Seven Seconds
by bakasi <bakasi_dick@hotmail.com>
Rated: GP
Submitted: January 2007

Author's note: Thanks a lot to my wonderful beta-reader
Classicalla. When I first introduced the storyline to her, she
wasn't quite convinced. I was devastated at first, because I
just couldn't change my idea in a way that we both could live
with. So I had to either search for another beta, or rework my
story. I decided to do the latter, which resulted in Lex Luthor
giving Lois a slightly different (and much better, I think)
explanation for Clark's hate. We both considered this as much
better a story and I really hope that you, dear reader, will
enjoy it.

Usual disclaimers apply: I don't own the characters of this
story. It's simply written for fun.

Seven Seconds

Prologue

~ ~ ~
I do not want to see myself
As someone that you saved
I'd rather be your adversary
Than to be your slave
(a-ha - Don't do me any favours)
~ ~ ~

Lois saw Lex staring at his empty hands in disbelief. His eyes
looked over to the abandoned railing, and Lois followed this
gaze. She had felt panic before, but now she feared that she was
going to pass out any moment. The understanding of what had just
happened sank in slowly, dissipating the haze in her mind. The
railing seemed to be bare, missing something now that Clark
wasn't standing there anymore. He was falling! Her Clark was
falling down to the streets of Metropolis with nothing to stop
him but the hard ground!

Clark is going to die, her conscious screamed. No, she thought,
he wasn't. Clark couldn't die. The mere thought was impossible
to bear. She didn't want to accept that things could be over in
just a moment. Clark was too young; how could this be happening?
How? She didn't even hear him scream and no sounds of panic
filled the air, not even hers. She had opened her mouth but no
noise would come out. What should she do? Panic went through her
head. But suddenly her usual reaction to danger kicked in before
she had consciously decided what to do.

"Superman! Superman! Superman!" she screamed as loud and
powerfully as she could.

Again and again she cried out the name of the hero. She had done
it so many times, always for herself, because she had yet again
managed to get in danger. This was the first time she cried
because someone else was in trouble. But why did it have to be
Clark in such a dangerous situation? Was Superman in the city
tonight? No red and blue flash appeared. How long did it take to
fall down about 1000 feet? Was it already too late? Her panic
increased.

She hadn't heard a thud, yet. But did that mean anything?
Weren't the streets down below too noisy? Didn't they cover the
sound? She kept crying for the hero, hoping that he would fly to
her and tell her that nothing had happened to Clark, that he was
perfectly fine.

*Let him be okay, please let him be okay,* Lois prayed silently.
She knew that she was asking for a miracle, but she kept praying
and screaming. She didn't want to lose him. Her heart felt like
being stuck in ice, unable to move. Any warmth that had ever
filled it was vanishing, falling down 1000 feet into
nothingness.

Seconds passed that seemed like an eternity. Superman was
nowhere to be seen, no single fibre of his suit. Was he already
flying away with Clark? Or had what seemed to be so impossible
to her now really happened? Had Clark's life found a sudden and
violent end? With every passing second that was more and more
likely. She closed her eyes as if it would help to shut out
reality. Breathing had become so difficult. Lois didn't want to
breathe, not now that she feared that her partner wasn't going
to ever again take a breath. Her love had perished, she admitted
silently.

"No, please, no," Lois whispered under her breath, getting more
and more desperate. Never had she felt this helpless. She
couldn't do anything but stare into the dark abyss. She had to
accept the cruel truth, but every fibre of her being resisted
acknowledging it. She opened her eyes again with the futile hope
of seeing Superman finally, but he wasn't there. Lois was
paralyzed. She stared helplessly at the dark blue sky, but
couldn't see anything but a few blinking stars. She shivered
with fear and shock until darkness surrounded her comfortingly.
She didn't hear anything, didn't feel anything and stopped
thinking anything.


Chapter 1
~ ~ ~
Come back my darling one,
I'm calling on you,
The road ahead is long,
And I must warn you
(a-ha - Analogue)
~ ~ ~

***3 days earlier***

Clark was freezing for maybe the first time in his life. It
wasn't the cold air of the arctic that sent shivers through his
body. The icy grip of fear had gotten hold of him. She had
accepted Luthor's proposal. Lois had said yes! This was the
worst nightmare he could ever think of. He had feared just that
for some time now but hadn't actually assumed that things would
become so bad. Had he really been that naive? It couldn't be! It
couldn't be because it mustn't be? What a fool he was!

Hours ago she had rejected him, and that still hurt like hell.
He had had his revenge, though, Clark thought bitterly. He had
lied to her about his feelings towards her, when he met her as
Superman. His reaction seemed so childish now, so unreasonable
and so totally unasked for. Why had he done that? He should have
been better than this. He should have been wiser than this.

But Clark knew all-too well, why he had done it: because of his
own damn ego. Superman was him; he was Superman. It was plain
and simple as that, but his ego refused to accept it, always
musing that he was only Clark with a suit as a disguise. It
didn't matter who of the two Lois loved, since they were one and
the same person. That was the reasonable side of him, but his
ego had another opinion. He should love and cherish her, like
she deserved it, regardless if it was Superman or Clark she paid
more attention to. In fact he had assigned all his love and
affection to his Clark persona, totally ignoring that Superman
had to feel the same. And he had expected that Lois would see
through his mist of deceit and make the favoured decision. How
could he be that ignorant?

He couldn't remain silent about his identity, anymore. Lois had
to learn his secret sooner rather than later. Would Lois still
want Superman, when she knew that he was in fact Clark? Maybe
she couldn't imagine living together with Clark. Hadn't she just
told him this earlier? He could also become Superman full time,
for Lois' sake. If she wanted the hero, she could have him. He
could kill Clark and never speak about him again.

Clark noticed that he was trying to kid himself. He couldn't
easily stop being someone he had been his entire life and become
someone who had only existed for about a year now. Superman
didn't have parents; he didn't have friends apart from Lois. He
shared a flat with a reporter - a reporter who earned the money
for him. He even shared parts of his personality with that
reporter. If he stopped being Clark, would that also mean he had
to give up parts of his identity? How one-dimensional was
Superman? And how real would he become if he existed alone?
Would Superman be the same person when he wasn't a part of Clark
anymore?

Was he getting psychotic? He thought about himself as if he were
two persons. This wasn't a good idea and his mother would
definitely tan his hide for such thoughts. Then again, maybe she
wouldn't. After all, 'tanning his hide' would probably cause her
more physical pain than it would cause him. Restlessly Clark
paced through the cold wind of the arctic.

If he became Superman and killed Clark, he would have to depend
on Lois. A man shouldn't rely on a woman to feed him if it
wasn't inevitable. Okay, actually he could do without food, and
he would probably still need clothing even though that would
probably only consist of Superman suits. He had often said to
himself that without the suit, he was just Clark. But sometimes
it would *have* to come off - some activities just couldn't be
accomplished with it on. And what would happen when he *had* to
take the suit off? Would he revert to 'just Clark' again. Would
he never be able to wear regular clothing again? Would he be
stuck in the Superman suit until he died? The mere thought
disgusted him.

Lois had asked Clark if Superman's outfit came off. Well, it did
come off, but the man underneath it wasn't Superman anymore
then. He shook his head. This was so ridiculous; of course he
remained Superman when not wearing the suit. Getting rid of the
hero wasn't as simple as taking his clothing off. Otherwise Lex
Luthor would have found a way to strip his enemy. A brief smile
flashed across his face at the thought, but it vanished almost
immediately.

Clark felt so sad, so tired of thinking about his problem. He
should have known from the beginning that Lois was going to
throw herself at Luthor, when she couldn't get Superman. She had
mentioned the billionaire's proposal soon enough for him to
realize that Lois was walking on dangerous ground.

He had tried to save her as Clark, but that average guy couldn't
save people so easily. For the first time in his short life
Superman had refused to do the rescuing. Why? He should have
been wise enough to recognize this as a mistake that would lead
to a catastrophe.

Clark was so darn good at seeing the mistakes of the people
around him, but he was awfully blind concerning his own. Clark
covered his face with his hands and let out a moan of pain that
intensified slowly, growing into a growl. After the growl it
became a howl, escaping from the depth of his being.

He had howled earlier because of pain and despair. But now it
was more than despair. His feelings were beyond any words of
explanation. His cry was a weak attempt to express the pain, but
it couldn't convey half of it. The pain was torturing him and
refused to pass. But while Clark prayed for relief, he feared
that his pain was the last link between Lois and him. When he
allowed it to fade, he would have lost her forever.

* * *

Lois glanced at her ring. The diamond was sparkling brightly and
filled her apartment with a strangely cold light. It didn't
reach her heart. Would a ring from Superman look just as
impersonal? Did she really want to marry Lex? What would it be
like to be Mrs. Superman instead?

Mrs. Superman. It sounded strange. She whispered the name, but
that didn't make it any better. It wasn't his real name, anyway.
So she might keep her name then. What would she call him?
Superman? Honey? Darling?

Could she call Superman, Honey? The thought was somehow
ridiculous. But it didn't matter, anyway. They weren't going to
have a future. He had told her so. Thinking about it, she really
didn't know him too well. Where did he sleep, for example? Did
he actually need sleep?

Forget Superman, she told herself. He had practically accused
her of being dishonest concerning her feelings for him. How
could he think that? Maybe Superman wasn't that perfect after
all. But she still felt the longing in her heart. Lex might be
the second best choice, but if the first choice wasn't
available, Lex would be best for her.

She would have liked to talk to someone right now. But she
couldn't think of any person who would listen. She couldn't go
to Clark. He would be the best choice, but he wasn't available
anymore. Part of this was her fault, she thought bitterly.
Telling her mother about her lovesickness was a downright weird
idea. She was experienced with divorce and marital arguments,
but that wouldn't help Lois.

Lois sighed. She felt that her friendship with Clark was
breaking apart, and she didn't even know the reason. That
depressed her more than anything. She had lost friends before,
but she had known why. It had been because of a new part of
their life, or because she wasn't seeing them in school anymore.
Or they had had a bad argument about boys or their view of
life.

With Clark it was different. There was no argument she could
blame for this. He just couldn't accept that she was going to
marry Lex. He hated him but had told Lois no good reasons why.
She still heard him growling, "Get into bed with the devil."

That had been all, no explanation why he called Luthor a devil.
She had never thought of him as being able to say things like
that, anyway. He was always so shy. Something had to really
bother him about Lex.

Maybe it was jealousy. Clark had claimed to be in love with her,
but he might be jealous of the rich man he had to compete with.
But there weren't any competitions, Lois thought sadly. She
liked Clark as a friend, but she didn't love him. She had tried
to break it to him gently. Why had he refused to accept this? He
kept being mean instead, accusing her of being shallow.

Get in bed with the devil. He could just as well have said that
she was a prostitute. Marrying Lex was not only about finding a
bed mate. Men didn't understand that, but she had never
considered Clark to be like the other men she knew. She felt now
that she may have been mistaken about that.

Why on earth couldn't Clark accept that Lex would make her
happy? Why did he begrudge her this life? Jealousy couldn't be
the whole reason, could it? Maybe she should ask Lex if Clark
was refusing to tell her something. She was an investigative
reporter for Heaven's Sake. Who could stop her from finding out?
The time of day could stop her, Lois realized. She didn't know
about Lex's sleeping habits, but she was pretty sure that he
didn't want to be called in the middle of the night.

She was sitting on her bed, unable to sleep. She kept looking at
her ring. Lois wasn't tired, not really. Her thoughts kept her
busy, but her back was aching and so she sank down in her
pillows. Lois closed her eyes, more because of habit than the
need to sleep. After several hours she finally drifted to
sleep.

<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lois was dressing herself in something long, black and silky.
She looked in the mirror and liked what she saw. Her hair was
just as it should be. It was soft and slightly curly. Her skin
was a bit tanned, her cheeks were rosy and neither too flushed
nor too pale. The dress was tight where it was supposed to be
tight. The neckline was low cut and emphasized certain assets
without being embarrassingly exaggerated. It was modest and
elegant. Her lips had a soft tone of rose and looked very
tempting, even to her own eyes. Lois smiled at the mirror, when
she heard a knock at the door.

Lois turned away from her reflected image and went over to the
door of her apartment. She opened it and saw Clark's smiling
face.

"Good evening, my love." He bent forward and kissed her softly
but passionately.

His tongue brushed over her lips for a moment but withdrew again
and left her longing for more. She invited him in. Clark
followed her into her apartment and suddenly had a red rose in
his hands.

"For you, darling. But I have to say, this night, that your
beauty makes the rose pale in comparison," he said softly.

"Thank you, Clark." She kissed him again, briefly but intensely
and led him in the living room where she had prepared the table
for an extraordinary candle-light dinner. Three candles were lit
and their warm, glowing light filled the room. The silverware
glistened and the candles reflected in the wine glasses.

They sat down at the table and started dinner. Lois didn't even
notice what she was eating, she just looked at Clark, drinking
in his heart melting smile. He was telling her something amusing
and Lois laughed. But she only had eyes for this fascinating
man. She saw his lips and his dark brown eyes that gave her such
a loving glance. She felt light-hearted and happier than she had
been for years. Being with Clark was so comforting, so safe.

When they had finished the dinner, he took her hand and invited
her to dance with him. He held her tightly against his warm and
firm body. Lois felt the heat between them, and she leaned her
head against his strong chest and Clark placed a kiss on her
hair. Then he trailed kisses down to her forehead, her nose and
finally her lips. His mouth felt warm and silky on her lips.

His tongue slid against her lips, and she opened her mouth. She
welcomed his flickering tongue with her own and felt him
caressing hers softly. He stroked her back and her arms with his
hands and...

