The Resurrection of Clark Kent
By Joan Powers/scifiJoan
A/N: This story starts out gloomy but ends on a more promising note. My son and I were watching “Watchman” the other night. He enjoys darker, more realistic super hero fare such as the latest version of Batman while I prefer L&C Superman and the 60s version of Batman. We agreed that it was interesting to see these heroes as men with both strengths and weaknesses. That got me thinking. What if Superman was in a more realistic world?
Thanks to members of the L&C fanfiction group for helping the wheels start to turn again! Thanks to Jessica, Mike, and Virginia R for their helpful suggestions!
Type: Drama
Summary: What if Superman’s world became more realistic?
Timeline: Fifteen years post Season 5 L&C
Rating: K+ or PG+
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
John Lennon’s Imagine
No one was exactly sure when it happened. No particular event precipitated it. It had been a gradual process, the decline of Metropolis. It started with a few more windows being boarded over in certain neighborhoods. More trash piled up in the alleys. Burned out streetlights weren’t replaced as quickly. When the unemployment rate increased so did petty theft. People started avoiding certain routes and neighborhoods. Rather than exchanging friendly hellos, they stopped meeting the eyes of strangers that they encountered on the streets. For self-defense, more citizens started carrying weapons. As a result the criminals’ arsenals became larger and more lethal. The crime rate skyrocketed far beyond the capacity of the police department.
Metropolis had become nearly as corrupt as Starling or Gotham City.
And it wasn’t just those cities. Tensions were high around the entire nation. Outsourcing of factory and tech jobs, the burst of the housing bubble and the dot.com industry had left thousands destitute. High taxes levied by a disreputable government provided minimal benefits for the average family.
The world scene wasn’t more promising. Across the globe, people experienced more than their share of natural catastrophes, disease, and political upheavals. For every dictator that was deposed, another one just as selfish took his place. Random acts of terrorism dramatically increased while the standard of living for human beings continued to plummet. In recent developments, several fledging nations run by unstable tyrants developed nuclear weapons.
Superman did his best but the situation was overwhelming. He was just one man. Even with superpowers, he couldn’t be everywhere at once.
To complicate matters, the criminals had become more devious. For they’d discovered Superman’s easiest weakness to exploit: the people he loved - Lois Lane, her children, her husband Clark Kent, her parents, and Martha and Jonathan Kent. Why go through the hassle of locating Kryptonite and potentially wresting with the formidable Man of Steel when it was far easier to grab Lois Lane and strap a bomb on her? His family had become a magnet attracting every variety of underworld thugs.
When had the world become so brutal, so harsh?
Superman had always believed the best of people but even his faith had been sorely shaken. It was the last straw when their first-born child, Chris, had been kidnapped as an infant. It didn’t matter that being of Superman’s lineage he was mostly likely impervious to harm. Someone had taken their child and threatened to harm him. That was the moment when he and Lois had made a decision to drastically alter their lives.
It wasn’t as if there hadn’t been significant changes up to that point besides his marriage with Lois Lane. They had already noticed that the newspaper industry was changing and not for the better. Reputable papers were folding all around, replaced by unmonitored internet blogs. And the few papers (and televised news programs) that continued to exist were extremely biased and merely served as political mouthpieces. No one seemed to value the truth anymore. Opportunities for reputable investigative reporters were becoming limited.
As the world around him started changing for the worse, he’d reluctantly diverted a sizable amount of his Superman proceeds into aggressive investments. While he hated to neglect charity, he needed to be able to provide for his future family. With limited job opportunities in the future and more and more of his time spent as Superman, it had seemed prudent.
After Chris’ kidnapping had been foiled, he moved every member of his and Lois’ immediate family to an isolated compound on a faraway island. It was a drastic move but one he felt he had to do.
XXXX
Superman flew past the familiar sandy coastline dotted with palm trees, anxious to see his family. He landed on a private patio where Lois was stretched out on a bamboo chaise lounge. The years had been kind to her. Only a few nearly imperceptible wrinkles framed her eyes. Although there were few people on the island, she always took the time to dress nicely.
Still, he noticed that her brightly colored floral print shift seemed a little big on her. Was she losing weight again? There was also a half-filled glass of wine on the table beside her. Wasn’t it a little early in the day for that?
Then again, he had trouble keeping track of time, zipping about the planet as he did. Days would blend into one another without him noticing.
“How’d it go?”
He shrugged. “The usual. I stopped the terrorist from blowing up the Statue of Liberty, but who knows what they’ll target next.”
Her eyes were fixed on the distant ocean waves.
Was Lois drifting again?
Isolation had been hard on all of them even though they’d agreed it was necessary. When their three children had been younger, Lois had kept her hands full. At least with both sets of grandparents, she had help. On her better days, Lois spent hours combing the Net for developing news about the world. Some of her tips had even helped Superman intervene in situations in a more timely fashion. She chatted about current issues on many boards, forming several friendships with budding, idealist reporters. Yet, it wasn’t the same. The fire wasn’t in her eyes. She wasn’t made for this type of life.
