A Little Something Super

By Molly [MPSL27@gmail.com]

Rated: PG-13

Submitted: February, 2011

Summary: Story re-write of "A Bolt From the Blue" with heavy
reference to "Chip Off the Old Clark." Clark deals with a
super-powered child, a super-powered man posing as a superhero,
and Lois as he searches for an answer to why so many other people
suddenly have his powers.

Author's Notes:

This is essentially a re-write of "A Bolt From The Blue"
(season 2), combined with elements of "Chip Off The Old Clark"
(season 3). I've often wondered what it would have been like to
have COTOC's plot take place earlier on in the series, before
Lois knew Clark was Superman. You will notice bits of plots &
dialogue taken from both episodes and inserted in this story (so
credit where credit is due, yada yada) but the rest is original.

This story was previously published, in parts, on lcficmbs.com
under the working title "COTOC Redux." Thanks to the folks on
the Fanfic Message Boards for their feedback and encouragement!

One more note: some names and events have been altered a bit
(from what they were in the original episodes.) The mother and
son in this story are *not* supposed to be Leigh Anne Stipanovic
and her son Jesse. They are different people who happen to have
some similiarities to those two characters. Later in the story,
you'll meet another familiar character -- he *is* supposed
to be the same character as on the show, though you'll note I
changed his name (confused yet? Don't worry. You'll certainly
recognize him for who he is.) Deviations from the actual
storyline of *A Bolt From The Blue* are completely intentional.
Just go with it.

***

November, 1994

Lois felt her heart drop to her heels.

"Can you believe that?" Jimmy was saying. "Superman has a
SON!? How cool is that?"

"Jimmy, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't believe
everything you see on TV!"

"Yeah, but Chief -- the kid can FLY!"

"That's just a bunch of fancy shmancy special effects! Now turn
that tabloid trash off and get back to work!"

Lois felt frozen. Stiff. Livid. She stared at her computer screen
without blinking. One false move and the tears would spill over.

The words from the woman on the television echoed in her head:
*Superman and I were lovers. He's my little boy's father. At
first, I wasn't sure, but -- well, as you can see, there's
really no other way to explain the flying, is there?*

A string of nasty names flooded into Lois's consciousness. It
had all seemed so ridiculous at first, but then -- then she'd
seen the boy on the TV running across his yard, jumping so high
in the air that he looked like a wayward balloon, landing on the
roof of his house with a thud, then grinning down at the camera
and waving.

Her reporter's processing unit kicked into overdrive. Sure,
maybe it was all a trick. Maybe Hot Topics had staged the whole
thing. Smoke and mirrors, strings and harnesses -- like Peter Pan
on stage. But to fabricate something so fantastical, and to
involve a child? That seemed a bit much, even for a trashy
tabloid show like Hot Topics.

But the other explanation -- the one that woman had given just a
few minutes ago, peering into the camera with big, doe eyes --
the explanation that seemed to fit more with Hot Topics's style
-- Lois would've rather handed her Kerth awards over to a herd
of stampeding buffalo before believing THAT.

A deadbeat dad? Not her Superman! Er... Superman. Well, he
may not be HERS, but she HAD given him his name. She'd been the
first to interview him one-on-one. And they'd shared several
kisses, including one in front of TV cameras and reporters. Had
anyone else done that? Hardly. Superman may not be officially
HERS, but he certainly wasn't someone else's -- and especially
not THAT woman's!

"Wait 'til CK gets a load of this!" Jimmy was saying. He
sounded like this was the best news he'd heard all year. Lois
had to supress the urge to hurl her keyboard at him. "Where is
CK, anyway?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm right here," came Clark's voice. "What's up?"

"CK, you won't believe this! We were watching Hot Topics, and
this woman gets on there and she's all -- "

"JIMMY!" Perry's raging voice cut through the young man's
words.

Jimmy blanched. "Uh... see ya later, guys."

Clark looked from Jimmy's departing form to Lois's
just-saw-a-ghost expression. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," Lois managed to say. "Jimmy's just going on about
something he saw on TV." She blinked, and quickly slid her hand
across her face to hide the evidence of her emotions.

Clark did not miss this action, but before he could inquire
further, his superhearing picked up his name -- actually,
Superman's name. And it wasn't a cry for help. It was coming
from across the room. Then again -- from over there! Why was
everyone talking about him? He tried to focus. He heard something
about a flying boy. Flying boy? Okay, what was going on?

"So where have you been?" Lois asked, pulling open one of her
desk drawers and beginning to paw through it.

"I was, uh... I needed to grab something to eat. "

"At eleven in the morning? You couldn't even wait 'til lunch?
Did you bring me anything?"

"What? I -- uh, no, sorry...."

"Clark, if you're going to go off and grab food in the middle
of a work day, the least you could do is appease me by bringing
me a bagel or a donut or something!"

"I'm sorry."

She looked up at him with a rueful smile. "Well, don't let it
happen again."

"LOIS! CLARK! IN MY OFFICE! NOW!"

Two heads snapped to attention. Then, without a word, they both
made a beeline for Perry's office.

"Shut the door," Perry instructed, and Clark did as he was
told.

"What's going on?" Lois asked. "Something big, I hope."

Perry was pacing back and forth in front of his desk. "Look,
kids, I know this sounds crazy, but I just got a call from a
source of mine, someone I trust. He says this super-boy thing is
legit, and advised me to get some reporters down to Maryston
right away. So I want you two on this thing a.s.a.p."

"Super-boy thing?" Clark asked, bewildered.

"Chief, you're not serious!" Lois gasped.

"Am I known to tease?" Perry raised an eyebrow.

"No, but(,) Chief, come on -- you yourself said, not ten minutes
ago, that this was all a hoax. I mean, it has to be! Superman
wouldn't -- I mean, he just WOULDN'T -- "

"Whatever Superman would or would not do is up to you two to
investigate. Here." Perry handed Lois a slip of paper. "This is
the address for the boy's mother. Her last name's Driver. I
know it's a bit of a trip, but you two are the best, so go."

"But... what's going on?" Clark asked.

"I'll fill you in on the way," Lois said brusquely as she
stormed out of Perry's office.

Clark did the only thing that made any sense to him at the moment
-- he followed her.

***

"Lois, this is INSANE!" Clark cried. "Look at all these news
vans! I can't believe it, people are actually taking this woman
seriously?!"

"Crazy, right? Nothing else going on in the world today,
apparently. Ugh, where am I supposed to park? Oh, there's a
spot."

"Lois, that's somebody's lawn..."

"It's brown," she said dismissively.

She parked the jeep, and they got out and began walking toward
the Drivers' house. They had to dodge camera and microphone
wires and dozens of people. Lois, who had no problem with
elbowing, made it to the front porch first, and by the time Clark
joined her, she was already involved in a conversation with a
tall, bushy-haired brunette.

"You're Lois Lane?!" the woman was saying. "This is such an
honor! I've been an admirer of your work forever! I would love
it if YOU would tell my story. Won't you come in?"

Several other reporters, who were crowded onto the porch, were
giving Lois dirty looks, but she paid them no mind.

"I'd love to," said Lois. "Oh, and this" -- she had noticed
Clark's presence -- "is my partner, Clark Kent. Do you mind if
he joins us?"

"No, no, of course not. Come on in, I'd like you to meet my
little boy."

No sooner had the front door shut behind them when Lois and Clark
heard a loud, "Look, Mommy! Lookit what I can do!"

Two mouths dropped open. Ten feet away stood a tiny little boy
with brown hair, green eyes, and dimples. He wore a flannel
shirt, jeans, and socks. He looked like an ordinary 3-year-old
boy... except for the fact that he was hoisting an armchair over
his head.

"I can lift it REAL HIGH!" cried the boy.

"Yes, Jussie, I know... now put the chair down and go watch your
video like a good boy while I talk to the nice reporters."

"Mommy, the TV got broked when you were outside."

"Well... just play with your cars, then. Have a seat," she
urged the reporters.

Clark and Lois sat tentatively on the worn-looking sofa, afraid
to take their eyes off the small child, who had now plopped
himself down in front of a box of Hot Wheels.

"Miss Driver," Lois said, as the woman took a seat in the
airchair the boy had just put down.

"Oh, please, call me Michelle. And that is my son, Justin.
Jussie for short."

"Michelle," Lois corrected. "I'm sure you know why we're
here."

"You saw my segment on Hot Topics, didn't you? Seems like
everyone has! Funny how quickly fame can hit you! I want to make
it clear, though, that I'm not out for fame. All I want is what
my little boy deserves."

"And that's what, exactly?" Clark asked.

"Well, the truth, for one thing. I want the world to know the
truth. And, well, I just want what's best for my son, of course.
A sturdy home -- " she looked upward as she said this, and two
other pairs of eyes followed hers to the ceiling, where there was
a particularly large hole, " -- a good education... what any
mother wants, really."

"Mommy, can I have another cookie?"

"Sure, sweetie..."

Michelle turned from her son to Lois and Clark again. "His
appetite is voracious these days! He's growing so fast. I can't
keep him in clothes. Everything's just... well, it's been
rough."

"Miss Dr -- er, Michelle... when did you first notice your son
had... these, uh... unusual abilities?" Lois asked, as she
watched the little boy rip through half a package of Chips Ahoy
in less than ten seconds.

"Well," Michell said, "they all seemed to start a few months
back, and all at once, really. I mean, one day he was just going
about his regular life, and the next, he was turning somersaults
in the air and setting things on fire with his little
eyeballs."

"And from what I understand," Lois continued, "you believe
this boy to be the son of Superman?"

"Yes. I mean, how else can you explain it?"

"Are you suggesting you had some kind of a relationship with
Superman?"

"Some kind of a relationship! It was a relationship, all right.
It may have been short, but oh, was it intense!"

Clark had to fight hard to bite his tongue. He wanted to protest.
He wanted to exclaim that he'd never seen this woman before in
his life! They hadn't had a relationship! But, of course, he
couldn't. And so he sat there, listening, pained.

"Michelle," said Lois, "there's no record of Superman before
1993. No sightings, nothing. And yet you're insinuating that you
knew Superman... more than three years ago? Would you care to
explain how that's possible?"

Michelle smiled. "Well, Superman didn't go public until last
year, I know. But he's been on Earth for about five years. Most
people don't know that, but it's true. When he first got here,
he didn't want anybody to know about him, so he had a secret
identity. His name was Charles. After we got close, he told me
about his powers, and told me that he planned to go public
someday, but not until he had sort of scoped out the world first.
You know, learned how to speak English real good and figure out
the rules of society. He said that's why we couldn't be
together forever, because he had a purpose, a mission and all
that. Well, at the time, I thought, oh well... that's fine for
you, sir... and I just let things be. But after he left me, and I
realized I was pregnant -- well... now, don't get me wrong, I'm
a strong woman... I was prepared to raise my baby on my own. And
things were going fine... until my boy started taking after his
daddy."

Clark's fists were clenched tightly beside him. His jaw locked.
Oh, for the love of... this was too much! Was Lois actually
buying this? He dared to glance sideways at her, and tried to
read her expression. She looked interested, but noncommittal.

"Do you have any kind of proof that you and Superman were once
an item?" Lois asked Michelle. "Mementos, letters....?"

"I'm afraid not," said Michelle. "After he left, I... well,
I'm afraid I destroyed everything. But like I told that other
reporter, I am more than willing to take a lie detector test or
whatever anyone wants me to do, because I have nothing to hide.
All I want is the truth to come out and the best for my boy."

Said boy chose that moment to leap through the air, landing
semi-gracefully on top of an upright piano.

"Well, thank you for your time," Lois said, standing up
quickly.

"Thank YOU," said Michelle. "And please, be in touch if you
have any further questions. I just have to say, your articles on
Superman have been such a blessing to me! Even though he and I
could not be together, somehow... reading about him made me feel
like he was truly here, with me."

***

The ride back to Metropolis was silent for the first twenty
minutes. At long last, Lois broke it by saying, "Well?"

"Well, what?" said Clark.

"You know what."

"I think it's a... very... strange situation," Clark said
finally. What else could he say? He felt both angry and confused.
Angry at the lies the woman was telling, confused at the
circumstances. There HAD to be a rational explanation for this
unbelievable situation. A boy who had superpowers; that was nuts.
But, he thought, in the past year alone he'd witnessed people
falling all over each other thanks to a perfume, a suit that
could make its wearer invisible, long-dead criminals who'd come
back to life, and a group of 11-year-olds who were almost smarter
than he was. This super-boy thing was just the latest thing.

"We should talk to Superman." said Lois.

Talk to Superman? Yes, that made sense. Clark supposed he'd have
to come up with something to say. But what? Well, denial, for
starters. And then what? Everyone would expect an explanation for
how the boy had powers if he was not, in fact, Superman's child.
And he had no idea how to go about providing one.

"Don't you think so?" Lois pressed.

Clark had to think for a moment to remember her question. "Oh...
yeah, yeah, we probably should."

