A/N: It's been a minute, but I got it done. Please read, review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own what is mine.

Chapter Three

Metropolis

The city shimmered like a thousand sparkling jewels against the night sky. It reminded Rebecca of an old Hollywood movie – dark silhouettes, bright almost-white lights, a real silver screen picture. Yet, as the cool wind whipped softly at her face, she could only think of how much she would rather be anywhere else...even Moscow's frigid cold.

Metropolis.

The Big Apricot.

Home to the Daily Planet and Superman. A place of action, drama, wonder, and heartache... Too much heartache. A bittersweet pang of grief pulsed through her heart. The last time she had been to Metropolis had been years ago after the city had been attacked by Zod. Buildings laid in ruin with crews sent in to sift through the rubble and to find the remains of loved ones. The city hadn't been a picturesque scene to marvel at then.

Grief-stricken and enraged she had come; she had wanted to see the place where her father's last moments had occurred. Had even been encouraged by Swanwick to see the unveiling of the memorial... She had lasted three hours in the city before her devastation outweighed her anger and she turned tail and ran. She never saw the memorial – heard it had been rebuilt twice now. For a city so sparkly it invited a good deal of trouble.

Part of her wondered if Superman was to blame for that or if Metropolis had always been that way. Another part of her wondered if it all really mattered.

Sighing quietly, she slid onto the ledge of the roof and peered down. Her apartment building was a good fifty stories tall and had a decent view of the bay from the roof, but a morbidly intrigued voice was more interested in the speckled view of the street. Her stomach flipped and danced as her equilibrium tried to make sense of the depth presented to her sight. Adrenaline coursed through her blood like a rabbit in a dog race, demanding that she flee. But she ignored her body's rigorous screams to back away from the ledge – to move to safety. She was too high to survive any fall...and for a second, so brief she would deny it ever occurred, she wondered if that would be so bad.

What would it be like to just fall? Is that what her father had experienced?

Dazzled by the notion, she unconsciously leaned a little further out and closed her eyes. She welcomed the strong current of air that pushed at her clothes in silent warning.

"I don't recommend leaning any further."

Rebecca started at the unexpected sound of a voice and nearly lost her grip as her eyes flew open, only to fall onto the floating alien before her. His arms were crossed, and head tilted in aloof curiosity as he studied her.

All she could do was stare. She had seen photos of him and video. She had been aware that he was attractive, pretty almost... but what the photos and videos had failed to convey was his presence. Strength radiated from him like a gravitational pull. It tugged at her power with a whispered seduction and she was tempted to lean out again to welcome its embrace.

So much power inside one person, she couldn't fathom it.

And his eyes – incredibly bright and yet dark. Dark in a way she understood all too well.

After a long moment, she realized she hadn't responded, and that he was waiting for her to settle back to a safe distance, too consumed by the havoc he wreaked on her senses.

Pursing her lips, she kept still and arched a brow at him as she asked, "Can I help you with something?"

He blinked, not expecting that to be her response. He wanted to sigh but managed to bite back the urge last minute as he said, "Yes, get off the ledge. You're not in a safe position."

Aware of her tenuous perch, but uncaring of the danger or of being commanded to do anything about it, Rebecca frowned. "I hardly see how that's your concern."

Superman returned her frown, "Ma'am -"

"Ma'am?" She interrupted, somewhat indignant – she wasn't old enough to be considered ma'am.

Annoyed, he took a steadying breath, "Miss -"

She scoffed, "No, too late to correct that one. Relax, Flyboy, I have no intention of dying today. Go save the world."

Despite the nice eye-candy he made, she wanted him gone. Her skin was beginning to buzz and hum in a way it hadn't since she was sixteen. Her stomach lurched with a new dance, one she recognized all too well. She was losing control... and it was his fault – she was sure of it. Agitation clawed maliciously at her, but she kept her expression bland, distant.

Despite her dismissal, Clark deigned not to take her at her word. His gaze narrowed expectantly, "Get off the roof, please."