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

Lois woke up suddenly and felt a little drowsy. What had that
dream been about? She had been dancing with Clark? Somehow she
still felt him touching her. It had been so pleasant and
comforting. But Clark? She dreamed of Superman and was going to
marry Lex. Clark wasn't part of this game. She didn't love him.
Maybe she had dreamt this because of his declaration.

Her mind was mixing things together that didn't make sense. She
shook her head and sank back into her pillows. But Lois noticed
that the kiss she had dreamt affected her more than she was
ready to admit. She relived the memory over and over again,
though she tried hard to avoid the thought of kissing Clark.
Lois closed her eyes and drifted away again.


* * *

*** 2 days earlier ***

Lex Luthor woke up slowly. It had been a good night, granted by
the knowledge of his victory. He had placed the ring on Lois'
hand. Now he needed to tie her to him forever. He had to do that
carefully. Lois liked her freedom and that was one of the
reasons why it was so challenging for him to trap her.

Someone had said it this way: Put a frog into hot water, and he
will jump out of it right away. Put him into cold water, and
heat it slowly and he will wait until he's boiled. This was the
right recipe to get Lois Lane.

She had to feel admired but safe, desired but respected, but
what was most important was that she needed to think that she
was the one in control. If Lois noticed the trap he was going to
catch her in, she would be dangerous to him. After all, she was
still the best reporter in Metropolis. If she got the slightest
hint that he wasn't the gentleman he claimed to be, she would
hunt him down until he went to prison.

Getting Lois was playing with fire, was walking a tightrope. The
implied danger made it exciting. Lois must not get aware of the
changes in her life. He had to be careful until the day she was
chained to him and completely at his mercy. She would be only
able to breathe when she had his permission.

But there was still an awful lot of work to do. Two enemies had
the power to take her away from Lex. Being her fiance wasn't
secure enough, yet. He needed to await their marriage to be sure
that she was really his.

Superman was one of those foes. As much as Lex liked the
challenge, the hero was going to interfere with his plans. He
had finally outstayed his welcome. Lex had already taken care of
this special problem. The trap for Superman was prepared.

The other enemy was somehow a surprise to Lex. Despite all his
efforts, Kent had never bought the rich philanthropist Lex
pretended to be. Usually he wouldn't consider the average human
being as an enemy. They were inconveniences at best. But the
strange thing about Kent was that he noticed what everyone
including Lois ignored.

Though Lois was the best reporter in town, he was still able to
fool her. With Kent, on the other hand, Lex had always felt
exposed. Kent had shot him those intense, knowing glances. He
had to get rid of that guy. Killing him wouldn't be the best
way, though. Lex felt that he would need this man to intensify
his influence on Lois.

She had mentioned Clark several times, complaining that she did
miss her partner and friend. Kent wanted obviously more than
friendship with Lois. Lex had seen the loving and worshipping
look in the eyes of that fool. Lois was just perfect at ignoring
it, but that didn't leave Kent harmless. Lois needed Kent and if
Lex broke her contact with him too abruptly, he might lose
Lois.

But he needed Kent incapable of being a potential lover and a
future pursuer. At the moment, Kent remained silent and left the
hunting of Lex Luthor to Superman. When Lex killed Superman,
Clark Kent couldn't rely on the hero any more. Perhaps he would
get active on his own then. Lex wouldn't allow him that.

But how exactly was he going to make Kent his personal lap dog?
Lex Luthor was just enjoying plan making, when his telephone
rang.

"Lex? How amazing," Lois said. "This must be about the first
time that I didn't need to deal with your public relations for
hours, just to get to you."

"Things have changed since yesterday, Lois, my darling." Lex
laughed.

"Lex, I need to know why Clark hates you so much," Lois asked,
getting to the point directly.

"I see, this is not going to be a conversation about sweet
little nothings," Lex replied, pretending to be disappointed. In
fact, he had never liked any question better than this. It
provided him with the reason to fill her in with the biggest
lies he had ever told.

"Don't change the topic, Lex," Lois answered with a hint of
annoyance in her voice.

"Lois, I..." Lex hesitated in order to increase her longing to
hear his lie. He wanted her to become less sceptical than she
usually was.

"Lex!" Lois reminded him impatiently to go on.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he said hoarsely. He gave his
voice an extra soft touch, inviting her to dig further. Would he
have spoken with her in his normal manner, she would have been
scared away by the sharpness in his words.

"Lex, please, I need to know the reason. Clark doesn't tell me.
He accuses you of not showing the world your real face, but he
doesn't say what he thinks is the truth."

He had caught her in his trap. She couldn't blame him for
telling her deliberate lies. She had forced him to do so. He
smiled inwardly, but exercised care in using his best sad voice.
He sighed into the receiver, making her notice that he was
giving in involuntarily.

"I have kind of betrayed Clark a long time ago." He let out
another sigh to emphasize his sadness. "I'm not proud of it and
I wish I could undo that. I've asked him for forgiveness so
often. But heaven knows that he cannot forget it." Lex placed a
pause there, giving the words time to sink in. He waited until
Lois said something.

"Oh my! What has happened, Lex?" Lois inquired with a trembling
voice.

"Clark and I met years ago, when he was still living in
Smallville and writing for a local newspaper. One of my
companies that was close to the town needed may attention. Clark
wanted to publish a few articles about the company and me. I
agreed and we met so that he could interview me," Lex said.

"I didn't see any interviews with you in the last couple of
years when I was researching for the interview with you, Lex,"
Lois mentioned, sounding doubtful.

"Well, it was never actually published. I don't know what excuse
Clark found to hide it from his editor." Lex tried to sound as
uneasy as possible. "When I worked in Smallville, I met an
incredible woman there and fell in love with her."

"And Clark loved her, too?" Lois asked.

Lex harrumphed, pretending to be embarrassed. "Yes, she was and
still is his wife."

"What?" Lex could hear her confusion and surprise.

"She didn't tell me that she was married. I was so blind then. I
guess she liked playing in the neighbour's yard. When Clark
noticed that something was going on, she told him that I tried
to seduce her. She cried heart wrenchingly and said that it was
all my fault. She clung to him, pleading him to save her from
me. When it came to it, Clark chose to believe his wife rather
than me. I can't blame him," he said these words hoarsely as if
he were fighting tears.

"See you later, Lex," Lois whispered and hung up.

* * *

Everything tossed and turned inside her head. How could Clark be
married? He had never ever mentioned a wife. Or had he? They had
spoken about being married briefly, when she had asked him what
he would tell his wife when she looked ghastly. Had he really
used the subjunctive? She wasn't so sure anymore.

Why had he claimed that he loved her when he already had a wife?
Did he, too, like to play outside? Had his wife betrayed him
once too often, so that he had stopped caring about the vows?
Did he need her, Lois, as an excuse to get divorced, finally?
But family meant so much to him; she had seen that in
Smallville.

Neither Clark nor his parents had shown any sign that there was
another woman in his life. Hadn't they offered that she and
Clark should sleep in the same room? They surely didn't think
that Clark was immune to seduction, did they?

Lois was confused and everything inside her revolted against
believing Lex. But then, there were all those strange things
about Clark. There were his frequent disappearances with rather
lame excuses. And was he really so tidy or why didn't his
apartment look like a copy of Jimmy's? They were both supposed
to be bachelors, weren't they? Well, unless Clark wasn't.

*You have no proof,* a small voice in the back of her mind
whispered. *You have absolutely no proof for Clark being
married.* The voice belonged to Lois, the investigative
reporter. Lois often listened to that voice and it was rarely
wrong. The disadvantage was that it made her walk on dangerous
ground frequently.

*You have the word of an honourable man,* replied the trusting
Lois. It was just the Lois she sometimes wished to be. This Lois
was able to relax when safe and strong arms embraced her. This
Lois loved Superman, admired Lex Luthor and felt at ease with
Clark, the rock, who offered her shelter in the stormy sea of
life.

Lois disliked both answers, because the two Lois's kept arguing
with each other. Lois the investigative reporter had been
stronger for years now. She was experienced with winning
fights.

But this time the inner battle ended with a compromise. Lois the
investigative reporter had wanted to address Clark directly. She
wouldn't let him escape without a satisfying answer. The
trusting Lois had feared to offend either Clark or Lex. They had
agreed that a marriage needed documents. If Clark was indeed
married, there had to be a paper to proof that.

After she had made this decision, Lois considered the two
possibilities. She didn't think about the likelihood of each,
she just filled them with life.

The first assumption meant that Clark had a wife and Lois didn't
know her. Where did his wife live? In Metropolis? It would be
the usual way for a couple to live in the same city. So maybe
they shared Clark's apartment. But Lois assumed that this wasn't
the case. She had been there often. Unless Clark's wife was
invisible it would be strange that she never happened to be
there.

Another important question was why Clark had kept his marriage a
secret. Was he afraid of not getting enough love affairs if
everyone knew that he had a wife? Lois had seen him rejecting
Cat. She couldn't imagine that someone who looked for sex would
do that. Cat didn't care if her bed mates were married. No, Lois
thought, Clark just wasn't such a man.

Maybe his wife embarrassed him because she had some kind of
mental illness or whatever. But was that really his way of
dealing with problems? Lois didn't know; she rather thought that
was wrong. But extreme situations brought out the best or the
worst character traits.

Maybe Clark was even forced to keep his marriage a secret. Maybe
his wife wanted to betray him more easily. But why didn't he
escape her then? Did he disappear so frequently because she was
controlling every step he took? Was his declaration of love a
cry for help? The mere thought made Lois regret her rejection
instantly.

But there was also the other possibility. Lex was lying. But
why? Because he had something to hide as Clark kept saying?

Lois couldn't really see the point in telling her that Clark was
married when he really wasn't. Why should someone tell her a lie
that was so easily proven wrong to hide anything? On the other
hand, Lex's explanation for Clark's hate sounded so logical.

There was again the trusting Lois speaking. It didn't help to
consider what was wrong or right. Lois needed proof.

* * *

When Clark woke up in the morning, he didn't remember having
returned to his apartment. But somehow he had managed to get
there and was lying in his bed. He was still wearing the suit.
Obviously he hadn't cared too much about undressing himself.
That wasn't really astonishing since he didn't really care about
anything.

The apartment seemed darker than it ever had before. Everything,
including the colours of his suit, was less bright. Of course,
this was just his imagination. Clark knew that. He didn't feel
like getting up; he didn't feel like doing anything but mourning
the loss of Lois. This seemed like more than enough to do for
the coming days. She had been the most precious thing in his
life. Tears weren't enough to express his feelings.

He had lost her. *Lost Lois, lost Lois,* the thought resounded
in his head. But unlike an echo, it didn't fade away but grew
even more intense with every repetition. Clark seemed to drown
in his misery; he was aware that it was his fault that he had
lost her. If he hadn't rejected her, he wouldn't feel so lousy
now. Would this be an ever present pain, or would he learn to
live with it, someday?

At the moment it seemed more likely to last forever. And he
couldn't help but feel that he had perfectly deserved that for
exposing Lois to Luthor. He hadn't saved her, and he didn't know
how he ever could, now that she had accepted the proposal. He
had let her down. She might never have asked for his support and
protection, but he had known that she relied on him.

*Lost Lois, lost Lois, lost Lois,* his conscience repeated the
mantra mercilessly until an ear shattering knock on the door
caused Clark to jump out of his bed. He clutched his hands to
his head involuntarily as someone knocked again.

Clark let out a moan of pain; his head felt like someone had
placed a knife in it. He tried to re-collect his senses to
control his powers. Since he was out of bed, he could also see
who was trying to contact him so violently. He spun out of his
suit and grabbed his glasses.

Clark wasn't dressed accurately. His shirt was turned inside
out; his trousers still gaped open, and he hadn't shaved for
more than twenty-four hours. His hair was a mess with remnants
of hair gel in it in an attempt to wear it in Clark style.
Another knock on his door didn't hurt Clark anymore; his hearing
was under control now. That was about the only thing he managed
to control these days, he thought grimly.

"Hey, C.K., I'm starving. You don't wanna see me die from hunger
right in front of your door, do you? The cops will ask
questions. Open up, big guy!" Jimmy complained after having
waited a long time.

Clark had seen him with his x-ray vision, and he opened the
door, greeting his friend monosyllabically.

"C.K., you look awful. What's the matter with you?" Jimmy asked
when he entered the apartment.

Clark closed the door behind him and didn't reply. He descended
the stairs and walked mechanically into his kitchen. What had he
wanted in the kitchen? He barely remembered. Jimmy wouldn't stop
talking, asking questions or anything. Clark didn't listen. He
hated himself for it, but he just couldn't concentrate on his
friend. He answered with yes, no or maybe to Jimmy's words,
hoping that they would fit in, somehow.

Suddenly Jimmy tapped on his shoulder. Clark awoke from his own
sad thoughts.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Clark, you didn't listen to a word I said. I have just asked
you if we were going to hunt us a zebra, and you said 'yes'.
What is eating you?" Jimmy wanted to know.

"I'm sorry, Jimmy. I didn't mean to be so unfriendly," Clark
said unhappily.

"So what's bothering you, bud?"

"Lois is going to marry Lex Luthor," Clark replied.

"Great shades of Elvis. Does he know what to expect?" Jimmy said
wryly. Then he became serious again. "If Lois thinks that he'll
make her happy, then I guess we should be okay with it."

"You think Luthor will make her happy? He's most definitely the
worst imaginable choice as a husband," Clark exclaimed.

"Do I hear jealousy? Clark, I know she's a great woman. It's
hard to see the rich, good looking guys win, but you have to
accept her choice," Jimmy said.

