A/N: Each chapter to this story will start off with a brief article that will give you insight into what is in store for Lois and/or Clark, followed by an A/U version of their relationship journey. Each chapter is modeled after one of Lois's rules of reporting spotted in S8's episode "Hex". See if you can spot the connection to the chapter ;-)

Please leave reviews. It really does encourage me to continue.

.::Rule 1: Always know your source::.

METROPOLIS HERO OR GOTHAM VIGILANTE? MYSTERIOUS BLUR STRIKES AGAIN
By Lois Lane (additional reporting by Clark Kent)

The day had started out as any other for Clarissa Clemmens; little did she realize that it would end like no other. The mother of two had entered Metropolis First National Bank to open an account for her youngest; little Cassandra had hoped to deposit her first $10 as a down payment toward a new bike. Instead, Clemmens and her daughter were held at gunpoint, the newest victims of the Metropolis Mayhem.

"It was scary as all hell," declared Clemmens, 38, her eyes welling with tears. "They came in with masks on and pointed their guns at us. I was so scared."

Lincoln, Nixon, Clinton. Their masks reveled in presidential history. Guns loaded with high caliber bullets, their intention was clear: get as much money as possible and kill any one who tried to stop them.

The Mayhem had successfully stolen over $6 million dollars from the Capital Bank of Metropolis and the Kansas Union Bank this past month, their getaway strategy seemingly flawless. All three would charge in to the bank with one bandit hitting the door security guard using the back end of his gun. The second would aim toward witnesses while the third collected money from the tellers. Once their funds were secured a canister of smoke would envelope the bank leaving behind their signature "MM" engraved in to the marble floors.

However, Clemmens and the other 23 patrons of the Metropolis First National Bank were lucky. As they'd crouched on the floor, heads hidden in their arms and tears streaming down young Cassandra's face, a gust of wind seemed to encircle them. When Clemmens finally looked up, having heard the faint wail of police sirens, she found the three presidential bandits caught in a web of steel, the wiring of the intricately crafted Pinoet sculpture in the lobby encasing them.

Not one managed to catch a glimpse of the windy warrior. Speculation abounds that Gotham's vigilante hero Batman has landed in Metropolis, employing the shadows to conceal his identity.

Not so, confides Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham Police Department. "Batman may be strong and he may be fast, but he's certainly not operating in broad daylight, much less bending steel faster than the speed of light."

Many are calling on District Attorney Ray Sacks to haul the blurred crusader in for questioning. Sacks, a proponent of the soon-to-be passed Disabled Powers Legislation, warned "that any vigilante behaviour- especially when used in conjunction with meteor powers- will no longer be tolerated."

While some challenge the intentions of the blurry wonder, to Clarissa Clemens her experience speaks for itself. "He's a hero," Clemens stated. "Plain and simple. He saved us all. Meteor power or not, he's a hero."

If only those at the Capitol felt the same.

...:::...

"Another above the fold, Smallville," Lois declared slapping the latest addition of the Daily Planet on to Clark's desk. "If you weren't so busy getting cats out of trees or fixing tractors…you too might get your own byline." She gave him a wink and took her seat at the desk across from him.

Clark smiled and pushed his dark rimmed glasses up his nose. "Congratulations Lois. Perry better start making room for you on the 10th floor."

"Damn straight he'd better." She leaned below her desk and pushed the button to turn her computer on. As the screen began to load, Lois flipped through a stack of weathered pink messages scattered across her desk.

"'Nuther one for ya, Lois," said a dark haired intern, as he rushed by holding a message scrawled across a similarly styled pink notepaper.

"When the hell is the voice mail service going to start working again?" She muttered to herself, as she picked up the phone and began to return the messages. "You'd think it was 1977."

"I'm sure they'll get it fixed soon, Lois. It's not a big deal." Clark said, straightening his shoulders. "I kind of like that someone's answering the phone when we're not here. It lets people feel like there's someone listening on the other side."

Lois chuckled and shook her head, bringing the phone to her ear. "You're so… whimsical Clark Kent." She held her finger up, motioning for him to hold on. "Yes, District Attorney Sacks, please… Lois Lane from the Daily Planet." She paused, her eyebrows furrowed. Clark grimaced; he knew that look. "What do you mean he's in a meeting? He called me! I have his message right here on a stupid pink slip of paper… Well you can let D.A. Sacks know that Lois Lane will not be writing any support pieces about the Disabled Powers Legislation, thank you very much. And if he's looking for a propaganda puppet he can try Catherine Grant at Good Morning, Metropolis."

Clark tilted his head and gave Lois a warned look.

"What?" She mouthed in return, shrugging her shoulders. "That's right," she continued in to the phone. "L-A-N-E. From the Daily Planet… You're welcome," she finished with a flourish, returning the phone to its cradle.

