Thanks as always to Beth, Carol, and Mark!
From Chapter 17
“Clark,” Superman called out to Clark's retreating back. “Um… is everything okay?”
“Sure,” Clark said, but his voice was less than convincing.
“I made some hot milk earlier and I made extra in case you wanted it. It may not still be hot, but it's in the kitchen.”
“Thanks,” Clark said as he moved to the kitchen. A minute later he called out, “You made it in the pot?”
Superman smiled. “I've been trained to heat things like a normal person,” he said, squeezing Lois' hip.
“Okay,” Clark said, looking at him strangely. “Whatever.”
Chapter 18
Three weeks later, Superman had a rare evening at home. Clark was out grabbing a beer with Jimmy and the streets of Metropolis were quiet. The only rescue he had done tonight, though, made him nervous. It was the carjacker. Really, the first time around, this rescue had seemed easy and almost silly.
Tonight, though, he knew better. When the carjacker had looked at him with awe and asked, “Man, don't nothin' hurt you?” Superman had not been able to answer. In his own universe, the answer had come easily, “Not so far.” Now, though, he knew better.
He had not thought this would be difficult at all. He thought he would just ask Clark to trust him and let him handle the story in Smallville with Lois. While he knew the kryptonite Wayne had found would weaken him, he also knew its effect was less now that it was the first time and he would be in a better position to fight Trask.
That plan, though, had all changed when Herb and Lois visited.
“No, Clark! You can't do that,” Lois said angrily. They were in Centennial Park where the Clark from this universe could not hear them. Herb had gone for a walk.
“Why not? It makes sense, Lois,” he insisted.
“But…” Lois paused to take a deep breath, tears in her eyes. “It's still kryptonite, Clark. You still lose your powers. Trask could still kill you.”
Superman sighed. He knew that, but had not thought it made sense to let this Clark die. Looking at Lois now, though, seeing the tears in her eyes, made the decision that much harder.
“Lois,” he said softly, as he cradled her cheek in his hand. “We always knew that was a possibility. That something could go wrong, go differently, and I could die here.”
Lois sniffled. “I know. But… I mean, he seems nice enough, but… Clark…” Superman's heart wrenched when Lois burst into tears.
“Sh…” he whispered into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Clark,” Herb said softly a moment later, having walked towards them.
Superman gave him a dirty look. Lois was still sniffling into his chest.
“Lois is right. You can't go,” Herb said.
“Were you eavesdropping on us?” Superman asked, annoyed, while Lois moved a little bit away from Clark's chest to look at Herb curiously.
“No, I went for a walk. But I heard the end of your conversation when I got back,” Herb said, sounding contrite.
“Oh. Sorry,” Superman said.
“Why can't he go?” Lois asked, while wondering why she cared. As long as Clark did not go, that was all that was important to her.
Herb sighed. “At some point, this Clark needs to learn how to deal with kryptonite. If he does not learn now, he'll come in contact with it later and it will affect him worse than it did you at that point. You won't be here forever, so you can't protect him from all the bad things that happened in your life.”
Superman nodded. “But maybe…”
“No,” Herb cut in gently. “This is the right time. The more things happen as they did in your timeline, the more like them they are likely to be. It's unlikely Clark will be seriously injured in this.”
“And Martha and Jonathan?” Superman asked pointedly. “Wayne?”
“Not any more roughed up than they were before,” Herb said. “Probably. I can't guarantee anything. But I think…”
“Clark, please,” Lois said. “I know you want to help, but please do this for me.”
Superman sighed. She knew full well he would never say no to her.
So, in two days, Clark and Lois were going to head to Smallville. Clark would be more scared than he ever had been in his life before, and there was little Superman could do about it.
************************
“Clark,” Superman said hesitantly as he walked into Clark's room.
“Hmmm?” Clark answered distractedly as he packed.
“You're packing?” Superman asked, surprised enough to forget the reason he had come in here.
“Yeah, sorry,” Clark said as he grabbed a stack of boxers from the dresser. “I should have told you. I'll be out of town for a few days. Lois and I are going to investigate something going on at the Irig place in Smallville.”
“Right,” Superman said, still surprised. “I mean, I knew that.”
“Of course you did,” Clark laughed. “I forgot. You've done all this before.”
“I didn't pack, though.”
“You didn't?”
