A/N: Before you begin I'd like to issue this announcement/apology. I hate taking a long time to update. As both a reader and a writer, it drives me insane. Unfortunately, shortly after posting this first chapter, I got hit with a lot of exam prep and, well, exams and had to take some time off of writing. Then came some writer's block, and when I finally did get the second chapter all done two weeks ago, my beta and I ran into some scheduling conflicts that were only just resolved today.

Which brings me to the part where I get to tell you that Chapter 2 will posted today (duh). And Chapter 3 should be posted the following Friday, and so on. Fridays are going to be the update night for this story, and barring any sudden real life issues that may come about, updates should be weekly, and if a week is missed, it will be the following week.

I feel bad for making people wait, but I hope there's still some interest in the story and I hope you'll drop by Friday for the update :)

And holy crap, I seriously need to catch up on the stories here! Gah!

- daydreamer

CH 2:

Last time:

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."

Two weeks later

The man gasped in horror and desperation as his terrified bid for freedom was met with another impassable wall of flames. The heat rolling towards him was enough to send him scurrying back a few feet and he let out a whimper. Smoke had formed an almost impenetrable wall around him. He felt smothered.

He sank to his knees, trying to get closer to the floor to find oxygen down on his hands and knees. His hands reached out blindly in an attempt to feel his way out of the fiery building, but everything around him seared at his flesh and he pulled back. The lack of oxygen was starting to get to him; black spots began to pepper his already limited vision and he began to sag against the floor, his consciousness slipping away from him with every passing second.

Dying wasn't so bad, it turned out. He was already feeling disconnected from the pain, and now he was just floating away. He felt a pang of remorse as his family's faces appeared in his mind's eye. How would they get by without him…?

Then suddenly the oppressive heat and smoke were gone. He felt the cold sting of the evening air and sucked in greedily, wincing as he did so. He could hear sirens in the distance, and despite being exhausted he forced his eyes open to look at his rescuer.

His gaze met nothing but the night sky. The fire was out, he noted as he forced himself to sit up. All that was left of his business was a smoldering ruin, and a recognizable S-Shield on the wall the symbol of the one who had pulled him out.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Clark eyed the blackened apartment building with a small feeling of satisfaction. There had been no casualties; the man who owned the store had been the only one inside, and he had had no life threatening injuries. The Blur had managed to pull him out and extinguish the flames all in just under two seconds—a personal record. He pulled his gaze away when his girlfriend's voice cut through his thoughts. Beside him, Lois was tapping a pen against a spiral notepad as she quizzed the police officer in front of them.

"So what happened to the owner of the store?" Lois asked, glancing up from her notepad at the cop.

"Paramedics took him to the hospital a few minutes ago," he answered with a shrug. "They said he inhaled a lot of smoke. He's lucky. He'd be dead if it weren't for your boyfriend there." He gave a nod in Clark's direction.

Clark had a brief moment of panic at the cop's words before he realized that he had been gesturing to the House of El symbol scorched onto the wall behind him. Lois didn't miss the look of blind panic and smirked privately.

"Thanks again," she said. "I'll see you next Friday. Maybe I'll even let you win some of your money back."

The cop shook his head, muttering that the day Lois Lane was merciful in poker was the day that he ate his badge. Lois turned back to Clark and smiled.

"You can relax, Smallville," she said as they made their way back towards her car. At his questioning look she elaborated, "I saw that look. Not getting jealous of the Blur are we?"

Clark grinned. "Should I be?"

Lois smirked. "I think you're okay. The Blur may kick some serious ass, but I think I prefer farm boys turned reporters."

"Even farm boys turned reporters who occasionally still wear plaid?" he asked a teasing tilt to his smile.

Lois grinned again and shrugged, telling him that no one was perfect before turning and thumbing through her notebook with a slightly more serious expression.

"Something the matter?"

"Hmm? No, I was just thinking about a story I'm working on," she said offhandedly, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.

"I take it you're not talking about this one," he said, nodding in the direction of the ruined building.

She shook her head thoughtfully. "The story about DA Saks."

"I thought Brady told you to kill it," he said.

Lois gave him a look. "And you thought I'd listen to him? Please. I had a meeting with a possible source today but they never showed. It's weird. I keep hitting dead ends. Before he was arrested I could usually find someone to give me information but now it's like now no one wants to step forward. And I kind of doubt he earned a tough enough reputation in jail to send all resident snitches running in fear."

