Act 4

"Superman," Clark read aloud the big bolded word written on the front cover of the Daily Planet newspaper. "That's very…"

I twirled my chair around wanting to smack him across the head, but I knew if I did that, I'd break my hand. He didn't know it, but I knew everything, so what the hell am I suppose to do now?

"Clark," I say putting on my best face. "Glad of you to join me." I crossed my legs, and stretched the moment quietly as his gaze tried not to look down on my bare flesh. "Where were you today? A flying man appears and you disappear."

He gulped and I realize that he only ever did that when he was about to tell a lie, or if it's something he was nervous about doing. It only happens around me and now I know why. He's worried that he would get discovered.

"I kind of got lost in the crowd."

I smiled inwardly. He was cute trying to be discreet. He lies well with everyone else, so I'm a bit glad that he falters around me.

"That's too bad." My voice was laced with fake sincerity, even though I know and to a point, understand, I'm still healing a little wound. "Look, I'm gonna go see if I can get an interview with this guy."

His eyes go wide. "An interview?"

"Yeah, Clark. An interview. It's sort of our job."

He rolled his eyes. Very unpatriotic of him considering the colors he wears and his perfect American accent. It doesn't take another reporter to know he's of the U.S. variety if they could only think that far. Chloe Sullivan excluded.

"You don't even know who he is?"

Sure I do. He's Clark Kent from Smallville, Kansas who's actually from the Planet Krypton but I relent. I can't believe I didn't put two and two together after all these years. I even questioned it two years ago when I ran into him at the Congo.

All this time, he was right in front of me.

I knew all that I needed to know but I couldn't let myself believe that he was real. I always thought it was just a dream, I never even contemplated the possibility that it was real.

Lois Lane. You're an idiot!

"Are you okay, Lois?"

I straightened myself up. "Never better." I focused back on my computer, avoiding eye contact. "So, do you think he's got an agent or something?" I smirked away from him. He better not be using his x-ray vision on me right now.

"He doesn't seem like a guy who has one."

"That would be a no." I start typing my headline, An Interview with Superman, by Lois Lane.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to interview him."

"And how are you going to pull that off? No one even knows who he is let alone how to contact him."

"I figured jumping off my balcony tonight at 10 would be enough to get his attention."

"What?" He was shocked, and he better because I am too.

This should be interesting.

"Well, aren't you punctual?" I asked, stepping out of my balcony in negligee and robe. I approached the man I've known for several years. This time, I was seeing him as somebody else, and like him, I had to pretend I didn't know. "How did you know I wanted to see you?"

His expression never faltered and he remained the perfect gentleman. Now that's interesting. He's actually going to go through with this. Something the Clark she woke up married to failed to mention.

"I heard that the world had questions for me, I'm here in hopes to answer them."

"Why me?"

"Because I trust you."

I take a sip of the white wine I carried with me. "You don't even know me," I remind him.

"You're not afraid. That tells me a lot."

He didn't even debunk not knowing me. "What about you? What is the Man of Steel afraid of?"

"Has the interview started?"

"Consider it my first question."

At least we haven't lost our edge when it came to verbal battles. Not that we're battling. It's more like dancing. Kind of like a Tango, or maybe we're doing a Fox Trot.

I watched how he moved with an Eagle's eye. He walked straighter, something that office Clark didn't do. Without his glasses, he could really look like a different person. It's no wonder why he started using them. At first I thought he's just outworn his eyes, now I know it's just for cover.

That's pretty smart.

"Are you going to answer?" I waited.

"I'm sorry, I'm not ready to," he admits.

"Okay, fair enough. Who are you and where are you from?" I say, asking the basic questions. I turn away and walk the opposite direction of my balcony, closing my eyes preparing myself to hear the answers I already knew.

"My name is Kal-El, and I come from a Planet called Krypton."

Wow. My dream is becoming less and less a dream and turning to a full blown reality. At first, when I realized who he was, I was happy. Truly really happy. And then I was just plain angry. Angry that some force had the nerve to show me a future I shouldn't have.

I admit, knowing now who he is lessening my hurt feelings, but that doesn't change the fact that I know.

I already have these preconceived notions of him.

What if I feel obligated to be with him?

This sucks.

I spent the rest of the interview in a professional manner. It's better to keep my distance, just because I fell for the other Clark, didn't mean that I had to fall for this one. Besides, it isn't like he has feelings for me or something.

"She was the picture of calm, mom. It's like she knew I was going to show up. How did she know I was going to show up?" If Clark paced any faster, he'd burn the house down.

Martha followed him into the living where he sits down.

"Maybe you tipped her off."

He looked up. "How? I was with her most of the day."

"Lois did claim she was going to jump off the balcony," Martha tells him.

He shook his head. "No, something's up. When I rescued her this morning, she looked at me like she was surprised."

