ATONEMENT
Author’s note: This is a wild idea that took root in my brain and wouldn’t leave. Since I have no idea where it’s going, be warned that it may not get far if anywhere at all. What I’m most curious about at this point in terms of feedback is, generally, basic overall reactions and, more specifically, how spot on the characterizations are given the odd circumstances since it’s been a while since I’ve tried to live in our Clark’s head and the others I’ve never even looked into. :-p
(All the usual disclaimers apply)
CHAPTER 1
“Dad, can we have pizza tonight?”
Clark Kent opened the car door and looked down at his eleven year old daughter as she slid into the passenger seat of the car and buckled herself in. He smiled as he watched her turn her attention back to him, clearly expecting an immediate answer. He shook his head. “Didn’t we just have it the other night?”
“So?”
His smile changed to a rueful grin at her clear confusion. The child could eat pizza morning, noon and night and never tire of it.
Just like her mother.
His smile faltered. Even after all this time, the pain came quick and hard. Before he could shake it off, Laney’s voice broke into his thoughts.
“Well?”
Dragging in a deep breath and shutting her car door to move around to the driver’s side, he answered the impatient question, almost by rote, as he slid behind the wheel. “I suppose, but I draw the line at anything weird on them tonight.”
He saw her happy nod out of the corner of his eye but also heard her soft sigh and briefly wondered if she suspected more than he realized. Wondered yet again just how much he could tell her yet. Then he forgot everything when a shadowy figure appeared directly in front of the car, as if out of thin air.
As dark and menacing as the individual appeared, partially hidden in the shadows of the trees along the parking lot, Clark wasn’t afraid, though, at least not of bodily harm even though area behind the small town newspaper was essentially deserted at this time of the early evening. Emotional torment, however, was another matter because it was the black suited individual’s stock in trade when dealing with enemies. Even friends could and did feel his wrath on occasion, particularly those he wasn’t pleased with.
Clark had a feeling he was probably at the top of that last list.
He also didn’t truly care. He had more important things to worry about these days. Like how even this resourceful individual had found them? And what did he want?
As if he didn’t already know the answer to that one.
Instead of immediately getting out of the car to confront the silent and still figure, Clark turned to give his daughter a stern look. “Laney, stay in the car no matter what. Okay?”
She glanced from him to the man at the front of the car and nodded without saying a word.
Okay, that was way too easy.
He tried again. “I mean it, honey. I need to talk to this, um, gentleman. It won’t take a second. Then we’ll stop and get your pizzas on the way home.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I’ll stay right here and wait.” She waited until he was halfway out of the car before adding fretfully, “But remember I’m very hungry.”
Making a mental note of the familiar if implied threat regarding the limits of her patience hidden in the words, Clark almost smiled as he climbed back out of the car to confront the man who’d finally tracked them down. No matter how difficult she could be at times, dealing with his daughter always put him in a better mood.
All in all, maybe it was time to have this long overdue discussion.
He moved to lean against the front of the car and stare back into the eyes almost hidden in the shadows. When the individual still didn’t say anything, he sighed. “What do you want, Bruce?”
That got some movement but only a slight one as Bruce Wayne’s eyes briefly scanned their surroundings, including the surprisingly still and silent child in the car. When his attention was once again back on Clark, he shrugged. “Do I really have to spell it out?” He glanced towards Laney again, then back to Clark. “Do you really want me to say it in front of her?”
Clark studied the dirt under his shoes before answering. “If you’re referring to my previous occupation, she knows. She also knows the reasons I won’t go back.”
“All of them?”
Clark’s head shot up. “What does that mean?”
Again, Bruce glanced at the girl in the car before turning to lean against the hood beside Clark, somehow still managing to stay more in shadow than Clark. “Before I answer, just how much can she hear?”
“If you’re asking whether she has the same talents I have, the answer is no.” He added almost as an afterthought. “At least, not yet.”
“Understood.” Bruce nodded as if making up his mind about something. “Clark, I want you to understand something very important before I say what I came here to say. When you and Laney disappeared five years ago, I let you do it because I understood why you needed to. More than most would.”
“YOU let me? You LET me? You let ME? Of all the arrogant-”
At the outraged tone from his friend, Bruce grinned for the first time since he’d appeared and effectively ended the tirade in mid-word by adding softly and, yes, a little arrogantly. “Do you honestly believe I haven’t known where you were the entire time?”
“You . . . I . . . You-“ Clark’s shoulders abruptly slumped. “No, I suppose not. I mean it’s not like I’ve really been hiding or anything.” Then he frowned. “But, still, if that’s true, then why haven’t you tried-“
“-to contact you before now?” At the quick nod in response, Bruce shrugged. “Like I said, I understood why you needed to do it. More than that, I understood why it might’ve even been better for all concerned that you did, um, retire, at least for a while. I knew you’d be there if the world really needed you but, let’s face it, a certain individual on a grief stricken rampage is not something the world ever needs to see or experience, which, if you think about it, was all the more reason for a friend to keep track of what you were up to.”
