Time for a Change
By Les Bonser
This is a work of non-commercial fan fiction. The characters used in this story remain the trademarked property of their respective owners. No trademark infringement is intended and no profits are made by the author for writing or distribution of this work.
No permission is given to anyone other than the author to archive this on any website. No permission is given to anyone other than the author to repost this on any newsgroup.
Chapter 4
The city room of the Daily Planet, Metropolis
Lois Lane looked around. Her husband, Clark Kent, was nowhere to be found. He must be off on a story, she thought. She knew he was covering the newest round of LexCorp layoffs.
LexCorp was one of Metropolis' largest employers. Like many multinational corporations, LexCorp was going through a rough time. Global competition was increasing. Some companies found ways to be innovative or unique. Others remained economical by trimming unprofitable subsidiaries or reducing staff. Apparently, Lex Luther, LexCorp's founder and chief executive officer, was opting for the latter.
Lois stared at the computer screen. Her story on the latest round of police corruption trials just wasn't coming together. Although Metropolis didn't have Gotham City's reputation, police corruption was becoming a routine story and she didn't have any new ideas on how to make this story special. She racked her brain to come up with some unique angle for this story.
She was lost in thought as a familiar presence hovered over her for a moment. Lois saw Clark's reflection in the computer screen and she smiled. There were, after all, still newlyweds.
"Hi," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. He squeezed them and kneaded the tension from her muscles.
"Hi," she responded, looking up.
Clark then leaned down and gave Lois a quick kiss on the mouth. Working couples were still something new in old-style companies like the Planet and Clark didn't want to buck the trend by being obvious.
Later in the afternoon, Clark suddenly got up from his desk and hurried out of the office. Lois' desk faced his and she looked up at her husband's quick departure. She cocked her head and looked out from behind her computer screen as she saw him slip through the large double doors that lead into the city room. She silently wished him well.
Everyone else in the city room assumed that Clark had just taken a phone call from an informant and was heading off on a story. Or maybe his lunch hadn't agreed with him and he had to run to the restroom.
In reality, Clark hurried past the elevators and to the connecting hallway on the other side. It was near the supply closet and Clark sometimes used that as an excuse. If anyone questioned him being here, he claimed he was just looking for paper clips.
He looked around. With no one around to see, Clark opened the door to the stairwell and headed up the stairs. He moved so fast that his feet barely touched the stairs.
At the roof-level, he stopped to make sure no one was sightseeing on the roof. It was common for stressed out reporters to escape to the roof for a breath of fresh air and to chill out. High above the roof, the trade-mark bronze globe of the Daily Planet towered over Clark's head.
He listened and looked around. No one was up on the roof at that moment. He moved to the small space between the stairwell and the base of the globe. This spot was visible from only one direction and there were no taller buildings in that direction.
Quickly, he removed his clothes. He then pulled a large brick out from the side of the stairwell and stashed his clothes into a hidden hollow behind the brick. He replaced the brick, ran for the edge of the roof and jumped.
Clark Kent didn't fall twenty stories to his death. But Superman did head into the sky. He banked to the west and headed for Hobb's Bay.
About twenty minutes later, after stopping a bank robbery and assisting firemen fight a warehouse fire on the Metropolis waterfront, Superman flew across the sky of downtown Metropolis.
His red cape fluttered in the wind as he moved through the sky. The rest of his costume was a blue skintight bodysuit with red trunks. A yellow belt circled his waist. Red boots covered his feet and calves. A red pentagon covered his broad chest, with a stylized "S" within the border of the shield. Yellow accents filled the spaces between the letter and the border.
Superman slowly scanned side to side as he flew. He was looking over the city to see if there were any other activities that required his attention. His thick, black hair barely moved in the wind created by his flight, but occasionally, the "S" shaped cowlick hanging over his forehead fluttered. He usually brushed the cowlick back as Clark, but he let it fall forward when he was Superman.
