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Hmm. Lois is about to figure out EXACTLY what the blurs are. Clark is definitly going to do something with his new found knowledge - and it will result in something that can only be described using the phrase 'turnabout is fair play'.
Thanks, and here's some more then.
Glad you like the premise. I originally thought that a Lois wish from Zee would make a 'funny/comedy' story - but it came out quite introspective and deep instead.
Clark's brain is going on overload at the moment - he's going to see and learn and understand a lot of things himself too.
Thank you Mike.
Thanks
Yes, only a matter of ... about 1000 words *laughs* read on.
Me neither. Haha, sorry, I do know - I've got plenty of climax scenes already mapped out - I just need to get there.
I'm not going to say how or why he's sensing her in his dreams, and it doesn't matter in the end - but it's an important part of Clark's journey, just as the visions are an important part of Lois's journey.
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Chapter 4: Revelation
Clark tried to lose his confusion in patrolling. He sat in the Bull Pen listening to the police scanner. Everything was quiet: the office, the airwaves … his phone. Somehow he'd still expected a desperate call from Lois needing some kind of rescue from her date. The date he was sure wasn't actually happening. This time it wasn't even an undercover operation that she pretended was a date. No date. Definitely. Because if there was ...
Clark didn't want to think about it.
Finally resigning himself to a lonely evening he switched off his computer, ready to leave. Just as he reached for the flick switch on the scanner it burst to life.
All units, all units. Robbery in progress. Main and 7th. All ca
Clark flicked off the scanner then blurred away as the crackling noise faded from the empty room.
Dressed in his blue t-shirt and red jacket he arrived at the scene moments later. A van was parked centrally in the smashed glass front of an antique store. The alarm was blazing; presumably what had alerted the police. Clark figured that the thieves were expecting to escape before any police arrived. They were probably right, but they hadn't figured on him: the Red-Blue Blur.
He whirled around the shop, tying up the thieves in a blur. Once done he stopped to survey the scene for a moment then sped off. Now that he was out and already in the red and blue there was no point in going back to the Bull Pen. He sped around the city actively patrolling. He felt a sense of satisfaction seep into his soul. This was his destiny. This was his legacy to the city, to the world. His abilities gave him the ultimate advantage at changing the world for the better.
When he arrived at the scene of a multi-car pile-up the feeling of loneliness, which started in the empty Bull Pen earlier, faded away. He felt encouraged, supported … as if there were someone by his side the whole time. As he worked through the night to prevent accidents, rescue Metropolis residents and capture criminals he smiled in contentment.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Lois climbed into bed her heart was pounding in anticipation. She'd rushed home and then hurried through her night-time preparations wanting to start her 'understanding' as soon as possible. As her head hit the pillow she closed her eyes and finally allowed the visions to dominate her consciousness fully.
The swirls coalesced into a vision of destruction. A car pile-up on an overpass. What was this supposed to show her? Did she need an understanding of disaster, or maybe triage? As she watched it seemed like she flitted around the cars, back and forth. It still didn't make sense why she had passages of blurry colours interspersed with clearer pictures. What was the meaning of that? How did it relate to understanding something, or was it just a random effect of the wish?
As the night drew on she drifted into sleep and the visions translated themselves into dreams. They seemed more real sometimes, and other times they were almost fairy-tale like. Standing on top of a tall Metropolis building she'd leapt off and dropped to street level, almost flying.
In the morning, before even climbing out of bed, Lois grabbed the pad and pen from her bedside table and began documenting every single memory. She worked frantically, scribbling away for ten minutes whatever came to mind. As she came to the early morning hours she realised that her dreams had changed; it seemed that she'd descended all the way into her own unconscious and allowed her unwanted feelings to roam free. She didn't write those down, just rolled her eyes at how pathetic and infatuated her subconscious was when it came to Clark. When she looked back down she realised she was done. She looked back over her work and laughed at how terrible it was. How would she ever interpret that spidery mess? But as she worked her way down each line she found that it all made sense.
Accidents, crime, rescues, Metropolis. Everything fit into those categories.
She tapped the end of the pen on her lips and her mind began to form the thoughts that would change her life. I've been presuming that this wish was about Clark. And then Zatanna blew that presumption out of the water saying that my words didn't make the wish, my heart did. That wasn't to say that it couldn't still have been something to do with Clark - especially if the heart was involved. But there was also something else on her heart and mind constantly. Yes, farm boy took up far to many seconds in her thought allocation, but something … someone … else had also taken up residence in her life.
