Epic (Confusion)
a follow-up to The Spider and the Fly(boy)
By Robert Culpepper <rculpepp@toast.net>
Rated PG
Submitted July 1998

Back by popular demand, I bring FoLCs another team-up!  This time
around I decided to go for a larger scope story.  Consequently, larger
story.  This time around we've got Spider-Man *and* Robin and Batgirl.
The story line plays a little loose with the Batman chronology, but it makes
for a good time.  This would have taken place in the fourth season, and
assumes most of what happened along the way with the exception of the
Jimmy-Lucy relationship.  It provides a little spice throughout the
story.  This story builds on events that first took place in my other
story: "The Spider and the Fly(boy)".  As always, the characters belong
to their respective owners, but the story's mine.  ENJOY!

* Denotes thoughts.

SPECIAL THANKS: Dana, James (and wife) and Joe

Comments go to rculpepp@toast.net


Epic (Confusion)
a follow-up to The Spider and the Fly(boy)
By: Robert Culpepper (rculpepp@toast.net)


     "I hope you can do this," the voice from the shadows said.  "I
tried to get someone a little more 'local' to do the job... but he was
unavailable, I'm afraid."

     The man who stood in front of the desk nodded.  He wore a
regular business suit, although the bright green color stood out.  "Yes.
I hear Dr. Crane is being rehabilitated... again.  What a shame to have
a man of his talents sitting in a mental ward.  I should know."

     "You haven't told me exactly how long this is going to take."
The voice sounded more irritated.  "I would like a time line before I
give you access to over 100 million dollars of equipment and resources."

     "Don't worry, Mr. Daggett.  Everything will go fine.  I've
decided to relocate.  Gotham isn't good for you, and New York is very
bad for me.  I thought we'd test out the product in Metropolis."

     "Metropolis?!"  Roland Daggett stood and looked angry.  "Don't you
think you'll run into Superman?  You're a fool if you think he'll won't
know what you're up to.  Superman is not in the bargain, understand?"

     The man laughed lightly first, then it turned into something
demonic.  "Superman will never suspect I'm there."  Daggett didn't
look convinced.  "Listen, Mr. Daggett.  Norman Osborne always keeps his
word."  Then the voice changed into something almost inhumanly evil that
made even Daggett flinch.  "So does the Green Goblin!"

*******************************

     Clark looked around the room.  "That was real sneaky, Lois!"
He continued to look.  "That trail of clothes to the kitchen had me
going for a minute.  I'll admit it, you're pretty good at hide and seek."
Clark could have searched each room in the house in a moment, but he
decided not to.  It was more fun this way.  He and Lois had taken to
playing hide and seek together at odd times when they just needed a little
time to 'play'.  "You know it's only a matter of time before I find you...
I'm playing fair by the way.  No super-hearing, no floating..."  He smiled.
If he could get her to crack up laughing, he wouldn't need any super
powers.  "Would you like me to tell you what I'll do when I find you?"

     Just then he heard a giggle come from the bedroom.  He quietly
approached the room, and then quickly opened the door.  "Oh.. you found
me!" Lois said, pretending to pout.  Clark knew better though.  She'd
planned the whole thing.  "And you caught me without anything on!"  Lois
was curled up in the bed with blankets up to her chin.

     Clark lowered his glasses and grinned.  "I know."

     "You peeked!"

     "I'm really glad we don't have lead-lined sheets."  Clark spun out
of his clothes quickly and then climbed into the bed beside Lois.  He took
her into his arms.  "You know, I like finding you this way."

     Lois giggled as she cuddled closer to Clark.  "I know.  Why do
you think I let you find me?"  She raised her head and kissed him
and he responded in kind.  "You know, we're lucky Perry gave us a
Friday afternoon off."

     "We're lucky it's a slow news day," Clark said as he kissed her
from her neck to her lips.  "It gives us a chance to practice..."

     "Trying to become parents," Lois finished the thought between
breaths.  "You know, this has got to be the most enjoyable practice two
people can engage in."   She turned and started nibbling on his ear, soft
enough so that she wouldn't break her teeth.  "Let's start practicing, now,"
she whispered heavily into his ear.  Without hesitation, he embraced her
and...

     The doorbell rang.  "GO AWAY!!!" Lois yelled in desperation.
Both of them waited a moment, looking out toward the main townhouse
door.  Lois was saying "Please.. please..." quietly but it did no good.
The doorbell rang again.  She looked to Clark who was already starting
to get up.  "This isn't fair!"

     Clark didn't look happy either.  "We just can't catch a break."
He spun around and was instantly dressed.  Lois now pouted for real.
"Relax, Lois.  Remember, I can undress just as fast.  I haven't said this
to you in a while... but hold that thought and I'll be back... as soon as
I can get rid of whoever's out there."  The doorbell rang again, and
Clark sprinted toward the door, leaving a very frustrated wife in bed.

     Clark didn't even check the door before he opened it.  What he
found on the other side was a surprise.  The woman leaped at him and
embraced him in a quick hug.  It was a moment before Clark recognized the
woman.  It was Mary Jane Watson-Parker and behind her stood Peter with
his hand stretched out.  "Congratulations, Clark!"

     Clark shook Peter's hand and look confused.  "Congratulations?"

     "The wedding..." Peter reminded.

     Clark shook his head clear.  "Oh... thanks."  He ran a hand
through his hair and called to his wife.  "Lois!  It's Mary Jane and Peter
Parker!  From New York!  MJ and Peter!"  Clark smiled awkwardly, and
then noticed MJ and Peter staring at him.  "What?"

     "Catch you at a bad time, Clark?" Peter asked with a raised
eyebrow.  Clark didn't quite understand.  "Clark, your pants are inside
out."  Clark blushed a very deep red and excused himself for a moment.
Peter turned to his wife.  "I've got the feeling we interrupted
something... private."

     MJ smirked.  "I don't even have spider-sense and I could tell
that."  She paused.  "Maybe we should come back later."

     "You will not."  Lois made her way into the room, dressed in a
blouse and blue jeans, with Clark behind her, now dressed correctly.  She
gave both of them a quick hug.  "It's been forever since we've seen either
of you!"

     MJ hugged Lois back.  "Congratulations on finally getting
married, Lois.  You and Clark have earned it."

     "Why didn't you two show up for the wedding... I realize it
didn't turn out the way we planned... the first time... the second
time, but you did promise to come."  Clark was curious.  Both he and
Lois had wondered why their New York friends hadn't shown up in town
the week of the wedding.  Either wedding for that case.  "Let me guess,
JJ wouldn't give you any time off?"

     Peter shook his head.  "No.  I had to track down the Lizard
who had somehow teamed up with Venom.  It took me a week to get the
Lizard back to normal."  Clark and Lois looked lost and Peter sighed.
"He's actually my old physics professor... the Lizard was an
accident... the same way I became Spider-Man... neogenics."

     Clark and Lois nodded, not understanding a word Peter had
said.  They didn't know if that had kept them from the first or second
wedding, and they didn't want to ask.  Clark managed to smile
pleasantly.
"So, what brings you to Metropolis?  Last time you two were here, so was
Fisk.  Is something up?"  Clark hoped it was nothing of the sort, but he
had an uneasy feeling when other heroes turned up in town.

     Peter and MJ exchanged a nervous glance.  "No... we just wanted
to drop by and visit.  See how the two of you are getting along."
Peter realized he wasn't convincing anyone, so he changed topics.
"We stopped by the Daily Planet, and Mr. White told us you two had
gone home.  He was kind enough to tell us where that was now."

     The two couples walked into the living room and took seats.  MJ
and Peter sat together of course, as did Lois and Clark.  For a few
minutes they exchanged agonizing small talk.  Clark knew something was
up.  Peter would never leave New York unless he really had to.  After
having told the story of the weddings, the amnesia and everything else,
Clark abandoned the pretense of playing along.  "Okay, Peter... what's
going on.  Why are you here?"

     Peter half-laughed.  "That transparent, huh?"  Clark nodded.
"I should have figured you would 'see through' this little visit."  At
the mention of the bad pun MJ groaned and shook her head.

     "He's been practicing his quips again.  You have no idea how
irritating it can be to hear your husband come up with catchy things
to say to the crooks he comes across."  MJ looked at Clark and then
back to Lois.  "Then again, maybe you do."

     Lois giggled.  "No.  Clark saves his best quips for me.  When he's
with the crooks he's the 'strong' silent type."  It was Clark's turn
to shake his head.

     "Back to the point at hand..." Clark said, trying to get the
conversation back on course.  "What brings you to Metropolis this time?
Another Kingpin scheme?"

     Peter shook his head and looked like a haunted man as he began
to speak.  "I wish it was as easy as Fisk.  It's something... someone
much, much worse."  Lois and Clark waited in anticipation but they didn't
have to for very long.  "It's the Green Goblin."

     Lois and Clark exchanged glances at each other.  "The Goblin?!
You think the Goblin's here in Metropolis?"  Lois couldn't believe their
luck, or rather their lack of it.  "We have enough supervillains of
our own.  Why don't these people just stay home!?"

     Clark was concerned now.  The Green Goblin was a dangerous man.
He had never come across him, but he had seen the press clippings.  The
Goblin was an evil genius who was so twisted few people even wanted to
understand him.  "What makes you think he's here?"

     MJ looked to Peter, waiting for him to explain everything.
After a moment's thought, Peter began.  "To start it off, The Goblin has
another identity too.  He's really Norman Osborne."  Lois and Clark
looked at each other with disbelief.  One of the country's premier
chemical industrialists was the monstrous Green Goblin?  "It all
happened
shortly after I was bitten by the radioactive spider and got my powers.
I've told that story," Peter waved his hand, dismissively.

     Peter continued.  "Osborne was working on a chemical weapon for
the Kingpin... they were partners, sort of.  Osborne got careless and
made a mistake.  The lab blew up and the chemicals in the lab mixed.
Osborne inhaled the chemical fumes and it gave him super strength...
he's as strong as I am.  It also drove him insane.  He created the
Goblin to get revenge on Fisk and then he went after random targets.  I
managed to stop him after several encounters, but it wasn't easy.  We
were in his old abandoned lab."  Peter stopped, almost unable to
continue.
MJ took his hand and squeezed it gently, bringing him out of his daze.

     Peter continued with the story.  "Somehow he caught me and tied me
up.  He... unmasked me and found out who Spider-Man really was.  In
turn,
Osborne revealed himself to me.  Up to that time I had no idea who I was
fighting.  I broke free and in the fight a fire got started.  The place
was in bad shape already.  It didn't take a lot to bring the roof down
on
us.  It trapped Osborne underneath.  I had no choice but to save him,
even
though he told me he planned to expose me to the world.  When I got him
out,
I ripped the Goblin suit off of him.  When he came to, he knew nothing
of
the Goblin."  Peter shook his head as the memories came back to haunt
him
anew.  "There's been times since then when he's become the Goblin.
Times
of personal stress I think.  I sometimes wonder if Osborne really knows
he's the Goblin and if he does... he knows who Spider-Man is."

     Clark nodded as the story concluded.  *Almost as good as the
story about clones and Luthor.*  "So, you think Osborne's here?"

     Peter stood up and began to pace.  Out of habit he leaped to the
ceiling and continued pacing, upside down.  "I try to keep track of
Osborne...  He disappeared from New York a few weeks ago, and now he's
been seen here in Metropolis.  I had to come and find out what he's
up to."  As Peter talked he had started walking in circles around the
ceiling lamp.

     Lois and Clark continued to watch Peter as he paced.  Their life
sometimes took some strange turns.  MJ was a little embarrassed as her
husband continued to walk on their friends' ceiling.  "Please excuse
Peter.  When he gets worried, he does this... A LOT."

     Lois laughed.  "Okay.  Just as long as he doesn't leave any...
spiderwebs up there.  We just finished dusting yesterday."

     Peter jumped down from the ceiling with a sheepish smile on his
face.  "Sorry.  I really am.  We came here for a couple of reasons...
We wanted to see you two... I also wanted you, Clark, to know that
Spider-Man would be in town swinging around."  A guilty expression
crossed his face.  "I'm not asking for your help.  I have to take care
of the Goblin.  This is my fight.  I just wanted to let you know."

     They had made some small talk afterwards and then Peter and
Mary Jane had left to unpack and get settled in their hotel room at the
Metropolis-Renold.  Lois looked over to the clock on her desk.  "They
were here for almost an hour!"

     "I know," Clark said as he held his wife close to him.  He
shook his head.  "I ALMOST forgot where we were."

     "Really?"  A playful glint came into Lois' eyes.  She kissed him
and began to rub her hands across his chest.  Within moments they were
exactly where they had left off.  "The bed's in the bedroom," she
reminded
him, almost whispering.

     Clark took Lois into his arms and laid her down on the floor by
their fireplace.  "Who cares about the bed?" he asked as he continued to
kiss her.  As they became more passionate, Clark began to remove Lois'
blouse and she had already removed his shirt.  Just as Clark reached the
last button on her blouse... the doorbell rang again.  "This isn't
happening!!" Clark cried pathetically.  "GO AWAY!!!!"  The doorbell rang
again.  Still gasping for his breath, Clark looked to his wife who
had closed her eyes and was shaking her head.  Both of them seemed to
be doing that today.  "Maybe I should just pick you up and fly away...
somewhere where there's no one who knows us... or wants to talk to us...
or ask us for help!"

     Lois giggled.  "It would be a little hard to explain why Superman
was flying Lois Kent out of her own house in the middle of the day,
partially undressed as it is.  Wouldn't it?"  Clark reneged and nodded.
The doorbell rang again.  "You better get that, the way things are going
today it might be our friendly neighborhood bat."  Clark frowned
instantly.
"Sorry, I know he 'bugs' you."  Clark groaned, Lois smiled.  "I'll be
good."  Clark got up and headed for the door as Lois scrambled to button
her blouse.  As Clark reached for the door, Lois called to him.
"Clark!"
He looked over and Lois threw him his shirt, which he quickly put on.

     Remembering to x-ray the door, Clark instantly knew who was on
the other side.  Clark's face looked like he had just seen kryptonite
and Lois was concerned.  "Oh, boy.  Would you like to try for the
bird?"  Lois stood, wondering what could be on the other side of the
door.
The bell rang again and Clark opened the door to reveal their new
visitor.
"Come on in, Dick."

     "Hey, Clark!!  How's it going!"  The young man stepped through.
"Nice townhouse!"  Dick Grayson looked from Clark to Lois and back
again.
With a shy smile on his face, he lowered his head and laughed.  "Did I
come at a bad time?"  Clark looked to Lois who was trying her best to
not make eye contact with anyone.  "I mean... Lois' hair looks like
she just got her head out of dryer and you have your shirt on
backwards.."
Clark looked down at himself and shut the door.  He spun around and the
shirt was on right.  "If I didn't know any better, I would think..."
The words died in his mouth as he realized exactly what he HAD
interrupted.
"Guys, I'm sorry... really, really sorry."  Dick reached for the door.
"I'll drop by later, when you're not... busy."

