Title: Unmasked

Author: Nadia Mack

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

Summary: Post Superman Returns. Behind the hero is a man longing to be free.

Chapter 6: Dangerous Night

After their last interview, Lois and Richard were about to head back to the office when Richard suggested that they ask Clark to look after Jason so they could take the evening off. It would be the first time they had been able to for a while, especially after what happened to Metropolis.

"You know, it was really nice of Clark to look after Jason tonight," Richard said as he ate his salad. He looked over to his fiancée whose mind seemed light years away. "Lois, are you listening to me?"

"What?" Lois looked at him and shook her head. "You said something?"

Richard sighed. "I was just saying that it was nice that… Nevermind." Even though he was a big fan of Superman, he couldn't deny the looks that had passed between them on the seaplane when they rescued Superman. Nothing had been the same since the hero got back, especially his relationship with his own fiancée.

"Richard, I'm sorry," Lois apologized. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"Lois, you've barely touched your food. What's going on?" he paused, letting the question sink in before continuing. "You can tell me, you know."

"I know I can."

Yet she couldn't, or at least, she had a hard time doing it. So much had been going on; Lois didn't know where to begin. There just wasn't a perfect time to tell him, and she desperately wanted to find a better solution. Unfortunately, there was only one way of doing it, and it would only result in hurting the people she cared for.

Just as the afternoon ended, Clark received a call from Richard asking if he could watch over Jason a little longer. Clark, who welcomed spending time with Jason, looked forward to it.

Jason looked way up at his new friend's towering form. "Where are we going, Mister Clark?"

Clark smiled. "It's a surprise." He lifted Jason with barely any effort and set him up on his shoulder as he led him outside the Daily Planet. He didn't know when he would be able to spend time like this with him again, so he took the opportunity to enjoy something his father had once done for him when he was Jason's age.

Jason was so excited to be taller than everyone, and one day, Mister Clark was going to take him flying, and he couldn't wait. When they finally made it to their destination, Jason let out a big 'O.' It was the Metropolis Museum of Art.

"I noticed you liked to draw a lot and thought you'd like to see some art."

"Yay!" Jason exclaimed happily.

Richard hurried out of the restaurant and into the alleyway with Lois trailing shortly behind. His emotions were in a state of turmoil as the truth sunk in. Towards the end of dinner, nothing was ever the same, and he didn't think it could ever be the same.

"Richard, please! Slow down," Lois pleaded as she caught up to him. She stopped him by the arm before turning him to face her.

"All this time, you told me that you didn't love him… every time, Lois. You said every time you didn't."

"I know," she acknowledged guiltily.

"Were you ever going to tell me your feelings for him?" he said to her, his anger and hurt boiling to the surface. Richard had always thought he was a tolerant and patient man, but this was almost too much for him. "Were you?"

"I don't know," she admitted truthfully.

This admission, added to his knowledge of Jason's true paternity, caused Richard to finally break down. His eyes filled with tears as the realization that everything he held dear was slipping from him. He leaned back against the wall and slid down to his knees.

"I always knew," he revealed, his voice hollow. "Always knew that there was a part of you that could never be mine." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he let his feelings out in the open, finally. "And I thought if I waited long enough, you'd be ready to love me completely."

"I'm sorry," was all she could say.

Richard wiped away the remaining tears before picking himself back up.

"Me too," he said, and that was the last they said to each other for a while because once the meteors hit, they do speak.

After taking their time looking at all the art exhibits, Clark led Jason back outside to hail a taxi. The museum was going to close soon, and Clark wanted to take him back to the office so his mom and Richard wouldn't worry where they were when they arrived.

"Did you have fun?"

"The best!"

Clark laughed, relieved that his first night out with his son had been a relative success. Throughout their entire jaunt in the museum, Jason's inquisitive nature got the better of him and he started asking him a bunch of questions about the artists, why they had drawn the works, and what some of the paintings meant. Clark was more than happy and eager to answer them the best he could.

