“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” - Vaclav Havel
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Episode Three
Something Makes Sense
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Tuesday Afternoon
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SUPERMAN UNMASKED
The Metropolis Star
By Toby RaynesIs it possible we have all been deceived by a pair of glasses?
Assistant District Attorney Mayson Drake gave an exclusive interview to The Metropolis Star in which she claimed that the city’s favorite son, Superman, who graced the skies of Metropolis for nearly two years, is in reality Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet.
When pressed to reveal how she knows this, Ms. Drake stated that she met with Superman about two months ago and at that time he allegedly had been blinded by a Dr. Harry Liet, an ophthalmologist, whose body was recently found floating in Hobbs Bay.
Superman’s abrupt disappearance from the city two months ago still remains officially unexplained in spite of one brief appearance earlier this week where he had little contact with the public and made no statements to the press.
Mr. Kent also disappeared at the same time, quitting his job at the Daily Planet and returning to his adopted family’s home in Smallville, Kansas. Mr. Kent recently returned to Metropolis whereupon it was revealed that he had also lost his sight.
When Ms. Drake confronted Mr. Kent with the coincidence, she claims that Mr. Kent confirmed to her that he is indeed the Man of Steel and that, on one occasion, she even saw him fly.
She also maintains that both Clark Kent and his long time reporting partner, Lois Lane, and by extension, that great bastion of truth itself, The Daily Planet, have been actively deceiving the American public in their efforts to keep this story hidden.
At the request of this paper, Dr. Simon Gaul, an expert in facial recognition programming, compared file pictures of both Superman and Clark Kent before their unfortunate accidents and confirms that the facial structures of the two men was the same.
Also backing up Ms. Drake’s claim is the fact that although Mr. Kent worked for papers all over the world before coming to Metropolis, there does not appear to be any record of him traveling by air to any of the places he visited.
Calls to Mr. Kent and The Daily Planet to obtain their responses to this story have remained unanswered.
* * * * * * * * *
On the other side of the Atlantic, two reporters and a dog strolled along a pedestrian pathway on the bank of the Seine River, blissfully unaware of the bombshell that had been dropped on Metropolis with the publication of the evening edition of The Metropolis Star.
The sun had set and the lights of the city were reflected off the surface of the river. Clark could not see this, but he remembered it well. In the air was the smell of spring, of newly growing grass and flowers and leaves starting to bud on nearby trees. The late evening air was crisp, but not cold, especially when they had the heat of each other to warm them.
Dinner had been excellent. When he’d first decided to bring Lois back to Paris, Clark had intended to take her to the Le Jules Vernes Restaurant located in the Eiffel Tower which boasted a remarkable view of the city and a world-renowned chef. But he’d eventually decided on something that was much more their style, a small, intimate French bistro where Clark had dined several times over the years. Certainly not as grand as the Le Jules Vernes, but in Clark’s opinion the food was as good and the atmosphere much more intimate. And it had the added benefit of not completely sending him into bankruptcy. Two hundred dollars a plate for dinner was sort of pricey for a simple reporter, even if the travel costs were free.
Besides, he hadn’t been able to get reservations at the Le Jules Vernes at the last minute.
By tacit consent, they’d not spoken about anything of any real depth. Not about work. Not about Leit and Munch’s comments. Not about the Faraday device. Not even about Mayson’s lack of answer as to whether she would keep Clark’s secret. Instead, they’d flirted and teased each other until Lois had giggled that they were being nauseatingly mushy.
They’d spent much of the previous night, dealing with police officers, giving statements and writing up their second story of the day about an attempt on the life of an Assistant District Attorney.
So when they’d risen groggily in the morning to the ringing of the phone and been told by Perry to take the day off, they’d been more than happy to follow directions. Turning off their phone. Waking at their leisure. Making slow love in the morning light of their room. Flying to Paris to wander the streets and go up the Eiffel Tower. And finally, an intimate supper followed by a walk along the Seine. They’d put all troubling thoughts to the side to concentrate on each other and their blossoming relationship.
“I don’t think even if I lived here full time that I would ever get used to this,” Lois said, pulling Clark out of his thoughts.
“Used to what?”
“Walking along and suddenly catching a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.”
Clark smiled.
“I wish you could see it,” she continued.
He gently kissed her forehead. “I have. And walking here with you... I feel as if I’m seeing it again.”
She drew them to a stop, turning him towards her so that she could reach up and pull his head down to hers. The kiss was slow as they took their time to learn each other’s taste once again. When it finally broke, the hand Clark was not using to hold Shadow tightened around her, holding her close to his heart.
