Chapter 13. Nighttime in the Daytime
The usual disclaimers apply.
Previously:
Digging in her voluminous purse, Lois took out her reporter’s notebook and scratched down a phone number and then ripped out the page and 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.
Chapter 13. All Alone With the Memory
At least Clark (or shell of Clark) was biddable enough. As they drove to the Planet, Lois kept looking for some sign of interest in their surroundings from him. But he stared straight ahead, seemingly in a daze. He followed her from the parking garage to the elevator to the third floor without comment or apparent interest.
Lois wondered if he needed shock therapy to jolt him out of his mood. On the other hand, he had just had a large dose of shock therapy that was more than a human could take.
In the bullpen, Lois walked Clark to his desk.
Speaking to him in the same voice and tone she had always used with him, she said, “This is your desk. Look familiar?”
Clark said, “I'm sorry. No,” but his inflection was flat and unemotional.
Lois was concerned, but then she reasoned with herself that he didn’t remember how to react to his surroundings. Everything was just furniture to him, including people. He didn’t recognize anyone, including her. She needed to find familiar things to jog his memory. After this, she would try his apartment, after that, her apartment. And then after that, she would turn him over to the not so tender graces of Bill Henderson to take him to his official office.
Taking a deep breath and forging ahead, Lois explained, “You always come in and grab a donut from the coffee area. You usually like the cake things with the frosting. They're a little stale now. Are you hungry?”
At least Clark turned and looked where she was pointing. “I can't remember anything, but I'm not hungry. I had breakfast at the shelter. I’m fine.”
Lois examined Clark in detail for the first time. In the old clothes and broken glasses, he looked anything but fine. She opened his desk drawer and found his extra glasses and handed them to him. “You keep a second pair of glasses here. You always seem to be losing them somehow.” She smiled slightly at the private joke.
Naturally, Clark didn’t get the joke and obediently put the glasses on after taking off the broken ones. The world looked no different to him.
“Look around the office, Clark. Now look at me. You mean you really don't remember anything?”
Shaking his head in the negative, Clark asked uncertainly, “We're a reporting team, isn't that what you said?”
Half joking, Lois watched his expression closely, “I'm more like the... 'senior partner.'”
“So you call the shots?”
“You could say that.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, he said, “Okay. What should I do?
Alternating between suspicion and a fear of taking unfair advantage, Lois sighed. She couldn’t stand lying to a defenseless man.
“We're full partners. Nobody works for anybody. Although, for the immediate future, you may want to follow my lead.”
“That is probably a good idea.” His speech patterns were a little formal and stilted.
An inquisitive Cat approached and eyed Clark's attire. “Clark, what's the fashion statement here?”
Perhaps a little too possessively, although she couldn’t help herself, Lois interceded. “The statement is: Clark has amnesia.”
Addressing Clark, Lois explained, “This is Cat Grant. She writes a gossip column for the paper. We write stories about the breaking news.”
For the first time ever, Lois saw Cat looked bewildered. “Is there a punch line I'm missing here?”
“She's telling the truth Miss Grant. I don't remember much of anything.”
Cat looked skeptical for a time, and then said to Lois, “Excuse us just a moment.” Then she pulled Clark to the side and spoke to him with soft sincerity. “Oh, honey, it's me, Cat. How can you not remember what we've meant to each other?”
“I guess we work together, huh?”
“We do a lot more than that.”
For the first time, Clark showed a little emotion: incredulity. “We do?”
Cat whispered, “We've kept it a secret. You're so worried about what people would think. Especially her.” Cat gestured toward Lois and then looked like she was about to cry. “Now you don't even remember 'us.'”
Cat began to cry in a staged manner, and then Clark tentatively started to comfort her. Cat immediately changed it to a sensual hug. “Does this refresh your memory?”
Lois couldn’t hear, but she could see and was about to intercede in Clark's behalf, when Perry approached and cleared his throat. At his look, Cat let go of Clark with a shrug meaning, ‘well, it was worth a try’ and went back to her desk without so much as a good-bye. That left Clark a little confused.
Perry stuck out his hand to Clark for a handshake. Clark seemed to recognize what the gesture meant and gripped his hand. Perry recoiled in pain and ground out, “That’s quite a grip you’ve got there, Clark.”
