Home: Vendetta -- Final
by Nan Smith
Previously:
The door chime sounded at that moment, and Clark spoke. "Open," he said. Lori looked up, a little surprised, to see Superwoman, Tan-El, Puma and Shooting Star in the doorway.
"I thought," Clark said quietly to Rob and Mariann, "that you would like to meet Mary's brothers and sisters."
**********
And now, the last part:
It was a bright, sunny day, two days later, when Mariann and Rob Lyons were set on their feet in the back yard of John and Marilyn Olsen's home. Mariann straightened her skirt and smiled at Annie Kent. This tall and very beautiful woman was her granddaughter's youngest sibling, and a successful actress for three generations. It was hard to look at her as someone who was over ninety years old, who had been an adult before Mariann had been born.
"Thank you Annie," she said.
"You're welcome." Annie said. "Come on inside. We've got a lot of work to do to get ready for the mob that's going to descend on us in a little while."
Jon Kent grinned at Rob. "Feel like handling a grill? I'm doing the steaks today."
"I'm pretty good with a barbecue," Rob said.
"Be careful what you wish for," Jon told him. "Let's go in and let John know we're here."
Mariann trailed the men toward the house. She had been to Christmas parties with the Kent family before but this was the first barbecue. Looking around, she saw children playing some kind of kickball game near the trees and wondered for a moment if anyone was watching them. Then she reminded herself that with so many super-powered men and women around, someone was certainly keeping an eye on them from the house. Probably more than one person, actually.
A flash of motion overhead caught her eye and she looked up in time to see Ryan Kent, carrying Marcy and little Robbie, coming in for a landing. He deposited his wife and son on the ground and his form blurred momentarily as he changed out of his "working clothes", as Marcy referred to them. Ryan, known to the world as the Black Raptor, was Clark's grandson. The new information, acquired over the last couple of days, hadn't really had time to absorb completely yet, but it had already begun to make her look at Clark's family with new understanding.
Lara Kent -- Superwoman -- and her husband, Bill Klein, the parents of Lori's doctor, were already here, and setting up the picnic tables in the shade of the big trees that lined the yard. As Mariann followed the men toward the house, she saw Clark, impressive in the red, blue and yellow of Superman, land in an open space and set Lori on her feet. He gave her a peck on the cheek and vanished in a blur of speed.
Mariann looked after him with the faint sense of wonder that she felt now whenever she thought of him. Her son-in-law was the legendary man from Krypton, who had stopped the Nightfall Asteroid, saved the world from the invasion of the New Kryptonians that everyone read about in school and had prevented the eruption of the Yellowstone super-volcano, the year after Mariann's birth, which would have wiped out most of the human race. She supposed that she would get used to the idea eventually and reconcile what she knew of his background with the handsome young man who had married her youngest daughter and who could change a dirty diaper with skill and efficiency.
Marcy put her blond toddler down and crossed the yard to take baby Mary out of her sister's arms.
"Where did Clark go?" Marcy asked, cradling the sleeping newborn.
"He went back to get all the baby stuff," Lori said. "I can't believe all the junk you have to cart around with you when you take a baby somewhere."
Marcy laughed. "Welcome to the club," she said. She glanced around and leaned forward to whisper something in her sister's ear. Whatever she said made a wide smile cross Lori's face.
"That's wonderful!" she said.
"Yeah," Marcy replied, "but my boss at Ritacco's is jumping on me for eating like there's no tomorrow. He's afraid I'm not going to be able to wear the fall fashions. I haven't told him, yet."
Lori giggled. "Poor guy. Well, you can still model. It'll just be for a different target group."
Ryan had scooped up their son. "Come on, sport. Let's go find something for you to chew on while we wait for everybody to arrive." He trotted toward the back door of the house with the giggling child slung over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.
"Hi, Mom," Marcy said casually. "What did you bring?"
"A casserole," Mariann said, nodding at the covered dish that she carried. "It's one of your Grandfather Lyons's recipes."
"Wasn't he a chef?" Jon Kent asked. At her nod, Clark's son licked his lips. "Sounds good. I always tell Dad that if he ever wants to give up journalism he could become a gourmet chef and make a fortune. I don't think it's likely to happen, though."
