Luck and Consequence - Part 4
** Chapter 7 **
Twenty months later…
Clark sat at his desk as the end of another day at the Planet drew near. Working at the Daily Planet was different these days than they were in those heady, exciting days of his first years on this job. This newspaper was still an exciting place to work and he loved the thrill of investigative reporting almost as much as Lois did. The change didn’t come about due to losing interest or enthusiasm. The difference was that now he had an even broader range of responsibilities due to the wonderful but demanding presence of a third person in his life.
As the end of the day approached, he had begun to wonder if he would see Lois before heading home this evening. At that moment he heard an oh-so-familiar heartbeat coming from the elevator shaft. Shortly thereafter, the elevator doors slid back to reveal the woman that had made him complete. As she strode out of the elevator, displaying that same confident attitude as when they had first met, Clark couldn’t help but notice that even after having been a mother for a year, she was still the most beautiful woman that he had even seen. Clark let his eyes roam over the appealing figure of his mate. She certainly looked quite a bit different than just a year ago…
****
Clark had been fretting over the approaching birth just as any expectant father might. Lois was approaching her due date and he was obsessing about when and under what circumstances the baby would come. He had visualized several possible scenarios by which Lois would go into labor. His great fear was that it would happen while he was out as Superman on an emergency, and their baby would be born without him being present.
Another scenario, and the one that he really hoped for, was that one day while they were both at work, Lois would start feeling contractions. This outcome would result in a calm and orderly trip to the hospital. As it turned out, that didn’t happen either.
Instead, it was several weeks before Lois’s due date. They had been enjoying a quiet evening at home just relaxing. At eight and one half months, Lois was, to put it bluntly, huge. For the past several weeks they had curtailed most of their evening activities, and their television was getting more of a workout than it had for most of their marriage. This evening they were watching an episode of one of the spin-offs of “Star Trek” when Lois had felt a slight twitch in her abdomen. Clark had seen a grimace of discomfort flash on her face and when she had put her hand to her swollen belly, Clark had started to get nervous.
“Lois, is everything okay?” Clark asked.
After just a minute Lois said, “I don’t think it was anything to worry about. I’ve had those sorts of pains a few times so far and it’s gone now. If I feel anything again I’ll let you know. Besides, we still have weeks to go before the due date.”
At this, Clark had calmed down and they went back to watching the show. They had gone to bed that evening thinking no more about it. However, at just after 1:00 am, Lois had gotten up to use the rest room and found out that the twitch earlier had not been “just another” pain.
Clark had been half awake when Lois had gotten out of bed. Still, the phrase from Lois caught him off guard.
“Clark, I think we should go to the hospital.”
“Honey, what’s wrong. What do you feel?”
“I don’t know. This might be the beginning of something, but I’ve never done this before. Clark, I’d feel better if we went to the hospital. I really think something’s going on.”
This exchange put Clark in “emergency response mode” as much as any more traditional emergency ever had. However, Lois remained calm. Whether it was natural instinct or simply her long experience as “Lois Lane in a stressful situation” she had simply reminded Clark of their preparations and they had left for the hospital.
Lois's pregnancy had been surprisingly normal. Clark thought that possibly the only thing that was remotely noteworthy was that Lois was feeling exceptionally energetic even late into the pregnancy. Early on, they had speculated that carrying a half-Kryptonian baby might have caused Lois to feel tired and lethargic. Instead, as the baby got larger, Lois had said that she actually felt stronger. Her obstetrician had insisted that everything was within normal limits, and her energy levels just reflected her overall state of good health. Dr. Klein had suspected it may be tied to the growing Kryptonian biofield from the baby. Whatever the source of Lois's general feeling of good heath, the pregnancy progressed in a perfectly normal manner.
Lara Lane Kent was born on May 28 at 6:43 am. Lara didn’t know yet whether or not she believed in luck.
Clark was extraordinarily happy that, as with the pregnancy, all appeared normal at the time of birth. There were no clues to the hospital staff that this was anything other than an ordinary baby girl.
****
Lois’s approach to his desk snapped him out of daydream mode. As she reached his desk, Clark looked up at her and said, “Hello beautiful. How was your afternoon?’
Lois replied, “Okay. I was just out making the rounds. Bobby Bigmouth is disappointed that we haven’t come up with any new delicacies for him to try lately. He said that if we aren’t careful he might have to see if some other reporting team needs a reliable source. I pointed out he knows that we have access to food sources that no one else knows about. Otherwise it was a quiet outing.”
Then Lois leaned in close and lowered her voice, “While I was out, I went by Star Labs to ask Bernie about a one-year visit for Lara sometime within the next week or so. He said that we can bring her by whatever evening is most convenient for us and to just give him a day or two of notice.”