Lois pushed back the covers and pulled on the first pair of jeans she could grab. A t-shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of trainers followed quickly and then she ran to the kitchen. At the refrigerator she pulled open the door and took a swig directly from the juice bottle. At the door she grabbed her coat, bag and keys and then left.
It was only half way to the Daily Planet that she noticed her socks didn't match.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark woke up early, he always did. This morning was no different. He'd patrolled for much of the night, then come home for the necessary 2-3 hours sleep. He'd been free of dreams until only just before waking. He lay in bed, frowning and blinking.
He'd never experienced recurring nightmares before, and it wasn't necessarily a nightmare, but it was definitely uncomfortable and embarrassing. He'd been sat at his desk, naked again. He looked up to see Lois approaching. She was at the bottom of the basement stairs. She was aiming directly for him, never blinking. He still felt no need to dress, though. He went back to work: an article on crime. Looking up moments later she was a few steps closer. This continued on, each time he wrote more and she moved a few steps closer. As she did he became more concerned. If she came too close she'd see …
He pushed aside the covers and pushed himself up. He sat on the side of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He'd been worried she would see something. She was getting closer and closer, and when she got near enough she'd see. It was quite understandable, but what confused him was that in the dream he hadn't been afraid of her seeing him naked, he'd been afraid of her seeing the article he was writing, the article on crime. The one that revealed every tiny detail about…
He stood and purposefully stalked to the bathroom pushing those thoughts aside. He brushed his teeth and washed his face then suddenly stopped and stared at himself in the mirror.
She'd been naked too. All blurry and fuzzy, yes, but Lois had been naked, from the start.
He shook his head. It's just a dream.
In the kitchen he made himself some toast in the traditional manner, well, traditional for him since his 15th year. As he took his first bite he paused again.
Lana.
He dropped the toast to the table and dropped himself into a seat.
Lana had been in the Bull Pen too. She'd been at the opposite end of the room, moving closer to him each time he looked up, just as with Lois. But she hadn't been naked. Actually, she'd been fully clothed, until she made it to Clark. Yes, she'd got all the way to his desk and then stood over his shoulder reading his article. At that point she'd stripped and become naked.
Clark blushed profusely. Thank goodness there was no-one around to see. I'm having dreams that only belong in the mind of a teenage boy … naked … with two beautiful naked women.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lois arrived at the Bull Pen every nerve on the verge of screaming. She dare not voice the suspicion she had. She dare not even fully realise the thought.
For some unknown reason there was a hold up at the staff entrance. Bizarre coincidence had too many people arriving at the very same second and trying to cram through the door. She rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth.
Patience, Lane. Patience, she told herself. Oh, who am I kidding. "Get a move on. What in god's name is your problem, people?" She began to barge through the crowd and finally stumbled through the door. Skipping down the steps two at a time she raced to her desk and yanked open her drawer, pulling out yesterday's edition of the Daily Planet. It didn't take long to find the article she'd been reading the day before.
Red-Blue Blur rescues girl
This time she took it slowly. She swung out her chair and then lowered herself into it never moving her eyes from the article. After taking in all the factual details of the save, which were more than eerily familiar, they were downright honest memories, she stared at the black and white photo which captured the reunion of little girl with her parents; home ablaze in the background.
I definitely saw this in my vision.
She put down the paper and brought her head up, looking around. "Jeff," she collared the young intern walking past.
"Yes Miss Lane," he swayed and turned at her touch then looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"Any word on Red-Blue Blur saves overnight?"
"Uh, you could try copy. They would have any articles submitted overnight by the graveyard shift."
Lois nodded and let go of the young guy's jumper. He stumbled backwards and let out an embarrassed giggle. "See, I told you you'd remember my name eventually." He shifted his eyes around then wandered away. Lois sighed and hung her head.
Taking a walk down the corridor she dropped herself into a seat next to Susan. "Any Red-Blue Blur saves overnight, Sue?" she asked sweetly.
Susan looked up from her computer and glared at her. "Lane, you should know better than to come fishing for information from other reporter's articles. How would you feel …" she began gesticulating wildly, "… if I blabbed your scoops all over the bull pen before they went to press."
"Hey, it's not like that. I'm not after stealing anything big." Lois paused and then elaborated before Susan continued to get the wrong idea. "I'm not after stealing anything, whether it's big or small, or whether it's ready for print now, or still needs multiple revisions and follow ups." She leaned forward and smiled. "I just want to know if there are any confirmed saves. What was he involved in over-night."
Susan frowned, her eyes twinkling a little.
"Please, it's actually nothing to do with an article."
