I walked slowly back to the house with a deepening sense of dread. My stomach had resumed it's fluttering and my feet were suddenly uncharacteristically heavy making each step seem slow … come on who was I kidding, I was stalling. I had felt safe in short time I had been in my brother's company but now I had to face reality. I had no choice but to go back into the house and talk to these people who had been left with a more than negative impression about me and my family.
I had always found it amazing that no one could see past Dad's lame disguise and see who he really was. Even Jason had figured it out by himself when he was just 5 years old. When, no IF, our secret was fully exposed what would that mean to us all? Would we be able to carry on our lives as normal or would we have to resort to plan B? The emergency plan had been devised, with Uncle Bruce's help, just after my parents were married and to be honest with you it filled me with a sense of dread. That really wasn't something I even wanted to think about but for the first time since I was born it may become necessary.
I really didn't want to go back inside and face the questions and looks I'd receive but when I returned to the house there was only Jack and his brother Drew left in the kitchen. The TV had luckily been switched off. I quickly scanned the house and found his parents and the rest of the family in the lounge, sat in front of yet another TV absorbing every piece of information they could like vultures around a corpse. The two brothers were deep in conversation when I entered but I before I could shut out their voices I overheard Jack telling his obviously concerned brother that he'd "deal with it tonight". Deal with what? … that got me a little worried. I cleared my throat as I approached the doorway and they sprung guiltily apart with identical expressions of innocence on their faces much like I imagined they would have looked as children whilst raiding the cookie jar. I suppose that in other circumstances it would have been quite cute.
"I can't get through to Mom or Dad but I've been talking to my brother. Jack can you drive me to the airport please? I really need to get back to Metropolis." I kept my voice calm and gave him a small apologetic smile.
He readily nodded in agreement but there was an enormous amount of tension in his body. His face was once again a blank mask as he gathered up our coats and told his parents he was taking me to the airport. I hastily said my goodbyes and followed him out of the house.
We walked side by side towards his car but it felt as if we had never been further apart. His whole body resonated tension and his heartbeat was still pounding much faster than normal.
Once settled in the car he sped off and the only obvious noise in the vehicle was the sound of the engine. The silence was oppressive and the longer it went on the more worried I became. He was angry with me and there was only one reason I could think of. He was embarrassed that this had cropped up in front of his family. How could he not be angry? They were influential people and his involvement with the daughter of Lois Kent could ruin any career they dreamed of. I couldn't cope with Jack's anger on top of everything else and to my disgust I had to fight back the tears that were coming to my eyes. I hated crying … it wasn't the emotional side as much as the physical side. I simply didn't cry prettily like some women did and I always ended up with a runny nose and letting out very unladylike snorts.
He eventually gave a deep sign and glanced my way. It was beginning to grow dark and his face was cast in shadows. He gently pulled me over to his side of the car and draped his arm around me then rubbed his hand up and down my arm as if I was cold and he was attempting to get the circulation going again.
"I'm sorry, … I need a few minutes of quiet to think. OK?"
He did sound genuinely regretful but I wasn't quite sure what he meant by his words. I nodded my head regardless. To be honest by this time I was pretty sure that he was planning to break off our relationship for the sake of his parents. It was something that I'd never once in all our time together considered and I'd be damned if I'd let him do that without an argument. We were good together and I couldn't imagine ever finding anyone I could see myself spending the rest of my life with but him.
"I understand …" I felt like my whole world was beginning to spin out of control but I managed to say the words regardless "If you want to end it … us I mean. I'll understand but I'm not just going to let you go without a fight." He jerked forward as if struck and spun around to face me as he brought the car abruptly to a halt at the side of the road. It wasn't the smoothest manoeuvre and the car bumped against the kerb before coming to a stop. He studiously ignored the irate driver in the car behind us as the other car had to rapidly swerve to avoid crashing into us.
"What the hell are you talking about?" his voice sounded unusually loud in the quietness of the car but held a note of exasperation. "Look at me!" he appeared to be loosing his cool slightly and whilst not exactly angry he was certainly not happy by what I'd said. He flicked a switch somewhere on the dashboard so the interior of the car was gently lit up. I occasionally forgot that not everyone could see as well as I could in the twilight hours but I felt exposed sitting there on the street when passers-by could see me and the tears that I was still trying to hide. It was Gotham after all!
