- - - Chapter Twenty-Nine
Clark looked over the new house, surprised at how quickly they'd settled. Of course, they'd had his advantageous fleetness when it came to unpacking, but it had been less than a week and the house looked like they'd been living in it for months.
It was a two story house, nothing particularly amazing to look at from the outside. Light blue siding, black shutters, black roof with a chimney at one end. The kitchen, dining room, and family room with the fireplace were on the main level, the kitchen having a sliding glass door that led out to the backyard and a small patio. Upstairs held the three bedrooms. The master bedroom was closest to the stairs and had a small balcony that looked out over the backyard; the other rooms were all about the same size and spread out over the rest of the level. Jason had his own room, the ceiling already decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars, the walls dark blue and covered with his drawings of superheroes. The twins would share the other room, there were plans for bunk beds, but for now it was a nursery with a diaper changing station, a rocking chair, and two cradles. The backyard was immense and surrounded by a tall privacy fence; there were no neighbors behind the house, and the houses to either side were a fair distance away. Far enough so that Superman could land in the small grove of trees behind the swing set without drawing attention to himself. The front yard was smaller, and without a fence, with a small garden near the house.
They had chosen the neighborhood specifically; there were lots of kids Jason's age that went to his school in the neighborhood, not the Gallaghers, but other families. The house wasn't nearly as close as the apartment had been to the Daily Planet building, but they didn't exactly have to deal with morning rush hour. The neighbors had watched out their windows as they unpacked and got settled, wives dragging their husbands over to say hello the second afternoon.
The Thomas' lived on the left, the Garretts on the right; the Petersons were directly across the street. The Thomas family consisted of Gale and Jim in their mid-forties with their teenage children, Jack (19), Serena (15), and Joe (12). The Garrett family was headed by a single father, Conrad, and his three triplet sons, Octavian, Quentin, and Martin (7). Steve and Julie Peterson were in their sixties, but the children in the neighborhood all seemed to congregate there for Julie's cooking. Clark couldn't help but think of his mother when he saw her, though Steve reminded him more of a slightly less harsh Mr. Wilson from Denis the Menace than anybody else. The neighborhood was packed with children of all ages, and Clark couldn't quite pinpoint who belonged to who, or where any of them other than the closest lived.
Laughing to himself, Clark entered the house again, locking the door securely behind him. There was something about owning a real house where he would be raising his family that made him happy. He felt secure in his life, even if the world seemed to be going nuts lately. He'd even been in contact with the other members of the Justice League recently, and they were all coming over for a house warming party of sorts. They'd bring their families and, hopefully, have a nice evening together.
"Where did you go off to?" Lois asked when she noticed him. She was trying to orientate herself in the new kitchen despite the fact that Clark was the one to do most the cooking.
"I just got off the phone with Batman," he said honestly, holding up the cell phone he had been talking on while he watched his house.
"And?"
"And they're all coming over Friday night."
"Friday night! That's in two days!"
"Yep."
"But… that's in two days!"
"I know," he said chuckling. "Luckily, we just moved in and there isn't any mess that we need to worry about."
"What about all the boxes? We can't have the superheroes of the world showing up when we've got a load of cardboard leftovers laying in the backyard!"
"Lois, relax," he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I'll take care of the boxes in the morning."
"You better," she mumbled, the fight going out of her.
"Hey, I don't lie, remember?"
"No, you just emit like hell," she quipped back, making him chuckle.
"True."
- - -
Perry and Jimmy came to say hello Thursday afternoon, bringing small housewarming gifts. Perry brought a bottle of wine, making them promise not to drink it until after the twins were born, and Jimmy had put together a photo album from various pictures he's taken of them throughout the years. Lois, with her heightened hormonal levels, burst into tears when she saw the pictures and hugged Jimmy, alarming him considerably.
"What just happened?" He asked Clark when Lois went into the bathroom to clean up.
