Clark and Lois entered the bustling bullpen after getting off the elevator. They were both acutely aware of the sudden lack of contact when they stopped holding hands.

"KENT! LANE! In my office!" Perry's voice carried over the buzz of voices. They both hurried into Perry's office, Richard, Jimmy, and Chloe were already there.

"Alright, you guys. You are my best reporters – and photographer of course. Now, I want The Daily Planet to come up with something fresh having to do with Superman. I want some ideas before I put you all on the story."

Chloe, Lois, and Clark all looked at each other wide eyed. Lois realized what it must be like for Clark to come to work, and hear everyone talking about him, without them even seeing him.

"Maybe we can find out who he really is. You know, a 'The Man Behind the Cape' piece." Jimmy suggested. Clark's eyes widened even more.

"Hm, the 'Man Behind the Cape'. I like it." Perry turned to Richard. "Richard, I want you to find out all the places Superman likes to visit most. Write about those places, what he does there, why he goes there. Try to see if you can get him to fly you there. You're a pilot; it can give you a comparison to what it's like to be a man flying without wings. 'The Places Superman Calls Home'.

Richard narrowed his eyes at his uncle, but nodded, writing his notes on his pad of paper.

Perry turned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, you're with Chloe, k? I want you to take her to all of the places that you've taken your best photos of the man. Chloe, you are going to do a perspective on an out-of-towner in Metropolis."

"You know, Chief," Jimmy spoke up, obviously happy to be assigned to Chloe, "Chloe grew up with Superman. She knew him as a teenager."

Chloe winced. She didn't want Perry White to know that fact. He looked at her in genuine surprise, with a bit of admiration flashing across his face.

"Really? Well, that definitely clinches it! Try to see if you might be able to flag him down, get an interview with him…'I Knew Superman when We were Teens'. Nice ring to it. It makes it more familiar, gives him a comfortable, at home perspective. It's what the people want to see."

He turned to Lois before Clark. "Lois, I'm not going to give you a standard Superman piece."

"You're not?" She looked confused.

"No. I want you to truly find out the skinny on the street about him. What people really think about him, what kinds of situations they'd like to see him solve, if they think he should get into politics…" He gave a smile, "Find out what the women think of him. Do teenage girls have posters of him on their walls, do housewives wish their husbands looked like him to make the marriage more exciting, do men think they could done the red cape, so to speak, and try to make themselves every day heroes. Find out how much he truly inspires the people of Metropolis. 'Metropolis' Favorite Son'. Nice sound to it."

"Oh-ok." She said, scrambling to write everything down.

He then turned to Kent. "Kent, I want you to get the perspective of the everyday man compared to Superman. And I don't want silly stuff about his super powers and humans being only human. I want it from his personality, his characteristics. Does he have hobbies, movies and books he likes to read? Other clothes? Oh -!" He suddenly gasped. Then, looking straight into Clark's eyes, he said. "Does Superman have a secret identity? That would be fantastic! 'Superman Revealed'! Clark, you are going to try to discover Superman's secret identity!"

Clark was stunned. The look on his face was that of complete and utter horror. Chloe and Lois nearly burst out laughing, the situation was so ironic. Clark was being asked to write a piece about himself, to try to reveal that Superman was, actually, him.

"Um, Chief, I don't think that Clark's part is such a great idea." Chloe spoke up, albeit timidly.

"What? Why not?"

"Well, because Superman must have another identity that he likes to keep anonymous. So, he can live a little bit of a life. He can't grocery shop or go the movies in the super suit. It would be horrible to reveal who he really is to the entire world. The press would be hounding him all the time, or worse – he might be forced to give up one of the two identities!"

Perry thought on that for a moment. "Alright, Sullivan, you have a point. Kent, I want you to find out as much as you can about the human side of him. Have Jimmy and Chloe go with you. She might be able to help you get the answers you want, if she's a childhood friend. In fact, Chloe introduce them, will you? Clark, you need to become Superman's best friend. Jimmy, get some pictures of them together – "

Clark clenched his fists so tight at the last statement; he took the handles right off the chair he was sitting in. He quickly tried to put them back without Perry noticing it.

