I Would Never Let You Down

By NearlyNoelNeill

Before Lois heard the voice in her head, she had been making a
mental checklist of all the things she needed to complete to
finish covering the tracks of Clark's departure. Fighting to keep
her wits about her was difficult through the tears. Today had
been a day she knew she would remember for the rest of her life.
And in the slightly sick comfort zone of emotional pain and
mental anguish that she had known so well in days gone by, she
fought hard to recount the day's events rather than to lose them
to the haze of sad memories which would lay ahead.

Oddly, since the day she had admitted her love for Clark and
permitted him emotional entry into her psyche, she had had little
use for her capacity to wallow. Learning to do it again wasn't
quite so ingrained and natural. But it was the key to keeping the
image of Clark sharp in her mind's eye. Like a video replayed in
a perpetual loop, she had seen him halt his ascent out the window
of the Daily Planet to give her one last glance. One last glance
that said more than any words ever would have. Then gone. Just
like that.

Had the circumstances been otherwise, Lois would never have done
anything so unethical as to submit a phony story. But the
circumstances were way past trivial matters like ethics. Lois
submitted a phony report from Clark with the 'man-on-the- street'
perspective of Superman’s departure by early afternoon. She then
sent one email to Perry using Clark's email address telling him
that he was returning to Smalleville with his parents and would
need Monday off, and another to Jimmy requesting a piece of
research on suspected terrorist activity in Metropolis. There had
been several incidents...shows of power, mostly. But they were
increasing in frequency and in daring. Lois could read the email,
as Clark, and do the follow up on-line.

Clark and Lois had briefly discussed when and how Lois would tell
Perry the truth--a truth they both felt they owed him. Almost
arbitrarily, they decided that if Clark had not returned within
one month, they would let Perry know why. At two o'clock in the
morning they had recorded all kinds of different answering
machine messages that Lois could use to forestall the inevitable.
*Inevitable*...is that what it was? Perhaps at two o'clock in the
morning the act of engaging a plan *ANY PLAN* was good enough to
forestall the feeling of hopelessness about their situation.

Then she heard the voice.

**Lois. Lois, I love you.**

Lois looked up at the window and wondered if her fevered brain
had just played a nasty trick on her.

"Ohmygod! I'm losing my mind," she whispered to the night air.
But the night air in Metropolis didn't affirm or deny. Lois
realized that, unlike her own voice, which she heard with both
her inner and outer ear, this voice had come from deep within her
brain. If she had cared even slightly for her own well being, she
would have been alarmed that her grief might be effecting some
deep psychological manifestation of lunatic behavior. But all her
grief was effecting was more grief. And that was all right with
Lois.

**Lois. I'll be home as soon as I can. I would never let you
down.**

There it was again. The voice was as clear as if Clark were
standing before her. Lois felt dazed and unsteady. Either she was
reacting to her new *inner friend* or she hadn't had a thing to
eat in 24 hours. With the pillow still clutched to her chest she
curled up in a fetal position on the sofa to await the end.
'Should she make a bet,' she wondered, 'on which would cause her
demise? Would her mind, already cracking apparently, crumble to a
fine dust before or after her heart broke into a million tiny
pieces?'

***

To Lois's surprise, she awoke with a crick in her neck and a
chill from the open window. Actually, Lois was neither surprised
nor concerned by the crick and the chill. She was surprised by
the fact that she was awake and living at all. Her head was
aching and her eyes were so swollen that what she saw in the
bathroom mirror was, at first glance, more frog-like than human.
This caused an involuntary shiver up Lois's spine, as frogs
invariably reminded her of clones. 'Clearly,' she thought,
'there's a sick sort of humor in this. Maybe I *am* dead and I
became a clone overnight.' Perry had announced, Friday afternoon,
that he and Jimmy were going to finish the fishing trip that had
been so rudely interrupted by Dave Miller's bomb and Superman's
departure. Privately, he had indicated to a numb Lois, that he
needed to get out of town at least partially because Superman's
farewell had gotten him too depressed. He could see the sadness
in Jimmy's eyes and thought that more male bonding might be in
order. This left Lois able to spend the weekend helping Martha
and Jonathan straighten Clark's apartment and pack up *the suits*
without fear of discovery. She had promised Clark that she would
take care of his parents, and take care of them she would. But
first she needed to know if Martha, always like a mother to her,
thought she was going crazy too.

After sending Jonathan out to fetch lunch from a deli near
Clark's apartment, Lois asked Martha if she could tell her a
little secret. No sooner did the two women settle on Clark's sofa
than the floodgates opened and Lois’s fears came pouring out. In
a mixture of babbling and tears, Lois described the voices in her
head and how *real* they seemed, right up to her concerns about
which organ, head or heart, would fail first.

Martha, while only slightly more composed, hugged her tightly and
assured her that if they seemed real, there must be some suitable
explanation. This left Lois to think slightly more scientifically
and less emotionally. But still, she had her doubts.

