[Investigate: Beckoning]Summary: 4th Act of AU series, Investigate. To many, Superman is larger than life. Through the years, he has proven himself time and time again, but how does one fight against beings that can steal what you are?
A/N: Once again, a special thanks to Ksarasara and Chereche who helped beta this fic and acted as soundboards ^_^. And thanks to those on FOLC's Discord group who helped me clarify ideas.
A/N: Although not required, reading Acts I, II, III, and Interlude is helpful, as this Superman/Clark is not like canon much at all:
Investigate____________________________________________________
[Chapter 1: Settling]Clark opened the can of paint as Lois picked up a roller.
“You know, I could have this whole place done in less than a minute,” he pointed out.
“Clark, this is our place. We should both fix it up. Besides, according to ‘Newlywed Magazine’, these projects are important to the bonding process,” Lois countered.
“Hm. How about this then, you put the first swipe of paint on each wall after I get all the cans in place and open. Around the same time, I’ll come in behind you and finish each room while I also prepare the next paint roller for the next room for you. That way we both are doing something and it can also be a race,” Clark proposed.
“If it’s a race, there must be an end goal and a prize for the winner,” Lois stated with a grin.
“A prize, eh? I think we can decide on something we’ll both like after.”
Lois laughed. "Winner picks?"
"Of course."
Upon her agreement, he blurred and she ran around to each wall, splattering a streak of paint before putting down the roll and dashing off to the next room where a freshly cleaned roll would suddenly appear, waiting for her.
They had purchased the house earlier that week and Clark had already moved out of his apartment. Most of his things were in Smallville or in her apartment where he now slept, waiting to be moved into their new house. Until they had finished renovating their future home, they felt it best to stay at her apartment due to it being closer to her work.
After their honeymoon, which had involved a wide cluster of nights at the most romantic spots around the world, they had dived into house hunting and had zeroed onto the property they were now in. With Clark's admittedly substantial savings (one can save a notable amount when the need for housing and such is not a must, not to mention having a solid, decent paying career for over a decade), coupled with hers, they were able to place a sizable down payment on the house. Barring anything too crazy, they hoped to have the house paid off in less than five years.
It was surreal to Lois. She never imagined herself being a house person. She had always envisioned herself living in an apartment in the city, but here she was, painting the walls of a home in a suburb on the perimeter of the city where she worked. The commute was a little longer, but considering everything, it was a fair trade. Better than fair, actually. It even had a perfect place to construct a secret closet, which Clark had built the first day they received the keys.
"Done!" Clark declared, appearing in front of her.
He was covered in paint.
She tried to stifle a giggle, but soon lost as she noticed she wasn't much better.
It was a very good thing he had insisted on covering the carpets and everything they
didn't want paint on with plastic before they started.
"We need a shower," she stated.
He smirked. "I know."
She faked a glare. "This was your plan all along!"
"You know me well," before they both hurried to the master bath, laughing.
O o O o O
He heard the squeal of brakes and a yelled curse with the blow of a horn before he shot down from the sky. A truck had lost control due to a blown tire and was now careening down the sidewalk.
It ran over a bike just as Kal touched down and blurred in front of it, bringing it to a safe stop right before it would have taken out a street vendor and a couple waiting in line.
The driver was grateful, but soon everyone's attention was taken by the sound of a girl’s cry. She rushed out of the ice cream store nearby.
"My bike!"
There was a twelve or thirteen year old girl on her knees beside the now crushed bike, her hands gripping the bent bars, as if trying to straighten them. She quickly dissolved into tears.
A few people tried to console her as the driver of the truck, seeing what his vehicle had done, quickly hurried over and offered to buy her a replacement bicycle. However, their words seemed to only make her cry harder.
“No, you don’t understand! My grandpa gave me that bike!” she sobbed. “He gave it to me before he got sick!”
Seeing their efforts were not helping, Superman headed to the distraught girl, quickly causing those near to step back.
“Here, maybe I can fix it,” he said.
The girl gasped as she looked up, still on her knees. He knelt down and carefully wrapped his fingers around part of the crumpled frame and straightened the bars as if they were clay. Focusing his heat vision, he softened the metal where he needed and continued down the frame, blowing cold breath here and there, until everything was as good as new, although the bike would need a new paint job.
“Oh, thank you, Superman! Thank you!” she cried, leaping forward and hugging him tightly.
