Free Falling, Part 11
By: C. Leuch
The August sun beat down on the asphalt parking lots surrounding Kaufman Stadium, causing shimmery lines of heat to rise up off them, and making the already sweltering temperature feel even warmer than it was. Despite the heat, there were pockets of people tailgating all around, gathered under tents, drinking beverages to keep cool. It was within this sea of humanity and celebration that Spencer North and his family searched, his focus aimed at a specific corner of a specific lot, eventually finding what looked like a completely ordinary family gathering. Children ran around, pretending to play football, while others carried bean bags, dropping them everywhere except the boards where they were supposed to go. Four non-descript couples milled around under a series of tents, and a grill sat off to the side, smoke rising off it. Spencer had no sooner located his target when he saw Clark Kent turn toward him, raising a hand and smiling. They walked toward each other, and Spencer found his smile growing the closer they got. After a few moments they met, with Clark extending his hand and Spencer gladly taking it.
“Clark, good to see you,” Spencer said.
“Glad you were able to make it,” Clark replied. He turned his attention to Spencer’s wife next. “Hi, I’m Clark Kent,” he said, shaking her hand next. She had a basic understanding that Clark was someone that Spencer had met at his hotel in Australia during one strange weekend, and that Clark had saved his life. That was all that he’d told her, though, and officially any other truths between Spencer and Clark were left unsaid and unacknowledged. As far as she was concerned, this was a meeting between two families with mutual interests and no more. It meant a lot more to him than that, though, and he sensed she could see that, even if it was something that he couldn’t put into words.
“Liz,” she replied. Spencer had met her when he was in high school, a fellow Kansas City local who got to know him before he got starry-eyed dreams of Hollywood fame. He was continually grateful to have met her when he did, to have her by his side as he transformed from a nobody to a recognizable movie star. She kept him grounded, kept him from getting too big of a head, and kept him away from so much of the Hollywood noise – the drugs and parties and general phoniness – that tended to encompass other young stars. She took no nonsense from him, and certainly not from others, though that didn’t make her anti-social, by any means. She was always game to meet his friends and co-workers, and she had been especially excited to find out that Clark Kent wanted to meet in Kansas City, for a Royals game. Her face was radiant, and she shook his hand enthusiastically.
Clark next turned to Spencer’s two young children. He squatted down in front of them and met their eyes with his own. Spencer supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised that Clark was good with kids – he had three of his own, after all – but it was still odd to him, knowing who he was in his other guise. He was the world’s strongest man, he could turn the whole stadium to rubble if he so desired, yet he was so gentle with children. “Who do we have here?” Clark asked.
“Bradley and Eli,” Liz answered, ruffling Bradley’s hair.
“How old are you?” Clark asked the boys, and neither was shy as they gave their ages. “Well, tell you what, the kids over there are looking forward to playing with you. Adam, there, is 5, and the twins, Eddie and Ellie, are 3. You are the same ages! How cool is that?” Bradley and Eli nodded and smiled. “You want to go play?” Clark asked. At their enthusiastic nods, Liz shooed them off, and Clark’s grandkids welcomed them without another thought. Clark stood and addressed Spencer and Liz again. “How about I introduce you around?”
They didn’t have a chance to move before an attractive, older woman wrapped her hands around Clark’s arm, drawing his attention. “Our guests finally arrived?” she asked, and he nodded. “Hi, I’m Lois,” she said, extending her right hand.
“My wife,” Clark clarified as both Spencer and Liz shook the hand in turn.
“Pleased to meet you,” Spencer said, appraising the woman who was Superman’s wife. She appeared to be around fifty, though when she smiled, she looked a decade younger. Something about her eyes, though, hinted at keen intelligence, and he felt certain that the moment she laid eyes on him she probably knew every last detail about him. This was a woman who lived her life ferreting out secrets, but lived with someone who held perhaps the biggest secret in the world. Spencer thought that they could probably hold a long, interesting conversation about how that dichotomy affected her, what that did to their lives, but officially he had no idea that it was even an issue. Officially he knew nothing, and he found himself itching to change that. Just being able to talk to someone would feel like heaven. But for now, this would have to do, he thought with a small sigh that didn’t escape the notice of the tenacious reporter. She raised an eyebrow at his reaction, and he wondered again just what exactly she knew about him.
“Lois Lane, right? Of the Daily Planet?” Liz asked. She had been looking forward to this meeting, because she had long been a fan of Lois’s work and her reputation as someone who didn’t take any crap from anyone. Lois nodded. “Didn’t you just write a story that took down a senator?”
Senator Robbins, from Texas, resigned just a couple days earlier after a conspiracy was unearthed by the Daily Planet to create a crime wave in cities throughout the country. There were also charges of meddling in various governmental agencies, and hints at a conspiracy to use the space program in a potential plot against Superman. The evidence was thorough and damning, and Lois Lane had been the primary author, though a large number of other reporters at the paper, including Clark Kent, also contributed.
Lois and Clark looked at each other, then turned back toward the North’s. “All I did was search for the source of a crime wave, and went where the story took me. And I wasn’t alone in that search.”
“The story wouldn’t have had nearly the same punch in anyone else’s hands,” Clark said to her with a smile.
“You wrote companion pieces that had plenty of heft of their own, dear,” she replied, expertly reflecting the compliment back at him. She then turned back toward Liz and Spencer. “Anyway, I didn’t take down a senator, as you said. He resigned because he was a scuzball and got caught.”
Clark laughed lightly beside her, and Spencer couldn’t help but smile. “All the same, I feel like I should thank you for getting a guy like that away from the hallowed halls,” Liz said, her expression clearly showing how much she admired the reporting duo.
“It was my pleasure, believe me,” Lois said with a small nod. Letting go of her husband, she reached for Liz’s hand. “Now, how about we get you something to drink?” Lois glanced back toward Clark, then guided Liz toward a couple coolers under the tent. If Spencer didn’t know any better, he could swear that it was all a ploy to get Clark alone with him.
