(7/14)
A/N: We're halfway there! I just want to thank everyone that has been reading this for all the wonderful feedback, and the interest in this story. I hope all of your questions are satisfactorily answered in the end, and that you enjoy the journey. Again, thanks. Feedback is everything to a writer, and I truly appreciate it. :)
When Clark finally caught up with her, she had her guard back up in full force. He had a funny feeling, and all at once he wanted to investigate it and dismiss it. It would be crazy to ask her what he was thinking, but it was going to eat at him until he did.
He didn't know what it was, but when she had smiled at him - really smiled - and whispered about her source playfully, it was like Chloe was sitting right in front of him again.
Maybe he had been thinking way too much about her or maybe he still had a lot of digging to do. Either way, the eerie feeling wasn't going away. He kept stealing glances at her all the way down in the elevator and out into the street and she kept pretending not to notice.
They grabbed a taxi downtown to the main Lex Corp office and neither of them said a word the entire way.
A small group of reporters were gathered in the lobby near a podium. Lois grabbed Clark's sleeve when he tried to charge to the front.
"What?" he said, stopping in his tracks.
She dropped her hand and rolled her eyes. "Clark, did it ever occur to you that we're the reason this is happening? Our little story about Lex Corp's misdeeds was published two days ago, remember?"
"Yes."
"Then don't you think we ought to stay toward the back?"
"Maybe you're right."
"Yeah, maybe," she muttered, as they hung back in the crowd.
"He could still see us from up there."
"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Why be conspicuous?"
"Yeah..." There didn't seem to be many people present, and that seemed odd to him. "Lois?" he said in a low voice.
"Yeah?" She looked up at him as if he was being an annoyance.
"What's the point of a secret press conference?" he asked, thoroughly confused.
She held back a laugh. "The tabloids love Lex, right? So he tries to get the word out as discreetly as he can so only the 'legit' papers show up. Long gone are the days of 'any publicity is good publicity'."
Clark frowned. "That makes no sense at all."
"Yeah, well, that's Lex," she said, turning back to the front of the room.
Two minutes later, there was a rumbling through the gathered press, then silence.
Lex Luthor stood before them all, looking perfectly calm in an exquisitely tailored black suit.
"Thank you all for coming here today," he started cordially.
It was a well known fact that he didn't make many public appearances anymore, so Clark was all the more suspicious of why he would start now.
"I'm sure you are all aware that there were published reports this week about my company, that supposedly brought to light some... shady business, shall we say? I usually don't dignify such rumors with a response, but since this involves not only me, but my company, I thought I would come here today to say that the reports are not true. Lex Corp continues to associate only in upstanding company and above board deals."
Clark could have sworn he saw him glance their way.
"I have nothing more to comment on, there will be no questions, and again, thank you all for coming," he said, and gave the crowd a small wave before walking away.
Lois turned to Clark. "Well. That was totally worth the cab fare and an hour of our morning. If you don't see any assassins in the building gunning for us, I think we should go."
Clark looked around in an exaggerated fashion and narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "I think we're safe, Miss Lane. After you," he said, stepping out of her way and extending his arm with a flourish.
She rolled her eyes at him, and started to walk away. Only this time when he didn't follow, she stopped, turned around, and urged him to catch up.
All he could think as he did was that if his hunch was right, she was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
As soon as she got home from work, Lois set her single grocery bag on the counter and headed for the shower. Superman was supposed to drop by and, even though she had just seen Clark at work, she wanted to act like she didn't know what was going on. Which would only be half an act at this point.
When she was finished showering, she quickly dried her hair, and pinned it up, letting a few tendrils fall around her face. She went into her closet and pulled out a black suit skirt, a deep red sleeveless top, and a light, short black suit jacket. She wanted to look casual but professional, and jeans wouldn't hold up to her game.
She added hose and low heels, and glanced at herself in the mirror on the way out of the bedroom. Not bad at all, she thought to herself.
In the kitchen, she rummaged through her shopping bag until she found the package of light bulbs. She grabbed one out of the box and went to the balcony to change the light. When that was done, and she was satisfied it was bright enough, she went back inside to sort the rest of her purchases.
She had decided to make this a dinner meeting, given the time, and despite the fact that she was a bit nervous about Clark and his newfound schizophrenia. Her questions and the food might give her enough to focus on so she wouldn't slip up.
It wasn't as if she had never heard of a big city with a crime fighter watching its back. Gotham City had Batman, but that was so far removed from Metropolis she had never really thought about it happening in any real context. Gotham was far away, and no one had ever proven Batman was anything but human.
But this was Clark, and she wasn't so sure he was just a human anymore.
She had a small set of furniture out on the balcony, so she set up the table with a cloth and candles, thankful that the night was calm but comfortable. After laying out the dishes and silverware she went to heat up the takeout Italian she had picked up on the way home. She had learned to do a lot of things living on her own, but cooking wasn't something she had mastered.
When everything was ready, she heard a tap on the sliding glass door. Straightening her skirt and smoothing her hair, she checked herself one more time in the hall mirror, and answered the door.
"Good evening, Miss Lane," he said with a smile.
She was trying desperately not to roll her eyes as she smiled back. "Good evening." God, this is awkward, she thought. "You could come in, but I thought since it was such a nice night we could make this a dinner meeting, and dine out here." She gestured to the table.