"At least give him a chance to tell his side of the story."

"Are you saying you actually believe that woman? I mean, that
she and Superman "

"Clark, I don't know WHAT to believe. While we were sitting in
that living room, we saw a 3-year-old lift an armchair, jump ONTO
a piano, and literally inhale a packageful of cookies. He clearly
has superpowers!"

"I know, but there could be some other explanation...."

"Like what?"

"I don't know!" Clark said exasperatedly. "Maybe... he's a
robot? Maybe he's from the same planet as Superman, but not...
well...." Clark doubted that was possible, but he had to say
SOMETHING. Anything to get Lois's mind off the idea that he --
well, Superman -- had actually been with that woman!

"Clark, I'd be thrilled if that were true. Believe me. Either
way, we're going to get to the bottom of this. And that's why
we need to talk to Superman. I, for one, would love to hear what
he has to say."

***

The phone was ringing as Clark shut the front door of his
apartment. He groaned inwardly. After the day he'd had, he
wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody. Well, maybe his
parents...

His parents! Had they heard? Somehow, he was sure they had. After
the story broke on Hot Topics that morning, it had been picked up
by TV news stations all over the country.

He felt like crawling under a boulder. It was one thing to talk
about, well, reproduction with his parents. It was quite another
thing to have it splashed all over the news that he -- well,
technically his alter ego, but still a part of him -- had gotten
a woman pregnant and left her to raise her son alone. If any of
it HAD been true, his parents would have every right to lecture
him from here to the moon, but... it wasn't true. Surely they
knew that. Surely they would have nothing but sympathy for him.

Clark edged toward the phone, but before he reached it, it
stopped ringing. He fell onto the couch and sighed deeply. What.
A. Day. HE knew he wasn't the boy's father, but how to make
everyone else believe that? Especially when everyone else could
see with their own eyes that this kid could fly, tear down walls,
and make craters in his backyard. It was so fantastic in and of
itself, it wasn't that much of a stretch to also believe, while
you were at it, that the boy was biologically connected to
Superman. And with the boy's mother insisting Superman WAS the
father....

He closed his eyes and began running his mind through the events
of the late afternoon. After he and Lois had returned to the
Planet from visiting with Michelle Driver, they'd spoken to
Perry about what she'd said. Perry told them to get hold of
Superman. Lois said that's what they intended to do. Then both
Perry and Lois had looked pointedly at Clark. Clark had sighed,
said he'd try to contact Superman, and left. Twenty minutes
later, he'd returned to say that he'd spoken with Superman and
gotten Superman's take on the matter: "'I'm not the
father.'" His exact words, Clark had said.

"What else did he say?" Lois had wanted to know.

"What else do you want?" Clark asked, forgetting himself for a
minute.

Now, Clark's phone was ringing again. He reached over to answer
it.

"Hello?"

"Clark, honey, are you all right?"

"Hi, Mom. Yeah, I'm okay...."

"What on Earth is going on? On TV -- that boy... well, we saw
him fly, and -- "

"I know, Mom, I know... but I don't know how it's possible.
Perry put Lois and me on the story, and we went to the boy's
house this afternoon, and he flew and he lifted things and -- I
don't know what to think!"

"Clark?"

"Hi, Dad."

"You say this boy definitely has powers?"

"Right."

"Could he be from Krypton?"

"Jonathan, he's too young," Martha reminded him.

"Maybe he has a Kryptonian parent here on Earth," Jonathan
offered.

"I don't know, Dad," Clark said. "Don't you think if there
were other Kryptonians here on Earth, one of them would have
contacted Superman by now? Besides, this woman is claiming she
once dated SUPERMAN... not just some random guy with powers,
but... well... ME!"

"And speaking of Kryptonians," said Martha. "If there's one
thing we know -- at least about you -- it's that your powers
came on gradually. Sure, as a child, you never got sick or hurt,
but you certainly weren't doing any of those things they showed
this little boy doing on TV! You didn't start to fly until
college."

"Clark," said Jonathan, "Do you think this boy could have
something to do with that clone of yours?"

Thoughts whirled inside Clark's head. The clone! Of course! If
someone had been able to clone Superman, then wasn't it also
theoretically possible for them to genetically create a super
child? He had no idea, but the thought sickened him. The clone
had had a short life. To give a child such a life... who would do
that? And for what purpose? If it was simply to create a being
with superpowers for nefarious purposes, then why publicize it
when the child was so young? Why not wait til the child was
grown, til he could do his creator's bidding?

He relayed his thoughts to his parents, who agreed that this
could definitely be a possibility, although a disturbing one.
Clark promised to pursue that angle, and let them know if and
when he had any more information to share.

After they said their goodbyes, Clark checked his watch. It was
after 11, so he flipped on the TV to hear the day's sports
scores.

Big mistake. There was his image, splashed across the screen.

"I just don't see how we, as a society, can trust Superman
anymore," one woman was saying. "He's said he stands for truth
and justice, but this? I think this proves otherwise. No man with
morals would abandon his own child."

"I always admired Superman's principles. But having a
relationship and a child out of wedlock, and then keeping his
offspring a secret -- ?"

" -- ought to take responsibility for his actions -- "

" -- an army of Superpeople, out to take over the planet -- "

" -- poor, innocent child -- "

Poor innocent child indeed. Clark snapped off the TV and went
toward his bedroom. He needed sleep... if for no other reason
than to get a seven-hour escape from this insanity.

***

Lois closed her eyes and slid beneath the surface of the warm
water. She liked the way the world sounded under there. Like
outer space. The only sound to be heard, beyond the mild hum of
the heater in the next room, was the occasional water droplet
sliding off the side of the bathtub and joining the pool below.

The peacefulness was interrupted by the sound of the phone
ringing. She stayed put for a moment, unsure if she should
bother. After the third ring, she brought her head out of the
water. At the seventh ring, she slowly climbed out of the
bathtub, wrapped a towel around her hair and one around her body,
and made her way into the bedroom.

"Hello?"

"Did you see it, Lois? Did you see Hot Topics?"

*Well,* Lois thought, *It could be worse. At least it isn't
Mother.*

She laid down on the bed, already feeling a headache coming on.
"Yes, Lucy, I saw it."

"So... are you okay?'

"Of course I'm okay," Lois said irritably. "Why wouldn't I
be? Perry's got us covering the darn story, for heaven's sake,
and I AM a professional."

"He put YOU on the story? Seriously? Considering your history
with Superman?"

"What history?" Lois snapped. "Apparently he'll make history
with just about anyone, so why should I care?"

"Ouch, Lois. You aren't jealous, are you?"

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Of that woman. The boy's mother."

"Lucy, I may be a lot of things, but I am NOT jealous. Why would
you even think that?"

"Oh, maybe because Superman got close to her, and you've never
gotten that close to him, despite being in love with him for HOW
long?"

"Superman doesn't -- I mean, he -- "

"Face it, Lois -- you just assumed that if he didn't want a
relationship with you, he must not want one with anyone. And now,
well, unfortunately, you've seen that he IS capable of having a
relationship -- just... not with you."

Wow. Lucy was in full-on annoying-sister mode. Lois wasn't going
to back down, though... even if it meant this crumbling into a
pointless, never-gonna-get-resolved argument. When it came to her
and Superman, she wasn't going to let anyone -- especially her
own sister -- get things wrong.

"Look," said Lois. "Despite whatever weirdness the world has
decided to throw at us, Superman and I have a connection, a bond,
a THING that's just... beyond explanation. It's there, Lucy, I
know it. Trust me, life would be a lot easier if it wasn't
there, but it is. And that's all I can say about that."

"You still love him," Lucy said softly.

Lois sighed. "I always have."

"Do you think he fathered that baby?"

"I don't know," said Lois. "Clark talked to him earlier, and
Superman just denied being the father, and I guess Clark didn't
get anything else out of him beyond that, so.... I'd love to
speak to him myself, but I have no idea how to get hold of him
without, you know, falling off a roof or something. Sometimes he
just shows up when I need him, but he hasn't so far. But I
don't know... I mean, what could he possibly have to say
for himself? I WANT it to be true that he's not the father...
every fiber of my being wants that to be true, Luce, but... it's
not enough for me to just want it."

"Did you ever even think Superman could even HAVE kids? He's an
alien, after all. Well, I'm sure YOU'VE thought about it...."
she added with a snicker.

"Lucy, PLEASE."

"Oh, come on... never?"

"No! And I am certainly NOT jealous of that woman, in case
you're still curious. You couldn't PAY me to be in that
woman's shoes. The last thing I need OR want is a child!"

"Not even if it was Superman's?" Lucy said.

"No, not even then! ESPECIALLY not then! You haven't seen that
little boy, Lucy. His whole house is in shambles because he
can't keep his powers under control. There are holes in the
ceiling, up-ended furniture, broken glass on the carpet, shingles
falling of the roof.... Do you think I'd want a child like that
on my hands?"

"But what if Superman, like, asked? What if he showed up at your
place, flew in the window, and asked you to have his lovechild.
Then would you?"

Lois felt her entire body flush. "That... would... never happen.
So it's pointless to even consider -- "

"But if he DID. IF HE ASKED YOU." Lucy was sounding way too
eager. "Wanted to. What if he flew in there and said, 'Lois, I
want you.-? Take me, right now!' Say he said that. What would
you say?"

"I would ask if he was on drugs!"

"Juuust answer the question."

There was a long pause. "Okay, yes -- IF he were to do that --
and let's please be clear that this whole scenario is completely
out of the question -- if he did, I would probably say yes."

"Aha! I knew it!"

Lois rolled her eyes. "Okay, yes, miss smarty pants. Yes. You
win, you're right. I'd screw over my entire life for Superman.
And the career I've worked my butt off for. AND I'd gain a
million pounds and go through labor and all that -- for him. I
love him. Despite this. Despite everything. I admit it. I love
him. And that in and of itself might just make me do something
THAT insane. Now, I am hanging up the phone because I am tired
and if I don't get some rest, I'm going to have a nervous
breakdown. So goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sis. Good luck..."

***

The next morning, Clark hadn't even had time to get a cup of
coffee when Lois accosted him by the elevators. "Clark, call
Superman and tell him I want to talk to him."

Clark looked alarmed. "But why? He's already made a statement.
He's not this boy's father. Case closed."

"Case NOT closed! You said so yourself that even if Superman
isn't the father, there must be some other rational explanation
for the boy's superpowers. And one of YOUR suggestions was that
maybe this kid's from Krypton! Soooo... it would make sense to
ask Superman about that, wouldn't it?"

"Don't you think if Superman KNEW anything about the kid, he
would have SAID SO?"

Lois could sense annoyance in Clark's voice. Sheesh. Sometimes
it seemed he was more sensitive when it came to Superman than SHE
was. She lowered her voice. "Clark, please don't get upset. I
know he's your friend -- er, our friend. I know you want him to
be innocent and perfect, so do I. But either way, there's
definitely a story here. There is a boy out there who has his
powers and there's a woman out there who could very well ruin
Superman's reputation. And it's OUR job to get to the bottom of
the whole thing and figure out what's going on!"

Clark was looking at her in surprise. She paused to catch her
breath, then said, "So I think we ought to talk to Superman
again. What do YOU think?"

"I think... that makes sense," he said quietly.

She was not expecting to hear this. Of course, she'd HOPED he'd
agree with her, but somehow she was expecting to have to fight
harder. "Well... then okay!" she said. "So you'll call
him?"

Clark returned fifteen minutes later. "Superman says he'll talk
to you. He'll meet you at Pier 39 at noon."

"Just me? Clark..."

"I do think you should talk to him. You were right. But can you
go this one alone? I'm really not feeling too great..."

Lois studied her partner. He DID look a bit pale. Hmmm. So maybe
that explained why he hadn't argued further with her. He just
wasn't up to it. Drat, that soured her victory.

"Yeah, I can handle it," she said. "You take it easy...."

A year ago, this exact thing would have been spoken with sarcasm
and contempt. Now she spoke sincerely -- she was concerned for
him. It was like he was taking the news of Superman's supposed
indiscretion worse than she was. She -- who had, not six months
ago -- declared her love for Superman and been rejected. She, who
still carried a candle, no, make that a brightly-lit torch, for
the Man Of Steel, despite having very little hope.

Clark might have felt guilty for making Lois go it alone, but at
least he hadn't lied to her -- this time. He DID feel out of
sorts. Maybe the stress of everything was finally getting to him.
He felt tired. But he couldn't check out just yet -- he had an
appointment to keep at noon.

***

"Thank you for meeting with me."

Superman nodded mutely, then motioned toward a bench. They sat.
Lois pulled out a voice recorder and a notepad.

"You probably know what this is about," Lois began cautiously,
tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm sure I do."

"These allegations by Michelle Driver -- "

" -- are competely unfounded," he finished for her. "I've
never seen her before in my life."

"I want to believe you," she said. "Besides, you've never
given me any reason not to trust you."

She noticed his eyes flicker away for a moment. "Superman?" she
asked.

