The Dark Side of the Sun – Chapter 2

Note: The italicized portions of this chapter are flashbacks.

Beyond the Earth's Atmosphere

The dead silence of the universe devoured him whole as he floated above the Earth's atmosphere and closed his eyes. Darkness, hell fire, and destruction became the theme of the images that flooded his mind. For a moment, he was no longer floating above the Earth but instead, standing amid a desert planet overwhelmed by a cacophony of shrieks and howling that blended together to create a pandemonium of terror that spread throughout the planet.

Beneath him the ground trembled, and above him the wind wailed and relentlessly pounded against his face, slowly tearing at his tender flesh with its salty composition. Shadow figures flew into view and began surrounding him in a flurry of madness. His body tightened and his heart began to pound against his chest, harder and harder until its sound began to slowly smother his entire being.

Overwhelmed by his surroundings, his body shutdown and he collapsed on both knees just as a scream tore through his lips and joined the echoing chaos of the world around him.

His eyes were round and wide when they finally snapped open and the desert land vanished from his vision. Reflected through the darkness of his pupils was the Earth, quickly expanding as he returned back to Earth in search of the man that he would kill, in search of the man that was not really a man, but an alien known to the world as Superman.

Back on Earth

Smallville – Kent Farmhouse

The world turned the color of darkened ash as a thunderstorm overtook the heavens and powerful bolts of lightning tore through the flesh of clouds crashing upon the slumbering farmlands of Smallville.

Clark Kent lay in bed moving restlessly as he listened to the sounds of the storm outside. For the past 72 hours he had not rested; instead he had spent every waking moment alongside police and firefighters in Metropolis working together to stop the chaos and panic that had spread throughout the city when explosions rippled through the streets and buildings went up in flames.

At first the fear had been a foreign terrorists attack, but as the first day progressed it quickly became evident that there was only one target and that was Lex Luthor and his billion dollar empire. In total, more than a dozen of his corporate buildings went up in flames. Hundreds of lives were lost and nearly twice as many were injured. Among the list of casualties one name stuck out in every headline in Metropolis and across the world, the name of Lex Luthor himself.

The effort to keep Metropolis, which had suffered the most damage from the attack, controlled had been massive and Superman had offered his services immediately. Day and night he had worked to maintain order and civility and to prevent fear from creating more chaos and destruction.

At the dawn of the third day, the city finally returned to its normal working condition and although no answers had been uncovered as to the motive for the attack and no suspects had been named Superman was finally able to get away from Metropolis and rest.

What awaited Clark Kent was an empty house back in Smallville, a house that he rarely spent much time in nowadays but a house that had been his home long ago.

Emotionally raw from the devastations of the past few days, Clark found himself unable to put up his protective walls as memories of the past suddenly over flooded him.

He carried himself across the house like a ghost and didn't bother to change before going to bed. He collapsed on the bed and attempted to go to sleep, but his eyes like the rusty doors on an old car refused to close. He remained silently awake for hours. And when slumber finally made its way to him, all he saw was her face.

Like a flicker of a dying candle flame, the image of Lois Lane flashed before his eyes and then slowly faded. Clark found himself with open eyes, staring at the ceiling and at the dancing shadows.

Lois…

Lois…

It was the only thing he could think of. For so many years he had forced himself to learn how to live without her, to learn how to force any thought of her away, but tonight, tonight he couldn't.

Tonight she was all he could think about. And he knew why. Lois Lane was officially moving back to Metropolis, and while the thought of having more visitations with his daughter thrilled him, the thought of now being physically closer to Lois than ever before scared him.

Years ago he had promised Lois that he would leave her alone, that he would respect her wishes to end their marriage. Clark had fought long and hard to keep Lois alive and well, but it hadn't been enough. After losing Connor, Lois was never the same. He was never the same. Their marriage crumbled and no superpowers could have prevented it. And so she left, and Clark had respected her wishes to keep his distance, but having her so near now, well, he didn't know if he could continue respecting those wishes any longer.

He longed to be near her, longed to hold her in his arms. He longed to kiss her and make love to her. He longed to be her friend, partner, husband and soulmate once again.

And tonight was not the first night that Clark was missing Lois Lane.

The truth was he missed her every night. Yet over the course of the past ten years, he had learned to bury his emotions and to keep his mind busy, even when resting. Clark had in many ways become at expert at deceiving himself, pretending that he was alright when he really wasn't, when he hadn't felt whole since Lois's departure so many years before.

