Superman cut across the sky in an arc while the air peeled away from him with sharp cracks that rolled behind him like distant thunder. The world blurred into strokes of colour under him and the wind pressed against his face while he pushed through one sound barrier then another. His chest felt tight and his thoughts churned in a way he could not slow. The conversation with the president kept replaying and each time it settled heavier on him, a dull weight that made his jaw clench and his breath flare through his nose.
He wasn't happy...
Not one bit...
He flew out over the ocean where the waves stretched in long shifting plains and the water rolled under him in deep folds that caught the moonlight. He moved faster and the spray trailed behind him in thin ribbons. His mind sat in the space between anger and sorrow and neither one eased with the miles. He only knew he needed space and he needed quiet.
The water turned to white along the horizon and he dipped lower as he crossed into the cold air above Antarctica. The wind grew colder and the land unfurled under him in long sheets of white that rolled all the way to the edge of his vision. The fortress rose from the ice like a set of long crystal branches. He slowed his flight and came down at the entrance where the great doors opened as he approached.
He walked inside and stopped only a few steps in, the anger he had tried to keep quiet broke free. He swung his fist into the wall and the impact sent a fracture pattern through the crystal; while small pieces fell around his boots.
Light footsteps tapped along the floor and one of the attendant androids came around a column. "Sir," the android said. "Are you well. May I bring you a drink."
Clark let out a long breath and let his shoulders fall. The anger drained and left only the tired feelings behind it. He managed a small smile and nodded at the android. "Thank you Gary," he said. "But I'm fine and I am not thirsty."
Gary straightened a little. "You appear troubled. Was it a difficult day."
Clark rubbed his palm along the back of his neck while he looked past the android into the deeper chambers of the fortress. "Yeah you can say that," he said. "Just a bad day..."
Gary tilted his head. "Shall I call Miss Lois Lane for you. She is often able to improve your mood."
Clark stopped and considered it, then he shook his head. "No," he said. "Not right now. I need to think."
Gary bowed his head slightly. "Understood sir."
Clark stepped past him and walked down the long corridor where the crystals curved overhead. After a bit of walking je reached the Nexus Chambers where the doors parted and the room opened into a wide circular space. The chamber held no furnishings except for a single crystalline terminal at the far side and a long table beside it. A black square cylinder rested on the table with the crest of the House of El etched into the surface in a white pattern.
He reached out and picked it up with both hands. Then placed it into the slot at the base of the terminal and stepped back while the structure made a vibrating sound.nThe lights in the chamber dimmed and a column of pale light rose from the floor around the terminal. The cylinder opened with a soft click and a projection began to form. Lines of light folded into one another until a clear image stood in the centre of the room.
"Kal-El my son. I am pleased to see you again."
"It is good to see you as well," he said in a voice that sounded steadier than he felt.
Jor El began to walk a circle around the centre of the chamber. "By my estimate," he said, "it has been nearly five years since you activated this archive."
Clark gave a small nod. "Last time we spoke you suggested I take over Earth and rule over everyone like a king, and when I refused you tried to break out into the internet."
Jor El paused for a moment then resumed his walk. "A lack of vision on my part," he said. "And I offer you my apology. I believed humanity to be fragile and in need of a guiding hand, I did not consider that it should not be my hand guiding them. I sent you here with a purpose and I forgot that the purpose was for you to choose your own path and not follow a path I laid before you."
Clark felt something loosen inside him at those words and he let a small smile slip through. "Thank you," he said. "That means a lot."
Jor El turned to him fully now. "I only ever wanted to help you," he said. "And at the time I believed I was doing what was best for you and for this world... I see now that I was wrong." He stopped mid step and tilted his head. "But I digress. You must have had a reason to come here today. Tell me what troubles you. Let me help if I can."
Clark lowered his gaze for a moment while he tried to order his thoughts. "I need advice," he said quietly. "There are millions of people suffering.... They are sleeping in tents and basements and abandoned halls. They lost everything. I tried to fix the problem in the best way I could, I asked the government to let me rebuild the cities that the Viltrumites destroyed. And the president refused." Clark's voice tightened and he shook his head. "He refused because it profits the people funding his campaigns to keep those families displaced. He refused so that someone richer could buy the ruins and sell them back to the poor." He rubbed a hand across his brow. "I do not want to hurt anyone. I do not want to intimidate anyone. I do not want power and I do not want to rule. I only want to help people. But how do I do that without breaking the very laws I promised to uphold."
Jor El paced with his hands folded behind his back while the faint vibrationn of the chamber filled the silence between them. He took a long moment before he spoke again. "Humanity is a species that contradicts itself," he said. "It is driven by compassion yet burdened by greed. It creates wonder and destroys it with equal speed. They will kill their own kind over a currency that holds no real value beyond the belief placed in it. They create systems that work against themselves and then fight to preserve those very systems."
