Hello all!
This has been a long time coming. I wish someone had warned me that writing a sequel could be much harder than the original. (I guess I could have asked.
) I hope this turns out to be at least reasonably entertaining.
-------------------------------------------
The Return of Ultra Woman
By bobbart -- Bob Bartholomew <bobbart_99@yahoo.com>
Rated: PG
Written: 2009
Disclaimer: This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I have no claim on the pre-existing characters whatsoever, nor am I profiting by their use. The new characters and story elements are mine. No infringement is intended by this work.
Note: This is a sequel to
Luck and Consequences and the 4th part of
First Flights . This story will be best understood by reading those first. There are also references to the incidents of
Santa Surprise . If you are unfamiliar with the story and want something of a quick-start background, I recommend part 4 of First Flights: 1999 – Beginnings.
Chapter 1
It’s late in Smallville. To an outside observer, I’m sure that this looks just like an evening in any other household with members of a family sitting and talking together. In many ways, the normalcy is only a veneer. The rustic hominess of the Kent farmhouse seems somehow inconsistent with the fact that two of the four adults in the room are the most powerful beings on the planet. The fact that I’m one of those two beings is an idea that I still have trouble getting my head around.
Clark and I have been here in the Kent home for only a few minutes. My husband arrived before I did after having lost a game of super-speed flying tag that had zigzagged across much of the North American continent. When I came in a few moments ago, I found the Kent family deep in the middle of a discussion concerning the potentials for tomorrow’s weather. I barely worry about the day-to-day weather in Metropolis and fear that I’m even less interested in the Smallville forecast.
Within moments the discussion comes to a pause. I don’t know if there was a sense that I was being left out or if they simply exhausted the discussion potential for tomorrow’s weather. In any case, it’s Jonathan, ever the most cautious and practical of the family that turns to me and asks, “Wasn’t it dangerous for you to be out flying with Clark here? I seem to remember some concern about the possibility of your powers failing.”
I glance at Clark only briefly before replying. “No, it wasn’t. Earlier this evening we got the results of the tests that Bernie did at Star Labs. My powers are permanent this time.”
Jonathan doesn’t seem to expect this result and just sort of freezes. It’s Martha that recovers more quickly and comes back with a question. “Honey, are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I am. But it really doesn’t matter, because there’s nothing I can do about it now.”
I’m about to start trying to explain all that stuff about biofields and Kryptonian Elements, but before I can even begin, Clark jumps in. Based on the confident tone he uses as he outlines the science, I almost get the impression that he’s been spending extra time with Bernie Klein. After a few minutes he concludes with, “So you see, once there was a self-sustaining concentration of the KEs in Lois’s system, it was only a matter of time before she developed powers just like mine.”
Then I add my final observation. “Since there’s no way to remove the KE’s, there’s no going back. The way Bernie Klein put it was that now I’m just as Kryptonian as Clark.”
Jonathan looked startled. “The way you two describe it, having these KEs in your system sounds like some kind of disease.”
Clark laughs at this. “Actually, it does sound a lot like that. In some ways, the KEs are like an infection that can be transmitted from one person to another. I guess it’s a good thing that this particular ‘disease’ is very, very hard to catch. Bernie thinks that it was a near thing for Lois to end up with a KE infection even being married to me and carrying a Kryptonian baby.”
“So Lois, you said that you are okay with this but… well, I’d think you would be having more of a reaction than that.” Martha says.
“That’s the weird part,” I reply. “I suppose I should be excited or scared or something… I don’t know – more intense than what I’m feeling. But it all feels surprisingly natural. What I do know is that I’m happy about it.” I glance over at Clark and find myself smiling before I continue. “One of the great things about our relationship is that Clark and I are able to share so much. This just opens up more things that we can share. And when the time comes, I’ll be able to help with that part of Lara’s life too.”
“Are you sure that Lara is going to have powers as well?” Jonathan asks.
“There’s really very little doubt about that now,” Clark replies. “Based on what Bernie was able to learn from this latest round of tests, he believes that anyone who can sustain KEs in their system will develop powers. We think that Lara will get her powers at about the same rate that I did growing up.” Then he reaches over to me and takes my hand in his. “Lois having the powers should be a big help for Lara.”
Martha takes advantage of a pause in the discussion to up at a clock. “I know it’s probably early for you but it’s about time for Jonathan and me to think about heading for bed. Are you staying here tonight?”
It’s only 10:30 but that means 11:30 Metropolis time. “I didn’t realize that it was this late. We’re off tomorrow so there’s no reason to wake Lara to take her home now. We can stay the night and then fly home in the morning.” I make eye contact with my husband. “Is that okay with you?”
“That’ll be fine,” Clark says. He then turns to Martha and asks, “Speaking of Lara, how was she this evening? Has she been asleep long?”
Martha’s smile gets even bigger than normal as she talks about her granddaughter. “Lara went to bed about an hour before you arrived. She was fine today and seems very comfortable here with just her grandparents. Once it got dark, she did look for the two of you a few times, but was generally quite happy. Are you going to go up and see her?”
“We’ll look in on her when we go up to bed,” I reply. “I’d rather let her sleep and if she does wake up during the night we’ll be right there.”
“Then we’ll say goodnight now,” Jonathan says as he lifts himself out of his chair.
Almost as if that were a cue, the rest of us stand in unison and Clark addresses his parents, “You two go on up. I’ll close up down here and then Lois and I are also heading for bed. Goodnight.”
The rest of us head for the staircase as Clark starts turning out lights.
***~~~***
When I finally come downstairs the next morning with Lara in my arms, I can tell that Martha is surprised at the lateness of the hour. It’s nearly 8:00 am and between the time difference from Metropolis and her knowledge of my habits, I suspect that she had expected to see me at least an hour earlier.
