A/N: Updated.

Chapter 13

Pain. All he could remember was pain. A deep, penetrating, spreading like fire through a forest during a drought kind of pain. Trapped in a limbo of wakefulness and sleep he was bombarded with fractured memories. There had been a robbery at a bank. Hostages. He had come to help, but something had been wrong. He had been weak and uncoördinated. The sensation he had thought was similar to the weakness he had felt on the Black Zero. He couldn't see straight and his limbs had felt heavy. He had fought through it and incapacitated them.

Then there had been a gun barrel and he could see the bullet glowing green. How could a bullet glow? Then that pain had been inside him and it had spread across his chest and down his abdomen and into his arm. It had been like molten lava in his veins. Then...he had died. And...

Whatever had happened after waking up, he couldn't recall clearly. There was Lois and another face masked in black. In his delirium he thought that it had been the angel of death hovering above him.

As he slipped back into consciousness the pain became real, but not as strong as his memory. It was more of a dull ache now. Clark opened his eyes, groggy and his brain slowly registered a familiar bedroom. His bedroom. On the farm. How was he there? He tried to sit up, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his chest.

"Don't move, honey. You need to rest," said a comforting voice.

"Lois?"

"Hi," she said her voice cracking, but he could hear her smile.

"What happened?" Clark croaked.

"You were shot."

"With what?" he asked incredulously.

Lois looked away uncomfortably. "We're not sure," she spoke slowly.

Whatever that bullet was made of hurt him. A lot. It had been a greater pain than anything he had ever felt. More than Zod punching him. More than the sentinel bot in the scout ship. It was a penetrating pain, that lingered long after it's removal. Like a sunburn. And that worried him.

"There was a woman," she continued. "She removed it and took it with her."

Clark looked up at her with wide eyes. "What woman-" And then everything was a little clearer.

The angel of death was no celestial being; it was a masked woman in black who had come to his aid. Who was she? Why was she there? Why would she take the bullet with her? His mind kept shifting from one concern to the next until he remembered the question he had when he woke.

"Lois, how did we get to the farm?"

"I'm not sure," she was at a loss for words. "She teleported us here."

Clark swallowed dryly and raised his eyebrows. Teleported? A meta-human, maybe? That would almost explain why she helped him. Among meta-humans he was a champion and a beacon of hope though he presumed it served a different definition for them than other humans. If people could accept a super-powered alien then surely they could accept a super-powered human. The possibility that he had a meta-human ally gave him little comfort as there was another problem implicated in the situation.

"Here? How did she..." He groaned. His head hurt so much it was difficult to speak.

"I don't know, Clark. I didn't direct her here," she said delicately.

His eyes widened fearfully. "She knows who I am." Then something worse occurred to him. "She knows who you are."

Lois was silent, but her eyes spoke clearly. It was the truth.

"That means you're in danger. Mom-" He tried to get up again, but only to be stopped by Lois' hands and he was surprised that she could hold him down.

"Clark, you were in danger. And now you're not. Don't worry about your Mom and me, okay? We're both willing to risk our lives for you."

He opened his mouth to protest when she placed a finger on his lips. "Better here than at a hospital."

He couldn't argue with that. With his alien heritage he had always shied away from hospitals and doctors. Though of course, he had never needed one until now. Still the anxiety over the current situation roused him out of his thoughts again.

"Lois-"

"Clark, lie down," she ordered gently. "Just rest for now. It'll be better when the sun rises."

Lovingly she kissed his forehead and eased him back onto his pillow. As Clark leaned back into his pillow, a sickening sense filling him akin to the bullet, but worse. He still wanted to talk about this, but he was too tired and slipped into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

The rays of Sol caressed his face and woke him. Within seconds he felt the warmth fill him and begin to renew his strength. Achingly he sat up in his bed and slowly stood up to walk to his window. Craving more sunlight and feeling more energized, he went down the stairs to stand in full view of the morning sun outside. There he bathed himself in the light and breathed deeply. The power in his limbs was returning and he felt the energy mold his skin whole again. Relieved from the pain, Clark could momentarily revel in the feeling of being recovered if only physically.

