Vol 2 Ch 45

Loki adjusted his tie as he looked at the mirror in the lobby. He cut a dashing figure with a dark green suit with a light green tie. There were still 10 minutes to the dinner reservation. Loki felt completely unsure of himself right now. 

Loki took a few deep breaths.

"For Ace." He said to himself.

It was during this contemplation that he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he completely froze.

"Mr Loki." A familiar voice called behind him.

Loki turned around and saw a large, hunched guy with glasses. Loki could swear that he had seen him somewhere before. A woman was accompanying him.

"I am Clark, and this is Lois. We are reporters from Daily Planet." Clark said. There was a smile on his face, but that smile did not reach his eyes.

The woman with him panicked when she looked at Clark and quickly took his arms within her own. "My apologies Mr Loki. We both followed your story for a long time. There has been talk within the grapevine of you writing a few books. My husband could not resist asking a few questions. " She began to pull Clark away. "We need to leave. I think that our table is free now."

With those words, she pulled Clark away.

Lois sighed in relief. While walking, she nudged Clark in the stomach. It would not hurt him, but she was making a point. She sighed. What had she gotten herself into? The worst thing would be the fact that she would not be able to listen to anything. She did not have any power of super hearing after all. That was until Clark had given her a device. He gestured for her to put it in her ear.

Lois did so and looked at him speculatively. They both had been seated, and so Clark began to explain. "This device limits our hearing to that of a normal person. When Karen first came to Earth, she panicked because of the sheer amount of voices and sounds she was hearing. I used this device to help get her used to her super hearing." Clark sighed. "It can also work in reverse, amplifying sound from a particular direction."

Lois took his hand and squeezed it in appreciation as they both opened the menu and began to look through it.

Meanwhile, Loki, after that conversation, began to look around and search for Karen.

Soon, he saw her enter the lobby. Loki waved at her, and she smiled at him.

"Mr Loki, Did you wait long?" She asked when she reached him.

"No, I did not," Loki answered. Loki looked at her, wearing a Black satin dress. He could not speak as he looked at her.

Karen felt the same. This was her first date. Make no mistake, Krypton as a planet was completely different from Earth. There was a rigid hierarchy in Krypton. Each individual was a genetically created clone, all for the express purpose of fulfilling their role. She and Kal El were the only natural-born children in Krypton. This was new to her.

She looked at Loki, and somehow, the color combination of green brought out the best within him. His own natural green eyes brought out more of his charm. They were lost in each other's charm until the receptionist approached them.

"Mr Loki and Miss Karen. Your table is ready, please follow us."

That broke whatever spell they had on each other as they followed the receptionist.

Soon, both of them were sitting at the table while they were awkwardly looking at the menu. 

Loki tried to understand the menu; he did, but it was all written in French. He had no idea what was written. The same was the case with Karen. She had yet to learn that language.

She got an idea. Loki may have eaten dishes like these so he would have a better idea of what to order.

"So, what would you recommend from here." Both of them said at the same time.

They both paused as they looked at each other.

"I cannot afford this restaurant on my salary. I also don't speak French." Karen explained.

Loki sighed. "I just woke up a little while ago. I have no idea how to speak French and what these dishes are."

Both of them looked at each other in confusion. The atmosphere around them was tinged with awkwardness.

"Let's ask the waiter, and we will take whatever he recommends," Loki suggested.

And so Loki called over the waiter.

"Please, bring whatever the chef recommends and some of your most expensive wine for me and the Lady." Loki smiled as he looked at the waiter.

"J'arrive." The waiter said as he left. (I will be right back.)

With the waiter gone, Loki looked at Karen. "You wanted to talk to me about Ace." His voice had a rare sense of worry.

That was one of the things she wanted to talk about. "Yes, Ace has been doing well in class. I find her very gifted, to the point that we may even move her up a few grades." There was a smile on her face.

"Can such a thing be delayed?" Loki had asked. Seeing the look in her eyes, Loki continued to explain. "It's just that when I found Ace, she was not in a good place. I want her to form a connection with her peers and have some fun. Enjoy her childhood a little longer."

"I understand, Mr. Loki." 

