Unsurprisingly, Clark's cell phone was inundated with calls from his fellow reporters and the chief himself, demanding that he return to the Planet for an emergency staff meeting. He grimaced as he slipped on yet another pair of costume glasses and turned to Diana. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work and find out what they plan to report about you."

Diana, for her part, had remained on his sofa as he'd taken several calls and finally relented to return to his work. She had had plans for this night, but it seemed that they were subject to too many interruptions for anything to come of what she'd intended. It was...disappointing, she realized, and she had to fight the urge to command that he remain with her. Only minutes ago, they had been together, kissing and touching. A connection, deeper than any she had known, was forming between this man and herself. Diana wanted more of that, and she knew that Clark did as well, but for whatever reasons, he was withdrawing away from her.

She crossed her arms and huffed, "Fine, then. Go, and I shall remain here."

Regretfully, Clark came and kneeled before her, taking her hands into his. "Diana, I don't want to go- I would stay here if I could, but I have to make sure that no one at the Planet writes anything that could be construed as inflamatory. The last thing the public needs is another crisis to panic over, and I won't let anyone derail your intent to reveal your people if I can help it."

She blinked at his words, chagrinned. "You're going to prevent them from painting me as a monster?"

Clark smiled. "You could say that. All the news outlets owned by Luthor probably already have, but I'll be damned if anyone at the Planet makes the same mistake." He leaned forward to kiss her, then, and Diana surprised him by deepening it fiercely. She would have him satisfy her newfound desire.

"Go then, Clark. We have things to discuss once you return."

Clark fought the urge to ignore the emergency meeting called by the cheif, though it was almost impossible. He gritted his teeth, angry that he had such an alluring woman in his apartment- a woman who had made it clear that she wanted him, a woman that he could have without the constant fear that he'd hurt her- and yet here he was, pretending clumsiness and dishevelment. If so much wasn't at stake, he would have gone back to the apartment and dealt with whatever fallout when he and Diana had finished what she had started on the sofa.

When this meeting is over, I'm flying straight back to Diana...

He stepped onto the elevator and held the door for a few other people who had likewise been called in. So wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed that Lois had been among the other passengers until she tapped at his arm.

"It's nice to see that you're healing up, Clark."

It took him a moment to remember that, as far as she knew, he was still recovering from his injuries and subsequent coma. Clark cleared his throat. "Thank you, Lois. You know, it feels like I haven't even left the office- we were let off for the weekend only a few hours ago, but the news never takes a day off." He remarked lightly.

She smiled and swatted at him playfully, excitement coloring her face. He'd always felt the most attracted to her when she was like this, excited, passionate and determined to tackle a new story. It all seemed so far away, now, but he would be a lucky man to count Lois among his friends. "God, Smallville, what's next, the weather? Don't you dare tell me you haven't seen the news or the online videos!"

"Oh, you must mean the woman who-"

"Of course the woman! My God, Clark, she's an instant sensation- what do you think she is?"

"Well, I don't know." He shrugged noncommitally. "I'm sure Perry will have plenty of incentives for us if we can get an interview, though."

"From what I saw, she can do everything Superman can- maybe she's another Kryptonian. Hell, Superman's been gone so long, maybe the kryptonite did something to his DNA- maybe it changed him into the woman!" Lois laughed, the others in the elevator also had a laugh at her candor.

Clark frowned. Maybe it was time to reveal that Superman had come back after all. "That's ridiculous, Lois, a story better fit for the tabloids than the Planet."

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. "Yeah, yeah, so they tell me."

"Besides, if kryptonite had the power to change Superman into a woman, I think you would be the first to know." He said slyly.

"And just what exactly are you implying?"

Clark cleared his throat. "Oh, nothing, just that…well, you know, you always managed to get all of the best exclusives."

"That was ages ago, Clark, some of us have moved on. Besides, Perry's so hot for a story he might get back to reporting on his own for this one."

"I know, he called me at home." He said with a small measure of annoyance. He'd give all he had to get back to Diana, but all the same he knew he had to be present for the meeting to make sure no one got it into their heads to suggest that she was any kind of threat to Metropolis or the world.

Lois raised her brows at him. "Oh, come on, you really mean to tell me that you'd rather be puttering around the apartment? Get back into the swing of things, Smallville, there's a story out there that will change the world!"

Once the majority of the staff had made it to the conference room, Perry didn't bother to waste time once he got in the door. All chatter ceased as the man dropped several blown-up photographs onto the middle of the table.

"Now, you all know why we're here- we're here because of her." He gestured to the photos, all of them blurred, half-obscured pictures of Diana fighting the Elemental. "Who is she? What is she? Where did she come from and what is she doing here? Jimmy!"

"Yes, Chief?"

