Previously...
“You’re asking me to fly a million miles into space to stop a rock the size of Metropolis that’s traveling faster than any space craft you’ve been able to design,” Kal spoke, talking over the scheming men.
“Can you?” Cosgrove asked.
And with the look that Cosgrove had, Kal realized how much they needed him.
“I don’t know,” he told them honestly.
“You’re our only hope,” Zeiltin told Kal.
Of course, Kal knew from the beginning that he would help in any way that he could.
“I guess I will find out where my limits really are,” Kal decided, turning to look at each of the gentlemen in turn. They nodded grimly back at him in response.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lois fought her way through the crowd of reporters until she got to the edge of the rope barrier. Normally, working her way to the front of a pack of anxious reporters was a difficult task, but her anger gave her extra fuel. She couldn’t believe that Kal hadn’t told her any of this beforehand.
Once there, she was able to see Kal standing among a crowd of government and military looking men. No one else would have noticed the stress he carried in his shoulders, but it spoke volumes to Lois, making her forget her anger temporarily. Ducking under the rope, she began to jog over to where Kal was standing.
“Miss,” one of the men spoke, “you have to go back-”
“She can stay,” Kal told the man. “I need to talk to her for a moment.”
Although they still got a few strange looks, everyone backed off enough for Lois to have some privacy with Kal.
“How are you feeling?” Lois asked him worriedly.
“This will work,” Kal spoke confidently, looking over her head and at the preparations going on behind her.
“Gee, that’s a relief,” Lois spoke sarcastically. “You never told me that telling the future was one of the powers you got here on Earth.”
“Lois-”
“How can you possibly know that this will work?” she demanded.
“Because… it has to,” he finally said.
“Oh, well in that case…”
“Lois, why are you so upset?” Kal asked.
“You’re asking why I’m upset?” she asked with disbelief. “Maybe it has something to do with me finding out through a press conference that my friend is risking his life.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you an exclusive on this, Lois,” he replied. “But we felt that this needed to be addressed right away.”
“I’m not upset about losing the exclusive, Kal!” she exclaimed, stung that he would think so. “I’m worried about *you*.”
“I’m fine,” Kal told her. “I am just trying to focus. There is a certain angle I am to approach the asteroid from in order to assure maximum impact. I can’t afford to miscalculate.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the arrival of a technician bearing equipment for Kal.
“Superman, we need you to put these on right now,” he told Kal.
Lois reluctantly allowed herself to be pushed away as Kal was outfitted with a belt that had two small canisters attached to it, and a headset.
“This should give you enough oxygen,” one of the men told him. “It’s a six hour supply for an ordinary man.”
“That will be fine,” Kal replied, although he didn’t really seem to be paying attention to what the man was saying. Instead, his attention was directed towards an imposing man wearing a military uniform.
“Superman, I want to offer you the tactical nuclear option one more time,” the man said to Kal. “You’d only be acting as a delivery system.”
Kal shook his head emphatically. “The EPRAD science team has given me a clear indication of the asteroid’s structural weak point. If I hit it at maximum speed, it is their opinion that I will achieve a 50 megaton explosive force. I think we should try that first and not risk the fallout.”
The nuclear arms man nodded in reluctant agreement.
“This is your com device, Superman,” the technician told Kal. “It’ll allow you to communicate with ground control.”
Kal slipped the headset on. “Is this working?” he asked, speaking into the microphone.
“Good,” the technician nodded. “Stand by for further instructions. We’ll be organizing your takeoff shortly.”
Alone again for the time being, Lois moved in closer to him. “Are they saying that there was an option that would have been a lot safer for you?” she demanded. “And you decided against it?”
“It might have been safer for me, but it held a lot of risks for everyone else, Lois,” Kal told her. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that the people here on Earth are safe.”
Lois took a step back, taking in Kal’s determined face.
“You don’t care at all, do you?” she asked with dawning realization.