“Nah, I had enough stuff still at my folks place…”
“But wasn't Lois suspicious?” Clark interrupted.
“She didn't know,” Superman answered.
“She didn't notice you showing up at the airport without a suitcase?” Clark asked, one eyebrow raised and a grin on his face. “Your Lois didn't seem blind when I met her.”
Superman laughed. “No, she's not blind. But I flew in ahead of her and met her at the airport.”
“You did?” Clark asked. “Didn't the Planet wonder why you didn't expense your trip?”
Superman shrugged. “You know, I never thought about it, but you're right. I don't know. No one questioned me and I hate commercial flights, so I just went on my own.”
“You hate commercial flights?” Clark asked.
“Yeah. Don't you?”
Clark shrugged. “No idea. I haven't been on one since I was about seven. Are they bad? I mean, people fly them all the time, right?”
Superman smiled. “Yes, and I supposed if it's your only choice it certainly makes sense. But… well, I don't want to put ideas into your head about why I don't like them. That might make it harder for you and hopefully you won't mind the flight at all.”
Clark nodded. “Okay. You'll tell me why you dislike them when I get back?”
“Of course,” Superman said as he turned back towards the door.
He was in the living room when he heard Clark call out to him. “Superman? Was there something you wanted?”
“Oh, right,” he said as he made his way back into Clark's room. “Look, you know I can't tell you anything about what you'll find in Smallville, but…”
“But what?” Clark asked. He stopped packing to look at Superman in confusion.
Superman sighed. “You may feel a bit… sick… while you're home, and I just want you to know that it will go away and everything will be okay.”
Clark looked at him funny. “What?”
“I said…”
“I heard what you said, but I don't really understand it. Do you get sick? Is this like the airplane thing? Cause I haven't been sick a day in my life,” Clark said looking at Superman with concern.
“I know,” Superman said. “And I can't really explain. Just remember what I said.”
“Okay,” Clark said, shrugging his shoulders.
“And Clark,” Superman said when Clark had gone back to packing. “I'm sorry. Really, I am.”
“Are you sure you're okay?” Clark asked.
Superman tried to smile, but it did not reach his eyes. “Yeah. I just wish… Well, I'm sorry I can't make this not happen,” he said sadly. He turned around and walked back to his room.
“Wait. Superman!” Clark called as he followed him. “What's going to happen?”
“I really am sorry, Clark. I want to tell you. I want to do this for you. But I can't. But it will all end up okay. I'm nearly certain of it.”
Clark continued to look at him strangely for a moment before he realized that Superman was not going to say anything else.
************************
“What is your problem?” Lois asked as she tried to push Clark's arm off their shared arm rest.
“No problem,” Clark said in a monotone.
“Great. Then would you please move off of this arm rest?” Lois asked with saccharine sweetness.
“Sure, Lois,” Clark said, in the same monotone as before.
There was silence between them for approximately five seconds. “So?” Lois asked, exasperated.
“What?”
“Your arm?” Lois said, looking at it pointedly.
For some reason, that seemed to bring Clark out of the daze he was in. “My arm? What about it?”
“It's on the arm rest.”
“Oh. Is that a problem?” Clark asked.
Lois gave a very loud sigh of annoyance. “Um, just that you said you'd get off of it.”
“Oh, sorry,” Clark said, moving his arm to his side. It stayed there for just a moment before he moved it to grab the edge of his seat the same way it had been holding the armrest earlier.
“Ok, what is the deal, Clark?” Lois asked so loudly that the woman sitting in front of her turned around to give her a dirty look.
“Nothing. What do you mean?” Clark asked, speaking entirely too quickly.
“What do I mean? I mean, why are you holding on to the armrest and chair for dear life? Are you afraid of flying or something?”
Clark felt himself blush. “I think so.”
“You think so?” Lois asked, earning another glare from the woman in front of her.
Lois turned her attention away from Clark for a moment to look at the woman. “Excuse me, do you have a problem?” she asked. To her amusement the woman looked embarrassed and turned around.
“Clark, you've traveled all over the world. How is it that you don't know if you are afraid of flying?”
Clark glanced at her, not sure what to say. “I guess I am. I just don't like to think about it,” he finally said, lamely.
Lois laughed. She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “So, I guess it's safe to assume you've never gone flying with your roommate?”
“No, not really,” Clark said.
Lois looked at him more closely. “You really are scared of flying, aren't you?”
