Band of Blue TOCChapter 14 Within seconds Clark found himself exactly where he didn’t want to be: standing directly in front of Lois Lane. He had sped across the street in less than a second and extended his hand just in time to catch the bullet just in front of her face. Clark had really not wanted to have a face to face confrontation with Lois as Superman, he was still unsure of his disguise. At that point Lois dropped the phone and stared in shock. Her mouth open, but no words emerging Clark, took the opportunity to speed off after the shooter.
Lois stared at the empty space in front of her. He’d been stood there a moment ago. She’d been talking to him on the phone then, all of a sudden, he’d been close enough to touch. Her heart was racing. She looked down at the ground and saw something glittering. Bending down she picked it up and turned to the light. It was a bullet, but it looked distorted ... buckled. She felt a wind at her back and looked back round to see he had returned.
“Superman,” she said in a breathy voice.
“This man shot at you, Miss Lane.” Superman had someone tied up and in his grip. “Do you recognise him and do you know why anyone would want to kill you?”
Lois opened her mouth to speak but no words came out again. She held up the misshapen bullet to show Superman and then tried again. “I’m sorry I don’t recognise him but there is one person who has already tried to kill me recently; District Attorney Sacks.” She paused and considered whether to continue in the explanation.
“I’ll take this man to the police station and give them your details to call for any more information. I’ll need to take the bullet as evidence also, Miss Lane.” Superman nodded to her hand.
“Oh, yes.” She held out her hand. When Superman’s fingers touched the palm of her hand to grasp the bullet she felt a tingle shoot up her arm. She withdrew her hand and massaged the centre of her palm.
“If you want to wait here, Miss Lane, I’ll be back in a few minutes to er ... continue our conversation.” Superman smiled at her and then he was gone again.
How can he move so fast? He is truly out of this world. Lois paced up and down outside the phone booth.
He’s coming back, she thought to herself.
He wants to finish the conversation ... interview that would be really. Lois felt the smile on her face and tried to suppress it, to put herself in professional mode, but she couldn’t.
I can’t believe I’m going to get the Superman interview. Just wait till I tell Clark in the morning. Lois pulled herself up short then.
Why would I think about Clark? After a few minutes Lois noticed she was feeling dizzy and she realised she had been walking round the phone booth in circles. She stopped and rested back against the side and closed her eyes.
“Miss Lane, are you alright?” came a deep voice. Lois’s eyes shot open immediately and she stood herself back up straight. She smiled and felt embarrassed to realise that it was a shy smile.
I’m never shy. “I’m fine, thank you, Superman.”
Lois watched as Superman took a deep breath then spoke again. “Are you ready for that interview now, or do you want to rest after that incident? I can contact you again in a few days.”
“No! Don’t move,” she shouted immediately. “Erm,” she continued softer, “sure you can move, just don’t fly away, alright.” Lois realised she was acting on impulse again, letting her mouth run away with her thoughts. She took a deep calming breath.
“Would you like to go somewhere more comfortable, Miss Lane?” Superman asked.
“Uh, sure,” she replied. Moments later she found herself in his arms, lifting into the air. She grabbed tight behind his neck as she felt the wind start to whip around her.
“Are you okay, Miss Lane?” he asked.
“Uh, yes,” she replied and gave a wan smile.
He could have given me a little warning, she thought. Looking up into his blue eyes she was instantly reminded of the first flight she took with him. When he turned and looked back into her eyes she felt like she was back in her dream.
Oh no, oh no, oh no, she thought to herself.
Must not lose myself back in that dream. It seemed only seconds later when Superman touched her down on her balcony at home. Her feet touched the ground and he stepped away from her. She still had her hands linked around his neck and it stopped him from moving.
“Oh, sorry.” Lois turned away embarrassed. “Erm ... why don’t you take a seat.” She waved a hand out behind her to the tiny seating area on her balcony. Rummaging around in her handbag she found her pad and pen. She took a deep, calming breath and then turned back round to face him.
Clark was becoming more and more amazed with his acting abilities. His heart was pounding constantly while flying with Lois and here she was about to interview him too, but ... somehow ... he was coming off as completely confident and in control. It was a good job he was sitting down, though, or he didn’t think he legs would support him.
Lois took a step forwards and struggled trying to pull out a chair to sit on. She finally put down her pad and pen then had both hands free. When she’d finally settled herself down and picked up her pad again she looked up at him.
“Let’s start with the facts. How old are you?” Lois seemed confident all of a sudden, after her nervous, clumsy attempt to sit down.
“Over 20,” replied Clark.
I’m going to have to be vague with some of these answers. That hadn’t occurred to him before.
“Oh, I get it. You don’t want anyone to know.” Lois made some notes. “How big are you? Er, how tall are you?” Maybe her confidence was also faked, like his.
“About six four.”
That was an easy one, Clark thought.
I bet they don’t stay this easy. “Six four ... And how much do you weigh?
“Around two ... two twenty five.”
“Two, two twenty five!” Lois looked up in shock. “Erm well I, um I assume then that the rest of your bodily functions are normal?”
“Sorry, beg your pardon,” Clark asked. What was she getting at?
