorted her back to LNN even though she'd
guessed that he'd rather be a thousand miles away from her.

The rest of the day had been a disaster too. Lois was so upset by
Clark's declaration of love that she left to go home after two hours,
when it became obvious to everyone that her mind wasn't on her job. 
Her boss had called her in and told her to go home. He had said that
he could see she was upset and he hoped she'd be better tomorrow. 
If she had been told this while she'd worked at the Planet she'd have
fought tooth and nail to stay. As a testament to her emotional
condition she hadn't argued, she'd just grabbed her purse and almost
ran out of the building.

Clark wasn't the only thing on her mind, though his declaration had
surprised her. Leave it to a man to assume something more was
going on when nothing but platonic friendship was in the offing. 
Granted, he was attractive, there was no denying that, but she
wanted more than just animal attraction. She wanted a man who she
could respect, someone whom she could look up to. She was pleased
that a man as important as Lex Luthor was interested in her.

It wasn't that she hadn't told Clark before that she didn't feel that
way about him either. She'd told him that to his face the time he'd
had amnesia. Though there was a lot of emotional hugging of each
other going on; most of that was due to the pressures everyone was
feeling. First about their impending doom due to Nightfall, then for
the elation everyone felt at being saved by Superman. She'd done
nothing to lead him on. She'd been dating Lex for the last few
months, for heavens sake! Didn't he see that? If she was in love with
Clark, why would she be dating another man? It was pretty
convenient that Clark should declare himself now just when she was
getting ready to give Lex an answer to his proposal.

He was probably jealous, just like he'd been when she'd started
dating Lex. After that hostage situation he'd warned her about being
with Lex, but, as usual, he could give her no specific reasons, just his
vague feelings of dislike for Lex as a man. He'd told her he had no
proof. Even Superman had no proof that Lex was anything other
than what he appeared to be, a rich businessman, who was also
Metropolis's biggest philanthropist.

Lex had done his best for the employees of the Daily Planet. He had
incorporated all the local and foreign bureaus the Planet operated
into his LNN network. Where there was overlap in the same city and
cuts had to be made, he'd done everything possible to see that Planet
employees were placed elsewhere within LNN. If that was
impossible, they were given a very generous severance package and
a letter of recommendation. Though it hurt her grievously, and she
had fought tooth and nail to change his mind, Lex had stood firm
that it was not a wise financial decision to continue operations at the
Planet. He was a businessman first and foremost, after all, and the
Daily Planet was not a charity.

*****

Perry's decision to retire upon the absorption of continuing Daily
Planet operations into LNN was finally announced. He had told Lois
there was only one Daily Planet. He just wasn't interested in starting
over at another paper, though he did get offers from many
prestigious news organizations. He'd originally felt there might have
been sabotage involved in the destruction of the Planet, considering
that the financial trouble the paper had been experiencing seemed to
come out of nowhere. He'd read the preliminary report that showed
no evidence of wrongdoing with skepticism. It was released before
the full investigation was completed, so he continued his own efforts
to uncover the truth. Two weeks later the final report was issued
confirming the original findings. The Daily Planet building had been
destroyed by a horrible accident brought on by poor maintenance. 
His best efforts had been unable to unearth anything to the contrary
so he was forced to admit failure.

An old gas main had sustained damage over the years, probably due
to careless employees banging things against it, not knowing what it
was. Added to mix had been some bad wiring in an exhaust fan. 
Unnoticed by maintenance, a supposed explosion-proof fan hadn't
been inspected in years and had developed a section of bare wiring
due to corrosion of the exterior coating. When the night watchman
had turned the circuit breaker on, the fan sparked and ignited the gas
that had escaped into the room. It was not known how long the gas
had been building up. It had to have been hours, based on the
destructive force of the blast. When the final report, verified by
officials Perry trusted to be thorough, was published, he had to give
up his hope of proving sabotage. It also forced him to give up hope
for continuing operations of the Planet, since Lex had been hinting
very strongly that the numbers didn't support such a decision.

Perry decided that his best option was to retire early and spend more
time with Alice. He'd received a very nice retirement package from
Luthor. With that and his investments, he'd be very comfortable,
very comfortable indeed.

*****

Nigel St. John walked into Luthor's office in his usual calm, confident
manner. He stood in front of the heavy mahogany desk and waited
for his employer to acknowledge him. He didn't have to wait long. 
Lex Luthor turned from his surveying of the city and saw him
standing there.

"Nigel, congratulations are in order!"

"Indeed?" He wondered what had caused the obvious enthusiasm
his boss was exhibiting.

"Yes. The final report on the unfortunate 'incident' at the Daily
Planet was issued today. Well-respected city officials have concluded
that a horrible accident, brought about by poor maintenance, resulted
in a gas explosion and subsequent fire that destroyed the building. 
We're lucky the fire insurance company has no restrictions on
payouts due to lack of maintenance, don't you think?"

"Certainly, Sir, very fortunate. If I may be so bold, was the insurance
enough to cover the rebuilding of the structure?"

"The policy that was owned by the Planet board before I took them
over did not. However, the added policy I took out upon the
purchase paid out very handsomely. More than enough to rebuild if
I was so inclined, which I am not."

"No, of course not, Sir."

"I was also able to sell the real estate to one of my holding
companies. I plan to erect a new building in its place that will
generate millions more in revenue in one year than I could have
realized from the Daily Planet in ten! All in all, a very satisfactory
outcome.

"The reason I called you in is to reward you for a job well done. I am
very pleased with the results of this operation. I am adding a bonus
to your salary this month. I trust you will find it acceptable."

"I am certain that I will, Sir. My true reward is personal, the pride of
a job well done. I feel that this operation was one of my best, maybe
the best of my career." The pleasure he experienced from the praise
of his employer was reflected by his slight smile and the miniscule
change in his stance as Luthor regarded him.

"It was excellent, every step planned and executed to perfection. I
especially liked the touch of having Superman in Chicago at the
time."

"That particular detail was my signature twist for this operation. I
wanted to make absolutely sure there would be no way he could
interfere before irreparable damage was done to the building."

"How did you know he'd go to the warehouse fire? That's not
something he'd usually be interested in." Luthor leaned over the
desk and removed a cigar from the humidor, trimming the tip and
lighting it as Nigel talked.

"I made sure that the LNN report expressed the danger to
surrounding structures and residents due to the oil refinery nearby. I
did not believe he could resist it. But just in case, there was a backup
plan in effect here in Metropolis if he did not arrive in Chicago as
expected," he said quite proudly.

"Excellent, Nigel, excellent! I knew my faith in you was not
misplaced!"

"I hope it never is, Sir."

"I'm sure it won't be. That will be all for now." With that Luthor
turned to the paperwork on his desk effectively dismissing him.

Nigel turned and left the office as silently as he'd entered, his mind
occupied with his plans to transfer this 'bonus' to his private Swiss
account.

*****

Lois waited impatiently in her apartment that evening. Had Clark
been able to contact Superman? Would he come tonight? You could
never tell. If he got busy he might not be able to come for days! She
couldn't put Lex off for that long! He'd been dropping 'subtle' hints
lately that he was becoming impatient. But she had to know for sure
before she made her decision, she just had to!

To calm herself, she decided to take a nice hot bubble bath. She'd just
finished drying her hair when she heard a knock on the window. She
turned and hurried into the living room. She saw Superman floating
outside her window. Rushing over she opened it and stepped back.

"Superman! You're here. Please, wait a minute while I change into
something a bit more appropriate."

"Unless it's lead-lined, don't bother, Lois," Superman said flatly.

Surprised and stunned Lois stepped back and bumped into her
couch. He'd never talked like that to her! Why would he say
something like that? While she wanted to tear into him for hurting
her like that she had more important things on her mind. She
gathered herself and said "Yes, well... please sit down, Superman."

"No thank you, Lois," he said rather curtly. "I can't stay long. Could
you please tell me why you wanted to see me?"

It was crunch time, now or never, and she was nervous. She couldn't
understand why he was being so rude and short with her. 
Nevertheless she screwed up her courage and continued.

"I love you, Superman. I've loved you since I flew with you that first
day. I can't make a final decision until I know... Is there a chance for
us?" she asked. Her love and her insecurity showed on her face and
in her posture. Her eyes held hope and love in equal measure but her
body huddled in on itself with her insecurity.

"Lois, you don't really know me—"

"I *do* know you. I know you're kind and good and caring. You
have integrity and morals. You're the person I love! If you were an
ordinary man living an ordinary life I'd still love you just the same."

Lois saw Superman stiffen at that last comment though she couldn't
understand why. His expression turned even colder, if that was
possible.

