Previously...
Clark wasn't sure what to think. He was insanely glad to hear his father speaking so well of Lois, but his final words sounded like an ending. They sounded like a farewell. Clark's heart sank.
"So, you've decided then. You're leaving?" he asked, unable to help himself.
"No."
"No?" He almost dared not hope that he'd heard that correctly.
"No," he repeated. "I will stay." The words exploded in Clark's ears though they had been uttered only slightly louder than a breath of air.
"What?" he gaped, his heart pounding.
"I will stay. For all that I will miss by not finding our people, nothing can compare with losing you. I will admit, at first I had hopes of simply wooing you away from the life you've built on this planet. But I see now that you are right. You do belong here. And if you belong here, I will find a way of making sure that I belong here too."
"That's fantastic news!" Clark said, embracing his father. "I'd hoped you would stay, even if I never really believed that you would. But...are you sure?" He was almost too afraid to ask that question. "I thought you hated it on this planet?"
"I did, for many years. But being free now...being able to see a side of Earth that I never have before...the world is not as bad as I'd believed it was. You've shown me that, yes, there is goodness in most human beings. Like our fellow Kryptonians, most people are good. Some are evil. And just as no one can condemn all Kryptonians for the few who are rotten, I cannot do the same with humans."
Am I dreaming? Clark asked himself. Surely this can't be happening.
"I...I'm glad you feel that way," Clark stammered, groping for words. "This is amazing. I'm so excited. You won't regret it, I swear."
Jor-El smiled. "How could I, when it gives me a chance to spend my remaining years with my son? But there is much to do. Like you, I will need an identity and a place to call my own. I've already invaded your home for far too long, though I've been grateful to have a place to stay."
"You're always welcome here, Dad, you know that. It's been nice, spending time with you here in the evenings when I get off of work. You don't know what it's meant to me, to have you tell me all about my Kryptonian heritage."
"It's been nice to have someone to tell. Someone who can appreciate Krypton's legacy."
"You know," Clark said thoughtfully, "I think I might know of someone else who would definitely appreciate the knowledge you have."
"Oh?" Jor-El sounded intrigued, if not a little worried.
"Dr. Klein, at S.T.A.R. Labs. He's been a friend to me since I started at the Planet and he's become sort of Superman's physician. I trust him completely."
"The one you entrusted with the Kryptonite?"
Clark nodded. "Yes."
"Does he know...?"
"No," Clark said with a shake of his head. "The less people who know about Superman's day job, the better. But he's a good guy, and if the circumstances ever arose when he had to be let in on the secret, I would be comfortable with him knowing. Anyway, he could use a fellow scientist to work with him. Particularly one who's been exposed to far more superior technology than Earth yet possesses. Actually, I was just at S.T.A.R. Labs today and he was talking about taking on an assistant. You'd be perfect for the job."
"I must admit, it would feel wonderful to be in a laboratory again," Jor-El said with a grin.
"Good. I'll visit him just as soon as we establish your new identity. If Superman recommends you for the job, you can count on getting it."
"I've already thought about who I want to be," Jor-El said, his smile disappearing. He looked to the heavens as if the coming words needed some kind of cosmic forgiveness. Or maybe just a boost of cosmic strength. "I will be Jordan. Jordan Kale."
"Jor for short, I would assume," Clark said with a laugh.
"And the Kal in Kale after my son," Jor-El finished for him.
Clark grinned and stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Jordan," he said as he pumped his father's hand up and down in a shake. "I'm sure you're a perfectly normal guy with absolutely no super powers whatsoever."
Jor-El laughed. "Nope, not me. I'm just your regular Joe. Absolutely nothing alien about me."
Clark leaned back against his apartment, a laugh on his lips and his heart soaring. "This is great, Dad. Really. I'm truly happy for you."
"For the first time, I'm truly happy about it too," Jor-El confessed.
"I'll talk to Dr. Klein first thing in the morning," Clark vowed. "I'll fly over before work. Now, let's get inside. We have a lot of planning still to do."
He's staying, his heart seemed to beat as they turned to enter the warm comfort of Clark's apartment. He's staying.
***
Help!
Clark's head snapped up from where it had been bent over his research. He listened intently for a moment, waiting for the call to be repeated. When it was, he breathed a discreet sigh of relief. Now that he had a general direction, it would be easier to pinpoint the location once he was airborne. Lois saw the expression on his face.