The afternoon passed quietly, with sorrow's pall hanging over the
group in Clark's apartment like fog. As Martha watched Lois
sitting in a chair sipping a cold glass of water, she was
startled to see the younger woman suddenly sit upright, with a
faraway look coming over her face.

"What is it, dear? What's happened? Lois?" She shook her gently.
"Lois, are you listening?"

Lois blinked herself out of it and raised her eyes to meet
Martha's "It's Clark’s voice. He spoke to me again in my head. He
said, 'Lois, I love you and I'm thinking of you all the time.'
But what's really weird is he said, 'I have this feeling that you
can hear me'. And the voice sounded uncertain....Martha! What if
it IS Clark? What if it's telepathy like the Kryptonians use?
What if he's trying to talk-to-me-and-I-can't-answer-him-
and-he-doesn't know-that-I-can-hear-him-and-I-don't-know-
how-long-it-takes-for-him-to-send-a-message so-I-don't-know-
if-its-now-or-yesterday-or-tomorrow..." And Lois babbled until
she dissolved into fresh tears.

"Well, look at it this way," said Martha, in her most practical
voice hugging the sobbing Lois. "If it *is* telepathy and it *is*
Clark, at least you're not crazy..."

***

"Women are like fish, Jimmy. You got to bait 'em then sit back
and be very patient."

Perry and Jimmy had been fishing for two days and Jimmy's casting
was improving, but his patience was not. On the other hand, Perry
was like a father to Jimmy, and each paternal act of
encouragement was met with a light in Jimmy's eyes and renewed
vigor.

So they sat, side by side, Perry telling tall tales of women and
youthful antics, and Jimmy eating up every last line that Perry
dished. Jimmy was so enthralled by one of the stories of Perry's
early girlfriends, long before he had met and married Alice, that
he failed to hear the hooded man sneak up behind him.

The terrorist reached for Jimmy first, and being a head taller,
fairly lifted him off the ground before he realized what was
happening. As Jimmy struggled to break free, he flailed too
widely and gave the man the opportunity to lock one of his arms
behind him, ensuring control of his body lest the arm be snapped
off at the shoulder.

Perry, acting instinctively, hauled off a right hook that
bloodied the terrorists nose through his ski mask. With Jimmy
unable to help, the terrorist pulled a gun out from the back of
his belt and aimed squarely at Perry's chest. Perry's second
assault came to a dead stop then and there before he, himself,
would have.

With no words spoken, both of them were bound and gagged and
loaded into a dusty red van with New Troy rental plates. Each
received a shot of something in the arm that knocked them out
cold.

When they awoke, Perry and Jimmy were in a cave. Coolers of
simple foods, blankets, and containers of water were piled in a
corner. The only source of light came from a four- inch crack
between the mouth of the cave and the boulder that had been moved
in front of the opening to prevent their escape.

After Jimmy yelled for help for several minutes, Perry put his
hand on his shoulder and told him to sit down and save his
strength. Jimmy looked up at the older man and realized that he
looked haggard and pale from whatever drug they had been given.
Not wishing to fight, or disobey an order, Jimmy nodded and sat
cross-legged. Perry peered through the crack in silence for a few
minutes, then turned and joined Jimmy on the cave floor.

"Son...I'm as sure as Elvis is the King, that a terrorist who
leaves food and bedding wants some kind of ransom payment. So for
now, they intend to keep us alive. But I'd be a yellow-
journalist if I didn't admit that I really wish Superman was here
right now."

***

Clark paced back and forth in his cell. At least here he would be
alone long enough to talk to Lois. If only he could be certain
that she heard him. And yet, in his heart he knew that she could.
It was Zara who had suggested trying to contact Lois
telepathically. She explained that the Kryptonian ability to
communicate in this fashion had evolved from practice and
increased awareness in the sub-conscious part of the brain.
Humans were physiologically evolved enough to communicate this
way, but very few of them knew how.

Clark alternately tortured and comforted himself with thoughts of
Lois each day in his cell. He comforted himself with the
certainty of her undying love for him. He tortured himself with
the thought that he might never again feel her in his arms or
taste her hot breath on his tongue or feel it on his neck. His
Smallville morality had never prepared him for leaving Earth
forever without making love to the one woman with whom he ached
to join his flesh. It was embarrassing for him to consider while
locked in his cell, lest anyone spot his persistent erections
whenever a daydream transported him back to Metropolis. Back to
her arms.

He was in trouble, and he certainly could use Lois's advice as
well as her body. Zara and Ching had been away much too long in
trying to locate him. Nor had been able to wreak havoc with the
fears of the population of New Krypton in their absence. By the
time the ship bearing the three of them had returned to New
Krypton, Nor had convinced the public that the real Kal-El was
lost in space and died as a baby. This Kal- El was a phony who
must be tried for treason and destroyed.

