[Chapter 4: Reveal]Tom Sparks was a journalist for the Metropolis Star. He was new to Metropolis and had never personally seen Superman before. He eagerly waited with the rest of the press in front of the Foundation.
The Foundation had announced they would be making a statement at 3pm, a few hours after the bombing of the Metropolis Convention Center.
Speculation was now running rampant, and as more and more details of what had happened began to trickle out, it was clear why.
A second bomb had been found and stopped, only no one had initially known about it. So then how did two first responders know to head in to diffuse it? How did they know right where to go and how to diffuse it before it could go off?
What was equally intriguing was how specific rescue instructions had been dished out at remarkable speed and accuracy, even before emergency response teams were fully organized on site. For example, a man who had been in the middle of a heart attack had received emergency help immediately upon exiting the building before he even knew he needed that level of assistance.
And then there were several instances involving first responders being directed right to people trapped under debris. One woman was even adamant about a voice ordering her not to move and to wait until help arrived. She later learned that if she had moved, she would have shifted the debris in such a way that she likely would have been crushed to death before she would have been saved.
And that whole time, Superman had been occupied with holding up the roof.
Was he somehow involved in all of this? But if he was, how? And what did it mean?
The Foundation Director, Mr. Maverick Ervin, stepped out, followed by Superman.
Tom Sparks could only stare. It was really him. After moving to Metropolis and getting a job at The Star, he had known it would only be a matter of time before he saw him, but to finally see him after all the years of watching him on TV and hearing people talk about him, it felt unreal.
His bright red cape waved in the brisk breeze, and the sapphire blue of his uniform stood out almost as starkly as the bold red and yellow S on his chest. How he didn't appear ridiculous, Sparks didn't know, but all he did know was that Superman was awesome.
"Thank you for coming. Now, we'll get straight to it because I imagine many of you already suspect what this is about," Mr. Ervin said.
"Today, just before noon, a bomb was found at the Metropolis Convention Center, but it went off while the building was being evacuated and before Superman could disarm it. Soon after, a second bomb was discovered and fortunately disarmed, while a number of individuals were rescued in record time while Superman held up the severely damaged roof," Ervin said.
Many in the crowd nodded expectantly, already knowing most if not all of what Ervin had summarized.
"What many of you have not yet been told, although might suspect, is that Superman communicated with first responders to facilitate those timely responses," he continued.
Sparks nodded. That made a lot of sense. Superman had been in a position to see where help was needed, but when did he begin carrying a radio?
“We had planned on making a statement on this in the coming week, before he used his newly developed ability in public, but obviously the plans have changed," he said.
Like everyone there, Sparks was stunned.
A new ability?!
Questions from dozens of people were asked at once, members of the press barely restraining themselves from clamoring forward as Mr. Ervin stepped away.
Superman quickly came up to the podium and raised a hand for silence.
He got it.
"Thank you. Before I begin, I’d like to remind everyone that I value honesty and have strived to be as upfront and forthright as possible about myself. Some things I cannot share, like the identities of those who adopted me when I came to Earth, or where I go when I am not serving the world as Superman. But everything I can share, I have and I will.
“Now, to my new ability. It is connected with my aura and, to put it as simply as I can, is one-way telepathy,” he said, continuing before anyone could think about trying to ask a question. “It came about after my aura was injured, and for a time I couldn’t control it – just as I couldn’t control my aura. After my aura healed, my thoughts were no longer randomly escaping, for lack of a better description, but I realized I could, with enough effort, send them on purpose. I have practiced with my friends and family since returning from Spain, and only just recently became confident enough to try ‘thinking to’ willing volunteers at the Foundation.
“Today was the first time I have ever used this new power on purpose in an emergency. I’ll take a few questions now.”
Hands shot up like they had touched fire, but everyone was amazingly professional – likely hoping good behavior would get them selected by Superman.
"Mr. Pierce," Superman called, pointing to a man from CBI News.
Many people, including Pierce, looked startled by the fact Superman knew his name, but then they recalled Superman had an eidetic memory.
"Thank you," Pierce said, collecting himself remarkably well. "Superman, what do you know about this new ability so far? How certain are you that it's only one-way?"
