It turned out that there were three Lois Lanes in Metropolis, according to the out-dated phonebooks inside the different phone booths Clark had chosen to check. He had looked at a few different phonebooks because they were old (how old, he didn't know—they weren't dated), and inconsiderate people would often tear out the pages. Most likely, she had moved several times. Not too odd of an occurrence in a big city like this one.

Clark, clad in black clothing, decided to go check out each address. The apartment building the first phonebook directed him to was burnt down. He checked out the building she was listed under in the second phonebook, but he found out that it was torn down. So, he finally walked to the building the third phonebook claimed was hers. This one was intact.

He didn't want to intrude on her privacy, so it was with hesitancy that he scanned the building with his X-ray vision. Not that room...Definitely not that one...Ah, there she was.

Lois was sitting on her bed, leaning her back against a few pillows. She was watching a soap opera in her room while snacking on popcorn, a box of tissue waiting faithfully beside her.

Clark shifted slightly to catch the door's number, but he was stopped by the sudden stench of fear drifting towards him from a nearby alley.

His acute hearing caught the sounds of struggling and moaning. He tried to ignore it and figure out her apartment number again, but he finally sighed in resignation. He couldn't stand by when an innocent victim was in trouble.

Clark jogged over to the alley, calling out in a commanding voice, "Leave him alone!"

Knife in hand, the mugger let go of the man he was holding tightly by the collar, dropping him to the ground. "Stay outta this, bub...Unless you wanna fork over your dough, too?"

Clark put his fists up protectively. He didn't need to, due to his invulnerability, but it was necessary if he wanted to keep his secret...well, secret. "Get out of here."

"Lemme think about that...Ah...I'm thinking no," the snarling man stepped forward menacingly.

"Okay, but I warned you." Clark came a little closer to the blade-wielding individual, throwing a few quick punches at his chest while dodging the knife.

The man fell backwards, the air knocked out of him. Clark stepped over to him, quickly finding the pressure point in his neck and knocking him out.

The man's victim looked timidly at him. "T-t-thank you."

Clark smiled. "No problem. You might want to find a phone and call the police." With that suggestion, Clark disappeared, leaving the man speechless in his wake.

He swiftly hurried up the stairs to Lois's apartment, stopping outside her door and wrinkling his nose distastefully.

He could smell his own fear.

Clark was only rarely frightened of anything, and it surprised him that he was merely afraid of speaking with a woman that he didn't know. He took in a deep breath and knocked.

"Hold on!" came a muffled shout from inside.

After a few seconds in which Clark's good hearing picked up the sound of several locks being undone, Lois Lane answered the door in a robe. Well, she peeked out anyway, the chain-lock on the door still in. She had a cautious look on her face and didn't appear to be expecting company...

It was kind of late.

Surprisingly enough, Clark didn't sense the large amount of fear he would have expected from her at the thought of a late night visitor. He could mostly sense caution from her.

His nose brought to him the tickling scent of lightly applied perfume, and he forced his thoughts back to the crucial matter at hand, trying to cut off his olfactory sense.

"Yes?" she peeked out at him expectantly. She gave him a vague look, and then her eyes widened in recognition. Perhaps the dyed hair he'd had earlier wasn't a verygood disguise. Not that he minded. It kind of helped that she remembered him. He was also relieved that it was the woman from Luthor's party and not a different Ms. Lane.

Clark dropped his voice. "Ms. Lane, I have some important information for you..." He checked the hall quickly. No one in sight. Still...

"Can I come in?" Clark asked. Luthor had spies everywhere. No point in letting him know that Clark knew more than he was supposed to.

Lois had just started one of her favorite soap operas when a knock on the door had broken her concentration. After shouting at whoever was outside the door to hold on, she had muttered to herself and tightened her robe around her. Upon discovering that outside her door was the handsome man that had found her in Lex's office, she had felt surprise and then delight before pushing both emotions to the back of her mind. The two emotions soon came back after the man told her that he had information and that he wanted to come inside.

She hesitated for only a moment before disabling the chain-lock. If the man had wanted to hurt her, then he could have done so in Lex's office. As for his knowing her name, well, a lot of people knew who Lois Lane was...

Clark felt both relieved and wary when Lois Lane allowed him inside. It was fortunate that he didn't have to talk to her more out in the open...But if he had been someone that harbored her ill will...

Clark glanced quickly behind him to make sure that no one was watching before entering. Seeing no one, he stepped through the doorframe, and Lois closed the door behind him.

He gazed around Lois Lane's apartment. It was a modest apartment that looked like it was occupied by someone who didn't spend too much time at home, although several colorful fish were swimming around in a large and well-kept tank.

"I believe you know my mas—erm, employer, Mr. Luthor..."

Lois Lane nodded.

"It appears that he...ah." Clark wasn't sure how to word what he wanted to say.

This man didn't seem very confident in himself, but he did seem honest at least. Lois could sense his hesitancy, as well as a possible front-page story, and so she offered, "Would you like to sit down?"

