Disclaimer: This is a *re*write of the Pilot. Some of the scenes will be familiar to you but it really is a different story. Oh, and there is a
WHAM towards the end. Consider yourself warned. If you want more details, e-mail me.
Table of Contents Description: A rewrite of the pilot episode with a twist. A new beginning for Lois Lane and Clark Kent... or is it?
New Beginnings
By MetroRhodes <metrorhodes@yahoo.com>
Rated: PG?
Submitted: August, 2006
All characters and settings are the property of someone else, definitely not me, and whoever else can legally lay claim to them. No copyright infringement is intended. This story was written purely for fun, not for profit.
A thank you to the writers of Lois & Clark, without them we wouldn’t have this wonderful world to play in. A special thank you to the writers of the pilot episode, which I have gratefully borrowed and used many lines and scenes from for this rewrite.
A huge thank you to Tahu for giving me the idea for this story. She shared some of her ideas with me and asked me if I could do a story based on one of them. So Tahu, this story is for you. I hope you like it. And, of course, last but certainly never least, a thank you to Sue for her, always wonderful, beta work. Sue, you know I couldn’t post without you.
**********
“Clark, remind me again why you decided not to move up here to Metropolis?” Chad asks me, getting in a little dig.
I sigh, tired of rehashing the same old, tired argument. I reposition the phone, propping it between my ear and my shoulder, so I can free up my hands to make myself a sandwich.
“Chad, do we really need to go through this again? You know if Lana had any way to transfer to Metropolis that we would move. She was really fortunate to get that internship in the Mayor’s office. We can’t exactly move the Mayor of Smallville up to Metropolis just so I can work for a big city paper.” I take out two slices of bread and hesitate. Nah, why not make it three slices? And a couple of extra slices of cheese while I’m at it. Where did I put those pickles? Lana’s working late tonight, so she won’t be dropping by unexpectedly to catch me eating this triple-decker monstrosity. Better enjoy it while I have the chance.
“Yeah, but come on. This was your dream. Our dream. We were going to move to the big city together and take it by storm.”
“Well, you made it up there. Are you “taking it by storm” yet?” I ask, preoccupied with spreading a thick layer of mayonnaise on each slice of bread.
“Not yet, but I’ve only been here for a few months,” Chad says defensively. “I may just be a gofer now, but when I get my chance, big things are gonna happen. I still can’t believe I’m working for the Metropolis Star. It’s so exciting, so invigorating...”
“So second-rate. Why didn’t you get on with the Daily Planet?” I ask, finding the bacon in my fridge and giving a few slices a quick *zap*. Mmm, a Club sandwich, even better.
“Hey, the Metropolis Star is nothing to sneeze at. They may be second to the Daily Planet in ratings, but they aren’t second-fiddle.”
“Well, next time I make it up your way, I expect a detailed tour of the Star’s newsroom.” Didn’t I have a tomato somewhere? I poke around in the fridge a little further. Ah, there it is, hiding behind the lettuce.
“You got it. So how’s life treating you as editor of your own paper? Mr. Bigshot?”
“Not bad. It’s not a big-town paper, but the Smallville Post is beginning to feel like home. I have a couple of reporters working for me that are still ‘wet behind the ears’, but they’re learning pretty fast. I’m actually beginning to enjoy working as an editor, but sometimes I miss the fast-paced, in-your-face work of being a reporter.” Ah, just a few more slices of pastrami and that should do it.
“What? Are you kidding? What fast-paced work are you remembering? This is Smallville we’re talking about... Not New York City.”
“You know what I mean. I love the legwork. I love running the story down. I love the interviews and the writing. Editing someone else’s stories just isn’t the same.” Now to toast the bread just a little...
“I hear ya. Okay, well take care, Clark. Try to get up here for a visit pretty soon. Tell your mom and dad I said hello and tell your mom to send some of her brownies with you next time you come. I’m aching for some of her homemade cooking.”
