Okay, here's a nice, long part to make up for my long absence. I hope there is still interest in my story
Also, from now on, I'll only be posting this story here.
to recap....
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"Alright, my dear, time to head back," Wells said, getting ready to adjust his watch.
"Mr. Wells, wait. Please, just give me a second," she said, swallowing past the lump in her throat.
"My dear?"
Clarissa didn't say anything, but just sat on a nearby piece of farm equipment, trying to fight the tears that were springing to her eyes.
"I just...I..." she struggled to get the words out. "I'm just having a hard time believing that that was my Dad," she explained. "My dad is the strongest, most confident man I know. I rarely see him have doubts about anything. Maybe part of that strength does come from my mom, but it was just so hard to hear him just now, sounding so uncertain about...everything!"
"Mm-mm, quite," Wells nodded. "Indeed, the Clark Kent I have always known has few ambivalences. But at one point he was doubtful, unsure, even frightened. Just as we all are from time to time."
"Wow," she murmured, almost to herself.
"Well," he said, trying to pull her from her reverie. "Ready to go?"
She stood, a new light shining in her dark eyes. "Definitely."
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And now(drum roll)...part 5!
Clarissa and Wells returned with Clark to the city. That evening she got her first glimpse of the man she'd heard about, only a few times growing up, but enough to know that he was the only person her father actively hated. Not only was he trying to single-handedly out do the space program, but he'd also had the nerve to hold a sword to her father's throat. She'd been instinctively startled at first, but then almost overcome with pride, when, turning around from his perusal of Lex's study, Clark had found himself staring at the sharp point of a blade, and hadn't even flinched.
A few minutes later, after taking in the view from the balcony, she could see from the look on Clark's face that her father already didn't care too much for the man. She filed that one away to ask her Dad about when she got home. Then, once again, Wells shifted them. It was now early morning the next day; the city was coming alive again. Clark was getting out of a cab, on his way to meet Lois. Herb remembered, almost too late, that another important moment was about to pass, and very quickly.
"I've been meaning to ask you, my dear. Do you know where your father got the idea for becoming Superman?"
"I know it's always been his nature to help people, it's just the way he is," she shrugged.
"Yes, yes, but do you know exactly how he was created? For instance, the idea for the Suit?" he pressed on.
Clarissa wasn't sure where Mr. Wells was going with this. "Grandma made the Suit," she said, shaking her head.
Herb smiled. "I think you might be a bit surprised at where the actual idea came from," he said, and pointed towards the street.
Lois and Clark met up and began to discuss the Messenger story, but halfway across the street they were stopped short by an explosion in a manhole. Lois rushed ahead to get a better view, leaving Clark behind. While Lois took notes, a worker was miraculously pushed to the surface. A minute later, Clark was standing next to her again, his clothes covered in grim. She brushed at his lapels in disdain.
"Look at you, you're a mess! From now on do what I do; bring a change of clothes to work," she ordered, then pulled him along in her wake. Wells watched the young girl's face, waiting for comphrehension to dawn.
For a minute, Clarissa just stood there, not quite understanding what she'd heard, or why it was signifigant. And then...
"*Mom* gave Daddy the idea to change clothes?" she blurted out, flabbergasted.
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It was during another meeting to discuss the Messenger story that a frustrated Lois informed Clark that they were in for a long night. His simple response, and the look on his face, implied a meaning beyond the words. Clarissa thought happily for a moment that the seeds for her parents' love were being planted, but the moment, she found, was to be short-lived. In a lingering, intense look between the two reporters, Clarissa could see the love already in her father's eyes, and the effect it had on her mother. But Lois put him off immediately, and directed them back to the story.
Upon discovery of their informant's body, Clarissa saw an early example of something she'd been familiar with all her life; her father's tendency to defend helpless people, when he chastised a rude police officer for making an insensitive comment. Lois, taken aback by his vehemence, gently but firmly redirected Clark's attention back to clearing the man's name, and suggested they meet up later.