"I can only think to people I can see and it seems to be harder the further away I am from them,” he said. “As for it being one-way, so far, I haven’t been able to read anyone’s thoughts, despite my friends and family trying to send me theirs," he said, sounding baffled by his loved ones.
It was actually amusing.
"Anyway, even if I could receive people's thoughts, I would only actively seek them if it would help in an emergency, much like how I use my x-ray vision," he explained before pointing to another reporter.
"Katherine Gonel, BBN," a short woman introduced. "So while you were still recovering from the injury to your aura, you were also having to contend with accidentally sending out your thoughts?”
“Yes, which is part of the reason why I was isolated for so long," he explained.
"Was it strange to you? Or are you used to these sorts of things?" she asked.
"Every new power is strange to me at first," Superman stated, to all of their surprise. "When I first came here, I didn't know how different I was, and it was only later when I realized why. Although I know I'm not human, I look human and, admittedly, I'd like to think - outside of my abilities - I feel human. Especially when I'm not in the public eye."
He then began to lift his hand, as if to point to the next reporter, but then he stilled and tilted his head.
"I'm sorry, there’s an emergency,” he said, before promptly vanishing with a sonic boom.
Tom Sparks decided that what he had seen on television of Superman was nowhere near as impressive as seeing him in real life.
O o O o O
Lois stepped beside Clark with the Pulitzer Award in her free hand as Jimmy took yet another picture of them.
"I'm so proud I can't see straight," Perry said as they exited into the cold, January air.
Lois grinned, even though her face was literally hurting from all the happy exercise. She just couldn't help it.
"Well I've got to get home. Wife is waiting," Perry said suggestively before dashing off to the cab that had pulled up with Mrs. White.
"Are there any more pictures you want taken?" Jimmy asked.
"No, I think you took enough pictures of tonight to make a movie. Thanks, though, Jimmy," Lois said, amused.
She was pretty sure part of the reason he had been so click happy was because he wanted to ensure to capture pictures of the happy couple.
"You'll send me copies of a few of those, right, Jimmy?" Clark asked.
"Sure thing, C.K." he answered happily.
Lois had never doubted that Clark would get along with Perry and Jimmy, but it was still great to see how well he interacted with them, especially with Jimmy.
Getting down to it, the young man needed an older brother figure, whether he would ever admit that or not. It also wouldn't be bad for Clark to have some male bonding time as well. She knew he had enjoyed the game day at Henderson's place but unfortunately lining up schedules was often difficult.
Fortunately, thanks to Perry, Clark would now be attending the monthly poker night, so they would both now have an opportunity to obtain a brotherly friendship.
"Ready, Lois?" Clark asked.
She blinked and realized she had missed part of the conversation.
"Uh, yup, ready," she said.
Clark eyes sparkled in amusement, no doubt knowing she had no idea what they had just said, as Jimmy nodded and wished them good night.
"So, shall we call it a night or . . . ?" Clark asked once Jimmy had headed home. It was dark, but it was barely 9 o'clock and it was a Friday night.
"The night is young, Clark," she teased before growing hopeful. "I think we could sneak in a movie, maybe?"
He grinned.
"Sure, we can do that. Would you prefer a cab or . . . ?" he asked with a subtle swooping hand motion.
"I think you know," she said.
"Alright, let's go," he said.
They walked down the street a ways and, after Clark glanced around, went down an alley and ducked behind another building. Soon after, they were flying to her apartment, Kal's cape flapping in the wind.
Lois slid her hands across the tight blue fabric along his side and back and smirked as she felt his aura shiver from his frame and against her skin.
“You better be careful. You might make me fly us into a building,” he said, though he was smiling.
“It’s a good thing we’re almost to my apartment then,” she said, before bringing her lips to the side of his neck and kissing a trail to his ear, grateful for the dark night. No one could see them.
He shifted her closer to himself as his aura wrapped around her fully. Her heart quickened as she identified the emotions ebbing from him.
He made it to her window and expertly opened it, despite her efforts to distract him. Granted, she suspected he had plenty of motivation to get into her apartment so he could ‘retaliate’.
