Chapter 8: Make the World Go Away
Make the world go away.
Get it off my shoulder.
--“Make the World Go Away”
****
The next day at the Planet, Lois practically swaggered into work. She had in her hand a few papers which she promptly took into Perry White’s office. When she returned, she paused at my desk and crowed, “Last night, I landed the first one-on-one interview with Lex Luthor. Persistence pays off.”
“It wasn’t persistence,” I muttered despite myself.
“What did you just say?” she asked suspiciously.
“Nothing,” I said hastily. I was regretting my outburst.
She crossed her arms. “Lex Luthor said I had an anonymous benefactor to thank for him giving me that interview. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
I avoided her eyes. “I think we need to get Jimmy and talk to Perry White about—”
“Kent,” she said forcefully. “Answer me.”
I sighed and sat back. “I told him to give that interview to you instead of me.”
She stared at me incredulously for a few seconds before growling something derogatory about well-meaning farmboys under her breath. Then she muttered something about going to the ladies’ room and left in a huff.
When Lois returned a few minutes later, it was as if our conversation had never happened. We corralled Jimmy and went to the Editor-in-Chief with our story about the space program. A few minutes after that, we had left Perry White’s office, the words “cold . . . hard . . . facts” ringing in our ears. All of our evidence was wrapped up in the words of a dead man the world thought unhinged enough to commit suicide. In hindsight, it wasn’t surprising that our story was considered unprintable. Still, the weight of dejection hung on our shoulders.
Lois, however, soon recovered and said, “Okay. So we need some physical proof.”
“Pictures are probably our best bet,” Jimmy noted.
“If we got pictures of the wreckage, maybe S.T.A.R. Labs would be able to tell that the wrong systems had been put in place,” I said thoughtfully. “I’ll go call Dr. Baines—see if we can get permission to set up an independent examination.”
“Farmboy, Baines won’t let us go near that wreckage. We’ve tried already, remember? And there isn’t time to play by the rules—the transport containing the colonists is supposed to go up in two days.”
I told her stubbornly, “I’m going to try anyway. Maybe I’ll be able to find someone else at EPRAD to help.”
“Fine—go ahead,” Lois muttered.
I went to my desk and called EPRAD. But—just as Lois had predicted—I had absolutely no luck in getting anyone to approve an independent examination. The lid they were keeping on all this was tight and not budging, and everyone kept giving me the run-around. Frustrated, I spent some time going over my notes and making calls, and before I knew it, the time had come for the staff meeting. I headed into the conference room, where some people were gathered around the table.
After waiting a few minutes for more people to file in, Mr. White said, “All right. Let’s start this thing. I’m sorry it’s so late, but that’s how it goes sometimes.” He suddenly frowned. “Kent—do you know where Lois and Jimmy are?”
I furrowed my brow. “I had assumed they would be here—I haven’t seen them since this afternoon, actually.”
He shrugged. “Okay. We’ll just hold the meeting without them.” He began discussing the week’s stories, but I kept looking at the door. I just couldn’t concentrate.
Finally, I stood and headed for the exit. The Chief Editor stopped mid-sentence and barked, “Kent!”
I turned toward him.
“This meeting isn’t adjourned.”
I winced. “I’m sorry, Mr. White, but it just isn’t like Lois and Jimmy to miss a staff meeting.”
He gave me a look that seemed to say, “How would you know that? You haven’t even been here a week.” But then he nodded curtly and said, “Fine. Go find those two. Lois has a nose for trouble, and Jimmy never has been good at keeping her out of it.”
I was out the door in a flash, glad he didn’t seem too upset that I was leaving. I didn’t even have to think twice about where they were—they must have gone to the hangar to get pictures of the wreckage . . . . And something had happened to them, or else they would have been back by now.
I brought my locket out from underneath my shirt and considered giving myself a dose of the green rock. I could feel my powers returning.
But as I thought about Lois and Jimmy, I let go of the locket and reluctantly decided to refrain from opening it. They could be in big trouble, and my abilities might prove to be a real boon in this instance. I hated it, but it was possible I would need every ounce of strength I could get. I couldn’t let anything happen to them. I’d seen far too much death these past few days in Metropolis.
I thought about leaving the newsroom through the storage room window, but I didn’t think I would be able to fly yet, and so I chose the stairs instead, jogging down them at a speed that was slightly faster than that of a normal human.
****
I took a cab to EPRAD and located the hangar where Lois and Jimmy were faster than any human could. Looking through the metal walls, I saw that Jimmy was unconscious and Lois was bound to some sort of metal structure. Dr. Baines and a muscular tattooed man were holding them hostage. Though my x-ray vision was a little shaky, I had seen all that I needed.
