Chapter three - Distance
He couldn't take any more, so he kissed her.
It was by no means gentle. His lips slammed against hers. His eyes closed forcefully tears threating to well up in them. Clinging to her fiercely, he was unwilling or unable to let her pull away. His lips tangled with hers and when her lips gave way it was from surprise not passion. He didn't care. She felt like, smelled like, and oh she tasted like Lois. She tried to pull away, what small part of him recognized this could not stop the flood gate. Years of frustration, anger, loneliness, and pain, Oh God the pain, were pouring out of him into the kiss, tainting it. It was stabbing pain swimming in bliss. He could feel her here, he could be forgiven, he could almost forget that it wasn't real.
She was finally able to worm her hands between them and push away at his chest. The tide pasted, the spell broke and he let her go. The cold that covered him was painful and biting. He felt his emptiness.
When he looked down at her finally. Her face was flushed, her lips slightly swollen, her eyes an unreadable swirl of chaotic emotions. Would she hit him? Hug him? Yell at him? Dig for answers? Run away from him?
Before these questions could be answered a small noise alerted him to the now ajar door with 8 or so members of the Justice League crammed up in it staring at them with wide eyes and slack jaws. Of course, the chair. She may have failed to notice it but it was foolish to think that everyone else would. Though in truth he hadn't thought of it at all.
She looked up at his face then followed his gaze, flushing even brighter at their audience.
"What?" She yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. "You people have nothing better to do then stare at me all day? Go!" Her arms left her chest as she pointed to them with her right and her left came to her hip, "Get lives!"
They all continued to stare. Some had flinched, some blinked, others' eyes grew wider. There would be no privacy here. Not after what they had witnessed. Even if he scared them out of the room, they would be back. Maybe invisible, maybe as a new chair, but no matter how they would come back.
He grabbed a hold of... she's not Lois... her outstretched arm and walked her to the door. She stumbled along behind him, obviously still a little dazed.
When they reached their audience, headed by the Flash, typical, a stair and the word "move" was enough for them to part out of his way.
His grip on her arm tightened as he dragged her through the whispering crowed. He could have heard ever word they said, but he didn't need to listen to know. They had caught cold emotionless Superman kissing some girl who claimed to be Lois Lane. The Lois Lane who rumor still persisted was the great love of Superman's life before he lost her to Clark Kent. He found that funny once, so had Lois. He vividly remembered one evening so long ago when she had looked up at him with such sincerity and asked 'Smallville, did I break your heart when I married you?' The memory stung.
His thoughts went silent as they emerged from the outpost, onto the streets of Metropolis. He looked back to the girl, who is not Lois, when he realized she had stop struggling against him and talking. She been trying to get out of his iron grip and complaining the whole way up till now. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she looked out into the Metropolis skyline. The Daily Planet globe was somewhat visible from here but overshadowed by several larger skyscrapers.
If she were to be believed then she was from when Lois had briefly shared the apartment above the talon with Chloe then this was a far cry from her Metropolis or any other city she may have seen. That would fit with how old she looked and her identification of him. That was before the glasses, before the cape, before any of the acts, before he had realized he loved her... But I don't believe her, so that doesn't matter. The thought wasn't as reassuring as it had once been.
He was so lost in his thoughts he had not stopped to think about where they were going. He had even failed to note the fact that he was walking down the busy streets in his Superman uniform dragging a girl in pajamas behind him. Flickers and flashes of light surrounded them as anyone who had anything that could take pictures or video was doing so.
She came back to herself and started pulling on his arm trying to break free.
"Slow down!" she hissed, "and let me go, I don't appreciate being dragged around." He felt the arm he was hold twist slight. "Hey! I almost lost a slipper back there Clark..."
At the name Clark he almost panicked, he was Superman out in public being called Clark... Then reality sunk back in. She wasn't Lois and this wasn't the past. Old habits. Even if these people did believe her, even if they did get Clark Kent out of it, he had nothing left to hide He could tell ever major news network in existence that Clark Kent was Superman and it wouldn't change anything for him. When had buried Clark Kent, shortly after he was forced to bury his wife, the list of people he actually knew in attendance was minimal. Those that were there then are gone now. He had no friends or family left to protect.
Another bright flash brought him out of the past. She was still talking.
"Clark slow down! Where are we even going?"
Good question. Where could he take her? The Fortress was out of the question, the damage that she could do there was far too great. Any Justice league base would be filled with questions he didn't want to answer. No he had to think of somewhere else they could go. Somewhere without a thousand prying eyes, or dangerous technology and information.
He looked around and it hit him like a punch to the gut. He had been taking her somewhere specific this entire time. The road they were on was etched into his mind, he had walk this street so many times. Much had changed but he still knew it. The idea made the knots return to his stomach, but it was an inescapable fact.
He was taking her home.