“Come on, I want to introduce you to the family,” Clark said, gesturing for Spencer to follow him. The first small group they came upon was three men, all apparently in their twenties, one of whom seemed to be a carbon copy of Clark. Another was slightly taller and almost completely lacking the muscle mass of the other two. The third appeared familiar to Spencer in a way that he couldn’t quite place. It was he who first noticed as Spencer and Clark approached, and his face broke into a smirk. “This is Sam,” Clark said to Spencer.
“I wasn’t aware that you were friends with any movie stars,” Sam said to Clark, his voice light. “Very glad to meet you,” Sam said the Spencer.
The skinny one looked puzzled for a second, then recognition seemed to come, and he, too, smiled. “You play Superman in the movies, right?” he asked.
“This is Matt, my daughter’s husband,” Clark said.
Sam turned to Matt, his smirk still in place. “You might not recognize him because he’s changed out of the spandex and put on a pair of sunglasses. How very interesting,” Sam said.
It was true that the idea of hiding himself behind glasses while trying to be discreet in public didn’t occur to him until after he met Clark, and he had started doing just that to great success in the ensuing month or so. He was about to reply, but the third one in the group spoke before he got a chance.
“Don’t mind him,” he said. “He has always thought of himself as a comedian. But comedy is very much in the eye of the beholder. I’m Jon,” he said, extending a hand.
“I met Spencer in Australia when I spent a couple days down there last month,” Clark explained, causing all three to collectively raise their eyebrows.
“Sounds like you had a nice vacation down there,” Sam replied to Clark, a twinkle in his eye. Spencer was beginning to think that Sam wasn’t so much a comedian as someone who delighted in the little absurdities of life, and he probably shared Lois’s knack for sizing people up.
“Working. I was working,” Clark said. “I filed a story from down there and few more about what I saw on the trip after I came back. Go ahead and check, it’s all very above-board.”
“Uh huh,” Sam said.
“And he saved my life,” Spencer said. The three of them looked at each other, then turned toward Clark, who just smiled and shrugged. “Saved me from some kidnappers,” Spencer continued. “And we got to talking and figured out that we have a lot in common.”
“Didn’t I hear about you attending some comic convention down there dressed like Batman?” Matt asked. Jon hid a small smile as Sam quirked an eyebrow, apparently finding the question very amusing.
“That’s right,” Spencer answered slowly, looking more closely at the men in front of him, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Jon was obviously Crimson Superman, given his resemblance to his father, though he seemed very unassuming in civilian clothes. He was very well built, but the t-shirt he chose to wear fit loosely, downplaying the bulk underneath. Sam, though, had a tight shirt on, in addition to a ball cap that sat backwards on his head. That plus his general attitude made him seem almost like a college kid, though something behind his eyes seemed much more calculating. The mention of Batman seemed to interest him greatly, which was intriguing.
“Moving on,” Clark said cheerily, ushering Spencer elsewhere before he was able to dwell too much on the situation. Next, he met Clark’s daughter Laura, a sweet girl whose beauty could put half the actresses in Hollywood to shame. Finally, he met Sam and Jon’s wives, who seemed very interested in him, but not necessarily as fans of his movies. They asked lots of questions that seemed somewhat absurd on their face – what was his favorite comic? When did he first hear about Superman? Which superhero did he most want to be like when he was kid? The questioning wasn’t uncomfortable and the women were perfectly personable, but something about the way they looked at him…he felt like he was being…interviewed, if that made any sense.
Clark stayed by his side for quite a while, a comforting shadow. After about a half hour, the food came out, and the whole family gathered in lawn chairs under the tents. Apparently they were quite used to tailgating, between Jon’s stint in a college marching band and Sam’s four years as a football player at Metropolis University. Spencer felt very welcome, like part of the family; he could tell his wife felt the same way. After dinner, Clark left him to his own devices, and he found himself bouncing between playing with the kids and talking with Lois Lane, who had quite a sense of humor and was much less intimidating than she seemed at first. As game time neared, the gear was put away, and the family started to gravitate toward the stadium. Spencer helped, and eventually found himself loading the last of the collapsible tents into a car next to Sam while the rest of the family started toward the stadium.
“So, Spencer, I have to ask,” Sam said once they were alone, lifting some heavy equipment into the car like it weighed nothing. “You and my dad, is there some sort of…understanding between you?”
“I guess I don’t know what you’re getting at,” Spencer said, though he was pretty sure that he did.
Sam stopped at looked at him, the mischievous expression he usually wore muted. “He never introduced me as his son, you realize that, right? Yet you assume that I am.”
“It’s hard not to see,” Spencer answered. “You look a lot more like your mom, but I can see his mannerisms in you.”
“I’m just saying that it’s noteworthy, because officially he hasn’t been my father for years. That’s because there’s a secret in our family…well, several, really, but one at the root of it all. He knows that, I know that. I suspect that you know that, too. Unofficially, I mean.”
Spencer nodded slowly. “So, officially, your father is…?”
“Bruce Wayne,” Sam said.
“THAT’s why you looked familiar,” Spencer said, wiping his hands against each other as he finished his job. Sam took the opportunity to sit on the bumper of the car, and Spencer followed suit. “You’re Sam Wayne. How did that happen? Why can’t you admit that you’re related to Clark…officially?”
A cloud seemed to pass over him, and all the joking and good spirits seemed very far away at that moment. “Because I just happened to be a passenger in an airplane that crashed. Nobody should’ve survived, but I’m still here.” A cold wave worked its way down Spencer’s back, and he had to suppress a shudder at the thought of what that must’ve been like. At that moment, though, a switch seemed to flip, and the easygoing Sam seemed to be back. “Ask yourself how that could be,” Sam said, and Spencer could only gape at him more a moment.
“Well, officially, I have no idea.”
“But unofficially?” Sam said, trying to lead him to acknowledge the truth. Spencer sighed.
“Clark’s not interested in discussing anything unofficially.”
