***~~~***
When the Sky Falls
Chapter 5: Memory
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From his perspective at the Metropolis Police Department, Detective Bill Henderson watched his city deal with the stresses of Nightfall. He still couldn’t quite believe that police departments didn’t receive a heads-up warning them to have their people on call. When the announcement came, they were just as surprised as everyone else.
The one positive aspect of the situation was that there was so little time between the revelation of Nightfall and Superman’s departure that the city seemed to be in shock. Based on the lack of commotion on the streets, most people seemed to have been content to watch the news unfold on television. That had given MPD the time to call in all of their off-duty staff and get them deployed in anticipation of a later reaction. Early on, most of the senior staff at MPD figured that if the Nightfall intercept went well there might be partying in the streets but it was unlikely to get ugly. They had all agreed that it was best to have a visible police presence to encourage calm. When the mission went awry, Bill was glad that they were ready with officers already deployed.
When Nightfall was shattered, the situation in Metropolis had gotten crazy. The streets filled up and soon there had been sporadic outbreaks of rioting and looting. Fortunately, either luck, the presence of MPD on the streets, or some combination of both, kept the violence from getting out of hand. It was only slightly over an hour after the rioting began that the streets were quiet again. There were still people milling about, but the anger and energy seemed to have gone out of them. It was as if the great city had taken Superman’s failure personally and lacked the energy to react.
Most times when Bill was in his office at 2:00 a.m. he didn’t expect his phone to ring. Tonight, however, the ringing phone signaled just one more in a long line of calls that he had fielded this evening. He answered the phone with a gruff, “Henderson!”
“Detective, this is Officer Jordan. I’m at the Memorial General Hospital emergency room and there is a man here that you might want to see.”
“Jordan, you know what kind of night this is. I don’t have time for riddles. Who have you got there?”
“We aren’t completely sure. There was an explosion and fire in an abandoned building at the edge of Suicide Slum. A previous fire had already gutted the building earlier this year, so when the fire department arrived there wasn’t much to do. When they searched the building to make sure that there wouldn’t be a flare-up, they found a man inside. It looks like he might have been in the building when the explosion occurred. He’s alive but he’s been burned.”
“Officer Jordan, you still haven’t told me why this man is of particular interest to me.”
“Sir, one of the firemen thinks this might be the reporter, Clark Kent. I heard you were looking for him.”
Bill wasn’t irritated about this call anymore. “I’ll be right there,” he replied as he hung up the phone.
It only took a few minutes for Henderson to reach the hospital. Even tonight, the streets were almost empty after two in the morning. He found Jordan waiting for him in the emergency room. Bill walked right up to the younger officer. “Where is he?”
“This way.” Jordan led the way down a short hall. “He was pretty banged up and has some minor burns—nothing serious. Physically, he should heal quickly. But…”
“But, what?”
“He seems to have lost his memory. That’s why we aren’t certain that this is Kent. He doesn’t remember who he is and he didn’t have any identification. In fact, he was wearing only his underwear, and that was pretty burned.”
When Bill entered the room, he saw a man laying on the gurney looking very much like someone that belonged in the hospital. There were bandages in a variety of places and several abrasions that were not covered. Parts of his skin looked sunburned. The man looked at Bill but didn’t say anything.
Henderson walked over to the bed. “Kent?”
The man’s answering look was an odd mix of confusion and hope. “Do you know me?”
This was bad. As soon as Bill heard the voice, he was certain. “Yes. I’m Detective Henderson and I’m a friend of yours. Your name is Clark Kent.” Clark just stared back at him blankly. “You just rest for now and I’ll call your partner.”
~~~***~~~
Clark wasn’t sure what to make of all this. At least he had a name. Clark Kent. He was disappointed that his own name didn’t mean more to him. It was nice that someone knew him. It also seemed right somehow that a police detective said he was his friend. Detective Henderson looked vaguely familiar but so did everyone else, so he didn’t think much of that. The doctors had told him that all of the injuries seemed to be superficial and that they had no explanation as to what was wrong with his memory.
