<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NENnxcUbyz9zQV_3_b/Batman-V-Superman-Disguise-Glasses-Henry-Cavill-Video.jpg)(https://i.pinimg.com/236x/17/44/ab/1744ab119bb536c1e800a13de8aa23e1.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Lois & Clark<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Universe Gym, Metropolis<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>A weekend in October and before 8:00PM<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Lois Lane and Chris Wolfman<br/><strong>Content:</strong>Superman experiences the struggles of being average.<br/><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">     Lois had invited Clark out to Universe Gym on what he would have liked to have been a date, but it had actually been an illegitimate business discussion. The young woman was on the treadmill with her long, dark-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. A black sports bra cradled her bosom and moisture-wicking spandex hugged her taut bottom and legs—<em>not that he was looking</em>. Her face shined with a light sweat and her blue eyes were focused up at the television set hanging overhead where a reporter was talking about the latest scoop. Was Wayne Enterprises responsible for funding terrorists? Lois didn’t believe it and neither did Clark. It seemed obvious that someone was trying to frame him and his company, but it was difficult to prove to the public. Just like any case, there always had to be evidence. In Mr. Wayne’s case, evidence to counter the evidence already presented.<br/><br/>     Lois panted softly. Her voice breathless as she spoke to her co-worker who was standing inactively next to her treadmill wearing a gray tracksuit. Clark was always so modest. Here he was standing in a gray track suit and was that a pink T-shirt under there? If it hadn’t been for his large, square-framed coke bottle glasses, then he might have actually looked cute.<br/><br/>     “It doesn’t make sense,” she panted.<br/><br/>     Clark had a white towel over his shoulder that hadn’t even been damp with sweat. “It doesn’t,” he replied.<br/><br/>     “Whoever was trying to frame Bruce Wayne could have at least tried to do a good job.”<br/><br/>     “Well, whoever it was convinced the public. While Mr. Wayne has many supporters in Gotham, other cities who haven’t been touched by his charities don’t sympathize.”<br/><br/>     “But who do you think would do this? Could it be a competitor? Someone who wants to see his company crumble?”<br/><br/>     Clark frowned in contemplation. Lois had no idea but he and the League had been trying to crack that nut for days. Even Batman was trying to do research on what little evidence they could provide him. The machine…he knew the machine had something to do with it.<br/><br/>     “And where did that machine come from? It had taken Superman, Shazam, and that alien chick—”<br/><br/>     Clark smiled in amusement as he corrected, “Starfire.”<br/><br/>     “…Starfire to even stop it. The government even had to send in their super lackeys. That was no normal machine Clark. That wasn’t a tank or some new attack helicopter prototype. That was a super weapon!”<br/><br/>     “Black Adam was there too. I don’t know why. Maybe Lex felt the destruction was getting too close to his business?”<br/><br/>     Lois looked over at him frowning in disbelief. “Yeah, what is up with their relationship? Black Adam and Luthor? What is going on here?”<br/><br/>     Clark shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you, but I know that we have a lot of potential interviews on our plate.”<br/><br/>     His brows then rose and eyes widened when Lois seemed to narrow her eyes at him. She continued to swing her arms to her smooth stride, her hands curled into fists.<br/><br/>     “Hey Clark, don’t let me stop you from working out,” she said.<br/><br/>     Smiling sheepishly, Clark grasped the back of his head and started to creep away. “Uh, yeah, you’re right. I’ll get on that.”<br/><br/>     He whirled around and recoiled in fear from nearly running into a musclebound man in a tiny tank top. Lois sighed in embarrassment as she resumed her jog.<br/><br/><strong>Weight Room</strong><br/><br/>     Clark was staring at an empty bench press rack, frowning a little in frustration. He never worked out in the human gyms, and he never thought the day would arrive when he would have to. The Watchtower had a more suitable training room for someone of his caliber, and now staring at the lone bar, he was at a loss of what was the proper lifting weight for someone of his size. He reached into his pants pocket to remove his cell phone to begin researching approximations when one of his co-workers at the Daily Planet, Chris Wolfman happened to notice him.<br/><br/>     The brunet man was grinning at Clark, watching him standing next to a bench press and on his phone. Why was he even at the gym? Maybe he didn’t know how to work out? Chris walked over to him with an entertained grin on his face. He raised his hand and hailed, “Clark!”