He had to force himself to meet her gaze. "I realize," he said
cautiously, "that still doesn't answer the question of how Miss
Driver's son is able to fly. I've been thinking about that, and
I may have an answer. I'm hesitant to share my theory -- I think
it would be wise to keep this off the record -- until we know for
sure -- even if it could clear my name..."

"I won't print anything until we know for sure. What is your
theory?"

"You remember when someone used my DNA to make a clone?"

She was quick to catch on. "You think this boy might be the
result of a cloning... experiment?"

Superman nodded. "It's possible. I mean, I thought I'd
destroyed all the DNA samples out there, but... maybe there was
something I missed."

"So... Justin Driver could be your -- your clone, but young?"

"No, I don't think so... not exactly. If anything, I think
someone could have used my DNA as the paternal element and
somehow fused it with that of a... a female." He felt his face
grow warm. "I mean, technically, I suppose Justin Driver COULD
be, genetically, my son... but I had nothing to do with any of
it. The reason I don't think he's a clone of... well, me... is
because he doesn't resemble what I looked like at that age."

Superman -- as a boy? Lois had to catch her breath. Superman had
once been a child? Of course he had. Of course. But she had never
thought on it before. Suddenly a thought struck her. Michelle
Driver had said Superman had been on Earth for years... but
everything she knew about Superman said otherwise. What was the
truth?

"Superman," she asked. "When did you first arrive here on
Earth?"

"Why do you ask?" he said.

"Well, I'd just assumed you first came last year -- when you
saved my life on the Prometheus. But Michelle Driver alleges that
she knew you -- met you -- about FOUR years ago. In fact," Lois
went on, feeling a bit silly for what she was about to say, "She
said you had a secret identity and that your name was really
Charles."

Superman raised an eyebrow. "No, my name's definitely not
Charles."

"Oh. Well, anyway, I was thinking, if you really did just come
to Earth last year, we can just REMIND everyone of that, and then
they'll be sure to see that HER story is impossible!"

Superman sighed. "Lois, the public will believe what they want
to believe. They'll assert that boys who are half-Kryptonian
just age rapidly. They'll latch on to the theory that I've been
secretly around for years -- whatever's easiest for them to
accept. No matter what I do, there will always be people who are
against me. If I agree to a DNA test to see if I'm a match with
the boy, and it comes back negative -- they'll say Kryptonian
DNA defies the testing process or whatever. You can present the
public with a ten-volume book of facts, and many will still throw
it aside in favor of conspiracy theories. I can say it a hundred
times, 'I'm not the father,' and there will still be
disbelievers. My best advice is to focus on the cloning angle.
And on the boy -- who did this to him, or how this happened,
or..." he trailed off, his eyes pleading with her.

"I will," she promised. "I'll do that."

"I have to go," he told her.

"Thank you for meeting with me."

He nodded and took off toward the sky.

As she watched him go, she realized... he hadn't actually
answered the question about when he arrived on Earth. He'd just
denied his name was Charles.

Now THAT was going to bug her.

***

"How'd it go?" Clark asked.

"Blah," Lois said. She flopped into her chair and swiveled it
toward him. "Clark, I hate to say this, but I think Superman has
more secrets going for him than we ever imagined. Everything I
know about him -- everything we've learned since his arrival --
I get the feeling it's just the tip of the iceberg."

"Why? What did he say?"

"Oh, well, 'I'm not the father,' of course. And I want to
believe him, Clark, I do -- but now I feel more confused than
ever. There was something he said. About being young. Have you
ever imagined Superman that way before? It's bizarre. In my
mind, he looks exactly the same, only short. With a tiny little
blue suit and cape. And get this -- I asked him when he first
came to Earth -- if it was really last year, or if he'd been
here longer, like Michelle Driver had said, and he just, well, he
didn't ever get around to answering the question. What's he
hiding? I mean, I don't want to pry into his personal life, but
-- okay, yes I do. I'm curious! Oh well. He did give me SOME
information to go on, at least. He thinks the Driver boy might be
a clone -- at least, the product of Superman's DNA and a human
mother."

"That could be," Clark said.

"If only we knew who cloned Superman last spring. That person
might know about this."

"What about that doctor we interviewed? What was his name?"

"Leek," she answered. "Dr. Fabian Leek. Funny how my brain can
forget to add cereal to my shopping list but it remembers obscure
names of sleazy scientist(s). Must be some reporter thing. I
don't remember his phone number, though. JIMMY!"

Jimmy appeared promptly.

"Get me the number of Dr. Fabian Leek, would you?"

"Leek?" Jimmy repeated. "Sure thing." As he turned away,
Clark distinctly heard him mutter something about
"unfortunate."

Ten minutes later, he was back. "Good news and bad news, guys.
The good news is, I found him. But the bad news is he's dead.
Died back in April. No relatives or anything, either."

"So I guess he's out of the running," Lois sighed. "Unless
someone took up his research. Jimmy, see if you can find out who
Dr. Leek was working for, or where his funding was coming from.
Get me the names of his colleagues and friends."

"On it, Lois!"

"What about Dr. Hamilton?" said Clark. "I'm sure he's been
too... uh, busy... to be involved in THIS, obviously, but he does
know a lot about DNA. Maybe he knows someone else in the field
who might know something...."

***

"Well, that was a bust," Lois said, as she and Clark left Dr.
Hamilton's office later that afternoon. "As helpful as he could
be, but no leads on our boy."

"No," Clark said sadly. "Just the confirmation that the
cloning theory is possible because... anything is possible."

"Frustrating, isn't it? But I can't fault the man, really --
he's been more than helpful when it comes to... well...." she
sent a pointed glance in Clark's direction. "I mean, if it
wasn't for him -- and Superman, too -- you wouldn't even be
here, now."

"If it wasn't for him, I never would have gotten shot in the
first place!"

"Stop being glass-half-empty, Clark, that's my job."

He smiled.

***

"Help! Someone help!"

>From high above the city, Superman honed in on the source of
the cries and began to speed toward it. In the middle of
Centennial Park, a woman was lying on the ground, seemingly
writhing with pain. He landed beside her and asked her what was
wrong.

The woman jumped up, to Superman's surprise, and trust a finger
at him. "You're what's wrong, you son of a bitch! You JERK,
you...."

"I -- "

"How could you do that to that poor woman and your SON? How
could you just ABANDON them? Oh, if you didn't have all those
f-ing powers, I'd get a gun and shoot you in the face!"

Superman gaped. Then, shaking his head, he fought for composure.
"Is that all?" he asked tightly. "Because I have more
important things to do."

As he flew off, he heard the woman shouting about doing things,
all right.

He was done for the night. Done emotionally.

He flew back to his apartment, changed into boxers, and collapsed
into bed. This was unbelievable. All of this. Many times before,
his reputation had taken beatings, but somehow, this time, it was
more personal. He was sickened by the accusations, the jeers, the
swears, the outright hostility he was receiving from total
strangers. As sorry as he felt for Justin Driver (and, by
default, his mother, for having to put up with the pitfalls of
having a superchild) he was infuriated by the fact that this
whole situation existed in the first place.

It had been almost a week, and things had only gotten worse. Now
Michelle Driver wanted money. She'd gotten an attorney and he'd
announced her intentions to seek child support, money for house
repairs and reinforcements, and tuition money so that Justin
could attend a special school, not to mention a particularly
large sum for her "pain and suffering." Entertainment Nightly
had reported a possible "Superboy" movie in the works. Clark
guessed Michelle Driver hadn't had any trouble finding a lawyer
willing to work with her -- every attorney in New Troy would
probably want a piece of that action.

Meanwhile, the cloning angle had hit a dead end. They hadn't
been able to dig up much of anything on Dr. Fabian Leek. His
financial records were inaccessible. They had Jimmy working his
computer magic, trying to access something, but so far, no luck.

And then there was Lois. She was still fixated on what Superman
had said to her -- or hadn't said to her -- at the pier. She was
certain he was hiding something from her. And if he was hiding
one thing, maybe he was hiding lots of things. And maybe he knew
something about the Driver boy after all. Maybe he'd lied. And
if Superman had lied to her, well -- needless to say, she was
crushed. Clark hated seeing her like this, so disappointed, so
dejected. He, as Clark, had tried over and over to remind Lois
that Superman was a stand-up guy, that he'd never get a woman
pregnant and then abandon her, or ignore his responsibilities
like that in any way. But he was beginning to sound like a broken
record in a closed-off bedroom.

He needed a breakthrough -- and soon. Some vital piece of
information that would explain everything. Something that would
restore both Superman's reputation and Lois's mood.

He needed a miracle.

***

Click.

Lois threw the remote across the room. It hit the wall with a
satisfying *thwack.*

Her brief time spent at LNN seemed like a distant memory, a bad
memory. How had she ever done it? How had she worked for
something so vile? TV media was so maddening! Did they ever even
bother to check facts before spouting off about the latest
"development"? Was "journalistic integrity" even part of
their vocabulary?

Lois brought her knees to her chest and began to rock back and
forth. She hated them. Hated the things they were saying about
Superman. Yes, she herself had had her doubts about Superman's
sincerity for a minute there, but never in her life would she
have dreamed of saying such hurtful things, like the things they
were calling him on the so-called "news" shows.

Superman was strong, she knew, but how much of this crap could he
take? Her mind brought forth two instances in which he'd been
attacked publicly: first, when everyone in Metropolis thought
Superman was causing the heatwave, and second, when Arianna
Carlin's syndicated column had pressed multitudes of people to
believe that Superman was evil and had been responsible for the
death of Lex Luthor, a "great man." Despite all the criticism
and jeers he had received, he hadn't thrown in the towel. He
hadn't packed up and left the country. He'd stayed, and he'd
helped. He'd saved lives. And yet this is how everyone kept
repaying him... with insults, accusations, and contempt.

Why are people so awful? Lois wondered. Can't they look at all
the good he's done? Can't they empathize with him? Everyone,
she was sure, at some point in their lives, had been wrongly
accused of something. She certainly had. It felt terrible. Her
heart ached for what Superman must be going through.

She didn't believe a word of it anymore. Superman, she was sure,
was not Justin Driver's father. She could just feel it. Sure,
Superman had been evasive with her at the pier. And yes, he was
clearly a man with secrets. But maybe he had his reasons. Maybe
sharing too much of himself would only lead to more accusations
and more trouble. Perhaps he wanted to tell her more, but
couldn't. Okay, fine. It would drive her a bit batty, but she
could handle that.

***

"I'm going to see Michelle Driver again," Lois announced the
next morning.

"Alone?" Clark said.

"Yeah. I have an angle."

Clark raised an eyebrow.

When Lois arrived at the Driver residence, she found the place
even more swarmed than the week before. Reporters from all over
the world were literally camping out on the lawn, driveway, and
sidewalk. Trailers and motorhomes lined the street. She managed
to double park two blocks away and make it to the front porch in
short order.

She was met with a hulking security guard blocking the door, but
she refused to be intimidated. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet. I was
here the other day and spoke to Miss Driver at length. Let her
know I'm here."

"I ain't her secretary," the man grunted. "And anyways,
she's tired of reporters and doesn't want to be bothered."

Forty dollars later, Lois was ringing the doorbell.

A man in a tacky tweed suit answered the door. He opened it just
a crack and said, "No one speaks to my client without an
appointment. Good day."

"Lois Lane," she said loudly. "Tell Michelle I'm here. I
spoke with her the other day."

She was ushered in the door a minute later. "My name is Richard
Fennerman," the tweed-suited man said, as he led her toward the
living room. "I'm Miss Driver's attorney. I will be overseeing
any interview that is conducted."

Lois, Michelle, and Mr. Fennerman sat down. Lois noticed that
Michelle looked more tired than she had before... though there
was a glint of something in her eyes that suggested she wasn't
totally beat.

"Where's Justin?" Lois asked.

"Oh, taking a nap," said Michelle. "Funny, despite everything,
he seems to need to rest just as much as any boy his age."

Lois smiled. "Michelle, I was hoping I could speak with you,
woman-to-woman."

"I'm afraid," said Mr. Fennerman, "that isn't possible."

"It would be completely off the record," Lois hurried on.
"It's just that, well, your client and I have something in
common. She once had a relationship with Superman, and I, well...
I guess it's all a wild wish, really, but he and I have had
SOMETHING of a relationship, I suppose. I just feel a connection
with her, you see... and I just want to... talk!"

"Richard, why don't you go check on Justin?" Michelle said to
her attorney.

"I really don't think that's -- "

"I'll be fine. You can go."

Looking perturbed, the lawyer stood up and left the room.

"He's so great with Jussie," Michelle remarked, as she watched
him go. "And Jussie doesn't like just anybody. I feel very
lucky to have found him."

Lois forced a smile.

"So you want to talk woman-to-woman," said Michelle. "Of
course, of course. I HAD heard rumors that you and Superman were
romantically linked."

"Listen," said Lois. "I'm pretty good about being able to
tell when someone's lying. And I know you're lying about your
relationship with Superman."

