After Nightfall: The Return of Superman
Chapter 2: Directions
The door of the elevator carrying Lois and Clark opened to reveal that the main news floor at the Planet was as busy as ever. Many elements of the newspaper had changed after Nightfall, but one interaction had remained constant through it all. Just down from the elevator landing, Perry was bellowing at Jimmy.
“What kind of pictures are these?” Perry demanded while shaking a pile of photos in the face of the young photographer/fledgling reporter.
Clark was about to say good morning when Lois pulled him back. She wanted to see how this was going to play out. Clark paused, then they exited the elevator together quietly, then stopped and watched the exchange from a distance.
“Those are the new pictures out of Washington DC,” Jimmy replied confidently. “I thought this was what you wanted when you sent Paul and me there for the shoot.”
“For Elvis’ sake, son. Of course I wanted pictures. But these pictures don’t show me anything other than destroyed monuments. You know we’re trying to balance our reporting and stay away from the sensationalist disaster stories that the other guys are using. I’ve only said that just about every day since this all started.”
Just a few months ago Perry’s challenge would have had Jimmy in full retreat. But the stresses and additional responsibilities that the young reporter had dealt with during Nightfall had matured him. Now he had the confidence to trust his judgment. “Chief, did you read the note that was attached to those photos.”
“It said, ‘DC Photos.’”
“Did you see the small print?”
“What small print?” Perry asked.
“On the label for those photos,” Jimmy replied. “That was the only the first group. There are two more sets that we’re still working on in the photo lab. The other two groups are devoted to people. I think you’ll be satisfied that we can build a good picture of the way the residents of DC have come through the crisis.”
“Oh,” Perry said, now less sure of his position. “Well… good. Bring them to me as soon as they’re ready.” Then Perry turned and retreated to his office.
Lois and Clark went over to Jimmy, who was still watching Perry retreat to his office. “You’ve sure improved your skills in dealing with Perry on a rampage,” Lois commented.
Jimmy turned suddenly and smiled when he saw who it was. “Hey, Lois, CK, I didn’t see you arrive. I guess it’s gotten easier since I figured out that most of the time he jumps you like that, he’s really trying to make you and the paper better. You guys are in late, were you working on a story?”
“No,” Lois replied. “We spent the morning looking for apartments.”
Jimmy looked at Clark excitedly. “Are you looking for a bigger place? If you find one, I’d love to have a shot at your apartment. It’s one of the sweetest one bedroom apartments I’ve seen that’s within walking distance of the Planet.”
“No, we aren’t planning to move. You won’t believe this but…”
Suddenly there was a call from the vicinity of the elevator. “Clark, Lois, is it all right if we come on in?” It was Martha.
“Of course,” Clark said quickly. “First let me introduce you to Perry so he won’t wonder who the strangers are in his newsroom.”
As Clark led Martha and Jonathan toward the editor’s office, Jimmy asked Lois in a whisper, “Who’s that?”
“I’m sorry, Jimmy. I should have introduced you. Those are Clark’s parents.”
Jimmy’s eyes went wide. “His parents? I thought they were dead.”
“So did we. But they showed up at our apartment last night. It turns out that they’d left Smallville before the Nightfall fragment destroyed the town. They were headed this way, but got sidetracked and cut off in an isolated part of West Virginia.”
“Wow,” Jimmy said, barely above a whisper. “How’s CK taking it?”
“He’s doing okay,” she said cautiously. “He’s happy they're alive, but it’s hard for all of them because he just doesn’t remember them very much. They’re all trying hard but… well, it’s just hard.”
“How about you?” Jimmy asked.
“I have it easy. The hardest part is filling in the blanks for both sides.”
“No,” Jimmy countered. “I mean how are his parents handling the fact that you two are married?”
Lois felt herself smile. “That’s been better that I could have hoped. They’ve both gone on and on about how much Clark talked about me and they seem really happy that we’re together. It’s nice to know that part of his memory was right. Not that it would make any difference now between me and Clark, but it sure does make it easier that his parents already knew how he felt.”