She then straightened up and said, “You look like you’re almost ready to head home. Give me a few minutes to store my notes and we can leave.”
As she turned away, Clark was reminded of Lara’s first visit to Star Labs.
****
The first time their daughter had visited Star Labs was about a month after she was born. It was early in the evening and this trip to Star Labs was to take place using Superman Airways and the special roof entrance. During Lois’s pregnancy, they had been able to cover for most of her visits by having Lane and Kent do a Star Labs series. However, there was really no way to use that as a justification this time. Lois was still on maternity leave and every excuse that they considered just wouldn’t pass a “reasonableness” test. If there was any important reason to do this during the day, they could have presented some justification. But the reality was that an evening visit worked just as well.
Clark noticed that when they all reached the Superman lab, the biofield sensor was already powered up and waiting. Clark turned to Bernie and asked, “Bernie, what tests did you want to do for this visit? We would really like to keep this trip as short as possible for Lara.”
Bernie replied, “I had expected that. All that I want to do tonight is image Lara in the biofield sensor and draw some blood to test for the presence of KEs.”
As they carried Lara into the sensor area, Bernie spoke up, “I really need to scan Lara when she is as alone as possible. Would you both move so that you are behind me?”
They moved away from Lara and stood in the control area behind Bernie. Clark was watching the monitor and as he cleared the five meter distance and noticed that there seemed to be no change in the intensity of Lara’s biofield. The sensor showed a clearly Kryptonian field, albeit much less intense than Clark’s.
“Clark, would you please leave the room for just a minute? I’d like to make sure that her field isn’t drawing energy from yours.”
Lois spoke up, “Bernie, don’t take this wrong but we aren’t both going to leave with Lara here.”
“Lois, you should stay in the room. I’d just like to have a reading with Clark well out of the area.”
“How far away do I need to go? You don’t want me to leave the building, do you?” asked Clark.
“No.”, Bernie replied. “If you could just go to the far end of the hallway for a minute or so that will be fine.”
Clark left the room and walked down to the end of the hall. After just a moment he saw Lois step out of the lab carrying Lara so that she was looking down the hall. He heard Lois talking sweetly to Lara, “See, there’s your daddy. Down there.” Then Lois looked up at Clark and said, “All done for now.”
As they re-entered the lab, Bernie was just finishing shutting down the sensor equipment. He looked up from the control panel and said, “There was no decrease in her field from when you were in the room. She clearly has her own low intensity Kryptonian biofield. I suspect that the lower field intensity is related to her size and the overall KE count. Clark, I believe that may be why, when you were growing up, your powers didn't kick in until you were nearly an adult. I suspect that a person first needs to attain a certain minimal physical size to generate a field-strength necessary for super power capabilities. After that, I suspect that there is a learning process relating to control the powers and manipulate the biofield."
After a brief pause Bernie asked, "Can I get some blood from Lara for testing?"
"Of course" Clark replied after first glancing at Lois for her approval.
A few days later Dr. Klein came over for dinner with the test results. "Lara's blood shows a lower concentration of KEs than yours, Clark. I suspect that she’s too young to assign any meaning to her KE levels. The lower concentrations in her blood could be due to her youth and size, it could be due to her being only half Kryptonian, or it could be some combination of both. This test will establish a baseline for future measurements and I’m sure we’ll learn more as she grows."
All that they really knew for sure was that she was healthy and not yet super-powered, and for both of those they were extremely thankful.
****
Clark had finished getting ready to leave for the day. Lois was almost finished packing away for the evening as he went to her desk to wait. While he was standing next to Lois’s desk, his super hearing clicked in. Clark could hear a report of a robbery taking place across town. He paused for a moment to concentrate on the report. In the past this would have been time to either think up some excuse for a quick exit or give Lois “that look” so that she would know why he was rushing out. However, this time after considering the nature of the call and what he could determine of the pending police response, he decided that this issue can be handled without Superman’s intervention.
As his concentration lapsed and his attention returned to the “here and now”, he noticed Lois watching him intently. After only a second he said, “It’s okay. I don’t need to go.”
Lois reached out, gave his hand a gentle squeeze and said, “Thank you.”
A substantial change in both their overall relationship and approach to parenting had taken place a few months after Lara's birth. After one particularly stressful day, that had combined an unusually high level of Superman activity with Lois being overwhelmed by the combined demands of work and providing for Lara’s needs, they had what they later referred to as “The Superman Argument.”
****
It had started out as just a busy and frustrating day for Lois. She was trying to get back into her career and still carrying the larger burden of Lara’s care. The Superman calls had started exceptionally early that day. This meant that Lois had to handle all of morning “start of the day” routines on her own. Since this was a workday morning, it meant that Lois had to step up to the additional duties of getting Lara ready for day care. Normally this was Clark’s responsibility since he could take advantage of super speed to get everything done on time. If this would have been the only Superman distraction of the day, the extra early morning chores would not have triggered “the argument.” Today, that was not to be the case.
