Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Adventures of Clara Ellen Lane 9

Well, I've sure been writing this story intermittently. I don't expect anyone to remember much of what has been going on before, so thanks to Nancy, Classicalla, here's the TOC to the previous parts.

This chapter pretty much wraps the story up, though I would like to write an epilogue, too, to wrap up some loose ends. We'll see if I get around to writing it. Whether I do or not, I want to say a very big Thank you!!! to everyone who has been reading and commenting on this story. Thanks!

And here's part nine of my story:


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I made it back to my ship. I don't know how.

As soon as I was back inside, I checked on Dad. He looked just the same as before. Is that good or bad? And if it's bad, what can I do about it?

I called Uncle Bernard. It took me more than a minute this time before I got an answer from him. I've drifted even farther from the Earth.

But Uncle Bernard told me what to do, how to lay in a course for Earth and how to get the ship up to speed. Wouldn't you know I had to give it a push? At least I did it from the inside of the ship this time, because there's no way I'd go outside again and push the ship away from me and maybe lose it once again.

When Uncle Bernard was sure the ship was on course, I was so tired that I actually fell asleep on the spot. So when I heard his voice in my helmet again a minute later, I was all startled and groggy and didn't know where I was. Uncle Bernard told me to strap myself to a wall somewhere and just let go, just fall asleep, because he'd wake me up again when he needed me for the landing. So I found some cable and secured myself to a wall and then the next moment I was in dreamland.

<><><><><>

//Clara... Clara....//

Wha...?

//Clara... why... didn't you... save me...?//

D-Dad...?

//Yes... I am your father... but you didn't.... save me....//

D-Dad... what's wrong?

// I'm melting.... I'm rotting.....//

Whe-where are you?

//Here... behind you.... now you'll rot with me....//

<<AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!>>

<><><><><>

"Clara? Clara, dear, wake up! It's just a nightmare! Clara?"

"Aaaahh... aaahhh... aaahhh...."

"Ssshh. It's all right, dear. Ummmh... uh... come here."

"U-Uncle Bernard?"

"Yes, dear. Ssshh. It's all right."

"Uncle Bernard - it was Dad - he - ooooohh....."

"He's better, honey. I can't be sure yet, but I hope he will be all right."

<><><><><>

I bury my face in Uncle Bernard's shoulder and he's rocking me back and forth. Oh, Uncle Bernard is so sweet, but he's never really been the hugging kind. But now... the way he's holding me now... I don't want him to let go of me, ever.

"Where am I? Am I back on Earth?"

"Yes, darling. You were splendid. You were so great. You found your father's ship, and you saved your father from it. Then you sent his ship into the Sun and saved the Earth. And finally, you brought both yourself and your father safely back to the Earth."

"I don't remember," I mumble into Uncle Bernard's white doctor's coat.

"You were so tired. You hadn't slept for almost forty-eight hours. You were just exhausted. And you'd been so scared...I would have died of fright myself if I had been in your shoes.... So when I woke you up for the landing, you landed the ship just fine, but then you wouldn't open the hatch and get out. We had to break it open. When we got in, we found you on the floor, sleeping so deep that we couldn't wake you."

"And Dad?" I whisper. "What about Dad? He isn't rotting, is he?"

"No... no, he isn't rotting. He's alive. He was frozen.... There were some instructions on his survival unit, in an alien language, about how to unfreeze him without killing him. I hope I have translated those instructions correctly. We are thawing him now, very slowly. So I don't think he'll be rotting."

"I dreamt he was," I mumble. "Where's Mom?"

"She's with your Dad. She's been with him since we brought him out of the ship."

"What about me? She hasn't been with me?"

"Honey... we knew all the time that you would be all right. Your Dad, though... Your Mom says she can feel him responding to her presence. She may be right. When she left him for a few minutes to go to the bathroom, his condition worsened and we almost lost him. But he's doing a bit better now. Do you want to go and see him?"

<><><><><>

It's like I'm falling.