What? she mouthed.
Clark made their now-familiar hand gesture that signified that Superman was needed. She nodded and stood, moving to his side and matching him step for step as he made his escape through the bullpen.
"Fire," Clark said in the elevator, answering her unspoken question. He listened again as he picked up the police scanner with his enhanced hearing. "Over on Yorkshire."
"Yorkshire? That's mostly low-income apartment housing," Lois pointed out with concern.
"I know," Clark said quietly. "See you there?"
"You bet."
Swiftly, they exited the building, only for Clark to duck down the nearest deserted alley. He spun into his alter-ego and shot away into the sky, picking up speed with every passing second. He scanned the city as he flew, looking and listening for where he was needed, though it didn't take long for him to find it.
Sirens blared in the otherwise still afternoon. Flashes of red and blue lights competed to be seen in the glaring sunlight. The roar of a raging fire drowned out almost everything else. But not for Clark. He heard everything. The crackling as the fire devoured the apartment building. The way the building creaked. The thud of bricks as parts of the building collapsed. The screams of those trapped. The bellowing of the firemen and women as they vied with everything else to be heard.
Clark sped into a descent, landing next to the fire chief.
"Superman! Thank God!" the man breathed, coughing against the billowing black smoke that was overtaking everything. "The building is collapsing. We're doing what we can to get as many people out as possible, but I'm afraid our efforts aren't going to be enough. There are people trapped where we can't safely get to them."
Clark nodded once in the decisive, professional manner of Superman. "I'm on it. Tell your men to stick to where it's reasonably safe." He touched the man lightly on the shoulder in an effort to ease some of the chief's anxiety.
"Thanks, Superman. I'm not sure what we'd do without you."
Again Clark nodded, then, quick as a flash, he zipped away into the building. Instantly, he was engulfed in a raging inferno. It was like entering the gullet of a fire-breathing dragon, he mused. Around him, the flames danced and devoured everything in its path, like a living being. The sound was deafening. Not missing a beat, he began to x-ray the building, noting just how unstable the structure was, and looking for survivors.
He knew he wouldn't have much time before the building came down.
Spotting his first glimpse of life amongst the blaze, he set to work. The two little boys he found recognized him immediately and went to his waiting arms right away when they saw him. He swiftly, but carefully, ferried them to safety. A soot-streaked woman ran to them, still coughing, and embraced them tightly, almost before Clark had set them fully on the ground. Satisfied that the kids were okay, Clark turned and went back into the fire.
He worked steadily, trying not to rush, knowing that he could not afford to make any mistakes, but feeling pressured all the same, knowing every second mattered to the people still stuck inside. He pulled out an elderly couple next, followed by a teenage girl, then a man and his dog. Each person pulled to safety lightened his heart by the slightest of degrees. But more were still inside, and the floors were giving way.
Suddenly, through the thick, choking smoke, a figure emerged, unfazed by the lethal flames.
Clark had to blink several times to convince himself that he wasn't seeing things. A figure in black shot with silver. The stylized S on his chest. The near-perfect, but older, reflection of his own features.
Need a hand? came a voice inside Clark's mind.
Dad? What are you doing here? he thought back in surprise.
The telepathy didn't surprise him at all. Jor-El had worked with him on many a night to develop the ability. Though it was a natural ability that all mature Kryptonians possessed, the skill needed to be refined. And Clark had already missed out on years of honing it. But seeing his father dressed in a black Superman-like suit with silver accents - the toes of his boots, the cuffs of his sleeves, the cape on his back, the belt around his waist - was astonishing, to say the least.
When did you...? Clark thought to his father. He did not stop searching for more survivors as he did so.
Surprised? Good. It was a difficult secret to keep from you.
Did Mom make that? Clark knew his father would know that he meant Martha.
She did. Ah, over here. I found a couple of women.
Clark joined his father. The two women looked from one to the other as Superman appeared with the strange new man clad in black. But the older of the two - a woman nearing retirement age, if Clark was any judge - took the hand Jor-El stretched out to her and allowed him to help her up. Perhaps it was that Superman himself was with the new, unknown hero that gave her the confidence to go with Jor-El. Perhaps it was sheer desperation to save her life. Perhaps it was how similar Superman and the other man looked. Perhaps it was the S on his chest - a symbol that had stopped meaning Superman but which now stood for hope and justice.
