Author's Note: It's been over a year since I've been posting on this site, and unfortunately for the last few months I've had to be absent due to work and my course loads. Which was unfortunate, because I'd really wanted to post a fic back on my one year aniversary on this site back at the end of November. But I'm back now with a new idea and really excited to be. I don't know how long this story is going to be, but I hope you'll stick around and enjoy the ride.

That said, I have a few thanks to make. First is to X0gossipgirlX0 over on Divine Intervention, who has agreed to be my beta (never had a beta before, but I figured with my weird history of being sick, getting head injuries (okay, that happened once, but still), and other strange stuff while I'm writing fics, a beta might be a good idea when it came to editing ;P). The second would be to all the people who have suscribed to me, favorited stories, and come back to review my stuff time and time again. You guys are great, and it means a lot. I've "met" a lot of nice and awesome people by doing this.

And lastly, I'd like to dedicate this story to my best friend, who kept me sane during the crazy past few months were I couldn't write or do anything but work. You're the best, hun!

Anyway, you're probably ready for me to shut up so, without further rambling, here's The Dividing Lines.

The Daily Planet basement was bustling. The early morning light had brought throngs of reporters, all milling around to their respective desks in pursuit of the day's stories and any leads they had picked up overnight. Among the people filling into the bullpen was Randall Brady, the city editor, trying to catch the attention of various people as they moved around him.

"Delaney, you're going downtown to cover the deconstruction of the library. Roberts, I want you covering the press conference with the fire chief—and butter him up, will you? He's still upset about the last interview Lane did with him," Randall called, passing a folder off to the man as he passed. "Somers, you're going to the unveiling of the new peace garden down at MetGen." He paused when he got to the next names on his list.

He glanced around in confusion, noting the two empty desks in the middle of the room. "And can someone tell me where the hell Lane and Kent are?"

"You know," Lois Lane managed to say in between kisses, "I'm not sure if our employers would agree that this is a good use for the copy room. I, on the other hand, give you points for creativity."

Clark Kent grinned against her mouth. "What? I'm not allowed to say good morning to my girlfriend?"

Clark's smile widened even further at the term 'girlfriend'. Lois noticed this and opened her mouth to tease him before she was quickly silenced with Clark's lips.

It had been just over one month since they had officially started dating. Thirty three days, eleven hours, and about twenty minutes or so, if Clark was to be exact. Which, he thought as he felt Lois tug on his tie, he was pretty sure he was. Exact, that is.

And it had been thirty three great days. For him at least, though he was pretty sure Lois felt the same way he did about their time together. Finally being able to be with her—no indecision, no what ifs, no question of lingering feelings for outside parties—made him feel as though a switch had been flipped inside him. It was hard for him to remember a time when he felt so happy, so relaxed.

Sort of. There were still…issues he needed to work out, if he were being honest. While the time he spent with Lois was typically the best part of any day, the fact still remained that his Blur duties still took up a lot of time and energy. He was still trying to toe the line and find the balance between Clark Kent and the Blur, between his personal life and his life as a hero. So it didn't help that Lois was like a hawk, and until he figured out how to tell her that her favorite hero and her best-friend-turned-boyfriend were one and the same, keeping it a secret from her was proving to be difficult.

He did want her to know, however. It was the matter of when and how that he was having difficulties with.

But for now, he let himself relax and enjoy a few calm minutes he had alone with her. He buried his fingers into her silky hair and deepened their kisses.

Lois stiffened slightly as she felt Clark's hand sliding up under her shirt.

Oh don't do it, Lane, a voice in her head complained. Just keep your mouth shut and—oh wow he has big hands…

We agreed to take it slow, she argued. I don't want to screw this up like every other relationship I've had.

Mmhm, or you could just throw that rule out the window, tell Randall you're taking the afternoon off, drag Clark's cute farmboy butt back to the farm, and -

Lois stopped that train of thought before it had a chance to finish. She wasn't helping the situation at all. This was the only complaint she had about their little liaisons in the copy room: the five years of unresolved sexual tension between them tended to escalate things faster than either of them intended.

But despite the mixed feelings she had about where this seemed to be heading, her earlier stipulation she had put into place when they had agreed to date popped into her head.

"Clark," she mumbled against his mouth. "Slow, remember?"

Not without effort, Clark pulled back with a nod. Of course he remembered that particular rule in their relationship: it was the one that kept him frustrated constantly. Frustrated. There was something he'd be feeling a lot as of late. After seeing what had happened between them in the future, it was difficult not to want to move things to the next level. He knew that he wanted her, knew that he loved her, but Lois had no memory of what had happened like he did. For her, it was just the two of them starting a relationship from scratch, and he knew she worried about what would happen if things went wrong between them. It was easy to forget when they were close like this, but slow, he knew, was what they needed. Both of them wanted to do this right, and rushing into things wasn't going to help that. He shook his head a little as if to clear the haze and stepped back, unpinning her from the wall.

"Anyway," Lois sighed, reaching out to straighten his tie. "We need to get back to work. The last thing I need today is Randall breathing down my neck about how my coffee breaks always seem to take thirty minutes."