Clark let out a long breath. "I cannot disagree with you there."
Jor El turned and faced him again, the projection holding a calm steady certainty. "You find yourself in a difficult position, especially with the limitations you place on your own conduct, yet it is not impossible to find a solution." He lifted a hand slightly. "You want to help humanity but my son you cannot help people who do not want help."
Clark's brow pulled together. "That is not good enough," he said. "Being a hero is helping people even when they do not ask for it. That is what I have always tried to do."
"Perhaps," Jor El said, "yet that is not what I meant. I do not mean to tell you to surrender or to give up on them. I mean that you should focus on those who are willing to accept the help you can offer. You cannot fight every system at once yet you can choose where you direct your strength."
Clark shook his head. "But how," he said. "I offered to rebuild an entire city and I was refused."
Jor El stepped closer. "Then we must shift the question. The law stands in your way. If the law did not apply or if it could be removed would you be able to help them."
Clark raised his gaze and answered without hesitation. "Yes. I could rebuild the houses with the worker drones. I could restore the infrastructure. I could get people home by the end of the month."
Jor El nodded slowly. "Then we focus on that. Is there a way to nullify the law or to place yourself outside of its reach. Consider the structure of the systems that bind you. If you must obey the law then is there a lawful path that allows you to act."
Clark stared at the crystalline floor as the question shifted inside him and a new path formed in the space between what he wanted and what he was allowed to do. His eyes widened a fraction.
Jor El watched him with a quiet knowing. "I see you have an idea."
Clark looked at the projection and felt a rising certainty settle into his chest. "Yes," he said. "I do."
_____________________________________
(One Month Later)
"Welcome to Metropolis Daily, I'm Rob Mccanon with your daily news."
"It has now been one full month since the disappearance of Superman," the host said while he shuffled his papers and glanced at the live feed counter, "and the public is asking one question... where is he and what he is doing, does he even care? These questions are growing louder since he has not been seen in any major relief zone since last July. Our panel is here to discuss what this absence means and what responsibilities, if any, Superman has in all this."
The camera cut to a woman in a navy blazer with her hands folded on the desk. "People should not expect salvation," she said with a hard stare toward the camera. "He is an alien. He is not human. We do not know how he thinks or what he feels or if he even cares about us beyond whatever cause drove him to put on that suit in the first place. This is one more example of him failing the world at a time when the world needs him most."
Another panelist raised a hand in protest and leaned toward the desk. "That is unfair and you know it. Superman has spent his entire life saving people in every corner of this planet. There is no one with a record even close to his. If he is gone then there is a reason for it and I have no doubt that whatever it is he will return when he is able. It is wrong to claim he does not care."
The panel erupted into overlapping voices while the host tried to keep them from talking over one another.
...
Lois Lane stood in her kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand while steam drifted up from the pot on the stove. The news played on the small television mounted under the cupboards and she half listened while she added salt and stirred circles through the sauce. Her hair was tied up loosely and her glasses were sliding down her nose as she leaned over the pan.
*Whoosh*
A sudden rush of air swept through the apartment and a soft thump sounded from the living room. Lois did not jump. She set the spoon down and wiped her hands with a towel.
"You are just in time," she called out. "Dinner will be ready in a bit."
Clark stepped in from the living room with his suit half undone at the collar and his hair flattened on one side from the wind. "Thanks," he said as he pulled off his boots and set them by the door. He walked into their bedroom and reemerged in a loose shirt and simple trousers. He dropped onto the sofa with a long exhale and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It has been a long day," he said and let his head fall back against the cushions. "I think it might have been the longest day Ive had in a while."
Lois kept stirring while she glanced back at him. "Does that mean you are finally going to tell me what you have been up to," she said without turning fully around, "since you're clearly not doing any hero work lately."
Clark let out a slow sigh. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not keeping anything from you because I want to. It's important and I promise that when the time comes you will know everything."
Lois pressed her lips together in a tight line. The answer did not satisfy her yet she knew him too well to push further when he spoke like that. "Alright," she said. "I will hold you to that."
They sat down to eat after a few minutes and Lois overfilled his plate in the way she always did when he looked worn out. She talked about her day at the Planet and about the new intern who kept tripping over cables near the printers and about Jimmy who had been bursting with excitement after landing a small scoop on a missing cat case that somehow led him into an interview with a councilman. Clark listened quietly and nodded when she paused. He watched her fork circle the same patch of rice as her voice slowed.
"What is wrong," he asked as he set his glass down. "You keep circling something."
Lois hesitated with her fingers drumming against the table. She tried to start three times without getting a word out then finally she drew a breath and spoke.
"I need to tell you something," she said. " and it's important."
Clark leaned forward with his hands open. "You can tell me anything."
Lois swallowed and looked down at her plate. "Yesterday I took a test," she said. "Then I took another one. Then another." She let out a nervous breath that trembled in her throat. "They all said the same thing."