"Mister Clark, look!" Jason pointed out into the night sky where Clark could see the faint light of a comet's tail. "Is that a shooting star?"

Clark then realized what Jason was looking at and he looked down at him amazed. "You can see that?"

Jason nodded.

Oh boy, Clark thought. He looked back up in the sky when several more comets appeared. It looked odd to him, so out of habit, he focused his vision and realized that they weren't comets at all. They were meteors, and judging by the speed of their velocity, they were heading toward earth, and in a matter of a few minutes, Metropolis.

"Oh no," he said, picking Jason up. "Hold on to me, Jason." Jason nodded without trouble.

"What's happening, Mister Clark?"

"I don't know, but the sky isn't safe right now. I have to get you out of here." He paused and then added. "We're going to have to fly a lot sooner than expected."

Fearful that his son might get hurt, he did the only he could do to insure his safety, he quickly found an alley, and revealed his trademark red and blue much to Jason's utter astonishment, and he flew them away to the only place he knew would keep him safe.

Outside Gotham City, Bruce stepped out onto the balustrade as Superman descended slowly from the sky, an extra passenger in tow. Bruce recognized the child immediately.

"Who do we have here?" he asked, his tone light and playful.

Jason held his arms firmly around Superman's neck, not wanting to let go just yet. In a soft comforting whisper, he spoke to him.

"It's okay, Jason. He's a friend of mine. He won't hurt you, I promise."

Jason slowly picked his head up, and then turned to face the stranger. "Hello," Jason greeted him in a quiet voice.

"My name is Bruce," he introduced himself. "And you are?"

"Jason," he replied softly.

"It's nice to meet you," Bruce said with a smile before turning to his butler. "This is my friend Alfred, he's going to look after you while Superman goes back to help people. Is that okay, Jason?"

Jason nodded.

"Okay," Bruce said, giving his friend a quick look before Clark put Jason on the ground and watched Alfred take his hand and lead him into the manor. Once they were out of earshot, Bruce glanced back at Clark with a 'what the hell?' look.

"I need you to look after him for a while," Superman said.

"No kidding," Bruce shot back with an indignant look. "A little warning would've been nice. I could be striking fear into the hearts of criminals right now," he said sarcastically. "What the hell is going on?"

"Fragments of New Krypton are headed towards Earth's atmosphere," Superman revealed. Bruce nodded, accepting the situation. "And they're headed straight towards Metropolis."

"That city gets all the fun," Bruce said with a mocking sigh.

Superman sent him a disapproving glare.

"Relax. I'm kidding."

"Lois and Richard are there. I have to warn them. Will you watch Jason for me?" he asked again, just to make sure.

"I'll protect him with my life, Clark," Bruce said in all honesty, and he meant it. "I'll call in for extra help when those meteors fall. Someone out there should already know they're coming but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Thanks." And then he flew off.

At the window, Jason watched him fly and hoped everything was going to be okay.

"Come, Master Jason," Alfred said calmly. "I have a shelf full of cookies at your disposal if you'd like."

Lois and Richard were on their way back to the planet to pick up Jason when the first meteor fell, flipping their car sideways. They both came out of it relatively unscathed, but the first thing that entered Lois's mind was her son.

"Jason!"

"I'm sure he's all right," Richard said, speaking up for the first time since they left the restaurant. Searching for his cell phone, another meteor fell a few meters from them. "What's happening?"

Lois took a few steps towards the crater when she saw what it was. Oh, my God. She recognized the green glow. Kryptonite.

"We have to find Jason and get him out of here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"These rocks," she said, her tone slightly panicked. "They're from that land mass Superman threw into space. The one that has kryptonite all over it." Lois was having difficultly keeping her breathing steady as she comprehended it all. "These can hurt Jason."

"Lois, look!"

They both looked up and found the sky filled with fire.

To be continued…