Calls are Made

It was a slow day at the Daily Planet and Clark Kent was taking the time to relax and enjoy his coffee before Perry sent him and Lois on their next assignment. His partner, on the other hand, was the eye of an inverted storm.

"Lois, relax," he said as she completed another circuit around their desks. "Slow days happen. Enjoy it."

"You should know by now that I hate slow news days," she snapped as she dropped into her chair. "They usually mean I get stuck with some lame story that only makes the front page because there isn't a better story and SOMETHING has to be there."

At that moment Perry White, considered by some to be the voice of god within the walls of the Planet, invoked his power. "Kent! Lane! Get in here! And where is Olsen?"

"Here Chief," Jimmy said as he came in.

"Good. I have an assignment for the three of you," Perry said as he walked back into his office, his best reporting team following him soon after.

"So, what's the assignment?" Lois asked as they entered the office.

"Star-con is in town this week and I want you three to cover it," Perry stated in a tone that said he wasn't going to argue.

Lois ignored the tone. A science fiction convention? Chief, isn't that what we have Chloe Sullivan for?"

"She's already covering Galaxy-con and besides, the sponsors asked for you three by name."

Lois rolled her eyes. Let me guess. They couldn't get Superman so they settled for the people who have the most interaction with him."

Perry coughed. "Actually, they're trying to compete with Galaxy-con and think having you report on it will give them some prestige."

"Personally, I've always been curious about what goes on at these conventions," Clark said when it looked liked Lois wasn't buying it for a minute. "It could be fun."

Lois glared at her partner then turned her attention back to Perry. "Aren't S.T.A.R. labs or Lexcorp doing anything of interest this week?"

"Actually, Lexcorp is one of the sponsors. Mercy has been trying to do more in the civilian market to try and distance her administration from Luthor's. As for S.T.A.R. labs, they don't have anything they want to make public at the moment. And before you ask, you'd know before I did if inter gang was planning to do anything other than lick its wounds after the smack down Superman gave them last week."

"So I'm stuck with the gathering of geeks," Lois muttered.

"Hey, they can't all be award winners. Just relax and try to have fun with it."

"Alright Chief. But if one pathetic 30 something geek in a cheap Superman costume asks me about my romance with an alien I'm out of there."

"Understood Lane. Now get out of here! The convention has already started."

Lois and Clark turned to go but Jimmy nervously approached Perry's desk

"Um chief?"

"Yes Jimmy," Perry replied not looking up from his work.

"I was wondering what the policy is on bringing guests here?"

"Why, is you're mother coming for a visit?"

"Actually, there's this girl I met last night…"

Perry looked up with a concerned expression. "I'm afraid she'll need a visitor's pass and that may take awhile. A week at least. Are you sure about this girl? I mean you haven't exactly had the best luck with relationships."

"I know, but Maeve is different. She's sweet, friendly, and looks at everything with this sense of wonder."

"OK," Perry said as he reached into his desk, pulled out the form and handed it to Jimmy. "Have her fill out this form and I'll make sure it's rushed through. Now get those goo-goo eyes of yours to the convention."

"Thanks Chief," Jimmy said as he left the office.

Perry chuckled as he watched the young photographer head out and hoped that this girl would be able to change the boy's luck with ladies.

Jimmy found Lois and Clark waiting for him outside the office.

"So, I hear you've got a new girl," Lois said with a smirk as they walked to the elevator.

"You were eavesdropping?"

"We were concerned as to why you weren't following us out," Clark said diplomatically.

"So, who is the latest girl to capture your heart?" Lois pressed. "And when do we get to meet her?"

"In a week," Jimmy said sadly. "That's how long it will take for the visitor's pass to be approved."

"OK, that's how long it will be before you can bring her to the office, but I don't see why we can meet her today." Lois gave him the smile she used to gently pump information.

"What Lois means is, why don't you invite her along to the convention with us?" Clark supplied as they got into the elevator and started their decent. "I mean most of your work is done in the field anyway."

"You mean, like a date?"

"Yes Jimmy, you can date a girl during the daytime," Lois said with a hit of annoyance. "Don't worry. We won't tell Perry."

"I'm not sure. Is a science fiction convention a good idea for a second date?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "Jimmy, compared to what we usually deal with, this convention is mild. I'd say it would make for a good test of the relationship. I mean, if she can't handle a bunch of geeks in costume, how is she going to react when you're snapping pictures of Superman's next fight?"

"Besides," Clark put in, "We won't need you with us the entire time. You can snap a few pictures at key events, and then spend the rest of the day with her."

"Jimmy smiled. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess it could be fun. Alright if we swing by my apartment to pick her up?"

Both reporters arched eyebrows at this as the elevator reached the ground floor.

