As Clark and Lois sat down at the supper table to what looked and smelled to be the best roast chicken sandwiches he had ever eaten, he realized what he should have done. He should have changed out his business suit and into his ‘Jerome’ jeans and flannel shirt and claimed Lois had picked him up hitchhiking from Lawrence. He really was horrible at lying
The best lie is often closest to the truth, I suspect your parents would have (begrudgingly) admitted had they ever had the chance to help in this.
The only exception his folks ever made to the no lying rule, was not telling anyone, at any time, for any reason, Clark’s secret. His folks explained that that wasn’t really lying, but withholding information for his protection.
Hence my comment about them unhappily telling him how to (appropriately) lie, but almost never outright lieing (lying?).
“I’ll have Jerome help me set up your bedroom once we return. Thomas will be relieved to hear that you’ll be sharing a room, so he won’t have to sleep on the couch.”
I do have to wonder what they think of all of this. I'm guessing they didn't buy them being married. I don't think I could blame them anyway.
He knew the Daily Planet received calls for Superman’s assistance all the time. They had even hired someone to screen the calls, and pass the leads to the right desk. Many of the problems were outside of Superman’s ability to help. Although, he had caught a couple of suicides who had jumped off local bridges after loved ones had phoned in tips. Cases of corporate greed or swindling were funneled to the business or city reporters. Requests for financial assistance were referred to the Superman Foundation or other charitable organizations for review. Medical problems went to the health desk or 9-1-1. Domestic, elder, or child abuse went to the authorities at MPD. Very few actual calls made it to his or Lois’s desk to be investigated, or passed to the man himself, any more.
Very wise, using the "Superman" leads to create compelling stories that lead to change.
Finally, she cleared her throat and, speaking more softly, said, “A spaceship. Small and silver and definitely not from Kansas. We think its crash must have started the fire. I opened the hatch and found…” Her eyes closed tight and he could see tears brimming on her lashes before she went on, “ – the most darling baby boy. He had dark hair and couldn’t have been more than three months old.” Her eyes flashed open and over to him. “I’m so sorry, Jerome,” she said, reaching over and touching his sleeve. “He was already dead.” Her bottom lip shook in telling him this, and the tear she had been holding at bay let go of its mooring and fell.
She'd probably never told anyone else other than Johnathan and that would have been mostly a never-told tale even between them.
He gasped in anticipation as he realized what must be in the box. The globe. The other Lois had mentioned the one her Clark had with a map of Krypton and a message from Jor-El. How Clark wished he could have found his missing sphere, to hear his birth father’s voice, and his last words to him.
What is in the box is not what you're thinking, Clark.
She raised a hand to his cheek and brush her thumb across it. “For the same reason you believe me and don’t think I’m crazy; you already knew.”
He took a step back, his eyes wide. “How… How… I don’t know what… I didn’t know, I swear,” he stammered, clearly unconvincingly from her expression.
“Right,” she said with a wink. “That’s why you visit us and help us out all the time, and why you work at the Daily Planet and hail from Smallville, despite never having set foot here or on our property until this past spring. I didn’t call Lois this morning; I called you, Clark.” She knelt back down by the box, unfastening the latches. “And I’m guessing you know what this is, and why those men are looking for it.” She lifted up the lid and instead of seeing a round sphere, and he saw a large spiky green glowing meteorite. One he hoped never to see again.
I can just imagine the shocked look here.
“Jerome, man! You sneaky dog, you. You never said a word about being married to such a…” Thomas said clasping Clark on the shoulder, and then caught Lois’s expression of building irritation. “— beautiful woman.”
Hello knife! *twist twist*
“Estranged wife,” Lois corrected, and saw the Kents exchange another knowing look. “You lied to me, Jerome Lane. I’ve promised to help you out with your friends, here, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you, or that we’re back to where we were when you proposed.”
“Actually, Lois, you proposed to me…” he teased feebly, going for the joke to try and break the tension. It didn’t work
It would be true, of course this Lois never got to that point.
“Kryptonite, that’s what happened,” Clark said, with heavy sigh. “It’s the one thing in the world that can hurt me and cause me physical pain. Well…” He hesitated and with a pained smile, glanced out the doorway his ‘estranged wife’ had just departed through. “— the only thing besides Lois. It takes away my abilities and my invulnerability. It causes my head to hurt, makes me sick to my stomach, and drains all my energy, all my life-force.” Kind of like Lois.
Ah yes, the other kryptonite. I've always believed Lois was in her own way a form of kryptonite (or at least the Silver Age version probably thought of her that way considering how he tended to keep her at arm's length.)
Herb had said that Tempus had tried to kill the Clark of their dimension as an infant. That the ship had crashed in the afternoon. Tempus had found it, carried baby Kal-El to Rocky Cove, and covered the infant with Kryptonite. Lois, and the barely existing older Clark, had defeated Tempus, and saved baby Kal-El. Then Clark had taken the infant and flown him back to the ship, which was the streak in the sky that had caught Kents’ attention and drawn them towards the ship. Could someone else been tempted, as Tempus had been, to try and kill this Kal-El in the past, but this time had actually succeeded?
With Tempus never existing, I guess time finds another way to do what he did.
“You swallowed a bomb?” Jonathan sputtered.
Clark shrugged. “I wouldn’t recommend it. I had horrible gas for a week afterward.” He chuckled forlornly. That had been a dreadful week, between bridezilla Lana, wedding plans, meeting Lois and Herb Wells, learning about other dimensions, becoming Superman, losing Lana, meeting Tempus, being outed as an alien, and losing Lois. He sighed. “And no powers.”
“Just a couple days, actually. I got my first-ever cut, several cuts actually, because I had to shave with a razor instead of heat vision,” Clark admitted, shaking his head.
Thank you for continuing the "kryptonite takes away his powers" thing. I always hated that the changed that in the second season.
“Geez, Chuck, you’re getting as over-protective as Superman. I’ll be with Thomas. I’ll be fine,” she said, her hands on her hips.
“Chuck?” Jonathan asked.
Lois’s eyes widened as she must have realized her faux pas.
“The last time we went undercover together, my alias was ‘Charles’,” Clark explained with a scratch to his head. “The nickname ‘Chuck’ kind of stuck.”
And in the process hinting at the fact that his name not Jerome (although I get the feeling they already knew that.)
“Okay, I’ll stay. I’m sure the Kents would love to hear the story of what happened to you at the Metro Club,” Clark retorted.
Clark: Lois and I made out in the closet and she got picked up by Lex Luther.
He grinned at the Kents. “How I love that woman.”
Oh letting them in on how much you like her early now, aren't you? Then again, your "cover" probably suggested that too.
