[This is a light fluffy piece continuing on from the End of 
ATAI. It was fun to write, so I though y'all might like to enjoy 
it. Whether I get to write a sequel of sorts, is another thing. I 
have one planned, on suggestion from Fleisch (I don't think 
she thought it would be in this context though *grin*). Enjoy!]

Another Bolt From The Blue 
by Leanne Richard (volterra@sd.znet.com)

	"Oh gimme me a break!" Clark raised his eyes 
heavenward as the thunder sounded. Rain began to fall. 
	"Do you want to go in?" Lois asked, a giggle present 
in her voice. Clark almost always had the ability to make her 
smile. Unless it was one of his abrupt departures. 
	For once, Clark persevered. "If the earth opened up at 
my feet, I wouldn't move until I said this." Lois watched him 
go down on bended knee. "Lois, will you marry me?" 
	Between them, he held aloft a black velvet box which 
contained a ring. An engagement ring: a single diamond seated 
aloft a band of gold. 
	Lois found it hard to comprehend his words. It was 
so out of the blue. She looked down at the ring and then back 
up at Clark. How could she say yes when he hadn't yet 
revealed his secret? A secret she was beginning to dread. But 
she loved him, how could she refuse? 
	Clark removed the ring from the tiny velvet box and 
held it out to Lois. She reached out. "Clark, I --" 
	Their world blazed with white-blue light as a bolt of 
lightning shot down from the heavens, striking Clark squarely 
just as Lois' fingertips touched the ring. The electrical charge 
surged through Clark's hand to the ring and to Lois. 
	The glow faded. Clark, stunned, hastily gathered her 
up into his arms. "Lois!" his voice low and concerned. "Are 
you alright?" 
	"Clark? What ... what happened?" 
	Clark had experienced it before -- the blazing, 
blinding intensity of lightning strike -- and remembered the 
one occasion when his powers had been transferred to 
another. 
	"Lightning, I think," replied Clark. "It must've been 
almost right on top of us. Are you sure you're alright?" 
	"Yes, I'm fine." Lois looked down as she said so. On 
the paving stone by the fountain she espied the engagement 
ring. Or what was left of it. "Clark!" she exclaimed, pointing. 
"Look!" 
	Clark saw. What had been a stunning diamond ring 
was now a tiny puddle of molten gold, now solidifying, the 
diamond cradled within it. 
	"Clark, we were both touching that when --" Lois 
examined her fingertips in wonder, discovering them to be 
unharmed. 
	"Lois, I--" 
	But Lois had remembered everything. Her fingertips 
weren't even singed, despite the glow that had surrounded her. 
Then she remembered Superman telling her how Resplendent 
Man had got his powers. Via lightning-strike. Clark had been 
struck, she was sure ... 
	On a hunch, she slipped out of Clark's arms and 
thought *up*. An excited gasp slipped out as she levitated 
herself in the air. "Clark," she breathed, the thrill of the new 
eclipsing any anger for the moment, "I can fly!" 
	His look of shock turned into a tentative smile. 
	She could fly! Lois saw Clark's smile. She was 
unhurt, she could fly, so unless Clark had been struck by 
lightning whilst touching Superman that meant -- "Oh no, 
you're not getting off that lightly, farmboy! Or should I say: 
Superman?" 
	"Lois," Clark spread his hands placatingly, "I was 
going to tell you..." 
	So it was true! Folding her arms in an excellent 
imitation of one of Superman's poses, Lois bobbed slightly in 
the air, the movement reflecting her anger. "When, Clark? 
When were you going to trust me enough?" 
	"Lois ..." Clark raised himself off the ground so that 
he could look at her directly and evenly in the eye. 
"Sometimes, once a lie starts, it gets too complicated to stop it, 
to explain it away." His eyes lowered for a moment before he 
looked up again. "I guess I was afraid, too." 
	"Afraid?" Lois tried to remember when Clark had 
been afraid. How could she forget the fear he had for his 
parents' safety? She remembered the fear in Superman's -- 
Clark's -- eyes when he had been shot with kryptonite (or 
kissed with it) Her eyes softened, recalling the concern in his 
eyes just as he, as Superman, extricated her from yet another 
potentially life-threatening situation. She remembered the 
sheer relief and love emanating from him when she was safe 
once more ... 
	"I was afraid of losing this life in Metropolis, this life I 
love." Clark took a deep breath. "I was afraid of losing you." 
	Lois regarded him steadily. Slowly, that twinkle that 
Clark recognised and loved came into her eye. 
	"Clark? Do you think your mother will make me a 
costume?" Abruptly, she laughed delightedly as she zoomed 
up into the raining sky, eluding his grasp. "Catch me if you 
can!" 
	Clark, a broad smile transforming his features, soared 
into the sky after her. 
	They played hide-and-seek in the rainclouds, getting 
wetter than either of them thought possible but not caring in 
the slightest. 
	Lois was scooting along above the clouds, looking 
out for him. Suddenly, she slowed, and he caught her at last, 
sneaking up on her from above and behind. 
	Above the storm, they dried swiftly in the night air. 
Clark held her close, rolling onto his back so Lois could lie on 
top of him. She smiled down into his face, letting him take her 
weight. It was oddly reassuring, even though she knew now 
that with her new super abilities she would be in no danger. 
	"Lois?" 
	"Yes, Clark?" Lois began to shiver in the cold night 
air. 
	"You, ah, never answered my question." 
	"No, I didn't, did I." Lois kissed him briefly, yet 
lovingly. "Clark, I love you, but I need time to think." He felt 
his stomach twist in anxiety. "It's a big step, for any couple ..." 
Then Clark remembered her last proposal and how *that* 
turned out. 
	"Alright," he said, giving her a squeeze before letting 
her go so that they could both fly, "let's get you home ..."