My stubborn nature meant that I had little choice but to look him in the eye as I wasn't about to hide my face as a matter of principle. We held each others gaze for a few seconds with neither one of us moving until Jack surprisingly drew my hair away from my face and held the loose curls at the back of my head, exposing my entire face to him. He stared into my eyes with an intensity that I'd never really seen before and I found it unnerving to say the least. Why was he acting so strange?
When he spoke his voice had a slight quiver to it. "Do you really think so little of me, you idiot? Which part of 'I love you' don't you understand?" before I could answer him he quickly released my hair and firmly pressed his lips against mine in a hard quick kiss without breaking eye contact. "Do you really think I'd end everything we've got just because your Mom's been caught with Superman? It doesn't matter to me." I felt some of the pent up panic begin to drain out of me at his words. At this point in my life I don't honestly think I could have managed to deal with the whole Mom/Superman/Dad situation as well as a messy break up without going completely crazy myself! The intensity that had been paramount in his eyes lessened somewhat and was replaced by a pensive and slightly nervous expression. While I had been studying his face intently I missed what he said next. I mentally shook my head to clear it and asked him to repeat himself.
"I said … The next time you go outside to talk to your brother … make sure you take your cell phone with you! … Otherwise people may realise that you don't actually need one."
Huh! What? He gently handed me my cell phone which I had left in the hallway after my call with Uncle Bruce. I stared at it as if I'd never seen it before and pointedly refused to look Jack in the face. He didn't know! He couldn't know! I'd spent my entire life covering my tracks and a simple mistake like not taking my cell phone with me couldn't have clued him in to the biggest secret in Christendom! Could it? If he'd caught me floating in the air or cooking with my laser vision I could understand it. No he was still upset about my Mom's "affair" … that had to be it! I absentmindedly noticed that I had 12 unread text messages and … 37 missed calls. Maybe switching the sound off had been for the best then I thought as I switched it back on, trying to avoid the situation in classic Darcy fashion.
I swallowed deeply before saying "I did take it with me … otherwise how could I have spoken with Jason?" My words trailed off as I realised he was chuckling under his breath and had a scarily smug expression on his face. "What?" I was getting mad again now … just what did he think was so funny?
"You have beautiful eyes Darcy Kent!" Was he deliberately trying to annoy me now because this really wasn't an ideal time for flattery. "They are a really unusual shade of blue ... unearthly you could say." I sat still as if frozen on the spot as he delivered the punch line "When were you planning on telling me that you were Superman's daughter? It was so obvious when you shouted my Mother down … standing there with your arms crossed over your … chest." He had the audacity to glance down at my cleavage when he said the words! "I'm sorry I've been acting a bit … weird since I figured it out."
I think I made an "Ohhhh" face. That is I meant to say "Ohhhh" but no sound actually came out. I tried to get some words out … I really did try but I, Sol-El of Krypton, simply sat with my mouth opening and closing like a fish whilst my boyfriend sat there grinning at me like a loon. I'm really not proud of the fact! Lord I was now officially in soooo much trouble! Dad was going to be furious!
Part of me realised that I should have laughed in his face and told him he was wrong but I doubt that he would have believed me. Instead of words of denial I found myself saying. "Well I always knew you were a little weird. That's one of the things that I love about you."
His misplaced hilarity luckily only lasted a short while until he put his serious face back on.
"Seriously Darcy! I always knew were special but your father is Superman for Gods sake. I'd never have guessed you were half …" before he could finish the sentence I put my index finger across his lips and hissed.
"DON'T SAY ALIEN!… It makes be angry" He looked at me oddly and I left him with no choice but to mumble against the said finger. "I WAS going to say Kryptonian."
I felt a little silly at that point and quickly moved the finger. The evening was turning out to be a real revelation in more ways than one. Firstly my parents had seriously messed up (if it was going to happen I'd always assumed it would've been me messing up) and secondly I realised that my boyfriend was even more seriously amazing than I had originally thought. Come on how many people guys would be fine with finding out that their girlfriend wasn't completely human?