"Hormones," Clark replied, shrugging.
"If you say so."
"Well, she's certainly not usually that emotional," Clark reminded the young photographer.
"This is true," Jimmy smiled back and settled onto their brand new overstuffed couch. Lois joined them a moment later looking like nothing had happened. She sat down next to Jimmy and hopped up barely a minute later to pace the room in her uncomfortable waddle.
"Lois, sit down," Clark said, worried.
"I can't sit down," she shook her head and waddled across the room again. "I can't believe you invited them all over tomorrow… did you get rid of the cardboard?"
"Yes," Clark assured her, standing up and guiding her back to the couch.
"Who did you invite over?" Jimmy asked, feeling left out.
"The freaking Justice League," Lois muttered.
"The Justice League?" Perry asked, looking between the pair of them. Clark was chuckling softly and Lois was looking annoyed.
"I don't see why they couldn't wait until after the twins are born," she sighed, getting up to pace again. "I'm a blimp."
"You're not a blimp," Clark assured her patiently.
"Mommy, your heartbeat is going crazy," Jason told her from the table where he was working on his list, illuminating the pages with simple drawings of baby brothers and sisters. Lois sighed again, glaring at Clark again.
"This is all your fault," she sighed, resuming her marching.
"He's right, though," Clark sounded worried. "Your heart is racing, Lois. You should be sitting down."
Lois glared at him and didn't sit down while Perry and Jimmy just shook their heads. "So what's this Justice League?" Perry asked again.
"You tell them, I have to pee," Lois said, trundling to the bathroom.
"It's a group the Green Arrow started," Clark said cautiously. "A base of operations where we can talk to each other, organize some sort of schedule."
"Like a superhero club?" Jimmy suggested.
"Sure," Clark shrugged. "It's like for our honeymoon, Batman covered Metropolis. Green Arrow's youngest had the flu a couple of months ago so Flash and I split the time in Star City- stuff like that."
"Do you all know each others' 'secret identities,' then?" Perry asked, his eyes glowing with excitement.
"Yes," Clark said carefully. "And no, I'm not going to give any away."
"Damn," Perry sighed, leaning back on the couch while Clark chuckled lightly.
- - -
Jason already seemed to know all the kids in the neighborhood kids by Friday afternoon. Of course, it would be a whole new deal when everybody peeled off the layers of snowsuits to actually look at each others' faces. He didn't find it as difficult to hide his random bursts of super-strength, the x-ray vision that still sometimes flared up, or the incredible hearing that was becoming more and more consistent when he was relaxing with the other kids in a snowbank.
"Jason!" His mother's voice was clear as day from the other end of the block. He sighed in his snowbank, abandoning his position and ducking when a few snowballs flew his way.
"Jason, where're you going?" Tasha from down the block asked from where she had been sitting beside him. They were on the same team for the snowball fight and they, so far, had been winning.
"I've got to go home, my dad's friends are coming over for dinner tonight," he was excited for this party to say the least. He would be meeting the Green Arrow, Batman… not to mention their kids, some of whom were his age.
Lois, on the other, hand wasn't looking forward to it nearly as much as her son. She had watched Clark prepare an incredible amount of food and sweep the hardwood floors in the kitchen and dining room, whistling all the while. After that was finished, she'd changed clothes three times before calling Jason in from his snowball fight. She'd settled on a peasant-style green top, and nice, black maternity pants. She promised herself not to fidget all night, but knew it was probably hopeless.
"You sure you won't even give me a hint at who we really have coming for dinner?" She asked again, wishing he would just tell her their secret identities so she would know what to expect. Clark's lips twitched into a mischievous smirk.
"Sorry, honey," he pressed his lips to her temple. "They want to see the look on your face."
"But…"
"It'll be fine Lois, you'll love them, I think," he smirked again. "They're all coming in… an hour, and their families will be here shortly after that."
"See, I would be more comfortable if they just arrived all together!"
