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:
Thanks again to the beta team of htbthomas and Shado Librarian, a.k.a. dandello.

Chapter 29 – Dinner Guests

Monday, October 2, 2006 4:35PM EDT
Lois had pulled her chair over to Clark’s desk for a final review of their top story before submitting it into the approval queue.  The District Attorney had announced the indictments, as expected, but had offered little more information than the men’s names.  Lois and Clark had tied them back to Luthor in their story, relying heavily on anonymous police sources and the willing cooperation of the parole officers involved, who objected vociferously to the early parole.  Clark patiently waited for Lois to re-read the text and to prompt him to page down.

After several minor edits to the story, both reporters were finally satisfied and Clark concluded, “I think that’s about as good as it’s going to get.”

“I would be nice if we could have tied it into the suspected parole board corruption,” Lois complained.

“We don’t have enough for that yet,” Clark reminded her.  “For now, we’ll have to make do with pointing out their early release.  Hopefully, we’ll have enough to go after the parole board after we get the board’s response to our Freedom of Information Act request.  That’ll probably be a few days, though.  Legal just filed the paperwork this morning.”

  “That’s going to be a lot to pour through,” Lois complained.

“I should be able to pull out the important stuff quickly enough,” Clark insisted.  “We already have a pretty good idea what we’re going to find, so we should be able to start on the story outline in the morning.”

“In the morning?  Are you leaving already?”

“Kara’s got a doctor’s appointment,” Clark informed.  At Lois’ pointed look, he quickly clarified, “Psychologist.  Every Monday at two o’clock.”

“It’s already past four thirty,” Lois pointed out.

Clark lowered his voice to a whisper and informed her, “Pacific time.  I have another twenty minutes.”  He paused for a moment and cautiously asked, “Jason’s in day care this afternoon?”

“Yeah,” Lois answered quietly.  “I have until six to get him, and then we’ll need to figure out something for dinner.  With Richard still in Chicago, it’ll probably end up just being take-out, and we have a limited selection with his food allergies.”

“We’ll be done with the psychologist by six and we’re planning lasagna tonight, if you want to join us,” Clark informed her hopefully.  “It’s gluten-free so Jason shouldn’t have a problem – my mom’s trying out a recipe she found online from the Celiac Foundation web site.”

Lois gave Clark a skeptical look and said sarcastically, “Oh, really?  And it just happens to be gluten-free.  Exactly what have you been planning, Smallville?”

Clark immediately flushed red and stammered, “Um, it’s, um, more for Kara’s sake –”

“For Kara?” Lois echoed skeptically.

“We’re about to spend an hour talking about the things that give her nightmares,” Clark told her seriously.  “I don’t want that to be the last thing she thinks about tonight.  Having you and Jason visit could be a very helpful distraction.”

Lois offered up a sad smile, and told him, “Then we’ll be there…  I assume this means your transportation issue is resolved?”

“Um, yeah.  I’ll tell you all about it later,” Clark confirmed.  “I need to get going.  Let’s plan on meeting back here at the Planet around a quarter after six and then to Mom’s for dinner.”

“Got it,” Lois said.  “Now one of us needs to get back to work.”  Clark nodded and offered her a goofy smile before quickly collecting his things and marching out to the elevator lobby while Lois returned to her desk.



Monday, October 2, 2006 6:15PM EDT
Lois opened the access door to the roof of the Daily Planet roof and guided Jason through with her.  She shifted the shoulder strap on her laptop bag and scanned the sky for Superman.  “He should be here soon, Munchkin,” Lois said with certainly.

“What’s Grandma Kent like?” Jason asked quietly.

“She’s a very nice lady, and she can’t wait to meet you,” Lois assured him.

“Do you think she’ll let me play with the animals?”

“Animals?”

“Kara said they have a goat, and chickens and a dog…”

“Oh.  Let’s wait until we get there.  Okay, kiddo?” Lois said gently as she continued to scan the sky.

Lois heard footsteps rushing up behind her, and turned her gaze to find Kara trotting up to them.  Clark was right behind her, still dressed in his ill-fitting tweed suit.  Lois knelt down as Kara reached them and pulled her into a hug.