“Will do, Chad. Take care.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
I set the phone down on the counter and look down at the colossal sandwich sitting before me, my mouth begins to water. I lift it up to my lips to take the first tantalizing bite and there’s a knock at my door.
I sigh, putting my sandwich back down on the plate, and I lower my glasses to have a look. It’s Lana! Oh, no you don’t. You aren’t going to interrupt my eating pleasure tonight, and I’m not going to pay for eating it in front of you by listening to you lecture me about my cholesterol for the next two hours. Like I even need to worry about that. I pick up the sandwich and inhale it in a matter of seconds, enjoying every last morsel.
Running up to the door, I open it just in time to let out a small burp in satisfaction.
“Nice to see you, too, honey,” she says, giving me a small peck on the cheek. “Have you been eating something bad for you again?” she asks me, giving me that *look*.
“Me? Never.”
“Liar. I can smell the pickles and bacon from here. Oh, and there’s *this*,” she says, wiping a small spot of mayonnaise off my chin.
“It was just a light snack. So, what are you doing here? I thought you had to work late tonight?”
“I did, but the Mayor got a touch of food poisoning from the chili-cheese fries he ate at dinner. That kind of threw a wrench in things.”
Chili-cheese fries? The Mayor? Actually, I can’t remember the last time I had some of those. They sounded pretty good. “Well I’m sorry to hear the Mayor’s sick, but I won’t complain if it means I get to spend the evening with you.”
“Mmm. What did you have in mind, Mr. Kent?”
“Well future Mrs. Kent, why don’t I take you home; and we can curl up next to a fire, put in a good old movie, and take it from there?”
**********
“Anthony, I think this is a great story, good job, but I can’t print this last part here. It’s just speculation,” I tell him, circling the last paragraph in red. “You’re going to have to rewrite this part.”
“Aww, but boss, you know as well as I do that it’s the truth.”
“I agree with you, believe me I do, but we can’t print this until we have solid proof. We’d have our butts handed to us in court without the evidence to back this up.”
“Yes, sir,” Anthony says dejectedly, taking his copy back from me and heading back to his desk.
He was a good kid, just a little green. I sit down at my desk and thumb through some of the other articles that had been turned in. Not bad for a small town paper. It may lack the intrigue that a big city paper like the Daily Planet or Chad’s Metropolis Star have, but it also lacked the articles about crime and violence that those papers have to report on.
A knock at my door brings me out of my retrospection. I look up and see Steven standing there, waiting for permission to enter.
“Come in, Steven.”
“Mr. Kent, I’m sorry to bother you, but while you and Anthony were talking, Lana called and asked if you could meet her for lunch today at your parent’s house.”
“Oh, okay, thanks. I’ll make a note of that.”
“Sure thing,” Steven says, smiling as he walks back out of my office.
He is so eager to please, so willing to do whatever needs to be done. He just lacks self-confidence. Once he finds his confidence and gets up the nerve to ask, I’m going to let him partner up with one of the other reporters and see what kind of stories he can churn out.
My phone begins ringing and I pick it up. “Smallville Post, Clark Kent.”
“Clark? It’s Chad. Have you heard the news?”
“No. What news?”
“Apparently some lunatic came running into the Daily Planet building this morning ranting that the space program is doomed. He said that the Messenger is going to blow up and that Space Station Prometheus has been sabotaged.”
“You’re kidding! Was he verifiable? Or a loon?”
“Well, I don’t know, several people are saying he’s a loon. That he went off his rocker after his wife and kid left him a while back. But here’s the weird thing, he used to work for the space program.”
“That is interesting. Is anyone following up on the story?”
“From what I hear, the reporters at the Daily Planet are looking into his allegation, but I think I’m going to see what I can dig up, too. Anyway I just wanted to tell you about it. I thought it might get your old reporter’s juices flowing. I’ll call you and let you know if I find out any more details. Just because you’re an editor now, doesn’t mean you can’t lower yourself back down to our level and do a little writing. Might give your readers something exciting to read about for a change.”