Superman flew slowly, with his head held high and his arms extended from his sides. When he had to get somewhere quickly, he tended to hold his arms out in front of himself, but there were times when he just enjoyed floating above the world, enjoying the sun and fresh air. Clark had already filed his story for the day; so Superman could take the long way home.
A memory flashed through his mind. He remembered the time he and Pete Ross played "fighter pilots" as kids. They were probably only about 7 or 8 at the time. They ran around the Kent farm, arms extended, making "rat-a- tat-tat" noises as they pretended to be planes shooting each other.
A smile spread over Superman's face as he remembered the childhood memory. Who would have known then that someday little Clark Kent would have grown up to become Superman and would routinely fly, really fly, with his arms extended just as they had been as a kid.
He drifted high above the Daily Planet building. He looked down and scanned for people on the roof of the building and on the roofs of the buildings nearby.
He made out one person on the Planet building, behind the stairwell. Contrary to urban legend, his "x-ray" vision didn't allow him to look transparently through solid objects. Nor did he project x-rays from his eyes.
His eyes were simply sensitive to a wider bandwidth of light and radiation than human eyes. He could sometimes make out objects because of the reflected or transmitted background radiation that passed through solid objects.
In this case, he could tell there was a person standing behind the stairwell, but couldn't necessarily tell who it was.
He shifted his weight slightly in mid-air and his course through the sky changed. He circled around the building. He was high enough that the casual observer on the ground wouldn't see him, nor did he cast any perceivable shadow. Plus, the large amount of blue in his costume helped to blend him into the sky. He was, in effect, invisible from the ground.
Superman circled into a position where he could see the person between the Daily Planet globe and the stairwell. His eyesight was many times better than most people's. Even from this distance, he could clearly make out who the person was. It was Lois.
She must have gotten worried, he thought.
With one last cautionary look around, Superman descended to the roof of the Daily Planet building and into the arms of his wife.
Perry White, editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, stepped out of his office. He was holding a fax in his hand. "Attention everyone," he bellowed.
Everyone in the office stopped whatever they were doing and turned to listen to their boss. Whenever Perry bellowed outside his office, it usually meant a big story was in the works.
Perry waited a few seconds for a few people to finish phone calls and turn their attention his way. Finally, he said, "As you all know, the Planet participates in the Metropolis United Way campaign every year. LexCorp donated a number of prizes for those companies participating. I'm proud to say that the Planet raised a total of ten thousand, eight hundred sixty two dollars in pledges. That places us sixth place for all pledges this year."
The crew of the Daily Planet clapped and gave themselves a round of applause.
Perry waved down the applause and continued. "The first place prize as everyone remembers was the trip to Hawaii. We didn't win that." Everyone laughed. "But, the prize for sixth place is two tickets to a Broadway show in New York City. The Planet has decided to pick up the cost of sending the winner and their companion to New York."
"Who won, Perry?" Ron Troupe asked. Ron was one of the up and coming reporters at the Planet.
"Yeah, Perry, who won?" Lois asked. Clark stood beside her.
"Well," Perry said, "The fair thing to do would be to have an office drawing. But, we're way too busy to do that. Therefore, I'm going to make an executive decision and award the tickets to the individual here at the paper who collected the most pledges."
Perry held up the theater tickets and looked over the people in the office before him. Everyone looked around, trying to guess who the lucky person was.
Clark smiled. He put his arm around his wife and gave her a squeeze. He'd volunteered to help run the pledge drive at the Planet and he appeared to be the only person besides Perry who knew who had collected the most pledges.
"Come on, Perry," Lois prompted, "Who is it?"
"Well, darling, I think you are," Perry said, handing the tickets to Lois. "Everyone, Lois Lane collected the most pledges for all of the Planet. So she's going to get the tickets."
"Who are you taking with you?" Jimmy Olson teased. "I think I'm free next weekend."
"Funny, Jimmy." Lois turned around and slid both arms around Clark's waist. "I'm taking my wonderful new husband. We'll consider it like a second honeymoon."
Ron Tripe stepped forward and patted Clark on the shoulder and gave Lois a quick peck on the cheek. "Have fun you two."
