The Naked Truth

By Mary T. <thefan@cantv.net>

Rated: PG

Submitted: November 2002

Summary: What happens when a thief steals Superman's suit? Find out in this 1st-2nd season story.

This is my first fanfic in English. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I want to thank Nina, my beta-reader, who helped me with grammar, and Spanish-English translation problems.

I do not own these characters(except Heather), they belong to 3rd December productions, Warner Brothers and DC comics. I wrote this story and borrowed them, just for fun.

Feedback welcome!

***

After a slow news day at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent went home early to his apartment. He opened the door and entered. He was smiling because he'd got a nomination for the Kerth Awards, although his stubborn and obstinate partner hadn't looked very happy about it.

At superspeed, he got into the shower. After a relaxing and hot bath of thirty minutes, he came out, wrapped in a white towel that surrounded his hips. He soaked the floor with his bare and wet feet. At the same time, he was drying his hair with another towel, which was the same size as the first.

He was so happy, that he was singing during the entire process.

"She hates meeee, sha la la la laaaaaaa."

Suddenly, he heard a strange noise in the kitchen, and got on alert. His superhearing tuned in to some steps that were going to the tumble-dryer, which had its work. He walked secretly to the living room, and with his X-ray vision, saw a guy, dressed in black pants and a blue sweater, and hooded. He was going to capture him with his superspeed, but then realized that he was only wearing the towel. He didn't want to chance having any little accidents.

He supposed he could capture him as Clark Kent. No, the thief might somehow suspect the truth, because of his physique, and because he had his wet hair slicked back, so it would be too obvious.

But he realized that he didn't have much time to think and ran to the kitchen, where he saw that the thief had opened the tumble-dryer.

"Oh my God, he stole my Suit!" he said to himself.

Immediately, he leaned out of the window. The thief was running away with the Suit, going down a small ladder.

"Hey!" Clark yelled. "Give me back my Suit!"

The thief looked up, and was surprised to see Superman without his suit. Instead of obeying, he slid down the ladder desperately and ran as fast as he could.

He was going out of the alley of the building, when he saw that Superman was pursuing him, barefooted. He also slid down the ladder…wearing a towel.

The thief couldn't believe it. He ran with all the speed he could muster, with the Suit in his hands, pressing it on the point of getting creased. He arrived at one of the busiest streets in the city.

On the other hand, Superman was also running very fast, though not too much, so that his towel wouldn't fall from his hips.

The people when they saw him, got overwhelmed, both women and men. It was very difficult for him to make his way through the through the crowd.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" he shouted.

The crowd, crushed, stayed there like zombies, staring at him. They'd never seen something like this before; their great hero, The Last Son of Krypton, The Wonder of Metropolis, The Man of Tomorrow, The Man of Steel, better known as Superman, was there without the suit and almost naked!

At the same time as he was running, every muscle of his was flexing, his legs, the great pectorals of his Adonis body, and with his superhearing he could hear the comments of the people.

"Wow! Where he does he work out?" the hot dog seller asked.

"Has he lost his Suit?" the clock peddler asked too.

And he couldn't avoid feeling uncomfortable before the glance of some of the women, young and mature ones, who gasped or screamed when they saw him. Others threw everything that they were carrying or drinking, coffee, juice, milkshakes…

The shy ones were blushing, the lascivious ones took away his towel in their minds. There was even a young college girl, who fainted. The cover of her notebook had photos of the superhero on it.

The thief was running down the broad street, and Clark was getting closer.

"Stop!" he said. "Stop!"

The traffic stopped, and three cars collided with each other, because the traffic cop, a woman, distracted herself staring at Clark. It looked like the thief wasn't going to get tired; now and then he turned back to look at his pursuer, amazed. The most impressive thing of all was that, after running such a distance, the towel hadn't dropped from Clark's hips.

They came to a residential zone which had many houses, with two flats, gardens and garages. An old lady was watering the plants, and three young men were walking on the opposite side of the street from where the thief and his pursuer were running.

The hooded guy broke through the group of young men and continued running on his way. They turned to watch him go and didn't care too much, but when they saw Clark, they got paralyzed. The old lady raised her head when Superman ran past. She turned to follow him with her gaze, forgetting the hose, which was still pouring water, and without meaning to drenched the young men.