"I -- "

"Don't even start. Superman's not the father of your son, and
you know it. So we have a problem here. Your lies are destroying
a good man's reputation. And for what? Money? Fame? You said the
other day you just wanted what's best for your little boy. If
that's really true, then maybe you should cooperate with someone
who can help you figure out WHY Justin has superpowers. If we can
figure out how he got them, maybe we can make them go away."

It took a moment for Michelle to recover from Lois's speech, but
when she did, she raised herself up haughtily and said, "Make
them go away? Now, why would I want to do that? We've got a
movie deal in the works, I'll have you know! And a toy company
wants to make a Justin action figure! He can have the life I've
always wanted for him! Why would I want his powers to go away?"

Lois stared at Michelle, dumbfounded. This woman's house was a
wreck; her furniture nearly annihilated, and yet she WANTED her
three-year-old to be immensely strong? She WANTED a
three-year-old who could fly away from her at the shopping mall?
Greed was obviously clouding any good judgment she possessed.

"Miss Lane, you have a lot of nerve coming in here and saying
these things to me!" Now Michelle's voice had gotten loud. "I
suggest you leave!"

Richard Fennerman stepped back into the room. "I'll show you to
the door," he said gruffly.

Lois left without further comment. She had a lot to say to that
woman, yet she knew it was bound to fall on deaf ears. Michelle
Driver was clearly not in her right mind.

***

"Clark, it was absolutely maddening! She thinks it's great,
getting all these movie deals and whatnot. It's like her mind is
completely in the clouds. She didn't deny it when I accused her
of lying, though. That's something."

"You flat out told her you knew she was lying?!"

"Yes," said Lois.

Wow, Clark thought. "So... then you believe Superman?"

"Clark, I have to. If I can't believe Superman to be honest and
trustworthy, then my whole world is just going to go falling to
pieces. You might as well tell me the sky is orange and dogs say
meow. Superman tells the truth, and that's all there is to it.
And if he says he's not the father, then darnit, that woman's a
liar!"

Clark was dying to ask how Lois had come to this conclusion, but
he held his tongue. No matter how she'd arrived, she'd arrived.
He wasn't about to say anything to change her mind. The point
was she believed him, now -- and that meant the world to him.

"I just wish I could've talked some sense into her," Lois
continued. "She's done a complete turnaround since we spoke to
her. NOW she thinks having a superkid is wonderful! Oooh, a
movie! Ahhh, an action figure! She apparently has no qualms about
exploiting her son for profit!"

"Maybe..." Clark began, then stopped himself.

"Maybe what?"

"Well, maybe Superman ought to talk to her?"

"Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, if Superman goes over
there, every reporter camped out on that lawn is going to do the
hallelujah chorus. It'll be like Superman's flat-out admitting
his involvement!"

"Who says he has to go over there?" Clark asked.

"You mean, they could meet somewhere? But where?"

"I have an idea," said Clark.

***

STAR Labs had never seen anything quite like it. Mobs of people,
packing the parking lot. Everyone waiting for the arrival of
Superman; everyone eagerly anticipating the arrival of "The
Superboy" and his mother. This was it, the big moment.

Superman had agreed to a DNA test.

Superman arrived first. Microphones were thrust into his face and
he was sprayed with questions. He held up his hand. When the
noise settled, he said, "I'm here today because I want the
world to know the truth. For everyone's sake. I believe in --
"

"IT'S THEM!"

The crowd bubbled up again and heads turned toward an approaching
white limousine. When the car stopped, the door was opened and
out stepped Richard Fennerman. Next came Michelle Driver. She was
dressed sharply in a black shirt, blouse, and heels. "Come on,
Jussie," Clark heard her say. A minute later, Justin emerged,
wearing... a Superman suit.

The crowd loved it. Hundreds of flashes later, the four of them
were being greeted inside STAR Labs by two doctors.

"Welcome," said one of the doctors. "I'm Dr. Murtson, and
this is my colleague, Dr. Riley. We've prepared a room where
we'll take the samples so we can begin the tests. Right this
way, please."

They were taken to a large room with no windows and a lot of
equipment. There was a large metal table and several chairs.

"Before we begin," said Superman, "I was hoping to have a word
with Miss Driver. Alone."

"I'm afraid -- " Richard Fennerman began.

"Oh, Richard, shush," said Michelle. "That's fine by me. But
what about Justin?"

"Well," spoke up Dr. Riley, "if Justin likes rats, we have a
very interesting experiment going on down the hall. He'll have
to promise to be careful, but...."

"Rats!" said Justin excitedly.

"Richard, you'll go with him, won't you?" asked Michelle.

The attorney sighed but agreed, and they were led away to see the
rodents.

"Please," said Superman, indicating a chair.

Michelle sat and looked at Superman.

"You're looking good," Michelle offered.

"Miss Driver, please..."

"Miss Driver! Why the formalities? You certainly never called me
that before, silly."

Superman took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm.
"You told Lois Lane that you want Justin to continue having
powers. That you think, somehow, it'll make his life better. But
I disagree. Please, listen.... I know what it's like to be
different from everybody else. And believe me, it's not fun. In
some ways, it's terrifying... sometimes humiliating... I have
never felt like I fit in, not really. I never know if people
really like me, the REAL me, or if they're just... impressed by
what I can do. It's not the kind of life I'd wish on anybody...
ESPECIALLY not a boy who's only three years old, who has his
whole life ahead of him... a life that could be normal, if you'd
let us try and figure out how he got his powers in the first
place."

Michelle was shaking. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's been so
hard, I just... I don't know what to do! Justin and I NEED the
money, don't you see? It's hard enough being a single mom....
but having a little boy who's nearly destroyed your house...!
I've had to max out our credit cards just to keep a roof over
our heads!"

"I want to help you," Superman said. "But, look, I'm not
rich. I don't have bagfuls of cash sitting around. Everything
'Superman' earns from merchandising goes straight to charity,
and... I'm sorry about your home. I want to help fix it, and I
want to make things right. And I'll do what I can. But if you
truly want things to get better for Justin, then you have to let
us -- me, Lois Lane, and Clark Kent, the doctors here at STAR
labs, perhaps -- help you solve this mystery... and maybe give
Justin a chance at a normal life."

"But how do we do that?" asked Michelle.

"Well... for starters, do you know who Justin's real father
is?"

Michelle sighed. "His name was Steve. Steve Wickers. He was my
boyfriend at the time. A real cad, though. He died in a
motorcycle accident right after Justin was born."

"You're positive he's the father?"

"Yes!" said Michelle, sounding offended. "Goodness sakes, I'm
not THAT kind of woman!"

"Sorry. I just... well, okay. When was Justin born?"

"May 14, 1991."

"You're sure?"

"Well, I was there!"

"So Justin was born and... was he a normal baby?"

"Normal, how?"

"Did he ever get sick? Or hurt?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm just trying to figure out if he had superpowers from birth
or not," Superman said evenly.

Michelle looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head.
"No, Justin was a very normal baby. The superpowers definitely
started this past summer."

"When did -- " Superman started, but was interrupted by Justin,
Fennerman and the doctors returning.

"Mommy, they got rats and they're so cool!"

"That's great, Jussie!"

"Are we ready to proceed with the test?" Dr. Murtson asked,
looking back and forth between Superman and Michelle.

Superman looked at Michelle, silently asking her what she wanted
to do.

"Yes, let's do it," said Michelle. "Just to be one hundred
percent sure, one way or the other."

"Certainly," said the doctor.

After taking hair samples from both Superman and Justin, and
informing them that the results would be available in four to
five months ("four to five MONTHS?!!"), the doctors showed them
the way out.

"I'd like to keep in touch with you," Superman said to
Michelle as they walked through the lobby.

"Any questions directed toward my client should go through me or
my office," Richard Fennerman said.

"Oh, for pete's sake, Richard," Michelle said exasperatedly.
She fished through her purse for a slip of paper and then handed
Superman her phone number. "Here you go."

"Hey," said Justin, looking up at Superman. "Are you my
daddy?"

***

"You're not going to believe this," Lois declared when Clark
walked by her desk the next morning.

"What now?" asked Clark.

"You'd better sit down."

Clark pulled up a chair and leaned forward attentively.

"First off, I was able to get hold of Dr. Fabian Leek's
financial records -- don't ask me how," she added slyly.
"Anyway, it turns out Leek was receiving his funding through
none other than Lex L Investments!"

"Luthor!" Clark spat. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Yeah. So whatever Leek WAS working on, it was probably FOR Lex.
And if Leek is, in fact, our cloning guy, which I might add we
have no proof of, but IF..."

"Then that means Lex Luthor may have commissioned Superman's
clone in the first place," said Clark.

"Which, considering all we know about Lex NOW, I wouldn't put
past him," Lois said grimly. "But now that Lex is
dead...."

"You know," said Clark. "I talked to Superman last night, and
he's kind of backing away from the Justin Driver cloning theory,
now."

"What? Why?"

"Superman said he spoke to Justin's mom yesterday at STAR Labs
for quite a bit... I don't know, I think it just doesn't add
up. Michelle admitted to him that she knows who the real father
is... er, was... and that Justin was born in 1991. That
doesn't really work with the theory that Justin was somehow...
genetically manufactured... within the last year."

"Well, she COULD be lying, still," Lois said. "But I guess if
Superman says... well anyway, there's more. Get this. So last
night my phone rings, and guess who it is?"

"Who?"

"Fine, don't bother to guess. Mrs. Cox."

"From PRISON? What did SHE want?"

"She said, and I quote, 'If you're looking to find out what
happened to Lex's body, try a night visit to Perpetual Pines
Cemetery.'"

"Huh?"

"It seems she thinks Lex might be alive."

"WHAT!? That's impossible! That's crazy! First off, how could
he be alive... and even if he was alive, what would he be doing
hanging around a cemetery?"

Lois shrugged. "Beats me, but hey... it's been months
since his body was stolen, and we haven't had a single lead. So
I figured we should go stake out the cemetery tonight. Hope
you're not busy."

***

They arrived at Perpetual Pines at dusk and sneaked onto the
grounds, positioning themselves behind two particularly large
tombstones. Armed with flashlights and dressed warmly, they
waited. And waited. A distant clap of thunder sounded as a chill
filled the night air.

"Are you sure about this?" Clark said, looking toward the sky.
"I think there's a storm coming."

"Don't be such a baby!" said Lois. "We have to at least try!
Don't you want to know what happened to Lex's body?"

"Well, actually -- " began Clark, but before he could say
anything more, two things happened. First, Lois shushed him.
Second, he heard a wail.

"This is the end! I'm done, Mama! Done with this pitiful
existence!"

Another roll of thunder. Clark craned his neck to look for the
source of the voice, and found it about three hundred feet away.
An older gentleman, dressed in a dull gray suit, was standing in
front of a tombstone, tears streaming down his face, a revolver
in his right hand.

"Clark, I think I see something!"

Clark glanced back at Lois, and saw her crawling in the opposite
direction. He was torn -- should he follow Lois, or should he
keep an eye on the guy with the gun? Gun, he decided. Lois would
surely scream if she got into trouble.

He began to inch toward the man. He wouldn't do anything unless
he was sure the man was going to pull the trigger, but he knew
that could happen quickly when it did, so he had to be alert. No
way was someone going to die on his watch.

"I've gone and lost all the money!" the man was crying. "All
of it! And now I can't pay to keep sister in the home past the
end of the month, and -- I -- oh, everything I do just goes up in
smoke! I'm useless, just useless!"

"Clark!" Lois was whispering furiously.

Was she okay? Yes... she was just wondering where he'd gone,
Clark decided. It was dark. He could just say he'd gotten lost.
Right now there were more important things to -- 

The gun was inching ever closer to the man's head. Clark knew he
couldn't wait any longer. With a quick spin, he became a blur of
red, yellow, and blue, and sped toward the target. His hand
clenched around the gun, and at that very moment, a bright flash
of light enveloped both of them. He felt a strong jolt. It took
him a second to realize what it was. Lightning had been drawn to
the gun, or him, or -- something. And here he was, in contact
with another human being. He held on tight, afraid to let go or
else let the man take the brunt of the electricity.

When it was all over, they were both still standing. Superman
breathed a sigh of relief. No harm done. After making sure the
man was all right, he launched into a speech about life being
worth living, bent the gun like a pretzel, and poured out words
of encouragement. The man, who did not seem grateful in the
least, gave Superman an earful. Superman calmly deflected the
insults and, in the end, urged the man to seek professional help.
Then he flew off.

A minute later, Clark was back in his regular clothes, crouching
behind a tombstone and trying to get a location on Lois through
the now-falling rain. He spotted her and began to move toward
her. She had apparently given up on looking for him, or -- no,
she was fixated on something. He craned his neck to see what she
was looking at. There was something -- no, someone -- standing in
the shadows in front of a mausoleum. He could just barely make it
out. He made a move to adjust his glasses so that he might get a
better view, when suddenly -- 

"Hey! Hold it right there! What do you think you're doing!?"

