Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Ch. 12 Nighttime in the Daytime

Feedback goes here. Hope you enjoy!

Artemis

Was it Trask?



Maybe you took this guy Lonnie from the show, but I sure like him!

I can see that I didn't read this fic from the beginning. On the other hand, going back in order to find out which villain did what... nahhh.





Come back here with more of this fic, Artemis!

Ann

I love that you took the lots of the scene with Clark and the homeless man from the show and much of the scene with the Dr. McCorkle and Henderson, too. Love it!!

Can't wait to see what you do next!

Shame, poor Lois

I hope that the government or who-ever it was that fired that missile will apologize for nuking Superman *after* he averted the astroid ... and where will that chunk that's heading to earth land?

So many questions, but looking forward to the next instalment

Hi Ann. Thanks for your comments. Yes, Gen. Jason Trask is head of NORAD. Unfortunately for Superman, he can't authorize it on his own, so somebody else has to be in on the plan. I put in the Canadian comment because I figured out friends to the north are too polite to try to shoot down Superman.
In the show, the homeless man didn't have a name. I named him Lonnie after the homeless man that shows up every day in the Today show audience.
Next Monday for the next part, I hope.
Thanks for your comments, Evelyn and DW.

Trivia note: I play games with my stories. The thought Clark had about staring into "1000 suns" comes from a book on the early days of the nuclear program, "Brighter than a Thousand Suns"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighter_than_a_Thousand_Suns:_A_Personal_History_of_the_Atomic_Scientists
I always call Clark's farm in Smallville, "the Farm" with a capital "F". This is from the Farm where the original members of the Office of Special Services (which became the CIA) trained their operatives and essentially invented America's spy operations. One of the spies they trained was Julia Child who became the famous chef.

Thanks for reading!
Artemis

So Superman can withstand a nuclear explosion!

And I forgot that Henderson knew, so he tested Clark for radiation. Good cover.

Hi Iolanthe:
In this universe, Henderson suspected, but didn't know. That's why he basically asked Lois by raising his eyebrow and nodding toward Clark in the interrogation room. Now he knows officially.
Yes, Superman can survive a nuclear explosion. Remember "Super Mann".
Thanks for reading.
Artemis

You know, I kept worrying Lex might actually kidnap Lois in this version. And I'm surprised he offered her a room in his penthouse instead of going creepy-copycat on her apartment. But combined with the obvious implication behind the companionship, the entire setup truly makes their relationship akin to the kings of old. The lord sleeps in his own chambers and stacks his wives and concubines in separate chambers.

Hmm... he's supposed to do familiar things. /ponders an idea/ On the show Lois helped him remember. Wonder if she could do the same thing here. I mean, sure, it's not exactly familiar territory, yet, but on the other hand, I'm sure it left an impression on him /strolls over to the other side waiting for part 12.5 to appear/

Fun!

Interesting tidbit. I just thought there weren't any ICBMs stationed in Canada.

Michael

Hi Michael:
Well, that's true too. I just liked my rational better
You're reading my mind again! But it will be in 13.5.
Artemis

I decided the story needed a little more explanation of Bill's understanding of the situation. I've changed the story, but so you don't have to go finding it again, here's the changed part:

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

In a police station interrogation room, Clark sat passively at the table, watching the lady psychologist across from him take notes of his answers to her questions. His short term memory was fine, because he remembered that she said her name was Dr. Jerri McCorkle, but his long term memory was gone.

Dr. McCorkle asked another question. “Do you remember having a favorite color?”

Clark responded, “Blue. No, wait a minute. Red. I don't know, Doctor. Maybe yellow.”

“Don't try so hard,” the doctor advised, “there's no right or wrong answer. Let's try
something else. Everything you remember about the last few days.”

“I remember Lonnie the homeless man who gave me my clothes.” In demonstration, he tugged on his shirt front. “Then the shelter. And then the police officer taking me here. Some tests the police did. That's it, I'm afraid.”

“Did you eat at the shelter?”

Clark nodded in the affirmative.

Satisfied, the doctor continued. “Fine. Now, if I told you your name was Clark Kent and that you were a reporter for the Daily Planet, what would your reaction be?”

“Clark Kent? Do you know that for a fact? I don’t know. Something seems missing there, but I don’t know what.”

On the other side of the one-way mirror, Bill Henderson was watching the by-play intently. He remembered Clark Kent the FBI agent as well as Clark Kent the faux Daily Planet reporter helping track down Lex Luthor’s unlawful dealings. Both men were lost here. Maybe there was a third man involved too. Lonnie had been happy to show him the crater where he had found Clark. A naked Clark who was sitting in a large hole in and under the pavement in an alley in Suicide Slum with no idea where he had been. As Lonnie departed the scene, Bill noticed an old billboard in the distance advertising Caribbean vacations. There was a very large elliptical hole in it.

