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An AU story about Nightfall

Nighttime in the Daytime
by Artemis (jumpstick@earthlink.net)

The familiar characters and settings in this story are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros., December Third Productions and Bryce Zabel. No infringement on their copyright is intended. The concept of the story and variation of the traditional characters are mine.

This is my original version of an alt-universe story in the Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman universe. This Clark is similar to the one created in the LnC episode “Tempus, Anyone?” by John McNamara in that he was orphaned from the Kents at the age of ten, but his personal history diverges from there.

The time frame of this series of stories is 2003, 10 years after the LnC series. This is the second story in the series and follows “All the Daytime and the Nighttime.” It would be helpful for the reader to read that first. The premise here is what would happen if FBI Special Agent Clark Kent, undercover as Charlie King, a bartender, first met Lois Lane as Lola Dane singing at the Metro Club.

Chapter 1. Eclipse







*+*+*+*+*+*+

Pete Ross looked out across the icy surface of Antarctica, 270 miles inland from Australia’s Davis Station, waiting for the total eclipse. He said to himself, “This must be what the Moon looks like.”

A soft voice chuckled in the microphone in his ear and replied, “No, there are a lot more craters and this is a lot warmer.”

Pete smiled, unseen by his companion. “You ought to know.” He looked through his environmental suit faceplate over at his brother Clark, dressed in a parka and sunglasses. Whether it was to blend in with the crowds in Antarctica or because he really might need the thermal protection, Pete wasn’t sure. What did he wear to the Moon?

Here there were no crowds; they were totally alone. He figured this must be like the isolation Clark felt when he flew into space.

Pete read the thermometer scale projected on the Heads Up Display on his faceplate. It read 5 deg F (–15 deg C). It was balmy day for the summer in November in Antarctica.

Clark’s voice again came over the comm to him. “That’s a great suit, bro. You look like the Pillsbury Doughboy or the Michelin Man.”

A shrug would be lost in the large white suit, so Pete raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “Hey, it was government surplus from the Environmental Research Lab at Eglin AFB. We poor associate professors can’t afford much.” Pete was now an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at KU and still working on his doctorate in Near Earth Objects.

“Yeah, it was a bit of a pain to haul it 11,000 miles down to our staging area near Margaret River, south of Perth. Not to mention you in it for the nearly 2000 miles to here,” Clark teased.

“Well, you could go faster, because it protected me,” Pete teased back.

“What time is it?”

Pete read his HUD. “21:40 UT, 15 minutes to go.”

“Time to turn east by southeast and look at the sunrise. Don’t forget your extra filter.”

“Duh. This isn’t my first eclipse.” Pete paused, then said in a more serious manner, “But it is my first one in Antarctica. I can’t thank you enough for this, Clark. You are some brother to have. And this is some birthday present for me.”

Clark acknowledged his thanks with a pat on Pete’s arm with his gloved hand.

They stood near an unnamed peak 2700 feet high and looked down the slope toward the Queen Mary Coast. The brothers shared a moment of silence as they turned toward the sun low on the east-by-south horizon.

At the actual bottom of the world, directions seemed a little skewed from what they were used to. Compasses in the Southern Hemisphere pointed to a spot off the coast of Wilkes Land at 63.5 deg South, 138 deg E., which was a long way from the geographic South Pole.

Australia was northeast of them. They had flown mostly over the ocean and then over land inland from Davis Station to find their spot at maximum eclipse. First contact of the moon with the sun was at 21:55:38.7 UT and maximum eclipse at 22:45:47.2 UT with 98.5% coverage.

Looking at the frigid landscape, Pete remembered what he had read about travel to Antarctica on the internet.
So the timing of this total eclipse on Sunday, November 23 was just perfect. He knew there was a large aircraft with scientists aboard from all countries overhead tracking the eclipse, just as they did all others. But it was really special to be here with Clark and to have traveled by Clark Express. He admitted to himself that he hadn’t known much about Antarctica before this opportunity presented itself. His only regret was that they were too late in the year to see the aurora australis.

Pete Ross and Clark Kent stood in reverent silence as they watched the eclipse. The sun was at a low angle, just above the terrain and the burgeoning light cast the long shadows of the rocks and ice. Where it shined on the ice, the reflection was blinding. They would have needed filters for that alone.

Slowly the day turned into night and they could see the shadow begin its journey of just under two minutes. They gasped and marveled at the dancing corona of the sun, and then the day slowly returned.

Pete got chills. No wonder early man was in awe of an eclipse and was frightened of it. The visuals certainly didn’t match the earth-centric concept of the universe held before the time of Gallileo. The world figuratively stood on its head when he endorsed the heliocentric view of Copernicus in 1610.

“So have you ever been there?” Pete pointed to the sun continuing its regularly schedule daily trip.

“Where? The sun?” Clark put his right thumb down in his bulky glove. “I don’t think I’ll try that unless I really have to. I’m not sure I can do that.”

