Edit: Super thanks to HappyGirl and IolantheAlias for agreeing to beta for me. Their help and suggestions have already improved what is here over what I started with.
I can't believe I left this out when I posted.
***~~~***
When the Sky Falls
by bobbart - Bob Bartholomew <bobbart_99@yahoo.com>
Rated: PG-13
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 story elements are mine. No infringement is intended by this work.
Time frame: Season 1: Reinterpretation of All Shook Up
***~~~***
Chapter 1: Visitor
***~~~***
It all started innocently enough on Tuesday. It was a slow news day and Clark was looking for a story worthy of The Daily Planet. He had a number of investigations in progress. Some of these involved his occasional reporting partner, Lois Lane, and some were solo efforts, but none of them were nearly far enough along to generate copy.
He was still adapting to the position of being one of the newest members of the paper’s staff. As Superman he might be on the top in Metropolis, but as Clark Kent he was the new kid in town. However, while it was true that he was the rookie in this newsroom, he had quickly distinguished himself, and after only a few months on the job, he was second only to Lois Lane amongst the primary news reporters for The Daily Planet.
Lois… She didn’t seem to be having trouble finding something to write about during slow news times. While he had been floundering for the past week or more for a suitable story, Lois had turned out one front page story after another. Sure, Clark had gotten a front page or two in that time, but if this were a contest, she would be so far ahead that the game would have been stopped on a mercy rule.
She was busy at her desk, probably working on tomorrow’s lead story. Just looking at her was intoxicating. When Clark had traveled the world, he had met many beautiful women. As Superman he had met many more. But ever since he laid eyes on her that first day, there was no one that could hold a candle to the fiery woman who was both his partner and competitor at work. Her beauty was only the start of what made Lois irresistible. She had an energy that could light up a city and she was one of the most capable and intelligent women that Clark had ever met.
In an effort to get his mind back on business, Clark tore his eyes from Lois and surveyed the rest of the office. By chance, he was looking in the direction of the elevator when its door opened to reveal an army officer. The man stepped into the bullpen and started looking for something. Because of the Bureau 39 incident this type of encounter was disconcerting. It didn’t get any better when, as soon as the man made eye contact with Clark, he headed his way. The officer stepped up to Clark and offered his hand.
“Mr. Kent?”
“Yes. I’m Clark Kent,” Clark answered as they shook hands.
“I’m Colonel Goodson. I’m sorry to be abrupt, but I’m here on important business. Mr. Kent, we need Superman at the Anderson Research Center on a matter of the utmost importance. Our intelligence people tell us that you and your partner, Ms. Lane, are the best contacts for getting a message to Superman.”
“Colonel, I might be able to get a message to Superman, but I can’t guarantee it. Like other people, most of my encounters with him are at crime and accident scenes. Anyway, I’m not sure if you know this, but the last time the military came in here looking for information on Superman, it was a rogue group called Bureau 39 that wanted to kill him. If I’m to attempt to deliver a message, I’d like to believe that this isn’t going to be a repeat of that situation.”
“Mr. Kent, I can understand your concern and I was asked to deliver this message for exactly that reason. Why don’t we discuss this with Perry White?” The colonel’s relaxed seriousness certainly made a better impression on Clark than the heavy-handed arrogance of Trask’s Bureau 39. When they reached Perry’s office, Clark was surprised to see that the colonel didn’t bother to knock. Instead, he just opened the door and walked in.
Perry’s head immediately popped up from the papers he was reading and he let loose with an all-too-predictable bellow of, “What in the…” However, the shout ended as soon as he made eye contact with the officer. “Jack! What the blazes are you doing here?” As he greeted an obvious long-time friend, he made his way around his desk and extended his hand to the colonel.
“Hi, Perry,” the colonel replied as they shook hands. His tone and the slightly stiff smile on his face suggested that even though he and Perry were friends, this was not just a social visit. “I’m afraid that I’m here on business. I need to get a message to Superman and the smart guys say that the best way to do that is through Lois Lane or Clark Kent.” The colonel, his impatience starting to show in his expression, turned to Clark. “I ran into Mr. Kent, but he’s not sure if he should trust me.”
“Well, Jack, you must have heard of the problems we had with that crazy Trask guy and his Bureau 39. If I didn’t know you myself, even I’d be skittish.”
Perry turned to Clark. “Son, you can trust Jack here. If he says that he needs a message delivered to Superman, you can be sure it’s on the level.”