Back at the Planet, Wells was chastising himself for his own carelessness in allowing his young charge to hear something she shouldn't have. Hours later, in the bullpen, he was still paying for it.
"Mom must have been pretty freaked out to have said *that*!! Ha! Ha! Ha!!!" Clarissa laughed hysterically after hearing Lois' reaction upon picking Clark up at his hotel.
"Hmm, quite," Herb agreed tersely, nervously tugging at his collar. He'd forgotten about that particular morning; he'd have skipped it otherwise. He cleared his throat. "That entire incident was a bit...absurd," he coughed, frowning disapprovingly as Clarissa continued to giggle. At his stern glare, she suppressed her laughter, with some effort.
"Anyway, Lois and Clark were successful in proving Platt's theory of sabotage, and despite Clark's making a fool of himself while trying to assist Ms. Lane while she was being held captive, the mission went on as planned, with one Sup...uh, small...change," he covered quickly, hoping she hadn't noticed his slip. He was getting ahead of himself.
She didn't appear to notice Wells' gaffe, but in true Lane fashion, zeroed in on the part about her father, unable to picture him doing anything stupid or foolish.
"What do you mean? What did he do?" she asked, her brown eyes widening.
Herb sighed, and rolled his eyes slightly. "Ms. Lane managed to get herself captured by the ringleader of the conspiracy and, finding Lois being held, Clark made a rather arrogant display, and found himself tied up along with her," he replied, trying to gloss over Clark's idiotic rescue attempt. "One of those foolish things young men do. And Lois dutifully-what is the expression?-'let him have it'. But your father defended his actions." Then his voice softened. "It was during their row that an important bond was established between them, a bond of trust, and understanding that grew, slowly, with time, but exists to this day." It then occurred to Herb that, with Clark's rescue of Lois in the hangar, they were about to enter the era of Clark, in both guises, coming to Lois' aid on a regular basis. Did Clarissa know how danger-prone her mother had once been?
"Speaking of which, how familiar are you with your mother's habit of getting into dangerous spots?" he asked carefully.
"Oh, you mean the whole 'dangling above the jaws of death' thing? Yeah, I know all about it," she replied easily.
"You do?" said Herb.
"Mm-hmm," she nodded. "They used to argue about it all the time, still do sometimes. Daddy said some of the stuff Mom used to do, the situations she got into, just for the sake of a story, nearly scared the life out of him. He said she was really reckless before they got married, before they had me. But I guess being a mom changed her. She became more careful, more responsible, but, Daddy says, she's still Lois Lane, and every once in a while..." she trailed off, shrugging.
That's what he'd needed to know. "Indeed. Well, time to move along," Wells restated, and adjusted his watch. He now felt supremely confident in the purpose of their journey, and his success in showing Clarissa how it all began. She'd already witnessed their first meeting, and knew that things had been rocky at first. Now, it was time for one of the most important parts of her parents' relationship. He replaced his watch, and looked at Clarissa. "It's time for Superman to arrive," he smiled.
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"This, my dear, is one of the main reasons we came back in time," Wells explained. There was a party going on in the newroom! There were streamers, party hats, lots of balloons, and champagne. The revelers were celebrating the Daily Planet's front page scoop exposing Dr. Antoinette Baines, a high-ranking Eprad scientist, of sabotage, and the story of her subsequent murder. Jimmy was reveling in all the attention he was receiving from the girls, when Perry White made an announcement regarding the shuttle mission.
"I just spoke to Ground Control over at Eprad! They went back over the colonist launch vehicle with a fine-toothed comb. They found the same coolant problem in the protective bands and fixed it. Launch is all set for tomorrow morning!" he announced to loud cheers and applause. Despite the happy news, though, he had to let down one of his reporters. "It's a no-go for you, Lois," he said gently. "No reporters allowed."
Lois hardly batted an eyelid. "Imagine the Daily Planet getting an exclusive personal account of being on the colonist transport!" she gushed enthusiastically. But Perry wasn't falling for it.
