Sorry for the delay in posting. I promise once I get home, I’ll get back into a regular schedule. I have barely had any time online and even less time to write (which means I’m way behind where I’d hoped to be by now).
Thanks to Beth, Mary Beth, and Carol who edited and re-edited and saved you all from reading some awful drivel (I hope).
From Chapter 11:
This time the window was open and Lois heard the fluttering of the drapes as he floated inside. “Hi,” she said shyly.
Superman smiled broadly at her. “It’s late. I just wanted to stop by and thank you.”
“For what?” Lois asked, although she had a pretty good idea of why. She did not like to think about it, but she knew she probably never would have apologized to Clark if Superman had not seemed so disappointed in her.
“I stopped by the Planet to see Clark, but you got there before me.”
“Oh,” Lois glanced at the floor. “You were right. I knew you were right. Both that apologizing was the right thing to do and about how Clark would react.”
“Well, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I’m glad you did,” Superman said, shifting nervously from foot to foot.
Lois nodded. “Good night, Superman,” she whispered.
“Good night, Lois,” he replied, before heading out the window.
Chapter 12:
“Clark,” Lois called, watching the television monitor in the newsroom.
Clark glanced up, “Hmmm?”
“Let’s go,” she said. “There’s something going on at the Carlin Building.”
“And you are inviting me to come with you?” Clark asked, amazed.
Lois blushed slightly, “I owe you. Don’t expect it to happen again.”
Clark laughed, “Yeah, I figured.”
************************
Superman considered not showing up. While he knew no one had been seriously injured, there had still been injuries. Lois, for one. The bomb had exploded and Lois had been hurt, but he also knew that Luther was ruthless. If Superman did not show up, maybe he would detonate the bomb just for fun. That was the problem with Lex Luthor as an adversary. The man had no moral conscience. You could never count on his making a decision that would benefit anyone other than himself.
So, he swooped down in front of the Carlin Building just a few moments later than he should have, and this time, before he went in, he took a moment to ask everyone to stand back. It was different going into that building knowing that the bomb was waiting for him, and also knowing that as fast as he was, he would not get to it in time to prevent it going off. He felt more relaxed, he had more time.
He took a fast look around the crowd to make sure everyone was far enough away that they were unlikely to be hit by any debris. He noticed Lois was standing next to Clark. He smiled, although he tried not to look at them while he did. He could not appear to play favorites. That had been a challenge for him the first time around, too. Seeing them together so early on, though, made him think that it would not take long before it would be Clark trying not to play favorites and he could go home to his beautiful wife.
************************
“The explosion was radio activated,” Inspector Henderson explained to Lois and Clark. “We’re not sure exactly where the point of origin was, but it was close, and there were video cameras installed in the lobby that were not part of the building’s security. We think the two are connected.”
Clark looked at the Inspector with wide eyes. “So, you think someone waited for Superman to appear, watched him enter the building, and then detonated the bomb?”
The Inspector nodded his head before he was called away.
“That poor man,” Lois said, thinking of Superman holding her in her apartment last night. He had been so kind. How could someone do this to him? “He comes here to help us. Can you imagine how he must feel?”
Clark nodded his head. Lois was right. It could not have been easy for Superman to go through this in his world. It must be even more frustrating to have to live through it again.
************************
Clark awoke with his heart pounding. He had had a very vivid dream, or at least the end of the dream had been vivid. He had been free falling. He had awoken before he hit the ground, but the feeling of falling was still with him. He controlled his breathing, reminding himself that it was just a dream. After a few moments, the pounding in his heart slowed down and he opened his eyes to see what time it was.
He glanced to the left where his clock was kept, but it wasn’t there. Stranger still, what was in its place was the top of his chest of drawers. Clark shook his head, trying to wake himself up. Nothing happened.
Cautiously, certain that he was still asleep, he glanced down. Almost instantly he fell to the ground and this time he hit it with a thump. He sat up, looking around in astonishment. He had never had such a vivid dream before and was getting eager to wake up.
“Clark?” his mother came into the room, her voice full of concern. “Are you all right?”
Clark looked at her in confusion. “I’m fine, Mom. I’m just dreaming.”
“What was that crashing noise?” she asked him.
“I fell. It didn’t hurt. I just need to wake up. This is such a weird dream.”