Jack turned to face Clark. “Now that we settled that, can you deliver the message?”
If Perry was so confident in this colonel, that was more than good enough for Clark. “I can try. You did say it was urgent. When do you want Superman at the Anderson Research Center?”
“There are scientists waiting for him there now. The sooner you can deliver the message, the better.”
“All right. I need to check up on a source. While I’m out I’ll try to get Superman the message as quickly as I possibly can.” With that, Clark grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.
***~~~***
Lois Lane had been paying close attention to the interactions between Clark and the military man. She had actually been watching Clark before the stranger had arrived. She would have been mildly surprised to learn that Clark had been wondering about how to get a story that would be up to the standards that she set. For Lois, the contest looked considerably less one-sided than it did from Clark’s perspective. Since Clark had arrived on the scene, Lois had found that she faced real competition for the first time in years. As Clark had observed, even during this dry news spell she had been able to produce a string of front-page stories. What he failed to appreciate was that Lois had been working harder than ever before in her career to stay ahead of her new coworker.
When Clark had arrived at the Planet, she had called him a hack from Nowheresville. While she was not about to publicly retract that allegation, the Kansan was clearly a talented investigative journalist. She still had some key advantages that should allow her to stay a step or two ahead of him, but it would by no means be easy.
When Clark darted for the door, it looked like time to interject herself into the situation and find out what it was that sent Clark scurrying out of the office. She stood up and hurried over to Perry’s office before the visitor could leave. Lois barely paused at Perry’s door before she stuck her head in. “Excuse me,” she said, looking back and forth between Perry and his guest. “Do you know where Clark went? I wanted to ask him about his progress on one of our joint stories.”
“Jack, this is Lois Lane. Lois, this is Colonel Jack Goodson. He and I go way back.”
As Lois and the Colonel shook hands, Perry continued. “Jack needed to get a message to Superman. Clark’s out trying to track him down.”
At this, Jack interjected. “Ms. Lane, I came here today looking for either you or Mr. Kent. I understand that you two are the people most likely to be able to get a message to Superman. I hope I didn’t offend you by speaking to Mr. Kent. I just happened to spot him first when I arrived.”
Lois shrugged nonchalantly. “No, you didn’t. In fact, Clark is really the one that seems to be able to contact Superman. I’ve encountered Superman in the course of my work and have interviewed him several times, but if you need a message delivered, Clark may be a better bet. I gather that there is some urgency in getting this message to Superman?”
“Yes there is. I wish I could tell you more, but I don’t know all the details myself. I was contacted through channels and asked to make this trip. I guess there was a concern that you might react to a military representative with some skepticism based on the problem that you people had with Bureau 39. Since Perry and I are old friends, they asked me to deliver this request.”
“Request?” Lois asked.
The colonel continued. “There’s an important meeting taking place at the Anderson Research Center. Superman’s presence is critical and the request was for him to attend.”
“Lois, has Clark ever told you how he contacts the big guy?” Perry asked.
“No, but I’ve never pressed him on it. I get the impression that they know each other better than Clark lets on. Remember that Superman came to Metropolis not too long after Clark. Also, remember that Clark spent those years traveling the world. I’ve sometimes wondered if they didn’t meet during that time and decided to come to Metropolis together. It’s obviously a good place for Superman to use as his base, and Clark said right from the beginning that working here was a dream for him.”
Lois turned back to the colonel. “Are you sure you don’t know what this is about?”
“No. The fact that my superiors asked me to deliver the message says a lot. You can put the pieces together as well as I can. Whatever this is, someone wanted you to know that the request to attend that meeting was on the level and that it was serious.”
***~~~***
Clark waited a few minutes before changing and heading for the research center. It was disconcerting to have the colonel show up and explain that he knew that Clark Kent could contact Superman. Just in case this was some sort of test, he took some extra time and made sure that no one was following him. This colonel might be a friend of Perry’s, but it was best to be careful.
After a few trips through buildings with multiple entrances and exits, Clark figured that he had ditched whatever tail might have been following him. He maneuvered to a sheltered alley, made a quick change, and shot skyward. The Anderson Research Center was on the outskirts of Metropolis so it only took a few seconds for him to be standing at the entrance. The guards had apparently been notified that he would arrive because as soon as he was on the ground one of them came immediately over and said, “Superman, please wait here a moment and someone will be right out to escort you inside.”