"Well, I don't see why you can't wait till the edition is out, or even go check the messages which came in overnight on the wire, they're not restricted."
"Aw, but that's so …" she began, hoping to toss out a compliment but Susan was way ahead of her.
"so much like hard work … and you have no patience," she raised her eyebrows in mocking.
"Hmmph! You know me too well, Sue." Lois slumped back in the chair.
"Here you go," Susan held out a typed sheet. "It's just a list, there's no articles attached. Everything that could be attributed to the Red-Blue Blur from overnight."
"Thanks, Sue." Lois reached over and hugged her quickly. "You're a star." She sprang up from the chair and strode back to her desk.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Morning Lois," Clark breezed as he passed her desk and seated himself.
"Uh!" she looked up, surprised to see him. He smiled at himself. Two mornings in a row. Good work. He didn't usually catch Lois Lane off guard. "Hi Clark." When she looked back down immediately he got worried.
"Lois, you okay?" he questioned.
"Uh huh," she murmured in the affirmative. "Just … checking on something." She sounded pre-occupied, and a little surprised.
"Major scoop?" he asked grinning and hoping for some chatter.
"Oh, no." She finally looked up and caught his eyes. Clark saw her come back to reality from … wherever … she had been. "The Red-Blue Blur," she blurted out and his heart jumped.
"Uhm," he glanced away and began fiddling with his pen. "What about him?"
"Did you know he saved a bunch of people in a multi-car pile-up last night?"
"I, uh, heard about it, yeah." He looked up and dared to meet her, eye to eye. "What about it," he smiled as naturally as he could.
"Oh, nothing. I just …" she looked back down at the paper in her hands and smiled wistfully, her brow crinkling ever so slightly.
"Just what?" Clark probed excruciatingly curious.
She shook her head in wonder. "He's amazing."
"I guess." He looked down to his pad on his desk and held a grin in check but it twitched at the corner of his mouth. The awe in her voice was unmistakable. When he looked back up she was studying that paper again. He lent back in his chair and gazed at her, not worrying if she noticed. She was amazing herself. He would never forget the way she'd taken everything in her stride on the day he'd re-written. It was all perfectly normal to her: normal and reasonable … to think that the nerd farm-boy she used to live with was actually a super-powered alien. And she'd stood by him, never doubting him. She'd even said some things that ...
And then he erased it all.
He sat up and wiped the happy look of his face. He didn't deserve it. He'd made his choice, and had to live with it. But, oh how he regretted it. Yet, even with his regret, he'd still gone and made the same mistake again. When you regret something you don't turn your back on it if you just happen to be given a second chance. Clark felt the pain tear at his insides. He had to turn back time. It was the only way to keep the world safe: to keep her safe.
But by doing that he'd lost the Lois that knew him and accepted him. He'd regretted that particular by-product immediately and when given the chance to get it back … he'd stupidly stood her up. If you regret losing her then why haven't you taken a single opportunity to change it?
"Lois?" Clark spoke without even realising it. Immediately he regretted it. Well, the scared alien boy inside him regretted it. But the bold, hopeful man continued on. "Do you want to get some coffee at lunch?"
Lois looked up at him as if he were an idiot. "Smallville, you're asking me if I want coffee at lunch time, and the tone hints that you think I should go get it myself too? It's not even …" she looked at her watch "… 9:30. I want my mid-morning coffee and my late-morning coffee before I even think about lunch."
"No, Lois. I mean …" his boldness left him and his throat dried up. "I mean, would you like to go out for lunch, take a break from the desk. I'll buy you coffee."
"Oh!" she looked shocked … and a little scared. "That sounds nice," she smiled and her face lit up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Red-Blue Blur. She was seeing The Red-Blue Blur. Well, seeing what he was doing, and judging by the angle and the glance at arms and hands in her visions she was seeing what the Red-Blue Blur was seeing.
She risked a glance up at Clark. He was deep in work, focussed on his monitor. Looking back to the list of saves overnight she tried to calm her beating heart. The pounding hadn't been helped by Clark suggesting they get coffee at lunch as a break from work: her mind in a whirl, she'd accepted without any question, without any remark about his track record with coffee dates.
Not that it would be a date. Not with Clark. He was oblivious to her feelings … and her hotness. But he was such a genuine guy that it was quite acceptable for him to think of asking a female friend for coffee with no ulterior motive.
Lois mentally growled at herself. Stop obsessing. She took a swig of her coffee and went back to studying the list. She's been ticking down it save by save. There were some gaps. She didn't remember a crane collapsing, or the apparent watery rescue of an out of control car diving off the bridge. Her only explanation was that her own dreams and subconscious had been too strong at those points.