“Hey! You don’t think the upcoming annual Smallville Corn Festival is exciting enough? We don’t want to give our readers a heart attack,” I tell him sarcastically. “We do have real news you know.”
“I know, I know. Things that are important to a small town paper, to small town folk. But this might just add a little spice to their lives, huh? Anyway, I gotta go. Boss is looking for me, but I wanted to pass that little tidbit along to you. Later, Clark.”
“Yeah, thanks. Bye, Chad.”
Sabotage in the space program? Is it possible? Maybe this is something I should look into. But not now, not this morning. I’ve got a paper to put out and a lunch to go to with Lana. I’d better get busy or I’ll be late, and Lana hates it when I’m late.
**********
“Oh, Martha, lunch was wonderful as always,” Lana says, getting up from the table. “And Jonathan, your barbeque was a little spicy for me, but delicious nonetheless. Unfortunately my beeper’s going off and that means I’ve got to head back to the Mayor’s office,” she continues, giving each of my parents a hug and then turning to face me. “Clark, don’t be too late putting that paper to bed. I’m looking forward to a nice quiet pasta dinner at your place tonight.”
“You got it. I’ll pick up a bottle of something white on my way home.”
“Love you,” Lana says, giving me a soft kiss. “Bye, everyone!” And then she was out the front door in an instant.
“Are the two of you ever going to have time for *each other*?” Mom asks me.
I smile reassuringly at her. “Yeah, Mom. It’s been a little more difficult to spend time together since she got her internship at the Mayor’s office, but we’ll work it out.”
“I know you will, honey. I was actually just teasing you a little.”
“Son, you seemed a little distracted during lunch, is something on your mind?” Dad asks.
“Actually, yeah. I spoke to Chad earlier today; he said to say he missed your cooking, by the way, Mom.” I’m rewarded with a happy smile at the compliment. “Anyway, he was telling me about an incident at the Daily Planet newspaper up there.”
“Doesn’t he work for the Star?” Dad asks.
“Yeah, but he has some friends at the Planet. Apparently some man who used to work for the space program came running in telling everyone that someone was going to sabotage the space program; that the Messenger shuttle was in trouble. I’ve been considering *popping* up there to take a look at things.”
“You can’t do that. You know what would happen if you got caught?” Dad asks me.
“Don’t say it, Dad. I’ve got the speech memorized. They’d take me away, lock me up, do experiments on me; I’d never have a life. Does that about sum it up?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he says, smiling at me.
“But what good are these powers I have if I don’t use them to help when I can?”
“You do, honey,” Mom says, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. “You help out all the time in Smallville, with little things that no one will notice. If you go snooping around the space program and interfere, someone’s sure to notice.”
I sigh. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll have to think about it some more. Surely I can come up with some way to help,” I pause to inhale another home-baked cookie. “Well, I’d better get going. The boys down in copy will be panicking if I don’t get back pretty soon. Don’t work too hard this afternoon, okay? I’ll see you both later.”
“Us work too hard? What about you?” Mom exclaims.
“Ha. Touché. Bye, you two,” I tell them giving them each a hug.
“Oh, Clark, if the two of you think your offices can get by without you for a little while, why don’t you and Lana come over Friday morning for breakfast? We can all watch the live broadcast of the Messenger’s lift off together,” Mom says, her voice sounding hopeful.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
**********
“Lana was sorry she couldn’t come for breakfast this morning, just too much going on today. I, however, wouldn’t miss your buttermilk pancakes for anything. Isn’t it about time for the launch?” I ask.
“Oh, you’re right. It’s supposed to go up at nine a.m.,” Dad says, getting up and turning the TV on.