The window had barely closed behind them when his mouth met hers and his aura pulsed densely against her skin. His hands glided gently up her arms as she tried to tug him closer to her.
The living room light turned on.
"Lois?!"Kal and Lois both whipped around, stunned.
"Lucy!" Lois cried. "What are you doing here?!"
"What am I doing here?! What are
you doing?! I can't believe this! I came here to surprise you for winning that Pulitzer, but didn't expect–"
"Lucy, it's not what it looks like," Lois tried, but her words only spurred Lucy on.
"Not what it looks like?! You were all over each other!
Superman!? Seriously!? What about Clark!?" she exclaimed, outright screaming the last question before facing Superman. "And you! I thought you were a romantic! Saving yourself for your true love but instead you're here with the fiance of another man! What a croc, you're just like every other male!"
Lucy fumed as Lois looked at Kal, completely unsure of what to do. Kal took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Lucy, Lois
is my fiance," he stated.
"What?" Lucy asked, utter confusion strangling the tirade that had been about to continue.
"I'm marrying Lois in May. I asked her in December on my parent's farm in Smallville, after my aura had been damaged in Spain," he explained.
"What?" she asked again, trying to process what he was saying. "You mean–you mean you're–" She looked back and forth between Lois and Superman, dazed. "You're Clark, the P.I.?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, suddenly looking out of place in the red and blue, which was really strange as he had acted more like Superman right after being caught kissing her sister than he did right then.
"Oh. Uh, okay. . . ." Lucy looked dizzy.
"Are you okay?" Lois asked.
"Yeah. Just give me a moment to wrap my head around my sister being engaged to the same person who stopped Nightfall, and the fact I just yelled at someone who could squish me like a bug if they wanted to," she said while maneuvering herself onto the couch behind her. She took a deep breath.
“I’ll, uh, let you two talk," Kal said somewhat uncertainly while looking at Lois for input.
Lois nodded, knowing that if she wanted a productive conversation with her sister Kal couldn’t really be present. To put it simply, he would be too much of a distraction.
“See you tomorrow,” he promised Lois before he turned to the window.
Lucy stared as he vanished the next second.
“I can’t believe it,” she managed after a moment of uneasy silence. “You’re . . . he’s. . . . Are you sure with it all? What am I saying? Of course you are.”
Lois went to the couch and sat beside her.
"I'm not sure what to say right now," Lois admitted, "Only that I'm sorry you found out this way."
"Not as sorry as I am. Gah! I walked in on
Superman kissing my sister!" Lucy combed her hand through her hair fretfully before she gave a somewhat hysterical chuckle. "But hey, at least I know this Kent guy is a good man and will be able to keep up with you."
"You're not wrong," Lois admitted, relaxing a little.
"You're not going to tell Mom and Dad, right? I mean, I think Dad would be okay with it, but Mom . . ." Lucy suddenly questioned, concerned.
"I haven't really talked to Kal about that, but no, I hadn't planned on it – at least not any time soon," Lois agreed.
"Good. That's good. Just imagining what Mom would say is bad enough–"
"Yeah. I agree," Lois said, smiling softly as her sister proved herself to be more sensible than their mother yet again.
"Just promise me that if or when you tell Mother that you give me a heads up so I can disappear for a week or so to avoid the fallout," Lucy said, sending her a smirk before blinking. "Wait, did you just call him Kal? That is so weird. I mean, I know his name is Kal-El, everyone knows that, but it's so weird to hear you say it so casually."
"I knew him as Kal before Clark, although he's answered to Clark for far longer than anything else, and he views himself as Clark first I think," she rambled, clasping her hands together. "So, uh, anyway, are you okay with this? And, I know I don't really need to ask, but–?" Lois asked.
"Lois, I don't want Mom to know, so I definitely won't tell anyone out of fear of her ever finding out. I think we both don't want to have to deal with that. As for me being okay . . . I think so. I'm definitely better than I was when I thought you were cheating on your fiance with Superman!" she declared.
They stared at each other for a long moment before breaking into laughter.
"Man, you should have seen your faces when I turned on the light! Especially his! I can't believe I surprised him! I thought he had super hearing or whatever," Lucy said, laughing.