"How er … how do you feel I mean … seriously Jack … I've gone over this conversation in my head thousands of times." At his questioning look I carried on "You know … How I'd tell you about my Dad! I never in any of those conversations thought that you'd guess without me having to tell you. I'm unprepared and … "
"Well you know me … always expect the unexpected. Oh Lord!" he put his head in his hands, narrowly missing the car horn with his elbow. "There was a part of me that thought I was wrong … that I was completely crazy to be thinking what I was thinking but … I'm not crazy am I? It's true … and my girlfriend has super hearing!" He still had a smile on his face, a confused and disbelieving smile but a smile non the less. That must be a good sign that he wasn't completely freaking out on me. "That's how you spoke to Jason right?" I slowly nodded. "Okaaay!". He was obviously deep in thought and I could practically hear his mind working. "How long has this thing with your Mom and Superman been going on? I mean … if you could hear Jason from Metropolis that's … well … pretty impressive, but it'd be impossible because he wouldn't be able to hear you … unless you both had super hearing?" He looked across at me with his eyebrows raised in question. I simply nodded. Yes my brother was a freak of nature as well! There was no point in lying to him because he'd already figured it out that Jason and I were both Superman's children but it hadn't really been super hearing that we'd been using in the garden. I didn't feel he was quite ready for the revelation that we both had the whole Superman package and he had a flying girlfriend … one thing at a time, Darcy!
My stomach flipped as I began to realise just how this awful situation was going to effect Jack. It was going to be difficult enough for him to come to term with the fact that I had super powers without all the extra problems we were going to face. It wasn't our relationship I was worried about exactly but the next few weeks and months, perhaps even longer, were going to be hell. We would be in the spotlight no matter how much the general public actually found out and by association Jack and even his parents were likely to get caught up in the madness.
"Jack, I don't want you to take this the wrong way but … well … things are going to be really really crazy for a while and I'm pretty sure whatever happens that my life is about to change beyond all recognition. I love you so much Jack but I don't want to see you involved with this. I understand the media better than most and they are going to drag out every tiny thing they can about my family and … this has the potential to ruin your parents just because of your association with me. I can't let that happen. If you want to cool it for a while until it calms down I'll understand."
"Is that what you really want?" He has raised one eyebrow in question but there was there was a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"No" I gave a nervous laugh "I want to hide under the bed with you until my Daddy makes everything better … it's what he does normally but this time …." I didn't finished the sentence but gave a shrug, hoping he'd understand.
"I'm not going anywhere Darce so get that thought out of your mind straight away!" I was relieved to say the least. I realised that the practical thing to do was to keep him as far away from this as possible but I couldn't even imagine being without him for any prolonged period of time. Over the months we had been a couple we had spent so much time together either at his apartment in Gotham or at mine in Metropolis that it would be awful if we had to stay away from each other for more than a day or so.
"Look Darcy! I hate to ask this but I'm going to anyway" He ran his hand up his face and through his hair which was his telltale sign of being nervous.
"Go on " I prompted with a sly grin. I was pretty sure that he was going to ask me just how much I took after Dad. That would be an interesting conversation but he surprised me.
"How er … how does it work? The relationship between your Mom, Dad and Superman that is?" I'm pretty sure my nose wrinkled in confusion. "I'm pretty laid back and open to most things but it seems kind of … kookie … the three of them like that. I er wouldn't want to say or do anything to upset anyone. I mean if they are all happy to have this … thing going on, who am I to judge but to be perfectly honest I'm a little freaked out by it all. Your Dad … I mean Clark … must be one hell of an understanding guy."
I sat there in his car and two things hit me at once. Firstly he must think my family were really really kinky and dysfunctional and secondly he had absolutely no idea that my Dad was actually Superman. Even if I'd have wanted I couldn't have stopped the inevitable laugh that erupted out of my mouth. I simply couldn't help it … my Dad was absolutely the last person in this world who would be open to such an unorthodox set up!
The tears of laughter were literally streaming down my face and each time I glanced at Jack he was looking more and more exasperated with me. "Gimme a … minute" I managed to get out in between gasps of breath. Looking back I realised that he had at no point mentioned the fact that my Dad and Superman were one and the same, for some reason I'd just assumed that he had figured the whole thing out.
"Did you … did you really think that they had a free love thing going on? I'm sorry I shouldn't laugh but it's just beyond disturbing." He had the audacity to look embarrassed but he was unsurprisingly still confused about what was happening.
I was aware that I was trying to play for a little more time to think. I was going to tell him the whole truth … there was no choice given the circumstances but just how much trouble would I be in from my parents? Dad was going to go ballistic but I didn't care anymore. If the whole world was going to find out anyway what difference did it make if I told Jack beforehand? My thoughts were interrupted by my cell phone which was still sitting awkwardly in my lap. The screen told me it was my Mom so I quickly answered.