     Clark was perfectly willing to let Dick leave.  In fact he opened
the door and was waiting for the young man to cross over when Lois
stopped him.  "Don't go, Dick.  You're here, so you might as well stay
for a while.  Come on in and sit down."  Dick made his way to the living
room as Clark shut the door, giving his wife a questioning look.

     Clark made his way in as well and sat beside Lois on the couch.
"So, Dick, what brings you to Metropolis.  You're a far piece away from
Gotham."  Clark wanted to act civil for as long as he could, but he
knew something was going on.

     Dick Grayson laughed nervously.  "Just taking a vacation from
Gotham... you know.. just getting out of the Batcave."

     That was it.  Clark couldn't be diplomatic anymore.  He looked
to his wife beside him and realized their time was slipping away.  He
had to get to the bottom of why Batman's Robin was in Metropolis.
"Okay, Boy Wonder, the real reason... Why are you here?"

     Dick began to explain the situation that had brought him to
Metropolis.  Lois and Clark exchanged concerned looks, again.  "Let me
get
this right..."  Lois tried her best to not let her face betray her.
"Roland Daggett's been transferring huge sums of money to Metropolis
banks
and you're here because you think he's financing a mad scientist?"

     Dick nodded.  "Batman is sure of it.  Daggett had tried to get
Dr. Crane to work for him, but lucky for us the Scarecrow got locked up
again.  Daggett doesn't give up that easily though.  He's found someone
to cook up what he wants.  We're sure he wanted Crane to work on some
kind of mind control gas...   We're positive.  Daggett's probably
picked Metropolis to get away from Batman and Robin.  After all, why
would Superman suspect anything?"

     "So you're going after whoever Daggett has hired?" Clark asked
briefly.  "No offense, Dick, but I'm surprised that Bruce let you come
on this one alone."

     Dick looked down to the floor.  "Actually he didn't.  He asked
me to bring Batgirl along for backup.  He would have probably come
himself if he wasn't chasing Catwoman across Europe right now."  He
looked up to see the confused looks on Lois and Clark's faces.  "It's
a long story.  Suffice to say he has a thing for cats and she has
a thing for bats."

     Clark arched his eyebrows and Lois buried her head into Clark's
chest laughing softly.  "So, you brought Batgirl?  She's the new bat in
town, right?"  Dick nodded.  "Any idea who she is?" Lois asked.

     Dick shook his head absently.  "No.  But that brings up my other
problem...  You two probably don't want to hear this, but... I don't
really have anyone else to talk to this about.  I can't talk to Bruce
and Alfred's just..."  Lois and Clark waited for him to continue.
"You see, Robin, I mean I, have... feelings for Batgirl.  There's an
attraction there, but I don't even know who she is.  I can't reveal
myself to her.  If she finds out who I am, then she'll figure out who
Batman is.  THEN Bruce would kill ME."

     Lois had a feeling this wasn't the only problem in Dick
Grayson's
life.  "Dick, there's something else, isn't there?  Last time we talked,
you were going out with...  Oh, Clark.  What was her name?"

     "Barbara Gordon, the police commissioner daughter."

     "I still am," Dick acknowledged.  "I love her, but I can't share
who I am with her.  If she found out, then she might tell her father.
If
Gordon found out who Robin was, then he would KNOW who Batman was.  Then
we get back to the 'Bruce killing me thing' again."  Dick was silent
again.  "That's not all though.  Not only am I going to be teaming up
with Batgirl here in Metropolis, but Barbara came along with me!  I told
her I was going for a small vacation, and when she found out it was
Metropolis, she insisted on coming along.  I couldn't say no."

     "Oh, boy."  Clark shook his head and smiled softly.

     "You got problems, Dick."  Lois patted Clark on the chest. "You
have to ask yourself a question.  Which person is more real to you?  How
much do you really know about this Batgirl?  Does she like pizzas?
Sure,
she dresses in spandex, but what do you really know about her, Dick?"
Clark was trying hard to suppress the urge to laugh.  Lois looked at
him,
trying to look a little angry but it wasn't any use.  What she had just
said was funny, if one knew what they had gone through to be together.
Not able to contain themselves, Lois and Clark held onto each other
laughing.  As the laughing subsided, Lois continued talking to Dick.
"That's what I had to do.  I realized that Clark was the real person in
my
life.  Superman just came and went.  I knew almost nothing about him.
You can't build a future on a fantasy."

     "I know, Lois.  You haven't seen Batgirl in that suit though!"

     Lois got to her feet.  "Sometimes I think Earth men are totally
hopeless."  Shaking her head, she walked to the kitchen.

     "What did I say?" Dick asked in a clueless tone.

     Clark smiled briefly.  "So, why did you come over, Dick?  Did
you
come to ask for some more backup?"

     Dick shook his head and had the same guilty look in his eyes as
Peter had earlier.  "No.  I just wanted you to know I'd be in town.
I'll try my best to keep things quiet.  I know you and Lois have been
through a lot, and you two do deserve time together."  Dick got up and
headed for the door.  "I better be getting back.  Barbara will be
wondering where I got to.  I'm staying at the Metropolis-Regent in case
you need to contact me.  Will I see you on patrol tonight?"

     "Maybe," Clark said.  He looked to the kitchen absently.  "Then
again, maybe not..."  Clark followed Dick to the door, said good-bye and
then locked it tight.  He looked to the clock.  "That's another hour
gone."  Clark walked into the kitchen.  "He's gone.  Want to try the
table?" he asked jokingly.  Lois turned away from the counter and shook
her head.  "I didn't think so."

     "Does anything about receiving two super-visitors in the same
day strike you as strange, Clark?"  Lois moved to embrace her husband
tenderly.  "Peter comes looking for a man who is a genius at chemical
engineering.  Dick shows up looking for a mad scientist who's getting
money from Daggett, Gotham's answer to Lex Luthor."  She felt Clark
wince at the mention of the name.  A wave of despair washed over her
as well.  Luthor was gone for good.  She could take comfort in that.
She also had Clark.  "He can't hurt us ever again, Clark.  He's gone."

     Clark kissed Lois softly.  "Daggett isn't though.  You're right.
It's obvious Peter and Dick are looking for the same person.  The
Green Goblin."  He sighed as he thought to himself, his decision was
made.  He looked into Lois' eyes and saw concern there.  "Don't
worry, honey.  This time they're on their own.  There's no Metropolis
connection, and I'm content to just let them handle this thing in their
own way.  I promise."  He made the scout sign with his fingers.

     Lois knew something was eating him inside.  It had been since
Peter had shown up.  "Sure.  Now, sweetheart, why don't you tell me what
you're really thinking about.  Something's bothering you."

     "I just really hate getting interrupted when I'm with the most
beautiful woman in the world."

     "Nice try, Kent, but that isn't all."

     It was no use.  She knew him so well now.  She knew something
was
wrong.  "You really want to know, don't you?"  With an encouraging nod,
he told her.  "I'm upset.  Here these guys come into Metropolis and
expect me to be alright with it.... that's not really the point, though.
Where were they when I needed them?  Every time one of these superheroes
get into a jam, who do they call?  Me!  With Batman it was the Joker.
With
Spider-Man it was the Kingpin.  With the Flash it was Captain Cold.
I've
helped the likes of Green Lantern, Captain America, Iron Man..."

     "Just as long as you stay away from Wonder Woman.  I don't trust
Amazons," Lois said with a smirk.

     Clark leaned down and kissed her and pulled her closer to his
chest.  "You're the only wonder woman there will ever be for me, and
you are pretty wonderful."  He could feel her smile widen against his
chest.  "The point is, where were they when I needed them most?  They
weren't here.  When the Kryptonians came to Smallville, they could have
come and helped.  So much destruction could have been avoided... so many
lives could have been saved.  I was on my own... the only people who
stood by me were the ones I loved.  People with more power in their
hearts than all of the superheroes on this planet combined.  I'm not
willing to sacrifice my time with you to help them.  You mean too much
to me."

     "I know that.  I love you, Clark."  As she stood there though,
her
reporter's instinct kicked in.  "You know, I've got an idea."  Clark
moaned, having a good idea of what was coming next.  "Superman should
definitely stay out of this one, but it could be another award winning
story for Lane and Kent.  Imagine, we could expose a Gotham crime boss,
something the Gotham Gazette's been trying to do for years, and we
could even expose the Green Goblin...  With a little help from you, we
could even prove to the world that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are two
different people.  You could pretend to crawl and spin webs, just like
he does.  Sound like a plan?"

     "Sounds like a plan, partner."  He loved it when she latched
onto
a story.  "This sounds like a job for Lane and Kent, the 'hottest' team
in Metropolis.  When do you want to start?"

     Lois looked up and Clark saw the playful glint come back into
her
eyes.  He smiled widely, unable to help it.  "Tomorrow is soon enough.
Right now, I can think of a situation that needs Kent and Kent, the
hottest team in the townhouse... and it involves the table..."

     Before long, the two of them were on the table, literally
ripping
each others clothes off.  The door bell rang again, but this time there
was no turning back.  "GO AWAY!!!!" they yelled together.  They soon
forgot about the door and didn't hear it being opened and someone
entering the house.

     "Lois??  Clark??" a young voice called out emotionally.  "Is
anyone here?"  The couple in the kitchen never heard a thing.

     Lucy Lane looked around the living room but found no sign of her
sister or brother-in-law.  As she looked around she heard voices coming
from the kitchen.  She walked over to the door and listened closely.

     "Lois," she could clearly hear Clark call softly.

     "Clark," her sister called out in an equally soft tone.  Then
there was a series of giggles.

     She imagined she would find them talking about something
personal,
so when she opened the door to the kitchen, she called out "Is anyone in
here?"  Lucy's gaze fell across the table.  She quickly covered her eyes
and
yelled "Oh God, I'm sorry!!" as she hurriedly exited the room.

     In a moment, Lois and Clark were back to reality.  With a
weak smile, Lois managed to talk to her husband as she caressed his
face.  "It's a good thing you weren't floating just then."  She gave
him a quick kiss.  "Is she still out there?"

     Clark looked down at Lois and smiled.  "She's still here... I
hear
her out in the living room... she's crying."  Clark kissed his wife.  "I
guess it's time to go to work partner.  It looks like the love birds
have
had another falling out."  Clark spun and was dressed in an instant.  He
adjusted his glasses.  Lois began to get dressed, but Clark stopped her.
"Just hold still and play along... relax your body."  Lois smiled at his
last words as Clark dashed around her.

     Lois laughed and giggled as Clark dressed her.  "That tickled,"
she cried as Clark finished.  She looked down at herself and saw that
she
was completely dressed and her hair was laying down.  "Nice job."

     "Are my shirt and pants on right this time?" Clark asked
checking
himself.  The last thing he needed was to enter the arena unprepared.

     "This time," Lois said with a mischievous glint.

     Clark helped his wife off of the table.  He listened to his
sister-in-law in the living room and cringed a little.  "I think this
calls
for the rocky road / double fudge mix... the gallon container."

     "That bad?" Lois asked as she retrieved the ice cream from the
freezer and took a large spoon from a drawer.  Clark nodded and the two
of them entered the living room.

     Lucy couldn't look either of them in the eyes, not after what
she
had just walked in on.  Looking down at her feet, Lucy managed to
finally
speak as Clark and Lois sat down on either side of her.  "I'm sorry.
I know I interrupted something..."

     "Actually," Lois said blushing, "we were almost finished when
you came in.  I hope we didn't scare or embarrass you... too much."
Lois handed the ice cream and table spoon to Lucy who dived into the
gallon tumbler on cue.  "So, what's wrong with you and Jimmy... this
time?"

     "We had a huge fight," Lucy said between scoops of ice cream.

     "I figured that much," Lois said putting a supportive arm around
her sister.  "What did you two fight about this time?"  As Lucy was
about to explain, the doorbell rang yet again.

     Clark got up and headed for the door.  "I'm going to check and
and see if there's a 'ring Lois and Clark's doorbell' sign out there
while I'm up," Clark said half-heartedly.  He got to the door, x-rayed
it and rolled his eyes as Lois watched him.  She knew who was on the
other side.  Clark opened the door.

     Jimmy bounced in.  "CK, I need to talk to you.  Luce and I..."
Jimmy trailed off as he noticed Lucy in the living room.  "Oh."

     "Oh, boy," Lois said quickly.  Jimmy was wide-eyed and quickly
retraced his steps and headed out the door before Clark could stop him.
Lucy started crying again.  Lois was soon at her husband's side. "Okay,
whose turn is it this time?"

     Clark looked over to his sister-in-law.  He sighed heavily.
"It's my turn to talk to Lucy, yours to talk to Jimmy."

     Lois nodded as she grabbed a light jacket.  "Well, you're the
expert on Lane women... you should have a better time than me."

     Clark fluffed the jacket around her shoulders.  "My dear, I
could
never be an expert on Lane women.  The one I have consistently keeps
surprising me."

     "And that's a bad thing?"  She reached up and gave him a quick
kiss.
"I better go after Jimmy."  She looked over to her sister.  "YOU have
your
hands full as it is."  As Lois left, Clark headed back to the
couch knowing how right his wife was.

     "This has 'long day' written all over it."

*******************************

     It was 4:05 when the elevator doors opened and Lois and Clark
headed into the newsroom, looking exhausted.  As they reached their
desks,
Perry was upon them.  "I thought I gave you two the day off," Perry said
in a gruff voice.  Actually he was worried something was wrong.  Both
of them looked bedraggled and worn out.  Their normal teasing was now
replaced by long faces.  "You two didn't have a fight, did you, because
I don't think I could take that."  When Lois and Clark replied that they
hadn't, Perry was relieved.  "Okay, then.  You two look dead tired.
THIS
is an order: go home and get some rest.  I'll see you tomorrow."

     A look of panic crossed both of their faces.  "Perry, don't make
us go home.  Please!"  Lois almost sounded like she was begging when
Clark broke in.

     "Chief, we would really like to spend some quality time here...
at the Planet, where we can keep our sanity."

     Perry was dumbstruck now.  Usually they wanted time off to spend
together.  Something was definitely wrong here.  "What's this about,
you two?"  As Perry completed his question, a dejected Jimmy Olsen
entered the newsroom.  He didn't look ahead, he just walked past
everyone.
"Oh."  Perry had a better idea about what was going on now.  "What is
this, their fourth fight?"

     "Fifth," Clark corrected.

     "In two months."  Lois added with a sigh.