We all sit around the TV in rapt attention. My conversation earlier in the week with Chad comes back to my mind. Had anyone tried to sabotage the Messenger? Surely they put on extra security after that little incident. It should be about impossible for anyone to get close enough to do anything.
The countdown had started: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, ignition... Fire! The Messenger is on fire!
“Oh, Clark!” Mom exclaims, as we sit in stunned silence watching the Messenger engulfed in flames.
I slam my fist down on the table next to me, causing the table leg to shatter. The table wobbles unsteadily on its remaining three legs.
I curse under my breath. I know better than to let my emotions get the better of me. “I’m sorry. I’ll get that fixed for you.”
“Don’t worry about it, Son. It’ll give me a little project to work on this weekend,” Dad says, grabbing my shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
“Honey, are you okay?” Mom asks me.
“No, I’m not okay. See, it’s things like this. If I had gone up there and inspected things, given that shuttle a *once-over*, I might have found the problem. I was warned that there might be sabotage involved. I should have listened. I should have checked it out.”
“It’s not your fault. You have to have a life, too. There are problems all over the world, you can’t be everywhere, fix every problem,” Mom tells me, trying to console me.
“Yeah, but this is big. Space Station Prometheus is running out of time. This launch, this shuttle was critical to securing the station’s orbit. If sabotage really was involved then that means someone doesn’t want this to succeed. Who would benefit from the failure of the space station? The failure of the space program itself?”
My parents just stare at me in silence. They don’t have any words of wisdom to offer this time. I know what I have to do now. I have to go up there to Metropolis and take a look around. I might be able to see something that someone else would miss. This was too important to not help. Besides, while I’m up there, I can pay a visit to Chad.
“I’ve gotta go up there. You know I do,” I tell them, firmly. They nod their heads at me in understanding. “Now, how to tell Lana, that’s going to be the tricky part. If I take the time to tell her what’s going on, she’ll just try to talk me out of going. In her eyes, I’ll just be a foolhardy newspaper editor going up to poke his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“She might think differently if you told her about you,” Mom reminds me.
A small spot of guilt tugs at me. I haven’t told Lana yet. I keep coming up with all the same reasons not to tell her, none of them really good ones. I’m basically just afraid to tell her, when it gets right down to it. I’m afraid it will scare her; I’m afraid of rejection. But it’s not fair to her - I know it’s not.
“Yeah. I know. I’m working on it. I’m going to tell her soon,” I promise.
“Do you think she’s really the *one*?” Dad asks me.
His question catches me off guard. “I love her,” I say simply. “How do you ever know that someone is ‘the one’?”
“Trust me, you just know. This is one of the most important decisions of your life. Your mother and I both like Lana, and we want the best for you. But she already expects so much of you. I know you love her because of how much you’ve given up for her. I mean, she’s the reason you didn’t move to Metropolis. But just make sure she’s the one for you, Son, your circumstances are so special - it’s going to take a special woman.”
“I know, Dad. I know. I think that’s part of the reason I’ve waited this long to tell her.” I pause, remembering that we’re supposed to have dinner at my apartment tonight. She isn’t going to be happy. “I think I’d better just leave a message with the secretary over at the Mayor’s office, for her. I can call her up and talk to her when I get to Metropolis. Then she can argue with me all she wants to. At least I’ll already be up there, and she can’t talk me out of going.”
“Okay. Well be careful, honey,” Mom says, looking worried.
“Yes. Be very careful. Don’t let anyone see you doing *anything*. You should probably wait until dark to fly up there,” Dad suggests. “Call us when you get settled in.”
“I will and thanks. I’ll talk to you both soon,” I say as I walk out the front door. I’d really like to leave as soon as possible, but Dad’s probably right. I should wait for the cover of darkness before I attempt the flight up to Metropolis. No point taking chances.
I better go back to the office and find a replacement to cover for me while I’m gone and make that call to the Mayor’s office. I’m not looking forward to the phone conversation I’ll be having tonight with Lana.
**********
To Be Continued...
