[Chapter 2: Welp]“Are you serious?” Lois asked, looking up from her bowl of ice cream with her eyebrows up.
“Well, yeah. That’s what Bernie told me,” Clark said, surprised by her response.
They were sitting in their newly furnished living room, breaking in the coffee table and couch with a dessert and a movie they weren't really watching. The volume was low.
“Your telepathy works by sending out a little aura pulse that detaches from you and zooms to the person, delivering the message?” Lois asked.
“When I’m just talking to one person. If it's a group it’s a bigger sort of pulse that touches them pretty much simultaneously. It’s also why I can only ‘think’ to people I can see, with or without my x-ray vision. I have to be able to aim my aura, I guess.”
“‘Thought bubble’ you mean,” Lois corrected before giggling, which soon dissolved into full-on laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“You have
real thought bubbles!” Lois explained. “It’s hilarious! Think about it! I’m suddenly imagining invisible cartoonish bubbles shooting from you and popping when they touch people!”
Clark smiled, before joining her in her hysterics. “I guess when you put it that way. . . .”
“Wait! Zara was able to think to you, and you to her, without you two seeing each other at the UN, so how did you do that?” Lois asked, her mind quickly shifting gears.
“Maybe it’s because we’re both Kryptonian? Although, her talking to me ‘long distance’ wasn’t all that comfortable. It was like it was on a different frequency or something,” Clark admitted. “And their short distance telepathy wasn't all that great either, to be honest, but it did get better after that first week. It was part of the reason why those meetings were so exhausting."
Lois hummed thoughtfully.
"I haven’t outright asked you this before, though I suppose I should have. Is it strange? Them being gone now, I mean?" she asked, now serious.
He frowned.
"It's . . . many different things. I'm grateful the Kryptonian People will be able to continue on and that I'm not the last one. I'm glad I got to know Zara and Ching. Even Trey. But I'm also relieved things went the way they did. That I am here and they're there."
He leaned back, thinking over it more.
"I learned why I am the way I am, and I realized something."
"Oh?" Lois asked softly.
"As a child, I never really fit in anywhere. And while home was home, I was always afraid that when it was time for me to leave and start my own life, I would never really be able to make . . . my own home. And when I learned what I was, which was after I met Burton, part of me became resigned to the likelihood of never completely getting what I wanted. Of course, since meeting you, that's completely changed," he explained and quickly reassured, gently squeezing her hand before continuing.
"But I'll admit I had expected to feel something more upon meeting Ching and the others."
"But you didn't?" Lois asked.
"Not in the way I had envisioned. There was no sudden sense of belonging. A click or feeling of things being right. Even after working with them for weeks, there was no substantial connection. No, that has only happened once in my life, and that was when I met you." He smiled shyly at her and gently clenched her form with his aura for a moment before refocusing. “Granted, there was also the Ekhyad thing, but even with Zara and Ching, who weren’t bothered by that, I never felt free to completely be myself and relax. Even now, I feel more at ease when I'm around new volunteers at the Foundation than I had felt being with any of my own people – even after I got to know them.”
Lois smiled sadly at him. "Are you disappointed about that?"
"A little, I guess, but I think my expectations were unrealistic. I grew up here, and even with the crystal my mother left for me, I think nurture was stronger than nature. Meeting Zara and the others made me realize that. Made me realize that, even though I’m not human, I belong here."
Lois cupped his cheek. “Yes. Yes, you do,” she agreed, before giving him a kiss.
She eased back. “How were the hospital tours today?”
He took a deep breath. “They were good. Very good, but difficult at times,” he said. "The kids there . . . Well, as you can imagine, it's heart-rending, and yet they still smile and make the best of things."
She nodded understandingly.
"I really wish my aura was more stable. I wanted to heal them so badly. Of course, I don't know if I'd be able to help those with cancer, but at the very least the burn patients would be healed. . . ." He trailed off before telling her about Jak and what had followed.
“I know. But what you can do is enough,” she reminded, giving his hand a squeeze before kissing him again.
It soon dissolved into more.
The ice cream was forgotten.
O o O o O
Her reporter senses were tingling. There was a story here. How big? She didn't know, but it was big.
A construction company, Haner Construction, and its subsidiaries were cutting corners, and, if she was correct (which she was certain she was) they were doing so to a dangerous degree. What little she had been able to uncover this far had been alarming, and she was certain corruption had also bled into the city inspectors.
There was no way they were missing issues that would result in severe plumbing and structural issues three to four years down the line this often.