“Hey, Clark. While we’re alone out here, I want to let you know about something important coming up. I’ve got the info back in my office, so don’t rush off when we get done. I had an important message from Professor Daitch of EPRAD that you need to see.

“You got it, Pete. Anything I can do to help, I’m here.”

Pete wondered if even his super-powered brother could help them all.

*+*+*+*+*+*+

Sitting at her desk Monday morning at the Daily Planet, Lois stared at her computer screen in stunned silence. She had acted on her resolution to seek out background on Clark Kent by utilizing the power of the Daily Planet search engine. Clark had said he was originally from Kansas, so she hunted registered births in Kansas and found one for Clark Jonathan Kent, June 10, 1978, born in Smallville. ‘I couldn’t make up that name.’

His parents were Martha and Jonathan Kent, farmers, who died in a car accident in 1988, on the Fourth of July. She found an article in the local town paper, the Smallville Sentinel, on the accident. A car going too fast on a cross street hit the side of their car and killed Martha instantly. His father died of injuries two weeks later. Clark witnessed the accident from the street. ‘Oh, how tragic for him. He was only 10 years old.’

Thinking back to her own life when she was 10 and living in Virginia Beach, Lois knew she wasn’t ready to loose both her parents so suddenly then. She got a taste of it when her father was deployed on the aircraft carrier flying F-14 Tomcats for long deployments, but her mother was always there for her and her sister Lucy. Also the military families formed a social network to help each other.

Curious what the small town paper was like, she continued searching through the online morgue of the paper, using the words “Clark Kent” in the search engine. To her total surprise, she began to find articles written by Clark Kent, starting in 1991. The first one was on the danger of an old dock left to rot on a local lake. Apparently he was a freshman at Smallville High at the time.

Switching over to the Smallville High site, she muttered, “The Beavers? They couldn’t think of something more exciting for a mascot?” Online she found the “Beaver Blog” and found numerous articles both by Clark and about Clark.

One picture showed Clark in a football uniform. The caption read, “Clark Kent, quarterback for the Beavers, with his proud parents Dr. and Mrs. Roger Ross, brother Peter and sister Rita.” ‘Must be his foster family,’ Lois thought. The paper was dated Friday, April 8, 1994. The Beavers had won the league championship that year, due mostly to Clark Kent’s efforts, according to the accompanying article. They had never won the league title before.

Zooming in on the picture, Lois examined it, grainy though it was. Pete, dark haired like Clark, was shorter than him and wearing a KU sweatshirt, clearly back from college. Rita was a petite, cute blond who looked about 12 years old and wore a cheerleader outfit. But Clark had said they were the same age in the conversation with her in Centennial Park.

Lois then turned to the University of Kansas site. She prowled freely around the website, familiarizing herself with the layout of the campus because Clark had taken some leave and wasn’t expected back for two more days. She was astonished to find they had a Center for the Study of Science Fiction founded by James Gunn. Not particularly fond of science fiction, Lois preferred fact-filled non-fiction. Well, except for her romance novels, of course. What red-blooded woman could go without those?

Inspiration led her to search for Peter Ross, since he was wearing a KU Jayhawk sweatshirt in the family photo. She found his name in the faculty for the School of Engineering Physics. There he was – Peter F. Ross, Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Lois sat back, tapping her pencil, eraser side up, to her teeth. Clark was an FBI agent with multiple degrees and his brother was an Associate Professor of Astronomy. What a family of achievers! She wondered what Rita did now, except shop for shoes like Clark had mentioned. Or was that a passing stage? After all, she was now 25 years old just like Clark.

*+*+*+*+*+*+

Rita Ross was at that very moment adjusting a wedding dress on a soon to be blushing bride in the Designer Bridal Gown store in Wichita, Kansas. “There, Emily, that fits better. Don’t you agree Mrs. Koon?” Rita glanced at the bride’s mother to see her smiling widely at her daughter.

“That is just perfect, Rita. You made it fit just right. You have a real talent as a seamstress.”

Shrugging it off, Rita replied, “Oh, I made my own clothes all through High School and even some for my brothers. Boy, were they tough on clothes.”

Mrs. Koon laughed. “I know what you mean. Emily was just as hard on her clothes as her brothers. We were all into horses and riding. That is real wear and tear!”

*+*+*+*+*+*+

tbc


Artemis

The mountain near Davis Station



The view of the sky at eclipse



The position of Davis Station during the period of eclipse



The difference between the Magnetic Pole a compass
would point to and the Geographic and Geomagnetic Poles.

South Pole and Geomagnetic South Pole
Geographic South Pole


Artemis

I just found this site and it will help you understand the mechanics of a total solar eclipse. This guys work is astonishing. Unfortunately, he didn't animate the exact same eclipse I used in the story, but this will give you a better idea of what those flat graphs were trying to depict. Go Here
Browse around his main site and you will be amazed.

Oh, an Happy New Year!