He wished the injuries only felt superficial. Whatever the doctor might have said, the truth was that he hurt all over. The bruises ached. The various cuts and scratches each had their own unique and different pain. His skin hurt everywhere he was burned, which seemed to be most of his body. However, at least for all of those pains, the doctor could explain what was happening. The worst pain of all was the burning that he felt on the inside. When he woke up the first time, the pain was almost unbelievable. He felt like he was about to burst into flame from deep inside his body. When he told the doctor what he was feeling, she gave him a shot for the pain and put him on pure oxygen. She guessed it was due to smoke inhalation. That seemed to help and now it was just a dull ache all over. The doctor had taken off the oxygen mask only a few minutes before Detective Henderson arrived.
It was odd though—when he saw Henderson, it felt different from the other people he had met that night. It was like a memory was trying to come out but it couldn’t quite make it to the surface. One thing was sure—Henderson felt familiar; there was something right about this police officer.
It had been a while since the detective told him that Clark’s partner was on the way. He hadn’t said any more than that, but something about the term “partner” seemed special. It was like there was something tickling his memory but no matter how hard he tried, nothing else would come.
A moment later, a noise outside his room made him look over. There was a woman coming through his doorway. On seeing her face, he felt a wave of emotion so strong that had he not been lying down, his knees might have buckled. Riding that wave of emotion was a name. It burst out of his mouth seemingly on its own volition. “Lois!”
The concern in her reply was evident. “Clark, what…”
She got no farther. In that instant, Clark had jumped off the bed and rushed over to her. Before she could get out another word, he was holding her in his arms. All the aches and pains seemed to fade into the background. For Clark, suddenly the world wasn’t scary any more. Lois was here.
The first few seconds were heavenly. Everything about Lois felt so perfect. Clark searched his memory for images to go with the name and feelings she triggered. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any. Despite the wonderful feelings he got when he saw her and the sense of rightness that came from holding her in his arms, except for her name, there were no memories at all. But these feelings… It felt so wonderful to be in her arms that after a few seconds a word escaped his lips. “Darling.”
When she entered the room, Clark had come to her so quickly that Lois didn't have time to think or react. She was glad to see him, and doubly pleased to see that he was healthy. When she found herself in his arms, it was both unexpected and far more pleasant than she would have imagined. It felt good to be in Clark's arms.
She had been terribly worried and was still basking in the warmth of these sensations when she heard his murmur of, “Darling.” The word, spoken by her partner with obvious deep affection, sent a chill through her. What was Clark thinking? In that instant, the joy she had been feeling at finding Clark disappeared and her muscles tensed. Now her only thought was how to escape the suddenly uncomfortable situation.
She jerked only the slightest amount but it was enough. Clark could feel the change. She wanted him to let go. He didn’t understand why his love wanted to leave his embrace, but it was enough that she did. It tore at his heart but Clark loosened his arms and stepped back. When he could see her face, he found confusion there. He had to make this better.
“I’m sorry, Lois. Did I do something wrong?”
She perked up at this. “It’s okay, Clark. I’m sure you’re just confused,” she offered hopefully. “We were so worried. What happened to you?”
“I don’t remember. To be honest, until you walked in the door I didn’t remember anything or anyone at all.”
“Bill said you were suffering from amnesia, but when you said my name, I thought your memory had come back.”
“No, I don’t remember anything. Well, nothing but you and your name.”
“That can’t be! What about your parents? The Planet? Perry White? Jimmy?”
Clark just stared back blankly as she recited name after meaningless name. When she finally ran down, he filled in the rest of the story. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember any of them. I don’t remember anything about myself either. You say I’m Clark, and I believe you, but I didn’t remember that name before the detective told me a little while ago.”
“But you knew my name and…well, the way you reacted when you saw me…” She paused and Clark saw a touch of confusion creep into her expression. “Clark, why did you call me…darling?”
