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Mr. Beeto
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Family Reunion - 12/?
Aug 15th, 2008 at 10:44pm
 
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:

Please note that in this universe, Metropolis is not in Kansas, nor is it a replacement for New York City. Instead, it's on the Eastern Seaboard, in Sussex County, Delaware, just north of where Slaughter Beach is in the real universe. Imagine it larger that Los Angeles, but smaller than New York City, in terms of population, and taking a significant percentage of real estate out of the Jersey Shore.

Also, once again, my special thanks to the remarkable beta team of htbthomas and Shado Librarian.

Chapter 12 - Back in Action

Monday, September 25, 2006 8:30AM EDT

Superman chose a circuitous route to Metropolis, circling far to the North, and approaching the city from the Atlantic, in order to avoid the telltale sonic booms over the city that had indicated his presence in years past. He focused his vision at the shoreline over Hobbs Bay and zoomed low and fast over the water before coming to a stop inside a parking garage near the docks, leaving only a faint offshore sonic boom to betray his approach. He blurred into his tweed suit, walked down the stairs to the street and joined the crowd on the sidewalk.

Clark's thoughts during the four block walk to the subway station were with Kara, as had been the case every morning for the past two weeks. She was still having nightmares - Friday night's had been another bad one - and she still shed frequent tears for her late parents. However, she seemed to like school since starting the previous Wednesday. He had monitored her from the farmhouse, and she seemed to be fitting in and making friends. He wouldn't be able to monitor this morning, however. It would take the sound waves from Smallville over an hour and a half to reach Metropolis. Maybe I should have asked for another week before starting back, he pondered. How'd I let Mom talk me into coming back so soon?

He reflected that the whole town of Smallville was abuzz over his mother's wedding plans, now that the news was out, and it seemed to have a positive effect on Kara. Though she wasn't showing any overt signs of excitement, she was now calling Ben "Grandpa," and was calling Ben's children and their spouses "Aunt" and "Uncle." She'd quickly accepted them as family. He was the only one she had trouble with. She'd accepted him as her dad, but that was not the same thing to her as her father. If anyone made the mistake of referring to him as her father, she immediately corrected them. Her father was dead - Clark was her dad. Well, all things considered, that's probably rather minor, Clark concluded. Still, the sooner she sees the psychologist, the better.

Doc Rivers had come through on the psychological front, which Clark was extremely grateful for. Her friends in the field had provided enough recommendations and background information to lead them to Dr. Praveena Gupta in San Jose, California. After some additional research and covert eavesdropping, he'd been satisfied enough to set up an appointment. Kara would finally begin her counseling after school that afternoon. I hope that she gets over the shock of having Superman in her office quickly, Clark thought. That time needs to be spent helping Kara. Clark was so distracted by his thoughts that he'd almost missed the subway station, coming to an abrupt stop to the perturbation of the pedestrians behind him. He muttered his apologies and descended the stairs to continue his commute.

-o-o-o-


The yacht Gertrude finally made the turn between the barrier islands that marked the entrance to Hobbs Bay, and Stanford reduced the ship's speed to five knots to navigate through the narrow seaway. After spending the better part of the last month at sea, the Metropolis skyline was a sight for sore eyes, though it would still take another half hour to reach the Vanderworth pier on the south end of the city and finally get their legs on dry land. Fortunately, the seas had been considerably calmer than even a few days ago, though everyone on board was anxious for the end of their journey.

Just about all of them had been going out of their minds with boredom, with the sole exception of Lex Luthor, who had sequestered himself in the ballroom shortly after leaving Superman's fortress and spent virtually every waking moment reading through the books and magazine articles that he'd downloaded over the satellite link. He had been making plans for extracting his well-deserved wealth and power from the crystal treasure. Luthor's first project would be reclaiming land from the sea, and the most natural model to emulate would be that of the Palm Islands project in Dubai, which he was reviewing to extrapolate their lucrative financial model to his project. He foresaw a similarly exclusive clientele, with the exception being that he'd be able to demand far higher rates, since his clients' only alternative was oblivion.

Lex detected the change in motion, and checked his watch. Once I finish this project, I'm simply going to have to develop more effective transportation, Lex pondered. I'll make that a priority once I've grown Luthorland, and have a new console to interrogate Jor-El. Lex returned to his research notes, and reviewed his plan for verifying the effectiveness of Kryptonian crystal growth.

