A New Chance
by NoStoryLeftUntold
After dying in a fiery explosion, Rachel Dawes is presumed dead by everyone. But after being brought back via science experiment, how will Rachel handle her new chance to fix what went wrong? Superman crossover. HxR, BxR, even some SxR and SxL.
"Clark."
The man didn't even look up from the papers on his desk. They were piled nearly a mile high, it seemed, and the look on his face was...well, he just simply looked overwhelmed. He was very handsome, tall with dark hair and bright blue eyes. If it weren't for the glasses, Rachel thought. Not that glasses were a bad thing. She'd seen pictures of Harvey in middle school, who'd gotten glasses in the seventh grade and kept them until he graduated high school, where he traded them in for contacts. Harvey didn't look half bad with glasses. But Clark's glasses were a little too big for his face, with huge, square lenses and thick frames. The kind of glasses that had gone out of style ages ago, for good reason. He was dressed sensibly in a suit and penny loafers, in a very no-nonsense kind of way. Something about him seemed oddly familiar. Rachel couldn't exactly figure out what it was, but it kept bothering her. Beside her, Lois rolled her eyes and leaned across the desk, her face inches from the other reporter's.
"Earth to Clark Kent!"
"Wha--? Oh! Lois! Hi!" He jumped a bit, startled, papers flying all over the place. He gave a sheepish smile as he kneeled down to the floor to pick them all up. Lois and Rachel began to help, Lois with an exasperated look on her face and Rachel trying to suppress her laughter.
"Clark, I'd like you to meet my new secretary, Lydia Powell." Lois gestured at her. They'd come up with the alias earlier that morning, to avoid suspicion. Lois was able to pull up some papers, false proof of 'Lydia's' existence, thanks to one of her contacts. Rachel gave a small wave and smiled at him. Clark shook her hand, an eager and almost boyish look on his face.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Powell," He said. "I hope you find your stay at the Planet enjoyable."
"Thank you," Rachel said, a bit taken aback by his politeness. "I hope I will, too."
"I'm going to be off in the city today, interviewing people, and Jason has something at his school after lunch. Clark, I know you're not doing anything too terribly important at the moment—can you help show Ra—I mean, Lydia around? Introduce her to people? I'm really busy, and I just don't have the time." Lois explained hastily. Clark looked at her, eyebrows raised, giving an understanding nod.
"Sure, Lois," He said. "I've just got a few stories to type up, nothing really major." He stood , setting his pile of papers on the desk and helping both Lois and Rachel to their feet. He's certainly a gentleman, Rachel thought. Were all men in Metropolis like this? She wasn't used to such courtesy from an ordinary person you met a minute ago.
"Lane!" A voice barked from across the office. The three whipped around to see a man, in his late fifties to early sixties, who was very angry and turning an odd shade of red. Well, that had answered Rachel's question. "What is this I hear from Richard about a new secretary? I thought the agency was going to send one!"
"I've found the perfect replacement," Lois explained. She put a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Mister White, meet Lydia Powell. She's had secretarial training, and she really needs this job, so—"
"We do not give out jobs based on pity parties, Lois." The man said sharply. "But Richard seems to think that she'll do a fine job, so for the moment, she's all right. But if she makes one mistake, Lois, then you fire her on the spot, hear me?" Lois nodded. Mr. White gave a small sigh, and then turned to Rachel.
"You have one chance, Miss Powell. Don't screw it up." And then he left as suddenly as he came, stomping away with a strangely angry look about him. Lois ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head.
"Look, I really got to go. I'm going to be late at this point." She said, turning to Clark and Rachel. "Clark, you've got this handled, right?" He gave a small nod and opened his mouth to say something, when Lois cut him off. "Good," She said. "I got to run. See you two later." She hurried off in the direction of her office, leaving Rachel and Clark alone. The two stood in silence for a moment, when Clark broke the ice.