He was a little surprised but returned her hug with a smile. It was rare now that anyone expressed themselves around him with such lack of restraint, especially since the world learned of his Kryptonian Lordship and what it meant, not to mention the new title he now held. Perhaps it was because she was more-or-less a child, but it was refreshing just the same.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
“My grandpa gave it to me for my birthday. He made it for me,” she explained, wiping her eyes. “I was afraid . . . I was afraid I wouldn’t get to ride it anymore. He went to heaven a few months ago.”
“Well, then I’m very glad I was able to help. I still miss my grandparents,” he said, helping her up as he also righted her bike.
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
"Of course. But I'll see them again, and it helps to know they're watching me in the meantime," he said.
She sniffled, but her eyes were happy.
With another gentle smile, he stepped back and shot into the air.
O o O o O
"It's finally happening," Lois said excitedly as she taped another box.
Clark grinned.
"There's a lot of good memories here though. I'd be lying if I said I won't miss it," she added.
"We spent a lot of time together here," Clark agreed.
"First as Kal then Clark," Lois said, thinking back. "Oh! I almost forgot," she said, hurrying to the closet that was now nearly empty.
"What?" Clark asked, following her.
"Do you think you could sign this? As Kal-El? I mean, if you want. I was thinking, this would be a good farewell gift to Mrs. Lonham. She should be back from visiting her son today," she said, holding out a newspaper article she had written of Superman's recovery after Nightfall.
Clark slowly took it, remembering how Mrs. Eleanor Lonham had helped Lois save his life the night he had returned from destroying Nightfall. Eleanor had given him oxygen and had instructed Lois on how best to help him clear his lungs. It was very likely things would have become quite dire had Eleanor not been staying with Lois that night.
More recently, she had also sent her apologies for not being able to attend the wedding and had sent them a wedding gift: a bird feeder.
His eyes softened. "Of course," he said, finally answering her.
He signed it with his Kal-El signature and wrote a thank you message in the handwriting he only used as Superman.
"Perfect. Thanks. She's going to love it," Lois said, pleased.
Clark smiled as they resumed packing before carrying the boxes down to the little moving van in the parking lot. Clark,of course, did the heavy lifting, and before too long the apartment was almost empty, save for Mrs. Lonham's gift.
"Okay, Mrs. Lonham?" Lois asked, holding up the gift secured into a roll by a simple ribbon.
"Alright," he said, knowing that, in some ways, Mrs. Lonham was a surrogate grandmother or treasured aunt to Lois.
They knocked on Mrs. Lonham’s door and it opened a moment later.
“Lois! Hi!” the elderly woman greeted.
She had a cane and a nasal cannula, which unfortunately was the norm for her due to her COPD.
"Hi, Eleanor," Lois said, before Eleanor smiled over at Clark.
"It's great to meet you, Mrs. Lonham," Clark said, even as he recalled in perfect clarity how she had helped Lois save his life. "Thank you for the wedding gift. It is already up at the house."
"Oh, you're welcome, dear, and call me Eleanor," she corrected, taking his hand with both of hers. "Would you two like to come in and have a snack before heading out?"
“We'd love to,” Lois said as Mrs. Lonham stepped back and motioned them to enter.
They did so, allowing her to usher them to sit down in her living room before she disappeared into the kitchen.
"So I assume you’re all packed up?” Eleanor asked, returning with a tray of cookies.
“Yeah, we just finished actually,” Lois admitted.
“Wow, already? Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. When George and I started out, we couldn’t wait to begin our lives together in our new place either,” she said, happy for them as she reminisced on her earlier years before refocusing. “But please know you two are welcome here any time. And if you two ever become three, know that I’d like some pictures,” she added mischievously.
Lois laughed. “We will. And actually, we do have a gift for you now,” she said, holding out the neatly rolled news article.
“Oh, you didn’t have to, dear,” she said, carefully taking it before unsecuring the ribbon. Her eyes widened at the article’s title, but she gasped at the words written along the top margin in blue ink.
Eleanor,
Thank you for saving my life.-Kal-El
“I know you don’t want the world to ever know, but . . . “ Lois started.
“This is a treasure, Lois. Please thank him for me,” she said, reverently holding the page.
“Of course," she promised.
They left soon after finishing their cookies and giving her their new address.
O o O o O
Henderson closed the folder with a sigh.
It had thankfully been a slow month, all things considered. Although he was still paranoid after the brief visit months ago from Superman a day or so after the Kryptonians, warning him of a possible assassin attempt.
"Hey, Bill!" Clark greeted cheerfully, entering his office past the open door.
"Clark! Good to see you! I see married life is treating you well," he said.
