37
The green glow now gone, the attic no longer seemed so sinister as it did before. Nonetheless, Phyllis still felt uneasy as she led her children and Linda Kaye cautiously up the stairs and back into the chamber where she had been so frightened the previous afternoon. "It's right over there, I think. I was just about to dust it when the tremor knocked me into the desk."
"What is it you're looking for, Mom?" asked her son.
"That!" she said, pointing at an old trunk which appeared to be ages old. "This trunk and its contents have been handed down from generation to generation and finally to your father. I've never seen what's in it, but he's told me that it holds many possessions of your great-grandfather Clark, including..." She had brought a key up with her from a safe box in her bedroom and inserted it into the trunk's lock. The ancient chest made a creaking sound as it was opened. Phyllis reached in and found what she was looking for right away. "...this!"
Jimmy had seen many pictures of it. He had seen it in countless videos and had even seen many people wearing re-creations of it. But there was no doubt in his mind that he was looking at the real thing right now, and despite his many years of denying his heritage, it took his breath away to see it now. In his mother's hands was the familiar blue, red, and yellow uniform that had become almost as famous as the man who had worn it those many years ago. The symbol, the "shield" as his family called it, of red and yellow in the field of blue stared back at him and instilled admiration for the deeds his ancestor had performed in the service of his adopted home. A powerful sense of pride overwhelmed him as he stood spellbound gawking at the simple outfit, and then a just as powerful feeling of inadequacy followed as he realized his mother's intention.
"Mom, I - I'm sorry, but... I just couldn't. I couldn't wear... that! I know how corny this must sound, but... really, I just don't feel... worthy!"
"Jimmy, I had a practical reason for you to wear this uniform. I didn't dig this out of that trunk just because I want you want you to follow in Grandpa Clark's footsteps. You have to wear this, because it's the only clothing on Earth that will withstand the punishment you will be inflicting on it. The outfit is as indestructible as Superman was. It won't burn or rip by ordinary means."
"But it wouldn't fit me. I've seen enough historical footage to know Clark was a pretty big guy. Look at me! I'm not exactly a perfect physical specimen and I'm only seventeen!"
"It will fit. It was made to stretch and contract with the user's body. And remember, Clark wasn't much older than you when he first wore it. There is a reason you were given this gift, and you may as well use the proper working clothes."
"Yeah, brother. Put it on," said Noel almost absent-mindedly as she rummaged through the trunk. "There's more stuff in here, Mom. You know what it is?"
With imploring eyes, Phyllis handed the colorful costume to her son and began exploring the contents of the old chest. "It looks like mementos Grandpa Clark kept close to him over the years." Jim hustled downstairs as the girls continued digging through the relics in the trunk. "Let's see... a high school yearbook... graduation cap and gown... a two dimensional image, they called it a photograph back then, of a young, pretty, teenaged girl... press credentials for Clark Kent of the Daily Planet... Oh! Clark's and Lois' marriage license!"
"Yeah, Mom, but look! There's some kind of metal box here, too. The way it rattles, it must be... I don't know... jewelry or rocks or... something."
Phyllis opened the container and shook out the contents of the small box: a golden ring, an emerald ring, a jagged-edged boomerang, a belt buckle in the shape of the letter "A," and a short piece of yellow rope.
"What is it, Mom?"
"I think... I know..." said Noel's mother with a strange expression on her face. She touched the golden ring with her index finger. "Barry!" she said. She touched the emerald ring. "Hal." The boomerang. "Bruce." The buckle. "Arthur." She just stared at the rope as if afraid to touch it.
"Mom! Are you all right? Who are those people you were just talking about? Mom? You're getting all weird on me like Jimmy did and I don't like it any more with you than I did with him... Mom!"
It was like a dream to Phyllis. She could see movement, but the sounds were unintelligible, like a warped record played at slow speed.
"Linda, go get Jimmy! I think my mother's having a seizure or something!" were the last words Phyllis heard before it all went black.
"I think she's coming around," were the next words she heard as the blackness slowly became a dull gray, then resolved itself into something akin to the color of reality. She realized she was lying on the floor of the attic with Linda Kaye holding a cold, damp washrag to her forehead, with Noel looking frantic behind her and a concerned looking figure in a blue outfit and a red cape looming over them all.
