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 Notes:

There was a long and thoughtful debate on taking this direction, and it the end, I think it was the right way to go. One-stop shopping at the Fortress or the Batcave to solve all of their problems would have been too easy, and I don't think it would have served the story well. In this universe, Clark's a bit overwhelmed by the sudden parental responsibility, and even superheroes need a support structure.

Thanks again to the remarkable beta team of htbthomas and Shado Librarian.

Chapter 11 - Sharing the Burden

Monday, September 18, 2006 12:10 PM CDT

Sarah Hayden drove the short distance over to the Kent farm with her father, Ben Hubbard. Martha had invited that the two of them over for lunch, promising a surprise for them but swearing them to secrecy. Both had accepted the invitation and agreed to the unusual condition without hesitation. "What do you think this surprise is?" Sarah asked her father casually.

"My guess is something about Kara," Ben suggested. "There were certain things that Martha just didn't want to get into without Clark there. I have a pretty good idea what's going on, so I doubt it will be much of a surprise. At least, nothing like the one Clark got last night."

"About time she told him," Sarah agreed with a chuckle.

"I imagine he was fairly overwhelmed, suddenly discovering himself a father of a seven-year-old like that," Ben pointed out. "He probably needed a few days before she dropped our bombshell in his lap."

"Well, I'm glad it's finally out," Sarah replied happily. She turned into the drive at the Kent farm, and pulled back beside the house, where they spotted a Ford Fusion parked next to Martha's truck. "Say, isn't that Doc Rivers' car?" Sarah asked. "I hope everything's all right."

"They probably invited her over for this, too," Ben speculated.

Ben and Sarah climbed out of the car and walked around the back of the house just as Clark stepped out of the door to greet them. "Thanks for coming," he told them sincerely. "Everyone else is in the dining room."

The group walked through the kitchen and joined the others in the dining room. Susan Rivers was seated at the table with Martha, listening to Kara animatedly describe the grizzly cubs she'd seen at Yellowstone National Park. "Was that on the Discovery Channel?" Susan asked.

Kara shook her head. "My dad took me there," she stated matter-of-factly. "Next time, he's taking me to see the gorillas in the Congo."

"Really?" Susan replied skeptically. "Is that one of the places your dad told you about from his trip?"

Clark held back at the doorway as the others settled in. I can't believe I'm about to do this, he thought. After a pointed look from his mother, Clark sighed, summoned his courage and interrupted the casual conversation. "Folks?" he called nervously. "Now that everyone's here, there are some things that we need to explain to you."

"What's going on, Clark?" Sarah asked. "You mom seemed a bit secretive when she called."

"Well, there are certain... family secrets... that we usually prefer to keep to ourselves," Clark began. "However, we need your help to help Kara, and in order to do that, we're going to need to trust you with those secrets. The truth of the matter is that Kara and I are... well, very different."

Susan Rivers snorted and wryly pointed out, "Everybody's different, Clark. You really haven't told us much."

"Not different like this," Clark insisted.

"Clark, I've seen all kinds of things in the twenty-five years I've worked in this community," Susan informed him. "I doubt there's anything you could tell me that I haven't heard before."

"I'm fairly certain that you haven't heard this before," Clark told her seriously. "Kara and I are Kryptonian."

"Krypt-what?" Ben replied, not making the connection.

"We're from the planet Krypton," Kara explained shyly.

"Krypton? You mean... like Superman?" Sarah asked skeptically.

Clark blurred towards them in a swirl of color, which quickly coalesced into the famous red and blue uniform of the last son of Krypton. "I am Superman," he informed them. He carefully monitored his guests' racing hearts and wide-eyed expressions as the enormity of the revelation struck them.

"Dad, what's 'Superman'?" Kara asked, tugging on his cape to get his attention.

Superman knelt down beside her, and gently explained, "It's another name I use when I help people so that the bad guys don't find out about our family."

"It isn't possible," Sarah muttered. "You can't be. That terrorist group said that they'd killed Superman six years ago. Besides, he only showed up nine, ten years ago, and we've known Clark Kent his entire life."

"As the saying goes, 'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated'," Superman answered. "I've been here all along; I just stayed below the radar until nine years ago, and six years ago, I went back to Krypton to get Kara... Sarah, please try to relax. Your heart's practically beating out of your chest."

