Free Falling, Part 8
By: C. Leuch
Tom Owens stood anxiously on the front porch of his home, craning his neck to look up into the sky, seeing nothing but the usual sights – birds, insects, the occasional passing aircraft, clouds. It had been maybe five minutes since Matt had called, asking him if he wanted to have supper with them in Gotham City. He had said yes without a second thought, anxious to have to opportunity to see his granddaughter again. Then Matt had explained that they would be dining at Wayne manor, with the Waynes and their children, and it had caused him to pause, if only for a moment. Tom wasn’t someone who was overawed with celebrity, and unlike his wife, he couldn’t care less about their lives, preferences, or political affiliations. As far as he was concerned, people were just people, but it was easy enough to say that coming from a world where celebrities were very far away. Faced with the prospect of dining with one…it was a little heady. But then he remembered that he had already dined with a much bigger celebrity – Superman, of all people – and the headiness passed.
The fact that Superman was now a family member was taking a while to get used to. It was odd to think of him as just another man on the street, a man with a family, no less. But it made sense. What made absolutely no sense was the fact that Superwoman had chosen his son to start a family with. Tom had always found Laura Kent to be incredibly beautiful, much more beautiful than any hypothetical girl that he had ever dreamt would be interested in his son. But every time he saw them together, it was evident just in the way that they acted around each other, the way that they looked at each other, that they were deeply in love. He was proud to have her as his daughter-in-law, and that pride only grew once he found out who she really was. But the pride came with concern, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been worried about her over the last day or two, ever since she came crashing down on their lawn. Even now that she supposedly had her powers back, he found that the concern remained, and he supposed it probably always would. Knowing that she was out there doing outwardly dangerous things, putting her life at risk…. It was probably twice as bad for Matt, he realized with a pang. It was his wife out there, doing those things. How he could stand watching her walking into fires or flying out into space Tom didn’t know.
Suddenly, a form appeared next to him, feminine, clad in black spandex with a metallic pink S shield on her chest. Tom startled, then placed a hand over his heart to calm himself, realizing it was Laura. “Sorry about that,” she said, putting her hands his shoulders to steady him. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He took a couple deep breaths and calmed himself, shaking his head as he did. “No need to apologize. I guess I’m just not used to it.”
“I didn’t want the neighbors to see me coming here like this,” she muttered, and he smiled.
“It’s fine, really,” he said, and she removed her hands from him. “So, uh, how does this work?”
“Well, typically, I would put my arm around your waist,” she said, moving beside him and demonstrating. “And you can put your arm around my shoulder, or wherever you’re comfortable, I guess.”
He tentatively reached his arm up toward her shoulder, but shied away before touching her. It just felt wrong touching his son’s wife like that, but before he could withdraw his hand, she was rising up into it, and suddenly they were both no longer on the ground. He was aware of letting out a yelp as they rose quickly, his hand now clutching at her shoulder with a death grip. She laughed lightly. “So, I see everything’s back to normal,” he said, the ground flashing by below his at an alarming rate, though he could barely feel any air hitting his face.
“As normal as it gets for me, I guess,” she answered with a wrinkle of her nose. Even behind the mask, he could see her, recognize her face clearly, and he wondered how it was that he had never seen it before. Perhaps he had never really looked.
“So what caused the problem?”
She gestured toward the sky with her free hand. “The sun. That’s what makes the powers work. Someone did something to block out some of the light frequencies, and prevented my powers from recharging. We fixed it.”
“Ah,” he said, not letting himself think too deeply about that. How the light frequencies from the sun could change, he wasn’t quite sure, but he was willing to take the statement at face value, knowing that there would probably be news stories in the coming days explaining it more deeply. After clearing the thoughts from his head, he took the opportunity to look around. The ground seemed so far away, more like an abstract canvas than anything real. People couldn’t be distinguished from the rest of the landscape, and the works of nature and man all seemed to blend together into something greater than they were when separate. It was beautiful. “Bet this is all old hat for you – the flying and all,” he said. “But do you ever just…stop and look around? Enjoy the perspective from up here?”
She gave him a knowing glance. “Quite often, actually,” she said. “It’s a great way to de-stress, and it’s so quiet. Sometimes, when the city seems too close or my problems seem like they’re too much, I’ll come up here and float…let my mind wander.”
“If I could do that, I think I wouldn’t need to worry about blood pressure anymore,” he said, and she smiled at him. It was a comfortable conversation that never pried too deep below the surface, and it continued along those lines for the rest of the relatively short flight to Gotham. Did she miss it when she couldn’t fly? Did she ever bring her husband up there? What’s her favorite thing about flying, aside from the convenience? Tom never considered himself much of a deep thinker, and he never cared much about the intimate details of the lives of others. The mundane things were interesting enough to him, and he was perfectly content with the answers. Laura, for her part, was gracious and straightforward, even though she had every reason to be shy in his presence. She was, after all, more of a stranger to him than he had ever realized. He hoped this conversation would go a long way toward changing that.
