CHAPTER TWO
Clark Kent's eyes followed Richard White and his bride, Lois Lane down the aisle as the joyful couple ran to the limousine waiting out front. He had to admit it, Lois looked fantastic in her wedding dress, complete with a tall stovepipe hat, and train. Her shoulders were bare, and Richard eyed her appreciatively as they got in the car with Clark's eight-year-old son, Jason.
Clark knew he had no right to feel as he felt, and the guilt welling up inside sent him to the nearest hiding place to change into Superman to fly away. He was still feeling the sting of Lois's rejection despite the fact that it had all been his fault. He was the one who had left without saying "good bye"; he was the one who abandoned her and all of planet Earth to search for what he had thought was another part of Krypton. Appropriately, he was also the one who hadn't found anything that he could take home, let alone call home.
He also couldn't blame Richard. The nephew of Clark's employer, Perry White, was a handsome man who was kindhearted and loved Jason to pieces. It didn't matter to Richard that Jason wasn't his own flesh and blood son. The junior editor had accepted the little boy without question, and without judging Lois. Although Richard had had reservations about Superman, he had been good natured about it, not badmouthing the superhero to either Lois, or Jason. Richard even took time to notice Clark, which was something no one ever did, except for Jimmy Olson, the Daily Planet's photographer. In the face of all that, Clark was hard pressed to be even the slightest bit jealous of Lois being with Richard.
So, rather than give into what his sinful nature was suggesting, Clark put off the idea that he use his heat vision to burn Richard into a charcoal briquette and decided to fly away as Superman instead. As the Man of Steel let the wind blow through his jet black hair, he also let the torments of his love life ebb away. Although he often went to Martha Kent, his adoptive mother in Smallville whenever he had a problem, Superman decided that he didn't want to bother her this time. Ever since he knew Lois was seeing Richard, he had gone to his mother for comfort, a little boy lost. Sometimes, he would talk to Jonn Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter, in the Watchtower too; the fellow alien was like a kindred soul to him, since both had lost their people. But Superman knew that one had to handle one's own problems and face one's demons at some point without always running home to Ma or the brother you wish you had but didn't.
Flying always gave him a thrill, though he had never told anyone. There was something about letting the breeze go through your hair and seeing the world from way up in the clouds that made things seem less dire and more manageable. Maybe it was because, from a distance, the houses, cars, people, and other distractions looked like little statues or toys rather than what they were; maybe it was because the lines of racism, alienation, prejudice, and other petty squabbles humans engaged in were blurred from up there. After all, there were no map lines drawn, no computer images pumped into people's minds shouting that there was a difference between skin colors, countries, aliens.
After about an hour of soul searching, Superman sighed. He didn't hear any immediate cries for help that he felt he should attend to, but, as he knew, duty never took a rest. The Man of Tomorrow took a device out of his cape's pocket, teleporting to the Watchtower which was a little outside of Earth's atmosphere.
"Greetings, Kal-El," the Martian's deep, harmonious voice said as he punched controls into the viewing screen. Locations from around the globe flashed, showing different situations, different levels of emergencies.
Although Superman was used to J'onn's telepathic abilities, and he had seen them in countless other beings encountered by the Justice League, he still sometimes was a little creeped out by the Martian's talent for reading minds.
"Hi, J'onn," Superman said. He went closer to the viewing screen, peering at the scenes of fires and floods going on.
"Do you have anything for me?" the Man of Steel asked hopefully.
"Actually," his Martian friend said, "I do not. It seems that the governments of the world are handling their crises quite adroitly."
"What about the war on Alton Seven?" Superman asked. Alton Seven had been engaged in conflicts for several months hence. It looked as though they would have an interplanetary war in their galaxy unless the League intervened.
"Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern have not reported in yet on that," the Manhunter said. As if on cue, the screen blinked. J'onn pressed the communications switch on his control board. Wonder Woman's beautiful face filled the screen, her expression looking tired.
"Wonder Woman reporting," she said matter-of-factly.
"Yes, we were just talking about you," the Martian said. "How are things up there?"
"Dicey," Diana replied, "but no fires to put out yet. Batman is trying to solve the mystery of what happened to the Prince here. He disappeared two days ago, and he's needed to keep the peace. So far, though, both factions are at a stalemate." She switched from being tired to being annoyed.
"I just wish they'd make up their minds on things," she muttered. Upon seeing Superman behind J'onn, the Amazonian Princess greeted, "Hello, Clark."
"Hi, Diana," Superman greeted back. "Are you sure you don't need any help right now? I could be there in…"
"No, no," Wonder Woman responded. "It's okay for now, but I promise, we'll call if things get any worse. Wonder Woman out." The screen went black. Superman wished just then that there would have been something going on on Alton Seven that required his attention. J'onn Jonzz picked up on the Man of Steel's thoughts.
"You really should take advantage of this introspective time," the Martian advised. "It isn't every day that the Earth and other worlds seem content to handle their own problems without too much aid from us."
"I know, J'onn," the Man of Steel said, feeling guilty again. "It's just that, well, I'm having problems in my social life, and…"
"I know," the Martian said sympathetically, turning from the screen to face Kal El. "I saw the broadcasts of the wedding up here. It is difficult when the woman you love is taken away from you. It reminds me of another friend of ours, though he had a unique way of handling that."
Superman crossed his arms, saying, "I am not cloning myself and going to another Earth in another universe that I could destroy every time I travel there to be with Lois. That's a bit much, and anyway, the original is going through his own love life crisis."
The Martian agreed, "Yes, correct. Not a good example to give you."
"It's just that," Superman said in a troubled voice, "I just want to tear Richard's hair out, or burn him with my heat vision, for even touching Lois. Every time I think of those two together, it just drives me nuts!"
"I understand," J'onn replied. "It is not easy to control feelings of jealousy."
"The worst part is: Richard is genuinely nice," Superman said almost in a disgusted tone, "and it's not a put on! He even said I could be a part of Jason's life after he found out that Jason was my son. It would be so much easier if he were a total slime, like Luthor, but Richard isn't! I try to find something I can dislike about the guy, but I find myself warming up to him, which I suppose is great for Lois and Jason, but it's horrible for me!"
"Perhaps you should stop focusing on them, especially while they are not in Metropolis to grab your attention," J'onn Jonzz advised.
"Out of sight, out of mind?" Superman asked.
The Martian nodded, saying, "Something like that."
"You're right," Superman responded, "but if there are no emergencies…"
The Martian turned back to the screen. He saw a figure in a purple outfit with long, flowing black hair taking a gem from a glass case. Superman looked, then, before J'onn could say anything further, the Man of Steel teleported to the location.