"Under the circumstances, Lois, I find that hard to believe. I'm sorry,
I have to leave now." His face was as hard and unreadable as she'd
ever seen it. The only times she'd seen that look was when he dealt
with the worst criminals he faced. It scared her more than anything
ever had to have him to look at her that way. With that he turned and
floated out the window, and she felt, out of her life.

His last comment confused her, what did he mean by 'under the
circumstances?' What circumstances? There were no 'circumstances'
she could think of... unless he meant Clark? Oh, God, how could she
be so stupid! She'd asked Clark to contact Superman for her! It was
obvious that Superman had sensed something was wrong with Clark. 
They were friends; maybe they'd talked about her! That had to be it! 
Superman thought she'd rejected Clark only to chase him and he felt
uncomfortable, or worse angered, by her actions. Was her only
chance with Superman gone because she'd rejected Clark? She didn't
know, but it sure looked that way. She closed the window, locked it,
then ran to her room and cried. It didn't matter why Superman had
rejected her in the end; the fact was he had rejected her declaration of
love. Her dreams and hopes of Superman ever returning her love lay
smashed and broken. Her sobs grew harder, shaking her slim frame
and causing her throat to burn. She cried so hard she didn't think
she'd ever stop.

Two hours later though, she did stop. Her eyes were red and puffy. 
Tear tracks showed on her cheeks and her hair was a mess. Besides
crying she had spent a lot of the time examining her meeting with
Superman. As she thought about Superman her thoughts also drifted
to Clark. The two men seemed joined in her mind somehow, no
matter how much she tried to forget Clark.

It was all Clark's fault! If Superman hadn't guessed something was
bothering Clark he would not have acted the way he did tonight! He
had been upset about something from the second he knocked on her
window. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. If he was
that angry with her why did he even stop by? He must have been
spoiling for a fight to have acted the way he did. If he was going to
take Clark's side over hers she was better off without him!

Superman was just like all the other men she'd known. She had
thought he was different from the others but he had proved to have
feet of clay. She reconsidered her last thought. In most things
Superman was a beacon of goodness to the world. He was above the
fray, acting as a role model for the world to follow. She'd tried to
force him to interact on a human level. Was it any wonder that,
when brought to that level, he acted in a manner unbecoming
Superman? If this was true, then her efforts were really misguided.

It was possible that Superman was right this evening. What did she
know about him? He appeared suddenly, from nowhere, really. He
swooped in, saved the day, and then left as quickly as he came. 
Where did he go? What did he do when he wasn't rescuing people? 
What was his favorite color, for goodness sakes! She could answer
*none* of those questions!

She had told Superman she was in love with him. Now that she
examined her feelings she felt horribly embarrassed. How could she
be *in love* with Superman? She knew more about *Clark* than she
did about Superman and she wasn't in love with him! Superman
must think her very immature in her view of love after her display
this evening. Wryly, she thought that Superman leaving and
possibly never seeing her again might be a *good* thing, since she
was sure she'd die of embarrassment if they ever met again.

As terrible as she felt about what had happened this evening, she did
get the answer to her dilemma. She couldn't give Lex an answer
until she'd determined that there was no possibility of a relationship
with Superman. She'd got that answer tonight, in spades! There was
nothing to hold her back from making a decision now and she'd let
Lex know tomorrow.

*****

Lois had just finished another wonderful meal prepared by Chef
Andre. Lex led her to the den for brandy.

Seated on the leather couch, Lex admired Lois's beauty. It was now
time to press his case. "Lois, my darling, I've been very patient
regarding my proposal, however the longer you take to give me your
answer, the more concerned I become."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but your proposal was so sudden, it took me
by surprise, you know? When you add in the destruction and closing
of the Daily Planet I've had a lot to think about and some things to
sort out in my mind before I could give you my answer." She took a
sip of her brandy and lowered her head, seeming to avoid Luthor's
piercing gaze.

"And have you, my dear? Sorted things out in your mind, I mean? 
Are you ready to give me your answer?" he asked a bit forcefully.

She raised her head and looked him in the eye as she said "Yes, Lex, I
am. Yes, I will marry you."

"Thank you, my dear, thank you. You've made me the happiest man
in the city!" He pulled her into a fierce embrace and smiled ferally,
his prize now within his grasp.

Releasing her he pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it. 
Inside was a large diamond ring. It had to be ten carats at least! It
was breathtaking. Lex pulled the ring out of the box and slid it on
the third finger of her left hand. They looked at the ring for a few
seconds and then their lips met in a kiss.

*****

'Yes, I will marry you.'

She'd done it. She'd made the commitment of her life. The odd thing
was she didn't feel as ecstatically happy as she'd expected. She
looked down and saw her hand being held by Lex. She felt as if she
were looking at someone else's hand. That hand was shaking
slightly. Her hands didn't shake! She saw the ring. OH MY GOD! 
Look at the size of that rock! Her left arm was going to droop
carrying that thing! She felt Lex's arms around her and his lips on
hers. He was acting so passionately! His lips and hands seemed to
be everywhere! She felt herself responding but she also felt as if
something was missing.

Here she was, in the arms of her fiancé, in a passionate embrace and
she didn't feel swept off her feet. Why was that? She'd felt more
than this the time Clark had kissed her at the Lexor Hotel! Why was
she thinking about Clark now? Why was she thinking about Clark at
all? She didn't love Clark! She loved Superman, but he didn't love
her. She needed to stop this! She'd made her decision; she was going
to marry Lex! OK, so the earth didn't move when he kissed her. He
kissed very nicely, not wet and sloppy. He held her tightly but
reverently, as if she meant everything to him. This was nice. This
was what love should be. All that pie in the sky soul-mates baloney
was foisted on women by Hollywood and romance novels. It made
them unhappy with normal men, men that a real woman could have
a chance at finding and marrying.

She was marrying a very successful businessman, not that his success
was what attracted her. His success was a definite plus, of course. 
The main thing though was he wanted her and she wanted him. It
took two people to make a successful relationship, and that was
something Clark couldn't figure out. It didn't matter that he loved
her more than anything. She didn't love him that way! She didn't
want to marry him! She enjoyed his company but as a friend. He
was a great conversationalist, true. He was even a decent reporter,
OK, more than decent. When push came to shove, however, she just
couldn't see Clark and her together.

The whole 'white picket fence, two-point-five kids' thing just wasn't
for her. If there was one thing she knew about Clark it was that he
believed in it. He wanted a house in the country. He wanted a wife
who wanted children. He wanted love to last forever. She didn't
believe in that and she didn't see how he could. His Kansas
upbringing was the basis for his belief, she was sure. Maybe that
kind of love was possible in Kansas, but this was Metropolis! Things
in the city didn't work that way. People in the city were lucky to stay
married and keep their jobs! It took two salaries to afford anything
decent. Working sixty to seventy hours a week didn't leave much
time for a home life, much less time for children!

She had always thought Clark to be too naïve. She'd thought so from
the day she'd met him. She'd also thought he'd grow out of it or the
city would beat it out of him. That didn't happen with Clark. He
had maintained his idealistic views of love and marriage, to her
eternal mystification. He could live in his fantasy world if he wanted
to, but she was going to live in the real world. That real world
included acknowledging change. Her life had changed drastically in
recent months, and while she accepted the changes, she also needed
some stability in her life. Lex provided that stability. The calm he
provided to her turbulent life was her anchor and played a major
factor in her decision to accept his proposal.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Lex's hand at her blouse, undoing
the buttons. She snapped out of her reverie. She wasn't ready for
this!

"Lex! What are you doing?"

"Darling, I'm continuing what we've started. You do want to
continue, don't you?" Lex asked, a surprised look on his face.

"Lex, I know this sounds old fashioned but... I'd like to wait until our
wedding night. I know we're both experienced, but this is the first
relationship I've had that is working. I don't want to jinx things by
having sex now. We'll be married very soon anyway, so we won't
have to wait much longer. I hope you understand?" she asked
hopefully as she buttoned her blouse back up.

"Of course, my dear. I think it's... quaint. If this is what will make
you happy, then I agree. I will see that the arrangements for the
wedding are accelerated. What do you say to getting married in...
oh, four weeks time? I feel four weeks is doable. I'll make sure it
happens. I can't wait to be with you, darling. I know the experience
will be worth the wait."

Lois visibly relaxed. He'd agreed! She wasn't sure what she would
have done if he'd objected though. This had to prove he loved her. 
He was willing to postpone his carnal pleasures to make her happy! 
She jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Oh thank you, Lex! I knew you'd understand! Four weeks is
wonderful, darling! I love you so much!" she said and kissed him
again before sitting back down on the couch.

