Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Hearts United, 15/16

Hearts United ( Table of Contents )
part 15
by Pam Jernigan

Seven hours later, Kal woke up. A quick glance around the room confirmed his theory of where he was. He'd had some strange dreams, though he couldn't really remember them. He had to assume his memory was on its way back. He turned on his side to see Lois, her short hair fanned messily across the pillow, her mouth partially open. Even so, she was beautiful. He reached over to gently smooth back her hair and tuck some behind one ear. She didn't stir.

She must, he thought, trust him very much, to be this relaxed. His inner waterfall was slowed to a trickle. Because she was sleeping? He'd have to ask her.

Such a strange life she'd been telling him about. Spaceships, superheroes, and secret identities. It was a shame that the spaceships weren't available anymore, but he would make do with what he had. Could he be a superhero? Lois seemed to think so. For her, he was willing to try. And that entailed having a secret identity. Not that it was all that secret, he supposed, but he had a feeling that Brenda and Francine could be trusted.

Dr. Porter, on the other hand... his stomach clenched as he realized how much she knew or could guess. True, she had no proof, but based on some of the things she'd said, out there on the street, she seemed to think he had the power to save the world. And she seemed perfectly capable of using any knowledge against him.

Beside him, Lois stirred. She lifted her head and opened her eyes with a frown. "What is it?"

"What is what?"

She turned on her side to face him. "You're worried about something," she stated matter of factly.

Oh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

She waved that away. "That's not important. What is it that you're worried about?"

Curiosity overtook him. "Don't you know? I mean, if you know I'm worried..."

"I know what you're feeling, Kal. I don't know *why* you're feeling it. I don't like not knowing. Have you recovered your memories?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I had some weird dreams, I think, but I don't remember them much. I was just thinking about Dr. Porter."

"Dr. who? Oh, right. Does she know about you and Nightfall?"

She was amazing. Give Lois one clue, and she'll manage to figure out incredible things. He was pretty certain he'd known that before. "Not for certain, but I think she's guessed it. She knows about New Krypton. Obviously she doesn't know much -- I didn't know much. I didn't tell her everything I remembered, either, but still."

Lois grimaced. "That's going to be a problem." She fell silent for a moment, then shot him a quick apprehensive look. "I don't know how you'd deal with this on New Krypton, but we are not going to do anything to her, to keep her quiet."

"Lois! Of course not." He tried to suppress his indignation.

It didn't seem to work. A look of regret crossed her face, and she reached over to touch his arm. "I'm sorry, Kal. I didn't mean to imply..."

"Oh, it's okay." He let the anger fade. "Much as I hate to admit it, you had reason to be concerned."

She shrugged apologetically. "Every society has some bad apples. I shouldn't judge you by them."

A brief flash of memory sped past him. He frowned, trying to catch and make sense of it.

"What?"

"I just remembered something. I think. I don't know where we were. You were dressed..." His mind's eye lingered over the appealing sight of Lois in scraps of lace. "in not much. Francine and Brenda were there, too." More of the memory unfolded, dashing his momentary pleasure. "There was a man there, looking at you." He remembered the hot rush of anger he'd felt, standing by passively, and despised himself. "He was threatening to rape you, Lois, and I just stood there!"

Her eyes widened in sudden comprehension. "Lord Nor. Kal, he didn't get a chance to do anything. We were pretending to have been captured so we could get on his ship, but the pretense didn't last all that long. You wouldn't have let him hurt me, okay?"

More bits of memory returned, enough to confirm what she was saying, and he let out a trembling breath. "If that's your experience with New Kryptonians," he said bitterly, "It's no wonder you think the worst of us."

"If I've seen the worst, Kal, I've also seen the best. I love you, I trust you and I respect you... you're just, you know, not exactly yourself right now."

He couldn't argue with that. "Well, if we've ruled out violence, then what do we do?"

****

"There you are!"

Francine winced at this explosive greeting, but continued on to her desk. "Good morning, Brenda."

"I was trying to call you all last night," Brenda announced, coming to sit on the corner of Francine's desk.

Maybe she ought to put a plant there, as a visitor-repellant.

Oblivious, Brenda continued, "I want to know what happened!"

Francine pulled out some file folders at random. "I left a message, didn't I?"

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Honey, 'we found him' does not begin to cover what I want to know. I called Lois, but she was busy." A smirk emerged, only to disappear again beneath the surface of indignant disapproval. "So I confidently expected to hear about it from you, girlfriend, but I guess you were avoiding me."

What a nice idea... Just keep away from Brenda until she sorted out what she was feeling. Of course, the trouble with that was, it might take weeks if not months, and she didn't have the time.

"No, it's not that," she insisted, irked. "I wasn't home." Geez, didn't Brenda know when to quit?

"Well, you weren't here or at Lois and Kal's place, either, so where the heck were you?"

Obviously not. "I can have other friends, you know."

Brenda snorted. "You could -- but you don't. Come on, what was it?"

Maybe she could get by with part of the truth. It seemed unlikely, but what the heck, it was worth a try. "Okay, I went back to the police station to give them some background details. And then after that... I went to a coffee shop." Despite herself, a smile slipped out. "I just got home late."

