Band of Blue TOCChapter 33 “Lois Lane, will you marry me?” Lois looked down at the man on bended knee in her bedroom. Oh ... oh ... oh! Her mind raced; so many conflicting thoughts.
It’s too soon. It’s just perfect after such a magical night. I’m not the marrying type. He’s so perfect for me. She saw the expectation on his face. He was waiting for an answer. Whether it was to the marriage question or just that she would wait seven years for him she needed to give him an answer. In the end just one thought kept repeating.
I love him. “Yes!” she smiled and he stood and enfolded her in his strong arms. His lips met hers and he sealed the deal with a burning kiss. He imprinted himself on her very soul. She could no more forget him in the next seven lonely years than she could forget her own name. As the sun rose behind her the dawn light brightened her bedroom. She looked into Clark’s eyes and smiled. He returned the smile and she saw the love in his eyes as the light touched his face. Suddenly the emotion was gone and there was a strain on his face. He looked down and broke eye contact. She reached out a hand.
“Clark?”
“No!” he whispered, then grunted in pain. He had hold of her upper arms and he gripped tight. Lois could feel his fingers. He seemed to lose his balance and dropped to the floor a little. He managed to catch himself quickly and steady his stance by keeping hold.
“Clark? What is it?” she asked. When he brought his face up to look at her she saw absolute shock in his eyes.
“No!” he shouted this time. Lois watched as Clark seemed to stare at the wall, then he ran off a few paces. Finally he looked down at the floor in absolute concentration. “He took them away.” His voice was a whisper.
“What?” Lois felt confused. You were not supposed to feel this way just after getting engaged. There should be hugs and kisses and ... but not this strange, worrying behaviour.
Clark looked up and strode to her quickly. He took hold of her upper arms again. “He took my powers. Jor-El took them away as punishment for not returning to him.”
“But you were going to return, you just told me. That’s why you proposed.” She argued his case for him, not that his father could hear.
“I know, but he’s taken them anyway.”
“Can he do that?” Lois found her voice squeaking a little in surprise.
“Apparently.”
“Wait, wait, wait a minute. Jor-El. That’s your father’s name?”
“Yes, didn’t I mention that before?”
“No. It sounds familiar.” Lois racked her brain.
Something. Months ago. A library, no a mansion. “El. El. Kal-El.”
“That’s my Kryptonian name. How do you know that name?” Clark asked in shock.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark sat at Lois’s kitchen table; strong, hot coffee in his hands. Lois held out a little recording machine and pushed play.
I assume you know about my studies of marine biology. I guess that’s as good a place to start as any. I was hired by LuthorCorp as part of an obscure project over ...
Miss Mercer. Are you alright?
It was a project ... argh.
Shall I get someone, I can call for your assistant?
Blank noise
Drawers opening
Miss Mercer? ... Tess?
You have been with Kal-El recently. Tell me where he is. I must get these crystals to him.
Hold on there. What’s going on here?
These crystals belongs to Kal-El. I must find him. It is his destiny.
Now look here, I don’t know anyone called Kal-El and I don’t appreciate this Twilight Zone twist to the interview. If you don’t want to talk to me then why did you let me in?
Blank noise
Look, I’ll go and find someone. At the sound of Tess Mercer’s voice saying his Kryptonian name Clark looked up in shock.
“This is from an interview I had with Tess Mercer soon after she was appointed CEO of LuthorCorp. I thought it rather strange at the time but never looked into it.”
Clark wasn’t sure what to say. His memory took him back to the meeting he had with Tess Mercer in an alleyway. She had passed the stones onto him and called him Kal-El. He had also thought it strange but never pursued the matter. In fact, it all fell into place - how she would have the stones - once he knew that it had started with Lex visiting the Arctic. She had then found them when looking for the missing CEO.
“What are the crystals she talks about? If they belong to you shouldn’t we go and get them from her?”
“Er. I already did,” he replied and took a drink. “Well, actually, she found me and gave them to me.”
“She knows?” Lois shouted and looked shocked and terrified at the same time.
“No. She was under the influence of the stones at the time and I was Superman.” They both sat in silence for a while. Clark considered his options.
Without my powers I don’t have to go and train, I don’t need to leave Lois. He looked up and took in her beauty. Even in bunny pyjamas and slippers she was stunning. The thought of not leaving set off visions of time he could spend with Lois. Time he could feel slipping away when he heard the high-pitched peal of a siren pass by in the street below. He saw Lois turn to look out the window, as if to follow the sound.
“The stones are what created the Fortress,” he told her. “I told you that it was at the North Pole, but there is a way to get there ... from Smallville.” She nodded. He knew that she had already figured out what he was going to say. “I need to go now, Lois.” She nodded again. “If I don’t return ... if you don’t hear from me in a few days ... will you make the necessary arrangements at The Planet?”
“Seven years. I know.” She spoke quietly and subdued.
Suddenly Clark could contain his emotions no longer and he stood, shoving back his seat. He strode round to her and pulled her up into his arms and covered her mouth with his. When they finally parted both were breathing heavily.
“You need to go, Clark. I’ll be waiting for you, whether it’s seven hours or seven years.”
Clark took Lois’s hands in his. “Lois ...” he took a breath. “I know you’ve promised to wait but I’ll understand if things have changed when I return. Seven years is a long time. And we have only known each other a few months.” She smiled at him.
“Thank you Clark. You are right. Things might change and I’m sorry if they do. But ... I don’t think they will change.”
“I love you, Lois,” he said one last time then dropped a kiss to her nose and strode off.
She called after him and he stopped at the open door. “I love you, Clark.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark stood in the caves, key in hand.
This better work. I need to convince my father that I meant to return. I didn’t realise he meant immediately. I presumed I could put everything correctly in order. I hope he believes me. He stepped forwards and held out the octagonal disk.
Please work. He was engulfed in a bright light and when it faded he breathed a sigh of relief.
The Fortress. First hurdle passed. He stepped forward, heading for the main console.
“Jor-El.” He shouted out to the disembodied voice hoping for an immediate reply. “Jor-El, I came back.”
“Kal-El. You did not keep up your end of our bargain.” The phrase from his head while still at Lois’s apartment was now spoken aloud.
“I
have kept the bargain. I’m here now.”
“Only because I took away your powers.”
“No.” He turned around and shouted louder. “No! I was going to return. I just needed to leave my human life in order before disappearing. You didn’t give me enough time.”
“You had until the sun rose. You failed.”
“But you never told me that. You never said there was a time limit.” He paused and waited for another reply. “Jor-El?” He waited again. “Father?” he tried.
“Son, I believe you. Welcome home.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Davis banged and banged on the walls around him. “Help. Can anyone hear me?” His voice became weaker and quieter. The desperation was gone, replaced by exhaustion. He slid to the floor and gave a last, hopeless bang on the wall then faded into unconsciousness.
Hours later IT woke. Darkness surrounded it. There was silence. No sound. It listened carefully eventually picking up the sound of its own breathing, its own heartbeat. Standing to its feet it felt around and encountered the steel walls. When it became clear that it was imprisoned a rage began to grow in its belly. The rage grew until it escaped its mouth in a large scream and it brought its fist against the wall.
It felt good; to let out its rage. So it continued to strike the wall.
Bang, bang, bang, bang. After a while it heard the metal tearing and it stopped to laugh. Turning back to the wall it continued to strike its bony fist into the metal.
Bang, bang, bang, bang. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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