I had warned Jack about the fast landing on my parents balcony but I could still feel his shock as the air moved past him at an alarming rate as we landed. The journey had taken a little longer than usual owing to my reluctance to fly too fast with Jack and a sudden storm that had suddenly hit mid flight. Flying through storm clouds, especially of an evening, was an amazing experience but unless I wanted an electrically charged boyfriend I had to divert away from the storm altogether. Not that he wouldn't look cute with his hair standing on end but he's already had is fair share of trauma for one day.

The apartment had been chosen mainly because of the roof top balcony which was surrounded by a six foot high wall. It afforded absolute privacy for secret landings and if the view from the roof was almost non-existent it was a small price to pay. I really hadn't wanted to have to land quite so abruptly but the only other options were to either risk being seen if any cameras were pointing our way or to shove our way through the news teams outside the building, neither option appealed much. Since the story broke, the area around my parents apartment had come to a standstill as, what appeared to be, every news van in the country was parked outside and blocking the road in the process. Was it really such big news that Superman had been caught making out with a married woman? Well apparently it was! At this rate if the whole truth came out the whole of Metropolis would come to a complete halt.

I held Jack motionless whilst his body became re-accustomed to the solid ground under his feet. Long haul flying by Kryptonian means often gave humans a strange sense of vertigo on landing. I asked him cautiously if he was alright.

"I think so!" Well he didn't have to sound quite so surprised did he? I had promised not to drop him and I always keep my word. His drop jawed reaction at the news that I was flying him to Metropolis had come as no small surprise but as usual he had taken it in his stride. The logistics of carrying someone who was so much taller than I was had taken a little figuring out but I thought we'd managed quite well. I hadn't the heart to tell him that it hadn't been strictly necessary for me to wrap my legs around him quite so tightly but it was certainly the most aroused I'd been whilst flying. He apparently was more concerned that I'd drop him than thinking with his extremities … I could work on that later!

I led Jack to the balcony door hidden behind Mom's beloved plants. Apparently they had "significance" but she refused to tell me why and I wasn't too sure that I wanted to know why all her planters were lead lined. I heard Jack take two deep calming breathes and I felt a great deal of sympathy for what he was about to endure. His heart was still racing but it may well have been due to the flight rather than the fear of my parents. I could only pretend to imagine how nervous he must be feeling and I just hoped that my family were going to play nice and not scare the hell out of him. I tugged gently on his sleeve and when I had his attention I learned in and whispered "It'll be fine" as I kissed his ear. It sent a shudder down his spine just as I knew it would and I gave him a little smile of reassurance.

I had planned on a quick and painless introduction before trying to blend into the background but the sight that met me put me off my pre-prepared speech. The fact that Uncle Bruce was sitting next to my Mom at the dining room table with an almost empty cup of coffee nestled between his hands and a laptop in front of him, was far from the sight I had expected to greet me. He was wearing a communications headset and also pretending that he hadn't noticed our arrival. There was a smidgen of ill suppressed laughter in his eyes though. How long had he been here and how did he get here so quickly? We had been in the Batcave until a few minutes ago! I suppose it would never have occurred to him to tell me his plans … the stubborn man! I chose to ignore him out of childish spite! I do that sometimes. If Jack was surprised at Uncle Bruce's presence he didn't show it but then again Bruce Wayne was my Godfather and one of my parents closest friends even though he hardly seemed like the kind of person with whom you would share your deepest secrets.

I had yet to notice my Dad but a crash sounded from behind me followed by a muttered "Oh darn!" Jack's eyes quickly swept past my Mom and Uncle Bruce and landed on my Dad who had gracefully risen from his very un-heroic position slumped on the floor against the wall. It seemed, judging from the plaster that had fallen into his hair and the hole in the wall, that he had accidentally banged his head against the wall a little too forcefully. I had expected him to be upset by the situation but the way his shirt was un-tucked from his pants and his hair stuck up at odd angles showed just how much time he'd spent pacing and running his hands through his hair leaving it mussed. His face was beginning the subtle signs of a blush at his own clumsiness and the unmistakeable dent in the plasterwork.