-o-o-o-


Clark could only conclude that there was some evil influence behind all of the paperwork he had to fill out before starting anything remotely resembling work. Tax forms, non-competition agreements, insurance forms and a plethora of other forms to confirm that he read and understood one corporate policy or another. It had taken nearly an hour to get through all of the forms before human resources sent him to the IT department for his laptop, and then finally up to the bullpen. He had been surprised to learn that he was to report to assistant editor Sam Foswell, instead of Perry. Apparently, there had been a reorganization of the department a few years ago, and only the assistant editors now reported to Perry. Everyone else reported up through one of the AEs. One more thing that changed while I was away, Clark contemplated.

Clark was pulled from his ruminations by the sharp ding of the elevator bell announcing his floor. He nervously stepped into the lobby and scanned the bullpen. The old metal desks had been replaced with modern cubicles, but it was otherwise just as he remembered it. He took in the loud din and near pandemonium of movement and allowed himself a smile. Well, at least some things never change, he thought as he maneuvered his way through the aisle, exaggerating his movements almost instinctively. He bumped into a few things, nearly but never quite knocking them over, apologizing profusely as he passed.

"Hey, be careful," a familiar voice complained. Jimmy Olsen's expression turned to one of surprise when he turned around and recognized his old friend. "Mister Clark!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I mean, Kent, Mister Kent. Clark. You're back. I don't believe it. Wow."

"Thanks, Jimmy," Clark replied sincerely. "It's good to b-"

"Welcome back. Hey, wait here."

Well, that was strange, Clark thought. Jimmy definitely looked older, now in his mid-twenties, not so much a kid anymore, even if his reaction to seeing an old friend belied that impression. Same old Jimmy, Clark concluded happily.

"Clark," Jimmy called. He held out a greeting card to Clark. "Go ahead, take it. It's from all of us," Jimmy encouraged him.

Clark looked down at the briefcase he held in his right hand and the laptop case in the left, before looking back up to Jimmy. "Maybe I should find my desk first," Clark suggested.

"Oh, right," Jimmy acknowledged sheepishly. "It's over h-"

"Olsen!" Perry voiced bellowed as he approached them. "Where are those photos? Composing needs them now!"

"Right away, Chief," Jimmy promised. "Hey, look who's back."

Perry looked at him, stifling a smile. "Kent," he barked.

Clark switched the briefcase to his left arm, and held out his hand. "Thanks, Chief," he said sincerely. "Thanks for giving me my old job back..."

"Thank Norm Palmer for dying," Perry responded gruffly, turning on his heel and heading back to his office without accepting the proffered hand.

Jimmy nodded and told Clark solemnly, "It was his time."

"Well, I do appreciate it, Ch-"

"And don't call me Chief!" Perry hollered as he continued marching back to his office.

"Your desk is right over here," Jimmy informed him, leading him to a cluttered cube. On the cube wall, there was a piece of paper pinned to it with his name on it. "They took away Norm's personal belongings, but we never got a chance to go through the rest of it," he explained.

"Olson!" Perry's voice bellowed again.

"Coming!"

Clark cleared a space on the desktop, plugged in his laptop and booted it before walking over to the coat closet to hang up his overcoat. Turning back to the bullpen, he searched the name plates on the cubes around him, identifying where his old colleagues sat, and making note of the new names. Finally, he spotted Lois' cube and he was irresistibly drawn to it, scanning it before he consciously realized it. He spotted the expected things: story notes, contacts lists, and even a Pulitzer award letter. Then, he noticed the unexpected: A family photo that included a man and child with Lois. He picked it up and scrutinized the unfamiliar faces in the picture.

"He looks a lot older now," Jimmy informed him, appearing out of nowhere. "Kids grow up so fast."

"His mother?"

"Oh, gee. That's right, you've been gone. Well, Clark, you better sit down because you're not going to believe this. Fearless reporter Lois Lane is a mommy." Clark felt every muscle in his body stiffen, his hands subtly twisting, cracking the glass in the process. He finally registered the crayon drawings on the cubicle walls.

Jimmy gently pulled the picture frame from Clark's hands. "Maybe I better take that," Jimmy suggested, adding casually, "I'm surprised she never told you."

"I haven't been reachable," he stated simply, making his best effort at a genuine smile before another thought intruded. "Wait, she's married?"