The mental wound from the previous night—the previous weeks—weighed on him. Each thought swirled around the next in an increasingly dizzying and distressing dance until he had to sit. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the warmth of the Sun and the steady rhythm of Lois' heart, and tried to sort through his troubling thoughts.

Clark closed his eyes reviewing the details of the ordeal. There was the bank, the criminals, the gun barrel, the bullet and the woman who helped him.

The first and most important detail: he had a weakness. It was some sort of green something; something that could be formed into a bullet. What was it? How did it hurt him? Where are on Earth could there be something capable of causing him physical pain? Having travelled most of his adult life if its origins were Terran he would have encountered an object that could do that and he never had. The only time he had ever felt pain was when he was attacked by something Kryptonian made.

The military had gathered the remains of the scout ship and the world engine. But the bullet had not been made of any Kryptonian metal he had seen before. Besides no one in the military would allow one of their weapons to fall so easily into the hands of criminals. Nor would they test that kind of weaponry in a place so blatantly public as to endanger the lives of the citizenry and risk exposure from the media.

The origins of this object was a dead-end so he moved on to the next detail. At least one other person knew of his weakness, but probably more. One of these people could be a friend or it was someone messing with him. Another one, whom he could assume was the meta-human who had assisted him, was a possible ally. The likelihood of her involvement in the note seemed high as she knew exactly how to help him.

He sighed frustrated. There were more players on the board than he could see. The person who attacked him was a common thief, so it was unlikely that he was the mastermind behind the formation of those bullets. Who was the architect of this plan? The men in the bank were probably at the Metropolis Police Station and Lois had a contact at the Metropolis police department. If they could question them, then they could trace back the weapons to their supplier and get to the one who orchestrated this.

Clark heard the sound of Lois' feet. His mother was gone for the day, so they were alone. She sat next to him and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek.

"How are you feeling?"

He smiled a little. "Much better."

His smile dropped as he moved on to darker thoughts. "Actually I've been thinking. Could you contact your friend in the Metropolis PD? If we question those bank robbers, we can learn about their supplier and then-"

Lois looked away uncomfortable. "What?" he asked.

"I already did."

"Why do I get the feeling you don't have good news?"

She winced. "Because I don't. The perps were taken away, but they never arrived. Either they're dead or they escaped."

Clark sighed and leaned back in the seat. "There goes our lead then."

Lois seemed preoccupied by something when she said, "I made some breakfast. Let's go inside."

As though in response to the prospect of food Clark's stomach growled and he nodded enthusiastically. He felt like he hadn't eaten in a week. It wasn't anything special: toast, orange juice, eggs, and bacon, but to Clark it was a feast. Immediately he began removing plates from the cupboard and filling one for himself and Lois. Staring at her food, she seemed disinterested. When she looked up at him, there was a look of determination, though.

"Have you ever thought that Luthor might be behind this? I mean he did threaten you."

Clark shook his head. He hadn't considered it, but if so then he would look into it himself.

"That happened after the note."

"So? He could have sent that to rattle you before you two met."

"No one at the Daily Planet is connected to him," he said.

"Maybe it wasn't sent by someone at the Daily Planet. Maybe it's someone who can blend in. Literally." Clark looked at her confused and Lois raised her eyebrows significantly.

"A meta-human? You mean the woman."

She nodded. "You said that he was trying to rally meta-humans to him."

Again Clark shook his head. "We don't know if he's been successful."

"We could know," she said conspiratorial.

"What do you mean?"

Not looking at him, she said casually, "It's not like I'm inexperienced at retrieving information clandestinely."

Clark frowned. "Lois, no. Besides Luthor doesn't know that I work at the Daily Planet."

"But he knows I do and he knows I'm connected to you. The note was sent to me, remember?"

"All the more reason to stay away," Clark insisted strongly.

Lois sighed and looked away thoughtfully. "Well, we could look at the bottom then. I still have friends in low enough places-"

"I don't want you doing that, Lois," he cut her off firmly.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you going to set a curfew for me too?"

He sighed. "I just want you to be safe."

"And I want you to be safe."

"You may be right about Lex, but let me figure it out, okay? He's dangerous."

She looked at him incredulously. "I don't care about putting myself in danger."

"But I do!" he shouted. Regretting his outburst, he deflated a bit. "I just want to protect you."