“Have you been listening to me at all, Lois? Of course I-”
“I mean you don’t care about yourself.” she spoke. “About whether you live or die.” Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of never seeing Kal again. Never having him make sure she woke up on time in the morning, or ask a bizarre question out of the blue…
“Lois…” Kal reached up to brush a tear from her cheek.
She shuddered from his touch and the tears fell even harder.
“I got a second life here on Earth,” Kal told her gently. “And I always wondered… I wondered why it was that I survived. And maybe this is my answer. Maybe I survived Krypton in order to save Earth.”
“But Kal,” she spoke, hiccupping from the tears. “We care about you here. Jonathan and Martha and… And me. I don’t want you to die.”
“Lois…”
“Don’t you want to stay here?” she asked. “Don’t you like it here?” She didn’t care how desperate she sounded. All that mattered was that she needed Kal to stay.
“Of course I like it here, Lois,” Kal told her. “It’s just that…” He glanced over her head again, and his face wrinkled in frustration. “I have to go now, Lois,” he told her, his voice low and urgent. “They’re signaling for me.”
“No!” she cried, grabbing onto his slick sleeve.
He stopped abruptly, looking down to where they were touching.
Then Kal pulled her closer with those arms that were so powerful, too powerful in this case. She had no hope of fighting it, even if she wanted to. He pressed her into a hard kiss that caused even more tears to leak out. She tasted salt.
They broke apart and Lois looked up into his face, gasping in a hard breath.
And then he lifted off, escaping from her arms and leaving only a ghostly memory of their contact. She craned her neck upwards and shielded her eyes from the sun to try to get a glimpse of him, but she couldn’t see anything.
He had gone.
* * *
They had made a scene, back there when Kal took off. In any normal circumstance, that would have worried Lois. When Kal first moved to Metropolis, Lois had given him a long talk about why it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to be associated with Superman. At first, she wasn’t sure if he understood it, but the longer he spent on Earth, the more he realized that having Lois Lane publicly connected to Superman would be a bad thing.
So they played it safe. Lois was careful about the amount of exclusive Superman interviews she claimed, and Kal was careful to avoid making too many public rescues of Lois, preferring to save her from peril in less noticeable ways.
But now Lois was stuck in the newsroom with all of her colleagues while pretending that their kiss had only been a casual one for luck, and that there was no meaning behind it.
Yeah, right.
There was no way Lois could have mistaken that kiss for something casual. What she didn’t know was what Kal had actually intended it to mean.
“I can see it now,” Kal spoke though the live feed. “In fact, it’s hard to see anything else. It’s immense.”
Lois squeezed her hands together tighter to keep from visually reacting. Kal was trying to put such a brave face on this all, but she knew that he must be so scared inside.
“Roger, Superman,” Ground Control replied. “We copy you on the ground. Do you have stress point acquisition in visual?”
“Yes,” Kal replied shortly.
Lois chewed on her lip to keep from yelling at the TV. How could they be so cool and distant while Kal was obviously struggling?
“Stand by for final briefing procedure,” the man told Kal.
“I know what I have to do,” Kal spoke.
Lois let out a soft breath of laughter at that. Trust Kal to be stubborn and want to do it on his own.
Gritting her teeth, she kept silent as they started counting down until impact.
“Five…. four… three… two…”
Abruptly, the sound of harsh static came over the TV. Everyone in the newsroom leaned forward closer to the screen.
“This is EPRAD control,” a voice spoke over the set. “We have lost transmission with Superman.”
“Well, his microphone went out,” Lois blurted out. “He’s fine.”
She felt the sad stares of her colleagues on her back.
“He’s got to be,” she spoke quietly.
As a group, the staff turned sadly away from the TV, leaving Lois sitting by herself, staring into the screen for answers.
There was no way that he could be gone.
* * *
Brian O’Hara was tired. Nightfall had been a nightmare for the MPD, and things had just been starting to calm down until Superman went missing. Underneath it all, Brian was deeply worried about his friend, but with all the rioters needing to be brought in, he had barely had time to breathe let alone feel apprehensive.