"It's not like that!" Jimmy exclaimed as they walked out and made their way to the parking garage. "She just got in last night and didn't have a place to stay. So, since Steve's out of town, I let her stay in his room."

"I believe you Jimmy," Clark said as he handed his pal his cell phone. "Now why don't you give her a call and let her know we're coming."

The ringing noise startled Maeve and caused her to drop the album that was slowly being destroyed by her fiery grasp. Her first instinct was to destroy the source of the noise, but then her mind regained control and she remembered what the noise meant. Dowsing the power in her hands she walked over to the phone on the desk and picked up the receiver the way she had seen it done on her magic mirror. She nearly dropped it when she heard Jimmy's voice.

"Hi Maeve. It will be a week before I can take you to visit the office, but I've been assigned to take pictures of one of the sci-fi conventions I told you about yesterday. Would you like to come along?"

"Yes."

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought…"

"Jimmy, I said yes. I'd love to go to this convention with you." I'd love to go anywhere with you, She thought, but didn't say.

"Really? That's great! We'll be right over to pick you up." *Click*

"Jimmy? Jimmy?" She gave the receiver a puzzled look before putting back in its cradle. Her first phone conversation had been an interesting experience. Then the smell of burning plastic brought her back to what she had been doing before the call. She walked over to the blackened mass that had been her knight's private photo collection. In it had been pictures of all kinds of beautiful women. Heroes, villains, and common folk. There were even a few of a green fire elemental that could be nudes. It was so hard to tell with elementals since they weren't always anatomically correct. Some of the pictures were clearly lucky shots, like that one of the red haired giantess with her pink skirt blown up revealing what she wasn't wearing. Others were posed, like the blond in the blue and red outfit with the S emblem across her bosom. She was blowing kisses to the camera. To Jimmy. He was embarrassed to see Maeve in her undergarments yet he was able to take such pictures of these women. Maeve felt another surge of jealousy, but suppressed it this time. The pictures were still beautiful and she was beginning to feel guilty about destroying them. She shouldn't have been looking at them without his permission in the first place. She loved him as deeply as any fairytale princess loved her prince, but this was the real world and she wasn't sure he felt the same about her. By rights she couldn't even blame him for having it. He was a man after all, and though she had very little experience with men, her mother had often told her that all men had the same weaknesses.

Maeve began a spell of restoration to undo the damage done to the album. She would confess to Jimmy about looking through it, though not about destroying it, and hope for his forgiveness and understanding. Perhaps she could convince him to get rid of the album and start a new one filled with her pictures?

"Blast!" Morgan shouted. "The disturbance was too weak and too short for us to get an exact location."

"At least we were able to narrow the search area," Jason said calmly as he studied the map they had been using. The air in his basement sanctum was charged with energy even though the spell they were using was relatively simple. Three drops of blood from both Morgan and Jason, dripped upon four compasses set at the cardinal directions of a map, and infused with their magic. A moment ago those compasses were all pointed to, and magically pulled towards a central location. The speed at which the compasses were pulled was roughly equal to the power of the disturbances they were tracking. This one had been weak and short lived so they had moved slowly. Stopping when the disturbance was no longer detectable.

"The east compass stopped on the coastline so we know she's there somewhere."

"I suppose you were lucky to guess the right continent," Morgan muttered. Jason chose to ignore the backhanded complement.

Finally, Jason stabbed his finger on one spot along the coast. "We will find her in Metropolis."

"How can you be so certain?"

In the mirror behind the witch, Etrigan flipped a wooden nickel, and studied which side landed face up.

"You of all people should know that certain places attract power in one form or another," Jason stated as if explaining a simple fact. "We know she is in a city along this coastline and the only cities that attract power Gotham, and Metropolis. My instincts, the same ones that have helped me track you, say that she is there."

"Very well," Morgan sighed. "Now if only this spell was more portable."

Jason held up a portable GPS. "This is a device that Dr. Fate, Etrigan, and I have developed to make scrying easier and more accurate. Now that it knows what to look for, it can lead us to her."

"I must admit that I'm actually impressed," Morgan said as he handed her the device that was a fusion of science and magic.

"Now, before we head off, I think it's time to change." Jason walked over to the mirror and spoke the words that would transform him into his counterpart. "Change, change the form of man. Free the prince forever damned. Free the might from fleshy mire. Boil the blood in heart of fire. Gone, gone the form of man! Rise the demon Etrigan!"

Morgan watched as Jason transformed into the demon, while in the mirror, the demon changed into Jason. Once the transformation was complete, Morgan set aside the Enchanted Global Positioning System and clapped her hands without enthusiasm. "My, that was a show, the full incantation and watching both sides of the transformation. Now, if you're finished showing off, we must leave."

She was about to say more, but the Demon turned and grabbed her by the throat. Smiling, he lifted her up and began to squeeze as he said, "I've been waiting a long time to do this."