"It is. We've just settled into the new place, so let me know if you're free sometime this month and we'll have you all over," Clark said.
"Okay, I'll talk to Donna about it and let you know," he said, already mentally going through possible days that could work.
“So any cases or anything I need to be brought up to speed on?” Clark asked.
“Hm, well, actually, there is something I want to make sure you know,” he said, straightening. “Although you might already know since Lois is friends with Superman.”
“What is it?” Clark asked, looking a little confused.
“Not long after the New Kryptonians left, and before your wedding, Kal warned me that there were some Kryptonians who weren’t happy with the changes he had made with New Krypton and that they might retaliate by sending an assassin after him. He wanted me to be on the lookout for anything strange and to be ready in case anything happened. He told me he had updated a few other people, including the UN, our government, and his Foundation of course, but, well, he felt it would be remiss of him if he didn't inform those he typically worked closely with as well."
"Oh. Yes, Lois did tell me about that. Has anything happened?" he asked, concerned.
"No, thankfully not, and since it's been months since the Kryptonians left I'm hoping that's that. But just the same, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jumpy. Who knows if the bad faction or whatever has really given up, and considering how far they are, maybe it just takes time to send someone, you know?"
Clark nodded, visibly troubled himself.
"I'll keep an eye out as well, and I'm sure Superman will update you if anything changes," Clark promised.
"Thank you, and I know Kal will," he said. "It's just a little nerve-wracking to know there are beings out there who might give Superman a run for his money."
Clark frowned. "Yeah, it is."
"But other than that, there hasn't been too much going on outside the norm," Henderson assured.
"That's good. And the family?" Clark asked.
"Oh! We've started Paul on what you suggested after we cleared it with the doctor. We've noticed that his speech is a little more spontaneous and his behavior less turbulent with the L-Glutathione and L-Carnitine. The doctor has been pleased and has agreed with letting us alter his diet a bit more soon as well. He doesn't want to change too much too soon, so we can determine what's really helping him, but the doctor isn't as resistant as before," Bill explained, spilling out details he normally wouldn't because he knew Clark was someone who could follow him and not judge.
"That's great! So will you be trying the gluten-free diet next or the casein-free one?”
“Casein I think. It looks to be the easier of the two,” he said, immediately thinking about the meal plans his wife had already started on. “Removing all milk and cheese. . . .”
“Yeah. It won’t be easy, but if it might work–” Clark said with a shrug.
“It’ll be worth it,” Henderson agreed wholeheartedly before looking back at the folder he had just closed. “Anyway, back to work. Here’s the most recent missing person’s case. It looks to be a runaway, and I have some officers following some leads, but if you don’t have any other cases, we could always use another pair of eyes.”
“Sure,” Clark said, taking the folder.
O o O o O
Lois couldn't help but laugh.
Joe Arlo, 'Joe the Blow', the professional bomber who had worked with the corrupt politician, Leanings, had been arrested.
And it was all thanks to an overdue parking ticket.
So much for going out with a bang. He hadn't even gone out with a fizzle; instead it was from a crinkle of a page.
And she couldn't even be all that upset about not being the one to cover the story, because Jimmy had been the one to crack it with some help from her notes while she and Clark had been on their honeymoon and off from work for a whole month.
"Nice work, Jimmy," she said, indicating the story.
Jimmy preened. "Thanks! And thanks for those notes. They helped a lot," he said.
"No problem," she said, turning on her computer. "But now that I'm back, don't expect stories to literally fall into your lap," she said good-naturedly.
Jimmy chuckled. "Of course. So, you're in your new place?"
"Yup. Clark and I managed to finish moving in yesterday," she said.
"Oh, good! I can give you this then," he said, pulling out a little gift from behind his back.
"What's this?" she asked.
"A house warming gift," he explained.
Curious, she opened it up and found a stack of quarter-sized Superman emblems. She blinked at him.
"They're magnets. You know, for your fridge?" he said.
"Oh! Thanks. These will come in handy," she said, and she wasn't lying.
"I'm glad. I wanted to make sure it was something you could use. I still hear about how my mom got three crock pots as housewarming gifts when we moved to Metropolis. I didn’t want to give you anything you already had,” Jimmy explained.
Lois laughed. “Clark and I got two crock pots as wedding gifts, and he already had one.”
“See!” Jimmy exclaimed, before getting back to work as Perry pointedly stuck his head out of his office.
She returned to her own work, wanting to get caught up and started on the article she had in mind before that morning's meeting.
