I told you I'd be back
) and I've been posting here for several years, and my last post of *this* story was almost exactly two years ago
Inheritance pt. 6
For ultrafan (aka Linda)
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Herb made another adjustment, shifting them back to the Kent farm.
“Why’re we back here?” Clarissa asked.
“In as I have brought you back to understand your past, I thought it important for you to see a moment when your father needed more information into his, seeing as how at this point in time he had virtually none. That frightfully paranoid man who demanded that Superman be delivered to him got Clark curious about his fragmented origins. So he decided to ask the only two people who could tell him anything.” Herb nodded towards the kitchen table, where Clark was having supper with his parents.
“I wanna hear everything you know about how you found me. Everything.”
Jonathan took a deep breath to answer the questions he’d always known would come.
“May 17th 1966,” he began. “We were driving past Simpson’s quarry just due west of the Elbow river.”
“And we saw this thing in the sky,” Martha chimed in. “At first we thought it was one of those ICBM’s.”
“That thing came streakin’ across the sky in front of us,” he continued. “It was hard to ignore,” he chuckled.”
“And we found you and took you home,” Martha finished, her voice becoming nostalgic. “Your eyes were so big, and so wide, and that little diaper-thing they had you in made you look so CUTE!!” she gushed.
“Martha!” Jonathan amusedly chided his wife, then his voice sobered. “A few days later some men showed up around town, asking questions.”
Clark’s eyes widened in alarm. “What kind of men?”
“They said they were from the Space Program, and they thought some debris had come down from some Russion satellite, and wanted to know if we’d seen anything,” Martha explained.
“What did you tell them?” Clark asked, his heart beating a little faster.
“Not a thing,” Jonathan replied flatly.
“There was something about them; they were scary,” Martha finished, her tone hushed.
“So, is that what you think I am? Some Russian experiment?” Clark asked, dismayed.
“Oh, honey! We don’t care if you’re a Russian or a Martian!” Martha declared emphatically. “You were *ours*! We weren’t giving you away to anybody!”
Clarissa smiled at her grandmother’s protectiveness towards her now grown child. The conversation continued outside to retrieve Clark’s ship, which Jonathan had buried. While Clark reassured his mom of his devotion, Martha sympathized that his curiosity was only human. Unfortunately, to Jonathan’s shock, and Clark’s growing concern, the only remnant of Clark’s Kryptonian origins wasn’t there anymore.
Clarissa looked at Herb. “So…if Daddy’s ship isn’t where Grandpa Kent buried it, where is it?”
Herb didn’t answer, but simply adjusted his watch again. They returned to the city, to a warehouse, armed with a key an old man, embittered by time had given them. While lecturing Clark about not questioning their luck, Lois looked under several tarps, then rolled her eyes at some hokey photographs Clark found in a file drawer. Clark, however, was not as dubious, and was more inclined to believe there was some truth in their discovery when he lifted one tarp in particular. Clarissa gasped when she saw what her father had uncovered. It was a small ship, covered in dust, with a miniature ‘S’ logo on the lid. Checking to make sure Lois was distracted, Clark reached into a small bag lying next to the ship, and pulled out what looked like a globe of some sort.
“Daddy’s map!” Clarissa exclaimed, unconsciously covering her mouth. “Why…” she began, then trailed off when Wells lifted a silencing hand. She returned her gaze to her father, who was himself gazing hypnotized, at the globe, which began to glow softly in response to Clark’s touch. As if by instinct, Clark murmured to himself.
“Krypton.”
The bubble that had briefly become his universe burst though when Lois rushed over, whispering that they’d been caught.
“Alright, my dear,” Herb said, taking out his watch. “Time to go.”
“No! Wait,” Clarissa protested. “I wanna see what happens. Does Daddy get his ship back? What happened after they were caught?”
“Clarissa, we really must move along, there’s too much we must cover to linger over every single moment.” At her protesting look he sighed softly. “I will explain past events as we progress, but we must now return to the Planet to wait things out. Your parents will be returning there shortly.” To Herb’s relief she seemed to accept this, albeit grudgingly. There were some things coming up he didn’t think she needed to see, ‘and some things she didn’t need to hear,’ he thought. She’d already heard her mother’s Freudian outburst when picking Clark up that first morning, much to his regret. She didn’t need to hear Lois’s anatomical observation of Superman during their first impromptu interview. Maybe it was his own Victorian upbringing, but Herb didn’t think it appropriate for a thirteen-year-old girl.