Martha came over to place a hand on his forehead. “Do you have a fever? What’s wrong with you? That was no dream, honey, you fell out of bed. How ever did you get all the way over here, though?”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Clark insisted and after a bit more fussing, she was finally convinced and went back to bed.
Clark sat on the floor for a few more minutes. When he continued to stay where he was and did not wake up, he grew confused. Was this real? Was he not dreaming? But clearly he was – he had been floating in mid air earlier and had not woken up since then.
Clark closed his eyes and focused on feeling as weightless as possible. After a moment, he cautiously opened his eyes. He was floating, nearly at the ceiling. He only stayed there for a moment, before falling towards the ground once more. But at the last minute, mindful of his parents sleeping in the next room, he shot up again, hovering near the ceiling.
************************
Clark was in his apartment, music playing, as he tried to fix up the apartment when he heard the soft landing of footsteps on his balcony. He looked up as Superman entered and took a look around. “So, you got it?” he asked.
Clark smiled, “You were right, and it was in such a state, I got a good price on it.”
“I can help you fix it up,” Superman said. “If we work on it together, it will take practically no time.”
“Can I ask you something?” Clark asked nervously.
“It depends what it is,” Superman said uncertainly.
“Not about who I am,” Clark explained. “I know you won’t tell me that, but I want to know how you did this. How you managed to go out every day and try to save people when someone is trying to kill you?”
Superman smiled, “It isn’t easy. Sometimes I want to quit. Honestly, in my world, sometimes I did quit, but Lois always knew what to say to bring me back, and when she wasn’t available, my parents were. We’re lucky, Clark. We have people who care about us so much. They make it worthwhile.”
Clark smiled, “Is it really that easy? If I were to don the suit tomorrow would I have no regrets?” he wondered out loud.
“I don’t know,” Superman said, trying not to get his hopes up that he could be going home so soon. “Probably not, I still have regrets sometimes, but just because you would have regrets doesn’t mean you’d give up.”
“I don’t think I could,” Clark said softly, disappointed in himself. But there was more to his story than Superman knew. There were parts of his life Clark would not even let himself think about, let alone share with someone else and he was not convinced that this part of his history was something he had in common with Superman. He was certainly not willing to share to find out.
“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” Superman said, placing a warm hand on his shoulder.
Clark smiled at him sadly, and then the two men got to work on the apartment. Within moments, the apartment was in great condition and the two men looked around in appreciation of their accomplishments.
“You should take the bigger room,” Clark said, pointing to it.
Superman nodded his head, “No. You take it. You’re the one paying rent.”
“But you are here for me. Besides it’s closer to the balcony.”
Superman looked at it for a moment in silence, before nodding his head. “Thanks, Clark.”
Clark smiled at him before turning around. “I have to get to work.”
“Clark?” Superman called just before the younger man stepped out of the apartment. “I’m going to go away for a few days. I don’t want to, but I have to, and I’ll be back.”
Clark, not understanding the significance of this, shrugged his shoulders. “Okay,” he said, “enjoy where ever you’re going.”
************************
“Dr. Newman?” Clark said into the phone as he called Lois over. Not wanting to startle the doctor, he decided against using the speakerphone and instead moved the headset so that Lois could hear as well.
“Thanks for calling me back,” Clark said, trying not to lose focus at the smell of Lois’ shampoo.
“Yes, well you said you were looking for information on Jules Johnson and Monique Kahn?” Dr. Newman verified.
“That’s right. Anything at all you can share?” Clark said.
“Well, they are both released now,” Dr. Newman said.
“That’s alright. I wasn’t looking to talk to them quite yet.”
“Well, that’s good as Monique might still be here, but Jules was released hours ago.”
“He had no injuries?” Clark confirmed.
“None at all,” Dr. Newman said. “And no sign of mental issues. I’m not sure he ever meant to jump at all.”
Lois pulled away to look at Clark quizzically. Clark nodded to show he agreed before saying to the doctor, “You don’t think he meant to jump? So, then why did he?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but we had to sedate Monique as she was hysterical when she came in. While she was sedated she kept mentioning something about a test. I’m not sure what kind of test, but I wondered if Jules was part of it, too.”
Clark noted “test” on his notepad while he asked the doctor, “Was Monique alright?”
