Lois paced back and forth in the spot at the elevator door of the suite where Clark was temporarily set up in Wayne Manor. He'd been recovering - Lois knew that it was thanks very much to Claire that this was possible but had not been able to contact the girl in the days since the gala. But now came the part where things had the potential to go wrong.

Clark had made it very clear that since he had been given the chance to go one living, he didn't want to go on living only as Superman. He wanted his life as Clark Kent back, which meant taking back something that most people considered final - death. And in order to start again while keeping the secret of his identity intact with most, there would need to be concessions.

Perry White was going to be that concession.

Lois looked down at her phone at the confirmatory message that Perry was on his way up to the suite, and she took in a few deep breaths. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Clark had gone into the bedroom to wait until the news had been broken with as little shock as possible.

Lois had given Perry the access code to come upstairs, and took a few steadying breaths as she listened to the elevator climbing up the shaft, hearing a distant beeping growing nearer and nearer until finally, the doors of the elevator started to open.

Perry looked none-too-thrilled, despite the luxurious surroundings - it was a weekend, and while he admittedly had a soft spot for his employees, it didn't often extend to making house calls on his few days off.

"I hope you didn't call me over here to see your new bachelorette pad," he said, stepping out of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest. "Listen, Lo, I'm glad that you're trying to pick up the ball and start running again but-"

"This isn't - it's not my bachelorette pad, Perry, this is something important," Lois said, gently shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "But I just - I just need you to promise -"

"Lois," Perry interrupted shortly. "I don't have all day."

"I just need you to promise to understand," Lois said, holding her hands up placatingly. "I need you to understand that... that strange things happen in Metropolis, and... and..."

Perry stared at Lois with scrutiny, knowing that Lois Lane was not the type to stammer or to waver. He cocked his head to one side and shook his head in suspicion.

"Are you in some kind of trouble, Lane?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Lois said with a slight laugh that surprised Perry, causing his brows to knit in confusion. "Listen, Perry, I know this is completely out of line to ask of a journalist, but... what I'm about to show you, I need to ask that you don't ask any questions, okay?"

Perry gave an exasperated sigh, gesturing widely with his arms in resignation. "Any day now, Lois."

Lois looked back over her shoulder and cleared her throat. "I think you can come out."

"You've gotta be shitting me..."

Perry couldn't help but release this and an additional string of expletives when the bedroom door opened and out walked Clark Kent - he looked pale, much thinner, scruffy with longer hair, but still the bespectacled mild-mannered nerd that Perry White couldn't help but recognize.

"Please don't ask," Lois repeated as Clark, barefoot and clad in pajamas but, unbeknownst to Perry, doing much better than he'd been before first coming to the suite, thanks to having his injuries properly treated. Perry scratched the back of his neck and let out a mild groan - he was getting way too old for this. He'd had a feeling for a good while that there was more to Clark Kent than face value, but had long since gotten past the inclination to ask.

Asking meant answers, and answers, especially those coming from Miss Lois Lane, only made everything more complicated.

"Perry, I have to ask you... a huge favor," Clark said as he approached carefully, looping an arm around Lois' waist but keeping his gaze trained on the head honcho of the Daily Planet. "I just want to start my life again. Live it normally," Clark said, shaking his head plaintively. "I know this is... a lot," he continued with a bashful chuckle. "But I'm just asking -"

"You," Perry interrupted, sounding strangely harsh as he jabbed his index finger in the air in Clark's direction. Lois and Clark both winced slightly prepared for this the be a poor reaction - coming from Perry White, it certainly would not be the first time. However, when they opened their eyes, they found Perry's expression much softer than expected - almost smirking as he continued, "have a lot to catch up on, Kent. I'm putting you back on local interests pieces."

"You mean -?"

"I mean," Perry said, reaching out at clapping Clark on the shoulder, "that I'm glad you're up from the grave, Lazarus, but it don't mean I'm about to let you slack on deadlines again."

And for perhaps the first time in recent memory, Perry grinned - not ironically or sardonically, but in a show of genuine gladness that he was seeing Clark Kent again. He'd felt the loss, even if he hadn't shown it. Print journalism was a dying art in his mind, and clumsy and forgetful as he was, Clark Kent was a brother-in-arms in preserving it.

"Monday. Eight o'clock sharp, lovebirds," Perry said, taking a few backwards steps towards the elevator and pointing back and forth between Clark and Lois. "If you're late, you're both fired."

And without any more theatrics or pretense, Perry White had left the building. Once he was gone, Lois let out a heavy sigh of relief and threw her arms around Clark's neck, hugging him tightly as the truth set in: they were slowly but surely piecing their normal life back together. Though Clark's body was still aching and weak, he managed to hug Lois back, planting a kiss on the side of her head.

"We need to call Martha - let her know it's safe to come to Metropolis," Lois said, pulling back and smiling brightly. "I've been trying to get your mother out here for so long, Clark, I promise - I didn't want her alone in Smallville all that time."

