By Jose Antonio Chamorro <danlx86@yahoo.es>
Rated: PG
Submitted: February 2002
Summary: In this sequel to Carol Moncado's fanfic "The Cape," Clark finds something he wasn't expecting.
I was very annoyed after reading the, at first, funny fanfic "The Cape" by CarolM. That doesn't mean I didn't like the story; on the contrary, it's a fantastic fic. But it turned out to be a deathfic. At the end, Clark was alone. I wanted to fix that. Carol has graciously given me her permission and approval to write this story. It's important that you read it AFTER "The Cape" or the story won't make sense. Many thanks to Carol for allowing me to send this to the Archive and for beta-reading it. Thanks too to Judith, my GE, who found some remaining mistakes.
All disclaimers apply.
***
It had been more than twenty years since it happened. Twenty six,exactly. And every year, Clark remembered the last time he saw her. Lois had just discovered his secret, and she had told him that she needed to think. But as it turned out, time was one thing she didn't have. She was hit by a Daily Planet delivery truck and… The pain he usually didn't feel went through all his body when his mind formed the image of Lois' body lying on the street. After that, he seemed to disappear from the Earth's surface. It was obvious to the people who worked at the Planet why Clark Kent had vanished. Perry and Jimmy knew quite well the hurt that Clark would feel if he had to work there without Lois. And they were two of the few people who were sure of what had been the reason behind Superman's disappearance.
Clark's life shattered again when his parents died two years ago. First Jonathan, later Martha. There were fewer than three months between the two deaths. Clark had sold the farm. His books and some articles he had managed to write allowed him to live without problems. Of course, he didn't use his name. Now, he was Kyle Connors. He spent his time writing and traveling, trying to avoid places where Clark Kent could be identified.
At this moment, he was in South America trying to dig up a possible story. He knew about it accidentally, but he knew how the good stories usually appeared. He wasn't expecting what he found.
When Clark saw her, he felt the same feelings that he had that distant day in Perry's office when Lois stormed in. He observed the woman for some time. The resemblance between the young woman and Lois was incredible. A coincidence. No. That didn't exist.
She met his gaze. She had caught him staring at her. And she was staring at him, as though she had recognized him. She walked towards him. He was very nervous.
"Hi. Do I know you?" the woman asked. "I think I've seen your face recently."
"No. I don't think so," Clark answered, still in an almost state of shock. He didn't understand the undercurrents at play, but the past was coming back to him. He managed to pull himself together and change the subject. "I have heard that you've been asking some questions."
She whistled. "News travels fast here."
"Yeah, if you know people," Clark commented. "What is a girl like you doing in a place like this?"
She looked at him with some doubts, "I could ask you the same question, but I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet."
This time it was Clark who whistled. "Aiming high. You look young to work for Perry."
"Perry was the former editor," she corrected him, still a bit surprised this man knew the name of the legendary editor who created the Lane and Kent team. "The present one is James Olsen." She stopped and pointed at Clark, "And that comment, as my Aunt would have said, is a typical male comment. For a man, a woman is ALWAYS young for the work she's doing."
"Believe me, girl, I am NOT your typical male." The feeling of d‚j… vu appeared in Clark's mind. <I've had this conversation before.> "So tell me. If I'm not wrong, your Aunt could be an uncompromising, pigheaded, stubborn but somehow brilliant career woman."
"Actually, I didn't know her." She stopped. "She died before I was born. My mom used to tell me things about her. In fact, mom would have described her that way." The woman grinned.
<Wow! That's a smile.> "Maybe I knew her," Clark commented distractedly.
"I'm not sure that a man from the middle of nowhere could have met my aunt." She stopped and glanced at him, adding after examining him, "And you look quite young to have done it."
"So, for you, I'm only a hack from Nowheresville," said Clark remembering earlier conversations, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Hey, what you see is what you get. And it has been easy to figure you out," the young woman replied.
"By the way, my name is Kyle Connors," spoke Clark. He wanted to see her reaction.
"Kyle Connors… Like the… Oh my God," She was stunned. "And I was telling you that I had figured you out."
"You are not the first who has told me that," Clark told her. "And your name…"
"Lois Lane."
The End. Fin. Das Ende.