Chapter 49
"Oliver, where is she?" Superman had landed on the balcony and come up behind him so quickly, Oliver jumped with surprise.
"Clark! I swear, you just took a few years off my life." He was still clutching his chest. "I wasn't expecting—"
"Where's Lois?"
"She went to the Planet." At Clark's puzzled look he prompted, "Like you told her to do?"
Clark let out an exasperated sigh. "I thought she knew I was coming back for her. I wanted you to get some coffee down her before she—"
"She said you were on your way to Arizona."
Clark, or rather, Superman threw up his hands halfway and huffed, "I'm Superman, remember? Arizona for me is like twelve seconds from here." He reached into the pouch of his cape, and then held up a small lead-lined box. "Mission accomplished."
Oliver took the box and sneaked a look inside, careful to shield his friend from any ill effects of the stone inside. "Did you have to—?"
"No, thankfully! I checked his garage before…well, you know. Fortunately, there were several of those scattered about the place. And you don't have to worry. I have to be touching it or wearing it before that kind affects me."
"Clark, why didn't you get all of them?"
The all-too-familiar mask of brooding descended on Clark's face. "Because it felt like stealing as it was. I figured one—"
"Clark, you're the only live Kryptonian on the planet. If these bits of Krypton 'belong' to anyone, it's you. You should have taken them all. That way they can't be used against you in the future if anyone finds out about them."
"Don't worry about that. That ring made out of that stuff was different somehow. Dax-Ur made it clear to me that he could have taken off that bracelet whenever he wanted to. He chose not to have the powers."
Oliver snapped the lid of the box closed and looked at Clark in alarm. "Clark, you're not thinking of—"
Clark shook his head, but didn't look at Oliver. "No."
Oliver heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"I can't say it's not tempting though. To be normal…" he said, giving the word "normal" an emphasis that made it seem to Oliver he thought the word was magical. Then he gave Oliver a weak smile. "But no. I'm the only one who can be Superman. It's not really a choice for me. It's a responsibility."
"Good. I'm glad you've realized that." Oliver handed back the box to him. "There weren't any other types of this lying around? Pink? Chartreuse?" Superman laughed. "You know, I could have a geological team go there and scope—"
"I suppose you could, Oliver. But I'm not telling you exactly where his family lives. If he never told them of his origins, I'm certainly not going to be the one to let them in on his secret."
"Still…" But at the look Clark gave him, he dropped any idea he was going to bring up and just said, "Good luck tonight!"
Clark didn't even pretend he didn't know what he meant. "Thanks. I'm in for it, aren't I?"
"'Fraid so, buddy."
