Chapter 48

"Arizona?" Lois was too late in asking because Clark was no longer there. Then she remembered. There was some Kryptonian that had used blue Kryptonite. The doctors at Star Labs wanted him to rob a grave to get it for them. "Oh, the nerve of them!" The very thought of them expecting him to do that rankled her to the bone.

She picked up her shoes and took a deep breath before entering the living room once again. Oliver was lounging on the sofa reading a newspaper or, at least, pretending to do so. She imagined he had heard every bit of her conversation with Clark. He really had been front and center for a couple of scenes in one day between the two of them. That's just great. Way to go, Lane, letting your ex hear all that jealous raving over the guy who replaced him. And not just any ex. Oh no, it had to be Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow. Smirking, smug, never-lets-anything-go Oliver!

She saw her jacket draped across the back of a chair. From there, it really wasn't that far to the door. Oh, if I could only get out of here without a face-off with Oliver! With one eye on the back of that newspaper, she tiptoed over to the chair and tried to carefully lift the jacket without making a sound. So far, so good. Eyeing the door, she thought, Maybe, just maybe, I can sneak…

"Bondage Barbie?" The top of the newspaper fell to reveal the face of a beaming Oliver Queen. "I like it! Of course, she'd have to get permission to use it officially from Mattel, but I think it ranks right up there with 'The Man of Steel'!"

Stopping in her tracks, she sighed, her shoulders dropped, and she turned to face him. "You heard," she said quietly.

"Yeah. I'm surprised they didn't hear you in Smallville." He got up and went over to her. "What did you come here today for anyway, Lois? You didn't know either of them would be here, so it must have been yours truly you really wanted to see."

"Yes, it was. I wanted to ask you to stop the tests on Clark."

"Why ask me?"

"Hello! 'Queen Industries purchases Star Labs' wasn't on the front page, but I do keep up on things, you know. Besides," she admitted, "Clark told me you bought it."

"But why on earth would I want to stop the tests? Why would you want me to do that?"

"Because they're going too far! Do you know he's off right now to dig up a grave for them?"

"Oh, to get the blue Kryptonite. Yeah, they told me. Unfortunately, it is the only place we know to find any. But, Lois, you should be—"

"Look, Clark has had a hard couple of days. He's just not the type that can handle doing something like that."

"Clark is so much more capable of handling things than you're giving him credit for, Lois. As long as you're there for him, he can do just about anything. Don't you know that?"

"Oh, cut the crap, Oliver. You're not calling the doctors off of this, are you?"

"No, I'm not. The tests go on. The decision on that is final. Clark's still onboard with all of it and he's a man now, Lois. That's something I don't think you're quite picking up on just yet, at least, not totally. You're still focused on him like he's that innocent farm boy we all met long ago. But the past few weeks, becoming Superman, and not just being the nebulous Red/Blue Blur, has really graduated the seriousness of what he's had to do to new levels."

"Of course I know—"

"Do you? Did you talk to him about the rescues he had to make during that last bad earthquake? The body recoveries he helped with? The tornados down south, the bombings in the Middle East, and that flooding in Europe? He's been everywhere. He's been doing some pretty heavy stuff across the globe while the rest of us have been sleeping, and some of it has been very unpleasant."

"Look, I know that Clark—"

"Lois, his world expanded far beyond Metropolis because of catching that plane you were on that day. Personally, I don't think he was quite ready. I was always waiting on him to get that last dose of confidence that would make him the world's hero he was meant to be, but all of this was thrust upon him in one split second. Right now, he's playing a game of catch up with his emotional self lagging behind his physical one."

"Oh my god, these aren't just physical tests they're doing. Are they? They're studying his psychological make-up! Oliver, how could you? This is not fair to him! "

"No, we're not doing that. But it is a by product of Dr. Hamilton being the one to see so much of him. He's really into the way the mind rules the body. It's just stuff he's observing. Don't worry. It's not the object of the tests. Besides, I've had quite a view of Clark's psyche myself when I've worked alongside of him."

"I still don't like it."

"No surprise there. Still, just remember all that when you lay into him tonight about the whole Wonder Woman business. Remember that he's not just different from us physically. He's way different from us emotionally and mentally as well."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "He may be, Oliver, but I don't plan on treating him any differently because of it. The Kent's didn't and I think they did a marvelous job of raising him. Besides, if there's anything he depends on me for, it's honesty. That's what he gets from me. And you can count on my telling him honestly what I think of how he let that woman paw him in front of me!"

"Heaven help the poor hero tonight! Okay, then, Little Miss Honesty, do you need a ride?"

"I really don't know if I do or I don't," she said grudgingly. "Clark said he was going to move my car, but he also said he was going to fly me to the Planet. Then he just left…" She thought a moment and smiled at the one idea that popped up into her head. Maybe Clark was affected by that kiss just like I was. Saying one thing and doing another? Could be. But Oliver was speaking and she was missing it.

"…have the car take you there if your car isn't downstairs. With all that Clark has on his mind today, no wonder he's not thinking straight." But the smirk on his face as he looked her up and down told her that he really thought Clark may have been flustered for other reasons than just dreading the distasteful job of getting at the blue Kryptonite.

She could only hope.

********

At the Daily Planet, she took the service elevator up to the office and avoided being seen by everyone – except Perry White. He caught her at the door of the office.

"Lois, what are you doing here?" He looked up and down the hall as she took out her keys. "What if someone sees you? Does Clark know you're here?" he asked as he pushed her quickly through the opened door.

"Yes, he knows. He told me to come. There are some files here that I don't have at the farm. Do you have the packet of pictures the kid took? I need them."

"Yes, they're in my office. I wouldn't trust them with anyone else until we break the final story. Lois—"

"Would you get them for me?"

"Sure. I guess. Lois, you really need to be careful."

"Now?" Lois insisted, and Perry looked confused. "The pictures?" she clarified. "Can you get them now?"

"Okay. But stay here. Don't leave until I get you an escort out of the building."

"Sure." Turning her back on him, she went to her desk and began sorting through some notes scattered among the paperclips and pens in her top desk drawer.

In a few minutes, Perry was back with the manila envelope of pictures. "This is all of them. What are you looking for?"

"I just need to check…" She quickly opened the envelope and looked through the pictures, separating one from the rest and keeping it. Handing the envelope back to Perry, she crossed to the files cabinets along the wall.

"Lois. This is making me nervous. It wasn't that long ago that those men were in here—"

"Relax, Perry. Benson's dead. The other guy is being held right now. I've just got to find…" She opened a drawer of one of the two file cabinets and began thumbing through the tabs.

"Where's Clark?"

"He had something to do." She saw exactly the file she needed and pulled it from the cabinet.

"I hope it was important enough to have you be the one to come here for a stupid file instead of him coming himself!"

She turned to look at him and saw the anger written on his face. "Perry, he wouldn't have known what to look for," she stepped in front of him and pinched his cheek, "and neither would you. You're sweet for worrying, but it's totally unnecessary. Lock the door when you leave, okay?"

And she walked out the door, ponytail waving jauntily, leaving a stunned Perry White standing with his mouth open in her office.