"You'll be fine, 'Lo, stop worrying."
"You can't make me, and you know it."
Clark just laughed lightly before going to help Jason out of his snow stuff.
Lois checked them over and over again as five o'clock approached. Jason was in nice gray slacks and a light shirt, Clark was in the light jeans and white button-up he favored when he had to look sort of nice outside of work. She had changed her shoes about five times, but was still in the green top and black bottoms.
"Bart's here," Clark said suddenly, shutting off the TV and smiling when Lois hopped to her feet and stared nervously as the door.
"Bart?" Clark just nodded and crossed to the door.
"Hey Bart," he said opening the door. Of course, Bart didn't stay at the door long, superspeeding inside and holding his hand out to a startled looking Lois.
"Hullo, Mrs. Kent," he said with a wide grin.
"Bart," Clark said sharply behind him. "Slow down."
"Yeah, why do you have so many loose objects, anyways?"
"Just moved in?"
"You're excused, then."
"Right," Clark cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. "Lois, this is Bart Allen; Bart, this is Lois."
"Nice to meet you," Bart said, this time with a charming smile. "I love your work."
"Thanks," Lois said, smiling back as she shook his hand. "So…?"
"I'm the Flash," Bart said, knowing where she was going.
"That's good to know, but, actually, I was going to ask if you wanted something to drink," Lois said with a smirk. Bart didn't even blush, just nodded.
"Sure, what've you got?"
They were just settling down on the couch to talk with the guest when the doorbell rang, startling all but Clark. "Jeez, coulda warned us there, buddy," Bart said, glaring at Clark as he got up to get the door.
"Sorry," Clark said, shrugging. "Bruce, glad you could make it!"
"Me too," Bruce Wayne said with a suave smile. Behind him, a limo pulled out of the driveway with Alfred at the wheel, leaving to pick up the billionaire's family at the helipad.
"Bruce Wayne?" Lois gulped out when she saw the billionaire playboy walk calmly through the front door. He and Clark were chatting quietly about somebody named Johns and Diana and how they wouldn't be making it because they were busy at the Watchtower.
"Mrs. Kent," Bruce said, giving the same self-assured smile that was plastered in the tabloids at the supermarkets. "Nice to finally meet you."
"Yeah…" Lois was confused. She'd badgered the man for years about getting an interview, even sending Clark after him in the early years, and had no such luck. And now it turns out he and Clark are secret members of the superhero society?
"Lois, Batman, Batman, Lois," Bart said unceremoniously, watching Lois' face with amusement.
"Bart," Clark and Bruce sighed at the same time, making Bart's smile grow wider.
"What? It's what you came here to tell her," he said, holding his hands out palms up.
Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, and Arthur Curry, Aquaman, arrived together, Ollie complaining about having to forcefully drag AC away from his marine studies in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I'm sorry if I identify with fish," AC said curtly after Bart joined up in the torment.
"Hey, we're not blaming you; we're just making fun of you," Bart clarified and got another look from AC. Bruce and Clark chuckled and got no sympathy from the other men in the room.
Jason, who had been standing in the doorway watching, his face frozen in something resembling awe, finally came into the room to stand next to his mother, who was finally getting over some of her initial shock. She'd taken a seat after Bruce had arrived because, like it or not, her feet just couldn't handle being stood upon for much longer.
"Hey, your name's Jason, right?" Bruce asked, noticing the suddenly shy boy when he came into the room. Jason nodded. "And you're six?"
"Almost seven," Jason said a little proudly. Batman chuckled softly.
"I have a daughter who is almost eight," he said knowingly; Helena talked about her upcoming birthday nonstop, still at the time in life where one looks forward to gaining another year.
"Really?"
"Really really," Bruce replied, getting a smile from Jason at the reference to Shrek.
"What's her name?"
"Helena. You'll meet her when she comes with her mom later."
"Really?"
"Really really," he said again. Jason smiled back.
