14
Clark was unbelievably elated that he had made a direct hit with Nightfall and was heading home to his beloved wife and folks. He had gotten a good head start on the exploding debris and was about halfway home when a wave of pure energy – the nuclear backlash - hit him like a brick wall. Miraculously, his suit remained intact. Clark figured his aura must have protected it. However, there was now red and green particle dust covering his suit – and all around him in space. He attempted to contact EPRAD CONTROL. It appeared his transmitter had perished in the energy surge. No problem, he reasoned, he'd be home within hours anyway.
As he made his final approach to earth, Clark noticed that there was a greenish haze, similar to Saturn's rings, circling his beloved planet. Apparently the energy wave had accelerated the arrival of the remains of Nightfall. Meteor showers were occurring all over the globe. <What if the green particles *were* Kryptonite?> he wondered. With the suit on, it would be no problem, since it was lead-lined. What would happen when he took it off on earth? Suddenly it didn't seem so prudent to go home right now.
Clark flew to the Moon and sat on the top of one of the Lunar Mountains, enjoying the view of the Earth from outer space. It was breathtaking; some day he would have to bring Lois with him so she could enjoy this wondrous sight. In the meantime, he would be running out of oxygen within several hours and he needed a game plan.
He recalled how Lois had told him that Boyle had disclosed that Edge Enterprises provides funding for research for both STAR LABS and EPRAD. If the nuclear warhead in the missile he had been carrying was coated with some of the Kryptonite that Thorul had already used on him, then perhaps they also had something to do with the destruction of the first missile. It *had* exploded under mysterious circumstances, after all. That ensured that he was forced to make this trip into outer space and inadvertently expose himself to Kryptonite particle dust, which is insidious – could get into nearly everything – the air, buildings – clothing - forcing him into either exile or wearing a lead lined suit.
Neither prospect was attractive, especially since he had a very *hot*, loving wife at home that he desperately wanted to be with. It what he suspected was true, it was a brilliant plan, actually. Only a Luthor could have thought of it, he reasoned.
Perhaps he could try fixing his EPRAD transmitter. If he could talk to Bernie, he could probably gauge the level of Kryptonite radiation in the air and advise him how dangerous it might be to him. Damn, he really needed Dr. Klein to find that antidote for Kryptonite - ASAP!
~~~~~
Lois had just sent the revised Nightfall story to Mark's editing queue when her extension rang.
"Lois? It's Bernie Klein. I got your message."
"Dr. Klein – Bernie – thank God. Have you heard anything from Clark since Nightfall was destroyed?"
"No, Lois. We believe that the transmitter was ruined in the resulting explosion. It's not working."
"Do you have any way to track him by his suit?"
"Yes, there is a way I can possibly find him using on a type of radar that I developed, actually," he replied. "His suit is coated with lead. I may be able to track him when he's close enough to earth by detecting where a high concentration of lead exists in a certain sector of space."
Dr. Klein continued to explain in highly technical scientific jargon how his space-radar might work. Lois tried desperately to follow his rhetoric, but found herself spacing out on the phone after several minutes.
"Bernie – that's nice, but cut to the chase – when can you tell me if he's out there and alive?" Lois asked, fearful of hearing more of the same.
"Give me about 45 minutes, and I'll call you back."
"That's great, Bernie. Thanks so much, I appreciate it," said Lois, sighing.
Lois' phone rang again. It was Lucy, calling from California. She hadn't stayed long after their welcome home party, and was back in San Diego.
"Lo? Clark's a hero! You must be so proud of him," she exclaimed. "How is he?"
"I don't know, yet, Luce… we haven't heard from him. His transmitter's broken. I'm worried about him."
"Well, I wanted to let you know that we're definitely moving to Metropolis! Isn't that great? Will is getting transferred to the East Coast, because of some big acquisition his company made."
<Omigod. She doesn't know that the big acquisition was the Daily Planet. She really doesn't know. I can't deal with this right now.>
"That's great Luce. When will you be here officially? We'll have to have lunch." <So I can ruin your life and your marriage. Great sister I'll be.>
"We should be here by Friday. Will has a big meeting he has to attend. I'll call you when I get off the plane. Call me if there's news about Clark, Lo. Love you."