I briefly stood there and considered what my course of action should be. Gunning them down in cold blood didn’t seem to be Dr. Baines’s style—still, I needed to get close to them. My powers weren’t yet up to zipping them in and out of the building—even if I was wearing black as camouflage, which I wasn’t—and I needed to buy a little time.
Taking a deep breath and bracing myself, I rammed the outside door hard enough to knock it off its hinges and onto the ground. Though the action almost knocked the wind out of me, I stepped onto the door and into the building and commanded, “Drop your guns, or . . . ” It was only then that I realized how truly lame my plan was. There had to have been a better way of delaying Dr. Baines. But that was a realization I had made far too late.
Her gun pointed at me, Dr. Baines asked, “Or you’ll make a citizen’s arrest and take me in to the police?” She smiled. “I don’t think so.”
Seeing the exasperated look on Lois’s face, I felt like kicking myself.
****
I was chained up next to Lois, who started in on a tirade as soon as Baines and her goon left the room.
“I told Perry that what I needed was a task force . . . . A task force. You know, a team of capable individuals who would pull their own weight and help me get out of jams—not make the jams worse. Instead, I get a five hundred pound gorilla with more brawn than brains and a skinny photographer who doesn’t know how to take or throw a punch. If you’d really wanted to help us out, Kent, why didn’t you call the police?”
“Lois—”
“Oh, wait, dumb question—it’s because you’re like every other male in the world and think you can handle everything alone. Call the police? Of course not—what a stupid idea—when you can come in and break a door down and put yourself right in the line of fire of trigger-happy criminals, conveniently forgetting the fact that you are not bullet-proof—that you cannot magically melt those weapons or miraculously tie up your assailants . . . . Or maybe you thought the Mad Dog could break herself out of her restraints by using her viciously sharp teeth.”
Straining with all my might, I had managed to break the padlock holding my chains together. But her words made me stop short of removing my hands from the links. “Lois, I’m sorry I told you about that. It’s just—you can be a bit intimidating to people, you know?”
She was quiet for a few seconds, and I tried to turn my head to look at her. When she spoke, she did so quietly, her diatribe finished. “I guess I can be a bit like a dog with a bone . . . . But I’ve had to be to make it in this business.”
“I know, Lois. But you’re at the top now. Anyone who pays any attention to the Planet knows that—you’re an admired and well-respected journalist.”
“Well, it wasn’t always that way . . . . I used to be a lot less cynical. When I first started working for the Daily Planet at twenty-one, I was a bright-eyed optimist.”
“Really?” I sounded more surprised than I had meant to.
“Yeah. My first big story was a good one—it was about this married couple acting as gunrunners . . . . But then this reporter, Claude, well . . . he swept me off my feet. He had this French accent and really knew how to pour on the charm. We . . . slept together, and I told him about the story I was working on. The next morning, he was gone, of course—and so was my story.” She sighed. “You know the nickname ‘Ice Queen’? Well, it was started by him . . . . After that, I realized it was a dog-eat-dog world, and I became tenacious. It helped me climb my way to the top, but I guess it didn’t help me win any friends along the way . . . . And now, because I refused to look before I leapt yet again, we’re all going to die.”
“Lois, there was no way for you to know that this was going to happen. We’re going to get out of this somehow—I promise.”
She was quiet for a few seconds. “Why did you give me that interview with Lex Luthor?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “You had worked so hard to get it. I didn’t think it was fair that I have it just because I was in the right place at the right time.”
“You saved his life—”
“Anyone could have done that,” I interrupted.
“No. What you did was a great thing . . . . And what I’ve done is so terrible. I’m sorry I got us into this—Baines is going to kill us, and it’s all my fault.”
I opened my mouth, wanting to give her some kind of reassurance, but Dr. Baines finally returned from the darkness.
“I hope you enjoy your accommodations,” the scientist said with a saccharine smile. “This is, after all, the last place you’re going to see before you die. The three of you are about to be victims of a very unfortunate accident . . . . ”
Warily, Lois asked, “What do you mean?”
Dr. Baines gave her an innocent look. “Yes, you see, while the orbital maneuvering system was being dismantled, the monomethyl hydrozene leaked . . . and it mixed with the nitrogen tetroxide.” She had walked away from us and allowed the two substances to begin pouring onto the ground. The liquids slowly began to spread and move toward each other. “Unfortunately, three reporters were killed by the blast, unaware of the danger they had put themselves in when they decided to come snooping around.”