A petulant part of her wanted to stick her tongue out at him and make a sardonic remark, it surprised her – she hadn't felt this vindictively surly since she had been a teenager and her powers had made an appearance. The adult in her argued he would disappear quicker if she just did as she was told. Holding tightly to her dwindling control and fighting the urge to lash out, she briskly threw her leg back onto the roofs flat surface and stood.

Her expression silently queried if he was happy now and received an unimpressed glower in return. As if he could sense her childish mood, he smirked and asked mockingly, "Now was that so hard?"

Rebecca gaped slightly, incensed. Before she could form a reply, he was gone - flying off to right some other perceived wrong she was sure, though she swore she heard a faint chuckle in his wake.

She cursed quietly, "Nosey asshole."

Her previous desire to ruminate outside had disappeared with his departure. Almost sullenly, she wandered back to her apartment.

"Hey, Smallville! You're back."

A faint smirk pulled at Clark's lips as he set his bag on his desk. Lombard was sauntering his way over, a half-eaten bagel, and a cup of coffee in hand. He looked like the cat that ate the canary and for a moment Clark sympathized for the poor intern that had succumbed to the other man's advances.

"Morning, Lombard." Unconsciously, he went through the movements of starting his computer up, "I miss anything interesting around here."

The older man shrugged with a shake of the head, "Nah, same shit different day, you know? Oh, Lois has been running interference with Victoria for you. The woman is like a bloodhound when she smells gossip."

Clark nearly rolled his eyes as he thought of the leggy blonde. Beautiful and vicious were two very accurate adjectives to describe Victoria Vale. He rather wished that Perry hadn't poached her from the Gotham Gazette and fully blamed Bruce for her willingness to depart their sister city. He could only imagine the hassle that she had been giving Lois if she was still asking questions over their breakup.

A stream of guilt curdled in his veins as he glanced toward her desk. He had been away longer than he intended, but he hadn't been able to stomach being in the same place as her without wanting to... God, he didn't know. Scream? Beg? Apologize?

All he knew was that the day he had gotten the last of his things from her apartment he had been in a world of pain. He was practically choking on his hurt and he knew he couldn't heal if he saw her day after day. So, like a coward he ran, took the first story that would take him out of the city, and didn't look back. The whole thing had been eerily like what he had done after his dad had died. It was that particular realization that had brought Clark back to Metropolis – to the Planet and Lois.

He couldn't run forever.

He shook his head and turned a rueful smile on his colleague, "Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to make that torment up to Lois somehow."

Lombard shrugged, "I think she enjoyed taking Vale down a peg or two. Man, remind me never to piss Lois off... So, you two are okay?"

The question seemed innocuous enough, but Clark had learned real quick that Lombard was simply good at seeming guileless. There was a shark under his friendly demeanor that devoured any and all information.

He arched a pointedly amused brow at the other man as he replied, "We're fine, Vale. Thanks."

Lombard squawked indignantly with a coffee laden hand over his heart, "Mean, Smallville. That's just mean."

Clark chuckled as he eyed Steve's coffee with a thoughtful frown. A pick-me-up sounded good. Sleeping was another obstacle he was trying to work through... He was about to excuse himself to the break room when a familiar voice caught his attention and he found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes that haunted him.

Lois faltered in her steps at the sight of him, a smile too sad for words touching her lips. And like a snoozed alarm, he felt all the hurt come roaring back. His heart clenched so painfully that he wished it were gone as he stared at her.

He had come back too soon.

He wasn't ready.

Clark wasn't sure if she had sensed the distraught welling in him or if she was struggling as badly as he was, but in the next moment, she turned for the copy-room. He bit back a heavy sigh as he watched her go, feeling the chasm in his chest grow.

"Yeah... you two are not fine." Lombard murmured as he watched the interplay quietly. Awkward sympathy poured through him, but he stuffed it back with a bite of his bagel, "Have fun with that."

Clark grimaced but didn't comment. His personal life hardly needed a sideshow. Lombard nudged his shoulder to show his commiseration before wandering off to his desk. It was then Clark knew that it was going to be a long day.