"Love you too, Luce. See you soon."
Lois hung up the phone, breathing heavily. She was overcome by a wave of anxiety. She had a pit in her stomach that wouldn't go away. Clark was missing, and Lucy was married to a man who works directly for her nemesis. Besides living in a refugee camp for ten years in Congo-Brazzaville, what could be worse than this?
She suddenly found the answer to her question. She looked up and saw her mother getting off the elevator, heading towards her desk. Part of her wanted to run away as far as she could. <Oh, Mother! Why now of all times?>
"Lois. There you are," her mother exclaimed. "Clark's a hero. Where is he? I'm so proud of my new son-in-law!" Ellen Lane leaned over and gave her daughter the very briefest kiss on the forehead. Displaying emotions in public was frowned upon in the Lane household.
<If *one* more person asks me where Clark is…!> "Mother, he's not back yet. I'm hoping to hear from him any minute now," she replied, biting her wannabe acidic tongue.
"Are you okay, honey? You look pale. You don't look well. Why don't I get you some soup? Do you want New England clam chowder or Chicken Noodle? Or tea? How about some hot tea?"
<Never realized what side of the family the babble gene came from until right now.>
"Mother, I'm fine. I'll admit I'm a bit worried about Clark, but he promised me he'd return safe and sound, and I have to believe him." <Keep telling yourself that, Lane…>
"You haven't called me once since you've come back. I know you're a newlywed and all, Lois, but you only have one mother. And we were apart for ten years! Ten years. Do you know what it's like for a mother to think her daughter was dead for ten long years?"
<God, please let her stop talking. Please. I don't want to mean to my own mother, but I can't take it.>
"Mother… things aren't going all that well for me right now. I have to see a psychiatrist a couple of times a week, mandated by the new owners of the Daily Planet. My editor is hitting on me and making my life hell simultaneously, and Clark, the man who saved me in every way possible, is missing."
Lois started bawling, and grabbed the box of tissues innocently resting on her desk and headed to the ladies' room. Ellen Lane followed her, as it had become painfully obvious to the other staffers that the two of them were making a scene.
Boyle had been keeping a watchful eye on Lois since he had left her desk, and smiled snidely when he watched her lose control and head for the rest room with her mother. He dialed yet another familiar number.
"Yeah, it's me. She's starting to crack. It's working. We have to keep the Boy Scout up in space somehow. It's too bad. She's really quite a woman."
"Get your hormones back in their pants, Boyle. Right now, she's off-limits to you. Just stick to the plan, and before you know it, Lois Lane will be spending the rest of her days in the happy farm. If you want to marry her you'll have to have conjugal visits there."
"Hmm... that still might be worth it. Have to give that one some thought. See you Friday at the meeting."
"Absolutely."
~~~~~
Clark's frustration came to a head as he finally realized that he couldn't fix his radio. How could he get a message to Dr. Klein and Lois so they would at least know he was okay and let them know why he was reticent to fly home? Not carrying a pen and paper with him into space made it a tad difficult. The space dust encircling the earth wouldn't be visible from the ground, but pictures of the earth from outer space would eventually be transmitted to earth via weather satellites or the Hubble Space Telescope!
As he studied the earth, it dawned on him that there were numerous communication satellites that were in orbit as well! Perhaps he could somehow tap into them to transmit a message home. Or – waitaminute! The space station! He remembered EPRAD and NASA worrying about the astronauts on board, the crew of Expedition 7. They couldn't get a space shuttle to rendezvous with them in time, once they had realized that Nightfall was heading right for earth. Besides, it might be safer to be in space than on the ground, if the asteroid had really hit them full force!
All he had to do was knock on their 'windshield' and they'd let him right in - no problem! <Another crisis solved>, he thought, as he flew around the earth searching for the space station, his only hope.
~~~~~
Bernie finally got a "hit" in space. There was a high concentration of lead adjacent to the moon. Strangely, it was moving quickly and seemed to be headed towards the International Space Station (ISS). Could it be Clark? Bernie made a quick call to NASA's secure line.