“Detective O’Hara!”
“I’m busy, Shannon,” he brushed the constable off. “I need to get these guys processed.” He gestured to the pair of dirty men sitting sullenly on the bench.
“The Inspector wants to see you,” Shannon told him. “He says it can’t wait.”
“Great,” Brian muttered. It hadn’t taken him long to realize that his promotion had come with a lot more stress and responsibility along with the pay raise.
“I’ll finish up the paperwork on them,” his colleague offered. “You’re supposed to delegate this type of thing now, anyway.”
Free of the two muggers, Brian walked down the hall to Henderson’s office. He knocked lightly before opening the door.
Henderson was clearly harassed by the piles of papers on his desk, but his face cleared a little bit when he saw Brian.
“You know that Kent guy, right?” he asked Brian.
“Yeah,” Brian replied cautiously. “We’re friends.”
“Good. I need to you come to the interrogation room with me and look at something.”
Brian’s mind raced during the short trip to the interrogation room. As far as he knew, Kal was still missing. Why was Henderson asking about Clark Kent?
“Here,” Henderson gestured to the glass.
Brian sagged with relief when he saw Kal sitting patiently at the table. Sure, Kal was wearing some strange glasses and his clothing looked like it had been plucked from the dumpster, but it was still him. He was safe.
“That’s him, right?” Henderson asked Brian.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Brian confirmed. “What is he doing here?”
“Listen.”
The door opened and one of the department psychiatrists walked in. Brian could never remember her name. Mc-something.
“What is your name?” the doctor asked Kal.
Brian held his breath. He couldn’t quite place it, but something told him that something was off with Kal, and the last thing that needed to happen was Kal blowing his cover in the police station while he wasn’t up to his usual ability.
“I already told them earlier,” Kal replied, a bit of frustration creeping into his voice. “I don’t remember.”
Brian’s breath caught again. Among all the things he had suspected, he hadn’t guessed that.
“Do you remember your favorite color?” the doctor asked.
Kal’s brow wrinkled in concentration.
“No,” he replied finally. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right,” she replied. “Just take your time.”
“I really can’t remember anything,” he told her.
Brian felt the fear that was behind those words.
“Can I see him?” Brian asked Henderson.
“McCorkle says it’s okay,” Henderson shrugged. “I’ve given Lois Lane a call, too, and she says she’ll be over to pick him up soon. Maybe you can just keep him company until then.”
Calling Lois was a good thing, Brian acknowledged. After all, Kal was living at her apartment, so she would be the best person to help him.
The psychiatrist exited the interrogation room.
“Are you Detective O’Hara?” she asked him.
“Yeah,” Brian replied.
“You can go in to talk to him now,” she told him. “It’s unlikely that he’ll have any memory of you, so try not to be alarmed.”
“Can I tell him that I know him?” Brian asked.
“It’s best not to actively hide anything from Mr. Kent,” McCorkle nodded. “Lying would only cause him confusion. However, try to avoid telling him everything. It’s best if he discovers his memories for himself.”
With those confusing instructions in his head, Brian entered the interrogation room.
Kal lifted his head in response to the door opening and closing.
“Hey,” Brian greeted him.
“Hi,” Kal answered back warily.
Brian watched him closely. This whole situation had the added complication of everyone thinking this was ordinary Clark Kent while Superman was actually sitting in this chair. Maybe Kal had forgotten who Clark was, but remembered who he really was?
That was unlikely, Brian decided. There was no hint of recognition as Brian sat down across from Kal.
“I know you don’t remember me,” Brian spoke, “but we’re actually friends.”
“We are?”
“Yes.”
“Then you can tell me who I am!” Kal said, sitting forward in his chair.
“Uh…”
Dr. McCorkle had said not to lie to Kal, yet Brian found himself in an impossible situation. Not only was Kal listening, but so were the people on the other side of the glass. He couldn’t just not say anything, but at the same time, he could hardly tell Kal the truth while they were here.
