Chapter Eight
They adjusted. Their overall grade averages stayed at or above 3.9 each, they found a house to rent through Jennifer that they both liked (and which had a basement with an outside exit for Superman to use), and they slipped into domesticity with few serious detours. Lana’s savings and part-time jobs occasionally supplemented Clark’s writing sales, and they lived as frugally as possible. Jonathan and Martha encouraged them to come and visit whenever they wanted, but did their best not to pressure the newlyweds into making their visits compulsory. Professor Dennis Lang returned from Africa just before Thanksgiving, which they all celebrated at Clark and Lana’s new house. Martha and Lana cooked dinner together, and no cases of food poisoning were reported.
The day after Thanksgiving, Clark and Lana invited her father to visit them for lunch and spend the rest of the day with them. They intended to reveal to him that Clark and Superman were the same person. He’d tried to beg off, saying that he still needed to organize some things for their December wedding celebration, but Lana had pressed him, saying that there was something really big they needed to tell him. He capitulated and arrived the next day just before lunch.
Lana was fussing nervously in the kitchen when he arrived. “Dad! Good, come in and sit down. Thanks for coming.” She scurried to the basement door. “Clark? My dad’s here.”
“Okay. Be right up.”
She sat across from him. “Okay, Dad, now this is really important. We need to tell you something, and you have to understand just how big this something is.”
He smiled at her. “It’s okay, honey. I understand. This kind of thing always seems like a big deal at first, but you’ll get used to it.”
She stared at him without comprehension. “What?”
He patted her hand. “It’s okay. I know about biology and newlyweds and such. I’m sure Clark will be a fabulous father. And you’ll be a wonderful mother, I’m sure of it.”
“Huh? Mother? Dad, what are you – “ and then she realized what he was talking about. She couldn’t decide whether to laugh or scream.
Clark chose that moment to open the basement door. Lana was struck dumb. She pointed at Clark and slapped the table, then pointed to her father. She knew Clark was confused, but she couldn’t make her mouth work. Her father stood up to shake Clark’s hand and smiled patronizingly at both of them.
“Congratulations, young man! I’m sure you’ll do extremely well, especially considering the example your own father has set for you. Jonathan Kent is one of the finest men I know, and my only regret is that I haven’t gotten to know him better.”
“Uh, thanks, Dennis.” Clark looked at Lana for clarification, but she only sputtered.
“Look, Dennis, I don't know what Lana told you, but – “
“Don’t worry, Clark! I may be absent at times, but I promise you I’ll be as available as I can. I’ll even baby-sit as often as you need.”
“Baby-sit? Dennis, what do you think we were going to tell you?”
He lifted his hands to either side. “That I’m going to be a grandfather, of course! What other really important thing could you have to tell me?”
Clark’s shocked look spurred Lana into action. “Dad! Sit down and be quiet and let us tell you! I mean it! No talking!”
Dennis did so, still beaming. “Very well, Kitten, tell me.”
Lana took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Dad, I’m not pregnant. That’s not why you’re here.”
“What? But – “
“No! Listen to me! Clark is Superman.”
A veritable panoply of reactions danced across Dennis Lang’s face. He finally settled on disbelief. “I’m sorry, Lana, I could have sworn you just told me that your husband is Superman.”
“I did.”
His mouth opened but no sound came out. He looked from Clark to Lana and back again several times, as if waiting for a punch line. He landed his gaze on Clark. “Clark, what is going on here?”
Clark stepped back. “Let me show you.”
He spun into the suit, complete with slicked-down hair. Professor Lang sat slack-jawed in his chair and stared at Clark. Clark looked at Lana, then lifted himself off the floor and floated around the kitchen twice. Dennis still didn’t respond, so Clark picked up the refrigerator with his index fingers and held it at arm’s length while floating two feet above the floor. Still no response.
“Dad, are you okay?” Lana cautiously touched his arm. “Dad?”
He slowly turned his head to her and stared for a long moment. “Lana?”
“Yes, Dad, it’s me.”
“What are you doing here?”
She frowned. “I live here. This is my home.”
“Oh. You live in my delusions?”
She grabbed his arm and shook it hard. “Dad! Snap out of it!”
“Ouch! Hey, what are you – Lana, what did I just see?”
“You saw Clark change into Superman and do some super-type things.”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought I saw. You’d better call the hospital and tell them my malaria delirium is back.”
Lana snorted. “No, Dad! It’s real. Clark is Superman!”
“Oh.” He looked at Superman. “Clark? Is that really you?”
Clark put the refrigerator down, then drifted to the floor and smiled. “In the flesh, Dennis.” He reached out and pulled Dennis to his feet. “I’m sorry for the shock, but we honestly couldn’t figure out how to break it to you gently.”
