Epilogue

Lois Lane looked out over the darkened banquet hall from her current place at the podium. She could just make out the table where Perry, Clark, and Jason were sitting. Her article, 'Why the World Doesn't Need Superman,' was on the overhead screen for everyone to read, assuming they hadn't already done so. It was now a famous editorial – one that would go down in history, whether she wanted it to or not.

"Less than a month ago, I was considering turning down this award," she began. Her heart was pounding and her mouth was dry. "I was going to turn it down because I thought that what I had written was no longer true. Then two very wise men gave me some advice. The first one told me that no one would remember what I had won the Pulitzer for, only that I had won. The second told me 'never apologize for telling the truth.' And the truth is that the world really doesn't need Superman and our belief that we did need him did us both a disservice. Without realizing it he lied to us and we made him do it. He promised us he would always be here to keep away all those things that go bump in the night. Like a parent promising a child to be there forever, he promised us he would never leave us. But he did and like children, we were bereft. We were angry. We didn't understand that he'd made a promise that no one could keep. But we went on and we grew up a little. We survived and maybe even grew stronger through knowing what was possible. That one person can change the world and that person didn't need to be a superman. As journalists, that is something we too often forget.

"Then he found his way back and we were glad. We were glad not because he was here to save us, but because a good and noble friend we'd thought we had lost had come back to us. The truth is we don't need Superman to be our savior. But it's nice to have a friend who can show us how to be the best we can be, who urges us to be more than we thought possible, and I'm very glad he's back. Thank you."

She stood for a moment, gauging her audience's reaction. There was silence then the applause began. She was sure it had begun at the Daily Planet's table. She could see Clark standing, holding on to Jason who was standing on his chair. She could hear her son yelling, "Yay mommy."

"Miss Lane," one of her professional colleagues shouted as she headed back to her table. "Who are the two 'wise men'?"

She paused and looked over at the speaker. "Perry White… and Superman."

-O-O-O-

Two figures watched the proceedings from the shadows – a tall man with a craggy face and gray hair and a heavy-set middle-aged woman. "Did you really think he'd show up here?" Virginia Lake asked her companion.

"The thought had occurred to me." Alec Freeman admitted. "He hates Kent enough for outing us. I hoped that would be enough to draw him out."

"And now?"

"And now we do what we should have done in the first place. We work out what needs to be done in the event the Kryptonian does go rogue," Alec Freeman told her. "We make plans on what to do if there are more out there like him and they're not as moral or benevolent as he appears to be."

"And the Commander?"

"We'll deal with him when we find him. And we will find him." Freeman promised her. She turned to leave and took a few steps away from him. Freeman stayed in the shadows, watching. "Kent. Just so you know…" Freeman began quietly. He was gratified to see Kent's head come up as the reporter looked around as if to locate a sound. Bingo "If I had wanted you dead, I would have gone for a head shot."

"Darling, who are you talking to?" Lake asked, turning back to Freeman.

"No one," Freeman told her, turning away from the door to the banquet. He nodded to the two government minders whose job it was to guard and watch them. "It's not important." She didn't look convinced. "Really, it isn't. But we have work to do and the sooner we get started, the sooner everything will be ready when and if we need it."

"The car is waiting," one of the young men said. Freeman took Lake's arm and followed the minders out to the waiting limousine and their new/old mission – protecting Planet Earth from malevolent invaders.

Current sequels include Spring Comes After Winter and When Summer Comes.