She laid her head on his chest. “Now this is what I call a date,” she said with a sigh of contentment. “Makes all previous dates pale by comparison.”
“And it’s not over yet.”
Lois pulled back to look at him.
“If I recall correctly,” Clark continued, “there are benches around here somewhere.”
“Uhh...” She seemed to look around then. “Yeah, there’s one over there.”
“Can we...?”
She must have agreed because she began leading them until they finally arrived at a bench. He directed her to have a seat, but didn’t sit down himself. Instead, keeping hold of her hand, he moved until he was standing in front of her.
“Clark?” she asked, obviously not understanding why he wasn’t joining her.
Well, that would end in a moment. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage before lowering himself to a knee in front of her. “Lois, I love you. I think I’ve always loved you. Before we met, it was only the promise of you. But then you stormed into Perry’s office, barely noticing me, and my heart nearly stopped beating. Or maybe it started beating for the first time. And from that moment on, I’ve dreamed of a day where I could finally ask you...” She ended his speech by placing her fingers over his lips.
She sighed and her forehead came to rest against his. “Don’t. Please,” she whispered.
“Lois...”
“If you’re going to ask what I think you’re going to ask then... please don’t.”
He felt his heart plummet. There could be no mistaking what he was going to ask... or her answer. He stood up abruptly, letting go of her hand as if it burned to the touch.
“Clark...” Her voice was soft, pleading with him to understand.
The problem was that he did understand. She didn’t want to marry him. How could he have been so wrong as to think she did?
“It’s fine, Lois,” he said abruptly. “You know, it’s getting late. It’s probably time for us to think about going home.” He took a couple steps away from her.
“Don’t do this, Clark,” she warned.
“Do what? I’m not doing anything. You didn’t want me to ask, so I didn’t.”
“I didn’t say never. Just... not right now. I need...”
“It’s fine, Lois,” he said, cutting her off abruptly. “Just answer me this... Is it because I’m blind?”
He knew by the indignant breath she took that he’d stepped over the line. “You know... I think you’re right,” she said, clearly angry now. “It’s getting late. I think it’s time to go home.”
“Lois...” he began, making an effort to be conciliatory.
“Not now, Clark. Maybe tomorrow we can discuss this, but not now. I think it’s time for us to go home. Morning comes fast. I think what I need most right now is a good night’s sleep.”
He sighed. He wanted to withdraw the accusation, but clearly she was no longer in the mood to listen. Still, what else could it be? She claimed to love him. They were living together. So why wouldn’t she marry him? Unless... maybe she really wasn’t as certain as she claimed about being in a relationship with a blind man - at least on a permanent basis.
* * * * * * * * *
Perry’s fist crinkled the afternoon addition of The Metropolis Star, the fury rising in his chest. No doubt existed in his mind that this was what Clark had been referring to when he’d been in the office last night. And to think that Perry had liked Mayson Drake. But now... She’d be run out of town on a rail if he had anything to say about it.
Dumping The Star into his trash can, he pulled up his word processing program and began to type. His editorial for tomorrow’s paper would turn the entire city against that witch. She was obviously the person who had attempted to blackmail Superman into not appearing at City Hall the day before. When the city found out about that... He would hate to be in her shoes.
And... reading between the lines of Lois and Clark’s early morning story, he had no doubt that this woman would be lying in the morgue today if it hadn’t been for that same man.
And this was how she repaid him?
Words flowed freely as he used everything he’d learned over the years to fashion facts into persuasive argument. The heat flowing through his veins rushed quickly onto the page until it was filled. Finally, he sat back and read through it. It was good. It said what he wanted it to say.
And he couldn’t publish it.
It might destroy Mayson Drake, but it would confirm things about Clark that he was certain Clark didn’t want confirmed. No. The time might come for this editorial, but that time was definitely not now. Not while there was still a chance that the world wouldn’t believe Mayson’s claim.
Damn!
He quickly deleted the document and closed his word processor. Better to have to recreate the editorial if the time came to publish it than to risk having someone come across it on his computer.
Perry looked up, startled, when the door to his office opened and Jimmy rushed inside. “Don’t you knock?” Perry demanded, his heart rate jumping at the mere thought of how close Jimmy had come to interrupting him when that incriminating editorial was still on his computer.
Jimmy looked jumbled. He glanced back at the door as if he hadn’t even remembered opening it. “Uhh... sorry, Chief. Do you want me to...” He gestured towards the door.
Perry shook his head. There was little point in that. Besides, the editorial was now gone. “What is it, Jimmy?”
“Uhh...” Jimmy glanced down at his hand and Perry suddenly understood. Jimmy was holding the afternoon edition of The Star. “Have you seen this?”
