Orokid: I was thinking about what to write when a reviewer ((thank you, tib!)) offered some ideas- which I took with much gratitude. I am not sure whether I'm happy about how it's going so far or not, cause I am known to screw everything up when I'm writing the second chapter- whether it's what I want to write or what I'm forcing myself to write. You know? Anyway…

Heh heh… don't know what else to say, so I guess I should write the disclaimer, huh?

Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville or Superman ((although being on the writing staff would be awesome! Lol)) or any of the characters mentioned. If there are any characters mentioned that you don't recognize from the stories of Smallville OR Superman, I most likely own them, although owning them is hard cause you have to pay SO MUCH to gain the rights of a character. Lol.

Please remember to review!

A World Without Clark Kent

Chapter Two

Revelations

Lois hadn't gotten to work in days.

It was true that she could blame it on the lack of sleep or the feeling that she lost someone probably more important to her than she'd ever know, but she knew that she couldn't. Not now, and possibly not ever again. She just sat in the kitchen, sitting at the wooden chair at the table, staring at the wall as though something would burst from it. But it was more like she was waiting for something- someone- to reappear into her life like no other.

She was waiting for Clark to come back. As impossible as it seemed to her, she was still there, awaiting him, although it was the last thing that could ever happen. The first reason why- he didn't know where he lived, right?

The woman sighed, running her whitened hands through the dark hair that seemed to be such a contrast, after so long without a good night's rest. She knew that she shouldn't have waited this long, shouldn't have hoped beyond every possible thing in this world, for him to come back. It made more than enough sense that he should be taken from her- all she had done was ignore him, was leave him to watch Superman do all sorts of tricks and treats that she herself has enjoyed since that day he had saved her.

Of course, who wouldn't be in love with someone that could joke so lightly while holding a helicopter above his head with only one hand, hovering about the twentieth floor?

But… She couldn't help but regret her choices now, when all seemed to be going downhill. Someone that she had overlooked for so many years now, someone she had skipped while following the footsteps of Superman and Richard like a puppy in need of a home, was now gone from this world, and- it figured- she wanted him back, if only to call him Smallville all over again. She'd never had the chance to do that now…

"Mommy?"

His little voice had surprised her, although she knew that she shouldn't have been, considering that it wasn't that late in the evening yet. His bedtime wasn't for another hour or so, so she couldn't blame him for wanting attention after her days of distance. She smiled warmly at him, offering the safe haven of her arms- which he jumped in immediately- as he watched her with those eyes that made her shiver even now.

"Daddy went on business, so it's just you and me", the boy stated, a grin upon his face- and she knew that his features would grow very handsome by the time he was in high school. You're thinking too far ahead, Lane, she told herself, knowing that it was a habit after having her precious son. "Mommy, may I ask you something?"

"What is it, honey?" The immediate response hadn't been held back, although she did regret not doing it after it had been said. It was a mothering thing to ask what 'it' was that he wanted to speak about, and she knew that it had to be something very important- he was shy by nature, whether he was a 'monster', as she and Richard called him lovingly, or not. His actions, such as getting into things and making a ruckus, was something from her side of the family, so she knew that she had to take it in stride. "Is that mon-mon in your closet again, Jason?"

He shook his head firmly, fear igniting in his blue eyes almost immediately at the mere mention of the 'mon-mon'- which is, in the thoughts of little Jason Lane, a real live monster, ready to devour him. But, soon, the fear was replaced by the emotion of sadness, and she knew that it was empathy that he could feel. "What are you so sad about, mommy?"

She bit her lower lip, trying to determine what to say to her four year old son when everything around her seemed not to go her way. "Well…" How do you explain death to a child that had only lived in sunshine and daisy until recently, when his innocence had been near snatched away by a man she detested more than Superman himself, back when he had disappeared for five years. "One of mommy's friends, you see…" She didn't know how to place the words, to explain that not everything could be cured by Superman's might. "You remember how grandpa went on a trip, honey?" He nodded, trying to understand just how Grandpa and his mother's friend had anything to do with one another. "Well, mommy's friend- Mister Kent, you remember- went on a… a trip, and mommy's a little sad because he can't come back. Mommy can't see him ever again, and she's sad about it."