They shifted back to the newsroom, where, again in true Lane fashion, Clarissa started in on Herb to tell her what happened. He related the incident on the plane.
“Your mother was obviously quite disheveled after her ordeal, but, as is always the case with Ms. Lane, her disorientation was brief. As soon as Clark reappeared in the newsroom, she gleefully assumed that Superman was alive as well, and enthusiastically jumped right back into the story.”
“And?”
“‘And’ what, my dear?”
She rolled her eyes. “What about Daddy’s ship and the globe?!” she exclaimed impatiently. “I know those crazy people don’t still have them. Grandma and Grandpa Kent have them.”
“No, you’re quite right, Clarissa. Your father did eventually regain proper possession of them,” he said. At her prodding look, he placed a hand gently on her arm. “Further along, in future. All will be explained, my dear. Patience,” he instructed, then chuckled, and shifted them again. Clarissa just huffed.
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“So, lemme get this straight,” Clarissa said, summing up the last few moments she’d seen. “Mom thought Dad was some newbie hick from, as she called it, ‘Nowheresville’, Dad thought mom was a snob who needed to be taught a lesson, and Lex Luthor had a major God-complex.”
“An accurate, if rather trite summation, yes,” Herb nodded thoughtfully.
Clarissa blew out a breath. In the last few shifts, she’d seen her mother place her father and Superman on opposite ends of the evolutionary chain, watched as her dad tried to downplay Superman’s heroics, and tried not to gag upon hearing that skanky ‘Cat’ volunteer to ‘test drive’ her father. Now they were in Lex Luthor’s penthouse office. The billionaire was walking over to his mahogany desk after dismissing his tailor when there was a large gust of wind. Luthor turned around and Clarissa looked up to see a very angry-looking Superman storm through the French doors.
“Uh-oh,” Clarissa groaned at the look on her father’s face.
“Superman! Come in,” Lex greeted him, smiling pleasantly.
“You wanna know how strong I am, Luthor?” Superman demanded, without preamble. He turned and lifted a heavy steel sword off the wall. Clarissa recognized it as the sword Lex Luthor had held to her father’s throat the night of that big party. Superman held it up, holding the hilt in one hand and the tip of the blade in the other, then effortlessly bent it into a metal pretzel and threw it across the room. Lex’s eyes widened, and Clarissa wasn’t sure if it was awe at Superman’s display, or horror at seeing his precious artifact reduced to junk.
“You wanna know how fast I am?” he continued, irate, and picked up an antique revolver sitting on the desk. He lifted the gun, aimed, fired, and a split second later was holding the bullet in front of Lex Luthor’s shocked face.
“Why did Daddy do all of that?” Clarissa wondered aloud. Satisfied that he’d made his point, Superman walked back toward the doors.
“Does that conclude the demonstration?” Lex asked coolly, no trace of fear in his voice.
Superman turned back to face Luthor. “The tests stop, now,” he declared definitively.
“Well, that would be nice, but what if they don’t?” Lex asked tauntingly.
“If I were you…” Superman challenged, but Lex cut him off.
“Me? I admit nothing,” Luthor replied, refusing to be baited. “Let’s assume these tests continue. You can’t be everywhere at once Superman. As long as you stay in Metropolis, innocent people will die. Think about it,” he threatened, his tone deceptively pleasant.
Clarissa watched her father’s expression go from confident, to wary, then finally to frightened comprehension.
“So Lex Luthor actually tested my dad to see what he could do, and then tried to scare him into leaving Metropolis?”
“Yes, quite, I’m afraid. And he very nearly succeeded too,” Herb replied. “The very idea that Superman would be responsible if more people were hurt because of Lex Luthor’s machinations was completely appalling to Clark.”
“But it wouldn’t be Daddy’s fault!” Clarissa exclaimed. “Grandma Kent was right. It would be Luthor’s!”
“Yes, but your father didn’t see it that way, and Luthor knew that. His threat to kill people and allow the public to hold Superman responsible was very powerful to your socially conscious father. Lex knew that he need only imply it, and that that was enough.”
