Zeitgeist
Part Two
The Blur
Clark weighed the tennis ball in his palm while Shelby danced excitedly at his knee. The dog's innocent anticipation put a genuine grin on Clark's lips. At last, he cocked his arm back and let the ball soar into the cornfield.
While Shelby raced after the ball, Clark headed out of the gate at superspeed. Lois had already called him four times to announce he was late to work. Each message came with greater threats. His personal favorite was: "Unless you're busy straightening the leaning Tower of Pisa ….". Despite the early hour and lack of sleep, his fiancée – and calling Lois his fiancée – had put him in a good mood.
The bustle of the city streets seemed to freeze as Clark sped toward the Daily Planet. His smile widened as he noticed affirmations that the Darkness had not infected everyone. A teenage girl held the door of a coffee shop open for an elderly woman, and a driver at a stop sign motioned for a group of school kids to cross. Basic kindness existed still, and it made the efforts of the Justice League worth the double life.
Just outside the Daily Planet a strong gust of wind had blown the morning paper out of a businessman's hands. Frozen in midair as the pages were, Clark could see his story on the firefighters' union had been buried on page thirteen, and it concerned him that the only fire rescue worthy of the front page anymore involved superbreath.
He nearly sped past the flying pages entirely when he caught of glimpse of the front page from the corner of his eye. The street surged back into motion as he halted and snatched the page from midair. He had less than thirty seconds to take in the "Most Wanted" headline, his family shield, and his friends' pictures in the line up before he was interrupted.
"Hi, Clark!" Cat Grant's chipper voice was the last thing he wanted to hear, but she followed him inside the building and to the stairwell, oblivious to his mood. "I heard the big news."
He peered sharply over his shoulder, expression schooled from years of lying, while his brain worked furiously to come up with an obfuscation, but from Cat's cheerful expression, he took it that her 'big news' was not his becoming America's most wanted.
"Congratulations on the engagement. Are you thinking about a Spring wedding or a Summer wedding? Summer is always a nice time for weddings, but I prefer Spring because – "
"We haven't really gotten that far, Cat," Clark said. They reached the end of the stairs to the basement, and he was itching to talk to Lois about the most wanted list. Her desk was vacant, however. "You know what, I forgot I was supposed to meet Lois for a story."
Leaving Cat in the basement, Clark took the steps two at a time and dialed Lois's number even before he'd crossed the atrium. She picked up after two rings.
"Where the hell have you been, Smallville?" Lois's voice demanded. "I'm chasing a story in four inch heels, and I could really use a superstrong arm to lean on here."
Hearing her hassled, clipped voice reminded him why he loved her, and while the threat of the VRA stayed with him, he was able to forget his worry for just a moment and remember the good in the world. A childish grin spread over his lips when he answered.
"Sorry, Lois, I was straightening the leaning Tower of Pisa."