     "Great shades of Elvis, we could build a calendar around those
two."

     Lois looked over to the young photographer who was at his desk.
"This time Jimmy's side is that she won't listen to him.  He tries to
talk to her and she finds something to change the subject."  Lois
looked at Clark playfully.  "Don't you go saying it's a Lane trait,
either, buster."

     Clark laughed for the first time in hours.  "Lucy's side is that
she feels that Jimmy belongs more to the Planet than to her.  She's
tired
of him having to run off in the middle of a conversation to photograph
Superman or some crime."  Lois was trying to keep from laughing.
Clark looked at her and almost had trouble containing his own laughter.

     Perry shook his head.  If it wasn't one couple, it was another.
First it had been Lois and Clark.  THAT had taken care of itself.  Now
it was Jimmy and Lucy.  "I'm an editor, not a matchmaker.  That's now
your job."  Perry looked right at Lois and Clark.  "I can't afford to
have one of my better photographers moping around and not getting the
pictures I need for the morning edition.  Got it?"  With a nod, they
understood that they would have to do something.  "Now, you two get to
it.  I'm not running the Love Connection around here."

     "Actually..." Clark started.

     "We've got a story to start on."  Lois had that look in her eye
that told Perry the pair was onto something.

     "So, what is it?"

     "We've been told that there's a Gotham crime boss that's trying
to come up with a mind control gas.  He's brought in this chemist from
New York and set up shop here in Metropolis.  Plus, we've got it on good
authority that Spider-Man, Robin and Batgirl are in town to try to catch
this guy too.  It might be a tasty story."

     Perry's eyes lit up like he had been handed a Christmas gift.
"Great work you two!!  GREAT!  You get this story and I'll take care of
Lucy and Jimmy!"

     "Deal!" Lois and Clark said together.

     Lois headed to her desk and started up her computer.  "We're
going
to need some bank records."

     "Transactions from Gotham to Metropolis in the excessive
category?
I got ya'.  That means we're going to need Jimmy in on this.  I hope he
can get his mind off Lucy and on his computer."  Clark looked around
and waved Jimmy over.  "Maybe a little work will do him good."

     "What's up, guys?" Jimmy asked half-heartedly as he arrived.

     "We need you to do some good 'ol fashioned hacking.  We need
bank records.  Someone's been transferring a lot of money into
Metropolis
from Gotham.  The guy it's coming to is some kind of evil genius... with
Gotham mob ties."  Clark smiled.  "No problem for the Planet's resident
hacker in good standing, right?"

     Jimmy thought for a moment, happy to have Lucy off his mind for
just a little bit.  "Bank records I can get, I'm just not sure they can
be any use to you.  Whoever is transferring the money from Gotham's got
to know that large amounts would tip someone off to something.  It
would help a lot if I had some names to work with."

     Clark looked to Lois.  They really hadn't wanted to involve
Jimmy
since this might get a little dangerous along the way, but they needed
the information.  "The money should be coming from a business man named
Roland Daggett or one of his corporations.  He's got a lot of 'em.  The
money might be going to a man named Norman Osborne," Lois finished.

     After a moment of writing down the information, Jimmy stated
back to his computer.  "This Daggett sounds like some Lex Luthor
wannabe."
As soon as he had said it, he regretted the words.  "Sorry, guys..
really."

     "Go," Lois dismissed him.  "Can't we erase that name from the
lexicon of the world?"

     Clark shook his head as he put his hands on his wife's
shoulders.
"I don't think so, but I'd like to give it a try.  I'm going to go do
some
super-quick research on all of this.  Batman's been after Daggett for a
long time, there's got to be something on the man.  As for the Goblin, I
somehow suspect that Osborne has something up his sleeve.  I don't know
that much about him, but he's never seemed like a team player to me."

     Lois nodded absently as she started her end of the research.  "I
tell you what.  I'll take Daggett, you take Osborne.  I've got some
contacts in Gotham that owe me a favor or two."

     Clark leaned down to whisper in her ear.  "Why don't we contact
Bobby while we're at it.  We know Osborne's here.  If anyone on the
street knows where he is, Bobby will."

     "Besides, it will be an excuse to not have to go home for
supper."
Clark chuckled.  "This isn't funny.  You know my sister.  She drives
everyone crazy!  She drives ME crazy."

     Clark leaned over and kissed her.  "Remember, when I married
you,
I got your family."

     Lois rolled her eyes.  "In that case I'm surprised you married
me."

     "Lo-is."  Clark shook his head as Lois smiled.  She loved to
tease him.  "Why do you do this to me?"

     "Because I can," she said with a sultry smile.  "I know why I
married you.  I got your family.  I think I got the better deal."  Lois
playfully swatted him away.  "Now, you go do that research.  I smell a
Kerth in this."

     As Clark moved away and Lois and Jimmy continued their own ends
of the story, no one noticed one of the janitorial staff members drop
what she was doing and leave the newsroom abruptly.

*******************************

     "Boss?" the young woman asked as she entered the massive
laboratory.
"Are you here?  I've got some news for you."

     "What news, Amber?" a voice asked from behind her.

     The young woman jumped and quickly turned around.  "Please, don't
sneak up on me like that."  After she caught her breath, she started
to report what she had found out.  "You told me to keep an eye out at the
Daily Planet to see if Superman knew you were here.  Right now I'd have to
say yes, but he's the least of your problems, Mr. Osborne.  Lois Lane and
Clark Kent know you're here.  They're trying to get evidence about what
you're up to here in Metropolis."

     "They will never figure that out."

     "I wouldn't be so sure.  Lane and Kent are the best reporters in
this city.  Maybe in the country.  They're good, Mr. Osborne.  They've
got the Planet's hacker going after bank records, too."

     Osborne turned to a table and retrieved a note pad.  "Ah... the
hacker for the Daily Planet is Jimmy Olsen."  Amber looked surprised as
Osborne told her this.  "My dear, the first lesson to being a master
supervillain is to know your enemies better than they know you."

     "I'm not a hood in training," Amber protested.  "I'm just a
college student who needs some money to cover tuition."

     Osborne nodded, ignoring her.  "Let's see... Mr. Olsen is a
close friend to Clark Kent, Lois Lane-Kent... and Superman.  Right now
he's dating Mrs. Lane-Kent's sister, Lucy.  I think I know what to do.
Thank you Ms. Rickson.  I will make sure you are properly rewarded."

     Amber began to leave, but Osborne stopped her.  "Please, don't
go so hastily."  He reached over and grabbed a glass with a green fluid
on it.  "Here, try some of this.  It's my personal beverage.  It's
filled
with nutrients that give you plenty of energy."  He handed her the
glass.  "Don't be afraid.  It's perfectly safe."

     Amber took a quick drink and then wrenched in disgust.  "This
stuff is awful!"

     Osborne smiled.  "Well, I guess it's an acquired taste."  He
took
the glass back and Amber left.  "Just a little more refining."

     He walked to the wall and pushed the intercom switch.  "Daggett
insisted on you coming along, so you might as well earn your keep.
Bane,
I have a job for you."

*******************************

     Clark walked back to his desk.  It was way past 5:00 p.m. and
most of the day shift had headed home.  Perry of course was in his
office
doing what he loved and Jimmy was busy hacking at the records he and
Lois had requested.  As he approached, he could tell Lois wasn't having
a good time of it.  "Trouble?"

     She pushed herself away from the desk, dejected.  "This
Daggett's
a paper ghost.  Everything is nice and tidy.  No loose ends anywhere."

     "Which is an indication in itself that something is wrong,"
Clark
said with a sigh.  "Unfortunately, it proves nothing."

     "Did you have any better luck?"  Clark sat down beside her desk
and had a thoughtful expression on his face.  "I'll take that as a
'yes'."

     "Neither the Goblin nor Osborne has ever worked on ANYTHING like a
mind control gas before.  It's always been more insidious than that.  The
last couple of times he's surfaced he's been trying a goblin formula...
it's supposed to turn people into goblins... green goblins."

     "He's trying to fashion a world in his own image??"  Clark
nodded.
"Something tells me this is not what Daggett had in mind."

     "I doubt it."  Clark flipped through some of the papers he was
holding.  He looked worriedly at one piece of paper.  "I ran across
this,
too."  Clark handed the paper to Lois.  "Dick said that Daggett wanted
to use this stuff in Gotham, so I checked this out."

     She read the paper quickly.  "It looks like Daggett has sent a
fleet of trucks to areas near Metropolis."  She studied the document
some
more.  "It would certainly make sense if he wanted to get whatever he's
working on back to Gotham, wouldn't it?"  Clark nodded.  "What else
has you worried, sweetheart?"

     Clark shook his head.  "Look at the type of trucks.  There's
beer trucks.. soda trucks.  There are trucks that carry fruits and
vegetables.  Then there's the trucks that carry spring water."

     Lois saw what Clark was saying.  "Whatever he's trying to
smuggle into Gotham would have to be fairly innocent looking, wouldn't
it?"  Clark nodded as Lois followed his line of thought.  "This could
be horrible.  These trucks could go anywhere and look at home and if
Osborne..."

     "Decides to expand beyond Gotham there's little anyone can do."
Clark nodded and produced another sheet of paper.  "That is unless
Superman has the vehicle ID numbers."

     Lois smiled and then narrowed her eyes and pretended to be
mad.  "Show-off."

     He loved it when she was playful.  They had known each other for
nearly four years, and she still took his breath away.  He leaned
forward until his face was inches from hers.  "Only for you."

     A pretend cough brought them back to the reality of the
newsroom.
Jimmy had now joined them with pages of printouts.  "Got something,
Jimmy?"
Lois asked getting back to business.

     "Do I!"  Jimmy handed copies to both Clark and Lois.  "Those
names
you gave me helped a lot.  Almost all of Daggett's holdings have been
transferring money to Metropolis... a lot of money.  Osborne's another
story.  He had no personal accounts here, but his company does."  Jimmy
turned their copies to the last page of the printouts.  "The amount
his business accounts have increased is exactly the same amount as what
Daggett's companies have transferred.  How's that?"

     Clark smiled and Lois followed suit.  "Great work, Jimmy!!  This
is fantastic!  This is the start we needed."

     Before the trio could revel in the victory, Clark heard sirens
approaching.  Actually, they all heard them.  Perry bolted from his
office
before Clark could escape.  "Lois, Clark, Jimmy... get down to the
street.
There's a body in front of the Planet!"

     Knowing there was nothing he could do to help, Clark went down
with Lois, Jimmy and Perry.  Outside the doors to the Planet, a group
of people had gathered.  The paramedics had arrived, and after they
recovered
from the sight, they began to work on the young woman.  It was no use
though.  Jimmy looked horrified.  "Lois, Perry, CK!  That's Amber, she's
one of the new cleaning people."  He turned away, unable to look at her
anymore.  "What happened to her?"

     Clark studied the dead woman momentarily.  Her skin had turned
a horrible green and her mouth was permanently deformed in a sick,
twisted grin.  He knew exactly what was wrong.  He pulled Lois aside,
away from the others, as the paramedics cleaned up the scene and
prepared
to take the body away.  "Lois, that's the work of the Green Goblin.
I saw pictures going through the archives.  She looks exactly like the
people the Goblin exposed to his goblin formula."

     "You didn't say anything about those people dying."

     "That's because they didn't," Clark said clearly worried.  "It
appears the Goblin has made a modification to his brew.  It looks like
Superman may not be able to stay out of this after all."

     "Not with a psycho like this running around."  Lois was now
clearly worried.  Clark hadn't wanted to help to begin with, and having
this force his hand wouldn't help him with what he was feeling.

     An alarm in the distance caught Clark's attention.  The 'oh, no,
not again' look crossed his face as he started fidgeting.  "What is it?"
Lois asked concerned.  At this point it could be anything.

     "STAR Labs," Clark said wearily.  "Someone's broke in.  I have
to
go."  Lois gave him a quick kiss and in a moment, Clark was nowhere to
be seen.  Some days were just like this.

     Perry and Jimmy approached Lois.  "Where did CK go?"  Jimmy
looked
puzzled.  "He was just here a second ago."

     "He had to go check something out," Lois said, quickly trying to
come up with a cover.  "He thinks that this might be connected to the
story we're trying to get a handle on."  *How did Clark ever manage to
do this without me?*

*******************************

     Dr. Klein picked himself off the floor and brushed himself
off.  The lab looked like a small bomb had hit it.  Before he knew it,
Superman was standing in the midst of the confusion.  "Dr. Klein,
what happened here?" Superman asked with a very concerned expression.
He surveyed the area and saw the destruction around him.  "Who were they
and what did they want?"

     Klein shook his head and reached for a seat he hadn't noticed
was
broken.  In an instant, Superman had replaced the seat and Klein sat
down.
The rest of the staff began the task of cleaning up important
instruments.
"I'm not sure who it was, Superman, or what he took."

     Superman looked around, astounded.  "You mean, one man did
this?"

     "I'm not sure you could call him a man, Superman."  Klein rubbed
his forehead, trying to put off the headache he knew was coming.  "This
man was huge, muscles everywhere.... he literally ripped the door off
its hinges."  Klein pointed to the lab's pure lead security door.
"He ripped through here searching for something... he seemed to want
something very specific.  As for what he looked like?  The devil
himself.
He had a mask on.  A black mask with white highlights."  A lab assistant
rushed up to Dr. Klein with a worried expression that greatly disturbed
Superman and handed Klein a computer printout.  Klein shook his head and
dismissed the assistant, sending him for a bottle or two of aspirin.
"I'm getting a horrible headache."

     "I'm sorry about that, Dr. Klein.  Is that a list of the items
this man took?"

     Klein nodded.  "He only took two things, but what things to
take!"
Klein wasn't sure how to proceed.  "Superman, he took Metallo... and a
piece of kryptonite to power him."

     Superman felt a wave of uneasiness pass over him.  *This is not
turning out to be my ideal day off.*  "What good will that do?  Isn't
Metallo, Johnny Corbin, dead?  The body and the kryptonite won't do this
man any good."

     Klein shook his head, and Superman felt like he needed to sit
down.
"Corbin isn't dead.  We've been running tests on him for the last few
years, since you're last confrontation with him.  We kept him here to
try
and figure out the robotics."

     "I knew you were working on him on and off," Superman said.
"What
do you mean, 'he isn't dead'?"

     "Apparently, his entire consciousness is stored in some type of
perpetual memory device.  It remains intact even when the power to the
body is off.  "

     Superman's eyes widened.  "Then if someone puts the kryptonite
in Metallo's body..."

     "He'll wake up and not know anything that's happened since he
was 'turned off'.  It would be like waking up years in the future with
no idea how you got there.  He's bound to be confused when he awakes,
and with Metallo's strength... the consequences could be horrible."