Clark gave her a wan smile.
“Try to sleep, Clark. Maybe you'll be able to sleep until we land.”
Clark started to thank Lois for her concern, but then realized that the last thing he should do is point out that she had been nice to him for a moment. That never led to anything good.
************************
“Did you see your father on your way in?” Martha asked as Clark walked in.
“No,” Clark answered as he gratefully accepted the sandwich she handed him. “He wasn't in the field today.” Clark often passed his father out in the fields on his way home from school, but not always. Particularly this time of year, it was warm out at this time and Jonathan sometimes took shelter from the heat in the relatively cool barn.
“How was school?” Martha asked. Her words were casual, but the look she gave Clark spoke volumes and he immediately understood the subtext of her question: Did anyone see you on the news last night?
“It was fine, Mom. How many high schoolers do you think watch the news anyway?”
He could see her shoulders drop slightly in relief. “Probably not too many,” she replied with a smile. “Your father hasn't been in all day. Can you take these to him?” she asked Clark, handing him a plate with two sandwiches on it.
“Sure,” Clark agreed, reaching out to take it.
He thought nothing of it when his father was not in the barn and went back into the house to place the plate down. “He wasn't out there. He must be over at the Irigs,” he told his mother.
She nodded, wrapping the plate in plastic wrap to keep until Jonathan came back.
Clark sat up straight in his chair, shaking. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to pretend he was still sleeping. It was all just a dream, that's all it was, he told himself. He knew, though, that it did not matter what he told himself. It was not just a dream. It had happened, but if he could keep himself from remembering what came after, maybe he could ease the burning feeling in his chest.
“Clark?” Lois' voice came from beside him. “Clark, are you all right?”
“I'm fine,” he said, but even he could hear that he was breathing rapidly. Still, Lois seemed to buy it as she got quiet.
He sat still for several minutes staring at the back of the seat in front of him, breathing in and out deeply and trying to empty his brain of all thought. He felt the tears come, but brushed at them impatiently. He was not going to think about this. He had managed to forget it for years now and there was no reason to remember now.
“What's wrong, Clark?” Lois asked, her hand on his arm.
Clark nodded, “Nothing.”
“Nonsense, Clark,” she said, but her tone was kind. “You're crying.”
“It was just a nightmare,” he told her.
“Clark, look at me,” she pleaded with him.
He turned to her, finding opening his eyes difficult.
“Whatever it is, it's over now,” she said softly. “You are perfectly safe.” She ran a hand over his cheek, brushing the tears away. “Everything's okay.”
“Thanks, Lois,” Clark said, his voice quiet.
“Just go back to sleep,” Lois suggested, running her hand through his hair. “I'll be right here and it'll be fine.”
************************
“Mrs. McMurty?” Clark asked the woman holding the clipboard.
“Clark Kent? What are you doing here? I heard you had a spiffy new job writing for the Daily Planet in Metropolis.”
“I do,” Clark smiled. “We're actually covering the EPA investigation of Mr. Irig's property. This is my partner, Lois Lane.”
“Hi, Ms. Lane,” Alice McMurty smiled widely at Lois.
“Hi,” Lois held her hand out, looking aggrieved at being in this situation.
“Mrs. McMurty used to play bridge with my mother,” Clark said to Lois. “She makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the county.”
“Well, your mother certainly gives me a run for my money,” Alice smiled.
Lois gave a huff of annoyance and Clark turned to give her a look. He had told her in the car that things went at a slower pace in Smallville, but he was not surprised that she had not taken the information to heart.
“So, any information you can give us on what's going on here?” Clark asked Alice.
“Nothing all that exciting, Clark. Wayne used a lot of pesticides during the sixties and we're concerned about seepage into the local ground water. No big story, I'm afraid,” Alice smiled at them kindly.
Clark looked at her quizzically. “I didn't think Mr. Irig used any pesticides.”
“Not since you were born, but before that he did.”
“Can we speak to him?” Lois asked.
“Mr. Irig was given relocation money,” Alice told her. “He didn't say where he was going.”
“I'm sure you have that information somewhere,” Lois said, looking at the clipboard she was holding pointedly.
“I'm sure we do, but I don't have it,” Alice said, her voice a bit harder than it had been earlier.
“We'll check back later,” Lois said, grabbing Clark's arm and pulling him back towards the car.