“Yeah. That would be – problematic at best.” Dennis shook his head. “So. What happens now?”
“Whatever you want to happen. The only thing we ask is that you don’t tell anyone. Not ever. It would be dangerous for Lana and for my parents and for you. There are some pretty dangerous criminals in custody who’d like to get back at me any way they could, and Superman’s family would be a most inviting target.”
“Uh-huh. I understand. I think.” He turned around and looked at the kitchen. “Wow. Do you mind if I talk to Lana? By myself?”
Superman smiled. “Not at all. I need to make a patrol anyway.” He gave Lana a quick kiss and turned to the basement door. “I’ll see you in about an hour.”
Lana watched him go. “Dad? Would you like something to eat or drink? It might help you come back down to reality.”
He shook his head. “No thanks. Maybe later.” He sat down slowly. “Lana? This is really true? You’re married to Superman?”
She grinned. “Yep. Comes in handy when I’m in the mood for authentic Mexican food.”
“Wow.” He snorted in surprise. “I never thought about Superman having a family. Uh, speaking of family, I assume this isn’t a secret from his parents?”
“Oh, no. In fact, Martha made the costume.”
“Ah.” He looked around the kitchen, then stood and walked to the refrigerator.
“Hungry now, Dad?”
“No.” He put one hand on either side of the appliance and tried to lift it. Of course, it didn’t even wiggle.
He stepped back and looked around. “I’m beginning to believe it.”
“You have the advantage of already knowing that there’s a guy out there who can do stuff like that. I didn’t.”
“Oh.” He sat down again. “I assume you – that Clark told you before – you – “
She laughed, relieved that he seemed to be adjusting. “High school graduation night. He showed me he could fly and told me about a lot of the other stuff he could do.”
“Oh. No wonder you were so wound up that night. I thought it was – well, never mind what I thought. I’m glad that was – wait a minute.” He stood and began pacing. “That was before the Alaska expedition. We had just started the dig when the news came out. I remember, because one of the Inuit guides didn’t believe the news reports. He said he’d believe in a flying man when the man flew over and offered to carry his pack for him.” He spun and faced her. “You knew about this before Superman made his first public appearance, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Why is that – “
“So you knew who Superman was in civilian life and told no one? Not even your own father?”
“Dad, I’m sorry but I couldn’t tell you! Please sit down and – “
He reached out and plucked her out of the chair. “Kitten, I’m so proud of you! You kept one of the biggest secrets in the world for more than three years and didn’t even hint at it to me! That’s so wonderful!”
She waited until he put her down. “Yeah, okay, thanks. Dad, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before we got married, but that just came up so suddenly that – “
He reared back and laughed. “No, it’s okay! I understand. Hey, how about something to drink? Or dinner! We could celebrate!”
“What? No, Dad, I don’t think you understand! You can never tell anyone! Never! Got that? Nobody! Not ever!”
He grinned and nodded. “I know, Lana, I know. But can I at least think about telling your mother? She’d drop her teeth, and she doesn’t even wear dentures!”
Lana smiled weakly. “Yeah, she probably would. But she can’t know, Dad! She’d never keep this secret.”
He shook his head, still grinning. “You’re right. She’d babble about it to everyone she met and blame me for telling her in the first place. It would be front-page news in two days, if not less. I can still dream about it, though, can’t I?”
She patted his arm. “Of course you can. Now sit down and tell me about the Africa dig. Is Professor Bostwick still worried about the civil war flaring up on the coast?”
*****
They talked for almost three hours, covering ground both old and new. Lana began to worry about Clark; he was never this late unless there was an emergency. She finally gave in to her worries and turned on the radio, hoping to learn why her husband wasn’t home.
The announcer spoke of the chance of freezing rain that night, of traffic tie-ups near the airports, and of a forest fire in southern Nevada. His voice suddenly sharpened as he read a fresh bulletin.
“Folks, I’ve just been handed a note that says that Superman has been helping to fight this forest fire in Nevada. There were two groups of firefighters trapped by a sudden surge of flame, and Superman has managed to rescue most of them. We don’t have any names of survivors or victims at this time, but stay tuned and we’ll give out further information as soon as – wait, I’ve just been handed another note. All of the surviving firefighters have been brought out of the fire, and Superman was last seen ferrying water into the worst of the flames. The marshal on the scene says that the firefighters are working to contain the remaining blaze, which has now been broken up into several smaller fires instead of one huge one, thanks largely to the efforts of Superman. They anticipate gaining control over the fire in the next six hours or so. He also says that Superman saved more than thirty lives in the time he was there.
“On the local front, February wheat futures gained four cents per share in today ‘s commodity trading – “
She clicked off the radio and stood in front of it, silent. Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “I think he’ll need to talk to you when he gets back, Kitten. I’ll go and – “
“No!” She grabbed him and held on. “P-please wait! He – Clark will eat himself up over the ones who didn’t make it and – and I’ll have to comfort him! I’m not very good at it! I never really know what to say when stuff like this happens! Please, wait for him!”