"No can do, Lois," he repeated.
"Alright," she acquiesed. "Another time, maybe."
Clarissa shook her head. "Right, like Mom would give up that easily."
Perry looked over Lois' shoulder. "Now Clark, you'll be happy to know that Platt's widow and daughter are back on board."
Clark stepped forward, to stand just behind Lois. "Thank you very much, sir," he replied gratefully, but Clarissa didn't miss the tight-jawed, determined look on her mother's face.
"Ah-ha! See there, I told ya!" she exclaimed, pointing at Lois. But just as quickly, Lois reset her features to turn to Clark.
"Um, Clark, I just...well, I wanted to thank you, for all your help in getting us out of there," she said softly.
"I'm glad it all worked out," Clark replied simply, not sure of what else to say.
"And, one other thing," she continued flirtatiously, closing the distance between them. "If you *ever* breath a word of anything I told you in there, I will *deny* it, and..." she threatened.
"You can trust me, Lois," Clark reminded her, warmth shining in his brown eyes.
"Yeah, right," she retorted, pulling her party hat back over her eyes. "I've heard *that* one before!" she snorted dubiously, turned and walked away. Clark just shook his head in amusement.
"But you can trust him, Mom," Clarissa said to her mother's retreating back. "Deep down, you know he won't ever hurt you."
"She does," Wells nodded. "But as I said before, that bond took time to develop, and right now she sees spies under every bed."(*)
"I just hate to see her so suspicious of him," Clarissa lamented. "He loves her so much; there's nothing he wouldn't do for her, and I know he'd rather die than hurt her," she sighed.
Wells said nothing. He knew that nothing he said would ease Clarissa's sadness at seeing her parents, whom she was used to being loving and affectionate with each other, so distant. His word that they would, indeed, grow closer with time was not enough, he knew. She had to witness the evolution of her parents' friendship and love for herself.
"You said it was time for Superman to arrive," she said finally. "So, when exactly does he appear for the first time?"
"Ah, yes, quite," Herb said excitedly, coming back to why they were there. "Very soon. As a matter of fact, your father is in Smallville with your grandmother right now being fitted for the Suit, and will introduce his alter ego to the public within moments."
"Where's Mom?" she asked, noticing that both her parents were no longer in the newsroom.
"About to find herself in a very precarious situation, the first of many she will get into. It is fitting, though, that your mother will be the first person to actually meet your father in his other guise."
"Well, I do know Mom had sort of a crush on Superman for a while," she began. "Did she like him like that right from the start?"
"Oddly enough, no," he replied thoughtfully. "Although she does, as you said, become infatuated with his other identity, with quite bizarre consequences, her initial reaction to Superman was almost worse than her first meeting with Clark."
He adjusted his watch again, and Clarissa found herself on the Messenger shuttle as the colonists were boarding, including a stowaway. Clarissa chuckled as Lois carefully closed the door, then strapped herself in.
"Is this the situation you were talking about?" Clarissa asked ruefully.
"Mm-mmm," Herb replied.
The countdown to liftoff continued over the intercom. Just then Lois looked up to see something flashing on the wall. She unstrapped herself, and walked over to get a better look.
"Oh my god, it's a bomb!" she murmured in horror, backing away. "You bet it is; it's a bomb!" she exclaimed, running to the door, flinging it open. "Someone help! It's a bomb!" she cried. She ran back to the wall and, pliers in hand, began to blindly pull and tear at the wires behind a panel.
"And Mom's always getting onto *me* for doing things without thinking!" Clarissa moaned in disbelief.
"I suspect her reprimands are to keep you from repeating her mistakes, since you are half Lane," Herb suggested. "She knows it's in your disposition."
Lois' actions didn't disarm the bomb, but they did draw the attention of Mission Control. A voice came over the speakers, announcing a halt in the countdown. But the bomb was still set to go off. Then suddenly, there he was. Clarissa smiled joyfully when she saw her father, in the newly minted Suit, burst into the room and quickly approach the explosive. Lois watched, in shock, as the stranger yanked at it, pulling it off the wall.
