Clark I
"Why did you leave me like that? What aren't you telling me? What did you do to me?" Wanda's words kept reverberating in Kal-El's ears, despite Clark's glower in his direction.
"You're with me," Clark repeated. Kal-El set Jordan on his feet and unfolded himself from the chair.
"You are in so much trouble," CJ muttered, shaking his head. "Nice meeting you."
"CJ..." Clark warned. He beckoned Kal-El to follow him downstairs.
Kal-El didn't remember Wanda's house having a basement. He followed Clark down carpeted steps to a large office lined with books and native art. The rest of the basement was finished as well, and appeared to be an art studio.
"You have some explaining to do, mister," Clark began.
"You sound like my father," Kal-El commented.
"I'll take that as a complement."
"I've already had the 'responsibility' lecture from my mother," Kal-El said, taking a seat in the chair by the door. Clark was leaning against the desk, arms folded across his chest. His expression was one that Kal-El recognized from himself – annoyed Superman. It was more than a little disconcerting to be on the receiving end of that cool gaze.
"I didn't know she was pregnant when I left," he started to explain. "I would never have left if I had known. I don't know what I would have done, but I wouldn't have left."
"So where did you go?"
"Krypton. There were reports, supposedly verified reports, that Krypton had been found, and there were signs of life," Kal-El said. "I had to see for myself. It was like a compulsion; I had to go and see it. The reports were wrong. In fact, the reports were completely false, planted by a psychopath who wanted Superman out of the way."
He looked up. Clark's expression hadn't changed.
"Krypton was more than just dead. It was poison. I almost didn't make it back. When I did get back, I discovered Lex Luthor was using Kryptonian technology to recreate Krypton on Earth. He damn near succeeded in destroying the planet." He noted a flicker of interest in Clark's eyes at the mention of Luthor and Kryptonian technology.
"The Luthor here died about twelve years ago," Clark said. "And so far, he hasn't come back again yet. And the only Kryptonian technology I know about on Earth is the spaceship I was sent to Earth in and the programming in the navigation module. And I didn't get access to those until I'd been in Metropolis for six months or so."
"You don't have access to Jor-El's AI?"
Clark shook his head.
"Lucky you," Kal-El commented. At least Clark had stopped glowering at him. "That damned AI is one of the things that got me in trouble with Lois six years ago. I was told that in order to have a relationship with a human woman, I had to become human. Give up the powers, everything. So I did. The worst mistake I ever made up until that time. Everything else afterward came from that one decision."
"Go on," Clark said. The stern father was still in the older man's voice, but 'annoyed Superman' was gone, at least.
"I couldn't stand to not have the powers, to lose that part of myself, to not be able to help. I convinced the AI to let me have my powers back. The price was having a relationship with Lois, with any human woman. She didn't take it very well. So I went ahead and did another incredibly stupid thing, I erased her memory of what we had. I don't know exactly how I did it, but I did. And now she would cheerfully finish what Luthor started with his kryptonite dagger in my back."
"Do you blame her? You took away her freedom of choice. For all intents and purposes, you raped her. You abused your powers to take away her right to choose," Clark said harshly. He was sounding more and more like Jonathan Kent, or at least how Kal-El thought his father would have reacted. "Right now, I would like nothing better than to tan your hide like cheap leather," Clark added.
"You are not my father."
"No, but I figure I've got about twelve years on you in the Suit. So that makes me the voice of experience. And the voice of experience says you, buster, are acting like a spoiled brat. 'Lois couldn't handle being dumped by Superman so I went and hit the reset button.'?"
"That wasn't it. I told her the truth, who I really am."
"And who are you?"
Kal-El gave him a puzzled look. "I'm not sure I understand."
"When you look in the mirror in the morning, who looks back at you? Clark Joseph Kent, son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, or Kal, son of Jor and Lara of the house of El? When they find your dead body, who do you want them to identify you as?"
Kal-El slumped back in the chair. Clark was annoyingly perceptive and he wondered if it was due to the man's having more life experience – twelve years seemed about right – or if he was simply brighter and more competent. Kal-El couldn't see himself ever handling Perry White's job and this Clark seemed to be taking it in stride. He found that he was actually jealous of the older man.
"Clark Kent, I suppose," Kal-El said finally. "That's who I've been for as long as I can remember. I only found out about Kal-El when I was seventeen, when my powers came in, right after my dad died. The AI wanted me to stay in the Fortress for years to learn to become Kryptonian. I wasn't exactly cooperative. I didn't stay. I went out to see the world instead, went to college."
"Did it ever occur to you that the AI was being less than truthful?" Clark asked. He'd left the 'stern father' mode and had switched to what Kal-El mentally labeled 'reporter' mode. "The AI wanted you to be Kal-El and Kal-El can't have a relationship with a human woman; it's too dangerous for everyone involved. But what's keeping Clark Kent from being with someone?"
"Lois Lane never gave Clark Kent the time of day."
"And whose fault is that?"
Kal-El didn't answer the question. "I don't know how to undo the damage I did," he admitted instead. "I was trying to jog her memory, help her get things sorted out, when we ended up here. I don't know how I even managed to do what I did."