" – you two are about the same size and coloring, Clark. Maybe you can convince Superman to be average for a day, see if anyone notices him! Give him one of your business suits to wear, have him wear his hair differently. Give him glasses, if you want! Jimmy, you are going to have to get a photo of that, I bet he even looks j – " Perry stopped himself there. He froze a little and turned to look at Clark, his face full of curiosity.

"Uncle Perry?" Richard asked, looking at his uncle worriedly. "You ok?"

Perry just nodded slowly, still looking at Clark, his brow furrowed.

"We'll get right on it, Perry." Lois stated as she opened the door, and she and Chloe yanked Clark out of the room. They could only move him because their adrenaline was rushing – Clark was so terrified that he had tensed up completely.

"My God, do you think he realized it?" Lois asked worriedly.

Chloe turned to Clark. "You ok, bud?"

He stood there, his eyes closed, breathing deeply. "I'll be alright. I just…I've never had to write a piece like that, about myself."

"Must be really tough." Lois commented.

He gave a rueful smile. "Yeah, but, at least I know exactly what is going to be written, and I know exactly what information on myself I'm giving away."

Chloe gave a smile. "So, this should be simple enough for you."

"Not really."

"Why?"

Clark sighed, sitting down at his desk. "Because I am going to have to work my words around enough to not give away my identity…and I can't lie. I don't know why, but it's almost like I'm physically incapable of lying."

Lois studied him. "So, you are faced with the dilemma of trying not to lie without revealing who you are."

"Can you imagine the article? 'Superman Revealed: Does he have a secret identity? Yes, it is me, the humble reporter, Clark Kent.'"

"We'll figure it out, Clark." Chloe stated, a sense of determination on her face and in her voice.

-------------------------------------------

whumpthunk a pause

whumpthunk a pause

whumpthunk a pause

whumpthunk

Jimmy walked by Richard's office, stopping as he heard the noise. A puzzled expression appeared on his face, and he slowly opened the door to the office, sticking his head inside. Richard was reclining in his desk chair, hitting a small, hard ball against the wall.

"Uh, Richard? What are you doing?"

whumpthunk

"Relieving stress, Jimmy."

whumpthunk

"You're relieving stress by –"

whumpthunk

"- hitting a ball against the wall."

whumpthunk

"Yep."

whumpthunk

"Explain to me how this is beneficial."

whumpthunk

Richard kept his concentration on the wall as he talked to Jimmy. "This ball is designed –"

whumpthunk

"- to be hit rhythmically – "

whumpthunk

"- against a wall –"

whumpthunk

"- on a beat –"

whumpthunk

"– to help you relieve –"

whumpthunk

"- all the stress and anxiety –"

whumpthunk

"- you are feeling."

whumpthunk

Jimmy's entire head followed the ball for a few hits against the wall.

whumpthunk

"So, are you supposed to be –" He asked,

whumpthunk

"- imagining that the wall –"

whumpthunk

"- is someone's head or something?"

whumpthunk

Richard shook his head. "No, you're just –"

whumpthunk

"- supposed to let your anger -"

whumpthunk

"- your anxieties –"

whumpthunk

"- and any stress your feeling – "

whumpthunk

"- 'flow' through your arm – "

whumpthunk

"- and into the ball."

whumpthunk

"Is it actually helping?"

whumpthunk

Richard caught the ball, not throwing it anymore. "No, regrettably. I knew it was some stupid 'tai chi' or 'feng shui' thing, or something like that. My Uncle Perry suggested I try it." Richard gave Jimmy a look. "I suggested he try crap like that himself before telling other people to do it."

Jimmy gave a chuckle, "Yeah – bet he didn't really like that."

Richard gave him shared a look with him. "Yeah, really."

"Anyway, I think it is supposed to be thrown harder against the wall." Jimmy stated.

Richard raised his eyebrows at him.

Jimmy shrugged. "If you think about it, you're not getting any stress or tension out if there is no stress on the throw, no tension in the ball hitting the wall."