"So, Miss Powell!" He smiled that same polite smile from before. "Welcome to the Planet. I promise Mr. White's not like that all the time—well, actually," Clark paused for a moment. "He is." Rachel laughed.
"Call me Lydia," She said. "And don't worry, I've worked with harsh bosses before. I think I can handle Mr. White just fine, thanks."
"Lydia, then. So, if you don't mind me asking, what caused you to apply for this job? Do you know Lois?" Rachel hesitated. What did she tell Richard last night?
"I need it, honestly." She said. "I'm broke at the moment, and Lois is a good friend from high school. When she heard I was fired from my job and lost my apartment, she volunteered to let me stay with her and offered me a job here. It was very gracious of her, and I'm incredibly grateful." Rachel thanked whatever deity there was that she was at least a halfway decent liar.
"Lois is a good person," Clark agreed. "Here, there's Jimmy, the photographer." He pointed at a young man with a camera around his neck, chatting with a girl wearing too much makeup on the opposite side of the room. "Jimmy! Over here!"
Clark introduced Rachel to everyone, it seemed. By lunch break, there was not one person in the office who hadn't spoken to her. Thankfully, none of them connected her with the dead girl from Gotham. Rachel sat at Clark's desk, eating a sandwich from the platter that'd been brought into the office from a grateful politician who Lois made look good, having a pleasant conversation with him.
"How did you meet Lois?" Rachel asked. She could only assume the two had been friends for quite a while, since apparently they knew one another before even Richard came into the picture. Rachel wondered if there was any sort of a romantic history between them.
"Oh, it was years ago." Clark smiled, memories from long ago coming back as if they'd happened yesterday. His mouth opened to speak, when all of a sudden he just froze up. Rachel raised an eyebrow.
"Are you okay, Clark?" She asked. Clark just shook his head, standing up and walking out of the room.
"I-I just remembered I have to be somewhere." He said. "I'm sorry, Lydia, I have to go." Rachel was left sitting there, a half-eaten sandwich in hand, wondering what the hell just happened. It was almost like—well, it was almost like how Bruce sometimes had to disrupt whatever conversation he was in to become Batman for a while. But that was silly. Clark wasn't a superhero. Actually, Rachel thought to herself, he'd make a rather lousy one. He was too nice, easily embarrassed, and he just didn't seem the type. A man like Clark could never face the likes of the Joker, or even Scarecrow for that matter.
"He does that a lot." A voice said from behind. Rachel gasped, dropping her sandwich and jumping nearly half an inch off her chair. She turned to see it was only Jimmy, arms crossed with a nonchalant look on his face.
"Really?" Rachel said, cleaning up the remains of the sandwich. Crap. She was still hungry, too.
"Yeah. It's kind of odd, actually. But Clark's an oddball, so I guess it isn't that weird." Jimmy gave a small laugh. "Look, I'm sorry about the sandwich. I could get you something, you know."
"No, no, it's fine." Rachel stood, brushing crumbs from her skirt. She glanced over at the clock. It was one seventeen in the afternoon. She hadn't even been resurrected a full day yet. And yet life carried on as normal.
"Well, I mean, there's this great seafood place down the block that I—"
Was he asking her out? Rachel stared at him, dumbfounded. Was she even still technically with Harvey? She was legally dead, but—but she'd said yes to his marriage proposal. That'd made them engaged, didn't it? Sure, Jimmy was cute. Certainly not her type, but cute in an endearing kind of way. He was funny and she liked him, but they only met a few hours ago. And she was engaged to Harvey!
"Uh, Lydia?"
Suddenly, she realized. Oh, right. She couldn't ever see Harvey again. A sort of heaviness filled her, melancholic and depressing. He was gone from her life now, forever. She bit her lower lip tightly. Rachel had never had much luck in love, but this was the biggest screw-over of all.
"Liiii-deeeee-uuuuhhhh?" Jimmy gave her a slight shake, grasping her shoulders firmly. Rachel snapped back to reality.