"Lois…" Clark cautioned.

"Don't 'Lois' me, Smallville. Sometimes you got to stand up for what you believe in," she defended, balling up the message and tossing it in to the trash.

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't stand up for what you believe in, Lois. I just think that maybe you should do it… more diplomatically?" He suggested.

"Diplomacy only gets you so far, Clark. At some point you've got to bring out the big guns to get people to stand up and listen to ya."

"Did the General teach you that?" Clark asked.

"Actually the Godfather trilogy."

He chuckled at her response and shook his head. "I can never win with you, can I?"

"Got another, Lane." The dark haired intern crossed the floor of the basement's bullpen and tossed a red envelope on to her desk. "Next time pick up your own damn messages."

"Next time bet on the Topeka Ravens and maybe it'll be me handing you messages." she challenged, tearing at the envelope.

Clark watched as she pulled the blue cardstock from the envelope and held his breath.

Noting the faraway glint to Lois' eyes as she stared at the message, he dared himself to question her. "Good news?"

"Hm?" She asked, distant.

"Your message," he said, motioning toward the paper she griped in her hand. "Good news?"

Lois faintly attempted to guard her impulsively driven smile. "Something like that," she replied vaguely, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Clark narrowed his eyes and studied her reaction. In many ways it pained him to watch her moon over his alter ego, to watch her failing attempts at concealing her attraction to the Blur through headlines in the Daily Planet. In other ways, it allowed him the rare opportunity to watch her react to his saves uncensored.

Lois pulled back from her daydream and turned her focus toward her computer, beginning to tackle the onslaught of emails that awaited her in her inbox.

Clark cleared his throat. "I was wondering…" he began nervously as Lois tapped away at her keyboard.

"How do you spell 'consistently'?" She asked absently.

He shook his head in confusion. "What?"

Lois looked up from her screen. "Consistently. How do you spell it? I must've spelled it so wrong that the spell check won't correct it."

Clark inwardly groaned in frustration, begrudgingly spelling the word for her.

"Thanks," she replied with a short smile, returning to her emails.

"Lois. I was wondering…" He began again.

"Hm?" She muttered distracted, tucking a pencil between her teeth.

"I was wondering," Clark swallowed in a deep breath. "Would you… I mean, if you're not busy tonight…"

"Calling all officers in the area of Main and Fourth." The police scanner that sat between them sprung to life. "10-27 in progress at Metropolis First National Bank. Possible 10-17, proceed with caution."

Lois' eyes widened, the pencil falling from her mouth. "10-27?" She said with a wicked grin.

"Robbery," Clark confirmed, attempting to mask his disappointment at the interruption.

"And a hostage situation," she finished excitedly, grabbing her purse and heading toward the bullpen's stairs. "This'll be front page again, I'm sure-." As Lois stepped on to the first landing she turned to look at Clark, only to find no one behind her.

"Clark?" She called out scanning the basement bullpen to no avail. Clark was no where to be found. Lois absently shrugged her shoulders and continued up the stairs. "Probably had a Chinese food craving or something…" she muttered to herself.

...:::...

"Nothing to see here Lane, move along," barked Detective Mills.

"Nothing to see? There was a robbery and hostage situation. You can't tell me there's 'nothing to see,'" Lois said emphatically, squaring her shoulders. She lowered her voice and continued. "Besides you owe me a favour after I kept your name out of the paper when that illegal massage parlor got closed."

The detective scowled, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the police line that was bustling with reporters. "Fine," he conceded. "You always get your way, don't you?"

"Something like that. So whatcha got?"

"We'd been tailing the Metropolis Mayhem for weeks- we figured that this would be the next place they'd hit so we had extra detail nearby. But this one was different…"

"Different how?" Lois asked, leaning closer.

"We were literally seconds away. We got the page on the silent alarm and our boys were on it…"

"But-?"

"When we got here we found the Mayhem guys tied up in that fancy sculpture they got in the lobby."

"The Pinoet?" She asked confused.

"Yeah, that one."

"But it's made of wrought iron! How is that even possible?"

"Don't ask me. But that lady over there—" Detective Mills pointed toward a thirty-something woman with a young girl who was being interviewed by another officer. "She swears she felt a gust of wind go through the place."

"The Blur…"

"Looks like it." He looked over his shoulder and turned back to Lois. "Billy over there thinks it was that bat character from Gotham."

"The Batman?" Lois asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, him. I dunno. Gotham's a little far off if you ask me." Detective Mills began to step away from Lois, realizing that some of the other officers were beginning to take notice of him. "Listen Lane, I gotta go. I can't be seen talking to you like this. You're going to get me in trouble one of these days."

"It's been a pleasure as always, Mills," she called out loudly as she backed away. "Say hello to your lovely wife for me."