As her pulse rate finally subsided she became aware of two overwhelming questions.
What was my wish then … to get this?
And how can I use it to make a front page story?
On impulse she pushed the paper away and drew her keyboard near. Well, I can start by making an article out of this list and just adding that personal touch from my memory. She began to type furiously, suppressing the desire to close her eyes. The Red-Blue Blur did most of his work at night, under the cover of darkness. Oh, yes, there were day-time saves, but the majority were in the safety and anonymity that night-time brought.
Was that my wish? I want to know who he is? Maybe I need to bring him out of anonymity.
She shook her head and took another drink. No, I admit, it's definitely something I want but I don't think it's what was in my heart. She pursed her lips. But it's my best guess at the moment. She frowned. And it's going to be hard for me to no longer want that too, if it really is the wish!
Lois worked diligently through the morning and was immensely pleased with herself when she printed off her article.
She'd resisted closing her eyes for Blur time.
She'd resisted thinking about Farm Boy.
She'd resisted looking up at Plaid King.
All of a sudden she realised that she was along. He wasn't around. She whipped her head from side to side, searching. "Clark!" she called. When it became obvious that he'd left she laughed in surprise. "Wow, I was super focussed, I had no idea he'd done a Houdini."
After delivering her article to copy she noticed the time. 11:45. "Uh oh! Did we make a time or not? Has he already gone? Was I meeting him there?" Lois screeched in frustration inside her brain and knocked her head back against her head rest to let out a little annoyance. Her eyes closed. When blurred visions sharpened and revealed a block of flats shaking and trembling Lois popped her eyes open and sat up straight immediately. She glanced around, somehow worried that other people has seen but realised her stupidity immediately. A cunning thought began to play around in her head. She narrowed her eyes and looked around, shiftily, checking the lay of the land and the people looking in her direction.
A smile twitched the corner of her mouth up as she rested her head back and closed her eyes again. The building immediately jumped into view, trembling even more. The Red-Blue Blur looked up and Lois saw bricks raining down from the top floors. Her breath caught. It's going to collapse. A sudden blur had her feeling momentarily nauseous in her chair. She was back outside again. The blurs returned and then she found herself in a stairwell. A lady was rushing down the steps, stumbling from side to side. The Red-Blue Blur picked her up and then blurs covered her vision again. Outside once more the lady was deposited. It continued.
Lois opened her eyes and reached for her bag and coat. "Chasing a story … if Clark comes back looking for me," she shouted to no-one in particular.
Outside she hailed a cab and told it to head for Hob's Bay. That was the most likely place that a dilapidated tenement building would be collapsing due to lack of care.
"The blurs," she mumbled to herself as the cabbie weaved through the traffic. "It's him … moving fast."
"Huh?" asked the driver, wondering if she was giving him further instructions.
"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."
Lois nibbled on a fingernail. I thought they were … faulty reception … or something, maybe interference on the wish. But it's his speed. Her eyes widened in wonder and her mouth dropped open. "Wow!" she exhaled.
As the cabbie got closer to the slums it became obvious she was in the right place. Traffic was backed up, ambulances were parked all along the side. She scrambled out of the cab, throwing a random note at the driver and began to scurry along the road.
I hope he's still here. I hope he's still here, she repeated to herself. Dang, why didn't I check while I was still in the cab? She stopped and struck her palm to her forehead completely stunned at her stupid mistake. As she ran round the corner and the whole scene laid itself out in front of her own eyes she dropped her jaw in horror. The whole building was now just a pile of rubble. Her hand went to her mouth to cover her shock and she started the slow walk into the fray. There would be witness statements, police reports, tragedies hopefully averted … it was going to be a front page-er for sure.
As she approached a uniformed officer she overheard him talking, noting down the time and she brought up her wrist to corroborate. 12:25pm.
Lunch.
Coffee.
With Clark.
The thoughts shouted, starkly, in her mind. As she took in the devastation around her, her brow wrinkled and her heart sagged with heavy emotion. She had a job to do. And Clark could wait. Clark would have to wait. And maybe it was just what he deserved.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Time for comments. I'll let you in on a secret - I was originally going to have their lunch/coffee in this chapter, but I decided to give Lois a bit of revenge. You will get a coffee date though.
Plus can you interpret Clark’s dream? Put down your thoughts and you get the answer in the next chapter.
Please, please comment.
Thanks, and here's some more then.
