Chapter 31 - Outer Space

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
Pericles

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Superman turned to go but before leaving he got Lois to assure him that she would not go off on her own. It was one thing for her to drive the two blocks from home to Richard and Chloe's with him right there but another thing entirely for her to go anywhere else.

Richard was standing in the doorway listening as she agreed to stay put. "Don't worry we won't let her leave alone. You go, do what you need to do, we'll all work from here today. Chloe and I were collaborating with Cat… uh, I mean Catherine on the events at the Met yesterday. If Lois gets a bee in her bonnet and feels she just has to go someplace, I'll go with her if we can't reach you."

"Thanks Richard we can't be too careful where Luthor's concerned. Actually I wouldn't be surprised if he takes a little time before trying anything else after yesterday. He's not that stupid. Unfortunately with him underground, it leaves us without a hint to his whereabouts. Those little clues he dropped were a dead giveaway. I just wish I hadn't given him the opportunity to get away. I should have had him, I was just too cautious." Superman frowned looking away.

"Hey, don't blame yourself Clark, you did get Catherine out unharmed didn't you? Go on, I'll call you before I go anywhere." Lois stood on her tiptoes as the two kissed goodbye.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Superman headed directly for the Met 'O Metropolis once again visually scanning the area. Seeing several officers pacing off an area near the theatre he noticed one was Officer Raines so he sat down near the group. "Officer Raines, Good morning I'm surprised to find you're still searching. Have you been able to find anything?"

"Superman! It's great to see you again. Yeah, normally we would have moved on but well, Luthor's a special concern for us just like he is for you. That man needs to go down, bad!" Superman nodded agreement.

"The fire department found evidence that the back door was open at the time of the explosion which is why we're here now. We're trying to pin down where he could have gone from there. My best guess is that manhole right over there. I had a couple men down there but it's infested with rats so they pulled back out. We've called for some protective gear."

"No need, I can check it out right now." Superman jumped down inside the manhole and randomly picked a direction to search first. He flew quickly by human standards but slow enough to scan all the exits as he went for five blocks north then decided to return and try east from the same starting point. Three blocks in he found what he was looking for, a bit of the shirt Luthor had been wearing was snagged in the ladder leading up to street. Leaving the bit if evidence where it was he pushed the cover off the opening and flew out landing nearby. His eyes were immediately drawn to two large warehouses nearby. An underground gated garage entrance was clearly visible connected to one of them. Flying over to the rusty old entrance gate to the garage he noticed an almost new padlock and chain. He could see from where he stood that the large garage was bare. Honing his hearing he knew the building was empty as well. Even so, he quickly searched all the buildings in the immediate area physically before flying back to Officer Raines' group and reporting what he did find, an empty trail leading to where Luthor had in all likelihood had a getaway car stashed.

Knowing the trail for Luthor was now cold and that he could be anywhere Superman decided to head to the Fortress and attend to other more pleasant matters. Luckily he was finding the day somewhat free from cries for help.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Working quickly at the Fortress Superman finished programming the starship so Richard would have instant access by dialing a secret code on his phone. He set the default code to the first six registration numbers from Richard's crashed plane feeling he would no doubt remember that followed by an asterisk one for retrieval and asterisk two to send the ship back to the fortress.

Finishing with the starship he made three new suits for himself and Jason and even made one for Kala that offered her protection from the sun and extreme temperatures. He modeled it after her favorite cartoon character Saturn Girl which she had just recently discovered. He'd been amused to see the kids watching the show based on a make believe Legion of Teen Super-heroes just the other day at the farm. If she liked the suit he would make her more.

While he had been working Superman had periodically paced the floor looking over at the ship he had used on that fateful journey to Krypton. He had retrieved and made several modifications for the trip to New Krypton with Batman. Several of the crystal spires on the ship had been damaged during his return from Krypton but they hadn't been needed for the New Krypton trip so he had simply removed them. He had also expanded the circumference and added equipment to handle the needs of a human passenger.

He looked at the ship remembering the details of that dreadful trip… all those years wasted. He contemplated the ship in its current condition knowing the spires absorbed the energy supplying the speed needed for interstellar flight in real time. There would be no more interstellar trips for him in this ship but then he had no wish to undertake such a trip ever again anyway. The ship now had the same general egg like shape and condition as the new smaller starship that he had just finished programming and Richard was learning to pilot. Taking a deep breath, he considered his options momentarily then erased the programming from the New Krypton trip which restored the original programming from almost six years before. Taking a deep breath with a dark expression on his face he also reinstalled the stasis chamber.

Finally satisfied with his work on the older ship he mood lightened as he took out his cell phone and dialed. "Richard, hang up and dial the first six numbers of the registration from your old seaplane followed by an asterisk and a one. It should produce a surprise near your patio."

"It's ready? Oh my gosh, you weren't kidding were you? Ok, ok…un… I'm so excited I can't even think. Wow. I'm on it."