     Superman shook his head.  "I really didn't need this today.
Dr. Klein, I'm afraid I am going to need your help on something as
well."
Klein waited anxiously.  "A criminal genius named the Green Goblin has
come to Metropolis.  He's working on something lethal.  Whatever it is,
it claimed its first victim outside the Daily Planet just minutes ago.
I know of a scientist who's had experience with this man before.  I will
try to get him to come in and help you, if that would be alright?"

     Klein nodded.  "The Green Goblin?  You must mean his infamous
goblin formula.  I've never heard of it being lethal?"

     "It is quite lethal now, Dr. Klein.  I've got to go.  I will
find Metallo and the kryptonite as soon as I can.  The victim's body
should be at the hospital by now.  I'm sure if you contact Inspector
Henderson he will help you with anything you need."  Superman
left very much concerned.  He flew a quick patrol over the city, but
he could find no trace of Metallo or the big brute that Clark felt
sure was a visitor from Gotham.

*******************************

     Clark walked into the Planet newsroom and straightened his tie.
Lois rushed over to meet him.  "I contacted Bobby.  We can meet him for
breakfast tomorrow morning.  He already had dinner plans."  Her
expression changed from playful to serious.  "What was wrong at STAR Labs?"

     "Plenty," Clark answered giving her a quick hug.  "It isn't
good news.  Let's take this to the conference room...  we'll need the
privacy."  The two retired to the room.  By now the sun was beginning to
set and it cast a glow over the conference room.  "Have you ever heard
of a criminal from Gotham called Bane?"

     Lois nodded.  "Don't tell me he's in town too?"

     Clark nodded slowly.  "He broke into STAR Labs.  He ripped a
lead door off its hinges!  That's not the worst part.  He took
Metallo out of storage and a chunk of kryptonite!"

     "My god!  The kryptonite!"

     "That's the least of our troubles.  It appears that Johnny isn't
quite as 'dead' as we thought.  According to Dr. Klein, if that
kryptonite
gets put back in his chest, then he'll be reactivated, just like nothing
happened.  He'll remember up to the moment the kryptonite was removed."

     "They didn't take him apart??!!"  Lois shook her head.  "You
melted his legs though.  He'll have to have major repairs before he can
be
a threat."  Lois looked thoughtful and then worried.  "This is too much
of
a coincidence.  Daggett obviously got Bane to come here to help out
Osborne.  It's the only explanation."

     "And Osborne's company works on robotics," Clark voiced.  "The
question is, why Metallo?  Is the Goblin going to try to confront
Superman?
What part does Amber's death play in all of this?  I don't see her as
being a random victim."

     "Neither do I."  Lois thought for a moment and then a look of
horror filled her face.  "Clark!!!  If Metallo wakes up, what's the
first thing he's going to do???"

     The answer appeared to Clark and he felt panicked.  "Lucy!" they
both said together.

     "What about her?" Jimmy asked as he silently entered the
conference room.  "I hope I'm not interrupting something, but I heard
you mention her name and I thought.... well, I guess I really miss
her."  Jimmy looked depressed, and was about to become even more so.

     "Jimmy, someone just broke Metallo out of STAR Labs, and he's
still alive."  Clark knew no other way to tell the young man than that.
Judging by his reaction though, Clark wished there had been.

*******************************

     Jimmy ran up the steps to the town house.  Lois and Clark
weren't
very far behind.  Jimmy rushed through the first set of doors and then
started pounding on the door the townhouse.  Lois and Clark arrived
just as Lucy opened the door.  Her face immediately brightened, and a
moment later she was back to her gloomy self.  "Oh.. it's you."

     Jimmy pushed his way through into the house.  "Lucy, grab your
things.  I'm getting you out of here."

     "What??!!??" Lucy demanded quite indignantly.

     "Jimmy, this might not be the best idea," Clark said trying to
defuse a potential blow-up.

     "I said get your stuff.  We'll make a quick drop by your place
and
pick up what you need from there.  Then I'll take you to my place."

     "I'm not going anywhere with you."  Lucy turned to Lois.  "What
is wrong with this nut case?" she said, pointing to Jimmy.

     "Someone broke Johnny Corbin out of STAR Labs this afternoon.
Dr. Klein says Johnny's still alive.  Whoever took him has the
kryptonite
to power him, and as soon as he gets his legs repaired..."  Jimmy didn't
get to finish.

     "He's coming after me!!" Lucy screamed.

     Jimmy embraced Lucy and tried to calm her.  "That's why you're
coming with me.  You'll be safe at my place."

     Lucy was frantic.  "You can't protect me!!!  I need Superman!!"

     Clark and Lois exchanged expressions of humor laced with
fear.  "That's why you should stay here, Lucy.  Superman's a good
friend of ours.  He'll look out after you."  Lois tried to sound brave.

     Jimmy shook his head adamantly.  "That won't work, guys.  Hear
me out on this one.  Metallo's going to try Lucy's old place first,
right?
After he tries there, he's going to find where her sister lives.  That's
here, if he thinks Lucy's still in town.  You can't ask Superman to
help either because of the kryptonite.  It'll kill him.  The only
solution is to clear out Lucy's place, make it look like someone else
lives there and have her crash with me until this is all over."

     Jimmy had some good points, but his logic wasn't the best.
Clark
could understand his actions.  When you're in love, you'll do anything
to
protect that special person, no matter how crazy it seems.  Clark looked
to Lois and shrugged in defeat.  "Okay, Jimmy.  We'll play it your way.
You two better get going, though.  We need all the head start we can
get."

     Jimmy whisked Lucy along and soon had her out the front door and
on the back of his motorcycle.  They left for Lucy's place across town.

     "Why did you let them leave?" Lois asked picking up the bag of
chips, ice cream bucket and a pizza box.  "Look at all of this!!"

     Clark helped Lois pick up the debris and followed her out to
the kitchen.  "I know Jimmy's plan has some flaws in it, but I also
know that this will accomplish a few things.  It gets Lucy out of here,
it gets Lucy and Jimmy together to work things out and it gives us the
freedom to come up with a solution to all of this.  Osborne won't be
able to fix Metallo that quickly.  They'll be long gone before he's up."

     Lois looked at the empty pizza box.  "She could've at least left
us a couple of pieces."  She crumpled the box and tossed it in the
trash.
"I know what you're saying, sweetheart.  This is BIG.  We're going to
need Peter and Dick in on this.  So far we have the Goblin, Bane and
Metallo.  Who knows what else is going to happen before all of this
is over?"

     "Not a lot, I hope."  Clark looked through the refrigerator,
looking for something to make a proper supper.  "The fridge is as barren
as that old glacier I used to visit."

     "Of course it is, Lucy's managed to eat us out of house and
home in just one afternoon."  Lois looked around.  "I guess you'll be
going on patrol tonight then, right?"

     "It's the only way I'll be able to find the others."  Clark
sighed as he discovered another partially empty cabinet.  "Do you feel
like Italian or Chinese tonight?"

     "Italian."  Lois now crossed to her husband.  "Got someplace
in mind?"

     "I know this little place..."  He watched as Lois expected him
to
say someplace exotic.  "Its right down the street from the Planet."

*******************************

     "Would you quit trying to move.  I'm not finished yet!"  Osborne
was frustrated as he completed his work.  "I should have waited until I
was done to put the kryptonite in!"

     "When I get out of here...."  Corbin was obviously frustrated
with
his immobility.

     "You will do exactly as I instruct you to do!  Unlike your
original
creators, I have seen fit to install an 'off' switch in you.  You have
a tendency to be reckless, Mr. Corbin... or do you prefer Metallo?"

     "Corbin's dead," the man / machine said coldly.  "I am Metallo."

     "Alright.  I can understand split personalities.  Believe me!
Now, this is what I want you to do.  You're going to go find your
old girlfriend, Lucy Lane.  You're going to kidnap her and take her to
a place I've already set up for you.  If Lois Lane and Clark Kent show
up, capture them alive.  If Superman shows up... kill him."  Osborne
finished a connection and Metallo suddenly sprang from the table.  "I
assume you are satisfied with your new legs?"  Metallo nodded happily.
"Mr. Bane has the address of your old girlfriend.  Go do as you're
told."
Metallo began to leave.  "Oh, by the way, take this along."  He handed
Metallo a small spray canister.  "If anyone gets in your way, use this
on them.  You only have enough to use on one person, and do not use it
on Ms. Lane unless you are tired of her company."

     "Why are you doing this?" Metallo asked, not quite sure why this
strange man had rescued him and was now offering him what he wanted.

     "Because... I need to get Mr. and Mrs. Kent off my trail."
Metallo looked curiously as he mentioned Mrs. Kent.  "If you kidnap
Mrs. Kent's sister, she and her husband will divert their resources to
finding you, leaving me safe.  Plus, they will bring in Superman to help
them... thus eliminating him from my plans."

     "What are you up to?"

     "Trust me," Osborne said with a menace in his voice.  "You don't
want to know!"  He began laughing, and the sheer evil of the laugh made
even Metallo cringe.

*******************************

     Spider-Man stood on top of the Daily Planet.  "Metropolis is
nothing like New York."  His spider-sense went off and he started to
search for the source of the danger.

     "It's nothing like Gotham, either."  Robin dropped to the roof
beside Spidey.  "I guess this is the out-of-town-superhero meeting
area, right, Spider-Man?"

     Under the mask, Peter couldn't help but grin.  He had met
Superman
on top of this building two years ago, and now he was meeting Robin.
The
world just kept getting smaller.  "So, Robin, where's Batman?  You two
normally keep pretty close together, right."

     Robin tried to not sound too excited.  "I'm on my own this time.
I'm here hunting down, well.... it's a long story."

     "Same here."  Spider-Man was unwilling to share what he knew
with an out-of-towner.  His spider-sense went off again, and he looked
around to see the source of the potential danger.

     "I see the party has started early," Superman said as he landed
beside Spider-Man.  "I'd love to chat with both of you, but we've got
bigger problems."  He turned to Spider-Man.  "Spider-Man, I know your
identity and you know mine."  He then turned to Robin.  "And Robin, I
know your identity and you know mine.  Well, it's time for both of
you to know who each other is."  Superman sensed the hesitation on both
of their parts.  "Come on.  We're grown superheroes here.  We can trust
each other, can't we?"  As the two hesitated, Superman spun into Clark
and then quickly back.  "See, it's really painless."

     Peter was determined not to be outdone by Robin.  "Okay, Clark,
you convinced me."  He removed the mask.  "My name is Peter Parker,
photographer for the Daily Bugle.  Not exactly a big revelation scene,
huh?  What's up?"

     Robin reached to his face and removed the mask.  "Name's Dick
Grayson, college student."

     "See," Superman smiled.  "That wasn't so hard."  The two men
replaced their masks out of habit.  "This is hard.  Spidey, you came
here looking for the Green Goblin.  Robin, you came..."

     Spider-Man looked up at the sky warily.  "We're not alone here."

     The three began to look around, but with his abilities, Superman
was the one to find their visitor.  "Our company's friendly.  Come on
down Batgirl."  In a moment Batgirl was standing among them.

     "Did I miss much?  I've been trying to find the place where
all the superheroes hang out."  She looked at Spider-Man and smiled. "I
didn't expect to see you here, Spider-Man.  You know, I really like
that outfit."

     Peter could feel himself blushing under the mask and Superman
found it hard to keep from laughing.  "Save the savvy, he's a married
spider," Robin said a little shortly.

     Superman stepped back in to get to the point.  "As I was saying,
Spider-Man, you came here looking for the Goblin and Robin, you and
Batgirl
came looking for a chemist hired by Roland Daggett.  Well, they're one
and the same.  The Goblin's your chemist, Robin."

     "Holly crossovers, Superman!" Robin said almost smiling.

     "You've been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons,"
Spider-
Man admonished.  He turned back to face Superman.  "So, we're both after
the same person?"

     Superman nodded.  "It gets worse though.  STAR Labs was broken
into today.  There was only one perp, and the description matches
Bane to the letter."  Robin recoiled, suddenly worried at confronting
BOTH the ruthless Green Goblin and the menacing Bane.  "Bane stole an
old enemy of mine.  Metallo.  The Kents believe that all of this is
connected.  It has to be.  Metallo is the most dangerous to me.  He's
powered by kryptonite and he's almost as strong as I am."  Superman
looked toward the sky.  "Add to all of this, the Goblin tried out
his new goblin formula already."  Spider-man looked wary even though he
had on his mask.

     "Goblin formula?  I thought Daggett wanted a mind-control gas or
something like that."  Robin was confused.

     "The Goblin doesn't do anything BUT his goblin formula."
Spider-Man paced a little.  "What change has he made to it this time?"

     Superman looked worried as he answered.  "Apparently, this new
batch is lethal.  It killed a young woman outside the Daily Planet this
afternoon."

     Spider-man leaped up and clung to the flagpole.  "We're going to
have to get together on this.  We've got too much information to just
talk about this on a roof.  We'll never work like this."

     "Spidey's got a point," Superman looked at the ensemble.  "Well,
we know everyone's identity... except for one of us."  Superman looked
to Batgirl.  "Would you care to share?"

     "NO!!" Batgirl protested immediately.  Revealing herself was
not what she had planned on doing during this trip.

     "What's the matter, don't trust us?" Robin teased.  *I'd love to
find out who's under that mask.  Wait!  What am I thinking???  I want to
be with Barbara, right?  Great, Dick.  Screw up even more.*

     Before Superman could press her, he heard a cry coming in the
distance.  As he recognized the voices, his soul froze.  A look of
panic crossed his face.  "What's wrong, Cl.. Superman?"  Spider-Man
asked,
immediately jumping to his friend's side.

     "It's Metallo!!  He's activated, and he's gone after her!!!"  As
he prepared to zip off, he spoke again.  "He's gone after Lois Lane's
sister... Lucy!!!"  In a flash, he was gone.

     "We've got to go help him!" Spider-Man looked to the skyline.
"If I only knew where!!??!!"

"Try the phone book," suggested Batgirl.


*******************************

     Jimmy sat on the couch, growing more restless by the minute.
They
had been at Lucy's place for hours.  He couldn't believe it was taking
her this long to get her stuff together.  "Are you ready, yet!!??!"
Jimmy
asked, exasperated.  "We should be getting out of here!"

     "Don't be so impatient.  Johnny doesn't have any legs,
remember?"

     "Someone can fix that quick," Jimmy shot back.  He got up to
help
pack.  "Tell me what to pack, and I'll get on it.  The longer we stay
here, the more you're in danger."

     "You worry too much, Jimmy," Lucy shot back.

     "Then you don't worry enough!"  Jimmy turned and headed back to
the couch.  "There's no doubt about it, you're Lois' sister."