Mom.

I went into space to save Dad. I did save him, or at least I brought him back to Earth. But I almost went crazy because I was so scared. I could have died out there. But when I came back Mom didn't sit by my side? She couldn't spare a minute to see me because she had to stay with Dad all the time?

I brought back Dad from space. I brought him to the Earth. I brought him back to Mom. I saved him, and I saved thousands of people on the Earth, too. Who knows, maybe I saved Mom?

I thought I would have the Dad I've never had if I brought him home to us. But instead I've lost my Mom?

"Clara?"

Uncle Bernard. He must think I'm acting really weird. And I am, you know. Hey, my Dad is back from space, I haven't even got a good look at him - and I'm not in a hurry to go and see him? What's wrong with me?

"Uh... um, uh, I'm coming, Uncle Bernard. Lead the way."

Uncle Bernard is looking at me, really concerned. He's got such nice eyes. So kind.

"You sure your'e all right, dear?"

Dear. Please don't call me "dear". I can't take friendliness now.

"Y-yes," I mutter. My voice isn't too steady. "Let's go, okay?"

Uncle Bernard keeps looking at me for a few seconds, then he puts his hand on my shoulder and leads me to where Dad is. His hand is warm, kind of soothing, and I almost jump and freeze when he touches me. But at the same time I don't want him to take his hand away.

We come into a room with all kinds of medical equipment - cables and tubes and stands and blipping monitors and weird-looking machines. In the middle of the room is Dad's survival unit, the same one he was inside in his spaceship. God, it looks so big and bulky. Did I really carry it from Dad's ship to my own? And did I work loose all those billion cables?

Mom is sitting next to Dad's "bed". She's wearing a big coat. Yes, it's cold in here, probably because they are thawing Dad very slowly.

Mom turns and gives me a nod. And a small smile.

"Hi, honey. It's so good to see you. Keep your voice down so you don't disturb your Dad, will you?"

I can feel my whole body go stiff and full of anger. My eyes tear up. Mom!!! Is that all you can say to me? What's the matter with you? What's wrong?

She's already turned her back to me. Figures. She's looking at Dad again. Mom!!!! Why aren't you looking at me?

But... I should do what she's doing. I should be looking at Dad. I mean, here he is, right in front of me, and I've never really seen him before in my life. My Dad. Shouldn't I be looking?

I take a few more steps so that I stand right next to Dad's survival unit. The dark glass lid is off. There's a person in it: it's Dad.

For the first time, I can really see him. On the ship, I could see that there was somebody in that survival unit. But I didn't dare to lift the lid, and I couldn't see the person inside too clearly. Even inside the "container", Dad wore some kind of mask covering all of his face. I couldn't see through the mask, so maybe it was lead-lined.

But now... the lid is off, and the big mask is off. Now he's wearing something smaller, just covering his mouth and nose. Could be a ventilator of some kind. He is breathing slowly, sort of mechanically.

Dad. Your'e not angry at me, are you? You came to me in my dreams and asked me why I didn't save you. But I did my best, you know?

Mind if I take a closer look at you?

I tremble as I lean over you to take a look. Dad. My Dad. Your face is very pale, and your hair is black. I think you're handsome, but you're so deathly still, and much of your face is still covered. Your eyes are closed... I don't know, but you make me think of Snow White. White as snow, black as ebony.... and waiting for the princess to kiss you?

Snow White woke up when the prince kissed her.... What if I kiss you?

I bend down over you. A lock of hair has fallen down over your forehead, and I brush it aside, very carefully. Your hair is soft, and it feels nice touching it... but your forehead is so cold. At least it's not frozen any more, thank the stars.

I bend even lower and kiss your forehead. My lips feel cold where they touch you.

And you...there is like a twitch, a very slow twitch, running through your body from your head down to your feet. Your eyelids flutter for a second, then they're still again.

It's like I'm twitching and fluttering with you. Dad! It's me! Can you feel me? Can you feel I'm here?

