Chapter 14

Lois couldn't sleep. The bed was cold and empty without Clark. She had tried to convince him to stay, he was barely healed after all, but he was undaunted. After the incident with the green bullet, people's faith in him had shaken and criminals were emboldened by the prospect of a weakness of their seemingly invincible opponent. She understood. She was proud of him. He was facing his fears and strengthening the hope that had been hurt along with him. She was also mad at him. Their fight was over, but a small ember from that fire burned in her heart. He had to know how much seeing him hurt had scared her. For heaven's sake, he had died! Didn't he understand how much she wanted to protect him too? How much he deserved that protection? A part of her felt guilty for her decision. However she wasn't going to sit by idly while someone she loved was in danger. It was unnatural for a Lane to not protect those they care about. But the guilt still ate at her. And the thought that other thugs were carrying those magic bullets was relentlessly swirling through her mind, hence the lack of sleep. Hence the pack of cigarettes in her hand.

For 5 years she had gone without a cigarette, but tonight she had caved and bought some at a drugstore down the street. Mad at herself at how badly she desired to take a nice, long drag on one of them she just stared at them in her hands. Just one of them. Just enough to calm her dancing nerves a little to let her sleep. She opened the box, pulled one out, brought it to her lips, and lit it. The image of Clark coming home and smelling nicotine and tar on her stopped her from inhaling. She imagined the disappointment in his eyes, when he was so happy to hear she had quit so long ago. Then they would fight. She would rail into him about how he left her knowing that she would be worried and then he would defend himself saying that he had a job to do and he didn't mean to make her worry. And then she would confess how every now and then she wanted to be selfish just for once. And he would apologize. He was always the first to apologize. He would look so downtrodden and all of that loneliness he had ever felt would come rushing back. He would blame himself for her grief.

She snubbed the cigarette on the railing and threw the pack down into the alley.

"Lois."

She turned around to see Clark looking confused and worried.

"What are you doing up?"

She hesitated. He would know if she was lying, but she couldn't tell the truth either. "I couldn't sleep."

"Because of me."

His face was so bare and vulnerable, she couldn't control herself anymore. As her emotions overwhelmed her, she could feel the hot tears welling up in her eyes.

"Clark, I'm scared," she gasped.

He wrapped his arms around her. She let the heat from his body and the rhythm of his heart soothe her. She inhaled his scent deeply.

He's alive. He's here. She repeated this mantra over and over in her head as she shivered from her sobbing. She felt him kiss her hair and she squeezed just a little tighter.

"I am too."

At some point they had fallen asleep on their couch. Much to Clark's surprise he was still in his suit and prayed to God, no one had seen them on the balcony. It wasn't excactly a scenic view. One of the reasons they had purchased the place was that their balcony faced a brick wall, but Clark was a little more cautious as of late.

He reached for Lois' cellphone to check the time. It read 7:30. They only had an hour and a half before they had to be to work. Seeing her so relaxed and peaceful, he hated to wake her. After last night he debated calling in for her, but he knew that she would kill him if he did that. If she had demanded that she return to work after the invasion, whether or not the building stood, she would be livid if he suggested she stay home due to emotionally induced insomnia. Gently he tried to rouse her from her sleep.

"Lois," he whispered, "we have to get ready for work."

She mumbled something incoherent about maple donuts and decided to leave her alone for the moment. Besides, he needed to shower and change. Deciding to enjoy his shower, he took a half hour to unwind. Slowly he peeled off his suit and let the warm water relax his muscles. Criminals were far more bold than he was used to. Also he was nervous. As Superman, he rarely showed anything other than pure confidence, but last night and every night since the attack he was more hesitant. Any gun could hold another green bullet. Whatever the stuff was, if they could make bullets they could make any commonplace weapon that a criminal could use. He took a deep breath. He couldn't allow his fear to control him. He wouldn't allow what happened to dampen the faith that he had so recently regained. More importantly, he had to prove Zod wrong.

And he had to be strong. For Lois. For himself. For the world. So when he came back to the living room, he kept his face neutral. Although he didn't need to, as Lois wasn't paying any attention to him at all. She was looking intensely at something on the computer screen. Curious he looked over her shoulder. On a blaringly pink website labeled 'Cat's Claws' was an article entitled 'I'm Glad Superman Got Shot' by Catherine Grant.