"W-what?" She said, once again startled. Oh, yeah, Jimmy had been talking. Rachel frowned apologetically. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Jimmy, I was just thinking—"
"It's all right," Jimmy gave her a weak smile. "I get rejected all the time, no worries. Besides, what am I thinking? Obviously you have a thing for Clark—"
"What?!" Rachel stared at him in shock. A thing for...? Where did he even get these ideas? Sure, some of his mannerisms reminded her of Harvey, but she'd only just met Clark. "Jimmy, I think you're mistaken—"
"No, really! It's okay!" He grinned and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Go get 'im. It's been a while since Clark's had a date, anyway." Jimmy traipsed away, a knowing look on his face. Rachel just stood there in utter disbelief. How could he think...? How could she even think of dating anyway, now, so soon after...well, after everything that had happened?
"Hey, look at the television!" Someone cried. "It's Superman!"
Rachel immediately turned her attention to the large T.V. screen in the room. She could see the man in tights, not even breaking a sweat as he held up an entire building from collapsing on his back during an earthquake in California. And it really bothered her, how much he looked like someone she'd seen before, but she just couldn't think of who it was. Suddenly, the crowd surrounding the building burst into cheers as it'd been confirmed everyone had been evacuated. Once the area was clear, there was nothing left to do. Superman let go and the building collapsed. For a second, everyone paused. Where was he? Had he been crushed? But the strong, muscular hero soon flew up from the rubble, dirty but unharmed. He gave everyone a smile and flew away.
Rachel didn't know whether she was impressed or not. Yeah, he'd saved a whole bunch of people from being crushed, but...it wasn't the same. She was used to seeing criminals tied up in jail as a sign a superhero was doing their work. It was a good thing he did, though. She wondered just where Superman went, anyway, after he'd saved people. No doubt he had a secret identity, but honestly, how did he manage to pull it off? He never wore a mask or anything. It'd be hard to keep people from recognizing him all the time.
"Hi, Lydia! Miss me?" Clark's voice said. She turned around and smiled at the sight of the slightly disheveled man.
"You missed it," She said. "Superman just saved some people from a collapsing building." Clark nodded, suddenly looking extremely sheepish.
"Yeah, well. Here in Metropolis we hear about Superman all the time. Missing one thing he did won't hurt." Rachel felt someone nudge her. She looked and saw it was Jimmy, who winked and walked past. She glared at him and sighed.
"Did Jimmy tells you what he thinks about us?" She asked Clark. He raised an eyebrow.
"'Us'?"
"Yes, us." She nodded and his cheeks turned red. For a second she might've thought he really did like her in that way, but then again, Clark was easily embarrassed. Those two words seemed to fit him better than anything.
"Well...uh...no, I haven't." He said.
"Good. You don't want to." She said, making a face. Clark nodded and took a step back.
"I'm going to go back to my desk. I still have a lot of work to do." He said. "Anyway, it looks like Lois is back. Gotta run!" Rachel stared after him, wondering how he got that idea. Lois was nowhere in sight. It was then she saw the reporter walk in through the door, looking extremely tired. That was odd. Maybe Clark was just a lucky guesser.
"Hello, Lois." Rachel said. "Rough day?" Lois sat down at her desk and moaned, burying her head in her arms.
"You don't know the half of it." She said. "None of the people I was supposed to interview showed up, so I spent the day in a wild goose chase around the city. Then, when I go to Jason's school, he's apparently in trouble for climbing all the way to the top of a tree. I don't even know how he did it! He's nowhere near strong enough, he'd get an asthma attack before he reached the third branch!" Rachel smiled.
"Well, it's not like he flew up there or anything, right? Maybe he was just really determined." She said. Lois froze.
"What did you say?" Her voice was weak and she looked pale.
"I mean, little kids don't fly—" Rachel tried to explain, thinking Lois might be just too tired to get the joke.