“You’re here aren’t you?” Sam said. “Look, I’ve known him all my life. Once the truth is out there, he’s not shy about pulling back the curtain and letting you in on all of it. That’s what this is, even if he’s not saying it. Which, might I add, is kinda weird.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m him, at least in the eyes of a lot of people. That has to be strange, facing down the fictional version of yourself, especially when our true selves have so much in common.”
Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah I can see that.” He stood and gestured toward the stadium. “We should probably get going. The game should be starting any time.” He tilted his head, his eyes far away. “They’re just finishing the anthem.”
Spencer cringed and stood quickly, falling into step with Sam as he slowly made his way through the lots. They walked in silence for a minute before curiosity Sam spoke again. “I have to know, how exactly did you find out?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Spencer said. Ever since he had found out the big secret, he had wondered about how the people Superman loved were made aware of his other life. Did his kids grow up knowing the secret? Were they taken to some secret room when they hit a certain age and told? What about Lois? She had been a friend of Superman’s ever since he first showed up on the scene – surely she hadn’t been fooled by a bit of spandex or a pair of glasses.
“Rock paper scissors to see who goes first,” Sam said, causing Spencer to smirk.
“You guys aren’t telepathic, are you?”
Sam scoffed. “Yeah, I wish. Though, all things considered, being bulletproof comes in pretty handy, too. Come on,” he said, putting his hands out. Spencer followed suit, and won the matchup. When Sam insisted on best two of three, Spencer won the second round, too.
In hushed tones, so as not to be overheard by those around them, Sam related the tale of how he found out. Spencer was riveted, and wondered how he would have reacted in the same situation. Probably not by threatening to jump off a skyscraper, he thought with a chuckle, but it seemed very much in character the type of man who could step into the persona of Sam Wayne.
“So you were fine with everything once you found out?” Spencer asked.
Sam bobbed his head. “It was an adventure,” he said, and Spencer supposed he could understand. “How boring could life be if you had stuff like heat vision and flying to look forward to?”
“I bet the first time you flew must’ve been something else,” Spencer said wistfully. Silence dragged on longer than he expected, and he looked back toward his companion, who seemed lost in thought.
“The first time I flew with my Dad was pretty incredible. Of course, I was twelve and had never even been in an airplane before, so I guess I was easy to impress. I kept waiting for the day to come when I could do it myself, but it never happened.” He shrugged.
“So you don’t…? You can’t…?” Spencer stammered, surprised. Sam just gave an amused smile.
“Can you?” he asked.
“Well, no,” Spencer answered.
“There you have it. I also can’t sing worth a damn, but you don’t see me grousing about that, either,” Sam said.
Spencer blinked. That was certainly a different perspective to have. “Guess that’s one thing I have on you,” he said after a second, and Sam smiled, wrapping his arm around Spencer’s shoulder.
“No offense, but I don’t think I’ll ask for a demonstration,” he said with a small laugh. “Okay, so while we’re on the topic of revelations, I have to tell you another story. If you think my story was interesting, you should hear how my brother found out. He was starting to come into his powers, though he didn’t have any idea that’s what was happening at the time. He certainly didn’t have any control, so during one of his…episodes, he managed to look through the wall into my parents’ bedroom while they were being intimate, and my dad was still in the suit.”
“No way!”
“Hand to God,” Sam said, holding up one hand and putting the other over his heart.
“That’s…hilarious,” Spencer said, laughing. “Seeing my folks like that would’ve caused me to curl into a fetal position and stay that way for a week, and that’s without the whole Superhero thing on top of it.”
“You have to know my parents – they have always been rather intimate anyway. If we went out to a restaurant or a movie or something, inevitably there would be heavy kissing at some point, so that part of the story was rather ho-hum. But, yeah, adding at all together…I’m surprised Jon turned out as normal as he did.” Sam chuckled, and Spencer could tell that there was brotherly animosity there. “Okay, your turn. Spill it.”
“It started with a panel at the Comic Convention in Sydney,” Spencer said. “It was a good time, and the first time I ever met Superman. We had a nice discussion there, and before leaving he said something to me that stuck with me. Fast forward to that night in the hotel bar, where I met your dad, who was watching a baseball game. We struck up a conversation, and he got a little tipsy….”
“Whoa, hold on,” Sam said. “Clark Kent got TIPSY? That’s new.”
Spencer raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Anyway, as he moved to leave, he said the exact same thing that Superman had, with the same inflection, in the same voice. It helped that there was a resemblance….”
“My dad, drunk…it’s like seeing a unicorn in the wild,” Sam said. “Or finding Eldarado or something.”
At this point, they had reached the gates to the stadium. They both handed the usher their tickets, walked quickly through security, and began making their way up to their seats and their families. “I like to think I found something rarer than a unicorn,” Spencer said. “I mean, I figured out the big secret. Unofficially.”
“You saw my family, right? Those of us in the know aren’t as rare as you think,” Sam said, then appeared to be thoughtful. “To be fair, though, unicorns are imaginary creatures, and there are at least two real Supermen and a real Superwoman…” He looked at Spencer.
“Who, might I add, are also fictional characters,” Spencer said. “I should know.”
Sam pointed at him. “Very true. What’s something else that is demonstrably real but everyone assumes to be fake?”
“An honest used car salesman?” Spencer said. They looked at each other for a second, then both started cracking up. They were still laughing when they located the family.
They separated and found their seats, starting the game with their families. As the innings wore on, though, there was a fair amount of seat shuffling. At one point the kids all gravitated toward each other, and Spencer found himself among them, keeping an eye on his two while getting to know Clark’s grandchildren a little better. They all seemed like fairly ordinary kids, although Adam, the oldest, most definitely had the same appraising gaze that Lois and Sam had down pat.
Settling in next to him, Adam gave Spencer a long stare. It was disconcerting, and despite his best effort to ignore it, Spencer found himself shifting in his seat uncomfortably. He glanced toward Adam from time to time while trying to concentrate on the game, but it was hard to escape those eyes, which were both innocent and knowing at the same time. At last Adam spoke. “You’re not Superman,” he said.
