Lois Lane Tells All
Jul. 8th, 2010 03:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sanalaylaA/N: Part of the Jade/Sana Challenge Series.
(Yes, this actually is the title of a real romance novel.)
________________
(Yes, this actually is the title of a real romance novel.)
________________
“So, we have with us, in the studio, Ms. Lois Lane-Kent,” the host announced, with one of those polished bright smiles wielded only by news anchors and morning talk show hosts. “Please join me in welcoming her on Good Morning, Metropolis!”
As the audience burst into predictable applause, Lois looked out into studio and tried to smile. She felt nervous butterflies threaten to overtake her, but didn’t let it deter her from turning to her host. “Thanks for having me, Susan.” She turned to the male anchor next to the blonde and nodded. “Adrian.”
The hosts nodded back at her and Susan leaned in to begin the interview. “So, Ms. Lane-Kent – you’re here to talk to us about the book that’s making rounds about you right now. Lois Lane Tells All by Anonymous. Quite an interesting read.”
Lois barely refrained from rolling her eyes. “Well, to begin with, you can call me Lois.” Mentally, she reviewed everything Perry had told her she needed to cover in the interview. “And, really, there’s not much to say. Someone decided to make a buck off of my name and, I guess, they’re succeeding.”
“Were you shocked by the popularity of the book?” Susan asked. “I mean, it’s been number one on the NYT bestseller list for ten weeks in a row.”
Lois hesitated. “Well, I have to say it does wonders for my ego to know I’m that popular.” With a slightly mocking laugh, she added, “But it would be great if my articles got that kind of readership. Instead of, you know, that trash.”
“So you’re saying that what’s written in the book isn’t true?” Adrian asked, quickly. His brow rose as he turned to audience, as though implying that he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “I mean, aren’t there usually some truth to these things?”
“Some truth to a story that I’m having an affair with Superman?” Lois answered, her own brows rising as though in amusement. She leaned back on the seat, a practiced movement proven to fool even the toughest of sources into thinking she was relaxed. “Trust me, there are no truth to those rumors. I would be the first to know, I would think.” That statement earned a bit of laughter from the audience.
“But he’s a friend of yours,” Susan pointed out. “A very good friend.”
Lois shrugged. “And a good friend of my husband’s.” Lois added, with a hint of a smile, “In fact, I’d say he’s closer to my husband than he is to me.”
The hosts glanced at each other, briefly, their doubt still quite clear and projected to the audience, as well as the viewers at home.
“You don’t understand the inherent romanticism in the story?” Susan asked, changing the topic. “I mean, it’s the ultimate fairy tale, if you think about it. A man who could be a god, but he chooses to love a mere mortal. Superman has gone on record to say that he and Wonder Woman are just friends. If this story is true and he’s in love with you, then that makes you a woman who is more attractive than an Amazon.” Susan leaned in closer to her to finish, “That doesn’t give you a sense of pride on one level? Why wouldn’t you want to admit it?”
“I’d admit it if it was true,” Lois lied, with practiced ease. And, then, with a slight sigh, Lois decided it was time to just cut to the chase. “Look, I don’t know why this book is popular and I really wish I knew who wrote it. If for no other reason than to kick their ass. But there is no truth to it. I am not having an affair with Superman, nor have I ever had an affair with him.”
“Well, with all due respect, Lois,” Adrian said, taking out the book and flipping to a page that had a post-it stuck to it. “Here, on page 76, there’s a moment where Superman saves your life and puts you down on the roof of the Daily Planet. Apparently, he kissed you – there’s even a photo.”
Not for the first time, Lois wished she’d actually bothered to read the damn book that had been plaguing her life for the past six months. When the book had first hit the bookstands, she had been mildly amused. The amusement had quickly turned to annoyance and then anger when it became apparent that it could do serious damage to her reputation. Not just as a journalist, but also just as a person.
But every time she sat down to read it, she couldn’t get past more than a few pages at a time. Not because she couldn’t handle the content. Mainly because the writing was atrocious. So, she’d relied on Clark and Perry to give her a summary of the worst of it.
And, now, she was only even on the talk show try to off-set the damage from the book because Perry felt she had to speak up about it, at some point, or people would begin to wonder what she was hiding.
“Ms. Lane?” Susan asked, breaking into her reverie. “Have you seen the photo?”
Reaching out her hand, she took the book from Adrian and squinted at the fuzzy picture. It was more likely an accurate picture. After all, there probably had been some point where Clark had gotten carried away and kissed her while in the Superman costume. Especially before they got married. She hated to lie and pretend it didn’t happen, but what choice did she have?
“Honestly, Susan, it’s a very blurry picture.” Lois finally said, handing the book back to the host. “You can’t even tell who’s in the photo, let alone whether it’s me and Superman.”