~~~***~~~
As Clark started toward Perry’s office with his parents in tow, he heard Jimmy asking Lois who his parents were. He mentally kicked himself for not introducing them. He had to wonder if that was partly because in many ways they were strangers to him. He knocked on Perry’s door and his editor motioned him to enter immediately.
“It’s about time, Kent. Where have you and Lois been this morning? I hope it’s something I can print.”
“Sorry, Perry. But I don’t think so. I’d like you to meet my parents.”
Perry’s mouth dropped open. “Your parents? But…”
While Perry was looking for words, Jonathan stepped up to Perry’s desk. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. White. I’m Jonathan and this is Martha,” he added indicating his wife standing next to him. “From all that we’ve heard from Clark and Lois, we feel like we know you.”
Perry reached across his desk and shook Jonathan’s hand and then Martha’s. It was clear that Perry was still in shock, but that only lasted a moment.
“They arrived last night,” Clark said. “They were stuck in an isolated valley in West Virginia. They’ve been there since Nightfall hit.”
“Well that’s great news,” Perry said finally. “I guess I don’t need to tell you how worried Clark was.”
“We just wish we could have gotten word out,” Martha said. “I would have never expected the crazy path that led us from Smallville to Metropolis.”
“That’s right. You don’t have a home to go back to. Do you have a place to stay here in Metropolis?”
“We’re staying with Clark and Lois for now,” Jonathan answered. “We spent some time this morning looking for an apartment, but no luck so far.”
“I’m afraid that you’re going to have a hard time with that,” Perry said. “There are still people living in partially destroyed and burned out buildings for lack of anything better. Also, unless you have a few suitcases full of gold, you might find rates to be a little high for anything that does come open.”
Martha turned to Clark. “Is it really that bad?”
Clark looked embarrassed. “I’m afraid so. I had hoped that things were getting better. That’s why we went looking this morning. But what Perry says is pretty much my understanding. In any case, you and dad are welcome to stay with us for as long as you need. You know that.”
“I might have a better idea,” Perry cut in. “Alice and I have a spare room that we’ve been sharing with people here at the Planet who needed a place to stay. Well, the Andersons, they’re a young family that have been staying with us, just found a place of their own. I was about to post that we had an opening. If you’re interested, the room is yours.”
“We can’t do that,” Martha said. “We’ll be fine with Clark and Lois. You should save that room for someone who really needs it.”
“Mrs. Kent…” Perry started.
“Please, call me Martha,” Martha interjected.
“Martha,” Perry corrected. “Everyone here has a place to stay. We’re at the point where people will take a room like ours to improve their situation. I’ve seen Clark and Lois’s apartment. It’s barely big enough for the two of them. All four of you living there isn’t an answer for more than a night or two. Besides, for Alice and me, most of our guests have been younger folks. It’ll be nice to have some company a little closer to our age.”
Martha and Jonathan looked at each other, and then Jonathan looked back at Perry. “If you’re sure…”
Perry burst into a big smile. “Absolutely!”
His obvious enthusiasm evoked a grin from Jonathan. “Well, okay then. After all we’ve been through, a little stability will be nice.”
Perry’s eyes suddenly went wide. “All you’ve been through?” Perry turned to Clark. “Clark, you know what kind of stories we've been running on surviving Nightfall. From what you know, is this that kind of story?”
Clark thought for a moment. “Sure. In fact, if we told it properly, it might be one of the best.”
Perry turned to Martha and Jonathan. “How about it? We’ve been running a series of stories about how people got through Nightfall. Our real focus has been on people who made it through by helping or getting help from each other. The very fact that you made it here leads me to believe that getting help is probably a significant part of your adventure.”
“It sure is,” Jonathan said. “We’d have never made it without the help of our neighbor and his whole family.”
“Perfect,” Perry exclaimed. “Would you be willing to share your story? I promise we’ll do right by you.”
“If you think anyone will be interested…” Martha offered defensively.