"Clara!"

That was Mom. She's glaring at me, as if I'd done something really bad.

"Don't touch him without permission! You don't know what that might do to him!"

I whirl around and stare at her.

"I brought Dad back from space! I saved him! I brought him to you! I almost died out there! And you're lecturing me for kissing him! All right, you can have him all to yourself! Because I'm leaving!"

And I run out of the room. I run away from Star Labs.

I just run away.

<><><><><>

I'm in the Arctic.

I'm sitting on an iceberg. It's not a very big iceberg. They don't seem to come very big this year. Could it be true what they say about the icebergs melting?

I've been flying around the Earth several times before I landed here. I've been flying across the Pacific, over the Himalayas, over Sahara and over rain forests.... Imagine, just a few days ago I couldn't fly at all. Since then I've been in space and saved my Dad and saved the Earth and looked at the universe, and... and you know, how could I ever think that flying here on Earth was a big deal?

Flying is nothing. Flying is a piece of cake. It's dealing with other people that's hard.

Mom. Will things ever be all right between us? What do I do if they aren't?

It's funny. I've never really thought of how amazing it is that I've had Mom to myself all these years. I mean, think of all the other kids at school! They have brothers and sisters, and parents who quarrel, or parents who are divorced, or parents who don't have have any time or energy for their kids and let them run loose and wild all the time.

But not me! All my life, I've had this super great Mom who's always loved me to bits. I've been her world! I know I have. But I've never told myself, wow, I'm so lucky, I have a Mom who's so cool and so totally cares about me and loves me. I've never asked myself, what would it be like if Mom didn't care about me as much as she does? What if she fell in love with a man? What if I had to share her?

Mom's never seemed interested in a man. Isn't that amazing, when you think of it? There's never been a man waking up with us in the morning, using the bathroom or having breakfast with us. Never. And I guess I've been thinking there never would be. But all other kids at school who have grown up with single moms have always had to share their home with their mom's boyfriend after a while. All of them have. Why haven't I?

Because... because after Mom met Dad, all those years ago, she couldn't take an interest in anyone else. That's it, isn't it? I mean, think of it. She...she just went crazy when she met Dad, didn't she? She really jumped his bones (oh gosh, when I think about it) and the next day when he left for Krypton, all she could think of was that she had to get pregnant from what they'd done. To have something left of him, I suppose. So she went to Star Labs and stole a fertility drug there, so she could get pregnant - well, afterwards, you know. Oh wow, like. I don't think Mom ever thought of getting pregnant before, but after she had been with Dad it was all she wanted. How crazy was she about him? On a scale from one to ten, how about Mom hit twelve with Dad? Or twenty? Or two hundred?

And now she's got him back. The man she loved so much that she had to have me to remind her of him. Where does that leave me now that he's back? Does it leave me here in the Arctic? All alone with melting icebergs? Not even any penguins to keep me company, because the penguins are all in Antarctica?

And it's pitch black too, because it's - what? January now? - and the Sun never rises at the North Pole at this time of year. Yeah. Fits my mood. And all you can hear is the howling wind.

No. Wait. There's another sound too, way off somewhere.

A helicopter?

Yeah. It's a helicopter all right. It's the... Batcopter?

Batman?

Looking for me, is he? Guess I'm glad to see him. I'm glad someone's looking for me. Just wish he'd brought along Rick.

It won't be easy for him to land here. Oh, I'm sure he can do it... he's Batman after all... but I may as well fly up to meet him, can't I?

<><><><><>

"So how do you like the Batcopter?"

Wow, look at the way he's smiling! All smug. He likes his toy, doesn't he? Better take him down a peg.

"It's okay," I say. "Bet I could fly faster on my own, though." I pretend to stifle a yawn. That'll teach him!

And suddenly he's all serious.

"I know you can," he says. "Clara, the way you handled things out in space... you were magnificent."

"Thanks," I say sheepishly.

Wow. That felt good. Being praised by Batman for how I handled myself out there. That's more than what Mom would say to me.