"He's so gorgeous!" the lady exclaimed.

Superman and the thief were still running. It seemed that the pursuit wasn't about to finish; Clark was more desperate than ever. What was he going to do? He was ruining his own reputation. And how had this guy known that the Suit was there and that Superman was in Clark Kent's apartment?

They finally got into a park, which was in front of the Hall of Justice. The mayoress was about to talk at a press conference about the new security measures in Metropolis. There were a lot of journalists and Lois Lane was between them. She had decided to work extra hours to cover this event.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, thank you for coming, well…" she took a brief pause, "I feel very happy to be here, in Metropolis, which is considered one of the safest cities on the world, thanks to our beloved hero, Superman. Because the crime rate has risen this year, I've decided to bring in these measures. The first one —"

Then the mayoress saw from her position on the podium, the hooded guy running past the crowd of journalists. Her first impression was that it was weird, but she almost had a heart attack when she saw Superman running after him. She was so shocked she ended her sentence with a curse word so foul there were bursts of laughter from the journalists, who didn't know what was happening.

"Superman, what do you think you're doing?" the mayoress shouted, hysterically.

Clark stopped when the mayoress yelled at him. He was fully embarrassed, but desperate. A mix of feelings and thoughts were crossing his mind. The reporters turned back and got crushed by what they saw. It was just a question of seconds before hundreds of flashes from their cameras shot pictures.

"That guy stole my Suit!" Clark yelled, and went on with his race, without answering the impertinent questions of the reporters as they came out of their state of shock.

Lois was totally speechless. The man of her dreams, with the Suit, within open sight of everybody. She couldn't help but laugh nervously and hysterically.

The pursuit wasn't ending. They had run through half the city and the thief had begun to show some signs of tiredness.

They came to a zone that wasn't as busy as the others, but was one of the worst zones of the city. There were vagrants and beggar people around, places of small account where crooks used to meet.

As they ran, the first drops of a drizzle began to fall and it seemed to conspire to make things harder for Clark. "Great. What else?" he thought.

The rain became a heavy shower, which meant a second bath for him, but he continued running; he would not rest until he had his suit back, the original one, the same that his mother had made for him. It was also the only suit that remained available because the others were in the washing machine, dirty or torn by explosions and other incidents.

The hooded guy, on the other hand, refused to surrender, under he had to cross an intersection. He was already in the middle of it when he slipped and fell backwards. A truck almost collided with him, but Clark appeared in time. Leaping over two cars in a single bound, without the towel falling from his hips, he reached the fallen thief, took him by the arms, and removed him from the street, out of danger. He laid him on the sidewalk; the thief was unconscious.

A crowd, amazed and curious, congregated around him. Some of them were laughing and others were watching him expectantly. It wasn't only raining hard, the afternoon was failing, and night was beginning to show its first sketches on the sky.

Superman, worried, took the mask from the thief's face, to reveal a blond, young girl. She was recovering consciousness and when she saw the face of the Man of Steel, she immediately got up.

"You saved me," said the girl, vaguely.

And he, with the Suit already doubled in his forearm, asked:

"Why did you do this?"

"Because, it was the only way to find you."

Clark was stunned. "You couldn't find a better way?" he answered.

Suddenly, the same reporters who had been covering the press conference arrived on the scene. The photographers didn't hesitate to use their cameras. There were also some video cameramen and TV reporters.

"Superman, I love you!" the girl exclaimed.

He was horrified. A crazy fan had entered his house and stolen his suit, just to attract his attention?

"Oh, really?" he answered, annoyed. "If you love me so much, then why did you make me run all over the city, embarrassing myself and almost…" He looked at his towel. "Naked!"

The woman lowered her head, regretful. "Well, sometimes, a girl goes crazy for love."

Among the crowd who had congregated, people were visibly affected by her words, and other could not contain their laughter. Clark's expression became serious. It was not the first time that this had happened. This girl had the same obsession with him that Lois, who was in the crowd, had. She looked worried and uneasy.