"R-right." Lois nodded, but she looked to be on the verge of tears now. "That'd be completely impossible." Rachel just gave her an odd look, but shook the comment off. Lois had had a long day, it seemed. She needed rest.
"Maybe you should go home for the day," Rachel said. "I've still got to set up my desk and whatnot, so I'll just stay and catch a taxi when it's time to go." Lois thought about it for a moment.
"That sounds like a good idea," She said. "I didn't get very much sleep last night, anyway."
"My fault, huh?" Rachel asked teasingly. Lois laughed.
"Totally. Thanks, Rachel." She paused. "So, how did things go with Clark?"
"He's really nice." Rachel said. "He introduced me to everyone and everything. But...ah...Jimmy Olsen tried to ask me on a date, I think."
"Really?" Lois giggled. "I can see that."
"And when I turned him down, he thought it was because I have a thing for Clark." Rachel said, shaking her head. "Clark's a good man and all, but...even if I did have those sorts of feelings for him, it'd feel like I was cheating on Harvey." Lois looked at her peculiarly.
"Harvey?"
"Harvey Dent. We were engaged, before I died." Rachel explained. "I really loved him, and I thought...I thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. But now, I can't really see him again, can I?"
Lois just stared at her in silence, pity easy to see on her face. She took Rachel's hand, trying to show her sympathy.
"I'm so sorry, Rachel." She said. "I keep forgetting how hard this must be for you. If I was separated from Richard and Jason and everybody else I care about...I don't know how I could survive. You're an extremely brave person. I hope this all works out." Rachel nodded.
"Thanks." She said quietly. "I appreciate it." And she did. Who knew what would happen to her if Lois hadn't decided to break into the lab that night? She shuddered to think about it. This life was so much better than one spent in a lab, even if it meant having no contact with anyone she knew before.
"I have to go, now." Lois stood up, giving Rachel a small smile. "I'll see you at home."
"Bye," Rachel waved as Lois gathered her things and left. She gave a small sigh, stretching her arms and walking over to her own desk. It was completely bare, of course, save for a computer and a chair. She sat down, and suddenly an idea popped into her head.
It wouldn't hurt to check on Harvey and Bruce, would it? Just...google their names and read the most recent article? Just to keep up. If she couldn't talk to them, she could at least be aware of what they were doing.
The first name she entered into the search box was Bruce's. She clicked, and suddenly millions of hits appeared on the screen. She clicked on the first link that had the subtitle 'NEWS ARTICLE' next to it.
LOCAL BILLIONAIRE DONATES STATUE TO CITY IN MEMORY OF FALLEN DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Bruce Wayne, Gotham City's most well-known billionaire, has decided to donate a large bronze statue of Harvey Dent, former D.A., to the city to commemorate the man's death. After Dent's horrific death two months ago, the city has been in an uproar. Crime rates are soaring, criminals now unafraid now that the district attorney is gone.
"This statue will stand for everyone Mr. Dent, a good friend of mine, once stood for." Wayne said. "Above all else, justice for all." Mr. Wayne is more well known for his escapades with women than his philanthropic duties. However, it seems that not even this rich playboy can leave the horrible loss alone.
The statue stands in Gotham Square, ten feet tall, an iconic image of Dent looking towards the sky. The words "JUSTICE FOR ALL" are engraved into the pedestal, along with a placard that states "IN LOVING MEMORY OF HARVEY DENT, D.A., 1968-2008", a sure sign that even in the tumultuous decades to come, Gotham will not forget about the district attorney that inspired a flame of justice in such a squalid city.
Rachel stared at the article, a feeling of shock washing over her.
Harvey...is dead. He...he...couldn't be. It was impossible. Bruce had saved him! She knew it, it had to be true. She quickly went back to the search box and furiously typed in Harvey's name. What she found only confirmed her nightmares.