"What is this?"

Lois nearly jumped out of her skin and slammed her laptop shut. "I didn't hear you come in!"

"Lois, what were you reading?"

She gave him a pained look. "Clark, I don't think you want to read that."

"Lois."

Reluctantly, she opened her laptop to show him. He read quickly. If he said he wasn't hurt by her callousness he would be lying, but it would also be dishonest to say he was surprised. After a while, he had become inoculated to Catherine's hero-hating; now it was just exhausting. They had greater worries; none of which were related to Catherine Grant. Though he could tell Lois was distressed, so he tried to remain passive about the situation.

"That was...interesting. I didn't know Catherine had a blog."

Lois raised her eyebrows in surprise."Well she does. And she's using it to skewer Superman."

"I'm not surprised by that. I didn't think we were allowed to have blogs."

"Seriously, Clark?" Lois was obviously annoyed. "That's your take away from this?"

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he calmly spoke to her. "Lois, Catherine doesn't like Superman. There are lots of people with blogs and some of them don't like Superman. I'm sure there are more articles like this."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it does. Why do you think I deleted Superman's Facebook page? The fact that my near death experience has energized Catherine's efforts to spread her hate for me more than bothers me. It always has, but I don't know if there's anything I can do about it. And frankly, we have bigger problems."

"You're not even going to defend yourself?" Lois asked shocked.

"If I spent all my time responding to vitriol, I wouldn't have time to save people. Instead I'm trying to make it so my actions speak for me. You told me before that people believe in me. People need more than just words."

Lois ground her teeth a little. "What about the Meta-Human Registration Act? You're not the only thing she's written about."

"And it will be counteracted by the article we wrote. You know that it lost support after our article's release."

"Clark," she said closing her eyes in what seemed to be an attempt to hold onto her patience.

"Lois. I can't allow other people to define me. I can't allow other people to intimidate me from doing my job. No matter how loud or adamant...or dangerous they are." They held each other's gaze as what happened last night passed though his mind and he imagined Lois' too.

"Catherine is just making a lot of noise," he said.

"Exactly. And everyone is listening."

Lois stomped away. The rest of the morning was tense. Clark did his best to calm Lois, but Lois Lane was like a pit bull on a pant leg. When she was on a rampage, she would not be mullified by Clark or anyone else. When they reached the bull pen, Lois already had a copy of Catherine's article in hand and he knew she was preparing for a confrontation. She made a bee-line for Catherine's desk and Clark cringed. He actually felt a little bad for Catherine.

"I can't believe you wrote this, Cat!" Lois shouted as she slammed a thin stack of papers on her colleague's desk. "How dare you write that the attack on Superman was a blessing in disguise!"

Catherine merely sat back cooly in her chair. "Why? Because I have a differing opinion about our caped 'friend'?"

"No! Because you accused Superman of being a possible terrorist and 'a menace to human security'. You practically celebrated the fact that Superman was attacked: 'a ray of hope shines with the new revelation that the Man of Steel may have a chink in his armor.'"

Catherine's eyebrow arched dangerously. "I stand by every word. He and his Kryptonian friends destroyed the downtown area and part of Smallville. Not only that, he also sent them through a black hole to God knows where and killed one of them. Who made him judge and jury? What's to stop him from doing that to one of us? We need to protect ourselves and whatever hurt Superman could end up helping us."

Lois' face hardened.

"Superman did what he had to to protect the world and he vowed never to take a life again. He is no threat to us; we don't need insurance against him."

"And you take him on his word?" she asked condescendingly.

Lois stood firm. "Of course," she responded resolutely. Catherine merely smiled wryly.

"I'm not surprised at you Lois. Always jumping to our resident alien's defense."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Catherine smirked.