"I can't watch her running into a disaster of life and do
nothing about it. Luthor is evil. He will put her into a golden
cage and never let her go again. Can you imagine Lois being
trapped like that? She needs her freedom; she will wither like a
flower without water when Luthor gets her."

"Aren't you exaggerating things there a bit?" Jimmy asked
cautiously.

"I'm not exaggerating," Clark blurted out. "I know Luthor better
than almost anybody in this whole big city. He's not the nice
guy he pretends to be."

"So you say Lois is in danger. Why don't you go and save her?
The girls fall for those knights in shining armour on their
white horses."

"I tried, but I blew it, somehow. She doesn't want me the way I
am."

"Still that Superman obsession?" Jimmy asked sympathetically.
"What can I say? The girls always want the rich and good-looking
guys. You and I, we have no chance." When Jimmy realized what he
had just said, he blushed. "Not that you're not good-looking,
Clark."

"It's okay, Jimmy." Clark tried to smile but failed.

"Hey, what do you think? Let's go out tonight and enjoy
ourselves until we're completely drunk." Jimmy offered.

Clark shook his head. "Alcohol won't help me in any way. Someone
has to convince Lois that Luthor is a bad choice," he said
thoughtfully. "Maybe Superman will be able to do that."

"Not just anyone, Clark - you! My mother always says that you
shouldn't wait for someone else to do your work. If you want it
done, do it yourself. You can't hope that Superman will help you
with the nasty job of getting Lois away from her fiance because
maybe he won't do it."

Jimmy was right. Though Clark knew that Superman would do
whatever was needed, maybe this fight against Luthor was
Clark's, not Superman's. The villain hadn't exactly taken
Superman's woman. It might have been a major reason for Luthor's
sudden interest in Lois, but she was and had always been Clark's
girl. It was his task to save her.

"Okay, what do you think? I prepare breakfast and you tell me
what you're going to do about Jack," Jimmy said.

"I don't need to eat," Clark muttered.

"What?"

"I'm not that hungry, Jimmy."

* * *

Lois was sitting at her desk in the modern newsroom of LNN. She
trying to read a press release, but she just couldn't
concentrate on a word. She had been stuck on the same paragraph
for over ten minutes now. Once she had read it, she tried to
remember what it was about, but she couldn't. After the tenth
time reading it, she still hadn't been able to comprehend the
text.

Instead, she was thinking about Clark. Who could she ask to find
out if he was married? Even if Jimmy had been available at this
place, she couldn't have asked him. Would he spy on his friend?
Lois didn't think so. And what explanation could she give for
her curiosity? Clark wasn't of public interest. She couldn't
claim that she was going to write about him. Everybody in the
city knew that they had been partners.

Wouldn't it look quite odd if she wanted to know about the
marital status of her partner and didn't ask him directly? Yes,
that definitely was a weird situation. Maybe she should find
someone who didn't live in Metropolis. A private investigator
could check it out. She might even choose someone from Kansas.
Lois began to like the idea. She put down the papers in her hand
and turned to her computer.

It took her a few minutes to find a directory of the phone
numbers in Kansas via Internet. Another couple of minutes later,
she had found a private investigator's office close to
Smallville. Lois took the receiver of her telephone and dialed
the number.

"Detectives Harrod and Greene, hi, this is Mary, how can I help
you?" a young woman with a very squeaky voice said when she
answered the phone.

"Hi, this is..." Lois hesitated a moment and considered giving
Mary a false name. "Lois Lane. I want to place an order with
your bosses."

"Wait a moment, I'll give you to one of them," Mary replied.

Lois waited several moments, listening to the music in the
meantime. When it ended, a male voice greeted her. Lois
explained to him what she wanted to know. She gave him some
information about Clark and mentioned that she wasn't sure where
exactly he had married the unknown woman. Lois also asked him to
find Clark's wife if he had one. The whole thing was over in
about ten minutes. The detective had promised to call her back
if he had news. Lois hung up when their conversation was
finished and sighed. She had made the first step.

What was she going to do when she got the results? What was she
going to do if Clark really was married? Lois had an unfamiliar
feeling of loss burning in her chest with the mere thought of
Clark being married. Why was that? She didn't love him; she had
recently told him so. Was she envious because he had found this
person in his life he wanted to grow old with, while she hadn't?
But he was her best friend, and she wanted him to be happy.

Maybe she felt this loss because his being married would mean
that he hadn't been honest with her. It would mean that he had
concealed an important part of his life. Of course she hadn't
told him everything either, but she wouldn't have kept silent
about such an important thing. She still refused to believe that
Clark would actually do that. But if he really had done it, she
was going to lose her friend a second time. She'd lose him even
more completely than what had already happened. Was that
possible?

Lois shook her head. It couldn't actually get worse than it
already was. After being partners with Clark for almost a year,
their professional relationship had grown into a real
friendship. She had seen him almost every day since he had
walked into their newsroom for the first time. They had shared a
hotel room, had fought really smart madmen like Trask and she
had helped him regain his memory.

And now they hadn't talked to each other for days. She didn't
know what was right or wrong. Worst of all was that they had
separated after an argument. How had it been possible to lose
him so totally in just one little moment? The bomb hadn't just
destroyed the building of the Daily Planet; it somehow had
cracked the invisible links between the reporters working for
the newspaper.

Lois hadn't seen Jimmy or Perry either. She didn't know where
Cat was. She had never thought that she'd miss Cat some day, but
she did.

* * *

Lex Luthor was content with his work. He had made a few phone
calls after his conversation with Lois. It was almost too easy
to have Clark's marriage certificate appear in the archive of
Smallville's county office. He had called the office and to his
delight and surprise found a classmate of Clark's who had been
jealous over his success playing football. The amount of money
he had needed to bribe the clerk was ridiculously low.

It hadn't been a challenge for Lex to install those parts of the
trap, so he decided to put some more effort in it. He didn't
want to be bored too soon. Finding a suitable Mrs. Kent was very
amusing. Lex had paid special attention at this task. Maybe his
effort was wasted on the guy. He was quite sure of a quick
victory and sighed at the thought. Mr. Kent would surely be
devastated when he found out that he was reportedly married.
When he became acquainted with his wife, he would be crushed.

Lex allowed himself to smile at the thought. Fighting Kent would
be an awfully brief pleasure, but none-the-less enjoyable. It
provided him with a foretaste of his battle with Superman. The
Man of Steel would struggle a bit longer to win over his enemy,
but he would also perish into nothingness. It was somehow sad to
lose a worthy adversary, but killing Superman was an inevitable
step on his way. Lex would stop for a moment and thank the hero
for being an interesting challenge for him. Then he would go on
and never look back.

"You've asked for me," a woman's voice interrupted his
thoughts.

"Ahh, Mrs. Cox. I've got a paper here, and I'd like you to place
it in Mr. Kent's apartment when he goes out. Would you please be
so kind?"

"With pleasure, Mr. Luthor." The assistant smiled broadly. There
was something demonic and cunning about her smile that Lex had
always loved to see.

* * *

Jimmy had convinced Clark to leave his apartment by telling him
how badly Jack was doing in prison. It wasn't a lie, but Jimmy
had exaggerated things a lot. Clark noticed this as he sat in
front of the younger man and studied his face. Jack hadn't cried
as Jimmy had claimed, but his face was pale and lined with
hopelessness.

"Do you really think you can get me out of here?" Jack asked,
making it perfectly clear that he didn't believe that he could.
"Luthor has put me into this prison and he won't let me out of
it."

"I know, Jack," Clark said hoarsely, "but someone has to stop
him. So far, you're about one of the only other people in this
city who sees him for who he really is."

Jack stated wryly, "That's gonna help. Sorry, Clark, but that
guy is way too rich and way too powerful to stop, even for
Superman."

Clark nodded. "Yes, Superman won't be able to stop him without
betraying his own ideals. We can't arrest Luthor because we have
no proof that he destroyed the Planet, but I'm going to find it.
And I will save Lois."

"What's Lois gotta do with it?" Jack asked.

"She will marry Luthor if I can't stop him soon enough."

"Boy, you've got a problem!"

"You can say that again, Jack." Clark sighed.

The now familiar feeling of being helpless and desperate again
took hold of Clark. It had cost him an awful lot of effort to
just leave his apartment. But for Jack's sake he had managed to
do it. What was he good for if he couldn't help his innocent
friend? What could he do against Luthor? That man was so good in
hiding that not even the police suspected him of being
responsible for any crimes. He had been trying for a year to
stop the madman, but he hadn't made a single step in the right
direction. Why should it be different now?

"Boy, you've got a problem!" Jack repeated and interrupted
Clark's thoughts for a moment.

Clark leaned back in his chair and covered his face with his
hands. He breathed in and out, trying to get out of this inner
trap of despair. He concentrated on the task like he did when he
prepared for one of his rescues. Clark wanted to sort his
problems out and note them down on a mental list. What came
first?

How much time do you have? He didn't have the faintest idea how
much time he had left. Clark knew very well that as soon as Lois
wore the wedding ring on her finger, it would become much more
difficult to pursue the enemy. When he finally managed to reveal
the real Luthor to the world, his wife would be one of the
suspects as well. Clark had sworn himself to protect her and not
let her get into trouble with the police. Okay, he had found his
first assignment. Find out more about the wedding.

He felt Jack's eyes on him, watching him anxiously. Jack
obviously feared that Clark wouldn't dare to fight against
Goliath. But Clark wasn't going to run away. He laid his hands
back in his lap and watched Jack with the stern look he usually
wore when he was Superman.

"I've got to find out which day Luthor has scheduled his
marriage with Lois," Clark said, breaking the silence.

"Do you really think you will be able to stop Luthor on your
own?" Jack asked doubtfully. "You know that this isn't a battle
of strength but a battle of the mind."

"And I'm not smart enough, huh? I have no idea, Jack, if I will
be able to hunt him down. But Luthor has no idea who's going to
be his worst foe either. I've gotta go."

"I wish you luck, bud, and I somehow think you're gonna need it
even more than I do."

"Thanks, Jack. Is there anything else I can do for you now?"
Clark asked, turning to Jack as he was leaving.

"Maybe you can ask Superman if he's going to get me out of
this," Jack replied.

"Jack!" Clark admonished him.

"I can at least give it a try." Jack laughed as he saw Clark's
shocked expression.

Clark said good-bye to Jack quickly and turned to leave the
visitors area of the prison. A guard opened the door for him,
and he left the depressing coldness of those walls.

*I will get you out of this, Jack.* Clark promised silently.
*I've been watching Luthor long enough without stopping him. It
won't go on that way.*

* * *

Chapter 2
~ ~ ~
I will never bring you down,
I will always stick around,
I will heat you when you're cold
(a-ha - Dragonfly)
~ ~ ~

The sunlight greeted him when Clark got out of the Metropolis
Juvenile Detention Centre. He was still concentrated on his
task. What would be the second step? His father had taught him
how to manage seemingly impossible things. Years ago, when he
had been a boy and hadn't developed most of his powers yet, they
had planned to build a barn on their land. Clark had thought
this was impossible. He hadn't understood how his father could
dare to do that. The task seemed too big; he didn't even know
where to start.

Jonathan had explained to him that Rome wasn't built in a day.
It wasn't necessary to make the barn appear in a wink. They
would separate the whole big task into a lot of minor ones, each
easy to manage. They worked day after day, and the building
looked more and more like a barn until they were finally
finished.

Clark had used his father's advice to manage controlling his
every power. And he still used it when he thought that even a
Superman was too weak and small to do the rescue that lay before
him. So Clark considered what his second step would be. * Find
help.* He would look out for allies in this fight. He wouldn't
endanger them voluntarily, but he would find help.

Help was always an important thing even for Superman. Whenever
Clark had approached a disaster, he had searched for the medical
staff and for the fire-fighters. They were more important than
him. Without them he often would have been no help to the
victims. He flew them out of danger, but saving their life, that
was what the physicians and nurses did.

But who was going to help him? Clark needed proof as to the
evilness of Lex Luthor. Witnesses would be useful to bring him
to court. But while Clark was pretty sure that there were people
who had witnessed Luthor's crimes, he feared that none of them
would tell anything.

They were criminals themselves, and that was certainly a reason
to remain silent. The other reason was that they feared Luthor's
revenge. Even in prison, the man would be powerful. So he would
need assistance from the police. Inspector Henderson might be
the right person to ask.

Clark made the second note on his mental list. Where should he
start his investigation? The answer was obvious: It had all
started at the Planet. Maybe he would find something there. The
building was the third note on the mental list. With a little
bit of super-help, Clark hoped to work through his list easily.

The first step was likely to be the easiest. Luthor was vain; he
would want everyone to know when the marriage was going to
happen. The fact that Clark didn't know yet was more because he
had refused to find out than because Luthor had kept it a
secret. He searched for the nearest newsstand to buy a
newspaper. Lex Luthor would definitely have told the press when
he was going to marry.

The answer shocked him, though he wasn't too surprised. Within
three days he had to find enough evidence to imprison Luthor for
the rest of his life. He glanced at his watch. It was noon. He
had 70 hours left; he should get started then. Clark turned in
the direction of the police station where Henderson worked.

* * *

Mrs. Cox had parked her car close to Clark Kent's apartment. She
had watched Kent leave his apartment and remained in her car
waiting to see if he would be returning anytime soon. Since he
was no longer employed he didn't have to go to his job. Mrs. Cox
smiled to herself. She liked seeing the Planet destroyed and
devastated. She had enjoyed the desperate look in the employees'
eyes as the Planet had faced insolvency. The despair had faded
for a moment when Luthor had seemingly saved their jobs. But it
had returned and even increased when it was definitely clear
that Metropolis' most famous newspaper was vanquished.

