The Dating Game: Prologue

The Dating Game Summary: Clark has a strange dream that he is a contestant on a game show where he has to choose between the 3 women in his life. Little does he realise that this is foreshadowing a real choice he will soon have to make. Disclaimer: I don't own the characters I use in this story. They belong to DC comics. Author's Note: This story was inspired by `He's an Idiot' by Aremke. ---------------------------------- Prologue Ok Clark Kent has found himself in a lot of strange situations over the years. After all he's Superman and weird stuff happens to him but this is surely the strangest situation he has ever been in. An announcer speaks. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to The Dating Game. Tonight's contestant hails all the way from Krypton, via Smallville in Kansas and then onto Metropolis. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's Superman!" The crowd cheers wildly. The announcer continues. "Since Superman possesses x-ray vision…" The audience oohs. "there is no point in keeping his potential dates hidden. So lets bring them out." The first one steps out and Clark's eyes widen. "Lana?" The announcer introduces her. "Bachelorette number 1 hails from Smallville in Kansas. She grew up with our Superman here when he was just known as Clark Kent and get this ladies and gentlemen...they were childhood sweethearts." The audience aws and Clark buries his head in his hands. What strange world has he fallen into? The announcer continues. "Lana Lang, single mother, describes herself as a sweet down-to-earth girl. She's a homemaker, a diplomat," the announcer pauses, "a passionate lover." Lana looks a little embarrassed at that while Clark is a lot embarrassed. That is information he does not need to know. "She is the most dependable best friend any man could ask for," the announcer finishes as Lana takes her seat. "Lets bring out Bachelorette number 2 shall we?" the announcer asks the audience who cheer in response. Clark dreads who is next and he is right to. "Bachelorette number 2 hails from the long lost island of Themyscira. Her name is Diana but she is known to the world as Wonder Woman. While she may be a warrior she too is a diplomat, an ambassador spreading a message of peace. She consider herself Superman's best friend and when they first met thought he was a god. A little known fact is that when Diana and Kal, as she likes to call him, went on their first date the first thing he did was to kiss her." Clark's head is back in his hands. Oh god. Where are the kryptonite bullets because please someone shoot him now. He can't believe the announcer mentioned that. He still can't believe he did that and in fact to this day he isn't sure why he did it. "Diana is someone who you can rely on in battle to always have your back and she loves Superman both as a hero and as the ordinary man known as Clark Kent," the announcer adds as Diana takes her seat next to Lana. "And finally ladies and gentlemen, Bachelorette number 3." Clark looks up but he has a terrible feeling who it is. She walks out and he was right. It's Lois. "Lois Lane had no settled home growing up as her father was in the air force and was constantly moving around. She now consider Metropolis her home where she spent many years working her way up to be one of the Daily Planet's best reporters." "Hey!" Lois shouts interrupting. "Not one of the best. The best reporter." Clark rolls his eyes. Typical Lois. The announcer apologises. "Yes of course. The best reporter at the Daily Planet. She is a single minded career girl except when Superman is around. She has dated Superman but overlooks Clark Kent as a klutzy but never-the-less nice guy. She considers him a friend but does not see him as a prospect for a romance. While Lois is not a diplomat she is a ballsy in your face woman unafraid to tell someone if their wrong and if there is a truth to be found you can bet Lois Lane will find it, regardless of risk." Lois sits down next to Diana. "Ladies and Gentlemen our 3 bachelorettes. Lets give them a hand shall we." The audience applauds. "Now we get to the main crux of our show where our bachelor has to choose one of these lovely ladies to spend the rest of his life with." Clark looks horrified. "What!? Don't I get to ask them questions or something?" "Oh but Kal-El what could you ask about these woman that would tell you something you don't already know," the announcer says in a strangely serious voice. Clark couldn't answer that because the guy, assuming the disembodied voice is a guy, is right. These are the 3 women he knows the most about. The 3 woman he cares about but does he love any of them enough to spend his life with them. Lana was his childhood sweetheart. He spent most of his teenage years dreaming of her but that was puppy love as his mother calls it. He still cares about her. She is still beautiful, perhaps even more so as the years have added curves to her appearance. He loves woman with curves even if he will never admit that openly. Lana certainly loved him as just plain old Clark but they have never tried being together when he is Superman as well. Would Lana be able to cope with that? Does he love Lana enough to spend what would be the rest of her life not his with her? Clark doesn't know. Moving on to Diana. What can he say about the person who is arguably his best friend in the world. Of course she is beautiful. She was gifted by Aphrodite herself with beauty and when he first met her he was totally awe struck. She is powerful like him and over the years they have developed a deep bond but she is also a princess and he is a farmer's son. That is always how he sees himself. That is why a relationship with her is impossible. He isn't royalty or rich and she deserves so much more than he can ever give her. He often compares it to being like the prom queen and the computer geek. In reality it just isn't going to happen no matter what he feels for her. That leaves Lois. Lois is…well Lois. She is beyond description in many ways and at first her acerbic attitude bugged the hell out of him. She looked down on him at first. He was a yokel from Kansas who had trespassed on her territory but she has softened on him. In her more honest moments she calls him her friend. Friend. That is the problem. Clark is a friend. It is Superman that Lois loves. At least he thinks it is love. It is hard to 100% sure due to the awe he always sees in her eyes when he is Superman. He has a hard time separating the awe from her true feelings because for all her bluster Lois is not good at expressing her feelings. What does he feel for Lois? Hard one. He loves the way she challenges and confronts him constantly. Yeah he knows that sounds odd but he has a tendency to get stuck into ruts and every so often he needs a metaphorical kick up the backside. Of course Diana can do that and give him a physical kick as well but he is off thinking about Lois. The bottom line with Lois is could she love the Clark Kent part of him? Clark Kent is who he truly is and truth be told he doesn't know for certain if Lois could love Clark. So who does he pick? He can name reasons for all 3 why it would work and he can pick reasons why it wouldn't. The bottom line is which one do the good points outweigh the bad. He doesn't know. He really doesn't know. "Ok I think that is enough thinking time," the announcers says. "Time to choose. Will it be Bachelorette 1, 2 or 3?" Clark looks at all 3. Which one? Which one? "Um number…" "Yes," the announcer says encouraging him. "Number…" "Go on Clark. Deep down you know which one you want," the announcer says in a weird moment of plain speaking. "Number…" Clark shoots up in bed with sweat pouring down his face. That was the strangest dream he has ever had. He gets up and heads to the bathroom and splashes cold water on his face. He looks at his reflection in the mirror. "Alright," he tells his reflection. "We are never having Lois' casserole again. Got it? Good." With that Clark heads back to bed trying not to think about the meaning of his dream as it pertains to the women in his life but soon, whether he wants to or not, he will have to make a choice about who is the right woman for him. ---------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note: I first intended this to be a one-shot but soon realised I could write a story off of it of having Clark finally decide what woman he wants to end up with so there will be more of this story coming. Ben.