The implication was clear. For a while most people (and newspapers) speculated that Lois and Superman had a love affair. With Lois being the only reporter who was able to interview him, rumors began to spread. As Superman, Clark had insisted that the reasoning behind her exclusivity was that she had been instrumental in defeating Zod and his fellow insurgents. He trusted her and he considered the Daily Planet a respected and honest news source. After that didn't completely stem the accusations of bias, he began giving quotes occassionally to other news sources. And to be extra careful, he always treated Lois professionally while donning the cape. It worked for the most part. Although almost all reputable sources dropped the story, there was still a lot of gossip flying around the blogosphere and in the tabloids. People believe what they wish to believe, but his statement wasn't a lie. He did trust Lois and the Daily Planet. And Lois wasn't with Superman.

She was with him.

"I have only ever been professional," Lois said with a dangerous calm.

Catherine scoffed and Clark furrowed his brow in anger. Clark could handle hearing insults lobbed at his alter ego, but he would never tolerate someone attacking Lois.

"So swapping saliva with him is considered professional?" Catherine looked snidely at Lois. All of the office was openly listening now.

"Alright that's enough," Clark snapped as he walked toward the two ladies. Catherine looked up in surprise and Clark realized he had sounded a little too authoritative. He slumped a little lower than normal. "I mean, we really shouldn't be doing this here."

Cat looked almost pityingly at Clark. "You should be thanking me, Clark! Everybody knows that Lois and Superfreak have had a fling since he came out of the super closet and you're just a consolation prize."

Cat turned to Lois again with a haughty gaze, but to everyone's surprise Lois looked almost amused.

"Cat got your tongue, Lois?"

She shrugged. "Everyone does unexpected things if they think the world is ending," Lois replied smoothly.

"Twice?" Catherine asked disbelieving.

Lois waved her off with a wistful smile. "What can I say? He was a good kisser."

Catherine just rolled her eyes and charged on.

"Enough to make you a little biased."

Clark had had just about enough of Catherine accusing Lois of unprofessionalism and was about to put an end to this argument secret identity be damned until out of nowhere, Kassandra appeared by Lois' side right in front of him.

Where did she come from? Clark looked around. No one else seemed to notice.

"Come on Cat. I know how much you can't stand Superman, but even you have to admit that if you had been in those muscly arms you would have felt a little weak-kneed." The room rippled with laughter.

All Catherine did was glare. "My name is Catherine."

Kassandra didn't skip a beat. "Well I have a friend named Katherine and I don't want that association in my mind."

Catherine scoffed. "I shouldn't have expected anything different from you either. Ever since you got here, you've cozied up to Lois and Clark. The number one and two advocates for the blue-suited menace. And the rest of you," she gestured out to the crowd of people listening, "all seem to agree. Maybe I should go where my dissenting opinion is welcomed."

"It's not that you dissent. You're just disrespectful and hateful. To be honest, we wouldn't miss you," Lois stated coolly.

"Then I'll leave you brainwashed fools to your hero worship." Catherine began to stock off, when Kassandra stepped forward again.

"I still don't understand you. Superman does a service for this nation, this world; he deserves a little respect and a little faith."

Catherine glared. "Hitler did a lot of good for the German people. So much that they trusted him blindly. Look at what happened then."

"You're really comparing a man who commited mass genocide to one who prevented it?" Kassandra asked incredulously.

"I stand by what I said before. If he really wanted us to trust him, he would tell us the whole truth. All I want is his name."

"He has a right to privacy," Kassandra countered.

"No. Humans have the right to privacy."

Again Kassandra parried the blow, "He was given honorary citizenship of the United States. He has rights."

"Then the U.S. made a terrible mistake. Why give rights to someone who is a probable threat to us all?"

"He who would sacrifice freedom for security deserves neither."

Catherine's nostrils flared. "Again in regards to humans."

"It applies here too," she replied smoothly. Kassandra sighed deeply before looking at Catherine a little sadly. "I guess I just don't understand why you hate him so much."

A queer, almost pitying look appeared on Catherine's face. "I don't hate just Superman. I hate all of the vigilantes. Batman, the Flash, Green Arrow. All of the freaks masquarading as heroes deceiving the rest of you mental patients into believing that they're protecting you. People so deformed that they won't come out into the public eye. People celebrating their abnormalities, while portraying the ideal that they are our champions for truth, justice, and the American way. When that couldn't be more false. You know who the real heroes are? Our men and women in the armed forces. Police officers and firefighters and doctors. Those people exemplify our values. Those people don't hide behind masks. We know who they are and they perform a valuable service within the law."