Clark stared at her with a blank expression for a moment while his mind tried to match her tone with the possible meanings. Then it hit him with a slow widening of his eyes.
"You mean to say..."
Lois nodded and a small smile broke across her face. "Yes... I'm pregnant."
Clark did not move at first. His mouth opened and shut once then he stood so fast his chair skidded back and bumped the wall. "You are... pregnant," he said as if he needed to hear it again to believe it. He began pacing around the table with quick steps and his hands moving in wide circles. "We need to tell my parents!!! and we need to start planning and we need to make sure you have everything you need and we need to get you checked and we need to—"
"Clark," Lois said with a soft laugh, "slow down. I've not even had a scan yet or gone to a doctor."
That stopped him. He stared at her then immediately straightened. "We should go right now."
Lois shook her head while she reached across the table and took his hand. "Calm down. It is fine. Everything is fine."
Clark sat back down and stared at her hand in his. Then he looked up and broke into a smile that softened every line of his face. He leaned across the table and kissed her slowly while his thumb brushed her cheek. They stayed there for a long time with their foreheads touching and their fingers linked and the rest of the world fell away.
After a while Clark leaned away from her kiss only an inch yet that inch carried a tremor that Lois felt through his breath. His expression shifted in a way she could not miss. The joy, the shock, the wonder were all still there, but something else crept in underneath, something worrying and unsettled that pulled at the corners of his mouth and hollowed his eyes. He looked almost nauseous, and Lois's body reacted before her mind caught up.
"Clark," she said, stepping in closer and tilting her head so she could see him clearly, "you look like you are about to hurl. What's going on? Talk to me."
He tried to straighten in his seat, tried to force his face into something smoother, but the effort only made the strain more obvious. "I'm fine," he said with a weak smile that fooled no one. "Really. I am just... surprised. I am happy. I am very happy. Do not worry."
Lois folded her arms and stared at him as if he had just told her the sky was made of pudding. "You know I have seen you lie before Smallville," she said. "You are not good at it and you are not doing it now, so you can drop the brave face."
He opened his mouth then closed it. His eyes drifted to the window again, anywhere but her face, and that alone set off another alarm. Lois stepped closer until she could lay one hand on his knee.
"Clark," she said quietly, "tell me whats wrong."
He let out a long breath, the kind that deflates a man. His shoulders sagged. "I am happy we are having a child," he said slowly. "I meant that. I meant every part of that. It is the best news of my life. But the timing..." His voice trailed off.
Lois frowned. "The timing what? The timing is not exactly something we scheduled on a chalkboard, we weren't even sure we could..."
He gave a small, helpless laugh but it died quickly. "This is tied to what I have been doing these last weeks."
Lois stepped back a fraction, confusion and worry tightening her posture. "I knew it," she said. "I knew something was off. Clark, what are you wrapped up in?"
He rubbed a hand over his face. "Something large."
"How large."
He met her eyes. "Large enough to change the world."
Lois stared at him, her breath caught halfway in her throat. "You are doing something that big," she said, "and you did not tell me."
"I couldn't," he said quickly. "Lois, I couldn't tell anyone. If this leaked even a little then it would all fall apart. I didn't want you caught in that."
Lois scoffed. "I have been caught in your secrets for years. I have been kidnapped more times than I can count and I still do my job and keep my mouth shut when I need to. Do not insult me by acting like I cannot handle this."
His eyes softened with guilt. "I know you can handle anything. That is not the issue. I didnt want to put you in a position where you would feel pressured to report it. Or hide it. Or live with it before the world knew. I did not want that weight on you."
Lois shook her head. "I am your wife, Clark. Not your intern. If the world is about to change, I deserve to know why my husband is pacing around the house like he is carrying a whole planet on his back."
He swallowed hard. "I know. I know. And I am sorry. Truly. But this has to unfold in a very exact way."
She searched his face, looking for any cracks. Instead she found resolve. It scared her more than anything he had said.
"Clark," she whispered, "what are you doing."
He took her hands in his and held them like they were the only stable thing left. "I cannot tell you yet. But I promise you this. No matter how people react or what comes next, I will protect you. I will protect our child. If everything falls apart I will hold it up until I cannot anymore and then I will still hold on. Nothing will happen to you."
Lois breathed slowly through her nose and pressed her forehead lightly to his. "You are scaring me," she admitted. "But I trust you. I always have. And I know you are trying to do the right thing even when it pulls you apart. Just remember that I am here too. You don't have to take on the whole world by yourself."
A small smile broke through his tension as he closed his eyes. "I know. And soon I will need you now more than ever."
Lois cupped his jaw, her thumbs brushing the corners of his mouth. "Then you have me," she said. "Always." She leaned in and kissed him again.
(AN: Last chapter to feature superman for a while, after this we are back to Mark and Viltrum shit. Anyway hope you enjoyed.)
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