“Your name is Clark Kent,” Brian finally told Kal wincing as the lie came out.
“Clark Kent,” Kal echoed. “And you are?”
“Brian,” Brian replied. “O’Hara. We met at the scene of an accident a few months ago. You were assisting and I was one of the officers called to the scene.”
“I was assisting? So is that something I do for my job?”
“Uh… Sort of. But it was more of a volunteer thing…” How on Earth was Brian supposed to explain Kal’s job while he was still supposed to be Clark Kent?
“So what do I do for a living?” Kal asked.
“I don’t really know if I can tell you,” Brian stalled, glancing back at the mirror. He hoped that the doctor would interrupt, but he had already guessed that this was one of those things that Kal should know about.
Kal was frowning. “So you can tell me my name, but you can’t tell me anything else?”
“Well, that’s not entirely true…”
The door burst open and a brunette tornado flew into the room and ran into Kal’s arms. Kal hugged her, a bewildered expression on his face.
“You’re safe!” Lois exclaimed. It was difficult to hear her not only because she was speaking into Kal’s shoulder, but because she was speaking incredible fast. “I was so worried about you when the radio went off and no one had heard anything. Everyone thought you were dead. I did too, but now here you are! You’re safe. And I’m sorry I got upset with you before. It was completely my fault. All that matters now is that you’re back.”
“Uh… Lois?” Brian reached forward to touch her gently.
She pulled herself away. “Yeah?”
“Did anyone… tell you? About Clark?” He emphasized Kal’s pseudonym to remind Lois of where they were.
“No, what would they say?” Lois’ hand tightened on Kal’s shirt.
“Lois, Clark can’t remember anything,” Brian told Lois gently.
“Anything?” She gasped, and turned to face Kal’s sheepish and bewildered expression.
“Nothing,” Kal confirmed. “I’m sorry…”
“Lois,” she filled in absently.
“I’m sorry, Lois. I just don’t remember anything about myself or about you or about anything.”
Brian watched Lois’ face as she processed the information. She seemed to go through a range of emotions until she finally settled into one of determined sympathy.
“It’s okay, Clark,” she said, sliding her hand over to touch his. “I’ll help you remember everything you need to. Come on. Let’s get you home.”
* * *
Lois watched Kal as he walked into her apartment and surveyed the space. He didn’t seem to recognize anything.
The drive over had been stiff with tension. Lois had barely been able to watch the road as she prattled on and on about the weather and sports teams and any other meaningless thing she could think of while all the time staring at Kal and watching for any reaction.
She had never seen him looking so helpless. If he was uncomfortable in this world when he first arrived, it was nothing in comparison to the way he acted now. Before he did anything, he would always glance back at Lois, a tacit request for approval.
“Anything look familiar?” she asked.
“No,” he replied morosely. “I don’t recognize anything.”
“Well, take your time,” she encouraged. “Feel free to explore around. You never know if something may jog your memory.”
Kal walked slowly around the apartment, running his fingers lightly over objects and occasionally leaning in to get a closer look.
She tried to pay attention to him. It was clear that he needed someone to guide him through this, but for some reason she couldn’t stop thinking about that farewell kiss.
What did he mean by it? Was it actually just a kiss for luck like she had told her coworkers, or was it supposed to mean more? The passion behind it made her think that it was supposed to be more, but maybe she was just deluding herself.
Kal had made his way to the kitchen and was playing with the coffee maker.
“You always make the coffee,” Lois told him, coming up to stand beside him. “I don’t know how you do it, but it’s always way better when you make it.”
“I don’t know how I do it either,” Kal told her, a small smile flickering across his face.
“Well, I can make it now, I guess,” she spoke. It would give her something to do.
Kal watched as she dumped the grounds in and started the machine. They both stared at the machine, riveted by the stream of fresh coffee slowly filling up the pot. Finally, Lois couldn’t take the tension anymore.