***

"Just great," Lois muttered, as she maneuvered the jeep through
the rainy streets. "I'm completely wet and freezing, and all I
saw was a silhouette of I don't know what! You WOULD have to go
and get us kicked out just as things were getting interesting."

Clark rolled his eyes. So the cemetery security guard had seen
him first; it's not like he had made a big scene and attracted
the guard's attention on purpose.

"We'll just have to try again another time," Lois decided.
"Maybe I'll just go by myself next time. And where were you,
anyway? One minute you were behind me, and the next, it was like
you'd fallen down a hole."

"I, uh, thought I saw something," said Clark.

"So you went to investigate it without me? Nice, Clark. And what
you saw -- was it anything?"

*Just a guy with a gun* Clark wanted to retort, but instead, he
just said, "False alarm."

***

A few days later, Lois and Clark were walking to work, discussing
the Driver case. They didn't have any new leads or ideas, and
things were still far from ideal. Despite Michelle's admission
to Superman at STAR Labs, she had not yet retracted her
statements to the press... and would she ever? As far as the
world knew, Superman was the boy's father and he'd taken a DNA
test to try to deny it.

Clark couldn't help feeling frustrated. The night before,
Clark's parents had called, and the three of them had talked for
nearly two hours. It had felt good to receive their support, as
usual, but they couldn't fix the problem itself. Somehow, he
would have to find a way to clear his name and make all this go
away if he ever wanted to lead a normal life -- well, as normal
as it had been before Miss Driver hit the airwaves. Which, he
mused, wasn't very normal at all, but at least it was
preferable.

Lois and Clark stopped at a coffee stand across from the Daily
Planet to get their morning coffee.

"One half-caf mocha," the barista said cheerfully, handing Lois
her drink.

As Clark waited for his beverage, Lois continued to spout off
about Michelle Driver. "The nerve of that woman! I mean, to sit
there one minute and say that all she wants is the truth and blah
dee blah, and to now just continue the charade? I doubt she wants
the truth at all. I bet it's all about the money for her!"

Clark did not bother to argue as he was handed his coffee and
they made their way toward the crosswalk.

All of a sudden, they heard the screeching of tires and saw a
vehicle barreling toward the curb where they were standing.

There was no time to change into Superman. Clark shoved Lois out
of the path of the car. Her coffee went flying and she tumbled
toward the pavement. He was about to use his superbreath to brake
the car, when there was a flash of turquoise and orange in front
of him and something -- somebody -- was stopping the car with its
bare hands.

Somebody... else.

He watched, stone-still, as this... this PERSON... brushed off
his hands, then bent over to help Lois up off the ground.

" -- What happened?"

" -- Who is HE?"

" -- Another superperson!?"

" -- They're taking over!"

A crowd had gathered at the street corner where the
once-out-of-control-car was now still. People were buzzing with
excitement and confusion. The driver was apologizing profusely
from the front seat. But none of these things mattered to Clark.
All he could see at that moment was his partner... who had just
narrowly escaped major injury... being carried by... well,
somebody who wasn't him.

The newcomer was dressed in an orange hooded sweatshirt and blue
sweatpants. A cloth mask covered the top half of his face.

"Well, you're just about the prettiest thing I've saved so
far!" the masked man told Lois, as he set her on her feet. "But
the day is young, and my experience is somewhat limited."

Clark gasped. That voice! It was the man from the cemetery! The
man who'd... holy cow... now HE had SUPERPOWERS?

"What's your name, missy?"

"Lois Lane... D-Daily Planet," she managed. "And who are
YOU?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, little lady," said
the man, and with a sly grin, he took off for the sky.

Clark had to fight to find his voice. "Lois, are you okay?!"

"Huh? Oh, Clark. Yeah, I am... thanks to... whoever that was! I
can't believe it -- another person with superpowers! What do you
think this means?!"

Clark just shook his head.

***

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Perry said, as he peered at a
photo someone had snapped of the orange-and-blue-clad Superhero.
"THIS guy sure as heck ain't Superman's son!"

"It was the most incredible thing, Perry. I mean, one moment, my
life is flashing before my eyes, and the next, I'm encountering
THIS!"

"Thank goodness you weren't hurt, hon. Where was Superman when
you needed him this time?"

Clark bristled at this comment. He would have stopped the car!
And besides, he'd pushed Lois out of the path of the vehicle,
so... she would have been okay! It was he who'd been in actual
danger... well, sort of. Okay, not really.

"It's not like he follows me around everywhere, Perry. Superman
can only do so much. Thank goodness this -- whatshisname -- was
there, though!"

"Ms. Lane?" A messenger was at the door to Perry's office.
"This just came for you." He held out an envelope.

Lois took it and thanked him. She opened the envelope, pulled out
a sheet of paper, glanced it over and then let out a yelp.

"What's wrong?" Clark said.

"That jerk! It's a BILL! He's CHARGING me for saving my life!
$29.95: 'A small price to pay for being plucked alive from the
snapping jaws of certain death.'"

"Incredible!" Clark shook his head. Inside, he was fuming.
He'd saved that man's life the other night, and now this guy'd
saved Lois's -- and he had the nerve to bill her for it!?

"Kids, do you think you can handle running with both stories?"
Perry asked. "I mean, this is BIG... a grown man with
Superpowers... a kid with Superpowers... it's like there's
something in the water."

"We're on it, Chief," said Lois.

"You know," said Clark, as they left Perry's office, "up
until this morning, our best lead was the idea that the boy was
some kind of genetic creation, and that's how he got Superman's
powers. Which, you know, wasn't that solid of a lead anyway. But
now that this older guy has powers, too...." He stopped short.
He couldn't very well tell Lois everything that had occurred
that night in the cemetery. Yet it all seemed to be clicking, and
he longed to share what he knew -- or thought he knew.

Fact: the man from the cemetery now had Superman's powers. How
had he gotten them? The answer was obvious to Clark, yet it
seemed so crazy -- and so simple -- he could scarcely believe it.
The lightning! They had been physically connected when the
lightning had struck and... the powers must have transferred.
Amazing. Bizarre. How very... Kryptonian.

But if his powers were transferable, then maybe -- somehow, some
way -- his powers had, also, been transferred to little Justin
Driver. But how? When? Sure, he'd been struck by lightning
before -- many times. But never when touching someone, to his
recollection.

He longed to tell Lois all the things that were going through his
mind. If only he could say, "Hey Lois, I'm Superman and I
accidentally transferred my powers to someone else the other
night, and now I think I know how Justin Driver got to be a
superkid, can you help me figure out where and when?" But of
course he couldn't. It was so hard, sometimes. Lois was a sure
bet when it came to figuring out tough problems. And yet he
couldn't divulge this, because he couldn't.... She couldn't
know....

Maybe someday things would be different. Perhaps someday he'd
tell Lois everything. And maybe, if she didn't run screaming
(or, more likely for her, run AT him screaming), they could work
together on things like this.

For now, he would have to just go to her having "just talked to
Superman." Like usual. Someday, maybe, things would be
different. But until then, this would have to do.

***

The new superhero, who was now calling himself Wonderman, was all
over the news. The tabloids were in heaven. Rumors swirled. Were
Wonderman and Justin Driver related? Were they part of a
superhero army, sent from Superman's home planet? Were there
more like them?

If things had been bad before, they were downright terrible, now
-- at least for Superman. He couldn't make a single rescue
without being hounded for information -- and not just by
reporters, but by every person with a working larynx. Women who
didn't outright hate him were begging him to father their
children. Others were convinced he knew how to bestow his powers
on other people, and would he share? And if not, why not? How
selfish he was to keep his powers for himself! It wasn't fair!

And there was yet another problem. Wonderman -- though he called
himself a superhero, wore a colorful costume, and did indeed save
lives -- was quite the opposite of what a superhero ought to be,
as far as Clark was concerned. Charging people money for having
saved their lives? Tacky. Telling people upfront that he would
not put out the fire in the burning home and save their puppy
unless they paid first? Horrible!

To make matters worse -- at least in Clark's mind -- Wonderman
had taken a shining to Lois. One evening, he showed up at her
apartment and brought her flowers, and even offered to take her
out on a date. Clark arrived at Lois's door with a timely knock,
and Wonderman eventually left. Lois told Clark she'd only played
along because she was hoping for an interview. But alas,
Wonderman wouldn't divulge anything for free. She was not able
to find out who he was, where he'd come from, or how he'd
gotten his powers. But she was determined to find out.

"I may be able to help you out with that," Clark said, as he
made himself comfortable on her couch. "I just came from talking
to Superman, and he thinks he knows how Wonderman got his
powers... and maybe Justin Driver, too."

"TELL!" Lois said, unable to hide her excitement.

"Lightning."

"What, now?"

"Remember the thunderstorm we had last week? Superman says he
encountered Wonderman that night; saved his life, actually. Only
he wasn't Wonderman, he was just an average, middle-aged guy
trying to do himself in. While Superman was stopping him, they
got struck by lightning. Superman was afraid the man would be
hurt, but he was fine."

"And then, a few days later, the guy shows up with
superpowers!" Lois gasped. "So... Superman's powers can be
transferred via electricity?"

"Powerful electricity, anyway," said Clark.

"Did Superman say that's what happened with Justin?"

"That's just it," said Clark. "Superman says he's never met
Justin before in his life, not that he remembers, anyway.
Besides, he said he'd remember if he'd been in a direct
lightning encounter with someone before, but says he hasn't --
that the other night was the first time that's ever happened."

"Clark, you told me that Superman said that Michelle said
Justin's powers first started appearing this past summer. If we
could get an exact date -- "

Clark looked at her excitedly. "Lois, I just remembered, I -- "
He caught himself just in time. He had been about to tell her
about the time he'd landed a plane in a lightning storm back in
July.

"You what?" asked Lois.

"I, uh, remember... that... Superman told me about landing a
plane in a lightning storm this summer. He said he was struck by
lightning!"

"Was he touching the plane when he was struck?" Lois asked.

"Yeah! Well, I mean, I assume so... if he was trying to land the
plane, he'd be touching it, wouldn't he?"

"What are the odds that Justin Driver was on that plane?" asked
Lois.

"I guess we'll have to find out."

"But even if he was, why would only HE get Superman's powers?
Why not everyone on board the plane?"

"Maybe he was sitting in the seat closest to Superman at the
time?"

"Maybe," Lois said thoughtfully. "Well, either you or Superman
is going to have to ask Michelle about that -- I highly doubt
she's ever going to want to speak to me again, not after our
little conversation the other day."

"The only thing is, if that's indeed how Justin got his powers,
does that mean he's stuck with them forever?"

"Well, I don't know... maybe there's a way to transfer them
back," said Lois. "Once we find out for sure Justin was on that
plane, I'll get in touch with STAR Labs and see what they
say."

***

The next morning, the Daily Planet newsroom was in an uproar.
Every TV was tuned to a different news station, and they were all
airing the same story:

Justin Driver had disappeared during the night. Richard
Fennerman, Michelle's attorney, was nowhere to be found. The FBI
had been called in.

"This is all my fault!" Michelle sobbed into the TV cameras.
"I trusted him! Oh, my baby!"

All thoughts of Wonderman, lightning strikes, and paternity
issues were pushed aside as Lois and Clark took on this latest
crisis.

"Why would someone take him?" Lois asked, as her eyes fixed on
one the TV screens. Though she didn't have children herself, she
felt an aching in her chest for what Michelle must be going
through. She knew what it felt like to have someone you cared
about ripped away from you. She knew what it felt like to deal
with the idea of never seeing that person again. She had felt it
all too recently, with Clark.

"Ransom?" Clark suggested. "Extortion? Maybe someone thinks
they can get money out of Superman. Or maybe somebody wants a
super-child...."

"Surely someone must have seen something!" said Lois. "I know
it happened during the night, but with all those reporters camped
out in front of the house, how could anyone have possibly sneaked
off with him without anyone noticing?"

The answer to this question came about half an hour later. It was
reported that around 2am, a car had pulled out of the Drivers'
garage and driven away. Several reporters noted that the driver
looked like that attorney, Mr. Fennerman. They hadn't noticed
anyone else in the car -- but perhaps Justin had been lying in
the backseat. The next unusual thing that had happened, said
witnesses, was that Michelle Driver started screaming around
6:30am, upon the realization that her son was not anywhere in the
house.

"We're going back to Maryston," Lois told Clark.

On the drive to Maryston, a thought struck Lois. "Clark, what if
someone else figured out how Superman's powers can be
transferred -- and what if they kidnapped Justin, thinking HE can
somehow transfer powers to THEM?"

"That's a long shot, Lois. Sure, a lot of people seem to think
it CAN be done, now, but nobody knows HOW, do they? We haven't
printed anything, and I doubt Superman told anyone else,
so...."

"I know, but I was thinking -- what if someone was there the
night Superman saved Wonderman? What if someone witnessed what
happened, and put two and two together?"

