Disclaimer: The recognizable characters, situations, places, etc. are property of others including DC Comics, Warner Bros. and December 3rd Productions. This is written purely for the enjoyment of fans of the show.
Dialogue in the first scene taken from the episode "A Bolt from the Blue" written by Kathy McCormick.
Lois Lane and Clark Kent were seated at a table across from Wandamae Waldecker and a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of the Happy Hollow Rest Home. They were interviewing Wandamae about her brother William, a.k.a. Resplendent Man, whom Wandamae called Tad.
Just as Wandamae told Lois that Tad could now fly, Gretchen Kelly, dressed as a nurse, interrupted and approached Wandamae. Gretchen insisted it was time to leave to see the doctor. Lois asked for a couple of additional minutes with Wandamae. When Gretchen refused, they argued, and Lois called her "Brunhilda."
Clark dropped his pencil, and ducked under the table to surreptitiously apply some heat vision to Gretchen's shoe, causing it to smoke. Wandamae looked under the table and saw Clark give Gretchen the hot foot. Startled, Clark noticed Wandamae looking at him, and both quickly sat back up. Gretchen left, and Lois continued the interview asking Wandamae how William got his superpowers.
Wandamae looked right at Clark and said, "Superman."
Clark visibly paled, feeling too stunned to speak, waiting for her to say more.
She turned to Lois and explained, "Tad got his powers from Superman."
Lois looked stunned.
Wandamae next looked at Clark and in a softer voice continued, "Thank you for your help, General Grant. The President will be grateful to you. Someday soon you will command the Army of the Potomac."
Recovering quickly, Clark gave Wandamae a nervous smile, and she enigmatically smiled back.
One Year Later…
Wandamae had been living with her brother in an apartment for the past several months.
She was eating her breakfast while reading the Daily Planet . Opening it, she stared at the picture of Clark Kent and Ultra Woman on the front page. He was obviously bruised and battered. According to the article, Ultra Woman rescued him after he'd been mugged and kidnapped.
How awful!
Wandamae carefully read the article. Why was Ultra Woman suddenly in Metropolis? And where was Superman?
Could Ultra Woman have gotten her powers like Tad did last year? She still didn't know how he got them, and didn't want to know. She was just so very grateful he was back to being her Tad. When Resplendent Man was born a year ago, Superman was still as active as ever. Now he seemed to be working only part-time. And why didn't he rescue his friend Mr. Kent?
Wait a minute! That picture of Mr. Kent looked a lot like General Grant! He was the man who kept that nasty Gretchen Kelly who was impersonating a nurse from taking Wandamae away. Well, at least temporarily since that witch came back later. At the time she thought General Grant might be Superman in disguise, or the other way around. So was he also Mr. Kent?
Her head was spinning at the possibilities.
She looked closely at his slumped shoulders and realized he looked so defeated. Could he be injured and upset, focusing on what he can't do?
Of course he could! Isn't that what Tad always did?
Tad told her how scary it was for that awful Gretchen Kelly to find out who he was because she wanted his powers. And then she kidnapped Wandamae, using her as leverage to take Resplendent Man's powers. And almost killed her with that bomb wired to the cell door. Was Mr. Kent kidnapped and hurt as bait for the superheroes?
And if Superman really was General Grant or Mr. Kent or both, how was he hurt? This must mean he really lost all or some of his powers! No wonder Superman failed to help Mr. Kent. He couldn't!
Did he live in fear someone would expose him? Like her after what happened when she met him last year. Oh my! She didn't want anyone to fear her! She would never tell! And who would believe her anyway? She was obviously delusional at the time, and thought it was General Grant she saw. She never even told Tad, and he knew all of her secrets. But this one was HUGE and not hers to tell.
She wished there was something she could do to help him feel better.
Wandamae remembered that when she was sick, she learned how much a kindness meant. She decided it was past time she returned Mr. Kent's kindness. And he sure looked like he could use some encouragement and kind words. So, how could she let him know exactly how much he helped her and others at Happy Hollow Rest Home without adding to his troubles?
Her gaze drifted to the letter her lawyer had reviewed and the package on her desk. They were waiting for her to send a note of explanation. Yes, that would be the perfect way to send him some encouragement and at least partially repay her debt to him. And maybe she could reassure him he had nothing to fear from her without revealing any secrets.
So she got out her pen and paper, and wrote a letter.
An hour later, she finished it. Then she read it over and felt satisfied. She put it in an envelope, marked it "Personal" and "Read Me First," then placed it in the package.
She'd send it today.
TBC
Author's Note: Encourage me to continue posting the next chapter by leaving a comment. Even one word feeds the muse.
