Thanks as always to my wonderful betas!
From Chapter 37
“Well, go ahead,” Clark said.
“With what?”
“What? No "I told you so'?” he asked.
“About what?” Lois smiled. “Your parents or Eugene's innocence?”
“Either,” Clark smiled back.
“You don't really need to hear it, do you, Clark? You know you were wrong. Very wrong. And cynical. On both counts. I mean you don't need me to remind you that your mother was not having an affair. And that despite your cynicism, Eugene Laderman was innocent as I said he was. That not only did he not murder Lena's husband, but he also used his knowledge of Henry Harrison to prevent the deployment of a computer virus that would have brought the country to its knees, do you?”
“So you don't feel the need to point any of that out?” he said with a smile.
“As long as you realize that you were wrong and I was right – on both matters, no need,” Lois smiled as she grabbed her coat. “Good night, Clark.”
Clark laughed at the self-satisfied smile on her face. “Good night, Lois.”
Chapter 38
“What's that mean, Mama?” Clark asked his mother. When she did not answer him right away, he turned towards his father. “Daddy?”
“Your mother and I love you very much,” Jonathan said, placing a hand on Clark's head.
“But you said you're not my mother,” Clark turned back to Martha with a pout. “I heard you.”
“I am your mother, Clark,” Martha said, tears shimmering in her eyes. “In every way that's important.”
“But you said…”
“I said that I wasn't your birth mother,” Martha explained gently. “Someone else gave birth to you. But that doesn't mean I'm not your mother.”
“I don't understand. Isn't that what Mamas do? Didn't Pete's Mama give birth to him?”
Martha nodded her head. “Sometimes mothers give birth to you and take care of you, but sometimes one Mama gives birth to you and another takes care of you.”
“So, I have an extra Mama?” Clark asked.
Jonathan smiled. “Exactly.”
“So, where is she?” Clark asked.
Martha sighed.
“Sometimes, son, Mamas don't feel like they can take care of their babies, so they give them to someone else who can. They do that "cause they love them so much they want to make sure they have a good life,” Jonathan said.
“And my mama did that?”
“Yes,” Martha said, leaning over to grab Clark and hold him close. “She gave you to us to love and take care of.”
“Mama?” Clark asked, pulling away. “Why didn't she want me?”
“She did, honey,” Martha said firmly. “She just wanted to make sure you were well taken care of.”
Clark nodded, although he did not really understand. It sounded like his first mama had not wanted him. She had just left him for Mama and Daddy to find. Why would she do that? Had he been a bad baby?
***********************
A bright light woke Superman up from a deep sleep. He looked around, not knowing what it was, when the image appeared in front of him. “My name is Jor-El,” the voice came from the hologram.
Superman wondered – should he go into Clark's room or wait? Would Clark rather be alone? He decided that he should probably wait until the message played out and then go to Clark's room. Clark was probably freaked out enough right now, coming into his room in the middle of the night while he was focusing on the hologram would probably not be that helpful.
***********************
“My name is Jor-El,” came the voice from the hologram. Clark stood stock still in the middle of his bedroom floor. He had never imagined that the globe he had taken from his spaceship in the Bureau 39 warehouse would do this. How was it doing it? What was it? The man had the “S” symbol on his shirt. Were they related?
“And you are my son, Kal-El,” the man continued, unknowingly answering Clark's question. “The object you hold has been attuned to you. That you now hear these words is proof that you survived the journey in space and have reached your full maturity.”
It was his father. His birth father. From Krypton. Clark could feel himself shaking.
Clark watched the hologram, feeling like he was inside it, like he was right next to his father and his mother, Lara, as they worked on something in the lab. It was not clear what, but from the tone to Jor-El's voice and his words, it was clear that it was important and they were short on time.
The lab they were in shook as they worked and Jor-El and Lara clung to each other before the image faded away.
***********************
“Clark?” the voice from the doorway was soft. Clark was still staring at the globe in his hands, even though it had stopped glowing.
“Kal-El?” he said softly. Then turning towards Superman, he asked, “My name is Kal-El?”
Superman nodded.
“What happened to them? Why did they send me here?” Clark asked, but knew immediately from the look on Superman's face that he was not going to tell him.
“I'm sorry, Clark. But you'll know soon.”
Clark could feel himself get frustrated. He had wondered for so long… but he took a deep breath. No doubt, Superman had wondered, too, and no one had been around who could tell him what had happened. It was not like Superman had not told him the score multiple times now. He knew Superman would not give him information before he was supposed to find it on his own.
***********************
“But why now?” Martha asked over lunch the next afternoon. “You've had the globe for months, why did you suddenly see the hologram last night?”
“I don't know, Mom,” Clark shrugged. Then he remembered – In my world, I decided to become Superman, and arrived on the scene at the same time I did here tonight, but you did not, and according to calculations from the Guardians, even if you did, it would be too difficult for you. That was what Superman had said when he first showed up. It would be “too difficult” for him to take on Superman.
