A/N Sorry for the long gap between updates, I was finishing up school, then moving, and also just enjoying some preliminary summer celebrations. I wish I could tell you that the waiting period for updates will be shorter, but I'd be lying to you. Just know that I have no plans of abandoning this story it may just be a while between chapters. Also the Jimmy in this story is the younger Jimmy Olsen, not Chloe's Jimmy. I'll let you read now. Please enjoy and review! :)
The following day I was supposed to start my new job at the Daily Planet. I had stayed at Watchtower again, Chloe had told me I could stay as long as I wanted. I decided that I'd go looking for an apartment the following weekend, even though it was convenient to combine my abilities with the surveillance equipment at Watchtower, I knew I needed to find my own place. Returning to the farm just didn't seem like it was an option. Lois was starting over in Gotham, and I needed to start over in Metropolis.
I woke up early, and took a long shower. I got dressed and headed for the door, I opened it, before remembering that, as usual, I'd forgotten to put on my glasses. I turned around, half-expecting Lois to be standing there with them, shaking her head, before she slipped them on my nose.
"I swear, Smallville, if your head wasn't attached you'd forget that too. It's a good thing you've got me around to keep you in check."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I'd have to keep myself in check now, and it really didn't sound like much fun. My glasses were across the room, resting on a coffee table. I walked over, and picked them up. I put them on and thought that they'd never felt so cold resting on my face before. I sighed heavily.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and the sky was clear as I walked to the Daily Planet. The good weather seemed to mock how I was feeling inside. 'Lois is alive, that's all that matters,' I silently reminded myself. I really needed to get a handle on living without her by my side, I knew it would take some time, my wounds were still so fresh. I rounded the corner on 7th street and spotted our bakery.
I did feel like a cup of coffee, so I went inside. Jerry, the friendly grey-haired owner, was standing behind the register. I caught myself before greeting him by his first name, as I had only just started living in Metropolis, I was pretty sure I wasn't on a first name basis with him yet.
"Morning," I said.
"Good morning! What can I do for you son?" Jerry said cheerfully.
"Two," I said holding up two fingers out of habit, "uh sorry, one large black coffee, please."
He nodded and went to retrieve my coffee. As I waited I looked into the pastry case and spotted a full tray of maple doughnuts. They were Lois's favorite, she got at least one everyday. If I ever made her angry or upset, a dozen of them were always a great peace offering.
"You want one of them maple doughnuts too, sir?" Jerry asked when he returned with my coffee.
"I'm not sure," I replied, trying to decide whether or not I actually wanted one, or whether I'd be buying one out of pure nostalgia.
"You're lucky I've still got some. Used to have this reporter lady who'd come in and clean me out every morning, said she was hypoglaciermic-"
"You mean hypoglycemic?"
"Yeah that. She was sort of bossy, but she always tipped well so I never complained. Think she moved to Gotham though, why anyone would want to leave Metropolis for Gotham is beyond me. They've got all those Bat-people lurking in the shadows, and all those lunatics escaping from Arkham. At least Superman shows his face in the daylight. Anyway, you want one, Mr.?" said Jerry.
"Kent, my name's Clark Kent, and yes I do think I'll take one for the road."
"Well good to meet you, Mr. Kent, the name's Jerry. Here you go, that'll be $4.50."
"Pleasure to meet you too Jerry," I said politely as I handed him my money, and dropped a couple of dollars in the tip jar.
"Well, don't be a stranger now, and have a nice day Mr. Kent," Jerry said kindly.
"Thank you, you have a good one too Jerry," I said as I went out the door.
Ten minutes later, I was standing in the lobby of the Daily Planet. I had just pressed the 'up' button with my thumb, and was patiently awaiting the arrival of the elevator. As I munched on my maple doughnut, a small crowd gathered around me. They were all other reporters, also waiting to be carried to the upper floors of the Planet.
"Can you believe that Lane actually got an exclusive with Two-Face, and lived to send the story to the presses?" I heard the man next to me say.
Great! Less than two weeks in Gotham and Lois was already having one on one chats with its most criminally insane residents! I needed to give Bruce a heads up, tell him to keep an eye out for her.
"Come on Bill, it's not really all that surprising. I mean the woman nabbed the first interview with Superman! That alone is enough for a Pulitzer, but add in all of the incriminating quotes she's managed to squeeze out of Luthor, she's untouchable! Lois Lane is the Goddess of Investigative Journalism, if anyone could get both of Harvey Dent's faces to talk it's her," his friend observed.
"Yeah, you're right. But, you know, I'm sorta glad she went to the Gazette. She really makes the rest of us look like amateur reporters, like we don't know how to break a story. I also don't miss the way she used to order everybody around the office," the man next to me replied.
"With a body like her's," said his friend, "she could order me around for the rest of my life! My desk was right behind her's, and man, oh man, do I miss the view!"