"He does, but he was pretty distracted," Lois said, just as tickled.
"I'll say!" she agreed. "Man, only my sister could distract the Man of Steel!"
Lois blushed.
“So is he really a ‘sentimental softy’? Come on, I want all the juicy details," Lucy insisted.
Lois grinned, suddenly glad Lucy had found out. It would be nice to talk without having to hold back certain details due to who Clark was. She could brag on him without restraint.
And that's what she did.
O o O o O
“I’m glad your sister took it so well,” Clark said, clearly relieved as they dug into lunch the next day.
“Me too, though I'm not that surprised. She already liked Clark and, like much of the world, was already a Superman fan. It makes sense that she would warm up to the truth before too long," Lois said, pleased before growing serious. "And actually, she was more concerned with how mother would react if she ever learned than the fact you're you."
Clark grew still.
"I guess that's something we've never really discussed. Do you want to tell your parents?" he asked.
"No. I–I mean, sure, it might make some things easier, but overall, I really don't think they need to know. As awful as this sounds, they're really not part of my life enough for it to be worth it. For the risks to be . . . I mean, what would the benefits really be? It would only make things more complicated. Hopefully I'm making sense. I just . . . do you want them to know?" she asked, growing uncertain.
"Considering everything . . . no. And yes, you're making sense. It's a dangerous secret," he said softly.
Lois nodded, resolute. "Only people who have to know, have to know."
"Yes," Clark agreed.
"Are you okay with Lucy knowing? She understands the importance of the secret, but she doesn't exactly have a need to know," Lois said.
"She saw Superman and Lois in a pretty heated . . . make-out session. She needed to know," he said, his cheeks suddenly dark pink. "Besides, I have my parents and Burton to talk to, you need someone too. I know there might be times when you need to openly talk to someone who’s not me or directly tied to me," he said.
Lois smiled lovingly at him.
"I'll admit, it was very nice to actually be able to fully brag about you," she said with a grin.
"Oh?"
“How you spoil me, how we sometimes watch a sunset and then a sunrise in the same evening. How you always make sure I'm warm enough, and when I'm not, you warm me with your heat vision," she said.
"You like that?" he asked, pleased with himself.
"Uh, huh. And I like it when you let me wrap myself with your cape,” she said.
“I’ll have to remember that,” he said, smiling back.
"It's more because of the view I get than anything else," she added with a suggestive smirk.
"You're incorrigible," he said, before kissing her soundly.
O o O o O
Clark glanced through the police file, unsurprised by the criminal profile of the suspected kidnapper.
It started off as a domestic dispute two states over, but then spiraled into a kidnapping and then a missing person. Going against court orders, a girl's mother had taken her from her father before fleeing and crossing multiple state lines. As bad as that was, the police had caught a break and knew where she was headed. Unfortunately, what no one had expected, the five year old girl, Ally, managed to escape from her mother before the police could catch up. However, instead of trying to find her daughter or surrender and seek help, the mother had decided to cut her losses and run even harder – revealing even more about her character than the initial kidnapping had.
The police found the mother just beyond Kansas City and, after interrogating her, learned Ally had snuck out of the hotel twelve hours before, just outside of Metropolis sometime the previous night. No one knew where she was now. There was a highway near the hotel, as well as a national park and a major trucking bay.
"And it's been about 48 hours since she ran away from her mother?" Clark asked.
"42 hours," Henderson said.
"There’s something more to this, isn’t there?” Clark asked, feeling something amiss.
“Ally Holtz is a granddaughter to the German Ambassador to the US,” Henderson explained.
“Ah. Okay. What has been done so far?” Clark asked.
“Search teams have been organized and are combing through the national park as we speak. And surveillance videos are being reviewed from the trucking bay, but there unfortunately weren’t any cameras at the hotel,” Henderson summarized.
“And the highway?” Clark asked.
“A few cruisers have patrolled, but they haven’t reported anything,” he said. “Right now, most of the search is in the park because the thought is that a child would more likely go there due to the clear path from the hotel. Also, those manning the weigh stations for the trucks have been interviewed and they don’t recall seeing any children. Granted, it was night when she ran away, so it’s possible she was there and they just didn’t see her.”
