Superman Movieverse Forum

Chapter Six: Secrets, Lies and Saving Lives
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No one really got to sleep that night, Sophie and Dean had taken their old rooms and Jason had been forced onto the couch as Lucy had taken over his room as soon as he’d moved out. He supposed he could’ve gone back home, all the older kids could have but no one had even bothered to suggest it. This was, as his producer had said, a family crisis, and no one felt like being the one to separate them.

Jason had managed to get a hold of Evelyn using one of Lucy’s old cell phones and assure her they were working on getting everything under control. She was staying with her sister and her family and as much as Jason wanted to see her he didn’t want to lead the press straight to her door. Oddly, she’d seemed less than eager to explain her family’s reaction to the news which had made Jason more anxious to see her.

He was lying awake, letting his mind drift aimlessly, when he heard his parents’ bedroom door open. He automatically extended his hearing to include the whole apartment and wasn’t surprised to hear he wasn’t the only one who noticed his Dad’s imminent departure.

Within less than a second Dean was at Clark’s side as he walked into the living room with his super-Suit.

“It sounds big, Dad,” Dean said, speaking quietly even though Jason knew they’d both be able to tell he was awake.

“What is it?” he asked, sitting up and throwing his sheets off him, “Can we help?”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.” Clark’s voice was tense and he spoke quickly.

Jason winced as he let in the full sounds of Metropolis flood his hearing but almost immediately found what he was looking for. Just twenty blocks from their apartment another building had caught fire, it sounded out-of-control and the firemen certainly wouldn’t be able to save everyone. They hadn’t even reached it yet.

“We’re coming.” Sophie had joined them now and the words were a statement not a question.

“Kids-“ Clark started and Jason quickly formed more arguments in his head to convince him, anticipating a struggle but his brother wasn’t so worried about whether or not Clark agreed.

Dean was out of the building and speeding towards the fire before Clark even got his next word out. “Dean’s right,” Sophie said, agreeing with her younger brother’s way of doing things and promptly following his lead.

“C’mon, Dad.” Jason waited back in the apartment even as Sophie and Dean reached the fire and shot into the building. “You know you can use the help, that’s a big fire and you can’t do it alone. And we’ll have to face the world sometime- better we show them we’re still here to help.”

Clark didn’t say anything but Jason saw his head dip ever so slightly and grinned as he speed out the balcony and leapt into the air, his father close behind.

Jason had never participated so openly in one of his father’s rescues and he felt overly exposed as he raced toward the building. He quickly x-rayed the entire structure, the fire seemed to have started on the second, third and fourth floors simultaneously and alarm bells immediately sounded in his head- but there’d be time to investigate the cause later, now he was focused on getting the residents out alive.

Sophie had started in various places on the fourth floor, she’d already gotten it clear of people and was now carefully using her breath to try and prevent the spread of the fire and stabilize the building so the top floors wouldn’t collapse. Dean had started on the second floor, evacuating the residents.

Clark shot straight into the third floor and Jason had a moment’s hesitation before zooming to the top of the building. The fire was quickly eating through the foundations and he wasn’t sure if they’d hold. Most of the residents were trying to make their way down, having being awoken by the alarm but were finding it difficult due to the smoke billowing up the stairs. Many had already made their way to the roof and that was where he started.

“Who are you?” A woman stood in her nightgown clutching the hands of two children as she stared at Jason in confusion.

“Are you Jason?” One of the children asked, tilting his head to the side, apparently not entirely aware of the danger they were in and he continued, “from that TV show and-“

“Ma’am, the fire’s spreading very quickly,” Jason interrupted the boy, he felt a little bad for doing so but he figured it wasn’t really the time for casual conversation about his job, “I need to get you and your children to safety.”

“How-“ she started before understanding and recognition dawned on her face, “you’re one of his kids, so it true then-“

He didn’t let her finish her sentence, scooping her and the children up and taking them down to a newly arrived fire truck as fast as they could handle, barely pausing to give the stunned firemen a nod before shooting back upwards.

He knew it was better to warn people when rescuing them but by the time the fourth person had started to ask him about the news rather than to be taken to safety he was wondering if maybe his hero identity could be a little less polite than his normal one. Not that that’ll work now anyway.

He shot back upwards, this time joined by his brother. “Sophie and Dad just got the fire out and all the floors up to the fifteenth are clear. Dad’s pretty confident the building’s stable but we still need to get everyone out,” Dean reported in a breathless voice.