Perry pointed to his garbage can.
“There’s nothing to this, right?” he asked, his voice not nearly as certain as his words. “I mean, when I think about it, C.K. has always looked a little bit like Superman.”
“Son, people used to think I looked a little bit like Elvis when I was younger, but when I sing ‘Love Me Tender,’ women don’t swoon or throw their underwear at me.”
Jimmy finally seemed to relax. “Probably a good thing for your relationship with Alice, huh?”
“Git!” Perry growled pointing to the door. Jimmy had just made it to the door when Perry stopped him. “Oh, and, Jimmy...” When Jimmy looked back, Perry held out the garbage can. Jimmy smiled before dropping his paper in the can to join Perry’s copy. “I’m going to be heading out a little early today.”
“You, Perry?” Jimmy asked incredulously. “Taking Alice out somewhere nice?”
“I wish. No, I just have some private business to take care of today. Oh, and when you leave, can you send Eduardo in here?”
* * * * * * * * *
The trip to Paris had been a lot more relaxed and enjoyable than the trip home. Clark silently landed them in a dark alley next to their apartment building since negotiating things like windows was still a little difficult for him, especially to do it quickly enough when carrying passengers to ensure he wouldn’t be seen.
Lois sighed as she watched Clark clip Shadow’s halter on him. Then she took Clark’s free hand and placed it on her arm so that she could lead him back to their apartment.
How had the day gone so terribly wrong? It had been the perfect date until... Well, not until Clark had almost proposed, but when he’d accused her of turning down his proposal because he was blind. How could he be so dense? When, during the past few weeks, had she in any way given him reason to think that?
His almost proposal had been... terrifying. She’d realized the previous evening that he was thinking about marriage. But she’d managed to push that thought to the back of her mind, until he’d forced her to confront the issue. It had taken her a moment to stop him when she’d realized what he was about to do, mainly because she hadn’t quite been able to believe it was happening. But as well as being terrifying, in some odd way it had also been thrilling.
Oh, she’d known from the moment they’d revealed their feelings for each other that this would never be a casual affair. That wasn’t Clark’s style. It wasn’t hers either, for that matter. And risking their friendship, or their professional relationship, for more was not something either of them had done lightly. But marriage? If last week they hadn’t been really ready to talk about moving in together, what could have possessed him to believe she would be ready to accept a proposal of marriage?
She would have been willing to talk to him about it - to tell him that although she loved him, everything was just moving a little bit too fast for her - until he’d made that very insulting comment about her stopping him because she didn’t want to marry a blind man. When had she ever given him reason to believe that her feelings for him were in any way affected by the loss of his sight?
She glanced across at him. He looked as miserable as she. She wished she had some way to break the awkward silence between them. But nothing came to mind - nothing, at least, that she didn’t think would simply start another fight.
Maybe words weren’t what they needed anyway. Maybe she needed to simply show him how she felt about him. How much she really did love him. Well, once they got home... One way or another they’d hash it all out. She wouldn’t allow them to go to sleep until he realized how much she loved him and needed him in her life - whether she was really ready to talk about marriage yet or not.
Having reached that decision, she felt calmer as they completed their trip. Arriving at the door to the apartment, Lois fished in her purse for her keys.
“Lois, I just want to say...”
“Just wait a second,” Lois interrupted. Whatever he wanted to say would be better said once they were securely inside the apartment.
She turned the final key, opened the door and stepped inside.
“I just wanted to say...”
“Perry?” Lois said, again cutting Clark off when she saw Perry sitting on their new couch.
“I used the keys you keep in your desk to let myself in,” Perry said, rising from the couch. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I thought you might want to see this - in private.” With that he handed them a copy of The Metropolis Star with large pictures of both Superman and Clark visible above the fold... together with a headline that ran across the entire page. Superman Unmasked.
“Oh my god,” Lois whispered, the color draining from her face.
“What?” Clark asked.
“I’ll leave you two to discuss this,” Perry said, picking up his coat. “Just thought you should know that I’ve assigned Eduardo to follow-up on this for the Planet.”
“Eduardo?” Lois gasped in surprise.
“What?” Clark asked again.
“Article. Metropolis Star,” Lois said before reading from the page in front of her. “It’s called: Superman Unmasked. Toby Raynes is the reporter on the byline. There are pictures of both you and Superman. It reads: ‘Is it possible we have all been deceived by a pair of glasses? Assistant District Attorney, Mayson Drake, gave an exclusive interview to The Metropolis Star in which she claimed that the city’s favorite son, Superman, who graced the skies of Metropolis for nearly two years is in reality Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet.’” She continued, finishing the article fairly quickly before turning her attention back to their boss. “This is our story, Perry!” she exclaimed. “How can you give it to Eduardo?”
