Superman Movieverse Forum

Chapter Eighteen: Answers

--

"So, why?" Richard asked, breaking the awkward silence in the empty hospital room Jason had chosen for their talk.

"Da- Clark wanted to tell you," Jason said, sidestepping the questions for the moment. "I think you should know that. I asked him not to tell you and that was the only reason he didn't."

"Okay." Richard nodded. "I understand."

"And now you're wondering why I asked him not to."

"Kind of." Richard nodded again. "We're you worried about how I'd feel about having… lost- for lack of a better word- to Superman?"

"I think when I was little that might have been part of it," Jason agreed, "but most of it was that I was afraid you'd feel bad about not being my real Dad."

"I always knew I wasn't your real father. Biological father actually," he corrected, "I always considered myself your real father."

"Me too," Jason told him, "but my biological dad being just another guy was different than him being, well, an alien."

"Jason, it didn't matter to me at all who had helped make you. In fact when I lived with Lois I was grateful to the man for helping bring me you."

Jason sighed. "I just… when Clark came back everything was different. You and Mom weren't living together anymore and then he moved in and… Everything was different but I didn't want you to see me differently."

“But surely when you grew up you realised I’d just be proud of you no matter what?” Richard asked, frowning in confusion.

Jason bit his lip. “I knew I was being stupid and irrational,” he admitted, “but I couldn’t help but think that the longer it went on the harder it would be to admit I’d kept it from you all these years.” He closed his eyes for a moment then looked straight back up. “I thought you’d be angry at me. I was- I was afraid you wouldn’t want to see me any more because I’d kept it from you.”

Richard merely gaped at him. He didn’t think he’d heard anything more absurd in his life- this probably even topped finding out Clark was Superman. He struggled to find words for a few moments but couldn’t figure out the right ones. “That’s-“ he shook his head, “-that’s ridiculous, Jason,” he finally managed to get out.

“I know,” Jason sighed, “but the thing about irrational fears is that they’re irrational. I was five years old and my whole world was changing and even though I had Clark I still wanted you to be my Dad as well then… I left it so long and..."

He couldn't bring himself to look at Richard and was staring at his feet the whole time. So it came as a complete surprise when he was pulled to his feet and enveloped in a hug. "Jason," Richard told him firmly as he stepped back and look him in the eye, "I will always love you as a son, nothing could ever change that."

Jason couldn't speak for a moment he was so overwhelmed. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you," he said finally. "I knew you wouldn't care but… I didn't want anything to change with us."

"It won't," Richard promised him. After a few moments of pensive silence Richard sighed and shook his head. "You know, I was so mad at Clark when I found out. I thought this was some kind of deliberate attempt by him to steal you away from me."

"What?" Jason looked shocked and Richard laughed.

"I know, I know," he said, shaking his head again, "I guess you're not the only one with irrational ideas. I even yelled at Tomoko when she tried to calm me down."

"Bet she didn't take that too well," Jason said with a chuckle, thinking of his strong-willed aunt.

"No," Richard agreed with a laugh, "snapped me right out of it."

"So how long are you here?" Jason asked, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"We're planning to stay about three weeks. I promised Eric I'd take him around the city properly next time we came. Didn't expect it to be so soon though."

"No," Jason agreed, "I don't this anyone expected this. You can stay longer, you know," he told him, "It's not like you really have to worry about flights anymore."

"No," Richard said with a laugh ,"I guess I don't."

--

Clark wasn't aware he'd even fallen asleep until he found himself waking up in the chair next to Ella's bed. He remembered sitting down for a moment just to be with her and meaning to get up after a minute or so to talk to her doctor again.

Clearly his sleep deprived body had had other ideas. While he didn't need as much as humans, apparently three sleepless nights in a row, coupled with the stress they were all going through, was too much even for him.

He glanced a the clock and noted he'd only been asleep for about half an hour. Sometime when he'd been out Chris had joined him and was fast asleep on his lap. Clark sighed as he held his son close to him, he must have been really out if he hadn't noticed the boy come in.

But something had woken him now. The curtains were pulled and the sun was coming in, but that hadn't been it. He looked around the room, wondering what had caused his return to consciousness and felt his heart skip a beat as Ella moved again.

“Hey.” Clark couldn’t keep the smile off his face as his daughter’s eyes fluttered open.

“Hi,” she replied softly, frowning slightly, “I can’t feel below my arms.”