As the day progressed, Clark continued to answer a higher than average number of Superman calls. Lois was facing the double duty of both covering for his absence and doing part of his work for him. Naturally, this was a day that Lara happened to get sick while at daycare. Apparently the Kryptonian resistance to disease, if Lara was to inherit that capability, wasn’t going to kick in until she got a bit older. Lois was asked to take Lara home at least until the fever had cleared up.
It was somewhere during that day that Lois ran out of patience. Neither Lois nor Clark knew it at the time, but a line had been crossed.
Clark arrived home that evening having first checked in at work. He didn’t know what he was walking into and made the mistake of looking like *he* didn’t have a really bad day. Once Lois greeted him with an icy stare, he was astute enough to pick up that she was in a really bad mood. After a brief greeting to Lara, he went about trying to figure out how to calm Lois down as well as starting dinner. Unfortunately, before he was half way done, he heard another emergency call. This time, Lois noticed immediately when he got “the look” again. Clark had turned off the burners and was starting to leave when Lois blew.
He hadn’t gotten more than a step out of the kitchen when he heard, “Clark, don’t you dare leave!”
He turned to face Lois and asked a bit defensively, “What?”
“Clark, we need you here tonight!” Lois practically yelled at him in a tone that was a mix of anger and exasperation.
At first he was confused. Lois knew he wouldn’t leave unless he had heard a call. He was momentarily confused but finally managed to stutter out, “But Lois, someone might get hurt.”
Lois went on in only slightly calmer tones, “I know that what Superman does is important, but Clark, stop and think for a minute. Are Lara and I important?”
The implications of this question caught Clark off guard, but the answer was easy, “Lois, you know that both of you mean the world to me.”
“Then you need to find a way to work some balance into what you do as Superman. Are you really going to tell me that every call that you answer is an emergency that can’t be handled without Superman’s help?”
She had calmed down significantly but Clark could tell that he was still on thin ice. “Well… Lois, often I don’t know for sure until I get there.”
“Clark, I love you and I wouldn’t dream of asking you to stop helping when you’re really needed. But please try to let the Metropolis emergency services do their own job those times that you aren’t really needed.”
Lois took a deep breath, “So, go ahead and do the Superman thing. But we need to talk about this when you get back.”
Clark concentrated and listened intently for a few seconds. “I don’t need to go. Everything seems to be under control now.”
After looking guilty for a second, Clark stepped over to Lois and engulfed her in a hug. After a minute he finally said, “Lois, I’m sorry. I really should have realized how all this was affecting you. Now that I think about it I guess it’s long past time that Superman learn that he can’t answer every call for help. At least, he can’t do so and still meet his other responsibilities.”
****
That evening they had agreed that Clark was going to have to cut back on Superman's availability. It pained Clark not to be able to respond to every call for help but he could see that there was no way to meet all of his growing family responsibilities without curtailing the time spent as Superman.
In some ways, this change actually improved the overall effectiveness of Superman. There had been a few times in the past that Clark had been occupied on a minor rescue when something much more important would occur. By prioritizing his responses, he was able to be sure that Superman was really where he was most needed. Superman still responded to enough calls so that, for the most part, the citizenry of Metropolis didn't notice the decrease in Superman's activities.
Support from Lois was all that made it possible to for him to maintain the new “filtering” that he did on these emergency calls. He knew that this had also helped her general ability to deal with those times that he did need to put in an appearance as Superman. After that evening, Clark realized that even before Lara had arrived, there had been a change in Lois’s reaction to his hearing a call for Superman. Over time she had transitioned from being happy to help with an excuse for him to get away, and excited to be in on the secret, to more of a business as usual attitude where having Clark disappear was just part of their lives.
The demands of Lara’s appearance had resulted in a new stage of Lois’s reactions to his hearing a call for help that came to a head that night of the argument. The new approach that he had adopted, where he didn’t rush off as often, had helped a great deal. Long ago, Lois had learned to recognize the signs that meant he had heard a call for help. The look on her face each time she saw him hear a call and then decide to stay, told Clark that she appreciated that decision and that he was totally committed to her, Lara and their shared family responsibilities.
After just a moment more Lois had finished at her desk. She looked up at him and said, “All ready. Let’s go.”
As they headed for the elevator, Clark thought about the fact that they tended to leave a bit earlier than in the pre-Lara days. They had anticipated and planned for the changes that Lara would bring. However, actually living through them, especially in the beginning, had proven to be more unsettling than they had anticipated.
