A/N: So. The reason why I've been so slow going at updating this story (besides other ideas and RL getting in the way) is because I knew exactly where to take it. I've had some pieces written up for what seems like forever. But I wanted to try another direction... only to find the one I was going in to be the only possible outcome in my mind. So, I'm going to just go with it and let the pieces fall where they may. If you don't like it... then tough luck. :P Seriously, though, please let me know how you like it as I go along. I promise also to come back and update some of my other stories soon(-ish?).

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not getting paid for this (despite the fact that Amazon is now opening up some fanfictions into the realm of paid writing! which is simultaneously exciting and distressing- I know I'm not gonna pay for something that I could get for free and even if some of it is fantastically good I don't want it to destroy the sense of community we have here). Also, I am currently missing the top of the key for the letter "r" right now, so if you see any words that should have an "r" in them but don't (like if Clark looks more like Clak)... Yeah. That's on me. Let me know!

So far, everything had been fine. Lucy was now seven months pregnant and hadn't shown up as UltraWoman for the last three of them. There had been whispers, of course, people slowly beginning to wonder what had happened to her. Superman had remained staunchly oblivious to that fact, though Clark recognized it immediately. He knew a time would come when he'd have to start explaining her absences and excusing her from public events.

He just hadn't expected it to start like this.

The wreckage was extensive. He hadn't had any time for prevention- there had been no warning, threat or even hint of the matter. Just that one moment, there was a building, and the next moment, there was not.

Clark sighed. He hated bombs. It was so up in the air. It was an office space, judging be the amount of half burnt papers and pieces of desks there were littering the ground and air. Luckily, it was a Sunday, which meant that not many people had been in the office at the time. Clark cringed to think of what the damage might have been if it had been a work day. Already, it was stark.

The fact that it was a weekend meant the killer was either extremely nervous or very smart. No one would be inside, on the one hand, and therefore he could make a point without causing too much damage. On the other hand, though, it also meant no one would be around to catch him. And the police would be looking for a different M.O.

Clark prayed it was a case of the former.

But of course, when things that are big deals like this happen, people were expecting more than just Superman's help. And that's when the questions started.

"Superman! Superman! Where's your daughter?"

"Have you seen UltraWoman lately?"

"Yeah, she hasn't been around recently, has she? What's going on?"

It would quickly spiral out of control, he knew.

They had their story all worked out. He hoped it worked. "UltraWoman is on the mend. She's been pretty upset that she hasn't been able to help lately, but we expect her to make a full recovery."

There was a brief silence among the audience before a cacophony of sound erupted, as Clark expected would happen. Voices and shouts swirled as they bombarded him, drowning out the sounds of the city surrounding him. He could go help at that car crash he'd heard in the distance, or that kid with the cat stuck in the tree, or any of the various going ons of the large city. But he knew he had to address this first. Already the clamoring was getting out of control.

"Wait- what?"

"Superman, what happened?"

"The news never reported anything about her being hurt-"

"Please, everyone," Clark cut in with his best Superman voice. "I apologize, I probably shouldn't have said anything. My daughter's probably going to be upset that I said something, but I figure there's not much harm at this point."

"Superman, what happened?" Gil from the Planet called out again.

Clark nodded to him, wondering slightly what was holding Lois up. She was supposed to be there, asking some crucial and misdirecting questions... Perhaps she was stuck in traffic. "UltraWoman was subjected to some rather intensive Kryptonite poisoning. She only recently was found and-"

"Found? You mean someone took her?"

"Yes," Superman shifted uncomfortably, giving the appearance of nervousness about revealing so much.

"Did you catch the person who did it?"

"Not yet," he spoke cautiously. This was starting to drift into murkier waters. Where was Lois?

"How is UltraWoman doing?"

A look of mild relief crossed the hero's face at the simplicity of the question. "Like I said, she's recovering. Slowly but surely. It'll be a while yet before she'll be back out saving the world."

"Is she staying home with her mother?"

Clark felt his jaw muscle twitch. Somehow they always brought it back around to this. The public was always desperate to know who Lucy's mother, and by extension, Superman's wife was. It got irritating, having to brush the question away constantly. He and Lucy had agreed to always treat the matter as if she weren't alive and it was difficult to talk about, and that was why they never responded to the questions. Clark cleared his throat before addressing the question. "Uh, no. No. UltraWoman is in one of the best places I know, though."

He knew that answer wouldn't be good enough for the public for long. He suddenly pretended to have heard something and gave a weak smile. "Duty calls." And in a flash, he left all of their questions behind and took to the skies.

