Superman Movieverse Forum

I actually wasn't originally intending to write the interview at all (hence the shortness of this chapter) but I gave it a go because so many people asked. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much (And sorry it's late- I was on time but the beta forgot to attach it when she sent it back and I had to wait for her to get up and check her e-mails)

Chapter Eight: The Time Has Come…
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“You’re doing the interview?” Clark raised an eyebrow at the man standing by the door.

“Of course not,” Jimmy assured them, “I mean, I couldn’t really do it properly.”

“You know us too well,” Lois agreed. All three of them knew that the type of questions this interview would bring would be far better dealt with by someone who didn’t mind asking harsh questions and demanding difficult answers.

“So,” Clark sighed, almost afraid to ask, “who’s doing it then?”

“Ralph.”

“Oh that’ll be fun,” Lois muttered sarcastically, looking out the window to where Ralph and Gil were standing. The pair weren’t even bothering to hide their glares as they looked toward the conference room Perry had set aside for the interview.

Clark got up and pointedly closed the blinds so no one could see in. “I’m sure they have questions that need to be answered,” he said quietly, not sounding too excited about having to answer any of those questions though, “in fact I surprised Perry didn’t want us here as soon as the news broke- we’re not even going to make the evening edition at this rate.”

Jimmy laughed, “CK, you’re the top story in the whole world right now, we’re printing a special edition whenever we’re ready. Everyone knows you’ll give us the exclusive- We could probably wait a week and still outsell every paper in Metropolis ten times over with this.”

The Planet‘s top reporting team took a moment to reflect on the strangeness of becoming a story themselves before Lois turned her attention back to Jimmy, ”so what are you doing in here again?” she asked, clearly trying to keep things on a lighter note.

The younger man shrugged. “I guess I was just wondering if you wanted to talk, Ralph will be another few minutes- all the news stations figured you’d come to us and the phones are ringing off the hook with questions they want answered.”

Clark sighed and rested his head on the door frame, eyes closed as he tried to sort out the jumble of emotions he was feeling. He wondered what the kids were doing at that moment, the first day of their new lives. Briefly he wondered if they should’ve gone to school, that maybe it would have been better if they’d stayed home for the first day.

“Clark?”

He turned back to Lois. “Sorry,” he muttered, “I was just thinking...”

“About the kids?” she asked softly, before explaining to Jimmy, “We sent them to school today, we figured they’d have to go sometime.”

“That’s what I told Sarah,” Jimmy agreed, “but she refused to let Alice out of her sight- even though we could’ve easily made it.”

“You don’t have media camped out at your house then?” Clark asked in surprise. It was well known at the Planet that Jimmy was one of Clark’s best friends and to most journalists in the city that Jimmy was Lois and Clark’s photographer of choice.

Jimmy just shrugged. “There are a few, the phone’s been ringing off the hook but as for actual reporters hounding us?” He shrugged again. “I guess Superman’s friend isn’t as interesting as him or his kids.” He didn’t sound too disappointed by it though. “Besides,” he added, “the real drama’s been inside- Sarah’s annoyed I never told her, Alice is entering teenage rebellion full force and using this to her advantage- I believe her arguments were somewhere along the lines of: ‘if Uncle Clark can wear something as tight as that why can’t I?’ “

Lois burst into laugher as Clark reddened at the realization the whole world knew Clark Kent wore tights on a daily basis. But it wasn’t long before they were interrupted by a knock on the door. The three shared a look before Jimmy opened the door, “Hey, Ralph, I was just going,” he said, turning back to Lois and Clark and mouthing ‘good luck’ before disappearing back into the chaos of the bullpen.

“Morning, Lois,” Ralph greeted her, turning to Clark, “and whoever you are.”

“I’m the same person I’ve been for the last twenty years, Ralph,” Clark assured him, wondering how many more comments like that he’d be getting.
Ralph didn’t reply, instead placing a recorder on the table and opening the folder of questions he’d brought in. “Sit down, please,” he told Lois, “then we’ll get started.”