“Jor-El said that the globe spoke to me as I had reached full maturity. Maybe I hadn't before?” Clark wondered if that was true, though. If it was, did that mean that he had now? Was he ready to take on being Superman? He did not feel any more ready than he had yesterday.
“Jor-El and what was her name?” Jonathan asked.
“Lara.”
“Right, Lara. Any memory of them?”
Clark shook his head. “No, I don't remember anything about Krypton at all.”
“How do you feel?” Martha asked, placing a hand over Clark's.
“I don't know,” Clark said honestly. “Scared, excited, and overwhelmed. I've had so many questions all this time about my birth parents. It's weird to think I'm suddenly going to get answers.”
“You need to keep in mind that you may not get all the answers you want, Clark,” Jonathan cautioned.
“I know, Dad. But Jor-El said that I'd have five messages. It seems like I'll learn more than I know now. Anything will be good. Just to know…” Clark's voice trailed off.
“To know what?” Martha asked.
“To know why they sent me here,” Clark said. Then seeing the looks on his parents' faces, he clarified. “Not that I'm not glad they did. But just…”
“It's not about us,” Jonathan said.
Clark smiled. “It is about you. I want to know why they chose you. I mean I know why they chose you if they had to choose someone. But why did they have to choose? Why did they send me away? Even if they sent me here.”
***********************
“What?” Lois asked as she saw Clark get off the phone. “What is it?”
Clark shook his head as he grabbed his jacket. “My apartment's been broken in to,” he told her as he walked towards the elevator.
“Wait!” Lois called after him. “I'll go with you.” She was struggling into the arms of her jacket as she ran after him. “Jimmy,” she said to the younger man as she passed his desk, “tell Perry that I finally had a break in my story, the human interest angle to the increased crime rate he'd been asking for.”
“CK's apartment?” Jimmy called after her. “Isn't that a little… predatory?”
Lois glared at him as she reached the elevator. “There's no reason I can't be there for a friend while I develop my human interest angle.”
She finally caught up to Clark in the lobby. “Come on, I'll drive you,” she offered.
“Thanks, Lois,” he said, clearly distracted.
“I'm sure it will be fine. I mean what were they going to steal? Some books?” Lois asked as they got into her Jeep.
“What if they found… I don't know. But some evidence that Superman lived there?” Clark asked her.
Lois' face fell. She had not considered that. It was not just Clark's place that had been broken into – it was Superman's. “That poor man,” she said.
“What?”
“Superman. His place was just broken into. He'll feel so violated,” Lois explained to Clark.
Clark's look almost made Lois slam into the car in front of her as she pulled up to a stoplight. She had never seen him look so… angry at her. “Thanks, Lois. I appreciate the ride, but I think I'll walk from here.” He opened the car door and stepped onto the sidewalk before the light had changed.
“Wait! Clark!” Lois called after him. “I didn't mean it like that,” she mumbled to herself when Clark did not turn around.
***********************
“It's gone,” Clark said as he stood in the middle of his bedroom. He did a fast scan with his x-ray vision, hoping it had just been carelessly tossed onto the floor and rolled away, but it was no where to be found.
“What's gone?” Lois asked and Clark looked up, surprised to see her. He had not thought she would follow him after he had left the car.
“Nothing,” he said curtly. “What are you doing here anyway? Don't you want to check to see what they did to his room?”
Lois flushed. “Clark,” she said imploringly as she moved closer and put a hand on his arm, “I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Obviously you are going to feel the same way.”
“Thanks for noticing,” Clark said, as he brushed past her to move to Superman's room.
“Clark, I really am sorry. I…”
“It's okay, Lois,” Clark said, realizing that he was taking his frustrations on the robbery out on her.
“Well, you just need to understand. I'm in love with Superman so…”
Clark, who had started to head back out to the living room and on to Superman's room, spun around. “You're what?”
Lois flushed again. “I'm… in love with Superman?” she said, her voice soft.
“I see,” Clark said and then without another word, he turned around and went back to what he was doing.
***********************
Lois felt awful. How could she have been so insensitive? She cared about Clark – a lot. She loved him. Not like Superman, she was not in love with him, but she did love him. It was true that her feelings for the superhero had made her feel more sympathy for him than for Clark, but she realized that was unfair. Clark was affected by the break-in just as much as Superman – in the end more, since they had not found the secret compartment and so not much damage had been done to Superman's room. Since they did not want anyone to know that Superman was living there, aside from the secret compartment, the room was empty of anything aside from a bed and a night table with an alarm clock on it. Superman had decorated the walls with some pictures that were destroyed, but all in all, he had less stuff than Clark to get stolen and damaged in the robbery.