Clarissa nodded slowly, taking this in. Then a small smile crept across her face. “Well, obviously Superman didn’t give in to Luthor’s threat, right?”
“Indeed,” Wells replied.
“So how did Dad handle it?”
Herb smiled. It was actually one of his more favored moments in Lois and Clark’s history, and he was happy now to be able to show it to their daughter. He adjusted his watch, shifting them again.
Clark walked slowly to Lois’s desk, carrying his suit jacket. Clarissa noticed that he actually looked tired. Lois was sitting there, watching a news report of the chaos that had seemed to envelope the city since Superman had vanished as quickly as he’d appeared. She turned to look at him.
“Bad?” she asked gently. Clark lowered his head.
“A fifteen-year-old boy is in critical condition,” he reported despondently. “His little sister’s in shock, and his mother can’t stop crying.” He sat down. “There’ve been a dozen like this in the last week.”
“Sounds like a job for Superman,” Lois said softly, hopefully.
Clark rolled his eyes at her seeming one-track mind. “Yeah, that would make a great story,” he drawled sarcastically, referring to her current habit of stealing them from whomever, whenever Superman was involved.
Lois sighed deeply, getting his message and feeling duly guilty. “Forget the story, Clark. Metropolis needs Superman,” she murmured emphatically.
“Why? You think he could’ve stopped any of this? Or that?” he waved helplessly at the violence on the TV screen.
“No,” she replied sadly. “Not even he can be everywhere at once.”
“Well, then what good is he?” Clark demanded softly, sounding defeated.
Lois saw how disheartened Clark really was. “Whatever he can’t do…” she trailed off, trying to put into words her own belief in Superman, and to pass that faith onto the usually unflappable Clark. “It doesn’t matter!” she finally exclaimed. “It’s the idea of Superman; someone to build a few hopes around.
Whatever he can do, that’s enough!” she finished confidently, but then her own voice fell as she stood up. “I just wish I could tell him that,” she murmured, walking away, not seeing the light slowly coming back into Clark’s eyes at her impassioned speech.
“Wow,” Clarissa murmured, her expression reminiscent of her mother at times. “Oh mom, you just did.”
“Your mother’s words had a tremendous impact on your father; they gave him the courage he needed to bring Superman back for good. The events up to now were more of a test-trial for Superman; now he will truly come into his own, because of her. Your mother had no idea how instrumental she was in Superman’s creation.”
“Lois, if you get a package….” Clark called after her, then trailed off, feeling slightly guilty over what he’d done. Her words echoed in his mind, though.
“What did Daddy do?” Clarissa asked, not really sure she wanted to know. Wells merely chuckled, and adjusted his watch.
-----------------------
“A Godzilla doll??” Clarissa moaned, shaking her head. “I can’t believe Daddy did that. It’s so petty!”
“Indeed. Clark knew that, and he knew if he wanted to get her attention he’d have to stoop to her level. But it had the desired effect. From that point on Lois’s behavior towards Clark changed considerably.”
“That’s when she started to like him, right?” she asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up.
Herb sighed and closed his eyes for a moment at her impatience to see her parents’ relationship evolve.
“Clarissa, my dear,” he began, trying to measure his tone. “Ms. Lane’s, treatment, if you will, of Clark does change markedly after this incident, and in your time they do share a deep, abiding love but,” he turned to face her fully. “It was not so simple as that. There were numerous challenges, obstacles and setbacks for them to overcome, together and apart, and a great deal of heartache before they ever truly found each other.”
“But,” she broke in firmly, her voice cracking slightly, “they do; mom does fall in love with dad, as much as he already loves her,” she finished, and to Herb’s dismay her brown eyes started to tear up slightly.
“Yes, of course, my dear, of course,” he hastily reassured her, then gently took her hand in both of his. “I just need you to curb your enthusiasm a bit. You mustn’t think that every time Lois is nice to Clark that it means she’s falling in love with him. Yes her attitude towards him changed, but it was not overnight. Let me put it this way; your mother loves your father very much, correct?”
“Absolutely.”
“But does she agree with him, or like him all the time?”
That got Clarissa’s attention. “No,” she answered, smiling softly, finally understanding where Herb was going.
