Chapter 4
Lois Lane stood on top of the Daily Planet building scanning the skies. She had said his name only once, but knew he would hear her. When she finally saw him, just a dot descending from the heavens, she felt a familiar rush of excitement. In her mind all other men paled in comparison. He was like some Demi-god out of mythology transported to the modern world. He landed effortlessly in front of her, his red cape swirling in the wind. Her heart fluttered as she gazed into those impossibly blue eyes.
"Superman," she said in a breathless whisper.
"Hello, Lois, I heard your call,' he responded, giving her a small smile.
"Its good to see you, it's been so long," she said, trying to keep her excitement out of her voice.
"Yes, I know, I've been busy lately," he offered.
"I understand, saving the world must take up a lot of time," she smiled.
"I guess you could say that," he sheepishly grinned. Lois confidently moved over to him and standing on her tiptoes kissed him lightly on the lips.
"I was beginning to think you forgot about me," she playfully said, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck.
"I wouldn't worry, you're a hard person to forget," he replied.
"I know, but it's nice to hear."
"So why did you need to see me, Lois," Superman asked.
"Do I need a reason?" she said, smiling at him. "Can't I just want to see you?"
"I'd like to think so," he admitted, "but I've noticed you usually want something."
"Am I so transparent," she asked, blushing a little. This was the side of Lois that Clark was most attracted to, when she let down her guard and let him see the real person behind the bluster. She was such a warm, generous, loving woman, but she rarely let anyone see this side of her. He was grateful she let him see it, if only as Superman.
"Not transparent, but predictable, in a good way," he said with a smile.
"Well, there is something," she admitted, blushing a little. "What do you know about someone called the Albino?"
For a moment Superman didn't know what to say. It seemed his little joke as Clark Kent was getting out of hand, so he'd better put a damper on it quick.
"The Albino? Who's that," he said, giving her his most innocent expression.
"A criminal mastermind in control of most of the illegal activity in Metropolis," she informed him.
"I think I'd have heard of someone like that, Lois. I think you've been misinformed."
"So you've never heard of him?"
"No, it sounds like someone's playing a joke on you," Superman offered, hoping she would catch on and he could admit it as Clark Kent later. She seemed to think about it for a moment and then shook her head no.
"I doubt it, Clark's not that clever," she said.
"Excuse me," he said before thinking, a little insulted by her comment.
'Clark Kent, he's a reporter here at the Planet, well, sort of a reporter," Lois said with a shrug, "The information came from him, but I seriously doubt Smallville would have the cajones to pull a joke on me."
"Smallville?" Superman said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.
"He comes from some hick town named Smallville, can you believe it? Oh, he's a nice enough guy if you like that bland, Casper milquetoast kind. He just probably screwed the story up, as usual," Lois said with a smirk.
"Maybe there's more to this Mr. Kent than you're giving him credit for, Lois," Superman suggested.
"Na, I've looked," she countered, "with him it's what you see is what you get. He'll probably marry some nice quiet librarian and they'll raise two nice quiet kids in the suburbs. A great guy, don't get me wrong, but nothing exciting about him by any stretch of the imagination."
"Well, looks can be deceiving," Superman tersely said, "I should probably be going."
"So soon," Lois said, a little hurt coming through her voice.
"There's a wildfire out west that's flared back up I have to check on," he offered.
"Why not take me with you," she suggested, "you know how much I love flying with you!"
"Not this time, Lois," he declined, "I'll be seeing you."
Without another word, Superman launched himself off the roof and was speeding away before Lois could say anything else. She stood there watching him disappear, wondering why that seemed to go so wrong. Shaking her head and smiling, Lois chided herself for being silly. He had work to do or of course he'd want to stay longer with her. Why wouldn't he want to be with her?
The Watchtower
Batman had come in on his off hours and had been pouring over computer data for almost three hours. He was playing a hunch, but if he was right something was starting that might be significant for the League. Most of the members were curious about what he was up to, but few dared interrupt him. It was Jonn that finally ventured over.
'Bruce, is there something I can help you with? You've been immersed in those news reports for some time now."
"There was a strange event in Gotham earlier, unlike anything I've seen,' Bruce replied, looking up from the console.
"Yes, I saw it on the news, quite disturbing," Jonn nodded.
"It was more than that, Jonn. An 81-year-old catatonic doesn't just snap out of it and then run like a sprinter, tackle a man and drowned them both. That just doesn't happen."
"So you believe there's more to it," Jonn asked, "but why the new reports? You were there, weren't you?"
"Yes, but I'm not looking at that footage,' Bruce explained, "I'm trying to see if any similar events have occurred. I've only found one so far, in Singapore. A businessman fell from the fiftieth floor of an office building. Witnesses say he was shoved or pushed by a little girl."
"What does the little girl say?"
"Nothing, she went out the window with him."
"It's unusual, I admit, but I don't see the connection," Jonn said.
"Synchronicity, Jonn,' Bruce offered.
"I'm not sure I follow you?"
"Synchronicity is a concept that speaks of two or more events which are causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner."
"But what of causality,' Jonn asked.