“No, not really,” Spencer answered. “I just play him in the movies.”
“But you can’t, like, fly or move super fast, right?”
“That’s right,” Spencer said. “I’m just a regular guy.”
“So why would you pretend to be him?”
Spencer sat back, and wondered what exactly the kid knew about the nature of his family. “Well, I’m a fan,” Spencer said. “And the movie studio wanted someone to pretend to be him, because he’s far too important to have sitting around a studio for months on end filming a movie.” That seemed to be the right thing to say, and Adam smiled a little. “I pretend to be other people for a living, and the movie studio thought I would make the best pretend Superman.”
“Have you ever met him?” Adam asked with squinted eyes, and Spencer got the feeling that this was a loaded question.
“Sure,” Spencer said, keeping his demeanor upbeat. “We spoke together at a comic book convention in Australia last month.”
“That’s the only time, huh?” Adam said.
“Yup. Say, did you see the movie I was in?” Spencer asked, trying to change the subject.
Adam made a face. “Yeah I’ve seen it a few times. Daddy always thinks it’s super funny, but I don’t know why.” Spencer looked over his shoulder toward Sam, noticing immediately that he’d heard the comment. He looked acutely embarrassed, though Spencer thought he could understand the sentiment. The movie was obviously so far from the truth that it seemed almost silly by comparison. “Aunt Laura said you’re the only reason why the movie is worth watching.” Spencer’s gaze shifted to Laura, who was trying very hard to look like she wasn’t hearing the conversation, though the scarlet in her cheeks betrayed the fact that she was.
“So do YOU like Superman? The real one?” Spencer asked. Adam beamed.
“Do you want to know a secret?” Adam said, and Spencer scooted closer.
“Adam!” he heard Sam Wayne say. “What did we say about telling secrets to strangers?”
“But he’s not a stranger! He plays Grandpa in the movies!” Almost immediately, his eyes went wide, and his hands flew up over his mouth. Sam didn’t seem shocked or mad, instead seeming almost smug.
“Thanks again for telling him, Dad,” he said, turning toward Clark, who just shrugged.
Spencer leaned in toward Adam. “It can be our secret, bud,” he whispered, relaxing the boy, who responded with a nod.
Toward the middle innings of the ballgame, Spencer found himself in a group with the other men. Without the distraction of children, they were free to critically watch the game, and they started following every pitch.
“Curve,” Sam would say, and Clark would shake his head.
“Slider,” he’d reply. “That’s what the guys in the broadcast booth said, and they should know.”
At some point, a baseball was produced, and one of them would demonstrate the grip and the arm movement. This went on for an inning or two. Spencer played a little bit in high school, so he was able to contribute to the conversation and demonstrate the difference between a two-seam and a four-seam fastball. The conversation was generally congenial, though at some point it degraded into whether or not they could hit certain pitches, which Spencer had to admit that he found humorous.
“Want to play a pickup game after this one is over?” Sam asked, and although Clark looked interested, nobody else seemed all that excited.
“There’s only so much baseball I can take in one day,” Jon said, bringing an exaggerated gasp from Sam. “And as much fun as it would be to demonstrate what a REAL fastball looks like, with my luck I’d miss the strike zone completely and end up punching a baseball-shaped hole in a building several miles from where we’re playing.”
“Yeah,” Sam answered slowly, thoughtfully, causing Spencer to chuckle. The mental image of Supermen and women playing baseball with each other was rather humorous. The prospect of smoking fastballs that arrived at the plate almost before it was out of the pitcher’s hand, of popups that reached the stratosphere and beyond…. Maybe it had happened before and he had never known about it. He found himself getting lost in the thought of a superpowered football game, or basketball, or a tennis match, and he found himself itching to get ahold of some writers for a future Superman movie to see if he could put those ideas of screen.
Spencer spent the last couple innings with the women, who wanted to hear all the dirt on the projects he was working on. It was really the first opportunity he’d had to talk shop since he’d arrived, and he did so gladly. He took the opportunity to ask them about their jobs, too, and was amused to find out that Jon’s wife was a police officer. When he asked if they met while she was working, she just bobbed her head, almost as if it was a silly question. Of course one of the Supermen would get married to an officer that he met on the job. It was left unsaid which outfit Jon had been wearing when they met, though he assumed that it wasn’t his everyday street clothes.
The final inning arrived way too soon, and Spencer found himself dreading the last out. He was just beginning to feel like part of this incredible family, and he didn’t want it to end. One by one, he thanked all the family members for a great day, then, once it was over, he followed them out of the stadium and said his goodbyes. The world seemed too quiet as he climbed into his car with his wife and children. In a few months, when the latest Superman movie debuted, he knew he would be meeting up with Clark again, and if he was lucky he would see the costumed versions of the other family members, too. But the heroes that kept the world safe, the larger-than-life figures that were the subject of comics and books and the movies that he acted in…he knew they weren’t real. And as long as they were in public in their spandex-clad personas, they could never act real, either. Talking to Superman at the premier would be nothing like talking to him here today. Maybe they could meet again sometime in the real world, but this day felt like something that could never be repeated.
With a sigh, Spencer started his car and pulled away from the stadium, eventually entering the interstate and heading toward his parent’s house where they were staying. It would take the better part of a half hour to get there, so he settled in and let his mind sift through everything he’d seen and heard that day. He knew he probably wasn’t watching the road as closely as he should, but suddenly something caught his attention, and all the random thoughts evaporated, his eyes fully fixed on the road ahead. What he saw was a horror story unfolding almost in slow motion. A semi truck started sliding sideways uncontrollably several hundred feet ahead of him, taking out cars and other semis on the crowded highway and sending debris flying into the air. Brake lights lit up in front of him, and he found his hand flying out to brace his wife as he stomped hard on the brake pedal, saying a silent prayer that the person behind him was paying attention. His car stopped comfortably behind the car in front of him, but at that moment, a giant fireball erupted from somewhere further ahead.
