"Umm, I guess we are," Clark said, reluctantly.
"Yes you certainly are!" the salesman said with a smile. "And what a splendid couple you are, too!"
"We're not um, actually a couple," Clark explained, while Lana crossed her arms aloofly in front of her slender chest. "But we are good friends, very good friends."
Lana pursed her lips and looked at Clark but didn't say anything.
The salesman cleared his throat to fill the silence. "So, what will it be then? I know that a little muscle can help any situation."
Lana opened her purse and took out two folded $20 bills. "Surprise me," she said, coolly, giving Clark a sideways look.
"And you, sir?" he asked Clark
"Oh, thanks, but I, er, don't need any."
"Now that's where you're wrong, young man. There isn't a man in the world who doesn't need a little more muscle," he replied, clapping Clark on the back. "You've a solid frame, to be sure, but a little more size wouldn't hurt. And remember, it's 50% off when two go together, even if they're 'just friends'."
"Well," Clark said hesitantly, looking over the machine. "Can you tell me a little about it first? Where does it come from? Why is it green and mean?"
The salesman looked at the line forming and pulled out an information sheet. "Let's see. The machine was built in Chicago, using lead and some rare minerals found in the midwest, so it's All American! The minerals are what gives it its green color."
"What are the minerals?"
"I don't know. It doesn't say here."
"What's mean about the machine?"
"Why nothing, I'm sure. I suppose it's mean because it rhymes with green and machine! And although satisfaction is never guaranteed, I've had many many happy customers. "
"Come on, Clark. Let's just do it."
"All right." He pulled out his own $20 bills and gave them to the salesman and then the two of them entered. The salesman rubbed his hands and started the machine, which began humming loudly and took longer than usual, until the salesman grew impatient. Finally the ding sounded, louder than before. Clark staggered out, looking slightly more muscular than before, but breathing hard and wearing a worried expression. He stared intently at the ground and at the salesman. He held onto a nearly stand for a large plant and pulled on it, but it stayed on the floor of the mall. Now he looked even more worried.
"Now son, if you wanted to be THAT strong, you should have given me a lot more than $40, even with the discount," the salesman lectured. "But you'll have to go to the back of the line if you want to try again. It's only fair."
"Ahem," Lana said as she stepped out of the machine. The salesman and Clark turned toward her. Lana looked radiant, even though she was only slightly more muscled than before, and her feet barely touched the ground as she walked. "Thank you," she said breezily to the salesman. She slipped her fingers inside one of the beltloop's of Clark's jeans and pulled him away from the machine.
She stood up on her toes, or possibly even higher, to put her lips next to Clark's ear. "I've got your powers," she said quietly, putting her hand around his shoulders and keeping a firm grip on him. He gasped and tried to pull away, but she chuckled and held him in place. "Don't be silly. I'm millions of times stronger than you."
"I can't believe it!" Clark exclaimed. "One of those green minerals in the machine must be kryptonite! It must have absorbed my powers into the energy source and then transferred them to you." He stared at Lana, imagining all of his powers in her petite, feminine body.
"You may be right! What if this machine gives superpowers to everyone else who goes into it?" Lana suggested, raising her eyebrows. "I'd better destroy it right away, so that the wrong kind of person doesn't become, you know, a super-wrong person." She turned toward the machine, ready to use her new heat vision to reduce it to a puddle of metal.
Clark pulled on her arm. "No! Wait! That machine could be the only opportunity I'll have to get my powers back."
Lana stopped and smiled. "You're probably right. But can we really take that chance? There's a very long line, Clark. A lot of people will go through it before you get another turn, and by then, who knows how much of your powers will be left in there?" She tightened her grip on him unconsciously and he winced with pain.
"Um sir," he said, going back to the salesman, "I need to go back in there!"
"Second thoughts already, young man?" the salesman said, leaving his next customer momentarily while she considered her options. "I'm afraid you will have to wait. You should have paid more at the time. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Lana chuckled and hooked her arm inside his. "Hmmph. Thinking only of yourself, as usual Clark. Well, I suppose we can wait on line together and see who else uses the machine before you do."
"Before WE do," Clark said, correcting her as she pulled him away.
"Ho, ho, no way, Mr. Kent," she replied, eyes flashing. "Do you think I'm going to go inside again and take a chance it will take these powers AWAY from me? I don't mind helping you, but not at the cost of losing what I have now!"
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