That thought gets me down. I can't help it. I heave a sigh, even though I try to do it discreetly.

"No, thank you," he says, as if he didn't hear me sigh. Bet he did, though. "If it hadn't been for you, I could have been one of those who died when your father's ship crashed."

Suddenly I get so irritated. What's he trying to pull here?

"Not you," I tell him. "Don't tell me you couldn't get away on your own, with your fancy helicopters and billions of dollars and stuff!"

He gets still more serious.

"You're right," he says. "I could and I would. I would make sure I survived. Which leaves millions of poor and helpless people out there who couldn't get away from whatever was coming their way. And I couldn't help them. You saved them, Clara. And you saved them by going into space all on your own and getting rid of your father's ship and bringing him back to the Earth alive. And you did it even though you've never been to space before and even though you've had no astronaut training whatsoever and even though you're only twelve years old. Do you know what a hero that makes you?"

He's so serious. And I so wish that Mom would've said these things to me. And I so wish that she would've hugged me.

I can't help it, my eyes tear up. And I have to swallow. And I have to hide my face in my hands.

"Clara," he says softly. "Your Mom loves you."

That does it! He has no right to talk about Mom with me. Because he doesn't know anything!

I reach for the door of the helicopter. I don't care if we are mid-air, I'm not sitting here and listening to his b***-s***.

"Clara, wait! Please let me show you something before you leave. Please?"

I swipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. I don't say anything, but I sit back in the chair again.

"Thank you," he says softly. "Please let me take you to my Fortress of Solitude."

<><><><><>

We land on an expanse of white snow. Batman tells me we're in Alaska.

We exit the helicopter and walk toward a small hill. Batman takes something out of his utility belt, which looks like a miniature remote control. He presses a small button.

And just like that, a black square opens up in the snow, big enough to be an opening for people to get through. And sure enough, Batman presses another little button and the black square slides to one side like it was disappearing into the snow, and instead there is a staircase leading down to a door. An elevator.

We go down the stairs and get inside the elevator, and it starts going down. And down. And down. And finally we hit bottom, and the elevator door slides open, and we are in... wow. I don't know what to call it. We're in a huge sort of hall, or like a dome, with a vaulted roof high above us. There are some enormous things like rocky icicles hanging from the roof in places.

"Stalactites," says Batman.

The whole place is glowing an eerie green.

"The light comes from phosphorescent bacteria," says Batman. "I had the place sprayed with a solution of them when I bought the place, to provide cheap and constant lightning. It worked. The bacteria like it here."

"You bought this place? When? Why? And what the heck is it anyway?"

"Well, it's an abandoned mine. At least, the level above this one is an abandoned mine. The people who looked for gold here never got as deep down as this. When I heard of this place, I made a geological survey here and found evidence of a huge natural cavity not far below the mine. I bought the place and extended the mine shaft deeper so that it went all the way down to this dome here."

"Why would anyone want a place like this for?"

He shrugs. "I was bored. I didn't know what to do with myself. I guess I was looking for new investments, or maybe I just wanted another distraction. I thought perhaps I could make some money looking for gold here. But more than that, I was just sick and tired of myself and the world, and I thought that burying myself five hundred feet under for a while was as good an idea as any other."

"Why on earth would you do that?"

"Come. Let me show you."

We walk, between rocky icicles pointing upward (stalagmites, says Batman), over to some kind of monument in the middle of this huge eerie dome. It's a statue, or two statues, incredibly big ones. They bear the inscription "In Memory of Thomas and Martha Wayne".

"My parents," Batman says softly.

"What happened?"

"They were shot. When I was eight."

"That's horrible! I had no idea!"

"I was there," he goes on, as if I hadn't said anything. "I saw it. Or at least I heard it. Mother and father had taken me to see a movie... a Disney movie... I had been going on and on about how much I wanted to see it. We were walking home. They were ahead of me... crossing an alley... I was lagging behind, because I had found something interesting behind a trash can... a little mouse, in fact. It reminded me of Mickey Mouse in the movie.... "

He falls silent, and I hold my breath. Is he going to keep talking?