Forgetting about his caffeine desires for a moment, he threw himself back into his chair and began to scroll through his emails. Anything to distract him from the quiet sniffles he could hear from the copy-room. He wished he couldn't entreat on what she desired to keep private.

As if someone heard his quiet plea, another presence soon absorbed all his attention.

The door to Perry's office swung open and the air crackled with suppressed energy. It felt all too similar to a brewing storm and Clark half-expected to see clouds pour from the open door. Oddly, no one else appeared to have noticed this shift and he frowned.

He had felt this sensation last night, as well.

With not a cloud in the sky to denote a coming storm, he had given in to his impulses and chased the strange crackling to the woman on the ledge before it vanished. At the time he had been mildly grateful for following his instincts, sure that he had been about to witness a suicide attempt. Her cavalier attitude and indifference, if not distaste, for his interruption almost made him reconsider his first notion...almost.

There had been something about her...something in her almost violet eyes that simply ached. It had called to him, dared him to recognize the fatalistic gleam that so mirrored his own at times. The entire encounter had been bizarre and had left him baffled and if it hadn't been for the screams of another he likely would have stayed.

Hell, he had been tempted to turn back as her parting retort reached his ears. She really had no idea how nosey an asshole he could be.

Spellbound, Clark leaned back in his chair and kept his gaze locked on Perry's office. Somehow, he was unsurprised when he saw her step out. A faint smile played on her lips that brightened her entire visage. Her appearance was incredibly different from the night prior. Gone was the impervious roof-spectre and in her place stood a polished professional.

Perry appeared over her shoulder speaking quietly, but Clark heard it all.

"Sporty called you a menace."

She laughed a knowing twinkle in her eye, "And yet you still agreed to see me?"

"Menace is a high compliment from Sporty. I should know I only ever got a pain-in-the-ass from him." Perry grinned proudly.

Clark frowned as he watched the repartee. The editor and chief could be charming when he wanted to be, though gruff was his default setting. The fond smile that painted the older man's lips bespoke of the pleasantness of the conversation he just had...

The air crackled again, and this time Clark wasn't the only one to notice. A frown flickered over the strange brunette's face as her gaze began to closely scrutinize her surroundings. His fascination grew as she locked onto him and she stared in what appeared to be recognition.

A cold stone sank in his stomach, was it possible that she knew who he was? Was their brief encounter last night enough for her? Or had she felt this sensation too?

Perry drew her attention back, but Clark could see a veil of distractedness had fallen over her. It mattered little as White soon caught wind of his presence in the bullpen.

The older man's expression was instantly scowling, but Clark didn't miss the levy of concern that swarmed the editor's eyes. If anyone in this building had the foggiest clue of what had been going on between him and Lois it would be Perry White.

"Finally made it back in one piece, Kent." Perry growled out, "About time."

Clark forced a faint smile, "Couldn't stay away from your smiling face, Boss."

Perry scoffed and rolled his eyes, "You're lucky I like you. Let me introduce you to our new associate editor, Rebecca Hamilton. She'll be taking over for Greg while Addie's on maternity leave. Rebecca this is Clark Kent, one of our reporters you'll be tearing apart."

She didn't step forward to greet him, only nodded with a demure smile. He was forced to do the same. Absently, he noted that the crackling had stopped upon her approach, but now she seemed...leery.

Pushing his musings to the back of his mind, Clark turned his attention to Perry again, "Is Addie out already? I wanted to see her before she left."

"No, she has a couple more weeks. I want Rebecca to get trained up on the chaos before kicking her to the wolves." He answered as he sent her a sly grin.

Surprisingly, she rolled her eyes but refrained from comment again.

Clark smirked, "Well she'll find out what nosey assholes we all are, anyway."

That comment pulled a surprised chuckle from White, but it was Rebecca's reaction that he was interested in. She stilled, her expression betraying nothing... in much the same way it had when he had startled her on the ledge. Her control was impressive.

Yet, her violet eyes flickered up and he knew...

Stunned disbelief shined at him despite her bland expression. If she hadn't recognized him before, she certainly had now.

Clark wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do. Whether she realized it or not, Rebecca Hamilton had just made a new friend.