He sat absolutely still for a moment, trying to process everything that was happening. The sound of screeching tires and screams filled the air, along with the horrible sound of vehicles hitting each other. The pocket of cars immediately around his were at a standstill, but nobody seemed to be in too much of a hurry to do anything. What could they do, anyway? To leave the car was a recipe for getting struck by some driver who was paying more attention to their phone than to the road. But he realized that he couldn’t just sit there. Somewhere at the front of this knot of traffic were people who had possibly been injured, and the giant plume of smoke showed no signs of dying off. He was Superman…in a sense. Didn’t he have a duty to help? What was stopping him?
Without another thought, he opened his door and jumped out of the car. “Wait here,” he said over his shoulder to his family, then started running toward the accident scene. His hand reached for the phone in his pocket, with the intention of finding Clark’s number and calling him. But it occurred to Spencer that Clark was already in town, and if he couldn’t see the plume of smoke, he was probably more than able to hear a scream. “Help! We need help! I-435 south of the river!” he yelled as he ran, hoping it wouldn’t be for nothing. After a few seconds, he reached the front of the tangle of cars, and stopped abruptly to observe the scene in front of him. Cars and trucks were mangled, and the fire was now burning two vehicles. He started forward again, heading toward the fire with the intent of rescuing people trapped inside if necessary. The heat stopped him before ever got there, though, and with a grunt of frustration he turned his attention toward the cars in the immediate path of the fire. The car he stopped next to had a family inside, but the accident seemed to have left them disoriented, and they didn’t appear to recognize the danger coming their way.
“Hey!” he said, pounding on their windows. “You need to get out!” He tried the handle, but it was locked. He went to the next door and handle, then, finding it locked, as well, he started banging and yelling. The family seemed to stir, but they weren’t moving quickly enough. Frustration welled up inside of him, and he started hitting the window with more solid parts of his body, to no avail. Then, suddenly, there was what felt like a gust of wind, and the first door was being torn off its hinges. Spencer turned to see what had happened, and found Superman standing there, in all his glory. All his frustration was instantly gone.
“Get them out of there,” Superman said, then disappeared for a split second, rematerializing next to fire. With one deep breath, he blew the fire out, then started helping those who were injured. Spencer got down to business, helping the family out of the car, then helping anyone else he could find. Superman disappeared again, then showed up carrying an ambulance, which he deposited ahead of the accident scene. By that time, others had joined the effort, and ordinary people were helping each other. More paramedics and firemen quickly showed up to the scene, and Superman would stop by periodically to discuss things with them, pointing toward the long line of stranded motorists stuck behind the crash, then pointing to the vehicles on the road. A policeman arrived to take photos of the scene and make some measurements, then Superman cleared enough of the wreck away to allow vehicles to start clearing out.
Spencer kept helping for as long as he felt he was needed, but by the time the roadway opened up and engines behind him started up, he paused, taking the time to just stand there and watch. A sense of accomplishment washed over him as he realized that he had done something important. Because of him and other good Samaritans, nobody had been killed, and the injuries were fewer than they might have otherwise been. It was even possible his action had been the catalyst to spur others to help, to accomplish something that they weren’t aware that they were capable of. All the notoriety and fame that he had achieved up to this point in his life had been because of the accomplishments of the man he portrayed; today he had finally lived up to that legacy. He smiled. Then he was aware of a presence beside him.
“You seem to have a nose for trouble,” Superman said, causing Spencer’s smile to widen.
“Only when you’re around,” Spencer answered, and it was Clark’s turn to smile.
“You sound like my wife,” he said. “So where’s your vehicle? You need a lift anywhere?”
Spencer indicated that Superman follow him, and they walked toward his car. He was aware that people were gawking at them, though he was certain that it was the blue spandex and red cape that were attracting their attention. A glance at Superman showed that he was completely unfazed by the stares. It only took a moment to get the car, and when they did, he found his family with their noses buried various electronic devices. “Look who I found,” Spencer said as he leaned into the open window.
His wife looked toward him, then her jaw dropped. “Superman!” she said, and immediately both children were also staring wide-eyed at their guest.
Superman nodded toward her. “Ma’am,” he said. “I was just thanking your husband for his help out there.” Spencer noticed a slight change in his voice, which had taken on a slightly different tenor from when he was wearing civilian clothes. It occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Clark in the suit since the first time they met, and even though he now knew the man under the cape, he couldn’t help but think how impressive he still appeared.
“The traffic should be clearing up soon, but Superman offered to give us a lift wherever we wanted to go…you know, as a favor from one Superman to another.”
Spencer and Superman looked at each other and smiled. “Well, I, uh, would be honored I guess,” Liz stammered. In the back seat, the kids started bouncing as best they could while still being strapped in their car seats.
“Superman, are you going to fly us?” one asked.
“Like, in the sky?” the other chimed in.
“That was the plan,” Superman said, and the kids cheered. He looked toward Spencer. “It looks like the family is on board. Where can I take you?” Spencer gave an address, mentioning a few landmarks near where they were going. Clark didn’t ask too many questions, but then, if he knew the area as well as Spencer suspected, he wouldn’t have to. After a moment, Spencer climbed into the car and fastened his seatbelt. “Ready?” Superman asked. Spencer could only nod.
With that, Superman bent down, and the next second the car jostled a bit before there was a disconcerting feeling of weightlessness. Outside the window, the ground seemed to disappear, and there was only blue sky and puffy clouds around them. Spencer craned his neck to see out the windows, and what he saw made him gasp. The ground was very far below, far enough that he couldn’t make out individual people. Scenery flashed by below at speeds faster than he could contemplate, though he couldn’t feel any g-forces acting on them, holding them in their seat. If he closed his eyes, it felt like they were sitting on a cloud of air. It was a peaceful feeling, made more so by the silence around him. His family had been shocked into quiet, and everyone seemed content to stare silently at the world below them. But all too soon he could feel them start to descend, then they were on the ground again, precisely where they needed to be, parked neatly against the curb. Superman was now standing next to the car, his hand on the window frame.