"Yeah, have fun," Perry said. "Just don't get into as much trouble this time as you did on your first honeymoon." Perry was referencing the fact that Lois had gotten kidnapped by an international terrorist group on her honeymoon. Clark and her father ended up rescuing her. It resulted in the Planet getting a major scoop on the terrorists, but the honeymoon was officially considered a bust.
"Trust me, Perry, we're going to enjoy New York," Lois said. "And it's going to be a completely 'work-free' weekend." She looked at Clark.
Clark recognized that look. It was Lois' "and I mean 'no work of *any* kind weekend'." He and Lois had talked about having a weekend like this. A weekend totally to themselves and with no outside interruptions.
Lois looked closer at the theater tickets. "Clark," she said.
"Yes."
She showed him the tickets. "I wonder is this is Lex's twisted sense of humor?"
Clark looked at the tickets. They were for 'Les Miserables', the Victor Hugo story about Jean Valjean, a fugitive with honor during the French Revolution. "Well, it is a classic," he said. "And it gets very good reviews."
As Superman, Clark had exposed Lex as a criminal mastermind. But Lex had avoided a conviction on various technicalities.
"Yeah, yeah, sure" Lois said.
Lois and Clark left work early on Friday afternoon. They were already packed and went directly to the train station. Metropolis was only a couple hours by rail from New York. Although Clark could have flown them both there in a couple of minutes, sometimes they had to take more pedestrian forms of travel to help cover his secret identity. Besides, it gave them precious time alone.
The train ride to New York went smoothly. Lois was looking forward to the weekend. She had never really thought much about having children, but now the thought was beginning to surface more and more.
Sometimes, she'd eat a light lunch in the park a couple blocks from the Daily Planet building. She'd see children playing on the swings and slides and she'd simply lose track of time. She was hoping to broach the topic with Clark during their private weekend.
It was often hard to talk with Clark about private things like this. When they weren't working and Clark wasn't being Superman, they were dealing with the rigors of modern city life. And those few times in the week when they had time to themselves, Clark had a habit of hearing some dire emergency and dashing off.
After winning the theater tickets, Lois had put her foot down: one weekend, forty-eight uninterrupted hours. It was all she wanted. Clark had reluctantly agreed.
Lois had decided to spurge and had gotten reservations at the Four Seasons. It was a luxury hotel in midtown Manhattan and was absolutely suited for a quiet weekend together.
Several times during the train ride and then the walk to the hotel, Clark had seemed distant. Lois knew those times were when his super-hearing had detected some sort of trouble. But he kept to his word. He'd decided to take a weekend off. After all, even Superman needed a vacation once in awhile.
"Do you really want to walk to the hotel?" Clark asked.
"The exercise will do me some good," Lois explained. "I'm planning on pigging out this weekend. Those are the rules. No diets, no work, no interruptions."
"Okay," Clark said, looking at several cabs as they passed on the street outside Grand Central Station.
"Besides, it's not like you can't carry the heavy bags," Lois winked. "And what do you have to fear from a mugger?"
"Well, I don't have to worry, but what about you?" Clark said.
"I'm sure someone will protect me," Lois said. "At least he will if he expects to see the new lingerie I bought..."
Clark smiled. He didn't like giving up his Superman responsibilities, even for a weekend. But he decided that sometimes, there were benefits to be had by taking some time off.
They settled into their room after the walk to the hotel. Lois put out the "do not disturb" sign and then headed to the bathroom to change. Clark was standing at the balcony when she came out. The nighttime view from their 22nd story room was breathtaking.
But then Clark saw his wife's newest outfit and decided that the view inside was even more breathtaking.
Saturday morning, the newlyweds slept in late. Clark didn't really have a physical need to sleep, but needed the mental relaxation. He was constantly surprised how very much he enjoyed holding Lois and snuggling together.