“Mom, these stories have been one of the best received series we’ve run since Nightfall. The way things are now, people feel a strong connection to stories like this.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Martha said to Perry. “Should we sit down with Clark to go over the story?”
“No,” Perry answered. “Clark is too close to you and the story. If you don’t mind, I’m going to have you work with one of our other staff writers.” Then Perry turned to Clark. “Clark, could you send Smith in and I’ll get him started with your parents.”
“So what kind of food do you like,” Clark heard Perry ask from behind as he left the office.
~~~***~~~
“We need to do something about this,” Clark whispered to Lois as they waited for the press conference to start.
“I agree. But I don’t know what to do,” Lois whispered back.
At that moment the mayor and a few members of the city council climbed the steps to a small temporary podium. The mayor walked over to the microphone and tapped it. “Is this on?” he asked.
The resulting chuckle from the gathered reporters and passers-by must have provided him with the information he needed and he began to speak. “As you know, we've been considering the problem of how to best honor Superman. While the Nightfall intercept did not go as well as hoped, there is little doubt that had Superman not sacrificed his life for the rest of us, it would have been much worse. Since Metropolis was his home, we feel that it would be proper to honor him in some way. Therefore, on this very spot we will erect a statue in his honor. We know this is a pitifully small symbol, given his sacrifice, but we're sure he’d rather we spent even that money to help the people of our city – of his city – to recover from Nightfall.”
The mayor signaled a worker near a table in from of the podium. The worker then pulled back a screen that had concealed a table. “This is a model of the plan for the park with the statue. There are also information sheets that outline the project. That is all. Good day.”
“He’s not taking questions?” Clark asked Lois.
“They are all probably afraid of someone asking a loaded question about Superman actually being responsible for Nightfall. You know there are still plenty of wackos out there who think Superman caused the Nightfall disaster on purpose.”
They worked their way to the table with the information. Clark looked at the model for the statue while Lois headed for the end of the table and picked up copies of the project information sheet. The model depicted Superman as if he was in-flight or just taking off the ground. Clark was still contemplating the model when Lois joined him. “Did I really look like that?” he whispered to his wife.
Lois looked at the model carefully. “It's a good likeness,” she said, not bothering to keep her voice low. “I probably saw Superman up close as much as anyone, and that's pretty much what he looked like.”
“I’m glad to hear you think so,” came a voice from behind them.
Lois turned to find the mayor standing right there. “Hello, Mr. Mayor. When you said no questions, I didn’t think you were going to stick around.”
“Sorry about that,” he said. “My chief of communications didn’t want to risk giving an opening to someone with an anti-Superman grudge.”
“That’s what we thought,” Clark said.
“What about you, Mr. Kent. You also knew Superman. Do you agree that we captured his likeness?”
“I’m afraid that I’m not a good person to ask,” Clark replied. “I was involved in an accident around the time of Nightfall that resulted in permanent memory loss. Among the things that are gone are all of my memories of Superman.”
“That’s right,” the mayor said, slapping his forehead. “I remember the story now. You were exposed to the same gas that killed Superman.”
“Yes,” Clark replied.
The mayor must have picked up the dark undercurrent of his curt answer. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kent. I didn’t mean to bring up such a trying experience.”
Clark shook it off. The mayor was just trying to be friendly. After all, he was a politician. “That’s alright Mr. Mayor. Sometimes I’m more sensitive about what I lost that day. I really have nothing to complain about. One consequence of that day was my relationship with my wife.” Clark reached out and took Lois’s hand.
“You’re a lucky man. Well, I need to talk with some other people before I head back to city hall.” He turned to Lois and gave her a nod of farewell. “Ms. Lane,” he said quickly then headed away.
Lois moved in beside him. “Are you okay,” she asked.
“I guess,” Clark replied half-heartedly. “This whole thing has me upset. We need to talk about Superman tonight.”
~~~***~~~
They were just finishing the dinner dishes when Jonathan and Martha came in the front door. “We’re back,” Martha called out cheerily as she started to remove her coat.
“Hi, Martha,” Lois replied, as she started to dry her hands from helping with the dishes. “How was dinner at Perry’s?”
