Lois & Clark Forums Forums Superman In Other Canon Superman In Other Canon Fanfic Twelve Steps From Smallville 28/57 (Smallville)

Clark took the conversational lead. "Looks like we've got to get you back to Metropolis right now."

"Um, yeah…if you don't mind," Perry mumbled. He turned away from Clark to rinse his coffee cup in the sink.

"No problem," Clark replied casually. He gestured toward his editor and the two men filed out onto the porch. With wicked amusement in his tone, Clark stepped closer to Perry and said, "Ground or air?"

Clark must have caught Perry's perplexed expression, because he repeated, "Ground or air? Running or flying?"

"Oh," Perry breathed. Clark still surprised him. "Flying, of course," Perry said, half-shakily. How could he turn down an opportunity like this?"

"OK." The tall man pointed at something off in the distance. Perry automatically looked. When he turned back to look at Clark, the reporter had changed from his business attire into the Suit.

Perry flinched. Knowing theoretically about Superman's quick-change abilities was one thing. Actually seeing them, as in so many cases, was another.

"I've got to hold you pretty tight when we're flying," Clark said, advancing.

"OK," Perry said, heart racing. Then a thought struck him. "Just a few more things."

"Wow, you really are a pit bull when you're on a story, Perry," Clark teased. "Remember, you've got to be home in fifteen minutes." Then, more seriously, he added, "What?"

"That time you visited – that Superman visited the Daily Planet – right after you made your debut?" Perry asked.

"Oh." Clark seemed slightly abashed. "I guess I wasn't really sure that the glasses were working. I had to test them out. Would all my co-workers not know me? I mean, the only difference was a pair of glasses! But they really worked." Then, with a grin, "And who else would I give interviews to? Not television – I just give them sound bites. If I want a good interview, an in-depth interview, who else but the Planet?"

"Not just because you work there?" Perry asked cynically.

"That's part of it, sure, but it's more because of what the Planet stands for. Truth, fair reporting, ethics, trust," Clark replied. "I take that seriously, whether I'm the interviewer – or the interviewee." He gave Perry a glance. "It's not just Planet tradition," he said soberly. "It comes a lot from you."

Perry was flattered.

"Of course, it helps that the Planet has always given Superman the benefit of the doubt, even when I didn't deserve it," Clark said.

Perry had to smile. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Clark," he said. "You always deserved it."

"What's the second thing?" Clark said, changing the subject.

"Jason," Perry asked. "What about him?"

"Jason," Clark breathed, looking away. Silence reigned.

"He's like a grandson to me," Perry said quietly. "He's at the Planet just about every day." He swallowed. "He's a good kid."

Clark sighed. "I never thought I could have children, Perry," he said. "I mean, I'm a different species. Look at all the humans who have fertility problems." A pause. "And then, when I was in the hospital, and Lois whispered it in my ear….somehow I knew it was true."

"How did Lois know?" Perry interrupted, curious.

"I don't know, Perry," Clark replied. "You may have noticed. We haven't really talked." His tone was short.

"Um, yeah," Perry mumbled.

"Anyway, to find out I had a son….it was the best thing ever. It was like Christmas every day. And it just keeps on getting better."

Perry couldn't help but restrain his own grimace. He'd had children, hadn't appreciated them. Now he was estranged from his sons, and the bitterness was that he had only himself to blame. He would give a lot to go back and make things right. But that was impossible.

Clark continued. "So, Perry, I just don't know. I never thought something like this could happen. I don't know if he'll have any of my powers. I mean, I didn't get most of them till I was a teenager anyway. But what if he does?"

Perry considered this a moment, nodded solemnly.

"I mean, at least my parents had the spaceship I came to Earth in," Clark continued, eyes lost in the past. "And wasn't that a shock when they told me about it."

Perry raised his eyebrows. "There's a story in there I've got to get, Clark," he said, the Pit Bull arising.