And yet even in his empty state, Clark could go on each day, minute by minute without feeling the pangs of the past. Tonight he was not so lucky. Tonight, all he could do was think of Lois, of his family, and what could have been.

"Run!" Lois shouted giddily as the first specs of rain kissed his face. "Come on, Clark! We don't want to get caught in the rain again." But turning around she saw Clark Kent just standing, staring at her with the oddest expression she had ever seen. "Clark?" She called out after him.

"I have to do this now, Lois," Clark said as Lois returned back for her partner.

"You know we are getting wet," Lois said reaching Clark and looking around. "We're just a few blocks away from our apartment, what are you waiting for?"

"I've been waiting for the perfect moment, Lois," Clark admitted, "And then I just realized that there is no perfect moment…" He thought for a second and then said, "They're all perfect when I'm with you, Lois."


She smiled and closed the gap between them. "Is that so? Then maybe we should—"


Clark silenced her with a finger and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, Lois, but please shut up. My heart is racing, my body is shaking and I've never been more terrified in my entire life than I am right now. I can't put up with your snark, not right now, not when I'm about to ask you--" He stopped, watching her silently gaze at him, without any clue as to what he was going to do, as to what he had been trying to do all month long. "Oh god, how I love you." He said, kissing her gently and then kneeling down and taking out a small box from his pocket. Looking up he finally asked, "Lois Lane, will you marry me?"

"Oh my god," Lois mouth opened and then clamped shut. She talked too much, she always did, and always would, but right now she knew she didn't need to say anything more than what she said softly in the next moment, "Yes."

For a moment Clark wondered if he had made a mistake that night, uniting his life with Lois, and consequently setting the first step for the devastation that would occur later on.

"You're pacing!" Clark stated as Lois walked hurriedly back and forth. "That means your upset. Look, Lois, I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told Perry not to send you out on assignment last night. I overstepped my boundaries. We're partners, best friends, and we're married, but more importantly, I trust you, and Lois, I DO trust you, but I was scared, scared that you would go alone and that I wouldn't be there to protect you. I was selfish, and I was wrong, and you can't imagine how sorry I am."

"I'm not upset, Clark." Lois said, continuing her pacing.

"Then you're obviously hurt, which is worse than upset, I know—" Clark stopped when he saw Lois finally standing still. He could hear her heart racing, and when she turned, tears filled her eyes. "Lois, you have every right to feel this way—"

"Clark, shut up." Lois said.

"Okay, I can do that." Clark said flatly.

"This has nothing to do with what happened yesterday at work." Lois said walking up to Clark, her lips trembling. "I'm not upset. I understand. You were wrong, but I understand."

Clark swallowed hard. He wanted to apologize again, but he felt that Lois had something else on her mind, something that was obviously taking precedence over his recent blunder.


"There's something that I just found out about this morning and I've been trying all day to tell you, but damnit, I just couldn't find a way to say it."

*A divorce. She wanted a divorce*, Clark immediately thought. *After all these months married together, Lois has finally had enough with me, with my over-protectiveness, with my daily and nightly manifestations as Superman, with my constant—

"Clark, I'm pregnant!" Lois suddenly said and Clark's neck nearly snapped as he shook his thoughts away and looked at Lois with wide eyes.

"You're…you're—?"

"Pregnant!" Lois repeated. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all day long, Clark. We're going to have a baby!"

Outside the rain finally stopped pouring and a strange silent swept through the room. Clark opened his eyes to the darkness of the night as he remembered his son.

"He's so tiny," Clark said with absolute amazement as he held his newborn son in his hands.

"Not so tiny when he's coming out of your body, but yes—" Lois said from the bed, watching as her husband held their son in his hands. "You know, Clark, you don't have to keep staring at him like that. I promise he will not disappear if you take your eyes away from him for one second."

Clark smiled at her teasing remarks, but then stopped and swallowed hard as he felt his body shaking with emotion. Tears started filling his eyes and he just whispered. "He's so tiny."

"Oh boy, " Lois muttered and sat up. She got out of bed, moaning slightly, and walked up to Clark and gently caressed his face. "He's real and he's ours, Clark. All ours."

Clark nodded, finally looking onto Lois and the rest of his tears followed. "How can I love him so much already, Lois? He's barely been with us for a couple of hours and yet…"

"Oh yeah," Lois nodded. "We're gonna be in big trouble when he gets older. Those baby blues of his will coerce us into doing anything." Lois gently leaned in and kissed her son on the forehead. "Then again, I'm used it. Your baby blues have been ruling my heart for many years now."