Within a minute, two men had exited the door and were heading towards him. One was a military officer and the other was wearing civilian clothes. As they drew near, the officer took the lead and approached Clark with his hand extended. “Thank you for coming, Superman. I am General Zeitlin and this is Doctor Aames, head of this facility. There’s an urgent matter that we need to discuss. Would you please come inside?”
They led him through a series of doors and hallways and past two more security checkpoints. They finally reached a small meeting room where two other men waited. One was another military officer and the second was dressed in civilian clothing. They had been seated but stood when the group arrived. General Zeitlin made the introductions. He indicated the military officer. “Superman, this is Captain Fairbanks. He is a naval pilot that has been trained for space duty.” While Clark was shaking hands with the captain, the general indicated the other man. “This is Dr. Klein. He works out of Star Labs and has specialized in…well, you, Superman.”
This caught Clark off guard. “Me?” he asked with sudden visions of dissected frogs shooting through his mind.
The stranger seemed to sense his concern. As they shook hands, he introduced himself. “Superman, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m an admirer of the good works you do and I’ve wanted to meet you since you arrived in Metropolis.”
His exuberance and friendly tone helped allay Clark’s fears, but the idea that Superman was an object of study still left Clark feeling nervous. However, he knew better than to let his fears cause him to prejudge this Dr. Klein. “It’s nice to meet you,” Clark said. He hoped his concerns didn’t show.
The general seemed impatient. “Please be seated and we can start.” Once they were sitting, General Zeitlin turned to Clark. “Superman, we’ve asked you here today to request your help in saving the lives of most of the people on this planet.”
Clark was stunned. “General, I don’t understand.”
The general turned to Dr. Aames. “Dr. Aames, would you please explain?”
The scientist’s expression turned somber. “Superman, we’ve discovered an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It’s an irregular hunk of rock roughly seventeen miles in diameter. We’ve given it the name Nightfall, and to be perfectly frank the potential danger to our human civilization and life on this planet in general is terrifying.”
Clark could hear genuine fear in the scientist’s voice. “How much damage will it do?”
“Have you ever heard the theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid impact?”
“Yes. If I remember correctly it hit in the area that is now the Yucatan Peninsula.”
“That’s right. Well, that asteroid was less than half the size of Nightfall. We fear that if Nightfall hits the Earth, it will wipe out almost all of the life on the planet. The human death toll would almost certainly be in the billions—at best. At worst, it would mean the extinction of mankind.”
Clark’s mind was reeling at the implications of what he was hearing, but some part of his mind seemed to be in ‘Superman autopilot’ mode and he responded that way Superman should. “So you want me to try to stop it?”
Dr. Aames paused and looked at the general. “General?”
“Superman, we need your help for a mission to deal with Nightfall, but we aren’t going to ask you to try to push it away or anything like that. Our team discussed that idea but we believe there are better options. Dr. Klein, would you please take it from here?”
“Superman, we’ve developed a preliminary plan based on two observations that I made of your abilities. First, you were able to lift the 100-ton Space Transport into orbit. Second, you have been observed in different places around the world at what has appeared to be almost the same time. There is circumstantial evidence that you have achieved speeds in excess of 1000 miles per second. Our idea is to build an impact projectile and ask you to fly it to intercept Nightfall. We believe this to be the best way to deflect the asteroid, but before we can commit to the plan we need to ask if you are willing to help. If you are, then we need to know how much you can lift and how fast you can fly.”
“Well, Dr. Klein, I’ll help in any way I can, but wouldn’t an atomic bomb be more effective?”
Dr. Aames answered this. “We considered the nuclear option, but there are problems. First, to be most effective it would have to be placed in exactly the right position on the asteroid. In order to maximize the potential for success, we would have to ask you to be the delivery system and we weren’t sure that you would be willing to carry such a device.”
Clark cut him off. “If that is our best chance of success, I’d be happy to carry it.”
“Thank you, but the fact of the matter is that if you can fly fast enough carrying a heavy enough mass and deliver the kinetic energy impactor that we’re considering, it will be far more effective than any atomic bomb in existence.”
“Kinetic energy impactor?” Clark asked.
“Sorry,” Dr. Aames said with a smile. “The energy of any solid body in motion is kinetic energy. A thrown rock is a small kinetic energy impactor. We want to use something much larger moving very fast. This has the potential to deliver far more energy than a nuclear weapon. More energy means a greater chance to divert Nightfall.”
Clark considered this for a moment. He would be willing to deliver an atomic bomb if necessary, but he was just as glad that they didn’t ask him to. As for the rest, he didn’t know. “To be honest, I don’t know exactly how fast I can fly or how much I can lift.”