“So, what did you think?” he asked.
“I think that’s the only way to travel,” Spencer’s wife said, and he nodded in agreement.
“It was soooo cool!” Bradley said.
“I want to do it again!” Eli said.
Superman smiled at looked at them. “You boys are going to be good from here on out, right?” They both nodded vigorously. “Because if you aren’t, I’m sure your dad will let me know about it.”
“We promise,” Bradley said.
“Good,” Superman said, then turned to address Liz. “I hope you don’t mind, but I need to borrow your husband for a few minutes.”
Liz looked at him with an expression that was hard to classify. She had never been all that impressed by the idea of celebrity, but it was hard not to be impressed by Superman, especially when he had just flown them across the Kansas City metro. Likewise, she had never considered Spencer to be anything other than the normal kid that she had met in high school, even after he became a household name, but now there seemed to be some new respect there.
Spencer reached for the door handle and stepped out of the car. “We shouldn’t be too long. Just a little bit of business. Go on inside.”
Liz nodded, and with that, Spencer felt an arm around his waist, and he was airborne again. This time, without the car around him, the experience was absolutely incredible. The whole world seemed to spread out below them, and he found himself at a loss for words. The city transitioned to countryside and they flew over the hills of eastern Kansas, eventually angling toward a clearing at the top of a large rise, landing in a spot that had a view of the landscape for miles around. As soon as their feet hit the ground, Clark stepped away and dropped his arms. He turned and looked toward the southwest.
“The town I grew up in is about ten miles away…you can barely see the water tower from here.”
Spencer took a step so that he was at his side again, and saw the little town in the distance. It was no Metropolis, that’s for sure, and they idea of Superman coming from that place seemed outwardly absurd. Clark Kent, on the other hand, he could picture down there.
“Do you miss it?” Spencer asked.
“Sometimes,” he said. “It was an idyllic place to grow up. But it’s hard to hide in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. There are no secrets in a place like that.”
“None?” Spencer asked.
Clark gave a half smile. “Well, maybe some. I like to think that nobody back home recognized me when I first put on this suit and walked onto the bridge of the Prometheus, though sometimes I wonder.” The spot they were standing in had tall grasses that waved gently in the breeze. Clark reached down and grabbed at the seeds atop a strand of grass, gently pulling them off and cupping them in his hand. As he spoke, he tossed them onto the ground one by one. “I spent a lot of time by myself, especially once my powers started to develop, but fortunately my parents had a couple hundred acres to explore and figure things out. The worst thing in the world is to be scared of yourself, or scared of what you might do to others. But in a place like that, with the wide open land for miles all around, you can let loose, and learn to be yourself without anyone the wiser.”
Spencer had never thought too much about the story behind the movies he acted in. Maybe he assumed that they were more or less true, maybe he didn’t care if they were completely made up. But now more than ever he could see the complete disconnect between those stories and the man they were ostensibly about. His character was an alien who had always had his powers, had always known who he was. He set himself above humanity as a symbol of what man could aspire to. Clark Kent didn’t come into this world knowing what he could do, he had to learn. He had to suffer through fear that Spencer could only imagine, had to isolate himself, but somehow managed to come through all that with a positive attitude even though he had every reason in the world no to. He wasn’t above humanity, he was in many ways the best of humanity.
“When did you come here? To Earth, I mean,” Spencer asked, trying to put the last pieces of the puzzle together, though he was fairly certain that he knew what the answer would be.
“When I was a baby,” Clark answered. “The story was that I was the child of some obscure relative, left to my folks because the pregnancy was not approved of by the family.” He shrugged. “I have no memory of anywhere but here. This is my home, and as far as I’m concerned, it always has been.”
“So the idea that you somehow came here as an adult…?”
He gave a smile that was charmingly contrite. “A little bit of fiction that I was more than happy to let people believe. The comic book writers have to put out new adventures every week, and since my early years are a blank canvas as far is the public is concerned, they happily paint in whatever backstory or indulgence that they want. According to comics cannon, I brought from Krypton a super dog, super cat, monkey, horse, and cousin, and I keep a miniature Kryptonian city in a bottle in my fortress, which is secured by a giant golden key. I would say that you can’t make this stuff up, except obviously someone did. Like I told you once, you can’t believe everything that you see in the movies.”
“Are you upset that I know the truth?” Spencer asked after a moment.
“No,” Clark answered quickly. “You’re a good kid; I trust you. I apologize if it seemed like I was trying to keep you at arm’s length – that wasn’t my intention.”
“Has anyone found out that you wish hadn’t?”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “The name Lex Luthor ring a bell?”
“He knew?”
Clark nodded. “And he made sure to make my life hell because of it, even well after he died.”
“Wow,” Spencer said, running his hand through his hair.
“Lex hunted me for years before he found out, though. Lois and I worked together for two years before she figured it out. I’m still trying to figure out what led you to the truth.” His expression showed good humor, and Spencer was grateful for that. Being questioned by Superman could make even the toughest guy squirm, especially when they were alone together, miles from civilization. Spencer pushed the thought away, reminding himself that Superman had been nothing but gracious toward him.
“Did you know you look like this reporter I know named Clark Kent?” Spencer said with a teasing smile, which was gladly returned.
“I might’ve heard that before.”
“Well, you sound a lot like him, too. And, might I add, you also say some of the same things, especially with a couple of beers in you.”
Clark groaned, putting his hand over his face. After a second, he balled his hand into a fist and looked shyly from behind it. “Would you believe I’d never been drunk before?” he said.
“Oh, absolutely,” Spencer said with a laugh. “And if you ever do it again, might I recommend maybe not doing it in a hotel bar next to virtual stranger.”
“Yeah, noted,” Clark said, also giving a small laugh. “Though, really, you’re not a stranger. You’re me.”
