Superman Movieverse Forum

The news came over the limousine’s radio – after the horror of Luthor’s the attack in the Daily Planet newsroom, a car bomb had gone off in the adjacent parking garage.

It was just one more shock in a day filled with horrible shocks.

Before getting into Bruce Wayne’s waiting limousine, the billionaire had taken her and Jason to the nearest lady’s lounge and had them both change clothes from the skin out. She found she wasn't surprised that he had replacements ready, in their exact sizes.  He took Jason’s book bag and his med-alert bracelet as well as Lois’s jewelry, including her ear studs, and her purse.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been worried about the fact he seemed so prepared. But these weren’t normal circumstances.

“Where are we going?” Lois finally asked the driver.  He was elderly with a pleasant face and a British accent.

“To Wayne Manor, mum,” the driver answered. “You and the lad can stay there until Mister Wayne has things arranged for you.”

“You mean he doesn’t have everything already figured out?” Lois asked.

The driver chuckled. “We have tried, but I’m afraid some things simply had to be improvised.”

It was an hour drive from Metropolis to the Wayne estate outside Gotham City. Jason fell asleep soon after they hit the freeway, leaving Lois alone with her thoughts. Clark was Superman. The shy, inconsequential farm boy Perry had saddled her with so many years ago had a part-time job as a superhero. She knew she’d slept with Superman, and that Jason was, in fact, his son. She remembered having dinner in a crystal cathedral, remembered his rapt expression as she slipped out of her clothes to stand naked before him. She remembered his kisses – first shy then growing in sureness.

But how she had gotten to the crystal cathedral in the first place was a blank, as was her return to Metropolis. She did have an odd memory, or was it a dream, of firing her pistol at Clark. ‘I risked my life instead of yours,’ she heard herself say to him. She fired her gun and he stayed standing. Had she known about him then, she wondered. Had she known she was making love to Clark when they were in the crystal palace?

A news report came on and Alfred, the driver, turned up the volume. “More on the brutal attack that took place in the Daily Planet newsroom this afternoon. The victim, Clark Kent, a senior staffer for the paper, was declared dead on arrival at Metropolis General Hospital. His attackers, who witnesses claim included convicted terrorist Lex Luthor, are still at large. It is unclear whether or not the attack on Kent is related to the car bomb that claimed the lives of fellow staffer Lois Lane and her young son less than an hour later.”

“A car bomb?” Lois repeated. She glanced down to make sure Jason was still asleep.

“Yes, mum,” Alfred said, keeping his voice low. “Wayne Security found two of Luthor’s people watching the car. Apparently, Luthor planned to grab the boy, kill you and make it look like you were both killed in the explosion. Brilliant plan if I must say so, but luckily, we got there first.”

“That’s why Mister Wayne…”

“If Luthor believes his plan backfired and killed you both, we have a much greater chance of keeping you two alive until we can deal with the bastard.”

“And what can Bruce Wayne do to ‘deal with the bastard’? Lois asked. Everyone knew that Wayne was a womanizing, self-centered fop. His one talent appeared to be that he knew what he was and surrounded himself with brilliant administrators who actually ran his businesses for him.

‘Clark is a very good friend of mine, and I promised him I would do everything in my power to keep you and your son safe,’ Wayne had said. Had she misjudged the billionaire playboy?

Alfred chuckled. “You might be surprised at what Mister Wayne can do, Ms. Lane.”



Alfred drove the limo past the helicopter parked on the lawn, and into a garage that was larger than most suburban houses. The doors closed automatically behind the car and Alfred ushered Lois and Jason through a side door and down a passageway to the main house.

Bruce Wayne was waiting for them in the house. “Welcome to my home, Ms. Lane.” He was wearing fresh clothes but there was a white bandage on his forehead. “I’ll show you to your rooms,” he added.

“Uh, sir?” Alfred interrupted, gesturing to his own forehead.

Wayne gave him a sheepish grin. “I was a little close when the bomb went off. But it did increase my believability when I told the police I had seen our guests get in the car before it went up. By the way, Alfred, you need to get onto the insurance company. The blast totaled the Lamborghini, too.”