Although he could shrug off a hail of bullets and barely register the feeling on his skin, he was almost intoxicated by the simply touch of a woman's hand. He assumed that was part of the energy field that surrounded his body; the harder and faster something hit him, the stronger the field countered. Only a very soft and slow object could truly penetrate the field and touch his actual skin. Since very little actually was able to penetrate the field, he wasn't used to being touched as much as a normal human being would be. Therefore, each tender caress was as if it was the first.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Clark asked, after a quiet and leisurely breakfast in bed.
"It's supposed to be a vacation," Lois snapped. "No agenda."
Clark smiled. "Okay. 'Agenda' was the wrong word. What do you want to do? A museum tour, a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty, a day at Coney Island? We don't have to be at the theater until nearly 8:00."
"Can't we just lay here and talk?"
"If that's what you want. I just thought you'd want to do the tourist stuff."
"We can do the tourist stuff anytime."
"We can talk anytime," Clark pointed out.
Lois frowned. This was going to be tougher than she thought. "Yes...," she started, taking one last sip of her coffee, "But we don't. We're always on the run. I just want one weekend when we don't have anything at all to do."
"But you want to talk?"
"Yes."
"What about?" Clark asked. He rolled over and gave Lois his full attention.
She looked into his steel blue eyes. Normally, he hid them behind his glasses, but when they were together in private, he took the glasses off. Lois remembered the old saying about the eyes being the windows to the soul. She also remembered that her husband could project beams of intense heat and light from his eyes. His "laser vision" could melt through the toughest steel like a steak knife through butter.
There were also the same eyes she'd stared into as they'd spoken their wedding vows. They were the same eyes she gazed into when they made soft, slow, tender love.
"Well...," Lois started. This really is going to be tough, she thought. "What do you think about kids?" she blurted it out. It was the only way to get the conversation going.
"I like children, Lois, honey," Clark said, his voice softer than usual. "But I don't know if we..., if..., I..., that is, if *I* can have any. With a human woman, that is." He paused. Lois waited. "We talked about this before we got married."
"Yes, I remember," Lois said.
She remembered that conversation. Clark had explained that although he looked totally human on the outside, inside he was far different than a human. He told her about the tests that Dr. Hamilton had performed on him.
Doctor Emil Hamilton was one of Star Labs most brilliant scientists. Hamilton was a modern-day Renaissance man who was expert in many and widely differing areas. Having assisted Superman on several occasions, Hamilton had politely asked Superman to return the favor by allowing the scientist to examine him.
It had taken Clark some time to make the decision. But eventually, his own curiosity got the best of him. He was unique amongst all the people on Earth and he wanted to know more about himself. He trusted Hamilton and finally agreed to the examinations.
Clark had told her about how Dr. Hamilton had studied Superman's physiology and determined that his powers came from a silicon-based body chemistry.
Humans, and all life on Earth in fact, was based on carbon molecules. All of the proteins, fats, carbohydrates, enzymes, vitamins, and other chemical compounds found in the human body were based on carbon molecules.
Carbon was an element that readily formed stable bonds with many other elements, forming the variety of molecules required to create life. The only other element that bonded as easily with other elements was silicon.
Coming from the planet Krypton, Clark was not human. His body was not carbon-based. It was composed of silicon compounds. Some of the cells of his body absorbed and stored solar energy, just as cells in a human body absorbed fats and carbohydrates and stored chemical energy. This stored solar energy and the silicon compounds in his body gave Superman his powers.
The silicon compounds made his body more durable. The cells in his eyes could emit light, just like silicon-based semiconductor lasers. Those same cells were sensitive to a wider range of light, just like the silicon-based charged couple cells in a modern television camera. The stored solar energy in his body's cells created an intense field around his body. This field gave him the ability to repeal gravity and fly. The force field also provided a component to his invulnerability and his strength.
This different body chemistry and different DNA structure also made it impossible for a Kryptonian to sire offspring with a human.
"I understand that we can't have our *own* children," Lois said. "But there's nothing that prevents us from raising a child. We can adopt. After all, it seemed to work out okay for *your* parents."
Clark smiled. "Yes, I guess it did."