Sitting on the roof of the Planet, Lois was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. It had been a week since the incident at the docks, and the entire week had been consumed with one question in her mind: Could Clark Kent and Superman be one in the same? She had spent the entire night of her revelation trying to figure out how someone like Clark could be Superman. When she had seen Clark again on Monday, she felt silly for the thought, as he came in with donuts that he almost dropped four times between the elevator and the breakroom. And he was always working - at his desk, making calls, checking sources, then rushing off to check on a story.
It wasn't until Wednesday that Lois noticed that when Clark had 'run to the bathroom' a few minutes prior, she looked up to see live footage from New York as Superman was stopping a building crane from falling from the skyscraper it had been building. A glance to his desk confirmed Clark wasn't there, and a glance around the newsroom confirmed to Lois that no one was watching her as she got up. With quick, confident steps, she marched into the men's restroom, and not seeing anyone, she checked the stalls, which were all empty.
Marching back to her desk, she was grinning like a cat who had just ate the canary, right up to the moment she realized Clark was sitting at his desk. Stopping in her tracks, she stared agape at Clark as he sat at his desk, who stopped typing to look up at her, before looking behind him, and then back to Lois. Raising his eyebrows in question, he waited for Lois's moment to pass. She turned to look at the TV, which was now playing a repeat of Superman hoisting the crane up in the air, it's massive frame looming over the crowded street. From another angle a news chopper had filmed, you could see the bus below that would have been pancaked were it not for ... Clark? The very idea in her brain made her face twitch as she looked back at him.
Not possessing the ability to form a sentence, Lois straightened up, turned on her heel and went to the roof, her cigarette and the skyline a calming place away from the mystery she was trying to solve.
"Lois, why are you still working on that LexCorp conspiracy article? There's no way a respected paper like The Planet will publish that!" Throwing up his hands, Perry dropped into his chair and glared at Lois. Lois, for her part, glared back, arms crossed. She had been expecting this for a few days now. The Superman articles were getting generic according to Perry - " 'Superman Saves the Day' can only be said interestingly so many times!" was the exact wording he had used. The awkwardness between Clark and Lois had become almost palpable, and the lack of new, interesting sources into the strange alien visitor had caused Perry to push his ace reporter harder. Which now meant that he was trying to kill the story about whatever was happening at the LexCorp warehouse.
Not that Lois was any closer on that front, either.
Her frustration at the inability to resolve the Superman/Clark Kent paradox had caused her to pull back from her partner, which made their forced partnership that much more difficult for Lois to handle.
Speaking of Smallville, his trademark gentle cough before treading into crossing Lois made her roll her eyes and turn her head to glare at him.
"Well Lois, you know, whatever Mr. Luthor has at the docks is dangerous. Maybe you should just let the police know, so they can handle it?"
"Since when have I let the inept police force this city calls law enforcement beat me to a story, Perry? This is a big story! Since when does LexCorp mess with weapons, or lasers for that matter?" Seeing that Perry was having none of it, she sighed, and tried her best version of tact. "Look, Perry, if and when the next big Superman story is up, I'm sure Clark can handle it just fine. Right, Smallville?"
Clark looked at Lois, before looking over to Perry, his face awash in uncertainty.
"Lois!" Perry's deep voice probably shook the glass as he yelled, standing to walk around his desk. "You, this paper, and Superman have become synonymous! I'm not going to mess with that formula while it's working! Now go, find something I can print!" Stopping to point at Clark, Perry continued, "And take him with you! Whatever your problem is, work it out!"
Marching out of Perry's office at a strong clip, Lois barreled through the bullpen toward the elevator, tired of dealing with the large number of annoying men for the time being. Punching the up button repeatedly until it finally relented and opened the door, she pushed the top button, then slapped the door close button. Once the doors closed, Lois gave herself a second to relax against the wall of the elevator as it took it skyward.
Walking out of the stairwell onto the roof, she reached for her cigarettes, which she realized were not with her, but on her desk. With Perry.
And Clark.
Because her day was going so well already, she mused. Screw it, she thought, good enough day to quit as any. Walking up to the parapet, she leaned onto it and looked out into the skyline, the early afternoon sun causing her to squint just slightly as she watched the city below go on with their day. She flashed back to that one perfect night, flying in the sky with Superman.
...Clark?
Closing her eyes at hitting that mental road block again, she sighed as she put her head in her hands, slowly exhaling as her stress abated only slightly. To say that she almost jumped off the roof at the sound of his voice, so close, would be something that Lois would argue with her last breath; however true it may have been.
"Lois, are you alright?"