There were a few who knew Kal-El to be something special. Those
were the few who had seen demonstrations of his power before his
strength and speed began to fade. Among them, First Lt. Cigol,
witnessed a display of flying, as Kal-El explained the effect of
Earth’s yellow sun on Kryptonian physiology. Now, Lt. Cigol, who
was assigned to guard the prisoner, was confused.

On the one hand, Cigol had an obligation to uphold the Kryptonian
legal system. On the other, he was forced to acknowledge that
this person, even if he was *not* Kal-El, did not act like a
traitor. Cigol had not wished to acknowledge that he did not mind
his small conversations with the prisoner. Kal-El, or whoever he
was, was both intelligent and likable. It seemed an honorable
thing to do, then, when Cigol informed the prisoner of the
proceedings of the hearings going on upstairs in the Grand
Tribunal. He told him how Zara and Ching argued in his defense,
but how the other Lords had no reason to believe, in the absence
of proof, Kal-El's birthright.

So Clark continued to pace and concentrate on what link he could
show to his Kryptonian parents *and* to his origin from Earth.
The equivalent of genetic matching, something the Kryptonian
physicians could easily accomplish, would prove his Kryptonian
blood. He could offer up a test now that his powers were depleted
and he was, he shivered at the thought, mortal. But how ironic
that he would be needing to *prove* he came from Earth. What a
cruel joke that only his parents and Lois knew that he did not
*pop out of thin air* three years ago, but was raised on Earth
since his arrival in 1966. Why hadn’t Zara and Ching thought that
they should create some kind of identification for him *before*
he left. A videotape of his press conference, or a picture of him
as a child....There must be *some* way to let New Krypton know
that he was found on Earth. Lois would think of something, he
thought. If only Lois were here to help.

Tears filled Clark's eyes and he turned to the corner of his cell
to avoid detection. He pulled the wedding ring and chain out from
under his tunic and, without actually realizing what he was
doing, he summoned the same kind of concentration he had before
to communicate telepathically with Lois.

**Oh, Lois. How I wish I could be with you now. I love you so
very much. But I have no hope of ever getting back to you if I
can't show proof I came from Earth. Oh, Lois, whatever you are
doing...I need your help. I know you will try. I love you.**

***

Lois stared at the photocopy of the ransom request that Inspector
Henderson had given her. Her world was fast spiraling out of
control. She wasn't prepared to lose Clark *and* Perry and Jimmy
in two week's time. But here it was, fifteen days after Clark's
departure and six days after the kidnapping and the police and
FBI had no leads to go on.

Inspector Henderson, for his part, had never seen Lois look so
awful. 'And where was her boyfriend, Kent, in all this? Should he
be suspicious,' he thought, 'that Perry White and Jimmy Olson
have been kidnapped and, suddenly, nobody has seen Clark Kent
either? Nah. Kent was always pretty good at taking care of
himself.' Henderson looked out from under his brow at Lois's
concentration and mused, '...and he's pretty good at defusing
this little stick of dynamite, too.' Inspector Henderson let out
an audible sigh. Aloud he muttered, "I really wish Superman were
here right now."

Lois excused herself saying she would check her sources again for
leads and contact the Inspector if she found anything. Her
composure was brittle at best when she got back to the Jeep. She
thought she might call Martha and Jonathan when she returned to
the Planet to see how they were doing. Martha wanted updates on
Perry and Jimmy's kidnapping almost as much as she wanted to know
if the *telepathy* continued. As Lois was about to turn the key
in the ignition, it did.

***

Lois dialed the White House press line and identified herself to
the operator. She was one of the very few members of the press
whose calls the President would take. In return, she had always
shown good judgment in her coverage of his administration and
extra care in her coverage of him, personally. After an
interminable ten minutes of clearances, identifications,
clearances, and good old fashioned pleading, she was told to hold
for the President, who was just coming in from the private
quarters.

"Well, hello, Ms. Lane. To what do I owe this unexpected
pleasure?"

"Mr. President...this is a matter of Superman's life or death.
Have you ever known me to rant and rave hysterically before?"

The President could only raise an eyebrow. Lois recognized the
silence.

"You're right. Don't answer that. Have you ever known me to go
off on an unjustified wild goose chase?" she asked desperately.

"No," said the President, thoughtfully.

"Thank you. So you know that I would not ask you to do this
unless it were of dire urgency and a great threat the world- wide
security, Mr. President." Lois was becoming agitated.

"Please, Lois, calm down. I'm ready to hear whatever you have to
say." The President was intrigued that so capable a journalist
was at a complete flummox. Was it him that caused her to be in
such a state? 'She had interviewed me one-to-one,' he thought.
'She asked about personal things--about baseball....No, something
must really be bothering her.'