She had enjoyed all that very much though she couldn't
understand Luthor's reasons. Had he done it just for fun or to
demonstrate his powers, it would have been understandable, but
he had done it because of Lois Lane. Mrs. Cox hated the weak
woman Lex was chasing after. Lois Lane didn't deserve Lex. She
would never honour his talents, his brilliancy and ruthlessness.
Lois Lane didn't see Lex for who he really was; she couldn't
admire him the way he deserved it.

There were 70 hours left to win Lex over. She loved him; she was
ready to serve him, to grant his every wish. He didn't see it
yet, but Mrs. Cox was the right woman for him. She had talents
he hadn't even dreamt of yet. She would make her beloved man
happy.

Until she could do this, she concentrated on the task that lay
before her. She glanced at the marriage certificate that lay on
the front passenger's seat and smiled. This was another proof of
Luthor's intelligence, though she would have preferred to kill
Kent right away. But whatever reason Luthor had to set up this
trap, he had thought a lot about it. She shouldn't question his
plans.

Clark Kent had been gone long enough now. She was pretty sure
that she had enough time to break into his apartment to place
the certificate there and get out afterwards. So she left the
car and took the certificate with her.

Lex was wealthy enough to provide her with the best equipment
available. She had no reason to expect someone would notice the
break-in. In fact, there was nothing that was going to be taken
away, but, rather, she would be leaving something behind. Clark
Kent was unlikely to notice.

It only took seconds to get in. Mrs. Cox closed the door behind
her. It was nearly embarrassing her how bad his security system
was. Though he was living in Metropolis, he still behaved as if
this was a small town with honest people around. She descended
the stairs and looked around his living room. Where would he
place the certificate assuming that he didn't need to hide it?
After all, she expected Lois to find the document.

Mrs. Cox found a desk in the room where Kent stored several
papers. She searched the drawers and placed the certificate in
one of them. Obviously, it shouldn't be on top of his other
documents. Lois Lane was in some respects smart enough to dig it
out, even if it wasn't right in front of her nose. She tended to
ignore other things that were right in front of her, but
documents weren't among them.

When she had finished this, she left the desk as she had found
it and glanced at her wristwatch. There was still time left, and
though Lex hadn't advised her to do it, she decided to
investigate Mr. Kent's apartment more thoroughly. It was always
good to know the enemy.

Kent seemed to be a pretty boring guy, and Mrs. Cox didn't
wonder why Lois chose to marry Lex. There were loads of books on
the bookshelf. Not all of them were written in English. She
found a few travel guides and assumed that Kent liked to spend
his holidays abroad. Most of the books were novels, some of them
were from important authors like Hemingway and others were just
for fun. He also had books about physics and chemistry. She
glanced into one of them and found it pretty hard to
understand.

She placed the book back on the shelf and turned her attention
to other things. Closed doors were usually more interesting than
open ones. She searched through his cupboards and found none of
them very interesting. Mr. Kent was indeed a normal, boring guy.
She was disappointed that the apartment held no secrets, and she
didn't want to leave until she found something. Mrs. Cox always
finished what she began, and so she turned with a sigh to the
least interesting closed door - the wardrobe.

But when she opened it, a flash of excitement ran through her
being. Behind Mr. Kent's clothes there was a hidden door. He had
obviously forgotten to close it properly. Mrs. Cox couldn't
resist looking behind it. The sight of red, blue and yellow was
worth the previous fruitless search. It seemed that Mr. Kent
wasn't that boring after all. Mrs. Cox smiled with contentment
about the knowledge she had gained today. She thought about
telling Luthor about it but dismissed that idea. It might be
more useful if she kept that knowledge for herself.

Mrs. Cox remembered that she had a second assignment that day.
She should leave the apartment and prepare for the things to
come.

* * *

"You aren't really telling me anything I haven't already heard,
Kent," Henderson said in a sad tone of voice. "There has been a
lot of rumours lately but no evidence at all. I can't go to
Luthor and arrest him without a good reason. If only half of the
things they say about him are true, I won't only lose my job but
my life and family."

The inspector shot Clark a rather frustrated glance. He had
obviously tried to get a grip on the billionaire. Clark had
tried it himself, but whenever he thought that he had found a
trace to follow, he lost it almost as soon as he found it.
Luthor's path was paved with dead bodies, but somehow he managed
to let them cover his footprints. It was impossible to tell that
he was responsible.

"I know, Henderson," Clark sighed. "I'm not asking you to arrest
him without good reasons. All I want is a bit of help. If I'm
going to find witnesses that will testify to his crimes in front
of the court, I'll have to offer them security. Most of them are
probably criminals in their own right. They don't want to get
arrested, and I can't blame them for their wish to remain free.
And they will probably be afraid of Luthor killing them. I've
already asked Superman if he would keep an eye on them. He said
that he'd be honoured to help me."

Clark hated to play the Superman card. He was depending so much
on his second identity that he sometimes wondered if he would be
able to get around without the Superman suit. Whatever Clark
Kent couldn't get, Superman could get at once. It was this way
with Lois and surely the same with most other things.

"Well, I'll ask the DA's office what they can do about it, but I
won't promise you anything now, Kent. All I can say is that you
have to be careful. If Luthor hears what you're up to, your
life's not worth much anymore. He will hunt you down
mercilessly. And I wouldn't count on Superman too much, if I
were you."

Clark shook hands with the inspector and said good-bye. He
hadn't expected Henderson to be excited about his plan. Right
now it seemed to be more like the dream of a desperate fool than
something that was going to work. Clark left Henderson's office
and returned to the streets of Metropolis.

He hadn't been especially successful this time, but there was
still a lot to do. His next destination was the Daily Planet. He
would see what he could find there.

* * *

Lois was still at work when her telephone rang. As she was still
filled with the memory of her strange dream, she hadn't really
managed to be productive. She didn't understand it. She knew
that her subconscious was trying to tell her something, but Lois
had absolutely no clue why it had her dating Clark so it could
do so. She picked up the receiver and said, "Lois Lane."

"Hi, this is Alan Greene. You hired me as private detective,"
the young man she had spoken to this morning said.

"Mr. Greene, I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon."

"Well, it wasn't too difficult to find out what ya' wanted to
know, actually. Ya' told me that Mr. Kent spent most of his life
in Smallville, so I decided to call the county offices in
Smallville first. I have a couple of friends there. I was lucky
with the third one I called. They told me that your Mr. Kent
married a Sarah Elaine Warner seven years ago."

"Is he still married?" Lois asked hoarsely.

"Oh, yeah, he is, but ya' could say that the couple's kinda
livin' separate," Mr. Greene replied.

"Where does she live?" Lois wanted to know.

"Metropolis Penitentiary for Women. She committed homicide when
she burglarized jewelry," Mr. Greene explained.

"What?" Lois exclaimed with shock. "When did that happen?"

"A year and a half ago," Mr. Greene answered her question.

"Thank you. Send me your bill," Lois said weakly and hung up.

Lois felt her heart beat thundering in her head. She couldn't
believe what she had just heard. Lex had been right, Clark was
indeed married. How could that be? Had he moved to Metropolis a
year ago to be closer to Sarah? An imprisoned wife was of course
a reason why he hadn't mentioned her yet. And it explained
perfectly why she had never seen the woman. And if his wife
burglarized jewelry, what did that say about Clark? Could he be
a criminal as well? No, most definitely not, Lois dismissed the
thought.

Lois felt once again like she was losing something very special.
But why was this? She didn't love him so it couldn't be the fact
that he wasn't free. Was she feeling sorry for him because her
mild-mannered, honest partner shared his life with a woman who
betrayed him? Was she feeling sorry for him because he was
separated from the person he apparently loved deeply? Had this
been the reason he had moved from Smallville to Metropolis?

Lois remembered her dream, and for a short moment she wished
that someone would love her that much. It had just been a dream,
but for a brief period of time she had gotten a taste of this
love. Her Dream-Clark had affected her with his kiss beyond
belief. It hadn't been demanding or hungry. The passion in it
wasn't forcing her to do something against her will, and it told
her so much about the kisser. It had conveyed a deep love and
admiration, a shy begging to get more. It had been a foretaste
of what could have been if they had continued.

Lois shook her head. It had just been a dream. It wasn't real.
The Clark in her dream was another man than the one she had
worked with for a year. And considering that she had found out
that Clark was married made the two even more different. The
real Clark had betrayed her, maybe not in the way his wife had
betrayed him, but that didn't diminish his guilt.

Had Clark tried to soothe his hurt soul by being close to Lois?
She understood more about his behaviour towards Lex. Maybe he
considered his wife still as innocent and hoped to be able to
prove that. In fact, Lois had no clue what was going on in
Clark's head. She would have liked to ask him, but could she go
straight to him and admit that she had investigated his past
without his permission? He trusted her, maybe not enough to tell
her his darkest secrets, but she was pretty sure that he trusted
her.

*You haven't told me your secret, have you?* she had asked him.

*No, I haven't ,* he had replied.

Now she knew his secret, and she somehow wished that she had
been less curious. It must be hard for him, she thought. Maybe
he was running away to visit her or to catch a glimpse of the
woman he loved. Maybe he ran away to hide the tears when he was
missing her badly. She couldn't even imagine what Clark might be
enduring. What had he wanted to gain with his declaration of
love? Had he wanted a woman he could touch? Or had he wanted to
save her from Luthor, who he said was responsible for his
misery?

But he wasn't right about Luthor. She should help Clark to see
his wife for what she was. He was the one who needed to be
saved.

* * *

The building looked awful. Without the glass the windows seemed
to be dead eyes staring into the day. They were scary and
depressing. But Clark didn't look at the debris; he only saw the
still visible strength of the former Daily Planet. He remembered
his time there, his time together with Lois. They had faced so
much, and he had enjoyed every single day he had walked through
those doors.

The past year had been so much better than many others in his
life. He had found the place he wanted to be, the place where he
felt at home. Lois Lane had made it a home though she didn't
even know that. She had helped him to live without the bounds he
had had to wear since his childhood. Even though he rarely had
any spare time now, Clark Kent had never felt so free.

But Lois had made this free time special. Every single minute
with Lois counted. Even when she had been snobbish and
offending, he had enjoyed being with her. Of course he liked her
to be friendly to him, but that wasn't a must. He wanted to be
with Lois, not with an ever-friendly fantasy. Her stubbornness
and her tendency to get in danger were part of her, even though
they drove him crazy sometimes. He loved her for who she was. He
admired her intelligence, he loved her humour, and he saw how
beautiful she was. It wasn't just her looks, though they were
adorable enough. Lois had a beauty coming from deep within. Her
soul was beautiful, and it touched his in a way he had never
experienced before.

The sight of the building represented his dream of belonging and
was so connected to the love of his life. Watching it made Clark
light-hearted. For the first time since Lex Luthor had bought
the Daily Planet he didn't worry, and he felt no sorrow. He just
breathed the freedom of the past.

"It's the symbol of dreams, you know?" a familiar voice
interrupted Clark's thoughts.

"What are your dreams, Mr. White?" Clark inquired.

"Truth," Perry replied. "I came here with the urgent desire to
make people see the truth. When I was young the whole world was
so complicated. There were communists and capitalists. Everyone
claimed to be right and most of it was just propaganda. I had
always dreamt of being the light in that darkness of different
ideologies. What about you, Mr. Kent?"

"Justice and freedom," Clark answered but didn't explain.

Perry nodded. "So what in the Sam Hill are you doing here, Kent?
Just drowning in memories?"

Clark smiled. "Just like you, I want to find out the truth about
what happened here."

"I'm retired, Kent. I just like drowning in memories." Perry
replied.

"Weren't you just telling me that you wanted people to hear the
truth?" Clark teased his editor-in-chief.

"Okay. I just want to know why this ship sank so abruptly."
Perry gave in.

"That's easy to say but hard to prove. Lex Luthor destroyed this
building." Clark sighed.

"If you're right about that then we will prove it," Perry stated
and looked at Clark.

"I'm going inside now and see what I will find. Maybe the police
missed evidence," Clark told Perry.

"I'm coming with you," Perry said immediately.

"I'd rather see you stay here," Clark replied.

"Lois told me that you're overprotective, Kent. Do you really
think you will find what a bunch of policemen didn't see? Better
if there are two pairs of eyes looking." Perry stopped every
argument before it could start.

Clark sighed again and nodded. The two men went over to the
Planet's entrance that was now covered with wood. Clark pushed
the barrier away and went in. Perry followed closely behind him.
It was dark inside the building, but Perry switched on his light
as soon as the sunlight was gone. The smell of smoke still hung
in the air, and the walls were black with soot.

Clark looked up and x-rayed the structure of the ceiling above
them. He still wasn't quite sure if the building was in danger
of collapsing, but at the moment it seemed stable enough. They
continued on their way, heading for the staircase that would
lead them downstairs. The bomb had exploded in the basement.
Someone had put it there, and maybe there were still traces
left.

Perry and Clark kept silent, and both were nervous but for
different reasons. Clark knew that even if the building
collapsed on him, it wouldn't hurt him. That was different with
Perry. He would give his secret away without hesitation if Perry
was in danger. But never-the-less, Clark feared that he might
not be fast enough. He stayed close behind Perry always looking
out for the unexpected.

Perry was nervous because he hadn't done much investigation in
the past couple of years. He knew that they were in a restricted
area, and if the police showed up they were likely to be in
trouble. For him that didn't matter so much, but Clark was still
young, and problems with the police were never good, not even
for a reporter. And last but not least, he didn't trust the
ceiling; he had written about too many collapsed houses to
ignore the danger.

