Superman:

He stepped into the kitchen with a friendly smile; a heroic figure in red, blue and swirling cape. Lane bounced up from her seat with her biggest and brightest smile and greeted the superhero with a hug and a scorching hot kiss. " I've missed you, Smallville... "

Superman blinked dazed blue eyes at his wife. " Wow! That was some welcome. "

Martha rose, the graceful and gracious hostess. " Good evening... er... Superman. "

" Mrs. Kent! "

" Please, call me Martha, " she replied with a warmly welcoming Martha Kent smile. " Come on in... "

" Yes Ma'am! "

Clark got up to say hi and realized that Lois was staring gape mouthed at the superhero. He leaned over and eased her mouth shut with a gentle knuckle. She swatted his hand away and stuck her tongue out at him, then stood and followed him into the kitchen.

Clark shook Superman's proffered hand. " Good evening! Welcome to Casa Kent! "

He leaned past Superman and turned the porch and yard lights on. There was a key pad below the light fixture and he rapidly entered a code number sequence.

" Thanks. " Superman swept the area with his Kryptonian senses. " Interesting. An effective warning system... "

" And under the right circumstances rather lethal, " Clark replied and sounded quite pleased. He pulled the SIG P220 Combat from his waistband and laid it on a counter near at hand.

" Let's just say that after dealing with the likes of Lionel and Lex Luthor that Dad and I decided it would be... unwise not to be prepared for hostilities of any sort. Personally, unless I hear they are dead and buried, I tend to be a bit paranoid about the bad guys... "

" Yes he does but it's saved our lives a couple times. " Lois walked up and leaned against Clark. She looked the red and blue clad superhero, then glanced at Lane. " We are so blessed! "

" Yes we are, " Lane leered back. She turned her attention to Superman. " So you and Clark know each other? "

" Yeah, we both do. Why? " Superman replied with a quizzical frown.

Lane shrugged. " Nothing important, but I'll be having a talk with Lazarus or the Twins one of these days to clear some things up... "

" Lots of luck with that Lane, " Clark said, deciding to stop her from going off on a Lois type tangent. " CK, I'd like to introduce my Lois to you. "

" Lois, back from the dead! " Superman smiled delightedly. " The Irregulars helped out didn't they? "

" Yeah they did, " Lois spoke up. " Do we call you Superman or what? "

" I'm not a big fan of the Superman moniker so how 'bout you call me CK like Clark just did. Jimmy came up with that one years ago so I'm at least used to it. " He looked back down at Lane. " This is what you've been up to, isn't it Lo'? "

Lane nodded offhandedly. " Uh huh... It seemed the thing to do at the time. "

" Uh huh... " The blue Kryptonian eyes grew dark and stormy. " I'm glad I got your text message, 'cause when your heartbeat vanished... It reminded me of the time you vanished after the fight with Tess Mercer... "

" If anyone is getting hungry I can get some supper started, " Martha interjected.

" I'm starving, " Lois admitted candidly. " Lunch was several hours and a couple of universes away. "

" No need to go to any extra trouble Mrs. Kent. "

" Speak for yourself Smallville, " Lane chided. " I never pass up a chance at Martha Kent cooking. "

Martha smiled at the woman who so resembled her daughter in law. " I'm sorry Lois but I was just going to prep the fixings for sandwiches. It's still too hot to warm up the kitchen using the stove... "

" Well I won't pass that up either, especially as I'm not doing the cooking or prepping or what ever... "

" Oh and CK... it's Martha, please. " She headed towards the refrigerator. " Would you like something to drink? Lois? More coffee? "

Superman glanced at Clark and noticed his beer. " A beer would be fine if Clark has any of that Samuel Adams left... "

" There's plenty, " Clark said.

" A beer is fine for me too! I think I actually hit my coffee limit... "

Superman reached over and laid a large hand across Lane's forehead. " Are you feeling okay Lois? "

" Smart ass... " Lane walked back into the dinning room and plopped down on her chair.

" No! " Clark said suddenly. He didn't care for the speculative look in Lois' eyes.

She glanced at her husband, or he would be again as soon as she could manage it. She wanted it legal in the eyes of both God and Man again. " What? "

" No! No way in hell! Listen to what I'm saying Lo'... "

Clark crossed his arms and scowled darkly. The fact that there were three others in the room observing faded from his consciousness as he prepared to deal with his recalcitrant bride, or she would be just as soon as he could manage it.