“For the same reason I’m not submitting the editorial I wrote this afternoon demanding that Mayson Drake leave town before sunrise. Because, from the allegations in the article, no one would listen to it coming from any of us. Feel free to point Eduardo in the right direction, but this is his story. Capiche?”
“Perry...”
“We understand, Perry,” Clark said before Lois could compose her argument.
She turned and glared at her partner... Or should that be soon-to-be-former partner... and current traitor. How dare he give this story away? Didn’t he realize how dangerous it could be to have Eduardo... or any other reporter for that matter, digging around in his life?
“Okay, well, I’ll see you both in the morning,” Perry said, quickly picking up his coat and walking to the door.
* * * * * * * * *
“Do you want to tell me what that was all about?” Lois demanded the instant the door closed behind Perry.
“Before we talk about that... Let’s just take a moment to check our answering machine,” Clark said wearily.
Lois wasn’t sure she wanted to wait, but he did have a point. If someone like his parents had called to say they were being hounded by paparazzi, or worse, psychopathic killers determined to seek revenge on Superman, the discussion might have to wait quite a while.
She motioned him to proceed and then cringed when she heard Toby Raynes’ voice come over the speaker, asking if Clark had any response to a story that would be coming out today in which Mayson Drake claimed that he was Superman. She wondered briefly what might have happened if they had heard that message before leaving for Paris this morning. After all, if the Metropolis Star had a reporter with integrity, it would be Raynes. Not that her story might not have been manipulated somewhat by her editor - who didn’t have quite as ethical a reputation. Smart of Mayson, though, to decide to take this story to Raynes.
The next message was worse than the first. Her mother. Demanding to know why her answering machine had been changed to her and Clark’s place and then demanding to know why she hadn’t been informed that her daughter was living with Superman.
By the third message, Lois had already had enough. As Barry Dunning from LNN came on the line, offering Clark a large sum of money to come on the show ‘In Your Face’ to answer the claim that he was Superman, she had a sudden desire to visit the bathroom.
When she came out, the messages were still continuing. She plopped herself down on the couch as the messages seemed to run together in a never ending stream of questions, requests... even a few threats. There was even a proposed movie deal - well, providing he could furnish proof of his superhero status for their records.
“What do they want?” Lois had muttered following that particular call. “A certified copy of your Superheroes of America card?”
Finally, the one message she’d been concerned about started. Clark’s parents.
“We’re fine, honey,” Martha’s voice said immediately. “Rachel called. Apparently, she heard about this ridiculous story at the station before LNN picked it up. Some reporter called there to ask if she knew that Clark was Superman. She told them they were nuts and hung up immediately. After receiving another such call, she phoned to check on us. She told us that if we have any trouble with trespassers to let her know and she’d send one of the boys right out. So don’t worry about us. Just let us know if there’s any way we can help.”
“Oh, and if you call back and get the machine,” Jonathan added, “don’t worry. We’re screening our calls. After Rachel, we also got some crazy city folk calling us, wanting to know if the story was true. We told them it was a load of cow manure, of course. But when the third call came in we decided to stop answering.”
“So we’re fine,” Martha added again. “You just take care of things at your end and we’ll take care of things here.”
Lois closed her eyes and silently thanked whatever gods might be listening for the cool heads of Martha and Jonathon - and small-town protectiveness.
Finally, after a dozen or so more messages, including one marriage proposal and two requests of a less savory nature, the machine ran out of tape.
“So what did you think you were doing?” Lois asked again, returning to the conversation she’d started before listening to all the rubbish on their answering machine.
“Doing?” Clark asked, apparently not remembering their previous conversation.
“Giving Perry permission to assign this story to Eduardo!”
“Perry’s right. We can’t have anything to do with this story.”
“So what are you planning to do?” Lois asked incredulously. “Stick your head in the sand and hope this all blows over?”
“Lois, it’s not as if I can deny that I’m Superman. After all, Superman...”
“Superman doesn’t lie,” Lois completed for him. “Or, well, unless it’s to tell me that I mean nothing to him so that he doesn’t have to reveal that he’s blind. Or to tell me that he has to return a video, get a delivery from the cheese of the month club, pick up a prescription, or one of a million other excuses you’ve given me and Perry and all the rest of your friends over the past couple of years. And if you’re talking about lying... Weren’t the glasses themselves a lie? You didn’t need glasses, did you? Or are you claiming that Superman really was short-sighted?”