Richard looked at Jimmy for a moment. "You know you're right, Jim?" He reached up his hand, ready to throw the ball. "Careful, these things are very hard, I don't know if it's going to hurt if it hits you." He threw a little bit harder.

whumpsmack

"Ha-ha!" Richard cried out in triumph. Jimmy grinned.

whumpsmack

"Feel better?" Jimmy asked.

whumpsmack

Richard nodded, feeling his arms ease up a little, "Yeah, I do!"

whumpsmack

He threw it even harder.

whumpsmack

As he reached up to catch it, it smacked his hand.

"Ow -!" He exclaimed, shaking his hand, before holding it, massaging it a bit. He hand was quite red and he felt it stinging. The ball rolled under his chair.

"You ok?" Jimmy asked worriedly.

Richard snorted. "Told you these things pack a punch. Man, I couldn't even catch that, and I played baseball in high school and college!"

Jimmy took a step forward, proffering his hand. "Let me try it."

Richard raised his eyebrows at that, but handed the ball over anyway.

Jimmy wound up his arm, a look of intense concentration on his face, and threw the ball as hard as he could.

whumpsmack

Then, it proceeded to fling itself around the room, Richard ducked off his chair and Jimmy fell over. It pinged across the office, knocking over a few picture frames, when –

The door opened, revealing Clark, studying a story in his hands. "Richard, Jimmy, I hope – "

The ball whizzed right towards him, both Richard and Jimmy opening their mouths to warn Clark; when, without even looking up, and with a loud SMACK, he caught the ball as nice and easy as you please.

"- it wouldn't be too presumptive of me to ask if either of you would mind reading this article I just found, and tell me your opinion on how the public views politicians from small…" His voice trailed off as he looked up at Jimmy and Richard, to see them staring at him, eyes wide and mouths agape.

"Are you two ok?" He asked with concern, noting that they had both fallen on the floor.

They both scrambled to stand.

"Yeah, we're…how did you catch that?" Richard looked at him questioningly.

"Pardon?"

"That thing was flying around the room! It was going to fast for either of us to catch it!" Jimmy stated excitedly, pointing at the ball in Clark's hand.

Clark looked down at the tiny ball in his hand. "Oh, well – it must have slowed down enough by the time I caught it. Besides, I played a lot of ball in college."

"So did I." Richard quipped. His tone did not escape Jimmy or Clark, the former of whom quickly took the paper out of Clark's hands.

"I'll read this Clark…but I have some questions for you first."

Clark's and Richard had been regarding each other, when Clark's eyes darted to Jimmy.

"I'll answer anything you want, Jimmy."

Jimmy took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and silently asked for the courage to hear the answer he thought he would get.

"I, well, I want to know if you – I mean, yeah you once – but are you now, I mean – " He trailed off when he saw the look of utter confusion and slight amusement on Clark's face. He took another deep breath. "Areyouenchloevolvedrinow?"

"Pardon?"

Jimmy closed his eyes, repeating his words more slowly. "Are you and Chloe involved right now?"

Richard's face lit up with the same question, as they both looked at Clark for the answer.

"Um, no." Clark said, looking wide eyed, facing Jimmy, but his eyes startled by the amused expression on Richard's face.

"You're not? But I thought…I mean, I heard Lois –"

Clark gave a small smile. "Lois assumed we were involved because she read a situation incorrectly."

"She came storming into the house last night quite upset," Richard put forth, arms folded, eyebrows raised, "care to tell us why?"

Clark narrowed his eyes at Richard for a split second, trying to figure out what Richard was up to. He saw the worried, curious expression on Jimmy's face and sighed.

"I went to Chloe's last night, that's true. And, well – Chloe and I have had a long standing relationship with each other, it can get, well, confusing as to how our relationship is supposed to – well, be seen." Clark stumbled over his words as he said them, remembering what Lois had said about Jimmy's feelings.

"So…this is a friends with benefits kind of deal?" Richard said slowly.

Clark shied his way into his statement. "Yeah – but, no. We're…um, complicated." He looked straight at Jimmy, an earnest expression on his face. "But, we are not involved."

Jimmy's expression immediately relaxed. Clark must obviously know how he felt, and being the good friend that he is, spared his feelings. Richard, though, was even more confused now. Why in the world was Lois so upset? There was no rhyme of reason to her mood. "So, what happened between you and Chloe at her hotel room? If nothing happened, why does Lois think something did?"