Whatever it was, Clark didn't care. All that mattered was that someone who needed help was getting it. The woman would live, thanks to Jor-El.
Together, father and son rescued a few more people. On their last check of the building, they found a firewoman stuck inside on of the apartments with an infant girl. The floor had collapsed, leaving an impassible crater that stretched down for several floors. There was no way to get to the window and the ladder to safety that lay beyond.
"Who are you?" she asked, though the fire burned away her voice.
"Give me the child," Jor-El urged. "I'm here to help."
Instinctively, she clutched the baby closer. Clark touched her on the shoulder.
"He's with me," he said in her ear. "We'll get you both out of here."
Reluctantly, she relinquished the child. Clark scooped her up immediately and flew her across the chasm and out the window. He did not let her out of his arms again until they were both standing on solid ground. Jor-El lightly touched down not two seconds later and gave the infant up to a waiting paramedic. The firewoman sputtered and coughed as she tried to catch her breath.
"Thank you," she wheezed at Clark. Then, to Jor-El, "I don't know who you are, but I'm grateful."
Jor-El smiled benevolently and touched her on the shoulder. "Glad I could help. Kal? One more check?"
Clark nodded in affirmation. Kal. His father had called him by his birth name. Not Clark. Not Superman. Jor-El hadn't given away Clark's identity, nor had he deferred to the nickname the world had branded Clark with. He decided that Kal was the perfect way for his father to address him while in the suit of the superhero.
"Let's do it," Clark added as he nodded.
Together, they flew off again, side by side, scanning the apartment building with their x-ray vision, and extinguishing as much of the blaze as they could with their superbreath. Eventually, their efforts, combined with the unflagging efforts of the firefighters, contained and finally vanquished the inferno. Floating in mid-air before the remnants of the scorched, brick building, father and son took a moment to catch their breath. Clark looked over to his father with a smile.
"Thanks for the help," he said.
Jor-El nodded. "I know you're used to doing this alone. I hope I didn't...step on your toes, so to speak."
Clark shook his head. "No, it was wonderful having you with me. There are people alive today because of you. People who would have certainly died, if not for a little alien intervention."
"You know, everyone is staring at us," Jor-El playfully observed.
Clark laughed. "I think they're staring at you. You're the new hero. The unknown one. I'm old news."
Help!
"Ready for another rescue?" Clark asked.
"Lead the way."
And so it went for the rest of the afternoon, in an unusually busy day for Superman. After the fire, the pair of alien saviors rescued a school bus filled with Girl Scouts after the driver had a seizure and the vehicle crashed through a guardrail and sailed into a lake. Then they stopped an armed robbery, saving a dozen hostages in the process, and finally rounded out the day saving a plane from crashing in Paris.
By the time they were finished, it was getting late and news of the mysterious accomplice on each of Superman's rescues had spread. It was all anyone seemed capable of talking about. Worldwide excitement over something in the news hadn't been this high since Superman had first introduced himself to the public. It was hard not to laugh at all of the hype, speculations, and theories they overheard as they dined in Germany that night. Clark knew that Lois would be dying to talk to them both, so they visited her once they arrived back in Metropolis.
It was too nice a night to stay indoors, and Lois insisted that they talk things over somewhere outdoors. Jor-El agreed and a place sprang to Clark's mind. With Lois safely nestled in his arms, Clark led the way as they flew through the night, until they reached a quiet cliff jutting out from a mountainside no more than an hour's drive outside of the Metropolis city limits. He'd found the cliff not long after he'd begun flying around in broad daylight, unafraid of being seen doing something super. It was a favorite spot for him to come and collect his thoughts when he preferred being earthbound to floating unconnected to anything out in the void of space. Together, the three settled down on the rocky shelf, suspended above the trees and ground. A fat, round moon illuminated everything and gilded the world in silver while silent stars looked on.
"So, I hear you've had a busy day," Lois said, grinning at Jor-El. "How did it feel?"
"It felt...wonderful," Jor-El said, his eyes shifting to some far-off point, as though recalling the emotions of the day.
"You did a lot of good today," Clark added, gently patting his father on the shoulder.
"I guess I did." There was no mistaking the satisfaction in the older Kryptonian's voice. "Clark, you must forgive me."
"For what?" Clark asked, taken a little aback.