"So, J'onzz and Diana weren't coming, right?" Ollie asked a few minutes later. They'd all taken a moment to talk with Jason, telling the boy about their children and making him a lot more comfortable around them.
"Right," Bruce replied.
"Diana said something about a wedding anniversary, and J'onzz is at the Watchtower," Bart supplied.
"When isn't he?" Ollie asked, rolling his eyes.
"And I believe its their eighth wedding anniversary, Bart," Bruce said with a raised eyebrow. "And you know you sent them that hideous flower arrangement."
"How would you know?"
"Because Diana asked me if she could kill you."
"Oh, well, thanks for the negative response on that."
"I didn't respond negatively, I just reminded her that you're allergic to-" Bruce was cut off by a knock at the door. Still glaring at Batman, Bart sped over and opened it wide.
"Eliza, how're you doing?" He said with a charming smile as Eliza Queen and her three children walked through the door. Eliza looked cool and collected, smiling warmly at her husband before her eyes settled on Lois and Jason, who were still standing together by the chair as though they needed to keep close to have strength in their numbers.
"I'm great, Bart, how're you?"
"Excellent, excellent," he smiled and closed the door.
"Lois, this is Eliza Queen," Clark said, stepping forward. Lois smiled at the tall blond woman less nervously than she had at Oliver, and held out a hand to shake.
"Hello."
"Nice to meet you," Eliza said with an odd twinkle in her eye, glancing at Clark. "We were wondering how long it would be before you joined our little club," they both chuckled, Eliza more comfortably than Lois.
"Well…" Lois said, failing to find anything to say. "Yeah," behind Eliza, Clark looked embarrassed though he wasn't quite blushing.
"And this is Michael, Erica, and Daniel," Eliza continued, pointing to her children in turn. Michael was a tall sandy blond teenage boy who looked like a miniature version of his father; Erica could be classified as a pre-teen and looked more like her mother than seemed reasonable. The youngest, Daniel, wasn't particularly tall yet and had springy gold curls on top of his head, but it was his eyes that caught the attention; like his father, he had probing hazel eyes, his brother and sister's eyes were darker like their mother's. Michael nodded when he was pointed to, but the others each gave a wave.
"And this is Jason," Lois said, turning behind her and pulling Jason around. Jason smiled nervously at the other children, who seemed extremely relieved to see that he was just a normal-looking kid and wasn't hovering near the ceiling or anything.
Bruce's family arrived a moment later. Selena, formerly Catwoman, was short and extremely thin; if her daughter weren't standing right next to her Lois wouldn't have believed the woman had ever been with child. Mother and daughter looked very much alike, both with dark hair and eyes that had a cat-like turn to them at the corners. Selena barely made a sound when she walked, and it freaked Lois out by the end of the evening, but Helena was by far the loudest kid of the bunch. The young girl had her father's stubborn chin, and her mother's small frame; she'd be a force to be reckoned with when she was older.
"You have no idea how nice it is to finally meet you," Selena said when the three wives were finally alone.
"Oh?" Lois asked with polite curiosity. Not only did Selena have a strange vibe to go along with her history, Lois was very pregnant and getting tired.
"Clark and Bruce are rather close, and he used to talk about you all the time," she smiled warmly, her face seeming entirely different and relaxed with the simple gesture. "All good, I assure you."
"Well, that's nice to hear," Lois chuckled.
"Just know that we're here to talk to," Eliza assured her a few minutes later. "It's hard to live with a guy who has to run out to save strangers all the time; we can commiserate. Diana joins us sometimes, too, gives us a woman's perspective on the superhero business."
"I'm assuming Diana is Wonder Woman?" Lois asked, they'd been talking about Diana all night and she hadn't really had her suspicions confirmed.