Before Dad could say anything Jack blurted out "It's an honour to meet you, Mr Kent, this is far from what I had in mind when I thought of meeting you for the first time but you know … and I'm sorry about … you know … what I suggested earlier. Please just forget about it and … try not to remember … or ever talk of it again?" I could see the nervous beads of sweat raising on his forehead and a slight tremble in his voice but otherwise he held my Dad's gaze with his head held high. At least he hadn't called him Superman!

The corner of my Dad's mouth twitched slightly in amusement as he shook Jack's hand but I couldn't help but notice the stress around his eyes and the edge of panic he seemed to be holding back. He had forsaken the unnecessary glasses but still didn't look at all like Superman at that moment. He shook Jack's hand and nodded quickly.

"I'm not about to lecture you or ask you your intentions because quite frankly there are much more important things happening right now. If Darcy trust you then so do I. As for what I overheard," he was suppressing a small grin I was sure of it "we all get the wrong idea on occasion and there's nothing to be embarrassed about." I bypassed Jack and quickly fell into my Dad's arms for a hug. It hadn't been until I had seen him that I realised just how much I needed reassurance that the world hadn't quite gone crazy. We could work this out I know we could!

"Oh I don't know it could have been interesting!" Mom said coming up behind the three of us. Trust Mom to say something like that! I'm positive that she simply did it to break the tension and embarrass Dad. After all what was really wrong about having a threesome with your husband and your … husband. She held her hand out to Jack.

"Hi I'm Lois. I wish we weren't meeting in such circumstances because it must have come as a shock to you. Are you okay? Do you need a drink of something … a beer … or something else alcoholic because after I found out about Clark my instincts were to make him suffer for lying to me. In the end I ended up making out in public with Bru .. Well someone else, and it ended in my face splattered all over the newspapers. It was awkward and … " She paused when she was greeted by Jacks blank face. "Okay you didn't need to know that … I'll be quiet now." Did I mention that my Mom always had a tendency to babble when she was nervous? It was usually quite endearing.

"Umm … okay. I don't need a beer or anything but thanks for asking … Lois." he tried his best not to look as if he'd been run over by a truck but his face had a very bemused expression and he glanced at me as if to say 'What the hell just happened?'. The fact that my parents acted weird and out of character on occasion still fascinated me.

"Don't look so scared we're normal … really … we are ... kind of." She sounded doubtful herself so the reassurance was pretty futile. "Are you hungry? We don't have anything but I'm sure we can find …"

"Mom!" I interrupted to stop any further babbling "It's okay I brought some sandwiches" I spun slightly so that she could see the bag slung across my shoulders "and I'm sure you have something in the house we can eat. Go and sit down! What's Uncle Bruce doing?"

"You had time to make sandwiches?" Dad looked kind of confused as if he'd only just walked into the room or something. I'm fairly sure he had been concentrating his hearing somewhere else and had temporarily left our conversation behind.

"I didn't make them I took them from the Batcave." I mentioned a little sheepishly and tried not to look at Uncle Bruce. I had thought the whole keeping secrets thing was in the past but obviously not unless Uncle Bruce was planning on saying something. On the other hand he had refused to allow anyone to tell Megan so I wasn't really expecting him to come clean with Jack so quickly.

"I thought you said they were for us?" Jack looked panicked again.

"Well they were … it doesn't matter anyway. Stop worrying about." I wanted to change the subject and quickly but I knew Uncle Bruce and I knew he'd have to say something.

"You stole Batman's sandwiches? Are you crazy?" His voice was unnaturally shrill and he paused for effect looking at Jack "I'm Bruce by the way and it appears I have to introduce myself. Did you actually meet the Batman? I hear he can be quite intimidating."

"Yeah …. he scared the he … heck out me if I'm being honest." He said with a rueful grin. I could happily have hit Uncle Bruce over the head with his laptop at that moment. I'm sure he was thinking of his own anonymity, but he was also intent on making fun of Jack. The ass!