She stepped toward me and put a hand under my chin, lifting it upward. I was motionless, my face tight, as she gently kissed my lips. When she pulled back, she saw my locket, which I had forgotten to tuck inside my shirt earlier, and she pulled it upward and off my neck.
I started to protest but bit back the words, knowing that time was running out.
“What an interesting piece of jewelry,” she commented. Seeing the enraged look in my eyes, she smiled and slipped it over her own neck. “I think I’ll keep it for myself as a souvenir.”
And then she left with her lackey. I hesitated for only a second before removing my hands from my chains and freeing Lois from her bonds.
“How did—”
“Missing link,” I replied curtly.
“Grab Jimmy,” she told me.
I turned to her, feeling as if I had been punched in the gut. My abilities had returned somewhat, and I was supposed to manhandle Jimmy? “Lois—”
“Please, just this once. I know you don’t like touching people, but I can’t carry him very far myself.”
I took in a deep breath and nodded, picking up the unconscious Jimmy from the floor and draping him over my shoulder.
We raced toward the exit, but I knew we wouldn’t make it in time as we were, so after a gut-wrenching moment of consideration, I put my arm around Lois and used my abilities to fling us forward and through the air. My powers still weren’t at full strength, which meant I wouldn’t have been able to remain airborne long, but fortunately we didn’t have to go far. We fell into a giant puddle of mud, and Lois quickly stood and looked at the massive fireball that was the hangar.
I moved away from Jimmy’s unconscious form and pulled my knees up to my chin. The gravity of everything that had just happened suddenly hit me like a freight train. My chest was seizing up. My heart was beating rapidly. I was starting to shake.
I heard Lois’s voice say distantly, “Clark?”
I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against my knees.
“Clark, are you okay?”
I could sense that Lois was kneeling beside me. Fortunately, she wasn’t touching me. That would have sent me over the edge.
“Clark, you had to touch him—you saved his life.”
“No,” I told her hoarsely. “I could have killed him. I shouldn’t have done that.” I felt the burden of the world on my shoulders. I wished I could have just made it go away.
“Clark, you didn’t kill him. You saved him.”
“My locket—”
“We’ll get you a new locket, okay?”
There was a sudden whirring noise, and I looked up from my knees to the sky in time to see Baines’s helicopter explode in a giant ball of fire. The shard was gone—I no longer had it, but at least she didn’t either. But I needed that shard—I needed to expose myself right then. I couldn’t use my powers any more. I could have killed Jimmy. It was even more dangerous than when I’d saved Lex Luthor.
“Clark, let’s go back to the Planet,” Lois said gently. She almost moved to help me up but stopped herself just in time. “You saved Jimmy’s life—he would be dead if it weren’t for you.”
Jimmy groaned suddenly, and both Lois and I turned to look at him. He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. “What happened?” he asked groggily.
“Clark saved your life,” Lois said firmly.
“Lois—” I tried to protest.
“He saved your life, and now we’re going to go back to the Planet and write up this story. You feeling okay, Jimmy?”
Jimmy nodded. “Nothing a little time won’t cure.”
Lois helped Jimmy to his feet and then stared down at me. “Come on, Clark.”
I took in a few deep breaths and then stood a little shakily. “Okay.”
“Are you going to be all right, Clark?” she asked me.
“Yeah,” I replied automatically. I didn’t want her to worry about me—but there was a part of me that enjoyed her using my first name without being prompted.
She looked at my face for a second before nodding. She and Jimmy walked away, and I gazed briefly at the sky where Baines’s helicopter had once been. I needed that locket. But it was surely destroyed now.
****
We separated to go home and change into clean clothes and then return to the Planet. When I arrived in the newsroom, Mr. White was at Lois’s desk, looking over her shoulder at the article she had already started writing. “Kent,” he greeted me. “Thanks for getting Lois and Jimmy out of that mess.”
“We were doing fine on our own,” Lois muttered, though her voice didn’t have any real bite to it.
Ignoring her, the Editor-in-Chief continued, “It’s good to know that you can be counted on when things, uh, hit the fan . . . . I’m proud of you all, son.”
“Thanks, Mr. White,” I said quietly as he began walking toward his office. I was still feeling unbalanced—Lois and Jimmy could have died. The thought frightened me.
A few minutes later, Jimmy had arrived, and then Mr. White left for the night. I had the feeling the Chief Editor wanted a visual confirmation that Jimmy was all right. Though I hadn’t been working for the Daily Planet for long, I could already tell that Perry White and Jimmy Olsen had a bond much like that of father and son. I didn’t know what their lives were like away from the Planet, but I had a feeling it hadn’t all been flowers and sunshine.