At first it was difficult fitting Lara's care into their professional lives, but with a lot of help from Lois, the Daily Planet had established a day care center in the building. It proved to be very popular and soon had children not just of Daily Planet employees but also from surrounding businesses. This made it much easier for Lois and Clark to get back to being investigative reporters while still maintaining a close connection to Lara. As was the case most evenings, the day care center was their next stop before leaving for home.
The Daily Planet day care center was unusual in that there was more security than was normal for this sort of establishment. The entry area was monitored with a camera that was tied into building security. There was also a security door that separated the outer reception area from the child care area. Signing a child in and out was a carefully monitored activity.
When the center had first been established, picking up and dropping off children had been pretty much like other day care centers. However, all that changed one day a few months ago…
****
That particular morning, Clark had started out in an especially good mood. The previous day, he and Lois, had authored an investigative piece on a large extortion ring that had hit Metropolis the previous year. This had been the first really big 'Lane and Kent' expose since Lara's birth.
This gang was particularly nasty and was suspected as being behind a large number of deaths. In many ways they were a run-of-the-mill extortion ring but they had added a few twists. Their approach to their victims was simultaneously more subtle and sophisticated than the average extortion ring. Before approaching a potential victim, they would send a series of anonymous mailings that were nothing more than newspaper clippings of fatal accidents. When they finally did approach their victims, they were always careful enough to have never been caught making their “sales pitch.” Part of their pitch was always the understanding that this was a one-time offer that would not be repeated. Their targets were always given two weeks to consider their offer. If the payments were not initiated within that time, the victim received one last communication. This last message was simply a notice that they were now marked for death. In every case where the final note had been received, the target, and often many members of their family, ended up dead. The final trademark of this group was that they would wait, often a long time, before acting against their victim. On more than one occasion, one victim or another would cross them and believe that they had successfully circumvented their influence, only to end up dead several months later. During the course of their investigation, Lois and Clark had found one instance where the victim appeared to have been “taken out” a full ten months after refusing to pay.
It had been Lois that had finally gotten to one of their inside men that wanted out. She, with a little “super” help from Clark, had been able to get enough solid evidence to put away all of the leadership. Clark was frustrated that some of the story was still under wraps while the police continued their investigation, but the case had broken two days before with mass arrests of the gang leadership. The initial story on the gang and its capture had been the lead story in yesterday’s morning edition of the Daily Planet. This story, and the investigation behind it, might be Pulitzer material and was certain to garner at least another Kerth nomination for the Lane and Kent writing team.
Shortly after they had arrived at work that morning, Clark had to leave to assist at a fire in an apartment building on the other side of the city. Fortunately, the fire had been limited to an isolated section of the building and Superman had been able to get everyone out without anyone sustaining serious injury. When he returned to the office he found that Lois seemed to be very upset. He went over to her and found himself engulfed in a fierce hug.
"What happened?" he asked Lois.
"This," she replied as she handed Clark an envelope.
The only addressing on the envelope was “Lois Lane”. Inside was a computer printed note on a single piece of paper. It read "Revenge is a dish best served cold."
This was one of the “Mark of Death” messages used by the gang that they had just exposed. This was the message that they sent to individuals that had actively worked against them.
Lois was almost in tears. She was in some sort of distraught babble mode that Clark had never seen before.
"I can't believe how this is affecting me. I used to get stuff like this all the time and my attitude was somewhere between 'whatever' and 'catch me if you can.' All of the sudden I realize that there's a lot more at stake that just me. What about Lara? What about us? Clark, I'm afraid, and I don't know how to be afraid."
Clark considered the note as he continued to hold her. "Honey, you know we can be careful." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Besides, you know that we have a *super* advantage that whoever sent this doesn't know about."
"I know, but now there's Lara. I guess I should have expected this but somehow I didn't."
Clark, along with Lois, spent the rest of the day at the police station. The police agreed that the threat appeared to be from the same group that had just been exposed. It was somewhat disturbing to Clark because he had been convinced that all of the leadership of the gang had been identified and arrested. This note meant that there were still enough working operatives that had apparently avoided the round-up to at least make a threat.
The aftereffects of the note were almost as disconcerting as receipt of the note itself had been. The police insisted on providing protection over the next few days for himself, Lois and Lara. Their presence made it difficult for him to get away for Superman activities and, on a couple of occasions, there were emergencies that Superman simply missed. Fortunately, after the second day, Lois, in vintage Mad-Dog-Lane mode, had finally convinced the police that she and Clark could take care of themselves. Part of the source of her success was based on the fact that the history of this gang suggested that there would be no immediate attempt on their lives. The gang had never waited less than a month to follow though on one of these threats.
About the only thing that was different after that first few days was the increase in security for the Planet’s day care center. The management team realized that, in their business, additional security would be a good idea on a full time basis, so that stayed.