"Don't worry about it he scares the hell out of me too." There was a moments silence broken by a suspicious sniggering coming from the kitchen. It seemed my brother was ensconced in there with my sister-in-law trying to keep out of the way no doubt.

"You've met him?" Jack looked surprised. After all why would the caped crusader and the Prince of Gotham have anything in common? The rest of us were mentally rolling our eyes in wonder at Bruce's nerve. Dad has a pained expression on his face as if he was simply waiting for the serious stuff to start.

"It's not something I want to talk about on account that he apparently hates my guts. Jealous I guess." I have no idea where Uncle Bruce gets these things from but as a diversion from his true identity go this was fairly good! He appeared to be sulking at the snub his other identity had doled out on him.

"Batman … " I paused for effect "has good reason to hate your guts Uncle Bruce and you know it. What are you doing?" Uncle Bruce just gave a nonchalant shrug of dismissal as I pointed to the laptop and spun it around so we could see the screen.

He had his laptop set up with a direct link to the computer in the bat cave and programmed so that any keywords would trigger a … something or other, technology never has been my thing. This meant that anything potentially catastrophic would be noticed straight away. He had also hacked into several government computer systems as well for some reason known only to him.

"Bruce Wayne … computer hacker?" Jack whispered under his breath. I hadn't realised that he would be able to see the complexity of the happenings on the laptop screen. I shrugged as if it wasn't a huge deal but it hardly fit in with the playboy image. Before the conversation got any more bizarre I gestured for Jack to go into the kitchen with me. Dad was paying attention again and about to bombard Uncle Bruce with more questions and I thought it may be easier with Jack out of the way for a while.

In the kitchen Megan was sitting with the phone pressed against her elfin face. Her job, it seemed, was to field unwanted phone calls and ever since entering the apartment I had heard her repeatedly saying "I'm sorry you have the wrong number." which was interspersed occasionally with "No comment" and on the one occasion a strident "My father-in-law is not suicidal!"

It seemed that the general consensus was that my Mom was either begging the forgiveness of her husband or she packing her belongings and moving into Superman's fortress. Neither was true of course but at least the press hadn't figured out the truth … yet.

Megan gave a little wave at Jack but didn't say anything as she listened with ever increasing patience to the caller and Jason took that moment to introduce himself to Jack.

It seemed that whilst my Dad was far too preoccupied to give Jack the third degree Jason had no such qualms and proceeded to act like the scary big brother. His handshake must have been bordering on painful and I could tell it was carefully calculated to show just how strong he was. Jack's eyes widened slightly in concern.

"Just for the record I don't know you and I have no reason to trust you but if you do anything to harm Darcy or the rest of us you'll have …"

I chose that moment to show my brother that he wasn't the only one with super powers by grabbing hold of his right earlobe and pinching it … hard. Now it isn't very often I get the chance to use my powers in a violent way and it was fun to hear him screech like a little girl. There is no way I was about to let him deliberately be mean to my boyfriend. I was perfectly capable of dishing out my own punishment if Jack strayed out of line. "Darce … Darcy … get the hell off my ear!" No matter how much he liked to think otherwise he was his father's son and wouldn't even think to cause his baby sister physical harm no matter how old we were.

"Promise to stop being an idiot then?" I asked patiently in my best school teacher voice. He gave me a scowl and a look of consternation before nodding his head very very carefully and slowly as I loosened my hold. By this time Jack was definitely trying to suppress his laughter and Jason was rubbing his ear and scowling at me.

The phone rang as soon as Megan had replaced the handset and she sat forlornly staring at it for a few seconds with an ill suppressed sense of dread. Personally I didn't see the point in actually answering the house phone as anyone who knew us had our cell phone numbers anyway. The fact that we were all either ignoring the ringing or had switched off the cells wasn't really the point. I'm sure the world could managed for a while without hearing from us. Having a conversation in the kitchen was next to impossible with the constant interruptions until Jack grabbed the phone before Megan could take hold of it.