There's a long silence. Finally he speaks again.

"And there were these shots... four of them... two for my father, two for my mother...."

He's stopping again. I want to say something, but I can't make a sound.

I wait for him to go on talking. I think I can hear the sound of the shots ricocheting in my head.

Finally he speaks again, in a very low voice.

"And I heard my mother scream... my father was killed first, you see..."

Again he falls silent. I can hear my breath echoing in the huge cavity. My heartbeat, too. And Batman's. We are alive. The sounds we make because we are alive are bouncing off the walls.

"I... I sort of froze... and I heard the man run away... and I ran up to them... to mother and father... but they were already dead... and covered in blood...."

He sits down on the hard, cold, slimy floor. And he's looking just like a little boy to me. I can see what he must have looked like when he was eight, bending down over his parents, seeing them lying in pools of blood, looking into their unseeing eyes. And then I'm thinking, for no particular reason, that Batman is sitting in that green muck of bacteria, his backside will be glowing green when he stands up.

"All these years I've been wondering... could I have done something to save them? Were they really dead when I got to them? Were they angry at me because I didn't save them?"

I look at the statues of his parents. They are huge. Their faces, made of stone, look cold and closed. Did he make the statues himself? Or at least, did he commission someone else to make them look that way? So cold and dismissive?

"They wouldn't have died if it hadn't been for me, you know. They died because they took me to that movie. I wouldn't give them any peace until they'd agreed to take me there. My father was a busy man. But that night, they took me to see it. A Mickey Mouse movie... it wasn't even that good.... And do you know something? I never even told them that I loved them."

"It wasn't your fault," I tell him heatedly. "Come on, you were eight, and it wasn't like you had any special powers or anything. What could you have done to save them?"

"That's what Alfred has been telling me," he says, and he's smiling a little.

"And they aren't angry at you. Come on, how can parents be angry at their child because some mugger murdered them? They're so happy you survived, believe me! They're proud of you!"

"That's what Alfred says, too." He's smiling more widely now.

"And they know you love them. C'm'on, kids love their parents! They do! They just find it hard to say so. Parents understand that."

"You've really been talking to Alfred, haven't you?"

"Who's Alfred?"

His smile is reaching his eyes. "Come. I'll show you."

He takes me to one of the walls of the dome. And there is something there which looks like a window, an open window, except it isn't opening onto anything at all and it isn't a real window either. But there is a statue of man leaning in, as if he was standing outside and stopping by to chat a little, or just to check on you. Because I swear it looks like this statue is looking at you and smiling. And even though his eyes are made of rock, they look so kind.

"This is Alfred," Batman says. "He took care of me when I didn't have anyone else. When I was placed in foster care he visited me every day. He made sure my parents' estate was taken care of the best way possible. When I was twelve he became my legal guardian, and we were able to move back into my parents' house. At first I didn't want to go there, but I changed my mind. But Alfred sat by my bedside every night for six months before I got over my nightmares."

"He looks so kind," I say. Suddenly I have a horrible suspicion. "He isn't dead, is he?"

"No, no," says Batman. "Alfred is fine, thank God. He's stood by my side for all these years. And now I have Rick, too."

"Rick," I say. Suddenly I'm blushing. And then, for some reason, I'm thinking of Mom and Dad, and I'm blushing even more. And I want to cry again.

"Clara," says Batman. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you know I'm a playboy, don't you?"

"Not really," I mutter. "It's not like I'm some sort of groupie collecting facts about you."

He eyes twinkle at that. He smiles. But then he becomes serious again.

"I'm rich," he says. "I host parties. Sometimes glamour magazines write about me. And - I meet women. Lots of women. I dance with them, drink champagne with them - and sometimes I ask them to stay the night."

"Yeah?" Suddenly I'm interested. "Do you - you and those women? Do you - do that - with them - you know?"