Clark hummed in thought.
“Any scent dogs?”
“The mother didn’t have anything they could use to track her and the hotel room had been cleaned by the time officers got there. The father is sending some clothing of hers, but they won’t arrive for the dogs until tomorrow,” he explained.
"Alright," Clark said, putting the folder down and standing up. "I'll let you know if I find anything."
"Sounds good. Thanks," Henderson said.
Clark nodded before heading out, a destination already in mind.
He had a theory, a theory that had quickly been proven when he did a quick fly over of the highway and spotted the child hunkered just within a dry storm drain.
Less than twenty minutes later, Clark was jogging along the side of the highway in the grass, scanning the ditches and brush that covered much of the area beyond the road as he kept his ears locked onto the girl's heartbeat. He knew she hadn’t moved from the storm drain. Cars passed by, oblivious to his purpose as he continued away from the exit leading to the hotel. He came upon the storm drain and leapt down from the minor ridge running parallel to the road. He landed in the dry brooke and slowly approached the large, concrete pipe.
The girl immediately stood up as he came into her view. She was dirty, but didn't look too bad considering she had been outside and on her own for almost two days.
He held up his hands.
“Ally, I work with the police,” he said, before slowly retrieving his wallet and showing her his private investigator identification. “My name is Clark Kent.”
“I want my dad,” she stated, sounding as scared as she looked.
“Alright, come on, kiddo. I’ll take you to the police and then they will take you to him,” he promised, holding out his hand.
She took it without much hesitation and he pulled out a package of crackers from his inner vest pocket.
“Here, I’m sure you’re hungry,” he said.
She ate it promptly as they walked, slowly working their way back up to the visible side of the road.
“I take it you were trying to get back to your dad?” he asked.
“Yeah," she said tiredly.
"Here, would you like a piggyback ride?" he asked.
He knelt down and helped her on to his back before walking them the rest of the way to town. Entering the closest building, which was a gas station, he called Henderson and the state wide search was ended.
O o O o O
Perry was thrilled by the article of the missing child being found, and the fact the girl was a granddaughter to an Ambassador was an added bonus.
"That fiance of yours is something else," Perry said, chuckling.
"He is," Lois agreed.
Lois hadn't identified Clark specifically as the one who found Ally, instead saying one of the search volunteers had found her. However, she had told Perry the whole story.
"Well, good work, Lois, even though you technically had an inside track on this," he said, amused.
She waved him off and shifted gears.
"I've finished the preliminary write-up on the history of the Prometheus space program like you asked, so it's ready for whenever they christen the space station today," she said.
"Good, good. Which, that should be very soon," he said, standing up and hurrying to the threshold of his office. "Hey! Turn those things up!" he said, pointing to the televisions.
Someone quickly grabbed the remote and they all soon heard the reporter on screen.
“And in just five minutes, at nine o'clock Eastern Standard Time, we'll take you live to the opening ceremonies of the United Nations' Space Station. Home to over one hundred orbiting scientists and astronauts–” he began, before pressing his hand against his ear. “– Just a moment . . . I’m . . . . Apparently, um, there has been some kind of... technical difficulty,” he said anxiously. "The space station's rockets have misfired and are driving the space station towards the Earth's atmosphere, where the space station will . . . burn up if reentry cannot be prevented. Mission Control is in contact with the space station, but so far they are unable to ascertain the reason for the station's thrusters firing."
The newsroom quickly fell into a frenzy, Lois turning to her computer and writing.
"For those of you just tuning in, the United Nations' Space Station's thrusters have inexplicably ignited and are driving the station toward the Earth's atmosphere." He took a deep breath. "So far, the crew has not been able to shut down the engines. Mission Control now estimates that the friction from the Earth's atmosphere will cause disintegration of the station to commence in . . . wait, wait . . . we've just received an unconfirmed report that Superman has arrived at the Space Station!"
Lois gave a silent prayer, knowing this was the largest thing Kal had ever attempted to directly maneuver. The Space Station was over ten times heavier than the space shuttle, Messenger, had been.
O o O o O
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