Lois explained that she was telepathically receiving messages
from Superman, and that the last one had been a call for help. He
must need to prove who he is. He wants some kind of signal.

"Oh, please, Mr. President. To do a good deed for Superman in his
time of need is not just the only decent thing to do. It'll look
great in the polls."

The President thought, 'Damn, she's good. That woman knows the
right buttons to push even when she's in distress.' "Tell me,
Lois," he said into the receiver, "what else did Superman tell
you telepathically?"

Lois was caught off guard. "Well, uh, gee....Frankly, Mr.
President, the rest is kinda personal." Lois cringed and prayed
he would let it drop.

The President smiled. 'So Superman misses her. How sad that Lois
Lane, beautiful and talented, would wait home by the, what?
Phone? Window? Microwave? to get a message from an alien who may
never return. I wonder what her fiancee thinks of that?'

Instead he just said, "Okay, Ms. Lane. I'll set you up with the
necessary security clearance and message. You'll have it by this
afternoon and you can take it to Star Labs."

Lois was thrilled. "Thank you, Mr. President. You won't regret
it. And I'll be submitting it as a story, so there'll be a write
up you'll like."

"You never disappoint me, Ms. Lane. Good luck." And the President
ended their conversation. 'Lucky for me,' he thought, ‘that no
one will ever be able to prove if this is a good idea or sheer
lunacy.' And he returned to his work.

***

That afternoon, Lois, with a fax from the Office of the
President, burst into Dr. Klein's office at Star Labs.

"Dr. Klein...," she was almost out of breath. "Dr. Klein, I need
your help. *Superman* needs your help."

Dr. Klein looked confused and Lois didn't wait for a response.

"I have permission from the President to send a message to New
Krypton. But I need the fastest signal possible, because I don't
know how much time he has and Superman might be in trouble and we
need him back here safely..." She knew she was babbling. But Lois
also saw Dr. Klein's mind instantly working on the problem.

"Well..." Dr. Klein pushed his chair back a little from his
latest experiment in photon excitation. I may have a solution.
But based upon what Superman told me of the location of New
Krypton before he left, I expect it would still take about two to
three days to arrive there. Is that soon enough?

Lois frowned with worry. "I don't know, Dr. Klein. But if it's
the best we can do, then we HAVE to do it!"

Dr. Klein started accessing one of Star Labs' several research
satellites from his computer. "You see, Lois, until recently, we
transmitted radio waves in space through VLF or very low
frequency transmissions. But these are substantially slower than
the speed of light. We now have microwave amplification of low
frequency waves as well as high frequency waves by stimulated
emission of radiation. You know, MASER, technology. The radio
equivalent of LASER technology. By oscillating the low frequency
wave from its satellite origin, we can cut through space at
enormous speeds and...."

Lois, her head spinning, had heard enough. She was nodding
rhythmically and helplessly in Dr. Klein's direction.

"Dr. Klein," she broke in, "Here’s the text. Please do it
quickly!"

Dr. Klein, smiled politely and said, matter of factly, "My
pleasure, Ms. Lane. Anything for Superman or you."

***

"Gee, Chief, you don’t look too good. Maybe you should lie down."
Jimmy was nervous for Perry's health. They were almost out of
food, and were it not for secretly giving Perry twice as much
water as he took for himself, they would be almost out of that as
well.

"I don't know, Jimmy. The good news is that we're alive. The bad
news is that it’s been two weeks and nobody has found us. Son,
I've always wanted to meet the *Two Kings*, but this was not
quite the way I had in mind." Perry slouched in a corner where a
little light from the crack at the mouth of the cave could touch
him.

"Don't get like that, Chief. I know it’s tough, but I believe
something that CK used to say. He said that sometimes, when he
couldn't have confidence that the police or the FBI, or even
Superman could figure out how to crack an investigation, he
always had confidence that Lois could help. Lois can figure out
anything. And I believe that Lois won't stop until she finds us.
There was something about the look in CK's eye every time he said
that. Like she would never let the paper down. And she won't let
us down, either. You'll see'

***

Clark stood before the Grand Tribunal. He had been summoned, as
had all the Lords, with no warning. The day prior, he had
submitted himself to a complete medical analysis of his person.
Now, he did not know how long he could put off their inevitable,
if biased conclusions.

Cigol stood directly before Clark to insure he would not move
anywhere. He stood out in that he was the only person, except for
the defendant, standing on the floor of the Tribunal Chamber. But
Cigol was positioned directly between the audience and Clark.
Clark was trying to determine if this was to prevent an escape,
to prevent him from attacking a member of the Chamber, or, in a
bit of flattery, to prevent his lynching by the audience.

Clark’s gaze searched the crowd to see Lord Nor preening as if in
preparation for a victory speech. From the corner of his eye he
saw Zara nod to Ching across the room. ‘Were they foolish enough
to attempt an escape? Surely not.’ Yet, despite no warning for
the assemblage, Ching appeared ready for some action to take
place.