Brenda leaned forward, frankly staring at her. "Well, damn! You had a date!"

"No, no, no. It wasn't a date."

"No, of course not," Brenda said, smiling. "And you're not blushing now, either, are you?"

Blushing? She hadn't done that in several decades...

"Francine, this is great! Do I know him? When did you meet him? What did you talk about, and was it just talking, or did you get some action?"

"Brenda!" After that token protest, Francine sat back and surrendered. "His name is Bill -- I don't think you know him. He's a cop. I met him a coupla years back, before I was at the Metro Club."

"A cop?" Brenda's eyes sparkled. "That makes a change from sleeping with a mob boss."

Francine shuddered. "You're telling me. Johnny was lousy in all kindsa ways. And it wasn't a date," she insisted once again. "We were just talking. No action, okay?"

"That's a shame." Brenda was enjoying this far too much. "Maybe next time. Speaking of which, when will that be?"

"I don't know, all right?" She sighed. "I thought it went pretty well -- I mean, apart from anything else, he asked me. But it's hard to tell with that guy. He said he was just catching up; maybe he was. Hell, maybe he was trying to cultivate me as a source. I mean, at my age..."

"Hey, you look pretty damn good for someone ten years younger than you," Brenda said. Thank God, the laughter was gone, but the sympathy was almost worse.

"Yeah, well, we'll see."

"Hmm." Brenda retreated to her own desk, for a moment, at least, blessedly silent. "Y'know," she said finally, in a suspiciously airy tone. "Somebody's going to have to check back with the police today. At some point. Just to see what's been happening."

"For crying out loud, Brenda..."

"Speaking of which," she continued with barely a pause. "You still haven't told *me* what happened! I want details, girl!"

Any topic was better than the one they'd been on. "Okay, fine. Lois called the homeless shelter, and got some names..."

****

"I don't know," Lois finally said. "Did Dr. Porter seem like the sort to blackmail people?"

Kal considered that, then shook his head. "I think she'd want everyone to know how clever she'd been."

"Of course." She sighed. "Well, we can't do anything about it right now, so let's work on something else. Have you remembered how to fly yet?"

He grimaced. "Not really. I *do* know how, right?"

"Yeah, you do. It'll come back to you," she predicted with more confidence that she felt. Not that she could hide it from him. "The theory here is that some deep unconscious part of you doesn't want to remember yourself, because if you do, you'll have to fly back out into space and that deep part is deeply scared, right?"

"Right." He frowned. "It's cowardly and pathetic."

"No, it's not! It's post-traumatic stress. You haven't got any control over this, Kal." On this issue it was easy to project confidence and reassurance. "You'll remember. The memories are coming back to you, and we've got plenty of time. How about we talk to Francine about a costume?"

"Might as well." He tried to remember how he'd interacted with Francine before. "Lead the way, m'lady."

****

Lois walked into the theater office, holding Kal's hand and loving life. "Hey, girls, how's show business?"

Brenda looked up first, and she beamed at them. "Lois! Kal! It is *so* good to see you!"

Francine's expression was, as always, more reserved. But Lois thought she definitely looked happy.

After a general round of greetings, Brenda shot a glance at Lois, and said in a quieter tone, "Have you told him yet?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "No, you did -- he heard you, on the phone last night." She seated herself in the guest chair. Kal stood behind her with one hand on her shoulder, leaning against the wall. She'd told him who the girls were, but suspected he still might feel awkward with them.

Brenda's eyes went wide, and she slapped a hand to her mouth. "Damn! I'm sorry. One of these years I'll figure a way to keep my trap shut."

"I doubt that," Lois said with a grin. "But I forgive you, because you were a huge help in finding Kal."

"Aw, hell, Lois, all I did is make some phone calls!"

"And you left messages," Kal said. "I recognized your voice. Thank you."

"Damn," Brenda repeated in a softer tone. Then she looked at Lois and the familiar spark of mischief returned. "Didn't I say you'd owe me one? Mm-hmm, I'm gonna have to think of something *good.*"

Lois laughed. "Well, you can *ask*..."

"If it's reasonable, it's yours," Kal promised with a soft smile. "But that's a one time only ticket, so think long and hard."

"Francine, that goes for you, too," Lois added. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh, sure you could have."

"Well, okay, maybe," she allowed with a smirk. "But it would have taken longer, so thanks."

Francine allowed a smile to creep across her face "Anytime, Lois."

"Yeah, really, she owes you one, Lois," Brenda said with a wicked grin. "She got to look up an old boyfriend."

"Brenda!" Francine's mouth twisted in a frown. "He's not an old boyfriend. Just a guy I used to know."

"Uh-huh." Brenda winked at Lois, who resolved to ask more about this later. "A guy she was pretty happy to run into."

Francine's eyes narrowed, and Lois decided now would be an opportune time to change the subject. "Well, we're here to ask for your help again."

That got both their attentions.