"You're a real peach, you know that Lane?" He retorted sarcastically. "If I see you again, it'll be too soon."

Lois chuckled and pulled out her phone to call in her headline.

"Hey—hey Lois," a voice called out from behind her. Startled, Lois turned to find Clark pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Smallville! There you are!" She tucked her phone between her ear and her shoulder. "Your tie's crooked again."

Clark watched sheepishly as Lois pulled at his tie, straightening it.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked.

"I'm just calling in the story now," she said, pressing a number in to her key pad. "Ugh! The stupid answering service must be still down. The lines are all busy."

"We could always just go back to the Planet and file it the old fashioned way."

"I still need to interview—," Lois turned to point out the woman she'd seen being interviewed a few minutes earlier and instead found the officer writing in his notebook, alone. "Sunnava…! I must've just missed her."

"Who? Mrs. Clemmens?" Clark asked. Noting Lois' confused look he continued, "blonde woman with a little girl?"

"You? You got an interview with her?"

"Yeah, she was standing there so I asked her a couple of questions."

"What'd she say?" Lois asked suspiciously. "And—how did you get here so fast anyway? The last time I saw you, you were at the Planet."

"I took a cab," Clark replied innocently.

"A cab?" She asked unbelieving. Clark nodded, as Lois stared at him unconvinced. She shook her head. "Whatever, Smallville. What did Clemmens tell you anyway?"

"Basically she felt wind, looked up and saw the robbers in the sculpture."

"Did she think it was the Blur?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. But bending metal?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Lois said expertly, walking toward her car. "Let's see if we can get our hands on the security footage. But if it's anything like the last few bank robberies, it'll probably just be a whirl nothing-ness on the screen."

As Lois opened the door to her car and slipped in to the driver's seat, Clark smiled to himself proud of having covertly put another batch of criminals behind bars.

...:::...

The cool night air sent a chill down Lois' spine as she pulled her coat tight across her chest. The street was mostly quiet save for the odd alley cat mewing into the darkness.

Lois tapped her foot against the concrete sidewalk at 1421 Third Street. Patience had never been one of her virtues and this night was no exception. The shrill ring of a phone broke the silence.

She quickly pulled the door to the phone booth open and grabbed at the receiver. "Hello?"

"Lois?" The deep, familiarly muffled voice of the Blur greeted her on the other end.

"Hi," she said, a faint smile pulling at her lips. "Nice save today."

"You're sure it was me?"

"Nice try, my friend. But I called Gotham just in case," Lois said. The voice chuckled in reply. "So you're pretty strong, huh? What you did with the Pinoet was impressive."

"Yeah, about that…" the voice paused. "I probably should have gone easier on the artwork…"

Lois laughed. "Truthfully? It was the ugliest piece of art in all of Kansas. I'm always telling Clark how much I hate it."

"Clark?"

"My partner… at the Daily Planet, I mean." Lois silently chastised herself for the slip.

"Oh. Well then maybe I'm not sorry I ruined it."

She chuckled softly. "So… um… how was your day?" She asked, her face reddening at the ridiculousness of her question.

The voice chuckled. "It was… different. Truthfully, Lois?"

"Yeah?"

"These days things have been hard what with the new legislation about to be passed. I've been trying to do my best to show Sacks that us… uh, metahumans or aliens or whatever the government is calling us these days—we're just like everyone else, but with powers."

"But it's those powers that the government is afraid of," Lois countered tentatively.

"Yes, but if they're used properly and responsibly they can help the world. Together we can ensure there's justice and it will keep our cities safe."

"How do you respond to those meteor freaks that use their abilities to harm people?"

"There are always bad apples in every bunch. Just like there are criminals among the human race, there are going to be criminals who have powers and use them wrongfully. I'm doing my best to put a stop to that."

"I know you are," Lois said with certainty.

"Truthfully Lois?" The Blur continued. "Knowing that I have someone like you looking out for my reputation - for all of us - it makes it a little easier."

Lois smiled into the phone, her heart thumping nervously in her chest. Unsure of how to reply, she said instead, "can I quote you on that?"

Before he could reply the distant wail of a police siren interrupted the night's stillness. "I've got to go," he said instead. "Sorry."

"Of course," Lois replied, disappointed. "I guess I'll see you on the front page." She replaced the phone on to its cradle and looked up at the rooftops of the darkened buildings that surrounded her, secretly hoping to catch a shadowed glimpse of the Blur. It was to no avail as the smoky coloured steam from the local factory provided a disappointing cover.

Unbeknownst to Lois, beneath the haze of the steam, it was Clark that watched from above. With a small, yet determined smile he tucked his phone in to his pocket and took a last lingered look at Lois before speeding off in the direction of the sirens.

.:: TBC ::..