Notes: This is essentially a re-write of “A Bolt From The Blue” (season 2), combined with elements of “Chip Off The Old Clark” (season 3). I’ve often wondered what it would have been like to have COTOC’s plot take place earlier on in the series, before Lois knew Clark was Superman. You will notice bits of plots & dialogue taken from both episodes and inserted in this story (so credit where credit is due, yada yada) but the rest is original.
* * * * *
November, 1994
* * * * *
Lois felt her heart drop to her heels.
"Can you believe that?" Jimmy was saying. "Superman has a SON!? How cool is that?"
"Jimmy, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't believe everything you see on TV!"
"Yeah, but Chief -- the kid can FLY!"
"That's just a bunch of fancy shmancy special effects! Now turn that tabloid trash off and get back to work!"
Lois felt frozen. Stiff. Livid. She stared at her computer screen without blinking. One false move and the tears would spill over.
The words from the woman on the television echoed in her head: *Superman and I were lovers. He's my little boy's father. At first, I wasn't sure, but -- well, as you can see, the're really no other way to explain the flying, is there?*
A string of nasty names flooded into Lois's consciousness. It had all seemed so ridiculous at first, but then -- then she'd seen the boy on the TV running across his yard, jumping so high in the air that he looked like a wayward balloon, landing on the roof of his house with a thud, then grinning down at the cameraman and waving.
Her reporter's processing unit kicked into overdrive. Sure, maybe it was all a trick. Maybe Hot Copy had staged the whole thing. Smoke and mirrors, strings and harnesses -- like Peter Pan on stage. But to fabricate something so fantastical, and to involve a child? That seemed a bit much, even for a trashy tabloid show like Hot Copy.
But the other explanation -- the one that woman had given just a few minutes ago, peering into the camera with big, doe eyes -- the explanation that seemed to fit more with Hot Copy's style -- Lois would've rather handed her Kerth awards over to a herd of stampeding buffalo before believing THAT.
A deadbeat dad? Not her Superman! Er, Superman. Well, he may not be HERS, but she was sure she was closer to him than anyone else in Metropolis. She'd given him his name, after all. She'd been the first to interview him one-on-one. And they'd shared several kisses, including one in front of TV cameras and reporters. Had anyone else done that? Hardly. Superman may not be officially HERS, but he certainly wasn't someone else's -- and especially not THAT woman's!
"Wait 'til CK gets a load of this!" Jimmy was saying. He sounded like this was the best news he'd heard all year. Lois had to supress the urge to hurl her keyboard at him. "Where is CK, anyway?" Jimmy asked.
"I'm right here," came Clark's voice. "What's up?"
"CK, you won't believe this this! We were watching Hot Copy, and this woman gets on there and she's all--"
"JIMMY!" Perry's raging voice cut through the young man's words.
Jimmy blanched. "Uh... see ya later, guys."
Clark looked from Jimmy's departing form to Lois's just-saw-a-ghost expression. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing," Lois managed to say. "Jimmy's just going on about something he saw on TV." She blinked, and quickly slid her hand across her face to hide the evidence of her emotions.
Clark did not miss this action, but before he could inquire further, his superhearing picked up his name -- actually, Superman's name. And it wasn't a cry for help. It was coming from across the room. Then again -- from over there! Why was everyone talking about him? He tried to focus. He heard something about a flying boy. Flying boy? Okay, what was going on?
"So where have YOU been?" Lois asked, pulling open one of her desk drawers and beginning to paw through it.
"I was, uh... I needed to grab something to eat."
"At eleven in the morning? You couldn't even wait 'til lunch? Did you bring me anything?"
"What? I-- uh, no, sorry...."
"Clark, if you're going to go off and grab food in the middle of a work day, the least you could do is appease me by bringing me a bagel or something!"
"I'm sorry."
She looked up at him with a rueful smile. "Well, don't let it happen again."
"LOIS! CLARK! IN MY OFFICE! NOW!"
Two heads snapped to attention. Then, without a word, they both made a beeline for Perry's office.
"Shut the door," Perry instructed, and Clark did as he was told.
"What's going on?" Lois asked. "Something big, I hope."