****

	Lois spent the morning wandering around the 
Metropolis Courts of Justice, trying out her new superpowers. 
She spent nearly half an hour staring at a blank wall absorbed 
in the proceedings of a courtroom closed to the press, wishing 
she could use the information for a story. 
	Unfortunately, to do so would require revealing her 
sources, in short, to reveal her new powers: a story in itself; 
but like the Resplendent Man story, if the truth were known, 
people would be clamouring to be electrocuted with Superman 
so that they too could become "super". 
	Lois sighed, coming to her "human" senses, aware for 
the first time of being brushed by passers-by and of the 
strange looks they were sending in her direction. 
	For a long moment, Lois wanted to run from the 
courthouse screaming. She was so different from the rest of 
her fellow homo sapiens now. Was she still human or had the 
powerful electric current transformed her into pure 
Kryptonian? 
	Lois shivered, her arms hugging herself as she left the 
courthouse. She walked the streets of Metropolis in a daze. 
With Clark's superpowers she could see anything, do anything 
but she couldn't write about it. Her reporter instincts smarted at 
the restriction. 
	A child's scream captured her attention. Lois looked 
around swiftly, her eyes finally finding the child, her view 
obstructed by a grid of lead piping. The child appeared to be 
hanging in mid-air. 
	She darted into the nearest alleyway, looking around 
to see if anyone could see her, before taking off. 
	Moments later above the city's tenements, Lois found 
the child: a boy, clinging desperately to a washing line strung 
out between two buildings. He was 10 stories up and his 
fingers were slipping. 
	Lois dove and caught him just in time, the boy's 
chubby fingertips barely touching the line. "It's alright," she 
soothed the now sobbing child, who looked no more than six 
or seven. "You're safe now." 
	Hearing startled gasps, Lois looked across to see four 
older boys staring at her white-faced. The clothes-line ran from 
that window. 
	"Did you boys have anything to do with this?" Lois 
demanded. 
	"They dared me," quavered the little boy in her arms, 
"and then when I chickened out, they made me." 
	Lois floated closer, not realising that she appeared to 
them like some power-dressed angel. "That really wasn't a very 
bright thing to do, was it?" 
	The boys agreed, speechless. 
	"You do realise what would have happened if I hadn't 
been around?" 
	Again, the boys nodded. 
	Severely, she said, "Make sure it doesn't happen 
again." 
	Finding them suitably chastened, Lois sank down, 
landing in the alley. She knelt down as the little boy's feet 
touched the ground. "You sure you're OK?" 
	The little boy nodded, awed. "Th-thanks!" 
	Lois smiled. "You're welcome!" 
	"Who ... who are you?" 
	"Uhhh ..." Lois hadn't thought that far ahead. 
	"I can keep a secret! Are you Superman's sister?" 
	"No, I'm--" Lois broke off pretending to hear 
something. "Someone's in trouble! I have to go!" Lois sped off 
skyward at superspeed.