"Well, I only ask one at a time," he says. "I only have one guest per night. And most nights I have no one staying with me, no one but Alfred and Rick, who both have their own rooms, of course. But, yes, I've asked many women to stay the night with me. And yes, we usually do what you think we are doing."

I blush beet red. Batman has done it with that many women?

"But it hasn't been good for me," he continues. "I don't love those women, Clara. What I'm doing with them is a bit sordid, not because the things we're doing are strange or unusual or... or... but because I'm doing what I do without love."

I have to ask him, even though I'm so embarrassed.

"So why are you doing it, then?"

"I have... never loved a woman. I wonder if I was... damaged... when my parents were killed before my eyes. For a while I thought I was perhaps... bent the other way... but I don't think so, either. I've never done that...with a man... and I've never been tempted, either. The women, though... they provide distraction... and sometimes it is easier for me to sleep with a woman in my arms. In the morning, though... I don't really want to see them. I'm polite to them, of course, but I'm happy to see them go."

"That's so sad!" I tell him.

"Yeah," he agrees. "It is. Which is why... I'm asking you to consider your parents."

I clap my hands to my face. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about them.

But they are all I can think about.

"Clara," he says gently. "Your mother... did she ever have any boyfriends when you grew up?"

I take away my hands from my face, but I can't look up. I shake my head, though.

"You're twelve. Assuming your mother has really never seen anyone since you were born, and assuming she didn't have any boyfriends while she was expecting you, she may have had no... um, encounters... for thirteen years."

I nod. That's what I think, too.

"You think she's been, uh, without for too long? So when she saw Dad she just sort of snapped?"

He smiles. "Clara, I'm... I'm pretty good at picking up when women are interested in me. Your Mom met me, as you know. In Smallville. And she liked meeting me, because I'm famous and she is a reporter. But believe me, she wasn't interested in me that way one bit."

"Yeah? So if she wasn't interested in you, she can't have been interested in anyone else? You think you're that sexy?"

Man, he blushes! I've never seen Batman that embarrassed. Did I go too far?

He's clearing his throat. "You're right, I - I tend to assume that women will be impressed by me. Maybe that's a reason why I don't seem to be able to love them. But, Clara, your mother. Surely she would have had other opportunities than just me if she had really needed to - well, you know? She is a beautiful woman."

I think about it. Batman is right. If Mom had wanted to - well, just do that - she could have. Maybe there isn't anyone at work she would've done it with, but there is a guy called Dan. Dan Scardino. An agent of some sort. He's given Mom information sometimes. She could've done it with him, if she needed him that way - if she just needed to do that. But she hasn't. I'm sure of it.

"Clara, do you think your Mom and Dad knew each other a long time before they got involved?"

Of course they didn't! I know that. I know how sudden and crazy the whole thing was. I know because I read it all in Mom's diary....OH MY GOD!!!!!! Mom's diary!!!!

"Mom's diary!!!!" I shriek. "I've lost it... Mom will kill me!! And what if someone finds it??? What if someone reads it???"

Batman pats my shoulder. "Easy, Clara. I've got it."

I stare at him. "You've got it??? Did you read it???"

He squirms. "I was tempted. I'm a detective, after all. The more I know, the more effective I will be as a detective. But, no. I didn't read it. Well... I checked it enough to know that it was you mother's diary. But no more than that."

"Where did you get it? Did you steal it from me?"

"I found it in Sheriff Rachel Harris's cell, where she had locked you up. I found it when Rick and I were fixing the bars you had pulled out of the floor. The diary was lying on your bunk in there. You had forgotten about it."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you give it back to me? Or to Mom?"

He's squirming a bit more. "I wanted to check it out for myself. Then, when I found out what it was, I was embarrassed to give it back."

"Where is it now?"

"In the helicopter outside. When I found out that you had flown away somewhere, I hoped I could find you and talk to you alone. That seemed like a good time to give the diary back to you."