"Sure," the man replied, appearing relieved to have the opportunity to recollect his thoughts.

Once they were seated on her couch, he began anew. "Lex Luthor is planning something." He paused, appearing to be steeling himself. "He says that you haven't been responding the way he wants you to."

Lois didn't even bother to hide her confusion. "What do you mean?"

The man was rather blunt, though hardly less confusing. "He doesn't want to be interviewed by you. He has an interest in you romantically, and if he doesn't get what he wants soon, then he will resort to desperate measures...And desperate measures from Luthor are never pretty."

Lois Lane's skepticism flared up. How dare this man come in here and tell her a bunch of lies about Luthor? "Lex is a great man!" she asserted. "He has done so much for this city—what could he do to hurt me?"

The man got up and started pacing. Idly, she thought to herself, He's kind of cute when he's flustered. Then she shoved the thought to the back of her mind, scowling.

"You don't know him like I do. He's a very dangerous man. Surely you don't think that he became one of the richest men in the world because of his honest motives, do you?"

He had a point, but Lois had a counterargument: "He might have done some questionable things on his way to the top, but he's past it all now."

"No, he isn't. Trust me."

"I don't even know you." Lois was starting to become wary as he became emotional. Emotional men only meant trouble for women.

Clark could smell the putrid stench of fear start to waft slowly towards him.

No, not that. Anything but that.

Not more fear.

Not more fear.

"You don't understand!" He was becoming upset as the fear began to overload his olfactory sense and his emotions, and he started twisting more randomly in his pacing back and forth, his breathing quickening. "He's evil. He—" Clark paused, trying to stop himself from hyperventilating and scaring Lois Lane. "He'll do anything to get what he wants! His intentions aren't honest! He kills people...threatens people...He'd do anything to get to you. Anything."

"Then why are you still working for him?" Lois's fear of him was receding, but it was too late. Clark was already starting to get delirious. Painful memories were flooding back...

"Don't you see? I have no choice! He won't let me die! Instead, the pain comes, and the fear...Always the fear...But he won't let me die! He subjects me constantly to the fear. He doesn't care...The pain is horrible...But not as bad as the fear...It all comes back to the fear! And if I run from the pain and the fear, then he'll tell about me! And then the fear comes to me! There's nothing...nothing I can do..." He was throwing his arms in the air frantically and breathing even more quickly than before.

"Calm down," Lois said quietly. She stood and tried to gently push his arms back to his side, but Clark was still in a frenzy and, without thinking, threw her backwards onto the couch, although not even half as hard as his superhuman strength permitted.

The rancid fear came back again, and Clark let out a pained cry and collapsed to the ground, his hands on his temples and his eyes tightly squeezed shut. He shifted from side to side minutely, trembling.

Lois looked at the man sadly for a moment before marking him in her mind as insane and possibly dangerous. Ever the brave one, she went over to him and lightly put a hand on his arm. "Let's get you to a doc—"

"No!" His eyes quickly opened, and he shouted forcefully at her. "They can't do anything! Only he can!"

"Why?" Lois pitied him. He wasn't making much sense and almost appeared to be emotionally abused. Perhaps he'd had a bad home life? She felt a pang of empathy. Her home life hadn't exactly been ideal either...

While he lay trembling on the floor, Clark's voice turned into that of a child's, which was something he was, inwardly at least, despite Luthor's attempts to harden him. "He won't let me tell! He told me not to. He hurts me when I don't do what he says...The pain comes, and even when I'm good, the fear always follows..." He whimpered.

The fear...

Lois had been creeping slowly towards the phone. This man needed some serious help—anyone could see that. But when he began sobbing uncontrollably, her conscience tugged at her, and she reluctantly went over to him. She knelt beside him and patted him in a manner that she hoped was reassuring. "It'll be okay. I won't let him hurt you anymore."

The man's pain- and panic-filled brown eyes turned towards her. "But I can't hide from him. Nobody can. Sooner or later, he'll find you and make you pay."

Lois shook her head and told him slowly, "We can have the police—"

"The police can't do anything. They can be bribed." Strangely, he seemed to be getting a much firmer grip on his emotions. "I have to go. I just wanted to warn you to watch out for him."

But Lois refused to let him get away that easily. "Don't you have anyone you can turn to?"

The childish voice was back. "No...He...he helped me. I should be happy he helpedme." The young voice disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and he spoke with anger, the words he spoke sounding like ones he had heard before. "But I'm an ungrateful wretch. I deserve to be punished. He is my master." He sighed. "I can't betray him anymore than I have..."

Master? Lois thought, worried. That didn't sound too good. "What's your name?"

Clark looked at Lois Lane for a few moments, thinking. Should he give her one of the fake names that Luthor had made him use from time to time?

No, he decided, he should tell her the truth. She deserved honesty.

"Clark," he stated, feeling oddly shy.