It had taken several weeks but Clark was relieved when they were finally able to settle back into a routine. He made sure to be a bit more watchful and insisted that Lois also be more careful in her activities. He had installed a sophisticated security system in their townhouse, but other than that, they got on with their lives.
One continuing point of confusion was the source of the threat. All the evidence that they could find, even with Clark using his powers to the utmost, continued to indicate that the sweep that had preceded their article had successfully beheaded the gang. As near as he could discover, all of the gang’s activities had come to an end that original evening. The "revenge" note was a threat from a group that, by all appearances, no longer existed.
****
They had long since gotten used to the process of picking up Lara and the high-security procedures had become routine. After they had their daughter, they headed back to the elevator for the journey to the parking garage.
Clark was playing with Lara in the elevator when it arrived at the correct floor. As they started from the elevator to their car, Lara, who had just begun to walk, wanted to play “chase me” with her dad. There was ample opportunity to play since, as was their habit, their car was located in a lightly used area at one edge of the garage near an outside wall. This had proven to provide a convenient exit route for times that Superman needed to make an aerial departure. For Clark, the trip to the car was a meandering path full of Lara-led circles and loops.
Clark noticed that Lois’s footsteps had stopped and as he looked up to see her smiling at them he heard her say, "I used to think that all I had to worry about was the occasional blonde. Now I find you chasing younger women."
As Clark considered a reply, Lois inserted the key into the car door. Instantaneously, the car disintegrated in a ball of flame.
It wasn't a normal “kill the occupant” car bomb. This was an "erase all traces of their existence" bomb. For one horrified instant Clark froze. His first instinct was to use super speed to protect Lois. But she was on the other side of the vehicle and in just that instant she had already been engulfed in the terrible explosion. In that fraction of a second Clark saw the light of his life go out.
But he quickly remembered that he had another concern. The explosion shock wave was heading toward Lara but had not reached her yet. Clark was able to make use of that super speed and protect Lara by shielding her with his own body.
As strong as the explosion was it was nothing to Clark. Shrapnel from the explosion pummeled his back and some of his clothes were torn, but Lara was safely shielded as the explosion shock wave passed.
Lara was crying and Clark didn't know how to comfort her. They had both lost the light of their lives’ and it was his fault. He was Lois’s husband! He was Superman. He had failed to protect the most important person in the universe. He couldn't move. If he could move, why bother? Without Lois, there was nowhere to go.
It only took a second for the tears to start. All he could do was hold Lara and try to provide some comfort as best he could. He was crouched on the floor of the garage building in the midst of the aftermath of the explosion with Lara still in his arms. His eyes were still closed and in that instant he couldn't imagine ever wanting to open them again. He couldn't help muttering very quietly...
This can't be…
No…
She's gone…
I'm sorry Lois.
The whole world was spinning. After the roar of the explosion, that might as well have ended his own life, Clark was oblivious to everything but holding his daughter while dealing with the million tons of grief that had just fallen on him.
Through his grief he felt a light touch on his shoulder and heard the impossible.
"Clark?"
His head popped up and a miracle occurred. Lois was standing right in front of him. Faster than thought he was standing and they were all in a three-way hug.
After an eternity of bliss in Lois's arms, Clark finally muttered, "I'd thought I'd lost you. How?"
"Clark, I don't know. The car blew up right in my face. I should be dead. Clark, I... I barely felt it."
Clark stepped back to get a better look at Lois. Most of her clothes were blown away and she was actually clothed in nothing more than tattered rags. He quickly removed his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"Honey, I don't know what happened but I think it would be best if we were somewhere else until we figure out what to do. How would you feel about a quick trip to Smallville?"
Lois nodded. The proximity of the outside edge of the parking building again proved valuable as a convenient exit. Clark gathered them both together and did a super speed exit skyward.
** Chapter 8 **
Martha Kent wasn’t sure if she believed in luck so much as she believed in fate. She certainly wasn’t about to complain about any lack of luck in her life, but she had long since been convinced that fate seemed to play a much larger role in her life than simple luck. She often thought that her life was ever so much more interesting than her friends and neighbors could ever believe or even imagine.
She was highly intelligent and possessing of many of the gifts that made other women, such as her daughter-in-law, a force to be reckoned with. At one time she had visualized a career and possibly even fame spreading out before her. However, fate intervened and she fell in love with a simple farmer.
When she first met Jonathan Kent, she was determined that any life with him was not for her. He was nice enough and a good man but she had plans. Martha had been genuinely surprised with herself when she had even agreed to go out on a date with him. When that first evening was over, she had ended up having a wonderful time and realized that she felt an affinity with Jonathan that she had never felt before. Since she knew that her plans called for a completely different life than she would be able to share with Jonathan, he seemed a convenient and safe diversion. As she had no intention of this relationship going anywhere, she was free to relax and enjoy herself in his company.