Superman was currently visiting hospitals around the world, spreading awareness of childhood diseases and drawing attention to the need for more studies looking into better treatment options and cures, as well as improving the availability of known medical interventions to remote areas.
But his efforts and that of his Foundation did not end there. Copying the well-known model of St. Jude's where medical discoveries are openly shared, the Foundation was in the process of creating an international system of easily sharing relevant medical data between hospitals of any nation. The data would have all personal information removed and be formatted to allow for medical analysts and scientists to identify trends so better treatments could be developed. When completed, the Foundation would provide the program for free to all hospitals and colleges interested, as well as training to properly use the program.
This endeavor would undoubtedly take a few years to accomplish, but dozens of hospitals had already begun working with software programmers screened and hired by the Foundation. Many were hopeful it might be completed sooner than expected and the UN especially was doing all they could to provide what was needed logistically, specifically translators and retired medical professionals to provide immediate feedback on needs and wants for the computer interface. This prevented professionals with patients from being bogged down or distracted by the project but ensured the software would be user friendly and actually be what they needed when completed.
Smiling at the itinerary the Foundation had provided for the press, she was glad Clark had Mav and his team to keep track of it all. Even with his amazing memory, she imagined keeping track of time, location, and names, on top of the activities at the events, was more than what any one individual could handle. From New Zealand to remote villages in Africa, Superman would visit a few dozen hospitals and finish up the ‘tour’ later that month.
She started typing, part of her wanting to laugh at herself. How many times through the years had she lamented about having to write ‘puff pieces’ or ‘touchy-feely stuff’? Yet here she was, writing it without being forced.
O o O o O
Superman followed the hospital administrator through the hospital, smiling and waving to the excited people he passed. It was one of the smallest hospitals he would visit, but it was a specialty children’s hospital that treated life threatening ailments and conditions in the remote region, all of which involved compromised immune systems in some way.
For that reason, the film crew that would capture the Foundation's work on behalf of the world and for posterity was only made up of two hospital staff. The only newcomer to the building was Superman.
They went down the hall and soon entered the main ward that had twelve beds, each with a child. Most were being treated for cancer, but a few were healing from burns or some other condition that required specialty care due to severity and infection risk. A few had parents present, but most appeared to be alone. Kal knew a few were wards of the state, for one reason or another.
All of the children were thrilled by his presence, although how they expressed their excitement ranged depending on their energy level and ability.
“Superman!” a few squealed.
“Hi, children,” he greeted warmly in their native language.
Many squealed even more, a few old enough to appreciate the fact he knew their language at all.
“Okay, okay. I know everyone is excited,” the head nurse said, motioning for the children to calm down. “As I said yesterday, Superman is here to visit and is happy to answer some questions for you all, but remember, if there’s an emergency, he’ll have to leave without notice.”
The children quickly nodded and calmed a smidge. Kal smiled as they did their best to look like obedient angels. He went forward and stopped at the foot of the nearest bed and looked at the little girl who had a scarf covering her bald head.
The head nurse quickly introduced each child before returning to the first and offering her a chance to ask Superman a question.
For the first handful, they were questions he was used to answering, like favorite color, favorite power, how fast he was, et cetera. And then they came to a boy named Jak, who looked perpetually exhausted, despite his thrilled smile.
"What's your aura like? Do you use it a lot?" he asked.
That question got all the children eagerly waiting for his answer more than the previous ones, many leaning forward.
"Hm, well, for me, it feels like . . . sorta like heat I can radiate and extend from my body that I can also sense from. It's–" Superman laughed at himself, "–it's hard to explain, now that I think about it. I can control how it moves, and I can share emotions through it, as well as some of my abilities when I focus, like invulnerability."
"Like how you protected those people from the fire!" a child piped up.
"Yes, exactly," he agreed. "As for how much I use it, I try not to use it too much during rescues unless I need to, to be honest, because I know it makes some people anxious," he admitted.
"Why?" another asked, baffled.
"It can be considered an invasion of privacy. Even though I try not to, it's inevitable that I'll be able to know how people are feeling when they're in my aura, and at times they'll be able to feel how I'm feeling. I can even tell if they're lying or trying to hide something. Of course, I can tell that through my other abilities, like hearing their heartbeat and such, but. . . ." He shrugged.
"Can we feel your aura, please?" the next kid asked.
"Yeah! I want to feel strong! Will it do that?"
Superman looked at the administrator, head nurse, and other adults in the room.
"Would that be alright?" Superman asked.
"Is it . . . safe?" the administrator asked. "I mean, it can interfere with electronics, right?" His eyes glanced at the equipment throughout the room, specifically the machines regulating IV flow and measuring vitals.