Clark grimaced. He had to admit that she had a point. Hiding his secret identity to the world did make it harder for them to trust him. He had to literally save the world in order to earn their trust in the first place. And in order for it to be sustained he had to constantly remind them through his acts and his words that he was legitimate in his want to help. The fact that he was more powerful than most of the weapons on Earth and that few knew his weakness wasn't exactly conducive to garnering faith from humanity. The task of trust building was a heavy one. The world was leaning back, hoping that he would catch them. Although Clark would never let them fall, he could understand the hesitancy of some members of humanity.

"All of them are heroes. And those 'vigilantes' as you call them, perform valuable services as well. They only wear masks to protect their identities and their loved ones from their enemies."

"They wear masks so the law can't prosecute them. You're a lawyer; shouldn't that bother you?" she sneered.

Kassandra was silent. Perhaps sensing a weakness, Catherine continued with her tirade undaunted.

"I've been listening to Gilbert Godfrey. He is so right. He's been talking about the expanding vigilante/meta-human problem and why they're the way they are."

The captive audience looked at her expectantly.

"They're sick!" she said dramatically. "Godfrey says they look human and act human, but they have a genetic disease. They need to be helped. Those mutants out there should be insulted by those vigilantes. Instead of accepting their disease and seeking treatment, they are celebrating their genetic anomalies. And those vigilantes who don't have powers obviously have mental issues that need sorting out."

Kassandra's eyes darkened. Clark felt a flash of anger. He looked to Lois, who seemed just as aghast. They had never met any meta-human that they knew of, but the idea that abilities could be the symptoms of a disease raised his hackles. Chalk it up to a lifetime of self-hatred and fear that made him fill with fury whenever someone suggested that being different was something to be cured. The encircled staff were sharing awkward glances with each other, some looking confused, others uncomfortable, others angry. Although Clark noticed a few of them that were nodding slightly, he took comfort from the general distaste for Catherine's statement.

"That's why I hate Superman. That's why I support Francis, Clay, Luthor and their Meta-Human Registration Act. Superman is a rallying point for all of them. Without him, those people would be far more willing to be normal. And if we know who these people are, we can help them. We can make things right again."

Kassandra's fists were clenched at her sides. "You're so full of it!" All sense of poise was gone now. "You just said that you hated them. You don't want to help them!"

Catherine shook her head. "I hate the vigilantes. Not meta-humans."

"Well regardless, who says that they need help? A genetic disease? Really? Since when is Gilbert Godfrey a doctor? You're just trying to cover for your own xenophobia. Welcome to the 21rst Century Cat! Prejudice is no longer kosher," Kassandra spoke loudly.

"Prejudice? I call it good judgment. These people should be normal and they should want to be normal. They are a danger to themselves and the public. You know some of them actually want to kill off humanity?"

"That's-"

"Don't say that isn't true!" Catherine cut her off fiercely. "You know it is. They think they're better than us."

"No, they don't. Not all of them," Kassandra amended showing some discomfort. "Some of them want to help. Some of them are just trying to live their lives without being harrassed or followed by the government or just in general hated. All they want is love and acceptance like any other human being."

"So this is all about their feelings?" she asked mockingly.

"No," Kassandra said quietly. Catherine was staring at Kassandra with a strange look on her face.

"In a few weeks Lex Luthor will be a senator and the Meta-Human Registration Act will be that much closer to becoming law. Their feelings won't matter soon."

Tension hung in the air between the two women. Everyone was still as stone until finally Clark decided to break the silence.

"I think we should get back to work," Clark interjected gently.

He placed himself between them both, but it was an unnecessary action. Catherine was too determined to say or do anything other than stare at Kassandra's back as she walked out of the bullpen.

Clark caught up with her before she was completely gone and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said kindly.

With soulful eyes she stared at him. They shimmered and reflected the light heightening the blue flecks in her gray eyes.

"I'm fine, Clark," she said quietly before she relinquished his grasp and left quickly from the room.

Something was definitely off with Kassandra and he thought then that he knew what it was.

A/N: "He who would sacrifice freedom for security deserves neither" is paraphrased from a Benjamin Franklin quote: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."