"I never thought I would be a father," Clark began as he gently rocked their son in his arms. "I always wanted to, but I just didn't think it was possible. I was so scared when we first started dating, Lois. I knew you'd eventually want this, and I the thought that I'd never be able to give you a son…" more tears fell from his eyes and he leaned in and pressed his lips against his son's forehead. "We'll do more than love him, Lois. We'll give him the world."

How had he done it? Clark wondered as the memory faded and he wiped a few rogue tears. How had he gone so many nights without thinking of that moment? Of the moment when Clark felt with absolutely certainty that he had been sent by his parents exactly where he belonged. Growing up all Clark wanted was to be normal. Lois changed that. She made him want to be extraordinary, made him want to be Superman. And then his son made him want even more than that, his son made him want to save the world.

"Up, up, and away, daddy! Up, up, and away!" Connor cheered out loud as he pretended to be flying with his hands. "Look, daddy! Look! Swoosh!!!!!!!!"

He came running up to his father and Clark picked him up gently, placing one hand under his chest and then other under his thighs and began running with him through the house.

"You're flying, son!" He said. "Look at you go!

"Mommy! Mommy!" Connor called out, giggling as his father continued helping him fly.

"Mommy, look! I'm flying!"

Lois came out of the study room in time to see Clark and her son rushing past her.

Connor held his arms in front of him in a pose similar to the one he had witnessed his father inhabit each time he took off.

Lois immediately began laughing and followed Clark with their son outside.

"You're soaring, baby!" Lois called out.

Clark put Connor down and the little boy ran over to Lois. "Did you see me, mommy?"

"Oh yeah," She said ruffling his hair with her hands. "You looked just like daddy."

The little boy smiled pleased at the comment and then turned back to his daddy who was walking up to him and took him back up in his arms.

"He's a natural, honey," He told Lois, leaning in and kissing her gently. The little boy hung on by his father's neck and turned around to meet his mother's gaze.

"Yes, you are, baby, just like your father." She said, kissing her son again. "And you look more and more like your daddy each day, too." Lois stepped back and looked at both of them; her eyes began to water. "Look at you two," she said smiling wide. "The loves of my life."


Clark laughed, "And look at YOU two." He said looking at Lois and then at her belly. "The loves of MY life."

Lois's eyes widened and then she pressed her finger against her lips. "Shh…remember we said we would wait to tell Connor…"

"Tell me what, mommy?" Connor asked and Lois bit down on her lip.


"Oh come on, this is great news!" Clark said and he began tickling his son who immediately broke out in a fit of giggles. "Your mommy's gonna give us a wonderful present in a nine months, Connor."

"Present! Present!" the little boy began and Lois laughed.

"Oh boy, look at what you've started. Hand him over, you big lug." Lois said and took her son into her arms. She hugged him tenderly and waited for him to settle down and then looked at him and said, "You're mommy is going to have another baby, Connor. We're hoping a little girl, so you can take care of her. What do you think of that, sweetie? A little sister to play with."


Lois waited, her eyes turning to Clark for a moment, and then back to her son who suddenly burst out, "Sister! Sister! I want a sister!"

Clark began laughing hard. "See, now that you have Connor's seal of approval," he said as he wrapped his arms around Lois and his son. "We can start telling the world."

"You'd love that wouldn't you?" Lois said shaking her head. "Can't we have just a few days to let it all sink in?"

"I can't help it, Lois," Clark said kissing her tenderly. "Each day you make me the happiest man in the world, and I just want everyone to know. You're my miracle, Lois. I love you."

In the distance, the final cries of a dying storm echoed across the sleeping farmland. And as the night grew older, the figure remained covered in layers of darkness, his steely blue eyes stalking every movement inside the Kent bedroom watching the restless motions of an adversary he would soon battle.

"Sleep tonight, Kal-El, for tomorrow your hell begins."

End of Chapter 2

Author's Note: I completely changed this chapter when I woke up this morning. I had initially written this chapter as an introduction to the story's villain, but then I realized that I hadn't given much insight into the Clark Kent character. So, I modified the chapter. You still see a bit of what the villain is thinking at the beginning, but who this person is exactly is still a mystery. And it will not be revealed until chapter 4, and it's not because I want to keep you all in suspense but rather because I want to explain what has been going on with Lois and Clark during these past years. That is very important and crucial to the story, so the villain is coming and once he arrives he should hurry the plot and action along!