"Clark made Austrian cheesecake," Lori said. "Not good if you're on a diet, but it's delicious. He brought it over this morning." She yawned. "Mary woke me up twice last night, so I slept in, but Clark's been up since the crack of dawn. He had to make the cheesecake for the barbecue, write up the interview with Lieutenant Chow and then go downtown to talk to the investigators tracking down the chemicals for the bomb they used on the Planet. There's a bunch of IRS auditors going over their financial records with a fine-tooth comb, too. This thing is turning out to be bigger than anybody realized."
Who would have thought that Superman would turn out to be an expert cook? Mariann found herself smiling. Clark Kent was certainly full of surprises.
"Ryan did ours," Marcy said. "It's a good thing he can cook because I can still burn water without any effort at all. Did you hear," she added to her sister, "Oliver is bringing a date."
"You're kidding!" Lori said. "Oliver? I thought he was a confirmed bachelor."
“Apparently he met a lady cop while they were frantically searching for you," Marcy said. "Velma something. Ronnie says he's got it bad."
"Not Velma Chow, by any chance?" Lori asked.
"I think so. Meriel got hold of him to take her the members list for Gaia's Children. Why? Do you know her?"
"I sure do," Lori said. "I guess something good came out of that mess, after all."
"And Meriel invited some friends to come by about twelve, in time for lunch, and the swimming party," Marcy added. "We've all got to be on our best behavior for them because they don't know about the family secret."
"I heard," Lori said. "Carla and Connor are friends of ours from the Daily Planet."
Mary Lucille started to fuss and Lori held out her arms. "Looks like it's snack time for somebody," she said. "This kid's got a terrific appetite. Now I know why I was so hungry all the time. I still am, trying to keep up with her."
Jon opened the back door and held it while the women entered. Carrie Olsen took the casserole dish that Mariann held out.
"Thanks. I'll put this in the warmer. Rob, we're going to need you for the hamburgers. Ryan says you claim you can handle a grill."
Clark, whom Mariann had seen depart in a flash to retrieve the baby supplies, was standing at the entrance to the living room, talking to a tall, handsome dark-skinned man, and guarding a chair for his wife. Lori sat down, beginning to unbutton her blouse. Mary Lucille's voice rose to a wail as the baby announced her urgent need for sustenance.
"Jonas," Clark said, "I'd like to introduce you to Lori's parents: Mariann and Rob Lyons. Mariann and Rob, this is my great grandson, Jonas Kent. His wife's around here somewhere, too."
"Dora went to pick up a snack," Jonas said, shaking hands with Rob. "She's hungry all the time, for the usual reason. It's our first."
"Congratulations," Lori said, smiling up at him. "Boy or girl?"
"Boy," Jonas said. "We're thrilled, naturally. Dora wanted to name him Grant, after her father, but I pointed out that Grant Kent sounded a little alliterative. We finally decided on Mitchell, with Grant as a middle name."
"That's great," Jon Kent said. "Excuse me. I've got a barbecue grill to get started." He headed for the kitchen. "John! Where do you keep your charcoal briquettes?"
"They're on the patio!" John Olsen's voice replied from somewhere out of sight.
"I'm hosting the baby shower this time," Michelle Olsen said from behind them. Aaron Olsen's wife squeezed into the living room between the doorframe and Clark. "Move, Clark. I want to see the new baby. Oh my goodness! What a little doll!"
Mary, naturally, paid no attention to the admiring group of women that she was attracting, but continued to concentrate on the most important thing in life.
Mariann stood quietly, watching Clark's relatives swarming around Lori and her tiny daughter. The family of supermen was just a normal family, she thought, if you didn't consider the flying and the other amazing things that they could do. She had run away from home at sixteen to escape an abusive father, but she had always wanted a family as close as this one seemed to be. Well, it looked as if she was part of one now, even if it had taken a while to get here.
Rob moved over beside her and took her hand. "I guess Shakespeare was right," he said, nodding at Lori. "All's well that ends well."
"I guess so," she said.
The End.
