Superman Movieverse Forum

Title: Family Reunion
Author: Mr. Beeto 
Rating: PG-13
Beta: htbthomas and Shado Librarian
Summary: AU Twist on Donner/Singer Movieverse: Tie the three films together into a cohesive whole, and provide a more credible and interesting reason for Superman to have returned to Krypton.

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Author's Note:

Well, Kara's presence seems to have attracted some attention - she should make things interesting later on. In any case, we've made it through my slightly edited versions of Richard Donner's Superman II and are almost ready for the opening scenes of Superman Returns. Thanks again to the marvelous beta team of htbthomas and Shado Librarian.

Chapter 4 - Six Years Ago

Friday, September 1, 2006 9:00PM EDT
Lois Lane angrily paced the dock behind their house, and took a deep drag from her cigarette. Why, now, so close to that day, did he have to pester me on wedding plans? she complained to herself. It was just a week shy of the six-year anniversary of the last time Superman was seen, and the last thing she was going to tolerate when commemorating the loss of her personal Prince Charming was for the runner up to pressure her into marrying him. It was an old argument.

She met Richard a couple of weeks after Superman's disappearance, which was a dark time in her life. The man she loved had disappeared without a trace, and the one person she could have confided in about that had decided to pack it in, explore the world and `find himself.' She was as distraught as she'd ever been, a shadow of her former self. Richard had been a stabilizing influence at the time, and before she knew what was happening, they were sleeping together. When she discovered herself unexpectedly pregnant some time later, he'd assumed responsibility without hesitation. A few weeks after she'd told him of her condition, he'd surprised her with a house that he'd already closed on, including a nursery that he'd already decorated, and he topped it off with a marriage proposal.

She'd never intended a shotgun wedding, and she wasn't enthusiastic about Richard's proposal. After a couple of weeks of arguing about how unnecessary it was, she reluctantly accepted his ring and moved in with him, but steadfastly avoided even the simplest beginnings of wedding plans. She refused any offers of assistance and made sure that she was always too busy to consider guest lists or possible venues. Richard had gone so far as to suggest eloping to get around the wedding planning obstacle, but she refused to consider that. Her heart wasn't in it, and she had hoped he'd give up on it eventually. However, he periodically dredged the subject back up. If that wasn't bad enough, he was also pressuring her to merge their finances. Such arguments predictably resulted in her angrily stalking off, as she had done tonight.

From her perspective, the marriage Richard wanted threatened her independence. She had vivid memories of high school and college classmates who'd gotten knocked up, rushed to the altar before the baby came, had three kids inside of five years, ended up divorced more often than not, and had zero career choices. That was not for Lois Lane. She wasn't going to surrender her financial independence, or be tied down by putting her name on the house's title. She wasn't little Susie Homemaker, and they were not going to have that argument so close to that special anniversary of his disappearance.

What happened to you? Lois wondered. Some terrorist organizations had taken credit for killing Superman, but she never truly believed those stories. They didn't have a body, for one thing. Second, the Man of Steel had really been putting in overtime the last couple of weeks before he disappeared. It seemed that he knew he wouldn't be around and was putting in the extra work ahead of time. Why didn't you tell me? Six years later, Lois didn't know whether to be pissed off or heart-broken, but anger came easier. He's going to have a lot of explaining to do if he ever makes it back. He's not going to have it easy like he did six years ago.



Richard stared out the family room window in frustration while Lois took another drag on her cigarette. This time, she's smoking simply to irritate me, he concluded. Once again, Lois sidestepped any discussion of setting the date, or any discussion of the matter at all. When he proposed five and half years ago, he expected it to be a short engagement. He'd hoped to exchange vows before the baby was born, and maybe have had a couple more kids by now. Something was holding her back, and he wished to God that he knew what it was. Every time he tried to close the deal, it turned into a fight.

He couldn't understand her reluctance. They had a good relationship. Maybe not a syrupy chick-flick romance kind of a relationship, but a strong bond build on mutual friendship and respect. It was comfortable, even if certain topics were off-limits and she occasionally holed up inside herself, as she had done tonight. Actually she'd been a bit subdued all day, and he'd simply been trying to get her to open up on whatever was bothering her. He hadn't planned on pushing her on wedding plans or merging their finances - it just turned out that way.

Richard was certain that they'd have a strong and lasting marriage, given how stable their relationship was. She'd get pissed at him occasionally, and never completely let her guard down, but they were good together. Why couldn't she see that, and why did she continually have to put off planning the wedding? Even after all this time, the woman could still be a complete mystery to him. Sometimes he wondered if he knew her any better now than he did when he first met her six years ago.



Perry relaxed in his recliner and enjoyed the History Channel special on Superman, one of a number of television specials airing in remembrance of the sixth anniversary of his disappearance. It wasn't quite the extravaganza that they'd had the previous year, but nonetheless, the Daily Planet was getting a lot of good exposure. Nothing like a Superman story to send the papers flying off the newsstand, he thought. I miss those days.