Glad you like the premise. I originally thought that a Lois wish from Zee would make a 'funny/comedy' story - but it came out quite introspective and deep instead.
Thank you Mike.
Thanks
Yes, only a matter of ... about 1000 words *laughs* read on.
i'm so happy Clark is finally understanding - and admitting for that matter - that there's something going on between them and that he fell for her. Hard. 
]
and i have no idea if he's sensing her on his dreams because of her wish or his kryptonian DNA... i was going for his DNA 'cause Lois never mentioned (or thought) anything about it when she made her wish, but, since his kryptonian DNA is not immune to magic i'm completely lost here
]and i have no idea if he's sensing her on his dreams because of her wish or his kryptonian DNA... i was going for his DNA 'cause Lois never mentioned (or thought) anything about it when she made her wish, but, since his kryptonian DNA is not immune to magic i'm completely lost here
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Chapter 4: Revelation
Clark tried to lose his confusion in patrolling. He sat in the Bull Pen listening to the police scanner. Everything was quiet: the office, the airwaves … his phone. Somehow he'd still expected a desperate call from Lois needing some kind of rescue from her date. The date he was sure wasn't actually happening. This time it wasn't even an undercover operation that she pretended was a date. No date. Definitely. Because if there was ...
Clark didn't want to think about it.
Finally resigning himself to a lonely evening he switched off his computer, ready to leave. Just as he reached for the flick switch on the scanner it burst to life.
All units, all units. Robbery in progress. Main and 7th. All ca
Clark flicked off the scanner then blurred away as the crackling noise faded from the empty room.
Dressed in his blue t-shirt and red jacket he arrived at the scene moments later. A van was parked centrally in the smashed glass front of an antique store. The alarm was blazing; presumably what had alerted the police. Clark figured that the thieves were expecting to escape before any police arrived. They were probably right, but they hadn't figured on him: the Red-Blue Blur.
He whirled around the shop, tying up the thieves in a blur. Once done he stopped to survey the scene for a moment then sped off. Now that he was out and already in the red and blue there was no point in going back to the Bull Pen. He sped around the city actively patrolling. He felt a sense of satisfaction seep into his soul. This was his destiny. This was his legacy to the city, to the world. His abilities gave him the ultimate advantage at changing the world for the better.
When he arrived at the scene of a multi-car pile-up the feeling of loneliness, which started in the empty Bull Pen earlier, faded away. He felt encouraged, supported … as if there were someone by his side the whole time. As he worked through the night to prevent accidents, rescue Metropolis residents and capture criminals he smiled in contentment.
When Lois climbed into bed her heart was pounding in anticipation. She'd rushed home and then hurried through her night-time preparations wanting to start her 'understanding' as soon as possible. As her head hit the pillow she closed her eyes and finally allowed the visions to dominate her consciousness fully.
The swirls coalesced into a vision of destruction. A car pile-up on an overpass. What was this supposed to show her? Did she need an understanding of disaster, or maybe triage? As she watched it seemed like she flitted around the cars, back and forth. It still didn't make sense why she had passages of blurry colours interspersed with clearer pictures. What was the meaning of that? How did it relate to understanding something, or was it just a random effect of the wish?
As the night drew on she drifted into sleep and the visions translated themselves into dreams. They seemed more real sometimes, and other times they were almost fairy-tale like. Standing on top of a tall Metropolis building she'd leapt off and dropped to street level, almost flying.
In the morning, before even climbing out of bed, Lois grabbed the pad and pen from her bedside table and began documenting every single memory. She worked frantically, scribbling away for ten minutes whatever came to mind. As she came to the early morning hours she realised that her dreams had changed; it seemed that she'd descended all the way into her own unconscious and allowed her unwanted feelings to roam free. She didn't write those down, just rolled her eyes at how pathetic and infatuated her subconscious was when it came to Clark. When she looked back down she realised she was done. She looked back over her work and laughed at how terrible it was. How would she ever interpret that spidery mess? But as she worked her way down each line she found that it all made sense.
Accidents, crime, rescues, Metropolis. Everything fit into those categories.
She tapped the end of the pen on her lips and her mind began to form the thoughts that would change her life. I've been presuming that this wish was about Clark. And then Zatanna blew that presumption out of the water saying that my words didn't make the wish, my heart did. That wasn't to say that it couldn't still have been something to do with Clark - especially if the heart was involved. But there was also something else on her heart and mind constantly. Yes, farm boy took up far to many seconds in her thought allocation, but something … someone … else had also taken up residence in her life.