***

	"Clark ..." Lois stepped in off the balcony, causing 
Clark to start with surprise. 
	"Lois!" He grinned. "The door is perfectly workable, 
you know!" 
	"Clark, I saved someone's life today." Lois looked 
more than a little shell-shocked. 
	"You didn't charge them for it?" Clark joked as he 
took her in his arms. 
	"No ..." Lois filled him in on what had happened. "I'm 
not too sure I like the idea of being your sister!" 
	"Lois, you've got to be more careful." 
	"But Clark, I couldn't not help!" 
	"I know, Lois, I know. Sometimes you just can't let it 
go." He held her tight. 
	"So what are we going to do?" 
	"I think we should ask Mom to make you a costume." 
	Lois hugged Clark tight.

****

	The flight down to Kent farm near Smallville, Kansas 
was both exhilarating and exhausting for Lois. It was her first 
long flight and the large number of factors that she had to keep 
in mind for the flight, such as keeping an eye out for other 
flying objects, (after she speedily flew into a flock of migrating 
Canadian geese, Lois never wanted to repeat that experience 
again!) she mentally felt weary. 
	However, it was well worth it to see Martha and 
Jonathan’s faces as she landed by Clark's side, free of any 
support. 
	Martha had taken up wood sculpture and Jonathan 
had become involved in the project in spite of himself and was 
working on a companion piece. The two of them stood and 
stared, jaws dropped, chain-saws idling. 
	"Mom? Dad?" Clark's deadpan, concerned delivery 
was marred by an amused twitch of the lips. 
	Still staring at Lois, Jonathan Kent stuttered, "I'm ... 
ahh, just chopping up some wood, son." 
	Jonathan’s non sequitur shattered Martha's 
bewilderment. Darting the same "Yes, Jonathan" look at her 
husband in concert with her son, she shut off her chain-saw 
and to Lois exclaimed: "Honey, you can fly!" 
	Lois shook her hair free of her ponytail. Clark noted 
admiringly that no matter how windswept Lois looked she was 
still gorgeous. Lois was, however, tired; something which 
Martha spotted before Lois had even finished opening her 
mouth to speak. 
	"Come on, you two, come inside. Clark is always 
famished after flying. You must be starving too." 
	In between mouthfuls of pie and buttermilk, Lois and 
Clark alternately told Clark's parents of how Lois had received 
Clark's powers and what they now planned. 
	"Lois? A costume? Are you sure?" 
	"Yes, Martha. Lois Lane can't have superpowers 
without losing every shred of privacy, but Superwoman can." 
Lois smiled. "I can't not help people either, so Superwoman it 
has to be." 
	"And as Lois can't sew to save herself--" Clark started 
before he was pummeled in the arm by Lois. 
	"I can do buttons!" she protested. 
	"Honey, I'd love to make you a costume," said 
Martha, smiling, glad to see her son happy again.