Jor-El shook his head. "Before today, I don't think I ever really understood why you do what you do. Why you continue to be Superman in a world with such a short memory and such a tendency to fall back into old habits. I've wondered why you bother catching today's criminals when tomorrow new ones will inevitably rise to take their place. Why you waste your time saving a planet that seems so dedicated to its own destruction."
"What made you change your mind? After all, you spent all afternoon doing exactly those things. Don't tell me it was just some kind of father-son bonding time," Lois said quietly.
Jor-El chuckled a bit.
Even his laugh sounds like mine, Clark thought with wonder in his mind. Even now, after months of having his father back in his life, it still amazed Clark to see pieces of himself so perfectly mirrored in Jor-El.
"No, it wasn't a bonding activity," he agreed with a grin, and it warmed Clark's heart to see how well his father now got along with Lois, especially now that she was Clark's fiancée. "I finally decided that I would never understand it unless I did it myself. I had to experience it for myself."
"It's a good feeling, isn't it?" Clark asked softly, looking out over the moon-drenched world around them.
"When Krypton was dying, I tried my best to save it. I did everything I could think of to convince the rest of the elders, the ruling houses, even the lowliest of citizens to get away before the planet could die. I worked night and day trying to find a way to heal the wounds that had bled the life out of Krypton. I was too late and my efforts did too little. Precious few of our people heeded my warnings to abandon our planet. And Krypton itself only got worse and more unstable as time passed until the core gave out and the very stone of the planet was ripped apart." Jor-El paused and took a breath.
"When I joined you at your rescues today, I felt...almost like I was making amends for being unable to help my fellow Kryptonians." His words were slow and deliberate in coming, each one meticulously searched for. "But more than that, I felt proud. Proud to be making a difference. Proud to know that someone lived because I had been there to lend them aid. Proud to know that I could help at all. And, suddenly, I knew what it is that you feel each time Superman makes an impossible rescue."
Clark smiled but was too choked up to speak right away. His heart felt like it might literally burst apart from trying to contain all of the love and pride he was feeling.
"This feeling...it's so new to me," Jor-El continued. "For so long, I'd forgotten what it was like to contribute something so important to the place I call home. For a long time, after I'd come to know the Bureau, I didn't want to contribute anything to the world. Today...today I finally felt free."
"Exactly," Clark said. "That's how I felt, the first time I was able to fly around in broad daylight, without caring who saw me. I finally felt free to be myself. Being able to use these powers of mine...they finally felt like a blessing that I could share, instead of a curse that I needed to hide."
"When I first found out about the whole Superman thing, I was torn. Should I be proud that your embraced your powers and assumed a role of natural leadership, as you would have, had you been married to Zara? Should I be upset that you'd chosen to help human beings - a species I, at the time, only saw as vile, evil, creatures not worth saving?"
"You seemed pretty settled on upset," Clark observed neutrally, his voice still low and thoughtful.
Jor-El nodded solemnly. "I know. I was. I couldn't see past my own experience with people. So I owe you an apology, Clark."
"I never blamed you for feeling the way you did," Clark replied, looking at his father. "I told Lois once that I didn't need your approval of what I do - as Superman or as a reporter. But I'll admit it, it's nice to have it after all."
"If I may, I'd like to make this a regular thing. Helping out. Aiding you at rescues when I can. Being present at a situation you can't be."
"I'd like that," Clark said with quiet intensity. His voice surprised him. He would have thought it would have come out as a shout so exuberant it would have shaken the mountains.
"Of course, this presents a problem," Lois said. Two pairs of eyes settled intently on her, eagerly waiting for her to continue. But she smiled. "The world is going to want to meet their newest hero. Everyone in the world must have their own theories and opinions by now."
"We'll need a press conference," Clark supplied. "What do you think about linking yourself to the Daily Planet, along with Superman?"
"I'd love it. How soon can we set it up?"
Clark studied the moon for a moment, gauging the time. "It's a little late to call Perry tonight. I'll talk to him first thing in the morning. We should be able to get everything in place for the day after. Which, I think, is great. It gives us enough time to figure out what we want to say."
"How to brand you, so to speak," Lois added.
Clark grinned. "If you need a name to go by, Lois is pretty good at coming up with superhero nicknames."
Lois laughed. "Hey! I had nothing to go on other than an S on your chest and an assurance that you were a friend."
"Having you name me...I couldn't have asked for a more appropriate or amazing thing to happen," Clark replied, leaning over for a brief, chaste kiss. "You know I love the name you gave me."