“Good morning Lois, I hope you slept well,” Martha says in a cheery tone.
“Um… yeah, I slept well.”
Martha picks up on my nervousness immediately. “Lois, is something wrong? Is Lara okay?”
I try to reply in a more casual tone. “No. Lara is fine. Nothing’s wrong.”
She seems to relax at this. “Good. You look so… I don’t know, nervous. And with that loud crash last night I couldn’t help but wonder.”
I almost jump at the question. “Crash?” I ask. So much for my casual tone.
“You had to have heard it. It was just before midnight when Jonathan and I were woken up by a huge crashing noise. It really sounded like something hit the house. If Clark wouldn’t have been home, I’m sure Jonathan would have gone outside to look around. But back when Clark lived at home, whenever anything like this would happen, Clark would always just use his vision to look outside and let us know if there was anything to worry about. Since Clark didn’t say anything we just went back to sleep. Lois, that noise was so loud that you must have heard it.”
Now I’m sure that I look more nervous than ever. I feel like I should be looking for a place to hide. Martha picks up on my reaction and asks, “Honey, what’s the matter?”
I feel my expression melt into a sheepish smile. “Clark didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Well… Martha we’re really sorry.”
“I don’t understand. Sorry about what?”
“That noise last night. Well, it was us.”
Now she’s really confused. “Did you drop something?”
“No.” I can tell that I’m sounding defensive again.
“Were you… Oh honey, are you floating in your sleep now too? Clark used to do that all the time. Before he really mastered flying, sometimes he would wake up and fall. Is that what happened?”
That’s something that I haven’t thought about yet. “No. But I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“So Lois, what happened?”
I can feel myself turning beet red. In a very quiet voice I answer, “We broke the bed.”
“Lois!”
She looks startled at my revelation and I realize what she must be thinking. “No, Martha! Not like that!”
For an instant, Martha just stares at me. Then, she starts laughing softly. At seeing her reaction, I start chuckling myself.
“Lois, I’ve never seen you turn so red so fast. So, if it wasn’t… that, what happened?”
“This was our first night that we felt really relaxed since all this began and well… one thing led to another and pretty soon we were… well, wrestling on the bed.”
She gives me a sarcastic look. “Wrestling?”
“Well, yes. There was also some chasing around the room and a bit of tickling mixed in. At one point he got away from me and was on one side of the bed while I was on the other. I decided to use some super speed to catch him. That worked, but I ended up pushing him toward the bed and – he landed sort of hard. That was when the bed broke. Anyway, we’re really sorry. Clark is going to fix the bed before we leave today.”
***~~~***
A few hours later everyone is gathered over lunch. Between getting a later start than expected, and the time it took for Clark to fix, and reinforce, the bed, we had decided to head back to Metropolis after our midday meal.
Lara is in a high chair and gleefully doing many things with her food other than eating it, when Jonathan finally brings up the subject that everyone has been so skillfully avoiding all morning. “Lois, do you have any plans for your new – abilities?”
“I don’t know. I guess I should be thinking about it, but I just keep finding excuses to avoid the issue.”
I reach to Clark and take his hand in mine. I look into his eyes for a few seconds before I get the courage to speak the words that I’ve been so afraid to say. “I don’t think I want to be Ultra Woman again.”
Clark looks a little surprised. “Honey, did you think you had to?”
“Well last time I had the powers, I did the Ultra Woman thing and at some level I guess I feel like I have to do it again now.”
“You know that’s not the way it works. I’m not Superman because I feel like anyone expects me to be. Sometimes I really wish I could stop, but because of the way I feel when I see people in trouble, I just can’t. “
Clark pauses for a moment, and then continues. “Do you remember what happened when you created Ultra Woman?”
I have to think for only a second. I flash a teasing smile at my husband. “You remember. You were there. It all started with that out-of-control truck. I just couldn’t let it crash when I knew I could stop it.”
“I remember,” Clark replies. “But there’s a difference between intervening when something happens right in front of you, and taking on a responsibility like being Ultra Woman. What were you thinking then and what are you feeling now?”
“I’m not exactly sure. I can tell that this feels different. When it happened that time, I kept thinking that I had *your* powers. Deep down I just knew that your powers were meant to be used that way. Somehow, I just felt compelled to fill in for you. Now… well, you still have your powers and are still Superman. Back then, the world needed me because you weren’t available. That’s not the case this time.”
I stand up and start nervously walking around the room. “And, there’s more. I like helping people, but… it was so hard! I still remember the times when I would get there too late.”
As the emotions started bubbling up, I can feel the tears start to flow. Clark moves quickly to engulf me in a gentle hug. After taking a few seconds to compose myself, I’m able to continue. “It hurt so much. I don’t think anyone else can understand how painful it is. It’s so hard to have all those abilities, and still not be able to save everyone every time. And… I’ve also got some other reasons, but I get scared that I’m making up excuses.”
Clark puts a hand on my cheek and brings my face toward his own. “You know I’d never think that.”
I feel like I have to get all my reasons out in the open, so I press on. “Remember ‘The Superman Argument’? I don’t think Lara can afford to have both of us as full time reporters *and* on-call for hero work.”
Martha’s voice actually startles me as she interjects. “Lois, you don’t need to convince Clark or us of what you need to do. It sounds to me like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
Clark added. “Honey, you don’t need to convince me. You’ve been a hero longer than I have, and it has nothing to do with super powers. What you accomplish as a reporter does as much good as I do as Superman. And you’re mostly right about Lara needing you.”
I look at him suspiciously. “Mostly right?”
“Lara and I *both* need you. From my perspective, you already have three very important identities. You’re Lois Lane the reporter, Lois Lane the mother, and Lois Lane my wife. Ultra Woman can stay on whatever planet she went to when she disappeared.”
TBC
Bob
