Clark

Now:
Clark glanced out at the guests crowding the cathedral. General Straker's position as a former member of the joint chiefs and current head of EPRAD guaranteed this was going to be a big wedding. Generals, politicians, business people. But the groom's side of the church was nearly as full. Members of the Star staff, city functionaries, members of the press from around the world, the ambassador of Tazarastan and members of her staff, a few well placed business people.

Lois and Richard were seated with Perry and Mike. He didn't see Jason, but that didn't surprise him. He hadn't really expected that Lois would allow his son to come to the wedding.

He was a little surprised to see other people he recognized from Metropolis – Bill Henderson and his wife, Mark Wollstone, the Metropolis District Attorney, Maggie Sawyer and Lupe Teresa Leocadio-Escudero, Metropolis Police, people from Star Labs Metropolis.

In Metropolis, Clark had never really made friends. He had acquaintances, and most people liked him, but in Metropolis, Clark Kent was the invisible man, a chameleon. It was something that had served him well as a reporter when he started at the Daily Planet. But when he came back from Krypton, he discovered he couldn't be as invisible as he had been before. He'd forgotten how.

Moving to Chicago, as painful as that move had been, had been a blessing in disguise. Superman didn't frequent Chicago, and Clark Kent discovered he didn't need to be invisible, merely low key. His position covering foreign affairs was sufficient excuse for him to be away from his desk on a moment's notice, so that was no longer a problem, plus the Star didn't have a special relationship with Superman, and neither knew or cared if Clark Kent did. It was hard for him to not help as much as he could as Superman, but scaling back his time in the 'suit' had given him a life.

The wedding procession assembled itself. The trumpet player for Trumpet Voluntary was in position in the organ loft, next to the organist. The processional tune began and the wedding party started down the center aisle. They were preceded by the six officers who would present the saber arch at the end.

A thurible wafting incense into the air was carried by an altar person who seemed nervous at the possibility of setting the cathedral on fire. The cross followed, then two candles in tall holders. Father Leone from Metropolis carried the lectionary. Leone was a long time friend of Clark's and was still Superman's spiritual advisor. Following them, looking lost in his own church, was Archbishop John Blackwood Ryan, coadjutor archbishop of Chicago.

The four groomsmen and bridesmaids stepped into the center aisle. The bridesmaids were dressed in pale blue satin with white and lavender flower garlands. Jimmy Olsen of the Planet was with his fiancée Penny, Tom Andrews, a fellow reporter at the Star was paired with Jenna Bradley from EPRAD. Pete Ross, junior senator from Kansas and a friend of Clark's from high school was paired with his wife Lana, and Esther's brother Paul walked with Mercedes Freeman, also of EPRAD.

Cat Grant was resplendent in her gown as matron of honor, carrying herself as sedately as if it were her own wedding, titian hair pulled into a French braid. Bruce Wayne made a fitting partner for her.

Lana's daughter Rebecca was the flower girl spreading white rose petals in the aisle. Cat's son Adam was ring bearer, grimly solemn as he walked up the aisle.

Clark took his mother's arm as they made their way toward the altar. He knew she didn't hold with 'papist frippery and nonsense' as she termed it. But once she realized it was Esther's and his wish, she kept her peace. It was one more thing that kept Clark Kent separate from Superman. Superman was not associated with any religious faith, not even a Kryptonian one.

Following up the rear was the bride, Esther Krystin Straker, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF. A vision in white satin, veil pulled away from her face, cascading down her back. As a widow she walked alone, face uncovered, her own woman giving herself in marriage. Her bouquet was a cascade of white roses and lavender.

I can't believe this is really happening, Clark kept repeating to himself. I can't believe this gorgeous creature is marrying me. He had always fancied the dark haired girls in school. Lois was dark haired with hazel eyes. Esther, on the other hand, was pale blonde with eyes the color of deep water, changing hue with her mood. A princess of the water and air.

Then:

"Clarkie!" Cat yelled across the newsroom of the Chicago Star. Clark looked up to see a familiar face weaving her way through the desks toward him.

"Cat? What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on my favorite escort," Cat said with a grin. "Actually, I'm in town on business and I wanted to take you to lunch."

Clark found himself grinning, ignoring the stares and grins of his colleagues. Cat was a good looking woman. "I would love to have lunch with you."

It was a bright April day, a blustery wind coming off the lake. "You didn't come to Chicago just to have lunch with me," Clark said a few minutes later as they walked to a deli he knew a few blocks away from the Star building.

"You're right, I didn't," Cat admitted. "Clark, I'm here because I trust you. I have good reason to believe Morgan Edge is involved in Intergang."

"Morgan Edge as in Galaxy Broadcasting System, that Morgan Edge?" Clark asked. Cat nodded.

"I've been offered a job with GBS, working directly with him," she explained.

"And?" Clark prompted.

"And, if I go ahead, assuming I'm right and can prove it, I'm going to need help on the outside."

"Wow," Clark muttered. "If you're right, and you get found out... It could be dangerous."