"Shots. I want shots of her the next time she shows up- I want them up close and focused, I want to see every eyelash, no more of that far away, blurry mess that you gave me with Superman. They have to be out there, post on the Planet website that we can outbid anything the tabloids would pay for a decent damn picture. In the meantime, in case she shows up again, post temps on every street corner and rooftop if you have to, but I'll be damned if any other paper, blog site or tabloid beats us to the punch on a decent picture of her." Perry said. Who would be brave enough to argue with him?

Hurriedly, Jimmy scribbled some notes, his mind already racing on where he could find new interns on such short notice. "Yes, sir."

"Cecile?"

"Yes, sir."

"Stay close to Jimmy. Any close-ups the photo team can find of the woman's clothes could point to where she came from- if nothing else, your fashion section can make a trend of her accessories, get started. I was there in the crowd, the woman was wearing thick silver bracelets and a blue skirt. See if you can't make a trend with that."

"You got it."

Lois raised her hand. "Perry?"

"What, Lane?"

"How are we going to write about her- whoever she is- when we have nothing to go on?"

The cheif narrowed his eyes. "I know what you're thinking, Lane, and if you try any of your stunts I won't hesitate to fire your ass."

"But Chief-"

"No more fake muggings, no more fake suicide attempts on the roof- do you understand me?"

"How else are we going to draw her to us and get her to talk?" Lois demaned, irritated now. Her stunts were cheap, she'd be the first to admit it, but the risks always brought rewards in the form of exclusives and her talent as a reporter had always brought recognition to the Planet- and now her hands were tied.

"We won't. I won't have any of my reporters pulling a stunt that could get them killed for a story. We're going to use the lost art of quality investigative journalism to pin down where this woman came from. She didn't drop in from nothingness. She didn't appear out of nowhere. Lane, I want you and Kent teaming on this story."

"Yes, Chief."

It was two hours before Clark made it back to his apartment and to Diana. Perry had been on fire, dishing out assignments and objectives to all the staff, the older man's drive had been somewhat infectious. As he walked back to his building, Clark had formed a list of questions to ask of Diana. Nothing too intrusive, but there were things that he hadn't asked of her before that were now on his mind.

He stepped into his apartment and found it dark. "Diana?" He called out.

Carefully, he placed the bag of treats he'd picked up on the counter. "Diana, are you here?"

"I am."

He turned around and dropped his keys at the sight of her. Diana stood before him, clad only in a red satin chemise. He had seen her wearing less, but it was the look in her eyes that captured him. He felt the blood drain from his head and heat begin to rise in his body. His mouth was suddenly dry and his mind was blank save for the urge to move forward and claim her as his own.

Diana stared back at him, waiting for him to speak. The man seemed frozen, his eyes heated but his body had gone very still. She had seen him this way before, on Themyscira, when they had been alone in the dungeon. He had kissed her, then. She wanted his kiss again, and more.

She touched his arm, breaking the trance. "Clark."

"I'm...I just got back. Brought you your favorite," he gestured to the ice cream on the counter.

Diana smiled, loving his generous nature, but as much as she loved the ice cream, she wanted his love more.

"It can wait."

Diana kissed him, then, and Clark found himself blissfully, wonderfully lost for the first time in his life.

Clark woke up early, though he wasn't sure how- he was exhausted in the most pleasing of ways. He turned and saw that Diana was sleeping beside him, naked as the day she was born. Or, in her case, molded. He smiled to himself, thinking how absurdly wonderful it was that they were together. Them, the only ones of their kind, no longer alone. He kissed the curve of her bare shoulder, wanting her again, but he ignored the urge.

Diana had been a virgin and he worried that he might hurt her if they tried again so soon after the night before. Not that she couldn't hurt him back, which was an amazing thing to him. Here was a woman of strength in every aspect: her body, her mind, her convictions. He was in love and he couldn't stop smiling.

He moved from the bed and drew on a pair of plain black pants he usually slept in, deciding against a shirt. Looking through the wall and into the living room, he spied his cell phone held a few new texts from Lois. He sighed lightly. Work was the furthest thing from his mind; he'd rather stay in for the rest of the weekend with Diana.

Clark took up his phone and flicked through the messages.

Where r u?

Jimmy found better quality pics of flying woman

Call me asap

He rolled his eyes. It was strange to look back and think of how he'd loved Lois for the last few years, even as he'd been lying to her the entire time. She'd been so dazzled by Superman and he...well, he'd been dazzled by her, too. Perhaps so dazzled that he hadn't given her the chance to learn about Clark Kent. No. He'd kept Superman and Clark separate, one of so many mistakes he'd made in his infatuation with Lois.

But that had come to an end for a reason.

He glanced through the wall again, to see Diana in his bed, her breathing still even and deep. She was amazing and like all women, a bundle of contradictions. Warrior, princess, diplomat, heroine, Amazon, woman...there was so much he wanted to ask her. They had spent so long on learning of the world outside of Themyscira that he had forgotten the questions he still had regarding her culture and people.

Well.

There was no time like the present.