Part Eight of Kevin Bacon

Lois judo-chopped the neck of her final attacker and swore. She was really tired of goons and muggers jumping out from alleys to take her purse. It always happened, and ever since Superman had joined the Justice League, he'd apparently become too busy to help her out of every single jam that she got into – whether she got into them deliberately or not.

One thing was for sure: the way things were going, she wasn't going to jump off any buildings anytime soon. Before, it was a sure thing that Supes would swoop down out of the sky and catch her. Now – well, she'd just as likely be splattered across the sidewalk like a bloody tabloid headline.

And it wasn't just the muggers, she acknowledged. Earlier that day, she had infiltrated a gang's hideout, then gotten caught. She'd waited for Superman to hear her cries and save her, but eventually she realized that she'd have to get out of it on her own.

And she had, but she broke a nail in the process. Her manicurist's bills had been much lower when Superman hadn't played around with all those over-muscled superheroes in space.

And Clark – an involuntary growl escaped her throat just at the thought of him – had stopped coming to work as much. So there was no one around to get into more trouble than she did, and then mysteriously get out of it…trouble, that is.

Superman, Clark…where had they gone?

And when was the last time she'd had a date with a decent guy? All her dates lately had been either thieves, megalomaniacs or villains in disguise. "Where have all the good men gone?" She wondered as she kicked her mugger a final time. She looked up, gave an accusatory stare at Him in the sky. "And where are all the gods?"

Probably playing around with that Wonder Woman chick, Lois thought. She had some connection to the gods, and people like Jason, Hercules, and heroes like that. Where was Lois's street-wise Hercules, to fight the rising odds?

Or hell, she'd even take a white knight, upon a fiery steed – although she'd rather have him drive a really fast car, and let her take the wheel once in a while.

Or fly.

She grimaced, and determined not to think about Superman. She had spent far too many late nights tossing and turning, dreaming of what she needed.

She hated herself when she thought about how lonely she'd been, how she used to think over and over and over and over: I need a hero (Superman). I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night. He's gotta be strong (like Superman) and he's gotta be fast (like Superman) and he's gotta be fresh from the fight (it especially turned her on when Superman was sooty or sweaty after beating the bad guys.)

And then she'd think it again as the morning approached. I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light. He's gotta be sure (like Superman) and it's gotta be soon (like right now) and he's gotta be larger than life (like Superman).

But she was over that now, Lois told herself. She didn't need him as much anymore. She could take care of herself.

She left her mugger lying in the street, not bothering to call the police. He'd just be out of the slammer the next day, anyway. She unlocked her apartment, kicked off her shoes, threw a frozen dinner in the microwave and then pulled a carton of ice cream out of the freezer.

She sat down at the table, spoon in hand, not bothering to use a bowl or a cup or a paper plate or anything, just eating it straight out of the carton. She heard the beep of the microwave, signaling that her Budget Gourmet meal had finished, but she kept on eating the ice cream.

She was tired. And she missed Clark.

And at times, she even admitted that she missed Superman.

She finished the ice cream, and lay down on the couch, remote in hand. She stared blankly at the screen for several hours. Then, somewhere after midnight, like a scene out of her wildest fantasies, she imagined Superman floating outside her balcony window.

"Ugh, too much sugar," she told herself. "Because it seems as though somewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for me."

And yes, in her dream/fantasy, Superman was holding his arm out to her. She realized that a storm had broken outside, and his uniform was soaked, showing even more detail than usual.

She licked her lips.

No! She wouldn't give into this. She didn't need him, didn't want him. He was always gone.

But her heart was racing with the thunder, and rising with the heat of the room.

And she came to a realization. It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet.

The balcony doors opened under a touch of his fantasy hand. Wind and rain swept into the room, pelting her with a fine mist.

Was he really there? Or was he up where the mountains meet the heavens above? Out where the lightning splits the sea? Before, when he had been around, she would swear that there was someone, somewhere, watching her.

But through the wind and the chill and the rain, and the storm and the flood that would surely follow, she could feel his approach like a fire in her blood.

"I need a hero," she whispered.

He answered, and she was suddenly sure that he really was there. "I'm here, Lois," he said. "And I love you."

"This isn't real," she moaned. "This is the result of a sugar high. This has happened to me before: these dreams always go on when I close my eyes. Every second of the night, I live another life."

"I'm real, Lois," he said, and swept her into his arms. His wet uniform plastered her nightgown to her front.

"In the morning when I awake, the further I'm away from you." She held him close. "There's something out there – about you – I can't resist."

He kissed her gently.

"In a wood full of princes, freedom is a kiss," she said when he lifted his head. There was something more that she needed to know, that she could only guess at. "But the prince hides his face from dreams in the mist."

Superman stared at her for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. He reached into a pocket of his cape, pulled out a pair of spectacles.

"I'm only doing this because I love you, Lois. To me, your love is like a river, peaceful and deep. Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep." He paused. "And I'm tired of keeping secrets from you, Lois."

She held her breath as he slipped on the glasses.

TO BE CONTINUED