     "What's that supposed to mean?"

     Jimmy sighed and wondered what he had done to deserve this fate.
"You leap before you look.  At least Lois has the good sense to be
scared from time to time."  Jimmy laughed.  There was no chance for them
left, so why not just add some gas to the fire?  "You know, Lois was
right.  She said you were even more headstrong than she was.  She was so
right about that."

     Lucy was furious now.  "Well, at least she has Clark!!  At least
he tries to understand her and he's there for her.  Some people aren't
like that, you know the type."

     Jimmy looked skyward.  *Maybe I should just let Metallo get her.
It would probably serve him right.*  Instead of acting on his thoughts,
he just played along with the insult trading.  "You're comparing me
to Clark?  Why not compare me to Superman while you're at it?"

     Lucy threw another suitcase on the floor, bringing the total to
five.  "Okay.  He's there for the city and his friends.  Where are you
Jimmy?  Your beeper goes off and you run out.  A bank gets held up,
you run off.  It can get annoying!"

     Jimmy ran a hand through his hair.  *Why am I even defending
myself?*  "Lucy, I'm a photographer and a cub reporter sometimes.  When
a story breaks, I gotta be there.  Just like Lois and Clark.  This
is part of who I am, don't you understand that?"

     "No."

     Jimmy closed his eyes, trying to think of what to say next.
After
a moment, he had his answer.  "Then Lois was right again, you're blind."
He saw the protest swelling in her face.  "You don't see that this is
my job.  This is part of me.  This is how I pay my rent, how I afford
gas for my bike and how I pay for the dinners we eat when we go out.
If you can't see that, then it's no wonder you don't see how much I'm
in love with you!  Leaving you is the last thing I want to do, but when
I have to do my job, I have to do my job!"

     It looked like Lucy was about to say something when what sounded
like a freight train hit the door to the apartment.  As the door broke
down, Jimmy instantly knew who it was.  "Metallo!"

     Metallo looked over Jimmy to Lucy.  "Hey, sweets.  I'm back!"

     "Get out of here!" Lucy ordered.  "I don't want to see you
anymore Johnny.  It's over for us.  Just go and leave me alone, please."

     "Not that easy."  Metallo approached her but Jimmy blocked
his way.

     Jimmy stretched out his arms, and Lucy looked horrified as
Jimmy proceeded to protect her.  "You're not getting near her, Metallo.
Not as long as I have something to say about it."

     "If you insist."  Metallo reached down and grabbed Jimmy,
sending
him sprawling into a nearby wall a moment later.  He took another
tentative
step toward Lucy, but she stepped back as he approached.

     "You haven't finished with me, yet," Jimmy said in a controlled
voice.  From the look on his face, it was obvious he was in pain.  His
face was bruised and he had a deep gash in his forehead.  "Can't you
manage to get your priorities straight for once?"

     Metallo approached Jimmy, but as Jimmy tried an uppercut move
his
dad had taught him, Metallo seized him and threw him into a closet.  He
watched as the young man staggered back, not willing to give up the
fight.  It was obvious Jimmy's left arm was broken and from the way he
grabbed his sides a couple of ribs were broken as well.  Metallo grabbed
the container that was magnetically adhered to his body.  He gave it a
brief squirt in Jimmy's direction, and the green gas hung in the air
around Jimmy.  Involuntarily, Jimmy gasped for breath, and inhaled a
lungfull of the gas.  In a moment he began to cough hard.  As Jimmy tried
to get more air, he inhaled more of the gas.  Jimmy staggered back
against
the wall and began to slump down.  "Jimmy!!" Lucy screamed as the young
man collapsed to the floor.  She turned her wrath on Metallo.  "You
killed
him!!!  You inhuman piece of metal, YOU KILLED HIM!!!"

     "Probably."  Metallo had a crooked smile on his face as he made
a grab for Lucy.  Before he knew it a 'whoosh' resounded through the
room.

     "Leave her alone, Metallo."  Superman stood in the middle of the
room.  He hadn't seen Jimmy yet.

     "He killed Jimmy!!" Lucy yelled at the top of her lungs and she
pointed to the young man's body.  "He sprayed him with some kind of
gas!"

     Superman looked ill when he saw Jimmy's crumpled body on the
floor,
he was already a pale green.  He was too late for his friend.  He was
determined to not be too late for his sister-in-law.  "You'll pay for
this, Metallo!"

     Metallo had grabbed Lucy with one hand and now opened up his
chest
compartment with the other.  "I don't think so, Superman."  Superman
retreated, feeling the effects of the kryptonite.  Before he knew it,
Metallo had seized him and had thrown him through a wall.

     "That wasn't smart, tin man," a voice said from behind.
Spider-Man jumped at the thing that had thrown Superman around like a
rag doll.  Spider-Man hit him in the chest, but the cyborg didn't
go anywhere.  "Great!! Another robot.  I HATE ROBOTS!!"  Spider-Man
picked himself up off the floor.  "Your head has to be as hard as that
armor on your chest."

     "Who are you?!" Metallo demanded, maintaining his grip on Lucy.

     Spider-Man leaped up and held onto the ceiling.  "I'm your
friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, just passing through."

     "Spider-Man?" Corbin mocked.

     "Yep.  I do anything a spider can."  Spidey made another tackle
attempt at Metallo, but it was only a fake.  With a blast from his web
shooter, he knocked Lucy out of Metallo's grasp.  "I even spin webs.
Any size."

     Metallo charged at Spider-Man screaming "You'll splat like a
spider too!"

     Before Spider-Man could get out of the way, Metallo had rammed
him.
Spidey went flying through the air and crashed into a wall, right beside
where Superman was.  Superman was just climbing out as Spider-Man
smacked
against the wall.  Even without superhearing, Superman heard the
cracking of
bone.  Blood washed down Superman's face from a cut above his eyes.  All
in
all, he was pretty lucky considering it was Metallo he was up against.
"You okay, Peter?" Clark asked in a whisper to Spider-Man who was
shaking his head clear.

     "Yeah, except for this pain in my shoulder where a bone used to
be.  It's broken, Clark."  Metallo had gone back to grabbing at Lucy,
who
was managing to keep away from him by hiding and throwing things at the
cyborg.  "Can you use your heat vision to melt his legs?"

     Superman shook his head.  "My powers are gone.  Like I said,
that
robot runs on kryptonite batteries... and that stuff wipes me out.  I
can't do anything as long as he's this near me."

     Spider-Man glanced in the corner where Jimmy was lying,
apparently
dead.  "That's Olsen, isn't it?  I met him last time."  Peter noticed
the
green complexion of the young man's skin.  "Oh, no."

     Superman couldn't stand it.  "He's probably dead by now.  Lucy
said Metallo sprayed him with the Goblin's brew before I got here."
Metallo had now grabbed Lucy again, and there was little the two heroes
could do.  "Where's our bat back-up?"

     As Metallo prepared to escape with Lucy, two figures swung
through
the now often-traveled window.  "Sorry we're late, but we got lost
downtown."  Robin climbed through the window and Batgirl followed.
"Okay,
shiny, put down the girl and we won't hurt you... much."  Before Robin
could smile, Metallo had smacked him into a corner.

     "Bad move, bozo!"  Batgirl brought out a batarang and let it go,
aiming for Metallo's chest.  As Metallo dodged the weapon, Batgirl used
her grapple to snatch Lucy from Metallo's grasp.  "Get out of here, Miss
Lane.  Call for help!"  Lucy fled the apartment quickly, but not before
taking a last look at Jimmy's lifeless form.

     Metallo turned and focused his wrath on Batgirl, who he
backhanded
into a wall, leaving dents on the wall and the heroine.  Robin was back
on
his feet now, and he took a swing at Metallo which left him with a sore
fist.  "Hey, guys... I need some help here."

     Superman was back on his feet.  He was shaky, but standing.  He
looked at a piece of fruit and concentrated.  It soon began to smoke.
"I
have a plan," he said to Spider-Man.  "My heat vision is back, not full,
but I have it.  If I can open his chest, can you pull that kryptonite
heart out of him with your webs?"

     Spider-Man nodded quietly.  Robin was struggling with Metallo
now.  "Metallo!  Come after me, if you want a real fight," Superman
taunted the villain.  Metallo let go of Robin and began his march toward
Superman.  With what power he had left, Superman burned a hole in
Metallo's chest.  The kryptonite was now fully uncovered, and Superman
fell to the floor, once again overcome by the green rock.

     "Smile!" Spider-Man commanded as he shot a web line at the
kryptonite.  It took hold, and in a quick movement, he tore it out of
the
hulking robot.  As Metallo slowed down to a stop, a look of pure anger
filled his face.  "You should have smiled, it would have looked so much
better."  Spider-Man looked at the rock in his hand.  "We've got to get
rid of this."

     "Over here!" Robin called.  He was now on his feet.  Spider-Man
threw the rock over, and Robin quickly put the rock in a bag.  "It's
lead lined.  I stopped off for it on the way over here."

     Superman was back on his feet, and feeling much better.  "Thank
you.  All of you.  I guess you were here for me after all."  The last
comment brought some strange looks.  In the distance, they heard sirens
coming.  Superman leaned over Jimmy's body, and made a discovery.
"He's still alive!!  I don't know how, but he is!"

     Robin had scooped up Batgirl, who had apparently been badly hurt
in the tussle.  Blood trickled out from underneath her cowl.  "She's
hurt.  I've got to get her out of here."

     Spider-Man had been looking over Metallo and had retrieved the
Goblin's gas canister.  "I've got the canister."  His spider-sense
kicked in.  "Guys, we've got trouble!  Clark, can you x-ray our
statue here?"

     Superman x-rayed the now powerless villain.  "We've got a
problem!
He's set to self-destruct.  The Goblin must have set some sort of
fail-safe."

     "How long do we have?" Spider-Man looked around to see what
could
be done.  "Can you fly this bucket of bolts out of here?"

     "I think I can... and we don't have long."  Superman grabbed
the body and flew out the window as fast as he could.  With all of the
strength he had left, he flung the body into the air.  Seconds later,
an explosion sent debris flying everywhere.  "I don't think he'll be
coming back from that."  Superman made his way back into the apartment.
The police and paramedics had arrived.  Lucy was with them, and they
were
working on Jimmy.  Spider-Man was explaining the situation to them.

     "Apparently Metallo used a gas on this young man.  You had a
young woman killed by the same substance earlier today, I understand."

     Henderson looked to Spider-Man.  "The young woman outside the
Daily Planet?  What is this stuff and why are you here, Spider-Man?
It's
a long way from New York."

     Peter was happy to not have to run away from the police like he
often had to in New York.  "I'm afraid the two are connected.  The
Green Goblin has done this.  He's developing some kind of new weapon."

     The medics tried to take a look at Batgirl, but Robin stopped
them.  "I think she will be okay.  We just need a first aid kit."
Robin looked over to Spider-Man who was cradling his arm.  "Or two."

     Superman stepped over to Lucy who was watching the medics work
on Jimmy.  "Miss Lane?"  Lucy looked up to see Superman, and it was
obvious she had been crying.  "I assume you will be going to the
hospital
too?"  She nodded.  "I will get in touch with your sister and
brother-in-
law.  I'll have them meet you at the hospital."  In a moment he
retrieved the bag with the kryptonite in it.  He handed it to Inspector
Henderson.  "Inspector Henderson, could you please get this to STAR
Labs.
It's green, and I really don't like it."  Henderson took the bag and
nodded knowingly.

     Superman approached the heroes.  "I can't stay long.  Spidey,
I'll
drop you off at your hotel.  Robin, I assume you can take care of
Batgirl?"  Robin nodded.  In three quick trips, he had them all on the
roof.  "I've got to get to Lois and tell her what's happened.  Peter,
I'll drop you off at your hotel.  I don't think you could swing there
on your own right now."  Spider-Man nodded and stepped to Superman.

     "What should I do about her?" Robin asked about Batgirl.  "It
looks
like she's hurt pretty bad."

     "Do what you can, Dick.  You can't really take her to a hospital
in that outfit, now can you?"  Having said that, Superman took off
with Spider-Man, leaving Robin and Batgirl alone.

     Robin looked down at Batgirl, who was still unconscious.  There
was a deep tear in her cowl, and he guessed that was where her wound
was.
He was torn.  "Do I take the cowl off?  Then I'll know who she is.. and
if I know that...."  He looked back to her.  The wound was still
bleeding.
"Looks like I have no choice."  With great hesitancy, he laid her out
flat on the roof top, and put the cape under her head like a pillow.
Slowly he reached for the mask, and gently removed it.  The face
that stared back at him was bruised, but he knew instantly who it was.
"Barbara!!!"

     His mind was in turmoil, but he couldn't allow himself to
think about anything but cleaning the cut on her forehead.  He proceeded
to clean the wound and bandage it.  It wasn't as bad as he feared it
would
be.  It was just a deep scrape.  She had been lucky.  He thought about
just putting the cowl back on her, but then thought better of it.  *She
would know I had taken it off.*  He looked out toward the unfamiliar
city
skyline.  "This is a perfect mess. How can something that answers so
many
questions cause so many problems."  He shook his head slightly. "What do
I
do?  Tell her who I am?  Bruce would kill me!  It is my life though,
isn't
it?  Not really.  This -costume- changes everything."  He took another
look
at Barbara. "I guess so does hers."  His mind felt like he'd just gone
up
against the Riddler, and lost.

     He thought again, before continuing the conversation with
himself.  "The real question is do I trust her enough to keep my secret.
I do.  I've trusted her with my life and Bruce's life before.  She's
saved
us more than a couple of times.  Do I love her enough to share this with
her?  I do.  I was just too afraid to tell her before... she's Gordon's
daughter.  What if she would have said something to him, or been angry
at me for hiding this?  That can't happen now.  She's hiding this too.
The most she can be mad for is me taking off her cowl."  As he finished,
he came to a decision.  He reached up and removed his mask and placed it
beside her cowl.  "When she wakes up, she'll find me, not Robin."

     Minutes passed.  He wondered how Clark and this Peter Parker
were
doing.  He also wondered about Olsen.  He had only met the young man
once,
but the man had spirit.  A slight moan brought him back to the real
world.
Barbara moaned again and tried to get up.  He was at her side in a
heartbeat.  "Don't try to get up.  You took a pretty bad bump on the
head."

     Barbara opened her eyes to see Dick Grayson, not Robin, looking
at her.  *How did he get here, wherever here is?*  "Mr. Grayson, where
am I?"  She hadn't recognized that Dick Grayson was wearing Robin's
costume.
She put her hand up to her head as a reflex.  Her head felt like it was
splitting apart.  She bolted upright in shock as her hand felt skin
instead of cloth.  She moved her hands to her head quickly and she felt
her hair, not her cowl.  Glancing down she knew she was still in her
uniform.  Fear and sadness gripped her heart as she realized that
Dick knew.  He knew she was Batgirl.  "Oh, no!"