"Well you do need your coffee," Clark said with mock seriousness. He reached out again to pull her close, but Lois dodged his hand with a grin and placed a hand on his chest to keep him at bay.

"Calm your hormones, Smallville," she teased. "We've got work to do."

Sweeping her bangs back into place, she strolled towards the door, trying to maintain an air of casualty for the benefit of the editor probably lurking outside the door. She paused when she noticed the lack of footsteps behind her. She turned in confusion.

"Clark?"

Clark's head was tilted slightly to the side, his eyebrows pinched slightly as he stared off into space. His earlier smile had vanished, in its place a concerned, faraway expression.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah," he said after a pause. His bright smile returned. "I just remembered I, uh, I have a source that I have to meet with."

He hurried over to the door leaning in quickly to peck her on the cheek. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"I—yeah okay," Lois mumbled as she found herself talking to thin air. Clark had already left.

"Lane!"

Lois's hazel eyes flicked up from the story-in-progress displayed on her computer screen for a split second to give her editor a quick glance. "I'm right here, Randall. No need to shout."

"Actually, there is." Randall tossed a stack of paper down on top of her keyboard. "The story about DA Saks and his exploits—we're killing it."

"What?" Lois's attention finally broke from the screen to focus on the man hovering around her desk. "Why?"

"Because I just received a bunch of notices from his office threatening all sorts of lawsuits if we ran so much as a sentence depicting him in an unfavorable way."

"And we're listening to his lackeys why?" Lois demanded.

"It wasn't his lackeys, Lane. The order came backed up by multiple legal figureheads," Randall flipped through the papers and pointed to one name in particular, "including the mayor."

Lois snatched the paper up and frowned. "Look, the mayor is not exactly squeaky clean himself, but why would he back up an ex-District Attorney with a one way ticket to the big house?"

"Saks isn't an ex-District Attorney. He was just reinstated today. All the charges against him have been dropped," Randall answered.

"Dropped? He hasn't even been to trial yet," Lois shook her head. "It's supposed to be next week."

"Yeah, well now it's not. So just trust me on this: the story is dead. Leave it alone," he finished firmly.

"Oh come on," Lois scoffed. "This story just got even more interesting. Don't you want to know why the guy who tried to kill me and frame this city's resident hero is suddenly walking free by order of the mayor?"

"No. And you shouldn't either. Priorities, Lane; I'm putting the Daily Planet before this story. If the mayor says to kill it, we're killing it." Randall turned his back, only pausing in his exit to call back, "And when Kent gets back from wherever tell him I want to see his story about the recent power failures on my desk by the end of the day."

"You're making a mistake, Randall!" Lois called after him. "As reporters it's our job to expose the truth not let others cover it up!" Lois exhaled sharply through her nose once he was out of sight. "Jerk."

"Hope that last comment wasn't aimed at me," an amused voice said from behind her. Lois spun around to face a smiling Clark.

"You're back fast," Lois blinked. "I thought you had to meet with a source."

"My source didn't show up," Clark said hurriedly. Eager to change the subject, he gestured at the papers in her hand. "What are those?"

"Look at this," she said, shoving the papers under his nose. Clark took them with a frown, his eyes skimming through the lines. "DA Saks is being cleared of all charges. That hero hating psychopath is being put back into office."

"DA Saks…the man who tried to kill you?" Clark's frown deepened. "I thought he was supposed to be tried next week."

"He was. Until our mayor apparently decided to override our whole legal system and set him free," Lois shook her head.

Sensing a longer day ahead than she'd originally anticipated, she made her way towards the coffee machine.

"They can't do that," Clark objected, falling into step behind her. "What about your testimony? He's an attempted murderer."

"I thought we cleared you of your naïve assumptions, Smallville," Lois sighed. She turned back to face him. "Saks has connections. If he wants this swept under the rug, he certainly knows the right people. But what interests me," she said, slamming the coffee pot down with force, "is why the mayor is taking an interest in him. Or any of the people on the list backing him. Not all of them are people I would expect to see rallying for the release of a corrupt councilor."

"They must have their reasons," Clark mused, still frowning at the paper.

Lois bit the inside of her lip. It didn't make any sense. Why would the mayor want to associate with Ray Saks when he was in the middle of campaigning to be reelected during the next vote?

Unless…she thought.

"Or maybe just one reason," she said thoughtfully. "The majority of people on this list come from different political parties, they have different views—they're people who generally don't agree on anything, but they all signed off to release this guy. There has to be some common thread…"

Clark smiled at the way Lois' eyes were lit up. It was the same feverish passion she displayed anytime she pursued a big story. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Does this sudden suspicion of yours mean I should cancel lunch?" he asked, still smiling.

Lois looked up in surprise. "Of course not. I'm starving. Besides, the only benefit of this whole hypoglycemia thing is that I can take longer lunch breaks." She grinned, looping and arm around his. "Don't think you're getting off buying me lunch that easily, Smallville."

As she tugged him towards the elevator, Clark grinned back. "I wouldn't dream of it, Lois."