"My doctor and I haven't been able to detect any negative effects to those exposed and it only affects electronics if I make it dense. I won't do that here, I'll keep it pretty light," Superman promised.
"Light?" the doctor asked curiously.
"My family calls my basic aura 'light'. It's when I'm just relaxing and they compare it to a thin cloud that's around them. If I concentrate, I can thicken it and allow it to permeate their skin. That's what I do when I need to get a group of people out of harm's way quickly," he explained.
"When you relax? So you're not relaxed now?" one of the older children asked.
"Not completely," he admitted. "But I liken it to keeping good posture," he quickly assured.
"You healed those people before with it, and that's what had hurt you real bad before, right?" another asked.
Most of the adults and a few of the older kids stilled, their thoughts instantly snapping to Superman using his aura to heal those in severe need, particularly those present. Mercifully, or perhaps not so mercifully, the one who had asked and the rest seemed oblivious to that idea.
Superman smiled sadly.
"Yes. And I suppose I should take this opportunity to clarify something." He glanced at the camera after sliding his eyes over the somber expressions of the adults. He finally settled on speaking directly to the children.
"Unfortunately, when I extend my aura beyond a certain point, and allow it to, more or less, saturate someone, it immediately treats any living thing it's touching like an extension of myself. Which means, any injuries the person has will heal, but, because they are not me, the process takes a great amount of my energy and can tear my aura."
He took a deep breath.
"I won't lie, that's pretty dangerous for me. I wish it wasn't, but it is," he said, sighing before he continued. "The more damaged my aura, the harder it is to control, and if another person or living creature is nearby it could shift to them and the process would repeat until there is no one close enough to heal or. . . . " He didn't finish, but he didn't need to.
"That's what had happened before?" the first girl asked, gaping.
Most, if not all of them, had seen the now infamous clip of him being loaded into the back of a truck and rushed to the hospital in Spain roughly a year before.
"Yes, and why I had to be isolated until I had recovered," he explained.
"We have to be isolated too. We can get sick easy," another added, latching onto their similarity with Superman, however distant now.
“I think you can fulfill their request, Superman, unless there is any objection?” the administrator interjected, looking to the parents after the doctor nodded his agreement.
The few parents present all smiled and gave their consent. The children cheered.
"Okay, ready?" Superman asked the eager children.
The adults looked just as excited.
"Yes!" they answered.
Superman beamed and visibly relaxed, bathing them in his gentle presence. He instantly felt their joy and awe, and they felt his strength and innate hope, before more emotions were exchanged.
"Whoa," more than one breathed, eliciting a small chuckle from Superman.
"This is awesome! So you're like this all the time with your family?" one asked.
"Well, right now I'm expanding it enough to reach everyone here, but normally it's like this," he said.
It pulled back, until only those within seven feet of him could feel it.
"If I'm feeling a certain way, it'll want to either expand or contract, but this tends to be the norm," he said before re-expanding it.
"It's
so cool," another child said.
Superman smiled, his eyes glinting with minor mischievousness.
"At home, I also do this," he said.
The comforting pressure in the air shifted, and the children each, in turn, felt what they could only describe as a hug.
The result was a bout of excited exclamations.
"You can hug people without touching them?!"
"No way!"
"You can hug from a distance?!"
"And it didn't hurt!" another declared. That one was a girl who was heavily wrapped due to severe burns.
Several of the adults did their best to subtly keep control of themselves upon hearing her words, but Superman didn't have that luxury. A brief spike of sadness came from Superman's aura, before it immediately gave way to determined resolve.
"Superman?" a young voice asked. It was Jak.
"Yes?" he asked.
If not for his aura, his response would have convinced them he was completely collected.
“You want to heal us, don’t you?” he asked.
Superman gave a sad smile and opened his mouth to speak but then closed it.
His aura seemed to sigh in the silence.
“You’ll heal us in a different way. That’s why you’re here, right? With the Foundation?” Jak asked.
“Jak’s right, Superman,” the administrator agreed. “Together, with your Foundation, better treatments and cures will be found at a faster rate and carried out. More people will be helped that way than you risking yourself would ever heal.”
Finally, Superman nodded and pulled in his aura. “You’re right, of course,” he said, before taking another breath and looking at the next child who’s turn it was to ask him a question. He smiled at her. “I think it’s your turn to ask a question, right?”
Superman’s visit finished too quickly for all involved, but it was a day they all would forever look back at with joy.
O o O o O
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