“Oh, she was quite fine. As with Jules, Superman seemed to save both of them with no ill effect. She was just hysterical as she was afraid, well petrified, really, of heights.”
“She was afraid of heights and yet she jumped off a thirty-story building?” Clark asked, glaring at Lois as she pulled away from pinching his arm.
“Yes, it is a bit unusual, Mr. Kent. Unfortunately, I can’t explain why she would do this.”
Clark glanced at Lois and seeing that she had no more questions, he thanked the doctor for his time and hung up.
“Ow!” he said in annoyance at Lois, rubbing his arm where she had pinched it.
“Oh, quit being a baby,” Lois said. “I just wanted you…”
“You just wanted me to ask a question I was already asking. Why not try waiting before you inflict bodily injury?” he asked her.
Not surprisingly, Lois did not seem the least bit embarrassed. “Waiting is not my forte,” she explained.
“Nice apology, Lois,” Clark could not help but smile.
Lois smiled beatifically. “Thanks!”
Just then a messenger came by and dumped a stack of papers on Clark’s desk. “Thanks,” Clark said to the boy as he turned away, but he received no response.
“What’s that?” Lois asked.
“Employment records for the jumpers,” Clark explained and Lois moved closer in interest.
“They both worked for LexCorp,” Clark said.
“Right, them and half of Metropolis,” Lois replied. “What’s the connection?”
“Lex Luthor,” Clark explained.
“Lex?” Lois asked in confusion. “What would Lex have to do with all of this? He’s the city’s biggest benefactor. Why would he have anything against Superman?”
Clark sighed, not sure it was even worth it to have this conversation given his lack of proof, but Lois just kept looking at him in confusion, so finally he replied.
“I just don’t trust him, that’s all.”
Lois laughed lightly, placing a hand on his arm, “Well, you’re new in town, Clark. Trust my instincts on this. Lex Luthor has nothing to do with this.”
Somehow, Clark did not feel reassured.
************************
Superman landed on the balcony of Lex’ penthouse somewhat loudly. He was looking forward to this. He had enjoyed it the first time, and somehow he thought he may enjoy it even more now.
“Come on in, Superman,” Luthor said, his voice dripping with fake hospitality.
“You want to know how strong I am, Luthor?” he asked as he picked up a sword from Luthor’s desk. He bent it until it formed a loop. Then as he started to put it down, he thought better of it. There was no reason not to have even more fun with it this time around. He pulled the two ends of the sword further and tied them into a bow.
Happy with the result, he asked, “You want to know how fast I am?” This was definitely his favorite part. He picked up the gun from Luthor’s desk and aimed it at the man. He stood where he was for a millisecond, relishing the look of fear crossing Luthor’s face. Then he moved over and caught the bullet just before it hit Luthor.
“Does that conclude the demonstration?” Luthor asked. Superman bristled slightly. Even knowing how this was going to go, it was annoying how composed Luthor managed to be.
“The tests stop now,” he said in reply.
“That would be nice,” Luthor replied, “but what if they don’t? You can’t be everywhere at once, Superman. As long as you stay in Metropolis, people will die. Are you willing to accept that responsibility? If I were you, I’d think about it.”
Superman looked at Luthor, quietly seething. In his universe, Lex Luthor had made his life a living hell. He had tormented him, tried to kill him, then tormented his wife and tried to take her from him, and the Luthor in front of him did not appear to be any different. He looked at the gun, weighing the options. It would make life so much easier to shoot him now.
But that was not what Superman was about and doing so would not only irrevocably change history, but given Luthor’s current public image, it would likely turn the public against Superman.
With a last glare at Luthor, Superman walked to the balcony and took off.
************************
With a sigh, he entered the farmhouse. “Superman?” Martha called from the living room.
“Hi,” Superman said as he came into the room.
“What’s wrong, son?” Jonathan asked, taking in the slope of Superman’s shoulders.
Superman smiled slightly. It was nice to have Clark’s parents around. They treated him like one of their own and it not only gave him someone to talk to here, it made him feel less alone.
“It’s nothing,” he said to the Kents.
“Pish posh,” Martha replied. “We can tell there is, Superman. You wear your sadness on your sleeve, just like our Clark.”
Superman smiled again. Yes, it was definitely nice to have them here.
“It’s just… I made a mistake in my universe and I feel compelled to repeat it here so it does not change history, but I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.”