In retrospect she should have seen his proposal coming. By the time it happened, they had been going together steadily for many months. When, from her perspective, Jonathan had proposed right out of the blue, she had been in shock. Afterwards, she was certain that “What! Of course not!” was probably not the response Jonathan deserved. Her immediate reaction had been to stay as far away from him as possible until she could leave Smallville. This changed when she learned that his reaction to her rejection was to use his tractor to drive around his farm plowing up snow. She hadn’t meant to hurt him so badly and was worried that if he didn’t stop he would end up with pneumonia.
Their second round of dating was intended to be low key. She just wanted Jonathan to know that she liked him but wasn’t interested in more. This time his proposal was again a surprise but not nearly so much of a shock. She was really proud that her response was a so much more reasonable, “Jonathan, I like you very much but I can’t marry you.” However, the result was disturbingly similar. She was at home feeling miserable and Jonathan was out plowing snow again. This time she resolved to let him freeze. After a few days she was very disturbed to realize that their prolonged separation was hurting her also. Finally, for both their sakes, she went over to the Kent farm and dragged him off that darn tractor again.
The third time she rejected his proposal, she wasn’t nearly so confident. By then she had realized that, like it or not, he might be a permanent fixture in her future. This was the first time where they continued to talk after she said her oh so gentle, “Jonathan, you’re very important to me but marrying you just isn’t in my plans.” The next day when she learned that he was out plowing snow again, she suspected he was only doing that as part of a game to see how long it took her to come over and get him off of the tractor. Sure enough, shortly thereafter she had him off the tractor.
There was a fourth time…
The fifth time she said “Yes.”
Much later, after receiving the news that they couldn’t have children, Martha was devastated. By now she was committed to Jonathan and being a farmer’s wife. They had built a wonderful house that was designed with children in mind. During this period of time, Martha had become convinced that fate was truly conspiring against her. She was correct about fate having special plans for her, but not at all in the way that she thought during those dark times. Little did she know that fate had carved out an extraordinarily unique path for both herself and Jonathan.
As for Jonathan and his view on luck, he always had and always would see himself as a simple farmer. However, the woman that he adored had agreed to marry him *after* saying “No” four times. His son was a world famous hero. His daughter-in-law was a world renowned journalist. And he had a beautiful new granddaughter. Jonathan Kent thought he was the luckiest man on Earth!
This particular afternoon Martha had been going about her normal routine. Since the arrival of Lara, these activities had become even more of a genuine pleasure. Moving around the house and doing chores had become a constant reminder of how wonderful her life had turned out. Lois and Clark were visiting far more often since her granddaughter had been born and signs of their presence were everywhere. In many ways the Kent farmhouse had almost become a second home for her son’s family.
It was late in the afternoon and she was beginning to think in terms of Jonathan being done with his chores for the day and what to do for supper, when she was suddenly overcome with a wave of despair. It was as if a still, cold air mass suddenly filled the house. Martha was so shaken that she simply had to sit for a moment in the living room. After less than a minute, the feeling left as quickly as it had come. Even though she felt better now that the phantom cold had cleared, Martha decided to simply wait and recover for another few minutes. She had picked up a “Metalworking in Art” magazine and was reading an article on the use and welding of nonferrous metals when she heard a knock on the kitchen door.
Martha got up quickly and headed for the kitchen. It was probably one of the neighbors just stopping by for a late afternoon visit. As she entered the kitchen she saw that Clark had come in and she could see Lois just behind Clark.
Bursting into a huge smile, Martha said, "What a wonderful surprise. To what do I owe this chance to see my family?"
As Martha looked on, Clark stepped to one side so that Martha could get a better look at Lois. She was amazed at what she saw. Underneath Clark’s business jacket, Lois’s clothes were a mess. She looked as if she had been in some kind of accident or fire.
"My God Lois, are you okay?" Martha exclaimed.
She stepped up to Lois and held her a comforting hug. As Martha held Lois in her arms she was struck by the strong chemical or gunpowder-like smell that seemed to be all over her daughter-in-law. From over her shoulder Martha heard Clark say, "Hi, Dad. I'll explain later but could you please take Lara to the other room and play with her for a few minutes. I promise we'll fill you in later."
Martha turned to see Jonathan scooped up Lara and head for the other room. As Jonathan left the room with Lara, she asked her children, "Clark, Lois what happened? Lois, what happened to your clothes?"
Clark replied, "Mom, we don't know for sure. Our car blew up and Lois was right there."
Martha focused her attention on Lois. "Lois honey, are you alright? Your clothes look like you were very close to the explosion."
"Martha, I was *in* the explosion. It went off right in my face and Clark was on the other side of the car." Lois took a deep breath. "I thought I was dead."