"Yep. Well, no. Not really. More like a prolonged engagement." Jimmy tried to explain. "But don't ask Miss Lane when they're tying the knot." Jimmy looked around and leaned in towards Clark, his voice falling to a conspiratorial whisper. "She hates that question."

Clark looked again at the picture Jimmy had taken from him. I really have lost her, he concluded. She has a family now. Aloud, he numbly asked, "Where is she, by the way?"

"Florida," Jimmy replied simply. "She's covering the Genesis launch at Cape Canaveral. They actually get to ride on the 777 that's carrying the shuttle to launch altitude." Jimmy turned and regarded his friend more carefully. "You all right?" he asked, suddenly concerned. "You look like you could use a drink. C'mon. Ace O'Clubs should be open by the time we get there."

"Huh?" Clark responded, dumbfounded. He complained in a loud whisper, "You can't be serious. It's not even ten o'clock in the morning." Who are you, and what have you done with the real Jimmy Olsen?

"Nobody will notice that we're gone," Jimmy assured him, waving him off. "Let's go."

"Jimmy!" Clark called in a loud whisper. "There's no way! It's my first day back, and I haven't even reported in with Sam, yet."

"You're sure?" Jimmy asked doubtfully.

"Positive," Clark informed him decisively. "I need to earn my stripes all over again."

"Well, okay, but I'm treating you to lunch," Jimmy insisted.

"Deal," Clark promised. "Now, I really need to check in with Sam."

-o-o-o-


Lex Luthor marched into the Vanderworth mansion with an expression of smug satisfaction on his face as Kitty and the men tiredly followed behind him. Though relieved to have their feet on solid ground, they were not all thrilled with the state of the mansion. The previously pristine residence was now coated with dust and cobwebs, with the distinct odor of the abandoned Pomeranians' urine permeating the air. "This place sure got creepy," Kitty complained.

"Would you rather wait on the yacht?" Lex asked shortly. He didn't give her a chance to answer before continuing, "We have what we need here. Downstairs, everyone. To the workshop."

Lex was grateful that Gertrude's late husband fancied himself a craftsman, and had a well equipped workshop in the mansion's basement. He handed the special growth crystal to Stanford, who carefully clamped it in a padded vice, bringing a small rotary cutting tool to one end. His approach was halted by Lex's hand on his shoulder. "Careful," Lex warned. "These aren't easy to come by. If you break it..." Stanford nodded at the implied threat, and returned to his task. He brought the spinning blade to the end of the crystal at an acute angle, and carefully sliced off a small sliver about the size of a grain of rice.

"It isn't very big, Lex," Kitty noted.

"It isn't the size that matters, Kitty," Lex replied arrogantly.

"Keep telling yourself that, Lex," Kitty commented sarcastically. "The rest of us know better."

Lex glared angrily at her. "Careful, Kitty, or you might learn what really does matter," he warned. He returned his attention to the crystal sliver, which Stanford had picked up with a pair of tweezers and carefully set in a plastic dish. "This is the seed that will grow my empire," Lex muttered as he examined the sliver. "Let's not keep destiny waiting..."

-o-o-o-


Clark's morning at The Planet had turned out to be a series of surprises and disappointments, rather than the comfortable routine he had hoped for. If the knowledge of Lois' family situation wasn't enough to ruin his day, his meeting with Sam Foswell certainly was. The assistant editor made it clear that had it been his decision, he would not have hired Clark back. Nothing personal, but the paper comes first and it wasn't in the paper's best interest to hire back someone who'd been away from the business for six years. Then, to add insult to injury, he'd assigned Clark to obituaries, the perennial punishment assignment. He'd been given a list of dozens of the living that they maintained obituaries for, just in case. After returning to his desk, Clark had stared at a blank computer screen for half an hour before finally shaking himself out of it. Might as well get this over with, he thought. He launched a Nexis search on his laptop, entered the first name from the list, "Morgan Edge", and scanned through the information needed to update the obituary.

It was almost one o'clock when Jimmy finally interrupted him. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he walked up. "I was stuck at City Hall for that news conference. You hungry?"

"Sure, where're we going?" Clark replied. Jimmy didn't answer, instead just shaking his head and waving for Clark to join him. Clark followed him out, and ten minutes later, the two were seated at the bar in the Ace O'Clubs, eating quesadillas, and washing it down with something from the bar - a Coke for Clark, and whiskey for Jimmy.