“Well, hello there,” Lois greeted her cheerfully.  She released her from the hug and looked up at Clark, her brow wrinkling in confusion.  “Don’t you need to change?”

“Um, not really, no.  Our transportation is, um, downstairs,” he stammered.

Lois rolled her eyes and quietly muttered, “You could have explained that earlier.”  She stood and guided both children back towards the door.  “C’mon, kids.  Everyone back inside.”

Clark pressed the button for the lowest level of the underground parking deck while Lois observed Kara and Jason chattering away, exchanging stories from their day in school.  She smiled at the tableau briefly before shifting her attention to Clark.  “So…  you got some kind of souped up hot-rod parked downstairs?” she asked hopefully.

Clark smiled mischievously and asked mirthfully, “You wouldn’t want me to spoil the surprise, would you?”

“At least give me a hint,” Lois insisted.

“It’s really out of this world.”

“Oh, that helps a lot,” Lois replied sarcastically.  “And nobody’s going to be able to track us?”

“Not likely.” Clark assured her, his grin growing wider.  “Just wait.  I think you’ll like it.”  He turned his attention to the children, leaving Lois to wonder what he had waiting for them downstairs.  Finally, a sharp ding announced their arrival and Clark led them out of the elevator and through the door into stairwell.  He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and knelt down in front of Jason, asking seriously, “You remember our talk about keeping secrets?”

“Uh-huh,” Jason assured him.

“Well, this is so secret, that you need to use a magic word.  Do you know any magic words?”

“Um, Abra Kadabra?” Jason suggested.

“Nuh-uh, it’s ‘Open Sesame’,” Kara chimed in.

“Open Sesame?” Jason parroted.

“Yep,” Clark confirmed.  “Now, look over there and tell me what you see,” Clark instructed him as he pointed to the concrete slab at the bottom of the stairwell.”

“Clark, there’s nothing there,” Lois insisted.

Clark smiled mischievously and told his son, “Jason, put your hand on that wall, and say the magic word.”

Jason obediently put his hand on the wall and dramatically said, “Open Sesame!”  Lois gasped as the concrete floor dematerialized to reveal a crystal staircase leading down another flight.  “Cool!” Jason squealed and he ran down the stairs with Kara right behind him.

Clark stood up and held his arm out towards the crystal staircase, inviting Lois to join them.  After a moment’s hesitation, she followed the children down the steps.  As she passed Clark, she turned to him and asked insistently, “Clark, what is this?”

“It’s a Kryptonian transportation portal,” he whispered.

“Transportation portal as in ‘beam me up, Scotty’?”

Clark chuckled and replied, “Not exactly.  If you’re talking Star Trek, it’s more akin to a turbolift than a transporter, though a better analogy would be the pneumatic tubes at the bank’s drive through windows or in the big warehouse stores.  Except this is much faster.”

“How much faster?”

“Mach twenty.  That translates to a six minute ride to Smallville, fourteen minutes to the Fortress, and about eleven minutes to San Jose, all thanks to a network of crystal transportation tunnels that we’ve grown a mile and half below the surface, with a handful of portals like this one topside to provide us with covert access.”

As Clark and Lois joined the children at the bottom of the stairs, Lois noticed a shadow over them and looked up in time to see the stairwell’s concrete floor rematerialize.  Immediately afterwards, a razor-thin wall of blue light passed from one wall to the other.

“What was that?” Lois asked, wide-eyed.

“Final security sweep,” Clark informed her.  “We’ve implemented some rather aggressive measures to prevent unauthorized access to the crystal transportation network, and prevent a repeat of what happened at the Fortress.  It’s practically foolproof.”

“That remains to be seen,” Lois insisted.

Clark reached out and swiped his hand across a pattern on the wall in front of them, and previously invisible doors spread open in front of them to reveal a small square chamber with a low padded bench along three of the walls.  Clark guided the others into the chamber and followed them in.  The doors slid shut behind him and as he sat down on the bench, he said, “Smallville, please.”

Lois heard an unexpected familiar male voice reply, “We will reach the destination in five minutes, fifty seconds.”

“That sounded like Jor-El,” Lois stated quietly.

