Richard leaned back in his chair at the Daily Planet, watching as the last member on staff left the room. Whenshe were gone, he reached behind his desk and poured himself a glass of amber liquid, taking a long sip and letting the alcohol burn his throat.
He had been living in a hotel near his work since his falling out with Lois. It had been absolute agony to see her at work, even worse when his Uncle had paired her and Clark together to work on a story.
He downed the glass in one gulp at the thought of Clark and Lois. Lois is finally getting what she wanted all these years, he thought bitterly, she gets her relationship with Superman.
Superman. Clark Kent. It was still unclear to him how it could be true, but yet he had been keeping an eagle eye on Clark and now he wondered how he could have ever missed it.
Yes Clark was clumsy and somehow managed to shrink down and appear smaller than his 6'4 build, but it was there nonetheless and his resemblance to the superhero, even with his glasses, was uncanny.
He thought of his son, who wasn't even really his son. He was Clark's son, Superman's son. For a moment he pulled up his beloved Jason's face in his mind and he could truly see it. The deep shade of blue in his eyes that looked nothing like Richard or Lois' lighter shade, and the wide smile that he had always thought Jason had inherited from him… Now that he knew the truth he could easily see that smile was Clark Kent's.
How could he look at his son again?
He chastised himself for thinking the thought as soon as it had skimmed across his mind. He loved Jason, no matter who his father was.
He thought back to the day that Jason had been born, memories he hadn't dredged up in years…
Lois was screaming in the delivery room, while Richard squeezed her hand tightly, helpless as to what to do. All those parenting classes hadn't covered what to do when your fiancée was screaming!
Or maybe they had. He couldn't remember!
Richard was too panicked to think clearly, hoping to God that Lois would pull through alright and that their son, for they had gotten an ultrasound and knew the sex of their child, would be healthy. It was three weeks before her scheduled due date! Richard put his mind back to the situation on hand, mostly the woman who was squeezing the life out of his hand.
"I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him!" Lois screamed through gritted teeth.
Richard was somewhat perplexed at her use of third person, as he was standing right here and believed there was nobody else Lois would probably want to kill right now other than him.
"Lois! I'm here! Who are you talking about!" Richard said desperately.
"Him! God damn it I'm going to kill that bastard!"
After their son had been born, premature and with some complicating health factors, both parents had put in their back of their minds Lois' disturbing words. Soon, they had both forgotten…
Until now. Richard grimaced. How could he have been so blind? Of course Lois had been angry with the father of her child. He had foolishly believed it was him.
That's what I've been these past five years. A fool.
Well not anymore.
The alcohol was filtering through him, giving him a pleasant buzz. He poured himself another glass and downed it in one shot. He poured another, starting to sweat slightly in the dim office.
With shaking fingers, he pulled out his laptop and began to write.
Pulitzer prize, he thought. I'm going to win one with this.
Superman Unmasked
He proceeded to type a long, detailed story, calling up the Daily Planet website for pictures of both Clark Kent and Superman. When he placed them side by side next to each other he had to smile grimly.
There was some concrete proof if anybody doubted the facts in his story.
He typed for an hour, two hours. He wasn't even aware of how much time had elapsed. All he knew was that the longer he wrote, the harder and faster he wrote, the less the pain in his heart stabbed.
He clicked the save button when he had finished. His mouse hovered over his email.
Should he send it to Perry?
Before he clicked it, some part of his mind broke through his alcohol induced haze and begged him to clear his mind.
Deciding to take a break, he grabbed a glass of water and made his way to the roof. Where Lois clears her head, he thought. Where she has secret meetings with Superman.
Grimacing, Richard staggered to the edge of the building and rested his glass on the side of the railing.
His perfect life now hung in shambles. Throwing back his head, Richard primally indulged himself by screaming at the top of his lungs. The sound tore through the roof and upward into the sky, unheard by those below.
He screamed again and again.
For Lois, the woman he loved more than anyone, who didn't love him, had never truly loved him.
For Jason, the son who wasn't his, who he still loved desperately, but who smiled Clark Kent's smile and looked at him through Superman's eyes.
At Clark Kent and Superman, two sides of the same coin, who had managed to waltz into life and steal away his son and his fiancée.
Richard was determined. He'd send that article to his Uncle Perry. He'd win a Pulitzer. Clark Kent would be exposed. Lois would return to him, Jason would never have to know the fact that his Daddy wasn't really Richard. All would be right in the world.
He swung his arm around and it crashed into the glass on the railing. Curiously, Richard leaned over the rail to watch it as it fell.
It bounced off one side of the building, shattering.
Just like me, he thought darkly.
With that, the alcohol proved too much for him and he passed out, slung over the railing.
And beginning to slip.
Richard awoke a few moments later at cold rain hitting his face. The wind had picked up and he found himself staring down a hundred floors of the Daily Planet, unforgiving traffic below.
With a startled yelp and his mind suddenly clear, Richard scrambled for his footing, his top half still leaning over into the void.
Suddenly, one foot found traction while the other slipped on a puddle. The resulting skid pushed him forward, over and out past the railing, free falling hundreds of feet in the cold rain to the pavement below.
Here's the next update! Sorry it's short, hopefully another chapter will be out very soon. Hope you enjoyed.
Laura