“So what are you suggesting? That I write an article that says Mayson’s wrong? It’s not as if anyone is going to believe that.”
“What I’m saying is for a simple way to make gunpowder use five parts potassium nitrate, one part charcoal and two-thirds of a part sulphur by weight. Mill the charcoal and sulphur for four hours. Then add the potassium nitrate to the ball mill and mill for twenty-four to forty-eight hours - the longer the better. The result is called meal powder.
“Arggg!” Lois yelled before returning to her previous thought. “What I’m saying is that we find a way to discredit her. What about the fact that she only did this after you and I got together? Doesn’t that make any allegations she makes against you suspect?”
“Are you honestly saying that is why she’s doing this?”
“That’s damn well what I’m saying. Do you really think she would have done this to you if you returned her feelings?”
“I think she’s doing this because she honestly believes that it’s the right thing to do. She considers Superman a vigilante and wants to make sure that he... that I stop. And I’m not going to destroy her reputation just because she wouldn’t keep my secret.”
“Bull! This is the act of a woman scorned. If you can’t see that...”
“I’m what? Naive?”
“At the very least.”
“And at most?”
“You still have feelings for her. That’s why you’re protecting her even when, after saving her life, she’s doing her damnedest to destroy yours.”
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I don’t have feelings for Mayson, Lois.”
“Right. But don’t let anyone suggest she’s anything less than a saint, trying to protect the world from a big bad Superman.”
Clark sighed. “Lois, just tell me... is there anything in that article that isn’t true?”
Lois directed her attention back to the article. “Yes!” she exclaimed after a moment. “Here... Where Toby writes: She... Mayson also maintains that both Clark Kent and his long time reporting partner, Lois Lane, and by extension, that great bastion of truth itself, The Daily Planet, have been actively deceiving the American public in their efforts to keep this story hidden.”
“Well, that’s not... necessarily a lie.”
“No? Not only is she discrediting you, she’s taking a shot at me and the Daily Planet. Undermining our integrity. And she’s claiming, indirectly, that the Daily Planet is actively helping you deceive the public.”
“Well, she might have said something about you knowing, too, and that both of us wanted her to keep this information to herself and then simply assumed the rest.”
“You still think she’s not on some personal vendetta?” Lois asked in disbelief. “To destroy you, me and the Daily Planet.”
“Well... maybe she thought you knew all along. That’s not an unreasonable assumption.”
“She knew damn well that I didn’t know about Superman before you lost your sight! I told her that! And why didn’t she mention your strength when you pulled the door off her car last night? Because that would have certainly strengthened her claim. I’ll tell you why - because that would have made her look bad - betraying you after you saved her life.”
“She might not have realized I actually pulled the door off. It all happened really fast and she was pretty scared at the time.”
“Why are you still defending her?”
“I’m not. I just can’t believe this is some evil plot. She’s not evil, Lois.”
“Could someone have put her up to this?”
“What?”
“How do we even know she’s doing this on her own? Could she be acting on someone else’s initiative? She is always been pretty close to Bill Church and can you imagine anyone who would benefit more from the destruction of Superman than Church?”
“Now you’re being ridiculous.”
“Fine! Mayson is an angel. No one better say a word against her. Just lie down and play dead for all I care!”
“Look, Lois, things are bound to get crazy here. Maybe it would be best if I moved out.”
The silence that followed his suggestion was charged.
“I mean, maybe in the future we could try again,” Clark said, trying to sound reasonable. “When... if things calm down. I just think that it might be better...”
“How dare you?” Lois hissed. “An hour ago, you wanted me to marry you and now, if I understand you correctly, you’re suggesting we break up.”
“I’m just saying...”
“Do whatever the hell you want, Clark! Just don’t expect me to be waiting for you when you make up your mind about us! If we can’t work through the hard times, we’ll never make it long term anyway!” With that, she stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
Clark stood in the living room, listening to the dying echoes of the slammed door for a long moment. He considered going to the door, knocking on it, trying again. Or just walking in. It was his room, too, after all. Problem was he had no idea what he would say. He’d been battered enough by Lois’ reaction to his attempt to propose. Then to be hit with Mayson’s betrayal. It felt as if his entire world had fallen apart in the space of one short hour. An hour ago, he’d had everything - well except, perhaps, his eyesight. Regardless, he’d been the happiest he’d ever been. Now... how could he even contemplate a life with Lois with the entire world knowing he was Superman?
He heard Shadow whimper softly as he began pawing at the bedroom door. “You and me both, pal,” he said sadly before turning towards the couch. It seemed that was to be his bed tonight. A fitting end for the complete disaster this day had become.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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