After freeing his hand and shaking it dramatically, Perry introduced himself. “I’m Perry White, son. Sorry to hear about what's happened here.” As Jimmy walked up, Perry said with some relief, “And this here is Jimmy Olsen.”
Jimmy was overly jovial, clearly not knowing how to deal with the situation. “Hi,Clark. Actually, I always call you 'C.K.,' C.K.”
Perry returned to business. Henderson had given him the report from Dr. McCorkle to involve Clark in the familiar. “Now, how you feelin'? Up to going to a news conference?”
“I guess so.”
Addressing Lois, he returned to editor mode and said, “Something's cookin' at EPRAD.”
Lois just bet she knew what the something was.
Dismissing the both of them, Perry advised Clark, “And, no offense, but why don't you go check out your locker, see if you got a change of clothes? Jimmy will show you the way. There are showers there too.”
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As soon as Jimmy turned Clark toward the elevators, Lois fled to the small conference room and took out Clark’s cell phone and called Pete.
A hopeful sounding Pete answered the phone, “Any news, Lois?”
“Yes, I found him, Pete!”
Exhaling loudly, Pete said in relief, “You found him? Where?”
“The police picked him up at the Fifth Street Mission and brought him in. A friend in the police department recognized him and called me.”
Puzzled, Pete asked, “What was he doing at the Fifth Street Mission?”
“He crash landed in Suicide Slum and a homeless man brought him to the Mission.”
“Thank God, he survived.”
“And,” Lois paused dramatically, “he’s not radioactive.” Lois had written an article on the early days of the Manhattan Project and knew something about the effects of nuclear weapons.
“How do you know?”
“The policed tested him for radiation.”
“Why in the world…”
“The story I got was that there had been some poorly shielded nuclear materials in the area and it was a matter of common practice.”
“Oh – kay. Sounds farfetched, but good to know.”
“Pete, there’s a problem, other than the fragment heading for us again.”
“What’s that?”
“Clark doesn’t remember he is…you know who.”
“Can he still do his stuff, though?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen any evidence of it yet, except a really firm handshake with Perry White. The doctor who evaluated him for memory loss said he should be around familiar things. I wanted to let you know he was found and also that I think it would help him if you came here. And just in case, bring an extra set of clothes from Rita.” Lois knew Pete would understand the subtext of the message to come and bring a new Suit with him.
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Jimmy and Clark entered the Mens locker room on the floor below.
“Here’s your locker, C.K. I hope you remember your lock combination, because I don’t know it. Over there are the showers and there’s a soap dispenser too. I’ll leave you to it.”
With that, Jimmy left. Clark may not have his memory, but he had the distinct impression he was in need of a shower. Since he didn’t remember his combination, he simply pulled the simple long hasp lock down. It opened with only minor resistance.
Feeling better after his shower and the look of approval on Lois’ face as he returned to the news room, Clark followed Lois down to the street to hail a cab to the news conference at City Hall. When the cab pulled back into traffic after dropping them off, Clark tried to stifle a sneeze, but lost the battle. He didn’t notice that his sneeze blew the cab sideways into a fire hydrant.
Feeling better after this little unintentional demonstration of superpowers, Lois grabbed his arm and confided while patting his arm familiarly, “One thing you need to re-learn right away is that Metro cabbies cannot drive. Never trust them.”
Clark nodded, following along after Lois. It felt good to him when she took his arm, like something familiar. It certainly felt better than when Miss Grant had hugged him. Maybe they were more than just friends. Suddenly, he started to feel like he might be coming alive again.
Lois chattered on in her usual manner, “Now this news conference we're going to is about Superman and the asteroid I told you about.”
“This Superman – it sounds like he means a lot to you.”
“He means a lot to everybody, Clark,” Lois prevaricated.
Lois and Clark stood with the other newshounds as Dr. Daitch, Under-Secretary Cosgrove and General Zeitlin approached a microphone set up on the steps in front of the City Hall. Lois whispered the names of the speakers to Clark as they came up.
Cosgrove approached the microphone with no preamble and began speaking.
“We have just completed a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Team. This meeting was called to discuss the scientific assessment from EPRAD about yesterday's mission.”
