Disclaimer:
I don't own Lois, Clark, Perry, etc. I don't own Superman. I'm not using this for money. Yatsa, yatsa, and yatsa.
Claimer:
I own the characters of Bella Noel Kent and Jesika Love Lizton.
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The Truth
Part One
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Sixteen-year old Bella Noel Kent picked up her backpack as the dismissal bell rang. As much as she loved school and seeing her friends, she was grateful to get out of the place and go home. The teen entered the hallway from her tenth period Journalism class, and watched her friend Jesika Lizton walk to her locker.
"Hey, Jess." Bella said, walking over.
"Hey." Jess threw another book in her bag, "I can't believe Mrs. Johansen gave us that assignment."
"What assignment?"
"That one where we're supposed to investigate our family and then write a report." The teen whined.
Bella laughed at Jess' attitude, "Would you chill? Come on your mom's a reporter, same as my parents, and your dad's a photographer. We could both do our reports together at the Planet. My dad is gonna be thrilled." The two girls walked away from Jess' locker and out the door to Clark and the car.
"Are you sure they'd be thrilled?" Jesika asked, as they got into the backseat.
"What is who gonna be thrilled about?" Clark inquired, Jess' question having piqued his curiosity.
Bella smiled, "We have to do a report for our final grade in Journalism. It's on our families, and I figured that we could do it at the Planet."
"Interesting. Let me guess it has to be done like you were a reporter?" Clark asked, starting the car and leaving the school's parking lot.
"Yep!" Jess replied, smiling from ear to ear. She grabbed her backpack, and reached in for her notepad, then began to write down short notes on her Mom and Dad. "I already know how I'll begin it! Since it has to be in the form of an article, I thought I'd start off with the basics – that my mom is Erin Lizton, born in 1974, and than my dad is John Peter Lizton, born in 1975. I figure I'll include something on Aria and Shamus, too."
"That's a good idea." Bella complimented, "I'm gonna have to write like a two page article on my family, because I have to included Dad, Mom, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Perry, Aunt Lucy, Pop-Pop, Nana, Granddaddy Lane and Grandma Lane. And knowing myself, I'll probably end up throwing in Jor-el, Lara, and Kal-el."
"Where did you come up with those names, Uncle Clark?" Jess asked. Since the teen could talk, she'd called Clark Uncle Clark, and Bella had called John Uncle John, but the girls called everyone Aunt or Uncle from the Planet – after all, they had spent a great deal of their lives there.
"Aunt Lois has this thing for Superman, and his parents names were Jor-el and Lara, and his name is Kal-el."
"Ohhhh! I get it." Jess said, returning her attention to the notepad she held.
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Lois watched her husband, daughter, and goddaughter get off the elevator. She sighed at the news she had for Bella – her uncle Perry was in a car accident. Perry was in his sixties now, and although he was very fit and active, his heart was bad. In fact, over the year, some of his favorite things to do had become some of the things he watched Bella do instead. Bella was going to be so upset; Lois couldn't even imagine how she would comfort her.
"Mom! Guess what?" Bella began, then stopped, seeing tears in her mother's eyes, "Mom? What's wrong? Are you sick or something?" She asked, walking over to look at her mother.
Lois sat down and drew Bella into her lap, hugging her. She began, "Bella, You know how Uncle Perry was going to go to Smallville and write that article with Uncle Jimmy?" Bella nodded, and she continued, "Well, on the way there, another car came down the wrong lane of the highway and they…crashed."
Bella's breathing became rapid. 'Please, God, no. Please say their both okay. Please, Mom.' She pleaded silently.
"Uncle Jimmy's okay, but Uncle Perry was really banged up, and because of his heart, no one's sure he'll live through the night." Lois' eyes screamed to tear, but she just looked at her daughter, waiting for a reaction.
The teen could only latch on to her mother and cry, each tear soaking into her mother's shirt, while Lois tried to comfort her. Finally, Bella fell asleep, and Clark came up the stairs to take her home.
