Author's Note: Just want to take another opportunity to thank you all for
your reviews, and to encourage others to post some. I'm glad that some of
you are enjoying the guest appearances, and I just want to let you know
that there will be more coming. Well, now back to the show…
For a moment, Lana merely sat in silence, trying to determine what was going on. She'd been caught on elevators before, so she wasn't immediately frightened. Things changed quickly, though, when she heard something land on the top of the car. Quickly, the hatch in the ceiling opened up and a man clad in black dropped down.
"Who…?" Before Lana could get out another word, the man had a gun pointed in her face.
"You're coming with me, Miss Lang." He kept the gun pointed at her and tugged on his rope. He wrapped his arms around her and they were both drawn up the shaft.
"Help! Somebody, Help!" Lana was able to scream before she cleared the elevator shaft. She wasn't sure if anyone would hear her, but maybe Clark would.
Clark had just finally gotten to work when he thought he heard someone crying out for help. It took him a second before he realized that the voice was Lana. He immediately scanned the elevator and realized that it was stuck between floors, and it was empty. When he realized that the top hatch was open, he looked up at the roof of the building, just in time to see a helicopter flying away.
"Chloe, I'm going to step out for a minute. I left something that I need at home." Clark winked at Chloe, letting her know that he was making it up.
"Sure, I'll let Perry know where you are if he asks." She reached out for his hand, a private message passing between them—be careful.
"Thanks." Clark let go of Chloe's hand and made his way to the stairs.
As he made his way down, he tried to think of the best place to change out of his clothes. Finally, he found an empty janitor's closet where he could stash his work clothes until he got back. After changing, he raced up to the roof and began to survey the sky for the helicopter. He couldn't see it anywhere, so he took to the sky. It was the first time he'd ever flown over Metropolis in the daylight; always afraid he'd be recognized by someone. It didn't take long to locate the helicopter, but Lana wasn't there. A quick scan of the surrounding buildings yielded her location.
She was in an abandoned warehouse, on the river. Just like with Chloe the other day, she was being held by men carrying the prototype guns Lois was investigating. Clark realized he would need to be careful to avoid any of the men hurting Lana. Unfortunately, there were too many of them to use the same tactics he'd utilized before. After a short consideration he decided he'd have to lure the guards away from her.
The first opportunity presented itself in the form of the helicopter. By focusing his heat vision on the chopper, Clark was able to cause an explosion that shook the surrounding buildings. Clark checked the room where Lana was being held and saw three of the five guards heading down the stairs to see where the explosion had come from. He took the opportunity to take out the remaining guards. When they were unconscious, he finally untied Lana.
"Superman!" Lana wrapped her arms around her rescuer. "Thank god you were able to find me!"
"We better get out of here before the rest of your guards get back. I'll leave you somewhere safe and then come back for them." He swept her up in his arms and they flew away.
"Superman, or should I say, Clark." She looked at him as they flew towards nearest police station.
"I wondered how long it would take you to make the realization." He smiled back at her.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't have if I hadn't known what you were capable of. You look really different with your hair and eyes like that, not to mention this suit." She reached back and tugged on his cape. "It makes you look so imposing, larger than life."
"That's good; I was a little worried that people would be able to tell it was me." He smiled at her and began his descent. "Stay here until I get back with the bad guys, then I'll take you home."
"Don't worry, Superman. I will." She smiled as Clark sat her down and then took off again.
"Hey, Lois." Jimmy Olson got off the elevator and made his way over to Lois's desk. "Thought you might like to know that Superman's been spotted rescuing some woman over by Hobbes Pier."
"What? Who?" Lois got up immediately and grabbed her purse and notepad.
"I don't know." Jimmy grabbed his camera as he and Lois made their way to the elevator.
Chloe just sat at her desk, smiling. "Have fun, Clark."
"Superman." A police officer in street clothes walked up to Clark and Lana after several other officers had taken the men Superman brought in and began to book them. "I just want to thank you for bringing them here. We've been trying to capture some of these people for a while, but we couldn't because of their guns."
"I'm glad that I could help. It seems that they were the same people who interrupted the Luthor/Wayne benefit last night." Clark extended his hand to the officer. "If I had to make a guess, I'd say that they are after something that the Luthors have. Miss Lang here is a Step-daughter of Lionel and step-sister to Lex, and Lex was one of the people captured last night."
"That's probably a good place to start from, Superman. Oh, by the way, I'm detective Halstrom, Arnie Halstrom." The detective shook Clark's hand.
"Oh, Superman!" Clark turned when he recognized Lois's voice behind him. When he turned around, Jimmy snapped a photo of him that was sure to appear in tomorrow's paper. "Don't think you can run out on me this time."