He had moved around until he stood in a straight line to the hole in the billboard, then he turned around 180 degrees and looked at where he was standing. Not to his amazement, he had been standing directly in line with the near edge, center and far edge of the crater. Catching a glimpse of something, he had jumped down into the crater and picked it up. It was a small piece of stiff red material with a short gold line on it that had been stitched in. Placing the material in his pocket, he managed to clamber out of the hole but not without getting a lot of sand in his shoes.

Now, Bill turned as Lois steamed up to him in the observation room, mouth working already.

“Henderson, this better be good. I'm working the asteroid story with my partner AWOL and...” Suddenly she saw Clark though the glass.

Henderson watched her expression intently when she saw him. Relief washed over her face.

Lois turned to him, “What's he doing here?”

“He doesn't know. We picked him up at the Fifth Street Mission. I was working when they brought him in. I gave you a call and here you are.”

Henderson spoke into the room to room intercom. “Doctor?”

Clark was here! Safe and alive! Lois waved wildly and called “Clark!”

Henderson replied with a sardonic, “He can't see you, Lois. It's a one-way. It wouldn't matter, though. Apparently, he doesn't remember a thing. His name, where he works, me, you.”

Dr. McCorkle emerged from the room and Henderson introduced them. “Doctor Jerri McCorkle; Lois Lane from the Daily Planet. Doc's our department shrink.”

“He has no memory of who he is? What could have caused this?” Lois was worried now. Superman had a job to finish and he wasn’t up to the task. Maybe Lex was going to need his bunker after all. Lois firmly pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She had him, now she just needed to make him remember.

At Henderson’s nod of permission, the doctor gave her diagnosis. “There are several possibilities. I'd guess anxiety caused by this asteroid could be a factor. On the other hand, these cases are often triggered by some kind of physical trauma.”

Henderson noticed Lois’ face go white. “I don’t know of any physical trauma recently. Is he going to be okay?”

“Well, physically, he's fine. Whether he's going to regain his memory immediately, I don't know. Based on the battery of questions we ask, it seems Clark suffers from what we now call the 'Superman Complex.'”

Henderson said, “Don't we all?”

The doctor clarified, “What I mean is that he's a chronic do-gooder who thinks he can handle anything. This kind of setback can be very frustrating.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

“Clark needs to be surrounded by familiar people, and do familiar things. It will come back to him in time. Be patient with him.”

Henderson looked at Lois, “That's asking a lot, doc.”

Lois replied defensively, “I can do patient.”

Taking her leave, the doctor shut the outside door and left Henderson and Lois staring at each other.

Henderson lifted his left eyebrow and titled his head toward Clark in obvious inquiry.

Lois kept staring at him, then coming to a decision, slowly blinked both her eyes in a yes gesture, feeling that Henderson could be more of a help and time was running short.

Henderson smiled at her blink, then lifted a shoulder in a ‘what now’ gesture.

Lois pointed her index finger at him and gestured back to herself, indicating “you tell me” or “any ideas?”

Bill Henderson nodded, then cleared his throat. “I don’t know if you know this Lois, but the Suicide Slum area where the homeless man found Clark, in a crater, by the way…”

Lois put her hand over her mouth in an “Oh NO” gesture.

“…was contaminated some years back by improperly protected medical nuclear material. So we routinely test the people at the Fifth Street Mission for radiation exposure and Clark came back clean. He has no trace of radioactivity on him above the normal human level.”

Lois knees almost buckled in relief. It was her turn to clear her throat. As a bonus, she smiled a relieved smile at him. “Oh, that’s good to know, Bill.”

Bill took her arm gently and headed toward the door of the interrogation room. “So why don’t you take Clark to the Daily Planet and get him around familiar things and people. Meanwhile, I’ll arrange to take him by his other office later to see if that additional scene helps. Does that sound good?”

Lois leaned into him briefly. “Thanks, Bill. That does. I feel a bit alone and adrift here. It’s not often you see disaster snatched out of the jaws of success.”

Digging in her voluminous purse, Lois took out her reporter’s notebook and scratched down a phone number, then handed it to Bill. “Here, if you need me, use this number. Don’t give it to anyone else. It’s not mine, it belongs to a very special person who has just done a lot for this world.”

Releasing her arm, Henderson took the paper. “Really? He has a phone?”

“Well, he did, until he gave it to me. There aren’t many people who know this number.”

“Got it, Lois. You need help getting him to the Planet?”

“No, I’ve got my Jeep and I always drive anyway.”

“I’ll just bet you do.” With that, Henderson smiled and left the outer room.

Opening the door to the interior room Lois looked over at Clark.

A strange man inside Clark’s body looked up at her with no recognition in his eyes.

Lois’ heart shattered into a million pieces and an intense fear gripped her. She had lost her friend, her partner and her lover in one gigantic blow. But the world needed him, and by God, she would see that it got him back.

*+*+*+*+*+*+
tbc
Artemis

Thank you for the added details! It helped my slow brain understand the interaction between Henderson and Lois much more clearly in this part.

Yeah, thanks for the details. I actually figured Henderson knew from an earlier meeting, or just figured it out sometime, or something. Good to know I didn't forget about this bit

Michael