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Bella awoke around eleven pm. She had been asleep since three, and was now restless. She jumped out of bed, walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen. She walked over to the refrigerator, and opened the door. Bella pawed through the contents of the refrigerator, then decided on a can of soda. She sighed, as she opened it, and a few tears slid down her cheeks to her lips.
'Of all the people, why Uncle Perry? Why?' Bella thought, anguished even in her mind. She sniffled, drank some of the soda, and then placed it on the table, before heading back up the stairs. As she was headed to her room, she looked at the cord hanging from the ceiling. She remembered playing in the attic when she was younger, and blowing dust into her two uncles faces'. Her Aunt Lucy had always been a little annoyed when Bella's playing included knocking over a certain box.
Curiosity suddenly entered her thoughts – that box. Bella had never been allowed near it when she was little. It was always locked up with this old padlock, and the metal was always polished. It had always been in a different place, as her family had moved it to keep her away from it, but she always managed to break the little IKEA wood table it was on and the box would fall to the ground with a resounding thud.
Bella finally allowed her body to move and she reached for the cord. The attic door opened, with a rusted spring sound, and she pulled the latter down.
She looked down the hall, before going up the stairs and into the moldy, stale-smelling attic. Boxes were piled in every possible place, labeled neatly. Old furniture that her parents were way too attached to were at one end, while things that were still needed – like her father's attaché – but weren't being used right now, were at the other end. In front of her, however, was the dark, metal box. It was on a new table, which matched the box's color, and the old padlock was open – the lock was open.
Bella licked her lips with anticipation that she would soon know the secret. She walked over to the box and lifted the cover gently. The lock flipped and made a loud sound as it cracked against the metal. She cringed and hoped her parents hadn't heard, but when she didn't hear anything, she resumed her exploration.
Her eyes widened as she looked into the box – the red cape with the yellow S of Superman was in front of her. 'Wait, this is a blanket.' She sighed, figuring her mother's obsession had made these things come to be in the house. Bella shifted through the top few layers of clothing, and a metal plate, and pulled them away – revealing a green crystal. A clear one was next to it. She picked up the green one and fingered it, flipping it over. She was curious about what it was, but pain was coming from every part of her body, and before she blacked out from the overwhelming sensations, she could vaguely make out her father – in the garb of Superman.
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Dr. Klein walked down the hall to the two worried parents. They had brought her in an hour before, and had spent the time since in the corridors outside of the medical facility. Since Bella's birth they had hidden the truth about her father – and herself – from her, and now the secret could've killed her.
"Clark, Lois." He said, coming up to hug the two of them.
"How is she?" Clark was quick to ask. He was still dressed up like Superman, but he didn't care – all he could think of was Bella.
"Can we see her?" Lois was quick to add. Her eyes were red from crying – both for Perry and for Bella.
"She's still critical. The kryptonite was exposed to her at a high level for the first time, and it was almost lethal. Her heart is still in shock and her body temperature has plummeted, which since she's half-human, can kill her. We're all working on trying to do something for her that won't make her worse." Dr. Klein said, "You can see her if you want, but Clark you may want to take that off. We'll get her healthy again, and then you can explain the kryptonite and Superman."
Clark nodded, zoomed down the hall, and then returned in jeans and a t-shirt. The two adults then followed the doctor into a dimly lit room. Bella was lying on a bed, a thick blanket tucked around her. Two IV's were on one wrist, three were on the other, and she was connected to a respirator, as well. Her normally light peach-colored skin was now pale, and every so often her fingers would twitch.
Clark hugged Lois to him, tears and emotion filling him self. They let go, and he slowly walked to the side of the bed, Lois still clutching his hand.
"Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry." Lois choked out. She reached for Bella's hand, and looked at Dr. Klein, "Can she hear us?"
Dr. Klein had stayed in the doorway, and was just coming over to check the teen's vitals, "Yes. She's able to hear everything that you say."
Lois nodded and looked back at her daughter, "Bella, I know you are scared, and I know it's confusing, but I promise that me and Daddy will explain it once you get better. Come on, Baby, I can't lose you." Lois began to cry and Clark once again moved to consol her.
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Buzzing. That was the sound Perry woke up to. Jimmy was sitting in a chair nearby, his left arm in a thick cast. Listening closer, Perry could hear that the phone was ringing and out of habit, he reached to pick it up. He put it to his ear.
