To everyone who has reviewed – thank you, feedback is always welcomed. This chapter needed to be written before we descended into the darkness. So for all those thinking the angst was coming you will have to wait for the next part of the story - FD.
Enjoy!!
CHAPTER 7
"How could I have never seen this before, call yourself a reporter, you can't even see what is in front of you, bloody hell, Superman is bloody Clark Kent or is useless Clark Kent Superman," Lois thought to herself as she stormed into the house.
"Richard, where are you?" she yelled loudly.
"Here, what's wrong," he replied as he ran from the kitchen, "What's wrong, is everything ok."
"No it's not, I have just worked out who Superman really is, how could I have been so blind for all these years, God they even look and say the same things, how stupid have I been, he's bloody . . ." she yelled before she realised the enormity of what she was about to reveal and closed her mouth with a snap.
"What?"
"Oh God Richard, I have worked out who Superman is and I can't tell you, I can't tell anyone until I confront him about it," she replied in a much quieter tone
"But that means you suspect you know who Jason's real father is?"
"Yes"
"Lois, you have to tell me, I have a right to know," he said with urgency.
Thinking back to her meeting with Superman when she had uttered the same words, she grimaced before replying "Richard, I can't tell you until I confirm I am right. I don't have the right to get this wrong and if I get this wrong then I won't be the only person who is affected, Jason needs to know the truth as well."
"We all need to know the truth Lois, but this is bigger than just us," he replied before he suddenly sat down, "we are reporters and this is the biggest story in the world."
"Richard, we can't report this, we just can't." she replied, "it isn't just about Superman or who he is but how all this will affect Jason and us."
"But, Lois we are reporters and we are bound to tell the truth, how can we promise that if we don't report this?" he asked.
"Richard we have to make a promise right now that we won't ever write or report this in any shape or form?" she urged him before continuing, "If you can't make this promise then I will not be telling you anything I find out and that is just how it is. It's not just Superman it's also Jason's life, don't forget that."
Richard sat there for what felt like an eternity, before replying "Lois, I promise that for as long as I live I will never tell a soul any information about Superman that you find out. Will that Suffice?"
"Yes, thank you Richard, now I need to go and talk to Superman," she said as she turned to leave.
"Lois, invite him here, I want to be part of this conversation," he said.
Against all her better judgments and feelings Lois agreed. She stepped out onto the porch and in a quiet voice said "Superman, we need to talk. I know you can hear me and you probably don't want to talk to me but we need to talk. Richard and I would like you to visit us tonight. It doesn't matter the time we will be up, please come," staring up into the night sky, she felt a tear run down her face and angrily she wiped it off before continuing "We need to talk about our family, please."
Thirty minutes later they were watching the late news when they heard the unmistakable sound of a knock on the door. Looking at each other, Lois stood up and with a deep breath opened the door to reveal Superman standing on the threshold.
Richard looked at the Man of Steel framed in their doorway and was once again awed by his presence. Over the years he had more to do with Superman than the average person but that was still minor. Every time he saw him he was shaken by his presence as it reminded him that here was a being that was beyond human. He knew that Lois Lane was probably the only human being on the planet who was prepared to argue or yell at Superman.
He mentally shook his head as he listened to Lois invite Superman in. For the first time ever in Richard's memory, Superman looked uncomfortable. It made Richard realize that this was the first time he had seen Superman inside a house in a social context. "He really isn't like us," he thought before standing up and moving to shake Superman's hand "Welcome to our home, Superman. Is there anything I can get for you?"
Looking a bit startled at Richard's behaviour, Superman shook his hand and replied "Thank you Mr White, I'm fine but thank you for the offer."
"Please call me Richard, surely we are past the formal stage," he grinned at Superman, trying to put him at ease for what he knew was going to be a really tough night for him.
"Thank you Richard," he replied before turning to face Lois, "Lois, you said that we needed to talk about our family."
Now that the time had come to confront Superman, Lois was at a loss at how to proceed. She was about to open up a can of worms of which she wasn't sure she was prepared to hear the answer.
"Lois . . .?" he prompted as he folded his arms and stood up strong.
Lois felt even more intimidated as he did that but she knew that it was Superman's way of hiding his uncertainty. "Don't!" she said before she quickly continued "Superman will you please sit down we have a lot to talk about."
Looking at her he finally unfolded his arms and moved to sit down in one of the single chairs in the lounge.
Richard had to stop himself from laughing as Superman's massive frame dwarfed the chair. He was sure that it was one of the most surreal images he would ever witness in his life.
"Superman, we need to talk about Jason, our family and you," Lois said quickly before slowing down and continuing "and how we move forward after tonight."
"Ok," he replied before he looked at the ceiling and continued "Jason seems fine so I will assume he is not sick so what do we need to discuss Lois?"
"Jason needs to have a relationship with his real father," she blurted out before gripping Richard's hand and stared straight at Superman with a challenging look on her face.
"Lois, I am Jason's father and I have a relationship with him," he replied.
"Yes, you have a relationship with him," she replied before she pointed at him and continued "as Superman but not as his father!"
"Lois, I am confused. What are you trying to tell me?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Looking at Superman with a stare that Richard could only liken to the look on the face of a Valkyrie as it plunged for a kill, Lois looked straight at Superman and in a calm but a voice filled with emotion said, "Superman, you have lied to me for years, you have lied to Jason about who you are and you have played us all for fools. After all this time I have finally worked it out. Are you or are you not Clark Kent?"
To be continued . . .