"Someone in the cemetery?" Clark asked, before he could stop
himself.

"It happened in a cemetery?" Lois asked.

"Uh... yeah. Superman told me that's where the lightning
struck."

"Sheesh, was EVERYONE hanging around cemeteries that night?"
Lois asked. "Well, whatever, say someone saw Superman get
struck... and then realized that the guy he'd been touching
later became Wonderman, so they realized, oh, okay, Superman's
powers can be transferred. And what if they thought, if Superman
can transfer his powers to one person, maybe THAT person can
transfer their powers to somebody ELSE!- ? But instead of going
after a middle-aged guy who'd probably be too smart to fall for
it, you go after a little boy by offering him candy or a new
puppy or what have you, and then somehow figure out a way to get
the powers from him?"

"Lois, that's so far out -- "

" -- that it might actually be true!" Lois finished for him.
"Either way, I think we can safely assume the Drivers' attorney
is involved somehow. Now, whether he's after the powers himself,
or if he's just working for somebody else, I don't know."

This time, Lois had to park six blocks away from the Driver
residence, and she found herself unable to get anywhere near the
front door. She was just about to instruct Clark to create a
diversion so she could sneak her way in, when she overheard some
other reporters talking.

" -- house is empty, except for some FBI guys -- "

" -- they've had her down at the police station for hours --
"

"Great!" Lois said to Clark. "Michelle's not even here!"

"Let's just... look around for a bit," said Clark, who had his
own agenda in mind. "Just mingle and hear what we can hear."

Lois had to admit this was a reasonable idea, so they split up.

Clark x-rayed the house's interior, but wasn't able to find
much of anything of interest. Justin's bed was tussled, like
he'd slept in it the night before, but there didn't appear to
have been any kind of major struggle. He also noticed sleeping
pills in the medicine cabinet, and wondered if they had been
consumed the previous night -- perhaps there had been a reason
why Michelle hadn't been aware of her son being taken.

After about twenty minutes, the team found each other and Clark
told Lois what he knew about Justin's bed, attributing the
information to a reporter he'd overheard. Lois had acquired the
make and model of the car Richard Fennerman had been driving.
"It's Michelle's car," Lois said, "So I'm guessing he stole
it. It's a dark blue 1993 Mazda Sentinel, license plate -- "
she checked a notepad she was carrying " -- RMT 396. I had to
give that awful Blake Mezzington from the Metropolis Star $20 for
that information! But maybe it'll do us some good. We should let
Superman know about this... maybe he can help search from the
skies."

Clark agreed to contact Superman as soon as they could find a
phone. Lois suggested they make their way to the police station
and see if they could talk to Michelle. After making some
queries, they learned the police station was only half a mile
away, so they decided to cover the distance on foot.

Reporters were staked out in front of Maryston's tiny police
station as well. Clark x-rayed the building, looking for
Michelle, and found her sitting in a tiny office, being
questioned by two FBI agents. Her face was red and tear-stained,
and she looked like she'd just crawled through hell.

"Lois, I'm going to go find a phone," Clark said. "To call
Superman."

"Okay, I'll see if I can get in the building," she replied.

Clark took off, looking for a place to change. He knew that FBI
agents were unlikely to stop right in the middle of what they
were doing to let a Daily Planet reporter talk to their subject.
But maybe they'd be more open to....

"Superman!"

"It's Superman, look!"

Superman landed near the front door to the police station and, as
calmly as he could, entered the building. He gave the
receptionist quite a start at first, but once she realized who
she was looking at, she immediately went into action. He told her
he'd like to speak with Michelle Driver. She told him she'd see
what she could do.

The FBI agents very well could've told Superman to beat it, but
instead, they allowed him into the tiny office. With four of them
in the room, there wasn't any room to turn around.

"Superman, we'll have to ask you to keep this brief," said one
of the agents. "Normally we wouldn't allow interruptions, but
considering your connection to this case -- "

"He's not the father!" Michelle burst out.

"Excuse me?" the agent said.

"Superman's not Justin's father. It was all a lie... I just...
I just thought if Superman could help us, everything would be
okay."

"I can still help you," Superman said gently. "Michelle, I may
not be Justin's father, but I still care about what happens to
him. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure he comes back
to you safely. If there's any information you can give me,
please... let me help."

Before he left, Superman was given the details about the car
Fennerman had been driving (which he already knew) as well as
Fennerman's last known address, place of employment, and
connections. He thanked everyone profusely, made one last promise
to Michelle to find her son, and left through a back door.

"Where've you been?" Lois asked, when Clark had changed into
his regular clothes and returned to the front of the building.

"I was, uh..." Clark nodded toward the gas station across the
street.

Lois rolled her eyes. "Well, I assume you called Superman,
because he showed up and they let him inside. Not sure if he's
still in there."

Clark heard his pager go off. He held up the device and glanced
at the number. "It's Jimmy," he said. "I'll be right
back."

>From the gas station pay phone, he called Jimmy.

"CK, I've got something. Someone sent Lois a package about half
an hour ago. The security guys opened it, and found... what looks
like a pair of Superman pajamas, kid sized. There was a note,
too. It said - 'Tell your boyfriend we want $1 million, or his
kid dies.'"

"WHAT?!" Clark yelled. He tried to wrap his brain around this
new, disturbing information. Someone had sent Lois a package,
meant to be a message to Superman... a ransom note? One million
dollars!? And they were threatening to kill Justin? But how? He
was invulnerable! Unless they had Kryptonite...?

Clark felt sick. It didn't seem to matter what the truth was,
anymore -- whether people believed Justin had gotten his powers
from his father, or through a bolt of lightning -- none of it
mattered right now. All that mattered was that a little boy was
in danger... because of him.

After hanging up with Jimmy, Clark found Lois as quickly as he
could, and relayed the information to her.

"What do we do?!" she asked.

"Go back to the Planet," Clark instructed her. "See what you
can dig up on Fennerman. I'll wait for Superman to come out and
let him know what's going on."

Lois took off toward her jeep, and Clark sighed deeply. What a
mess this had turned out to be.

***

Lois couldn't sleep. She paced her apartment in her pajamas,
every once in a while glancing toward her window in the hope that
Superman might arrive to give her some shred of information or
hope.

Justin had been gone for nearly twenty-four hours, and so far, no
one had been able to locate him. Whoever had sent the ransom note
was demanding his money by noon the following day. Would Superman
show up? Would he pay the ransom? Would Justin come home safely?

"Hello there, missy!"

A voice at the window nearly sent Lois through the roof. She had
been hoping for Superman; she certainly wasn't expecting... HIM.
Maybe leaving her window open wasn't such a good idea anymore,
not with all manner of Superbeings flying around Metropolis these
days.

"Mind if we talk for a bit?" he said, stepping into the living
room. "It's a lonely night."

Lois swallowed hard. "Wonderman... um... actually, I'm really
tired, so maybe this could wait -- "

"Oh, I suppose," Wonderman said, looking forlorn. "But I have
some information for ya!"

"What kind of information?" she asked, her reporter's
curiosity piqued.

"About that little boy. I think I know where he is. Or, at
least, where he was."

"Where?" she cried.

"Now, wait a minute," Wonderman said. "You don't think I'm
just going to give it away, do you?"

Fury colored Lois's face. With anger swelling inside her, she
barely trusted herself to speak. "You -- RAT!" she hissed. "A
child is in danger, and you won't even help unless I... I don't
know... PAY YOU? You're SICK! Get OUT!"

"Well, now, I didn't say I wanted MONEY," Wonderman said,
holding up his hands. "I just thought, a pretty little lady like
you... a revered bachelor like me...."

"You thought wrong!" Lois said.

"Hmmph!" he said. "Well, I can take a hint!" Wonderman
stepped toward the window, ready to fly out, but he was stopped
by something solid.

Lois was sure she was dreaming, now. Here she was in her pajamas,
and not one but TWO supermen were standing in her living room.
This was a bit too surreal.

"Superman!" she exclaimed.

Wonderman looked from Lois to Superman, then rolled his eyes.
"All right, y'all, look... I wasn't gonna just give it away,
but I can see I'm outnumbered here. I have some information
about that little boy."

"We're listening," said Superman.

"Well, see, now, I was visiting my folks earlier... well,
payin' my respects, like I do when I feel the need, and I heard
a child's voice. Wasn't sure where it was comin' from, but I
heard it."

Lois looked annoyed. "A child's voice? That could have been
anyone!"

"Well, now... I'm right certain I heard a woman sayin' the
name 'Justin,' and I know that's the name of that little boy
who's missing. Of course, she also called him 'little brat,'
which kind of put me on edge, see, 'cause I don't think anyone
should be talkin' to kids that way, no matter how naughty they
are."

"And where was this?" Lois asked tiredly.

"Perpetual Pines. Kind of on the northeast end."

"But you didn't actually SEE Justin?" said Superman.

"No, but I tell ya, we need to have us a talk about this whole
x-ray vision thing, because I can't seem to get it to work right
half the time!"

"Did you call the police?" asked Lois, rolling her eyes. "Or
the FBI? Or anyone?"

"Sure I did!" Wonderman said. "But...."

"Let me guess," said Superman, "You tried to negotiate a deal
out of them."

Wonderman looked indignant. "So maybe I did! And I would've got
one, too -- except by the time the police got down to the
cemetery, I guess they couldn't find anyone."

"I'll pay a visit to Perpetual Pines and see what I can see,"
Superman said. "Maybe the police missed something. You should
try to get some rest," he said to Lois. "And you," he said to
Wonderman, "come with me."

"What for?"

"I want you to show me exactly where you were when you heard
those voices."

"Oh, all right," Wonderman said. "Though you ought to know the
place -- it's the same place where we were struck by -- " he
stopped, glancing at Lois, wondering if he was giving a bit too
much information away.

"By lightning?" Lois finished for him. "Wait! That happened at
Perpetual Pines?! Clark and I were there the night of the
thunderstorm, too! And I saw somebody that night... near that big
mausoleum. Also, there were guards on duty that night -- maybe
one of them witnessed what happened to you two. Maybe...." Her
head was spinning with all this new information. "I want to go
with you," she said.

"I don't know...." Superman said.

She tilted her head to the side and gave him one of her sweetest
looks. "If you don't take me with you, I'll just end up
driving down there anyway, so...."

"Well...."

"We're wasting time!" she urged.

As they flew toward the cemetery, Lois mused that if anyone's
eyes were trained toward the skies at that very moment, they
would witness a very strange sight indeed. Two Superheroes, one
red, yellow and blue, one turquoise and orange, and a reporter in
her pajamas, all out for a late-night flight. Then her thoughts
turned back to Justin Driver, and she scolded herself for
becoming distracted. She needed to focus.

They landed near a group of large, ornate headstones. "This is
it," said Wonderman. "This is where I heard the voices
earlier."

Superman put his mind to listening. He had to tune out the sounds
of wind, late-night traffic, and an owl hooting nearby.
"Nothing," he said sadly, after a few minutes.

"Me either." Wonderman looked around. "Well, I guess I'm
sorry to have brought y'all out here. My, but I'm hungry.
There's an all-night pub just down the street... anyone up for a
drink?"

Identical glares were sent in his direction.

"Well, sorr-ee," he said.

"I'm just going to make sure we're not missing anything,"
Superman said. "Stay here, and I'll be back in a few
minutes."

As soon as he took off, Wonderman grinned at Lois. "Looks like
it's just you and me now, little missy."

"I'm going to check out that big mausoleum over that way,"
Lois said quickly. "Tell Superman where I went, would you?" She
hurried off.

The nearly-full moon was casting an eerie glow over the cemetery,
but Lois was grateful for the light it provided, anyway. She
mentally kicked herself for not bringing along a flashlight.
Still, she could at least take a look and see if there were any
shadowy figures hanging around the mausoleum again tonight.

As she came upon the structure, a particularly cold breeze hit
her head-on and chilled her to the core. Something about this
place gave her the creeps. Oh, the cemetery itself was fine,
nothing to be afraid of. But this particular section -- something
was not right, here.

Something propelled her forward, and without stopping to consider
the consequences, she went for the mausoleum door. It was
unlocked. She pulled it open and stepped inside a chamber.
Blackness engulfed her.

What am I doing? she thought. This was crazy. This was probably
home to a family of skeletons, trying to rest in peace, and here
she was, disturbing them. Besides, what did she hope to
accomplish in the dark, anyway? She backed outside quickly and
shut the door carefully. She stood there for a few moments, just
staring at the building. There was something about this place
that was tugging at her. She decided then and there that as soon
as the whole Justin Driver case was solved, she would come back
here to do some investigating -- with a flashlight. And maybe
with Clark, too.

"Lois?"

She let out a yelp. "Oh, gosh, Superman, you startled me!"

He didn't bother to remind her that he'd asked her to wait with
Wonderman. It didn't matter; he knew her too well. "What are
you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I just thought -- well, never mind. Did you find
anything?"