"Mom!" There was no need to ask how she was because I already had a pretty good idea. Before I could say anything else she interrupted "Sweetheart …I'm so sorry … I can't believe this is happening but we'll make it right I promise you. God it's chaos here. Look Dad's had to shoot off somewhere but well …. I'm not sure what's going on but he says, and I quote 'For the love of God tell him the truth' he said you'd understand" I gave a low chuckle but was concerned by the stress evident in her voice. As a general rule Dad left me to my own devices and normally gave me a great deal of privacy but in the circumstances I could hardly blame him for trying to keep track of me and accidentally overhearing our conversation.
At no point had I actually considered the fact that Dad would be OK with me telling Jack who he really was. In the circumstances I guess there was very little choice unless he wanted Jack to think they were into the whole alternative lifestyle thing but even so it was giving him a huge amount of trust.
"Mom, I'm going to talk to Jack and then bring him back home with me tonight. He'll be able to look at everything with a fresh perspective." It was a spur of the moment decision and I'm pretty sure that Mom noticed that I was making a statement rather than asking permission. There was only so much conversation we could safely have on an unsecured cell phone so we agreed that we'd talk properly once we made it to Metropolis. I turned back to Jack and noticed he still had a perplexed expression on his face but was also looking quite pale. "Are you OK?" he nodded so I continued "I didn't mean to spring that on you but I … I want to keep you close by in case … well in case it hit's the fan. I'd like you to come home with me and help us figure this mess out." He nodded again so I added casually "Oh and Superman overheard your theory about his love life."
He looked suitably horrified and once again began his customary nervous habit of rubbing his hand over his face. "Shit! What did he say?" His voice was pretty squeaky at this point.
"Swearing isn't going to get you Superman brownie points. My father wants me to tell you the whole truth to stop your assumption that he's a kinky pervert who likes to share other men's wives and impregnate them with his hybrid children …. although to be fair they are my words not his."
His face was quickly paling and I was more than a little worried that he was going to actually pass out. I took pity on him and quickly explained that he wasn't mad, just a little … perturbed by the whole conversation he's unwittingly overheard.
"Fine … just give me a minute" He took off his seatbelt with fast jerky movements and opened the car door.
Some people say that you are taking your life in your own hands by walking Gotham's streets at night but Jack wasn't actually in any danger as he began pacing mechanically up and down the deserted street. He had me to protect him! A fact that I'm sure wasn't going to do his male pride much good when he figured it out. Of course he didn't really know just how capable I was and I was a little unnerved that he was upset enough to flout the unwritten rules of Gotham and put himself in danger. I watched from the warmth of the car as he paced along the kerbside with his hands on his hips and his eyes sweeping the floor. I could tell he was deliberately trying to control his breathing by taking deep breathes and carefully exhaling to calm himself. He was going to be fine but I think he had some kind of delayed reaction to all the information that had been thrown at him recently. I guess it was a lot for him to take in for one day, finding out that your girlfriend was the daughter of Superman and that Superman thought you thought he was a kinky pervert!
With hindsight I should have been paying more attention to our surroundings because whilst I had been ruminating over our situation I hadn't noticed that we had company. Luckily not of the criminal variety though. The black cape spread out as he glided swiftly down from the roof of the nearest apartment building and he landed firmly in front of my pacing boyfriend. Who in typical male fashion shrieked, stumbled and then stood upright with his shoulders back as if trying to hide the fact that he was actually scared. To be honest I was incredibly proud of the way he wasn't backing down and even though he wasn't looking Uncle Bruce directly in the eye he certainly wasn't running screaming in terror. Either he was less impressed with the whole super hero business than I thought he was or, with his new found knowledge, he assumed that he would be rescued him if Batman decided to beat him up.
"You shouldn't be here. It's not safe." his voice was his usual hoarse growl and I could see the genuine annoyance in his eyes. It must make him so angry to see anyone taking stupid risks as it made his job so much more difficult.
After a nervous swallow Jack replied "Sorry I was just … well … freaking out. I'll go now and freak out somewhere … safer." He carefully backed away without breaking eye contact with the bat logo on Uncle Bruce's chest plate, obviously shaken, he only paused slightly when he noticed that I now was sitting on the car roof with my legs crossed watching the show with a grin on my face. OK to be honest I wasn't actually sitting on the car roof but rather floating slightly above it. Under other circumstances Jack would have been really annoyed at my blatant disregard for the paintwork on his beloved baby but tonight I thought the occasion needed a bit more fun!