“It was wonderful,” Martha answered. “If that was any indication of what it’ll be like, we’re going to enjoy staying with the Whites.”
“Is the room big enough?” Clark asked.
“Sure,” Jonathan replied as he finished hanging his coat and headed for the sofa. “The room is more than big enough for what we brought with us. And the house… well, no offense, but for four people it will work a lot better than this apartment.”
“Of course,” Lois said. “We're happy to make room here, but it is awfully small for the four of us.”
“But we’re going to miss you,” Martha said as she sat next to Jonathan on the sofa.
“You can still see us every day,” Clark replied.
“And we want to see you as much as possible,” Lois added quickly.
“I know,” Martha said. “And hopefully it won’t be too long until we can get our own place.”
“How did it go at the department of records?” Lois asked.
“I’m afraid that's going to take a while,” Martha replied. “Apparently a lot of people have tried to take advantage of the disruptions from Nightfall to steal other people’s identities.”
“We did a story on that,” Lois explained. “I’m not sure it’s fair to say that there have been a lot, but there were enough that the process to validate people’s correct identity was made much tougher.”
“I’ll say,” Jonathan added. “The people were sympathetic, but there are just so many things they have to verify. The lady said that it could take more than a month before we will be un-declared dead.”
Lois giggled at his phrase. “I guess that is better than being declared undead. My husband is already a space alien. I don’t need zombies for my in-laws.”
The all chuckled at that as Lois settled into the chair across from Clark’s parents. “When will you be moving in to Perry’s spare room?”
“Tomorrow,” Jonathan answered. “The room is empty tonight, but Alice wanted some time to get it ready.”
“We’re glad you’re here tonight. What we need to talk about affects us all,” Lois said.
“You told us it was important, so we made sure to get back early,” Jonathan replied.
“We–” Clark began, as he sat on the arm of Lois’s chair, “–think it’s time for Superman to return. My powers seem to be completely back and I’ve been hearing calls for help for more than a week now.”
“That’s why you invented Superman,” Martha said. “You never could stand by when people were getting hurt around you.”
“That’s one thing we wanted to ask you about,” Lois said. “We don’t know what Clark did before Metropolis. I mean, how come no one ever heard of him before? I’d expect that there would be stories about a person with amazing abilities stopping crime and catching criminals even if he wasn’t wearing a bright costume.”
“That’s because he didn’t do very much in the way of stopping crime until he came to Metropolis,” Martha answered. “At least, he never told us about any of that.” She turned to face her son. “Clark, you were always helping people. I don’t know how many accidents you prevented or how many people you helped, but that’s how you used your powers.”
“Sure,” Jonathan cut in. “You did a little of this around Smallville, but there just wasn’t much near home that caused you to use your abilities that way. That changed when you spent those years traveling.”
“It was always the same,” Martha took over the narrative. “You’d show up unexpectedly and tell us that you’d been seen doing something and it was time to move again.”
“You mean I got caught using my powers?” Clark asked.
“All the time,” Jonathan answered quickly.
Martha covered Jonathan’s hand with her own. “Well, not that often,” she clarified. “But often enough that you were frustrated that you had to move.”
“So why’d I invent Superman when I came to Metropolis?”
“I believe that part of it was that you were ready to try to establish something more permanent in your life,” Jonathan speculated. “But your mom and I were pretty sure you’d found another reason to stay in Metropolis.”
“Another reason,” Clark asked.
Martha laughed softly. “Well, you may not have your memories, but in many ways you’re exactly the same. Clark, your dad and I were sure right from the start that the real reason you decided that you had to stay in Metropolis is sitting in the chair next to you.”
“Oh,” Clark said, blushing as he took Lois’s hand in his.
It was Jonathan that gave Clark the out. “So, if you’re going to bring Superman back, what did you want to talk with us about?”
“Well, there are two things,” Clark started. “First, is there anything that you can tell me about what I did and why. Lois knows the ‘what’ pretty well, at least since I created Superman, but we don’t know anything about the time before that. I’d also like to know your perspective on why I did the things that I did as Superman.”