“If I’ve figured out anything over the last month or so, it’s that the character I play isn’t you at all.” The smile that Clark gave him told Spencer that he was absolutely correct, and he felt for a moment like a kid getting the ultimate look of approval his idol. He let himself bask in that feeling for a moment, then forced himself to ask the question that had been on his mind for the last month. “So, tell me, why exactly were you there, hanging out with me instead of flying home to spend time with your family?”
“Well, the short answer is Senator Robbins.”
“What?!”
Clark started to pace, gathering his thoughts for a moment before speaking again. “We reported on his plan to cause chaos in cities throughout the country in order to get reelected on a law and order platform. What we left out was the fact that he succeeded, and that he was able to get me and the kids out of the way in the process.”
“But…how? I thought that nothing can hurt you. Aren’t you always…super?”
“Well, very little can hurt me. I still haven’t figured out yet how he knew, but he found out how to take our powers away.”
Spencer couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Sure, he’d thought that something seemed off with Clark, but he had never imagined that anything could make Superman powerless. “So that whole time you were down there, you didn’t…? You couldn’t…?” Clark nodded. “Even when you saved me from those kidnappers?” Spencer asked in a harsh whisper.
“I was just as normal as you were,” Clark said softly.
“But you could’ve been shot,” Spencer said.
Clark nodded again, his eyes soft. “Yes, I could’ve, but I wasn’t going to let those guys take you, not while I had the ability to stop them. Just because I didn’t have superpowers at that moment didn’t mean that I was powerless, and the same goes for you.”
Spencer felt his legs getting weak, and he sunk down to a squat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands on his forehead. It was one thing to face danger when you knew that nothing your opponent threw at you could physically harm you. It was something else entirely to put yourself in harm’s way for the benefit of others. Spencer was aware that one of the criticisms of Superman was that it was very easy to do what he did when there were no potential consequences – no bullet could stop him, no fire could burn him. But the critics had no idea that Clark Kent would gladly put himself in harm’s way to help a friend, like he had done for Spencer in Australia. They were also oblivious to the fact that every time he goes out in public in the spandex, he risks potential discovery of his identity, which in turn risks the well-being of everyone he loves. “I don’t know what to say except thank you,” Spencer said. “It doesn’t seem like enough to say, considering you literally put your life on the line for me.”
As he looked up toward Clark, he noticed an amused grin on his face. “You were just as much a part of that as I was,” he said. “Anyway, it was nothing more than what firemen and police officers do on a daily basis.”
Spencer felt himself relax in the face of Clark’s steadying influence and good humor. With the tension draining out of him, he rocked back and sat, his knees drawn up toward his chest. “You are lousy at taking compliments,” he said with a smile.
Clark took a step toward him, swept his cape back, and plopped down on the grass next to him. “I’ve heard that before,” he said, placing his hands on the grass behind him and turning his face toward the sun. “So I suppose you’re disillusioned now.” His expression was still almost playful, and Spencer couldn’t help but give a small snort.
“Why, because you have exactly one fault?”
“Lois could give you another dozen or so, if you’re interested.”
“No, I’m good, thanks,” Spencer said. They both sat smiling in companionable silence, watching the hawks ride the air currents above them. Spencer’s mind replayed snippets from the time they spent together, both in Australia and earlier that day, building a complete picture of the man beside him. Something occurred to him after a moment, something that only really made sense now that he knew Clark’s family a little. “That Batman suit I wore – that was the real thing, wasn’t it?”
“Yup,” Clark said.
“Who? Sam?” Spencer asked. Clark nodded. “That just seems…counterintuitive. He doesn’t seem like the brooding type.”
“He’s not,” Clark answered. “But he’s also not the original Batman. He has a particular skill set, he’s extremely intelligent, and his predecessor was getting too old to be playing superhero, so there you are.”
Spencer snapped his fingers, putting the pieces together. “Bruce Wayne, right?”
Clark just bobbed his head. “I will neither confirm nor deny that.” Spencer raised an eyebrow, but Clark didn’t elaborate.
“So, how did you come into possession of the bat suit and cowl?”
“Sam likes to give me gag gifts,” Clark said, and Spencer could only blink at the ridiculousness of the concept. “Superman t-shirts, Superman pajamas, hats, whatever the most outrageous product is out there with my S on it. I think he thought that I didn’t appreciate them enough, so last birthday it was a retired Batsuit. That one has actually been fun to have around, as you know.”
“Didn’t appreciate the gifts? What, you don’t walk around in public in a Superman t-shirt?”
Clark chuckled. “God, no. I get enough of the S when I’m out working…I think you know what that’s like,” he said with a knowing grin.
“Definitely,” Spencer said.
“So now I have a closet full of gag gifts collecting dust…”
“Seems like a shame,” Spencer said, then Clark seemed to think of something. He stood up abruptly.
“Excuse me for a second,” he said, then disappeared. Spencer was a little too stunned to try and process what just happened, but before his mind had a chance to kick back in, Clark had returned, a bag in hand. Spencer stood, curious. “I brought a gift for you,” Clark said, extending the bag toward Spencer.
He grabbed the bag and looked inside, finding a large collection of various Superman items. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Just what I always wanted,” he said.
“I figured you might be able to get better use of that stuff than I ever could.”
“My wife might have a little fun with this, I think,” Spencer said, his mind conjuring various Halloween costumes and party gags that they could pull off with his new possessions.
“Don’t say I never gave you anything,” Clark joked.
“Nobody will believe I got these from you, you know,” Spencer said, and Clark shrugged.
“Then it can be our secret pal gift.”
Spencer laughed again. He didn’t know the last time he had laughed as much as he had today. He took a few deep breaths and looked out over the countryside. “I told my wife we were coming out here to discuss business. Better do a little out of that so I don’t come back a liar.”
Clark crossed his arms across his chest, striking the classic Superman pose that Spencer had gone to great lengths to imitate. His cape billowed behind him with a gust of wind. He looked for all the world like Superman should look when discussing business. “We’re planning to do charity fundraiser premiers in cities across the country again. Maybe you could help me out and be the featured guest at a few of those.”