Clark digested that, decided he didn’t want to waste energy getting irate all over again, and gave his so-called friend an intent look. “So, what’s changed?”
Bruce held his gaze for a long moment before finally answering. “I believe I’ve found a way for you to start living again.”
* * * * *
A way.
Not a reason.
But a way?
Why not a reason?
Clark shook his head, again, to clear it of the never-ending refrain that had taken up residence there after his short and extremely unsatisfying talk with Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman. Unsatisfying because his friend wouldn’t go into details after his cryptic pronouncement. Instead he’d insisted that he had to bring someone to their home later that evening to explain it all.
But, really, if Bruce understood nearly as well as he claimed he did, he’d know it was a reason that was needed, not a way.
The way had always been there.
The problem nowadays was that Superman really didn’t have a reason to exist. The world didn’t need him and his world didn’t exist anymore.
As if to contradict or at the very least confuse his thoughts, Laney came popping out of the kitchen, another slice of pizza in one hand and a can of soda in the other, to plop down on the sofa in front of the television. He watched his daughter deftly manipulate the remote with the hand that had been holding the soda and smiled in spite of his dark thoughts because from the expression of disgust on her face he knew exactly what was coming.
Right on cue, she wailed, “Daaaad! If you’re going to keep recording all those nature programs on TiVo, you could at least watch and delete some of them.”
He shrugged. “I forget.”
Snorting at that familiar excuse, she settled back to watch a recording of one of her favorite programs. A super-hero cartoon.
Naturally.
Cutting his eyes over to her face, so reminiscent of another beloved one, he once again wondered just how much she understood.
Oh, she knew about Superman’s part in their lives and why he was currently retired, permanently, in spite of any of Batman’s plans. What she didn’t know was why. Or at least, not all the details of why. He wasn’t entirely sure, even at this late date, that he knew all the details.
Suddenly his heart was beating hard and fast. Could that be why Bruce was bringing someone unknown here tonight?
As if in answer, the doorbell rang and before he could even get his brain to restart itself, Laney was up off the couch and at the door, peeking through the curtains. When she swung wide eyes towards him before reaching for the handle with an equally wide smile, he belatedly shot to his feet. “Laney, how many times-“
The words died unsaid when it wasn’t Bruce but another familiar figure who stepped through the door. This was who was supposed to talk to him? That didn’t make any sense at all. Of course, not much about this day was making sense.
“Wow. It IS you.” Laney watched as Bruce Wayne followed the tall, striking woman through the door and grinned. “Both of you.” She jerked a thumb in Bruce’s direction. “When Dad said HE was coming by tonight, I hoped he might bring you, but I didn’t really expect it even after seeing him earlier. I mean I’ve read all the articles about you two dating and showing up all over the place but-”
Clark finally found his voice and stopped what was apparently going to become a long-winded babbling session. “Laney, please. Don’t be rude.” He smiled at the woman, a genuine if puzzled smile. “Diana. It’s nice to see you again.” He returned her hug then his gaze met Bruce’s. “When you said you were bringing someone, I didn’t expect-“
Diana hastily interrupted. “Oh, I’m not. I’m here to see if Laney would like to go shopping with me?”
Laney’s eyes widened and she whispered incredulously. “Here in Hicksville?”
Clark’s mouth dropped open, not at the suggestion by Diana, which was surprising enough, but at the words coming out of his daughter’s mouth since that was not the name of the small town they were currently living in. Before he could gather his wits enough to comment, Diana laughed and shrugged. “Well, I suppose we could shop here, but since I currently have the exclusive use of a Wayne jet, I was thinking more along the lines of somewhere just a little bigger.” Her eyes cut to Clark’s face and she smiled gently. “If that’s okay with you I mean? Can I kidnap your daughter for a weekend female-only shopping spree? It’s been so long since I’ve got to visit with her.”
The sudden silence was broken by Laney’s squeal. “Oh, Dad, can I?” Suddenly, Clark was enveloped in a mini-tornado as his normally calm daughter practically climbed up his body to wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Pul-lease?”
Hugging her back just as tightly while she listed numerous reasons why this was exactly what they both needed, including the old standby of new school clothes, directly into his ear and suddenly feeling like his life really was spiraling out of his control, Clark took a moment to study over her shoulder the two conspirators who had invaded his life. Bruce looked innocently back at him, definitely a deceptive look on him, but Diana’s expression was a lot more openly concerned and strangely reassuring because of that very concern. Whatever they were up to, they’d planned it well and were committed to seeing it through.