Jonathan and Martha looked at each other. After a moment of silence Jonathan started. “It all started when your super hearing started working. You told us that you couldn’t stand by not doing anything when you could hear people who needed help. Before Metropolis, it usually meant preventing an accident or rescuing someone. You told me once that from the time you first arrived in Metropolis, you heard calls for help day and night. Almost every time you went to help, it was some kind of crime.”
When Jonathan took a breath, Martha took over. “I remember that talk,” she said. “You never wanted to be Metropolis’s enforcer. You were worried that people would think you were like that crazy bat-guy in Gotham City.”
“So I didn’t set out to just stop crime?” Clark asked.
“No,” Jonathan replied quickly. “You were always happy to help, but it seemed to us that you were frustrated with that role.”
“Clark,” Martha added, “I think you were trying to figure out how to help in other ways.”
“But there are so many calls for help,” Clark pleaded. “Since my special hearing has come back, I hear them all the time.”
“There’s only so much you can do,” Lois said. “Think about it, how many crimes do you think you prevented on any day?”
“Based on what I’ve read, it seemed like four or five,” Clark answered.
“Pretty close,” Lois replied. “You were averaging a little over seven interventions per day. Do you know how many violent crimes there are in Metropolis every day?” Lois asked her husband.
“More?” he asked.
“I did an article just before you started at the Planet. If you look at the data from last year, there was an average of a hundred and twenty assaults per day in the city.”
“Every day,” Martha asked in shock.
“Yeah,” Lois replied in a resigned tone. “Metropolis isn’t the nicest place in the world.” Then she turned back to her husband. “And that’s only the violent crimes. If you look at the property crimes, robbery and burglary, then you have about six hundred more incidents every day.”
“Lois, you just said that every day there were more than seven hundred crimes in the city.”
“And those are only the ones that were reported.”
“And I only stopped about one percent of those,” Clark said morosely. “Why did I bother?”
Lois pulled him into a hug. “Because you care. And because you can help. It may not have been a big number, but your being here helped everyone feel like there was hope.”
“But only seven per day…” he said, shaking his head. “And you said that even to do that much, I was running off all the time?”
“Yes, you would disappear at the strangest times. Then you’d turn up with a Superman story. I have to believe I would have figured out what was going on after another month or so.”
“You probably would have,” he agreed. “But I don’t think I would have minded. I’m sure I wanted to tell you. But if I’m going to bring Superman back, do I go back to doing it that way?”
She looked at him intently. “You have to make that decision. I’ll support whatever you decide.”
He considered her words. “This,” he said, pointing at his wedding band, “says that we are in this together. I’ll take responsibility for the decision, but I need your advice and support. As the wife of Clark and Superman, I need you to tell me what you want me to do.”
Lois was quiet for several minutes. “I think you should focus on helping in emergencies, like fires and stuff. As for crime, I know you. You’ll never stand by and let something happen right in front of you, but I think you should try to leave most of the crime-stopping to the police.”
Clark considered her words. “If your numbers are correct, I was already leaving most of it to them.” He paused for a few seconds. “I think I’m going to try to cut the crime-fighting back. One thing I think the bat-guy has right is that he mostly works at night. During the day I think I’ll try to only get involved if it’s something big or it’s right in front of me. Then I’ll do some random patrols at night to make sure the bad guys know I’m around.”
“What about accidents and rescues?” Lois asked.
“Honey, I have to do those. If a building is on fire, I can’t let people get hurt.”
“I was pretty sure that would be your answer. I think you have a good plan. We’ll see how it works out, but you’ll have my full support.”
“Then I guess tomorrow morning I’ll start looking for something to do for Superman’s return.”
“Son,” Martha interjected, “as soon as you make an appearance, you’re going to have to explain where you’ve been.”
“That’s the other reason we wanted you two here tonight. I was hoping that between the four of us we would come up with a good story. Lois and I have been talking about it, and, to be honest, we didn’t like any of our own ideas.”
TBC
Bob