“Well, the cape is pretty clear,” Adrian said, glancing down at the picture again. “But we do have a larger version, in case you want to see that.” He made some sort of motion to one of the assistants and the large screen TV behind Lois lit up with the image.
Lois’s jaw dropped in dismay. It was, quite clearly, Clark and her. They weren’t kissing, though. His hand was on her cheek. She suddenly remembered the night the photo was taken. Intergang had kidnapped her and Clark had rescued her. She had made him fly her straight to the Planet so she could put in her story and when he’d left her, he couldn’t help but touch her and give her a quick kiss before he left.
“Well, that was an emotional moment,” Lois finally responded. “I almost died. That was one friend comforting another friend after a near death experience.” She nodded, like that was her story and she was sticking to it.
“But he kissed you,” Susan persisted, completely unmoved by Lois’s explanation.
“Who says he kissed me?” Lois asked, her brow rising in challenge. “He’s just touching my cheek.”
Adrian glanced down at the book. “According to this, the same eye witness that took this picture said there was a kiss.”
Lois rolled her eyes this time, making it clear she thought it was stupid. “There was no kiss.” Then she let out a frustrated breath. “This is ridiculous. I’m a happily married woman – why on earth would I want to have an affair with Superman?”
Susan laughed. “Oh, c’mon, Lois. What woman wouldn’t want to have an affair with Superman?” She looked towards the audience for confirmation of her point and was rewarded with a loud gale of laughter and clapping.
Begrudgingly, Lois admitted to herself that Susan and the audience had a point. Not that she could admit it out loud. “Clearly, I’m the exception.” Then, quite truthfully, she added, “When a woman is married to Clark Kent, she doesn’t need Superman.”
The two hosts blinked in confusion and both their gazes swung towards Clark, who was standing next to a production assistant on the left side of the stage. Lois followed their questioning gaze. Clark looked like he normally did, in his usual DP attire of a suit and tie. His glasses were slightly askew, but there was no denying his attractiveness. Lois saw Clark swallow, hard, and felt a flare of anxiety at what was going to happen next.
Clark’s brows furrowed in confusion as everyone focused their combined attention on him and the camera swung in his direction. Before he could say anything (or try to move), a production assistant started to propel him towards the stage.
“Mr. Kent, why don’t you join us?” Adrian called out.
He’d barely gotten the words out by the time two production assistants had pulled up an extra chair next to Lois and maneuvered Clark into it, fitting him with a microphone as they went along.
Clark and Lois exchanged bemused looks, but Lois quickly plastered a smile on her lips. “Hi, honey.”
Clark bit back a grin at the uncharacteristic term of endearment. “Hi… sweetheart.” He heard her heart racing and realized, with some chagrin, that she was very nervous. Not for herself. But for him. Instinctively, he reached out and grasped her fingers in his own, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
The blonde co-host turned to the camera and introduced Clark. “….Lois Lane’s partner in life and in work. Tell me, how do you feel about the book and what it implies about your wife and your marriage?”
Adrian laughed a bit and interjected, “Does it make you want to beat up Superman?”
At the mental image of trying to beat himself up, he let out a laugh. Then he quickly covered it by saying, “I don’t think I can, can I? Superman’s not exactly that easy to take out.”
“Well, that’s what makes it so hard, doesn’t it?” Adrian asked, almost sympathetically. “It’s bad enough when your wife is cheating on you. But what does a guy do when she’s cheating on him with the most powerful man in the universe?”
“Again, I’m not cheating on my husband,” Lois interjected, her face flushed with heat, but her voice frigid as the arctic. Lois’s fingers clenched around his and, glancing down, he saw that her knuckles were turning white. He knew it was taking every ounce of her strength not to go off on the hosts. “Not with the most powerful man in the universe or anyone. And Clark knows that.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Clark said, with a smile directed towards Lois. “Lois would never do anything like that. Even if Superman was in love with her, she wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.” Which was a nice roundabout way of saying that Lois was lying daily to protect him and his secret. Nice little white lie.
“Do you think Superman is in love with her?” Adrian asked, almost pouncing on Clark’s words.
“Well…” Clark shifted a bit, trying to figure out the best way to answer the question without making Superman, his wife, and himself look bad. And while not lying flat out. “I think that he could be. But, then again, I think no one could be around my wife for five minutes and not fall in love with her. Why should Superman be the exception?”
Susan and Adrian both looked at each other like they couldn’t believe he just said that. “And you don’t care?” Adrian asked. He held up the book. “This book doesn’t bother you?”
“That book? I read it. I thought it was funny.” Clark chuckled a bit, as he recalled the chapter that debated whether or not Lois and he had ever consummated their relationship. “It was… entertaining. A lot of it was flat out wrong when it comes to the details of Superman’s life. At least, that’s what Superman told me.”
“You’re not bothered by this book at all, are you?” Adrian asked, again, his tone incredulous.