The conference room was dimly lit, casting the various faces around the table into shadow. A few were shifting uncomfortably as they waited for the man at the head of the table to speak. After five minutes of thick silence, a young man ran into the room and whispered something into the man's ear. He then nodded, and called, "Bring him in."

The door swung open a moment later as another man was ushered into the room and quickly directed toward a chair at the opposite end of the table, where he sat somewhat nervously before he chuckled and spoke.

"Councilors, Mayor Stevens," he added, with a respectful nod towards the man at the head of the table. "I can't express my gratitude enough over your support regarding the untrue accusations against me—"

"This is not about the attempted murder charges we that you were barely acquitted from, District Attorney Saks." The voice had not come from the mayor, but from a shadowy figure sitting off to the mayor's left. The speaker, obviously female, spoke with a cold, almost amused drawl. "Accusations which I have no doubt you would have been found guilty of."

The practiced politician smile froze on the DA's face. "The prosecution's only witness against me is a liar. I think you'll find that she is nothing more than a reporter looking for a sensationalist story—"

"A reporter," the woman continued, "who seems to have quite a list of various illegal activities that you may be participating in. Prostitution, drug extortion, sex slavery…my, Councilor; I can see why you wanted to throw her off a roof."

The smile was now completely gone from Ray Sak's face. "As I said, this woman is simply looking for a story—"

"We aren't here to discuss Lois Lane," the woman interrupted him again. "Or your disgusting habits." She leaned forward slightly. "Your country needs you, Mr. Saks. Perhaps this is the time for you to redeem yourself."

"My country?" Saks asked, deadpan. He was obviously sulking over his less-than-friendly treatment.

"Yes, your country," she snapped brusquely. "There is a growing problem in this country, and the government can't afford to ignore it any longer. And that problem is this."

The manila folder she threw down slid across the table, its contents spilling out towards the disgraced District Attorney. He leaned forward and frowned at the S-shield depicted on the front of one sheet.

"The Blur's symbol?" he asked. "What about it?"

"Not just the Blur," she said, "though he is certainly first on our list. It's the lot of them. These so called 'heroes' that have started to crop up more and more recently. These vigilantes who have no right or business taking the law—our law—into their own hands. People practically idolize these figures! They act as though they are saviors! We are losing control over the public to these—these—"

The woman seemed to have worked herself into such a fury that she was temporarily rendered speechless. Saks relaxed moderately, taking comfort in the fact that this meeting was not about him or his arrest. He took opportunity of the woman's blustered state to examine the contents of the manila folder. He flipped through pictures of symbols, police reports, and newspaper articles from not only Metropolis but other cities as well, detailing strange occurrences and impossible saves. He felt his interest peak slightly; perhaps there was something in this for him.

"So what are you planning on doing?" he questioned as he thumbed through the papers. "Travelling around, trying to find all of these mysterious heroes?"

"No." Gone was her flustered state and back was the cold drawl. "We start with the Blur. Not only is he closest to home, but he is the biggest threat. His…unnatural abilities are a concern to us." She spat out the word 'unnatural' like it was a word too vile to say in normal tones. Saks raised an eyebrow.

"What are you aiming to do here?" he asked, still unclear.

"We want to find out everything we can. Who he is. What he is. Where he lives. What else can he do? And finally, if we can use him," she finished promptly.

Saks asked slowly, "Use him for what?"

She smirked in response. "Can you imagine the power and respect this country would gain if we had a being capable of what he is on our side?"

"Uh huh." He seriously doubted that there was any way that the Blur would agree to work with the government as a secret weapon, but thought better than to voice it in that particular room. Instead he asked, "So what exactly is it that you want from me?"

"Your recent disgrace was kept rather quiet, Mr. Saks. The general public still has faith in you as a politician. If we just go after the Blur torches blazing, people will revolt; they'll stand up for him. What we want you to do is plant seeds of doubt about him, as Mayor Stevens will do. That way it will be easier to take the Blur down if necessary without public backlash."

"And if I do…what's in it for me?"

"What's in it for you is that we don't throw you jail for all the charges we could be pressing." This time it was the mayor who spoke, sounding both annoyed and amused simultaneously. "What you've done would be very damaging to both our campaigns, Ray. You're lucky you aren't sitting in a cell right now. I suggest you listen to what these agents are telling us to do."

Saks sat in silence for a minute before nodding slowly. "Okay. I'll do it. But I don't understand how I'm supposed to uncover his identity unless—"

The woman snorted. "Please. We don't need you for that. I hardly think a matter of national security would be trusted to a dirty politician. We have both agents and army intelligence working on that issue. Perhaps you'd like to meet our man in charge."

The door creaked open once again. All heads in the room swiveled around at the same time to stare at the newcomer. Ray Saks took note of the intimidating man in the doorway; a solid looking man with a stern expression, dressed head to toe in army fatigues with his hands clasped behind his back. Saks gulped slightly as the woman called out a greeting to the man.

"Good evening, General Lane."

Okay, so please let me know what you think. Reviews help keep me going. This is the first time I'm posting a story simultaneously on both Fanfiction and Divine Intervention, so if you have an account there, feel free to leave reviews either there or here. Meanwhile, I'm off to work on Chapter 2 :) Thanks for reading!