Chapter 2
The next day Superman couldn't bear to see Lois Lane at theDaily Planet. So, he went in early as Clark Kent and told Perry White, the Planet's editor-in-chief, that he wanted an indefinite leave of absence.
Slightly slouched, Clark pushed up his glasses, and reticently said, "Mr. White, I fully understand if my job isn't waiting for me when I decide to come back."
Perry White shook his gray head and took a long hard look at Clark before saying, "Kent, take care of whatever it is you need to, but get back here to work. I need you. The paper needs you. I don't like losing one of my best reporters again."
When Lois arrived at the Daily Planet later that morning it was photographer Jimmy Olsen who told her the news of Clark Kent's indefinite leave of absence.
With his short reddish-blond hair and lanky frame, Jimmy looked younger than his twenty-four years. he had started working at the Planet eight years ago, about the same time as Mr. Kent, as Jimmy referred to Clark. Jimmy had been a high school sophomore and copy boy, Mr. Kent a college intern, attending Metropolis University, or Met U, as it was known locally. Jimmy had looked up to the serious young college man and over the years the two had become good friends.
"Maybe his mother is sick," Lois said to Jimmy referring to Clark's sudden absence.
"Could be," Jimmy said. "But I think he would have said so."
Lois wasn't overly concerned, but she knew Jason would miss Clark. The two had developed a friendship over the past few months. Clark frequently took Jason to the park or on educational outings.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon." Lois plopped into her chair and turned on her computer.
"I hope so," Jimmy said. "He hasn't been back that long as it is. I was just getting used to having him around again."
Lois looked up at Jimmy and gave him a weak smile. "Me, too."
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Superman needed time to think about his future, whether it be with, or without, Lois. He'd gone to the one place he could be alone and think, the Fortress of Solitude. He also had other unfinished business to take care of. The crystals taken by Lex Luthor had been signaling him from deep space.
Luthor had used the stolen crystals to create a kryptonite-laced island, dubbed New Krypton. With his strength rapidly fading, Superman had managed to toss the poisonous island into space seconds before losing consciousness and plummeting to Earth. Superman had spent a few days in the hospital and only after his recovery did he discover the other stolen crystals rested atop New Krypton.
During the past six months the crystals had separated from New Krypton and the sun's gravity was slowly pulling them back to Earth. At first, the crystal's signals had been very weak, but as they neared Earth, their signals grew stronger. Superman needed to retrieve them and return them to the Fortress's crystal console. The crystals contained all the knowledge his father, Jor-El, had gathered from over twenty galaxies.
During the five years Superman had been away looking for the remains of Krypton, the Fortress of Solitude's defense systems had broken down. Lex Luthor had been lucky to enter the Fortress at a time when its defenses had malfunctioned. Superman wanted to insure that such a thing never happened again. He would be checking, repairing, and up-dating all the systems guarding the structure. It was a job that would would take several days, perhaps weeks to complete.
Repairing the Fortress's defense system was something Superman had put on hold while he concentrated on repairing his relationship with Lois. He'd let her know how much he still loved her and wanted to be part of her life, but every time he'd attempted to kiss her, she'd turned away saying, "Not yet. I need more time."
At least, she did want him to be part of Jason's life and had readily let him spend as much time as possible with his son.
Now, it was time to fix the things he could. Kal-El could contemplate the other things later. Superman always though of himself as, Kal-El, when he was at the Fortress. This one place allowed him a glimpse of Krypton and here he truly felt Kryptonian.
Long ago, Kal-El had used the crystals to create his Superman suit and the Kryptonian clothing he wore whenever he spent any length of time at the Fortress. Upon his arrival today, he had changed into an iridescent, royal-blue, long sleeved tunic top with matching blue pants tucked into black boots. A gold belt circled his waist and on the tunic a small House of El crest rested above his heart.
The day passed quickly. Kal-El worked at super-speed for some repairs and at normal speed for the more complicated ones. Much had been accomplished today, but now he needed to return to Metropolis. It was important that he visit Jason tonight.
A/N: I don't know what's going on with this site. I had to type this chapter by hand. The site would not allow me to upload documents the way I normally do. It wouldn't allow to to copy and paste either. This chapter was relatively short so I didn't mind typing it out. However, I won't be uploading any more chapters until this site is fixed.