He released her hand. “Not in your time, and certainly not in the past. It wasn’t as if Ms. Lane just woke up one day and realized she loved him.” ‘Well, actually she sort of did, but that’s years from now,’ he thought, frowning mentally.
“I get what you’re saying, Mr. Wells. And I think I understand what you meant when we first got here.”
He regarded her quizzically.
“‘A lot worse, and much better’,” she quoted.
“Ah yes, indeed,” he chuckled.
Clarissa let out a deep breath. “Okay, so. There’s a *lot* of craziness coming for Mom and Dad, huh?” Herb smiled, glad she was getting the gist of things.
“Indeed. And a lot for them to learn about each other. The next two ‘moments’ you’re about to see are very important; your father will begin to understand why Ms. Lane can be so…acerbic, at times, and your mother will learn a great deal about your father’s family, seeing firsthand how he grew up.”
She smiled. “We’re going back to Smallville?”
“Mm-hmmm. But first Clark is going to meet his future father-in-law for the first time.”
“Grandpa Sam?” she asked evenly.
“Indeed,” Wells replied, noticing the excitement in her brown eyes dimming. “You seem a bit apprehensive, my dear,” he commented. Did she know about her mother’s relationship with her father before she married? Her response confirmed it.
“No, not really. I mean I love Grandpa Sam, but I know that a long time ago he and Mom didn’t get along very well. She said it was hard, growing up. He was kind of eccentric, and not always there for her and Grandma Ellen and Aunt Lucy, but then after she and Dad got married and had me, things seemed to get better for them.” He nodded, and she smiled and shrugged, indicating she was ready to continue.
He adjusted his watch, and Clarissa found herself on the sidewalk outside a place called Menken’s Gym.
Clarissa looked around. “So where’re Mom and Dad now?”
“Inside, trying to get information out of a very unsavory character. Your mother was not pleased to say the least about having to do a story about a boxing match; she thought it totally beneath her and not her field, it being ‘sports’ and all.”
“I’ll bet Dad got a kick out of it,” Clarissa remarked, knowing her sports-loving father.
“And it didn’t help matters when she found out that your grandfather was involved,” Wells shook his head. “The first time Clark met Sam Lane he could tell, right away…” he trailed off. Just then Lois exited the gym, followed by Clark. They were heading back towards the Planet when a cab door opened at the curb and a dignified-looking, gray-haired man in a business suit stepped out.
“Lois!” he called warmly. Lois turned, but her reply was clipped.
“Hi Dad.” She and Clark walked over as her father approached.
Once again, Clarissa was confused. “First Uncle Jimmy, and now Grandpa Sam looks totally different! He’s shorter and he’s got more hair,” she noted, then shrugged in acceptance.
“What brings you here?” he asked conversationally.
“The Ultimate Street Fight,” she replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Oh, right, right,” he nodded.
“Trying to get to the fighters, you know,” she explained haltingly. He nodded again, then looked pointedly at Clark.
“Clark Kent, sir,” Clark held out his hand. “Her partner,” he added for emphasis. “On this story,” he corrected.
Lois shook herself and stuttered out a brief introduction. “Sorry. Sam Lane, Clark Kent.”
“Nice to meet you, Kent,” Sam shook Clark’s hand, then turned his attention back to his daughter. “I wish I could help you with the press, but it’s not really my department,” he said cheerfully, but to Clarissa it sounded a lot like a dig. “And you know the fighters; they’re all a little jumpy,” he laughed.
“Oh, yes, want to keep them away from us wicked reporters,” Lois laughed through a forced smile.
“Well, uh,” Sam continued awkwardly, asking Lois if she’d be free for dinner soon. Clark heard the subtle change, and knew right then something was off.
“Maybe…soon,” she answered just as awkwardly. “I’m really busy, and…” she evaded.
“Sure,” Sam replied sadly, the cheerfulness leaving his voice. “Well, when you get out from under…” he tried again. Clark’s face began to cloud with understanding as he realized the situation between Lois and her father.
“Sure, call! Um…yeah,” she stumbled, desperate to leave the situation. Clark nodded politely at Sam, then followed Lois as she turned and hurried back up the street.
“Ouch,” was all Clarissa could think of to say. “That was painful to watch, Mr. Wells. I’ve seen classic ‘B’ movies that weren’t that bad.”