“Yes, sir. They’ll be thrilled to hear about that.”

“I’m sure they will. Oh, how was the drive?”

“We were tailed when we left the building, but they didn’t follow us onto the freeway,” Alfred reported. “It seemed rather amateurish, actually. I think the first one wanted me to know they were watching.”

Wayne nodded and Lois had the impression he wasn't surprised by Alfred’s report. After a moment Wayne beckoned Lois and Jason to follow him to the third floor. He unlocked an oak door and ushered them through, handing Lois the key.

“The old house simply had a lot of bedrooms,” Wayne said as Lois looked around the first room. It was a sitting room rather than a bedroom. “When we rebuilt it, I had them arranged into suites,” Wayne continued.  “Two bedrooms and a shared bath. I don’t have that many visitors staying over, and the ones that do prefer their privacy. Alfred likes serving dinner at seven and he gets annoyed when people are late. Other than that, we don’t stand much on formality when it’s just us.”

He turned to leave.

“Mister Wayne? How long will we be your guests? I mean, when can we go back home?”

He regarded her evenly. “First, I think we’re beyond Ms. Lane and Mister Wayne, don’t you? And as for the other part… As far as the world is concerned, you and your son are dead. Now, you can walk out the front door here and try to go back to your life in Metropolis, but if you do, no one, not Superman, not the Batman, no one, will be able to keep Luthor from carrying out his plans for you and your son. And I will tell you something even Clark didn’t realize. In the event Luthor or someone like him does get control of Superman’s son… Luthor’s not the only one with kryptonite bullets.”

There was a chilling finality in his expression as he closed the door, leaving her alone with her son.

What the hell do I do now?


Bruce was as charming as ever when Lois and Jason came down for dinner. It was as if the earlier threat had come from someone else wearing the billionaire’s face.

Lois was told that she and Jason had the freedom of the house but it was recommended they not leave the confines of the mansion. Even though the mansion was set well away from any roads there was still the chance that someone with a high powered telescope could catch sight of them. Lois didn’t bother to point out that if someone had that kind of technology, they could certainly see through the mansion’s large windows. Then she realized that all the windows were silvered – no one could see inside unless the glass was backlit. She also suspected that measures had been taken to foil parabolic microphones and other similar technologies.

Bruce Wayne liked his privacy for more than she would have guessed, considering his public persona. But it fit the Bruce Wayne she’d seen up in the suite. The one who thought the Batman was more than just an urban legend or a criminal vigilante. The one who seemed to know a lot about things a playboy wouldn’t normally know.

She put on a brave smile for Jason. The day had been traumatic enough for him. There was no need for him to know about her worries.

The next morning Lois woke up half expecting to find the nightmare of the day before to have been just that – a nightmare. But it hadn’t been. She was in a suite in Wayne Manor with Jason. Clark was dead and everyone thought she and Jason were too. Richard… He must be devastated.  And Lucy and Mom and Dad…

Jason was curled up in her bed, buried under the blankets with just the top of his head showing. Lois decided to leave him be. She grabbed the baby monitor receiver from the night table and headed downstairs to find some coffee.

She found Alfred, and fresh coffee, in the kitchen. It was still early and part of her wanted to gulp down the coffee and start working on… whatever. She’d been in the middle of a story on corruption in the building inspector’s office. After the devastation Luthor had caused with his ‘island’, some contractors were cutting corners while rushing to put up housing and offices to replace what had been lost. But the only way the contractors could get away with it was with the collusion of the city inspectors.

Someone else would be finishing her story. Someone else would be finishing all her stories.

“Sleep well, mum?” Alfred asked.

“Not really,” Lois admitted as she sipped her coffee. “Do you have any idea how long we need to stay here?”

“With any luck we should have things squared away in a week or so,” Alfred said.  “Would you like some breakfast?”

“No, thank you,” Lois said. A copy of the Daily Planet was folded over on the breakfast table along with several other newspapers.  Bruce read the Daily Planet? Of course he did – he owned it.