Dr. Klein responded to this. “We were hoping you would try a few things out as tests. It shouldn’t take too long, and it will give us the information that we need to determine whether this is a viable plan.”
“What do you want me to do?” Clark asked.
Captain Fairbanks took over that side of the conversation. “Have you ever flown in space before?”
Clark turned to face the naval officer. “I’ve been as high as low earth orbit. Being out of the atmosphere didn’t bother me too much. As long as I held my breath, I didn’t seem have any problems.”
“So do you think you could go to the moon and back without a space suit?”
“Probably, but I’d have to be extra careful about air. I do need to breathe.”
“We anticipated that and have a breathing apparatus for you to use. We’d like you to fly to the moon and back as quickly as possible. That should give us an idea as to how fast you can fly in space. Then we’ve arranged with the Navy’s mothball fleet for you to lift some decommissioned ships.”
“I can try,” Clark replied. “But I’ve never lifted anything that big before.”
“That is part of what we want to test,” Captain Fairbanks replied. “Dr. Klein thinks you might be able to carry a ship. Dr. Klein, would you please elaborate?”
“Normally something that large would have to be designed so that it could be lifted from a single point. However, my studies of your powers suggest that there is more to your ability to lift heavy objects than just strength. When you lifted the space transport, it should have collapsed from its own weight because of how you carried it. But when you lifted it, it didn’t collapse. I believe that you have a way of imparting some of your invulnerability to what you are lifting so that it becomes stronger. If that’s true, you may be able to lift the ships.”
“But I don’t want to hurt anyone or break a ship trying.”
“We understand,” the captain answered. “We want you to start with a smaller ship. If you can lift it and it doesn’t collapse, then we will try a larger one. None of them will have any people on them so no one will be in danger.”
“But what if this doesn’t work and the first ship I try to lift breaks?”
Captain Fairbanks continued. “There is a team working as we speak welding plates of steel together to make a projectile that is structurally sound enough to be lifted from a single point. We estimate that before you need to leave, they can have the projectile up to over 200 tons. If possible, we would rather use a ship since even a moderately sized vessel will be over 1,000 tons.”
This all seemed to make sense to Clark. “When do you want to do the tests?”
Dr. Aames answered. “Right now, if it’s all right with you. We can go outside and perform the speed test right now. We’re fortunate that the moon is visible overhead this afternoon so there won’t be any time lost in your circling the earth.”
Clark felt a sense of determination come over him. If the world was at risk, he wanted to get going to see how he could help. “Let’s do it,” he said.
They went outside where there was a simple table set up with the equipment for the test and what looked like technicians operating the equipment. Captain Fairbanks pointed at an apparatus with some tanks. “We’ve modified a diver’s pack to provide you with oxygen for the trip.” Some technicians helped Clark put on the survival pack. When he was ready he gave a thumbs up. Dr. Aames made sure that the timing equipment was ready. Clark was amused when he noticed that Dr. Klein was holding a stopwatch and appeared to be planning to record his own data.
After a minute or so making sure that the equipment was set up properly, Dr. Aames looked up and asked, “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“On my mark… Go!”
From the perspective of those watching, Superman just disappeared with a whoosh of air followed quickly by a sonic boom. A few minutes later the process was reversed and Superman was standing there with the whoosh-boom coming an instant later.
As soon as the breathing mask was removed from Superman’s head, Dr. Aames asked, “Did you go all the way to the moon?”
“Yes. I touched the surface and came right back.” Clark held out his hand to show a grey stone. “Would you like a moon rock?”
The scientist’s eyes got huge. “Um, sure. Thank you.” As Clark set the rock on the table, Dr. Aames checked the timers. “It only took you seven minutes and four seconds to make the round trip. That puts your speed at over a thousand miles per second. Did you know that you could fly that fast?”
“Well, I’ve gone around the world in less than a minute, and that was flying in a circle.”
“This is good news!” He turned to the General. “Are your people ready for the next phase?”
“Yes.” The general answered. “Superman, if you can fly over to the Philadelphia shipyards, they’re expecting you.”
***~~~***
It was about an hour later when Clark returned to the research center. This time, all four of the men he had met with earlier in the day came out to meet him. They had just reached the speed test area where Clark was waiting when Dr. Klein seized the initiative. “Were you able to lift the ships?”