"So Lois is getting married," Clark commented morosely.

"Where'd you hear that?" Jimmy asked with the amusement apparent in his voice. At Clark's befuddled look, Jimmy whispered confidentially, "They've been engaged for five and half years, and she's refused to even think about wedding plans. They're not getting married. If you ask me, she's still in love with you-know-who."

"She is?" Clark asked hopefully.

"Probably. So, tell me more about this llama rodeo from your trip..."

Llama rodeo? Clark wondered. I'm really going to have to ask Mom what she put in those letters. "Um, there's really not much to tell," Clark said evasively. "To be honest, I've been kind of preoccupied with some personal matters lately."

"Everything okay?" Jimmy asked sincerely.

"Fine, Jimmy," Clark assured him. "It's just that my daughter's going through a tough time-"

"Daughter?" Jimmy exclaimed. "You didn't tell us you got married!"

"I, um... didn't," Clark explained nervously. "I didn't even know Kara was alive until after her mother passed away - I missed the first seven years. She's only been with me a couple weeks now, and it's been a difficult transition for her."

"Oh," Jimmy replied sheepishly. The two friends sat together in silence, watching the Metropolis Monarchs/Florida Marlins game on one of the televisions above the bar.

-o-o-o-


"So, her mom's entire side died in that tsunami?" Jimmy asked sympathetically. "The poor kid." After briefly watching the game in comfortable silence, Jimmy's curiosity and his third whiskey got the better of him, and he had starting asking questions about Clark's daughter. Clark was surprised to discover that he could share quite a bit without the family secret getting in the way.

"She's had some bad nightmares over her loss," Clark informed him. "We've been trying to end the day with something fun, to give her something else to think about, and I think Shelby - that's my mom's dog - she's really helped calm Kara, too, but... I'm not really sure how best to help her. Maybe the psychologist will have some answers. I've made an appointment for her after school today."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know," Jimmy insisted. "Bibbo! Another round-"

Jimmy's request was interrupted when the lights in the bar went dark. Clark quickly scanned the area and noticed that not only was the power out, all of the cars in the area had gone dead, too. An electromagnetic pulse? Clark wondered. No shockwave, so hopefully not from a nuke. But what else could cause it? I'd better check this out. He was about to sneak out to investigate when the power came back on, though three of the four televisions in the bar remained dark, and the sole functional set had a screen full of static.

"Hey, my cell phone's dead!" a woman across the bar complained.

"Mine, too!"

"Does anybody's phone work?"

Clark checked his own cell phone, looking through it with his vision and identifying the pock-marked scarring on its circuitry that was indicative of EMP damage. "This doesn't look good," Clark concluded.

"Let me stop in the men's room, and then we'll head back," Jimmy suggested. Clark nodded, and extended his senses across the city to determine the scope of the problem while his pal moved slowly to the restrooms.

It seems to be mostly a nuisance problem so far, Clark concluded. He'd discovered quite a few traffic lights out, disabled cars, and heard countless complaints about non-functional cell phones. The bullpen at The Planet was also struggling to determine what was going on, though their efforts were hampered by a dead phone system, a down computer network, some fried laptops, and apparently all of the televisions in the bullpen had fried. Perry had the only functional television in his office, which was tuned into GNN. The breaking news that anchor Alicia Myers was presenting wasn't good.

"This just in," she announced. "The inaugural flight of the Genesis shuttle appears to be experiencing extremely serious technical difficulties. Reports are just coming in, but it appears the shuttle's boosters have fired before detaching from the Boeing 777 jet, veering both craft dramatically off course and out of control. It is feared that when the secondary boosters fire, both craft will be endangered."

Lois is on that plane, Clark remembered. He briefly looked back towards the restrooms, then threw a couple twenties on the table and ran out the door. A moment later, a thunderous sonic boom shook the windows of downtown Metropolis, marking Superman's departure as he zoomed south in pursuit of the wayward shuttle.