"No," said Superman. "I know it's morbid, but I checked all
the fresh graves, just in case."

"Oh gosh," said Lois. "I never even considered that he could
be...."

"Yeah, but nothing. I think I should take you home and keep
searching the city."

It was nearly 4am, now, so Lois agreed. Back at her apartment,
she managed to nab about two hours of sleep before she was up
again, showering, eating breakfast, and getting dressed. She
arrived early to the newsroom, and was pleased to see Clark
already there.

"Have you heard anything?" she asked him.

He shook his head sadly. "Not yet."

She told him about her late-night adventure with Superman. He
seemed interested, but looked disappointed when she told him they
hadn't found a thing, despite the possible lead from Wonderman.

"I just feel so awful," she said. "We have no leads, nothing
to go on... I mean, I know the police and FBI are on the case,
but it just seems like WE should be able to crack this...."

"Lois Lane?" A messenger had just arrived, and was holding out
an envelope. "Would you sign here, please?"

"What's this?" Lois asked.

After signing for the object, Lois ripped open the envelope.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, when she saw what was inside. There was a
piece of paper with a typewritten message on it. "Clark, another
note from the kidnappers! 'Four hours to go. Tell Superman to
listen for our signal. We look forward to doing business with
you.'"

"We should tell the police," Clark said grimly.

"And we should get in touch with Superman and let him know about
this latest note."

"Yes," agreed Clark.

"You know, Clark," Lois said thoughtfully, "it would probably
be a good idea if you weren't the only one who could contact
Superman... however you do it. Really, how DO you do it? You call
him, don't you? Some kind of secret phone number? Well... what
if something happened to you? How would I get hold of him
then?"

Just scream, Clark thought tiredly. "Listen, right now, I think
we need to focus on the case. You call the police, I'll contact
Superman, okay? And we'll talk about... that... later."

"Fine," Lois said, reaching for her phone. "Later."

He hoped she wouldn't really hold him to that, but knowing
her....

As the noon hour neared, Lois began to feel fidgety. Clark had
said he'd contact Superman, but how would things turn out? Would
Justin be returned safely? Would his kidnapper(s) be caught? And
where was Clark, anyway? A survey of the newsroom showed no sign
of him. If he was off getting donuts again, she'd kill him. Or
at least lecture him. She knew he had a sweet tooth, but sheesh.
When things settled down, she'd have to set him straight.
Chocolate bars in a locked desk drawer -- THAT was the way to
go.

She started as the phone rang. She snatched it up. "Lois
Lane."

"Wishing well. Centennial Park." The voice was deep and
robotic.

"What?" she said.

"The boy is there." Click.

The boy is -- WHAT? What boy? Did they mean Justin? Was this some
kind of joke? Joke or no, she felt compelled to follow the lead.

"Jimmy!" she called. "When Clark gets back, tell him I went to
Centennial Park. I've got a tip."

"Okay, Lois!"

As she drove toward the park, she wondered what the heck she was
doing. Was she walking into a trap? It wouldn't be the first
time. Then again, who would dare attack her in broad daylight in
the middle of a city park? Okay, there WERE people who would do
that... in fact, if she had a dollar for every time she'd been
attacked or kidnapped in broad daylight.... *Oh, for heaven's
sake! Just focus on the task at hand!*

She pulled into a small parking lot near the playground and began
to jog toward the wishing well. Thank goodness she was familiar
with this park. When she got to the clearing where the wishing
well stood, she began to search for some sign of Justin. She saw
a few joggers, a woman pushing a stroller... but no little
boys.

Lois sighed with frustration. Then a horrifying thought clutched
at her. Had the caller meant that Justin was IN the well? She
raced towards it and peered down. "JUSTIN?" she called. "Is
anyone down there?" She didn't hear anything. Just as she was
about to yell for Superman (darn Clark for not telling her a
better way to do it!), she caught something out of the corner of
her eye. A sneaker. A tiny sneaker attached to a leg, sticking
out from behind a hedge.

Lois ran toward it. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. She
prayed he was only sleeping. She bent down and touched the leg.
It twitched. She got on her hands and knees and looked at the
figure in the face. "Justin?" she said.

"Mommy?" the little boy mumbled.

He was alive! Groggy, but alive. His eyes focused on Lois and
widened. "Where are we? Where's my mommy?" he cried.

"It's okay, Justin. I'll take you to your mommy. Do you
remember me? I came to your house one time. My name is Lois. Come
on, let's get you home, okay?"

Justin extended his arms and Lois took him in hers. He leaned his
head against her shoulder as she carried him toward her jeep. She
set him in the passenger seat and reached for her car phone.
"I'm going to call for help," she told Justin. "Just sit
tight."

"My head hurts," the little boy moaned.

She started to dial the police, but then stopped and punched in
the number for the Daily Planet instead. She tried Clark's
extension, but when he didn't answer after three rings, she
phoned Perry. "Perry, I've found Justin Driver. I know, I
know... I had a tip, and he was right where they said. No, not
yet. I will. Centennial Park, near the wishing well. Okay."

Next she dialed the police. Within minutes, they were there. As
Justin was checked over, Lois was questioned. She told the
officers everything she knew, and when they asked why she hadn't
alerted authorities when she'd gotten the tip in the first
place, she was quick to point out that she was a reporter... she
got tips every day... most of them didn't pan out... why bother
the police? That answer seemed to satisfy them.

What a story! It was incredible, yet so very baffling. Why had
someone sent the ransom notes, demanding so much money, and then
just... let Justin go? And why had they taken him in the first
place? Lois was dying for answers.

***

Back at the Daily Planet, Lois had just sat down at her desk when
she saw her partner approaching.

"Clark!" she cried, standing up. "Where have you been!?"

"Covering Superman," Clark said glumly. "He was supposed to
meet the 'kidnappers' at noon. But it was a ruse, they didn't
have Justin. They're in cust -- "

"Clark, Justin's been found!"

He stared at her, not comprehending.

"Seriously, Clark... he's fine, he's safe. But get this -- his
powers are gone."

"Gone!?" Clark's jaw dropped.

"Yes."

"Was he hurt? Was he okay? Where did they find him?"

"I got a phone call just before noon. They said I'd find Justin
in Centennial Park. So I went, and he was there."

Clark broke into a smile. "You," he said, "are incredible.
This is great! Where's Justin now?"

"With his mom," said Lois. "Or at least on his way to her."

"So somebody just... left him in the park? Do they know who?"

"The police weren't able to get much out of Justin. They think
he may have been drugged. He was acting a bit loopy after I found
him, but he did give the police a vague description of the
kidnapper. Apparently they're now looking for a tall, "mean"
lady with short blonde hair."

"A lady?" Clark said. "But I was sure... I mean, what about
that attorney?"

"Fennerman? I don't know. So far nobody's been able to locate
him."

"Wow," said Clark. "So someone takes Justin, then just --
returns him? Why?"

Lois shook her head.

"And how could he have lost his powers?" Clark continued.

Lois shook her head. "I'd love to know."

***

Michelle Driver's happy reunion with her son was all over the
evening news. Though Michelle had declined to give any
interviews, Lois and Clark did hear that the Driver home would be
guarded by police tonight and that all members of the media were
being asked to clear their property. Maybe now -- especially now
that Justin's superpowers were gone -- the family could get some
peace. At least, Clark hoped so. He vowed to visit Maryston
within the next week, as Superman, to help make repairs to the
home and, with any luck, help the Drivers move forward with their
life.

But there was still the problem of Wonderman. And the day after
Justin was reunited with his mother, that problem got a bit
worse.

Superman had just finished putting out a warehouse fire near
Hobbs Bay when he heard a whooshing sound, a thud, and then,
"Superman! SUPERMAN!" Wonderman was there, waving his arms
frantically.

"What's wrong?" Superman asked.

"My sister! My sister is GONE!"

Superman stared at Wonderman in confusion. "What?"

"My sister, Wanda Mae! She's a patient at Meadowlark Park. At
least she was 'til this mornin'! They called and said she's...
gone! She wasn't in her room and they have no idea where she is!
And someone called my 1-900 number and left a message sayin'
they've GOT her. They've got Wanda Mae!"

"Calm down. Do you have ANY idea who could've taken her?"

"No, I... wait! Yeah, I do! I bet you anything it was her!
That... that WITCH! Why, when I find her, I'm gonna...."

"Hold on a second. Who? Who was it?"

"The other day, as I was comin' out of that bakery over on
Schuyler, this woman came up to me and told me she knew who I
was. I told her I didn't right care if she knew who I was. Then
she said she could make me rich beyond my wildest dreams. I told
her I could do that all right by myself! But she wouldn't take
no for an answer. She went on to say somethin' about sharin' my
powers, that she knew," he lowered his voice, lest anyone
overhear him, "how I got YOUR powers. She said she was a
scientist and that she could... somethingorother about
duplicating the formula for transferin' it to herself. I told
her to go fly a kite."

"Why do you think SHE took your sister, though?" Superman
asked.

"Because!" he cried. "I told her she had no leverage! That's
what I said to her before I flew away! I mean, I certainly
wasn't going to let her take my powers for nothin'! And don't
ya see? If she really did know who I was, then she could've
easily tracked down my sister... and taken her! Taken her so that
I would do what she wanted!"

"Do you remember what this woman looked like?" Superman asked.
"Do you think you could describe her in more detail?"

"Sort of pretty, but not really my type. Mid-thirties, maybe.
Thin. Blue eyes, short blonde hair."

*Short blonde hair?* Superman thought. Justin Driver's
kidnapper, according to the boy, had been a "mean" lady with
short blonde hair. Could it be the same person? It was possible.
If this so-called scientist indeed knew how Wonderman had gotten
his powers, and knew how to transfer them, then it would make
sense that she'd need to kidnap -- or coerce -- someone with
superpowers in the first place. First she'd kidnapped (with the
help of Richard Fennerman?) Justin Driver, but something had
clearly gone wrong. Justin's powers had gone away. Had they
disappeared before, or after, she'd tried to acquire them? Or
had she succeeded? Apparently she had not, because she was now
needing Wonderman's "help".

"Look," said Superman, "If this scientist person wants you,
she's going to have to contact you somehow and tell you where to
meet her. When she does, I want you to alert me immediately. Call
Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. He knows how to get hold of me.
Can you do that?"

Wonderman nodded numbly. "I wish none of this had ever
happened!" he said miserably.

"It'll be okay," Superman said.

He just hoped it would be.

***

"Hey Lois, where's Clark?" Jimmy asked.

"Isn't that the $64,000 question?" Lois muttered, not looking
up from her computer screen. Her trusty partner had disappeared
yet again.

"He's got a phone call...."

"I'll take it!" Lois said. "Line one?"

"Yeah," answered Jimmy.

Lois snatched up the phone. "Clark Kent's desk, Lois Lane
speaking," she said into the receiver.

"Hey, Miss Lane... this is Wonderman. I was told to call and ask
Mr. Kent to call Superman. Could you tell him that witch called
me again? She says I'm s'posed to meet her at the big mausoleum
at the northwest end of Perpetual Pines if I ever want to see my
sister again! So, uh, well, tell him I'm gonna head on over
there, would ya?"

"I'll contact Superman as soon as I can," Lois said, her heart
pounding. Though she had no idea what she was getting into, Lois
knew that if this had something to do with both Wonderman and
Superman, she was going to be there. Besides -- the mausoleum?
She KNEW there was something to that place, and now she was going
to find out exactly what!

She reached for a post-it, scrawled a quick note to Clark, stuck
it on his computer screen, and grabbed her purse.

***

Clark stepped out of the elevator and surveyed the newsroom,
hoping to see Lois. When he couldn't find her, he asked Jimmy.

"Oh, she took off a few minutes ago," Jimmy said. "I don't
know where she was going, but she looked like she was on a story.
Oh... and right before that, there was a call for you, but she
took it."

"For me?" Clark said. Ack, what if it had been Wonderman? He
had tried to get back to the Planet as quickly as possible, but
there had been a huge wreck on the freeway, and he couldn't just
let those people die.... "Do you know who it was?"

"No idea," said Jimmy. "He had a kind of southern accent,
though. He asked for you, that's all."

Great, thought Clark. "And you're saying Lois took the call,
and then left?"

"Yeah."

"Jimmy, do you have ANY idea where she might have gone?"

"No... sorry, CK."

Clark sighed. Now what? If Wonderman had told Lois where he was
going to meet his sister's kidnapper, then Lois could be walking
right into the line of fire. And where that was, Clark had no
idea. He began to loosen his tie. He was just going to have to
find them on his own... somehow.

***

This time, Lois came prepared with a flashlight. She always kept
one in her jeep, and thank goodness the batteries still worked.
But as she opened the door to the mausoleum, she was quick to
notice that something was different about the place today. The
other night, the interior had been pitch black. Today, it was lit
with... candles? Yes, there was some kind of candelabra on
the wall, and it was glowing, casting an eerie spell on the
inside of the small room.