"Clark, change back into your civvies," Martha ordered. She turned to their guests and sympathetically told them, "Well, we promised you lunch, so why don't we get started on the soup and sandwiches... and we'll tell you the whole story from the beginning." Once the meal was served, Martha proceeded to tell them the tale of the small space ship that crashed in the west field of the Kent farm three decades previously, and the remarkable little boy they found inside.



Clark took over the narration once his mother finished the tale of his childhood years. He described his journey of discovery from his late teen years through his debut as Superman. By the time he finished the story, his guests had begun to relax, though Sarah was still jittery, tightly holding her hands together to keep them from shaking. Clark somberly told them, "I thought that I was the last. It wasn't until six years ago, when the Fortress picked up my uncle's distress signal from deep space that I found out about Kara. I built a new ship and went after her. It took three years in stasis to get there, and three more years to get back home."

"Then she's not really yours?" Sarah asked quietly. "What happened to her parents?"

"They died," Kara answered, her bottom lip beginning to quiver.

"It's okay, honey," Clark consoled her, pulling her onto his lap and hugging her tightly as she fought the tears. He looked over at his guests apologetically and explained to them, "This is still hard for her."

"Clark, why don't you get her out of earshot, and I'll explain the rest," Martha suggested. "Give us a few minutes."

Clark nodded his agreement and moved quickly towards the back door with Kara. A faint sonic boom followed their departure, provoking a gasp from Sarah. "Was that what I thought it was?" she asked meekly.

"Sounded like a sonic boom," Ben confirmed. He turned to Martha and asked, "Where do you suppose they're going? You don't suppose they went to the Congo, like Kara was saying, do you?"

Martha shrugged her shoulders. "They could have gone anywhere," she answered simply. "I doubt they went to the Congo, though. That was going to be an early morning trip because of the time difference. It's probably already dark there by now."

Ben just shook his head, "Amazing. All these years, right under our noses..."

"We didn't want anyone to know," Martha informed them. "At first, we were afraid someone would try to take him away, if they found out how we found him and what he could do. We worried what they would do to him. If you look past his origins and those incredible gifts, he was really no different than any other boy. It's the same with Kara: She's really just a little girl."

"What happened to her parents?" Sarah gently asked again.

"Before they left Krypton, Kara had been across the way from her home, playing with her friends," Martha replied somberly. "Her parents had to track her down before leaving and she blames herself for delaying their departure. They barely launched their ship in time to get away before Krypton's sun exploded in a supernova, and they got caught in the shockwave. The ship was disabled and there was only enough power to keep one of them alive. Her parents made the same choice that any parent would have made - they chose life for their child. She fell asleep with her parents gently tucking her in, and woke up to learn that they had passed away."

"The poor child," Ben commented sympathetically. "Losing her folks like that..."

"Ben, she didn't just lose her folks, she survived a holocaust," Martha corrected. "Everything and everyone she's ever known is gone, and she's literally been transplanted to an alien world. Clark's her only connection back to Krypton, and even he's different. She remembers him as a newborn."

"How can that be?" Sara asked, her brow wrinkling in confusion.

"She was frozen in deep stasis," Martha explained. "Kara was actually born almost seven years before Clark... This is all very difficult on her."

"What can we do to help?" Ben asked compassionately.

"Well, there are a few things we've been struggling with," Martha answered seriously. "You may have gathered that Clark's assumed parental responsibility for Kara..."

"But she's not really his daughter," Sarah pointed out. "Are you looking for someone to take her in?"

"And what would they do when Kara has another bad nightmare, and thrashes so violently that she smashes her headboard into splinters and puts her arms through the walls?" Martha asked emphatically. "That happened just a few days ago..." She sighed, and fell silent for a moment before softening her tone and continuing, "I don't think I appreciated just how lucky Jonathan and I were that Clark was too young to know what had happened, what had been lost. But that's not the case with Kara and she's having a tough time. Fortunately, Clark's strong enough to stop her thrashing and he's done a pretty good job of chasing the nightmares away even without his gifts."

"I had no idea," Sarah responded sheepishly.