"Yes, Diana Prince, she's lovely," Eliza said with another brilliant smile. Lois caught herself shaking her head. Sitting across from her were two of the most incompatible women she'd ever met, add herself to the mix and they made quite a trio. One former catburglar, a diplomat's daughter turned billionaire's wife, and the street-wise Pulitzer-winning reporter. Selena was dark and crafty where Eliza was light and almost bubbly, leaving Lois to be the cynic.
- - -
"How do you think she's taking this?" Bruce asked Clark when they had a moment alone in the backyard, enjoying the peacefulness of the snow falling. Bruce could ignore the cold for the few minutes they'd be out there, and it certainly didn't bother Clark.
"She's been nervous about meeting everybody all week," he shrugged. "She'll be glad when the evening is over and she can slip into a more casual acquaintanceship with everybody."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's pregnant and she's putting on a dinner party for a bunch of superheroes, half of whom turn out to be prominent public figureheads she's been moaning about getting interviews with for years," he chuckled. "She'll yell at me about that later."
"I suppose I'm more used to dinner parties than you, eh?" Bruce asked lightly, going on his toes to get a glimpse over the privacy fence from where he was standing.
"Much," Clark agreed.
"I'll hand it to you, she's quite a cook," Bruce said, and Clark grinned wider.
"Actually, I cooked," he chuckled. "If Lois had we would've had to find a restaurant while they put out the fire."
"Same thing with Selena, honestly," Bruce smiled. "It's a good thing we've got Alfred."
"How is Mr. Pennyworth these days?"
"He's quite good, actually," Bruce said with a decisive nod. "Getting older, but that's the way it goes."
"Good to hear," Clark said a little sadly, not wanting to think about friends and family aging. "Say hello to him for me, will you?"
"Of course, and how is your mother doing? Is she still on the farm?"
"Yep, on the farm and doing well," he said, bouncing on his heels a little. "She's hired a group to work the land and take care of the animals; she's doing very well."
"Good," Bruce smiled, his friend could talk about his mother and Smallville for hours if he was let.
"You guys planning on staying out there all night, or do we get dessert?" Ollie asked, joining them for a moment.
"There's dessert?" Clark asked, not remembering having made anything.
"Bart ran and got one of those Dairy Queen ice cream cakes; the kids asked him to," he sighed. "He's a sucker like that."
"He's got to get his own kids so he can stop spoiling ours," Bruce sighed; Bart had taken a special liking to Helena after she'd broken her arm while he was babysitting and catered to her every whim whenever he was around. Bruce couldn't tell if he felt sorry for letting it happen, or was just wowed by the cuteness that the little girl possessed.
"That'll be the day," Clark replied. Bart didn't like to be tied down; he liked to run for days without anybody worrying about him so long as he called in to work every now and then.
- - -
"So, what did you think?" Clark asked as he moved around the kitchen, tidying things up while Lois unloaded the very full dishwasher.
"Eliza was nice," she said, smiling at the thought of the other woman. "Selena was kind of creepy, though."
"Yes, she can be."
"She was being creepy on purpose?"
"I think she'll be like that until she gets a feel for you," he said with a shrug. "It took her about five years before she warmed up to me," he gave a shiver. "I'm invulnerable and I didn't want to be left in a room alone with her," they both chuckled.
"Helena is a sweet girl, though."
"Jason seemed to like her too."
"Which is good; I got the impression that you and Bruce are close."
"We are, I guess," Clark shrugged. "I've known Ollie longer, but Bruce and I get along better."
"Which doesn't make sense," Lois smiled. Ollie had come across as a genuinely nice guy, while Bruce had an odd edge to him.
"Ollie… he's got that whole Robin Hood thing going on, and I'm not one for stealing even if he's giving it to those who need it more. Bruce is all about intimidation, and though I don't like his use of unnecessary force sometimes, I get it."
"You are a very unique person, Clark Kent," Lois sighed, wrapping her arms around him. They stood there, looking into each others' eyes and feeling the babies move between them. One gave a hard kick and Clark smiled, but Lois just grunted.
"How much longer, again?"