"Then let's get out of here now!"

Suddenly I'm so sick of this place and so eager to get away from it that I sweep Batman up in my arms and fly him to the elevator. Well, you know, it felt good to show him that I'm stronger than him. He can't mess with me. I get us inside the elevator, and once we're inside I put him down. We ride up in silence.

As soon as we reach the surface again, I fly ahead of him up to the helicopter. I open the door without waiting for him and scan the helicopter with my X-ray vision. And sure enough, there it is, Mom's diary. In a locked little compartment of some kind. I tear the compartment open, I don't care if I break it. I grab the diary and press it to my heart. And suddenly I'm crying again.

I feel Batman's hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry I took it," he says. "Can you forgive me?"

Suddenly I realize something. "I guess... I guess I should thank you," I mumble. "For taking it. If it hadn't been for you, Rachel Harris would've found it."

"Clara," he says seriously. "You have read that diary, I suppose. Am I right that your parents hadn't known each other long before they, um, got together?"

I nod. Yeah, they'd known each other for about a couple of hours when they started going at it like rabbits. Is that crazy or what?

"And then your father left for Krypton?"

I nod again.

"His journey there had already been planned? His ship had been made ready for him that night?"

Yup. That's how it was.

"And then you were born - a full year later?"

Because of the fertility drug Mom stole from Star Labs. But I don't have to tell Batman that.

"Your mother spent the last trimester of her pregnancy in Star Labs. I have heard rumors that Star Lab had developed a fertility drug that helps sperms survive inside a woman's body for two or three menstrual cycles, so that she can be impregnated up to a couple of months after intercourse. You don't happen to know if your mother used that fertility drug?"

"And you tell me you didn't read Mom's diary?"

"I - I've researched your mother, Clara. And I've done it because - because she is an important person, a highly skilled journalist, and she wrote about a flying man - that would have been your father - right before they actually met and right before he left for Krypton. The whole thing interested me, that's all. And I have managed to get enough information out of Star Labs to think that they did indeed have that fertility drug when your mother would have needed it, and I also know that she did indeed visit Star Labs right after your father had left."

"She used it," I mutter.

"Why would she do that? What do you think?"

I mutter something.

"What was that? What did you say?"

Sheesh! I'll have to say it aloud, won't I?

"Because she wanted me! And because she loved my Dad! Because she wanted his child now that he was gone himself!"

Batman doesn't say anything. He reaches for his utility belt and takes something out of it. A small, folded, creased, faded photograph. His parents. I can see they are smiling in this picture. They are not grim-looking like the statues in the cave. Here they are looking at each other and smiling.

"My parents loved each other," Batman says. "I've never loved a woman like my father loved my mother. And Clara, as for your father...even though your father left for Krypton, I'm sure that he loved your mother, too. And I'm sure he still loves her. If he didn't, why would he have risked his life coming back? And you already know that your mother loves your father. Tell me, Clara. Can you accept that your parents belong together?"

"I know they do," I say, and then I'm crying again.

"Then tell me what's wrong," he urges softly.

"It's - well - now my Mom won't have time for me anymore, because now she's got Dad. I thought I'd get myself a Dad when I saved him from that ship, but I lost my Mom instead!"

"That's where you're wrong. Your Dad didn't come back to Earth just for you mother's sake. He came for you, too. Won't you go back to him so he can get to know you? And won't you go back to him so you can get to know him?"

"I won't go back if Mom is there!" I had to say it, but the moment I hear the words, I regret them.

"Your Mom loves you. She'll never stop loving you. Can you accept, however, that from now on you'll have to share her?"

"She doesn't care that I'm gone!" That's another lie, but I'm past caring.

Batman closes his eyes. He's looking tired, as if the fight has gone out of him.

"I won't argue with you, Clara. Please think about what I've said. And if you'll only believe in one of the things I've told you, please believe this. When I was your age, when I was twelve, I so wished I'd had a mother and a father. I wished I'd had parents I could scream and yell at and blame for everything that went wrong. I wished I'd had parents who would love me even when I got mad at them. Not having parents is... very, very lonely."