The Tribunal recognized Clark and announced all the charges
against him. Clark thought, ‘It must have been Nor’s doing to
speed up the process.’ But as the Chair finished the charges, he
produced a document that (Clark thought it was clear from Nor’s
confused expression) Nor didn’t recognize.

The Tribunal Chamber, anticipating a swift decision in favor of
the defendant’s guilt, awaited its reading as a few Lords
conferred in whispers.

The Chair began:

"For the record of this trial, in addition to the medical
conclusion that the defendant is unequivocally Kryptonian by
birth, I submit into evidence the following transmission received
by our space monitors only a few hours ago. It translates as
follows:

‘From the desk of Frederick Randolph, President. United States of
America. Planet: Earth, third Star: Sol Galaxy: Milky Way

To the current administering body of Planet: New Krypton Galaxy:
Milky Way

We bear greetings in peace to our friends on New Krypton and to
your native son, Kal-El, whom we know, in his adoptive home, as
Superman."

The Crowd’s stunned silence was palpable. Lord Nor had been
wrong. While he might have made a graceful exit, had his rage not
overwhelmed him, Nor instead lunged for Clark even as the crowd
began to comprehend what the message meant.

It was over in a second. Ching made a tactical move to save
Clark. Cigol, not quite knowing who to protect from whom, raised
a dagger to the onrushing Ching. As Nor was almost upon Clark,
Clark dove to push Ching out of the way, deflecting Cigol’s
dagger. By the time Nor’s lurching body found its target, the
only thing that found him was the waiting blade. Conveniently, it
found his black shriveled little heart.

After the crowd calmed and Nor’s body was removed from the
Chamber, Zara addressed the audience. She proclaimed Nor a
villain and Clark the true heir to Krypton’s ruling family. The
Chair publicly apologized to Zara for implying any fraud on her
part. As for Clark, he stood at her side in a combination of
shock, relief and awe for her suddenly commanding presence.

The look on Ching’s face was significantly less triumphant. While
the greater evil had been averted, he was finally to lose his
beloved to the marriage bed of Kal-El. And yet, he felt an
emotion he did not quite understand in his soul. He felt a sense
of kinship with Kal-El. Kal-El had saved his life even as his own
was in danger.

Zara and Ching led Kal-El out of the Grand Tribunal to a
comfortable room with tables and sofas. Here they could speak in
privacy. As soon as they were out of earshot of the others Ching
asked, "Kal-El, how was the signal sent? Who knew?"

Clark replied, a wry smile appearing on his lips, "I’m not 100%
certain, and the answer may disgust you, Ching, but I think I had
help from Lois."

Zara’s eyes showed comprehension immediately. But Ching thought
about this for a few more seconds until he was comfortable with
his thoughts.

"I did not understand your closeness on earth," Ching began. "I
scoffed at her assistance and participation, when I knew you
could offer so much more talent. As a soldier I have always acted
alone. But you and Lois are powerful as a team. You appear
stronger together by the bond you create than either of you are
individually."

Clark chuckled and clapped a forgiving hand on Ching’s shoulder.
While he smiled at Ching, his mind traveled light- years away to
a tropical island and the sensation of Lois resting her head on
his chest as the campfire died to embers. "That’s what I’ve
always told Lois."

After discussing their options half the night, Zara contacted the
Tribunal Chair on Kal-El’s behalf. He was requesting an audience
early the next day.

And as the Tribunal Chamber hummed with speculation, Clark
spoke:

"I am not comfortable as a ruler, so I will make this brief. On
my planet, the place where I was raised, we rule by legislative
representation and vote laws and issues. There is much tradition
and even entitlement, but there is also much originality and
credit stemming from deeds and good works. While I respect and
admire the brave colonists of New Krypton and their dutiful
leadership, I do not deserve to rule. Nor am I entitled by birth
to the hand of Zara. There is one among you who, by brave acts
and selflessness in defense of Kryptonian civilization is
deserving among you. He is Ching. And while I encourage you to
elect a leadership, I will use my birthright to transfer the hand
of Zara in marriage to the true spiritual leader of the
Kryptonian people. With his help, a sense of hope for the planet
has returned, and with the love he and Zara have for each other,
it is my hope that a sense of worth will be returned, by example,
to all of your lives."

Zaras eyes filled with tears of joy for it was now possible to
live openly with the man she loved. Ching quietly took her hand
in his and gave it a soft squeeze.

‘What a noble man Kal-El truly is,’ he thought. Then aloud, he
said, "I must return a good work with its equal."

"Come, Kal-El," said Zara. "We can fuel our ship and you may take
it to your chosen home."

"Thank you," said Clark. Then he halted. "But I don’t know how to
navigate it."