Daitch then took his turn at the microphone, reluctantly coming forward as if he was loathed to be there. “Superman's push on the 'Nightfall' asteroid was substantial. It was not, however, umm, decisive, and as a result a nuclear device was fired at the asteroid. Unfortunately that splintered the asteroid and a large chunk of it is still on its way to an Earth impact. And,” Daitch looked over at Zeitlin for some reason, “as result of the explosion it is coming here faster.”
Lois asked incredulously, “Are you telling us there's still something out there?”
Daitch nodded, “A large portion -- approximately one mile across -- remains on an impact course with the Earth. Due to the timing and the Earth’s rotation during the time, it is still headed for Metropolis in about thirty-six hours from now.”
Tim Kring from the Star asked the next question. “Is that why we haven't heard from Superman? He's working on a return mission?”
Knowing full well why they hadn’t heard from Superman, Lois wanted to see the trio’s reaction to her question. She had been prepared to ask the very same thing.
Staring out at the sea of eager faces, Daitch looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Cosgrove stepped back to the microphone and replied a little too smoothly, “We have not yet heard from Superman although we expect to soon.”
There was an audible gasp from the assembled journalists. Cosgrove gestured for order. “There is no need for panic. Even without Superman's help, we are confident we can handle this latest challenge with existing resources. General?”
On cue, General Zeitlin stepped to the microphone. “We have several more delivery systems, notably the Asgard booster, which we are in the process of re-programming. At the same time, we're currently attaching more nuclear payloads which, if we can deliver them, will finish the job Superman started.”
Lois said loud enough to be heard at the podium and by her co-workers, “Because that worked so well the first time.”
The men at the podium pointedly did not acknowledge her comment.
Silence fell. Into the silence, Clark spoke up, “Are you looking for Superman?”
Back in the newsroom, the staff was watching the news conference with serious faces. Perry nodded and remarked to the group, “Kent asked a question. Good sign.”
On the television, Zeitlin replied tersely to Clark, “We're trying to stop a catastrophe.
Our opinion is that Superman knows how to find us much easier than we know how to find him.”
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After returning to the Planet to write up the press conference and the new news of the still upcoming impending doom, Perry let them off early so Lois could take Clark to his apartment. Driving him there, she parked in front and walked with him up to the door.
Clark’s eyebrows rose in surprise as she fished under a flowerpot and brought out the door key and handed it to him. He was surprised he left his key in such an obvious place.
Without explanation about the key, Lois gestured to the door, “Go on and open the door. It's your place, after all.”
Clark turned the key in the lock and turned the knob, then slowly opened the door. Uncertainty written on his face, he turned to look at Lois, and saw her shooing motion and heard the reiterated, “go on.”
Clark entered, followed by Lois. Clark looked around, seeing the place through new eyes.
“Does this look familiar, Clark?”
“No, not really, Sorry.” After wandering around his apartment, he began to pick up photos and looked at all the myriad of book titles in his bookshelf. He was surprised to see that many were in foreign languages. Picking up an old signed football, he smelled its leather, hoping for a clue.
“You played in college,” Lois said in explanation of the football and indicated his KU trophy.
Perhaps souvenirs of his college life would help.
Clark put down the football and picked up a photo of the Rosses with Pete and Rita.
“My family?”
“Your foster family. Your parents are Sarah and Roger Ross and your brother is Pete and your sister Rita. They are nice people. The office tried to get in touch with them but they didn't answer. Phones are overloaded all over the country.”
Suddenly the phone in Lois’ purse rang. “Except maybe this one.” Sitting on the couch, Lois took out Clark’s phone and answered it.
“Hello”
“Lois, this is Pete.” He sounded panicked. “I can’t get a plane to Metropolis. They’re all canceled. Can you believe it! This is the time I wish Clark was, you know, Clark.”
Lois looked up and saw Clark staring at the phone in her hand like a man wandering and lost in the desert who had just found a water hole. “Hang on, Pete. I think he recognizes this phone. I’ll put you on.”
“What! No! I don’t know…”
Extending the phone to Clark, she said, “It’s your brother, Pete.” She patted the couch. “Come, sit here and talk to him.”