“Okay, Kitten, okay. Here, let’s get some tea ready.” He guided Lana to the kitchen table and put her in a chair.
As Dennis was pouring, he heard heavy footfalls on the basement steps. Clark, in civilian clothes, opened the door. His face was haggard and drawn, and the stench of smoke and his super-human effort clung to him. Lana stood and embraced him, and he began to weep.
Dennis put three glasses of iced tea on the table and stood by as Clark released his grief. Lana held onto him desperately, trying to ease his pain and to be strong for him. She waited until she felt him run down, then she put him in a chair and sat beside him.
Clark took off his glasses and drew his hand down over his eyes. Dennis handed him a dishtowel and Clark wiped his face with it. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least I could do. You appear to have stared directly into the face of the beast today.”
Clark raised his head. His face was dry but his voice was shaky. “I have.”
Dennis motioned to the tea in front of him. “You should drink something.”
Clark nodded and drained the glass. Dennis took it from him and refilled it, then sat down across from him. “You want to talk about it?”
Clark chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “You get to find out how strong I am and how weak I am all in the same day. Package deal, no extra charge.”
“You watched people die today, didn’t you?” Clark dropped his gaze and nodded. “You saved some others, too, didn’t you?” Clark nodded again. “And not being able to save all of them is cutting you in two, isn’t it?”
Clark clenched his fists and grunted. “Yes. Yes! It’s like a knife in my gut.”
“That isn’t weakness, son, it’s strength. Your compassion does you great credit. If you could watch people die and not react, I’d be worried about you and about Lana, but this tells me you’re a man and not just a brightly colored suit flying around letting people tell you how wonderful you are.” He leaned forward. “It’s extremely hard to watch people die, Clark, whether you know their names or not. Don’t think of it as weakness, because it certainly isn’t weakness.”
Clark raised his head. “The fire – it just exploded. It was too big and too hot for me to blow out. I would’ve scattered flames all over the state if I’d tried. All I could do was cut firebreaks and direct the planes dumping the chemicals.”
He rubbed his face with his hands for a moment, then continued. “There were two groups trapped, one of about twenty-five and one of about a dozen or more. They were on opposite slopes of a small hill. I can only carry two, maybe three healthy adults at a time, but I can’t carry more than one injured person. I got the larger group out as fast as I could. When I crossed the hill – “
He shuddered and closed his eyes. Lana put her arms around his neck and squeezed, hoping he could feel it, hoping he would accept her meager comfort. “Two large trees had fallen into the smaller group. Three were already dead, crushed. Three more were on fire, and the others were trying to put them out. I snuffed out the flames on the people and got the injured out as fast as I could, but I could only carry one at a time. By the time I went back for the rest, another tree had fallen. Two more were dead. I got the rest out as fast as I could. I went back and I – I brought out the bodies.
“A doctor told me that one of the burn victims had died before they’d gotten her to the hospital. He wasn’t sure the other two would make it, either, but he thanked me for trying. He thanked me! Some of them died, and he still thanked me!”
Clark made a fist and almost slammed it on the table, but stopped himself. “See? See that? I can’t even take out my frustrations here! I’ll break something if I do. I wasn’t fast enough! I wasn’t strong enough!” He looked at Lana with more tears in his eyes. “What can I do? Tell me, Lana, please! What can I do?”
Lana shook her head. She didn’t have an answer. She never had an answer for times like this. There hadn’t been many, not so far, but she had no remedy for Clark’s pain. She felt like a failure, but she had no idea what to do or to say, except to tell him that she loved him and was proud of him. Her inability to comfort him cut her to the core of her being.
Dennis sat back. “How does Superman decide whom to rescue?”
Clark drove his fist into his other hand. “The wrong way, apparently.”
“That’s not an answer. How do you make that decision?”
Clark rubbed his eyes. “Depends on the situation.”
“All right. If two people are in danger and you have to help them one at a time, who gets your attention first?”
“Uh. The one in the most trouble, I guess.”
“So if two cars are stalled on a bridge, the one hanging over the edge and holding on by the paint gets your attention before the one stopped in the breakdown lane?”
“Sure. How else would I decide?”
“I see. You decide whom to assist first according to the principle of imminent danger.”
“Imminent danger?” Clark frowned slightly. “I’ve never called it that.”
“But it’s not inaccurate. In fact, it’s probably the only way to do what you do. It’s what policemen and firemen do every time they respond to an emergency.”
“They don’t have my powers.”
“And that makes you more responsible than they?”
“It means I can do more than they can. A lot more.”
“But can you do everything?”
“Obviously not.”