"Clark what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't remember. He told me that was my name."

What if it isn't really my name? What if that which I thought to be the only tangible part of my past is actually a lie? Clark felt suddenly devastated.

That poor man, Lois thought. Out loud, she asked, "Why don't you know your own name?"
Lois Lane's question hit Clark like a blow. Why didn't he know his own name? If his master had known his first name, then he should have known his last name as well, shouldn't he have?

He quietly told her, "Amnesia."

His answer seemed unsatisfactory to himself, but his inner guard soon snapped back up. He shouldn't be telling her this. He couldn't trust anyone. That's what his master had always said...

He felt part of himself wanting to rebel against his master's advice. He felt like he could trust her.

Lois sensed she was missing something important, and she inquired, "Has he kept you in his service ever since you got amnesia?"

Clark nodded an affirmative and averted his eyes to the floor.

Good. He seemed to be in control of himself.

She continued her questioning. "How old were you?"

"Eighteen," the man said, closing his eyes and taking in deep breaths.

Eighteen? She frowned. How old was he? He seemed to be around her age...

She asked him how old he was, and he told her: "Twenty-nine."

She did the mental math, and her eyes widened in horror. "Eleven years of service?"

If she could find enough evidence supporting what he said, then this could prove to be one of the biggest stories of the year...And, of course, this man desperately needed her help, and there was no better way to help than to expose his slaver Lex Luthor...

Clark felt suddenly uncomfortable. He shouldn't have said anything. He muttered, "Yeah," and looked nervously around the room. Back. He needed to go back.

"And you've done nothing else since?" Lois Lane asked him.

Clark shook his head. His destiny was to serve his master. That was all life held for him.

"Why haven't you left him?"

"Element X," he said as if it were obvious. "His powers lie in Element X."

"What's that?"

Clark bit his lip. "I can't tell you."

Lois was aggravated. This man came in here with some incredible story about one of the most powerful men in the world, and then he limited the information that he gave her. How the heck was she supposed to help if she didn't have the whole story?

She crossed her arms, staring at him. "Either you can trust me or you can't. Which is it?"

Clark squeezed his eyes shut. He trusted her with his entire being, but he didn't want her to automatically think of him as a disgusting alien...Like his master did.

He whispered, "He has spies everywhere. If I tell you, then you're as likely to get hurt as I am."

"I can take care of myself," Lois stated, sounding annoyed.

"Not from him...Not from him." Clark took a breath. "He always finds a weakness. I have a weakness. You have a weakness...Everyone does. He'll find it, and he can do anything to get what he wants. And he always does in the end."

"If he's so bad, then why don't you want to expose him?" Lois asked.

When he looked up, Lois Lane's eyes caught his. Taking in another breath, he refrained from answering about the fear again, instead telling her, "I have nowhere to go."

"I can find you a place to stay," Lois offered.

"I have no money."

"He never paid you?" Lois sounded shocked.

"He helped me in my time of need, and I have been repaying that debt," Clark told her seriously.

"I think that eleven years has more than repaid any debt. We can find you a job—" Lois was cut off.

"What job? I have no legal experience for any type of career. Who would take me in? How would I hide from Luthor?" These were questions Clark had mulled over during many a restless night. But there was one question he didn't dare voice. How could he keep Luthor from telling the whole world that he was an alien?

"I'm sure my boss, Perry White, could help you find a job. Maybe you could work at the Daily Planet...And if we changed your hair a bit and maybe added some glasses...Surely Lex Luthor wouldn't expect you to be hiding under his nose with your natural hair color..."

"Do you think he would be fooled that easily?" Clark was incredulous.

"Isn't freedom worth taking a chance?" Lois's question hung in the air.

Clark finally spoke, "Why would you do this for me?"

"I like seeing justice done," Lois stated.

"But you think I'm insane." Clark could do more than sense fear. Every now and then, he had telepathic powers that kicked in. He prayed that she didn't notice his slip and put it off to guess-work.

She didn't seem to notice, though she did seem to choose her words carefully. "Not...insane. Just...emotionally abused."

Clark laughed bitterly and muttered, "Not just emotionally..."

"What?"

"Nothing," Clark looked down. She wasn't supposed to hear that.

Lois appeared to be thinking for a few seconds before she spoke again. "And if you worked at the Planet, then you could help me in investigating Luthor...That would be the biggest story of this century!"

Clark swallowed. "Okay...But what if my identity's revealed to Lex?" Then Luthor would tell the world about him...

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Lois took in a deep breath. "It's kind of late...Tonight you can sleep on the couch, and maybe tomorrow night you can bunk at Jimmy's or Perry's." At his blank look, she added, "Jimmy works at the Planet. He's mostly an errand boy right now, but someday he'll be a great photographer or reporter. Don't tell him I said that though," she smiled.

Clark nodded tentatively. "You can trust me."

As Lois went and got a pillow and blankets for him, she thought to herself, I hope so...