Lois pushed back the covers and pulled on the first pair of jeans she could grab. A t-shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of trainers followed quickly and then she ran to the kitchen. At the refrigerator she pulled open the door and took a swig directly from the juice bottle. At the door she grabbed her coat, bag and keys and then left.
It was only half way to the Daily Planet that she noticed her socks didn't match.
Clark woke up early, he always did. This morning was no different. He'd patrolled for much of the night, then come home for the necessary 2-3 hours sleep. He'd been free of dreams until only just before waking. He lay in bed, frowning and blinking.
He'd never experienced recurring nightmares before, and it wasn't necessarily a nightmare, but it was definitely uncomfortable and embarrassing. He'd been sat at his desk, naked again. He looked up to see Lois approaching. She was at the bottom of the basement stairs. She was aiming directly for him, never blinking. He still felt no need to dress, though. He went back to work: an article on crime. Looking up moments later she was a few steps closer. This continued on, each time he wrote more and she moved a few steps closer. As she did he became more concerned. If she came too close she'd see …
He pushed aside the covers and pushed himself up. He sat on the side of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He'd been worried she would see something. She was getting closer and closer, and when she got near enough she'd see. It was quite understandable, but what confused him was that in the dream he hadn't been afraid of her seeing him naked, he'd been afraid of her seeing the article he was writing, the article on crime. The one that revealed every tiny detail about…
He stood and purposefully stalked to the bathroom pushing those thoughts aside. He brushed his teeth and washed his face then suddenly stopped and stared at himself in the mirror.
She'd been naked too. All blurry and fuzzy, yes, but Lois had been naked, from the start.
He shook his head. It's just a dream.
In the kitchen he made himself some toast in the traditional manner, well, traditional for him since his 15th year. As he took his first bite he paused again.
Lana.
He dropped the toast to the table and dropped himself into a seat.
Lana had been in the Bull Pen too. She'd been at the opposite end of the room, moving closer to him each time he looked up, just as with Lois. But she hadn't been naked. Actually, she'd been fully clothed, until she made it to Clark. Yes, she'd got all the way to his desk and then stood over his shoulder reading his article. At that point she'd stripped and become naked.
Clark blushed profusely. Thank goodness there was no-one around to see. I'm having dreams that only belong in the mind of a teenage boy … naked … with two beautiful naked women.
Lois arrived at the Bull Pen every nerve on the verge of screaming. She dare not voice the suspicion she had. She dare not even fully realise the thought.
For some unknown reason there was a hold up at the staff entrance. Bizarre coincidence had too many people arriving at the very same second and trying to cram through the door. She rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth.
Patience, Lane. Patience, she told herself. Oh, who am I kidding. "Get a move on. What in god's name is your problem, people?" She began to barge through the crowd and finally stumbled through the door. Skipping down the steps two at a time she raced to her desk and yanked open her drawer, pulling out yesterday's edition of the Daily Planet. It didn't take long to find the article she'd been reading the day before.
Red-Blue Blur rescues girl
This time she took it slowly. She swung out her chair and then lowered herself into it never moving her eyes from the article. After taking in all the factual details of the save, which were more than eerily familiar, they were downright honest memories, she stared at the black and white photo which captured the reunion of little girl with her parents; home ablaze in the background.
I definitely saw this in my vision.
She put down the paper and brought her head up, looking around. "Jeff," she collared the young intern walking past.
"Yes Miss Lane," he swayed and turned at her touch then looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"Any word on Red-Blue Blur saves overnight?"
"Uh, you could try copy. They would have any articles submitted overnight by the graveyard shift."
Lois nodded and let go of the young guy's jumper. He stumbled backwards and let out an embarrassed giggle. "See, I told you you'd remember my name eventually." He shifted his eyes around then wandered away. Lois sighed and hung her head.
Taking a walk down the corridor she dropped herself into a seat next to Susan. "Any Red-Blue Blur saves overnight, Sue?" she asked sweetly.
Susan looked up from her computer and glared at her. "Lane, you should know better than to come fishing for information from other reporter's articles. How would you feel …" she began gesticulating wildly, "… if I blabbed your scoops all over the bull pen before they went to press."
"Hey, it's not like that. I'm not after stealing anything big." Lois paused and then elaborated before Susan continued to get the wrong idea. "I'm not after stealing anything, whether it's big or small, or whether it's ready for print now, or still needs multiple revisions and follow ups." She leaned forward and smiled. "I just want to know if there are any confirmed saves. What was he involved in over-night."
Susan frowned, her eyes twinkling a little.
"Please, it's actually nothing to do with an article."