"Would that stop you?" she asked.

"No," he admitted, although he couldn't tell her exactly why it wouldn't stop him. Being invulnerable had its advantages. "But you're not an investigative journalist. And you've never had any interest in this sort of thing before. So I have to wonder why you want to do this? Why not let Lois or somebody else at the Planet tackle it?"

"Clark, you know my ex-husband got custody of my son?"

Clark nodded. He knew it was a sore point with her, that Joe Morgan had used Cat's alcoholism against her to take her son away. The court hadn't bothered to look into Joe's criminal background, or his addictions. It was money that spoke loudest and Cat hadn't had any.

"I found out that his lawyer was paid for by Edge and I think he's been working for Intergang in Gotham City."

"And if you can prove a link between Edge and Intergang, you might have enough ammunition to get Adam away from Joe," Clark completed for himself.

Cat nodded. "Will you help me?"

Clark took a deep breath, blowing it out his nose. "Make sure Perry knows what you're thinking about. Maybe he can assign Lois or somebody to the investigation in Metropolis. I'm not exactly close here, you know."

"That's one of the reasons I'm asking you. They're not likely to suspect you."

Clark nodded. He was going to have to consider all the angles on her proposal. It could be incredibly dangerous for her. Intergang was not known for its leniency to people it considered 'annoying.'

Within a week, Cat Grant was on the evening news at WGBS. The station was on the cable and Clark was still in the habit of watching the news from Metropolis before seeing what was happening in the city he was in.

Perry called him a week later, suggesting he collaborate with Lois. She was working a different angle on Intergang and Perry felt there would be synergy between the two investigations. Lois didn't respond to any of his emails or phone calls.

"You look tired," Clark told Cat six months later. Halloween was a week away. The sky was overcast threatening rain, possibly snow. Passersby ignored him and his companion as they walked the several blocks to McMann's for lunch, but no one tried to bowl him over. Clark still wasn't sure if it was due to a difference in attitude of the people on the street towards strangers, or a difference in him.

Again, Cat had flown in for the day, ostensibly to cover a breaking story for WGBS: the attempted assassination of the prime minister of Tazarastan by dissident exiled students attending the University of Chicago. Cat had handled the interviews with consummate skill. GBS and GNN would be feeding the story to the rest of the world.

"It's been a long six months," Cat told him. "But it's coming together, piece by piece."

"You're being careful?"

"Yup," she said with a grin. Clark wasn't sure he believed her. The information she'd been sending him on Edge and his activities was damning. They needed additional corroboration, additional evidence before they could publish. Intergang was big, dangerous. The case against it needed to be airtight.

Clark wasn't concerned for himself. It was extremely unlikely Edge's people had linked him and Cat together, more unlikely they'd linked him to Superman. Superman didn't do daily patrols of Chicago, wasn't associated with the Star. Besides, Mike had put him on International, granting him more freedom to be out of the office, out of the country, if need be.

Superman had a busy hurricane season. Florida and the Gulf Coast had been hit hard again. He'd done what he could to shore up the levies to keep the flooding to a minimum in an already damaged New Orleans. Finally, all he could do was try to get people out of harm's way, keep the death toll to a minimum.

Clark opened the restaurant door for his companion. McMann's reminded him of the Ace O' Clubs, warm, friendly, well worn. He spotted Esther seated in a booth waiting for them. Her sixteen-month-old son was in a highchair, working on oat rings. He hurried over to them, Cat in tow. Matthew gave them a toothy smile.

"Cat Grant, I'd like you to meet Esther Straker and her son Matthew," Clark said. "Cat and I used to work together in Metropolis."

"Pleased to meet you," Esther said. There was a twinkle in her eye as Cat settled herself into the booth. "I've heard so much about you."

"Some good, I hope," Cat quipped with a smile.

"Of course," Esther said. "You know Clark rarely says bad things about people, unless he's in 'revolutionary mode', and that's usually reserved for people like the President, Dobrozhky, Blair, Kim Jong Il, the current administration's foreign policies..." She laughed.

"Hey, Kim Jong Il is not on that list," Clark complained mildly. "The man just has serious issues."

"Clark, Superman won't visit North Korea without Peking giving him backup," Esther reminded him.

"Discretion is the better part of valor," Clark said. "Kim's threatened to blow up things if Superman shows his face there."

The bartender at the counter turned up the sound on the TV monitor. A mine cave-in in western Russia, hundreds of miners trapped.

Clark stood up, giving Esther a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry, I've got to run. If I'm not back by seven, go to the play without me. I'll try to meet you there."

Esther nodded, a touch of worry coming into her eyes. "I'll see you tonight."

As he hurried out of the restaurant, heading toward the narrow alley behind the building, he heard Cat ask: "So, where and how did you two meet?"

Clark smiled as launched himself into the air, heading over the pole to Russia. He had a feeling Cat and Esther were going to be friends. He just wondered what the two of them would end up planning for him. That was when he realized he was tuned into Cat's and Esther's heartbeats. He had to concentrate to sense Lois Lane.