Clark glanced at him. "Well, if you play your cards right…." he teased. Then he took on a more serious tone. "So I knew I was an alien right from the word go…well, at least since I was fourteen," he said. "But Jason….he was born here on Earth. What if he does have my abilities? I had enough trouble adjusting and I knew my background. What will he do?"

Perry shrugged. "You'll have to be part of his life, Clark." It was obvious. He'd realized that right from the start, when he'd first put the pieces together.

Clark cast him an agonized look, and Perry realized at that moment that the so-called Man of Steel actually worried and fretted in a super fashion too. "But what if I can't be in his life? What if Lois won't let me be? What if she keeps me out? What if I can't see Jason? I mean, this isn't something we could take to court for a custody hearing, you know."

"Whoa! Clark. Clark. Calm down," Perry soothed. He actually dared to touch the blue spandex-clad arm and was amazed to feel it trembling. "I know Lois. You know Lois."

"I knew the old Lois," Clark said quietly. "I don't know if this Lois can ever forgive me for everything I've done."

Perry swallowed. "Maybe she won't," he admitted. "But if she knows you – the real you - like you said, she'll forgive you."

"You're optimistic," Clark said gloomily.

"For Christ's sake, Clark, get your head out of your ass!" Perry expostulated.

Clark looked at him in surprise. Apparently Perry wasn't allowed to yell at him when he was in the Suit.

"Here's the plan," Perry said, enunciating slowly. "You tell her. She hears you out. You talk with her, let her get her memories back. You talk to her about Jason. You talk to her."

"Maybe she won't want to talk to me," Clark said. Was he whining? Was the Man of Steel actually whining?

"You're whining, Clark," Perry pointed out. "Talk to her," he said pointedly. "Talk to her. That's how I got Alice back. She forgave me. Lois will forgive you too."

"Uh-huh," Clark muttered.

"And if – I say if – you have talked to her and talked to her, and she still won't listen, then send her to me," Perry said. "I'll kick her ass. I'm an equal opportunity ass-kicker. Heck, I just kicked yours, didn't I?"

A reluctant smile crept across Clark's face. "Yeah," he said sheepishly. A pause. "I'm sorry, Perry. I think I'm borrowing trouble. I'm so worried about her not seeing me, and then I worry if she does see me, and what I'll say, and what might happen with Jason, and – "

"Stop again," Perry said. "Whoa. Just stop right there. Lois is the one in your partnership who babbles. Not you." He smiled and put an optimistic tone into his voice. "Talk to her."

"OK," Clark said. He looked away, embarrassed. He'd seriously broken the guy code here, Perry figured, discussing relationships with another guy. It just wasn't done. Even Perry having the unique knowledge of Superman's identity would not have allowed Clark to bare his soul this much, if it hadn't been for their deep conversations in AA meetings and over coffee.

Perry realized now that Clark, when he talked in AA, had never actually lied. He'd just left stuff out. He'd talked honestly about his addiction and how hard it was a times to follow the steps, a procedure that became easier as both he and Perry did it each day. And obviously, Perry was the only one that Clark trusted enough to discuss things like this. It just showed that going through the life-changing Twelve Steps together, promoting honesty in one's daily life, brought friendship among the most unlikely.

There was a momentary silence. Then, tacitly changing the subject, Perry said, "The next thing? You know, to ask you?

"Yes?" Clark asked, also apparently relieved that the deep confidences were put behind them now.

"That conversation we had right after Superman made his debut?" Perry asked. "Where I was saying that everyone had an angle? And you were saying, maybe Superman was doing stuff to get good karma?"

They both laughed, the tension relieved.

"Actually, Perry, you're going to laugh even more at this," Clark said. "You're right. I've got an angle. I'm not doing all those rescues out of altruism."

"What?" Perry asked.

"It's my Twelfth Step work," Clark explained simply. "I do things for others because it helps me. It keeps me sober. I get more out of it than I put into it."

"Twelfth Step work," Perry mused. Suddenly he was laughing loudly. "Twelfth Step work." He took a few more whoops of laughter. "God, I'd love to have you get up at a meeting and tell your story. I can just see it – Hello, my name is Clark and I'm an addict. I found out that it's necessary for me to perform superhuman rescues, lift shuttles into space and defeat intergalactic criminal dictators to keep my sobriety."