"I love you too, my dear. In four weeks time we'll be together. I'll be
dreaming of the night we join as man and wife." Lex said
magnanimously.

"Lex, it's getting late. Do you mind if I go home? It's been a long
day and I'm very tired. I'll see you tomorrow, all right?"

"Certainly, darling. I want you well rested. I'll have Nigel bring the
car around."

Lex walked to the desk and called for the car. Lois kissed her new
fiancé goodnight and walked to the elevator. Twenty minutes later
Nigel dropped her off in front of her building and she walked inside. 
It had been a very momentous day, for today Lois Lane became the
fiancé of Lex Luthor. She couldn't wait to call her mother!

*****

Outside Luthor's penthouse floated Superman. Despite his
comments to Lois the previous night, he hadn't thought she'd go
through with her plan to marry Luthor; however it seemed that she'd
proven him wrong yet again. He'd thought that his declaration of
love as Clark would have dissuaded her from her folly. If she had
another suitor he'd hoped she'd not feel pressured to make any hasty
decisions—but she'd destroyed that idea pretty quickly. She'd let
him down easy, she really had, but the 'I love you like a brother'
comment had hurt! It was as if she had torn his heart out of his chest. 
Then she'd stomped it into the dirt when she asked him to contact
Superman for her! She didn't seem to see what her request had done
to him that day. Maybe she was oblivious to his feelings. Whatever
the reason, he just didn't know.

What he did know now, though, was that Lois had made her
decision—and it wasn't him. It was a tough thing to accept. The
woman he loved more than life itself *didn't* love him, would never
love him, was now engaged to another man, one whom he didn't
trust one bit. The problem was Luthor covered his tracks very, very
well. Despite all his efforts Clark had been unable to find any firm
evidence of wrongdoing by Luthor. The most he had were vague
innuendos and tenuous links to felonious activity, nothing he could
tell Lois about without being laughed out of her apartment. 
Certainly nothing that would make her change her mind about
Luthor as a person.

Whatever he was, Luthor was good. He'd met the man, in both his
guises, and could never detect the slightest hint of insincerity. Clark
had heard of people like this, people who were so amoral that they
believed what they were doing was right so no outward signs of
duplicity would be detectable. He had never thought he'd ever meet
someone like that, but in the case of Lex Luthor he was sure that he
had. Whenever he saw the man, the hairs on the back of his neck
rose and he felt a tingling sensation, like one would feel in the
presence of a predator.

When he saw the couple in a heated embrace, he'd drifted away from
the windows of the penthouse. He couldn't stand to see the two of
them together any longer. He headed north, to the Arctic, where he
could be alone with his thoughts and mourn the relationship he
never had.

*****

He sat on the cold Arctic plain in the shadow of a massive glacier. 
The cold and desolation reflected his despair. Why? Why did she
not see what Luthor was? Why did she not see him for who *he*
was. She was the most perceptive person he knew, but when it came
to Clark she was totally oblivious! He'd been skeptical about the
whole glasses and hairstyle disguise since the beginning. As time
passed he had become more comfortable with it. Around Lois,
however, he seemed to drop unconscious clues no matter what he'd
intended. His absences from the newsroom were overlooked by her,
and Perry for that matter. But you would think she'd call him on his
lousy reasons for those absences. He'd thought they'd had a real
breakthrough after the Trask incident. She'd hugged him so tightly
and seemed so concerned for him that he felt sure her feelings for
him were changing.

That change was short-lived, though. No sooner had they returned
to Metropolis than Lois slipped back into her former pattern of
treating him as nothing more than a friend. Whatever attraction or
tenderness she'd felt for him had morphed into a stronger friendship,
but that was not what Clark wanted at all. Of course he wanted to be
her friend, that went without saying, but he wanted more. The fact
that she went out of her way to maintain a friends-only attitude, was
what frustrated him.

No matter how many times they'd sit and watch movies at his place,
sharing his couch, their bodies touching, she'd pull away at the
critical moment. If he put his arm around her she'd let it stay for
awhile. But if he started to get too comfortable in that position she'd
get up to get a drink or something, and when she came back she'd be
sure to sit farther away. Not that she made it obvious, but Clark got
the message.

When she'd started dating Luthor things got worse. Once he'd found
out about that he'd let her know of his misgivings in the strongest
possible terms, which weren't that strong since he had *no* evidence. 
Given his standing as her friend, her best friend according to her, he
didn't understand why couldn't she at least listen to his concerns and
accept them as his opinion? Lois had never accepted his feelings
about Luthor as legitimate. While she was careful to avoid using the
word 'jealous', the underlying message was clear. He didn't like the
man because he was jealous. He didn't like him because of some
crude territorial thing that she would never accept. Lois Lane
belonged to no one but herself. Not Lex Luthor and certainly not
Clark Kent.

She had even ignored Luthor's actions when they'd been held
hostage a few weeks ago. It was obvious to him that Luthor was only
looking out for his own skin and would have sold them all out if he
could have worked his own deal with the terrorists. After Luthor
was shot, her concern over her 'boyfriend' blinded her to everything
that Luthor had done before. Clark was left standing in the street
while she rode with Luthor to the hospital.

Now she'd committed the ultimate error in judgment, at least in his
opinion. She'd accepted Luthor's proposal of marriage. How could
she agree to marry the man? He hadn't even been aware that they
were dating seriously at first, since she'd never waxed poetic about
her dates with him. When she'd had any encouragement from
Superman he'd heard about it all the next morning, to his extreme
embarrassment most of the time. But after a date with Luthor, there
was no sign that she'd had anything more than a 'nice' time. He had
even asked—rarely, but he'd asked—and he'd gotten the same
answer each time. She'd told him they'd had a 'nice' evening,
nothing earthshaking that he could determine. Out of the blue, she'd
told him that Luthor had proposed and she was considering the idea!

All during this time he had continued his visits to Lois as Superman. 
He'd told himself it was because he wanted to enjoy her company
and because she saw Superman as a friend. He was fooling himself,
of course. He'd done it because he wanted to see Lois attracted to
him, even if that attraction was focused on the disguise he wore and
not the man he was. If he thought about it, he was pathetic. He was
acting like a lovesick doormat. It was no wonder that Lois never felt
romantically inclined towards Clark. Most times he took her moods
and disparaging remarks in stride and kept coming back for more.

Oh, he'd stood up for himself, but only rarely, and only when forced
to by circumstances. If he hadn't stood up to her when she'd stolen
his story, for example, she'd have lost any shred of respect she had
for him. He could have done nothing else and still have been able to
show his face in the newsroom. He wasn't affected by her attitude
towards men in general and him in particular, but he didn't think
that attitude had earned him many points in the romance column
either. She'd started out with little to no respect for him as a reporter,
and he'd had to claw his way up to grudging respect from her. 
Contrasting that to how she felt about Superman, and there was *no*
comparison.

Superman not only had her respect, he had awed her with his
abilities at first and then continued to do so with his actions. She had
never looked at Superman as anything less than perfect. How could
a mere man compete with that? How many times had she compared
Clark to Superman and found Clark wanting. That kind of
comparison couldn't have helped him, surely! When you started as
low as Clark had in her eyes, there was nowhere to go but up... but
that didn't mean he'd ever got to even in her eyes either.

Luthor never had the handicap of being a 'man' in Lois's eyes. Before
Superman came to town he was the closest thing to the perfect man
there was. Superman didn't tarnish that image because the two men
were regarded by Lois as serving different functions. Superman
saved the day, did heroic deeds and inspired the world. Luthor
employed half the city, in one way or another, and his charitable
contributions helped the other half. Superman handled the macro
issues and Luthor worked on the micro level. Between them, the city
was entering a perceived golden age.

No matter how you looked at it, Clark Kent came in a *very* distant
third in the horse race for Lois's attention. No matter how much time
he spent with her, day or night, he wasn't flashy or rich or powerful. 
He didn't think Lois was shallow, she wasn't; he knew she cared for
people and she cared for him. The problem was she wasn't
impressed by him. It saddened him, but he didn't have any idea of
how he could have changed that.

Clark spent a long and lonely night. He cried, he wailed, and he
screamed out his frustration. He mourned his lost love and
despaired of ever finding a woman to share his life. As the hours
passed, he thought about all the good times he'd experienced with
Lois and tried to think about things he could have done differently. 
There were probably many things he could have done, but it was too
late now. Lois had made her decision and that was that. At last he
decided to head to Smallville for breakfast. He really needed to talk
to his parents.

*****

Martha Kent was just finishing frying some bacon when she heard
the distinctive thump of Clark landing on the back porch. Seconds
later, no longer wearing the suit, he walked into her arms, hugging
her tightly. While she always enjoyed hugging her son, it was
obvious from his demeanor that there was something bothering him. 
She knew it was something serious, but she also knew she'd have to
wait him out, wait for him to start talking before she'd get to the
bottom of his problems.