     He couldn't help it.  He grabbed her in his arms and held her
close.  She recoiled in fear for a moment, but he kept her from going
anywhere.  "It's okay, Barbara.  It's okay.  You're okay.  That's all
that matters."  He had thought she would be mad, but here she was sad
and more than a little scared.  He had never seen her like this.
"What's wrong?"

     "How did you get here?"  The last thing I remember was battling
some kind of robot with Superman, Spider-Man and Robin... and now I'm
here... and..."

     *She doesn't realize I am Robin!*  He held her to him, and
worked
up the courage to do what he had to do.  "I came up here with you."

     She pulled away from him, and he relented.  She looked at him,
and her eyes widened in recognition.  "My God!! You ARE Robin!"

     The way she said it made him cringe inside.  He looked down at
the roof.  "I am," he said in a small voice.

     *I can't deal with this right now!!* her mind screamed.  *I
can't
believe he's been keeping this from me!  What have I been keeping from
him though?  If he's Robin, that means that....  OH GOD!  I know who
Batman is!!  I can't deal with this!!*  She decided to pursue a safe
conversation.  "What happened?"

     "It took all of us but we took down Metallo.  That lead-lined
bag
came in handy.  Thanks for suggesting we pick it up."

     "When I found out that thing was powered by kryptonite, I
figured
we'd need it.  What happened next?"

     "The Goblin had Metallo set to self-destruct if he got beat.
We were lucky.  Superman was strong enough to get him away before he
blew
up."  Dick looked at her absently.  There was so much to say, and yet he
couldn't say anything.  He had a bad feeling about all of this.  He
reached for his mask, and put it on as Barbara did the same with her
cowl.
"We better get back to the hotel and change.  We need to stop by the
hospital and check on some people."

*******************************

     They all waited in the room.  The doctors had been working on
Jimmy for a while now, and no one knew what was going to happen.  Peter
and Mary Jane had joined the group and Perry paced nervously.  Clark
stood by a wall, away from the rest.  His strength had returned to him,
but the feeling of helplessness wouldn't leave.  "Are you okay?" Lois
asked as she approached.  She put her arms around him.  She knew
he was blaming himself for the events of the evening.

     "Yeah.  How are you and how's Lucy holding up?"  Clark surveyed
the room.  Peter and MJ were standing close together.  He was glad
that Perry hadn't questioned the scrape on his head or Peter's arm in
a cast.  He didn't feel like making excuses tonight.

     "I'm okay.  Lucy's another story.  I've tried to get her to open
up, but she won't."

     Clark wanted to see how things were going with Jimmy, but he
couldn't bring himself to do it.  He was afraid of what he would find.
"Give her some time.  She's had a rough time of it tonight.  We all
did."

     Lois looked over to Peter and MJ.  "I guess they were there for
you this time, right?"  Clark nodded.  "Listen, I know you're beating
yourself up over this.  I am too.  There are lots of things we could
have
done to keep them both out of trouble, but that didn't happen."

     "I don't know what I'm feeling right now.  It just seems like
every time life starts going well, something happens.  This time it was
Metallo.  Who's it going to be next week?"  He shook his head.
"Sometimes
I think our life just a TV show with a villain of the week thrown in
to add some spice because people wouldn't watch us without it."

     Lois laughed softly.  "Well, we could give them something else
to watch other than supervillains.  We would have to put the show on
cable though."

     Clark turned and kissed his wife.  "How do you know the right
thing to say when I need to hear it most?"

     "Because I love the person I need to say it to.  Not a man in
tights, but my partner and best friend."

     "There you go again."

**********

     "How's your arm, Tiger?"  Mary Jane knew her husband wasn't very
happy with himself right now.  "You feel like talking?"

     "The arm's feeling better, but I can't say the same for the rest
of me."  He lowered his voice so only she could hear him.  "How could I
let this happen?"

     "Let what happen, Peter?  You didn't let anything happen.  From
what Clark told me, if it hadn't been for you, then this 'Metallo' would
have done a lot more than he did.  Clark would be dead right now, Lois
would be a widow and that young girl over there would be his prisoner."
MJ held her husband in a tight embrace.  "What more could you have
done?"

     "Taken care of the Green Goblin when I had a chance."  Peter
looked around absently.  "How many opportunities have I had to take
care of him once and for all?  Each time I end up resetting everything.
Each and every time things go back to square one."

     "You could never do that, Peter.  You are a good man.  That's
part of the reason I love you so much.  You could never take a life.
You could never sink to Osborne's."

     "You're right.  I know that, but that man's in there dying and
there's not a thing I can do about it.  I feel so helpless."  Peter
looked
down at his left arm in the sling.  "Look at me.  I can't even swing
around with a broken arm.  It will be days before it heals.  That will
give the Green Goblin all the time he needs."

     MJ reached up and stroked his cheek.  "Well, Spider-Man may not
be able to do anything, but Peter Parker can."  At this, Peter was
puzzled.  "Listen to me, Tiger.  Spider-Man may not be able to swing in
and stop the Goblin, but you can stop him in your own way.  You know
the science behind the Goblin's formula.  Superman and this Robin and
Batgirl might be able to stop him, but you're going to have to find out
how to neutralize this newest formula."

     Peter nodded, deep in thought.  "I guess you're right about
that.
I'll need lab equipment though.  If we were in New York I'd use Doc
Connor's
stuff at ESU, but this is Metropolis..."

     "STAR Labs," Mary Jane said quietly.  "Have Superman take you
there.  Say that you've helped Spider-Man with this stuff before.  They
keep secrets for Superman, I'm sure they'd do the same for you."  Her
eyes
glistened.  She loved it when she was right.

     "What a clever wife I have.  Now I know why I married you."

     "So, it wasn't the beautiful body after all, eh?"

     "Well, that was part of the package."

**********

     Lois had left Clark for a bit to check in on her sister while
Clark checked up on Perry.  "Any news yet?" Perry asked as Clark
approached.

     Clark shook his head.  "No."

     "I can't understand how all of this happened.  Why were they
at her apartment if they knew Corbin was probably going to come
after her?"  Perry continued to pace.

     "Jimmy had an idea to make it look like Lucy had left town.
He thought it was the best way to protect everyone involved.  According
to Lucy, she spent too much time there and Metallo just arrived before
they could leave."  Clark thought back ruefully.  "I shouldn't have
let him go, Chief.  I had a bad feeling about that plan from the start."

     Perry stopped and sighed in resignation.  "Clark, Jimmy's a man.
We can't stop him from doing what he wants to do, no matter what the
consequences are.  Look at how many times the both of us couldn't
keep Lois from getting into trouble."

     Clark almost smiled.  "Yeah, but even Superman wasn't much use
tonight.  He needed out of town help to stop that cyborg."

     "We all need help some time, Clark.  Even Superman."  Perry
began pacing again.  "No matter what comes out of this, Clark... I want
you and Lois to finish up this investigation.  You told me about the
connections.  With the Green Goblin here in Metropolis and this Bane
character on the loose... this is a BIG story.  Not only that, but
Superman's going to need help to find out exactly what's going on here.
He may be a superhero, but he's not an investigative reporter."

     Clark nodded, trying to hide a smile.  "I understand, Chief."

**********

     Lois sat down next to Lucy and grabbed hold of her sister's
hand.
"Come on, talk to me, Lucy.  I know you're worried about Jimmy, but I
get
the feeling that something else is wrong here."

     Lucy fell into Lois and her sister grabbed hold of her.  "I
can't
believe this is happening!"  Lois waited for Lucy to continue, suddenly
understanding how Clark had felt all those times she had cried on his
shoulder and there was little he could do about what had her upset.

     "I said some awful things to Jimmy, and now he's dying!  I'll
never get to tell him that I do love him."  Lucy sobbed some more before
continuing on.  "I told him he couldn't protect me, and that's what he
was doing when this happened.  I didn't do anything.  I just let him
face Johnny alone and look what happened to him!  The last conversation
we had was a fight!  He tried to tell me why he has to leave... that's
it's his job, but I wouldn't listen to him.  He tried to tell me that
leaving me is the last thing he wanted to do... I didn't listen to him
though."  Lucy was quiet for a moment and then continued.  Lois was
crying softly now.  She knew the pain her sister was feeling.  How
many times had she and Clark almost lost each other.  "Why do I push
away the people who care for me?"

     "It's a family trait," Lois said absently.  "Look at what I did
to Clark.  I kept pushing him away.  I almost lost him forever because
I couldn't face up to my own feelings."  She thought back to the night
she had gone over to tell Clark how she felt and seeing that he was
ready to leave Metropolis, unable to go on without her in his life.

     "You didn't lose Clark though.  You told him how you felt.  I
never did tell Jimmy how I really feel.  I don't know what I'm going to
do if..."  Her voice trailed off.

     The doctor entered the room and was quickly besieged.
After being asked variations of the same questions countless times, he
started to answer the group.  "He is in very critical condition.  His
physical injuries were not that severe.  The gas I am told he inhaled
does
seem to be adversely affecting him.  I'm not sure exactly what it is
trying to do, but the effects are killing him."

     The assembled group hung their heads in silence as Lucy asked
the next question.  "How long does he have?"

     The doctor was quiet, and that unnerved them even more.  "I
would
say no more than 24 hours, if that.  I am truly sorry.  Whatever that
gas is, it is slowing down his heart and his circulation.  Already he is
in a deep coma.  I must be honest that I have seen few people come out
of a coma so deep."

     "Can I see him?" Lucy asked in a small voice.

     "I don't see what harm it would do," the doctor said with a sigh.
"I will warn you that he is hooked up to a lot of machines.  This won't
be a pretty sight."

     The doctor started to escort Lucy back.  Lois put a hand on her
sister's shoulder.  Lucy turned to face the group.  "This is something
I have to do.  I'm going to stay with him.  It's the least I can do."

     Realizing she would do the same thing for Clark, Lois relented.
"We'll check in on you."  The doctor whisked Lucy into the back.

     Perry felt totally devastated.  "Kids, I've got to get home.
I'm not going to be of any use here.  I'll keep in touch with the
hospital here."  Perry wandered out of the room without saying
good night.

     Lois, Clark, Peter and Mary Jane converged now that they were
alone.  "How is your arm doing, Peter?" Lois asked first.

     "Better," Peter answered briefly.  "It will heal fine in a few
days, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do any swinging for a while."

     "I was afraid of that."  Clark looked deep in thought.  "Peter,
you once said that you were pretty good in science..."

     "Pretty good?  If it wasn't for a few things getting in his way,
he could probably be a science professor!"  Mary Jane smiled as she
bragged about her husband.  "I'd say he's more than just 'pretty good'."

     "I stand corrected," Clark said with a smile.

     "I know what you're getting at, Clark."  Peter pulled the gas
canister from his jacket pocket.  "MJ was thinking that maybe you could
get STAR Labs to let me use some of their equipment to analyze this new
goblin's brew.  If we're going to have any chance of saving your friend
and whoever the Goblin sights next we'll need an antidote"

     "Great minds think alike," Lois said with a smile.  "It was my
idea for Clark to ask."

     "And what a wonderful idea it was, too."

     "What was a wonderful idea?"  The two couples looked up to see
Dick Grayson and someone they hadn't seen before enter the room.  "Sorry
it took so long, but we got a little detained."

     Lois and MJ looked at each other, and instantly knew who the
young woman was.  The bump on the head, the red hair...  Clark and
Peter were likewise putting the pieces together.  "I smell a bat,"
Peter said low enough for only Clark to hear, who nodded his head.

     "Why don't we go check on Lucy," Lois suggested taking MJ's
hand and leading her away.  "I'm sure these four have some talking
to do."

     Dick didn't look too good.  *They've figured it out already.*
"Ah.. what's up with your friend, Clark?  Is he going to make it?"

     "They don't think so."  Clark had a far-away look on his face.
"We need to talk.  I'll take the bat, you take the bird," he said
looking
at Peter.  "We've got to get some things straight."

     Barbara gulped.  It hadn't hit her until now.  Maybe it was the
bump on the head, the splitting headache or the lateness of the night,
but whatever it was she hadn't seen it.  She hadn't noticed the one
man's arm in a sling.  The exact same arm that Spider-Man had broken.
She didn't notice the slight bruises on the other man's face.  Once
she really did look though, she saw past the glasses.  She was standing
in the same room with Superman and Spider-Man.  "I guess I have a lot
of explaining to do, don't I?" the young woman asked.  Clark only
nodded in response.

     "What's up?" Dick asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

     "Nothing really, I just want to ask you some questions.  For
starters, how about the 'married spider' crack on the roof.  How do you
know I'm married?"  Peter really wanted to know the answer to this.

     Dick didn't look well.  He was about to say more than he planned
to this entire trip.  "Well, Batman keeps files on almost anyone news
worthy.  He has quite an extensive Spider-Man collection.  He isn't
quite
sure what to make of you really... good guy or bad buy?  Most of the
pictures were done by a guy named Peter Parker, so we got a file on you
too.... and your wife Mary Jane."

     Peter's face drew into a frown.  *Well, two can play at this.*
"It's nice to know that Bruce Wayne has enough free time to investigate
a free-lance photographer."  Dick looked like he was going to be sick.
"Well, you know I'm not galactically stupid.  I do work for a news
paper.
I was a little curious about why a man would dress up like a bat.  At
least I have an excuse for being a spider.... long story, maybe next
time.  Anyway, when I started looking I came to one conclusion.  Batman
has a taste for high tech weapons.  He only works in Gotham... well most
of the time... and that means who ever Batman is lives in Gotham.  The
only person in Gotham with enough money to support that habit is Bruce
Wayne.  When I found out Robin was really Dick Grayson, Wayne's ward,
I knew for a fact Wayne was Batman."

     "Bruce is going to kill me," Dick said in a small voice.

     "You took her mask off, didn't you?"  Dick nodded slowly.
"Think
about what he's going to do when he finds out you revealed his and your
identity to Commissioner Gordon's daughter.  She's bound to put the
pieces together... even faster than I did."  Dick lowered his head,
and wished he could be anywhere else.  "Okay, now let's talk about the
rough stuff.  We still have the Goblin and Bane to deal with."

     Clark took Barbara to a secluded corner of the room.  He saw the
fear in her eyes.  *She must be in overload.  She's probably been
exposed
to more secrets tonight than she ever expected too.*  "First of all,
relax.  You're among friends.  You know who I am, right?"

     Barbara nodded.  "Yes, Superman."