“You’ll get better soon,” Clark told her, gently shifting a still sleeping Chris off him so he could get up and hold is daughter’s hand. “Do you remember what happened?”

Ella nodded. “Yeah,” she sighed, closing her eyes, “weird- the first thing they say on TV is like...” she trailed off breathing deeply and for a moment Clark thought she was asleep again but then she muttered, “’what happened?’- but I remember going for milk and the guy with the knife... no amnesia for Ella...” This time Clark could tell she had gone back to sleep and he was so giddy with relief that she’d woken up and been lucid and coherent enough to remember that he just stood by her side for almost two minutes before going to find Lois and the other kids to tell them the news.

--

"Can you move your toes?" the doctor asked.

Ella dutifully wiggled her toes, and Clark couldn't help smiling in relief when the doctor nodded in approval.

"Well, it's early yet, but at the rate you're healing I don't think this will have any long term damage. Perhaps the scar might be a little sore for a while but other than that your progress is remarkable. You're a lucky young woman."

"The kryptonite didn't do any extra damage then?" Lois asked from the other side of Ella's hospital bad.

"It doesn't seem like it," the doctor assured them, "although I don't really have anything to compare it to so I can't be sure. She's healing at a very accelerated rate, which I assume is due to the abilities she inherited from you-" he nodded toward Clark "- but who's to say she wouldn't have healed even faster if the knife had not splintered?"

"When can I go home?" Ella asked, now much more awake than she had been previously. The sun was pouring through the window and after another hour's sleep since she had woken the first time she was completely awake and energised.

However the doctor still didn't seem as enthusiastic. "I would still like to keep you under observation until Friday afternoon," he told her and her parents. "Just to be sure, since you're not completely human, we're in new territory and we just want to be careful."

"Oh, okay," Ella muttered, suddenly sounding a lot more subdued.

"Don't worry, El." Clark took her hand. "It's only two more days and we'll stay with you the whole time."

"Don't you have... you know, things to do?" Ella asked with a frown.

"Actually your big brothers have taken over that for a while," Lois told her with pride obvious in her voice. "Your father was so worried about you Jason and Dean are filling in for now."

The doctor, sensing the conversation would be moving on to personal matters that didn't concern him, excused himself from the room.

"Who are they?" Ella asked, nodding to the two men she spotted outside her door before they swung shut.

"Those are your guards," he mother informed her, "we each have two of Metropolis' finest keeping an eye on us. Your ones are obvious but I don't think Henderson knows we're aware of ours."

"We do?" Clark was surprised by this piece of news, he hadn't noticed himself, or any of the older kids being tailed around the hospital.

"Even you flyboy," Lois confirmed, "surprised you didn't notice already."

"Losing your touch, dad?" Ella joked, sharing a laugh with Lois.

Clark frowned and searched back through his memory, now that he knew what to look for he realised there had been two particular officers who had always seemed to just happen to be in the same place as he had been.

"I'm not sure whether to be annoyed or pleased," he said, shaking his head and making a note to pay more attention in future, no matter how much else he had to think about. Obviously these men were to be trusted but what if they had been like the man who'd attacked Ella? He needed to pay more attention so that no one else was hurt because of him.

"Why on Earth would you be annoyed?" Lois asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. "At least someone is willing to help and hasn't forgotten how much you've done for the world over the years."

Clark didn't get a chance to respond as the door opened and five more people entered.

"Ella, how are you?" Lucy rushed forward first and stopped abruptly, "Can I hug you or will it hurt?"

"Gently," Ella told her sister, holding her arms out.

"How are you feeling?" Dean asked, moving forward and carrying Chris with him.

"What are you all doing in here?" Clark asked in confusion, "Ella needs rest, not five more people barging in and crowding her room."

"It's fine, Dad," Ella told him, giving Chris a hug. "How's it going kiddo?"

"The doctor said she was up for visitors," Sophie protested, only giving her sister a quick hug before moving back to the corner.

"Soph and I just popped in quickly," Jason assured him, moving forward for his turn to hug his sister. "Sorry, Ella, we'll be back soon but we wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks guys," Ella said, "and Dad, I feel fine. I've been sleeping for almost a day."

"Mom was going to come with me anyway," Sophie said, "we're going to talk to the cops again."

"They got the guy who stabbed me right?"