Clark looked around, angry because it was so dark inside the
building. Seeing in the dark was not exactly one of his special
abilities. He had even forgotten to bring a light with him. He
had been too distracted pitying himself that he rarely thought
about what he was doing.

* * *

Lex Luthor had his spies all over the city. He was aware of the
whereabouts of Clark Kent, though the fools had lost him for a
short time. That was the risk with relying on others. But he
knew where Kent was right now, and that was about all that
interested him. Kent was digging in the past, and that wasn't
something Lex liked. Of course it was more than unlikely for
Kent to find anything there, but Lex had his principles.

He had to be careful, of course, and wait to see if Kent indeed
found something. That he had help now didn't exactly please Lex
Luthor. Maybe he should scare the two a bit to prevent them from
being too curious. It would be for their own good. He would
advise Mrs. Cox to do something about the two men.

Lex was still waiting to hear from Lois. She surely had found
the evidence for Kent's marriage by now. He was ready to soothe
the girl; maybe she was so angry at her partner that their
friendship was over by now, but he didn't count on that. All Lex
wanted was to emphasize that he was the good guy.

Lex sat back in his armchair and lit his cigar. He loved the
scent and taste of the tobacco. The Havana was expensive, and
the few people who had them rarely dared to smoke them. Rather
they stored them somewhere to look at them and sniff them. Being
rich was one of the single best things in the world. Even better
than that was to be the smartest criminal around.

* * *

Perry and Clark were still walking through the debris of the
Planet. Clark searched the floor in the small cone of light. He
examined every fibre he saw very closely. The floor was filled
with burnt sheets of paper. He x-rayed almost all of them until
he found the corner of an identity card. There were two photos
on it, and that caused Clark to really notice it. The photo down
below was almost undamaged, but it wasn't the interesting one.
The upper photo was melted, and the person on it was hard to
identify. Clark decided to give it a try though and kneeled down
to pick up the card.

He wanted to look at it more closely when he was outside again.

"Don't think we're going to find anything, Kent," Perry said
suddenly.

"Maybe it's time to go, Chief." Clark agreed, and the two of
them turned around to walk outside again. Since they weren't
searching the floor anymore, they were able to get out quickly.

The sunlight greeted them outside, and both Perry and Clark
sighed with relief that they weren't walking through the
darkness anymore. Clark fetched the card out of his pocket and
looked at it. He lowered his glasses to use his super-vision to
see the burnt parts of the photo a bit clearer and tried to
memorize the face.

Clark could see the name on the card underneath the burnt one,
but what good would that do him? He frowned and very much wished
that the upper photo had a name next to it, too. But that wasn't
likely since it was a faked card. After all, the intruder had
wanted to remain unnoticed. Clark chewed his lower lip in
frustration. Having a name could possibly be helpful, but when
he looked up again, he suddenly saw the face on the card
watching him. He smiled. Maybe he wouldn't need that name, after
all.

"I'll be right back," he mumbled and started running.

"That isn't the first time I've heard that," Perry muttered and
shook his head when he saw Clark chasing after a young man.

Clark was fast, and he didn't use super speed or at least not
much. It wasn't exactly difficult to get to the young man. He
had panicked when he saw Clark approaching and had run in the
opposite direction. But the street had a dead end, and unless
the guy had super powers himself it was unlikely that he would
get away.

Clark caught the wrist of the man and stopped him, holding him
tightly so that he couldn't struggle free.

"What's your name?" Clark demanded and repeated his question
menacingly when he got no answer.

"John Black," the young man muttered.

"I know it was your bomb that destroyed that building over
there. Who asked you to place that bomb?" Clark dug further.

"I have no idea what ya' talkin' about," John tried.

"Don't lie to me," Clark said. He shook the guy and waited for
an anxious glance to appear in his eyes. "So are you going to
tell me, or do I have to get angry first?"

"I don't know who he is. He's called the boss." John admitted
and Clark let go of him.

"Who spoke to you?" he wanted to know.

"Someone phoned me; I don't know the name."

"Man or woman?"

"A woman," John replied.

Mrs. Cox, Clark thought. Would she really be the one to give
orders directly? He wasn't sure. Unfortunately John had told him
nothing important yet. Clark searched for the next question, the
one that would bring him closer to Luthor.

"What do you know about this boss?" he asked.

"Nothing, really. A whole lot of people are scared to death, and
they pay any price to be left alone. He demands money from
almost everyone in the entire city," John said. "Restaurants,
bars, shops, whatever. Nobody works here without his
permission."

Clark sighed. This sounded so like Luthor. "Did you already get
paid?"

"Paid? Are you kidding me? I'd be grateful if they don't kill
me. That's the deal. I set up that bomb and stay alive." John
almost laughed at Clark's shocked expression. "You've killed me
now, you know that, don't you?" he hissed at Clark and tried
again to struggle free.

"I can bring you to the police department; you'll be safe
there," Clark offered, but John just laughed and ran away as
soon as Clark had loosened his grip. Clark didn't follow him. He
couldn't watch the whole city. But he seriously hoped that he
would catch Luthor before he had the chance to kill John Black.

Clark returned to Perry and gave him a sad glance while he
shrugged. "No news, I'm afraid. But I'm pretty sure now that
Luthor is responsible for the explosion at the Planet. Luthor is
way too avaricious to burn money that easily. I think we should
do some investigation about the financial background of the
paper. Maybe that will give us a clue," Clark said.

His former editor nodded. "I will do that, but first I'll have
to find a place to stay for the night. Alice still thinks that
I'm fishing." He sighed. "When I return to her, I'll have to
face another marital argument, but to tell you the truth, Clark,
I want to know what happened to the Planet."

"Feel free to come to my place, Mr. White." Clark offered.

"That would be good, Kent. Where are you going now?"

"I'll try to find out what I can about a person called the boss.
See you later in my apartment, Chief."

* * *

It was already dark when Perry and Clark met at Clark's
apartment. Clark had arrived there a bit earlier and opened the
door when his editor stood in front of it. They smiled at each
other, and Clark invited Perry in.

"What did you find out, son?" Perry asked.

"This boss is still somewhat mysterious, but I bet it's Luthor,
"Clark replied, disappointed that he hadn't been more
successful.

"I spent the day hunting the chairmen of the Planet. It took
ages to find one of them willing to talk to me. They hadn't
really wanted to sell the Planet, but Luthor promised them a lot
of things if they did- Ferraris to begin with. If they didn't
agree, they faced financial ruin. Of course he didn't say that
out loud. But Luthor must have been pretty convincing." Perry
mused.

"I found out that there was additional insurance at Lexal
investments. It would have been enough money to rebuild the
Planet," Clark added.

"That's interesting. I think we're getting at it, son," Perry
said slowly. "Aren't you hungry? I could prepare us a meal you
could tell your great-grandchildren about."

Clark grinned and nodded, then showed Perry the way into the
kitchen. "I'll guess you'll find what you need, Chief." He
suddenly heard an emergency call. "I'll just go and return a
video, and I'll be right back." Clark rushed away and left Perry
in his apartment.

Perry shook his head. This was somehow familiar. He had seen
Clark disappearing from time to time. In the majority of cases
he left a fuming Lois in the newsroom, who was just about to
tell him something. He didn't understand the guy; he really
should keep his thoughts together. Why did he return things at
the last minute? Perry decided not to think about it and turned
his attention to the fridge.

He was even more astonished. How had Clark survived to his age
with food like that? He remembered clearly what his physician
frequently told him. But Clark seemed to have missed all those
little speeches. Did he hide all this stuff when his parents
were visiting him? There was no way they could agree with that
kind of nutrition.

But there were a couple of useful things, too. Perry grabbed
what he needed and searched for a pot. He looked over Clark's
numerous spices and noticed with satisfaction that he wasn't
such a hopeless case after all.

* * *
In the meantime, Superman flew over Metropolis and listened for
the sounds of the alarm bell he had heard earlier. He followed
the sound, and it led him to a bank. An officer was pacing on
the sidewalk in front of the main entrance. He looked up when
Superman landed in front of him.

"Oh, Superman, thanks for coming, but there isn't actually
anything happening here. We're already checking on the alarm,
but we have no idea yet why it went off."

"So everything's okay here?" Superman wanted to know.

Suddenly he felt queasy, and pain spread through his body. His
head felt as if it was going to explode, his vision went blurry,
and through a haze he heard the concerned police officer ask if
he was all right. The pain subsided almost as quickly as it had
started.

"I'm okay," Superman assured the officer and wanted to take off
into the sky again.

It didn't work. Superman did his best to act like he had never
planned to fly and hurried to the next abandoned alley. He
looked over his shoulder to make sure no one had followed him.
As he didn't see anybody, he slipped into the next dark entrance
of a house. He was pretty sure that no one had noticed him and
leaned against the wall. After his last encounter with
kryptonite he had hoped to never see that stuff again. He was
weak and exhausted from this brief exposure.

At least he hadn't passed out this time. He had managed to run
away and should be grateful. That wouldn't have been possible
after what had happened in Smallville. Lying unconsciously on
the street would have gotten Superman into serious trouble. The
fact that the kryptonite obviously hadn't been destroyed
completely worried him. Even worse was that someone had gotten
hold of it. And this alarm at the bank had supposedly been a
test. He had to change back into Clark. Since it was dark
outside he wasn't going to regain his strength before dawn.

Clark needed a lot longer to dress as an average guy. He
prepared himself for going back on the street. He breathed in
and out and decided to return to Perry. He still felt a little
queasy and hoped that his editor-in-chief wouldn't get
suspicious. Clark stepped away from the entrance of the house
back into the night air. He wasn't so weak that he couldn't move
on his own, but he was anything but super. He needed about ten
minutes to walk back to his apartment. When he had finally
reached it, he noticed with worry that the glass was shattered,
and the door gaped a little.

"Chief? Everything all right?" he asked as he entered his flat.
Perry was standing in the living room and stared at two masked
men in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" Clark shouted and went over to the
invaders. "Get out of my apartment!"

He approached the man that was closer to him and grabbed his
shoulder. The man struck out to land a punch. Clark saw his fist
coming, but he didn't move out of the way. When the fist landed
hard in his stomach, it pressed the air out of his lungs. Clark
stumbled back. The second man came close to him quickly and hit
him hard in the face. Clark's cheek was burning and his stomach
heaving. He struggled with nausea and the weakness from the
kryptonite exposure. He didn't even see the third punch coming
that impacted his stomach.

Clark landed on the floor, struggling for air and trying to
avoid the aggressors. They kicked his side. Clark moaned with
pain. This was different than kryptonite. This wasn't the first
time Clark had to fight without his strength. Clark tasted
blood. He wasn't actually familiar with that. Again and again
the two men kicked and punched him. Had they broken one of his
ribs? Clark didn't know.

He had no chance to get up. He was already weakened from the
kryptonite, and this rough treatment only made it worse. Through
a haze of pain he heard Perry shouting, trying to get to him.
Clark saw that one of the men hit Perry, who sank down on
Clark's sofa and didn't move. He was on his own. Another kick
struck his upper body. Clark could barely breathe. He felt so
weak and silently prayed for the embrace of unconsciousness to
come.

But they would kill him if he lost consciousness, so he couldn't
let that happen. Not that he cared if he was dead or alive, but
he was the last person to save his beloved Lois. Since it was
pitch dark outside, he knew he wouldn't regain his super
strength any time soon, but he had to survive this. And
somewhere deep in his soul, he found strength. Clark grabbed the
ankle of the first man and caused him to stumble. The man fell
against his partner, and Clark had enough time to get to his
feet. He gave one of them a hook to the chin and managed to
knock him out. The other hit Clark again, and he fell back down
on the floor.

By then, Perry had woken up and sent the remaining man to the
ground with a hard punch in the face. The fight was over, and
Clark was still lying on the floor, his entire body bruised and
hurting like hell. He coughed, struggling for air helplessly.

"Clark!" Perry was appalled. He kneeled down beside Clark.

"I'm okay, Chief. Call Henderson!" Clark managed to say. Perry
looked at him indecisively. Then he helped Clark to get up and
to sit down on the sofa.

"Thank you. Are you okay?" he whispered.

When Perry said that he was all right, Clark lowered himself
down into a partially reclining position. His ribcage was
hurting with every breath he took. Clark heard Perry rushing
through his apartment and speaking with someone.

"Henderson is sending a car to get these two," Perry told Clark
as he returned to him. He watched him anxiously. "I should call
you a doctor."

"I'm fine, Chief. I don't...need...a doctor." Clark replied
firmly but not very convincingly.

Actually he didn't feel too well, but if someone found out how
bad his injuries were and checked on them again tomorrow they
would start to wonder. For the sake of his parents, Lois and a
private life he had to play along. If that meant gritting the
teeth, it was worth it.

The police came within minutes and arrested the two men. Clark
had to tell the policemen again that he was okay and not really
injured. He hoped that Henderson would do a good job with their
interrogation. Maybe the two knew something about Luthor.

Perry's meal was slightly burnt, and so Clark had an excuse for
not eating very much of it. His stomach wasn't up to food yet.
He mumbled something about a hard day and went to bed rather
early. Perry had prepared his bed on the couch.

One thing was sure: Clark wouldn't go out tonight to save the
world. Usually he would have flown around for his patrol, but he
dismissed the idea. A little bit of sleep would be helpful, he
thought, before he fell onto his pillows and closed his eyes
with a sigh.

* * *
Lois sat in her apartment and was still clueless. She had phoned
Lex earlier in the evening to explain that she couldn't see him
tonight. Lois wasn't up to it because her mind was still trying
to get a grip on the new information. It wouldn't have been fair
to Lex if she went on a date with him without being able to
concentrate fully on him. She had had dates where her partner
was obviously totally distracted by something else. A pair of
long legs was an example, and she had sworn to herself that
she'd never be so impolite.