"Miss Lane." Clark smiled at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Miss Lang, it's good to see you again." Lois extended her hand to Lana. "Though I wish it wasn't under these circumstances. I assume you were the one Superman rescued?"
"Yes, Lois, and please call me Lana." She shook Lois's hand. "Actually, now that the police have had a chance to interview me, and I've been able to thank our hero here, I really need to be going. Like I said earlier, there are things I need to be doing."
"Quite understandable." Lois turned back to face Clark as Lana stood, looking at him.
"Oh, Lois, I'm sorry." Clark remembered he had promised to take Lana home after they were through at the police station. "I'm already promised Lana that I would take her home."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to avoid talking to me, Superman." Lois smiled at him; at the same time he could sense a small amount of disappointment in her voice. "Promise that you'll let me interview you soon?"
"How's later today?" Clark could see Lois's eyes light up. "I can come by your office."
Lois thought she was going to faint. You'll come by the office? "Sounds great!"
"I'll see you later then, Miss Lane." He took Lana in his arms. "Shall we be going?"
"Definitely."
Several minutes later, Lana and Clark were back at Lex and Lana's apartment. "Thanks, again, for saving me, Clark."
"Don't worry about it Lana. You're my friend, and I can help you. If I didn't, that would make me no better than the men who took you. I've realized that recently." Clark stood at an open window, preparing to fly back to the Daily Planet to resume his day as Clark Kent, mild mannered investigative reporter.
"Just the same, thank you, and thank you for saving Lex last night." She went over and gave him a big hug, not wanting to let go. "It's good to have you back in my life."
"It's good to be back in it. When you left for Europe, I thought for sure that you didn't want to ever speak to me again." He broke their embrace, looking her in the face.
"I didn't, but then I realized how much I missed talking to you. You were my best friend, Clark, even before we were together. You got me through the tough times, and I can't lose that just because we're not together anymore." She stopped, breathing in deep before saying what came next. "Don't get me wrong, I still love you, and it still hurts to see you with Chloe. I know how you must have felt, seeing me with Whitney all those years ago, but I can't lose what we had then."
"Don't worry, Lana. I'll always be here for you. You're going to find someone else. I truly believe that." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you." She was desperately trying to hold back tears. "Thank you for being my friend."
"I'll see you later, Lana. Be careful if you go out again. You may want to get some guards. I'm going to pay Lex a visit tonight and see if he has any idea what these guys could be after." With that, he waved goodbye and took off into the sky back towards the Daily Planet building.
Lana just stood there, tears still in her eyes as she whispered into the empty room. "But I want you, Clark. I just want you."
Clark reemerged from the stairwell, dressed in his work clothes. Chloe saw him approaching the desk and pulled him down to whisper in his ear. "I heard you had to rescue Lana."
Clark just nodded and sat back down at his desk. "Has Lois gotten back yet?"
"Not yet, but she called to let me know that Superman plans on stopping by later." She smiled at him.
"Is that so?" he reached in his file drawer to retrieve some of the stories he'd been working on since Monday. "I bet she's pretty excited."
"Everyone's excited." Chloe feigned her amazement.
"Well, I think I'm going to go do some footwork on these stories. I'll see you tonight, your place?" Clark winked at her, and she acknowledged that she'd seen it.
"Sure. Don't forget to pick up dinner." She smiled at him and blew him a kiss as he made his way to the elevator.
"How's Chinese sound?" He smiled silly grin that let her know he meant real Chinese food.
Chloe simply smiled and shook her head. "You spoil me, Clark."
"No, I love you," he managed to say before the elevator door shut and he made his way downstairs.
About an hour after Clark left for the day, Lois returned from the police station where she had managed to interview several people about the guns and the men Superman had captured. She seemed really happy when she sat down next to Chloe and began typing on her computer.
"You really are in a good mood." Chloe looked up from her own work to see the expression on Lois's face.
"It's not everyday, that a reporter gets an exclusive with a Superhero. Especially one as cute as Superman." Lois's eyes fluttered and she sighed after her last comment.
Chloe was slightly taken aback. She was talking about her Clark, but no, she was talking about Superman. To the rest of the world, he wasn't just her Clark anymore. He was Superman now too. "He is kinda cut, but not as cute as Clark."
"Speak for yourself." Lois quickly responded to Chloe's assertion. "But then again, you are in love with Clark."
"You've got that right, and I couldn't be happier." Chloe returned to her typing. "When did he say he'd be by, anyway?"
"Just sometime this afternoon. He didn't say exactly when." Just then, a breeze knocked some papers off Lois's desk and she looked upu to see Superman flying in through a set of open windows.
"I do believe that I promised you an interview, Miss Lane." He walked right over to her desk, everyone in the office transfixed on him. "Do you think we could go to the roof, perhaps?"