"Sophie got him actually," Dean told his little sister, "you should've seen her."

"I suppose I need to talk to Commissioner Henderson as well. If she says she's getting tired, you let her sleep okay?" Clark told Lucy, Dean and Chris sternly as Lois and Sophie left.

"Dad, I'm right here," Ella sighed, "If I need to sleep I'll kick them out, I promise."

"Okay, then," Clark agreed, still reluctant but Ella looked so happy to see everyone that he didn't want to make them go anyway.

She was healing remarkably as well. Once the kryptonite had been pulled out of her the wound went from fresh to looking almost weeks old in a few hours. It had still been one of the most frightening things he'd ever been through in his life.

He had known something like this could- no would happen if his secret was ever exposed but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. And his children had been the ones to pay the price for his arrogance.

"Kent!" a voice behind him called and he turned to see Henderson coming towards him.

"I was just looking for you," Clark greeted the Commissioner, "I wanted to thank you for everything you're doing for my family."

Henderson raised his eyebrows. "You mean our job?" he asked.

"I mean everything," Clark replied, nodding towards the two policemen down the hall who were doing an alright job of acting natural but not quite good enough to fool an experienced journalist- now that he knew what to look for.

Henderson laughed, "I may be getting old Kent, but I'm not going senile. It'd take a lot more than a secret identity to let me forget the number of my men who wouldn't be here if not for you."

"I hardly need my own personal guards though," Clark reminded him.

"I hope you don't need them," Henderson agreed, "We've got people on all the doors but this is one of the busiest hospitals in the city, we can't just shut it down and we can't be too careful, not after how easily that other guy is claiming he got hold of that kryptonite."

"He's awake?"

"Awake and talking," Henderson confirmed. "I was just talking to your wife and other daughter. We had thought we'd have a bit of a legal fight on our hands but he's not shy about confessing he meant to kill Eleanor."

"Is that good?" Clark asked in confusion at Henderson's pleased tone.

"In a way," the Commissioner told him, "it means Sophie will have no trouble proving she was well within her rights to kill him If she'd needed to."
"I think that would have been a bad idea," Clark commented, thinking of several news reports he'd seen that were trying to whip up fear about the existence of six part-Kryptonians.

"There are plenty of us that support you," Henderson assured him, "it just seems the ones that don't are a lot more vocal about it."

"And they make a better news story," Clark agreed.

"Huh, well, I guess you'd know." The Commissioner sighed as he looked at his watch. "Look, I've got to get going. The media may want us to think so but the world has not stopped turning in the past three days and I have work to do."

"Thank you," Clark said, the words not seeming enough for how much the police seemed to be willing to help his family.

"Don't thank us," Henderson told him, "this is a small thing compared to how much you've given to the whole world. I just hope everyone else realises it too."

Clark felt the first real surge of hope he'd had since Monday as Commissioner Henderson walked away. He was right of course, there were people out there who still liked him and didn't want to harm his family, but they didn't make a good story.

"Umm, excuse me, Mr. Kent… Superman?"

Clark turned to see a young, nervous looking nurse holding a copy of the Daily Planet. Across the top he could see the words SPECIAL EDITION printed in bold.

"They just delivered these, I thought you might want to read one." She blushed as Clark took it from her. "I mean, not that you wouldn’t know what they say but there's lots of stuff in there from other people and some of it's nice so-"

"Thank you," Clark interrupted her gently, making sure she took a breath before she passed out.

"You're welcome." She nodded then almost sprinted away down the hall.

Clark frowned as he glanced at his reflection in a nearby window. He wasn't wearing his glasses but in jeans and a T-shirt with his hair left untouched he thought he looked more like Clark than Superman. But even the doctors were treating him with the respect and awe Superman always commanded.

It had always made him rather uncomfortable and it still did. Of course, the difference now was that it was happening all the time rather than just when he was in the red, blue and yellow.

"You got one too?"

Clark looked up to see Jason coming towards him waving his own copy of the special edition of the Planet."Haven't had a chance to read it yet." Clark shrugged, looking down at the picture on the front he'd come to know far too well over the past three days. His brown work suit in shreds and the bright blue and red revealed for the world to see.

"Page 4," Jason told him, "down the bottom. That's where you should start."

Clark turned past the numerous pictures of him in either his glasses or cape and to a small article in the corner of page 4. There was a small picture next to it of Owen Taylor, their next-door neighbour who had been less than neighbourly to them yesterday.