" I Am Not Wearing The Damn Suit! That's final... end of story! "

" Aw Clark. " Lois looked over at the astonished superhero. " After seeing it and yes it is a bit overwhelming, I can see why it's so effective... "

Lane snorted her agreement. Yes it was...

" ...and I think you'd look really good... "

" No! I repeat... end of story! " Clark said at a near snarl.

Martha paused in her food prep and studied Superman for a moment. " Well I rather doubt that anyone looks at his face. "

Clark groaned as Lois smiled triumphantly at her mother in law. " Thanks Mom! "

" Sorry about that Clark, " Superman said rather sheepishly as he carried the beer bottles to the dinning room table.

Lois turned on the works. She gave Clark the big sad puppy dog eyes, the quivering chin and the slight catch in her voice. " But Smallville... "

" Grab a pew CK! Does your Lois try this kinda crap on you? "

" Uh huh. " Superman eased into a free chair and handed a beer bottle to Lane who accepted it with a thankful grin.

" Oh swell. Does it work on you? "

" Uh huh. " Superman took a thirsty swig of the Boston Lager.

" Crap, " Clark snarled with deep feeling. He glared at the superhero. " You just had to wear that damn outfit didn't you? "

Superman's eyes twinkled wickedly and he did not look the least bit repentant. " I didn't think about it to tell the truth. "

Clark grunted sceptically.

" Well I didn't, " Superman said defensively. " I was thinking about seeing my wife and... "

" She does that to you too? "

" Oh yeah... "

" It is sexy looking isn't it? " Lois mused.

Clark looked over with a 'where in the hell did that come from' expression on his face. He sighed as he saw that she was studying the damn red and blue suit again.

Lane chuckled throatily. " Yes it does and it spices things up quite nicely when he wants to play Superman and the naughty school girl... "

" Lois! " The superhero managed to sound both shocked and scandalized. " If it makes a difference I'll just take the damned thing off. "

" This is about to get very interesting, " Lane murmured. She crossed her arms and raised a questioning eyebrow at her husband. " Go for it, Smallville! "

Lois nodded enthusiastically.

" Don't look Mom, " Clark offered with a cheeky grin of his own.

" Oh good grief people. I'll have clothes on, " Superman scolded. He stood up and spun into a blur of red and blue and when he stopped was wearing a plain white dress shirt, dark grey slacks and a brightly patterned tie. He sat back down and proceeded to jauntily roll up his shirt sleeves.

Martha spoke up from the kitchen, her voice laced with quiet humor. " Clark, can you come and help me carry things... "

Lois started to her feet. " I'm sorry Mom, I can help... "

" Honey, Clark can handle things much more quickly. "

" True, " Clark agreed. Lois sat back down with a shrug. He was right.

Within a few heart beats the table was set and the food platters rested in the center of the table. Lane began to reach out for the nearest platter, then stopped as she realized that Martha, Lois and Clark had bowed their heads for a few moments of silent benediction.

When the moment was over, Martha flashed a quick grin at her. " It's going to be help yourself, so dig in. "

Everyone fell to building their sandwiches and filling their paper plates with hungry zeal and were soon feeding empty bellies. Bread, lunch meat, cheese, chips and potato salad quickly made the rounds.

" So now what Lois? " CK asked.

" You mean other than getting reacquainted with Clark and the world? " Lois replied. I haven't given it much thought. I just wanted to get home to Clark... "

" Well, you get to discover the questionable joys of Facebook, the iPad, the fact that we now have a radical progressive community organizer in the White House... stuff like that, " Clark grumbled dryly. " It's really amazing what can happen in a few years... "

A Whitesnake ring tone rocked the room. Lois had tucked the phone into her shorts pocket, so she hauled it out and tossed it to Clark. Her expression was cheerfully devoid of any repentance as she continued to dine on her potato salad. Eating was more important than answering the phone... for the moment.

Clark shook his head, then glanced at the phone as the ring tone continued to rock.

" Hey General Sam... Sorry about that Sir! Something came up and I just forgot... Yeah, I was at the cemetery... No, I'm at the house with Mom and having supper with some friends...

" Yeah... I got the intel from Bartowski earlier but there's nothing time sensitive to it... Yes Sir, there is plenty of time to act on it over the next couple of days. I'll be sure to send the intel in an email later this evening...

" Thank you Sir. By the way, I have someone here I think you'd like to talk to. " Clark handed the phone to Lois, who accepted it with trembling hands.