"Hi, Mom. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Clark. Sit down, your father should be in
from the barn any second and we can eat."

"Thanks, Mom. I could use one of your breakfasts today."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to wait for dad before I start. I want you
both to hear this."

"Of course, honey! There's your father now."

Jonathan Kent walked through the door and hung up his coat. He
turned to his son and gave him a big hug. "Hi, son. To what to we
owe this visit?"

"Gee, Dad, can't a guy come home to eat breakfast with his parents? 
It's not like I have to be at work, you know," Clark said, exasperated.

"Of course you can." Jonathan said carefully. "We just weren't
expecting you. By the look on your face you've got a problem, care to
tell us what it is?"

"Sorry, Dad. I do have a problem, but it's nothing you can help me
fix. I just need to talk about it, get it off my chest, you know?"

"Sure, son, sure. Sit down and eat and we'll talk this through." 
Clark sat heavily onto the chair while Martha turned to get the food
off the stove.

After Martha had dispensed eggs, bacon, pancakes and coffee to
everyone, she sat down to eat and waited for Clark to start.

"Mom, Dad, you know that Lex Luthor proposed to Lois, right?"

"Yes, you told us when it happened. I don't know what that girl sees
in him."

"Me neither, Mom. Anyway, the day before yesterday, I had lunch
with Lois. She invited me to meet her at LNN to show me around
and give me the nickel tour. It's a nice place. They probably do good
work, but I can't work there. I can't work for Luthor."

"I know you can't, son," Jonathan said. "I wouldn't expect you to
work for a man you didn't trust."

"Thanks, Dad. I know you both understand my position. The
problem is Lois doesn't. She thinks I'm being stubborn and jealous. 
Maybe I am stubborn and I probably am jealous, but that's not the
point. We went out for lunch and had a good time. We talked about
the good old days at the Planet and all the fun we've had together. It
was nice. Since she still had some time before she had to get back to
work I suggested a walk in the park."

"That sounds nice," Martha said.

"It was nice, at least for a while. We sat down and I knew it was my
last chance to tell Lois how I felt about her. I confessed that I had
loved her for a long time and that I wanted a relationship with her..."

"What did she say to that, son?" Jonathan asked though Martha
caught the look of concern in his eyes.

"She told me she loved me too—like a brother."

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, ouch. She told me I was her best friend and she loved me too,
but she didn't feel that way about me. I knew she might not feel the
same as me, but it hurt to have her actually say it, you know?"

"I'm sure it did, honey. It's never easy when someone you love
doesn't love you back. I'm so sorry. I really thought she had feelings
for you. When you were both here for the Corn Festival she seemed
to really be attracted to you, at least from what I saw."

Clark paused and sighed before he continued. "I thought so too,
Mom, but when we got back to Metropolis she slipped right back into
her 'city girl against the country boy' attitude. It was friends only
from that point on. Though I tried to get her to see me as more than a
friend, she didn't seem too receptive and I didn't want to push her."

"No, Clark, you can't push someone into loving you, as much as we
might like to," Martha said sympathetically.

"Anyway, by then I was feeling pretty badly and a bit embarrassed,
though she did let me down easy. Then she did something that really
hurt me. Here I had just finished pouring my heart out to her and
she'd shot me down, then she had the gall to ask me to contact
Superman for her!"

"She did what?" Martha and Jonathan said in unison, surprise
evident on Jonathan's face and hers as well she was sure.

"Yeah, she asked me to do her a favor and contact someone for her. 
She never said Superman but it was obvious who she meant. I told
her I'd do my best and we walked back to LNN and I went home." 
He paused in his narrative and looked at his plate, suddenly finding
his breakfast very fascinating.

"Did you go to see her as Superman?" Jonathan asked when it didn't
seem like Clark was going to continue.

Clark told his parents everything, and when he got to the part about
the lead lined robe, he ducked his head, knowing what was coming.

"Clark! I can't believe you said that!" Martha's eyes flashed as she
looked at her son.

Clark had the good sense to look embarrassed. He related the rest of
their conversation ending with "She told me she knew everything
about me she needed to know and that if I was an ordinary man
leading an ordinary life, she'd love me just the same." He said this
last part softly and hung his head, looking lost.

Jonathan rolled his eyes and mouthed "Oh boy." Martha gave him a
'keep quiet' look and returned her attention to Clark.

"Please continue, honey," she said gently.

"I didn't react very well to that and I told her that under the
circumstances, I found that hard to believe."

"And...?" She reached across the table to pat his hand, offering
what support she could with the gesture.

"I told her I was sorry and that I had to leave. I flew out the window
and went home to lick my wounds."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry, but maybe you should have told her about
Superman." Martha said sympathetically.

Clark stiffened a bit at that suggestion. "No. That wasn't an option
even if I wanted to tell her. She's been dating Lex Luthor and there is
*no way* I could ever tell her while she was in a relationship with
him. I just couldn't take the chance. I know it might not be fair to
want her to fall in love with Clark and not Superman, but I just can't
tell her. I don't want her to love Clark because he's Superman, I want
her to love Clark and accept that he's Superman. Does that make any
sense?"

"Yes, it does, in a strange kind of way, since you are both Clark *and*
Superman. Though I don't think you are being fair to her since she
sincerely believes you are two separate men," Martha said.

"I know, Mom, but Clark is who I am; Superman is only what I can
do. I knew that was the end, that my last chance to be with Lois was
gone. I stopped by Luthor's penthouse last night—don't ask me
why, maybe I'm a masochist, but I had to see if she would really
agree to marry that man.

"She did. He gave her a diamond ring that could choke a horse and
then he kissed her. I left after that. I know that I probably should
have done things differently, maybe told her of my feelings sooner,
or even told her about Superman before she got too close to him and
really started to see Superman as a complete person, rather than the
cartoon character he is. It's too late for coulda, shoulda, woulda's; it's
too late for all of that now. But I do feel better talking this all out and
I thank you for listening." He sat back in his chair and took a sip of
his coffee.

"Oh, honey, we couldn't do anything else. You're our son and we'll
support you always, even if we don't always agree with you,"
Martha said, reassuringly. He looked more relaxed than when he'd
arrived, so she felt his talking things out had helped.

"Thanks Mom, Dad. I appreciate everything you've done for me,
more than I can say. I think I'll head back to my apartment now. I've
got some resumes to send out today and some other errands I have to
do. I'll see you Friday night for supper, like usual."

"OK, son, we'll see you then," said Jonathan. "Take care of yourself,
and if you want to talk more, you know our door is always open."

Clark stood up, spun into his suit and walked out of the kitchen to
begin his journey back to Metropolis.

*****

Martha waited a few minutes to make sure Clark was out of earshot. 
"I'm worried about him, Jonathan. He loves that woman like no one
else and he's lost her."

"He's strong; he'll get over her in time. He'll need our support even
more now, though. We need to convince him, gently, that there are
more fish in the sea. Maybe now that he's actually experienced love,
he'll be a bit more open to love from someone else," Jonathan said
hopefully.

"I hope so, dear. I feel this could go either way, though. I don't want
to see him pining for her the rest of his life. You know how he
obsesses so."

"That he does. But I'm encouraged by him coming to us to talk about
it. He could just as easily have gone to his apartment and brooded,
but he didn't. He wanted to talk this out, kinda get it off his chest,
and I think it helped him. He seemed better when he left, don't you
think?"

"Considering how he looked when he got here, he did look better. I
think I'm going to make sure to call him more often, even if it's just
for a few minutes, to see how he's doing," she said with conviction.

"That's a good idea. We need to keep an eye on him these next few
weeks, at least until the wedding is over. You know, I really hope he
gets that job in Chicago; it might do him some good to get out of
Metropolis, so he won't be seeing and hearing about her all the time,"
Jonathan said thoughtfully.

"You're right, sweetie. I hope so, too. I think a clean break with
Metropolis would be the best thing for him."

Standing up from the table, Jonathan said, "I'm going back to the
barn. That tractor won't change its oil by itself. See you at lunch." 
He kissed his wife and walked out of the kitchen.

*****

"Mrs. Cox, what is the status of Project K?"

"We have finished the lab testing of the item and it seems to be the
genuine article. All that is left is to field test it. That test is scheduled
for this afternoon."

"Very good. Keep me informed as to the results."

"I will, sir. Is there anything else?"

Luthor looked at Mrs. Cox with a lascivious grin. "Yes, there is."

"Why, Lex, what about your fiancé?"

"What about her? I don't see her here, do you?"