Standing with her hands now on the edge of the building, the shock having made her stand upright, Lois dawned on the thought as her heart calmed from it's sudden rush that she couldn't tell for certain whose voice had said it - Clark's, or Superman's. Does that mean she's right - or is she just going nuts?
Turning around, she took in the sight of the man standing in front of her. The light hitting his face made indecision useless, and deciding to trust her gut feeling, she straightened her back into her most confident pose as she stalked towards him. Looking him right in the eyes, she reached out slowly to take hold of Clark's glasses. As her fingers touched them, his hands fell upon hers, stopping her from removing them.
"Lois," Clark looked confused as he returned her stare, "what are you doing? Are you ok?"
Lois tilted her head slightly askance, but kept the eye lock on her confused partner as she slowly pulled at his glasses, his warm hands slowing her but not stopping her.
Once removed, she took the glasses in her hands, folding them and placing them in Clark's jacket pocket.
Having her subconscious feelings confirmed brought equal feelings of elation at being right, and realizing that she was standing in front of Superman. Taking in that thought, she broke eye contact, eyes going skywards over his shoulder as the idea that she had been with Superman, while writing a story about Superman, with her partner who was Superman. Eyes connecting with his again, she smacked him in the shoulder as hard as she was willing to attempt against someone who reflected bullets.
"I saved your life, and helped you on how many articles, the least you could have done was be HONEST!" Throwing her hands up in the air, she spun and walked back to the edge of the building, looking out towards the docks, where she had watched him fall to the ground. "I mean, what is your real name?! Where do you actually come from? Who. Are. You?!" Turning her head to glare at him, she considered the weird dichotomy of yelling at Superman in Clark Kent's clothes.
Superman, Clark, ... Superman - Lois was having proper name issues in her head, she realized - for his part stood there, calmly watching her with his bold blue eyes. They stared at each other for several minutes, both having a million thoughts going on in their head.
Inhaling, and then letting the breath out slowly, Superman nodded, then walked slowly towards her, until they were within arms reach.
"Do you have a warm coat?"
Unzipping her parka, Lois gawked around her as she took in the massive crystals that reached into the sky, the warmth of the strange, alien even, place a stark contrast to the bitter cold that they had just come from. It was well lit, although where the light came from Lois was not sure, it seemed to be coming from all over, with no shadows being cast. Stepping gingerly down the steps, she couldn't help but marvel at the structure, what Superman had called his "Fortress of Solitude". She could easily see why he called it that, for while it was warm and large, it was also still and quiet.
"Wow, this place is ... nice." Her smirk the only hit of the understatement she had intended, but Superman's gentle smile in return was evidence he understood what she had really meant.
"This is the last repository of the knowledge of my people, a gift from my birth father. It's where I learned all that I know about my people, and why my parents sent me here." Stepping up the console in the center of the chamber, Superman pushed a spiked crystal down, and in front of them appeared a image of a man, who looked not unlike Superman, in a robe with the same 'S' on his chest.
"They can be a great people, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."
"My birth father sent me to help the people of this planet, just as our planet was dying. I arrived as an infant here on Earth. My name is Clark Kent, and I'm from Smallville, Lois. You asked who I was, and that's who I am." Stepping away from the console, he walked towards her, cape gently billowing in his wake.
"I never lied to you, Lois. This is who I am, I'm an alien who grew up in Kansas. Superman is me, and I am Clark Kent. But Superman could never live a normal life, and my mother and friends would be in danger from those who would hold back the people of Earth for their own gain. It would put you at risk everyday if the world knew."
"I don't know if you've missed this, Su.. Cla.. Smallville, but I'm doing a perfectly fine job of getting myself in danger without you having a guilt trip over it." Walking up to the side of the console, her hand hovered over the side of it, taking in the serene beauty of the crystals that glowed softly. "Although you realize this puts that article you wrote on the Immigration bill in a whole new context? I mean, you're the illegal alien writing about a bill that would attempt to crack down on illegal immigration?"
The Super-smirk was back as he held his hand out to her. "Why do you think I'm such an advocate for the Dream Act?" The line had it's effect, as Lois rolled her eyes and laughed softly while taking his hand. "Ready to go home, Ms. Lane?"
Lois took in the bright palace, closed her eyes to bask in the silence. "Yeah ... but next time can we find a warmer way to get up here?"
Sitting at home that night, Lois watched the nightly news about the amazing rescue Superman had made in Argentina earlier, saving a city from a mudslide that threatened to wipe out the slums completely. To say that the day had been exhausting would be an understatement, but she had learned so much, and thankfully, had a new article for Perry on Superman, his latest statement to the press about what he was doing. Considering that she had made him write slightly more than half of the article, Lois felt almost guilty for taking the whole byline.
Almost.