“Mmm, indeed,” he agreed, and shifted them. Now they were inside the gym. Sam Lane was looking affectionately at a photograph of a smiling old man, when Lois came in. They shared their mutual grief over the death of their friend, but the conversation became tense when Lois suggested that he was murdered, and Sam realized how close she was to the truth.
“I was there. I saw the car come straight at him. It wasn’t a drunk,” she shook her head. “It wasn‘t an accident.”
“What were you doing there,” he demanded tersely.
“Allie asked me to meet him,” she replied, matter-of-factly
“Did the driver see you?” he asked, alarmed.
“No.”
“Lois, I want you to stay out of this.”
“‘This’?” she repeated. “What’s this? What am I onto?” she demanded, going into reporter mode.
“Nothing,” he answered quickly. “It’s just there’s a lot of dangerous people in this business,” he said, suddenly worried that his daughter was about to get sucked into his mess. Sam Lane would not allow that. But Lois Lane would not be put off, not even by her father.
“What did Allie want to tell me about the fights? Are they fixed?” she grilled.
“No, they are not fixed,” he half-lied, trying to end the conversation. “Just stay away,” he said, in his best ‘Father-knows-best’ tone.
“I can’t stay away. I’m a reporter; this is my story!” she angrily asserted past the growing lump in her throat. Clarissa watched as Lois fought to keep the tears from forming, but it was a losing battle. “Can you help me?”
“No,” he said flatly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re lying.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped.
“I know the look,” she pushed.
“Lois, let’s not do this, not now, and certainly not *here*! I can’t help you, ” he said with finality.
“‘Can’t’ or won’t?” the reporter dug.
“Lois, no!” he begged her to stop.
Her jaw set in anger. “You would just like to forget everything wouldn’t you? The perfect ‘father-daughter’ relationship!”
“I never claimed to be a perfect father,” he replied defensively.
“Oh, you were hardly a father at all!” she spat, her emotions spilling out despite herself.
“Lois, please don’t,” Sam pleaded, close to tears himself.
Clarissa’s heart began to break seeing her mother and grandfather so at odds. They were so close now, it hurt to see how bad things used to be between her mom and Grandpa Sam. She absently brushed away a tear.
“Look…I,” Lois continued, trying to get back under control. “Never mind,” she sighed. “Can you tell me anything about the murder or not?”
“I know nothing of the death of Allie DiNello,” he said emotionlessly.
Lois recognized the walls coming up. “Whatever you say, Dad,” she sighed and left.
“So,” Clarissa sniffed. “What came after that touching family moment?”
Herb regarded her sympathetically. “Well, as you know, your mother has always had a unique way of getting to the truth about things, and this was no different.” He told her about Lois and Clark breaking into Sam Lane’s office, finding the files on the enhanced fighters, and the cybernetic parts, and how Lois confronted her father about all of it. After that Luthor’s inside man kidnapped Lois, who was
later ‘rescued’ by Luthor in a blatantly staged display of machismo, specifically staged to make Superman look bad, and then how Superman appeared at the match, sending the strongest fighter flying into the ropes.
“Luthor was trying to impress my mom by playing the hero, in front of Superman?” Clarissa asked in disbelief. “He wouldn’t get her attention with fake heroics. That’s why she loves my dad. His heroism isn’t fake; it’s just how he is.”
Herb wondered how the child would feel after seeing the events of the coming months. ‘She will definitely find the whole Luthor/wedding episode distressing.’ But his musing were interrupted.
“Well, I’m glad grandpa was able to help mom with her story, and that things started getting a little better for them,” she remarked after Sam Lane gave Lois and Clark the tape of Menken basically confessing his role in everything. She’d been especially touched at Clark’s gesture of support in squeezing Lois’s shoulder afterward.
“Hmm, indeed,” Wells agreed. “It was the first of many small steps for them on the long road to reconciliation.”
“I’m just glad they did, and that they’re friends now, not just father and daughter.” Herb nodded. “Okay, Dad’s met Grandpa Sam, now Mom gets to meet Grandma and Grandpa Kent, right?” she reminded him.
“Yes, indeed. Time to return to Smallville, for a very memorable first meeting between your mother, and Clark’s parents,” he said, and adjusted his watch.
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to be continued....soon
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