<br/><br/>     Clark glanced up from his phone and upon seeing Wolf, he groaned on the inside. <em>This guy.</em> He lowered his phone as Chris walked over and gazed up at him, still smiling. “You decided to come out into the light! When did you start working out here?”<br/><br/>     Clark really had to fight the scowl that weighed on his lips. Even with his super strength, the magnitude of how much he thought this man was annoying, was stronger. He could only manage a straight face.<br/><br/>     “I..I don’t come here,” Clark explained.<br/><br/>     Chris’s brows crashed together as though he didn’t understand his response. If he didn’t come here, then why was he here? He then glanced over his shoulder, watching Lois approach. She ran a towel across her neck and cheeks as she stopped next to Clark. She grinned happily when seeing Chris and she greeted, “Hey Chris! You come here too?”<br/><br/>     Chris laughed, “Small world!”<br/><br/>     Clark watched as he slowly started to disappear. It always seemed to happen whenever Chris and Lois came within proximity of each other. He watched their exchange. The man’s brown eyes licking up and down her body, and although Lois was discreet about it, he saw her eyes checking out Chris’s pecs that were barely hidden behind the straps of his red torn tank. He could no longer resist. He was clearly frowning but neither Chris nor Lois noticed. They were too engrossed in each other.<br/><br/>     “So what are you doing here? Trying to maintain your figure I see. I’m sure you don’t even have to try,” Chris complimented.<br/><br/>     Lois blushed and laughed, “Oh, I try. You know, diet and exercise. It helps me decompress.”<br/><br/>     “I bet. You work hard, but it pays off. You’re the best journalist at the Daily Planet.”<br/><br/>     Lois giggled again. “Oh my god, stop.” Her fist lightly struck Clark in the arm and he blinked in surprise. Oh, so he wasn’t invisible anymore? “Clark is good too. He’s my partner in crime.”<br/><br/>     Clark couldn’t resist the pride he felt at her compliment. He beamed proudly and Chris seemed to stare at his smile with hidden envy. “Heh,” was all Wolf said before he faced the bench press and started to seek out some 45 lbs weight plates. “Well, I was about to teach Clark how to bench press.”<br/><br/>     Lois arched a curious brow and she looked up at him. “Really?”<br/><br/>     Clark’s mouth slightly fell open in shock. <em>This punk…</em> He looked down at Lois who was staring at him and closed his mouth. While, he wanted to call Chris a liar, he didn’t want to antagonize his own character in front of Lois.<br/><br/>     “Yep. I found him standing here on his cell phone,” Chris snitched.<br/><br/>     Lois crossed her arms beneath her bosom as she frowned up at Clark. Clark avoided her eyes as he thought about how much he was hating Chris at that moment. As Chris finished setting up the bench, he patted the bar and grinned at Clark.<br/><br/>     “Let’s start you off with something easy. 205 lbs,” Chris declared.<br/><br/>     Lois’s brows flew upwards and she uncrossed her arms. “Chris!”<br/><br/>     Chris blinked innocently looking between Lois and Clark. “What? Do I need to go lighter? He’s a pretty big guy so I figured this shouldn’t be too bad.”<br/><br/>     “Chris, that’s too much. Not even a normal guy could lift-”<br/><br/>     Clark held up his hand to Lois. “It’s all right Lois.”<br/><br/>     Lois stepped around his hand and faced him. “Clark, you don’t have to do this. I wouldn’t think of you any different if you chose not to do this. You don’t have to prove anything to him!”<br/><br/>     Chris smirked. “Yeah, Clark. If you’re afraid to lift it, you don’t have to. I understand.”<br/><br/>     Lois’s head whipped around so fast as she glared sharply at Chris. “Chris!”<br/><br/>     Clark stepped around Lois with a determined scowl. “It’s okay Lois. I can do it.”<br/><br/>     Chris slapped the bar in excitement and laughed. “Woo! Here he comes. Let’s go Clark. Let’s see if you’re more man than nerd!”<br/><br/>     Clark paused before leaning back on the bench to glare at Chris. Chris grinned impishly and quickly apologized, “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that. You just got me so pumped. I can’t believe you’re actually gonna do this!”<br/><br/>     Clark settled beneath the bar and reached up to find his grip. He briefly glanced over at Lois who was literally gnawing her thumb off in fear. He then realized what he was doing. Superman could easily lift this weight. It was nothing; but Clark…if his character lifted this weight, then it would change everything. Clark wasn’t strong. Closing his eyes, he sighed softly. He was about to over-inflate Chris’s ego.<br/><br/>     “You got this Clark! Let’s go!”<br/><br/>     “Stop it Chris! Let him focus!”