"The concept does not question, or compete with, the notion of causality," Bruce replied. "Instead, it maintains that just as events may be grouped by cause, they may also be grouped by their meaning. Since meaning is a complex mental construction, subject to conscious and subconscious influence, not every correlation in the grouping of events by meaning needs to have an explanation in terms of cause and effect."
"So you believe these two seemingly random events are somehow related and have a greater meaning?"
"That's the theory I'm going with right now,' Bruce admitted. "I don't know why, but I just have this feeling there's more going on here than meets the eye."
"Another set of eyes might speed up the process of sifting through the data,' Jonn suggested.
"It's just a theory, Jonn, but if you want to help, you're more than welcome."
"I've noticed your theories have a way of panning out, Batman," Jonn smiled and took a seat at the next monitor. Bruce almost smiled before turning back to the data.
Daily Planet
Lois Lane was chatting with Cat Grant, the gossip columnist, pumping her for the latest dirt when the elevator doors opened and Zatanna stepped off. She went straight towards Clark's office, as the two women stood watching.
"Again?" Lois muttered, "What does she see in Clark, of all people?"
"I don't know, except that he's tall, good looking, polite, unmarried and a gentleman, I can't think of a thing," Cat countered with a knowing smile.
"Please, add neat and never married and you've just described him as gay," Lois sarcastically replied.
"No, he's too shy and not flamboyant enough to be gay."
"Seriously, she looks like a model and is a celebrity, while he's, well, Clark," Lois asked.
"Maybe there's more than meets the eye with Mr. Kent," Cat suggested.
"You're like the second person that's said that to me today," Lois complained, "It's Clark we're talking about. What am I missing?"
"Whatever it is, apparently she found it," Cat suggested, pointing to Zatanna entering Clark's office.
"It's all wrong, she must be using him," Lois sourly said. "He's just a naïve farm boy, really. She's way out of his league. He's probably just too innocent to see it."
"So he has a little fun, what's the harm?"
"He's too trusting, he probably thinks she really likes him," Lois said with a frown. "She'll have her fun and then drop him. Clark will be crushed."
"Since when did you start caring about what happens to Clark," Cat asked. "You sound a little jealous, if you ask me."
"Jealous? Oh, come on, of Clark Kent? Ha!" Lois quickly dismissed the idea. "Clark's just a friend and I don't want to see that tramp hurt him, is all."
"Tramp? How do you know she's a tramp? I haven't heard anything like that about her. Do you have any sources? Would they be willing to tell their story, on or off the record?" Cat asked, the thought of a scoop for her gossip column foremost in her mind.
"No, I don't have any inside information, if that's what you're looking for, but you know how those show business people are," Lois justified. "There not like us real people."
"Oh, there not that different, Lois, they take their pants off one leg at a time just like the rest of us," Cat smiled.
"Would you get your mind out of the gutter, Cat, this is Clark were talking about!"
"I know," Cat replied with a wink. Lois threw up her hands in frustration and stormed off.
Zatanna was a little nervous as she entered the Daily Planet building. Clark had been on her mind since yesterday in the park. She was attracted to him, she had to admit to herself and she hoped it was mutual. This morning she'd made a decision and it had taken all day to get up her courage. She was going to ask Clark out on a date. It wasn't something she normally did, but the more she thought about him the more she decided it was worth the risk. She was dressed casually, but in her favorite outfit, which helped her confidence. She looked damn good, if she had to say so herself. Striding purposefully out of her hotel, she self-assuredly headed to the Planet. The closer she got to the building the more doubts crept into her mind. What if she'd misread the signals and he wasn't interested? What if he was just being nice to her as a fellow Justice League member? What if he already had a girlfriend? What if he turned her down? What if he was gay? Stop it, Zatanna said to herself, knowing if she let herself continue her mind would run away with itself finding reasons not to ask him. Yes, he was Superman, but that wasn't whom she was asking out. She wanted to go out with Clark Kent. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and entered the Daily Planet. She couldn't stop fidgeting in the elevator, unsure of what to do with her hands. The elevator seemed much faster than she remembered and before she knew it she was on his floor. There's no turning back now, she told herself, and with more confidence than she was feeling, Zatanna headed straight for Clark's office. She stood in front of his door, looking at his nameplate trying to calm her nerves. She hesitantly raised her right hand to knock on the door. Not wanting to knock too hard, she didn't actually make contact with her first attempted and then quickly gave the door two light raps.
"It's open" his voice called out in response. Zatanna smiled as she opened the door and poked her head inside.
"Hi, Clark, you busy," she asked.
"No, Zatanna, come on it, I was just thinking about you," he smiled, gesturing for her to come in.
"Really," her smile grew larger, a warm thrill going through her at his words. She stepped inside and closed the door. She quickly sat down in the chair opposite him.
"Yeah, you're heroics in the park made the front page," he said, holding up the paper.
"Oh, that," she said, now understand why he was thinking of her. "That wasn't that big a deal, really."
"You're too modest, you saved those kids," he replied.
"You were there, so they weren't really in that much danger," she said dismissing the seriousness of the situation.