Superman had placed the suits in the ship as he placed the call and then stood back and waited. Seconds later the ship powered up and quickly took off with Superman in easy pursuit.

The ship landed just as Superman said in the shadow of the house on the patio. Superman landed nearby laughing at Richard running around the ship like a kid on Christmas morning. Lois, Chloe and Catherine stood nearby almost as amazed as Richard.

"I thought we should go up together for one more lesson before you go solo." Addressing the women he asked, "Why don't you three join us for a quick flight? As a matter of fact let's go get the rest of the family? I had planned on doing this tomorrow but the trail for Luthor is cold right now and well, there's no time like the present. Who knows tomorrow Superman might be needed elsewhere."

Entering the ship Lois saw the suits folded up on one of the molded crystal seats. Holding up the Saturn Girl suit on top she showed the others, "What's this, did you make this for Kala? She's going to absolutely love it!" Superman answered with a broad smile looking very much like Clark.

Looking at the Superman suits Lois decided to ask something she had been wondering for some time. "If the sun energizes you why do you make your suits covering up everything but you head, neck and hands? Why not short sleeved or even a muscle shirt? You would look fantastic in a muscle shirt."

Superman frowned back at Lois as he settled in next to Richard in what would be considered a co-pilot's seat. "No way, I get gawked at enough as it is. Besides, the sun's radiation penetrates all of the blue exposed parts of the suit anyway. See for yourself. Hold the shirt up to the light. You are aware that the more light you can see through clothing the more radiation is penetrating as well?"

Lois held one of the suit shirts up toward the sun and indeed the bright sun rays were clearly visible through the fabric. "Hmmm, who knew. I learn something new every day around that guy." She smirked to Chloe and Catherine as Richard touched the controls powering up the ship.

As Richard re-familiarized himself with the ship Superman called his mom's cell and told her what was going on and that they would be there shortly. Both kids were waiting in the back yard waving as the ship landed. Martha and Ben excitedly closed up the house and soon the ship was back in the air.

Kala immediately saw the suit and could barely contain her excitement as the ship took off. Superman gave Richard instructions to head away from Earth. Then he keyed in special programming himself sending the ship into light speed. Everyone gasped as the stars all went dark until the ship slowed down just as Mars was passed. The ship circled Mars as the direction reversed heading back towards Earth.

Richard was impressed. "Could this ship actually travel to the stars?"

"Not really, but anything within the solar system is within reach. The power generated by this ship could get you to the stars but it would take thousands of years since there is insufficient power to go into hyper speed."

"I have never had anyone to share these sights with before. Maybe some other time we can go out farther. Jupiter and Saturn are beautiful up close but none of the other planets compare to Earth. She is so beautiful from space I can still remember the first time I approached her when I was first sent here." As the Earth grew in the sky everyone was held spellbound. Just as they thought it couldn't get more beautiful the ship did a close fly over of the moon circling around clearing the horizon to show the Earths' vista almost filling the entire panoramic view. All four women had tears in their eyes unable to voice the wonder they were witnessing.

Catherine was especially taken. She looked away from the view for a second to glance at Superman amazed and thrilled that he had included her with his family and brought her to see this wondrous sight. She felt blessed to have been able to get to know the 'real man' even if only for a few days. She would treasure this time for the rest of her life and if she was lucky she would continue to be considered a real friend of the family. She was determined that from this day forward she was going to be a woman that a man like Clark would be proud to have at his side.

The ship took the same course as both his flights to earth from Krypton but instead of crashing at the farm it slowed down and did a flyover. Martha put her hand to her mouth remembering the times she had been on the ground and the ship had interrupted everything electrical and even their old truck all those years ago. She also remembered the last time that the house had been shaken as if by an earthquake.

Superman noticed her quizzical looks and knew instinctively what she was thinking. "The interstellar ships were traveling much much faster and slowed down just before hitting the ground to simulate a meteorite impact Mom. They were also emitting tremendous energy prior to impact. That's what caused the disruption of power and the localized ground tremors."

"Richard I think it's time you tried this on your own. The ship hovered in the air not far from the barn. I'm going to get out here. Jason, would you like to join me?"

"Yes yes!" Before Lois could voice any concern Jason had grabbed one of his new suits and had it on. Soon father and son exited the ship by way of a special air lock in the back.

Superman motioned for Richard to follow them. Lois realized she was getting her wish from earlier that very morning as she watched it did in fact appear that the father and son team were playing follow the leader. As she continued to watch she realized Clark was putting Jason through a series of flying maneuvers in the sky in front of them. Once again Clark was making Jason's training joyful rather than tedious. She couldn't believe her eyes at what Jason had learned in such a short time. Lois glanced at Richard and saw his glistening eyes and the look of pride and sheer joy on his face. He was clearly loving this as much as Clark and Jason. In fact they all were.

Xoxoxoxoxoxxo

Coming soon – Chapter 32 - Surprises