She snorted at the thought before shaking her head.

"You'll figure something out, Lois," Clark encouraged. He reached forward to open her car door for her but Lois beat him to it, slipping into the driver's side.

"Of course I will," she nodded, speaking mostly at herself. She looked up when she noticed Clark staring at the car door with a slightly exasperated expression on his face. "What are you waiting for, Smallville? We've got a story to write."

"Thirty minutes for the damn doctor," the man muttered, glancing at his watch. "This is ridiculous."

He glanced around the small hospital room in agitation. He supposed he should be more relaxed. Grateful even; he was alive, after all. He had been given a second chance at life tonight, when his family could be fitting him for a pine box instead. But the fact of the matter was that he was cold, tired, and just wanted to go home with his family who were worried sick about him. He checked his watch again and sighed.

The door creaked open slowly, forcing him to look up. He frowned at the suit clad man in the doorway.

"You're not the doctor I spoke to earlier," he said in confusion.

"No," the other man replied. He gave him an appraising look. "Howard Wilkins, right, The man who was pulled out of the fire tonight?"

"Yes…"

The suited man gave him a cold smile. "Good. Mr. Wilkins, there's something I'd like to discuss with you…"

"Well it may not be front page material, but a shared byline looks just as good," Lois smiled, dumping the morning's paper onto his desk and perching herself beside it. The extra hours they'd put in the night before to finish the story had ensured that it had made it into today's paper, and while that had meant lack of sleep, seeing her and Clark's names under it made it worth it.

Coffee helped too.

Clark picked up the paper and smiled. "Maybe the next shared byline will make it above the fold."

"Yeah, maybe when I finally nail Saks for what he's done." Lois shook her head. "It doesn't help that he's got the mayor and apparently even the Daily Planet in his pocket."

Clark opened his mouth to assure her that he had no doubt she would figure things out—Lois had an uncanny knack for finding the truth, after all—when Mark from the society section suddenly ran into the bullpen with an animated expression on his face.

"Hey somebody turn that up," he yelled, gesturing toward the TV mounted on the wall overlooking the bullpen. He looked over at Lois and said, "You especially are going to want to hear this, Lane."

The two of them swiveled in around to face the television, where a solemn faced woman was standing in front of a wreckage of a building.

"I'm here standing outside of Wilkins Insurance, a ten year old family run insurance agency run by Howard Wilkins that tragically burned down late last night," the reporter was saying gravely. "Investigators say that the fire was caused by some faulty wiring, and though the loss of this business is a huge blow to both Mr. Wilkins and family, it is not the biggest misfortune to arise from last night's events. Howard Wilkins himself is currently in the intensive care unit at Metropolis General, suffering from multiple broken bones and some internal bleeding. The most disturbing part is that our sources say these injuries did not come from being trapped inside last night's fire, but rather from being 'rescued' by none other than the infamous Blur."

Ice formed a tight grip on Clark's stomach as he stared at the TV in shock. That man was in intensive care? How was that possible?

The reporter was now interviewing random citizens on the street for comments.

"This is why I don't get the hype about this guy," one man was saying. "He seems kinda shady. I mean, yeah he saves a few people but we don't know nothin' about him. No one ever sees the guy. Then he goes and does something like this…dangerous if you ask me."

Clark barely heard Lois' noise of disgust as another person appeared on screen, shaking their head.

"This is why these things are best left to professionals like our police and fire departments," the woman said angrily. "People who know what they're doing, people we can trust. This was just thoughtless."

"Well there you have it folks," the reporter said, turning back to the camera. "This is Susan Jackson reporting for Metropolis 5. Back to you, John."

"Thanks Susan," the anchor replied. "I guess this just goes to show…"

"Goes to show what?" Lois snapped. "That the Blur isn't a hero now?"

"Well you heard them, Lane," Clark heard someone say. "The Blur seriously injured someone. That doesn't sound very heroic to me."

"There's no way that that story is true," Lois was saying emphatically. "There is just no way that the Blur would be that reckless."