“What is it?” Jonathan asked.
“I’m disappearing for a few days,” he explained.
“Where are you going?” Martha asked in concern.
“Oh, well, nowhere,” Superman clarified. “I just won’t be appearing as Superman.”
“Why ever not?” she asked.
“Because Lex Luthor threatened me.”
“Lex Luthor?” Martha asked, surprised.
“Well, Martha, no one ever got to be that wealthy without having questionable ethics,” Jonathan said.
“Well, I know that, silly,” Martha said. “I just didn’t think he’d want to be so obvious about it as to threaten Superman.”
Superman smiled. He would have to remember to ask his parents if they had also suspected Luthor of being a criminal before his first dealings with the man.
“Yes, well, he’s behind the tests that have been set out for me, and when I went to him today to tell him to stop, he promised that he would keep doing them, and start doing some simultaneously so that people will die if I don’t disappear.”
“Wow. You’re right, Martha. I never thought he’d be that obvious,” Jonathan said in reply.
Martha leaned forward to place a hand on Superman’s arm. “So, what are you going to do?” she asked. “Or rather, what did you do and why was it a mistake?”
“Well, in my universe, I disappeared for a few days. Then in a conversation with Lois, she made me see that that was silly, so I came back. The truth is that people are going to get hurt regardless and people did while I was gone. While Luthor is vile, he is not the only criminal in all of Metropolis, and even if he was, he is not going to change his ways and stop all crime just because I disappear.”
“So why even bother giving in to his threat this time around?” Jonathan asked. “Just to avoid changes to the timeline?”
“Well, that’s part of it,” Superman said. “But it’s also that the thing Lois said about Superman she said to Clark. There are several things like that in my life – where Lois talked to me as Clark about Superman and said things that gave me a new perspective on Superman. I think those things both guided me and encouraged me at later times, just remembering what she said. I imagine that here, those things will be useful to Clark when he’s ready to become Superman himself.”
************************
“Help, Superman!” came the cry that was keeping Clark from sleeping. He rolled over in his bed, placing the pillow on top of his head. “Help!”
Where was Superman? Just then Clark remembered that Superman had said he was going away for a few days. Where was he? What was Clark supposed to do while he was away?
With a sigh, he got up. He could not deal with the agony in those cries. He moved toward the larger bedroom and moved over to the closet. He had helped Superman build the secret compartment, so he had no trouble opening it.
He wondered if this was a mistake. He pulled one of the suits out and using the spinning thing that Superman had showed him earlier that day, he spun into it.
He looked in the mirror. Not quite right. He took his glasses off and pushed his hair back. There. He did not look exactly like Superman since he was younger, but he doubted anyone would notice the subtle differences.
************************
The idea had come to him slowly. He had just mastered flying. After the night he found himself floating in his room, he had worked on it off and on. At sixteen, it was the last of his powers to develop and he had found it scary at first, but then when he learned to use it, it was liberating. He had already had to come to terms with the fact that he was different, that he was not like his classmates. Learning to fly gave him the ability to get away from the pain of it, and to experience something wonderful.
His first long distance trip had been to the Great Wall. He had wanted to get as far away from his classmates as possible. It was weird as he was well liked, but there was an undercurrent of not belonging. Clark suspected that it was all in his head, because he knew he was different even if they did not, but it did not matter.
Shortly after his trip to the Wall, though, an idea started to take root in his mind. He could do so much with all of the abilities he now had. He thought he could use them, really use them, to help. He was not sure how, but he knew he wanted to do it in some way.
For a few weeks, Clark did nothing, but the idea began to fester in his own mind. Then one night he heard the news report on television. There was an earthquake in eastern China. He waited until his parents were asleep. He wanted to try this, but he was not ready to discuss it yet. So, after they had gone to sleep, he flew over to China. He did not bother with camouflage as who would know him in China?
It was exhilarating. It was amazing how much he could do. He had never tested his limits quite this way before. He had helped several families get to safety and all had been incredibly grateful.
The experience was not without its drawbacks – while he typically needed less sleep than others, he felt tired the next morning from the combination of lack of sleep and physical exhaustion. Plus there were the families he did not save. The little boy who he had carried away and brought to his family, already dead.
Still, overall, the experience was more positive than negative and Clark felt pleased with his results.