Lois tried to regain her composure, unsure of what to say. She finally managed a reply. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Clark just smiled at how awkward Lois was and made his way to the elevator, signaling for Lois to follow. This is going to be interesting.
For a moment, Lana merely sat in silence, trying to determine what was going on. She'd been caught on elevators before, so she wasn't immediately frightened. Things changed quickly, though, when she heard something land on the top of the car. Quickly, the hatch in the ceiling opened up and a man clad in black dropped down.
"Who…?" Before Lana could get out another word, the man had a gun pointed in her face.
"You're coming with me, Miss Lang." He kept the gun pointed at her and tugged on his rope. He wrapped his arms around her and they were both drawn up the shaft.
"Help! Somebody, Help!" Lana was able to scream before she cleared the elevator shaft. She wasn't sure if anyone would hear her, but maybe Clark would.
Clark had just finally gotten to work when he thought he heard someone crying out for help. It took him a second before he realized that the voice was Lana. He immediately scanned the elevator and realized that it was stuck between floors, and it was empty. When he realized that the top hatch was open, he looked up at the roof of the building, just in time to see a helicopter flying away.
"Chloe, I'm going to step out for a minute. I left something that I need at home." Clark winked at Chloe, letting her know that he was making it up.
"Sure, I'll let Perry know where you are if he asks." She reached out for his hand, a private message passing between them—be careful.
"Thanks." Clark let go of Chloe's hand and made his way to the stairs.
As he made his way down, he tried to think of the best place to change out of his clothes. Finally, he found an empty janitor's closet where he could stash his work clothes until he got back. After changing, he raced up to the roof and began to survey the sky for the helicopter. He couldn't see it anywhere, so he took to the sky. It was the first time he'd ever flown over Metropolis in the daylight; always afraid he'd be recognized by someone. It didn't take long to locate the helicopter, but Lana wasn't there. A quick scan of the surrounding buildings yielded her location.
She was in an abandoned warehouse, on the river. Just like with Chloe the other day, she was being held by men carrying the prototype guns Lois was investigating. Clark realized he would need to be careful to avoid any of the men hurting Lana. Unfortunately, there were too many of them to use the same tactics he'd utilized before. After a short consideration he decided he'd have to lure the guards away from her.
The first opportunity presented itself in the form of the helicopter. By focusing his heat vision on the chopper, Clark was able to cause an explosion that shook the surrounding buildings. Clark checked the room where Lana was being held and saw three of the five guards heading down the stairs to see where the explosion had come from. He took the opportunity to take out the remaining guards. When they were unconscious, he finally untied Lana.
"Superman!" Lana wrapped her arms around her rescuer. "Thank god you were able to find me!"
"We better get out of here before the rest of your guards get back. I'll leave you somewhere safe and then come back for them." He swept her up in his arms and they flew away.
"Superman, or should I say, Clark." She looked at him as they flew towards nearest police station.
"I wondered how long it would take you to make the realization." He smiled back at her.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't have if I hadn't known what you were capable of. You look really different with your hair and eyes like that, not to mention this suit." She reached back and tugged on his cape. "It makes you look so imposing, larger than life."
"That's good; I was a little worried that people would be able to tell it was me." He smiled at her and began his descent. "Stay here until I get back with the bad guys, then I'll take you home."
"Don't worry, Superman. I will." She smiled as Clark sat her down and then took off again.
"Hey, Lois." Jimmy Olson got off the elevator and made his way over to Lois's desk. "Thought you might like to know that Superman's been spotted rescuing some woman over by Hobbes Pier."
"What? Who?" Lois got up immediately and grabbed her purse and notepad.
"I don't know." Jimmy grabbed his camera as he and Lois made their way to the elevator.
Chloe just sat at her desk, smiling. "Have fun, Clark."
"Superman." A police officer in street clothes walked up to Clark and Lana after several other officers had taken the men Superman brought in and began to book them. "I just want to thank you for bringing them here. We've been trying to capture some of these people for a while, but we couldn't because of their guns."
"I'm glad that I could help. It seems that they were the same people who interrupted the Luthor/Wayne benefit last night." Clark extended his hand to the officer. "If I had to make a guess, I'd say that they are after something that the Luthors have. Miss Lang here is a Step-daughter of Lionel and step-sister to Lex, and Lex was one of the people captured last night."
"That's probably a good place to start from, Superman. Oh, by the way, I'm detective Halstrom, Arnie Halstrom." The detective shook Clark's hand.
"Oh, Superman!" Clark turned when he recognized Lois's voice behind him. When he turned around, Jimmy snapped a photo of him that was sure to appear in tomorrow's paper. "Don't think you can run out on me this time."
"Miss Lane." Clark smiled at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Miss Lang, it's good to see you again." Lois extended her hand to Lana. "Though I wish it wasn't under these circumstances. I assume you were the one Superman rescued?"