Lois sat but she took her time as if showing Ralph she was doing so because she wanted to not because he asked her to. Clark knew Lois liked to be in control, especially in interviews, but now she was on the other side of the table he didn’t know how she’d react.

Ralph was a good reporter- Clark had always admired his work, his interviews in particular were always in-depth and he had a way of getting the information he wanted out of even the most reluctant subjects. On top of that, he didn’t know Lois and Clark too well despite working at the Planet for the last two decades they’d never really had a conversation not related to work. Clark had to admit he was a good choice, even if it made him more nervous for what this interview would bring.

“So,” Ralph stared, after introducing them on the recorder, “let’s start from the beginning. How can a man who claims to be from another planet have a life and a home here?”

Clark sighed with relief, it was an important questions but it was also an easy one, one he’d had to answer almost every single time he’d told his secret to anyone. The first part of the interview was surprisingly easy, Ralph asked questions about his childhood and how he found out he was different.

“I always knew I was adopted,” Clark explained, “but it wasn’t until my first day of school when I realized the other kids got hurt and didn’t move as fast as I did that I asked my parents about it.”

“And they just told you, you were an alien?”

Lois slipped her hand into his for support, Clark didn’t like that word, even though it was technically accurate. “They took me down to the storm cellar and showed me the ship I came to Earth in. They never told me I was an alien, they didn’t like that word, they just told me I came from further away than most people.”

The first hour was much the same, questions about Smallville, his parents and his early life. It wasn’t until he was asked about deciding to become Superman that the questions got harder.

“It was my mother’s idea,” he explained, “I was concerned that if I started to help people and put criminals away I would make enemies and become a danger to those around me.”

“But glasses?”

Clark chuckled. “It worked didn’t it?” Even Lois smiled at that and Ralph laughed.

“It sure did, but personally, having worked beside you, or at least Clark, for almost twenty years, I have to say it was more than just a pair of glasses that separated you from Superman wasn’t it?”

“Definitely,” Clark agreed, “I slouched a bit to hide my height and I pretended to be a bit clumsier than usual to throw people off.”

“So you’re not really Clark Kent either- he was a disguise too?”

Clark shifted uncomfortably at that. “No, not really,” he said slowly, “I am Clark Kent, that’s who I think of myself as when I get up in the morning. Maybe I’m not as clumsy as I seem but I’ve never tried to be someone else just because I was wearing glasses. Superman was more of a disguise than Clark.”

“Then who’s Superman? Are you saying he wasn’t really real at all?”

“Umm…” Clark was lost for words for the first time since the interview started. He didn’t agree that Superman wasn’t real but he couldn’t deny that he was more of an act than Clark had ever been.

Lois broke her silence for the first time since the interview started. “Superman wasn’t a lie, Ralph,” she told him, “Clark is Superman as much as he is Clark,” she said, repeating what she’d told her husband last night. “He still stands for all the same values, whether in glasses or a cape.”

“Exactly.” Clark nodded, unable to hide his admiration for his wife. He didn’t know why people always thought he was the one to protect her, if Clark’s mind she’d saved him a lot more times. “But Clark can have a family and a wife, it’s dangerous for Superman to have those things.”

Ralph made a few notes on his paper but his expression was hard to read. He’d seemed to share the feelings of most in the bullpen, and he was friends with Gil but so far he’d acted like it was just any other interview.

“So what gives you these powers then, flight and invulnerability and so on?”

“Umm,” Clark found himself speechless again, not because of the difficulty of the question this time, but because he was certain he’d spent the last few decades answering that particular one.

“Look, Ralph,” Lois broke in again, clearly thinking the same thing, “I’ll bet half of those questions, especially from the other papers and stations, have already been answered in previous interviews that the Planet has on file. Save yourself some trouble and only ask us questions that actually need an answer.”