Lex had understood her and told her that she should take the
time she needed to come to terms with the marital status of her
former partner. He felt that it wasn't so easy to accept that
her partner had lied to her. Lois was still hurt, but she
couldn't help but feel sympathy for Clark. His life was
certainly a lot different from the life he had dreamt of. She
considered him as the romantic type of man who longed for a
family to return to in the afternoon. What he wished for in life
was probably nothing more than to have someone he could bend
down to and kiss softly. He didn't want to come into an empty
flat after work, and he'd want to play with his children, read
or tell them a story and kiss them good night. He'd pull their
covers up tight. And he would leave a light on their nightstand
to scare away the dark shadows that carried nightmares.

Lois was surprised and slightly frightened as she imagined
herself waiting at the door of their children's room, watching
Clark in delight. He'd be a father like she had never had. But
why on earth would she consider his children hers as well? She
didn't want children because she could never be a good mother.
His declaration of love had just confused her.

Still lost in thoughts, Lois went to bed and drifted to sleep
almost immediately.

*** 1 Day earlier ***

Hours later a ringing phone interrupted her sleep violently.
Lois was wide awake. Dawn was breaking, and she wondered who
would be calling her so early. She picked up the receiver.

"Lois Lane," she said gruffly. She wasn't exactly a morning
person.

"Lois, this is Perry. I'm worried about Clark. There were two
guys here last night that he had to fight with. They beat him
up, though he managed to overpower them in the end," her
editor-in-chief told her.

"Oh my god! Is Clark all right, Perry?" Lois asked anxiously.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure that he needs a doctor, but I
can't make him go. Lois, will you please come over to his
apartment and talk to him? I could barely sleep last night, and
I frequently checked on him while he was fast asleep. I didn't
have the heart to wake him up, but maybe he has some serious
injuries, broken ribs or something," Perry replied.

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes, Perry." Lois promised
and hung up.

Someone had beaten up Clark? But why? Lois was afraid that Perry
might be right, and Clark had really bad injuries. A broken rib
could penetrate his lung. His spleen could be ruptured. Lois
knew that he might lose a lot of blood this way. Heaven only
knew what could have happened to him. It was an awful idea that
he might be gone forever some day. She didn't want to lose
Clark. Lois jumped out of her bed and got dressed quickly. Then
she stormed out of her apartment to get to her car and drive
over to Clark's.

* * *

Someone tugged on his hand and whispered his name. The voice was
familiar. Clark's eyes fluttered open, and he saw Lois sitting
next to him and watching him anxiously. The sun came through his
window and shed light on her. It was still rather dark in the
room though. He noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses.
Would Lois guess the truth now? When she turned around and spoke
with someone else, he quickly grabbed them. Then Lois looked
back at him again. Clark smiled. Lois face showed nothing but
worry. There was no disbelief or anger in it, and Clark assumed
that she hadn't seen the superhero in his naked eyes.

"Lois." He couldn't hide his surprise. "What are you doing
here?" he asked softly.

"Perry called me. He said that you were hurt," Lois replied with
worry.

"I'm fine," Clark said. He was indeed feeling better now and not
just because Lois was there.

"You're sure you don't need a doctor, Clark?" Lois asked.

"Pretty sure."

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Lois whispered sadly.

"Lois, I'm not mad at you." Clark sighed. "It's gotten all so
complicated lately. I don't want to upset you."

"When Perry told me what happened this evening, I was so
worried. He said that you were doing really badly. I couldn't
stand the thought that something had happened to you. I could
only think of the argument we had. I didn't want it to be the
last thing you see and hear of me." She sounded desperate.

"I'm not going to die, Lois. But I didn't want us to separate
because of a fight either. I'm sorry, Lois." Clark sat up and
embraced her, stroking her back. He enjoyed feeling her so close
to him but was worried that she'd push him away at any moment,
so he tried to keep his distance and avoided touching anything
but her upper back.

* * *

Lois couldn't help but remember her dream. His touch on her back
felt exactly the same. No, it was even better: his hands were
warmer and more comforting. For the first time since Perry had
called her, she was able to relax. In fact she hadn't been this
relaxed since she had dreamt of being with him. And before that?
Lois didn't ever remember feeling so totally at ease. But why
was it this way with Clark? She still loved Superman, but she
tried to dismiss every thought of him. He had hurt her, but Lois
cared for him. It wasn't reasonable, and she knew it.

Lois rested her head on his shoulder and noticed the scent of
sweat and aftershave that mixed in a very attractive way. She
started to stroke his back, too, and felt his firm muscles under
her hands. Had she ever noticed that he was that strong? A brief
memory of Clark opening the door to her, only dressed in a
towel, crossed her mind. She seemed to remember that he had a
very tempting body. Lois blushed and was glad that neither Clark
nor Perry could see the reddish tint to her face.

She heard Perry turn around and leave the bedroom. They were on
their own. She watched Clark's earlobe and suddenly felt her own
lips brushing it. Why had she done that? Lois backed away,
surprised by herself. Clark stared at her in disbelief.

"Lois," he whispered huskily.

"I'm sorry, Clark, I shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, you already have a man, don't you?" Clark said with a
hint of anger.

"I'm not married yet, Clark. But you're right, I have a man,"
Lois replied. *And you have a woman, Clark,* she added sadly.

Did she really want Lex? Lois looked at the man in front of her.
Where did this strange attraction come from? Was it his slight
resemblance to Superman? The dark hair was the same. And she had
seen even this boyish grin on both their faces. But there were a
lot of differences, too, and not only the obvious one that Clark
needed glasses. Superman was so much more self- confident. He
was plain and direct. *If it's not lead-lined it's a waste of
time. * Clark would never have said those words.

Lois was confused, now more than ever before. Three men in her
life were two too many. But Lois knew her usual luck with men.
While she was choosing one of them, she was going to scare away
all three and would be left alone in the end.

"Don't marry Luthor, Lois. For Heaven's Sake, please don't
choose that man," Clark pleaded.

"You really get obsessive over him. Clark, he isn't that bad.
From your point of view, you might think you are right, but
Clark, you're mistaken about Lex," Lois replied. She was annoyed
that Clark had obviously decided to continue their argument
where they had left off.

"I'm not mistaken, Lois. I know him a whole lot better than you
do." Clark tried to convince her once more.

"Clark, you're wrong about him," Lois said and stood up again.

"Is anybody ready for breakfast?" Perry asked, interrupting
them.

"That's great, Chief, I'm starving."

"Good girl, you know? Elvis never left his house without a good
breakfast," Perry announced.

"Really?" Lois asked.

"I guess so..." Perry muttered and returned into the kitchen.

Clark got up and mumbled that he needed to take a shower and
vanished into his bathroom. Lois was surprised that she was
practically on her own. She went into the living room and looked
around. She had always been curious what was inside the drawers
and behind the closed doors of other people. She strolled
through the room and glanced at Clark's belongings. The perfect
opportunity to find out more about her partner presented itself,
and Lois Lane couldn't resist. She opened one drawer, then
another...

* * *

Clark stood in the shower and felt the cold water running down
his body. He breathed in and out slowly and tried to regain his
sanity. Lois nibbling on his earlobe had driven him crazy and
had built up the urgent need to get closer to her, to touch and
kiss her. If it hadn't been for Lois and Perry, he might have
flown to the arctic to take a bath in the icy cold water
underneath the pack ice. But now a cold shower would have to do
the job.

He knew that he'd lose her if he showed her his love openly. It
had been bad enough for Clark to force himself onto her, wanting
her to make the decision she obviously hadn't been ready to
make. But what had Lois intended when she nibbled on his ear?
Had she mistaken him for Superman? His earlobes weren't part of
the disguise, and maybe her subconscious had seen what Lois was
able to consciously ignore. He had wanted her to ignore it. He
wanted to keep his secret in order to protect her from villains
trying to get to Superman.

Clark was confused. Not only because Lois had been around this
morning, but also because of the attack. He was pretty sure that
Luthor was behind it. But his encounter with kryptonite was
somewhat mysterious. Was it just a strange coincidence? Had
Luthor tested kryptonite on Superman and happened to have sent
rowdies to Clark at almost the same time? And what was the
reason? Had Clark gotten too close to him? But why didn't he
make sure then that Clark would die? A bullet in the right place
would certainly have killed him in the state he had been in at
that time.

No-one could tell Clark that Lex Luthor didn't know people who
were able to handle a pistol. He would have been able to make it
look like a break-in murder or even better: suicide. Lois would
even be able to testify that he had been desperate after her
rejection and maybe depressed enough to end his life.

If it hadn't been a coincidence and Luthor had found out about
his secret, why hadn't the attackers had kryptonite with them?
That didn't make sense. With that stuff next to him he wouldn't
have been able to overpower them. He would have been completely
at their mercy. He remembered passing out quickly the first time
he had been close to the deadly crystal.

With a sigh Clark turned off the shower and stepped out. He
grabbed a towel and dried himself. His powers were back to
normal and he wasn't suffering pain any more. With the sunrise
and a good night's sleep, he felt increasingly better. A few
bruises were left on his upper body but they were already
fading. He spun into the clothes he had taken with him into the
bathroom and left.

Clark went into the living room. Lois was in front of his desk,
obviously fascinated by something she saw there. He went closer
and noticed that she was searching the drawers. Lois was indeed
rummaging his desk. Clark could barely believe what he saw. Of
course he had watched her doing this often, but never had he
imagined that she'd violate his own privacy. Weren't they
supposed to be friends?

"What are you searching for, Lois?" he asked as calmly as
possible.

His whole life he had been so busy protecting his secret that
there was nothing he disliked more than someone taking his
things without permission. His privacy was very special to him,
and it meant even more since becoming Superman. That it was Lois
doing this didn't make it easier; it was just the opposite. He'd
expected more decency from her. He had thought that even though
she didn't love him that she at least respected him.

Lois looked up at him with a guilty expression on her face. Her
hands closed the open drawer, and she tried to hide it with her
body. Maybe she didn't do it on purpose; maybe it was more a
habit, but Clark didn't care. He felt anger overwhelming him.

"You never know when to stop, do you, Lois?" he asked,
threateningly calm as he watched her, waiting for the answer.

"I know your secret, Clark," Lois whispered, startled.

"And that gives you permission to do anything you like? I can
understand that you're mad at me, but that's no reason to invade
my privacy, Lois. Certain things stay secret for a reason; they
are not meant to be public knowledge. But that doesn't apply to
Lois Lane, does it?" Clark tried hard not to shout at her. He
breathed in and out, desperately wanting to calm down. When had
she found out that he was Superman? He had always feared this
moment, but now that it was there here, it wasn't bothering him
nearly as much as Lois rummaging through his stuff.

Being so hopelessly in love with the person he was angry at made
it even more difficult. He couldn't find the strength to
apologize for his own betrayal. He had let her believe that he
was two separate persons. He could imagine how she felt at the
moment. She must be just as hurt as he was. But she had crossed
a line that he would never have dared to cross. She had invaded
his privacy in a very intimate way. Their friendship wasn't in
that state yet. Would he have been equally intimate with her,
though maybe in another manner, he would have at least told her
his secret, as a sign of deep trust in her.

"I'm sorry, Clark," Lois said hoarsely. "But why didn't you just
tell me? I can understand that you hide it from the people
around you. But why did you exclude me from that part of your
life? Did you think it wasn't worth mentioning when you told me
that you love me? Or were you lying then as well, Clark?"

"I have never lied to you, Lois. I didn't tell you certain
things, granted. But as I said, I have a reason. What is Lois
Lane, the great LNN reporter, going to do about my secret now?
Are you going to publish it?" he blurted out. "Go and do it,
Lois. There isn't anything left in the life of Clark Kent you
can possibly destroy. Wait... I could still die for you. And I
would gladly do it if that would save you. But you like to get
into trouble, don't you? Luthor owns LNN. Maybe he'd let you
have the exclusive after you're married with him. You can write
your own book: Lois' secret life as Lex Luthor's slave. That
will definitely win you the Pulitzer."

Suddenly Clark remembered why he had spent hours and hours in
meditation. He had visited almost every place on earth to learn
to relax whatever the situation. It had provided him with the
ability to keep calm regardless of whatever disaster he had had
to face. But it hadn't prepared him for Lois. She had brought
him close to the edge so often. But now he felt that he was
falling, and that he had been pushed beyond the edge. Clark Kent
had avoided every argument since he was ten, because he knew
what would happen.

In this very moment it happened: he lost control. It was
unpredictable which of his powers would break to the surface and
leave him unable to handle it. And he didn't know which of them
would be the worst case scenario. As soon as her voice cut like
a knife into his head, and he couldn't understand a word of what
she said, Clark was aware that it was his super-hearing that had
betrayed him this time.

He clutched his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block
out the millions of voices and noises, but it was in vain. Clark
groaned and his legs gave out as all the sounds of the city
flooded his senses. It was early morning and the city was as
busy as ever. There were planes taking off and thousands of cars
driving through the streets. People talked to each other in all
different types of languages. He ceased to see anything, and his
breath was racking. The pain in his head was almost unbearable.

He felt Lois touching him, shaking him and trying to say
something. Her panic was the worst of all. He should have taken
her in his arms now to tell her that everything was going to be
all right. But he could barely move. He could only moan and hope
that he would regain control soon. But as long as he wasn't
alone, his powers were dangerous. But would she leave without
getting a satisfying explanation for his behaviour?

"Migraine," he winced. "Go, Lois, get outta here! Get outta
here, all of you! Now!" Clark roared the last part.