Martha could sense that Lois was near collapse. "Why don't we go upstairs and get you cleaned up and replace those clothes. Clark, while Lois and I are busy, please go talk to your father and let him know what happened."
Martha went up the stairs with her arm around Lois. Martha could see that the younger woman was still a bit shaken up. As they reached the top of the stairs she turned to her daughter and suggested, “Lois, why don’t you soak in the bathtub for a while. It will help you relax and give you a chance to get that bomb smell off.”
“Martha, that sounds wonderful. Let me go to our room and get some fresh clothes.” Lois said.
“Lois, I’ll pick you out some clothes. Let’s just get you in the tub.”
She herded Lois into the bathroom. Martha got the water started while Lois removed the rags that, just a few minutes earlier, had been her business suit. She was sure that Lois would want the water to be pretty much as hot as she could stand it and adjusted it accordingly. Given that Lois was still covered with bomb stuff, Martha added a generous helping of bubble bath to the water. After a minute she stepped back so that Lois could get into the tub while it continued to fill.
“You just relax and I’ll be back in just a minute with some clothes. Is there anything special you’d like me to get?”
“No Martha. Whatever you find will be fine.” Lois said as she stepped into the warm water.
It only took Martha a minute to put together a suitable outfit based on what was in Lois and Clark’s room. By the time she returned to the bathroom, the tub was full and Lois was soaking with her eyes closed.
“Here you go,” Martha said as she set down the bundle of clothes. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“No, thank you. But could you ask Clark to come up? I’d like to talk to him.”
“I’ll do that.” Martha replied. “Would you like me to have him wait so you can wash a bit? You still have bomb soot on your face.”
This seemed to remind Lois of her condition and she suddenly looked about for some soap. “Martha, I didn’t even think of how I must look. Please ask Clark to wait just a few minutes and then come up.”
As she descended the stairs, she could hear Clark talking to Jonathan, “…just don’t know quite what happened. We were expecting that there might be some sort of attempt on our lives but today we just got caught off-guard. The explosion was…” Clark paused for a moment. “It was just horrible. I saw shards of metal from the car door hit Lois as the explosion engulfed her. For a minute, I was sure I’d lost her. I’ve never felt anything like that before. Dad, for that moment I didn’t know how I would go on.” And at barely above a whisper, Clark added “I didn’t want to go on.”
Jonathan saw her at the bottom of the stairs and jumped at the chance to change to something more positive. “Is Lois okay?”
Martha replied, “She seems fine. Clark, she wanted you to give her a minute to get cleaned up and then come see her. So, what can you tell me?”
Clark first glanced in the general direction of the upstairs bathroom then said, “Mom, I don’t really know. That explosion was huge and Lois was right in the middle of it.”
“Clark, from the way you describe the explosion, it sounds like it was the kind of thing that only you could survive unhurt.” Jonathan said.
“Dad, I know. The only explanation that seems to fit just doesn’t make any sense.” Clark replied.
“Ultra Woman” Martha said.
They were all quiet for a few seconds when Clark finally broke the silence, “Yes. But how?”
Clark again looked in the direction of the bathroom and said, “She seems ready for me now. Please excuse me.” He took just a second to squeeze Lara’s hand and headed up the stairs and disappeared from view.
“Martha, what do you think is going on?” Jonathan asked.
“It has to be another Ultra Woman kind of thing. I don’t know how it happened since Clark still has his powers. But if that explosion was as strong as Clark says, then we’ve been truly blessed.” Martha paused for a moment. “Honey, I had the strangest feeling just before they arrived. Clark said that for a minute he thought Lois was dead. I think I felt it too.”
At this Jonathan’s head jerked up, “Me too! A few minutes before they arrived I was working in the barn and all of the sudden I just felt miserable. I had to sit down.”
Martha stepped over and engulfed her husband in a hug. “I guess we’re all caught up in Clark’s Kryptonian telepathy a little bit.”
Martha took Lara in her arms, “Are you going to be doing that someday too little one?” She turned to Jonathan and suggested, “Why don’t we take advantage of some time with our granddaughter?” and headed into the room where Lara’s toys were located.
Martha had been playing with Lara for only a few minutes when Clark reappeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Lois is fine. She’ll be down in a minute and we can all talk then. Is Lara doing okay?”
Jonathan replied, “Clark, she seems fine. You’d never know that she was right next to an explosion only about half an hour ago.”
That got Martha thinking, “Clark, does anyone in Metropolis know that you are all alive?”
Clark’s eyes went wide, “No! Oh my goodness, I need to make some calls.”
He bolted into the other room and presently you could hear that he was talking to someone on the phone. After about ten minutes he came back into the room.
