The next several hours were a blur, much of them literally.
After I realized that the man suffering so terribly on the television screen was my daddy, I only stuck around long enough to find out where it was being broadcasted from, and I bolted out the door.
How, exactly, I had planned to get from Smallville, Kansas to Portland, Oregon was well beyond me. What daddy was doing in Portland was also well beyond me. All I knew was to go northwest best I could.
By the time I was off the farm I was running so fast I was passing cars traveling at regular residential speed. By the time I was out of the town I was keeping pace with the cars on the highway, and by the time I was out of the state I couldn’t even see them. It didn’t even occur to me that I shouldn’t be physically able to run this fast, or this far…or that I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that my daddy was hurt…
And he dang well owed me an explanation.
I had a lot of time to think as I ran. To this day I’m still not sure how long. It occurred to me that Lex and my Daddy hated each other. Oh…I’d always known they didn’t like each other much, now I knew they were arch-enemies. It was a scary thought, really.
Of course, then a lot of things also started making sense. Like the fact that I was running this fast. And that I was always able to hear both sides of the conversation when Lex was talking on the phone, or eavesdrop on his meetings. Sometimes, I’d tell someone if I thought Lex was gonna hurt someone. He never really meant to hurt people though…
Or, at least, I didn’t think so.
That’s when I remembered how much trouble I got in when I talked about Superman at Lex’s. Mommy always told me that Lex didn’t get along too well with Superman, and she always looked sad when she said so.
Does Mommy know daddy is superman?
It was thoughts like these that were still spinning in my head when I realized I’d made it. Somehow, in a matter of only a few short hours, I’d gotten to the airport in Portland, where a medical team was trying to assist my daddy but couldn’t. Daddy was busy getting the plane evacuated…even though he could hardly stand on his own two feet.
Er…boots.
“Daddy!” I screamed without second thought, running to him.
What happened next was at once both a blessing and a curse. As I got closer, I felt sick. I’d never felt sick before in a life. I stopped, and stood there for a moment. Then I threw up.
A few people noticed and tried to comfort me, no one thought to get me away.
Then I looked up…and of all of my memories of that day, this may very well be the clearest.
A man, with a long moustache and short-cropped blond hair was smiling. I could only see his face from the side, but I still distinctly remember that his cheekbones were a bit sunken and his jaw was a little pinched-looking. He had a small chin and a pointed nose, and he was the only person there smiling. I couldn’t take my eyes off him…
Or the glowing green rock in his hand.
*****
I lost consciousness right around then. When I woke up, grandma Martha was leaning over me and there was a damp cloth on my forehead.
“Daddy…” I mumbled.
“shhhhhhhhhh.” Grandma Martha pulled the cloth off my forehead, gently wiping my face with it before setting it again. “Your daddy’s fine.”
“I’m right here, Artemis.” Daddy’s voice. He leaned in behind grandma and then reached out and took my hand. “I’m right here.”
“You’re superman.” I announced, trying to sound indignant and not having the energy.
“Yes.” Daddy admitted “I’m Superman.”
“You were hurt.” I protested as the memory of him crumpled in pain like that flashed back to me, the source of year’s worth of nightmares.
“They got me away from what was hurting me.” Daddy said. It was only then did I notice that, while he was wearing his regular clothes…he didn’t have his glasses. I’d never seen him without his glasses.
Or rather, I quickly amended, seen him in his glasses when he was wearing anything but primary colors. “Was it the weird green rock?”
“You saw it?”
I nodded. “The creepy man with the moustache had it.”
Daddy paused, and he and grandma looked at each other. It was one of those looks that meant they were actually taking to each other, just not saying anything. “Artemis…” Grandma began “can you describe the man with the green rock?”
I nodded and proceeded to do so. Daddy and grandma both listened intently, then grandma said “Artemis…this is very important.”
“I know!” I interjected “There’s somebody who can hurt daddy! Even if he wasn’t daddy that’d be bad!”
“We know who it is who wants to hurt me.” Daddy interrupted. “Well…” he seemed to realize “a lot of people want to…but not many have the means.” He paused, and then said “Now, Artemis, this is very important. Have you ever seen that man before?”
I thought for a moment. Then thought for a little longer. Then thought some more.
Then I remembered.
“Yeah! I saw him talking to…” my voice trailed off…and I remembered how much Lex hated Superman. How much Lex hated daddy. My eyes widened. “Lex paid him to hurt you!” I pushed past grandma to hug daddy, suddenly sobbing. I had no idea when the tears had started. He hugged me back, and just held me for a long time while I sat there crying.