"Yes. May I speak with Major Nelson, please? Bernie Klein, Star Labs calling. Yes, I'll hold."
"Nelson here."
"Bernie Klein. I have reason to believe that Superman is going to pay a visit to the ISS crew any minute now."
"Really? Why isn't he just coming home? Is everything all right?"
"No, his transmitter's broken, and I just noticed a ring of green and red dust that my space element radar is picking up. If it's Kryptonite, it may be dangerous for him to return to earth right now. Can you get in touch with Expedition 7 right away?"
"Of course."
"If it *is* Clark, please have the crew get a message to me ASAP. I'm sure his wife is a basket case right now as well."
"Will do. I'll call you back on the private line ASAP."
"Thanks, Major."
"No problem, Dr. Klein."
~~~~~
Lois and her mother decided on a late afternoon lunch/dinner so both of them could calm down. Ellen Lane didn't realize how taxing she could be to her daughter at times, and Lois was feeling insecure and fragile without Clark around. The combination of the two Lane personalities in one room for any length of time had the potential to become a full-blown disaster!
Walking through the front lobby of the Planet, Lois' now favorite door person Scott said, "Leaving for lunch, Ms. Lane? Have a good one."
"Thanks, Scott. By the way, this is my mother, Ellen Lane. Mom, this is Scott."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," he said.
Ellen Lane blushed at the "ma'am". Scott was a cute kid of about 25. "Thank you, sweetie, nice to meet you too," she replied. She offered her hand, and Scott graciously kissed it.
<Wow, it's getting too mushy around here! Where's Clark?>, Lois thought. <He better come back soon!>
Lois and her mother settled into a booth in the nearby diner. After ordering their drinks, Lois decided to drop a bombshell on her mother. Things weren't going well today anyway, so she might as well put the fudge on the ice cream!
"Mother, I have reason to believe that Lucy's husband is involved in organized crime. How do you think I should approach her about it?"
Ellen Lane's eyes widened as she absorbed Lois' statement. "Honey, are you *sure*?"
<May as well be direct as usual…> "Yes mother, I'm sure. How well do you know your son-in-law, anyway? Has Lucy shared much information with you about him?"
"Well, she said that Will worked for a large corporation out on the West Coast, and he was an Assistant VP of Acquisitions. You know I don't get involved in business dealings; she seemed happy, and that's all I ever wanted for both of you. Your happiness – that's all that has ever mattered. When you decided to go to Africa, I was so upset. And your father – he was no help as usual. That man-"
"Mother – Mom – please. We're talking about Lucy here, not me. I'm sorry I was out of touch for ten years. I was trying to keep you, Daddy, and Lucy safe. I did the best I could, really, I did…" Lois put her head down so her mother wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes – again. "Can we get back to the subject of how I can go about telling Lucy that her husband is a criminal?"
"Lois – what's the point of telling her? If he treats her well, and she loves him – does it matter?"
"Mother!" Lois stood up now to make her point, nearly knocking the table and all of its silverware over. "How can you say that? The man helps arrange murders, is the complete opposite of everything Clark and I stand for – truth, justice, and all things American! How can you possibly suggest that I look the other way – or that *she* would want to?"
Just then the waitress, a mousy shy teenager of about 17, arrived at the table to take their order. Pen and pad poised, she turned towards Lois and was about to ask if they were both ready to order when Lois gave her a look to kill. Without saying a word, the frightened girl fled from the booth and nearly ran back into the kitchen.
"Lois, Will Church is a respected businessman. You always think *everyone* is up to no good. I don't think you should tell her. You dig up some hard evidence first before you go ruining your sister's marriage," Ellen asserted. "Now, let's change the subject. I'm going to look at the menu and hope that you didn't scare the bejesuses out of our poor waitress."
Lois knew her mother well enough to know that there *would* be no further discussion. Sighing, she opened the menu and wondered if strychnine chowder could possibly be the soup du jour?
~~~~~
TBC