“I’m just going to get changed,” she announced.
Kal nodded blankly and she raced from the room.
But as soon as she was gone, she wished she was back with him again. As hard as it was to see him like this, not seeing him turned out to be even harder. She had come very close to losing him, and now she was the only person taking care of him.
She changed as quickly as she could and joined him in the kitchen again just as he was setting her cup on the table.
“I didn’t know what you take with it, so I just set everything out,” Kal explained, gesturing to the table.
“Thanks,” she replied. He had put out cream and sugar. Silently forgoing her calorie count for the day, she reached for the cream.
Kal sat down opposite her, and she glanced up to give him another reassuring smile. That’s when she noticed the coffee cup in his hand.
Her jaw hanging open, she watched as he lifted the cup to his lips and took a casual sip. He blinked in surprise, and pulled back to look at the cup.
Well, of course he was surprised. He had never actually tasted coffee before.
Lois continued to stare as he took another cautious sip and swallowed it this time without any difficulty.
Finally, he glanced up and noticed her stare.
“Is everything all right?” he asked her.
“Uh… yeah,” she spoke, pulling herself together.
He placed the cup down. “What’s wrong, Lois? You’re staring at me.”
“Oh, sorry,” she replied, flustered. “It’s just that… You… normally put sugar in your coffee,” she lied.
“Oh,” he replied, not suspecting her at all. “I guess that might be why it didn’t taste like I expected.”
“Maybe,” she spoke, her voice oddly strained.
Kal put two spoons of sugar in his coffee and stirred it slowly.
Lois watched him carefully.
Despite his painful confusion, there was something about him that seemed different. Lighter, even.
He was no longer carrying the weight of an entire dead planet on his shoulders.
It was amazing how much healthier he looked because of that. Lois felt tears gather in her eyes, so she hastily looked down.
Why did it have to be so hard for him? All that guilt could not be healthy for him, yet he refused to let it go. It shouldn’t have taken amnesia for him to move on. Why couldn’t he do that himself?
“Lois?” he interrupted her thoughts with his gentle voice.
“Yes, Clark?” she blinked the tears from her eyes and lifted her gaze.
“Are you okay?” he asked gently.
“I’m fine,” she replied quickly, brushing the last traces of wetness from the corner of her eye.
He looked so concerned. His brow was furrowed, and his mouth was pressed together. That mouth…
Why couldn’t she get it out of her head?
“Look, Lois…” Kal ducked his head, but reached his hand forward until it was touching hers. “I don’t really know how to ask this… And maybe I shouldn’t ask and just wait for it to come back to me, but I see you hurting and I just can’t stand that. I don’t want something to be kept from me just to make me feel less… pressured, or something.”
“Okay,” she replied.
“And I may be totally off base here, and so if I’m wrong, can we just blame it on the head injury?”
“Sure,” she agreed, smiling a little despite her anxiety. He would ask about being Superman now. And once she told him the truth, the memory would probably come back. And the weightless man who drank coffee would be replaced again by the moody, guilt-ridden alien.
“Lois, I look at the way that you care about me, and although I don’t remember you, I think there’s an unconscious part of me that remembers how I feel about you. It feels like… there’s something going on between us. Romantically.”
Lois pulled back her gasp, hoping it wasn’t too noticeable.
“I’m not sure what it is,” Kal continued. “Maybe we’re dating or maybe it’s more. But I do think it is… something.” He twisted his fingers around her hand, and glanced up at her. “Am I right?”
She couldn’t breathe under the pressure of those eyes. She had noticed before how deep and intense they were, but never had they been directed towards her in the total, complete, focused way they were right now.
“Yes,” she whispered, hypnotized by those eyes. “You’re right. There is something between us.”
Kal burst out a brilliant smile that was almost beautiful enough to distract her from his eyes.
“I thought so,” he spoke.
In tandem, as if they were reading each other’s minds, they leaned forward across the table, and met with their lips in the middle.