Clark could see in her eyes that she was genuinely confused. He was battling emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him but it was clear that she didn’t feel toward him the way he did about her. It was obvious that she was his friend, but nothing more. “I’m sorry about that. When you came in the door, I felt this wave of emotion… It was so strong that I thought we…well, I thought we were closer than I guess we really are. I promise I won’t do that again.” But he felt so much, there had to be more than simple friendship. “Lois, we are close, aren’t we?”
Clark’s question caught Lois off guard. Of course they were close. But now it seemed that he may have felt more than friendship. Could the amnesia have left those feelings when he lost his memories? Lois was torn. She didn’t want to deceive him into believing there was more to their relationship that there really was. However, the way he reacted convinced her that if she said they were nothing more than friends, Clark would be devastated.
“Clark, we are close. You’re my working partner and you’re my best friend. We just aren’t together like…that.”
When Lois said that he was her best friend, Clark felt the stirring of another emotion. She was right. She was his best friend. It was like there were two sides to how he felt. The fact that he was in love with this woman was undeniable. Based on her reaction a moment ago, it was clear that he had kept that feeling hidden from her. But it was more complicated than that. There was also a feeling of excitement that was part of being around her.
“Lois, I’m sorry that I embarrassed you. I remember you, but I can’t remember any facts *about* you. I can feel something that tells me that you are my best friend too.”
Lois could hear the truth in those words. “Clark, how can you be sure of your feelings if you don’t have any memory of me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have any memories, but the feelings are clear. When I first saw Detective Henderson, I didn’t recognize him but I knew I could trust him. With you, it’s more. Much stronger doesn't even begin to describe it. There aren’t any memories but the feelings are all there.”
Clark noticed that Lois had grown nervous at the mention of feelings. “Lois, I’m sorry. That first rush of emotion carried me away. I can see that we don’t have that kind of relationship and I promise I won’t…do anything like that again.”
She could see that he was trying so hard to make this better. She reached over to him, took his hand and replied, “I wasn’t embarrassed. I was surprised. You’ve never hinted that you had feelings like that before.”
Clark wished he knew why. “I really am sorry. I just don’t remember anything about, well, anything. It’s just the feelings were so….” A thought popped into his mind that might explain why he hid his feelings from his best friend. “Do you have a boyfriend or something?”
For an instant, the image of Superman’s farewell kiss crossed her mind. But Clark didn’t know anything about that. “No. But when we first met I told you that I didn’t get involved with coworkers.”
Clark’s face fell. “Oh.”
The disappointment on his face tugged at her heart more than she would have imagined. However, she was not going to pretend that something was there when it wasn’t. “We aren’t involved but you are my best friend now. I’m sure that’s what you were feeling.”
His expression brightened slightly. He looked up at her with a half-smile. “I’m sure that’s it.”
Even before Clark had finished his reply, that part of her mind that was so useful during an interview was screaming, 'He's lying!' Lois was certain that Clark would have a hard time lying to her even if he still had his memory. In the state he was in now, he definitely shouldn’t try deceiving his partner. Whatever it was that he felt when he saw her, it wasn’t simple friendship. Clark had obviously felt something much stronger.
That was interesting enough, but what really had Lois off balance was what she herself had felt when he held her. She hadn’t wanted to admit it but she had been worried sick about Clark. When she had heard he was safe at the hospital, she was relieved. When she had stepped through his door and he had rushed to her and held her in his arms she had felt… She didn’t know. That had been a feeling she didn’t recognize. It would be best if that was put aside for now.
“Clark, they told me I can take you home.” She stepped back and looked him over. “You're pretty beat up but they told me on the way in that all of the burns and scrapes are superficial. I stopped by your apartment on the way here and got you some clothes and a pair of glasses.” Lois reached in her pocket, took out a pair of glasses and put them on Clark. “There you go. Now, why don’t you change and we’ll get out of here.”
TBC
Bob