"Is Ace in any trouble?"

There was a rare hint of a smile on Karen's face as she said. "No, she is not." And so Karen started to talk about Ace's actions in class. As Karen continued, Loki relaxed as he realized that his daughter was not in any trouble.

Loki smiled and told her about the pranks his daughter played at home. It was during this discussion that their food had finally arrived. Two dishes were placed in front of them.

"Foie Fras, Gentleman, and Lady, please enjoy." The waiter had dropped their food and refilled their glasses with wine. Both of them ate and chatted.

"So, I was reading your book, and I have a question." There was a pause as Loki waited for her question. "Why did you have to kill Haku? You could have let him live. He did not deserve that."

And so Loki was once more speechless as she began to rant at him. He looked at the glass and realized that it was empty. Was she drunk? She was raising a commotion, and the other patron's eyes were focused on their table.

"How unruly." Loki heard a mutter.

"What did you say?" Karen turned around and looked at the source of the words.

"This is not your place." A woman answered. "I can see you are unused to this place; you don't even know what the menu says. Trash should be trash and should eat like trash."

Loki heard various guffaws within the room. This was starting to get annoying.

"Is this your first time here? No, I don't think a country bumpkin should even be here." Karen stood up, and the woman was also near her. A fan in her hand as she spoke. "You should eat with your kind, so violent and uncultured."

Before the woman could continue, she reared back as she was struck in the face. Her hand went to her face, and as she looked at her hand. She realized that someone had thrown their food at her face.

The entire restaurant was silent until a man stood up and yelled. "Who dares?"

For his word, he got struck in the face. This time, it was Karen's entire plate. During this time, Loki grabbed Karen by the hand and began to pull her towards the exit. He threw a big wad of cash on the table and ran.

Or at least he tried to run, but he could not pull Karen away.

It took a moment for Karen to realize what had happened as she ran towards the door. Loki dragged along with her.

(Later)

Karen and Loki were both in a local burger joint.

"See, I told you the best burgers in the entirety of Metropolis," Karen told Loki.

"This is so much better," Loki said as he licked his fingers. He decided that from now on if he ever returned to Asgard, he would bring these so-called French Fries with him. Asgard had no potatoes. No matter, he would always keep a few kilograms of potatoes with him, as well as a few seeds. French Fries are the undisputed king of all foods. Easy to make and so fun to eat.

"Sorry about embarrassing you," Karen said, looking down slightly.

"I think I embarrassed myself more. I threw the food." Loki said with one hand scratching behind his head. "Besides, this is better. It has more soul in it."

They ate in silence until Loki made a request. "Please look after Ace for me."

Karen smiled at him. "Of course I will. She is my brightest student."

And as they spent their remaining time in silence, enjoying their food.

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(Lois and Clark POV)

Clark and Lois were present as they looked down from the balcony opposite where Loki and Karen were talking. 

"So Smallville, they look cute together, don't they?" Lois asked.

Clark did not answer her. He was feeling complicated right now.

Lois continued. "A man out of time and a girl from another planet. It makes a good tale, does it not."

"So, he was not looking to get in your sister's pants. He was just making sure that his daughter was doing all right."

"That he was." Clark finally replied.

He remembered the entire date.

Loki mostly talked about his daughter, and they both moved towards his book. His sister had started to get emotional about Loki's book. He would have to read it as well. Then, when, his sister had caused a scene. Instead of trying to apologize, he contributed to the mess.

Clark himself was a country boy. Seeing his little sister being berated, he wanted to shield her by apologizing. He disapproved of Loki's method, but he could not hold anything against Loki. The way he had brought the smug bastards down had brought a smile to his face. He was also happy that Loki had not taken advantage of his sister.

"Let's give them both some privacy," Clark said.

Lois laughed. "So, you approve."

"After, I have a friendly chat with him," Clark said as he palmed his fist—the result causing some wind to rise with him as the epicenter."

Well, get to reading." Lois threw a book at him. "We have an interview with him in the coming days."

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(Author's note)

Sorry guy, next chapters will focus on Betty. And her development arc. It will also focus on Ross as well. Also, how Ace and Garfield will ask for training.