"Kryptonians are telepathic, at least with people they're close to," Clark said. "A few of them are a lot stronger than that. I'm betting that's how you did it, even if you didn't realize it."
"So how do I undo it?"
"The same way you did it?"
"I doubt she'll let me get that close," Kal-El said with a grimace.
"You can but try."
Clark II
Clark was not proud of losing his temper. As Superman he couldn't afford to ever loose control that way. And it simply wasn't Clark Kent's way. Doctor Friskin was going to have a field day at their next session. But Kal-El had been so blasted obtuse. In fact, of all the varied versions of Clark Kent he'd met from various alternate time-lines, this one had to be one of the densest. Erasing someone's memories? Give me a break.
He checked his watch. Half an hour until every one showed up. It was going to be a long night.
"Why don't you go talk to her now?" Clark suggested. Kal-El's expression was bleak, defeated. He sighed as he stood and headed up the stairs to the main floor.
After a few moments, Clark followed him up the stairs.
Clark went up to the master bedroom and changed out of his suit into black trousers and a black turtleneck shirt. He refused to wear the black Kryptonian body suit that still hung in the back of the hidden closet with his other 'suits'. His one concession tonight to signify his Kryptonian obligations was a blue enameled pendant with the sigil of the House of El.
Coming back downstairs, he noticed Kal-El and his Lois had gone out to the back deck to talk.
"How did it go?" he asked his wife.
"Was I that galactically dense?" she wondered aloud.
"No," he replied, busying himself with setting out snacks on the dining room table for their soon-to-be-arriving guests. "Wasn't it Herb who said you were simply blinded by love?"
"He only said that to make me feel better about it taking so long to figure you out," Lois said with a grin. "I mean, who'd a thunk it? The Man of Steel was just a disguise for the Hack from Nowheresville Perry was trying to set me up with." She came over to the table. "No chocolate?"
"You know Lara and Jordan are allergic and you can't have any until the baby's weaned. Sleep good, baby wired on chocolate bad, remember? Have some carob kisses instead." He popped one in to her mouth.
"It's just not the same," she complained.
There was the sound of a car driving up and stopping in the driveway. A moment later, the doorbell rang.
"I got it," CJ yelled, running to the door and opening it. Standing on the front porch were Richard and Penny, and just behind them was the Kent family lawyer, Constance Hunter.
"Come on in," Clark said, waving them into the house. "Zara and Ching aren't here yet, but should be any time now. Oh, Constance, this is Penny and Richard White."
The attorney gave the couple a nod in greeting. "Constance will be the one handling the necessary paperwork, assuming everything comes together," Clark added as explanation.
Richard gave Penny a hug. Clark knew they had high hopes for tonight's meeting. Like him and Lois before them, they'd been turned down by adoption agency social workers. Even the foster care system thought the risk of placing a child with a pair of Daily Planet investigative reporters was too great.
"I assume the natural parents are aware of the documentation they need to have?" Constance asked.
"The message was passed to them, so I assume they'll have proper documents with them," Clark said. "We may have to translate them, however."
Constance nodded.
Clark had told her early on it was to be a privately arranged fostering involving foreign nationals. He hadn't added any details aside from the fact that fostering was a normal part of the culture among the high-ranking families of that nation. He assumed Constance had done her homework and realized that no current Earth culture was doing that sort of thing these days.
Clark glanced out the French doors to the back deck. Kal-El and Wanda were still talking. Then he leaned over and kissed her, a long tender kiss. He pulled away and Clark saw Wanda's eyes widen. Then she slapped Kal-El. Hard.
"That had to have hurt," Richard commented.
"They have some serious issues to work out," Lois said.
Earth I
"Uncle Perry, have you heard from Lois yet?" Richard asked. He had five-year-old Jason Peregrine White on one hip as he walked into his uncle's office.
Perry shook his head. "Neither she nor Kent have called in and I haven't been able to reach them on their cells. You know, Lois hasn't run off like this in ages. She usually gives me some sort of rundown on what she's working on before she takes off."
"Ralph asked me a little while ago if the two of them had run off to Niagara Falls again," Richard said. "He's lucky I didn't punch him." He set Jason on his feet. "Jason, why don't you go to my office and draw? I need to talk to Perry."
"Okay, Daddy." Jason headed off to the adjacent office.
"Okay, son, what gives?" Perry asked.
Richard looked solemn. "I'm worried about them. The two of them going missing is just going to make the rumors that much worse. It's bad enough the whole newsroom knows Clark's Jason's father, and now they're going to think Lois is two-timing me with him."
"Do you think she is?"
"No," Richard said, "But, Uncle Perry, the opposite of love is indifference, not hate. And since he's come back, she's been treating him like he's her ex. I know she still has feelings for him, even if she won't admit it. I admit I've been hoping all this time that she'd come around, that she'd feel for me what she felt for him before whatever it was happened that made him leave. I just hope she can get through her anger at him leaving when he did, so she can forgive him."
"Do you want her to forgive him?" Perry asked.
"I want what's best for Jason," Richard said. "Whatever Lois decides, she needs to do it quickly, for Jason's sake."