With an unsure manner, Clark took the phone and sat down. Lois got up and went to the kitchen area and pretended to get a glass of water, listening to Clark very intently. A little superhearing would be convenient now, but alas, she didn’t have any.
“Hello,” Clark said hesitantly, as if he’d never used a cell phone before.
“Bro, Clark, how are you? Man, I’ve been so concerned about you. Lois called earlier and said what had happened and I wanted to come and be there for you but I can’t get a flight from Kansas City to Metropolis or from any other city to Metropolis for that matter. Hey, listen, I know I’m running on like usual, but I just wanted you to know that you’ve always been a great brother to me and to Rita too. And our parents love you too. Whatever happens in the future, we’re there for you, bro.”
Clark didn’t know what to say after that to this babbling person he didn’t know. He just looked confused. “Ummm” was all he could manage.
Lois came back and took charge by taking the phone. “Hey Pete, since we’ve got a connection here and many folks don’t, why don’t you tell Clark some childhood stories? Maybe that will help his memory.” Then she handed the phone back. “Ask him a question about growing up with you. Anything. Maybe that will help trigger memories. You have a good memory for new information now.”
Clark took it and cleared his throat. “Hey, Pete. Ummn, thanks for the phone call. I seem to have misplaced my memory in my other hat.”
Even Lois could hear Pete’s laughter. “That’s my brother! Always with the witty sayings. What would you like to know, bro.”
Back in the kitchen, Lois did get a glass of water and sat at the table, watching and marveling as Clark slowly relaxed into the couch and continued talking to his brother. The phone call was definitely having a good effect on him. Whether that would trigger his memory, Lois didn’t know.
Suddenly, Clark’s landline rang and Lois answered. “Clark Kent’s apartment.”
“Hi Lois, Bill. The other phone was busy.”
“Yes, he’s talking to his brother Pete.”
“Is it helping?”
“Maybe. It’s hard to tell.”
“Can you get him over to the FBI building?”
“Yeah, sure, what time?”
“Make it 6 p.m. Fewer people around then.”
“Got it.” As she hung up, she noticed Clark was getting a little frustrated and agitated, probably because he couldn’t hold up his end of the reminiscence fest.
Coming over to sit beside Clark, she said to him, “Say goodbye to Pete and give me the phone.”
Doing as she said, Clark handed her the phone. Lois took it and said, “Hey, Pete thanks for that. I think that’s enough for now. I’ll update you as soon as I can. O.K. Good bye. I’ll be in touch.”
With that she shut the phone and sat there, then looked over at Clark and put her hand on his leg in a comforting manner.
Sympathetically, she continued, “I know you must be scared not remembering people who remember you. The positive thing here is they remember you fondly and like you.” Slowly she stroked his leg, falling into a familiar habit for her, but unknown to him.
“Sort of. To have time running out when you don't know what you've missed...”
“You've been around the world. You have a family who loves you. You haven't missed anything important.”
Clark realized her thigh stroking was having a pleasant effect on him. “And we are friends, right?”
“Sure we're friends.”
“Are we... more than friends?”
How much to tell him and how soon? ”More than ... ? I told you. We're partners. We work closely together.”
Clark turned to face her more, putting his thigh in an awkward angle, so she stopped the stroking. He felt the loss. “How close?”
Suddenly realizing what she had been doing unconsciously, Lois backed off. “Close. Not close, close, but close.”
Examining her face, Clark said softly, “I bet you're a great reporter.”
“See? Your memory is starting to come back already,” she said teasingly.
Lois noticed that Clark was staring at her intently.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was just wondering how we met.”
Again, Lois wondered how much to tell him – and when, then decided the true story was the best tack. “We first met In a bar.”
Clark’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “In a bar?” He didn’t feel like a regular bar patron type and he didn’t think Lois looked like one either. But how he knew that he didn’t know.
Smiling, Lois reminisced. “You were the bartender, I was the chanteuse in a shady nightclub.”
Clark’s eyebrows rose. “A bartender and a chanteuse? Sounds like a film noir.”
“Do you know what a film noir is?”
“Murder, mayhem and steamy sex,” he bantered automatically and then looked startled.