She glanced over her shoulder in an unspoken cue. Really, he should be the one asking. He stood a little taller, crossed his arms over his chest and said, "I need some sort of outfit."

****

"Yes!" Brenda pumped her fist in the air. "I knew you were gonna turn him into Superman, Lois."

"An outfit?" Francine raised an eyebrow and ran a critical eye over Kal. He felt himself flush slightly. "I can help you with that, yeah."

"Well, not Superman, exactly."

That got Francine's attention. "Then what?"

Kal moved away from the door and stood leaning on her desk. "Well... if I'm Superman, then everybody and their sleazy reporter friends are going to go looking for Lois. I don't think the whole glasses disguise idea would stand up to close scrutiny."

"They're gonna go after you anyway, honey," Brenda advised. "What can we do?"

"Well, what if I weren't Superman?" he asked. "I know, I've got all the powers and all, but we think we can explain that."

"See, H. G. Wells wrote this book in the late forties," Lois explained. "We think he must have known a Kryptonian, even if the guy didn't actually act as Superman, and that's what gave him the idea for the novel."

"We'll never know who it was. Old Kryptonians didn't like to travel, and the council would not have approved an official visit." Kal said. "And all the records were destroyed when the planet blew up, so even if there was some record of it once, there isn't anymore."

Francine nodded, leaning back in her chair. "Handy."

"So Kal is, what, some sort of descendant?" Brenda asked.

"A descendant?" Kal looked over at Lois, a question clear in his face. He would like to keep this story as close to the truth as possible, and this seemed a bit of a stretch.

She nodded thoughtfully. "We hadn't thought of that, but maybe that would be a nice touch. Give you that extra bit of credibility."

Come to think of it, the Superman symbol did look sort of like the symbol of the House of El... so maybe it had been a relative of his who had served as a model. Though if the man had lived on Earth and not used his powers, Kal wasn't sure he wanted to be related to him.

"Well, if you're not going with the primary colors, what are you looking for?" Francine asked. "I've got lots of fabric around here, but I can get more if we need it."

Of course, Kal had lived here for what, two to three years, and not gone public. Well, he was going to make up for that now, and if he could atone for the negligence of his ancestor, as well, so much the better.

"We had some ideas... can we see what's available?"

"Yeah, sure." The ladies led him over to the other door out of the office, which led into the backstage area of the theater, chatting about colors and fabrics. He reminded himself that he trusted Lois. And these ladies were their friends. How bad could it be?

****

Gwen looked about the cluttered warehouse and sniffed her disapproval. True to his word, the goon had been waiting outside her apartment building this morning, and he'd driven her to this place. Bessolo... boulevard, she thought it was, though she'd hardly describe it as such. She assumed the building was owned by the Bureau. With any luck, this would be the first and last time she saw the place.

She glanced at her watch, wishing Trask would hurry. She had only a day to find Kal and gain control of him, and while she was sure her plan would work, she wasn't entirely certain about the timeframe. She hadn't yet decided if she should ask for Trask's help. Lois had said she was ex-military, so the Bureau might be able to locate her. But Trask wouldn't do it without knowing why, and once she told him that, he would attempt to take over and claim credit.

If that was the only way she could locate Kal in time, she supposed she would have to involve Trask. Prestige or not, she did want to live. That could wait a day, though. Much could happen in twenty-four hours.

"Porter." Footsteps echoed as Trask approached.

She turned toward the voice but made no effort to meet him halfway. "Trask."

"What have you told the police, Porter?"

Was he still on about that? "Nothing, of course."

"That's good. No one crosses the Bureau and gets away with it."

She sighed and shifted her weight. "How melodramatic."

"You don't believe me?"

"It's beside the point," she said impatiently. "Look, you wanted to see me; here I am. Can we move this along? I've something important to do."

He studied her for a moment. "Yesterday it sounded like you were on the trail of something big. What was it?"

She bristled. "Nothing -- yet. I promise I'll inform you when I have something." Preferrably after her part in saving the world had been well documented.

"I think you're bluffing."

"Think anything you like, Trask. I'll show you."

"You know," he said, conversationally, "sometimes when someone thinks they're about to die -- or that the world is about to be destroyed -- they suddenly develop a conscience. The urge to confess all, to try to right the wrongs they've done."

"And this has what to do with me?"

He barely moved, but suddenly he was holding a large handgun. Pointed straight at her. Shock dried her mouth and scattered her thoughts. "What...?"

"You're a liability, Porter," he announced. "You know too much, and you've threatened to expose me. I can't have that. I wanted this meeting to find out if you knew anything important... but I can see that you don't. Therefore, I have no more need of you."

"Wait, you don't understand..."

The gun fired. Gwen felt herself pushed backwards and down to the dusty floor. Looking at her chest she saw that blood was beginning to stain her white blouse. That would never wash out. With some difficulty, she realized that it wouldn't matter.

The world around her was blurring. Trask was speaking again, but she couldn't make out the words. The arrogant bastard had just doomed the whole planet. At least he wouldn't survive her for long. Her head dropped down to the floor again, landing with a crack she barely felt. The world went dark.

[to be concluded]