Spencer couldn’t stop an involuntary shudder. “Are those the ones where rich people can pony up to get an audience with you?”
“And free drinks. And, you know, watch a movie.” Clark’s mild joking was completely at odds with his appearance, and Spencer had to look away to keep himself focused.
“I hate those things,” Spencer said. “Normal fans are one thing – I love meeting them. But people with the kind of disposable income that would allow them to attend a fundraiser like that….”
“I know, believe me,” Clark answered. “I told Jon that he had to take a few this time around, since he’s technically in the movie. I’m still burned out from the last round.”
“Shouldn’t Batman be there, too?” Spencer asked. He looked toward Clark, whose expression told Spencer the answer to his question. The man behind the cowl was someone who wore a perpetually amused grin, and probably couldn’t be counted on the maintain a gritty, scowling exterior for however long those parties were. That was probably an awful suggestion. “Ultra Woman?” Spencer continued, but he quickly decided that was also a bad idea. He didn’t know Lois Lane all that well, but he knew enough of her reputation to be aware of the fact that she couldn’t necessarily be considered a people person. “What if I went to a couple with you, so you don’t have to endure the whole ting yourself? We could divide and conquer.”
Clark nodded thoughtfully. “I’d be open to that,” he answered. “Might even be fun.”
“It’s a date,” Spencer said with a smirk. The conversation shifted to other things, including the day’s baseball game. Clark proposed maybe doing a football game together in conjunction with one of the charitable parties. They discussed memories of other games they’d been to, particularly in Kansas City, which transitioned to their favorite players and teams. By the time that conversation tapered off, Spencer became aware of the shift of the sun in the sky, and the fact that they had probably been out there a lot longer than he had realized. A glance at his watch confirmed that. Recognition seemed to dawn on Clark at the same time, and they approached each other again.
“We should probably head back,” Clark said. At Spencer’s nod, he wrapped an arm around Spencer’s waist, and once again they were airborne.
“Next time we get together, I definitely want to do this again,” Spencer said, gripping his bag tightly, acutely aware of how far away the ground was. “I do all my ‘flying’ in front of a green screen.”
“I just hope that next meeting won’t be at some crime scene or disaster area,” Clark said, a very Superman-like sternness in his voice.
“My agent will have something to say about it if I ever try anything like that again,” Spencer answered. “As it is, I’m surprised my phone hasn’t started ringing yet.”
There was a moment of silence before Clark answered. “It felt good to go out there and help, though, didn’t it?” Spencer looked over, and he was smiling.
“Yeah,” Spencer sighed, and he marveled at how well Clark could read him. “I think there was a part of me that felt I had to live up to your legacy.” Clark looked like he was going to say something, but Spencer quickly continued before he got the chance. “And it’s not that I’m trying to somehow find a way to make you proud or impress you. That’s not what our friendship is about. It’s more that…I put on the ‘S’, too, and after meeting you…I think helping out makes me feel like less of a phony.”
The ground continued to flash by beneath them, sprawling subdivisions and winding streets making the beginning of the Kansas City suburbs. For a long moment there was no sound but the gentle rush of air, and a look at Clark showed him lost in thought. “At the time each of my kids found out about who I am, what I can do, and by extension what they would be able to do, I would sit them down and tell them in no uncertain terms that their lives were theirs to live. I would love them regardless of whether they chose to put on the spandex or not, and I would only be disappointed if they didn’t believe in whatever it was they did end up doing. Do you believe in your work?”
“Of course I do,” Spencer answered quickly.
“Then you’re not a phony.”
“But I’m no Superman, either, even if that’s how I present myself on screen.”
“That’s true, but those movies are fiction, and you’re only human. As far as I’m concerned, the best way that you can honor my legacy, to live up to S you wear on your chest, is to keep being yourself. Keep being a good person, someone who values truth and family and works for what you believe in, and you will be fine. I meant everything I said in Australia. I know you don’t need me to be proud of you, but I already am.”
Spencer was speechless. He wanted to say so much, but all he could think of was how grateful he was to have Clark Kent as a friend. After a moment, he felt them begin to descend, and just like that, their time together was done. Their feet touched the ground, and Clark stepped away. Spencer wanted to hug him again, but he was aware that this time around they were in a public place, it felt like too personal a gesture to be seen by nosy neighbors. Instead, he just extended his hand. “Thank you,” he said, simply, and Clark just nodded. “I’ll see you around.”
“Count on it,” Clark said, then took off.
Spencer walked slowly back toward his parents’ house, lost in thought. By the time he had entered and greeted his family, he had come to a decision. He answered the questions from his kids and his wife about his encounter with Superman as best he could, but once the excitement of his return died down and he was able to have some quiet time, he sat his wife down and took her hand.
“Today was a magical day,” he said, causing her to nod emphatically. “It almost seems like here, back home in Kansas City, we’re the best versions of ourselves.”
“I’ve never cared for California or the people there. You know that,” she said, and he agreed. She always seemed out of place among the phony perfection of Hollywood, and he had never felt comfortable there, either. They lived there because that’s where the work was. But with the Superman movies, including the promise of more to come, he had enough money that he probably never had to want for anything again. That, juxtaposed with what Clark had said about the benefits of growing up in a small town, with miles of open space around, made the decision very easy.
“Let’s move back here,” he said, and her face lit up.
“Oh, Spence, do you mean that?”
“Absolutely,” he said with a smile, and she launched herself at him, wrapping him in a tight embrace, then seeking out his mouth with hers. In the whirlwind that followed, they informed the kids and his parents of their decision, and everyone was excited. Maybe he would seek out properties in the small towns surrounding the Kansas City metro, maybe Smallville had some real estate available. Spencer thought of the days to come, of meetings with real estate agents and the gossip that would inevitably come out of it, but he found it hard to be anything but happy.