Lois gave her full throated laugh for the first time in what seemed like ages. “Close. We were undercover in a sting operation to catch some bad guys.”
“Did we?” Strangely this felt both familiar and comfortable. “Catch the bad guys?”
“Yes, we did and a bad lady too.” Lois smiled at him. Their faces were now inches apart
“Did we like each other right away? You and me, I mean.”
“We didn't not like each other.”
“Hey, I'm remembering something.” Clark tilted his head as if reluctant to say what he remembered.
“What’s that?” Lois maintained her position right in front of his face and added an expectant expression.
“I…unh… kissed you…in a…pantry?”
“Good memory! Yes, you did. You kissed me for cover.”
“Cover?”
“I was spying through a peephole into the bad lady’s office, she came out, was headed our way, you grabbed me and kissed me so that she wouldn’t catch me out.”
Clark asked softly, “Did you like it?”
Lois smiled. “Yes, I did, but at the time I wouldn’t admit it to myself. You’re a great kisser.”
“How…how did I do it?”
“Stand up and I’ll tell you.” Lois was pleased to note that Clark stood up quickly and reached a hand down to help her up, still the polite gentleman.
Standing in front of him face to face, Lois said, “Now grab my shoulders and quickly pull me toward you and kiss me. Remember we’re looking out for the bad lady and trying to hide me.”
Rather enthusiastically, Clark grabbed her gently and pulled her to him. With a last look in her eyes, he closed his, slipped one hand around her neck and head and kissed her.
Lois closed her eyes too. At the touch of his mouth, she thought she had died and gone to heaven. Relief swept over her at the familiarity and she put extra effort into the kiss, and then slowly pulled back.
Clark stood there with his eyes closed, then slowly opened them, staring into her eyes. Clearing his throat, he whispered, “That…that was our first kiss?”
Lois smiled coyly. “This version was a little more enthusiastic than the real first kiss.”
“Wow. I feel…I feel…nice, relaxed and…happy!”
Reaching up and holding his dear face in her hands, she said, “That was a small trip down memory lane.” She dropped her hands, and continued, “But now, we need to have some dinner and then go to another office for another meeting. That was Inspector Henderson on your line and he wants to see you again at 6 p.m. Even if you’re not hungry, I am. So, I’ll order some take out and we can spend the time waiting refreshing your memory.”
*+*+*+*+*+*+
Lois pulled up to a metered parking space in front of the Metropolis FBI building. The normally busy street was eerily empty of people, a strange phenomenon even for 6 p.m. on a weekday night. They both exited the car simultaneously and moved to the front doors of the public lobby. Beside the doors was the news rack for the Daily Planet, displaying the evening’s edition.
The headline on the story above the fold read "SUPERMAN CAME HOME" with the sub-headline, "Where Is He Now?" The by-line read, "By Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen." Lois gave it a cursory glance as Clark held the door open for her and then they both entered.
Waiting in the public Lobby was Bill Henderson. He moved up to Lois and Clark as they came in toward the security desk. Bill extended his hand to Clark and shook it.
For his part, Clark made sure not to put too much pressure on the detective’s hand.
“Hi Clark, Lois. Clark, follow me. Lois, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait here in the lobby. I can’t take you up with us.”
Lois didn’t really like that, but she understood and simply nodded. “O.K.” To Clark she said, “I’ll be here waiting for you. You’ll be fine.” She smiled at him and patted his back.
For his part, Clark looked reluctant to let her go, but turned in resignation to follow Bill through the security.
Lois sat in a guest chair near a fake ficus tree and watched Bill produce his I.D., empty his pockets and walk through security. She could see him talk to the guard, who made a phone call and then watched as Clark put the keys and wallet he had retrieved from his apartment on the tray and then walk though the security sensor. As they stood in front of the elevator, he turned and gave Lois one last look over his shoulder, then entered the elevator with Bill.
Lois was just settling in with, believe it or not, a current magazine when she heard a sound of familiar boot steps through the front door. Immediately she recognized her father striding purposefully toward the security desk. He quickly showed the guard his security badge and put his keys and wallet in the tray as if he did this every day. The guard simply nodded him through the scanner.
Amazed and confused, Lois was wondering what her father was doing at the FBI office at this hour?
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Tbc
Artemis