She frowned, another tickle of intrigue nudging her down another path. She pulled up a file on her computer and scrolled down to a document and opened it. It was old research she had done on Lex Luthor years before, and she quickly scanned a list of company names.
"Well that's interesting," she mused, spotting a few she now knew well.
"Jimmy!" she called.
"Yeah, Lois?" he asked, hurrying over.
"Could you identify the employees of this company who have been with the company for more than three years and if they've been reassigned to any of the company's subsidiaries at all?" she asked.
"Sure thing!" he agreed.
He hurried off with the page and Lois glanced at the notes she had made on the little side story Perry had assigned her.
She took a sip of her coffee from a mug Clark had dropped off for her less than half an hour before. It was full of her favorite specialty coffee and, ignoring her amused coworkers, Clark had kissed her before going on his way, wishing her a good day at work.
She smiled again. Married life was not how she had expected it to be. It was so much better.
They had been married for almost four months now, and at times it was hard to believe it had already been so long, while at other times it felt like they had always been together.
"Lois! You got that story?" Perry bellowed from his office.
"About to push send, Chief!" she answered.
O o O o O
Clark slid the photographs he had taken over to Mayson.
"You should be able to get at least one warrant from these," he said.
Mayson 's eyebrows rose. "I definitely will. Thank you. And hopefully we can get help for these girls."
Clark nodded, his mouth a grim line.
The photos were of a few missing teens following a known human trafficker into an apartment complex.
"It'll be best if the teams go in at 6am. There will be less risk to everyone,” Clark advised.
Mayson nodded, skimming his notes with the photos. They were dates and times, as well as a record of the comings and goings of the now obvious illegal operations.
“Thank you. How many do you estimate? I’d like to give the district’s social workers a heads up,” she said.
“Seventeen at least, ten of those are between fourteen and sixteen. One is twelve. Two are from out of state. I’ve written down their names. Runaways.”
“Your amazing memory at it again?” she asked. She didn’t think she could ever get used to Clark’s ability.
“I’m good with faces,” he admitted.
“Faces, names, and languages,” she pointed out.
He shrugged helplessly before she smiled and waved him away.
“I need to get moving on this. I’ll let you know if I need you in court,” she said, grateful.
“Sounds good,” he said.
“See you later, Clark.”
He nodded and headed out, almost bumping into Bill Henderson who came around the corner.
“Sorry, Clark, I almost bulldozed you,” Bill said apologetically.
“No harm done,” he assured with a smile. “Oh, since I have you, Lois was wondering if you all wanted to come over this weekend?”
Bill and his family had been over at his and Lois’ place a few times over the past few months, and they had been over at the Hendersons’ to watch the Metropolis Tigers a handful of times, along with Mayson twice. It was a new and strange experience for both himself and Lois. Neither of them had really had friends who were actual
peers. He also knew it was very strange for the Hendersons. Not only because of Bill’s work, but Paul’s autism. Clark knew socializing was extremely difficult for them.
“Ah, unfortunately, Donna’s parents are coming over this weekend, but maybe the following?” Bill proposed.
“That might work. I’ll talk with Lois and let you know,” Clark promised as they entered the break room, taking a different route to leave the building so he could continue talking with Bill.
Clark blinked. Melissa, Bill’s daughter, was at the table, working on a paper.
“School project,” Bill explained, amused by Clark’s bewilderment. “She’s writing a paper about the typical day inside a police station.”
She dutifully ignored them as Bill filled a mug with some lukewarm coffee.
“I think she was expecting a bit more action,” he added with a smirk.
“So you’ve barred her from the first floor?” Clark asked, amused.
“The assignment is a two page report, not a book,” Bill said with a laugh.
Clark’s pager buzzed.
Bill shook his head in disbelief and laughed. “You could just get a cell, you know.”
“I do have a cell, but some of my contacts are old school,” Clark said.
“Whatever you say. See you later,” Bill said, still chuckling as Clark headed out.
Clark left the station, deciding he could simply walk because there was no rush to meet his source due to the message he had sent.
He joined the masses on the sidewalk, waiting at intersections for the light and allowing his mind to wander.
The hospital tours for the Foundation project were over and now software engineers and medical teams around the world were working diligently to finish the program. A portion of the profits from CostMart was funding the entire thing and would continue to provide the financial needs after it had launched. Clark was proud of what had already been accomplished.
Even without the computer system online, the initial process of connecting hospitals around the world to get the project moving had already produced results. Patients needing specific care were discovered, and doctors in those areas were immediately able to communicate with experts on the ailments of note to better care for their patients. And, thanks to the Foundation’s finances and internationally known neutrality, due to the Treaty of El, areas that may have otherwise been unable or hesitant to participate were openly exchanging knowledge. Granted, there were safeguards in place to prevent any level of ill-will, but so far things were going well. Better than he had even allowed himself to hope.