She unfolded it to reveal the front page. ‘Superman Murdered’ the headline said. Below the headline was one of Jimmy’s photos of Superman – the iconic one of him holding the Daily Planet globe on his shoulders like Atlas. Next to it was a shot of his bloodied body in the rubble as rescue workers looked on in horror. Noel’s byline was on the story.

The front page of the Metro section also had a large headline and photos. ‘Daily Planet Journalists Murdered.’ The articles were accompanied by staff photos of her and Clark. Below them were more photos – one of the burned out Audi and another of Luthor standing over Clark’s body in the newsroom. Luthor’s pistol was clearly visible in his hand. How Jimmy managed to get that photo was nothing short of a miracle.

“Luthor and two of his thugs were picked up this morning,” Bruce said as he walked in. He poured himself a coffee and sat down opposite Lois at the table. “He practically gave himself up. Now he’s claiming that he was set up by the Planet and that Superman’s death is a hoax to cover up the fact that Superman was Clark Kent.”

“It hardly matters if they’re both dead,” Lois pointed out.

“Very true,” Bruce agreed. “But what about his mother?”

“His mother?”

Bruce reached for one of the other newspapers on the breakfast table. He handed it to her. This one was from Wichita. There was an article below the fold with a small photo of Clark and an elderly woman. The photo next to it was of a burnt out farmhouse. That headline read ‘Slain Journalist’s Home Destroyed, Mother Murdered – possible gangland connections.’

Lois looked over at Bruce, hardly able to breathe. Luthor had Clark’s mother murdered as well?

Bruce seemed to read her mind. “We got her and her companion out in time,” he said. “We knew something was going down. Smallville is a very small town and it was noticed when strangers showed up asking questions about Clark and his family. It became even more suspicious when the courthouse records room was broken into. Nothing was taken, but still…”

He sighed. “As I said, Smallville is a very small town and Martha had a lot of friends looking out for her.”

“Where is she now?” Lois asked. “Does she know about Clark?”

“She’s safe,” Bruce answered. Lois noticed that he didn’t answer her second question.

Any further musings were interrupted by a wail coming from the baby monitor: “Mommy!”



It took several minutes for Lois to get Jason calmed down. He had woken up in a strange bed in a strange house and had, not surprisingly, panicked.

“Where’s Daddy?” he kept repeating. “Why didn’t he come too?”

Lois found herself at a loss to explain to her son why Richard, the only father he had ever known, wasn't with them. But then, she wasn't completely sure of the answers herself.

“I know we can’t go back to Metropolis until Luthor’s been ‘neutralized’,” she said to Bruce, “but can we at least let Richard know we’re safe?”

“Lois, we don’t know who Luthor’s told about Jason being… well, you know,” Bruce told her. “Metropolis won’t be safe for Jason any time soon.”

“I wasn’t meaning we should just waltz into the danger zone and say ‘Hi honey, sorry to scare you like that…’” Lois said. “Just send him a note that we’re okay, that we’re in witness protection, and we’ll try to get in touch. Is that too much to ask?”

Bruce sighed. “I’ll run it past my security people, but I’m not sure they’ll go for it,” he said. “They say that a clean break is best.”



Bruce was scarce for several days, although the gossip columns documented the parties he’d been seen at. When he finally did show up, he seemed remarkably chipper. “Luthor was arraigned today,” he announced with a smile. “Multiple counts of conspiracy to commit murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault and assault with intent to kill… and those are just the beginning. The state of Kansas and the Feds haven’t weighed in yet with their charges, yet.”

“So, how soon before we can stop worrying about him?” Lois asked.

“Soon, I hope. But considering he managed to wriggle his way out to two consecutive life sentences…”

“You’re not holding out much hope?”

He shook his head. “One thing, though. My security people are not completely averse to giving your fiancé a note letting him know you and Jason are safe. I can deliver it to him during the memorial for Superman this afternoon. In fact, they’re not completely averse to you attending the ceremony, so long as you wear a disguise and don’t approach anyone you used to know.”

“I can do that,” she assured him.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I can do that.”