"Get away from that! What kind of lunatic are you? That's a bomb!" she yelled. The stranger stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing the explosion. Then he burped slightly, covering his mouth.
"Excuse me," he said sheepishly. Lois could only stare at the stranger in astonishment. He'd *eaten* a bomb! People didn't just go around eating bombs.
"What the hell are you?" she breathed in wonderment. The stranger just smiled.
"*That's* what she said the first time she saw Superman?!" Clarissa exclaimed. "She didn't say 'that's incredible!' or 'how did you do that?'? She said 'what the hell are you?'" She shook her head. "Okay, I know Mom didn't know Dad was Superman the first time she saw him, but I did know growing up that she'd had a big crush on him. I just can't believe that's the first thing she said to him, er...Superman."
"Well, my dear, she was in shock," Wells tried to explain. "It wasn't the same 'love at first sight' that your father experienced the first time he saw your mother. He's not Clark Kent here; he's...someone else, someone very different, who inexplicably eats bombs. Ms. Lane's fearful reaction to that was quite normal."
"I guess that makes sense," she conceeded. "I have to say, Mr. Wells, with every moment you show me from my parents' past's, I learn something totally new about them, my childhood, my whole family!"
"Good. I'm glad to hear it," he nodded. "That's why we're here. But, something's not quite finished. Ms. Lane's and Superman's introduction is not quite complete."
Lois and the stranger went to join the other colonists as they disembarked. She told them that there had been a bomb, and explained, haltingly, that he'd eaten it! A little girl in a wheelchair complimented him on his costume, and he thanked her, telling her it was his mother's handiwork. Suddenly the loudspeaker voice announced that the mission was canceled, much to everyone's disappointment, but the stranger shook his head. The shuttle and station were perfectly intact, they just needed help getting there. When asked how, he smiled knowingly.
"Easy. I'll give them a boost." With that, the stranger carried the Messenger Shuttle to Space Station Prometheus. Suddenly news of the 'strange visitor's' arrival was everywhere; newspapers, television, but nowhere was his first appearance more heralded than at the Daily Planet.
Clarissa and Wells shifted back to the newsroom, which was now buzzing with excited activity. Jimmy trailed Perry White as the Editor read from several sheets of copy he was holding.
"I still don't believe it; a man who flies!"
"Chief, it's all over the TV!" Jimmy said.
"Ah, Jimmy, don't believe everything you see on the tv!" Perry growled. "I'm tellin' ya though, whoever pulled off a hoax like this is..." he trailed off as he looked up, and saw something outside, approaching the large window. "Great Shades of Elvis!"
It was the colorfully-dressed stranger, flying through the window, carrying Lois Lane in his arms!! Excited murmurs rose to greet him, cameras flashed around him as he flew into the cacophony, and gently set Lois down, right at her desk. Clarissa's own mouth hung open as the scene unfolded.
Lois stood easily on her feet, but didn't remove her hands from the stranger's shoulders, for some reason wanting to keep that little contact. The stranger, for his part, didn't lift his hands from they rested at her waist, apparently for the same reason. They stared, spellbound, into each other's eyes. Neither moved, not wanting to break whatever connection had begun to form.
"That's when it really started, isn't it?" Clarissa asked tearfully. "That's when she really fell in love with my dad, whether she knew it or not."
"In a way," Wells replied. "At the moment, she's merely star-struck, as is everyone. But yes, it was at this moment, irregardless that Clark is in the Suit, that Lois truly began to love your father."
After a moment Lois snapped to, and found her reporter's voice again.
"I...I think considering I saw you first, you owe me an exclusive," she informed him.
The stranger smiled disarmingly. "Is that the rule?"
Lois blushed. "Well, no. But I'd appreciate it very much."