"K-Kal?" she said weakly.
"Who? Mom, are you okay? You gave us a real scare!" It was Jimmy. He had donned the uniform, but he was more worried about his mother's lapse. Phyllis sat up as Linda removed the washrag.
"I-I think I'm all right. Thanks, kids, for taking such good care of me."
"It was Linda," said Noel, still a little flustered. "I freaked, but she knew just what to do."
"Yeah," said Jimmy. "If you ask me, she's the one who's the hero around here."
Linda Kaye took it in stride. "I just did what was needed in this situation," she shrugged. Then looking around her, she sheepishly added, "But I am thinking of going into a medical career when I get older."
Phyllis took the washrag and ran it over her face once or twice. "I don't know what came over me. I was looking at those relics from the trunk and it all went crazy. I thought I was... I thought... I'm not sure what I thought..."
"Mom, who's Cal?" asked Noel.
"Who?"
"Cal! You looked at Jimmy and called him Cal. Who is Cal?"
"I don't know. I have no idea where that came from."
"I do." said Jim. "We all read the name in that journal. Remember? It was Grandpa Clark's real name: Kal-El. She woke up and saw me in this costume and she must have thought I was Superman for a moment."
Linda nodded and said, "Makes sense to me."
But Noel needed more. "I guess it does to me, too. Only why would you call him Kal instead of Superman or even Clark?"
"I... suppose I just know him better as Kal... or something... I really don't know, but I do know it all began with those keepsakes we found."
"Yeah, and when you touched each one of them, you whispered a different man's name every time." Noel was then silent for a moment and looked very troubled. Finally, she got up enough nerve to ask, "Mom, do you have boyfriends?"
Phyllis couldn't help but to burst out laughing out loud at the suggestion.
"I mean, I know Dad is away on those trips he makes for the spaceline and all, but..."
Her mother, realizing that Noel was serious, put a stop to the laughter and held out her arms to her daughter, who quickly came to her and wrapped herself into them. "No! Honey, no! I never ever would do that! I love your father way too much to ever even think of doing something like that."
"I'm sorry, Momma," Noel was crying now. "I'm sorry for thinking that! It's just that when you fainted, I thought maybe you were dead or something. It made me crazy, too, I guess."
"Shhh! It's okay, Sweetie. Really! I really don't know why I fainted, but I think... I think I know where the names came from." Noel extricated herself from her mother's arms and they all stood up and made their way back to the items from the box.
"We've seen that Grandpa Clark was very sentimental and kept souvenirs that reminded him of people he loved. I believe these items once belonged to his teammates on the Justice League of America."
"Huh?" was the collective response.
"Sometimes a crisis was desperate enough to require several superheroes working as a team. These things once belonged to the other members of that team. The gold ring..." She picked it up. "...belonged to the Flash - Barry Allen. The green ring was used by Green Lantern - Hal Jordan. This boomerang with the scallops? It was called a 'batarang' by its creator, the Batman - Bruce Wayne. This," she picked up the belt buckle. "This appears to be a buckle from one of Aquaman's earlier outfits. His real name was Arthur. And this is..."
"...A very short piece of Wonder Woman's magic lasso, isn't it, Mom?" asked her son. "I thought it couldn't be broken. Did Supergramps do that?"
"No, he was as powerless against magic as he was against kryptonite. He tried, though, it was so funny! He could change the course of mighty rivers but he couldn't break that rope apart. He couldn't even burn it apart with his heat vision. The only thing that would cut it was the magic sword of Theseus. You should have seen his face! He was so frustrated! This powerful superhuman who had been known to change the path of whole planets! Then, a woman about half his size drops a sword on it and - snip! - it's cut! It was just so hilarious... so..." Phyllis noticed the kids were staring at her.
"Mom," said Jimmy softly. "How would you know about all that? You make it sound like you were there..."
She couldn't reply.
She was as shocked as her children.
"Were you?" continued Jim.
She looked deep into her memory and knew there was nothing more. She looked deep into the eyes of her children and knew there was something else. "Maybe..." she whispered as she reached for the piece of magic lasso. "Maybe, we should find out..." And the golden cord was in her hand.