Clark began laughing too. "You know, I've often wondered about that. If I could tell my story? What would I say? You wonder why I only attend the open meetings? I couldn't lie well enough to face everyone in a more intimate session."

"Yeah, well, us alcoholics have told every lie in the book, and we know all the excuses. You wouldn't fool us for long," Perry said.

Clark caught Perry's eye and said, more seriously, "You do a good talk, though."

"I think when I reached bottom, it was a little lower than you," Perry said softly. "You pulled me out. One of your first saves, I suspect."

"I'm glad," Clark said simply.

They stood together in silence for a moment.

"Oh, yes." Perry pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket. He ripped out the last few pages and gave them to the blue-clad figure. "Here."

"Oh." Superman – he was definitely Superman here, not Clark Kent – crumpled the pages into a ball. He threw the ball into the air, and it exploded into ash with a tiny whumph. "Thanks."

"Almost forgot," Perry said. He took a deep breath. "It'll be weird knowing that Superman works three desks down and has to cover Metropolis City Council meetings."

Clark looked at him seriously now. "Perry," he began.

"What?"

Clark seemed diffident. "I have to ask you. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Know what?"

Clark looked away. "My secret," he said. "It's a hard thing to know. It's a hard thing to keep. I'm glad you know, but it is a burden. Ask my mother. She's been carrying it for over thirty years. Sometimes I feel guilty about what it's done to her." He inhaled. "You can…I can….if you want to go back to not knowing, you can." Clark took off his glasses and pointed to them. He smiled weakly. "It would probably be safer."

Perry stared at him. "No," he said slowly. "You could do that, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Clark said.

"No," Perry replied. "I want to know the truth. Maybe it hurts, sometimes, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the truth is the only way."

Clark nodded.

"I'm grateful you trusted me, Clark," Perry said. "No. I don't want to forget." He smiled. "Besides, I still know how to protect a source."

Clark nodded again, seriously.

"OK, then," Perry said briskly. "When we get back to Metropolis, you're Clark Kent again."

"I always was," Clark interjected.

"You're the reporter on the City beat. You're only as good as your next story, hear me?" Perry demanded. "And even if you've got this other job, you still need get the story for the Daily Planet. By deadline."

A slow smile washed over the tall reporter's face. "I did it before, I can do it again."

Perry said, "You know…"

"What?"

"If you ever want to go out for coffee…"

"We could have a pretty honest talk now," Clark finished. "I might take you up on that sometime."

"Or I might take you up on that," Perry said. "If I hear anything Superman should know…." He smiled. "Ah, you probably hear it first. Working at the Planet, we get all the news."

"That's one reason I work there," Clark said. Then he stood straighter, blanked his expression, and dropped his voice. Perry saw his assumption of the alien persona.

"Interesting how you become Superman," Perry said. "And I don't mean just putting on the Suit."

"I know," Clark said, smiling and looking human for a moment. "Sometimes it's like he's somebody else."

He moved closer, put on the Kryptonian identity again. "It's been a good talk, Perry. You ready to go?" Superman asked. Smiling, he added, "I don't want to make you late for Alice and your party."

Perry stood a little straighter, his heart racing in anticipation and excitement. "OK." Then he stood back just a little. "Clark?"

"Yes?"

"One more question."

"Hey, the meter's running," Clark joked.

"Just bear with an old newsman."

"What?"

"The clothes. I mean, what do you do with the Superman suit when you're Clark Kent? And vice versa? I mean, that cape is pretty conspicuous. And who wears red boots? They're not something you can explain away."

An evil smile crept across Clark's face. "You're going to hate me for this one, Perry."

"What?"

"More Kryptonian technology." Clark drew out the moment in anticipation, flourishing the cape theatrically. "I use the technology to put the clothes….into a pocket dimension."

Perry groaned so loudly that he missed the takeoff and the first fifteen miles of their flight.