According to the articles, Harvey had been assassinated by a mob member after recovering from severe burn injuries in the hospital.
Rachel couldn't breathe.
"Are you okay, Lydia?" Someone said. Clark. It sounded like Clark. He stood over her, a concerned look on his face. "You're extremely pale, and you look like...Lydia?" She found she couldn't answer. Her chest hurt, and tears rose in her eyes although she couldn't bring herself to cry. She blinked—hard—and they ran down her cheeks. It felt like someone punched her in the gut. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't....she couldn't...
"I..." Her voice was extremely shaky. She swallowed. "I don't know." She tried to let out a shuddery breath, but couldn't. Her hands suddenly started pushing down on her thighs, a nervous habit.
"Do you need a ride?" Clark asked, a little softer. He walked around the desk and put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think you can work in this state."
Rachel broke down into tears, and Clark just stood there, not really sure of what to do.
Around half an hour later, Rachel was sitting in the passenger's seat of Clark's car, staring out the window and not saying a word. Traffic. Perfect. She'd agreed to let him drive her home, but she still couldn't get over her initial shock. Her mind was racing with thoughts.
Severe burn injuries...oh god oh god and he was shot and was there blood there was probably blood Harvey's blood everywhere everywhere everywhere—
"I don't know what happened." Clark said firmly, trying to break the awkward silence. "I don't know why you were so upset back there, and if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But I just want you to know that I'm here for you, Lydia, if you do." He didn't sound so nervous any more, like he had when they'd met earlier in the day. Rachel really only half heard him, she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to really notice. But she looked over at him, anyway, trying to manage a smile but failing horribly.
"Thanks," She said. Her voice still trembled.
"And I'm sorry," He said. The normal uncomfortable tone he had had returned to his voice. "For whatever happened. When somebody gets upset like that...you know it's bad."
"Yeah," Rachel said. She felt incredibly weak, like all that crying had drained the life out of her. She wanted to curl up in a ball and just forget. A part of her suddenly hated Bruce—hated Bruce so damn much—for not saving Harvey. He could've. She knew he could've. There was another part of her that was just relieved he was alive but her hatred overpowered that. How could she be glad Bruce was alive when Harvey was dead? When Harvey died—what did he think? What were his last words? Did he believe he was going to join her in heaven?
'If heaven even exists, he's in for a cruel surprise,' Rachel thought. If Luthor hadn't brought her back to life...maybe they would be together now.
'No.' A voice said in her mind. 'Don't you dare think that. If Harvey had a choice, he would've wanted you to live, and you are. So live for Harvey, if you need a reason to stay here. Just don't let yourself die.' Rachel was more frightened than anything at that moment to find she was much more scared of death than she originally thought. And then she spoke.
"Clark," It was very soft, and he could barely hear. "If someone you loved died...would you want to die too, so you could be with them?" He looked at her, realization dawning on him.
"Oh." He said. "Oh. I see." He was quiet for a moment. "No, I don't think so. If I really loved someone, and they really loved me, they wouldn't want me to be dead. They'd want me to be happy." Rachel thought. It made sense...she knew that what Harvey wanted more than anything, maybe even more that Gotham's safety, was her happiness.
"You give great advice, Clark." She said. She almost giggled when a faint pink tinge appeared on his cheeks. Almost.
"People tell me that," He said, flustered. "Like I should write an advice column or something. Half the advice I give ends up putting people in trouble a lot, so there you go."
"You understand people, though." She said. "It's hard to come across anyone who really does these days, especially where I'm from." She was a bit relieved when Clark didn't ask where she was from. Answering that would only lead to talking about Batman...Bruce. And she couldn't get over the hate growing in her belly to do that right now.
It was six thirty when Clark had finally dropped Rachel off. He waved goodbye from his car, and she smiled and waved back, entering the large house feeling much better. Maybe it was her talk with Clark. Despite his protests, he really was good at giving advice. There was a strong smell coming from the kitchen. Rachel kicked off her heels, feet sore, and followed her nose. She was starving.