"Hello Kent residence …. Would you like to wait until I fetch her to the phone? … okay!" He then pressed the hold button and sat it down quietly on the work surface with a grin. "That should give us a bit of quiet time."

"I bet no one has been fed." I have never been particularly domesticated but preparing something to eat gave me a chance to do something useful and to dull the worry. I began by putting the sandwiches onto a plate and getting things out of the cupboards to prepare more. I was suddenly aware that I had been using super speed in front of Jack.

"This isn't freaking you out too much is it?" I asked as I briefly paused. Jack quickly shook his head

"No but it's making me feel a little inadequate … and sea sick for some reason."

Megan piped up "Don't look directly at them …it helps!" with a big on her face. "It's nice to have another non-super speeder about. I mean Lois is totally human but she … well she seems slightly more … able than other people."

I could certainly understand what she meant because my Mom had the ability to multitask in a way which was slightly disturbing for a human.

There was only so long that we could hide out in the kitchen and eventually it became obvious that we'd have to join the 'grown ups' and discuss the problem we had seriously. Luckily Jason didn't hold grudges and he and Jack were happily discussing the benefits of quality mayonnaise over the cheap stuff. It was weird what men bonded over!

We came en masse from the kitchen with a tray full of sandwiches, a bowl of chips and several drinks. The three "adults" were sitting with their heads bent together at the table deep in discussion. It seemed strange that I'd been so preoccupied that I hadn't eavesdropped once all the time we were in the kitchen. Boy was I loosing my touch!

Everyone started tucking in and I resolutely ignored Uncle Bruce when he exclaimed how nice the salmon sandwiches were.

The ringing of Jack's cell made even me jump. He and Uncle Bruce were the only one who hadn't switched there own off. He looked at is suspiciously and with a hint of panic in his expression. "It's my Mom!" The dread was almost comical as he looked at the cell phone as if it were a poisonous snake. I covered the phone and his hand with mine. "You can ignore it if you don't feel like talking to her right now." He quickly shook his head "I can do this!"

"Hi Mom. I was about to call you." The room had gone quiet but at least three of us were obviously listening to the conversation. The others were pretending not to but Mrs Granger wasn't known to be a quiet lady.

"I've been worried. Why aren't you home yet?" the dragon's voice was shrill to my ears.

"That's what I was calling about. I'm in Metropolis to be with Darcy whilst this is all sorted out. Don't worry I'll give you a call to let you know what's happening."

"I don't like this Jack. Your father is beside himself with worry. Why do you always have to make life complicated. I mean Darcy seems like a nice enough girl on the surface and she is Bruce Wayne's god daughter" Uncle Bruce had a very smug expression on his face at this which he quickly changed when I glared at him. "but I have my worries about her family. If you were to marry her we'd be linked to them forever and … "

Jack chose to interrupt her before she could say anything too detrimental. He was well aware that it was no longer a private conversation but there was simply too much at stake to risk any mistakes so we all continued to listen.

"Mom, I don't care. I'm with Darcy and no amount of scandal is going to change that."

His Mom was silent for a moment before she said. "The Inquisitor are even saying that your girlfriend is Superman's daughter!"

My Dad looked like he was about the puke he went so pale and Jason stood perfectly still as if made of marble. The pause before Jack replied to his mother only lasted a few seconds but they seemed to go on forever and we all held our breath. He turned away from the others in the room. It seemed if he was going to lie to his mother he should at least be able to do it with a modicum of privacy.

"Yeah and the Inquisitor also said that Elvis is working in Wal-mart! If she was Superman's daughter I'm sure I would have noticed something was off by now." He cringed slightly as he said 'off' when he realised his wording could have been a little insulting but I really didn't care.

"Well of course she isn't, anyone can tell that as soon as they meet her, but we could really do without those kind of rumours going around. It was bad enough covering up your relationship with that hooker without having to cover up this."

Jack's whole body jolted as if it had been hit with an electric shock. His cheeks glowed bright red at his mother's words and he closed his eyes tightly to avoid meeting anyone's gaze in the reflection of the window as he replied.