Clark closed his eyes, trying to find his words. Things were so much easier to explain as Kal-El or Superman. People listened, paid attention, took in his words and then acted on them. He almost didn't know how to handle Richard paying such close attention to his words.

"Something kind of did happen between Chloe and I. It's very…personal though, and I don't think – "

"Oh, come now, Clark. We're all friends here, right Jimmy?" Richard nudged Jimmy with his elbow. Jimmy sat there, looking catatonic, staring at Clark.

---------------------------

Riiiing

"Lois Lane." Lois picked up her desk phone.

"Ms. Lane? This is Judy Prune, the Vice Principal at Jason's school."

"Oh, hello Mrs. Prune." Lois frowned into the receiver.

"Um, Ms. Lane? Have you noticed anything…well, different or unusual about your son?"

Lois paused for a moment, her eyes looking up. "Why do you ask? Is everything alright?"

There was a chuckle on the receiver. "Oh, Jason is perfectly fine. But, our north wall isn't."

"Excuse me?"

"I think you and Jason's father should come down and have a chat with me."

Lois nodded into the phone. "We'll be right there." She hung up quickly, then stood up and looked around.

"Everything ok? That didn't look like a happy conversation, judging by the look on your face." Chloe remarked worriedly.

Lois looked exasperated. "Something happened with Jason at his school."

"Oh no!" Chloe groaned.

"Yeah, and it involved damage to a wall apparently."

Chloe winced.

"They asked for me and his father to come to the school and have a talk with them."

"Wait," Chloe quickly moved to her, "Clark or Richard? I mean, Clark is definitely going to want to know what is happening, and if Jason used super strength to bash into a wall, he would be better to handle it."

Lois understood that point. "Yeah, but until we openly state that Clark is Jason's father, Richard is going to be the one Jason calls Daddy." She paused, slightly flustered as she gathered her things. "Besides, I can't hide the fact that Jason is Kryptonian forever."

Chloe nodded. "Good luck."

Lois knocked quietly on Richard's door, before peaking in. All three men in there turned to look at her.

"Hey, guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but there has been some trouble at Jason's school." She glanced at Clark as she said this, before focusing on Richard. "They want us there, Richard."

He immediately sat up, a worried expression on his face. "Is he alright."

"Oh, he's fine…he just got himself in a…a mess." She shot a pointed look at Clark as she said that. Richard hurriedly put on his coat. Clark, understanding what she meant, nodded slowly. She mouthed Later to him, promising herself she would ask him about the development of his powers as he grew up, as soon as she got past her talk with Richard.

---------------------------

Richard and Lois walked briskly through the hallway as the entered the elementary school. They knocked on the door, and then walked into the Vice-Principals office. Lois half expected Jason to be there, but he was not.

"Mr. White, Ms. Lane, thank you for coming so quickly." Mrs. Prune shook their hands.

Richard was very worried. "Are you sure Jason's alright? Lois mentioned something about a wall…?"

Ms. Prune nodded. "Oh, Jason is absolutely fine. That's what is so confusing to us."

"How so?" Lois asked, trying to sound surprised.

Judy Prune regarded them silently for a moment, before standing up and gesturing toward the door. "Let me show you."

She led them down the hallway, outside, and onto the younger children's play area. It was a largish area, half grass, half black top, for eating outside, with a jungle gym, slide, and monkey bars. It was surrounded by four walls…and the north wall, as Lois and Richard both suddenly noticed, had a huge chunk smashed into it. As though a child of Jason's size had run into it and created a large dent in it.

Richard pointed towards it, stunned. "Did Jason do that?"

"He did."

Richard shook his head in disbelief. "How?"

Mrs. Prune looked pointedly at Richard and Lois. "I was hoping you might explain that."

Lois wracked her brain, trying to come up with a plausible way to explain that her son was gaining his super strength and invulnerability. "Well, Jason has been through a very traumatic event with us last week. We had to be rescued by Superman, and, Jason might be acting and…feeling differently because of that."

Judy Prune looked at her in surprise. "Are you saying that some of Superman's powers might have been transferred to him in the process of being rescued?"

Richard quickly looked at Lois, his focus on her becoming hard. Lois was determined not to meet his eyes yet.