Upon arriving in Gotham, Laura flew straight to a large stone mansion situated on a rocky outcropping in the middle of the city, surrounded by trees. They swooped in so quickly that everything moved as a blur, and before Tom really knew what was happening, they had come to a stop on a patio next to a set of french doors. He was disoriented for a moment as the world seemed to catch up to them, then, after a gust of wind, he saw that Laura had changed into normal clothing and was reaching for the door handle. The door opened, and on the other side were a bunch of people, most of whom he recognized, though there were some he didn’t. Stumbling into the room on shaky legs, he spotted his wife. She didn’t notice his presence.
Thoughts of a reunion with Christy were put on hold as both his son and Sam Wayne quickly approached him, smiles on their faces. Matt had his daughter perched on his hip. “Hey, Dad,” Matt said. His expression seemed almost too eager. “You remember Sam?”
Tom nodded. Sam Wayne and his father had been at Matt’s wedding, and Tom remembered being surprised and confused at the friendship between the two of them. It was interesting that Matt was now hanging out with the moneyed elite, but for the life of him, Tom couldn’t fathom how they would have even met in the first place. “Sure. This is your place, huh?” Tom asked, though Sam only smiled, poking his thumb toward the crowd.
“Bruce was here first,” Sam said. Tom was able to easily find Bruce Wayne in the crowd, though the billionaire, known to be private and distant, seemed to be happily giving his attention to Sam’s youngest child.
“Dad, now that the Kents’ secret is out, we wanted to put all the cards on the table,” Matt said. Tom was aware that his eyebrows had pinched together, but as Laura walked toward Matt and picked up Lilly, he was able to see her next to Sam, and he sensed what was coming next before it was said. “Sam is Laura’s bother. The one who was in a plane crash.”
“I see,” Tom said, and he did. It wasn’t a strong resemblance, but it was enough. “That makes everything make more sense, I guess.”
Matt and Sam nodded in unison. “He’s not just some random rich guy I met and became friends with.”
Sam arched an eyebrow and glanced sideways. “I was a random superhero you ran into instead.”
“You weren’t random. I knew who I’d find,” Matt said, a teasing quality in his voice. The admission clarified everything, almost like putting in a missing puzzle piece, and it heartened Tom to see Matt interacting with someone who was obviously a true friend. He seemed so at ease here, so relaxed. The idea of Matt in a huge city like Gotham had always been strange to Tom, especially since all his happiest memories of him had been made in the woods or the country, in a tent or in front of a campfire. But here he was part of something. Here there were people that complimented him, that pulled him into their family, and now he looked as much at home in this large, Gothic mansion as he ever did back in Ohio.
At that moment, an unfamiliar woman came and grabbed Sam’s arm. “I know it’s fun to make mischief with Matt, honey, but the rest of us are hungry.” She raised her eyebrows as she talked to Sam, who smiled back at her affectionately. She then turned toward Tom and raised her arm. “I’m Jen, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met.”
Tom bowed slightly. “Pleased to meet you.”
“My lovely wife is correct,” Sam said to him. “I have been neglecting my duties as chef. Please excuse me.” He looked at the wall behind where Tom was standing and frowned, almost as if he could see something that nobody else could. Before he could make a move, though, Jen tugged at his arm, and he was smiling again. They gave each other a quick kiss, then went their separate ways, Sam out the door Tom had recently entered, and Jen back toward the rest of the assembled family.
Matt sighed and moved so that he was standing next to Tom, surveying the room. “Do you want me to introduce you around, or do you want to go see Mom?” he asked. Christy was sitting alone at the large table in the center of the room, obviously set apart from everyone else, an odd expression on her face – not sad but not happy, not contended but also not fearful. It looked as if you could say a word to her, and she would be just as likely to cry as to laugh. It was the expression of someone thoroughly overwhelmed.
“Looks like she needs me,” Tom said in a low voice. “Besides, I think everyone else here was at your wedding?” The wedding was now over a year ago, and his memory wasn’t what it had once been. The faces mostly looked familiar enough, though.