"She was an exotic dancer not a hooker!" he hissed through his teeth in a lowered voice, as if that would make a difference here. His Mom's timing was atrocious, I already knew about his ill fated relationship with Erica, an exotic dancer with two illegitimate children and a rather large chest, but having it announced in front of my family was a little embarrassing … and what did she mean that she could tell I wasn't Superman's daughter? Jason was back to scowling at Jack, rather darkly this time and I didn't dare look at my Dad for his reaction.

"Well as I've said before your relationships reflect on your father's career and you need to prevent tarnishing our reputation with your women."

"Mom, I have to go before I say something I'll regret. I'll phone you later." He was obviously struggling not to loose his temper but his upbringing and instilled good manners made it near impossible to actually hang up on his Mother.

"Look I'm sorry but it's the truth. Should I call Mr Llewellyn? He's the best lawyer in town and we can …"

"Mom, I do not need a lawyer! I am a lawyer!" He voice had risen considerably "I have to go now before I really loose my temper!" He quickly pressed the disconnect button and gave a huge shaky breath before facing the rest of us. A stillness filled the room as no one really knew what to say next. I knew I should break the silence but it was Uncle Bruce's sniggering that was the first real sound.

"I've dated hundred's of exotic dancers and they still like me so you should be okay … of course I'm not sleeping with their daughter." Way to go Uncle Bruce! Rub it in! " … oh and Victor Llewellyn is also one of the most corrupt lawyers in town, you might want to tell your Mom to keep away from him."

Jack nodded and turned to face my Dad with a sheepish expression on his face. He looked as if he was facing the guillotine and I really couldn't blame him. I realised that I couldn't really help him out with an explanation, it was all up to him.

"I was 18 Mr Kent and pretty naïve … Erica was only an exotic dancer and would never have been involved with her if she'd been … well … you know. It wasn't my best idea but I was young and …she was a nice person …"

I'm not sure if Dad interrupting him was a good thing or not but he certainly looked formidable standing tall in his classic Superman pose but with a decidedly un-Superman expression on his face. "I'm not the kind of person to judge someone I hardly know. I'm sure you had your reasons for getting involved with her but hopefully you are no longer as naïve as you were back then."

At this Jack nodded his head so quickly I could hear a slight cracking noise as his bones rubbed together.

"You're a lawyer so I assume you have a modicum of intelligence" My Dad continued. "Help us to work out how we are going to get ourselves out of this mess and I'll try to forget about the stripper." Sometimes I have no idea what my Dad is thinking and this was one of those times. His face was a blank mask and he looked anything but human. My father was very old school and had been brought up with so many traditional mid western values that he still found it hard to discuss sex around his family even after years of my Mom's influence. I am pretty sure he knew that Jack and I were sleeping together but I think in his heart he wanted to be left in a state where he could deny it altogether.

I saw Jack mentally pull himself together and face the problem head on. He may be facing a superhero, a billionaire, a feisty journalist, a super powered girlfriend and her equally super powered brother and … Megan but this is what he was trained to do … more or less.

He made his way to the dining room table and, with an uncharacteristic pull of authority he told everyone to sit down. Surprisingly everyone did with no comment. I made sure to sit next to Jack for moral support but with my Dad at the head of the table directly opposite him he was barely paying me any attention. Jason easily lifted the easy chair from across the room, put it next to the table and sat on the arm as there were only six chairs available. This possibly wasn't going to go as well as I'd planned thanks to Mrs Granger but at least no harsh words were shared. I had imagined Jack's first meeting with my family to be a nice simple occasion with everyone on their best behaviour not this shambles with precognitive doom and ex girlfriend exotic dancers.

"What do the press actually know?" Jack's voice drew me out of my thoughts and we all turned to Uncle Bruce.

"Right … the major networks are all under the impression that Lois has been seduced by Superman behind Clark's back, Superman is off sulking somewhere too ashamed to show his face and Clark is in a state of shock thinking his marriage is over. They are also convinced, luckily, that the affair with Superman is a fairly recent thing. Sympathy is aimed towards Clark and his photograph, from the Planet, has been shown repeatedly but not alongside any images of Superman … yet. It has been mentioned that Lois and Clark have two grown children but neither is available for comment.