"Read it," Jason insisted.

Clark read. "Owen and Tina Taylor moved into the apartment next-door to the Kents six years ago with their then seven-year-old daughter, Katherine. "They made us feel welcome right away," Mrs. Taylor told the Daily Planet. "They'd baby-sit Kathy if we had to go out and I would look after the twins and Chris sometimes."

"Of course it was a huge surprise," Mr. Taylor said of Monday's shock revelation. "Finding out the man we'd been living next to was Superman. I'm afraid I was a bit short with him on Tuesday over it actually."

"No, no, he had every right to keep his secrets," Mr. Taylor said of Clark Kent. "It was the kids you see. Children can be careless sometimes and I'd left my Kathy with those kids and their super-strength and I was worried she might've been hurt."

"She never was," Mrs. Taylor commented. Her husband agreed, "I thought about it," he said, "and I realised Clark'd never have let Kathy play with his kids if he thought there was the slightest chance she'd get hurt. So I would like to get the chance to apologise soon."

However, Mr. Taylor is not alone in his fears. Mr. Hills, whose son attends the same school as Christopher Kent…

Clark stopped reading after that and looked back up at Jason who was smiling. "See?" he told his father, "some people just need a little time. And there's actually a ton of stuff from firemen, cops and paramedics who a completely on your side."

"I-"

"And," Jason rushed on, "apparently not everyone at the Planet hates you either. Although there are some nasty chain e-mails going around about how blind they were. There are also interviews from random people on the street who are on our side and-"

"Jason," Clark interrupted him, wondering what was getting into everyone that they fel the need to try and explain themselves so thoroughly. "Thank you, Commissioner Henderson was just telling me the same thing. I did get the message."

"Good." Jason nodded. "And it gets better. There were some people on the news a bit concerned about how you can't possibly be a proper citizen and all that and how the government should freeze your back accounts and other stupid things."

"What?" Clark felt his jaw drop in disbelief.

"Don't worry," Jason held up his hands, "I decided to go down to the bank quickly and check it out. Now, obviously they couldn't go into details, you'll need to visit yourself for that, but they did say everything's fine with them. You used a legitimate passport to open your accounts and you got your passport by presenting perfectly legitimate adoption papers. According to the bank, and I suppose the rest of the law, Clark Kent is legally a citizen of the United States and entitled to the same rights as everyone else."

"Well that's a relief I guess," Clark sighed. He knew some people might not take too well to the idea that an alien was entitled to the same rights as them but if Jason was right there wouldn't be much they could do. Had made a note to check with Sophie to be certain.

"I called Smallville as well. Mom told me you were worried about them."

"You did?" Clark asked, "What's going on there? I really should go out and help myself. What did they say?"

"Well, after I got past them worrying about you," Jason started, sounding amused, "they told me that the media there is pretty much under control. The Harrisons were afraid of trespassers, living in your old house and all, but the Sheriff went out there and so far the news vans haven't come past the gate." Jason looked like he was about to say something more but had stopped himself.

"What?" Clark asked, not willing to let it go. "Jason, tell me everything."

Jason sighed. "Someone stole the 'Kent Farm' sign. Uncle Pete thinks they were looking to sell it on the internet or something."

Clark stepped abruptly backwards in shock. He felt almost as if someone had punched him in the gut. "Stolen?" he asked, his voice barely audible. "My father made that sign."

He remembered sitting in the barn as a young boy, watching Jonathan carve out the letters on the piece of wood. The old one had blown off during a storm and Clark had felt very grown up when he was allowed to help his Dad screw the new sign onto its post at the end of the driveway. The Harrisons had promised not to replace it when they'd moved in. Everyone knew it as the Kent Farm anyway they'd pointed out, there was no point in changing it.

"I know, I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's okay," Clark sighed, getting a grip on himself. "No one was hurt. It's just a sign… I just can't believe someone took it."

"I know," Jason agreed, "but there's stuff all over the internet. Sophie's roommate told her there's over a thousand items tagged 'Kent' on eBay already."

"Okay." Clark nodded slowly as he digested that information. "That's not really important right now."

"No," Jason agreed, "we can worry about it later. I think we should have a family meeting in Ella's room. Just to try and figure things out."

Clark frowned. "Jason, Ella needs to rest -"

"She's sleeping right now," Jason assured him. "Lucy and Chris left and Dean's sitting with her but she said she really wanted to be a part of it."