"Look, when two people love each other, there's mutual interest and understanding. You can't just make another person love you, just by attracting their attention. Why me? Why don't you take a look around? Perhaps there are several people who are interested in you and you haven't realised it yet?"

The girl, ashamed, answered, "If you say so."

"What is your name?"

"Heather."

The police had arrived, ready to arrest the girl for public order offences. But Superman interceded. "No, it's okay, officers. I'll pay all the damages. Don't take the girl to jail."

The rain had stopped by now. He glanced around him; the world had realized that he had his human side after all. Perhaps this hadn't been so bad, maybe it would change things a little from now on. He walked towards a table that was outside the restaurant and yanked the cloth from it with such force that the things standing on it didn't fall and remained intact. Then he tied it around his waist.

The crowd, hearing his words and seeing his actions, began to applaud. He passed between them and his glance crossed with Lois'. He wanted to visit her tonight.

He answered some of the journalists' questions and, since the incident was over, people returned to their normal activities. He walked back to his apartment, calmly.

He took another shower, changed, put on his glasses, and sat on the sofa to think about what had happened. He didn't want to turn on the TV. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. With his x-ray vision, he could see Lois. Why had she come to visit him? No, not him. She was looking for Superman. Will this never end? he thought.

He opened the door and Lois greeted him.

"Hi, Clark."

"Hi, Lois. Come in," Clark answered.

He closed the door and Lois sat on the sofa, clearly anxious. "Where is Superman? Is he okay? I mean, I suppose that you two are friends…he washes his suits in your washing machine. In view of what happened today…he was taking a shower here when that crazy woman stole his suit…and you two live together and you didn't tell me, but I guess that's understandable because —"

"Lo-is!" He stopped her babbling. "Superman doesn't live in my apartment. He doesn't have a house, so sometimes he comes to my apartment and I lend him what he needs. A bath, the washing machine, the kitchen. We are good friends, but I don't know too much about him, so I didn't hide anything from you!"

"Well," Lois said, a little more calmly. She rose from the sofa and began to leave. "See you tomorrow, Clark. Goodnight."

He opened the door for her, gently. "Goodnight, Lois."

When he closed the door he felt badly. Although Lois was not angry with him, he knew that she was hurt. What he had said as Superman seemed to have bothered her. He promised himself he would never make her cry.

***

Lois walked slowly to her apartment. Although it wasn't very far from Clark's, it was necessary to walk a good distance. Night had fallen by the time she arrived. She unlocked all the padlocks on her door and entered. She changed her clothes and opened up her laptop to write the story of what had happened with Superman and the thief. She was intending to send it to the Planet, so that it would appear on the front page, the following morning.

After a time, she suddenly heard a familiar sound at the window. The curtains were shaken by the breeze. It was him.

"Superman!" Lois said.

"Hello, Lois," he said, and with one step, he entered from the balcony and into the living room.

"You arrived just in time. I was writing the article of the incident, this afternoon," she said.

The hero lowered his glance, distressed, and said, "I took a shower. Someone was spying on me and take advantage of the situation to steal my suit. I pursued him through the city and he turned out to be a crazy girl."

As she listened, Lois could not contain her laughter and he ended up laughing himself.

"It's insane. Right?" he said, smiling.

"I think that being what you are makes your life so strange, and at the same time so fascinating," she said. When he listened to those words, Clark breathed more calmly. Perhaps she didn't feel as bad as he'd thought

"Jimmy investigated the girl who stole the suit and her name is Heather Dale. She lives near Clark, which I imagine helped faciliate things."

"Yeah," Clark said.

"On the other hand", Lois said, changing her expression, "I heard what you said to that girl. That you can't make somebody love you and that you have to look around, because somehow you'll find a person who is really interested in you."

"Oh no," Clark thought.

"And you said, 'why me'?" Her eyes filled with tears. "That made me understand that you can't love anybody, because you belong to the world."

"Lois."

"You said it to a girl that was obsessed with you." Her eyes were full of tears, but she didn't cry as she continued, "It just took me a second to understand that that girl could have been me."