"Hi Batman! I'd like you to meet my boyfriend. Jack this is the Batman." I said in my best preppy voice. I always love it when I manage to startle Uncle Bruce like that. Simply because it annoys him so much. Uncle Bruce sighed deeply when he saw it was me but I could see the laughter in his eyes through the cowl. He turned back to Jack and slowly and deliberately looked him up and down and appeared to find him wanting.
"He'll do I suppose." he growled in typical Batman fashion. Jack's mouth had fallen open in shock when it became apparent that I knew the vigilante. I can't blame him really because Batman was a 'big deal' here in Gotham and I already knew that Jack was a big fan. I jumped gracefully down off the car roof, opened the car door and gave him a little nod to get inside. I half expected him to argue but instead he simply said. "Why am I not surprised anymore?" as he got inside. My grin was a little sheepish as I told him we'd only be a few minutes.
Uncle Bruce and I then proceeded to the shadows of a nearby ally way to give us more privacy but to still be within sight of the car.
"Well he's just dreamy!" I couldn't help but burst into peals of laughter at the sight of Gotham's Dark Knight in full rig out sounding like a teenage girl. "Shut up, Batman" I emphasised his name just to get the point across that this really wasn't the time or place for banter. "I take it you've seen the news?" I kept my voice low so that we couldn't be overheard.
"I have … it's nice to know he's still got it in him at his age." he muttered under his breath with a raised eyebrow and a lecherous expression on his face. Did he actually remember that at 55, Dad was only a few years older than he was? "I've had no communications from Metropolis since I became aware of the problem. What's the situation?" I just hated the way Uncle Bruce went from laughter to his serious Batman persona so quickly without warning. It was creepy!
"No idea! We're on our way to leave the car at the airport and then I'm flying us to Metropolis" I had, of course, yet to mention the plan to Jack but I'm sure he wasn't going to complain too much! He may of course freak out in a way that made his recent freak out session look like a walk in the park but he had to find out sooner or later that I could fly!
"Bad idea. Wayne Industries are testing a new security system. It's just about foolproof and could easily detect you if you took flight … I was going to mention it." He continued sheepishly.
Well this was just brilliant! I'd never get us home at this rate. If I wasn't careful I'd actually have to get on one of the damn aeroplanes. Did I mention that aeroplanes seriously freak me out? I know that sounds crazy coming from the flying woman but I feel so useless up there in case there is some sort of emergency and I'd have to use my powers to stop the plane from crashing.
Uncle Bruce interrupted my thoughts. "How much does he know?" he said gesticulating towards the car.
"I'm just about to …. tell him everything. He already knows that I'm .." I mouthed the word Superman's "daughter but he doesn't realise that I've got all his powers and he hasn't actually figured out who Dad is … if you get what I mean." At Uncle Bruce's shocked expression I continued "Dad gave the go ahead."
He thought for a moment. "I take it that's why lover boy was freaking out." he said while casually waving his armour clad arm in the general direction of the car.
"No .. he seems fairly okay with it, he's even agreed to come and help us figure out what to do."
He looked me in the face and then started chuckling. "You're taking him home to meet the father-in-law from hell and you're wondering why he's freaking out?"
It wasn't until Uncle Bruce had pointed it out that I realised just why Jack had been so agitated since he agreed to come back home with me. Why hadn't I figured it out before? If I was worried about meeting his parents he must be down right terrified to have to meet Lois and Clark Kent with the high possibility of Superman being there to give him the 'What are your intentions' speech. I mentally gave myself a slap on the forehead. Duh!
Luckily Uncle Bruce was thinking a little clearer than me and became the man with a plan.
"You may leave the car in the cave until you're back in Gotham to pick it up. It'll give you somewhere safe to put it and you can fly home from there but I'll kryptonite you if you let him see where the cave is or give him any clue to my identity. I'll contact Alfred to appraise him of the situation." I didn't believe him for a minute about the kryptonite, he knew that I'd never give up his identity, even to Jack. I was about to give him a hug for taking the problem out of my hands but he pulled back with a strange expression on his face and said "Batman doesn't do hugs!". He was more than likely right. I'm not quite sure how Jack would take it if he caught me in a hug with the Batman. It would be a little hard to explain!