Author's Notes: I've never written any fan fiction other than those based off of Anime, so bear with me please. I have an inkling of an idea for a plot going on in the back of my head for this, and I watched the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve too long ago. So long I can't remember much. I don't know much about the whole Kal-El's origins, et cetera et cetera, so I won't focus much on that. Anyway, I don't own anyone or anything from Superman, except Jimmy's stapler. And by gods, that is one nice stapler.
--- 1 --
It was most definitely, without a doubt, face-to-concrete action.
There was nothing even remotely comedic about a man's visage being thoroughly scraped into the ground by law enforcement's heavily-padded elbows, and yet through the vicious plowing of a young gentlemen clad in black--an array of blood pouring from his nose in sad grievance--Lois Lane chuckled softly to herself as she halted her channel-surfing. There was nothing more amusing than watching a good reality show gone bad.
Jason sat curled into her right side, her arm wrapped loosely about his slumbering form. It was faltering, this child's effect on her--she'd seen clouds beneath her own slippers and planets hurled asunder, and yet one small boy could still manage to take her breath away. Daunting.
Her thumb continued its work, the buttons of the remote-control a structured surface she'd long-since mentally mapped out, when it stopped rigidly at the slightest pitch of a single name.
"Luthor."
She placed the remote down upon the arm of the couch, her back straightening and her attention snapping taut. The smiling face of a man she knew terrifyingly well came to the screen, reporters shoving their mics to his lips in attempts to be the first to acquire answers from him.
"Mr. Luthor, what state were you in when the USS Queenslan discovered you adrift at sea?"
"Mr. Luthor, over here! How would you say you fared among the crew of the USS Queenslan for six months?"
"Mr. Luthor! Is it true you had something to do with the sudden land mass that appeared just south-west of the Keys over a year ago?"
"Lex Luthor!"
"Mr. Luthor!"
"Lex, over here!"
So. The filth was back and no doubt raring to continue with his nefarious deeds. There was a part of Lois that liked to think perhaps Lex would someday decide to retire his plans to make ridiculous amounts of money in ridiculously small intervals of time, perhaps abscond away to a mansion deep in the woods to live out the rest of his days in peace and quail-hunting; yet another larger part of Lois didn't quite think this scenario would ever spur itself into action due in great part to Lex's stubborn adamancy.
"That's that bad man."
There was no brief stirring, no gradual forewarning before Jason awoke. He was an eerie child at times, but you lived with what you're served, and eeriness wasn't necessarily bad.
Lois nodded in concurrence very softly and took hold again of the remote-control. "Yes. That bad man is back. But it's going to be okay."
"How?"
She looked down at her son's face and smiled reassuringly, although it didn't quite meet her eyes. "Remember? Who's always around?"
Jason's large blue eyes bore into her own, and at that moment she deeply regretted the words that had passed from her lips. The mere look of his eyes unnerved her. They seemed accusatory, glaring, ostensibly screaming knowledge of her betrayal to Richard through no action but her thoughts and emotions…and she could feel herself slightly blanch.
The brief moment of garishness passed, and she exhaled softly in relief. "Oh yeah," her child murmured, face turning into her body and snuggling into her ribcage. "I remember. Superman, right?"
There was silence from her as she recovered from her earlier start before she finally smiled and nodded at his words. "Yes. Superman's always around."