-o-o-o-


He's back. Oh, dear God, he's really back, Lois thought. The blue blur past the window and footsteps on the roof weren't just her wishful thinking. The other passengers had seen him, too: On the right wing, before it broke off, and zooming past the windows ahead of the plane afterwards. It was also the only explanation for their somewhat controlled, albeit turbulent, descent despite having lost both wings. The plane's sharp yawing spin had stopped, its roll was slowing and they seemed to be on a relatively steady downward pitch. There was also the increasing weight she felt against her as the plane decelerated, and there was only one explanation for a plane in such a state to be decelerating. He's back. He's really back. Boy, does he ever have some explaining to do!

The passengers suddenly lurched forward as a final opposing force pushed back against the plane, before they were suddenly relieved of the extra burden. The plane seemed to have stopped nearly vertically on its nose - yet more evidence of his return. They stayed suspended like that for only a moment before the plane slowly tipped back down on its belly, and slammed into the ground. Hey, take it easy there! Lois complained to herself. Not all of us are invulnerable.

Everyone seemed to have been stunned motionless by their unexpected survival, and the only sound penetrating the cabin was that of the front left door's emergency handle turning to the side. The door opened and released the inflatable emergency slide as he floated across the threshold. "Is everyone all right?" he asked gently, methodically moving his gaze from one side of the fuselage to the other as he scanned for injuries. Everyone nodded in unison, and Lois rose to her feet.

"I suggest you all stay in your seats until the authorities arrive," he advised them. He again looked over the passengers, and finally noticed Lois standing at her seat. "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly. The other passengers turned and looked over at her as one.

Okay? Lois thought. Sure, I was only tossed around the plane like a rag doll. And by the way, where the hell have you been these past six years? She opened her mouth to voice those thoughts, but all that came out was a tiny squeak.

For a moment, it looked like he was going to come down the aisle to her, but he caught himself, smirking as he turned to the rest of the passengers and advised them mirthfully, "Well, I hope this little incident hasn't put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel."

So he remembered, Lois thought. Not so hard when you've got total recall. What, was that supposed to be some kind of stupid inside joke to put me at ease? Jerk. In the front of the plane, Superman turned towards the door and the other journalists suddenly found their voices, calling to him, "Superman! Superman!"

He simply nodded to the passengers, and walked over to the open the door. The moment he stepped into the doorway, a raucous cheer erupted from outside the door, followed by the chants: "Su - per - man! Su - per - man! Su - per - man! ..."

What, did he bring his own freaking cheering section along? Lois thought. She finally remembered herself, and bolted down the aisle after him, pushing some of her colleagues aside to squeeze by. Wait, she silently commanded. You're not getting away that easily. She finally came up behind him, reaching out to him just as he lifted up into the air. She craned her neck up and mutely watched him rise into the sky. Wait, she thought to him again as he finally zoomed out of sight, leaving only a sonic boom behind. Finally, she lowered her head, briefly registering that he'd set the plane down in a crowded baseball stadium. Then the lights went out, as fearless reporter Lois Lane fainted and fell down the emergency slide.

-o-o-o-


Lex Luthor inspected the giant crystals that now filled the mansion's basement. They had left no trace of Vanderworth's precious train set, or much of anything else. They had also penetrated the ceiling near the center of the growth, though not by more than a few feet, if Lex had guessed correctly, which he usually did. He carefully stepped over the fissures in the floor, mentally recalling the rudimentary formulas that Superman's old man had provided to estimate the growth that the full crystal would produce. Perfect, Lex concluded. There's no sign of Vanderworth's mini-Metropolis. All of it swallowed up by my mini-Lutherland. No survivors. No bodies. No mess. Simply perfection.

"Is that what it was supposed to do?" Kitty asked in amazement. "Grow a crystal mountain and destroy a toy train set?"

"It's not just a mountain," Lex explained enigmatically. "It's a taste of things to come."

"What things?"

"It's advanced alien technology and vast amounts of prime new beachfront property."

"I don't understand," Kitty complained.

"Of course not," Lex replied condescendingly. "A small mind like yours is not going to grasp the genius of my plans."

"Then explain it to us," Kitty insisted irritably.

"Small doses for small minds," Lex commented. Turning to Reilly, he asked, "Did you get it all?"

"Yep, and still rolling," Reilly confirmed.

He turned to Stanford and ordered, "I want precise measurements of the volume of the crystal growth. Get started." Lex then turned on his heel, and began walking up the stairs, pausing only momentarily to shout over his shoulder, "Kitty! Where's my martini?"

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« Last Edit: May 15th, 2009 at 5:56pm by Mr. Beeto »  
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