"I suppose it is a family meeting," Clark relented, "but we have to keep it short. I don't want her to have to stay here any longer than necessary."

"I don't think any of us want to stay here any more than we have to. Chris didn't really want to join in though, Richard took Eric and him to the rec room downstairs."

"Right," Clark said slowly, "I know it's between you and him but…"

"Everything's fine, Dad," Jason told him, "we talked and he knows you were just respecting my wishes by not telling him."

"That's good… and between you two?" he asked, knowing it wasn't really his place but he still needed to make sure Jason was happy.

"We're good too, Dad, don’t worry."

Clark sighed and ruffled Jason's hair like he used to when he was a boy. "Jason, I'm your father, it's my job to worry," he informed him calmly as his now twenty-seven year old son ducked away and fixed his hair.

"Dad," he complained with a pout, "I'm just about to go find Evelyn. Now I look scruffy."

--

Evelyn pulled her jacket more tightly around her as a chill wind blew over the roof of the hospital. Her phone was held tightly to her ear and she was half hoping the ringing on the other end would terminate in an answering phone rather than her mother's voice.

No such luck though as a bright voice on the other side answered. "Hello? Lorene speaking."

"Hey, Mom, it's Evelyn," she said over the wind.

"Oh, darling, it's so good to hear from you," he mother cried, "I heard about Jason's poor sister, is that where you are?"

"Yeah, I'm at the hospital with him." She frowned, not wanting to ask her next question but deciding to just get it over with. "Is Dad there?" Her mother was silent for a while and Evelyn sighed. "He's there isn't he?"

"He's it the shower right now but if you want to talk to him-"

"No!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I mean, not right now," she tried to correct herself. "Just tell him I need to talk to him about what he did."

"I'll tell him," her mother promised her, "But you should go easy on him. His moods have been really strange lately," her mother sighed. "He would have only meant it for the best."

Evelyn just sighed. "Mom, if Dad only wants me to be happy he should be supporting me. Jason makes me happy, that's why I'm marrying him."

"I know, dear, just don't be too hard on him will you?"
"Bye, Mom," Evelyn told her, refusing to talk anymore about her father.

"Everything alright?" Jason asked from behind her.

Evelyn jumped but relaxed and leaned into his warmth when he wrapped his arm around her. "Just more family trouble." She turned in his arms until she was facing him. "I've also-" she broke off with an amused frown- "what happened to your hair?"

"I- it- Dad," Jason muttered angrily as he stepped back and tried to fix it again.

"Don't worry," Evelyn told him, giggling at the sight, "you look fine."

"Nevermind," he huffed, "what were you going to say?"

"Just that I think I need to be back in New York soon. Work isn't that happy about me taking time off so suddenly."

"I don't want you to lose your job- but I am glad you did come," Jason told her. "The doctor thinks Ella should be out by Friday, she's healing really fast. Although she'll probably still be in bed until Monday at the earliest."

"That's good to hear," Evelyn said with obvious relief. "But you know I didn't come here just for Ella."

"I know." Jason leaned down to kiss her lightly. "Thank you. I just came up here to tell you Dad just got back and we're having a family meeting in Ella's room. We need to be dealing with this together."

"Okay." Evelyn nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

"You're invited too," Jason told her, "I mean, you are going to be part of the family soon."

"Thanks," Evelyn said, feeling touched by the offer, "but now she's awake and you're okay I feel like I might be getting in the way a little."

"You're not-" her fiancée started but she stopped him before he could finish.

"Jason, I really think I should be getting back to New York anyway. This is a family thing but I don't see my place in it."

"Are you sure you'll be aright by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, it's not my picture that's on the TV."

"Alright then," Jason agreed, "just please be careful and don't hesitate to call me okay?"

Evelyn just smiled and kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Jason told her, "now hold on."

--

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Clark asked Ella, surveying the crowded room in concern.

"I'm fine, Dad," she said with a exasperated sigh as Lucy and Dean helped prop her up with pillows. "My side doesn’t even hurt right now."

"We should still keep this short anyway."

"I need to go back to Harvard anyway," Sophie said, "so short is fine."

"And I want to join Evelyn back in New York as well, don't worry Dad, well let Ella sleep soon," Jason promised him.

"I'm not tired," Ella protested.