" Hi Daddy! " With a hitch in her voice, Lois got up and headed out the back door.

Lane watched Lois pace past the kitchen windows. " Are they close? "

Clark nodded as he too watched Lois pace back and forth across the porch.

Lane sighed. " Lucky her. The General and I do okay but we've never been all that close... not since Mom died. "

" General Sam and I have gotten along pretty good over the years, " Clark said thoughtfully. " He's one tough son of a bitch Marine and let me know it the first time we met. He'd just got back from a tour in the sandbox and Lo' and I told him that we were getting married the summer after high school. He'd wanted Lo' to wait until she was finished with college so you can imagine how that conversation went.

" The tough as hell Marine caved when Lo' said Dad would be thrilled to walk her down the aisle. We got his blessing. When we finished college, I was still champing at the bit to get out into the world and do some good so I went to see General Sam. That I did both surprised and pleased him.

" He knew who and what I was by then and is still one of the very few that I trust with the intel. After he understood just how serious I was, General Sam spent some time thinking on the problem and then put together a plan of operations. The three of us talked it out and yes Lo' was just as involved with my choices and decisions as I was.

" He knew people in the private professional warrior world who were able to work with us. They put a program together and I actually went through a version of Marine boot camp, then a combo BUD/S and Special Forces training. I wanted to see if I was mentally tough enough and I knew I'd need weapons and unarmed combat training for when I didn't use my abilities.

" Now I'd played some sports in high school 'cause I needed to learn to control myself without hurting people, especially in stressful split second type situations. Dad initially wasn't too happy but with Lois on my side and then Mom got into the act... "

" It made a lot of sense to me, " Martha spoke up. " I was thrilled to have Clark show such mature judgment... with help from Lois. "

Lane reached over and patted CK on the shoulder. " It's just a gift we Lois' have... "

Clark rolled his eyes and joined CK in not making a comment on Lois wisdom... or lack there of. " After my training was complete, a special covert group was put together and we worked with the likes of John Casey of the NSA and Mitch Rapp with the CIA. We didn't just work military operations either... we recently came up with intel that helped stop a group of rogue spies... "

" So you're what... a mercenary? " Lane asked.

Clark thought about it. " That word can have ugly connotations to it but yeah, I guess that's the best way to put it. I couldn't join the military so this was an effective way for me to help and to earn a living... "

" Vigilante an ugly word too, " CK said quietly. " Superman's been called that by the likes of Congress, the White House and Lex Luthor. They feel Superman is a loose cannon who needs proper supervision and over sight. I can't tell you how often they've tried to drag me before a congressional committee to justify my actions... "

" I'll bet... anyway that's what I was doing when Lois was killed. General Sam and I leaned on each other quite a lot in those dark days. He'd done his 30 and was finding retirement stressful so he's become a part of my covert team. We now work with the Intersect Team and the covert and black ops teams we've always dealt with... "

" Who or what is the Intersect Team? " CK asked as he munched on his chips.

" They are a unique intel group lead a an equally unique individual, Chuck Bartowski, " Clark answered. " My old friend John Casey is a part of the team too... "

He heard Lois shut off the phone and head for the door. She walked back into the house, drying her face off with her tee shirt. Clark stood and held his arms wide and Lois walked wordlessly into his embrace.

Lane glanced at CK and the strength of their connection was palpable and warm. The fiery, force of nature journalist and the supremely confident and powerful hero. They understood that they were seeing in Lois and Clark what others witnessed in them. A man and a woman so much like themselves, deeply in love, their relationship tried and tested and true.

There really was nothing quite like Lois and Clark in any universe.

" Daddy was crying Clark, " Lois sniffled into his chest.

Clark continued to hold her close. " That's cause he loves you Lo' and he missed you too... "

More comforting time passed. " He wants to see us bright and early tomorrow... "

" Will do. I'll call Director Jenny to let her know we'll be on the move tomorrow so Team Bartowski can deal with keeping us off radar so to speak. "

" Okay... and I'm gonna go and clean up, " Lois replied and headed up stairs.

CK wiped his mouth and hands clean on a paper towel and pushed his paper plate back. " May I ask you something, Clark? "

" Sure! Want another beer? "

" Please... Lois? "

Lane nodded. Clark walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

" I guess I'd like more clarification on why you aren't interested in being Superman? " CK asked.

