The Return of Ultra Woman
Chapter 7
It’s amazing how the time has flown by. When I first decided to re-create Ultra Woman, I was worried about having to make my first reappearance in the old hot-pink suit. I’ve had lots of time to look at those pictures from Ultra Woman’s first appearance and looking back, I find it hard to believe I picked out that color in the first place. Yes, it was distracting, and bright colors have been very effective in helping with Clark’s disguise. However, even before I made my first appearance we knew the bright colors weren’t going to be enough in my case. That was why we added the mask at the very end.
During the suit redesign process, Martha has been so easy about everything but the cape. I don’t know where her cape fetish comes from. Perhaps someday, years from now, I’ll try asking Jonathan. Who knew it would be such a big deal? However, once we were done, even Martha has to admit the new suit looks very good.
I was particularly happy to be able to get through the redesign exercise without revealing to anyone else in the family my most personal reason for wanting to upgrade the suit. Someday Lara will know that her mom is Ultra Woman. I have enough fears of dealing with her during her teenage years without having to worry about her constantly reminding me that mom’s super suit is a fashion disaster!
Having Bernie helping with the new suit has also proven to be valuable. When he first asked about the suit change, for some reason I thought he was going to tease me about style or fashion sense. I should have known he wouldn’t do that. His interest was purely professional. He was able to take advantage of his connections in the scientific community to get some very special fabric for both Clark and I to use. The spandex is out and fabric 56KSY7B is in.
Clark only barely got away with wearing the suit as underwear all those years. There is no way I could have done that even if I wanted to. Bernie was able to get fabric 56K and it looks just like the spandex Martha used for Clark’s original costumes. While it looks the same, it’s actually very different. The main property I like is that it’s very sheer. Clark or I can compress the whole suit, except for the boots, into a space the size of a thimble. This enables me to carry the suit around in its compressed form and, when necessary, use super speed and change anywhere. The suit legs are designed to give the illusion of wearing boots. Unless someone looks very carefully right after I change, it will look like I’m in the full uniform. By having a few pairs of boots placed strategically around the city where only Clark and I can reach them, we can change anywhere and in less than a second be in full uniform.
A door opens behind me and Martha comes in. “Are you ready yet?”
I had slipped into muse-mode and sort of lost track of time. I’m still staring in the mirror in Martha’s sewing room. “I don’t know. It was supposed to be so much easier this time.”
“Lois, you look fabulous and besides, it’s just the guys.”
I turn to face her. “Are you sure this is it? I mean, it’s a bit… I don’t know, plain. Maybe we should add something.”
“Honey, this is a great look! I think this looks even better than Clark in his all-black Kryptonian ruler suit.”
Now *that* is a high target to shoot for. “Do you really think so?”
“Absolutely! Now, let’s see what the boys think.”
Martha opens the door and leads the way. I give her a few seconds to get into the front room and sit down then I take a deep breath and stride out. This will be the first chance for Clark or Jonathan to see the new suit. Martha and I didn’t start out trying to keep the new design a secret, but through a combination of chance and circumstance, the re-design was done without input from the men. I walk as confidently as possible into the main room and wait for their reaction.
I get a “Wow!” from Jonathan.
Clark is just staring with his mouth slightly open. I move around a bit and turn so they can see the suit from both sides. I can’t help but smile as I watch Clark’s reaction. I think he likes the look.
The all black uniform Clark wore with the Kryptonians served as the inspiration for this design. Instead of black, I went with a dark purple. I liked the idea of purple and wanted something dark enough so that it wouldn’t look cartoonish. Instead of a separate mask, the suit itself continues up the sides of my neck to create a form-fitting mask that covers my eyes and forehead. The lower part of my face is uncovered and my hair is free. In the first suit, I kept worrying about the mask coming off. This approach makes that impossible. Finally, there is the Superman ‘S’ on the front in the same place as on Clark’s suit. The symbol of the House of El is done in gold against the dark purple of the suit. In fact, it’s the only thing on the suit that isn’t dark purple.
Finally, I just stop in front of my husband. “Clark, say something.”
He seems to fumble for words for a second or two. “Um, wow doesn’t even come close. Lois, you look… Fantastic! Now that I’ve seen this suit, I’m especially glad we decided to make public the fact that we’re married.”
“Does it really look that good?”
Clark stands up and in a second, his arms are around me. I know my husband well enough to have an idea of what’s probably on his mind. He definitely approves of the look.
After a second, he whispers in my ear. “Honey, it’s better than good. When you show up in this… well, I don’t think shooting at you is going to be the first thing that enters the mind of most of the male criminals.”
***~~~***
As I arrive home from Star Labs, Clark greets me with a kiss. “This visit seemed to take a little longer than usual,” he says. “Was there a problem?”
“No. This was my last blood sample and Bernie made a big production out of it. He knew how much I was looking forward to getting past this part of the tests. We did spend a few minutes talking about the test results so far. Based on the data Bernie has collected, my powers are stable. My field intensity thingamajig is the same strength as yours and it’s not changing.”
“Great! So now all we need is a suitable situation for you to make your debut.”
“All of the indications so far are that I’m good to go. There’s no reason to believe there’s any danger of an unexpected loss of powers when I need them. We've cut back my lab visits to once-a-week and that's just to be on the safe side.”