"It surprised us, too," Martha replied. "Anyway, she's not just some stranger. She's family - Clark's biological cousin. He's not giving her up without a fight, and as far as I'm concerned, she really is my granddaughter. I already love her that much. Our problem is that we're trying to document her identity so that he can keep her. He's planted documents overseas to match our cover story, but we're still going to need a DNA test to prove she's his, which presents a problem."

"Because she's not biologically his," Ben guessed.

"Well, that's part of it," Martha elaborated. "The bigger problem is that their DNA isn't human, and the labs are bound to pick up on that. But if we could swap out the DNA samples taken from Clark and Kara with samples from you and Sarah..."

"Say no more," Ben quickly consented. "We'd be honored to help, wouldn't we?"

"Of course," Sarah agreed quietly. "Anything we can do."

"Thank you," Martha told them sincerely. She paused to sip her tea, and then turned her gaze to Susan Rivers. "The other problem is the childhood immunizations that she'll need for school, since no needle can penetrate her skin." she continued. "When Clark was little, Doctor Evans over in Chanute took care of that for us. He was an old friend of Jonathan's, and he just filled out the immunization card for us."

"I suppose we could do that," Susan concluded. She smiled up at Martha, and told her, "Though, if you want my professional opinion, I think it would be easier in the long run if we established that your granddaughter was allergic to eggs."

"Eggs?" Martha repeated. "Why would that matter?"

"Martha, do you remember that form you have to fill out every fall for your flu shot?" Susan asked. "It always asks about egg allergies, because the vaccine is grown in egg cultures. If you're allergic, the egg protein in the vaccine could cause a dangerous, potentially fatal reaction. The same thing holds true for many of the childhood vaccinations."

"So if we say Kara's allergic to eggs, she doesn't need to get the shot?" Martha inquired.

Susan nodded, "When I get back to the clinic, I'll start a file for her," Susan decided. "When Clark and Kara move back to Metropolis, we'll send that file to her pediatrician, and I think that should be enough to get the medical exemption paperwork through for her."

"Thank you so much," Martha acknowledged emotionally. "I really don't know what to say."

"Martha, what about getting Kara professional help?" Ben asked gently. "I know I said I wouldn't pester you about that, but based on what I just heard, she needs it even more than I thought when we talked about it before."

"Clark and I have discussed it," Martha informed him. "The problem is the family secret. In order to be of any help, a psychologist is going to need to know what she's been through, and he's uneasy about revealing their origins. Telling you folks was hard enough for him, even though we've known all of you for decades and knew we could trust you. How do we decide if someone we know nothing about can carry the burden of this secret?"

"I wish I had a good answer for that, but the people I know in the field, I know mostly by reputation," Susan commented. "Though, I guess you could say I know people who know people... I can make some calls, and maybe get a few candidates for you to take a closer look at. I expect that someone will pass muster and will be able to help Kara."

"I suppose that's about the best we can hope for," Martha said quietly, her eyes moist. "I don't think we're ever going to be able to repay you for your kindness."

"Well, if you can just cut each of us a small slice of that cherry pie we spotted on our way through the kitchen, I'd call it even," Ben suggested mirthfully. "That'd be a small slice of heaven, there."

Martha laughed lightly at the suggestion. "I was saving that for after dinner, but I think you've all earned a piece."



Clark focused his vision and hearing on the Kent house fifty miles ahead as they approached low above the cornfields. Martha was chatting casually with Ben and Sarah, sharing some tales of his childhood with them. A quick glance up the road confirmed that Susan was on the way back to her clinic.

He looked over to his right at Kara and instructed her, "All right, honey, we need to slow down before we get to the house. Try to match your speed with mine." He dramatically slowed his speed and Kara zoomed ahead of him, unable to slow her speed so quickly. When she came within one hundred yards of the house, he accelerated to super-speed to catch her, and held tightly onto her as he slowed to a stop ten feet away from the back door.

"I couldn't stop in time," Kara told him apologetically.

"You just need a little more practice," Clark encouraged her. "Look at how much you've improved in the past few days... Just to be safe, though, I don't want you using powers unless I'm around, okay?"

"Okay."

Clark guided her through the back door and called out with false worry, "Is it safe to come in?" A beat later, he cheerfully announced, "Oh, you cut into the pie!"

"Hold on, I'll get you a piece," Martha offered, rising from her chair.