"That would certainly explain the rest." Judy continued, not noticing the sharp exchanged of looks between them. Now, they both turned to her, confused.

"The rest?" Richard asked, almost afraid to know.

She nodded. "Yes, it was what happened leading up to him running into the wall. The boys are playing a game of red rover. They called Jason to their side. He moved to start running, when suddenly –" She made a quick movement of her hands, like a rocket taking off, "he moved so fast, none of us could see him. He, I am guessing, didn't know how to control what he was doing, because he ended up smashing into the wall, creating that dent." She looked pointedly at the couple. "And there are wall is, looking like it was hit by a wrecking ball, and yet Jason is perfectly fine. Not even a scratch on him."

Lois gulped. There was no way around this. Richard had to know by now. He turned slowly, looking at her. His eyes were so full of pain that she felt like crying. They silently got Jason, got into their car, and drove home, an uncomfortable silence enveloping them the entire way.

---------------------------

Richard quietly closed the door to Jason's bedroom, letting him play on his floor with his airplanes. He walked slowly downstairs, hearing the cupboard doors open and close as Lois searched for something to preoccupy herself with. He silently entered the kitchen, stood in the doorway, and just looked at her. She had lied to him. For five years, she had lied to him. Not just about being with Superman, but about Jason.

"So, are you going to go outside and yell for Superman, to tell him what happened?"

Lois stopped where she was and tried to concentrate as hard as she could on the contents of the pantry.

"Or, are you going to finally start telling me the truth about your son?"

Your son. Sadness shot through her body as he said that, matched only by the hurt and sadness in Richard's voice when he said it. He loved Jason. Raised him, nurtured him, was a father to him. And now, he knew he wasn't. She finally had the nerve to face him, and turned to see him. He looked betrayed.

"I realized I was pregnant after I met you. About two weeks before we started sleeping together. This was about a week after he disappeared."

"So, you just pretended that he was born three weeks early." Richard said slowly.

She nodded.

He almost chuckled. "You know, I knew that it was wrong. I knew that three weeks made him a premature baby, but the doctor just looked at me oddly when I mentioned that. I saw his size, and I just couldn't figure out how he was early. He looked so healthy and normal –" Richard paused, "But then, he's not normal, is he? He's not even fully human." The venom in his voice surprised her.

"He doesn't deserve to be treated badly because of his parentage, Richard." Lois bite back her reply.

"Oh, his parentage! Lois, you lied to me about being with him! You told me you didn't love him, which, by the way, I know isn't true even if you are trying to convince yourself it is. I had a suspicion that you had slept with him, but, no, you told me that was just the title of an article!"

She slammed the pantry door closed. "That wasn't even when it happened! I got pregnant the day before he left! That article was written weeks before that!"

Richard started to chuckle. "I just can't believe Superman is a dead beat dad –"

SMACK

Lois struck him hard across the face. "Don't you ever, ever say that about Superman again. He had no idea I was pregnant when he left. I didn't know I was pregnant until a week later!"

Richard looked at her in shock. "There's no way you can deny to yourself anymore, Lois. You are still in love with him."

Lois' eyes met his. "I don't know what to say about that."

Silence. Richard looked down. Things were changing between them so fast. He didn't know what to believe anymore. He looked up at Lois, the woman he had fallen in love with, who he would give his life for. The woman for whom he had tried to be a super hero, to replace the Man of Steel in her heart. It hadn't worked.

"Are you with him now?" Lois looked surprised by this last question. She had thought Richard knew her better than that.

"What?"

He gathered his courage. "Are you having an affair with him?" She still didn't answer him. He almost laughed. "Come on, Lois, just tell me. I know he's Superman, I know what he looks like, I've seen women practically throw themselves off rooftops just to be caught by him. Like you said that night, everyone is in love with him. But, he has only ever wanted one person: you. So, I am now asking, since he is back, and quite definitely back in our lives…are you having an affair with him?"

Lois felt good that she could answer truthfully. "No. I wouldn't do that to you."

Richard somehow knew she was telling the truth. That night, with all the revelations coming out, with finding out that Jason wasn't his son, if felt good to hear that one word.

Lois walked by him then, on her way to the living room.

"And neither would he."