<br/><br/>     Clark opened his eyes. His blue orbs shining with determination beneath his dark brows. He slowly lifted the dumbbell, feeling it out—he felt nothing which frightened him at first. He couldn’t make it look easy. No; it was going to be painful. He clenched every muscle in his face to force the blood to flush it over in his perceived struggle. He then vibrated his arm muscles, causing his arms to tremble. Add some bared teeth and strained grunts, and he felt that he had captured the struggle well. The dumbbell was slowly starting to lower. Clark’s back arched higher and it looked like his feet were near ready to come off the floor next.<br/><br/>     “Come on Clark! Push! It’s all you!” Chris cheered.<br/><br/>     Lois only saw her partner struggling. The bar was going to crush his throat! As soon as the bar got above his neck, an already clear warning sign, Lois couldn’t watch anymore. He wasn’t lifting it even at Chris’s constant barking. She raced over to grab the bar to Clark’s surprise.<br/><br/>     “Stop! Get it off him!” she shouted at Chris.<br/><br/>     Chris grasped the bar next and together they hefted the dumbbell back up to its perch. Clark gasped in relief and panted. He slowly sat up and bumped his head on the bar, gritting his teeth as he was painfully reminded to slide out from under it. Lois rested a hand on his shoulder as she asked in concern, “Clark are you okay?”<br/><br/>     Clark glanced at her pathetically, still out of breath, and answered, “Yeah. It was uh…heavier than I thought.”<br/><br/>     He rose off the bench and Chris immediately took his place. The brunet lifter got comfortable on the bench and instructed, “Here’s what you were doing wrong Clark.”<br/><br/>     Chris’s words never reached his ears as Clark mentally blocked him. He made it seem like he was watching and paying attention, but he wasn’t listening at all. He was so angry. He had to emasculate himself while Chris showed off to Lois how he could lift that set like nothing. After his demonstration of proper form, he added more weight as though he was trying to impress her. She watched, but she mostly seemed concerned for his well-being until she forgot that he was there again. Invisibility mode activate! As Chris showed off and joked on the bench press, getting her to giggle and forget about the lifting accident that nearly happened, it hadn’t been difficult for Clark to slip away. Chris had happily noticed him leave, but Lois didn’t. It wasn’t until after a giggle fit that she remembered Clark and turned around only to find him gone.<br/><br/>     “Oh my god, where’s Clark?” she asked.<br/><br/>     Chris shrugged as he started to return the plates to their racks. “I don’t know. He probably left. He did look a little humiliated.”<br/><br/>     Lois rested a hand against her forehead. “Oh no. He was probably so embarrassed. Chris, why did you do that?”<br/><br/>     Chris’s eyes went wide. “Why is this my fault? I didn’t make him lift it.”<br/><br/>     “No, but you had to be all,” she changed her voice to a deep tone that had a dash of douchebag in it, “<em>If you’re afraid to lift it!</em>”<br/><br/>     Chris arched a brow and pointed a finger at her. “First off, I don’t sound like that. Secondly…” He tried to think of something to say in his defense. Lois stared at him with crossed arms and a cocked hip. He lowered his hand and gave in. “Yeah, I probably coaxed him into it…”<br/><br/>     “Probably?”<br/><br/>     “Fine. I <em>did.</em> It’s my fault. I’ll apologize the next time I see him. Maybe I’ll bring coffee and donuts on Monday and the latest Tech Magazine.”<br/><br/>     “You <em>will</em> bring coffee and donuts with your apology but you don’t have to bring the magazine. I don’t think Clark reads that stuff.”<br/><br/>     “Yes, ma’am.”<br/><br/>     Chris then crossed his arms over the bench press bar and smirked at Lois. “Hey, what are you doing later?”<br/><br/>     Lois sighed as though just thinking about her schedule was exhausting. “I have to go prepare some notes for an interview I plan to set up with Bruce Wayne.”<br/><br/>     Chris blinked. “You got a meeting with Bruce Wayne?”<br/><br/>     “Not yet. I’m just preparing.”<br/><br/>     “Come on, it’s the weekend. Relax a little. Let’s go out somewhere and get a burger or something.”<br/><br/>     Lois hugged herself. “I don’t know…I still feel sorry for Clark…he’s probably going to be thinking about this all day.”<br/><br/>     “So give him a call and check on him, and then I’ll come pick you up at 8 so we can go get some Red Robin.”<br/><br/>     Lois smiled. “You really want to go to dinner with me, huh?”<br/><br/>     “Um, <em>yeah!</em> Who wouldn’t want to go to dinner with Lois Lane—best reporter?”<br/><br/>     She laughed softly and then turned her back, waving over her shoulder at him. “Fine. Pick me up at 8. You better be on time.”<br/><br/>     “You better be ready. I know how women can be.”<br/><br/>     As the two went separate ways, standing in the parking lot and using his X-ray vision and super hearing to pick up on the conversation was a pissed off Clark. His hands were clenched into tight fists. He turned and stormed away from the gym. He gets humiliated and Lois goes on a date with the dick? Was that how life worked?</span>