Obviously he had managed to be convincing enough for Perry and
Lois to leave him. The apartment was a little quieter, and Clark
breathed in and out, concentrating on his heart-beat. It was
thundering in his head as were most of the other sounds, too. He
rolled on his back lying in the middle of his living room. It
took about half an hour until he could just hear his heart.

* * *
Chapter 3

I don't want to fall again,
Don't want to know this pain,
Don't want another friend,
Don't want to try again,
Don't want to see you hurt,
Don't let me see you hurt
(a-ha - Manhattan Skyline)

Lex was furious. He had ordered the men to beat up Kent; he
hadn't asked them to lose the fight and go to jail. But exactly
that had happened. Obviously he had misjudged Kent, but he would
be wiser the next time. The problem was that Kent had obviously
decided to hunt him until he had enough evidence to send him to
prison. Lex didn't really believe that Kent could be successful.
After all, he had hidden his tracks very well. And there were
many options to get rid of Kent before he could become dangerous
to him. Of course, that was assuming that he was smarter than he
looked.

Luthor was well-known, whereas Kent was a nobody. He had gained
a small amount of fame writing articles for an important
newspaper. But the problem with newspapers was that they were
read one day and thrown away the next. So who would remember the
name, Clark Kent? In this fast moving time, the headlines of
today were forgotten completely after twenty four hours. The
Planet hadn't been published for almost a week now. Kent's fame
had risen and set with the sun. But his sun was extinct.

Another problem was Superman, but Lex had another plan for him,
and the man of steel didn't need his attention until tomorrow
night. The first test had been very promising. But before he
could deal with Superman, he had to find a solution to the Kent
problem. He wanted to see Kent suffering for the rest of his
life knowing that he had lost Lois. Lex didn't want to kill
Kent, because leaving him alive would be so much more fun. Kent
virtually begged to be murdered.

Maybe he would have to dismiss his Kent plan for the greater
good. But he would wait and see what was going to happen next.
Patience would gain him more than a sudden and half-baked
reaction. Until then he should find out what his two brilliant
assistants were going to tell the police. He would ask Mrs. Cox
to make sure that everything happened as he wished. He could
trust her with important tasks, and it wasn't easy to find
people like that these days.

He had to do something about these possible traitors. Killing
them would be the best solution, but that had to happen
carefully. He didn't want any trace of their murders to be
found. He wondered who the best choice was to trust with this
assignment. To help himself think, Lex lit another of his cigars
and smoked it with delight.

* * *

Mrs. Cox was still wondering what she was going to do with her
new information. She had to use it carefully and prudently. She
didn't want Lex to marry Lois Lane. She wasn't good enough for
him. Mrs. Cox didn't love Lex; she wasn't able to feel love. In
this respect the two of them were similar. But she admired the
man's status and power, and she desired the man himself. That
was as close to love as she would ever get.

Mrs. Cox considered letting Lex in on Kent's little secret. One
of the possible advantages was that Lex would be very pleased
about her success in finding Superman's weakness and turn to
her. But Mrs. Cox had no illusions about Mr. Luthor. She knew
that he was rotten to the core and that trusting him was nothing
she'd ever dare to do. Maybe he would turn to her for a brief
moment and then concentrate his attention on someone else. Lex
Luthor always did as he pleased. Since Mrs. Cox couldn't really
find guaranteed advantages in telling Luthor that Mr. Kent was
Superman, she decided to keep that knowledge for herself. She
would decide later on if telling him was a good idea.

At that moment Lex came into her office. He wore his usual
charming smile and positioned himself in front of her.

"Mrs. Cox, I might need your help. Mr. Kent is becoming a little
annoying, and I'd like to get rid of him," Luthor said.

"Temporarily or permanently?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Well, personally I'd prefer temporarily. I have certain plans
for him. If you can make sure that he won't get in the way of my
plans then temporarily will be fine. Otherwise, permanently
would be the better choice," he replied.

"I'll see what I can do about that." She gave him a reassuring
smile. Mrs. Cox had no problems with self-confidence.

"And Mrs. Cox, there are two guys in jail. I'd prefer them to
remain silent. Maybe you can arrange that, too. We are speaking
of permanent silence here," Luthor said. She nodded as a sign
that she would do that as well.

Luthor turned around and left her office. She looked after him
and started thinking again. Getting rid of Mr. Kent could be
dangerous in both the permanent and the temporary way. And she
had to find a solution to this problem that would not only
satisfy Lex but also meet her wishes. She needed Lex until she
wore his wedding ring. Only when she was his wife she could
become his widow.

* * *

Lois wandered through the streets of Metropolis, barely seeing
anything through the tears in her eyes. She managed to hold them
back so that they weren't running down her cheeks, but they
burned her eyes and clouded her vision. Again she had had an
argument with Clark. Though she knew that Clark had overreacted,
she felt guilty. She had rummaged the living room of her best
friend to find the proof she already had. The detective had told
her that Clark was married, but she had searched for the
document.

The last proof was sitting in prison, and Lois had decided to
visit Sarah there. She didn't exactly know why, maybe because
she wanted to punish herself for invading Clark's privacy. Lois
was also plain curious to whom Clark had lost his heart. She
wanted to understand him, wanted to see for herself what he had
hidden for over a year. Why had Clark reacted that way? Was this
sudden attack of migraine pretended? Or had she really caused
the terrible headache by reminding him of the memories? Lois had
no idea if Clark had suffered, or if he showed her only a
facade, desperately trying to hide who he really was.

Sarah might explain his frequent disappearances. Maybe he
visited her every spare minute that he could find and risked
losing his job to be with his beloved wife. Clark might have
planned how to get her out of prison for all Lois knew. The
worst thing was that she didn't know him any more. He had hidden
such a vital part of his life. Maybe her visit that morning had
only one reason: she wanted to reconnect with the friend she'd
lost. Lois had an urgent need to become acquainted with the real
Clark. She had always felt that there was something underneath
the surface that she couldn't touch, but she had never known
what it was.

Now she had the chance to get to know him completely. She'd
never had that before. Lois wondered about herself. Why was she
so interested in Clark beyond just the friendship? She shook her
head. No, this wasn't beyond friendship. Being interested in the
other person was part of being friends. Another strange thing
was that she didn't really feel angry about his deceit. She
understood that talking about his wife must be painful for him.
She hadn't let him in on every painful moment of her life
either.

Lois approached the prison and went to the visitor's entrance.
She had been here as a reporter several times. Although she
preferred to stay outside these walls, she went straight inside
and asked for permission to visit Sarah Elaine Warner. One of
the guards was a fan of hers, and that made it a lot easier to
get inside.

About half an hour later, Lois saw her for the first time. Sarah
wore an orange overall that hid most of her slender frame.
Never-the-less, Lois saw that she was beautiful. Her hair was
silky and blonde. She had it up in a bun, and some loose wisps
fell around her face. Her eyes were deep blue and somehow
shining. Lois had often seen that prisoners had empty eyes. She
was moving like a cat, elegant but also powerful. Lois had to
admit that the woman was very impressive. Her face was
immaculate but her lips allowed an insight into her true
personality. They gave her face an expression as if she felt
superior to the people around her. There was a brutal set about
them, but Lois couldn't have explained what exactly had caused
that impression. It was barely visible at the moment, but she
could imagine that it would increase when the woman was brutal
to someone.

Sarah looked at her and a scary smile appeared on her face.

"Lois Lane, how nice to finally meet you," she said. Her voice
was harsh and didn't really fit her outer appearance. "Clark has
told me a lot about you."

"I cannot return the compliment," Lois replied in an icy tone of
voice. She had disliked the woman immediately.

"He's embarrassed. A wife in prison doesn't fit in his perfect
little world. And he's a very private person; he doesn't tell
people everything." Sarah laughed.

Lois swallowed hard. She had just experienced how protective
Clark was concerning his secrets. He had lashed out at her in a
way she had not thought him capable of. It had been so scary,
but she also felt that she had deserved it. Lois couldn't help
but blush at the memory. Sarah laughed again.

"So you got to know that character trait of his, didn't you?
When was it? In the moment you found out that I existed? Poor
Clark. Not only is he afraid that someone might see through his
disguise, he is also more than anxious that another man might
lay his eyes on me. There isn't much danger of that here, is
there?"

Sarah smiled and her gaze drifted away from Lois to the guard
next to the two of them who watched their conversation closely.
She gave the guard a seductive smile and formed a kiss with her
lips. The guard forgot for a moment that she was a prisoner and
wore a very stupid and besotted expression on his face. Lois'
eyes opened wide in shock. Sarah didn't seem to notice as her
attention was still on the guard. She waved at the guard he
waved back.

"I guess not," Lois managed to say without sounding too ironic.

She didn't want any trouble with Clark's wife. Where had he
found her anyway? Had she always been like this? Was something
about her so irresistible to men that he couldn't help himself?
When she watched the guard, Lois had no doubts that this was the
case. Somehow her beauty had turned Clark's brain into jelly.
She didn't envy him his fate. She had always thought that Clark
was different, but maybe she was mistaken about that.

"You can't help my foolish husband, Ms. Lane. He believes in his
vows, and he would never get divorced. And I have no intention
of ending our marriage either. And he strongly believes in my
fidelity. He wouldn't want to hear that I'm betraying him. You'd
better not try to tell him this if the two of you want to stay
friends." She smiled again and giggled. Lois disliked her even
more.

"How can you do that to him?" Lois asked hoarsely.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Ms Lane. He's my
husband. I can do with him whatever I please." She stood up and
turned around to leave the room.

The guard followed her with a hungry gaze and hurried to open
the door for her. Somehow Lois couldn't help but think that this
woman was even capable of making the best out of being
imprisoned. She was really strange. Lois herself got up and had
the urgent need to leave the prison as soon as possible. And
there was another thing she wanted more than anything: more
information about Sarah Elaine Warner. She would go to the
police department and ask Henderson.

* * *

Clark regretted losing his temper. It was so totally unlike him.
It had prevented him from really hearing what Lois had said. She
had found out about his secret; she knew that he was Superman.
That was no minor inconvenience, and it presented an increased
threat for his parents and for his life. He wasn't so worried
about his own life. But his parents mattered to him, and he had
to protect them.

When the press found out that his parents knew his deepest
secrets, for the rest of their lives they would never leave them
alone. They would always be hunting for sweet little baby
stories of the famous hero. But it wouldn't end there; they
would also dig out the more unpleasant parts of his adolescence.
It was already difficult enough being a teenager, but being a
teenager with superhuman powers had even been a bit worse.

He had hurt a few guys involuntarily, and it hadn't been always
his fault. Even though it was unintentional, just being
invulnerable could cause people to be hurt - especially when
they had chosen him as the punching bag of the day. He had had
to learn quickly how to pull back slightly at the right moment.
That hadn't been exactly easy. When he had been too late, the
others were hurt. When he had been too quick, the others called
him a coward, and he would get another chance to practice his
abilities the next day. Well, of course, he hadn't hurt people
very often. He had been more a coward than an aggressor. His
parents had helped him in difficult situations especially when
his temper threatened to overcome his convictions. But Clark
knew the media. If everybody in Smallville knew that Clark Kent
had always had these powers, the TV and newspapers would find
people claiming that he had hurt them. For some reporters, it
didn't matter what was true and what wasn't. They would say
whatever sold. And it would be boring news to say that he had
mostly been a nice little boy. So since they couldn't find real
scandals, they would invent them.

Clark had also hurt Lois, and he felt sorry about that. He had
no idea how he was going to fix it. He would have to apologize
for his behaviour and not only to Lois but also to Perry. The
poor man had suffered from his outburst and was completely
innocent. He had no idea where his editor-in-chief had gone, but
if he didn't return to his apartment Superman would find him.
Clark hoped that his white lie about the migraine would suffice
as an explanation. He hadn't been able to tell Lois or Perry
that he might have hurt them by accident if they had stayed with
him. He should have stopped short of losing his temper, and he
should have ignored Lois' rather small betrayal.

Clark was on his way to the police department. He wanted to talk
to Henderson and to his two attackers of the previous evening.
Maybe he could find out more about Luthor this way. He wondered
what he should say, if Henderson allowed him to have an
interview with the two men. With every step he took he came
closer to the police department and felt more and more nervous.
When he finally entered the department, he heard his heart
thundering in his ears. This was the single best opportunity he
had ever had to hunt Luthor down, and Clark seriously hoped that
he wasn't going to blow it.

It was unusually quiet in the police department, and Clark
couldn't help but wonder if he had missed a major disaster. Had
he been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even hear sirens
and screams anymore? That was hard to imagine, considering the
fact that his super-hearing had kind of paralyzed him just an
hour ago. So what was going on here? Clark was worried,
especially since this was the police department where the
witnesses for Luthor's evilness were staying at the moment. What
had John Black said? * I'd be grateful if they don't kill me.*

Luthor didn't exactly have a high estimation of human life if it
wasn't his own. But was there really something wrong, or was
Lois right and he had become too obsessive about Luthor? And was
Luthor behind what he didn't even know for sure was actually
happening? Clark shook his head. He was really losing his mind.
It shouldn't be a problem to find out if anything was wrong.

Clark focused his super-hearing on the faintest sound in the
building. He knew that this was rather daring since a loud sound
next to him would be extremely painful. There were only whispers
in the next room, and that was definitely odd. Clark used his
x-ray vision to look through the wall. A couple of anxious
policemen sat in one corner of the room, and right next to them
was a bomb. Clark held his breath at the sight of this. Three
masked villains with weapons were in the room as well; one of
them was guarding the policemen in the corner, and two of them
were watching every move of a single officer.