“Thanks Mom. With everything that happened I’d completely forgot about that. I called Lucy and Perry and asked them to pass the word along to Lois’s parents, Jimmy Olsen and any of our other close friends that would feel especially upset. I also called Inspector Henderson of the Metropolis Police Department. I told him that we had all managed to escape the explosion and were fine but in hiding. He was a little put out that I wouldn’t tell him where we are but Bill’s a good guy and he can understand that for now we would want to stay hidden. He really needed to know that we were okay. If he started an investigation and only found out later that we were alive but didn’t report in, we might never be able to get him to trust us again.”
Just as Clark finished this explanation, Martha saw Lois at the top of the stairs. Clark moved quickly to meet Lois at the bottom of the stairs and took her in her arms. They looked at each other for a moment and shared a single emotion-filled kiss. Under other circumstances Martha might have felt embarrassed at watching such an overt display of affection but these were anything but ordinary times.
After a minute Lois and Clark turned to Martha and Jonathan and Clark said, “I guess we need to figure out what to do.”
Martha asked, “Do you think you know what happened?”
Lois replied, “Well… Yes. As near as we can tell I’m super powered again.” Lois smiled, “I guess Ultra Woman is back.”
“Are you sure?” Jonathan asked. “You seem to have invulnerability, thank goodness, but what about the rest of the powers?”
Lois looked at Martha, “Martha, when you filled the bath tub, was the water hot?”
“Yes. I thought you would want it hot.” Martha said.
“Yes, I did. Thank you. But when I got in, it didn’t feel that hot. When you went to get my clothes, I tried turning up the heat. I ended up with the water on full hot and it never felt any warmer. At first I thought you just didn’t have any hot water, but then later, when you were all talking down here, I realized that I could hear everything you were saying perfectly clearly. Then, when I concentrated, I could look right through the walls and floor and see you.” Lois turned to Clark, “I could see Clark checking on me while I washed.”
As Clark blushed, Lois continued, “At that point I figured that most of the powers were in place so I tried heating up the water with heat vision. When the bath water started boiling, and it didn’t bother me, I was sure that both heat vision and invulnerability were in place. While I was getting dressed I tried out this…” and Lois levitated about a foot off of the floor. She continued from her levitated position, “So that seems to take care of everything but super strength and I’ll test it later. I suspect it will be there too.”
Martha realized she was staring at Lois open-mouthed. Then she looked back and forth between Lois and Clark, “How is this possible? When did it happen?”
Clark responded, “Mom. We just don’t know. Until the explosion we didn’t notice anything.”
At this point Jonathan spoke up, “Lois, would you please come down. It’s a bit disconcerting to talk to you with you floating in the air like that.”
Lois blushed and dropped suddenly to the floor, “Sorry. Once you’re up there it can be easy to forget.”
Clark mumbled, “Tell me about it,” and squeezed Lois’s hand.
Lois continued, "The only thing that comes to mind is that ever since Lara was born I've felt very healthy. My feeling is that the powers have been developing slowly for some time. I think I fell back into the habits I developed while I was Ultra Woman of being careful about the extra strength without really noticing what I was doing."
Lois turned to her husband and said, “Clark, we’ve talked about some of this before. When you are going about your day-to-day activities, do you have to work at not using super powers?”
“No. For everyday tasks I just automatically use normal levels of effort. When I need to do something special, like super strength, I have to make a conscious effort to use the extra power.”
Lois responded, “I think that’s what happened to me. If the extra powers came in slowly, I suspect that I was making subconscious adjustments in the amount of effort I used for daily activities. Up until today, I haven’t been in a situation where I needed to fly or use extra strength. The extras were just kind of there in the background waiting to surprise me when I needed them.”
Martha stepped over and put her arm around Lois and said. "Lois, under the circumstances we’re all really happy about this surprise."
Lois was thoughtful for a moment. "I guess we need a trip to Star Labs."
Clark went in the other room to call Dr. Klein to ask if they can come in for some important Superman tests. When he returned he said that Bernie would be ready for them in about an hour.
Martha spent most of the next hour playing with Lara. Clark and Lois had gone to an isolated part of the farm to allow Lois to practice using her powers. It was just about an hour later that Lois and Clark got ready to fly back to Metropolis. They had asked if Lara could stay here for a day or two while they dealt with Lois’s powers and the car bombing.
As they prepared to leave, Martha held Lara and listened to what would have to be as impossibly odd as any husband/wife disagreement in the history of mankind.
“Clark, of course I can fly myself. We’ve never flown together like this before. It will be fun”
“Honey, what if your powers fail?”
“They won’t!”
“But they might. What would happen if they did?”
"Would you catch me if I needed help?"
"You know I would."
"So, there's no reason I can't fly myself with you nearby. Right?"
Martha was practically laughing out loud by the time Clark had agreed that there was no real risk.
Yes, fate seems to have always had a special place reserved for Martha, and apparently, all of her family.
****