Jak and the administrator had certainly been right. This was the way to go.
Far more people would be helped through the Foundation than by him healing directly, with or without the risk to himself.
O o O o O
Bill looked up when someone knocked on the door frame of his office. He blinked in confusion.
"May I help you?" he asked.
She was a young woman, possibly twenty-five but likely younger. She had wavy blond hair with dark roots and a shy smile.
"I'm sorry. The front desk said you'd be up here. I can come back later if you're busy," she said.
Although confused about why Linda, who ran the front desk, hadn't called him first, he wasn't that busy at the moment, and, really, taking a little break from paperwork wasn't a bad idea.
"Depends. Who are you?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet. I'm doing a story on, well, Superman, and how he works with local first responders. I've already interviewed a few officers downstairs, but I was also hoping to get a few quotes from others in the police department. Get different viewpoints, you know?" she rambled.
He could tell she was new, so decided to throw her a bone. It also didn't hurt that she worked for the Planet.
"I have five minutes," he said, waving her into his office.
She beamed.
"Okay, on a typical week, how often do you see and speak with Superman?" she asked.
"Depends on the week, but I'd say maybe once a week, although there's been times we haven't spoken to each other for over a month," he said. "His focus is on emergency rescues, not crime, so our interaction is pretty limited. Instances where arson is suspected is when our paths cross the most."
She nodded as she quickly wrote in her notebook.
"You didn't tell me your name," he stated as she looked up from writing.
"Oh my goodness. Sorry. I'm Peggy Stein, I'm a new columnist," she said, batting her eyes.
"Peggy Stein?" he questioned.
His mind went back to his most recent visit with Lois and Clark, and what Lois had said about the new columnist Perry had just hired. Lois had gone on for quite a while about how she was astonished such a new hire had been immediately sent overseas on a long term assignment. After some back and forth with Clark, she grudgingly admitted they had done the same with her when she had been a newbie, and Peggy was remarkably mature, confident, and collected for her age.
"You came back from overseas already?" he asked.
"I'm sorry?" she asked, utterly confused.
Bill stared at her for a long moment. Something wasn't right here. She did not seem like the young woman Lois had described at all. She apparently had no idea she was supposed to still be overseas, and she had somehow gotten past Linda and to his office without an escort. The last was not impossible, Lois had certainly done it a number of times, but something about this woman suddenly felt very . . . wrong.
And she was asking about Superman.
The warning Kal-El had given him all those months ago rang in his ears.
"Who are you? You're not Peggy Stein," he stated, standing up from behind his desk, his hand slowly moving to his hip where his sidearm rested.
The woman's form melted in less than a second as a hideous male took shape right in front of him.
His lips were black and his face looked reminiscent of a cadaver's with his hair sticking up all over in an oily mess.
"Kal-El will die!" he hissed, before spitting forth a green sludge and fleeing.
Henderson dodged the acid, which immediately began sizzling where it had landed, as he pulled his gun and fired twice before the creature was out of sight. He charged after him, his thoughts immediately jumping to his daughter.
She was just down the hall in the break room!
"Dad!" she cried, before screaming in a way he had never heard anyone scream before.
He rushed from the hall as he saw the being lift Melissa from the shoulders, gripping her with his long fingernailed hands.
"Dad!" she cried, hysterical.
"Pathetic welp," the alien snarled.
And then he threw her.
She went straight through the wall to Bill’s left, breaking through two-by-fours beyond the drywall before crashing through chairs and tables, and then striking a desk that bashed into a bookcase.
Bill emptied his gun, firing at the running form. He managed to hit the monster's arm and side. His gunfire alerted all in the precinct, but his only thought was getting to his baby.
“Melissa!” he bellowed, oblivious to the gunfire now echoing from the ground floor.
He rushed through the broken wall, forcing his way past shards of wood and debris. There had been picture frames on the wall, along with a plaque and short bookshelf, all of it now sprawled on the floor with shards of glass and scattered pages. A dozen chairs were throughout the room, a path of them strewn aside with tables upended and broken. But his eyes were only on Melissa, whose crumpled form was against the shattered desk of the precinct’s briefing room.
“Melissa! Melissa!” he cried, clamoring forward and falling to his knees.
She didn’t answer as he turned her toward him.
Her injuries were beyond description, to the point he would be hard pressed to recall a car accident with more grievous harm.
O o O o O
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