The stranger said nothing, but dropped his hands from her waist, turned and lifted into the air, flying back toward the window. Not about to let a scoop like this get away so easily, Lois ran after him.
"Wait! How do I find you?" she called out to him. Without slowing, he turned his head to look right at her.
"I'll be around," he said cryptically, and disappeared into the sky.
Lois stared at the window, heedless of the activity behind her, including the woman approaching up the ramp.
"Did you find out what the 'S' stands for?" Cat asked, practically drooling.
"Super!" Lois gasped, almost unaware she'd said it. Then it hit her like an epiphany. "Superman!" she declared in unabashed delight. For a moment she couldn't move, could barely breathe, glorying in her discovery of this new, wonderful person. But then the windows were closed, and she heard Perry's voice telling people to get back to work. Only then did she turn around and head back to her desk to write up the story that would make her career. The normal newsroom activity resumed.
Clarissa turned to Wells. "So not only did Mom give Daddy the idea for the Suit, but she named his alter-ego too?"
Herb nodded. "Precisely."
"She really was his inspiration, right from the beginning."
"And in so many other things, still is."
"So, after that grand entrance, what happened?"
Herb smiled with barely contained eagerness. "After that, the adventure truly began for Lois and Clark." He sobered slightly. "There was one thing your father did after he left the newsroom. He threw down the gauntlet at Lex Luthor. In a tense confrontation he informed the billionaire that he was on to him, therefore starting a battle of wills that would last for years. It was a dangerous encounter, but one your father felt he had to make," Wells finished definitively. Clarissa wasn't sure she wanted to know more.
They shifted back to the newsroom, just as Clark was coming back.
"Morning Lois," Clark greeted her.
"Clark, where've you been?" she asked, once again all business.
He shrugged. "Around."
"Well," she prattled on. "Not that it's anywhere near as exciting as the stories you covered on the Smallville Press, but Superman was in the newsroom, and I just about nailed down the exclusive," she bragged.
"Well, congratulations."
Clarissa blinked. "*Superman* just said he'd be 'around'. She didn't pick up on that?"
"One thing you must remember from this point on, my dear, is that around Superman, Lois was all ears, but with Clark, she was only half-listening," he sighed.
"Clark, you should have seen him!" Lois continued incessantly. "Up close, he is the most magificent figure of a man I have ever..."
"Sounds like he made quite an impression on you," Clark remarked, not a little smugly.
"He did! Hmm..." she sighed happily, her face glowing. "Why? Are you jealous?"
"Of Superman?" he asked, following her up the ramp toward the elevator. "Should I be?"
"Pul-leeze!" she rolled her eyes.
"Where we're going?"
"Terrorist shoot-out on sixth," she answered crisply. "Oh, and Kent...I'll ask the questions," she repeated as they stepped into the elevator. As he took his place behind her, she couldn't keep another happy giggle from escaping.
Wells watched Clarissa carefully, gauging her expression. The door had closed on the elevator, and on the first moment in Lois and Clark's lives. He had shown her her parents' first meeting, and now her mother's first encounter with the hero of Metropolis. What did she think of all of it? Would her mother's influence spur her on?
Clarissa's mind was awhirl. She had come back in time with Mr. Wells to witness her parents' early history, which would, according to him, give her a new perspective on who she was. Some of her preconceptions had already been shattered; her parents hadn't fallen in love the first day, her father had once been terribly unsure of himself, and the most surprising thing of all, her mother's response to Superman. As a child, Clarissa had discovered Superman's presence at the Daily Planet, and in the Kent home, to be a normal occurrence. He was always coming to her mom's rescue, and there was always a look of warmth, of closeness between them. A few years ago, at least from her perspective, she found out why. Maybe it was some childhood instinct for the truth, but when they told her that Daddy was Superman, she wasn't all that surprised. Now to find out that her mother hadn't always known, even when he slid blatant hints right in front of her...what else was there to discover about her parents? The Lane curiousity was piqued. She had to see more.
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tbc (I promise)