“Of course not,” Clark replied, sincerely.
The truth was that he wasn’t bothered by it, because he knew it would blow over. Also, he’d figured that people would start realizing that Superman was abnormally close to Lois Lane eventually, anyway. There was no way he could be married to the woman without some people connecting some dots. The truth was that if Lois’s reputation hadn’t been on the line and Perry hadn’t been blowing a gasket, he wouldn’t have even agreed to put Lois through the wringer of going on the show.
“Honestly, I think people should take the book for what it is,” Clark continued, realizing that they were expecting more of an explanation. “A sensationalist piece of gossip. I trust my wife. I know what the true nature of her relationship with Superman is. And I think my opinion is really the only one that matters, right?”
There was silence for a couple of seconds and then the studio audience started clapping and cheering.
When the applause had died down, Susan asked, thoughtfully, “So, Mr. Kent, why don’t you share your secret with us?”
Clark’s eyes narrowed on her. “My secret…? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, Lois here says that when a girl is married to Clark Kent, she doesn’t need Superman,” Adrian answered for Susan. “So what does Clark Kent have that Superman doesn’t have?”
Clark stared at him for a moment. “Honestly?” He smiled at Lois and ran his thumb along her wedding band. “Clark Kent has Lois Lane.”
Lois buried her head in Clark’s shoulder and shuddered. “I am NEVER doing that again. I don’t care how many stories they write or what Perry thinks.” Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she thought back to the horrible morning. “Those hosts were vultures.”
“And to think there was a time you wanted us to do that,” Clark reminded her, teasingly. He rubbed her back reassuringly, her body warm to his touch. “I guess Cat getting that job was the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Lois pulled back to look up at him. “We would never have been like that,” she declared. “I would have been smart enough to know the book was a total lie and approached the interview accordingly.”
“I guess you’re right,” Clark nodded. But he couldn’t help but add, “Except… the book’s not a total lie.”
Lois opened her mouth like she was going to deny it, but then she closed it and let out a defeated sigh. “I guess we need to be more careful, huh?”
“It’s my fault,” Clark answered, guiltily. “You have to carry the full burden for this mess. And I --.”
“It’s okay, Smallville,” Lois interrupted, gently. “I knew what I was signing up for when I married you. I’ve labeled a lot worse than a cheater before. And, like you said, it’s only your opinion that really matters.”
He looked down at her, feeling a rush of love for the woman before him in response to the understanding light in her eyes as she stared back up at him. Clark never fully understood how he’d gotten lucky enough to snare Lois’s heart, but now that he had it, he hated doing anything to make it hurt.
“Maybe Superman should back off from you for awhile,” Clark suggested. “I can have Bruce step in and Diana – they can keep an eye on you, so --.”
“No,” Lois broke in, in a firm voice. “That’ll just make it worse. It’ll seem like Superman has something to hide.” Lois stepped back and explained, “It’s not my reputation I care about, Clark. It’s Superman. How’s it going to look if our resident Big Blue Boy Scout was having an affair with a married woman? This whole thing has already hurt his reputation enough….”
“Don’t worry about Superman, Lois,” Clark responded, shaking his head. “I’m more worried about you and what this could do to your career and --.”
“Screw my career!” Lois cried out. She put her hand on his chest and said, earnestly, “My career isn’t anything in the face of the reputation of the greatest superhero this planet has ever seen, Clark. I mean, people rely on Superman. He’s a symbol of hope, justice, truth and --.”
“And he loves his wife very much,” Clark cut her off and added, flatly, “What’s the point of being a symbol if the public won’t even give you the benefit of the doubt in moments like these? And if the person he loves most in the world has to sacrifice so much to keep the symbol alive?”
Lois opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, Perry opened the copy room door and stuck his head in. “There you guys are! I was looking for you.”
Lois and Clark both turned to face their editor. “Yes, Perry, what is it?” Clark asked, trying to mask his impatience at the interruption.
“We found out who ‘anonymous’ is,” Perry answered jubilantly. “And guess what? The guy works for LexCorp. Coincidence? I think not.”
Startled by the news, Clark glanced down at Lois, who immediately gave him a knowing look in return.
“We can easily take the guy down. Let it be known that it was all a ploy on the part of Luthor to ruin Superman’s reputation,” Lois said, slowly.
Clark could hear her heart begin to race, as it always did when she was closing in on the heart of the story.
Perry looked at his star reporter and grinned. “Yes.” When they didn’t respond and just looked at each other again, his grin quickly replaced by a scowl. “Well, don’t just stand there. I gave you an assignment. Hop to it!”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Lois Lane Tells All....
Date: 2010-07-09 07:03 am (UTC)"(Yes, this actually is the title of a real romance novel.)" <-- including the LL part? lol
Re: Lois Lane Tells All....
Date: 2010-07-09 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-31 02:38 am (UTC)