“Right,” Jason responded, surprised to find himself sounding just as out of breath. It wasn’t the physical exertion, he’d hardly broken a sweat and he knew it would take a lot more to tire Dean out. It was nerves, they both knew what would be waiting when they were done with the building, Jason glanced down and saw the flashing lights of the press, almost blinding his sister as she landed to deliver an elderly man into the care of the medics.

“Actually,” Clark interjected as he flew up beside them, “that’s everyone. Sophie managed to get the last man out, the rest had already started down the stairs once we extinguished the fire.”

“Wow.” Jason raised his eyebrows, “that was fast, and I guess the fire wasn’t half as bad as we thought.”

Clark turned away suddenly to look down at the growing crowd and sighed. “No,” he said quietly, “it was bad, in fact if you three hadn’t been here it would have been far worse. I have no doubt many people would have died.”

The brothers were silent as they considered their father‘s words. “I guess we make a good team then,” Dean said after a moment.

“Yes,” Clark agreed, “we do. Thanks for coming,” he said with a small grin.

Jason felt his hair move in a slight wind and Sophie appeared before them. “All done?” she asked brightly, her face flushed with the success of the night. “That was brilliant,” she continued before the men could reply, “I mean, did you see how awesome we were together? And you didn‘t even want us to come,” she reminded her father.

“I was wrong, you were very helpful,” Clark admitted, not even bothering to hide the proud grin on his face as he looked at his children. Jason knew it wasn’t everyday that no one died and if more people got to live as a result of the world knowing Superman had children then there was already some good coming of it.

“Hate to interrupt our patting of ourselves on the back,” Dean broke in seriously, “but I think we all know what we’re putting off.” He glanced pointedly towards the ground, seven stories below.

“I thought we were waiting until the interview tomorrow, you know, give everyone some time to get used to it and stuff before we dump everything on them.” Sophie looked just as reluctant as Jason felt, he was used to some media attention and being recognized on the street, being on TV five days a week will do that but something told him this was a whole new ball game.

“We can’t anyway, Lois promised Perry the exclusive- that means no talking to any media before the Planet,” Clark told them, the other three noticeably relaxed. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have to face them sometime,” he warned.

“Did anyone else think that fire was a bit suspicious?” Sophie asked, changing the subject abruptly.

“It was definitely arson,” Clark agreed, “normal fires don’t start simultaneously on three floors.”

“Should we tell them?”

“Soph, they’re professional firefighters, they’ll figure it out,” Jason reminded her, less than anxious to go anywhere but straight back to the safety of the apartment.

“I think she’s right though,” Clark agreed reluctantly, “I saw traces of three different accelerants on the floors which means there’s a high likelihood of a team of arsons.”

“Is that common?” Sophie asked with a frown, “arsonists working as teams?” Jason wasn’t sure whether she was actually curious or just wanted to stall more.

“Why don’t we ask the experts,” Clark replied, pointing towards the ground where someone who appeared to be the head firefighter was waiting in an alleyway out of sight of the cameras and looking up at them.

“Well that was nice of him,” Sophie commented as the group descended.

They landed silently behind the man, Jason didn’t know who he was but Clark seemed to recognize him. “Lieutenant Anderson,” he greeted him, making the firefighter jump as he turned around, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the three people behind the hero.

“Oh, so I guess it’s true then,” he said half to himself.

“You can read the truth in tomorrow’s Daily Planet,” Clark told him, sounding so much like Superman that there was a flicker of doubt on the man’s face. “I’d rather discuss this fire, and the circumstances surrounding it.”

“We know it’s arson,” the fireman assured him, “and we already know who started it.”

“What?” Sophie stepped forward before anyone else could talk. “How on Earth can you know who started it already?”

“Sophie,” Clark quietly placed a hand on her arm. Jason knew his sister could be impatient and right now ganging up on the poor man didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Well, actually that’s what I wanted to warn you about,” he started.

“Warn us about?” Sophie interrupted again.

“Yeah,” Lieutenant Anderson rubbed the back of his neck nervously as if he wasn‘t sure how they‘d react, “apparently it was started by a group of reporters from the Inquisitor.”

“Why would a group of reporters start an apartment fire?” Dean asked quietly.

The other four were silent, the realization of why the act had been committed slowly creeping over them. Finally it was Clark who spoke. “To draw us out,” he said bitterly, “they wanted a fire so bad Superman would have to come and then they’d get the pictures.”

“The cops already have them,” Anderson assured them, “they’ll all be dealt with.”