“That is correct, Miss Lane,” Jor-El replied.  “I am actively monitoring the transportation portals.  In fact, I performed a preliminary identification on the four of you well before you arrived at the portal entrance.”

“How?”

“Visual recognition, thermal imaging, body mass and density measures, among other biometric identifiers,” Jor-El explained.

“And you think that’ll keep the riff-raff out?” Lois asked skeptically.

“The identification must be confirmed by the palm scan and verbal password before the stairs are exposed, and that identification is verified during the final scan, which also subdues any intruders and neutralizes any weapons or hazardous materials.”

“Well, I suppose that’ll have to do for now,” Lois grudgingly conceded.  “But I still want to review the security setup in detail.”

“We can do that, but maybe we should have dinner first,” Clark suggested.  “We’ll be in Smallville in a few minutes.”

“It doesn’t even feel like we’re moving,” Lois commented.

“There some specialized dampening technology installed in the chamber to insulate the interior from the inertial forces,” Clark explained.  “By the way, you have full access to all of the portals whether I’m with you or not, so Mom’s available if you need a sitter in a crunch.”

“Really,” Lois teased.  “You really do have this all planned out, don’t you, Smallville?”

“What kind of Boy Scout would I be if I wasn’t prepared?” Clark replied cheerfully.  Lois rolled her eyes and fought to suppress the smile that threatened to emerge on her expression.



Monday, October 3, 2006 5:20PM CDT
Martha Kent sliced up a cucumber for a salad to go with their meal, while Ben Hubbard pulled dinner plates out of the cupboard.  “Kind of ironic when you think about it,” Martha commented.  “The cover story we came up with for Kara ends up being mostly true for Jason, just without the tragedy…  He really should have explained things to her before he left.”

“Well, that’s all water under the bridge now,” Ben concluded.  “Though, they’ll certainly have some work ahead of them.”

“She’s engaged,” Martha reminded him.

“Is that so?” Ben asked pleasantly.  “Well, they’re still coming out here tonight.  Doesn’t sound like she’s going let that get in the way with Jason.”  He walked into the dining room and set out the dishes and silverware for their expected guests while Martha continued preparing the salad.  A few minutes later, they were interrupted by Shelby’s sudden bark and turned to observe the animal rise from the floor and run over to the front door, tail wagging.

“They’re here,” Martha declared eagerly.  She wiped her hands on her apron and walked briskly to the front door, opening it for Shelby and following the golden retriever out of the house.   As she reached the barn door, she spotted Clark holding up the cellar’s trapdoor as Kara and a little boy climbed out with a dark-haired woman close behind them. 

They had barely emerged from the cellar when Shelby was upon them, excitedly greeting Kara and licking her face.  “Down, Shelby,” Clark commanded.  The dog whined, but complied, sitting back on her haunches as Kara hugged her.

“Mommy, can we play with the dog?” Jason asked eagerly, and he cautiously reached out to pet Shelby.

“We’re going to be eating soon, Munchkin,” Lois reminded him.

Martha chuckled at the tableau, catching the attention of her visitors.  “Welcome to Smallville,” Martha greeted them.  “How was the ride in?”

“Unusual,” Lois replied apprehensively.  “It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Kent…  Oh, this is Jason.  Jason, come here.  Say ‘hello’ to your grandma.”   Lois pulled Jason away from the dog, and he looked up at Martha with wide eyes.

“Hi,” he said quietly.

“Oh, my word,” Martha said emotionally, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.  He’s so much like Clark was at that age.

She watched mutely as Lois leaned over and whispered something in Jason’s ear, prompting the little boy to come trotting over to Martha.  She knelt down and pulled her grandson into a tight hug.  “I’m so happy to finally meet you,” she told him sincerely.

“I’m here, too, Grandma,” Kara declared.  Martha chuckled and smiled over at her, holding out her arm to invite Kara into the hug and the little girl quickly ran over.

Martha squeezed her grandchildren tight and then pulled back and looked at them.  She smiled and said, “You two are the answers to an old woman’s prayers.  For the longest time, I didn’t think I’d ever have grandchildren – and now I have two of the most special grandkids anyone could ever hope for.”  She kissed each of them on the forehead and then stood up, turning to face Lois.  “Thank you for this,” she said.