"That sounds very nice, Miss -"
She held up her hand. "Lois. Please," she said. The formalities would annoy her to death if he kept it up.
"That sounds very nice, Lois," he corrected.
"You can have a seat and I'll get the food," she said, turning to go back inside.
"Is there anything I can help with?" he asked.
"Nope, I got it," she said with a smile. "Be right back."
In the kitchen she braced herself on the counter and took a deep breath. I I can do this. I'm already an actress every day of my life. I can do this. She grabbed the salad and the shrimp alfredo, and headed out the door. She already had a small bottle of wine chilling outside, and she set the dishes in the middle of the table as Superman stood by her railing looking out over the city.
Lois turned to him. "I'm assuming you eat?" she asked with a frown.
"Often," he laughed.
She feigned relief. "Great. Do you drink?" she asked, indicating the wine. That was an honest question, she had never seen Clark drink before.
"No, actually."
"Oh," she said. "Can I get you anything else?"
"The water will be fine," he said, and she was glad she had remembered to add that at the last minute.
"Okay. Shall we get started then?" she asked, walking over to the table.
He was holding her chair for her before she knew what was happening, and she sat down, trying to comprehend his speed. "Thank you," was all she said as he took his seat opposite her.
They settled in with napkins and generous portions of the non-homemade meal, and Lois' patience had peaked.
"I have a few questions ready, if you don't mind."
"I thought you might," he said, and she could have sworn he was teasing her.
With a quirk of an eyebrow and a glance his way, she tried to compose herself while daintily cutting her pasta.
"What brings you to the Metropolis area?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.
He shrugged. "I grew up... near here. I thought the city could use someone to look out for it. Crime has gotten worse since Lex Luthor essentially owns everything, and I figured if I could do anything to help, I would."
"Hmmm. So you're from around here?" She took a bite, followed by a sip of wine.
"Well, not originally. But I grew up in Kansas, yes."
He was being dodgy. So typical. She thought for a moment about telling him he could declare he was from another planet, and she wouldn't pass out, but she thought better of it. She could wait.
"So, where were you born?"
"I'm sure you've never heard of it," he said, casually taking a drink of water.
"Try me," she challenged, setting her fork down.
"Krypton," he said, studying the blank look on her face.
"Krypton." She blinked and grabbed her own glass of water. "And that's a...?"
"Another planet," he said simply.
"Another planet. Okay." She switched back to her wine, and took a rather large gulp. She really had to stop repeating everything he said. "Where is this planet located?" she asked, trying to get back on track.
"Nowhere anymore. It was destroyed almost twenty-one years ago. I was the only survivor."
He was telling her all of this with a straight face, so she couldn't do anything but believe him.
"Wow. That's terrible, I'm so sorry."
"It's all right," he said. "I've dealt with it."
She nodded. He had dealt with it right under her nose and she had never been the wiser. No one had. Suddenly every odd thing that he and the Kents had ever done made sense, and she couldn't blame them for it. She would still like certain explanations, but she couldn't blame them.
"About your superpowers - do you have anything but flying?"
"Super speed, heat vision, x-ray vision, cold breath, excellent hearing... I'm also bulletproof."
She nodded, making notes on a small pad beside her. "Any weaknesses?"
"Not any that would be a good idea to tell you about," he said.
"I guess that's understandable," she said, but she already had a good guess. Ever since the 'alien from another planet' reveal, the wheels in her mind had been spinning. Clark had always had a strange reaction to the meteor rocks strewn about Smallville, so she could only conclude that they were not only his weakness, but the leftover bits of his home planet. She didn't know why they affected him that way, but it was something she would never tell anyone. He would be too vulnerable then, especially to their mutual enemy.
They finished their dinner, and he helped her clear the dishes. She couldn't help but think they must make quite a picture with him wearing that getup.
They went back out on the balcony and made small talk as she leaned against the railing, looking out over the city.
"Do you ever miss where you're from?" she asked, turning to look at him.
He considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "Not really. I was just a baby when my parents saved me by sending me away. I really don't remember anything. But sometimes I look up at the stars and try to imagine what it must have been like."
"Does that ever work?"
"Not that effectively," he admitted, staring at her and making her blush.
She opened her mouth, not even knowing what she was going to say, when he held a hand up.
His face fell as she waited. "Sounds like someone needs help."
"Oh, of course. Go," she said, even though she didn't really want him to.
He stepped out on the ledge. "Thank you for dinner, Lois. I'll be seeing you around."
"You bet you will," she said with a smile and a wave as he took off into the night sky.
She watched him until he was gone and wrapped her arms around herself against the chill that was suddenly in the air. She sighed and turned to go back inside, feeling the loss of his company. She had forgotten what it was like to just be with someone else, she had been so involved with her work and her version of the witness protection program. Her apartment looked and felt emptier than ever.
She flopped down on her couch and went over the evening.
Lois didn't know who he thought he was fooling, but he hadn't broken the facade once. If she saw him like that again, she would break him down. She didn't think confronting him as himself would work. If she sprang that on him in a public place, everyone would think she was nuts. The hair and the glasses... How stupid did he think Metropolis was?
She couldn't think about it anymore. Yeah, right, she thought. She just wanted to take out her contacts, curl up with some X-Files re-runs, and go to sleep. Everything else could wait until morning.
TBC