Mrs. Cox slipped into Luthor's arms and brought her lips close to his. 
"No, I do not."

*****

Later that afternoon Mrs. Cox reported back to Luthor on the results
of the Project K field test.

"Lex, the test went better than we expected!"

"How so?" he asked picking up on his assistant's obvious excitement.

"As soon as I got the item within 20 feet of him, his reaction was
dramatic. He staggered as if dizzy, and would have lost his balance
if the security guard hadn't steadied him. I'm sure the effect would
be more pronounced the closer he would get to it."

"That's what the scientists said as well. Close and prolonged
exposure would weaken him to the point of death. The only thing
we don't know is the length of the exposure to ensure death," Lex
said thoughtfully.

"Are there any plans to further define the end result of the
experiment?"

"Not at this time. I have plans for this little object, but they are for
me to determine the time of their deployment."

"Certainly, Lex. I await your further instructions."

"That's all for now, thank you."

Lex returned to his desk and sat down. He turned to look out the
window with a satisfied smile on his face. He now had a weapon to
use against the blue Boy Scout should the need arise. He didn't think
he'd ever need it since he had the idiot completely fooled, but if he
didn't have a fail safe plan to deal with Superman, he'd be the fool,
and Lex Luthor was *never* the fool.

*****

The week before the wedding Lois was reviewing the invitation list. 
Perry and Alice, Jimmy Olsen, and Jack Brown had all accepted. As
she went further down the list she saw that the only person from the
Planet who hadn't was Clark. Surely this was a mistake. He was her
friend, he had to attend! She picked up her phone, dialed his number
and waited.

"Clark Kent."

"Clark, hi. It's me, Lois," she said, suddenly shy.

"I recognize your voice, Lois. What can I do for you?"

He sounded distinctly hostile. This wasn't starting out well at all.

"I was going over my invitation list and I noticed you hadn't
accepted. I know you don't mean it. I'm sure you've been very busy
with your job search and all. I need to finalize the number of guests
for the caterers, so I thought I'd call and ask you to change your
mind," she said in a rush.

"I appreciate the thought, Lois, but I didn't make a mistake. I'm not
going to attend the wedding."

He wasn't going to attend! He was her best friend, how could he not
attend! How dare he treat her like this? Just because she didn't love
him he gets all in a snit!

"Clark! What do you mean you're not going to attend? You're my
best friend! You have to come! I need you!"

"You don't need me, Lois. I doubt you ever did. You told me where
I stood when you asked me to contact Superman for you. You also
know how I feel about you. Do you think I'd *enjoy* going to the
wedding and see you marry another man? I may not be the person
you love but I do have *some* pride." Clark said heatedly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't have
any other way to contact him. I had hoped you would be able to put
our meeting in the park behind you for the sake of our friendship. I
consider you my best friend, Clark. I love you very much, as my best
friend. I want you to help me celebrate my marriage. Clark, you just
have to come." She broke down and cried softly.

*****

'Damn, why does she have to cry?' Clark couldn't abide her crying. 
He was trying to remain angry with her and failing miserably. Since
that day in the park, especially after his visit as Superman, he'd gone
out of his way to avoid thinking about Lois Lane. He was hurting,
and thinking about her only exacerbated that hurt. Hearing her voice
was tearing out his heart. He wanted to be left alone. Why did she
have to call him today? He had sent his response back for a reason. 
He didn't want to go! Couldn't she see that? Knowing Lois, no, she
couldn't see that. All she saw was she wasn't getting her way. She
loved him as a friend, not as a lover. He knew that was the case so
what was his problem? It was obvious to her and he was just being
obstinate not to accept it! It didn't matter what he felt about it or how
he felt about it. He was expected to discount his feelings and do
what she wanted because it made her happy.

At one time, he would have done anything to make her happy. He'd
have torn down mountains for her, rerouted rivers, replanted the rain
forests, anything! All he had wanted was to be loved for the man he
was. She didn't love the man he was, she loved the man he'd created. 
She didn't even know the man he'd created, for God's sake! She
loved him because he was good and kind! A dog is good and kind
but she wouldn't want to marry one, at least he hoped not. If she was
looking for good and kind in a man she loved, what was she doing
with Luthor? If anyone was the antithesis of good and kind it was
Lex Luthor. Even if he wasn't a criminal, and Clark knew he was
despite having no proof, a billionaire didn't get where he was in life
by being kind.

This introspection was getting him nowhere, however. She was still
crying. In fact, the crying had become more intense the longer he
took to respond. It looked like it was time to swallow his pride one
more time and give his 'friend' what she wanted.

"Lois, don't cry. I'll come to the wedding," he said, resignedly.

He heard sniffing on the other end of the line. "You will?"

"Yes, Lois, I will. We're friends. We've been good friends for a long
time. You're right. I should be there to share my friend's happy day. 
Wipe your tears, you wouldn't want your husband-to-be to find you
crying, would you?" he asked.

"No, Clark, I wouldn't. Thank you, Clark, thank you very much!"
she said, happily.

"You're welcome, Lois. I'll see you next Saturday, OK? I'll be there,
don't worry. I need to go now, I've got an appointment in half an
hour," Clark said. He just wanted this call to end.

"Sure, Clark. Thanks again. I'll see you next Saturday."

He hung up the phone, set it on the coffee table and plopped on the
couch wearily. Lying down he pulled a pillow under his head and
stared at the ceiling. Why had he agreed? He didn't want to see Lex
Luthor ever again if he could help it. Now he'd have to sit through a
wedding service watching him marry the woman he loved. It was
going to be torture, but when had his love for Lois not been torture? 
>From the very beginning, she'd put him down and told him not to
bother her. His love for her had always been unrequited. It didn't
matter, he could *never* say no to her. He might as well suck it up
and do what she wanted. He could survive for an hour, couldn't he? 
Sure he could. He'd go to the service, he could do that. He'd told her
he'd attend the wedding and he would. He would *not* attend the
reception, though. No way could he suffer through hours of seeing
her dancing gaily with her husband, kissing and laughing the whole
time.

His mind made up, he floated off the couch and spun into the Suit. It
was time for a patrol anyway; maybe catching some criminals would
take his mind off his troubles. Yeah, right!

*****

The morning of the wedding Lois was a wreck. She'd moved most of
her personal items from her apartment to the penthouse and now she
was in the process of getting dressed. People were scurrying around
like ants in a broken ant hill, running this way and that, taking care of
last minute details and making sure everything was ready. Lois
laughed wryly, thinking that the marriage of Charles and Diana
didn't have this many people involved!

Now she was completely dressed, her veil on her head, and as she
stood looking herself over in the full-length mirror, even she had to
admit she looked beautiful. She should, considering the cost of the
gown! It was handmade by the top designer in Europe and flown
here on a private plane to make sure it didn't get 'misplaced.' Leave
it to Lex to think of everything.

As she looked herself over, she started to feel nervous, a typical
situation for a bride, she was sure. Unbidden, she started to practice
variations of her new name to test out how they sounded.

"Lois Luthor."

"Lois Lane-Luthor."

"Lois Luthor-Lane."

"Lois Lane-Kent."

'Whoa! Where did that come from? Come on Lois, don't start that
now! You don't love Clark, you told him you didn't less than a
month ago! You're just having cold feet, nerves, that's all it is. 
You're in love with Lex, he's a wonderful man. He chose you of all
the women in the world he could have chosen! You're going to be
married and live a wonderful life with a wonderful man! Now
straighten up and fly right!'

>From outside the door a voice called, "Five minutes, Mrs. Luthor!"

Five minutes and she'd be Mrs. Lex Luthor. She turned and headed
to the door.

*****

She stood outside the doors to the chamber where everyone who was
anyone was seated, waiting for her to make her appearance. At the
first strains of the 'Wedding March' she strode forward. The doors
opened automatically and she started the procession down the aisle. 
The room was packed! There were so many people, most of whom
she didn't know. They were probably friends and associates of Lex
or the 'beautiful people' with whom he associated.

As she moved slowly down the aisle, her eyes scanned the crowd
looking for a familiar face. Just a few steps into the room she saw
Perry and Alice. Next to them were Jimmy Olsen and Jack Brown. 
Before she could get upset, she saw him sitting one row ahead. Clark
had come! He hadn't wanted to, but she'd made him feel so guilty
that he'd finally relented. He didn't look very happy, of course,
given his feelings, that was understandable. Maybe once he saw her
married to Lex, he'd move on with his life. Suddenly she felt an
emptiness in the pit of her stomach when she thought of Clark and
another woman. Why would that be? She didn't want Clark so why
didn't she want what she had for him? He was her best friend after
all, didn't she want *him* to be happy?