He looked at her, cocking his head and biting his bottom lip, a little nervous still to ask the question that bothered him so much recently. "Mommy, can you tell me how you and daddy met?"

She smiled, and thought that his innocent and shy ways were possibly more adorable than anything else she had witnessed. She loved her little boy when he was like this- he reminded her of someone that she couldn't really place in her memories at the moment, someone she knew that she once loved as well as much as she currently adored her son. "Well, you see, Richard- your daddy-"

He shook his head, looking up at her with those blue eyes that could make anyone squirm beneath them- so innocent and loyal and loving and… She sighed, knowing that she shouldn't think of HIM at a time like this.

"No… not him- daddy." He looked up to her, hopeful for a good answer, for one that would make sense for the first time to him.

"What do you mean, honey?" Lois was confused, of course, not quite getting what he meant when he said that Richard wasn't his father. Of course he was, or else… well, who else could she remember giving herself to in such a time of need- no one. So… that meant that Richard HAD to be Jason's father.

Once more, chewing on his bottom lip, his eyes rose to meet hers, pulling all his courage together to say the one word that he wasn't sure if he was meant to utter. "Superman."

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Superman sat on the edge of a windmill, staring down the plains of the town he had left behind long, long ago. Of course, he had come back momentarily, when he had come back from his mission to Krypton, but it wasn't as though he had stayed really. His mother had basically kicked him from the perch her had been standing at, back when he had come home, and told him to go back to the one whom he loved.

Well, she hadn't said it in that way, or physically done such a thing, but it was somewhere near understandable when she had stood there and said "I'm moving to Montana", so there wasn't any reason for him to fix up the farm.

But he had a reason to be where he was, and it was all because of the woman who had kicked him back into the fiery clutches of Metropolis, telling him that they needed him and his powers after so long, after his absence. Once again, it hadn't been said- he had merely read between the lines.

But now... now...

He was alone, all over again, and he couldn't undo his problems. At first, he had thought that the world hadn't needed him, that his role was more as the superhero, and- although it was true- it wasn't as if he could walk uip to someone and start a conversation. People got all flustered when he was around, or they just stood in shock and stared right at him like he was a ghost.

He was lonely now, and he couldn't get his life back ever again- he had killed himself off, like some horrible fairytale that shouldn't have been written.

This was his only change for a conversation now, and he had to explain himself more often than not.

Before he knew it, he was standing before the front door of that quaint little home he had grown up in.

His hand reached forward, and he cringed, expecting to hear his mother's voice ring through and tell him that she had seen him walking up. The door only jingled, and he stepped through the front opening- strangely, although so not to misunderstood, still donning the red and blue suit that she had tailored for him, back when he had decided to become his second identity. The identity that has become more than permanent now- it was who he had become. Looking up, he finally noticed the bells that had been placed there, up above the doorframe, and he knew that it was a safety precaution. She could not hear as well as he could, so it seemed like a better idea to have her hear something when people merely walked through her doors.

"Who is it?" an elderly voice called, weary and sad, although there was still a tinge of hope that she could not lose. It was the same tone she had taken to using when his father, when Jonathan Kent, had passed on to the afterlife. Obviously, she had heard the news and dared not to further listen.

"Mom?" It was a simple greeting that they had gone through whenever he took the chance to return home, but, now, it was as though the world had stopped all together for Martha Kent.

He had heard the bowl of… whatever she was cooking… crash on the ground, and he heard the gasp release from her throat. It was a good sign, although he wouldn't blame her if she appeared with Kryptonite in her hands, ready to murder him for giving her such a scare.

He gave a nervous smile as she peaked around the doorframe of the kitchen, looking straight at the man who was standing tall in her living room. That could not be her son, for her son usually wore suits or his old flannel shirts whenever he dropped by- but, still, she laughed aloud and ran forward, wrapping her arms as tight as her old arms would allow her.

"Nice to see you too, mom."

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Orokid: I would love it if you guys would review this, because I like it when I get reviews- my crap days turn good all because of a few reviews. Lol.