Disclaimer: I do not own or claim any false ownership to the Superman series. The creative rights belong, of course to the brilliant Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, and the copyright belongs to DC comics. I am merely an obsessed, fanatic, psychotic nut who likes to write and dream.

Authors' Note: Hallo! So, I'm back! After a very, very long vacation from writing fanfiction, here I am again with a new story about Superman. Ah, the sweet bliss of childhood memories. Erhm… as a side note, I didn't finish my last story (though it has made some incredible progress in my head). I promise to any "Aeternitas" readers out there, I will finish it someday. Just not today.

Anywho, the story for this fanfic came to me literally when I was in the shower and the idea just grew on me… kind of like algae in a fishbowl. I couldn't wait to get it on paper and here it is. It has changed greatly from my original idea, but (hopefully) is still good.

As a fair warning to all of the people reading my work for the first time, I am an Extremely. Slow. Writer. I do not have the "Gift of Gab" verbally or literally. My words always get stuck and trapped in traffic jams of ideas and, yes, sometimes writing is like pushing molasses up a sandy hill. Also, my writing is inconsistent. I'm sure all beginning authors have this problem. I make many spelling mistakes, grammar is the bane of my existence, and my brain zooms faster than the poor pen across my paper. If you can extend me your patience and forgiveness me for these nasty failings, you have my thanks.

As always, I appreciate your comments and take them to heart in my writing. Please be constructive critics because I'd love to learn from all of you. Enjoy!

Fiat Lux

Chapter 1: Silent Voices

The past days had passed in a dizzying blur. Since the night Superman escaped the hospital to visit Jason at her home, Lois could scarcely keep up with the flood of events. The headlines had spoken it all – "Superman Missing!" then "Luthor Found!" and finally "Damage Costs Reach 2 Billion." The first two headlines had completely sold out from newsstands across Metropolis in the first 3 hours off the press. Anxious to keep up with the news cycle, Perry White had begun dogging every reporter under him for everything scrap of information they could come up with about the disaster.

Everyone, that is, except Lois.

Despite the frenzy, Perry had stubbornly refused to give her the only assignment she wanted to dig into. She wanted to report the events beginning with the initial blackout leading up to the cancerous growth of the crystal continent in the waters off of Metropolis. The idea was her brain child – the exact same suggestion she had had in the very beginning – and Perry had given the assignment to Clark. Of all people, he could have given it to, it had to be Clark Farmer-boy Kent; the only reporter on staff who she'd feel guilty about secretly stealing the assignment from. She didn't forget to inform Perry about her opinion either.

"Chief, you've got to give me back my story – about the blackouts?" she added quickly at his flustered look. She had barged into this office without warning, the first thing in the morning. "I was the first to suggest that the outages needed to be looked into, and I want the chance to finish my research."

"Knock before you enter next time, Lois - it's too early in the day for a heart attack," Perry said, then more sternly, "And as I recall I gave the assignment to Clark. You weren't even supposed to be looking into the blackouts in the first place."

"Yeah, wonderful decision, Chief!" Lois couldn't stop the words from slipping from her mouth, "With two other assignments, I managed to track down the source of the quake and blackout even before Clark pulled out a pen. Please, I'm the girl for the job, give me the assignment back."

"No. It was never yours in the first place." Perry said in a voice which brooked no argument.

"But I was my idea!"

"The story belongs to Clark. I've already given you an assignment," at Lois' disbelieving glare, he added, "The voices of Metropolis need to be heard, Lois. Believe it or not, since the last major headline, no one has bothered to ask the public about their opinion about what has just happened."

"And you couldn't wait to give this public opinion poll to a tenure reporter who has not only been in the news business for more than a decade, but has been acknowledged by dozens of prestigious organizations. Oh, if only the judges at the Pulitzer could see me now."

Silence followed in the wake of Lois' words and she immediately realizing what had just been said, she wished that she could take back her callous words. She had just trampled over that invisible line which she knew never should have been touched. Insult. Every one of the reporters who worked at the Daily Planet – each one of them – was more than qualified to excel in their jobs. And she had just insulted them all.

"They'd be ashamed to see you right now, Lois." Perry said quietly, and he turned back to his computer.

"Chief, I-"

"I want an outline e-mailed to me by the 3:00 about how you will go about writing your public opinion piece," he said without looking up. "Get to work."