The tabloids all have different takes on the story which range from the funny to the downright ridiculous. The only one which is anything to be concerned about is the Star which has stated that there was issues regarding Jason's paternity when he was five and he may not be Clark's son … ergo is may be Superman's son. That needs to nipped in the bud somehow but to add fuel to the fire. Richard White has made a statement half an hour ago and … well … he said that whilst he raised Jason as his own until the boy was five he later found out that he wasn't his biological father. Unfortunately he failed to mention who was …" He paused and glanced across at my parents "Is there any chance he knows the truth and covering his own back?"

They both ruled out the possibility, Richard wasn't the kind of person to keep something like that to himself and the three of them still had a reasonably good relationship considering everything that had happened. Besides which, even if he had realised the truth he wouldn't deliberately put Jason in any danger.

Jack looked thoughtful and before anyone could interrupt he carried on "Do we have a copy of the video? I mean the full video not just the part that they showed on the TV." I hadn't actually seen the end of the video footage because it was just too damn scary but it was common sense that a security camera would have been running a continuous feed. What had happened before or after the released footage may be significant. What if they were deliberately only showing one section in order to get additional leverage on my parents?

"Mr Kent, can you remember what happened before and after? It may be significant to the ca … well not case but situation."

"Firstly call me Clark and secondly … " The stress was starting to show again as he began running his hand through his hair. He looked at my Mom and then continued "I can get hold of a copy of the video footage. I just have something to say first." He stood up abruptly and the arm of the chair cracked under that strain. It was rare to see him anything but in control and it worried me. "I just want to apologise to everyone for this. What we did was pretty stupid and it's put us all in a really difficult situation. I love you" he glanced quickly at Jason and I " and Lois and I made a serious mistake which could cost us … everything. No matter what happens I'm going to make this right! Bruce has the required documentation if the worse happens and I'll make sure it goes as easy as possible if we have to resort to plan B."

Both Jack and Megan had confused expressions on their faces so Dad quickly explained "Not long after Lois and I were married we discussed with Bruce what would happen if we were ever exposed." The original plan had of course included Batman and Uncle Alfred "Bruce has alternate identities for us all and the documentation for us to create a new life for ourselves in any city in the US or Europe. He also has the ability to fake our deaths if the situation arises and give us a chance at a normal life where no one will know who we are."

Jack looked suspiciously at Uncle Bruce. What was going through his mind was anyone's guess but I would imagine that he was attempting to link the playboy billionaire with the man sitting further down the table. Megan seemed to be having similar thoughts, if her wrinkled forehead was anything to go by, and she had known Uncle Bruce for several years. Jack raised his hand, reluctant to interrupt whilst looking at Uncle Bruce.

"I hope you have one for me too? … Just in case we need it."

Bruce nodded. "I sorted that out a few months ago. It's there if you need to use it."

"Good" His voice was slightly abrupt but there was confusion in his eyes. As if he knew he was missing something but couldn't quite figure out what. If he had questioned Uncle Bruce's means to create new identities and to make people disappear it may have appeared rude and he knew it. After his not so successful confrontation with Dad I had little doubt that he would say anything.

"Do you need the footage straight away?" Dad broke the awkwardness and Jack swung his attention back to him.

"It's a starting point. We need to evaluate it from an outsiders perspective and work a convincing story around why you were … kissing. I honestly don't think that we can claim it to be a fake but we can prevent it from looking quite as …. sleazy as the tabloids are making it out to be."

"Wait! How are you going to get it?" Mom's voice sounded a little panicky at the thought of Dad going out in public.

"It's about time Superman made a public appearance, show the world that I'm not sulking and that I'm not hiding … I'm going to the TV studio."

There was a disturbing silence as Dad super speeded into his suit and left before anyone could try to stop him. Jason and I simultaneously reached for the TV remote to find the right channel in preparation for the fiasco that was bound to happen.

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