And since he probably didn’t want Laney underfoot while whatever it was they were up to played out, how in the world was he supposed to object to a babysitter in the form of one of the few people in the world he would trust with his daughter’s life, much less his own?
“Okay.”
Laney stopped in mid-word and her head jerked back at his soft answer to study his face. “What?”
“I said okay. You can go.” Before she could dance away but not before she literally jumped out of his arms, he added softly but seriously. “On one major condition, Laney.”
“What?” Her suspicious gaze met his directly if impatiently.
“You have to do whatever Diana says at all times, no ifs, ands or buts. And no exceptions. Agreed?”
Laney stared back at him thoughtfully then glanced at the other two, as if it had just occurred to her that something truly odd was going on. Clark waited patiently, knowing in his heart that everything hung on her response. Suddenly knowing from Bruce’s stillness that whatever was going to happen wouldn’t happen, couldn’t happen if Laney was present.
Slowly, Laney nodded then frowned slightly when Clark tipped her face up to his again. “And always remember one thing, honey. I love you very much.”
“Ah, Dad. And here I thought you weren’t going to get mushy on me.” With that quip, Laney gave him another quick kiss and hug then grabbed Diana’s hand and started pulling her towards the bedrooms at the back of the house, asking rapid-fire questions about what to pack the entire way.
In the silence left by their abrupt departure, Clark motioned for Bruce to take a seat while they waited. When the other man sat but didn’t speak, Clark finally murmured. “I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing, Bruce.”
“So do I.”
“Okay, that does not help at all.”
“I know, but would you rather I lied to you off all people?”
“No, but at the same time a little information might help settle my nerves right about now.” Clark shook his head. “Otherwise, I’m not even sure why I let you in the door in the first place.”
Slowly, Bruce leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and meet his gaze in that direct way he had, more usually when in a certain black costume. “You let me in because you know it’s time to start living again.”
“So you say. So you keep saying. What you aren’t saying is what you mean. In case you haven’t noticed, I am living a very good life. It might not meet your expectations-” when all Bruce did was raise his eyebrows, Clark shrugged. “-in more than one way, but it does mine.”
Bruce slowly relaxed back into the chair again then drew his right leg up to lay it over the other knee. Leaning back, he shook his head and smiled. “Clark, I think you know me well enough to know that if you were any other man on this planet and said that to me, I would’ve already been gone but you’re not simply any other man and we both know it. More importantly, you know it.” His gaze sharpened on the other man’s face. “It’s not like you can forget, now is it?”
“So that’s why you’re here? To convince me to become Superman again?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But you just said-“ Clark suddenly shot up off the couch. “So help me, Bruce, if you’re here to fix me up with someone-“ Real smiles from Bruce were rare enough that his immediate shout of laughter was enough to make Clark drop back down onto the sofa and bring Diana running from the other room to investigate. She glanced suspiciously over her shoulder a couple of times as she retreated back the way she’d come when both Bruce and Clark waved her away in surprise.
Bruce managed to stop laughing long enough to look a little miffed at both her stunned expression and Clark’s chuckles. “I don’t know why people think I even don’t know how to laugh.”
“Maybe because they rarely if ever hear you practicing?”
“From your mouth to Alfred’s ears.” Sobering after his mutter, Bruce studied the man he’d come to help. “Oh, and I suppose you get in a lot of that laughter stuff yourself nowadays?”
“More than one might expect, all things considered.” Clark rubbed his eyes and twisted sideways to get more comfortable. “Which is why I’m not entirely sure why I need to start living again, as you so quaintly put it, especially if you’re not referring to reviving Superman.”
Bruce shrugged. “Look, I’m not saying that I don’t believe Superman might be a natural by-product of, uh, this weekend’s adventure. Just that he isn’t my ultimate goal. Your happiness is.” When Clark started to open his mouth again, Bruce made a slashing motion with one hand. “And that’s all I’m saying until the ladies leave us.”
* * * * *
It took longer than any of them expected but Diana finally got Laney organized and packed to both of their satisfaction. Then they said hasty goodbyes and were off on their own adventure. Clark stared out the door as the chauffer driven town car pulled out of sight, having a difficult time believing that just a few hours ago his life had seemed relatively normal.
At least Bruce hadn’t arrived in the Batmobile.
Turning to stare over his shoulder at the other man who was standing slightly to one side of the door, he raised his eyebrows in definite question. Instead of answering verbally, Bruce motioned for him to follow and led the way through the house to the back door. As he pushed open the door, he spoke quietly. “Clark, no matter what you think or feel in the next few moments please know that I would never have brought him to you if I didn’t think there was a real reason to. Or that he could help. I also won’t let you kill him until you listen to what he has to say.”
What in the world was that all about was the only thought Clark had time for before a man stepped out of the shrubs towards the back of the yard and his entire world exploded in a haze of anger.
“Tempus!”
***end of chapter 1