“So you’re saying we can consider all the information given by Clark Kent as Superman to contain accurate information?” Ralph asked, raising his eyebrow in a way that Clark knew meant the question was a trap.

“Yes,” he answered warily.

“Including the parts where you claimed: ’I don’t lie’ and ’I can’t have children’?” Ralph asked, smiling triumphantly when he saw he had them.

Lois made an annoyed sound, almost a low growl, beside him but Clark knew she was just angry at herself for not anticipating it. Clark had seen Lois pull similar trick more times than he could count, and he was torn between annoyance at his integrity being questioned and amusement at a well played question by Ralph.

“Ralph, answer me this,” Clark stepped in, placing a hand on Lois’ elbow in case she decided to attack. “When do you believe I outright lied to the public or the media. And before you say it,” he added quickly, “at the time I said I couldn’t have children I believed it to be the honest truth.”

“And before that talk goes any further, and you know what I’m talking about,” Lois warned Ralph, “all of my children are also Clark’s children and yes, that means they’re half-kryptonian and have or will have all his powers.”

“Believe me Lois, I think their outing last night proved that,” Ralph assured her, catching Lois off-guard with his sincere tone. He sighed, “look, I’ve always kinda liked you two,” he admitted, “I do feel a bit stupid for not seeing that-” he waved a hand and Clark’s spectacle-free face- “but I’m nowhere near as angry as Gil. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need to get this interview done,” he said, his tone changing back to that of a reporter as he reminded them why they were here.

“Fair enough,” Lois agreed, “but you still haven’t answered my husband’s question. When did he ever lie to you?”

“How about when he claimed not to be involved with you?” Ralph asked.
Lois glared again but Clark was just surprised it had taken him so long to get to that point. “Okay, I’ll admit to lying about that,“ he agreed, realizing he may have been too quick to claim he’d never outright lied but Lois was not so lenient.

“You don’t have to admit to it,” she snapped, “Clark married me in public and he wears his wedding ring for everyone to see. He‘s never lied about that.”

“But Clark’s also Superman and Superman has consistently denied having any sort of romantic relationship with you.” Ralph’s tone still wasn’t angry or accusing like many Clark could hear in the bullpen.

“Lois gets herself into enough trouble as it is,” Clark answered quickly before Lois had a chance to, “she didn’t need all the criminals of the world knowing how close we really are. And I do have six children to think of.”

“Alright, let’s talk about the kids then-”

“No,” Clark interrupted firmly.

“Pardon?” Ralph asked and even Lois looked mildly surprised at the strength of Clark’s voice.

“No,” Clark repeated, “let’s not talk about my children, this isn‘t about them. In fact, and you can quote me word-for-word here, my children are off-limits. I understand that people will have questions about them and what sort of abilities they have inherited from me but I will not discuss it without their express permission. I particularly ask that you leave Lucy, Ella and Chris alone, the other three are old enough to be considered adults and can talk to you if they so wish but if I hear they‘ve been bothered or abused by the press I will take action.”

“Is that a threat?” Ralph asked, looking a little nervous.

“It’s a promise,” Lois answered him, “from both of us. If you‘ve appreciated anything my husband’s done for this world in the past few years, respect our wishes.”

Ralph scribbled a few notes in silence and Clark wondered if anyone would actually listen to him. He’d been a journalist long enough to know that they could be ruthless.

“So you won’t talk about them at all?”

Lois started to reply but Clark placed a hand on her arm, stopping her. Ho looked at Ralph, “I said I wouldn’t talk about them without their permission, but you’re about to get one better- they’re here themselves,” he only just had time to explain before the door to the conference room opened.

“Hey, Dad.”
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A/N: Next chapter we’ll get to see what’s up with Evelyn and Harvard before returning to the Planet but in the meantime, if you like my writing you may like to pay a visit a (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) in my LJ. You can tell me what you’d like to see, help inspire the muse a bit.
Reviews are love!