“Well, to put it delicately can you ... eat?” Clark wondered if she’d really been going to ask about eating.
“Er yes, yes I do, when I’m hungry.” He thought especially about his mom’s pies.
Couldn’t do without those. “You do? Of course you do.” Lois giggled then looked down at her pad. Her next question came out very quietly. “Are you married?”
“Er no, no I’m not.” Was that relief he saw in her eyes?
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Erm no I don’t, but if I did, Miss Lane, you’d be the first to know about it.”
Because it would be you. Clark realised that it was what he was hoping for, but how to make it happen? Especially when she seemed more interested in Superman than Clark.
Clark watched as Lois faltered when writing her notes. She went quiet for a while then looked back up at him.
“Where did you come from?” Lois had a tone of wonder and confusion in her voice.
Clark stood up and strode away from the table. He hung his head. This was it; the difficult questions. This was also where he would find out if people would continue to accept him and talk about him with wonder in their voices after he told the truth.
“I’m not from around here,” Clark started, echoing the words his father said to him when the truth first came out. “I’m from another galaxy, another planet ... called Krypton.”
Clark heard no reply so he turned back to look at Lois. She was staring at him.
“Oh Krypton.” She shook herself out of the shock. “With a c r i ...”
“No actually it’s Krypton with a k r y ... p t o n.” Clark watched as Lois wrote it down. He stood facing her waiting for an emotional reaction to the knowledge he was an alien. Lois would be his first clue as to how the world would view him. She stopped writing then looked back up.
“Why did you come here? How did you come here?” She was frowning.
“I was sent here ... in a spaceship ... to escape.” Clark turned away again. Avoiding any reference to timescale he went on. “You see, Krypton no longer exists. It was destroyed. There is no planet there anymore.”
He heard Lois’s shocked intake of breath. “How ... how many of you escaped?”
“I ... as far as I am aware,” Clark turned around to look her directly in the eyes, “I’m the only one.” He kept looking straight into her eyes as she stood from her chair. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest.
Can she feel my heart beating? “I’m so sorry. I lost my mom when I was younger, but I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose a whole planet.”
Clark stared at Lois intently. He didn’t know how to answer her. He’d never really considered it. It didn’t feel like he’d lost anything because he had no memory of it. Earth was, and always had been, his home. Yet ... somehow ... her words touched him and he felt a feeling of loss enter his heart. A different life, a different family had been his original destiny. Now he was here, with a destiny bigger than a whole world. Could he live up to it? Would the people accept him?
Lois looked away from Superman’s eyes. Something in them in that moment had held her captive. She removed her hand from his chest and stepped backwards. Turning back to the table she picked up her notepad. Walking away, her back to Superman she tried to think of some more questions. What would the world want to know? What did Perry want to find out?
What do I want to know? “Er ... so, why are you here?” she asked, knowing that a nervous tone had shown in her voice.
“I’m here to help. I want the people to feel safe. I want criminals to be brought to justice.”
“That’s very noble of you.” Lois turned back and smiled at him. “But that’s a full time job. Don’t you ever rest?”
“I rest, Miss Lane. But I’m also always on duty, if you understand.” She did. Knowing, or believing, that he had a civilian identity she reasoned that he meant he wasn’t always dressed as Superman but he was constantly vigilant.
“How about some light-hearted trivia?” Lois smiled and raised her eyebrows in question.
“Trivia?” Superman replied.
“Yes, the public always likes to know random information about superstars.” Lois saw Superman mouth the word ‘superstar’ in surprise. “So, who’s your favourite football team?”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark made it home in the early hours of the morning. After giving Lois the ‘Superman Interview’ he had patrolled the city. Civilians were beginning to accept his presence, not acting quite as surprised when he turned up. Criminals were running from him on sight. Not that it helped; Clark always caught them in seconds.
As he walked past the kitchen table his eyes noticed something in the dark; an envelope. Picking it up he read his name on the front. Clark tore the envelope open as he walked up the stairs to his room.
Smallville High Reunion
He scanned the details as he stood in front of his dresser. It was just over a month off but he needed to reply within a week.
Do I want to go? Should I take someone with me? One name sprang to mind immediately: Lois.
Clark laid the invitation down next to his special box and opened up the top. The blue beads from Chloe’s BFF band were scattered in there but it also contained two other items. One was an even more recent addition than the blue kryptonite beads; the crystal given to him by Tess Mercer. He picked it up and held it in his hands for a few moments.
‘You will know what to do with them.’ She’d said that to him as she’d passed them over, but he didn’t. He frowned down at the crystal then put it back. He reached for the third item. This had been in the box for over ... five? six? years now. His high school ring. He still remembered the arguments he’d had with his dad after spending three hundred dollars on it. He’d worn it for about a week to prove to his dad that it was his decision to make and his money to spend but he’d finally realised that it just looked ridiculous. It was too large and chunky to be classy and the red stone just looked fake ... somehow too red to be a real ruby. Clark had kept the ring in this box ever since.
Shall I wear it on the night just to honour school? He waggled the ring between his fingers then put it back down, closing the box over the three items.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anything to say?