"What about protecting you?!" she yelled holding nothing back.

"Not when it means you're in danger," he said despairingly.

She sighed exasperated. "That is absolute crap, Clark! Of course, I'm going to risk myself for you! I love you!"

There were tears forming in her eyes as she spoke so passionately. Taken aback by her declaration of love for him, for a moment he said nothing. A large part of him was thrilled and elated by her loving him, but another part of him was terrified by the prospect of what that love would inspire her to do.

"Lois," he moved toward her and caressed her face tenderly. "I love you too. That's why I can't imagine anything happening to you."

"I can't either," she said tearfully. "That's why I'm not going anywhere. That's why I need to do this. Even superheroes need help sometimes," she said with small smile, but Clark didn't return it.

"Clark, whatever comes out of this, we can handle it. Together," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Gently, he took her hand and kissed the inside of her palm, just to feel her pulse there.

"Lois, promise me you won't go looking into Luthor."

She started to protest, but he cut her off gently.

"Promise."

"Clark," she whispered.

"Please," he pleaded with her.

She looked away for a moment, but then nodded. Relief washed over him as he hugged her.

"I love you."

He kissed her; her hair, her eyes, then her nose and finally her mouth. Clark felt Lois' hands in his hair and he deepened the kiss into something far less sweet.

"Clark-" she said when she could think. He was trailing kisses up her neck. "Clark, sweetie, you should be resting. You were shot yesterday."

"I'm healed now. And this brush with death has made me realize that I need to appreciate the people I have in my life." He smiled at her affectionately. "I don't know where I would be without you, Lois. I don't think I could handle what's coming."

"Clark," she said breathlessly.

The kissing escalated and Lois pushed him into the cupboard. There was a splintering noise, but they both ignored it. A meteor shower couldn't stop them. Clark felt his arm hit some plates or something off the counter causing them to crash and shatter on the floor. This was starting to get dangerous, so he lifted Lois and carried her over to the living room.

Before either of them knew it, their clothes littered the floor. Clark gently lain Lois on the couch. It was pure ecstasy. And it was exactly what he and Lois needed: privacy and quality time together. The unusual amount of stress for both was in much need of release. What better way to ameliorate such tension than by taking comfort in each other's bodies and company.

Clark kissed Lois deeply eliciting a moan from her. "You are so good at that."

"Thank you. I love doing it."

"Oh my God!" He heard a voice cry out and he jumped back in surprise and quickly grabbed the nearest cushion to retain some of his modesty. Although glad that it wasn't his mother, he didn't want it to be her either.

"Melissa!" he cried. "What are you doing?"

Her eyes were bugging out of her head. Obviously back from a run, she was wearing tight shorts and a tank top. Had Clark not been distracted by the knife in her right hand, he would have more clearly registered how toned and muscular her body was.

After her initial shock wore off she covered her face with her free hand. "What are you doing? Never mind, never mind! It just—why on the couch? Do they not have beds in Metropolis?"

Clark stammered. He felt something poke his leg. Puzzled he looked down to see Lois circling her eyes with her fingers and mouthing the word 'glasses'. His eyes grew wide. He hadn't realized his glasses were missing.

Where are they?

"Melissa, why are you carrying a knife?" Lois asked, giving Clark a chance to search. He frantically scanned the floor and through every piece of furniture, but he couldn't find them.

Still blind by her hand, Melissa was clearly a little discombobulated and she stumbled over her words as she explained.

"Well, I saw the plates on the floor and the door was unlocked so I thought someone had jimmied their way into the house."

"Why would a thief break some plates?" Lois asked while also looking for his glasses between the couch cushions. Clark shook his head at her; he had already searched there.

"I don't know Lois!" Melissa lifted up the knife hand dramatically causing Lois to jump.

"Put down the knife!" they shouted together.

Melissa uncovered her eyes and carefully set the knife on the table. Her eyes in full view of Clark she spun around.

"Sorry!" she said her voice squeaking with embarrassment. "I thought someone fell! Honestly, what was I supposed to think? There's no car in the drive way, so how was I supposed to know that it was you guys?"