"Perry White."
Lois' surprised voice came through, "Perry?"
"Lois?"
A bit of happiness rang through her voice, before it dropped, "Perry, I was looking for Jimmy."
"What's the matter?" He asked, all the pain in his body becoming secondary.
"Bella got into the box last night." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Perry looked at Jimmy, "Jimmy. Jimmy. Mr. Olsen!" His voice rose from its normal tone.
Jimmy shifted in his seat and then opened his eyes, "Perry! Geez, We thought…"
"Shut up. We need to get back to Metropolis. … Bella got into the box."
Jimmy jumped at the last sentence and immediately started running around for everything they needed.
"Lois, we'll be there ASAP."
"Thank you. You know she'd never be able to get better without her Uncle Perry and her Uncle Jimmy there."
"I know."
"Bye."
"Bye." Perry hung up the phone and sighed – why in all of creation had they kept that stupid box? Why couldn't they have given it to S.T.A.R. Labs when Dr. Klein had asked for it?
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The cab stopped in front of the Labs and two passengers disembarked. Perry and Jimmy grabbed their bags from the back of the cab, paid the driver, and ran into the building. They ran down the halls to the elevator and then up to the medical facility. They dropped their bags in the hall, ran into Bella's room, and looked at Lois and Clark's faces.
Lois put down her daughter's hand and hugged Jimmy and then Perry.
"It's okay, Lois. It's going to be okay." Perry said, trying to soothe. She released him, and nodded, before taking her place back in her chair. She picked up Bella's hand again, and stroked the teen's hair.
Clark stood up and motioned for the two men to join him outside of the room. He sighed as he shut the door, and looked at Perry and Jimmy. They had only known about whom Superman really was, or Clark rather, for a few years, and to know that Bella was half Kryptonian was a shock. They eventually got used to it, and they had protected her from the kryptonite for as long as possible. Now it seemed that no one could've protected her.
"What happened?" Jimmy asked.
"I'm not sure. We think that she had gotten up during the night and gone into the attic, trying to get her mind off of the accident involving you two. She was always curious about the box, and apparently it wasn't locked. She was exposed to it for at least five or six minutes."
The two men moved to take seats beside Lois and Clark to take up their own vigil.
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Bella looked around herself. She didn't know where she was, but it seemed to be familiar. It was an open field, with a view of the ocean and trees all around.
She looked down at her body and realized she was wearing a soft white dress with pink ribbons around the waist. She had simple white sandals, and her hair was held out of her eyes with a light pink headband. She wore arm length white satin gloves with pink ribbons around the top of them.
"It's the dress you always dreamed about." A gentle voice said from behind her.
Bella flipped around to look at the man who stood behind her. Usually if a man snuck up behind her, she would be cautious, but something was different about this man. There was a familiar air around him – something she could make out. Then it hit her. "Mike?"
"Hello, Bella."
"Wow. I didn't expect you to be here…Where ever here is. I think I dreamed about this place."
"You have. Right now, you're in a place that you've never been. This is the place where your parents were married."
Bella looked around again, "Geez, I must have a pretty coincidental imagination."
Mike chuckled at her, "You always were that way."
"Where's my parents?" She asked. She had been in different places all day and she was tired of it, "Usually when I dream of this place, my parents are here."
Mike looked at the teen, "Bella, right now, I'm here instead of your parents, because they can't come to this place in your mind. Not while you are so confused."
Bella looked at him, and understood. She was really, really confused about everything. It was time for some explanations.
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"Bella, I want to tell you the truth, but, honey, I want you to be able to fight and discuss it with me. Please, baby, wake up." Clark pleaded with her. He had asked for a few moments alone, and the three other adults had obliged – Lois however could hear what he said through the door, which wasn't fully closed.
She slid down the wall she'd been leaning against, and cried for everything that Bella might not do, for all things that Clark wanted to teach her, for everything that had hurt – past and present.
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To Be Continued…
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I know that this is kinda a stupid thing to do, but I'm bored.
Cassie Jamie
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