     Clark shook his head.  "No.  I am Clark Kent, reporter for the
Daily Planet.  Superman's just the costume I put on.  If you remember
anything from tonight, remember that you are who you are, no costume
can change that.  Now... I assume you know who Robin is, right?"  She
nodded slowly.  "That means you know who Spider-Man is, right?"  She
nodded again.  "His name is really Peter Parker.  You'll get to talk
to him in a minute.  I'm assuming by the look on your face that you've
also figured out who Batman is."  She nodded.  "Listen, everything
is going to work out for the best.  I'm sure you and Dick have a lot
to talk about, but right now we have to stop the Green Goblin"

     Clark motioned for Peter and Dick to join him just as Lois and
MJ came back out.  "How are they doing?" Clark asked his wife as he
broke
away to be with her.  Lois looked very pale, and not in very good
emotional shape.

     "Not good, either of them.  Lucy's in there doing nothing but
crying, and Jimmy's heartbeat is growing weaker every moment.  We've got
to find an antidote."

     Clark held his wife close to him.  "We will.  We will."  The
others
stood, not quite sure what to say.  "Listen, we've got to get on this
right away.  The Goblin already has used his new brew on two people.
We don't know how close he is to whatever he wants to do."  He thought
for a moment about what to do.  He didn't want to leave Lois, but if
the city was going to have a chance to survive, everyone would need to
sacrifice.  "Lois, would you take MJ, Dick and Barbara here back to the
house?  I'm going to take Peter to STAR Labs so he can get started."
With
nods of approval, the group broke up to go their separate ways.

*******************************

     Superman swooped into STAR Labs with Peter.  Much to his
surprise,
Dr. Klein was still at work in the lab.  "Dr. Klein?  I hadn't expected
you to be here so late."

     "I wasn't," Dr. Klein explained looking up from his instruments
and glancing at the visitor Superman had brought with him.  "Inspector
Henderson contacted me when he brought the kryptonite back here.  It is
secured again.  After he told me about Metallo, he told me about your
friend Mr. Olsen being exposed to the that same agent that killed the
young woman earlier today.  I'm very sorry.  I thought I had better
start
analyzing my findings.  I have come up with some preliminary findings,
would you be interested in looking at them?"

     Superman tried to hide an embarrassed grin.  "I would love to
Dr. Klein, but I'm afraid I have to go out and hunt down some leads.
I did bring you someone to help though."  Superman motioned for Peter
to step up.  "This is Peter Parker.  He's helped Spider-Man in the past
when the Green Goblin has used his goblin formula.  I understand
he's real science wiz."

     "I'd be happy to get all the help I can, especially if he's
familiar with this particular formula."  Klein motioned Peter over
to take a look at the findings he had mentioned.  As the two men became
engrossed in the research notes, neither noticed Superman leave.

*******************************

     Back at the townhouse, Clark came through the front door and
noticed that Lois was already organizing the troops.  "Reporting for
duty, General," he said softly as he gave her a quick kiss.

     "How's Peter doing?" MJ asked immediately.

     "I don't think I've ever seen him happier.  He's really at home
in a lab, isn't he?"  MJ nodded and Clark made a mental note for later.

     Lois rose from the table and approached Clark.  "Can I see you
in the kitchen?"

     Clark nodded.  "This will only take a minute," Clark said as
he was led into the kitchen.  "I don't really think this is the time
for this, sweetheart," he said with a grin.

     "Clark Kent, you are impossible!" Lois said in mock anger.
"This
is serious.  Barbara and Dick haven't said a thing to one another since
they got here.  I've seen ice cubes with more personality."

     "I imagine its something to do with finding out that each of
them
has been keeping a secret from the other.  They're probably hurt and
scared.  I believe you have experience in this area."  Clark added the
last statement softly.

     Lois cringed thinking about how she had reacted when she found
out her friend / partner / love-of-her-life had been keeping Superman
from her.  "At least I talked to you.  We worked it out... it took a
while, but we did.  They're not even talking to one another.  They're
going to be of no use to us like this."

     Clark nodded.  "I know what you mean.  We can't take the time to
counsel them though.  I mean, these kids follow Bruce Wayne around.
THAT
alone should provide Dr. Friskin with a few years of work... then add
the costumes into the equation, and we're talking life-time membership."

     "He's a strange one... even stranger than I thought you were."

     "I'll try to take that as a compliment."  Clark looked out
toward
the dining room.  He watched and listened to Mary Jane telling a story
to
Dick and Barbara, who looked as if there minds were back in Gotham.
"MJ's
almost talked out.  She's going over the Hydro-Man story... again.  What
plan have you come up with?"

     Lois turned to her husband and he could see the wheels turning
in
her head even without x-ray vision.  "Well, you and I have to track down
Osborne.  Lois Lane and Clark Kent will get closer than Superman.  We
need to make Osborne think someone is out there looking for him though
so... we use Dick and Barbara as decoys.  I'm going to ask MJ to look
after Luce while all of this is going on."

     Clark nodded, and he had a plan of his own to add.  "I'll be
right back."  Clark walked to the kitchen door and called for Mary
Jane to join them.

     Soon MJ was in the kitchen with Lois and Clark.  "Thank you!"
she
said, grabbing the two of them in a hug.  "I can't stand those two
anymore!
They won't talk to anyone.  I'm down to the story about how I helped
Peter stop the Lizard and a group of mutated sewer lizards."  She
grabbed Clark forcefully by the collar.  "YOU'VE GOT TO GET THEM AWAY
FROM ME!  YOU'RE SUPERMAN, DO SOMETHING FLYBOY!"

     Clark wasn't sure what to do: laugh or be scared.  "If you think
this is bad, you should be happy Batman isn't here.  He's REALLY
strange."

     "Yeah, I heard Wayne can be pretty weird at times."  She noted
the surprise on Lois' and Clark's faces.  "What?  I may be a model and
actress but I'm not dumb.  Peter and I figured out Wayne a while ago.
Peter likes to take the credit, but I was the one who figured out that
Wayne was the only person in Gotham with enough money to bankroll
Batman's toys."  She smiled and Clark and Lois grinned.  "Why did
you call me in?  I know it wasn't just to give me a break."

     "Actually, we need your help.  Do you have any of Peter's
spider-tracers?"  Clark looked to Lois who had cocked an eyebrow.

     "Sure," MJ said retrieving a batch from her pants pocket. "Why?"

     "I only need two."  Clark reached out and took two of the small
spiders.  "Here's the plan.  We'll send Dick and Barbara out to find the
Goblin.  If they do, great.  But, Batman's always has complained that
Robin can get caught by stepping out on the street.  With both of them
in their condition I'm not going to count on them being too successful."
Clark held up the tracers.  "These are for their protection.  If we
don't
give them something to do, they'll go out and try to find Osborne on
their own.  With these, I'll be able to track them."  Clark looked over
to Mary Jane.  "I'll need Peter's tracker."

     "Okay."  Mary Jane nodded.  "What do you want me to do?  I
imagine
the two of you will be playing reporter tomorrow."

     "Tonight," Lois corrected.  "MJ, I have a special favor to ask
you.  Could you go over to the hospital and see if you can help my
sister any... I know this is a lot to ask, but..."

     "Lois, I'd be happy to do it.  I'll head over there as soon as I
get the tracker for Clark."  The trio discussed other ideas and
eventually
returned to a silent duo.  After everyone had their assignments, and
Clark
had attached the spider-tracers to Robin and Batgirl, Lois and Clark set
to work.

     "I set up another appointment with Bobby while you were out."
Lois had explained to Bobby Bigmouth what had happened and he had been
surprisingly understanding, after Lois had promised him some 'genuine'
Italian food.  "All you have to do is get him some Italian food."

     Clark grinned knowing what was up.  "Exactly how 'Italian'?"

     "You know that little place in Rome we like to go to?"

     Clark nodded while laughing a little.  "Where and when are we
meeting Bobby?  I can't believe you got him to meet us at..."  Clark
looked at his watch and was amazed at how much time had passed.  "...
at two in the morning!"

     "That's why you're getting the 'genuine' Italian food,
remember?"

*******************************

     "I can't believe that fool failed!!"  Osborne threw a beaker at
a defenseless wall.  "Metallo failed to even slow down Superman, much
less
those pesky reporters.  Now according to the news we have bigger
troubles.
Not only is there Superman, but now there's Spider-Man, Robin and this
Batgirl."  Osborne turned to the table and felt a dizzy spell come over
him.  As he braced himself against the table he began to laugh
demonically.
"Actually, this might work to my advantage!"

     Bane stepped forward.  "What do you want me to do, Mr. Osborne?"

     "I have a plan, my steroid-enhanced friend.  YOU are going to
go bat hunting.  Go out into the city and do as much damage as you can.
You're bound to run into that bunch of do-gooders.  Do as much
damage to THEM as you can."

     Bane wasn't very happy with his new orders.  "Mr. Osborne, I'm
not sure that's what Mr. Daggett had in mind.  I thought we were to
keep out of sight?"

     Osborne began to laugh again.  This time though it was a slow,
bone-chilling, demonic laugh that made even Bane's blood freeze.  As
Osborne turned around, it was evident something was happening.  There
was a crazed look in Osborne's eyes that Bane couldn't even remember the
Joker having.  Osborne continued to laugh.  The eyes shifted into a
menacing posture and the slowly Osborne reduced his laugh to a chuckle.
"You're no longer taking orders from that fool, Osborne.  No, no.  You
will take them from me now.  I am unleashed and back again.  Osborne
thought he could keep me hidden, tap my devious knowledge but keep
control for himself.  He was SO wrong!!  NO ONE CONTROLS THE GREEN
GOBLIN!!!"  The laughing started again, but stopped abruptly when the
Goblin realized Bane was still there.  "GET GOING!!!!"

     Bane was soon gone.  The Goblin returned his attention to his
new formula.  "Almost done.  A few more hours, and Metropolis will wake
up to a new age.  With Daggett's distribution, I will be able to have my
formula in major cities within days.  No one will stop me this time.
Not even you, Spider-Man.  Not even you, Peter Parker."

     Osborne reached over to a box and retrieved a green mask and
put it on.  "This time, no one will stop the Green Goblin!!"

*******************************

     Clark landed in the back alley, in back of the address that Lois
had given him.  He spun back into his normal clothes.  He picked up the
package and carried it with him to the jeep.  He could tell that Bobby
had already showed up and Lois was pumping him for information.  By the
way Bobby was holding out, it was evident to Clark that he knew
something.
Clark reached the jeep and opened the passenger side door and got in.
He
dangled the package of food in front of Bobby.  "Okay, Bobby, what do
you
know about this poisonous gas and Norman Osborne and anything else you
think might be important while you're at it."

     "How Italian is that food?  It smells great!"  Bobby took the
package from Clark and started to examine the contents.

     "How about Rome?" Lois asked.  Bobby got a curious look on his
face.  "Superman owed us a favor, so don't get used to this."

     "You two are the greatest!" Bobby exclaimed as he started in on
the bread sticks.  "Nothing beats ITALIAN bread."  After he ate the
first
one and was satisfied with his reward, he clued the reporters in on what
he knew.  "You were right to suspect Osborne.  I'm told he has a
lab set up in the warehouse district.  He's getting bankrolled by Roland
Daggett from Gotham.  I did some digging on that too.  It looks like
Daggett wanted a mild mind control formula to use in Gotham.  He's
planning on running for mayor.  The guy's a regular Lex Luthor..."  The
words died on his tongue as he said them.  "Sorry about that.  Anyway,
Daggett sent some muscle along.  A guy called Bane.  Well, to make the
long story short, Osborne is working on something a little more deadly
than a mind control formula.  That girl, Amber, she was the first trial
yesterday.  She was one of Osborne's informants.  She was just doing it
to pay off some college loans, or that's what I'm told.  I'm also told
that
she told Osborne you two were on to him before he gave her the formula
in
a drink.  That's when he got the idea of using Metallo to occupy you
two with looking for your sister, Lois.  He didn't count on Superman
and the others coming to the rescue.  MY source tells me that this
Osborne guy is seriously deranged, so you two please be careful."

     Bobby left the jeep and disappeared into the shadows.  "Well,
at least we have an idea where to look now."  Clark looked out into the
night wondering what to expect next.  "I can't believe that Amber was
working for Osborne."

     Lois started the jeep and pulled out into the street.  "She
seemed
like such a nice girl."  She was quiet for a moment before she spoke.
"We're going to have to find Osborne quickly."

     "We?" Clark asked in a shaky voice.  "As in you and me?"

     She nodded.  "We don't have that long to find Osborne and
get an antidote... if he has one."

     Clark relented.  "Okay, but we better get hold of Dick and
Barbara
and tell Peter.  He might have some ideas."  Clark stiffened, and Lois
knew he was hearing something.  The concentration on his face showed
he was listening intently.  "There's something going down on the east
side."  He listened more carefully.  "Police cars... lots of them.
Uh, oh.  I think I better go, honey.  I'll meet you at STAR Labs."
Clark pulled the tracker from his pocket and rolled his eyes at what he
saw.  "I think Robin and Batgirl just found Bane!"

*******************************

     Robin held his cape close to him to keep it from moving in the
wind.  He surveyed the streets, looking for some clue.  He knew he
wasn't
going to find any though.  "This is a waste of time," he moaned.

     Batgirl was crouched, looking into the street too.  Robin's
words were few tonight, so she immediately pounced on what he had said.
"Why?"

     Robin turned away and moved away from the roof edge.  "They sent
us out here to get us out of the way.  Don't you realize that?"

     Batgirl was right behind him.  "Why would they want us out of
the
way?  We took care of Metallo... with a little help.  I know Spider-Man
and Superman are the BIG heroes, but we can take care of ourselves."

     "When we're not fighting."

     "We're not fighting!"  Batgirl sounded wounded.

     "Right.  We're just not talking to each other very much."

     "And we're not talking about what's important when we do."
Batgirl
put a hand on Robin's shoulder.  "Maybe it's time we did."  She pulled
back her cowl.  "Talk to me, Dick."

     Robin turned around and saw Barbara looking at him... without
her
disguise.  He took off his mask.  "I guess I should go first, huh?"
Barbara nodded and sat down on the roof followed by Dick.  "I guess...
no,
I know what I have to say to you.  Barbara Gordon, I love you.  Nothing
that's happened has changed that.  We've been friends since Bruce took
me
in after my parents were killed.  As we grew up... well that friendship
changed.  Then we started dating, just for fun at first and then... I
realized I was in love with you.  But there was something in the way...
This."  Dick gestured at his costume.