"Well, I don't see why you can't wait till the edition is out, or even go check the messages which came in overnight on the wire, they're not restricted."
"Aw, but that's so …" she began, hoping to toss out a compliment but Susan was way ahead of her.
"so much like hard work … and you have no patience," she raised her eyebrows in mocking.
"Hmmph! You know me too well, Sue." Lois slumped back in the chair.
"Here you go," Susan held out a typed sheet. "It's just a list, there's no articles attached. Everything that could be attributed to the Red-Blue Blur from overnight."
"Thanks, Sue." Lois reached over and hugged her quickly. "You're a star." She sprang up from the chair and strode back to her desk.
"Morning Lois," Clark breezed as he passed her desk and seated himself.
"Uh!" she looked up, surprised to see him. He smiled at himself. Two mornings in a row. Good work. He didn't usually catch Lois Lane off guard. "Hi Clark." When she looked back down immediately he got worried.
"Lois, you okay?" he questioned.
"Uh huh," she murmured in the affirmative. "Just … checking on something." She sounded pre-occupied, and a little surprised.
"Major scoop?" he asked grinning and hoping for some chatter.
"Oh, no." She finally looked up and caught his eyes. Clark saw her come back to reality from … wherever … she had been. "The Red-Blue Blur," she blurted out and his heart jumped.
"Uhm," he glanced away and began fiddling with his pen. "What about him?"
"Did you know he saved a bunch of people in a multi-car pile-up last night?"
"I, uh, heard about it, yeah." He looked up and dared to meet her, eye to eye. "What about it," he smiled as naturally as he could.
"Oh, nothing. I just …" she looked back down at the paper in her hands and smiled wistfully, her brow crinkling ever so slightly.
"Just what?" Clark probed excruciatingly curious.
She shook her head in wonder. "He's amazing."
"I guess." He looked down to his pad on his desk and held a grin in check but it twitched at the corner of his mouth. The awe in her voice was unmistakable. When he looked back up she was studying that paper again. He lent back in his chair and gazed at her, not worrying if she noticed. She was amazing herself. He would never forget the way she'd taken everything in her stride on the day he'd re-written. It was all perfectly normal to her: normal and reasonable … to think that the nerd farm-boy she used to live with was actually a super-powered alien. And she'd stood by him, never doubting him. She'd even said some things that ...
And then he erased it all.
He sat up and wiped the happy look of his face. He didn't deserve it. He'd made his choice, and had to live with it. But, oh how he regretted it. Yet, even with his regret, he'd still gone and made the same mistake again. When you regret something you don't turn your back on it if you just happen to be given a second chance. Clark felt the pain tear at his insides. He had to turn back time. It was the only way to keep the world safe: to keep her safe.
But by doing that he'd lost the Lois that knew him and accepted him. He'd regretted that particular by-product immediately and when given the chance to get it back … he'd stupidly stood her up. If you regret losing her then why haven't you taken a single opportunity to change it?
"Lois?" Clark spoke without even realising it. Immediately he regretted it. Well, the scared alien boy inside him regretted it. But the bold, hopeful man continued on. "Do you want to get some coffee at lunch?"
Lois looked up at him as if he were an idiot. "Smallville, you're asking me if I want coffee at lunch time, and the tone hints that you think I should go get it myself too? It's not even …" she looked at her watch "… 9:30. I want my mid-morning coffee and my late-morning coffee before I even think about lunch."
"No, Lois. I mean …" his boldness left him and his throat dried up. "I mean, would you like to go out for lunch, take a break from the desk. I'll buy you coffee."
"Oh!" she looked shocked … and a little scared. "That sounds nice," she smiled and her face lit up.
The Red-Blue Blur. She was seeing The Red-Blue Blur. Well, seeing what he was doing, and judging by the angle and the glance at arms and hands in her visions she was seeing what the Red-Blue Blur was seeing.
She risked a glance up at Clark. He was deep in work, focussed on his monitor. Looking back to the list of saves overnight she tried to calm her beating heart. The pounding hadn't been helped by Clark suggesting they get coffee at lunch as a break from work: her mind in a whirl, she'd accepted without any question, without any remark about his track record with coffee dates.
Not that it would be a date. Not with Clark. He was oblivious to her feelings … and her hotness. But he was such a genuine guy that it was quite acceptable for him to think of asking a female friend for coffee with no ulterior motive.
Lois mentally growled at herself. Stop obsessing. She took a swig of her coffee and went back to studying the list. She's been ticking down it save by save. There were some gaps. She didn't remember a crane collapsing, or the apparent watery rescue of an out of control car diving off the bridge. Her only explanation was that her own dreams and subconscious had been too strong at those points.