Clark made a placating gesture with one hand as he precariously held a cushion to himself with the other while simultaneously searching for his glasses. "Okay, okay. Well obviously no one tried to rob the house and-"

"Wait. That means that you did that?" she asked pointing to the kitchen.

Clark said nothing.

"Why?! Do you know how unsanitary that is?" she asked aghast.

"Melissa, we didn't have sex in the kitchen; it was just-"

"I don't need to know the specifics, Lois!" she said urgently.

"Okay. We're all adults here. We can handle this like adults," Clark said calmly.

An awkward moment hung in the air like a funk.

Melissa just shook her head as if to erase the last few minutes. "I don't know. I just—why? I mean-you know what? I'm not gonna ask questions. Because if I ask questions, I'll get answers and answers come with details. And no matter how much I like you guys, I don't wanna be that close."

"That's fine," Clark said.

"Right? Also I think that any interactions between us from now on should have dress requirements. And we shall never speak of this again."

"Sounds good," Lois said.

"Okay, so I'm going to go upstairs," she said awkwardly trying to walk toward the stairs while keeping her back turned to them, "and get dressed."

"We'll do the same," Clark said and they both started looking for their clothes, while Melissa grabbed a duffel bag from the corner and practically ran toward the stairs with her back to them accomplishing a kind of crab walk.

Thankfully Clark had found his underwear when he heard Melissa say, "Clark."

He looked up to find her with her back to him holding his glasses up. A lump formed in his throat.

"You'll need your glasses."

He took them from her gently. Though he couldn't see her face, he wondered if she had seen his. After he murmured 'thank you', she hurried up the stairs. Eventually they had replaced their clothes, but Lois decided to take a shower, so Clark was left in the living room alone and he assessed the damage. It was a bit of a disaster, mostly contained in the kitchen. In the throes of passion they had ignored the damage they were doing which resulted in more than a few shattered remnants of his mother's china. When Melissa walked into the kitchen to find a fully clothed Clark she gave an embarrassed smile, but then began cleaning the disaster they had left in the room. He felt guilty about that. He felt guilty about her finding them together. And their promise to never speak of what transpired aside, Clark wanted to make sure that everything was alright and have her assurance that she wouldn't tell his mother.

"Melissa about what happened...," he began as smoothly as possible.

"Yeah, about what happened: what the hell happened?" she asked gesturing to the disaster surrounding her.

Clark shrugged.

"You guys made such a mess. I never took you to like it rough," she joked.

Clark stifled a groan. "So we broke a few plates," he said trying to sound nonchalant.

Melissa opened one of the cabinet doors to show a giant piece missing.

"Uh." Clark looked away embarrassed. "And-and that."

She chuckled. "Yeah, that. How did that happen again? It looks like a giant mistook the door for a cookie and took a bite. Shouldn't you be in the hospital right now?"

"Why me?" he said evasively. He didn't really want to explain how that happened.

"It's a little high for Lois," she deadpanned.

"Right. Well, they're, uh, old. So the door broke easily."

She quirked an eyebrow suspiciously. "I guess your hair cushioned the blow a little bit, but still."

She shook her head and Clark inwardly sighed. That had been a lame excuse, but she appeared mollified at least for the moment.

"And I can't believe you didn't hear me come in. It's a minefield in here."

"We were a little distracted," he said awkwardly.

"Coming from you, that's disconcerting," she quipped with a smirk.

Clark's face fell as the meaning of those words resonated within him. What an odd thing to say. The Clark Kent Melissa knew did not have particularly good hearing so why would it be disconcerting? Melissa's back was to him, so there was no way to gauge her reaction. Maybe what she had meant was that he was far too young to be experiencing hearing problems? Had she seen him without his glasses? Was he being a little paranoid? His instincts kicked in and jump started his suspicions, but Clark ignored them and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was seeing enemies wherever he looked. Still there was a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that although she wasn't a danger to him, she wasn't all she seemed. But he continued to ignore it and his initial guilt returned as he watched Melissa clean up the mess he and Lois had made.

"Melissa I'll do that-"

"Okay."

She dropped the hand broom and dust bin in front of him causing him to chuckle a little. The awkward moment had dissipated and the questionable comment before momentarily dropped.

"So I thought you were working outside," he said conversationally.