"Hi, Rachel. Did you get settled in?" Lois stood at one of the counters, assaulting a slab of dough with a rolling pin. Richard was cutting up a chicken that looked extremely delicious. Jason sat at the table, rolling a tiny Hot Wheels car across the surface. A happy family, getting ready for dinner.
"Mostly, yeah." She nodded and took a seat next to the little boy. Lois looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Your eyes are red," She said. "Have you been crying?"
"I just...yeah. I was." Rachel said. "I got news that someone I care about is dead." Lois suddenly looked extremely sympathetic, setting down the rolling pin and brushing flour from her blouse.
"I'm sorry," She said quietly. "If you're not hungry, you can just—"
"No, no, I am." Rachel insisted. "It smells wonderful. Richard's a great cook. I just...I need to come to terms with it, that's all." Everyone was silent. Even Jason stopped his fire truck sound effects and was staring at her.
"Who was it?" Jason suddenly blurted out. "Was it a fire or a war or something?"
"Jason!" Richard said sternly. "That's not appropriate. Apologize to Miss Rachel."
"Sorry, Miss Rachel." Jason said, looking slightly embarrassed. Rachel frowned. For a second there...he looked kind of like Clark. No, she was just seeing things. Most people looked the same when they were embarrassed.
"It's fine, Jason." She said. "I'd just prefer it if you don't ask questions, please."
Dinner was done ten minutes later, and it was accompanied by a long discussion about mundane things that families normally talked about at dinner. Rachel felt strangely out of place. She had never been in these kinds of talks. Growing up, she mostly ate dinner alone while her mom was out working to support them. She was glad that not every kid had to go through that. Mostly just the kids in Gotham City.
"I'm heading to Gotham next Saturday," Lois proclaimed. "I'll be back Monday afternoon, I hope. Can you guys manage without me?" She glanced at Richard and Jason.
"Yeah," Richard laughed. "I'm pretty sure. What do you think, big guy? How can we handle no Mommy?"
"Freedom!" Jason threw his hands up in the air, and everyone laughed. Rachel felt strange. She didn't know if she could just watch Lois go to Gotham and not go with her. The urge to return to the city was strong. Inside her, there was still a little girl who just wanted to go home.
"Do you want to come with, Rachel?" Lois asked, as if she were reading her mind. "I could really use your help, you know. And I understand you have...acquaintances there, right?"
"I'll have to think about it," Rachel said. And then it hit her.
Going to Gotham would mean visiting Harvey's grave. Her stomach lurched. Oh god, she didn't know if she could deal with that. She was so desperate to get him out of her mind...maybe if she forgot, it wouldn't hurt so much. It still refused to sink in. Harvey is dead. Forever. No coming back. And even if he was resurrected...somehow, the thought sickened her. It wasn't natural. She would never want that for him.
"Excuse me," She said hoarsely. "I don't think I can finish." She stood and returned to her room, collapsing on the covers and not even bothering to change. She wanted sleep now. Tiredness washed over her, and she could sleep forever and not wake up as far as she was concerned. Sleep sounded so good.
Maybe if she slept she could dream Harvey was still alive. She had already sunken deep into rest by the time she half-finished that thought.
She'd have to confront Harvey's death sooner or later, the thought stayed at the back of her mind. But she decided to go to Gotham with Lois in that dream, against her better judgement.
Screw Bruce. She wanted to see Harvey again.
Author's Note: I have no idea why this took so long to write. It was hard to type it up, you know? I had it in my head, I just couldn't put it down. Anyway, this chapter was shorter than the last one, but I'll try to make next chapter longer. Next chapter, Rachel has a run in with everybody's favorite superhero from Krypton, but will she discover who he really is? Also, don't worry, Rachel and Lois leave for Gotham by the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoy! Thanks! Reviews are great :D