Clark returned with the fresh beer bottles. " As I told Lane earlier, I'm not a hero and I have absolutely no interest in being one. For some reason Superman seems to stand for certain things, a symbol people want to believe in and I guess part of it is that I've got my own take on the whole truth, freedom and the American way thing... "

" Don't you mean justice? " Lane asked curiously.

Clark shook his head as he seated himself. " No I don't. Justice is too much in the eye of the beholder. One's man's justice is another man's social inequities. I think freedom is a lot more important and more clearly definable... like with the Constitution. "

" And the rest? " CK's eyes shone with keen interest.

" There are times when I'm like Pilate... what is Truth? Truth is supposed to be about facts and yet even facts have become subjective in today's world... "

" Facts are facts, " Lane protested.

" Are they now? " Clark returned. He studied her for a long and quiet moment. " Tell me Lane... do you believe in man made global warming? "

She frowned. " Of course I do. "

Lois snorted as she walked back into the room. " I don't. "

" I don't either, " Clark added. " I think it's a hoax. I know that most of the so called facts or the truth of global warming are either flat out wrong or badly distorted... "

" You know? " Lane queried in a scoffing tone.

Clark crossed his arms and kept his expression purposefully bland. " Of course I do. Have CK check both the intel and the environment when you get home. We are very sensitive to solar radiation and it's effects on both the planet and on us... "

Lois sat down beside Clark and leaned into him with a contented sigh.

" As for the American way... I was brought up by old fashioned people here in Smallville to believe that the American people were blessed by a pair of unique documents, to believe in American Exceptionalism, to believe that personal freedom and choice had to be balanced by personal accountability. "

" What does that have to do with you being or not being Superman? " Lane started to frown darkly, sending warning signals out to all who knew her. Clark was bringing out her combative nature.

Clark spoke evenly. " We've just proven that we don't agree on what those symbols are or what they mean. Now multiply that by several billion... I doubt we'd even agree on just what Superman's mission is... "

" Mission? " Lane began.

" Lois, " CK said with a gentle warning.

Lane looked over at her husband. There was a subtle shift in her body language and her eyes softened. She continued however to grumble beneath her breath knowing full well that he could hear ever word. And so could Clark.

" Martha? Do you agree with Clark? " CK asked. He reached over and took Lane's hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

" Do I agree with his moral and ethical reasons for not becoming this Superman you've spoken of? Yes I do, " Martha gave her son a sweet and motherly smile.

" I do know that Clark hates the idea that he might have a destiny. Do I agree with him avoiding what ever that destiny might be? I'd have to say no. But he is a grown man and must answer to his conscience. I've no idea what either of you young men deal with each and every day with those abilities you have. I'm just glad that you both use them for good purposes. "

" Fair enough, " CK murmured with a thoughtful nod. " Then tell me some of the things you do believe in Clark?

" Hhhmmm... I believe in John 3:16, I believe in Lois' love for me and I believe in courage in battle, loyalty to my team mates and protection of the innocent. To paraphrase Orwell, I believe that people sleep more peacefully in their beds because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. " Clark finished his beer as he finished speaking.

A very tiny smile quirked the corners of Clark's mouth as he watched CK and Lane digest his words. " Lane asked about Superman's mission? He flies about as some kind of world savior hero goody two shoes. Sorry, not for me. He doesn't kill, an idiotic notion that might work well in a comic book but not in real life.

" Don't get me wrong, I don't take killing another human being lightly. But people like John Casey and Mitch Rapp and I are in the business of stopping the bad guys whether they're a Lex Luthor or an Islamic Jihadist from hurting or killing the good guys. And to be honest, I don't think I can do my job when I'm wearing a colorful comic book suit... "

A muted beeping suddenly started. CK glanced at his watch and seemed to remember something. " It's getting to be that time... "

" What time is that? " Lane asked.

" I forgot that I asked Zeb Carter to give me a couple hours after Gay Deceiver dropped me off. I wanted to talk with Clark here... "

" You forgot? "

CK smiled a boyish and cheesy smile at his wife. " As soon as you kissed me... We're gonna need to be getting to the pick up point in a bit so we can go home...

" Clark I don't have any problem with anything you said to me. Don't be a superhero. Be the warrior hero that this world needs. Though you may not like the damn suit and the whole Superman thing... think about doing your own version. I can tell you that the freedom to use the talents and abilities we've been blessed with is extremely rewarding on many levels...

" Not the lest of which is... it really does add something when Lois wants to play Superman and the naughty school girl... "

tbc