I stifled the pang of jealousy in the pit of my stomach, and reminded myself that the view of Lois's behind didn't belong to me in this world. A loud ding sounded the arrival of the elevator. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the eighth floor, then settled into the back before the rest of the crowd packed themselves inside.
As we started to move, I looked to my left and saw a mousy blonde woman standing next to me, I sighed heavily. Lois and I always held hands on the elevator ride up to, and down from our office. It was one of the few times during the workday when we could share physical contact with each other. Sometimes, when I would step on the elevator, Lois liked to goose me from behind, I would jump in surprise and accidentally bump into the people around me, much to their annoyance. When I'd turn to look accusingly at Lois, she'd innocently shrug her shoulders with a mischievous smirk on her lips and say, "Jeeze, Smallville, got ants in your pants?" We'd also spent many heated moments inside the little room on those blissful occasions when the doors would open and we'd find ourselves alone in it. Elevator rides were one of my favorite things about working with my wife, and as I stood there now, completely alone in a crowd of people, I came to the conclusion that I'd probably start taking the stairs.
The doors parted when we arrived on the eighth floor, and I fought my way out of the crowded box. The office was, as usual, buzzing with life. I made my way across the room to Perry's office and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, I opened it slowly and peeked my head inside.
Perry was sitting behind his desk on the phone, he spotted me and waved me in. I squeezed through the door as clumsily and awkwardly as possible, and then plopped loudly down into one of the chairs opposite his desk.
"Yes, Bob, I did read it...I know she's a good reporter, but Lane's a handful you-...Well, just wait until you get the first lawsuit, you won't be gloating then!...For your information, I have other Pulitzer worthy reporters! I'm looking at one right now!...Well she may be selling papers for you, but don't come crying to me when you can't control her!" Perry hung up the phone with more force than was necessary.
"Kent, weren't you supposed to be here yesterday?" he barked at me.
"Gee, I don't think so Mr. White, uh-your e-mail said to report to you on the twenty-first, that's today sir," I said, pushing my glasses further up on the bridge of my nose.
"Right, well, I guess it doesn't matter. Look, I just lost my best reporter to the damned Gotham Gazette, and if you haven't noticed it hasn't put me in a very cheerful mood! I'm counting on you to fill the void, Kent. You don't have Lane's gusto, but you're a word smith, and you know how to chase a good lead. I want you to start with this," he said pushing a file across the desk to me.
I opened it up and read the title, PROJECT UBERMENCH. I scanned the first few pages, and my jaw dropped in shock. It appeared that LexCorp was attempting to combine a human test subject with bionics that would give them my abilities. Lex was trying to create a bionic Superman. A bionic me, and he had samples of my blood that he was using to ensure the accuracy of recreating my abilities. This day just kept getting better and better.
"W-what is this? Where-where did you get this?" I stammered.
"A source that wished to remain anonymous slipped it under my door the other day. I want you to get to the bottom of it, Kent. I should have given this to a more senior reporter, but I trust you to get the truth, the facts. You don't have a slant Kent, and I like that about you. Just don't make me regret giving it to you."
"I'll do my best, Mr. White," I told him.
"Good, now let's get you in your new office shall we? Olsen!" Perry shouted into the intercom on his desk, "Olsen get in here!"
A moment later the door swung open and Jimmy burst through, bow-tie and all. I smiled, it was nice to see a friendly, familiar face.
"Yeah, Chief?"
"I want you to take Kent to his new office, and maybe give him a tour so he can get his bearings. And as soon as you're done with that I want you to head down to the museum to cover the opening of that new exhibit."
"Yes Chief, I'm on it, sir!"
"And stop calling me Chief," Perry said.
"Sure thing, uh-Mr. White. Good to see you again Mr. Kent!" Jimmy said happily as he held out his hand for me to shake.
"Good to see you too, Jimmy, and call me Clark," I said standing up and following him out of Perry's office.
"Perry's been in a foul mood since Lois left, and I'll admit that I sorta miss her too. But he's been excited, well as excited as the Chief gets, for you to get here," Jimmy explained as he turned down a very familiar hallway. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, fate was not cutting me any slack today. We were headed to the office Lois and I had shared for seven years...
"Well, I'm excited to be here, it'll be nice to stay in one place for a while," I said.
"But I bet it was some adventure traveling all over the world, chasing all those amazing stories!" Jimmy said enthusiastically.
"It was definitely an adventure," I replied.
"Well here we are, your new office," he said stopping in front of the door, and handing me the keys. Sure enough, my premonition had been correct. There was a man from maintenance still scraping Lois's name off the door. Not only was it the same office we had shared in my world, but apparently it had been Lois's office at the Planet in this world too. I sighed heavily, again.
"Do you want to put your stuff down and then I can give you a tour of the office?" asked Jimmy.