Superman took a deep breath. He realized the damage that his word had caused her. He didn't want to see her like this. She seemed so disappointed, as if her heart was broken, but he couldn't do anything. If he told her his true feelings, as Superman, the possibility that she would love him as Clark would be lost forever.

He said, "Lois, I can't deny the truth. I have many responsibilities with the world, and I can't have a relationship with you. Because it would put you in danger and your loved ones." He put a hand to her cheek.

And the first tear rolled down her cheek, to touch his hand.

"Don't tell me that I will find another person; there be never someone like you."

"Yes, Lois, there will be." He bent his face to hers and kissed her.

He left by the window, but not before seeing Lois sitting there, sad, with her heart broken.

***

Next day, at the Daily Planet, Lois was seated at her her desk, working. Although she wasn't depressed, she showed signs of dejection. The elevator opened, and Clark entered the newsroom. He felt some looks on him. Everyone knew that he was a close friend of Superman. He made for his desk…but not before greeting Lois.

"Hi, Lois," he said.

"Hi, Clark," she answered, totally focused on her story.

"Do you want some coffee?"

"No, thanks," she answered.

"What do we have for today?"

"Nothing exciting. The press conference with the mayoress, at 11:00 am. She will be speaking about the new safety measures. Everything she couldn't say yesterday, because of the incident with Superman."

Clark felt disturbed. It wasn't so pleasant to listen to her talk about what had caused such scandal. It reminded him that he had to speak to the mayoress. Although it wasn't something very serious, he decided to hope that things had cooled off.

"Lois! Clark!" the voice of Perry White burst into his thoughts. "You have to see this!"

And all the eyes of the newsroom settled on the TV screens.

"Hello. This is Linda Montoya, of LNN news. Yesterday, a normal day it seemed, when the mayoress was going to give a press conference in Metropolis, a peculiar incident happened that monopolised the attention of everyone present…"

And, soon, they were showing the images of the mayoress cursing up a storm and Superman, in a towel, saying, "That guy stole my suit!"

All of the newsroom exploded into laughter.

"Great shades of Elvis!" Perry White exclaimed, between laughter.

"Wow!" Jimmy said. "Now we know why all the girls fall for him."

"I'd be the first falling on him. He is so…delicious, irresistible…like a fudge ice-cream with nuts. Mmmmmmm…" Cat said.

Clark watched her, horrified and frightened. Having to listen to the comments made about him, was one of the disadvantages of his secret identity and, considering his lack of attraction towards Cat, she made him think about leaving for another planet.

The TV reporter continued, "And, now, we have an interview with the Man of Steel, in person, about this incident." The news showed Superman, soaked by rain, saying, "I want to apologize for the damage that this situation has caused."

"Don't worry, you can do that any time you want," Cat commented. She was carrying an issue of the Inquisitor, with a headline that said, "The suit comes off!" The Planet headline said, "Wet and angry", and showed a photo of the superhero yelling at the mayoress.

Jimmy flicked through the channels. They were all about yesterday's incident.

"…medically speaking, he has the best physical constitution in the world," said a beautician on a health channel.

"He is so sexy!" said the host of a variety program, and the audience in the studio applauded her.

In the middle of all the noise of the newsroom, Clark turned around to see Lois, who had returned to her desk without saying a word. She was concentrating, writing another story. He felt guilty, but this was his chance to finally let her see him.

He walked to her desk, with his hands in his pockets.

"Lois?"

"Yes, Clark?"

"Do you want to go out with me, tonight?"

Lois raised her glance and saw the sincere and serious face of Clark, the only person whom she could trust. She saw a certain brightness in his eyes, hope, as he waited for her answer. On their last date, she had slammed the door in his face. But this would be their second date. Why couldn't they make a second attempt and amend what had happened then?

"Sure," she answered, smiling. "At seven pm, at my place?" she finished.

Clark smiled and walked back to his desk. Seating himself, and before beginning work, he mysteriously opened the right-hand drawer of his desk and removed a small velvet box. He opened it and the sparkling brilliance of the beautiful ring inside captivated his glance.

"I love you, Lois," he said to himself. "Some day this moment will arrive." And as he thought it, he smiled.

It could be tonight, tomorrow…who knew?

THE END