“Okay,” Matt said, gesturing toward his mother. “Good luck,” he added rather cryptically, and Tom raised an eyebrow. Before he could probe Matt on what the problem was, he had returned to Laura’s side, placing an arm around her waist as he bent down to kiss her. The two began to walk away, giving their attention to their daughter, and Tom found himself alone. He took a moment to survey the room, smiling a little at what he saw. A man with a familiar face was opposite him, with Adam Kent standing next to him, hands on his hips, looking at him through squinted eyes. The slightly familiar man was wearing dark colored tights and boots, and a black belt with a lot of pockets and compartments, pieces of unfamiliar hardware hanging from it. His chest was bare, and his eyes were uncovered, though there were smudges of black around them. His hair looked like he had been doing vigorous exercise recently.
“You’re not Batman, because that’s Daddy,” Adam said, looking the stranger up and down slowly.
“Correct,” the man answered, a little half grin on his face as he looked at his inquisitor. The lines on his face made him appear much older than Jen and Matt and Laura, too old to be wearing spandex, but his bare chest seemed to be that of a younger man. “But your Dad wasn’t the first Batman, either.”
Adam’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed again. “But if you were Batman, then Daddy wouldn’t need to be him,” he answered.
The unfamiliar man seemed to appreciate the logic of the statement. “I can’t argue with that,” he said, then leaned down. “So who do you think was Batman before your Dad?”
Adam shook his head. “Not you,” he said, eliciting a laugh from his companion. “But your eyes look like you wear a mask. Grandpa doesn’t wear a mask.”
“True,” he answered. “So, I wear a mask, work in Gotham, and am not Batman. Who does that make me?”
“Robin?” Adam said slowly, unsurely.
“Maybe a long time ago,” the man answered, a momentary flash of emotion on his face. “But not anymore.”
The door behind Tom opened, and Sam breezed into the room, carrying a try full of assorted grilled items. “Jeez, Dick, you seriously need a publicist,” he said, making it clear that he had heard the entire exchange.
“I don’t go out there for the publicity,” the man, Dick, said as he put his hands on his hips.
“Well you don’t appear to be getting credit, either,” Sam said, quickly moving toward the table and putting the tray down. “I mean, every five year old in town should be playing with your action figure. Instead, they’re playing with Batman figures, even though everyone knows he’s…shall we say unfriendly?”
“Call it integrity,” Dick said with a raise of the eyebrow.
“Are you saying Superman lacks integrity because he has a movie, books, and his symbol on about every product known to man? For shame, sir,” Sam said in a joking tone, and even Tom smiled. Dick couldn’t stop himself, either.
“Touche,” he said, then turned back to Adam. “So, come on. What hero am I?” Adam, flummoxed, just shook his head. “I’m Nightwing.”
“Nightwing?” Adam said, making a face. “What’s a Nightwing? I’ve never heard of that.”
Dick ruffled his hair and slowly began to make his way toward the table. “Ask your Grandpa. I got the name from a story he told me once.”
Tom took that as his cue and began to move, too. “It wouldn’t kill you to talk to a reporter once in a while,” Sam said, causing Dick to roll his eyes. “I think I might be able to find one for you somewhere.”
“When was the last time Batman talked to a reporter, smart guy?” Dick asked, pulling out a chair. “And don’t say the last time your folks were here. I mean officially.”
“Officially he doesn’t have to,” Sam said. Tom reached his wife, pulling out the chair next to her, though it hardly seemed to register with her. Now that he was closer, he could see that her eyes held an almost vacant, far away gaze, even though the conversation happening in front of her was fascinating, at least as far as he was concerned. “Everyone knows who Batman is and what he does. All I have to do is occasionally flash a cape past a security camera or swoop past a public gathering and it gets everyone buzzing. I think Bruce and I, and now Adam, are the only ones in town who even know your name.”
“I knew it!” Jen and Laura said in unison, smiling at each other before Laura turned a challenging glance toward Sam.
“How about an interview with Gotham Magazine?” Jen asked Dick. “I think all the housewives in town want to know your brand of shampoo. And your workout routine.”
“I rest my case,” Dick said, sitting and reaching for the food. Everyone else in the room began to dig in, which calmed the discussion somewhat, though there was still amount of laughter and small talk. Christy sat unmoving, and it took Tom putting his hand on her arm to bring her out of her trance, and life seemed to come back into her eyes as she finally turned to see him. A small smile even seemed to form on her face, before quickly falling away again.
“Oh, hi Tom. When did you get here?”
“A few minutes ago.”
“Laura?”
“Yup. It was…quite an experience.”
“Hmm.” She looked away without emotion. “We’re going to have to drive home.”
“Maybe we can stay a while first,” Tom said, removing his hand from her arm. “Did you have a good day? Did you spend any time with Lilly?”
“Most of the afternoon,” Christy said, her features becoming more animated at the mention of her granddaughter. “I think I spent more time with her today than I have for her entire life up to this point.”
“Well, great,” Tom said with a smile.