"Sweetheart, you rescued her from a falling helicopter. It makes sense that she's surprised."

"No, I mean, surprised like she knew who I was."

Martha Kent raised a quizzical brow. "Do you think she suspects anything?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "She gave me a hard time when I got back in the office for disappearing on her, so I guess she doesn't suspect anything. It's just, I don't know anymore."

Martha sat besides him on the couch, taking his hands with her own like she has for so many years.

"For years you would write to me about how much you missed her. I sat in this very couch and read the letters you sent me about what it was like seeing Lois again. And now you're back and you're more in love with her than ever before. Why don't you tell her how you feel?"

"I didn't know how much I loved her until I walked into that newsroom," I smiled weakly. He just finished his trek around the world and applied for a job at the Daily Planet only a couple of weeks ago.

When Editor-In-Chief partnered him up with Lois Lane, it was almost as if fate intervened once again, and for the first time, he had no problem with the possibility that his destiny is intertwined with hers.

If only she felt the same way.

She gave him hell the first week. Over the past few years, she built herself quite a reputation not only the in the office, but in the journalist community. She was named one of the 50 most beautiful people last year in People Magazine and she's being hailed as a rising star in the world of journalism.

He was pretty intimidated being around her.

They've barely even had time to talk about themselves to each other, and now that Superman has made his appearance, it looks like their time together would be even more scarce, and they work together.

So he's feeling pretty aggravated right now.

"Everything will work out fine, you'll see," his mother assured.

"I hope so."

"And what about the interview, how did that go?"

He sighed, thinking back. "It went by very professionally. She barely looked at me and when she did, her eyes didn't sparkle like it normally did."

"Do you think she's alarmed?"

"Not at all, frankly, I think she believed every word I said."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is was that she wasn't even the least bit surprised to discover that I'm from another planet. Something's up."

"You know she would never hurt you."

"That's not what I'm worried about, mom. Something is happening to us and I'm powerless to stop it." His voice fell. "I think I'm losing her."

"Mr. Perry?"

"Chief"

"Right. Chief." He stumbled into his office like an untrained race horse, dropping a couple of notebooks in the process. "Uh… I'm sorry Chief."

"You've been working for me for a while now Clark, and I know I was a drunken fool back then when you met me, but I swear you weren't this clumsy."

Clark chuckled. "It's been a crazy week."

"You got that right."

"Have you seen Lois?"

The older man raised his eyebrows. "She didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"She took a personal day. I paired you two up for a reason. The least either of you could do is tell each other that one of you aren't showing up for work."

"I'm sorry Chief."

"Nah. Just go visit her and make sure she's okay, will you?"

Clark nodded. "Sure thing." He left the office a little troubled. It's not like her to miss work. School, sure, but work. No, she loves this job too much. He wondered gravely what's been bothering her. It's been six months since Superman made his appearance, and she's become more despondent than ever.

"Lois!" he banged on the door for what seemed like forever. "Lois, open up!" he continued, and I knew right then and there that he knew that I was inside holed up in my apartment, ignoring him. "Could you please answer the door?"

What is his deal?

I open the door. "What?" And there he goes holding a bouquet of white lilies. I should've known.

"For you," he holds out.

"You should've have."

He kept his smile. "I wanted to." I took the flowers from his grasp, it was very pretty. Fresh and… he probably flew to some foreign remote country and got them for me.

Damn. I'd never be able to top that.

"Thanks," I uttered a bit forcibly.

His smile faded, taking on the look of the other man I've equally tried deftly to avoid.

"What's wrong, Lois?"

I knew he was going to ask that and I've rehearsed a whole bunch of lines to respond with. All of which suddenly disappeared from my mind.

That wasn't fair.

"I'm just tired," I half-lied.

"That's a lie."

"So what if it is?"

"Did I do something wrong that has you hating me all of the sudden?"

"I don't hate you."

"You ignore me, Lois," he said, stating the obvious. "You go out of your way not to hang out with me. We've been working together for six months and I felt like I knew you better for the four days we spent together in the Congo than I have here."

He just had to play that card with me.

"That was a long time ago, we were different people then?"

"I don't believe that."

"I just need you to leave me alone."

"Why?"

"You don't want to know why?"

"I think we've gone through this before. If I ask you something, it's because I want to know the truth."

I look into his eyes and I keep it there, and while I'm all for staring contests, he better not inadvertently use his heat vision on me or there would be hell to pay.

"Please." His eyes start to glisten. "I miss you, and I never thought that was possible, missing you when I see you every day."

My emotions felt out of control. "Don't say things like that."

"Why? What did I do wrong?"

I shook my head and I reached out to cup his face with my hand. "You didn't do anything wrong." He closed his eyes and when he did, I slowly moved my hand to his glasses. Removing it. "It suits you." His eyes snapped open as I placed his glasses back on face. "Goodnight, Clark."

And the door closes.

To be Continued...