Lois looked around. She saw a coffin in the center of the
chamber, ornately decorated. The walls were made of stone, and
there were various decorations and embellishments scattered
about. Was this it? There had to be something more to this place!
Maybe there was something in the coffin itself. She pressed on
the side of the lid, but it wouldn't budge. Next she began to
slide her hands along the designs on the wall. As she was doing
so, she bumped the candelabra, and heard a sound. She had moved
it -- slightly. And it was making something happen. She pressed
it further. The coffin was sliding to the side! And underneath
it, a passageway leading down into the earth was beginning to be
revealed.

Her heart was pounding. There was a light coming from below. She
leaned forward to look down, and just as she did, she heard
another sound. A thud. The mausoleum door had somehow shut behind
her.

"There's no way out," came a voice from below. "So you may as
well join us."

Lois looked down again, and this time she saw a blonde woman in a
white lab coat. In one hand, she appeared to be holding some kind
of remote control. In the other, she held a pistol.

Instinctively, Lois backed up. She tried the door, but it
wouldn't budge. She was trapped. She couldn't leave. So she
could either stay up here in this dark little space, or go down
and find out what was below. And join the woman with the gun.
Hmmm, that didn't sound like a good plan.

Suddenly a noxious smell hit her senses, and she began to cough.
It took her a minute to realize that one of the gargoyles on the
wall was emitting some kind of gas. Now she really had no choice.
Still choking, she went for the passageway and began to descend
the stairs. The air was cleaner down here -- stale, but at least
not lethal.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked around. She
was in some kind of laboratory. There were machines and computers
and all manner of wires and buttons. In one corner of the room
was a glass box that looked to have some kind of figure inside
it. And in the very center of the room, standing on a metal plate
and looking very upset, was Wonderman.

"Miss Lane!" he exclaimed. "Oh my, you weren't supposed to
come!"

The woman in the lab coat pointed her gun at Lois. "Yes, if it
isn't little miss Lois Lane. I have just the place for
you... right this way...." She motioned toward a
darkened corner of the lab, where a cage stood. Lois looked from
the cage (where a woman she didn't recognize was already
imprisoned) and the gun, then back to the cage -- where she then
saw a myriad of explosives attached to the bars.

*Superman will save us*, she thought. *Just do what she says, and
try not to get blown up!* If she lived through this, it would
make one hell of a story.

"Well, hello there!" said Lois's cellmate, as the cage door
shut behind Lois. "My name's Mary Todd Lincoln. And how may I
address you?"

Lois stared at her. Who WAS this? On the phone, Wonderman had
said something about his sister. Was this his sister? She did
have a similar accent. But why would she introduce herself as
Mary Todd Lincoln? What on Earth was the matter with her?

A buzzing sound in the laboratory snapped her attention back to
Wonderman. She could see the blonde woman fiddling with various
controls on a machine. She'd push a few buttons, then wait. Lois
deduced that the woman was trying to make some kind of connection
between Wonderman and... wait, was that on the other end of
the device? A small cage? She couldn't quite make out what was
inside.

"For heaven's sake, what IS it that you expect that rat to
DO?" Wonderman suddenly exclaimed.

"SHUT UP!" the blonde woman hollered.

Oh, a rat. Ew. Lois shuddered.

"Tad got his powers from Superman," the Mary Todd
Lincoln-wannabe was saying. "And now Tad's going to give his
powers to the nice little mousie. He always did like to share."

"Tad?" Lois repeated.

The woman nodded toward Wonderman. "That's my boy."

"I see," said Lois. *Oh, Superman, where are you?*

The blonde lady was now throwing a tantrum. Seems she just
couldn't get her device to work. Lois hoped it would stay that
way.

It was all making sense to Lois, now. This woman must've
witnessed the lightning strike in the cemetery and figured out
how Superman's powers had been transferred. Now she wanted them
for herself.

Why on Earth this woman lived in a cemetery underneath a
mausoleum, Lois had no idea. Clearly, she was currently
surrounded by some very strange people.

"Ma'am, I have a question," Lois called.

"WHAT?" the woman yelled.

"Did you kidnap Justin Driver?"

"That little brat? For all the good it did me, yes! I had him
brought to me by a good friend of mine, but he was useless."

"How did he lose his powers?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" she shrieked. "JUST SHUT UP, I'm TRYING to
work here!"

"Wonderman," Lois called, "You can't let her do this! Don't
you see? Any havoc she wrecks after she gets your powers will be
on your hands!"

"I knowww," Wonderman said, wringing his hands. "But if I
don't do what she says, you and Wanda Mae will surely, surely
die!"

"You may have to risk it!" Lois said.

Click. "One more word out of you, and I WILL shoot you," the
blonde woman said, as she brought her gun right up to the bars of
the cage.

Lois decided to keep quiet. For a while, anyway. *Superman, could
you hurry it up?*

The woman fiddled with the settings on her machine, then pushed a
lever and watched as a stream of electricity went from Wonderman
to the rat in the cage.

"I think... I think so...." she was saying
excitedly.

Lois barely had time to process what happened next. She heard a
loud sound and then... there was a hole in the ceiling.
And... a hole in the rat cage. The rat was gone. The rat had
gone through the roof.

"YES!!!" the woman shrieked. "IT WORKS!" She pushed aside the
rat cage and stood in its place. It was her turn, now. "This is
it, Lex!" she called. "Everything we've worked for! This is
IT!"

"Lex?" Lois dared to speak.

The woman turned to Lois with narrowed yes. "That's right,"
she said, pointing across the room to the glass box Lois had
noticed earlier. "Lex Luthor. The only REAL man left in
Metropolis. You married him and destroyed him all in one day, but
*I* will bring him back! And when I do, we will OWN Metropolis!"
With that, she pushed the lever on the machine.

***

Superman flew over Metropolis, trying desperately to pick up any
sign, any sound, that would point him toward either Lois or
Wonderman.

Just then he saw something. A small, dark object, coming right at
him from the earth below. It whizzed past him at an alarming
speed. What WAS that? Where had it come from? He looked down, and
was surprised to find himself directly over Perpetual Pines. He
flew in for a closer look. There was a hole in the roof of the
old mausoleum. He peered down it. He could make out something
moving below.

And then he heard her.

A quiet, almost indistinct, "Oh, my god."

He burst in.

Before he could even take in the details of his surroundings (a
bunker... a laboratory...?) he heard a woman's voice
say: "You're too late!"

His eyes swept the room. Lois and another woman (presumably Wanda
Mae) were in a jail cell, which was wired with explosives.
Wonderman and a blonde woman were standing near each other, next
to a machine. And said blonde woman had her hands on her hips and
looked extremely smug.

*Too late for what?* Superman wondered, but before he could say a
word, he was being punched in the gut. Hard. He stumbled
backwards. What was happening? The blonde woman. She was coming
at him again. She was kicking him. He tried to block her kicks.
How could she be so strong? Had... oh no, no... had she
gotten his powers, too? Had she somehow gotten them from
Wonderman? He WAS too late!

She was laughing, now. Superman stood up and stared at her. She
grinned. "Go on, hit me!" she said.

But he couldn't. It just seemed so wrong, somehow.

He felt a blow to his face and, having been caught off guard yet
again, he found himself on the ground.

"You sap!" the woman said. "You can't do it! You can't hit a
woman!"

"Howdy," said Wonderman, coming up behind her and slugging her
hard.

She went sailing across the room and hit the glass box, knocking
some of the wires loose. A shrill sound emerged. The woman
gasped. "Noooo!!!" she screamed.

"Superman, you can reverse the transfer if you get her on the
other plate!" Lois cried.

"Get her!" Superman instructed Wonderman. Wonderman hauled the
woman toward the plate he'd been standing on before. Superman
stood on the other one.

"Push that big lever!" Lois called.

He did so.

"You idiot!" the woman was screaming at Wonderman, as she
struggled against him. "If I lose them, so do you!"

"As I recall... you were going to make... me lose
them... anyway!" Wonderman said through clenched teeth.

When it was all over, only one person in the room had
superpowers. The blonde woman was furious. She tried to punch
Superman, but ended up hurting her hand. "You'll pay for
this!" she yelled, reaching into her jacket pocket for a remote.
She aimed it toward the cage. "Say goodbye to your
girlfriend!"

But before she could push a button on the remote, Superman had
snatched it away from her. "I'll take this," he said.

The woman threw another tantrum.

"Wanda Mae, are you all right?" Wonderman asked his sister.

"Tad, can't you get us out of here?"

"Superman, if you touch the cage bars it'll activate the
explosives," Lois said. "But there's a keypad on the cage
door. I think if we punch in the right code, we can get it to
open."

Superman began to work at the keypad, and within a minute, he'd
found the right combination. The door opened. Lois breathed a
sigh of relief as she stepped out. Wanda Mae followed behind
her.

"Are you all right?" Superman asked.

Lois nodded. His eyes showed so much concern for her. She felt
all warm and fuzzy inside. "Now, where do you suppose that nice
blonde lady went to?" Wanda Mae asked.

They all looked around. She was nowhere to be seen.

***

"This is one heck of a story!" Perry exclaimed. "Lois, how is
it you always seem to end up right in the thick of things?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Clark said. Boy, did his
partner have a knack for trouble. But he wouldn't ask her to
change for anything in the world.

"Someday, I'll teach you all my tricks," she said playfully.
"In the meantime, I think you owe me one of yours."

"I beg your pardon?" said Clark.

"You promised me you'd tell me how to get in touch with
Superman," she said. "Remember?"

"Oh boy, I'll let you two work this one out," Perry said, as
he clapped Lois on the shoulder and went back to his office.

"Lois, I should really make sure it's okay with Superman before
I give that information to someone else," Clark said.

"Oh, come on!" she said. "I'm much closer to Superman than
you are! He trusts me! I know he wouldn't mind."

"Maybe he's worried you'll start calling him ALL the time."

"I will not!"

"Miss Lane?" A voice interrupted their conversation.

Lois and Clark turned to see Michelle Driver standing beside
them. Justin was clutching her hand and smiling shyly.

"Miss Driver!" said Lois. "How are you?"

"Oh, just fine, just fine... we both are. I just wanted to
thank you.... They told me you were the one who found Justin
in the park. Thank you so much for helping bring him back to me.
And I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said to you
the last time we spoke. I may have been a little harsh."

"That's all right," Lois said, genuinely surprised.

"And thank you both," she said, her eyes darting to Clark,
"for the articles you wrote about... well, everything.
Never once did you say anything horrible about me or my, well,
parenting abilities, the way some other reporters did. Especially
the ones on TV. You were very... oh, what's the
word... neutral? Fair? I just want you to know I really
appreciate it. I don't think you'll have to worry about writing
any more about us, though... Justin and I are more than
ready to be out of the spotlight... for good, I hope."

"You're welcome," said Lois. "And I'm so glad everything
turned out all right."

"I can't fly," Justin spoke up. "I used to. But not
anymore."

"Uh, that reminds me, Miss Driver," Clark said. "We promise
not to print anything more about it, but we just wanted to ask
you about something. Did you and Justin take any flights this
past summer?"

Michelle looked at Clark strangely. "Why, yes, we did -- we flew
to Michigan to visit my sister."

"In late July?"

"Yes... why?"

"Just... wanted to clear up a detail from earlier," Clark
said quickly. "Oh, by the way, I talked to Superman and he said
he's going to help with the repairs to your house. So expect a
visit in the next few days."

Michelle beamed. "Oh, thank you! I know I hardly deserve it,
after everything... I mean, I know I didn't exactly make
his life easy there, for a while... I do feel bad about
that. It was so silly of me, really. I just -- "

"I'm sure he understands," Clark said.

Michelle smiled. "Well, we better go. Thanks again for
everything!"

"Of course," said Lois. "Bye Justin!"

"Bye-bye!" the little boy said cheerfully.

Lois and Clark smiled as they watched them go. Once they were out
of sight, Lois turned to Clark. "Well, I'm glad that's over
with. All of it."

"Same here. In fact, I think I may be ready for a lonnng
vacation."

Lois smiled knowingly. "I still have so many questions, though.
Like, do you really think that woman had Lex's body the whole
time?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"What kind of a person keeps a body frozen like that?"

"Someone who's having a hard time getting a date?" Clark
suggested with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, at least now we know Lex is
definitely dead. When that woman knocked those wires loose, I saw
everything go flatline. And now the police have the body. And, I
mean, it's not like he's suddenly going to regenerate himself,
right?"

"Let's hope not," said Clark.

"And that woman's powers are gone, now, and so are Wonderman's
and so are Justin's. Which leaves just us with one superhero in
Metropolis."

"As it should be."

"And speaking of Superman...."

He raised an eyebrow.

"We were talking about how to get in touch with him,
remember?"

"Uh... could you excuse me for a minute? I just remembered
I have a, uh, appointment with... someone.... I'll be
right back!"

She stared after him. Again? He was running off in the middle of
a conversation AGAIN?

Well, as long as he remembered to bring her donuts this
time....

THE END