Ching did not hesitate to offer, "If we can hold an election in
the next 24 hours while we refuel and prepare, I will take you
myself. After all, *Clark*, it is I who perhaps owes you the
greatest *personal* debt."

***

Almost three weeks since Clark had been gone, and Lois sat on the
love seat staring at the sky through the open French windows. She
silently wished for another telepathic sign to let her know that
Clark had received the message, for whatever reason he had needed
it. By 10:30 her eyes were red rimmed and her thoughts turned to
Perry and Jimmy.

"Oh dear God. How did this happen? First Clark, then Perry and
Jimmy...Oh please let them be okay," she whispered into her
throw-pillow.

The ringing phone made Lois jump like a cat. She composed herself
in a split second and answered. It was Bobby Bigmouth.

"Lois, that you?" "Yeah, Bobby. What do you have?" "I think this
is something. A guy I’ve seen in the south district was talking
with a bunch of low-lives about ‘stashing’ some hostages up in a
cave at Echo Canyon." "Oh, Bobby, thank you! For this you get a
double pastrami with lots of mustard!" "Add a brisket on garlic
bread and I’ll tell you what else I heard" "You’re on..." "They
said that if they didn’t hear tomorrow...that’s *it* for the
hostages."

Lois swallowed hard, but stayed focused. "I hear you, Bobby.
Thanks again."

She tapped the tone button and quickly speed dialed Inspector
Henderson. His recording picked up. Lois left a brief message
saying she had reason to believe Perry and Jimmy were being held
somewhere in Echo Canyon and she was headed there.

Lois drove the Jeep into Echo Canyon, along the only road. At the
base of a climbable wall to Echo Mountain she stopped where she
saw tire tracks. She pulled the Jeep off the road to make it less
obvious and proceeded up the winding trail on foot. When Lois was
far enough away from the truck, she turned on her flashlight and
softly began calling, "Perry...Jimmy...Can you hear me?"

Jimmy heard her and came to the edge of the boulder in the cave.
"Lois! Over here!"

The full moon illuminated the entire side of the cave. And Lois
could see that the mouth of the cave was wired with explosives
and a timer. Thinking fast, she told Jimmy she needed to go back
to the Jeep and get wire cutters.

"Lois, please hurry. The Chief isn’t doing so well."

But as Lois turned to work her way down the path, a man with a
bandage on his nose and two black eyes, who had watched the Jeep
approach from further away, awaited her. Kicking and screaming,
he dragged Lois back up to the cave, tied her feet, hands, and
gagged her mouth, leaving her face down in the red clay next to
the explosives. As he tied her left foot to one of the explosive
wires, she gave a mule kick to his face. He cried out in pain,
spat on her, and headed down the path from whence they had both
come.

***

Clark and Ching were able to make the journey back in Ching’s
ship after a quick and virtually unanimous election.

"I have the heading, Kal-El. You may prepare if you choose. We’ll
be there in less than one hour."

"Ching," began Clark, "based upon your calculations and my flying
in an arc across the yellow sun, how soon do you think my powers
will return to full strength?"

Ching thought for a second and smiled, an expression Clark was
quick to notice Ching was beginning to enjoy. "Kal-El, the good
news is that a precise calculation will probably take longer than
the regeneration of your powers will. You haven’t been gone long
enough for them to deteriorate in this environment...only under
the red sun. Before long, you will be your superhuman self, and
no doubt will have all the girls fainting at your feet."

As he said this, Ching’s usual sarcasm was replaced by a sort of
friendly jest.

"There’s only one girl I care about. And if she faints, I intend
to be there to catch her," Clark said with a smile.

Clark stepped into his quarters to make sure he was ready to
leave the space craft. One last time he removed from his top the
chain with Lois’s wedding band on it. He closed his eyes and
concentrated.

"Lois, Lois, honey. I love you. Lois, I’m almost home."

***

Lois, still gagged and sleeping almost face down in the red clay
dirt in front of the cave, was startled awake by the message. Her
eyes widened with the possibility that she might not have
hallucinated this. Clark might be on his way. ‘Oh please let it
be, Clark,’ she thought.

Through her gag she tried a muffled call of "Help, Superman!
Help." But it wasn't very intelligible. Jimmy, who couldn’t see
her from inside the cave started screaming back with fright.

"Lois, what’s happening? What’s happening to you? Are you all
right? Lois, don’t lose it on me now! Stay with me! LOIS!"

"Help, Superman! Help!" came the muffled sobs.

"Lois, take it easy. If you’re screaming for Superman, you gotta
calm down. Lois, there is no Superman."

But Lois would not stop screaming through her gag; violently
shaking her head until she was dizzy and the gag loosened.

"Help, Superman! Help!" This time it was a little clearer.

***

Clark’s ears picked up Lois’s cries as they were coming into his
hearing range. "Ching, Lois is in trouble. Can you go any
faster?"

