Author's note: This is set during All Shook Up, starting after Lois leaves Clark at his apartment on the night after he gets amnesia. It's not quite finished, so I should hopefully post the next chapter tomorrow.
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters, plot lines etc. are property of DC Comics, Warner Bros and December 3rd Productions. I'm not making money off this, just having some fun.
______________________________________________________________________
Smothering a yawn, Lois rotated her shoulders to get some of the kinks out as she boarded the elevator. It had been a very long and strange day, but she didn’t have time to stop now. A jolt of the newsroom’s thick and bitter coffee would help keep her awake.
Exiting the elevator, she made a beeline for the coffee machine, adding real sugar instead of her usual sweetener, reasoning that it, along with the caffeine, might provide the energy she needed. Coffee made, she wandered over to where Perry White leant against the edge of Jimmy’s desk. Jimmy was talking rapidly, obviously trying to convince the Chief about something, but a splash of bright primary colours distracted Lois from their conversation.
Snatching up the scrap of what had obviously once been part of Superman’s Suit, Lois broke into their discussion.
“Where did you get this?”
“Suicide Slum,” Jimmy answered nonchalantly.
“He made it back?”
Perry nodded.
“Alive?” She steeled herself for the answer.
Jimmy shrugged. “No sign of a body.”
They turned their attention back to the conversation she’d interrupted. Lois ignored them.
Superman had made it back. So why hadn’t he made contact with someone? With so much riding on his expedition to destroy the Nightfall asteroid, it seemed impossible that he’d remain silent.
What if he’d contacted Clark? As much as she hated to admit it, Clark was closer to the superhero than anyone else on the planet, including her. It would make sense, she decided. If he’d made it back- if he was hurt, or unable to contact anyone else- he would reach out to Clark first. The only problem was, if it happened before Clark’s attack of amnesia, he wouldn’t remember it!
What if he was out there in Suicide Slum, needing help? What if he was expecting Clark to come and find him, only Clark couldn’t remember what he had to do?
She turned to Jimmy. “Where exactly in Suicide Slum?
***
This area of Suicide Slum was like a rabbit warren. The narrow streets twisted and turned with seemingly no pattern, and the few street signs that remained were more often than not obscured with graffiti. Lois slowed the Planet’s battered old clunker to a crawl, watching for the landmarks Jimmy had described.
She pulled the car up with a jerk when she saw the damaged Metroliner billboard and the hole behind it, restraining the urge to rush to the edge of the pit. Instead, she took a moment to make sure no one else was moving around the area; this was possibly the single roughest part of Metropolis, and the last thing she wanted was to be mugged- or worse. Cautiously, she got out of the car and walked towards the hole Jimmy had described.
In the dim light, it was practically impossible to see into the gaping pit in front of her. She rummaged through her bag and found her flashlight; turning it on, she could see a place where she could make her way down.
Lois climbed down into the crater and looked around. As Perry and Jimmy had said, there was no sign of a body. There wasn’t much to be seen at all, as a matter of fact; just the odd sliver of red or blue cloth amongst the rubble. She scrabbled her way back up the slope and stood on the edge of the crater, brushing the dust off her hands and skirt. A bright patch of light, unusual in this part of the city, caught her eye and she paused. What building in Suicide Slum would be brightly lit?
Mindful that this was a dangerous area, she slid back into the driver’s seat of the Planet’s old runabout rather than walking the few hundred feet to the lit area. Pulling the car over to the kerb, she looked up at the sign on the front of the building.
“Fifth Street Mission.”
She sat back in her seat in surprise. This was where the police had found Clark! Was it possible that Clark had been on his way to rescue Superman? Had he been going for help when he became confused?
But…
The police psychiatrist had put Clark’s amnesia down to the accident in the street three days ago. But as Lois recalled it, Clark hadn’t hurt himself- not badly, anyway. She was no doctor, but she well remembered the concussion she’d received in a taekwondo tournament a couple of years ago. She’d had a huge lump where her opponent’s foot had made contact, followed by a nauseating headache, ringing in her ears, dizziness… Clark had complained of none of those. Was it possible that his amnesia had been triggered by something else entirely?
Killing the engine, she got out of the car and headed into the mission. Maybe she’d be able to find someone that had seen Clark there.
***
The mission proved to be one huge hall with long trestle tables set up down one side. It was crowded with people, most of them still asleep on the table-less side of the room. Here and there, a few people were eating something that looked like oatmeal.
Lois stopped at the front of the hall where a young man stood behind a makeshift bench, tending a giant coffee urn.
“Can I help you, miss?”
“A friend of mine was picked up by the police here yesterday. Tall, dark hair, glasses? He was pretty confused when he came in. I was hoping someone might have seen him?”
A look of recognition crossed the man’s face. “Oh yeah, I seen him. Henry!” He called back over his shoulder into the crowded hall.
Getting no response, he shook his head.
“He came in with Henry. I’ll take you to him.”
Henry proved to be a middle-aged man with a multitude of glasses and sunglasses slung around his neck. He had his head bowed, his hands wrapped around a steaming mug.
“Henry?”
“Mornin’, Sam,” Henry responded in an unexpectedly gravelly voice without turning his head.
“This lady- what did you say your name was?”
“Lois,” she supplied.
“Right, Lois here was looking for that guy you brought in yesterday.”
Henry turned and looked up at her.
“You a friend of his, miss?”
Lois nodded. “His name is Clark. He works at the Daily Planet.”
“Thought he wasn’t right in the head. Didn’t know his own name or nothin’.”
“Where did you find him?” Lois asked.
“He was sleepin’ in a hole in the ground, down that way.” He gestured it the general direction of the crater. “There was this big bang, and then there he was, in the bottom of a hole. No clothes on or nothin’. Had to be freezin’. Shelter was the best place for him.” He nodded once as if that settled the matter, and went back to his coffee.
Lois thanked him and made her way out of the mission, deep in thought.
Henry had found Clark in the same hole where scraps of Superman’s Suit had been found. Was the big bang that Henry had described the impact that had formed the crater? If it was, there was only one explanation for how Clark had gotten there.
Clark was Superman.
A shaft of exultation shot through her. He had made it back alive!
It faded quickly. Yes, he’d made it back alive- but not unhurt. Clark was Superman, she was convinced of that, but he didn’t remember that he was Superman. The amnesia was no act, she knew that for sure. She’d seen the look of confusion and helplessness in his eyes, it was one of the reasons she’d been so patient with him. Doctor McCorkle had told her it would take time- time that Lois wasn’t sure they had.
How did you help an amnesiac superhero remember how to fly?