As she walked down the aisle, she thought of all the fun times she'd
had with Clark. Sitting on his sofa, watching movies or working on
stories. Playing Scrabble in the honeymoon suite at the Lexor. 
Dancing with him at the Kerth ceremony. She'd enjoyed all those
times immensely. She'd enjoyed his company immensely as well,
and she'd hoped they'd be able to get together periodically in the
future as well. That wouldn't be possible if Clark got a job out of
town, as looked to be the case, since he wasn't looking for anything
here in the city.

She was probably being unrealistic anyway. She couldn't see Lex
letting her go to Clark's alone, that's for sure. Inviting Clark to come
to their place wouldn't work either. If Clark wouldn't work for Lex
he certainly wouldn't socialize with him! No matter what happened
after today her friendship with Clark was going to change
dramatically. And right or wrong that bothered her more than she
wanted to admit. She really hadn't given any thought to what her
marriage would mean to their friendship. She had to be an idiot not
to think that marriage, for either of them, wouldn't affect how they
lived and their friendship.

As she got closer to the bishop ­ no, correct that, the archbishop ­
who was to marry them, she thought of their meeting in the park that
day and she wished he hadn't declared his love. It had made her
uncomfortable and brought out feelings that she didn't want to face. 
She didn't love Clark like that. Better to stay friends, best friends, but
friends only. A romance with Clark wasn't in the cards. Besides,
she'd loved Superman, though she'd recently come to accept that it
was really only infatuation. Since he didn't want her, she'd accepted
the proposal of the man who had wanted her. She'd have a nice life;
she'd be able to go behind all the doors that had been closed to her,
she'd move on into this new phase of her life enthusiastically.

She arrived at her place next to Lex, turned and smiled at him. The
next few minutes were a blur for her and before she knew it the
archbishop was introducing them to the assemblage as Mr. and Mrs.
Lex Luthor. They turned and headed down the aisle to the reception
room across the hall. She tried to catch Clark's eyes on her way out,
but he had his head down and while she wasn't sure, she thought she
saw his shoulders shake slightly—but that could have been her
imagination. She saw Perry lay his hand on Clark's shoulder and
squeeze. There wasn't time to see much more as they swept past her
friends and out the door.

*****

Clark sat at home later that day thinking about the wedding he'd
attended. Lois had looked so beautiful in her white gown and veil. 
She'd caught his eye when she walked down the aisle; he'd noticed
the smile on her face got a little wider when she saw him. He'd kept
his promise to her. He'd told her he'd attend and he had, he just
didn't have to be happy about it.

The further she'd moved down the aisle, the more he felt his hopes
fade away. As they said their vows, he could barely hear them over
the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. When she said 'I do,'
that was the most painful point in his life, even more painful than the
Kryptonite exposure that time in Smallville. He didn't even see her
walk out of the room on the arm of her... husband. Just saying the
word 'husband' when referring to Lois was hard, he'd had his head
down and had been valiantly trying to hold back the tears and failing
miserably. He'd really appreciated Perry's gesture of comfort. He
didn't know if he would have been able to hold back the tears
without his support.

Once the crowd cleared out, he'd got up and headed to the elevators
and home. He'd promised her he'd attend the wedding, but there
was no way he'd put himself through the reception as well. A man
could only take so much. Perry and Alice had tried to convince him
to stay, as had Jimmy and Jack, but he'd begged off pleading a
headache. He knew he was fooling no one with that excuse, but they
were too polite to call him on it. Now he was home on a Saturday
afternoon with nothing to do. It was even quiet in the city, so there
was nothing for Superman to do either. He'd watch some
meaningless game on television and then go out for a patrol of the
city later; hopefully there would be something to take his mind off
his troubles.

*****

Martha Kent was cleaning her kitchen one afternoon when her phone
rang. "Hello!"

"Hi Mom, it's me."

"Clark, it's good to hear from you! How are you doing and when are
you coming for supper!" Martha said excitedly as she finished
wiping her hands.

"Mom, slow down! I was just there Friday night! I'll be over again
this Friday as well, if that's OK with you."

"You have to ask?"

"No, I know I don't. Anyway the reason I called is I have kind of
good news."

"Oh, tell me, tell me!"

"I have an interview tomorrow with the Chicago Tribune. You
remember, I told you I'd sent them my resume?" he reminded her.

"Yes Clark, I remember, that's great! Wait 'til I tell your father." She
paced the kitchen in her excitement. She was so glad; he needed
some good news to offset all the bad things that had been happening
in his life.

"Well it's not a done deal yet, Mom," Clark said quietly. "I still have
to get through the interview."

"Oh Clark, you'll wow them! Just don't use that 'mating rituals of
the knob tailed gecko' piece in your portfolio this time!"

"Mom! I'll never live that down, will I?" he asked, embarrassment
creeping into his voice.

"No, son, that wasn't one of your better decisions, although it was a
very interesting piece. What time is your interview and who are you
seeing?"

"My appointment is for ten am with John Barron, the editor-in-chief. 
I think he knows Perry, so I expect to hear some Elvis stories. 
Though not too many, I hope!"

"You keep that man on topic, Clark! Don't let him distract you from
selling yourself and what you can do for that paper," she told him
sternly.

"I won't Mom, don't worry," he chuckled. "If this works out I'll be a
lot closer to you guys. It will make it easier to come up with excuses
to visit more often and to get time off to help with the harvest. I
wouldn't have to stretch the truth about going to see you over a
weekend. You know how I always hated telling stories to Perry."

"Yes, dear, I do. While I know you'll miss Metropolis, I'm sure you
would be happy in Chicago as well," she said offering
encouragement to her son.

"There isn't much to tie me to Metropolis any more, Mom. Of course
I'll have to keep up my Superman activities here, at least for a while,
so no one becomes suspicious."

"Yes, I suppose you will. It wouldn't do for anyone to associate
Clark Kent moving out of town with Superman doing the same,
that's for sure! Well, good luck, sweetie. Call us right after the
interview, you hear!"

"I will Mom. Say hi to dad for me. I'll call you tomorrow, who
knows, if I have good news I may stop by."

"That would be wonderful. I'm sure you'll have good news. I'll bake
an apple pie today so you'll have something to look forward to when
you get here," she said, her enthusiasm carrying to her son through
the telephone lines.

*****

Clark hung up the phone and walked to the kitchen to brew some
tea. He pulled a mug from the cabinet and filled it with water. He
grabbed some Oolong tea from the canister and put it in the water as
well. Training his heat vision on the mug for a few seconds soon had
the water at the right temperature and he took the cup back to the
living room to steep. While he waited for the tea, he picked up his
address book and looked up a number. He picked up the phone and
dialed. After two rings a familiar voice came on the line.

"Hello, Perry White."

"Hi Perry, it's me, Clark!"

"Clark! It's good to hear from you, son! How are you doing?" Perry
asked.

"I'm OK Chief. I'm hanging in there. How are you and how is
Alice?"

"I'm bored to tears, to tell you the truth, but Alice is happy. For the
first time in thirty years she knows I'll be home on time for supper!"
Perry chuckled.

"I'm glad at least one of you is happy, Perry. What are you going to
do now, play more golf?"

"Probably, but I'm also looking into working on the local weekly
paper part time. It doesn't pay much, but I don't need the money, I
need the activity. The current editor was kinda surprised when I
talked to him about working there but he seemed really pleased by
my interest in his paper. I think things will work out well for both of
us."

"I'm glad Perry. I didn't think you would remain retired too long.
You're just too young to spend all day basking in the sun. I do have
an ulterior motive for this call, Perry. I'd like to ask you to be a
reference for my job interview tomorrow," Clark said.

"You have an interview! That's great, son! Who's it with?" Perry
asked.

"John Barron, of the Chicago Tribune."

"Good old John! I haven't talked to him in a month of Sundays! We
were in Vietnam together you know," Perry said.

"No, I didn't know that, Chief. I assumed you might know him
though, you have contacts all over. What can you tell me about him
that might help at the interview?" Clark asked.

"He likes his reporters to work independently. He's not big on
partnerships, especially not permanent ones like you and Lois. He's
fair with his people and he's all business, almost a stuffed shirt at first
glance, but he's not really. I don't think you'll have a problem with
the interview, Clark. You have a good track record and your Kerth
win is a real feather in your cap. My biggest advice is to leave that
knob tailed gecko piece home!" Perry laughed.

"Perry! You too?" Clark laughed. "My mom told me the same
thing!"

"I knew your mother was a smart woman! You listen to that lady, ya
hear!"

"Yes sir! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Perry, I really want this
job. I need to start clean, and getting out of Metropolis is a good first
step at doing that."