     "Being Robin complicated everything.  How could I get close to
you
and not tell you?  But how could I tell you?  What would you say?  What
would Batman say.  What would Bruce say?  I know you've figured out that
part by now."  Barbara nodded slowly.  "Would you say anything to your
father?  'Dad, guess what?  I'm dating Robin!'  Then things got really
complex.  Batgirl came along, and I found myself attracted to her!  I
couldn't figure out what was happening to me!!"  Dick shook his head.
"Maybe it was the fact that Batgirl shared the life I was living... and
I
knew she could relate.  I just couldn't get close to her though... I was
in
love with you... I just didn't know how to handle what I was feeling."

     Barbara sat and digested what Dick was saying.  After he had
finished, she continued to sit silently.  Just as Dick was beginning to
become REALLY nervous, afraid that he had said TOO much, she decided to
talk.  "The first thing I have to say is... I love you too.  I guess the
next thing I need to tell you is why I became Batgirl."  She took a
deep breath, and continued.  "Well, you pretty much know the
circumstances.
You and Batman.. Bruce.. had been kidnaped and Two-Face was after my
father.  I knew the police couldn't totally protect Dad, so this was
my only option.  I'm a police officer's daughter... I knew enough to do
what I had to.  I took the equipment I needed from the evidence room.
They had some batarangs and the grapple.  That was enough.  I managed to
find both of you, and together we stopped Two Face before he could get
Dad.  I had never really thought about police work before, but after
putting on the outfit, I was kinda hooked.  Besides, I got to hang
around
with Batman and Robin... and I had a crush on Robin from when I was
still
a teenager."  Dick smiled nervously.

     Barbara took a deep breath.  "We were close, but after I became
Batgirl, everything changed.  How could I tell you?  What would you
think?
I think you got a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this."  She
looked to Dick who nodded silently.  "I guess what's bothering both of
us
is the way all of this came out.  I wasn't ready to tell you.  If the
wrong
people found out, my Dad could be in real trouble.  I mean his daughter
is a vigilante!  The Gotham police commissioner's daughter is Batgirl.
Can you imagine what it would do to him?"  She was silent again for a
minute, thinking about the effects her secret would have on her father.
"I know there had to be a point down the road where we would've either
had to tell each other our secrets, or we couldn't be together."  Both
of
them were silent, considering what she had just said.  "I'm just happy
that you chose to take your mask off tonight.  You could have put my
cowl
back on, or you could have just kept the mask on.  I wouldn't have
known."

     "After I knew it was you, I wanted you to know.  I was still
scared though.  I knew you'd understand, but would you... could you
forgive me for keeping this from you?  I guess you got the same
question."
Dick looked into her eyes, looking for an answer.

     "I'm not sure there's anything to forgive.  That would mean we
did something wrong.  Was keeping our secrets wrong?  I guess the real
question is: do we understand the reasons each of us did this?
I know I do."

     "I do, too.  There was just too much at stake... for both of
us."
Dick continued to look into her eyes.  "So, now that this is out of the
way, where do we go from here?"

     Barbara looked away from his eyes.  "I really don't know, Dick.
I mean, things should be so much simpler now, but that's not how I feel.
I'm confused.  I feel like we're starting all over again.  I shouldn't
though.  I mean, I know you better than just about anyone now, don't I?
You know ME better than anyone else."  Again, she was silent.  "I guess
at the best we're one step along in our relationship.  At worst, we're
still friends... I guess."

     Dick stood and helped Barbara up.  "That's better than what I
was
expecting.  I guess we need some time to just be okay with what's
happened to us.  Who knows, maybe it was for the best.  For what its
worth, I did want to tell you."

     "I wanted to tell you, too."

     He slipped his mask back on, and she replaced her cowl.  "We
can't
let this interfere with our work here though.  Not only is Batman
counting on us, but so is Clark."

     "How long have you known them?  Lois and Clark that is?  I have
to
admit, I would have never imagined Superman pretending to be a
reporter."
Batgirl looked back out to the city.

     "Don't let Clark hear you say that, or you'll get the lecture of
your life.  Clark's not like Batman.  Bruce puts on the suit and there's
Batman... a whole other personality.  Clark's the real person.  Superman
is the disguise.  Whether he's in the suit or not, he's still Clark
Kent.
For him and Lois, that was their biggest obstacle.  He wanted her to
love Kent, not Superman.  So, please, never say Clark Kent is the
disguise.  It really bothers him."

     "How long have I known them?  I've known Clark about three
years.
I've known Lois for about two years."  Dick laughed at a memory.  "I
met her a few months after she found out he was Superman.  Clark was
tired of keeping things from Lois, so he decided to tell her
'everything'
he knew.  He phoned Bruce and told him he was going to tell Lois.  Bruce
really flipped out... and then Clark brought Lois to visit the Bat Cave.
There was an instant hostility there.  Bruce started in on Clark.  He
berated him and that was all it took for Lois to get mad.  She loves
Clark a lot and she's very protective of him."

     "Couldn't he stand up for himself?"

     "I guess he could," Dick mused.  "You don't know Clark well
though.
He's a quiet guy.  Outside of his close circle of friends, he's
reserved.
He tries his best to avoid a confrontation when he can."  Barbara
nodded.
Her preconceptions about Superman were rapidly being blown to bits.
"The
first time I met him was when Superman came to Gotham.  He helped Batman
and me capture the Joker.  Clark really helped us out on that."  Dick
was
quiet for a moment, deep in thought.  "It's more than we've done for
him.
I'm determined to make up for that too."  Batgirl looked at Robin
curiously.  "Remember when the Kryptonians and Lord Nor came and took
over
Smallville, Kansas?  That's Clark's hometown.  I wanted to go and help,
but
Batman insisted that we stay and protect Gotham...  I'm not sure what we
could have done, but we should have done something.  No one showed up to
help the man who saved the world.  Isn't that a sad commentary?
Everyone
fell back and readied their own cities for the onslaught.  If we would
have stood together, maybe we could have pushed them away before all
that
damage took place."

     Robin now looked out toward the city too.  "I know he's sore
about
the subject too.  Tonight, after we took care of Metallo he made an
offhand comment about being there when he needed us.  You know,
sometimes I
wonder where some of the heroes went during that time.  Spider-Man,
Captain America, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man... they all vanished for
a couple of weeks.  I wonder..."

     Robin didn't get a chance to wonder for long.  "Look over
there!"
Batgirl pointed to an alley.  Coming out of the shadows was a hulking
form.  They both knew who it was instantly.  As the figure reached the
street they could see it clearly in the light provided by the street
lamps.  "Bane!" Robin cried as he saw the hulk.  "He can't be out to
do shopping.  Not at this hour."  He looked to his partner.  "We've got
to stop him."

     He was talking to himself.  Batgirl had already taken off.
Robin
swooped down to street level and landed beside of Batgirl.  "What took
you so long?" she asked with a wink.

     *This is definitely going to make work interesting.*  Bane had
noticed them and now stood in the middle of the street.  It was early
in the morning, and the street was deserted.  "You should have stayed
in Gotham, Bane.  You know we'll send you back in one of those isolation
tubes."  Robin laughed.  "You know, I thought Daggett would have sent
someone smart for this!"

     That was it.  Bane charged and the fight was on.  Bane was quick
and was on top of Robin before he knew it.  Bane had Robin in a squeeze,
and the Boy Wonder felt his consciousness drifting away.  Suddenly,
Bane lurched forward and let go of Robin.  Batgirl had kicked the
villain in the back.  Now Bane turned his attention on her.  "Good!"
Batgirl said mockingly.  "It's nice to know you didn't forget about me."

     Before Bane could charge her, Batgirl had used her grapple
launcher
and had hoisted herself to the top of a street lamp.  Bane grabbed the
lamp post and pulled it from the sidewalk.  He twirled it around in the
air
and on the second time around Batgirl went flying off.  Just as she was
about to hit the pavement, Robin caught her.  "Nice catch," she said
with a smile.  "Got any ideas?"

     Robin launched a grapple and swung them out of the way as Bane
threw the lamp post at them.  Instead the post hit a parked car,
smashing
it and setting off numerous car alarms.  "So much for just the three of
us," Robin said with a sigh as they came to rest on the roof top they
had left minutes before.  "Only two things stop Bane: brute strength
and cutting off his supply of that chemical."

     "Well, Superman isn't here."

     "That leaves option two."  The building shook and they looked
down to see Bane smashing at the building with what was left of the
lamp post.  "He's not going to give up, and now there are people
starting
to come out to see what's going on!"

     "I've got an idea."  Batgirl looked up at some power lines and
then down to the street below.  "How do you feel about being a squeeze
toy again?"  After a bemused comment from Robin, she told him her plan.

     Bane had continued to hit the building in the absence of the
heroes.  "Come down and fight me!!" demanded Bane.  The residents of the
street had come out to see, but most had retreated to their houses.  The
sounds of sirens filled the air.  "Are you scared?"

     "Not hardly," Robin said from behind him.  "I just like to take
my time with some things."  Bane now charged him again.  *Please be on
time, Barbara!*

     Bane grabbed Robin and began to squeeze.  "My face is the last
thing you will ever see, bird boy.  I'm surprised the big bad bat didn't
come himself."  Bane laughed as he squeezed Robin harder.  Robin saw his
vision began to blur and dim.  He hoped his partner's timing was good.
"Where's the little girl bat?  I wanted a try at her too."

     "Go for it then," challenged Batgirl.  Bane tossed aside Robin
like a rag doll.  Batgirl winced as Robin hit the side of a building and
slumped over.  Before Bane could react, Batgirl set her plan into
motion.  Bane hadn't noticed her work while he had been taunting Robin.
With a tug on her grapple line, the fire hydrant began to spew water out
and it soon covered a great deal of the street.

     "You're not smart, girl bat.  I'm not like that robot you took
care of last night.  Water doesn't effect me."

     "This does though."  Batgirl threw a batarang and cut loose a
power line.  Bane watched mesmerized as the line came down.  The lights
on the street went dead all around them.  Batgirl ran out of the water
and tried to drag Robin away.  The line hit the water before she got him
out though.  As the line hit, Batgirl felt herself pushed away.  A
scream
pierced the night and it soon died away.

     She remembered not being able to get herself or Robin away from
the area in time.  By all standards she and Robin should be fried
along with Bane right about now.  Robin!  Bane!  She opened her eyes
and found that Robin was lying on top of her.  That had been the heavy
weight she had felt.  She shook her head and looked around.  Bane was
lying still in the water.  The flow of water had stopped, and somehow
the lights were back on.  "That was a mighty brave stunt," a voice
complimented.

     She looked up to see the owner of the voice.  "Superman?"

     "I came as fast as I could.  I see you managed to take care of
Bane by yourself... mostly."  Superman helped the young heroine up to
her
feet.  "That was very brave."

     "It was the only thing I could think of," she said meekly.  She
looked to Robin with concern.  "He will be alright, right?"

     Superman smiled after he checked Robin over.  "He'll be okay.
Sore, yes, but he's alright."

     She smiled with relief.  "I'm so glad.  We've just started to
work some things out."

     Superman smiled and for a moment, she could see Clark Kent
there instead of Superman.  "Before you two go, I want to have a talk
with you.  You two are on a wonderful road, but...  I'll explain
later."  Police cars pulled up, along with a STAR Labs van in back.
"Hold on for a minute."  Superman sped away and talked to the officers
and explained what had happened.  Batgirl continued to look after Robin,
who still had not come to.  Superman hurried back.  "I think the two
of you should get back to your hotel," he said in a low voice.  "The
two of you look like you've been through a lot... which you have."
When Batgirl didn't protest, he picked both of them up.

     As they flew, Superman asked which floor they were on.  He
wasn't
surprised that Dick had chosen rooms on the top floor of the hotel.  As
he approached he wasn't surprised to see that his was a secluded room.
No one would notice ANYONE leaving the room.  As he looked ahead, he was
again not surprised to find the window open.  In a moment, they were
in the room.  Superman placed Batgirl down and then put Dick down on
the bed.  The first thing Batgirl did was to take off the cowl.  "Clark,
thank you for tonight.  We would have been fried if you wouldn't have
shown up."  Barbara looked away.  "I'll take care of Dick.  We'll be
okay"

     Superman nodded with a smile.  "I understand.  I just need to
use
the phone first."  He excused himself to use the phone on the night
stand and dialed up STAR Labs.  After directing his call, he reached Dr.
Klein's office.  Peter picked up the phone.  "Peter, it's Clark.  How's
the battle coming?"

     "Not too good," Peter replied.  "Even between Dr. Klein and
myself
we seem to be hitting dead ends.  So far I've come up with one thing.
This isn't your normal goblin's brew.  This is more insidious.  It
actually is genetic dependent.  I'm not sure, but I'm starting to think
that is some kind of virus...."  Peter's voice trailed off and Clark
could hear commotion in the background.  Moment's later, Peter was
back.  "That's it, Clark!  That was the key.  It all makes sense now.
Osborne didn't give up on making people Goblins, he decided to make
it more specific.  Only a certain gene type is left untouched.  The more
divergent a person's genes is from that type, the quicker they die.
The more like the genes are, the more that person turns into a goblin!
That batch he gave that girl must have been a field test.  I compared
the sample and what was used on Jimmy is way more refined."  He sighed.
"Would you care to make a bet on who's gene type is the master for
this?"

     "Osborne!"

     "Right on."  Peter was silent again.  "I'm not going to be able
to reverse engineer this one in enough time, pal.  I need a sample of
Osborne's blood to do it.  Lois told me you discovered where he is."

     "General area.  I'm going right over.  Is Lois still there with
you?"  Clark was a little uneasy.  The Goblin was a maniac.  He could
sure use some reassurance from his wife about now.

     "Hey there, sweetheart."  Lois' voice reduced Clark to jello.
"Did you get Bane?  How are the kids?"

     Clark smiled.  "They're okay  Barbara had managed to get Bane
taken care of before I got there.  I just needed to help clean up.
Dick's
out cold, but I'm sure he'll be okay.  Just as long as he doesn't get
amnesia."  There was silence on the other end.  "Sorry about that."

     He could hear her sigh over the phone and he could only imagine
the look on her face.  "It's okay.  One day we'll laugh about all of
this,
right?  You're on your way to take out the Goblin?"

     "Yes.  Wish me luck, I'm going to need it."  He was quiet for a
moment.  "I'll bring back Osborne and enough computer files to win
ourselves a Kerth... or better."  He was quiet again.  "Honey, I love
you.  I'll see you soon.  Oh, tell Dr. Klein that Bane will be coming
in soon.  He just needs to be stored until he can be transported
somewhere other than Metropolis."  A few more words were exchanged, and
then Clark forced himself to hang up.

     He turned to Barbara who was still in her outfit.  "I guess I'll
have to stay like this until he comes to.  I can't exactly go out in
this
outfit, now can I?"

     "Take care of both of you," Superman instructed as he flew out.

     "I will," Barba