"We’re almost within your flying range. Stand near the external
skin and prepare to exit. Count 15, 14, 13, 12..."

Clark moved to the wall where Ching pointed.

"Thank you, Ching. May we all meet again under more pleasant
circumstances."

"8, 7, 6...Thank you, Kal-El, for bringing peace to New Krypton.
Now, GO!"

Superman touched the skin of the craft and found himself outside
in space. Crossing the arc of the sun to regain maximum exposure,
he dove quickly to earth. To Lois.

***

Lois’s voice was getting craggy and her own sobs were suffocating
her. She could no longer emit intelligible "Help, Superman!"
calls. Suddenly, the timer on the explosives started ticking and
Lois realized, to her horror, that they had 10 seconds to be
blown to smithereens. The terrorists must have heard her
screaming!

Before she could let out her next plaintiff wail, Lois saw Clark
land on the crag in front of the cave, rip the explosives from
the wires, and hurl them into the atmosphere.

They exploded with a deafening roar and showered debris all over
Lois and the cave. In a heartbeat, Clark was upon Lois and untied
her gag, permitting her to breath freely. Amidst coughs, she
showered him with sooty kisses while he reached behind her to
untie her hands. Once free, Clark hugged Lois to him and met her
lips with a deep warm kiss.

Lois pulled away, to Clark’s surprise, until he realized what she
was doing. "Superman," she called, "Perry and Jimmy are in the
cave and Perry’s ill. Please help."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth than Clark pushed aside
the boulder blocking the cave and released Jimmy. He slipped into
the darkness and emerged carrying an unconscious and ashen Perry
White.

"Lois and Jimmy, you two stay here. I’ll send help." And Clark
launched himself, with Perry a limp doll in his arms, off the
crag toward Metropolis’s nearest medical facility.

Lois, unable to contain her tears or excitement grabbed Jimmy in
a bear hug yelling, "He’s back! Oh, Jimmy! Isn’t it wonderful?
Superman is back!"

Jimmy was almost equally emotional. But he was experiencing the
rush of a sensory overload having had Superman return one minute
and having Lois plant her body against his in the next. He could
only manage a dizzy grin as he wrapped his arms around Lois to
reciprocate.

***

In twenty minutes, Inspector Henderson met Jimmy and Lois down
the footpath by the Jeep. He explained how they had traced the
terrorists’ phone calls at the same time Lois went to the cave,
and were following them here when Superman told them what
happened.

While Jimmy would have to be accompanied to the hospital for a
thorough checkup after spending two weeks in a cave, Lois would
be able to go home and get cleaned up.

Henderson offered to have someone drop her off and would return
the Jeep as soon as they had certified it free of traps and
brushed it for prints.

***

Lois thanked the officer for the lift home and walked up the
stairs to her apartment. With her first smile in three weeks, she
closed the door and leaned her weary forehead against it as she
turned the bolt on the inside.

From behind her, through the French window, she heard the
familiar whoosh of air blowing in, the two steps of Clark’s
boots, and the whirl of him spinning out of the suit and into his
clothes.

Lois turned to greet him, so full of love and anticipation that
she thought she might burst. Clark broke the silence first as he
quickly halved the distance between them. He began, shyly, "I’m
sorry for sending the police and not picking you up myself. Once
I knew Perry was okay, I flew to Smallville to see my folks’and
to get some clothes from my apartment."

Lois smiled a toothy smile, through the soot, and closed the
remaining distance. "You saved our lives, Clark. I think it’s
okay. Really."

Clark let on what Lois had already guessed might be true. "You
saved mine on New Krypton, Lois...whether you knew it or not."

"Oh, Clark, all I knew is that I could never let you down."

By now they stood face to face and in one motion each grabbed for
the other. They found each other’s lips, their tongues. Lois and
Clark held each other almost too tightly, first to savor the
tactile sensation, and then to double-check that the flesh was
real.

Panting and hot, Clark lifted Lois a few inches off the ground
and looked into her glistening eyes. Those big brown eyes that
looked at him with so much love and faith. The same eyes he had
caused three weeks before to be filled with pain and heartbreak.

She looked beautiful underneath the dirt and the scratches.
Magnificently, breathtakingly beautiful and desirable. How could
she be filled with so much love that she would forgive him ever
for putting her through this?

His slightly anguished face must have given him away, because
Lois, seeing the heaviness descend on his brow, raised her hand
to smooth his forehead.

"Clark, what is it?" She looked worried.

Clark’s voice was choked up and almost a whisper. "Lois, I have
been in agony without you. But I did what I had to do for the
memory of Jor-El and for the innocent people of New Krypton. I’m
so sorry you had to go through this."