“How many people lived in this building?” Clark asked quietly, “How many lives did they endanger?”

“I’m sorry-” the Lieutenant started but Clark held up his hand.

“It’s not you,” he interrupted, “it’s them.” He glared at the reporters and if Jason didn’t know his father better he would’ve thought that the expression his face held was nothing but hatred and contempt.

“Aren’t you a reporter?” the fireman asked rather thoughtlessly.

Clark was gone before any of the kids fully registered what the firefighter had said. Jason allowed one last glace back at the ground bellow as he and his siblings followed suit. He couldn’t shake the feeling that, as horrible as what had happened here was, it was only just beginning.
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Richard White had called in sick to work that morning and no one could blame him. The Japanese news stations were filled with his face, the whole world wanted a piece of this story and Japan had found theirs in the man who’d raised Superman’s eldest son for four years before fleeing to their very own capital city.

“Richard White worked as a journalist in London before transferring to his Uncle’s paper, The Daily Planet, where he meet Lois Lane, his future fiancée-”

“Richard?” his wife had come quietly into the room and was staring at him as he sat on the couch, still wearing the same clothes he’d come home in and staring at the TV with a glazed expression.

“- Lois Lane had tricked Mr. White into believing the boy he was raising was his own-”

“Well, I know that’s not true,” Tomoko said, joining her husband on the couch, “you said you knew he wasn’t yours from the start.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t love him like he was,” Richard all but snarled at her.

Tomoko didn’t seem offended. “I know, I didn’t mean that at all,” she assured him, reaching for the remote.

“Leave it on,” Richard snapped. “I want to see this, I want to see the world know that that man abandoned his son for four years then waltzed right back home to take everything I cared about away.”

“Everything you cared about then?” Tomoko asked, narrowing her eyes. “I suppose Eric and I are just something to amuse yourself with until you steal her back? She looked pretty happy to me last time I saw her and how many times did her and Clark pay for Jason to fly out and see you?”

“Pay?” Richard ripped his eyes from the screen for the first time in hours. “Of course they didn’t bloody pay!” he stood up, pointing angrily at the TV, “That man- that alien- that’s been masquerading as a human all these years just flew him here in moments and then went back home to laugh about how stupid I was to his wife.”

Richard knew the Japanese hated anger and conflict but he didn’t care as he screamed his mis-placed anger at his wife. But Tomoko Hanari had attended an American school in her teens and been to college in England before traveling the world as an international correspondent for Japan biggest news stations, she wasn’t your average Japanese housewife.

“Sit down!” she yelled back, drawing herself up to her full height which didn’t even compete with her husband’s when she was calm but now seemed to be towering over him. “I will not allow you to talk to me like that, especially when I don’t deserve any of your anger!” Richard dropped back into his seat like a rock but his wife wasn’t done. “Yes, that man might have flown him here himself but that’s because it was easier. Did you ever think that if he didn’t want you and Jason to have a connection then he would have made things as difficult as possible, well did you?”

Richard didn’t answer instead just looking down in shame. He hadn’t thought that, and it was true that Clark had always been eager for Richard to remain a part of Jason’s life, even inviting him to parent-teacher conferences once when he was in town. And it certainly wasn’t his fault the Lois’s heart belonged to him but- “They lied to me,” he said quietly, unable to ignore the pain of the secret they’d kept from him. “I had a right to know who Jason’s true father was but they still kept it from me.”

“I know,” Tomoko’s voice returned to her usual soft tone as well, “but yelling a the TV isn’t’ going to help and neither is avoiding your family. Eric refused to leave for school this morning until I promised him you’d be here when I got back.”

Richard buried his face in his hands at her words, feeling like the absolute worst father ever. He knew his son had abandonment issues and he was pretty sure he knew who caused them, and it wasn’t the beautiful woman standing over him with her hands on her hips. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, I’m not the one who was in tears this morning as I wondered if Daddy wasn’t going to get on the next plane to Metropolis.”

“You’re right,” Richard relented.

“Of course I am, or did you forget why you married me?” Tomoko asked with a smile. “Now, look, there’s plenty of time to think about this but now you need to go have a shower and I’ll make you something to eat. Then when you have a clear head on your shoulders we’ll talk about this.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Richard nodded as he got up to follow orders. He still hurt over the news that his son-turned-nephew was actually half-Kryptonian but Tomoko was right- with a nice home, a beautiful wife and a brilliant son he didn’t have it all that bad.

But he just couldn’t stop wondering why Lois had lied to him.
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