"You still need to be resting," Clark told her. "So let's get on with it."

"Has everyone seen the special edition newspapers?" Lois asked, holding up her copy of the Planet.

"I think everything in the Planet is fine," Dean said, flipping through his copy, "some of it's actually nice."

"The Planet's fine, but this concerns me," Jason said, holding up a copy of the Inquisitor. "it's got a list of how much of Dad's abilities we've all got."

"Many," Sophie corrected him automatically, "and so? Every paper aside from the Planet does."

"They're guesses- this one's actually right." Jason turned it around and held up the page for them to see. "It's got that Dean, Soph and me have all them-"

"Which is no surprise after that apartment fire and Jason and Dean's stuff last night," Lucy added.

"Does anyone know what's happening with that fire by the way?" Sophie wondered out loud. "They got the arsonists right?"

"They did," Jason told her, "and I'm sure they'll contact us if they need to. But back to this." He held up the paper again. "They've even got that Lucy and- hey- 'Eleanor'-"

"Glad to see they fixed that at least, right Ellen?" Lucy muttered, sharing a smile with her twin as they remembered the initial confusion over her name.

"- have all of them except for flying and Chris has none."

Lois raised her eyebrows. "Not sure whether I'm more surprised that it's right or that it's in the Inquisitor. It is a bit worrying though."

"Is it possible it's just a lucky guess?" Dean asked, putting down the Planet to look at the other paper over his brother's shoulder.

"Even if it is just saying things like Chris having none could still be dangerous," Jason said, shaking his head.

"Meaning people will stop stabbing me and go after him instead," Ella commented from the bed.

Clark instinctively zoned his hearing in on his youngest son's heartbeat and quickly x-rayed through the walls. He relaxed slightly as he found him still playing with Eric and Richard. He also noted the two policemen who just 'happened' to be loitering outside the room and felt calmer as he remembered Henderson's assurances.

He tuned back in just as Lois was speaking. "-think we should schedule a press conference either today or tomorrow morning."

"A press conference?" Jason repeated, looking surprised.

Lois nodded. "We've been talking and we think that's the best move."

Clark continued. "People are curious but they're also afraid. The first thing I did as Superman was to talk to Lois so she could tell people I wasn't here to hurt anyone and I was willing to answer their questions."

"What about Ralph's interview?" Dean asked, looking up from the Special Edition of the Planet.

"That was in-depth and covered a lot," Lois admitted, "but it was for the newspaper we worked for. A press conference will allow everyone to ask their question and show we're not hiding anything."

"Perry's already said that having me work for the Planet now the truth's out with probably make sales skyrocket," Clark told his family. "If the only people we talk to is the Planet how can we convince people everything they read is the truth."

"Because if you're going to be that good for sales people will think Uncle Perry is publishing only what you let him so you don't quit," Sophie stated, realization dawning on her face.

"Exactly." Clark nodded. "So we have to give everyone a chance."

"No we don't," Ella muttered quietly but everyone heard anyway.

"Ella, I think-" Clark began but his daughter cut him off.

"We don't, Dad," she insisted. "We don't have to explain anything to these people. They should be grateful for what you've done for them for so long instead of demanding answers."

The was a tense silence after her words. Dean was the first to break it. "I agree with Ella," he said quietly, "there are people who have right to have their questions answered- Like Uncle Richard-" he nodded toward Jason "- and maybe a few of our closer friends. But the media don't really deserve answers."

"But the people do," Clark told him. "The people of Metropolis have trusted me for years and now they feel I've betrayed that trust."

"How?" Ella asked, "By having a life?"

"More like 'by having kids'," Jason said, shaking his head. "That's what you mean it's it?" he asked Lois and Clark.

"Yes," Lois answered bluntly, "that's big part of it. Now that the initial shock has worn off, people want to know about you lot. Obviously there's a lot of worry over the fact that you all have, or will one day have, your father's abilities. Some people are scared that you might not turn out to be as good as Superman is. And, being completely honest, a lot are just plain curious about the fact that you're the first ever half-human hybrids."

"Oh, great," Ella muttered bitterly.

Lucy gave her an odd look before turning back to her parents and asking, "So what are you going to tell them?"

"As little as possible," Clark assured them, "I said you kids were off limits and I meant it."

"Apparently, some people," Lois muttered, taking the Inquisitor from Jason and holding it up, "need reminding of the fact."
--