Perry was pacing back and forth in front of his desk. "Look, kids, I know this sounds crazy, but I just got a call from a source of mine, someone I trust. He says this super-boy thing is legit, and advised me to get some reporters down to Maryston right away. So I want you two on this thing a.s.a.p."
"Super-boy thing?" Clark asked, bewildered.
"Chief, you're not serious!" Lois gasped.
"Am I known to tease?" Perry raised an eyebrow.
"No, but Chief, come on -- you yourself said, not ten minutes ago, that this was all a hoax. I mean, it has to be! Superman wouldn't -- I mean, he just WOULDN'T--"
"Whatever Superman would or would not do is up to you two to investigate. Here." Perry handed Lois a slip of paper. "This is the address for the boy's mother. Her last name's Driver. I know it's a bit of a trip, but you two are the best, so go."
"But... what's going on?" Clark asked.
"I'll fill you in on the way," Lois said brusquely as she stormed out of Perry's office.
Clark did the only thing that made any sense to him at the moment -- he followed her.
* * * * *
"Lois, this is INSANE!" Clark cried. "Look at all these news vans! I can't believe it, people are actually taking this woman seriously?!"
"Crazy, right? Nothing else going on in the world today, apparently. Ugh, where am I supposed to park? Oh, there's a spot."
"Lois, that's somebody's lawn..."
"It's brown," she said dismissively.
She parked the jeep, and they got out and began walking toward the Drivers' house. They had to dodge camera and microphone wires and dozens of people. Lois, who had no problem with elbowing, made it to the front porch first, and by the time Clark joined her, she was already involved in a conversation with a tall, bushy-haired brunette.
"You're Lois Lane?!" the woman was saying. "This is such an honor! I've been an admirer of your work forever! I would love it if YOU would tell my story. Won't you come in?"
Several other reporters who were crowded onto the porch were giving Lois dirty looks, but she paid them no mind.
"I'd love to," said Lois. "Oh, and this" -- she had noticed Clark's presence -- "is my partner, Clark Kent. Do you mind if he joins us?"
"No, no, of course not. Come on in, I'd like you to meet my little boy."
No sooner had the front door shut behind them when Lois and Clark heard a loud "Look, Mommy! Lookit what I can do!"
Two mouths dropped open. Ten feet away stood a tiny little boy with brown hair, green eyes, and dimples. He wore a flannel shirt, jeans, and socks. He looked like an ordinary 3-year-old boy... except for the fact that he was hoisting an armchair over his head.
"I can lift it REAL high!" cried the boy.
"Yes, Jussie, I know... now put the chair down and go watch your video like a good boy while I talk to the nice reporters."
"Mommy, the TV got broked when you were outside."
"Well... just play with your cars, then. Have a seat," she urged the reporters.
Clark and Lois sat tentatively on the worn-looking sofa, afraid to take their eyes off the small child, who had now plopped himself down in front of a box of Hot Wheels.
"Miss Driver," Lois said, as the woman took a seat in the airchair the boy had just put down.
"Oh, please, call me Michelle. And that is my son, Justin. Jussie for short."
"Michelle," Lois corrected. "I'm sure you know why we're here."
"You saw my segment on Hot Copy, didn’t you? Seems like everyone has! Funny how quickly fame can hit you! I want to make it clear, though, that I'm not out for fame. All I want is what my little boy deserves."
"And that's what, exactly?" Clark asked.
"Well, the truth, for one thing. I want the world to know the truth. And, well, I just want what's best for my son, of course. A sturdy home--" she looked upward as she said this, and two other pairs of eyes followed hers to the ceiling, where there was a particularly large hole, "-- a good education... what any mother wants, really."
"Mommy, can I have another cookie?"
"Sure, sweetie..."
Michelle turned from her son to Lois and Clark again. "His appetite is voracious these days! He's growing so fast. I can't keep him in clothes. Everything's just... well, it's been rough."
"Miss Dr-- er, Michelle... when did you first notice your son had... these, uh... unusual abilities?" Lois asked, as she watched the little boy rip through half a package of Chips Ahoy in less than ten seconds.
"Well," Michell said, "they all seemed to start a few months back, and all at once, really. I mean, one day he was just going about his regular life, and the next, he was turning somersaults in the air and setting things on fire with his little eyeballs."
"And from what I understand," Lois continued, "you believe this boy to be the son of Superman?"