Lois’s face relaxed into a beaming grin that was made all the
brighter by it being surrounded by so much dirt. She realized the
anguished look on Clark’s face was just her wonderful fiance’s
hyperactive sense of guilt where the well-being of a loved one
was concerned. Separating herself temporarily from Clark, and
dropping a few inches to the ground in the process, she casually
wiggled the finger with her engagement ring and stated
matter-of-factly, "This ring here means that what you go through,
buster, I go through. Got it?"

Clark’s anguish faded instantly into a sheepish grin, and tears
unexpectedly rushed to his eyes and he grabbed Lois to give her a
hot soulful kiss before the tears became a downpour.

What he was met with made his rush pointless, as Lois was capable
of returning his kiss slowly and deeply while crying at the same
time.

As their tears mingled, Lois and Clark giggled and sniffled until
their faces were wet and salty.

Clark scooped Lois into his arms and carried her towards the
bedroom, stopping to dip Lois toward the kitchen counter where
she quickly grabbed two tissues from the open box there. She
daubed at Clark’s face with one and delicately wiped her red but
happy nose with the other.

Stiff, sore and filthy, but warmed by the closeness of Clark,
Lois let Clark remove her shoes and socks while she sat on the
bed. Then, amidst kisses and caresses he undid her slacks,
letting them drop to the floor, and pulled her shirt over her
head.

Lois laughed, 'Oh, Clark. I wanted the first time to be all
powdered and perfumed, not like you’re making love to a rodent!'

Clark didn’t care. He was busy planting kisses up Lois’s arm and
shoulders and down the other side. As he faced her, he kissed his
way down her filthy neck all the way to her navel, which was
smooth and pale. Lois forgot her self- consciousness and
permitted herself to enjoy Clark’s touch. He left her only to
turn on the water in the tub and let it fill up.

Then removing his shirt, Clark carried Lois to the tub, removed
her bra and panties and started to place her, tenderly, in the
warm water. At first touch it was too hot for Lois, and Clark
quickly lifted her up and, with apologies, blew on the water ever
so slightly. Then, with it just perfect, Clark eased Lois down
and proceeded to bathe her smooth soft skin. Lois surprised
herself with a small moan of pleasure as she closed her eyes.
Clark sighed deeply. Lois was appealing even when she was filthy.
He felt his body ache with ever more desire as he saw her ivory
skin beginning to reappear beneath the bath water.

Lois drowsily opened her eyes half way and smiled at the
sweetest, most caring man in the whole universe. Of course, that
man wasn’t looking at her face at all. Clark let out another deep
sigh, this one as much to chide himself for nearly dying without
ever having made love to the one woman worth dying for, as at the
beautiful creature naked and soapy in his arms.

The sigh made Lois blush from her head to her toes. And Clark
enjoyed it. He grabbed an oversized bath towel and scooped Lois
out of the tub. Drying her off with the towel, and using his heat
vision on her hair, he carried her back to the bed and laid her
down gently. Lois did her best to positively smolder at Clark,
which wasn’t difficult, as he kissed her on the nose and stood up
to remove his remaining clothing.

As his pants fell to the floor, Lois reflexively smiled in
appreciation and reached up to receive Clark, joining her on the
bed.

Their mouths found one another again, this time with a different
urgency, less desperate, but more passionate and deliberate.
Their arms locked onto one another’s backs and waists and
buttocks and legs in a need to explore each subtle variation of
flesh. Lois felt the chiseled muscles of Clark’s back and the
broad mass of his shoulders. Clark was amazed by the smooth sinew
beneath Lois’s delicate exterior, by the sensuous curves of her
hips and the small of her back as it strained towards him. He was
excited almost to the point of alarm when he felt the force she
used to grab onto him and hold him to her.

The minutes stretched into hours as Clark and Lois explored each
other in this new way. That night they rolled and floated on an
undulating cloud of love, relief, exhaustion, happiness.

It was all so very natural, so easy and yet thrilling, thought
Clark. It reminded him of flying, only better. It reminded Lois
of nothing she had every experienced before.

In the morning, neither Lois nor Clark could recall exactly when
they had fallen asleep. But they awoke wrapped together just as
they had spent the whole night. Lois opened her eyes and brushed
a lock of Clark’s hair away from his face so that she could
better see his eyes. Her movement nudged him into consciousness
and he opened his eyes to look upon the most enchanting sight he
was certain he would ever know.

"Welcome home, Clark. I love you." Clark smiled. "Lois..." His
words were lost in a kiss.

The End

For what it is worth, originally, I had wanted Ching tried for
treason and Clark gallantly offering up himself, fraud or no, to
take his place. Then Ching could try to plan an escape 'Robin
Hood style' in the Tribunal. Unfortunately, this part and most of
my characterization of evil Lord Nor, will remain in my notes. So
much the better....Nor was starting to seem a lot like Darth
Vader anyway. Also missing are scenes with Martha and Jonathan
and Lois in Smallville, and an actual <gasp> characterization of
the villainous terrorists.

Oh well. Maybe next time.

THE END