“She’s a good kid,” Christy said, although the way she said it made Tom think that there was a “but” coming. Instead, there was nothing, and her eyes moved toward the children, her expression turning neutral again.
“Is something wrong? Haven’t enjoyed this trip?” Tom said after a moment.
“It’s not that,” she answered, turning toward him again. “I’m truly glad to be here. I wouldn’t trade any second with Lilly for anything.” Her voice sounded sincere, if still somewhat flat. She seemed like she wanted to say more, and rather than prod her, Tom decided to give the conversation some breathing room, and wait for her to decide when to finish her thought. His stomach got the better of him after a moment, and he started reaching for food items when she finally continued.
“He never told us, Tom. About any of this.”
“Should he have?” he asked, loading food onto his plate. His wife seemed annoyed at the question.
“Of course he should have!” she said. “We’re his parents!”
“He’s a grown man,” Tom said with a shrug. “More than capable of making his own decisions.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?” he asked, moving his hands away from the food and looking at her in frustration.
“He doesn’t trust us,” she said, and her frustration seemed to come out. She was now quite animated, enough that everyone else in the room could probably notice, though nobody seemed to want to look their way.
This was something that had crossed Tom’s mind more than once over the past day. Why hadn’t Matt and Laura told him? The idea that it was a trust issue was certainly one that had crossed his mind, but it seemed too simplistic. And anyway, he didn’t think that his son felt that way toward them. Yes, Christy had proven herself to be a bit of a gossip hound over the years, and Tom was aware that Matt had felt burned by that in the past. And certainly Matt had distanced himself from them after high school. But looking around, seeing this family interact, remembering Laura’s family from their wedding and how pleasant and welcoming they were, he couldn’t imagine any type of ill intent coming from them. How would that change if the whole world knew what he now knew? He couldn’t imagine how that possibility hung over their heads, what kind of fear that must cause. “Did you ever consider that the reason he didn’t say anything had nothing to do with his feelings about us?” he asked calmly, putting a hand on hers in an effort to pacify her. “This,” he added, gesturing around the room with his other hand, “is so much bigger than you or me…or him. It’s crime and violence, life and death, even the fate of the world. But it’s also family. And one member of that family is from a place so far away that it’s hard to comprehend, a world that died before he even got a chance to know it. He’s alien…different, and so are his children. Never completely fitting in, never completely normal. Can you imagine what that’s like for them?”
“In the context of all that, of life and death and crime and violence, of deep space and world threatening problems, letting us in on this little secret should mean nothing to them,” she said stubbornly.
“Or maybe it means everything. Maybe this whole thing is held together because nobody knows, and as soon as the truth gets out to the wrong person it all falls apart. If the world sees the people underneath the spandex, then the illusion fades and their world shatters.”
“Or mine does,” Christy said softly, a tear working its way down her cheek, and all other words Tom had prepared to say evaporated. Instead, he reached over and gathered her in his arms, pulling her close.
“Nothing’s changed. You know that right?” he said.
“How can you say that when you flew here today?” she asked, her voice raw with emotion. “Before today would you have ever thought that such a thing was possible?”
“No,” he said simply, then smiled, understanding something himself at that moment. “But Laura is so much more than the flying. She still is what she was. When she crashed into the yard, she didn’t stop being a student or a wife or a mother. She became more, maybe, but the core didn’t change.” He suddenly realized that he respected her for that. She knew who she was, and there were so few people out there who could say that. Matt had been smart enough to understand, and confident enough in himself to let he go be the person she needed to be. Tom found himself immensely proud of his son for that, and he wondered again how the kid he had known, the slightly awkward and lonely boy, had grown into the man before him. Tom turned to look at Matt, who was tending to Lilly, and instead saw Laura looking at him, a knowing smile on her face. Tom winked at her, bringing a blush to her cheeks, then turned back toward his wife.
“This is special,” Tom said to her, letting himself relax for the first time in a long time. “Enjoy it. Don’t create conflict where there is none. This is a well functioning family, and I, for one, and glad to be a part of it.” With that, he dug into his food, soaking in the atmosphere around him. It was hard to tell if his words had any affect on his wife, though she did appear to be more thoughtful from that point on.
They ate their meal in silence, then joined in the discussions around them once they finished, eventually being offered the VIP tour of Wayne Manor and its grounds. As Tom walked around, escorted by his son, his wife at his side, he gained a new understanding Matt’s life in Gotham and the people he surrounded himself with. He also understood the difference that Matt was making here, and that understanding allowed him to let go of all the insecurities and hurt feelings that had come about when Matt had left Ohio for the city all those years ago. If this was the outcome, then he was glad. And he was proud.