"You know, that reminds me of the time the King went on tour after
breaking up with the Colonel..."

Clark picked up his tea and sat back on the couch. This was going to
be a *long* conversation.

*****

The next morning found Clark sitting in the office of John Barron,
editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune. He looked to be about 55
years old, with thick, dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He wasn't
quite as tall as Clark, probably 5'11" and he looked to be about 200
pounds. Barron's office was very different from Perry's. The office
was lined with dark oak paneling and contained only one window, to
the left of the desk. A thick burgundy carpet covered the floor. 
Ansel Adams photographs and other nature scenes by prominent
artists decorated the walls. There were a few small personal
photographs showing John in hunting gear in front of a large buck
and others of friends and family.

John Barron was seated behind his desk with Clark's resume and
portfolio articles spread out in from of him. Clark was seated in a
large leather covered wing chair, wearing his best charcoal-colored
suit, trying to exude confidence and poise.

"I'm very impressed, Clark. Your portfolio is superb and your being
last year's Kerth award winner doesn't hurt either! I'm just sorry that
the only reason I'm even getting a crack at you is because the Daily
Planet is gone. I still have a hard time believing it. It was a sad day
in the newspaper business when the Daily Planet stopped
publishing."

"Yes it was, sir. I'd wanted to work there from the time I became
interested in journalism. I really learned a lot from Perry, and my
other colleagues at the Planet as well."

"Perry is a good man, you couldn't have learned from anyone better. 
Speaking of colleagues, I see your old partner just got married!"
Barron leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk, his eyes
sparkling.

Clark swallowed noisily and gathered his composure. "Yes, she did. 
The newspaper business won't be the same without her." Clark sat
back in his chair a bit, his enthusiasm for the interview dulled at
being reminded of Lois and how he'd never work with her again.

"You haven't gotten lazy working with a partner all that time, have
you, Kent? I don't do that kind of thing very often, though it did
seem to work for Perry in your case." Barron's eyes squinted a bit,
examining Clark with greater scrutiny.

"No, Sir. Lois and I had an equal partnership. We each pulled our
weight, but we also worked independently. I have no problem
working without a partner, in fact I'm looking forward to it," he said,
shaking himself out of his funk. It wouldn't be good to blow the
interview now.

"Glad to hear that, Kent. I'm not looking for someone who needs
constant attention," he said sternly.

Wanting to get back on a more positive footing, Clark sat up
straighter in his chair and continued, "Of course not, sir, I'm very
independently motivated. Give me an assignment and get out of my
way. I hope you don't mind if I suggest a line of investigation
periodically. I get some of my best scoops just digging around. My
Kerth winning story came about that way."

"Not at all, Clark, I appreciate initiative in my reporters. From what
Perry told me about you, you have that in spades. He did warn me
that you have a habit of disappearing, though. Of course, he said
there was usually a great story involved when that happened. I can
deal with that as long as it doesn't happen too often, understand?"

"Yes Sir, I understand." Clark made a mental note that he'd have to
be more circumspect in his Superman duties if he got the job.

"Now that we've got that settled, welcome to the Chicago Tribune,
Clark, you start Monday!"

"Thank you very much Mr. Barron, I'm really looking forward to
working with you!"

And please call me John. Everybody here does." He stood up and
extended his hand in welcome.

Clark stood as well, shaking the extended hand. "OK John, I'll see
you Monday! Thanks again!"

Clark picked up his portfolio and made his way to the elevator. On
the ride down he experienced conflicting emotions. He was elated
that he'd been hired at such a prestigious institution, but that elation
was tempered with the realization that his last tie to Metropolis was
now gone. He'd loved Metropolis, it had felt like home from the
moment he'd set foot in the city. It had become more and more
comfortable as his relationship with Lois grew. Now it felt like his
home was gone and he was adrift. Lois was married, having just
returned from her around the world honeymoon according to all the
papers. Of course the Planet was gone, the only paper he'd wanted
to work for and where he'd honed his journalistic skills no longer
existed. If he didn't have his mom and dad, his whole support
structure would be gone. He sighed heavily and straightened his
back. It was time to look forward. Time to put Metropolis and Lois
Lane behind him.

*****

Clark opened the door to the kitchen and stuck his head in. "Mom! I
got the job!"

Martha ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Oh sweetie, that's
wonderful! I told you you'd get the job! That editor would have
been stupid not to hire you!" She pulled him into a hug and kissed
him lovingly on both cheeks.

"Thanks Mom, you're right I suppose, but I'm still glad that
interview is over. I start Monday morning."

"If you don't mind my asking, did you get a raise?" Martha asked.

"Actually, I did. Also the cost of living is a bit less there than in
Metropolis it works out even better in my favor."

"Well that's great sweetie. I'm proud of you. Why don't you head
out to the south field and tell your father. You can have a nice talk
while I get lunch ready. Tell your dad that lunch will be ready in half
an hour, OK?"

"Great, Mom, see you later."

Clark made his way slowly to the south field. He saw his father atop
the tractor and waved him to a stop.

"Clark! You got the job?" Jonathan asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Dad. Isn't it great!"

"It sure is, boy. I'm proud of you. Of course I knew you'd do well. 
That editor would have been a fool not to hire you," he said proudly.

"That's what mom said too, Dad. I'm just glad it's over. I know I'm
going to miss Metropolis and my old friends, but this is a new phase
in my life and I plan to take advantage of it. Oh, before I forget, Mom
said that lunch will be ready in half an hour, we should probably
start heading back."

"OK, hop on the tractor, we can talk on the way," he said, and
putting the tractor in drive, Clark and his father headed toward the
house and lunch.

*****

Clark had given his landlord notice when the Planet closed, so he had
no problem terminating his lease. His landlord had told him he was
sorry to lose him as a tenant. Clark had always paid his rent on time
and was the quietest tenant he'd ever had. Clark was sorry to leave
as well. He'd had a lot of good times in this apartment. He'd miss
the private balcony off his bedroom a lot. He'd have to really search
carefully for an apartment in Chicago to find one that suited his
Superman requirements as well as this one had.

Clark started the process of packing his things in boxes but his heart
wasn't in it. He had made arrangements for a storage facility in
Chicago so he'd have a place to keep his things while apartment
hunting. He picked up the first box and started to clear off a shelf of
books. There were volumes he'd collected from around the world. 
He'd read each one numerous times, enjoying them more with each
reading. His favorite was a volume of Chinese poetry he'd picked up
in Lanzhou.

Lanzhou was an interesting place. It sat near the geographic center of
the country but was far from a modern city. Once you got outside of
the main part of town you were in the wilds of China. He'd met
some wonderful people and spent some happy days there. As he put
the book in the box he thought of the last time he'd read it. He grew
sad as he realized the last time he'd read this book was five months
ago. The circumstance was really what saddened him. Lois had seen
the book on the shelf and had picked it up. Noticing the book was in
Chinese she had asked him to read some passages to her.

Thinking he'd make some points he picked out a couple of love
poems. Lois had seemed to enjoy them, based on her slight smile and
dreamy expression. He'd seen an opportunity as he caught her gaze
with his heated one. He had thought she might be responding to him
when her facial expression changed dramatically. Where she had
seemed to be leaning toward him her direction reversed quickly. She
sat back farther on the couch and placed her hands in her lap, looking
uncomfortable. Whether it was a result of her discomfort, or merely
coincidence, Lois left soon after.

Clark sighed heavily. He was not going to get anything done if he
kept this up. There were too many things that reminded him of Lois
and the good times they'd had. If he went off on a tangent each time
he packed something it would be months before he got finished. 
Gathering his thoughts and feelings, he decided that packing slowly
was not the best thing for his emotional well-being. He started
moving at super speed, becoming a blur, and thirty seconds later all
his things were packed and stacked in the center of the room.

The down side of packing quickly was he now had nothing to do for
the rest of the day. He couldn't begin moving his things until after
dark and it wasn't even noon! He looked mournfully around the
apartment. This apartment had been his first permanent place since
he'd left Kansas. Before coming to Metropolis, he'd never had a place
he could call his own. He'd had to move every few months to avoid
suspicion after his 'secret' rescues became noticed. All the things
he'd collected from around the world had been stored at the farm
where he couldn't enjoy them easily, and now they were at his
fingertips.

It wasn't just the apartment that made this place feel like home. 
>From the moment he'd set foot in the city, something about
Metropolis had called to him. When he'd first seen the globe over the
entrance of the Daily Planet, his heart had warmed and calm had
settled over his soul. He just knew his wandering days were over. 
He'd found the place he wanted to be. The feeling only deepened
when Lois had burst into Perry's office that day.