----

Lois didn't know exactly how she would explain why she entered the old storage room, but she knew that she needed the privacy to get her thoughts together. The air inside was cool and stale. It smelled of dust and old, yellowing papers. Used as the newsroom's personal back up file, articles from long before computers were organized neatly in towering cardboard boxes along the walls and in between the shelves of the large storage room. Newer, digital articles were also stored in the room as stacks of floppy disks and spindles CDs. The noise of the newsroom faded as the door closed and small, bright incandescent lights blinked awake above her. Lois found herself slowly beginning to calm her anxiety and guilt.

Her eyes caught sight of a framed front page hanging on the wall beside the door. The headline made her eyes widen, and her heart skipped a beat involuntarily. "I Spent The Night With Superman" it read in huge, bold letters with her name printed proudly below the heading. Perry had insisted on the title, saying that the article would go down in history. He had been right. The paper had been another immediate sell out; avid news readers had lined up at newsstands everywhere waiting to get their hands on a copy. Lois' fingers gently traced the picture of Superman through the glass. If the irony of the article hadn't been so bitter she might have laughed herself to tears.

Hastily Lois tore her eyes from the picture and forced the memories of her first flight with Superman away. Deliberately, she focused her gaze to the floor and began reading the labels of the boxes around her. Jimmy had once playfully called all the old files "BS" – Before Superman.

He was right in a way; no one really entered the old storage room anymore. Stories of their time – of humanitarians, of terrorists, of scientists, of presidents – were buried here. The Daily Planet prided itself of being a visionary, always looking ahead to tomorrow. Lois had always believed in that unspoken motto, but in that moment, standing among pages of old stories and yellowing papers, she found herself doubting the credo for the first time in her career. The past should never be buried or… forgotten.

That was it! Lois felt a wash of excitement, and her fingers began to itch for a pencil and a pad of paper. Writer's adrenaline. The article slowly unraveled in her mind, and Lois knew where she needed to take her story. There was nothing like work to take your mind off other matters. Sparing another brief glance at the photo of superman on the wall, Lois reached for the door handle.

"Mmph!"

"Ow!"

At the same time she had tried to exit the storage room, someone had tried to enter. The unlucky person on the outside had been the one to loose the fight to the door, and crashed headlong into Lois. The last thing she saw before they both tumbled to the floor was brown hair and a pair of glasses.

" Clark?" she asked sitting up, coughing slightly in the now dusty air.

"… Lois! Gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't think anyone would be in here. Are you okay?" He quickly helped her off the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him wince slightly as he helped her up.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" at his affirmative nod, she continued in asking, "Did you just get into the office? What are you doing in here?"

"I got in about fifteen minutes ago, but I need to get going soon. I'm just here to grab my clothes," he said. At her questioning look, he gestured down at two suitcases tucked neatly between two musty boxes in the corner of the room. Ordinary, dark brown, worn in all the usual places, and at least five years out of style, they blended in perfectly with the dusty storeroom. If he hadn't mentioned them, Lois would never have noticed that they were there.

'A lot like their owner, actually,' though Lois idly as Clark bent to retrieve them. Her eyes widened in realization, " Clark, do you mean to tell me that you've only just found a place to live?"

"Uh…"

" Clark! It's been more than a month since you've come back."

"I've been staying in motel just outside of the city," he finally admitted, "the owner has been very generous in letting me stay until the lease of my new apartment started."

"Why didn't you say anything? We could have helped you look for a place. You could even have roomed with someone until your apartment was ready."

"I know, I know," Clark said, fidgeting slightly under her stare. Was it her imagination or was he slightly favoring his right side? "…I guess I just got caught up in the excitement. You know, Superman returning, Lex Luthor and all."

"When you need help, you should ask for it. We're busy, but never too busy to help a colleague. At the very least, you could have mentioned something to me. Friends help each other, Clark."

Surprise flashed through Clark's eyes. Lois knew his surprise wasn't directed at her words, but at the vehemence in her voice as she said them. His face broke into a genuine dimpled smile. "I'll remember that. Thank you, Lois."

Clark eased his suitcases out the narrow doorway, and after a final wave, he headed towards the elevators. Lois' watched his retreating form. There was a small hitch in his step as he walked past the desks of the newsroom. Although it was barely noticeable, she could tell that he was favoring his side.

Her own words from the morning came to her mind unbidden. With two other assignments, I managed to track down the source of the quake and blackout even before Clark pulled out a pen. Lois closed her eyes in shame. Readjusting to a city after traveling for so long and so far must have been difficult for Clark. She hadn't known – she hadn't bothered to even ask – how he was fitting in to his new life. He had been invisible like the bags in the newsroom closet, and up until that morning, Lois had been ready to snub him for it.

Clark deserved more than her deprecation – he deserved her respect and friendship. And, Lois vowed to herself, she would be keeping a closer eye on him from now on.