“It’s no problem, Mrs. Kent,” Lois assured her.  Lois walked over to the old woman, offering her hand but Martha surprised her by pulling her into a hug.

“You’re family now,” Martha informed her.  She released the younger woman from the hug and added, “And it’s ‘Martha’ from now on, okay?”

“Okay, Martha,” Lois consented.

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by Jason excited shout, “Mommy, look!  See, I told you they had a goat!”  He was pointing at the brown Nubian goat that was looking over at them indifferently over the gate of his stall as it chewed.

“Oh, that’s just Dottie,” Kara said casually and she walked over the stall, climbed up the gate and gently petted the animal.  “Hi, Dottie.  Did you miss us?”  The animal brayed contentedly and Jason ran over, coming to a stop right in front of the gate and looking up at the animal in amazement.  Clark walked over, picked Jason up and carried him the remaining distance to the goat.  After a little encouragement from his father, Jason was also gently petting the animal.

Martha chuckled at the scene, and then she turned to Lois, asking mirthfully, “First time he’s been on a farm?”  Lois smiled back and the older woman and nodded.  Martha’s contented expression suddenly took on a look of panic and she exclaimed, “The lasagna!”

“Mom, relax.  Ben already pulled it out of the oven.  He was right there when the buzzer went off.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Martha said with relief.   “I still had better get back inside and finish getting dinner ready.”

“Okay, come on, you two… you three,” Lois said sternly.  “You can play with the animals later.”  Kara reluctantly climbed down from the gate and Clark guided the kids to the door.  Lois fell in step behind them, with Shelby at their heels.

Once the group walked through barn door, Jason came to a sudden stop and looked around with wonder at the tall corn that spread across the land as far as the eye could see.  “Wow!” he said excitedly.  “You didn’t tell me that Grandma’s farm was so big!”

Clark laughed and informed Jason, “Well, I’m glad you approve.”  He picked Jason up and set up on his shoulders for a better view and continued towards the house.  “How does it look from up here?”

“Me, too, Dad!  Me, too!” Kara complained, lifting up her arms to her father.   Clark shifted Jason to his left shoulder and lifted Kara up on his right, keeping his hands behind the children’s backs for support.  At the front steps, he set the children on their feet, and ushered them into the house.



After dinner, Clark led Shelby and the kids outside and Lois watched them from a bench on the porch as they played fetch with a tennis ball under the dim porch light.  She reflected that the evening in Smallville had seemed oddly normal.  This is like a scene from a Normal Rockwell painting, Lois thought.  The farm had been warm and homey, with virtually every wall and horizontal surface covered with candid family photos, documenting the Kent family history and Clark’s development from an adorable toddler to the strapping man now playing with the kids.

  Jason and Kara were also now included in those family photos, some of which Lois recognized from Jimmy’s recent slide show.  However, her personal favorite had been taken by Ben’s daughter, Sarah, and caught Kara with bright eyes and a wide smile on top of a horse, sharing the saddle with her father, who was also smiling proudly back at the camera.  Sarah’s got almost as good an eye as Jimmy, Lois thought.  She’d insistently told Clark that the picture belonged on his desk at the Planet, though they’d have to superimpose a pair of glasses on it.

Jason’s squeals of delight caught Lois’ attention and she returned her attention to him as Shelby came running up to him with her tennis ball and dropped it at his feet.  Clark took the ball, handed it to Jason and after a moment’s hesitation, the little boy threw the ball over to the fence, sending the dog scampering after it.

A few minutes later, Lois looked over at the sound of the screen door opening to find Martha and Ben walking out to join them on the porch.  Ben sat on the steps while Martha joined Lois on the bench.  The old woman asked pleasantly, “How are they doing?”

“Looks like the kids are having fun – all three of them,” Lois commented mirthfully.

“I can see that,” Martha replied with a chuckle.  “Lois, thanks again for coming out here tonight with Jason.”

“With food like that, I should be thanking you,” Lois protested mildly.  “It still can hardly believe that lasagna was gluten-free.”