They were currently playing back the video of Superman's debut, as he caught Lois and the helicopter she fell from in mid-air and flew them gently back up to the roof. The video brought Lois forward in his thoughts. This will be a tough week for her, if today was any indication, Perry concluded. And Richard has no idea just how close she was to that story. I hope he doesn't do something stupid this week. Perry was actually surprised that they were still a couple, and it had become clear to him that Richard was not only wearing blinders, he was wearing a blindfold. He was seeing what he wanted to see and had no clue what he had gotten himself into. If anyone offered advice, it fell on deaf ears.

When Lois informed Richard of her pregnancy, he'd tried to make an instantaneous switch from active bachelor to family man, buying the house and engagement ring before bothering to make sure the kid was his. Jason was born barely seven and half months after Richard returned to the states, and at six pounds twelve ounces, the boy was full term. It didn't matter that Lois' sister delivered a ten-pound baby - Jason wasn't a preemie. He wouldn't have gone home after two days if he had been that early. But Richard would hear none of it. He adamantly declared that the kid was premature, and was his. Lucy's bouncing baby boy may have convinced some people that Jason was a preemie, but Perry wasn't buying it. Neither was most of the bullpen.

Lois and Richard did eventually fall into a comfortable routine with Jason, and there was no denying now that Richard was Jason's daddy. He was a devoted father, and always there to watch Jason while Lois ran off after a story. Perry knew that Richard was disappointed by Jason's severe allergies and profound lack of anything resembling athletic ability. However, he never let Jason see that - he was a very happy little boy. Richard seemed happy, too. Lois was the only one with a hidden sadness behind her smile, though there was no hiding the joy that Jason brought into her life. However, her smile wasn't as wide, and there wasn't the spring in her step that there had been six years ago.



Just a little while longer, Martha thought. Another week or so, and my boy will be home. She'd missed Clark terribly, and was anxiously preparing for his return. Kara's, too, of course, and she'd been busy preparing her house for the little girl. She'd redecorated one of her guest rooms with something fitting a little girl, and stocked the room with age appropriate toys and stuffed animals. The closets and dresser were full of clothes in her size, and the shelves full of children's books for her age. Downstairs, pictures of Kara now joined other family photos on the piano and a stack of children's videos were now on the shelves under the television. She was ready for the family reunion.

A lot had changed while Clark was gone, even in Smallville, most notably her courtship with Ben Hubbard. She still loved and missed her late husband, Jonathan, but the years since his loss had been terribly lonely. Clark had visited regularly before leaving to rescue Kara, but even then, he still had his own life to live. And with him now out among the stars... Ben's companionship had breathed life back into her - instead of being an old woman waiting for death, she was alive again. His gentle prodding had encouraged her to discover the joys of fly-fishing in Montana, and inspired her to make other vacation plans with him, too. Clark's always liked Ben, Martha reflected. This may come as a shock to him, but hopefully, he'll be happy for us.

The changes beyond Smallville would be much more troubling for Clark: The 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, war in the Middle East, and unimaginably deadly natural disasters. Martha knew that it would bother her son that he hadn't been available to help, but Kara needed him, too, and nobody else but Clark could help her. Kara will still need him when they get home, Martha reminded herself. I wonder how much thought he's given to what he'll do about that once they get here? Kara would have an advantage that Clark didn't have - someone just like her, who'd gone through what she was going through, who could help her to understand her gifts. She won't be alone, Martha concluded. And maybe Clark won't feel so alone anymore, either. Maybe things will be different than they were six years ago.


Finally free of that old hag, Lex Luthor thought as he boarded his yacht, formerly owned by his late wife, Gertrude. Took her long enough to die. He smiled as he considered his good fortune. After a few months of having Kitty slip arsenic in the old crone's meals, his aged bride had finally kicked the bucket. It was almost too soon, though. He barely got her signature on the revised will before she breathed her last. Now, while he was embarking on a relaxing journey North, his lawyer was evicting her family and eliminating the evidence of foul play by filing papers to have the corpse cremated. Luthor was certain that he'd greased enough palms to avoid any legal problems over her death, and even if the family won their legal case over her burial plans and discovered the arsenic, the trail would lead them to Kitty, who obviously acted on her own out of jealousy.

Lex considered his good fortune in learning of Kitty's previous employer from her visiting nurse days. It was almost too easy for him to turn on the charm, poison the old broad against her family, and convince her to leave everything to him. Regrettably, it had taken longer than anticipated to get the hag to change the will, but his brilliance prevailed. That inheritance would fund his genius, and this time there would be no meddlesome alien freaks to ruin everything. In fact, the alien might actually end up helping this time - if Lex could find whatever it was he'd been heading to in the arctic.

Before the alien's disappearance, he'd found a way to track Superman, as he repeatedly flew North towards the arctic. The Man of Steel had captured him and returned him to prison before he was able to pinpoint the location, but he was able to extrapolate from the data he had to get a general idea of the location. There had to be some kind of base there - something with technology that could serve Lex's purposes. It could provide him the wealth and power that a man of his stature truly deserved. It was already shaping up to be a better world that it had once been. It was a world without Superman, unlike the unfortunate circumstances of just six years ago.

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