"You don't have to get up, Ma," Clark insisted. "I can get it. Kara, would you please get the forks?"

"Just don't take the whole thing," Martha admonished. "So, where'd you two go?"

"The Canadian Rockies," Clark answered from the kitchen. "It's relatively quiet there." Clark stepped into the room carrying two plates of pie and set one of them in front of Kara, who eagerly dug in. He turned to his mother and asked, "How did everything go here?"

"I think we've got a handle on everything," Martha answered happily. "Ben and Sarah will help with the DNA, and Sue will take care of the immunization records. Sue also might be able to come up with a list of names for us on the psychological matter, though we're still going to have to do a little homework on them."

"That's probably the best we could hope for," Clark commented humbly. He sat down, and looked over at their guests. "I really can't say enough to thank you for your help."

"Really, Clark, there's no need," Ben insisted, waving him off. "You're practically family."

Sarah's head snapped up at her father's statement, her eyes growing wide. "Oh, my God," she muttered. She looked over at Clark in astonishment, and explained, "I just realized that in a couple months, I'm going get Superman for a brother." Ben and Martha both chuckled at her reaction.

"Sarah," Clark said gently. "When my mom marries your dad, you'll get Clark Kent for a step-brother. What you see here is the real me. Superman is just my nom de guerre, a celebrity persona I created to protect the family from the vultures."

"Grandma's getting married?" Kara asked inquisitively.

"Yes, sweetheart, Ben and I are getting married," Martha told her gently, as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "That means he can be a grandfather of sorts to you, if you want him to be. And Becky can be like a cousin."

"Oh," Kara replied neutrally, returning her attention to the pie.

After a moment's pause, Ben casually said, "Speaking of Superman... I was wondering when the world will see him back up in the sky. I can't imagine that it will be too long before you're back in action."

Clark leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "To be honest, I really haven't thought much about it since I got back," he said thoughtfully. Looking over at Kara, he added quietly, "I've had other things on my mind."

"Yes, I imagine you have," Ben acknowledged.

"Well, you are eventually going to have to get back to a regular routine," Martha insisted. "Kara should be ready to join the other kids in school soon, I think."

"We're not quite ready for that yet," Clark countered.

"It's not going to take much longer before she's caught up enough in her lessons to keep up at school," Martha pointed out. "And you said that she's really done well with the powers training. Sounds to me like she's almost ready, and once she's back in school, you'll be able to go back to work. Didn't your old boss say that you'd be able to come back?"

"Where are you going to go?" Kara asked anxiously.

"Nowhere yet, Kara," Clark assured her. "But I used to work writing stories for a newspaper out East."

"Like my bedtime stories?" Kara asked innocently.

"It's a little different, honey," Clark explained gently. "I wrote what was happening in the world so that people would know about it." Turning to his mother, he informed her seriously, "Perry said I'd be 'eligible for rehire'. There were no guarantees."

"Well, you've got nothing to lose by calling him," Martha suggested gently.

"I suppose you're right..." Clark stated noncommittally. "But I'm not going back to work until I'm sure Kara's ready for it."

"It doesn't have to be that dramatic a change, Clark," Martha offered. "You could continue to live here and commute to Metropolis, if that makes it easier."

Clark nodded in acknowledgement, and promised, "I'll give Perry a call later this afternoon, and find out what my options are. If there's nothing available there, maybe I can find something closer to home."

"I'm sure things will work out, either way," Ben suggested optimistically. "And even if it doesn't, you have family here to help out, and that includes us now."

"I appreciate that, Ben, I really do," Clark told him sincerely. He sighed deeply, and candidly admitted, "To be perfectly honest, all of this still seems a little weird to me."

"Excuse me," Sarah replied mirthfully. "You think this seems weird to you?"

Clark smirked at the implication, and conceded, "Well, I guess it's weird for you, too. But from my perspective, I'm just not used to being the one needing help. I'm usually the one flying in for the rescue."

"You'll be back to that soon enough," Ben assured him. "I imagine the public is in for a rather pleasant surprise when Superman returns."

Clark frowned as he considered Ben's rhetorical question. I wonder how Lois is going to react, he thought. She seemed pretty angry, if that editorial was any indication. I might be in a little trouble...

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