“It really doesn’t taste that much different, as far as I can tell, though I’ll probably still go back to the old recipe once Jor-El cures Jason’s allergies,” Martha said casually.  “By the way, have you scheduled his treatment yet?”

“Um, not yet,” Lois replied apprehensively.  “We were waiting to resolve the transportation issue first, and we didn’t get around to discussing that today…  I still need to find out from Clark how long it’s going to take.  I forgot to ask Jor-El about that when we were there Friday.”

“Clark told me the procedure would take about half an hour.”

“Oh.  Well, if that’s all it is, then maybe we can swing by and take care of it on the way home tonight,” Lois suggested.  “I’ll talk to Clark about it later.”

The two women turned their attention back to Clark and the kids and silently observed their play for a few minutes before Martha interrupted the silence.  “We’re truly blessed with this family,” she said emotionally.  “There was a time when I thought I’d never have moments like this.”

“It kind of surprised me, too.”

Martha paused momentarily, and then quietly said, “When my late husband and I were first married, we’d planned a large family, but after six miscarriages, we were advised to stop trying.  We didn’t fare much better with the adoption agencies, which weren’t impressed by Jonathan’s cardiac health or our farmer’s income.  We’d all but given up hope and were on our way home from church one day when the Lord saw fit to give us a child, delivering him to us in a fireball from the heavens.

Lois looked over at the older woman with rapt attention, remaining patiently silent as Martha continued, “It nearly hit our truck, and we ended up in the ditch with a flat.  When we looked out, there was a fiery trench cutting across the cornfields as long as football field.  You can’t imagine how surprised we were to walk to the end of that trench only to find a toddler crawling out of a small ship, naked as the day he was born.”

“Mother!” Clark protested vehemently, blushing furiously at the description.  “Don’t tell her that!”  Kara looked back with a wide smile, but Shelby’s sharp bark brought her attention back to the game of fetch.

“Go back to your game and stop eavesdropping,” Martha chastised him gently, chuckling slightly at his reaction.  Lois was also giggling, both at the mental image that Martha had provoked and at Clark’s embarrassment.  Martha turned back to Lois as whispered, “We didn’t let him run around naked very long.  There were blankets in the ship, and we wrapped one of them around him.”

“When did you realize he was different?” Lois asked curiously.

“A few minutes later, when Jonathan was changing the tire, and the truck slipped off the jack,” Martha informed her.  “Clark caught it by the bumper, lifted it above his head and looked over at us with a sweet smile.  We’d never seen anything so astonishing in all our lives, and once the shock wore off, we knew that little boy was ours and that we’d have a special responsibility with him.  It was well worth the effort, and not a day goes by that I don’t thank the Lord for this wonderful family.  I’ve truly been fortunate.”

“The way he tells it, he was the lucky one,” Lois told her sincerely.

Martha smiled warmly at Lois and said, “He always was such a sweet boy.”  The pair was distracted by squeals of laughter from the children.  Shelby was tuckered out and sauntering slowly over to the porch, while the kids were ‘tackling’ Clark and getting tickled by him.  Martha looked at the tableau and commented, “Fatherhood suits him.”

“I noticed.”

Martha’s tone turned serious, and she said emphatically, “Lois, it’s been my experience that it’s not the biology that makes a person a parent.  It’s the parental love and commitment that defines it.  That’s what made Jonathan and me parents to Clark, and what makes him a parent to both of those little ones…  It’s also what makes your fiancé Jason’s daddy.”

Lois eyes widened and Martha continued, “Nobody here will ever ask Jason to choose which daddy to love – his heart is big enough to love them both.  And none of us would dream of standing between you and your betrothed – he’s family now, too, and he’s welcome if you choose to bring him here with you.”

“I, um… thanks, Martha,” Lois said awkwardly.  “I wouldn’t count on seeing Richard here anytime soon, though.  Things are kind of tense.”

“Well, I expect everything will work itself out in time,” Martha told her confidently.  “You just need to have faith.”

“I hope you’re right.” Lois said quietly.  She looked sadly back out at Clark and the kids and wondered, How is this possibly going to work itself out?

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