As her pulse rate finally subsided she became aware of two overwhelming questions.
What was my wish then … to get this?
And how can I use it to make a front page story?
On impulse she pushed the paper away and drew her keyboard near. Well, I can start by making an article out of this list and just adding that personal touch from my memory. She began to type furiously, suppressing the desire to close her eyes. The Red-Blue Blur did most of his work at night, under the cover of darkness. Oh, yes, there were day-time saves, but the majority were in the safety and anonymity that night-time brought.
Was that my wish? I want to know who he is? Maybe I need to bring him out of anonymity.
She shook her head and took another drink. No, I admit, it's definitely something I want but I don't think it's what was in my heart. She pursed her lips. But it's my best guess at the moment. She frowned. And it's going to be hard for me to no longer want that too, if it really is the wish!
Lois worked diligently through the morning and was immensely pleased with herself when she printed off her article.
She'd resisted closing her eyes for Blur time.
She'd resisted thinking about Farm Boy.
She'd resisted looking up at Plaid King.
All of a sudden she realised that she was along. He wasn't around. She whipped her head from side to side, searching. "Clark!" she called. When it became obvious that he'd left she laughed in surprise. "Wow, I was super focussed, I had no idea he'd done a Houdini."
After delivering her article to copy she noticed the time. 11:45. "Uh oh! Did we make a time or not? Has he already gone? Was I meeting him there?" Lois screeched in frustration inside her brain and knocked her head back against her head rest to let out a little annoyance. Her eyes closed. When blurred visions sharpened and revealed a block of flats shaking and trembling Lois popped her eyes open and sat up straight immediately. She glanced around, somehow worried that other people has seen but realised her stupidity immediately. A cunning thought began to play around in her head. She narrowed her eyes and looked around, shiftily, checking the lay of the land and the people looking in her direction.
A smile twitched the corner of her mouth up as she rested her head back and closed her eyes again. The building immediately jumped into view, trembling even more. The Red-Blue Blur looked up and Lois saw bricks raining down from the top floors. Her breath caught. It's going to collapse. A sudden blur had her feeling momentarily nauseous in her chair. She was back outside again. The blurs returned and then she found herself in a stairwell. A lady was rushing down the steps, stumbling from side to side. The Red-Blue Blur picked her up and then blurs covered her vision again. Outside once more the lady was deposited. It continued.
Lois opened her eyes and reached for her bag and coat. "Chasing a story … if Clark comes back looking for me," she shouted to no-one in particular.
Outside she hailed a cab and told it to head for Hob's Bay. That was the most likely place that a dilapidated tenement building would be collapsing due to lack of care.
"The blurs," she mumbled to herself as the cabbie weaved through the traffic. "It's him … moving fast."
"Huh?" asked the driver, wondering if she was giving him further instructions.
"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."
Lois nibbled on a fingernail. I thought they were … faulty reception … or something, maybe interference on the wish. But it's his speed. Her eyes widened in wonder and her mouth dropped open. "Wow!" she exhaled.
As the cabbie got closer to the slums it became obvious she was in the right place. Traffic was backed up, ambulances were parked all along the side. She scrambled out of the cab, throwing a random note at the driver and began to scurry along the road.
I hope he's still here. I hope he's still here, she repeated to herself. Dang, why didn't I check while I was still in the cab? She stopped and struck her palm to her forehead completely stunned at her stupid mistake. As she ran round the corner and the whole scene laid itself out in front of her own eyes she dropped her jaw in horror. The whole building was now just a pile of rubble. Her hand went to her mouth to cover her shock and she started the slow walk into the fray. There would be witness statements, police reports, tragedies hopefully averted … it was going to be a front page-er for sure.
As she approached a uniformed officer she overheard him talking, noting down the time and she brought up her wrist to corroborate. 12:25pm.
Lunch.
Coffee.
With Clark.
The thoughts shouted, starkly, in her mind. As she took in the devastation around her, her brow wrinkled and her heart sagged with heavy emotion. She had a job to do. And Clark could wait. Clark would have to wait. And maybe it was just what he deserved.
Time for comments. I'll let you in on a secret - I was originally going to have their lunch/coffee in this chapter, but I decided to give Lois a bit of revenge. You will get a coffee date though.
Plus can you interpret Clark’s dream? Put down your thoughts and you get the answer in the next chapter.
Please, please comment.
I have things i wanna comment on individually. Really enjoyed this update!
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