Innocence
Isabel hung her head as she was let out of the training room. She wiped her dirty hands frantically on her black uniform. Luthor gave her a pat on the back as a reward but she shivered at the touch. Luthor praised her, "You have done well. What would you like as a prize?" Isabel, whose eyes never left the grounds, murmured, "I want to see mom." Luthor grunted in disgust and suggested, "You can have any kind of food or luxury. Are you sure?" Isabel nodded slowly.
Lois saw the door opening and put on her best smile to welcome her daughter home. She was surprised to see the absence of her daughter's cheerful skip. She immediately glowered at the man responsible, Luthor. "What did you do to her?" Luthor replied innocently, "Not much really. She performed exceptionally well today." Then he left the mother and daughter.
Isabel hadn't moved an inch towards her worried mother. She was starting to regret seeing her mother again. Would her mother despise her for doing such a heinous act? Would her mother leave her too like her dad? Lois said softly, "Isabel? What's wrong?"
Lois walked towards her, kneeling and caressing her hands on her cheek. However, Isabel would not look into the eyes of her mother. Lois caught sight of the emptiness in Isabel's eyes and took her stiff daughter into her arms. It wasn't long before Isabel bursted into tears. Isabel wailed into her mother's chest, hoping her tears would cleanse her of her shame.
Lois calmed her down and said once more, "Isabel, could you tell me what happened?" Isabel choked slightly on her tears and mumbled, "I…I ki…killed." Lois's eyes widened. "Killed? Who?" However, Isabel was too absorbed in her tears to explain logically. "Training. Batman. Simulation." Lois couldn't help but swear at Luthor in the presence of her daughter. How dare Luthor take away my daughter's innocence by training her to kill? Deep down in Lois's mind, she knew that Luthor had bigger plans in mind and that this training was inevitable. Yet Isabel was only a 5-year-old. Superman, Clark, Are you there?
Isabel heard her mother swear and scolded herself for stressing her mother. She felt her mother stroking her long black hair and shifted her head against her mother's chest. Lois was pleased to see Isabel calm and collected once more. She felt that her daughter was dying to ask her something but was refraining herself.
"What is it?" Lois asked gently. Isabel looked up into her mother's eyes and quickly away.
"Why did dad leave us here? Why isn't he here?" Lois wanted so badly to just tell her sweet daughter that Superman was her father and that he was still relentlessly searching for them. However, she knew that Luthor was listening carefully to their conversation.
"Dad didn't leave us. He is still looking for us."
"What is dad like?"
"Well, kind, gentle, caring, uhh…" Lois blushed profusely as she had never praised Clark openly before.
"He sounds really nice. I hope I can see him some day."
Lois reassured her, "You will. When you leave, you are going to be a success. You can be a singer, actress, reporter, you name it. I will always be there for you." Isabel smiled once again. Her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep. Lois had repeated this promise of freedom for many times. However, sometimes even Lois doubted the possibility of that happening. After 5 years, Clark hadn't contacted them. She had forced herself to have faith in him, but 5 years of disappointment was too much to bear. Lois decided to take matters into her own hands.