I sob. I can't stay in the helicopter anymore. I open the door and fly out.

But just before the helicopter disappears on the horizon, I know I have to turn back. So I fly back at top speed and tear open the helicopter door again. Bet Batman had just closed it. I yell and scream at him, like I was bawling him out:

"Now you go back home to Alfred and Rick right away, ya hear me? Just see what I'll do if you don't, 'cause I'll be checking on you!!!"

And right then, I know I have to go back home myself. I want my Mom. And I want my Dad.

It's time for me to go home.

<><><><><>

I'm back in Metropolis. I flew so fast on my way here, I made a couple of sonic booms behind me. That was careless, I know. But when I got to the city, I couldn't let anyone see me fly. Gaaah, I'm so used to my powers already, I want to use them all the time! Why can't I? Why do I have to hide myself? Ah well, I know the answer - because if people found out that I can fly and stuff, they'd never leave me alone - and Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Bernard and Uncle Perry and Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Lucy and Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Sam and everyone else who knows me would be in danger....

And now I've been walking the streets of Metropolis for hours, can you believe it? Looking at all these ordinary people. But it felt good, you know. Looking at people, and seeing that they look nice, really. They all have their things that they want and dream of, and I wish them well getting it. They want nice and ordinary things, almost all of them. They want families. They want friends. They want someone to love. They want children and parents and puppies and someone to hug at night, and they want fine clothes and cars and computers.They want adventures and parties and good times, and they want to be happy. And they want something to do with their lives, so they can feel useful. They want to be there for others. They're not quite like me, because all of them have an Earth mother and an Earth father. Me, I have a father from Krypton. But I'm much like all these other people anyway. I guess I want what they want. And maybe I did something for them when I took care of Dad's spaceship. Maybe some of them are alive because of me. And to think, in a few years, maybe I'll get the chance to do something for them again.

And I'm not so lost now, because I know where I'm going. I'm going home. To my Mom and Dad.

And finally I've come to Star Labs.

There's a sound coming from one of the doors. It's... someone crying?

Mom?

I vault over the fence surrounding Star Labs, and I don't care if someone saw me.

"Mom!!!"

"Clara!!!"

It sounds like a wail. Like she can't believe I'm back. Oh, Mom, I am. I love you. I'll always love you.

She rushing me, and I catch her, and we hug. And she's crying and crying, and she keeps asking forgiveness, and she's touching me like she can't believe it's really me, and I just laugh and hug her and swing her around, because I'm so happy. I have a Mom. And she loves me, and I love her. Can you believe it? Some people are so lucky.

And I have a Dad. Who's just come back from Krypton.

Someone is clearing his throat behind me. It's Uncle Bernard.

"Welcome back, Clara. Won't you come in? Your Dad is awake now. He's asking for you."

Mom puts her arm around my shoulder. Together, we walk inside to meet my Dad.

<><><><><>

His eyes are open. They are a deep, warm chocolate color. He's looking at me like he can't believe he's seeing me. Like I'm a miracle.

He's lifting his hand to my face. His hand is trembling a little. He's touching my cheek.

"Clara," he says. His voice is so rough. Like he hasn't used it for years and years. But there's a world of meaning in that one word he said. Like he was saying, thank you for saving my life, I can't believe you're my daughter, you are so beautiful, I love you, I never thought I'd have a child, I can't tell you how happy I am.

"Dad," I say. I can't believe that he's here either. That he's alive and glad to see me. I try to tell him how much he means to me and how happy I am to see him in the way I say that one word.

Mom is coming up behind me. She puts one arm around me and then she bends down and puts her other arm gently around Dad. I, too, bend down and put one arm around Dad. He puts both of his arms, slightly trembling, around both of us.

We're a family again. No, wait. We've never been a family before.

We're a family at last.

<><><><><>


The end, though there may be an epilogue.