----

The afternoon rolled by fast, and by 2:20, Lois had already submitted her finished draft of what was to be her article. Twelve minutes later, the Chief had called her into his office. For five minutes, they talked, clarified, redefined and reorganized the outline, until Perry nodded in approval.

"It looks promising Lois," he said, "Probably one of your better pieces."

Lois nodded in thanks and tucked her notes back into her note book. "Chief, I wanted to apologize for my behavior this morning. I did not mean to come across like… I was not trying to place myself above the other reporters at the Planet. And whatever I may have said, I do respect your decisions… even if it takes me a while to warm to them."

Perry White, a man who was famous for his boundless enthusiasm, energy and sharp eye, sighed and rested his elbows on the desk in front of him. His shoulders slouched and his countenance was quiet. Lois was startled at the transformation. He looked weathered and exhausted and… old.

"No," he said, "I should be the one apologizing. You were right; the story should be rightfully yours. I just… I'm getting to be an old man, Lois. I'll be damned to admit it, but the truth is, I don't think or act the way I used to. Last week, when you, Richard and Jason were out in the middle of that Mad Man's insane plot, I realized just how old I was, and just how young you three were. If Superman wasn't there… I would have lost all of you. You're family, Lois."

Lois felt her stomach clench painfully at his words.

"When you first proposed looking into the blackouts, I knew the research was going to be dangerous. I wanted to keep you from putting yourself and the family in danger. You can get emotional when you're upset, Lois, and you take too many unnecessary risks. That's why I gave the assignment to Kent. He's got a cool head on his shoulders and his instincts are as almost sharp as yours," Perry sighed deeply, "I won't repeal my decision about his assignment, Lois, but I offer you a compromise. So long as you agree to collaborate with Kent on the blackout story, I'll allow you to work on the assignment."

"Really?" Lois' eyes widened in excited, disbelief. "You'll really let me work on the project?"

Perry nodded and cracked a small smile at her enthusiasm. The solemn atmosphere and the tension of the room dissipated and energy filled the room once again. "Promise me you'll work with Kent on this one. If you go anywhere, he goes too. If you write something, he's the first to read it. And everything vice versa."

Lois could barely contain her smile. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down."

"Whatever," Perry said, a familiar enthusiasm and energy back in his voice, "Now, get out of here, Lane. I've got work to do."

----

Today was Richard's turn to pick Jason up from school.

Lois had almost laughed when the school had called and confirmed that class would resume as usual. She had thought the teacher was simply joking, but when the woman had made it clear she that she was serious, Lois couldn't think of anything to say. The commute to work, already made difficult with the torn streets of downtown Metropolis and giant piles of broken glass and rubble, would be nothing compared to the traffic going towards Jason's school. But Richard had persisted, insisting that the consistency a school schedule provided was important in the life of a child. He was the one who willingly volunteered to wake up two hours early to drive Jason to school everyday since the Incident.

Lois had to admit she was surprised Jason didn't protest once about being forced to wake up 2 hours earlier each day to go to school. When she asked him at breakfast, Jason looked at her with a serious face and said, "But Mommy, school is like Death and Taxes. Daddy told me so."

Genuine laughter rang though the house. Lois could not control herself, and soon Richard and Jason were shaking in laughter until their sides hurt and eyes grew moist. Even now, thinking about it in retrospect, Lois could not help, but smile. They had needed it. After the fear and the worry and the panic of the weekend, they had needed it so badly.

The phone on Lois' desk rang, pulling her attention back to the present. The number displayed was unknown to her. Clearing her throat, she picked up the receiver and bright it to her ear.

"Hello. The Daily Planet, Lois Lane speaking."

" Ms. Lane? I'm so glad I am finally able to reach you," a man's voice came on the line, "My name is Dr. Albert Whiting. I don't think you remember my name, but I was the doctor in charge that day when Superman was admitted to the ER last Friday."

Lois' hand froze and she pressed the phone closer to her ear. "Yes?"

"I – I know this is highly irregular, but I need to contact Superman immediately. You're the only person I know of who he speaks with on a semi-regular basis. Can you please tell me how I can reach him?"

"Dr. Whiting. Why do you need to contact Superman?" Lois's hand tightened around the receiver.

"I'm sorry… I know that this is difficult to accept, but I can't… patient confidentiality forbids me from…" Lois could hear his resigned sigh. "You won't tell me unless I tell you."

"No. I won't."

"Even if his life is in danger?"

"Especially if his life is in danger."

There was a long silence, and Lois waited with bated breath. His next words stopped her cold.

And the world came tumbling down.