Clark gets a distracted look on his face. “Is there an emergency?” I ask.
“No. Dinner will be ready in a minute,” he says over his shoulder as he hurries back to the kitchen.
I head for the bedroom to wash up for dinner. There are still some issues to take care of before Ultra Woman makes her appearance. I’m still trying to figure out how to tell my parents about the change. Every time I think of an approach, there seems to be something wrong with it. I guess I know it will be fine but… well, it’s just so weird. I just keep seeing it in my head, “Mom, Dad, you know how we were worried that Clark was an alien and I’m human? Well, that’s not a problem any more.”
I think the other weird part has been practicing in front of a mirror. When I was Ultra Woman last time, I was always nervous whenever I made a public appearance. When I asked Clark if he had any idea how to prepare for this, he suggested I approach it just like practicing for a public speaking appearance. So, I’ve spent some time in front of the mirror pretending I’m addressing a reporter or police or whoever. It has helped, but it still feels silly. I think Clark is just better at this than I am.
In many ways, I actually feel over prepared. It hadn’t been more than a few days after I learned I had the powers that the bridge collapse happened. Right then, I thought I needed to hurry to get ready for the next incident. Looking back, I should have known it was very unlikely that there would be another need so close on the heels of the first.
I hear a call from the kitchen. “Honey, is something wrong?”
“No. I just got to thinking a bit.” I walk into the dining room where Clark has dinner all laid out. Sometimes I wonder if the wonderful dinners he makes are partly his way to compensate for all those mornings we start with nothing more than coffee and doughnuts.
“What were you thinking about?” he asks.
“What else?”
“The big debut?” he asks.
I just nod in reply. He knows the waiting is eating at me. “You know you’re ready. You’ve practiced with the powers. You have your new uniform and you’ve worked at speed changing in and out of it so much you’re at least as fast as I am.”
Last week we tried to have a race but we could never tell who won. It was fun though! There’s no question that Clark finds the new suit – arousing. That was not exactly the reaction I was going for when I came up with the new look, but I’m certainly not complaining. These thoughts almost cause me to miss the fact that he’s still speaking.
“Can you think of anything you have left to do?”
“Not really.” I think for a moment and realize I’m still a little nervous about one of the issues. “Are you completely comfortable with the back story? I mean, are you sure you’re ready to announce to the world that Superman is married?”
He hardly bats an eye at this. “Absolutely! I think it will work out better in the long run for our association to be clear. As soon as you reappear the questions will begin.”
“But…?”
He comes over to me and I feel the wonderful warmth of his arms as they encircle me. “I’m sure,” he says. “It’s been a few years and, to be honest, I got tired of speculations about Superman’s love life a long time ago. There will be times when we appear together and I’d rather not have to pretend we’re just friends.” He pauses a moment and I notice a sly smile appear. “Besides, you remember how Jimmy reacted to Ultra Woman, and that was in the old suit. Like I said the night you first showed me this new suit, I want the whole world to know in no uncertain terms that Ultra Woman is taken.”
A small voice in the very back of my mind was asking how I felt about Clark’s possessiveness. After all, I belong to myself, not him. He’s my husband, not my keeper. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that voice. I think the forcefulness of the voice was the source of many years of avoiding relationships. The difference is that when I hear the voice now, I can’t help but smile. I’m happy Clark shows a reasonable amount of possessiveness. To be perfectly honest, I’ll also be happy when the women of the world know that my husband is off the market.
Another issue comes to mind. “I think we’re making the right call in not wearing our rings. We can easily say it’s not a Kryptonian custom.”
That brings a look of seriousness back to Clark’s face. “Someone would try to get a picture and sooner or later we would run the risk of the rings being identified. I’ve always been worried I would forget to take my ring off and be caught wearing it. I accidently did forget once, but was lucky enough that no one noticed and no pictures of my hands were taken. Are you okay with the rest of the back story?”
“Yeah. I learned that the New Kryptonians had been to earth and left Kal El behind. I had found you attractive on my first visit and blah, blah, blah. I’ve got it all down Clark. I’ve practiced the speech so many times I hear it in my sleep.”
“Honey, I know the waiting can eat at you. Have you thought about making your debut with me on a more regular emergency? At least then we’ll be past the first time situation.”
“That might be the way to go. I don’t want to wait too long. I’m ready for my debut now but I’d really like to set the precedent that Ultra Woman only appears when there is an extra special need. If I accompany you on a regular call we’ll be breaking the rule before it’s even established. Besides, I still haven’t told my parents yet.”
I can tell he’s fighting not to say either, “I told you so,” or “Whose fault is that?” However, apparently he can see I’m not in the mood for that sort of reply. After a brief pause he says, “Lois, we’ll see them next weekend. Why don’t you tell them then? After that you’ll be free to appear as Ultra Woman at any time. You’ll be able to make your planned role clear at your first press conference.”
“Ok, next weekend it is.”
He gets a mischievous look on his face. “You know, once you make your appearance, maybe I should look to do a suit revision so I have one that matches yours. After all, you did say how much you liked the black suit. Maybe after dinner we can go up to the bedroom and you could put on the purple suit and I can see if it inspires me to think of a new design for mine.”
I respond with my most wicked grin. “I’m certain my wearing the suit in our bedroom will inspire you to think of several things, but a new suit for yourself will not be on the list.”
TBC
Bob