Clark landed atop the Daily Planet rooftop and was midway through changing his clothes when his cellphone rang. He picked it up wearing his slacks and his unbuttoned buttondown shirt. "Hello?"

"Dad?"

Clark sighed, slowly buttoning his shirt as he spoke. "You saw what I said?"

"What? No. Wait, why? What did you say?"

Clark ignored her questions for now, figuring he'd deal with that later. "Uh, nothing. You'll hear about it soon enough. What's your thing first?"

"Um, okay," Lucy was a little confused, but other things were on her mind at the present. "Have you seen Mom? She said she'd take me to my appointment this morning because Chris had surgeries scheduled during most of the day, and it's two o'clock already and my appointment's supposed to start right now and she's still not here."

Clark frowned. That wasn't like Lois at all. "Where did you tell her to meet you?"

"At the apartment. I've tried texting and calling her and nothing. She said she'd be there for me," her voice trailed off into a concerned whine.

Clark suddenly felt his gut twist up. Something wasn't right about this. "Well, I just got back to the Planet. Maybe she's just working on a story and lost track of time. I'm heading down right now." He hurried down the stairwell as he slipped his glasses on.

"Dad, I called her desk at the Planet several times. She hasn't picked up. I'm getting worried."

"She's probably out chasing down a hot lead, then."

"Without her cell phone?"

"Maybe it died," he retorted. She had to stop talking like that. It was riling him up and making him tense. There were a number of reasonable explanations why his wife of thirty-two years wasn't answering her phone calls, or showing up to her appointments. It didn't mean anything. She'd done stuff like this a million times over. It was just an interesting story, or she was undercover, or maybe just dealing with something else.

Or maybe she was kidnapped.

That had happened many times, too. Not as often anymore, what with Luthor gone, but it wasn't so far-fetched. Lois had a nose for getting into trouble, and age had not done anything to tame that. Clark swallowed down his panic and forced himself to breathe a moment before replying to his daughter. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to snap at you, sweetie. You're just making me a little bit nervous."

"Sorry," her tone was genuine, and he knew she was just worried and nervous about her appointment. "Just let me know if you find her, okay? I'm going to call the doctor's office and reschedule my appointment."

"You sure? I could take you still," he paused right outside the doorway which would lead to the Planet's bullpen, triple checking to make sure he hadn't absent-mindedly forgotten to do something. He straightened his tie and ran his fingers through his hair to give it its usual, loose look.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just tell Mom to plug in her cell phone next time, all right?"

"Will do."

"So what did you say that you seemed to think would worry me?"

Clark thought back to his impromptu interview, now feeling so long ago. "Nothing. You'll catch it on the news cycle later I'm sure. I gotta go."

"All right. Love you."

"Love you too," Clark repled absently into the phone as he pushed through the stairwell door and into the chaos of the Daily Planet. He scanned his surroundings of the office frantically.

No Lois.

Clark Kent started to panic.

No, he told himself. You're being ridiculous. She's fine. She's fine. He clamped down on his rising panic and tried to stay as calm as possible on his path from his desk to Jimmy Olsen's office.

The door was closed but Clark went in anyway. "Sorry to bother you Jim, but-"

"Uh, Kent, can it wait?"

Clark glanced over at the man sitting across from Jimmy. He looked serious, but nothing to stop Superman. "No, it can't wait, Jimmy. You seen Lois?"

"No, I haven't. She left at about one-thirty, saying something about heading out to take Lucy to her appointment."

"Lucy says she never showed up."

That got Jimmy's attention. He frowned, sending his guest an apologetic look before turning back to look at Clark. "Maybe she got distracted? Caught an interview or something?"

Clark shook his head firmly. "No. Ever since Lucy's been pregnant, she's been extra attentive and careful with her. There's no way she got distracted before her daughter's ultrasound."

"Did you try her cell?"

"Lucy says she hasn't picked up."

Jimmy nodded solemnly. "Why don't you go see if you can try to find Superman? Perhaps he'll know where to find her. I wouldn't put it past Lois to be kidnapped and hanging from the rooftop of some building."

Clark nodded and fidgetted with the collar of his shirt. "Thank you, sir. Sorry for interrupting." He nodded to the other man before quickly striding across the bullpen and into the waiting elevator.

The doors had barely closed before Clark took off.

A/N #2: So, the "e" broke while I was typing this too, so I also apologize for any of those that are missing. It makes typing really slow, too. Sigh. I think I need to get a new computer. Oh wait, I'm broke. I guess I just have to figure out how to fix it. Please review!