How had they managed to overpower a bunch of policemen? Clark
knew at once that these three guys had to be really dangerous.
The single officer was fumbling with a key and shivering with
fear. Clark knew the poor man. Officer Michaels had four small
children and his wife had died of leukemia only months ago. He
couldn't even imagine how this man was suffering now. Anger was
building up inside him when he saw the violence of those
villains. How could they be so cruel? Clark became convinced
that Luthor was behind this, and that the villains were trying
to get at the two prisoners. His anger increased. Was there
anything evil happening in this city that wasn't caused by
Luthor?

He had to do something, but decided that an appearance as
Superman was out of question. These three villains looked so
nervous that he expected them to kill the policemen and
themselves if they felt threatened. Clark didn't dare take that
risk. He heard loud footsteps approaching him and turned down
his super-hearing immediately. Only seconds later he felt
something hard pressing against his back.

"Hands up, slowly." He heard a rough whisper. Clark obeyed and
lifted his arms making sure the criminal behind him saw his
empty hands.

"Move," the man said. "Don't say a word or you're dead before
you even get a glimpse of that pair of tights."

Together they went straight ahead in the direction of the office
Clark had viewed minutes ago. He remained silent and wished that
he didn't have this habit of always pushing his glasses back in
place. If he had been able to still look over them he could have
destroyed the bomb right now. The villain pushed him over to the
group of policemen waiting in the corner.
Officer Michaels had managed to find the key for the jail cells.
Clark looked at him while he was searched for weapons and forced
to sit down within the group. He didn't have much time left.
Officer Michaels would open the door any minute. Clark turned
his attention to the villain watching them. He wasn't looking at
Clark right at that moment, and Clark managed to push down his
glasses a bit. He x-rayed the bomb and placed a bit of laser
vision on the right place.

Clark seriously hoped that no one noticed the smoke emerging
from the bomb. He got up quickly and he heated the weapons of
the two men next to Michaels. Their guns immediately fell out of
their hands. Clark grabbed the gun from the third man, knocking
him over with well measured strength. The policemen had watched
him with great interest but also fear, because his actions must
have seemed quite risky to them. They weren't aware of his
invulnerability and didn't know that he had destroyed the bomb.
But as soon as they noticed that luck was on their side now,
they got up quickly and overpowered their attackers.

The scene had changed completely. Clark was content with his
work, and everyone called him a damn, lucky fool. They
admonished him not to pull such a stunt ever again. Not a single
person became suspicious. He told them that he had seen Superman
hovering outside the window and had decided to take action. The
policemen bought it. They didn't know enough about Superman's
abilities to know that he couldn't have heated the weapons from
the outside without melting the glass.

After this rescue, it was no problem to have a little chat with
his attackers. He could only make them tell him that they didn't
know exactly who had given them the assignment. But they assured
him that they would recognize the voice on the phone when they
heard it again. Clark had found two witnesses. They promised him
they would testify in court, if the police offered protection
and if their sentence for breaking into Clark's apartment and
beating him up would be mild. Since they were still on
probation, Clark couldn't spare them jail time, but he would do
all he could do reduce the amount of time they would have to
spend there. Clark did offer to ask Superman for extra
protection.

Henderson was glad that he had finally found five promising
witnesses. The three villains that had invaded the police
department were very eager to tell their story to save their
skins. To demonstrate his satisfaction, Henderson had shaken
Clark's hand.

The two of them knew that they didn't have enough evidence
against Luthor to nail him, but they were on the right track.
Together with Henderson, Officer Michaels couldn't stop thanking
Clark for his bravery. Michaels had been very afraid that he
would leave his four beloved children alone. They were suffering
from the death of their mother, and losing their father as well
would have been even worse.

Clark felt so much sympathy for this poor man. His Lois wasn't
going to die, but he had still lost her. That was bad enough,
but if he really was never going to see her ever again, it would
be worse than hell.

When Clark stepped out of the police department he was very
aware of the fact that life was often too short to have a second
chance. He had to make up with Lois as soon as possible. Right
at the moment that he was thinking this, he found that she was
standing right in front of him.

* * *

Lois was stunned as she saw Clark stepping out of the police
department.

"Hi Clark," she greeted him uneasily.

"Hi Lois," he replied, sounding just as shocked as she was. "I'm
sorry, Lois, I overreacted."

"I shouldn't have searched your desk," Lois admitted, still
embarrassed by her own nerve. She had learnt more today than she
had ever bargained for. "Are you better, now?"

"Yeah, I tend to get bad headaches when I become furious. That
was totally uncalled for, Lois. I really need to apologize,"
Clark answered.

"No, you don't, Clark. I had no right to invade your privacy.
What are you doing here, Clark?" She bit her lip. She really was
unable to stop being the nosy reporter. He had the right to be
wherever he wanted to be.

"I had to talk with Henderson," Clark said. "There is still
someone in jail who counts on my help." He sounded somewhat
reproachful. Lois didn't really understand why. After all, his
wife was sitting behind those steel bars for a reason. She had
killed someone.

"You can't help everyone, Clark. Some people sit in jail for a
reason," she replied and bit her lip again. Why was she
provoking another argument?

"Have you ever heard of the concept of innocence?" Clark asked.
"Not everyone behind those steel bars is guilty of what he's
accused of. Unfortunately not everyone breathing the air of
freedom is innocent either."

"Clark, please stop this stupid crusade against Lex. He isn't
personified evil as you tend to see him."

"Lois, can't you see through his disguise? He is personified
greed; he does literally anything to achieve his goal." Clark
said helplessly. How was he going to make her see the true
personality of Lex Luthor?

"You're envious, Clark, and jealous. Why do you begrudge me
living with Lex?"

"You don't listen to me, Lois." Clark stated annoyed. "What do I
have to do to make you believe my words? Wear tights?"

"You don't have to steal your wife's clothing, Clark." Lois said
and ran away.

Why was he like this? She had always considered him to be her
best friend, but during those last couple of days he had been so
mean. She felt tears streaming down her cheeks. What was there
about Clark Kent that had made her cry for the second time this
day when she hadn't cried for years. Lois couldn't believe it,
he made her behave so strange that she didn't recognize herself.
She had lost him for sure now. They were not able to talk to
each other without arguing. Lois felt so empty. She relied on
him, and she needed Clark to talk to. It didn't matter how
unkind he had been; because she still needed him. Why was she
already missing him so much? Had she again managed to fall for
the wrong guy?

* * *

Lex had made a big mistake by underestimating Clark Kent. He had
thought that he would be easy to fight, but it was more
difficult than he had ever imagined. Who could have guessed that
Clark Kent would be so challenging? And moreover he didn't even
have the powers of Superman. Lex felt more and more amazed that
he needed to be resourceful to beat that man. Of course it
wasn't easy either to hunt down Superman, but he had already set
that trap. It was interesting that he didn't care so much about
the Man of Steel at the moment. Superman had dominated his every
thought in the last couple of weeks. He had planned his death
with more accuracy than he had ever needed to kill another
adversary.

But right now, there seemed to be another force in town to be
reckoned with - someone he had never considered a threat but
more an inconvenience. It didn't happen very often that Lex
Luthor's targets changed their own classification, but Mr. Kent
had managed to redefine his status. Lex was able to admit an
error, and he would correct it. Once he had only been the
partner of Ms. Lane, but he had quickly gained a name. Mr. Kent
was no longer an inconvenience but a threat. Lex didn't believe
that he would climb the next step and change from a threat to a
real enemy. Lex Luthor would read Clark Kent's obituary in one
of the local newspapers before he had the chance to become an
enemy.

* * *

It was already dark when Clark returned to his apartment. He had
been called to several emergencies all over the city, and that
had pretty much kept him from thinking about what had happened.
This was about the first time that he felt kind of grateful for
disasters. It caused a wave of guilt to wash over him because
the welcomed distraction was so awful for the people suffering
from it. But he couldn't help his feelings. The new argument
with Lois had left him stunned at first. He hadn't been able to
move, let alone run after her. He had heard her sobbing after
she had run from him. He never missed the faintest sound she
made when she was anywhere near him. The sound had mixed with
her heart beat making it a very heart-wrenching experience. It
had left him unable to move.

He hadn't actually understood what she had meant with the
comment about a wife. It confused him because he had assumed
that she knew about his being Superman. Had he misunderstood?
But then exactly what secret had she found out? The only other
secret that he could think of was that he was still a virgin at
his twenty-seven. But since sex had never been of any relevance
between them, that couldn't really be of interest to her. And it
certainly wasn't anything she might have found out by searching
his desk. In fact she wasn't likely to have found the truth
about Superman in his desk either.

For the moment he had, unbelievable as it was, more important
things to do than think about Lois. Clark noticed that Perry was
in his apartment. He needed to find a very good apology for his
editor-in-chief. And if he didn't manage to find one, he would
have to tell Perry the truth. Perry was too good a friend to be
treated so mean. Clark owed him a lot, and he thought of the man
as an uncle.

Clark entered his apartment through the front door. "Perry?" He
asked into the silence.

"I'm already packing, Clark," his chief replied from the living
room.

"That's not necessary. I'm sorry for being so rude this morning.
It won't happen again," Clark said as he approached Perry. He
felt really crushed about this. Perry was not involved in any
way in this whole mess.

"She has hurt you a lot, hasn't she, son?" Perry asked
sympathetically. He stopped packing.

Clark nodded. "That was still no good reason to attack you as
well, but I had the feeling that I was going to lash out. I
didn't want to put anyone in danger."

That was as close to the truth as Clark could possibly get
without telling Perry that he was Superman. He hadn't actually
felt like he was going to deliberately hurt anyone. He wasn't
actually the aggressive type. And when he really felt anger, it
was more aimed at himself than at others. But he wasn't always
able to control his superhuman part. It scared him that Lois was
able to push him beyond the edge of control, especially since
she was the person that he would never want to hurt.

"Women do strange things to us, son. Alice can drive me rather
crazy sometimes, but I love her. And you love Lois."

"With all my heart," Clark admitted.

"That's the reason why she affects you so much. She brings out
the best and the worst in you," Perry said softly.

"But I don't want to be the worst version of myself, Perry.
That's way too scary," Clark muttered and sank down on his sofa,
covering his face with his hands.

He felt so weak right now. The last argument with Lois had
drained him emotionally. He could still see better than anyone
else on the planet. He could still hear the faintest sound. He
could still lift a rocket into orbit. At the same time he had
never felt so limp. He had lost every hope of getting her back,
of being able to give her the freedom she deserved. In his mind
he already saw Lois enslaved by Luthor. Clark was literally able
to fly, but Lois was the person with the wings. She shouldn't be
caged like that. She needed to be able to spread her wings and
fly wherever the winds carried her.

Perry sat down next to Clark and patted his shoulder
consolingly.

"Sunshine follows rain, you know that, son. As dark and hopeless
as things might be now, they can only get better," he said
calmly. "All you need is a little bit of patience. Lois will
realize that Lex Luthor is not the nice guy he pretends to be.
She just cannot admit that she has made a mistake. But I'm sure
she will, before it is too late."

"I really hope so, chief. It makes me sad that we're not able to
speak to each other anymore. We always argued, especially when
we became partners. But it never was that bad. I love her so
much, but I can't help but be angry with her sometimes." Clark
sighed and looked at Perry.

"You really think that love is an ever-happy kind of thing? This
is about feelings, Clark. You can't have true feelings for a
person and never get angry with him or her. What she does
bothers you because she can touch your soul. It would be a sad
sign if she wasn't able to annoy you."

Clark slowly nodded as Perry's words sank in. Maybe he didn't
have to feel guilty because Lois had turned him into an
emotional wreck over the last couple of days. Maybe he really
felt that way because Lois mattered to him so much. But he was
too tired to think about these things. He muttered an apology as
he got up from the sofa and went to bed.

He just didn't feel like eating right now. In fact he hadn't
eaten all day, but there was no way for Perry to know that.
Since Clark didn't need to eat, it didn't really matter if he
actually did. He had already made his evening patrol by then and
saw no point in flying around a second time. He didn't really
feel up to doing anything but sleep. His dreams were the last
place where everything was just the way it should be.

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

Someone was knocking at his door, and Clark got up from the
sofa. He checked quickly to see who his visitor was and grinned
with satisfaction when he saw Lois standing there. She wore a
coat but seemed to shiver despite that. He started toward the
door but then quickly stopped to check on his outfit. When he
saw the washed-out jeans and the casual shirt, he made a short
detour into his bedroom and changed into black jeans and a black
shirt. Then he hurriedly went to the door.

She greeted him with a smile, and he invited her in. He noticed
that her eyes were wandering over his body. She took off the
coat as she went down the stairs. Lois wore a sweet little
nothing that didn't leave much to imagination. Her dress was
black and short, silky and flowing. It emphasized her curves in
exactly the right manner. Only Lois could manage to look so
decent in such a state of undress. Her skin was flawless. "Red
like blood, white like snow and black like ebony," the phrase of
the fairy tale resounded in his mind. Never had anything
described her in a better way. Like Snow White she was the most
beautiful woman in the world. Clark felt his knees grow weak.

She turned to him as he descended the stairs, came closer and
laid her arms on his shoulders. "I love you so much, Clark," she
said. Those were the words he had longed to hear so desperately.
She leaned forward to kiss him.

Her warm lips touched his, and her breath caressed his face
sending shivers through his body. Her tongue slipped through his
lips that parted of their own will. While she was kissing him
passionately, her fingers played with his hair, wandered down
his neck and trailed over his chest. He felt her every movement,
and time seemed to stand still, stopped by some generous power
that granted him his deepest desire to never let this moment
pass. They shouldn't have to part ever again. Clark needed to
know that Lois wasn't going to marry Luthor, and in this very
moment he was sur