"Yes, Lois, and please call me Lana." She shook Lois's hand. "Actually, now that the police have had a chance to interview me, and I've been able to thank our hero here, I really need to be going. Like I said earlier, there are things I need to be doing."
"Quite understandable." Lois turned back to face Clark as Lana stood, looking at him.
"Oh, Lois, I'm sorry." Clark remembered he had promised to take Lana home after they were through at the police station. "I'm already promised Lana that I would take her home."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to avoid talking to me, Superman." Lois smiled at him; at the same time he could sense a small amount of disappointment in her voice. "Promise that you'll let me interview you soon?"
"How's later today?" Clark could see Lois's eyes light up. "I can come by your office."
Lois thought she was going to faint. You'll come by the office? "Sounds great!"
"I'll see you later then, Miss Lane." He took Lana in his arms. "Shall we be going?"
"Definitely."
Several minutes later, Lana and Clark were back at Lex and Lana's apartment. "Thanks, again, for saving me, Clark."
"Don't worry about it Lana. You're my friend, and I can help you. If I didn't, that would make me no better than the men who took you. I've realized that recently." Clark stood at an open window, preparing to fly back to the Daily Planet to resume his day as Clark Kent, mild mannered investigative reporter.
"Just the same, thank you, and thank you for saving Lex last night." She went over and gave him a big hug, not wanting to let go. "It's good to have you back in my life."
"It's good to be back in it. When you left for Europe, I thought for sure that you didn't want to ever speak to me again." He broke their embrace, looking her in the face.
"I didn't, but then I realized how much I missed talking to you. You were my best friend, Clark, even before we were together. You got me through the tough times, and I can't lose that just because we're not together anymore." She stopped, breathing in deep before saying what came next. "Don't get me wrong, I still love you, and it still hurts to see you with Chloe. I know how you must have felt, seeing me with Whitney all those years ago, but I can't lose what we had then."
"Don't worry, Lana. I'll always be here for you. You're going to find someone else. I truly believe that." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you." She was desperately trying to hold back tears. "Thank you for being my friend."
"I'll see you later, Lana. Be careful if you go out again. You may want to get some guards. I'm going to pay Lex a visit tonight and see if he has any idea what these guys could be after." With that, he waved goodbye and took off into the sky back towards the Daily Planet building.
Lana just stood there, tears still in her eyes as she whispered into the empty room. "But I want you, Clark. I just want you."
Clark reemerged from the stairwell, dressed in his work clothes. Chloe saw him approaching the desk and pulled him down to whisper in his ear. "I heard you had to rescue Lana."
Clark just nodded and sat back down at his desk. "Has Lois gotten back yet?"
"Not yet, but she called to let me know that Superman plans on stopping by later." She smiled at him.
"Is that so?" he reached in his file drawer to retrieve some of the stories he'd been working on since Monday. "I bet she's pretty excited."
"Everyone's excited." Chloe feigned her amazement.
"Well, I think I'm going to go do some footwork on these stories. I'll see you tonight, your place?" Clark winked at her, and she acknowledged that she'd seen it.
"Sure. Don't forget to pick up dinner." She smiled at him and blew him a kiss as he made his way to the elevator.
"How's Chinese sound?" He smiled silly grin that let her know he meant real Chinese food.
Chloe simply smiled and shook her head. "You spoil me, Clark."
"No, I love you," he managed to say before the elevator door shut and he made his way downstairs.
About an hour after Clark left for the day, Lois returned from the police station where she had managed to interview several people about the guns and the men Superman had captured. She seemed really happy when she sat down next to Chloe and began typing on her computer.
"You really are in a good mood." Chloe looked up from her own work to see the expression on Lois's face.
"It's not everyday, that a reporter gets an exclusive with a Superhero. Especially one as cute as Superman." Lois's eyes fluttered and she sighed after her last comment.
Chloe was slightly taken aback. She was talking about her Clark, but no, she was talking about Superman. To the rest of the world, he wasn't just her Clark anymore. He was Superman now too. "He is kinda cut, but not as cute as Clark."
"Speak for yourself." Lois quickly responded to Chloe's assertion. "But then again, you are in love with Clark."
"You've got that right, and I couldn't be happier." Chloe returned to her typing. "When did he say he'd be by, anyway?"
"Just sometime this afternoon. He didn't say exactly when." Just then, a breeze knocked some papers off Lois's desk and she looked upu to see Superman flying in through a set of open windows.
"I do believe that I promised you an interview, Miss Lane." He walked right over to her desk, everyone in the office transfixed on him. "Do you think we could go to the roof, perhaps?"
Lois tried to regain her composure, unsure of what to say. She finally managed a reply. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Clark just smiled at how awkward Lois was and made his way to the elevator, signaling for Lois to follow. This is going to be interesting.