"I don't think I could have picked a better name. You are pretty super," she replied, sneaking another kiss.
Jor-El cleared his throat softly, bringing them back to Earth. "I'm not sure I want a name."
"Trust me, it's better if you do," Clark said.
Lois nodded in agreement. "He's right. You may be known as Jordan Kale now. And maybe no one knows the name Jor-El. But the public is going to make up a nickname for you anyway. You may as well control what it is."
"I'm destined to be Superman Senior without it, aren't I?" The older man chuckled.
"Maybe," Lois smirked. "And they will peg you for being Superman's father, or at least a close uncle or something. You two look too much alike."
"The same way they realize Superman and Clark Kent are twins, with different eyewear and hairstyles?" Clark teased.
Lois laughed. "Especially those who work right alongside one half of the whole," she said, blushing a little and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You're right though," Clark said. "It is pretty obvious that the two of us are related. I've already heard several news reports pointing out that fact."
"What do you want to do about it?" Jor-El asked.
Clark shrugged. "I say we meet the speculation head on. We be completely upfront. Yes, this is Superman's father. But we spin it. People are going to want to know why they haven't seen this new hero before. So we say that he just arrived, the last inhabitant of Krypton. Which, for all we know, might be the truth. And, technically speaking, he did just arrive...as a hero, even if he was a prisoner of a bunch of psychopaths for many years. We'll say that he had matters to attend to before he arrived, so he sent his son on ahead. Again, not totally a lie, if not really the truth."
But, even as he tried to convince himself of the partial truth hidden within the story they would weave, he felt uncomfortable. The fact was, Jor-El had never meant for his son to become a hero to an alien world. Clark had never been sent on ahead. He'd been spirited away by his dying mother just in time to prevent Bureau Thirty-Nine from capturing a second prisoner.
Lois seemed almost to read his heart.
"It's okay, Clark. It's not lying to the world. It's a deception, yes, but along the same lines of making the world think that Clark and Superman are different people. The story we're going to tell the world, it's to protect your father."
"I know. I've just never been comfortable with deception. Even hiding who Superman is, especially when I was hiding it from you..." He sighed and shrugged, leaving the light breeze to whisk his words away.
"I know," she said, snuggling into his side while he put his arm around her waist. She leaned in, putting her head on his chest. "So...we still need a name for our newest hero. Let's think. AstroMan?"
"What is this, a bad fifties sci-fi movie?" Clark asked with mild disgust at the terrible name, though he smiled fondly at Lois.
"Splendidman?"
"No way." Clark shook his head.
"Cosmic Defender? Galaxy Guy? The Shadow? Sentinel? Centurion? Silver Bullet? Silver Warrior?"
"You're not even trying now," he teased.
"Well, what's your suggestion?" Lois asked, grinning.
"How about...Krypto?" Jor-El suggested, cutting in.
"Krypto?" Clark asked.
"My dog's name from when I was a child," his father explained.
Clark grinned. "I like it. Very Indiana Jones of you," he said with approval. Then, "Uh, you've seen that one, right?"
Jor-El laughed, a deep, rich belly laugh. "Lucky for you, I saw it last week. So, I get the reference, even if the movie didn't inspire my idea."
"You know what? This is great. The three of us, together," Clark said.
"It is," Jor-El and Lois agreed, nearly together.
"Lois?" Jor-El asked after a moment.
"Hmm?"
"I don't think I ever said this, but, thank you."
"For what?"
"For being a woman worthy of my son. For loving him and accepting him. For giving him your unconditional support. You and I started off on the wrong foot, but I'm proud to call you my friend."
"Jor, I love Clark. I should be thanking you, for risking everything to bring him to Earth. I don't know what my life would have looked like without him in it, but I'm glad I'll never have to know. All I know for sure is that my life would be a lot poorer without him. And just know...just as I protect Clark in both of his identities, I'll protect yours."
"I know. I trust you."
It was incredible, Clark mused to himself. For a long time, his biological father hadn't mattered. He'd been dead, as far as he knew. But now...now his father was alive and well before him. And a piece of Clark's heart - a piece he'd never known was missing - had been restored.
Krypton's legacy wasn't in the gadgets and gizmos Jor-El had guided mere Earthlings to develop. It wasn't in the caped figures who flew through the sky and protected mankind from whatever evil befell them.
It was this perfect, peaceful moment.
Krypton's legacy was, simply put, family.
The End.