While Lois continued working on the story about the space program and Baines, I stood uneasily a few feet from her and made occasional comments. As for Jimmy—well—he acted as if he was more interested in what had happened in the hangar than in giving input on the story. There wasn’t much to tell about what happened at EPRAD, but I provided him some details. I had the feeling he was trying to concoct a good story to boast about, and I didn’t want to curb his enthusiasm. I had no problem with him enjoying the limelight.
When the article was finally finished and sent for Perry White to read in the morning, Lois turned to Jimmy and me with a grin. She seemed to be filled with adrenaline. “Why don’t we all get ice cream?”
I gave her a skeptical look. “Where would you get ice cream at this time?”
“Trust me—the Fudge Castle is open till 1 am.” At my expression, she defended, “You never know when people are going to get midnight chocolate cravings!”
“Lois probably keeps them in business,” Jimmy jested. He lifted his hands when Lois glared at him. “Just tellin’ it like I see it,” he chuckled. Looking at his watch, he said, “You know, I think I’m going to turn it down this time. I’m tired, and we gophers don’t get as much leeway in being late as you full-time reporters.”
“All right.” Lois looked at me with a smile. “Then I guess it’s just you and me.”
I glanced away uneasily. “Uh, yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Come on,” she told me, gesturing for me to follow her to the elevator. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” I muttered. I wanted to come up with an excuse not to go—feeling it would just be best for me to go home—but I didn’t like my chances of trying to change Lois’s mind.
****
Since I had never been to the Fudge Castle, Lois ordered some sort of mega-chocolate ice cream concoction for me. “It’s the best for a first-timer,” she informed me when I looked at her skeptically.
We took our ice cream to a small table, and I was surprised to see how many other people were actually at the Fudge Castle. There had even been a line at the register.
“There are quite a few people here,” I commented, looking around. The place was filled with chocolate creations of all kinds—candy bars, fudge, ice cream . . . . It was a chocoholic’s dreamland . . . and a diabetic’s nightmare.
“It’s the only ice cream place in the city that’s open this late, so everyone comes here.” She took a bite of her ice cream and made a sensuous noise that made me gulp: “Mmm.”
I shifted my chair back a few inches, trying to keep a clear distance from her. I didn’t need extra-human hearing to know that she was enjoying herself. She licked some chocolate off her lips, and I forced my eyes to move from the pinkness of her tongue to the darkness of my ice cream. I scooped up a bite and thrust the spoon into my mouth, forcing myself to concentrate on the rich flavor instead of the sudden spark of my libido.
I was quiet for a few minutes, and when I looked up, Lois was staring at me with a worried expression. “Are you really going to be all right, Clark?” she asked softly.
I considered the question for a couple of seconds. The fact that she was still using my first name appeared to be an indication of how serious she was. Knowing she was worried about me was touching—and it made me feel a little better.
Nodding slowly, I told her, “Yeah . . . I will be.”
“Why are you so scared of touching people?” she asked with uncharacteristic gentleness.
“I’m sorry, Lois,” I said softly, not meeting her eyes, “but I can’t tell you that. It’s just—it’s just best that I don’t touch people.”
She placed her hand on the table, and I could tell she was wishing she could grasp mine with hers. “Clark, you can be such a gentle person. I don’t know why it bothers you so much.”
“It’s a rule I made for myself, Lois . . . . I know you know about those.” I gave her a half-hearted attempt at a smile, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject.
Lois gazed at me briefly and then smiled back. “I guess we all have to figure out our boundaries.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “We do.”
****
After leaving the Fudge Castle, I returned to the Hotel Apollo and called my parents’ house. I hated that waking up my parents seemed like it was becoming a habit, but I needed to talk to one of them again.
“‘Lo?” came my mom’s voice.
“I’m sorry I’m calling so late, Mom. I won’t keep you for long—I just needed to ask you to do something for me. I’ll tell you the details some other time, but my locket was destroyed. Sometime tomorrow when I feel my powers have come back enough, I’m going to—to fly to Kansas. Do you think you could have a new shard of meteor rock ready for me in . . . in a lead box?” It had been a long time since I had done any long-distance flying, and the thought terrified me, but I really needed to get a shard. Without one, I was too dangerous to be around.
Mom was quiet for a few seconds. “Okay, Clark. I’ll have it ready for you in a lead box—and I’ll try to get you some lead paint, too, so you’ll always have access to it.”
I felt relieved that she had thought of that. Lead paint was generally only available for non-residential use, and I didn’t know how to get my hands on any. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, Clark. Good night.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“And we love you.”