Lois had a point, Clark thought to himself. There was no way that he could have done that. He was always very cautious about being careful with those he was saving, and last night had been no different. He distinctly remembered setting Howard Wilkins lightly outside on the ground. He had even quickly looked him over for any severe injuries that couldn't wait until paramedics arrive, but there hadn't been any. Aside from smoke inhalation, he'd been fine.

Clark's brow furrowed. Why would they say that he was in intensive care, then?

"Smallville?" Two fingers snapped in front of his face.

"Hmm?"

Lois was staring at him curiously. "Where'd you go for a minute there?"

"I was just… thinking," he finished lamely. He mentally kicked himself. Come on Kent, you can do better than that. "…about the man in the hospital."

"Me too." Lois replied as she turned around and grabbed her bag stuffing her work load into it. "I'm on my way down to the hospital now."

"Why? Did you have time to run into trouble already? It's only nine o'clock," he teased half-heartedly. His mind was still running through possible reasons as to why they would report that Howard Wilkins was in intensive care.

"Funny, Smallville," she rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go see this Wilkins guy and ask him what really happened," she said matter-of-factly. "I don't care what the news said: if this guy was injured by the Blur I'll sell my White snake collection. You coming?"

Clark shook his head. "Brady asked me to do a piece on the lack of funding for reconstruction downtown. I have a few interviews to do."

This was partially true. He did have a story he was working on for Brady and he did actually have a few interviews to do. He was just leaving out the part about making a few stops along the way. Though something was telling him that it would be a good idea to accompany Lois in her search for the supposedly injured man he had saved. He could always join her later, he supposed. Lois, however, didn't seem to mind the lack of company. She was already struggling into her coat, a pen clenched between her teeth.

"Okehillseeyalayer," she mumbled.

Amused, Clark reached forward and pulled the pen from her mouth. She smiled and snatched it back once her coat was done up.

"I said I'll see you later," she repeated. "Good luck with your interviews, Smallville."

He waited until she was gone before casting a furtive look around the room to see if anyone was looking and sped away.

Chloe Sullivan swept a hand through her hair as she squinted at the screen in front of her with a frown. Opening another window, she did another quick search.

"Impulse offline," the computer informed her in a monotone.

Chloe shook her head and searched again.

"Impulse offline."

Leaning back in her chair, she stared at words glaring down at her from the screens.

Canary offline.

Impulse offline.

Cyborg offline.

Aquaman offline.

"Where is everybody?" she murmured suspiciously. A sudden breeze lifted the back of her hair. She didn't bother turning around.

"Clark," she said. "It's about time you got here. I was beginning to think super speed was no longer one of your abilities."

"I got here as soon as I could. I got your message. What's wrong?"

Chloe gestured to the computers in front of her. "Have you talked to anyone recently?"

Clark shook his head as he studied the pictures displayed on the various computer screens in front of him. "Not in the last little while. Why?"

"Because everyone except you and Oliver has become suddenly incommunicado within the last week. Usually if someone goes off the grid, it's only a short time before they pop back up again, but suddenly it's like a total hero blackout," she said, her fingers skimming the keyboard once more.

"Maybe they've just been busy," he offered.

"Maybe. But even after what happened in the summer, none of them have slipped under the radar like this."

"You think something happened to them?" he asked, worry worming its way into his stomach.

"I don't know, but we shouldn't rule anything out." Chloe shook her head. "I'll keep searching. I'll let you know if anything comes up. But before you go, did you see the news?"

"About Howard Wilkins?" Clark asked, a slight tension creeping into his voice. "I think everyone did."

"And there's no way that it could be—" Chloe started slowly.

"No," Clark cut her off firmly. "It's not true. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but it's a lie."

Chloe's eyebrows drew together. "So you think he lied to what? Make the Blur look bad? Gain some sympathy?"

"I don't know. Lois is looking into it. I'm meeting up with her later," he said. His head snapped up a second later as his super hearing kicked in. "Gotta go, Chloe."

"Yep, duties call," she mumbled to herself.

Unfortunately, his journey back to the Daily Planet after his interviews was delayed by a five car pileup on the highway, a robbery on Fifth Street, and a small apartment fire. By the time he made it back to the basement it was well after his shift was supposed to have ended, and Lois was nowhere in sight. He stayed an extra hour to type up the rest of an article he had due for Brady before finally calling it a day and setting out to find Lois.