"Even if I hadn't been there, I'm pretty sure you'd have handle it just fine," he said with a smile of is own.
"Thank you, but that wasn't why I came here today," Zatanna said, plunging right in.
"Okay," Clark replied, seeing something was on her mind.
"Well, Sunday, tomorrow, is my day off and I was, well, wondering, if you're not too busy, if maybe you'd like to have dinner, or something, with me," Zee awkwardly said.
"You mean as Superman, on the Watchtower," he asked, his conversation with Lois earlier coming to mind.
"What? No, no, I meant you, Clark, would you like to have dinner with me, here in Metropolis somewhere," she corrected him.
"Are, are you asking me on a date, Zatanna," Clark smiled, more than a little surprised.
"Um, yes," she cringed a little, nervous about his answer.
'Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yes, I'd love to have dinner with you Zee," he said, looking into her eyes.
"Okay then," Zatanna said, lighting up at his answer, "Um, do you want me to pick you up or what? I don't have a car right now, but I can probably figure something out."
"I think I can handle that part, Zee," he chuckled, "just tell me what time to be at your hotel."
"7:30? Is that okay?" she asked.
"7:30, it's a date." Clark nodded.
"It's a date then. Great," Zatanna smiled, feeling a little giddy he'd said yes. "I'll let you get back to work. See you at 7:30."
They both rose at the same time, and Zatanna was so flustered that he'd accepted she didn't know whether to kiss him or shake his hand, so she did both, kissing him on the cheek and shaking his hand. He didn't seem to know what to do either, and fumbled to kiss her back before settling for a handshake.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Clark finally said, feeling awkward.
"Until tomorrow, Clark," Zee said, flashing him her best smile before slipping out of his office. Clark sat back with a huge grin on his face. Maybe Lois was wrong about Clark Kent being just a bland hick after all, he thought.
Daily Planet
In the bowels of the building Jimmy Olsen had called a meeting of key players in a little scheme he had. Lisa from the comics, Fred from the classified and newspaper games, Milton from the obits and Doris from the archives, were all gathered together for one reason. They had all been insulted or put down by Lois Lane at one time or another. Jimmy paced back and forth in front of them, waiting for Milton to get his candy bar from the vending machine.
"Zagnut, wouldn't you know," Milton complained, as he took his seat again.
"Friends, I've gathered you all here, because we all share a common nemesis, one Lois Lane," Jimmy began. "Each and everyone of us are the "little people" according to her and we've all felt the sting of her hurtful comments."
They all nodded in agreement.
"She insulted the comic Mary Worth, telling me I could probably find most of its readers on the obits page. Mary Worth has a strong, loyal following!" Lisa commented.
"She told me she'd rather hang herself than waste a second on Sudoku. I don't even want to repeat what she said about the Jumble," Fred added, with a shake of his head.
"She always refers to me as the Grim Reaper," Milton complained, "how am I suppose to get a date with that nickname?"
"You do drive a hearse," Lisa pointed out.
"It's a black Cadillac wagon!"
"At least you have a nickname, she calls me a glorified book keeper," Doris chimed in. "I'm a historian! I'm responsible for keeping the past in a orderly and chronological system, that's easily accessed by one and all!"
"Okay!" Jimmy cut in, "we're all been wronged by Lois, and I for one think it's time we did something about it."
"What did you have in mind? I'm not much of a fighter, I've got a arthritis in my left shoulder," Milton explained. "Plus I get out of breath really easily."
"We're not going to fight her, but we're going to get payback," Jimmy said, turning to look them all in the eye.
"I'm not good at confrontation, Jimmy," Lisa said, and the others nodded in agreement.
"What if I said we could get her back without her even knowing about it?"
"I like the sound of that," Fred smiled.
"Me too," Doris agreed.
"Well, as it happens, the very means to do it have fallen right into our lap," Jimmy smiled, seeing he had their interest. "Let me tell you a story about the Albino."
The others all leaned forward as Jimmy began his tale.
San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge
Boston Brand, the Deadman, hovered over a small gathering of people standing at the center of the bridge. He had felt a disturbance in the aether earlier in the day and the source was centered on these people. The seemed like just ordinary tourists, but as he approached he sensed something very different about them. Not a word was spoken as they lined up along the railing, facing out towards the ocean. Swinging around to see their faces, he received a shock as the all began to vibrate. Their eyes snapped open and they were all pure white. He moved to inhabit one of them to find out just what this was all about. As he drew near, an unseen signal must have went up, because one by one they leaned forward and then plunged over the side of the bridge. Cars screeched to a stop as horrified onlookers watched in shock as the group continued to fall to their deaths. As Boston Brand made a moved towards the last few members, the young man on the end turned and looked at him. This shouldn't be possible, as he had no form visible to the naked eye, yet the man was looking directly at him.
"Hello, Boston Brand," the young man said with a smile.
"How?" Boston said, knowing the man shouldn't be able to hear him.
"It begins," the man replied.
"Why are you doing this," Boston shouted in confusion.
"Why else? To change the world," the young man said matter of factly and then stepped off the bridge and plunged to his death below.