Dennis pushed his chair back and stood. “Clark, are you responsible for the lives of every individual in the world?”
“What?”
“Answer the question, please. Are you?”
Clark shook his head. “Well – no, of course not.”
“How many of those people would have died today had you not been there to help?”
“I don’t know – “
Dennis’s voice hardened. “Don't sidestep! Answer the question.”
Clark straightened. “Most of them. Maybe all of them.”
“Young man, do you not understand that you can never fix all the world’s problems? No one can, no matter how strong or how fast or how smart he or she is. There are at least thirty people who are alive right now who would almost surely be dead if not for you. Focus on the good you have done, not what you weren’t able to do.”
He stepped forward and put his hand on Clark’s shoulder. “It is right and it is proper that you grieve for those you could not help, but it is not good that you ignore those you did help. You did your absolute best, and although you fell short of perfection, you came closer to it than any other man or woman on the planet might have. Always aim for perfection, Clark, but be ready to forgive yourself if you miss the target from time to time.” He turned to Lana. “I take it you haven’t given him this speech?”
She shook her head. “Not in such excellent terms, no. Thanks, Dad.”
He smiled. “Don’t mention it, Kitten. You’ve made my day – no, my entire year for me.”
“By finding out that you’re Superman’s father-in-law?”
Dennis chuckled. “Partly that. Mostly, though, by finding out that Superman is human after all, and a good man as well.” He put his hand out to Clark. “I was already glad to have you as a son-in-law, but now that I see your true character I’m even more proud. I hope you remember what I said, and I hope you put it in practice as often as you need to.”
Clark took his hand and stood. “Thank you, Dennis. I can’t tell you how much what you said means to me.”
“You’re welcome. Say, since I was robbed of my lunch, and it’s so late in the afternoon, what if I take us all out to dinner? My treat.”
Clark looked at Lana, who nodded. Lang smiled expansively. “Wonderful! I hope you like seafood.”
Lana stood and hugged him. “We do, Dad. And thanks again. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Just don’t try to put a hole in my middle, okay? Clark, we’ll wait for you to clean up. Shouldn’t take you more than – ” Clark raced to the bedroom and returned wearing fresh clothing within five seconds.
Dennis’s eyes bulged and he nodded. “Most impressive.”
Lana licked her thumb and rubbed the side of his head. “You missed a spot, dear.”
*****
Dinner was wonderful. Dennis Lang proved to be an adept host. He turned their conversation to Clark’s writing and Lana’s preferences for her last on-site assignment, then got them to agree to a date for their December wedding celebration. By the time they all left the restaurant, Clark’s eyes were sparkling and he had that smooth little skip in his step again. Lana was thrilled that her father was part of ‘the group’ who knew about Superman, and she was relieved that she’d never again have to shade the truth about Clark’s whereabouts to him. When Jonathan and Martha learned that he knew, a few days later, they threw an impromptu “secret identity” costume party.
The rest of the semester passed quickly. Clark and Lana both aced their finals. That was when they found out they were both in a four-way competition for class salutatorian and valedictorian. The other two candidates for the senior class’s top two scholastic honors – a pre-med student and an English major – were both smart, highly driven over-achievers with chronic sleep deprivation. Clark was pleased simply to be in the mix, but Lana wanted them to secure both honors.
“Clark, it’d be great! We’d both be able to pick our spots. We could set ourselves up as independents, or plug into almost any organization in the country! The University of Kansas may not be the archaeology capital of the nation’s schools, but graduating at the top of the entire class is a feather in anyone’s cap!”
He frowned. “Lana, I’m not into that kind of competition. Besides, I’m not sure I want to be tied down to a regular job. I’m sure you won’t be, not if you get any of the digs you’re looking for.”
She frowned back. “That doesn’t matter! I’m thinking of your career as well as mine! Unless you want to take the money out of the Superman Foundation discretionary fund, you’re going to need a job in a few months, and being in the top two of your college class is a great way to get a good one! Who knows, maybe the Daily Planet will hire you full-time instead of just buying your stuff when they feel like it.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Lana. It’s not that I wouldn’t appreciate it, it’s just that I don’t think I need it.”
She softened her tone. “Will you at least try? I would dearly love to stand beside my husband on that graduation platform, one of us valedictorian and the other the salutatorian. It would make a wonderful story to tell our kids and grandkids.”
He smiled. “Well, when you put it that way, I understand. Sure, I’ll do my best. I can’t guarantee anything, now, you understand?”
She hugged him. “Of course I understand! You just do your best, I’ll do mine, and we’ll leave those nerds behind us eating our scholastic dust!” She kissed him enthusiastically. “Now let’s finish getting ready for that wedding celebration. Dad has really rolled out the red carpet for us, and we shouldn’t keep all those people waiting.”