He'd met many beautiful women from around the world, of course. 
None of them had affected him like she had. The feeling he'd had of
finding his other half made his relationship with Lois difficult. How
could she *not* feel what he felt? No matter how much he had tried
to fight the attraction he had for her, he couldn't! He had been drawn
to her, to his great regret. His irrational behavior had caused him to
do things he'd considered, upon further reflection, to be quite
pathetic. It had caused him to 'romance' her as Superman when
doing that was the *worst* thing he could have done.

Every time he had visited her as Superman, he had undermined any
potential feelings she might have had for Clark. He had seen the
admiration and devotion in her eyes when Superman paid attention
to her. It got worse when he'd had the opportunity to fly with her! 
When he had seen her as Clark after she'd flown with Superman, he
had seen how the experience had affected her. Her demeanor was
distracted for hours afterward. His efforts to engage her in any
meaningful work-related discussions had been met with frustration
on her part. While he may have been imagining things, he'd gotten
the distinct impression that he was bothering her, and she resented
his presence.

No matter what he had done to get Lois to see Clark as a possible
romantic interest, his visits to her as Superman undercut them. He
had known that then, just as he knew it now. His inability to control
the urge that had made him continue to see her as Superman was
surely a sign of a flaw in his character. His greatest desire had been
for Lois to love Clark. Each visit to her as Superman weakened that
desire. Didn't that at least suggest some underlying need *not* to
want Lois to love Clark? He was sure a psychiatrist would have a
field day examining this facet of his personality. Maybe his
subconscious was telling him that Lois *wasn't* what he really
wanted. That his attraction to her was actually bad for him, and that
was why he consistently sabotaged his every effort. Deep down in
his heart he knew that was not the case, and it saddened him that his
grief over his loss had led him along that path. No, Lois would
always be his first love, but he sincerely hoped not his only love.

None of this soul searching mattered now. Lois had settled the issue
for him very concretely. Her pointed rejection of his last ditch effort
at conveying his feelings and her subsequent marriage made his
desires moot. He promised himself if he ever became attracted to
another woman, which he sincerely doubted, Superman wouldn't get
anywhere near her! In fact, he would change Superman's demeanor
from now on.

His original plan had been for Superman to be kind but aloof. His
'fatal attraction' to Lois Lane had shot that plan down from the
beginning. He'd acted way too friendly around her and this had
carried over to his interactions with others. Some of this he put down
to feeling his way in his efforts to become the superhero. But, he had
been Superman for about a year now. He was no longer defining the
character. Superman was a known quantity that felt comfortable to
him. All he needed to do now was slowly to cut back on his
interaction with the public. He wasn't going to become an
automaton, but he wasn't going to be quite so open with his feelings.

He felt very sad about leaving the city that had been his home for the
past year, but he felt more positive now that he had a plan to deal
with the transition. He felt the urgent need for some kind of action. 
A patrol seemed like the best thing he could do with his time. He'd
still patrol Metropolis in the future of course, he'd do so to allay
suspicion, the time he'd be able to spend here would lessen, that's all. 
This patrol, however, would be his 'goodbye tour' through
Metropolis; he'd spend extra time just enjoying the city that had
embraced him. While he would always love this city, he looked
forward to this new phase in his life.

*****

Clark spent the rest of the week in Chicago looking for apartments. 
He started out looking for buildings with openings in his price range,
and he further reduced the list by flying over each one and looking
for private areas where he could come and go when he needed to. 
The requirement for privacy really whittled the list down greatly,
and he finally narrowed the choices to two. He made arrangements
to see each of them the next day. The first one had a very disjointed
floor plan and didn't really feel right so he held off on a commitment
and went to see the other one.

The second apartment reminded him a lot of his old place. It had an
open floor plan and one big bedroom, though it didn't have an
upstairs storage area like his old apartment. He'd miss that, but
otherwise this apartment was perfect. It had a private balcony off the
bedroom that opened up onto the back of another building that had
no windows on that side. Since most people wanted some kind of
view, the landlord had more trouble renting this apartment than
others in the building. He even gave Clark a break on the rent since it
had been empty so long. Clark signed the lease immediately and
made arrangements to move in the next day. By the weekend Clark
was fully settled and ready for the challenge ahead.

*****

Martha Kent picked up her telephone and prepared to dial a number. 
She had debated with herself whether she should even make the call
but she felt she should. Just because Clark had a bad experience
didn't mean that she couldn't be polite. Of course some might
consider her nosy, which maybe, she was. Shaking off that thought
she dialed the number and waited.

"Good afternoon. Thank you for calling LexCorp, how may I help
you?"

Martha gathered her courage and said. "My name is Martha Kent. 
I'm a friend of Mrs. Luthor. I wasn't able to attend the wedding but
I'd like to speak to her to convey my congratulations."

"I can't give you her private number but I can connect you to her
secretary, would that be satisfactory?" she asked.

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Martha said and leaned
against the wall as she waited for the receptionist to transfer her call.

"Good afternoon, my name is Ms. Jackson, how may I help you?"

"Good afternoon Ms. Jackson. My name is Martha Kent. My son and
Mrs. Luthor worked together. I'd like to talk to her if I may and
convey my congratulations on her marriage."

"Could you hold, Mrs. Kent? I'll see if Mrs. Luthor is available."

"Thank you Ms. Jackson." It was less than a minute before a voice
came on the phone.

"Martha! It's so good to hear from you!" Lois cried excitedly.

The enthusiasm in Lois's voice pleased Martha. She was glad she'd
decided to make the call. "It's good to hear your voice too, dear. 
Congratulations on your marriage. I'm sorry I haven't called earlier."

"I understand Martha. I was surprised to hear that it was you on the
phone..." Lois paused awkwardly.

"Why is that dear?"

With a catch in her voice, she carefully said, "I-I didn't think you'd
want to talk to me after all that happened with Clark."

Martha heard the sadness in Lois's voice and moved to reassure her. 
"Nonsense! Just because you and Clark had a falling out doesn't
mean I can't talk to you. I told you I considered you a friend when
you visited us last year and I meant that. Clark doesn't determine
who I talk to. He wouldn't do that anyway. What happened was
between you two and no one else."

"I appreciate that, Martha. I had a nice time visiting with you and
Jonathan. I thought our friendship was over now that I'm married,
and I'm so happy that it's not," Lois said.

"I am too, Lois. I saw your itinerary for the honeymoon in the paper. 
So tell me, how was your world tour?"

Lois regaled Martha with the wonders she saw of the world and they
talked about her life since she had returned. The conversation was
interrupted by Ms. Jackson reminding Lois of an appointment.

"I have to go, Martha. I'll have my secretary give you my private
number for next time. Is it OK if I call you?" Lois asked carefully.

Martha smiled at Lois's unease. "Certainly! I'd be upset if you
didn't! Please feel free to call any time you'd like to have a chat. You
take care of yourself."

*****

Monday morning Clark reported to Personnel to fill out his
paperwork and to go through the half day orientation all new
employees were required to attend. After orientation Mr. Barron,
John, took him to lunch where they discussed mostly personal things. 
They talked about Perry a lot, since John had worked with Perry
years ago when they were in Vietnam, and had found him to be a
great newsman and a great person. They swapped stories for most of
the meal but also talked a little business. John wanted Clark to work
with one of his best reporters for his first week until he became a bit
more familiar with the city.

Clark thought this was a good idea, as it would be nice to have a local
person introduce him to the movers and shakers. He was especially
anxious to meet the mayor. The mayor of Chicago was famous, even
in Metropolis, and was known to be a real character. Mayor Richard
J. Daley suffered reporters not at all, and maintained an adversarial
relationship with them. His first mayoral press conference ought to
be fun.

John and Clark got off the elevator in the newsroom and Clark
instantly felt at peace. While this wasn't the Daily Planet, nothing
could ever replace the Planet, it was familiar. The sights, the sounds
and the smells brought back mostly pleasant memories and he was
itching to get started.

The two men walked across the bullpen to the desk of a young
woman who was busily working and hadn't noticed them approach.

"Excuse me, Pam? I'd like you to meet Clark Kent. Clark this is
Pamela Blake."

Pamela stood up and extended her hand in greeting. "Pleased to
meet you Mr. Kent."

Clark saw an attractive woman standing in front of him. She smiled
at him pleasantly; a shy smile that he thought conveyed more than it
should, considering they had just met. He'd have to be careful
around her. The last thing he needed was another romantic
entanglement. However, what he noticed most was that she was the
reporter Superman had met at the warehouse fire a month or so ago. 
"Pleased to meet you too, Ms. Blake."

John broke in to further explain the reason for the introduction. 
"Pam, Clark is our newest reporter; he comes to us with excellent
credentials from the Daily Plan