I had to stop by my office to grab my gloves and purse, so Mr. White followed me. "Lois," he asked, "do you wish that you took the whole day off?"

"For the wedding?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "We all could have taken today off and we wouldn't be on our toes waiting for something awful to happen."

"I don't think Clark and I could have it any other way," I smiled.

"Well when you are marrying Superman, you have to get used to being targeted," the Chief smirked.

"How- But he- Whe- What are you talking about?" I tried to cover my shock.

"I am talking about your marriage," he replied.

"But I am marrying Clark, not Superman," I pointed out his obvious mistake.

"Lois," he sighed, "why does everyone think that just because I am stationed at my desk in my old age, that my journalistic instincts are rusty?'

"Oh," I tried once again to backtrack. "Chief, it isn't that. But do you really think that Clark Kent can be Superman?"

"I don't think, Lois," he smiled. "I know."

"How?"

"My suspicions were confirmed when he was determined to get you and Jimmy for Beldad," He laughed.

"Why haven't you said anything until now?"

"What should I say? I get amazing scoops, and he is doing a lot of good for the city. There is nothing to say."

"What about the possible conflict of interest?"

"There are some moral gray areas that we need to navigate but that is my job," Perry reminded me. He held out his arm for me to take. "Well Miss Lane, shall we go?"

I took his arm with arm with a smile, "We shall."

Once out of the building we approached Mr. White's car, "Do you want me to drive?" I offered.

"Yes, please. I need to practice my speech."

"Just a minute, Miss Lane," I heard someone whisper, "Drive out as usual except that instead of taking the right turn toward the Civic Center, turn left and head out of the city."

I put my foot to the pedal and followed directions. I saw Mr. White out of the corner of my eye and he took stock of where we were going. I felt the stare that was leveled at the back of my neck. He remained quiet but I knew he was smirking under that lead mask.

We finally pulled in front of a small cottage. The man in the lead mask ordered us to get out and we were met by a second lead masked man at the door. It wasn't even a cottage, it was a one-room shack furnished with a horridly uncomfortable couch, a couple of wooden chairs, and a rotting rug. We were forced to sit on the couch, I swear I am sitting on an exposed spring.

"I suppose this is what you call a hideout," I quipped.

"It isn't much, Miss Lane," One of the men replied, "but it will serve our purpose."

"Of course, you realize that we know every mile of the route we took," Mr. White calmly informed out captors, "and we also know exactly where this place is."

The man laughed. "It doesn't matter Mr. White. You're not gonna be around to tell anyone."

The other man stepped forward to address, "And as a matter of fact, I don't think you could remember the route we took."

Mr. White scoffed.

"Oh, for example, suppose you wanted to tell, uh, young Mr. Olsen, say how to get here. What would you say?"

"I'd say, Olsen," he began, "get in your car, take the Crestlake Road about four miles past Bellville. Take the first right turn past the railroad track on a dirt road. The first house you see will be where you'll find Miss Lane and me, and a couple of stupid crooks."

"That pretty good," The man sounded shocked. "Now do you mind repeating that message when I get Mr. Olsen on the line?"

"I certainly would mind. Gun or no gun, I won't do it."

They didn't reply, just dialed and asked for Mr. James Olsen. about twenty seconds later they started playing Mr. White's message. Why of all the dirty rotten, low-down-

"I was afraid you might not repeat the message, so I took the precaution of recording your words on a portable tape recorder."

"Well, that's a dirty trick," I growled.

"All's fair, Miss Lane," he snapped. "And now we must be going again. Each of you has a date with destiny. The last date. Now outside, both of you."

I followed Mr. White out the door, "Mr. White you are going in the green car, and Miss Lane you are riding in this car. He opened the back door and shoved me in. Yet another man in a lead mask was waiting and wasted no time in tieing my arms behind my back.

I thought about all the options I had, which were either scream or remain silent until I had a real opportunity to get help. Before I could decide it was decided for me as a gag was tied tightly between my teeth.