He met her walking up the Talon stairs to the apartment she shared with Chloe, a distracted look on her face.

"Hey Smallville," she smiled, leaning up to peck him on the lips. "Did you get your article done?"

"Yeah I did," he smiled at her. Following her in to the apartment, he latched the door and asked, "How'd it go at the hospital? Did you find Wilkins?"

"Not exactly," Lois shook her head, unbuttoning her coat and tossing it over the nearest chair. She turned to face him, her arms crossed. "Get this: there is a room paid for in Howard Wilkins's name in the ICU, but it's empty. And I used my MetGen all access pass to pull his medical records. There's a small blurb about his admittance to the hospital the night of the fire, but nothing about any of the injuries they were talking about on Metropolis 5. It only mentions him complaining about slight irritation from smoke inhalation. I spent the majority of the day stopping by his house and any places he frequented, according to his neighbors, but so far this guy is completely MIA."

"So if he's okay, where is he?" Clark mused. "Why hasn't he come forward to tell the truth?"

"Well not everybody is brave enough or cares enough to tell the truth, Clark," Lois shrugged. "But I'm going to find him. I knew that story was crap. There was just no way that the Blur could be responsible for injuring somebody like that."

She paused when she found Clark staring at her, a small smile on his face. As it often did when Clark smiled at her, her own face broke out into a smile.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling inexplicably self conscious.

"You have a lot of faith in the Blur, don't you?" he said.

"Yeah." She shrugged as though it were nothing, which was ironic, because to Clark it meant nearly everything.

"Even though you've never met him," Clark said curiously. It was a statement, not a question. It wasn't as though he didn't already know this; Lois had shown how much she supported the Blur on many occasions. The most recent of which was when she had stood up in front of half Metropolis and told everyone that he was the light they all needed. But the amount of faith that she had in a hero she'd never actually seen, whom she only knew through phone calls and his calling cards, never failed to amaze him anyway.

"I don't need to meet him to know that he's a hero. I mean, the guy watches over people not because it's his job, or because anyone asked him to, but just…because. The world needs more people like that, even if some people aren't willing to admit it."

Clark shook his head, his fighting to stop his smile from growing.

Lois noticed and tilted her head. "What now?"

"Nothing. It's just…you amaze me sometimes, Lois," he said honestly, still smiling.

Lois bit her lip and reached out to punch his shoulder. "Get used to it, Smallville."

Before she had a chance to pull her arm back, Clark's hand wrapped itself around her forearm to pull her closer, his lips colliding with hers. Lois sighed quietly against him and wound her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with equal fervor.

It seemed to be only seconds later that she felt the back of her knees hit the couch and she toppled backwards onto it with Clark on top. He paused suddenly as though waiting for some kind of signal from her. She realized belatedly that he was waiting to see if she was comfortable with this. But any qualms he had seemed to be erased when she smiled and leaned up to capture his lips again.

Not slow, a voice in her head cautioned her. Not slow at all.

But she pushed the thoughts back: she'd worry if clothes started flying off. Right now she wanted to spend some quality time with her boyfriend.

A curt knock sounded from the door, causing them both to pause and look up.

"Think it's Chloe?" Clark suggested.

Lois shook her head, "Chloe would have just came in; she has a key. Which means it's someone who doesn't live here, which means it's someone who can't get in, so I say we ignore it."

She'd spoken the last sentence so quickly that Clark was still trying to figure out what exactly she had said when she pulled him back down to her. A few minutes later, however, the knocks continued.

"Maybe I should just get it," she managed to get out between kisses. "They seem pretty persistent."

"They'll go away," he murmured as he found a particularly sensitive spot on her throat. Lois gasped in response and tightened the hold she had on his hair.

The knock came again, more insistent.

Clark glanced at the door in annoyance. Then suddenly he froze, his face pale. He was off her in an instant.

"Clark?" Lois asked, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Maybe you should get that," he said quickly. At her continued questioning look he offered, "It could be important."

She raised her eyebrows at him but climbed off the couch and adjusted her shirt before making her way to the door, oblivious to the fact that Clark was nearly strangling himself as he tried to fix his tie and flatten his mussed up hair.

"This better be good," she said as she swung the door open, "or else—"

She blinked in surprise at the person on her doorstep.

"Daddy?"

Update will be next Friday. Reviews are loved :)