"Yes. I mean, how else can you explain it?"
"Are you suggesting you had a relationship with Superman?"
"Some kind of a relationship! It was a relationship, all right. It may have been short, but oh, was it intense!"
Clark had to fight hard to bite his tongue. He wanted to protest. He wanted to exclaim that he'd never seen this woman before in his life! Of course they hadn't had a relationship! But, of course, he couldn't. And so he sat there, listening, pained.
"Michelle," said Lois, "there's no record of Superman before 1993. No sightings, nothing. And yet you're insinuating that you knew Superman... more than three years ago? Would you care to explain how that's possible?"
Michelle smiled. "Well, Superman didn't go public until last year, I know. But he's been on Earth for about five years. Most people don't know that, but it's true. When he first got here, he didn't want anybody to know about him, so he had a secret identity. His name was Charles. After we got close, he told me about his powers, and told me that he planned to go public someday, but not until he had sort of scoped out the world first. You know, learned how to speak English real good and figure out the rules of society. He said that's why we couldn't be together forever, because he had a purpose, a mission and all that. Well, at the time, I thought, oh well... that's fine for you, sir... and I just let things be. But after he left me, and I realized I was pregnant -- well... now, don't get me wrong, I'm a strong woman... I was prepared to raise my baby on my own. And things were going fine... until my boy started taking after his daddy."
Clark's fists were clenched tightly beside him. His jaw locked. Oh, for the love of... this was too much! Was Lois actually buying this? He dared to glance sideways at her, and tried to read her expression. She looked interested, but noncommital.
"Do you have any kind of proof that you and Superman were once an item?" Lois asked Michelle. "Momentos, letters....?"
"I'm afraid not," said Michelle. "After he left, I... well, I'm afraid I destroyed everything. But like I told that other reporter, I am more than willing to take a lie detector test or whatever anyone wants me to do, because I have nothing to hide. All I want is the truth to come out and the best for my boy."
Said boy chose that moment to leap through the air, landing semi-gracefully on top of an upright piano.
"Well, thank you for your time," Lois said, standing up quickly.
"Thank YOU," said Michelle. "And please, be in touch if you have any further questions. I just have to say, your articles on Superman have been such a blessing to me! Even though he and I could not be together, somehow... reading about him made me feel like he was truly here, with me."
* * * * *
The ride back to Metropolis was silent for the first twenty minutes. At long last, Lois broke it by saying, "Well?"
"Well, what?" said Clark.
"You know what."
"I think it's a... very... strange situation," Clark said finally. What else could he say? He felt both angry and confused. Angry at the lies the woman was telling, confused at the circumstances. There HAD to be a rational explanation for this unbelievable situation. A boy who had superpowers; that was nuts. But, he thought, in the past year alone he'd witnessed people falling all over each other thanks to a perfume, a suit that could make its wearer invisible, long-dead criminals who'd come back to life, and a group of 11-year-olds that were almost smarter than he was. This super-boy thing was just the latest thing.
"We should talk to Superman." said Lois.
Talk to Superman? Yes, that made sense. Clark supposed he'd have to come up with something to say. But what? Well, denial, for starters. And then what? Everyone would expect an explanation for how the boy had powers if he was not, in fact, Superman's child. And he had no idea how to go about providing one.
"Don't you think so?" Lois pressed.
Clark had to think for a moment to remember her question. "Oh... yeah, yeah, we probably should."
"At least give him a chance to tell his side of the story."
"Are you saying you actually believe that woman? I mean, that she and Superman--"
"Clark, I don't know WHAT to believe. While we were sitting in that living room, we saw a 3-year-old lift an armchair, jump ONTO a piano, and literally inhale a packageful of cookies. He clearly has superpowers!"
"I know, but there could be some other explanation...."
"Like what?"
"I don't know!" Clark said exasperatedly. "Maybe... he's a robot? Maybe he's from the same planet as Superman, but not... well...." Clark knew that wasn't possible, but he had to say SOMETHING. Anything to get Lois's mind off the idea that he -- well, Superman -- had actually been with that woman!
"Clark, I'd love it if that were true. Believe me. Either way, we're going to get to the bottom of this. And that's why we need to talk to Superman. I, for one, would love to hear what he has to say."
TBC