"Ma's a big fan of home," Clark said with a charming, lopsided grin, taking off the glasses that he didn't need now that Perry was no longer around. "I'm just ready to get back to work. Start saving up."

"Saving up?"

"Well," Clark said with a grin, taking hold of Lois' hand which still bore the engagement ring he'd sent to his mother, raising it to his lips and brushing a kiss on the back of her knuckles. "We do have a wedding to plan, don't we?"

And suddenly, Lois Lane was not only smiling - she was practically glowing as she threw her arms around Clark again, holding him tightly as though worried if she didn't, this might not all turn out to be real.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Clark chuckled throatily.

"Impeccable deduction, Mister Kent."

Late That Evening, Luthor Mansion

When Claire stirred in her sleep and shifted to find unoccupied space in the bed next to her, she was not nearly as distraught as Lex often was if he woken under the same circumstances. She understood that being content - being happy - did not make everything else go away. There were nights were sleep simply did not come easy, if it came at all, and this was simply a part of who he was.

He was likely thinking. Claire rubbed her eyes gently and got out of bed, grimacing softly when her feet touched the cool wood floor. That was certainly enough to wake you up. She yawned as, clad in only a large Metropolis Polytech t-shirt and her underwear, she walked out of the suite and downstairs.

The place she first thought to check was the study - because if she found Lex spending his sleepless hours there, it was more often than not destined to be a long night. The study, however, was empty. He wasn't in the receiving room or the kitchen. Frowning slightly, Claire decided to check in one more place before checking if he'd gone somewhere, in which case she'd need to get dressed and find him.

It was like Lex to stay awake, but it was not like him to wander.

She went down the downstairs hallway to the concealed door and opened the hidden control panel, punching in the code he'd divulged to her to keep in confidence. She pushed open the door to find, to her relief, that Lex was standing over a work table under a single dim light, poring over a set of plans on rolls of paper.

This was how Claire was able to tell that it was something of the utmost importance - learning his lesson from past breeches in his security, he'd gotten into the habit of keeping his most significant secrets as hard copies. Claire cleared her throat to gently alert him to her presence, and he spared her only a short moment attention, making a come hither gesture before turning back to his work.

"What are you working on?" Claire asked quietly, crossing her arms over herself and admittedly feeling a little cold in the unheated underbelly of Luthor Mansion. For a few seconds, Lex did not respond, still drawing away at the plans in front of him.

"This is... my latest project," he said as he put the pen aside, tapping his index finger on the blueprint proudly. "The World Transmitter."

"World... Transmitter?"

"Once I've worked my magic on it, it'll be capable of hijacking every satellite in Earth's orbit. Transmitting anything I want. Anywhere I want," he said, an ambitious glint in his eye. "But alas, so far, its capacity is pretty limited."

"You don't think maybe it should stay that way?" Claire asked hesitantly, already envisioning the possibilities that came with hijacking every broadcasting system in the world. Still, compared to other personal pet projects Lex had taken on, this one appeared relatively benign. Seeing the acquiescence in her expression as he glance of his shoulder, Lex chuckled.

"I've only got the ability to to anywhere in the United States east of the Mississippi," Lex finished smugly, turning and crossing his arms, leaning back against the table. "I find that these extra side projects are a fantastic way of occupying my time. Keeps me from getting too consumed by work. Keeps me young."

"Other people build model airplanes. Learn magic tricks," Claire said with a wise little grin, tilting her head to one side. "But why am I not surprised that as always, you need to go over the top?"

"I need to outperform," Lex corrected, raising his eyebrows severely. This, after all, was serious business - and Claire of all people needed, in Lex's mind, to understand that. "There's a difference."

And as off the wall as it may have seemed, Claire understood. She understood Lex well enough from the months that she'd known him - understood that whatever he had planned, he was going to do and he had to do. It was not her job to stop him or to fix him - only to keep him safe. Only to care for him.

"Come back to bed."

There was a sleepiness to Claire's voice, but behind it, an almost purr-like quality that caused Lex's countenance to shift. He tilted his head to the other side, closing the space between himself and Claire, resting a hand on her waist.

Lex's expression shifted to an impish smirk, which Claire mirrored - and this too was one of the things he quietly, almost secretively loved about her. There were nights he couldn't sleep. There were nights that he knew his mind would not simply be quiet. And she found ways soothing and quieting the buzz of thoughts in his mind, without making him feel as though he were weak for needing her to do so. He knew that's what this was, why she had followed him down here.

"Give me a reason to."

"I'll give you more than one..."

A/N

Remember the World Transmitter. It'll be back later.

Short chapter, but had to tie up a few loose ends in the narrative before the real fun starts! Sorry for the delay in updating. I guess I should just disclose right now that I've had some new developments in my personal life that have used up a lot of my time, so I've been a little slower to get things done. Thank you for all of your messages checking up on me! All of your feedback and friendship means a ton to me!

The next couple of chapters are going to see some very big shakeups, since it's been pretty quiet on the action-front lately. So, be ready for some big events on the horizon! Until next time, cheers!