Clark happened to be looking at General Zeitlin when Dr. Klein asked the question and saw that the senior officer seemed only slightly irritated by the scientist’s violation of protocol. The general caught Clark’s eye and responded with a tiny nod as if to say, ‘Go ahead.’
Clark turned to Dr. Klein. “None of the ships broke when I lifted them. I wish I could tell you the details, but the men on the dock just told me what ship to lift and I did it. The first ones were small and then I worked my way up. I could handle the smaller ships with no real effort. I was comfortable with everything up until I tried the large aircraft carrier. I was able to lift it, but I would be worried about whether I could fly with it at my maximum speed.”
Dr. Klein jumped in again. “What about the middle-sized ships? Do you think you could carry them while flying at your top speed?” This scientist seemed to be very excitable. Then again, as someone that studied Superman’s powers, he was most in his element.
“Yes, I could handle all the other ships. It may take some effort to get the larger of them up to full speed, but I’m confident that I can do it.”
Captain Fairbanks put his hand on Dr. Klein’s shoulder as if to say ‘my turn’ and stepped forward. “This is good news. We had hoped to have an impactor that would be at least 1,000 tons and I know that one of the ships was a 9,000 ton cruiser. The aircraft carrier was over 50,000 tons. If you could lift it at all, then we should go with something in the 10,000 ton region. Based on what you’re saying, I think we will be able to go ahead with that plan. Did you meet with Commander Hawthorne at the shipyard?”
“Yes,” Clark replied. “I met with him before each lift attempt. He had the list of ships and after each lift I talked with him. There were some other military people with him and they seemed to be taking comprehensive notes as I described how much effort it took for me to lift and then control the ship.”
At this the captain nodded at the general and General Zeitlin took charge of the meeting. “Can you come back tomorrow morning so that we can discuss the plan? That will give us until then to determine when we would like you to make the attempt. We will need the rest of today and probably all night to get the preparations in place.”
“When do you plan to make a public announcement?” Clark asked.
“We only wanted to wait long enough to have a plan in place. If all of the pieces come together and you agree with our plan, then there will be an official announcement tomorrow afternoon.”
“How long do we have until Nightfall hits?
The general looked to the scientist on his left. “Dr. Aames?”
“It’s due to hit in just under four days. Normally we would have had more warning but it’s coming at us from a direction nearly perpendicular to the plane of the solar system. To make matters worse, Nightfall seems to be made up of unusually dark material, so until it was right on top of us it was simply too dim to see. We only detected it a few days ago.”
Clark turned back to General Zeitlin. “Do you have any idea when you will want me to start toward it?”
“We hope to have everything ready for you to leave immediately following the announcement. We want the intercept to be as far away as possible. My guess is that we’ll ask you to leave approximately 24 hours from now.”
TBC
**********************************
WTSF Bottom Notes:
Energy:
Atomic bombs are usually rated for energy yield in equivalence of tons of TNT. A typical modern weapon has a yield of 1 megaton (MT) or 1 million tons of TNT. In physics, energy is measured in Joules. The conversion rate is 1ton of TNT => 4.18 gigajouls so 1 MT => 4,180 terajouls (TJ). The largest bomb ever tested was a 50 MT device built by the soviets. At 50 MT this device had an energy yield of 209,000 TJ. This was a specially build device called Tsar Bomba. It was 26 feet long and weighed 27 tons.
If you apply the formula for mechanical energy, a 10,000,000 Kilogram mass (10,000 metric tons) moving at 1,600,000 meters per second (1,600 Km per sec or approximately 1,000 miles per second) has a kinetic energy of 12,800,000 TJ or 61 times more energy than the Tsar bomb and over 3,000 times more energy that a “regular” bomb.
Speed:
Superman’s top speed is all over the map depending on the situation. In the S3 episode, “Ordinary People” there is a scene where every time Lois says something she might want, Clark dashes off to some remote corner of the world and brings it back before she even notices that he was gone. I took some measurements based on that episode and his speed was considerably greater than the 1000 miles per second that I use in this fic. I picked a “reasonable” number based on the needs of the story that were approximately consistent with demonstrated abilities.
For reference, the speed of sound is approximately 350 meters per second in dry air. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. At a measly 1000 miles per second Clark doesn’t need to worry about relativity.
Weight:
The liftoff weight of a real space shuttle (orbiter only, not counting fuel tank or solid boosters) is 109 metric tons. I used that as the probable weight of the space transport Clark lifted in the pilot episode.
Bob