She smiled a little. "I was. Mrs. Kent put me in here."

"Why?" he asked. She grimaced and he grew a little worried. "Did something happen?"

"Well...a guy grabbed my behind. Stuff happened and he...broke his nose," she said feigning nonchalance as she helped herself to a cookie from the cookie jar.

"What stuff happened?"

"He fell." She shrugged.

Clark raised his eyebrow at her disbelieving. "On my fist," she finished with a little smirk.

"Melissa!"

"What?! Only I am allowed to touch my butt without permission...,"she paused thoughtfully, "and one other person."

Clark was laughing though. Although he regretted the situation she had been in, he was impressed that she handled it so well. "It's not that. I just never really took you for one to punch people."

"We all have our secrets Clark," she said giving him an unreadable look which trailed up his body. Again the comment was innocent enough, but it resonated with him and moved him. Her eyes were more suspicious and calculating. Perhaps it was because she had seen him naked. Clark Kent's clothes effectively hid his rather brawny physique and today she had a full view. Also he hadn't been wearing his glasses. For only a second she had seen him, but in that moment, Clark Kent probably looked more like Superman than he would ever want. Although he was sure she had her theories, he wouldn't provide any more evidence to solidify them.

"I'm surprised my Mom didn't fire him," he said like nothing had changed.

She made a noncommittal sound. "She wanted to. I asked her not to."

He made a confused face.

"Assholes have bills to pay too. Specifically medical bills for that one."

Clark laughed a little, but was also impressed by her compassion. Melissa must have read his thoughts because she looked away a little shyly and blushed.

"So what are you guys doing here?" she asked after the slight awkward moment had passed.

Clark paused for a moment trying to think of the right words.

"Lois and I need a break."

Technically, it wasn't a lie.

Melissa nodded understandingly. "Right. I'm sure after the attack on Superman everyone is a little shaken up. I know that she and Superman are friends."

In the age of the internet and instant news coverage he was unsurprised that she already knew what had happened to Superman. However, the speed of information often didn't allow him much time to practice his responses as a bystander instead of a participant. But this time the story also involved Lois. So again he spoke carefully. When it came to discussions of Lois and Superman, he was always extra cautious.

"She's okay," he said slowly. He wasn't sure if that was a lie.

"Do you know what hurt him?"

"No," he said quickly. An easier, but simultaneously perplexing question. He didn't know what had hurt him, but he very much wanted to.

He wished she would stop asking questions. The morning had not gone well between them and frankly this conversation wasn't helping.

"Melissa, considering what happened today, why don't you go home? I'll clean up the mess."

She looked surprised. "Mrs. Kent didn't tell you? She's letting me stay here."

"Oh."

"After those guys were bothering me, she said she wasn't comfortable with me having my own place, so she offered me a space here."

For once in his life he was a little annoyed by his mother's kindness. It was difficult enough to keep a secret with other workers on the farm, but with someone else living there it would be next to impossible to keep.

"Then why don't you relax on the cou—chair and I'll clean up in here?"

She wasn't listening though. She was staring out the window and absent-mindedly played with the towel on the rack.

"Melissa?" he asked kindly.

When she turned to face him, her eyes were a little watery. "It's kinda scary. I mean I thought Superman was invincible."

"He's not invincible," he said somberly.

"I can't imagine how his family feels about all of this."

Worried his emotions would show, Clark looked away and didn't speak.

"And now the bad guys know his weakness," she said obviously discouraged. He placed a hand on her shoulder and was ashamed for being annoyed with her questions; he hadn't realized the impact that Superman had on her.

"Go relax. I'll handle this," he said gently. She smiled gratefully before she walked away.

She was right though. Now the bad guys knew his weakness. He rubbed his eyes again. He didn't even get headaches. But he could feel one coming on as his problems were stacking up faster than he could knock them down.

"Clark? Are you okay?" Melissa asked from behind him.

"Yeah. Headache." He rubbed the back of his head not completely feigning pain. "I think I'm starting to feel that cupboard."

She smiled sympathetically. "Here, I'll get you some aspirin."

He stated his thanks, but internally lamented that aspirin wouldn't solve his headache or his other problems. If it were only that simple.