"You know, I think I can find my way around, but thanks anyway Jimmy," I told him.
"No problem Mr.-uh I mean Clark," he answered, "If you need anything at all just let me know!"
"Will do," I said shaking his hand.
I watched him go back down the hall for a moment before I turned around and went into my office. I sat down behind the desk and sighed again. It felt very empty, and too clean. I looked at the walls, they were normally covered with various news clippings, and documents. I could smell fresh paint, and new carpet. Apparently they had de-Loised the room for me. I couldn't count the many times Lois had accidentally spilled a cup of coffee on the floor after she'd had an epiphany, or finally made a connection between two obscure bits of evidence.
I logged onto my computer and checked my e-mail. Nothing in the inbox. Then I reached into my messenger bag and pulled out a few files. I had made a quick run to the farm to get some clothes, and my laptop the night before. While I was there I came across some stories I had been working on. I walked over to the filing cabinet and opened the top drawer to put them away, when I was met with a lovely surprise. A small, bright red boom box was sitting inside, apparently forgotten by its owner. I opened the CD player and saw a disk that read: Lois's Whitesnake Ass Kicking Mix. A wide smile grew on my face. I was intrigued, my Lois had made a mix with the same title, and I wondered if it had all of the same songs on it. I picked it up, plugged it into an outlet in the corner, and pressed play. 'Here I go Again' began to blare out of the speakers, the volume was turned all the way up, I scrambled to turn down the dial.
"Clark, put on my mix," Lois would say, while standing atop her desk, surveying an assortment of paperwork she'd spread out on the floor, "I need to kick some ass. There's something I'm not seeing here, and I need a little inspiration."
I let it play, at a normal decibel, in the background as I sat back down at my desk. For the first time all day, I felt good, happy. Listening to her mix, made me feel close to Lois. I knew that she had carefully crafted the playlist, and I felt like, subconsciously, she'd left it here on purpose just for me. To make me feel less alone.
I opened the LexCorp file and began to read it thoroughly, making notes as I went, and jotting down a list of possible people for Clark, the mild-mannered reporter, to interview. It seemed that they were still in the developing stages and had yet to begin human testing. The bionics appeared to be fairly elementary, and weren't able to compete with my strength or stamina at this point. But the part that most concerned me was the testing the samples of my blood had undergone. I had learned through my experience with the Kandorians, that my blood, if put in the wrong hands, could create dire consequences. If Lex really gained the ability to do what this research was proposing, the world would be in grave danger. I needed to put a stop to this project, and a story in the Planet, no matter how accurate, wouldn't be enough to shut it down.
I needed to retrieve my blood from the lab, the trouble was I didn't know where it was. I was going to need some help from Watchtower and the League. It was also prudent that I find out who had given Perry this file.
I spent the next few hours getting settled in to my office, and writing a story outline. I hadn't gotten my police scanner from the farm yet, so I had to multitask, keeping an ear out for any trouble happening on the streets of Metropolis. It was a quiet morning, it was nearly two o'clock before I heard a car jacking in progress on 17th street. I raced up to the roof and took to the sky. I was there in a flash, and was disappointed to see a couple of teenage boys attempting, and miserably failing, to steal a Bentley.
"Come on dude! I thought you said you could hot-wire this, no problem!" said the larger boy who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"It's not as easy as it looks man, just shut up ok?" snapped the boy who was hunched over fiddling with the wires underneath the steering wheel.
I landed in front of the car and patiently waited for them to notice me. The thinner of the two looked up, and spotted me. I watched the color drain from his face.
"Afternoon boys," I said sternly, with my hands on my hips.
"Oh shit man, it's Superman!"
The boy in the passenger seat flew out of the car and began to race down the street. The other was so terrified, he only managed to lock the doors of the car. I super-sped down the street, and stood with arms crossed in front of the large boy for a moment, before grabbing him by his shirt and returning to the car. Without letting go of the boy, I gently tugged on the car door and pulled it off the hinges. I reached in and snatched the other kid out of the driver's seat.
A Met PD patrol car pulled up and I passed the boys off to the officer, who promptly put them into hand cuffs, and then into the back of his car. I turned my attention back to the car door and used my heat vision to repair it. The officer thanked me, and I told him it was no trouble before I took off and flew back to the Planet.
After I changed, I went back to my office and texted Chloe. I told her that I'd meet her in Star City later on to discuss what I'd found out about LexCorp's new project. I decided to call it a day at around three-thirty. I turned off the Whitesnake, and as I locked the door I saw that my name had replaced Lois's on it. I sighed heavily, before taking the long, lonely walk down the stairs to the lobby. Everywhere I looked something reminded me of Lois, and I knew that it was unlikely that the reminders would go away. I'd just have to learn to cope with them better. I hoped Lois's day had been better than mine...