She had to do something to get Clark to forgive her, but she had no idea what to do. She knew something was missing from his bedroom that meant a lot to him. If she could figure out what it was, maybe she could replace it for him? Knowing Clark, though, it was something sentimental and irreplaceable.
Then she smiled. “Clark,” she called out to her partner, who sat at his desk looking forlorn. He looked up at her, but did not respond. “Come on. I know someone who may be able to help you get your stuff back.”
“Nothing was taken from his room, Lois,” Clark said.
Lois flushed and then moved over to his desk. “I know that. But something was missing from yours. Don't you want to recover it?”
“Is this some angle for your story?” Clark asked.
“No,” Lois said softly. “Clark. Please. I'm so sorry. You have to forgive me. Let me help you.”
***********************
“Who is this guy?” Clark asked clearly not sure he should forgive Lois just because she was introducing him to Louie.
“He's… a friend of a friend,” Lois said.
“What friend?” Clark asked, looking around the dingy pool bar.
Lois smiled. “Remember Chad?”
“Your first boyfriend?” Clark asked.
“Yeah. Louie was his next door neighbor and his daughter Ashley was a year ahead of us in high school.”
“You still keep in touch with your next door neighbor from when you were growing up?” Clark asked.
“What? You don't?” Lois asked him.
“That's different. My parents haven't moved. And… well, it's Smallville. But if the Irigs moved, I don't think I'd still talk to them.”
“Well, maybe not everyone in the big city is more cold and unfriendly than you small-towners after all,” Lois said with a grin.
“Really?” Clark said, disbelieving. “How many other old neighbors do you keep in touch with? Or better yet – can you name two people who live in your building now? And the super doesn't count,” Clark asked.
“Um… well, there's the guy with the blond hair who always wears pajamas and the Chinese guy who likes acid rock and plays it all night long,” Lois said.
“Their names?” Clark asked.
“Okay, fine!” Lois snapped. “But Louie's a helpful source. You should be appreciative of my keeping in touch with him. He's going to get your stuff back.”
“If you say so,” Clark said, still feeling doubtful.
***********************
“They didn't get into the secret compartment,” Clark told Superman as the superhero landed on the balcony and came in later. “So, they don't know you're here.”
Superman nodded. “That's good. I'm sorry about the globe, Clark.”
Clark shook his head. “Just another in a long line of disappointments today,” he mumbled.
“What? What else happened?”
“You mean besides the apartment being trashed and my things stolen? Well, Lois told me she was in love with you.”
“She what?” Superman asked surprised. Had his Lois felt that way this soon? Although now that he thought about it, it was probably only about a month or a month and a half until the Lex proposal thing, so perhaps she had. Of course, she had not told him that.
“She said she was in love with you,” Clark replied matter-of-factly.
“She's not,” Superman said. “I mean, maybe she thinks she is, but… she's not,” he finished lamely.
“Whatever,” Clark said. “I need to go take care of some things.”
“Clark,” Superman said as Clark turned to leave. He felt awful. Clark must be devastated. “I'm sorry. Really.”
“I know,” Clark nodded his head. “I know you've been trying to keep your distance from her and I appreciate it. I guess it's just hard to blend in when you're wearing brightly colored tights,” he gave a small smile.
***********************
Lois handed over the container of duck a'la orange and crème brûlée. “So, where is it?” she asked sourly. The duck smelled fantastic and the crème brûlée was browned just right.
Bobby gave her a dirty look. “Stop salivating over my food and I'll tell you.”
Lois schooled her features to look more serene. She normally would not let Bobby get away with that, even if he was one of her best sources, but today she was desperate. She needed to do something so that Clark would forgive her.
“There's a bookstore on the corner of 3rd and Palm. They have both the books you mentioned. Tell Clark I want something out of the Julia Child one,” Bobby told her.
“Thanks,” Lois said dryly. Like she was buying Clark a cookbook so that he would be able to prepare food for Bobby Bigmouth.
***********************
“Here,” Lois said, shoving the package at Clark.
He gave her a quizzical look, but took it from her. Unwrapping it, he smiled. “Lois?”
“Okay, okay. I know. A first edition of Alice in Wonderland is sort of stupid, but it was the best I could do on short notice. I know you had a lot of that kind of thing and I'm guessing many got ruined or stolen in the robbery, so I thought I'd help you rebuild the collection. Anyway, that's why I got you the Julia Child book, too. I'm not really sure if you like cookbooks and you're already a fantastic cook, but…”
“Thanks, Lois,” Clark said, his voice soft. “I love them. Both.” He reached out to pull her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “I really appreciate the thought.”
“So,” Lois asked, pulling her head away from his chest to look up at him. “Does this mean I'm forgiven?”
Clark laughed. “Yeah, I think it does,” he said, releasing her.
“Good,” Lois said. “So you'll help me with my article? I think it might be too wordy.”