"I'm sure you are wondering where we are going, Miss Lane," One of my captors asked. I shrugged and tried to look unimpressed. "Well, I have something in store for you that will be the perfect end for Lois Lane, the intrepid investigative reporter for the illustrious Daily Planet." He began laughing maniacally. "How do you feel about train tracks?"

"You wouldn't," I snarled but the translation was lost in behind the cloth in my mouth. We pulled next to the track and I was ushered out of the car. I tried to struggle against my ties but with two captors against me, I had no chance. Soon enough I was lying across the track just like in those old west serial shorts.

"I think you are a great damsel in distress," he mocked as he stood over me. "You were supposed to get married today, weren't you?"

I narrowed my eyes in on where his eyes should be behind that awful mask. He began to laugh again, "Don't worry, Miss Lane, your fiancé will not be missing you for long. Do you want to know what the boss has in store for him?"

I tried not to react, but he was going to tell me whether I reacted or not. "Mr. Kent is going to beg for his life over a vat of acid, and once the motor starts you will be the last thing on his mind as he dies. That should give you pleasure, right?"

I took a deep breath through my nose and closed my eyes. I hoped that he knew I was done with the conversation.

"Die well, Miss Lane."

Rot in jail, sir.

Clark, I know that you are going to get here, but please don't wait until the last possible minute.

I could hear the train whistle in the distance... This can't be my fate. Once again I struggled against the ties hoping that I've loosened something. This is what I call cutting it close, Superman!

I heard another whistle and this time I could see the engine coming around the bend. Clark... Clark... CLARK!

"Clark!" I screamed in relief as my red and blue savior swooped in to grab my ropes. The restraints broke easily against his tugs. He picked me up and rushed me to safety, putting me between a rock wall and the approaching train. Once I knew I was safe in his arms I pulled him in for a kiss, planning to never let go again. He responded in kind, no hesitation, no question of motives, just pure happiness that we were together.

Once the train was fully past we came up for a breath.

"Are you alright, Lois," He asked.

"Yes, thanks to you." I smiled, "but what about Mr. White?"

"Well, he's alright now," Superman informed me. "He is hitching a ride to the Daily Planet building."

"Oh thank heavens," I sighed.

"But I'm very worried about Jimmy Olsen. I don't know how far he's driven on Crestlake road."

"But Jimmy's a good driver," I insisted.

"That's not gonna help him much now," he stated, "His brakes and steering gear have been sabotaged. I have to go after him. Are you going to hitch a ride out of here, Lois?" I nodded to assure him that I would be fine. "Then I will be off. I love you, Lois."

"I love you, Clark. Now go get that boy." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and flew off.

I looked around at the open blue sky that floated above me, the birds in the distance seemed to celebrate that I was alive. I was able to find my way back to the main highway pretty easily, it was hitching a ride the proved difficult since there seemed to be no one on the road to Metropolis this afternoon. Finally, I caught the attention of a highway patrol officer who was more than willing to escort me back to town.

Once we were all back in at the Daily Planet building we met in Perry White's office for the official police debriefing.

"...So naturally, when we got down to headquarters, the rest was easy," Inspector Henderson explained, "Superman used his x-ray eyes to see which one had the key which unlocked all the lead masks. Naturally, he was the ring leader. Now they'll all go to prison for a long, long time."

Mr. White looked straight at me and Clark, "Well, we surely owe our lives to Superman... all of us."

"We certainly do, don't we, Clark," I teased.

Clark smiled and addressed the group, "Well I can honestly say, if it weren't for Superman, I wouldn't be here."

We all laughed at that, but Inspector Henderson was the one that changed the topic, "I am really glad that you are all safe and sound, but it is my duty as the best man to get the groom to the church on time. That being said it is time to go."

Clark looked at his watch, "I would say you are right, Bill."

"Well, I think that is our cue as well, Miss Lane," Jimmy spoke up. Clark and I shared a quick side look before agreeing to go our separate ways.

"See you at church," he whispered.

"Can't wait, " I giggled. "Alright, Jimmy let's go."