"Only a few weeks."
"Easy for you to say."
"True," he said with a sympathetic smile and rested her head against his chest. They swayed softly to the music in their heads for a moment before realizing they had an audience.
"I don't feel good," Jason said, and he didn't look like he felt good. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was pale.
"What's the matter, sweety?" Lois asked, pulling away from Clark to get a better look at the boy in the doorway.
"I dunno, I just don't feel good," he repeated, walking over and climbing onto the nearest chair.
"How about I take you up to see the sun, see if that helps?" Clark asked, worrying about what could've made Jason sick. His invulnerability was touch and go, sometimes there, sometimes not. He could've caught something at school, or from being outside all day, or from all the different kids he'd played with today, or it could be some strange Kryptonian thing that could become very serious.
"Okay," Jason said, the usual enthusiasm wasn't in his voice but he was smiling.
"Grab your coat," Clark reminded him. Jason sighed, grabbed the coat and stuck his feet in his boots and walked up to his father. Clark chuckled, bent down and tied the boots before taking his son in his arms, already dressed as Superman. "Ready?"
"Yep."
"We'll be back in a few minutes, then," he said, turning to Lois. She smiled at them, worry for her son creasing her features, but Jason's eager, though uncomfortable, smile seemed to ease her heart a bit.
"Okay," she replied, pecking Jason on the cheek and giving Clark a quick kiss on the lips.
Clark slid the glass door closed behind him and walked out onto the patio of sorts, glancing over at and x-raying the surrounding yards for potential viewers. Finding none, he took off into the skies at a speed quicker than he'd take Lois up, but slower than he usually ascended. Jason's face was alight with excitement; no matter how bad he felt he loved to fly just as much as his dad.
They traveled above the clouds, chasing the sunset. Jason was amazed to see a sunrise as they neared the daylight side of the planet. Clark chuckled at his wonderment, and began telling him little useless facts about the pollution in the atmosphere causing the colorful display, and stories about this or that time when he'd seen a similar view.
Jason was feeling much better by the time they were hovering over China. "Hey, is that the Great Wall of China?" Jason asked, looking over his father's shoulder.
"Yes it is," Clark said with a smile. Whatever Jason had been feeling was gone and he was eagerly tracing the contours of the wall with his eyes.
"That's so cool."
"Yes it is," Clark agreed again, getting a look from his son. "Well it is."
"Will you take me past the Eiffel Tower on the way home?"
"Sure, are you ready to go home now?"
"I think so," Jason said, looking introspective for a moment. "I guess," he yawned.
"We'll go, then… it'll be okay if you fall asleep on the way."
"I can't fall asleep up here though, it's too quiet," Clark laughed outright at that. He'd spent years as a child trying to figure out why everything was so loud on a secluded farm, how the mole by the new fence could be the thing keeping him up at night, and now Jason was finding it hard to relax without that constant annoyance.
"Here we go, then."
He flew slowly, wanting to spend as much time as he could close to his son. He'd spent all evening with him and it still didn't feel like enough time. He could spend an eternity just floating above his adopted planet with his son examining the ever changing horizon beyond.
"Dad, what's that?" Jason asked as they approached Metropolis.
"What?" Clark asked, looking around to try and find what Jason was seeing.
"That," Jason pointed and the air wooshed from Clark's lungs.
"That's an awfully big chunk of New Krypton," Clark said a little shakily.
Above them, huge chunks of rock-encased kryptonite from New Krypton were barreling towards the Earth. Space had absorbed the sound of the explosion, or the crack that had caused these chunks to separate, but they had, and now Clark barely had time to react before they entered the atmosphere.
Just to make it clear- the Justice League isn't a group the public knows about. It's just something the superdudes put together for themselves so that the world is covered, say, when Ollie catches the flu, or Bruce needs a night to actually sleep. The public knows about them as individuals, but most have no idea that they know each other any more intimately than the rest of the world.