***

	It took several hours of discussion and sketching 
before Martha and Lois agreed on a short list. Martha set to 
work on her sewing machine ... 
	With the first creation complete, Lois came out into 
the living room to model for Clark, who was seated 
comfortably on the sofa watching TV. 
	She was wearing a disguise that showed her long legs 
off wonderfully. In fact, it showed off a lot of Lois 
wonderfully. The strapless yellow and blue striped corset did 
not have a plunging neckline, but it promised to. The lower 
half of the costume was a brief, although full and pleated, skirt 
of yellow stars on a blue background. 
	Clark vetoed the skirt immediately. "People will be 
looking up." 
	Lois blushed and retreated with Martha to make some 
alterations. 
	When she returned the skirt had been altered into a 
pair of brief but bouffant shorts. This time Lois herself was 
displeased with the effects. "It looks like I'm wearing a star 
spangled diaper!" 
	Clark laughed and Martha had to muffle her own 
laughter behind her hand. Now that Lois had said it, it was 
hard to see the shorts as anything else. 
	Her next outfit was a whimsical costume in autumnal 
tones. Leaves were loosely stitched over a figure-hugging 
mini-dress. Beige tights and ankle boots in a slightly darker 
shade completed the ensemble. 
	"She looks like a fairy," exclaimed Jonathan, coming 
in for a moment for a glass of lemonade. Lois smiled impishly 
and tripped about the living room lightly, and waving her arms 
in flight, floated upwards. 
	Jonathan shook his head in bemusement. "Lois, I 
don't think I'll ever get used to you being able to do that." 
	Lois smiled and her feet touched the floor. She 
fingered the costume's hem. "I kinda like it." 
	"I dunno, Lois ..." Clark said reluctantly. 
	"Clark?" Lois pouted. "Don't you like it?" 
	Clark struggled to find the right words. "It's ... well, 
it's ... " Finally, he blurted, "Won't you be recognised?" 
	"I can make a mask," Martha offered. 
	Lois gave him her best "Well, Clark?" look. 
	Clark gave up and simply said, "You always wear 
brown!" 
	Lois narrowed her eyes. "I don't wear brown all the 
time." 
	"He does have a point," Jonathan said, not seeing his 
wife's cautionary look. "I remember you buying a brown print 
dress last year." Jonathan had, however, seen Lois' face. "Uhh, 
it was quite pretty though!" 
	Lois turned to look at Martha, who shrugged as if to 
say "Well, if *they* notice." Together they returned to 
Martha's sewing room. 
	Lois re-emerged in a spandex bodysuit in dark 
emerald green and black with a dramatic zig-zag pattern across 
her chest. A mask covered her hair and much of her face, 
leaving only a small area around her mouth visible. Although 
she was covered from head to toe, the costume was skin-tight, 
and while Clark loved to admire Lois' figure, he couldn't quite 
recall the last time he'd seen it in such ... definition. 
	Lois loved the expression on Clark's face. When he 
looked at her in that desiring way, it made her feel all warm 
inside. 
	Martha, from where she leant against the doorway, 
mused, "I think it needs something ... Perhaps a cape?" 
	"I don't know, Martha," replied Lois, checking out her 
reflection in the mirror, trying not to look at Clark. "Perhaps it 
could lose something?" 
	Lois couldn't hide a grin while she watched Clark 
mentally go through the options. 
	"The sleeves?" Martha suggested. No sooner had she 
suggested this than Lois tore them off. "Hmmm, I still think it 
needs a cape. It'll look really neat when you fly." 
	"Mom, that's what you said about my cape. You don't 
know how difficult it is to iron!" 
	"You can say that again!" remarked Jonathan, 
ruefully recalling the time he'd burnt a hole in one of Clark's 
capes. 
	"I think I'd like a cape," thought Lois aloud. "It'll have 
to be forest green though." 
	"Why not in the same colours as Clark's," Jonathan 
suggested. "You'll be a team, right?" 
	"Dad, we *are* a team." 
	The end result was a red sleeveless leotard with a 
matching cape. The mask, also red, was attached to the cape 
and covered her hair, the top half of her face, and her throat, 
leaving a diamond of pale skin revealed on her chest. 
	"Perfect," said Clark, and Jonathan agreed. Martha 
smiled, and exhausted, collapsed on the couch. 
	Clark and Lois stayed for dinner, which Clark cooked 
before flying back to Metropolis. 
	They entered Lois' apartment by conventional means. 
Lois yawned. "Clark?" she asked softly. 
	"Yes, Lois?" 
	"Yes, Clark." She smiled dreamily and leaned against 
him. 
	"Uhh, yes what?" 
	Lois fastened her eyes on him and spoke slowly and 
clearly. "Yes, I will marry you."

THE END