Neither was he.
He hated to ask. “What was the response to my preventing the assignation of the U.S. president?”
Lois snorted.
“That good, huh?”
He sank into a chair near his wife. He couldn’t win. No matter what Superman did, people complained. Rather than being grateful that he saved lives, people expected him to solve all their problems. It was impossible. He wouldn’t know where to start.
While he could rescue people from catastrophes like floods, gunshot wounds, and bombs, he couldn’t save them from the despair that was sapping their will to live. How could he fix the hole in their hearts? Even he had trouble dealing with that on a daily basis. No matter what he did, nothing seemed to change. Was the endless battle worth it? What type of lives did these people have to look forward to? What kind of future would his children have? Greed was destroying the world.
How could he restore their hope when he didn’t have it himself?
“At least you caught that guy before he triggered the bomb at the Statue of Liberty.”
He would never understand terrorists. How could they have so little regard for human lives, killing hundreds if not thousands of innocent people? Nothing could justify such mindless slaughter. It sickened him. Gruesome images of the Towers from the infamous day of the plane crash still haunted his nightmares. He’d been too late to prevent it. He’d done the best he could, doing damage control and assisting the living while flying about the horrifying rain of body parts.
He covered Lois’s hand with his own and squeezed gently. She was fading, once again. He wanted so much more for her. Some days she was vibrant, filled with energy. Before he’d left, she’d gone on about the nuclear developments in North Korea and the potential implications. She’d even suggested ways he could intervene to avoid disastrous complications. Now she had receded into one of her darker spells.
“I miss you, Clark.” Her voice sounded distant.
I miss him too, he thought to himself.
Somewhere along the line, Clark Kent had disappeared. With his façade of a normal life gone, Clark Kent was no longer necessary. He felt sad, missing the business suit and those colorful ties - but there was far more to it than that. As Superman, he only dealt with emergencies – burning buildings, earthquakes, bank robberies, assassination attempts. Now, he was only out of his Suit on the island where life never had been ordinary. The island was populated only with his family, parents, in-laws and a select trusted few. All knew his secret so there was no need to switch between the two identities.
He mourned the death of Clark Kent. He missed him. He missed little things: walking down the street with a coffee and donut, talking with shopkeepers, picking up groceries, having lunch in a cafe with Lois, working on a deadline for a story. Being a reporter had never just been a cover, it had been part of who he was.
He needed Clark Kent. He needed an ordinary life to refuel him, to energize and encourage him. He needed to be one of the people - not just the rescue agent every minute of the day.
He sighed. He felt badly they were trapped on the island. No matter how beautiful it was, it was still a prison. But they’d been targeted so heavily it had been impossible to live normal lives.
Yet, what kind of a life was this?
XXXXXX
In a flash, he stepped in and out of the shower and changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Then he padded over to the terrace to lean against the railing and stare towards the ocean.
“Clark?”
The sound of his name felt so unfamiliar that it made him laugh. He nearly didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure who Clark was anymore.
“I was a fool to think I could ever live a normal life. I am the Suit. The only time I take it off is when I’m here on the island. Clark Kent is for all intents and purposes, dead.” He sank onto a bench opposite his father.
The years had been kind to Jonathan Kent. True, there were more wrinkles; a general overall frailness reminding him of his father’s advanced years. He would not have his parents forever, though his relationship with Dr. Klein and STAR Labs had proven to be highly beneficial in prolonging their life span and overall quality of life.
“Son, you haven’t given yourself much of chance to be Clark these past years. I know you don’t need to eat or sleep. Maybe that’s part of the problem. Do you realize how long you’ve been gone?”
Clark was about to reply only a few days. Then he realized that he had absolutely no clue. Days and nights blurred together for him.
“Four weeks,” Jonathan solemnly stated.
“Weeks?”
That couldn’t be right. It just couldn’t. It had gone by so quickly, feeling more like hours.
“This hasn’t been the first time that this has happened. I understand that because of your powers, you feel you have certain responsibilities to the world. But you also have responsibilities to your family, your wife.”
Clark was dumbfounded. No wonder things hadn’t been making sense to him when he spent time with his family. He’d been asking questions about events that had occurred for them weeks rather than days ago. He’d been oblivious to the fact that a substantially longer period of time had passed.
Bewildered, he responded, “What can I do? I had no idea.” He sighed and bent forward, covering his face with his hands. Not only was he failing humanity, he was failing his family as well. “How can I fix this if I’m always too distracted to keep track of time?”
“I may be able to help you there.”
Jonathan passed over a leather band with a watch face on it. A small blinking light shone in the center of the face. “Sam Lane specially designed this. It’s as weather-proof and indestructible as STAR labs can make it. It will automatically remind you when five days pass.”
“Five days? Dad, that’s not enough time to accomplish anything.”
More sternly, his father stated, “When you first started being Superman, did you rescue people day and night?”
“Of course not.” He fondly remembered those times. Starting off his reporting career at the Planet. Getting to know Lois. Researching his stories. “But the world is a different place today.”
“Still, you didn’t spend all your time as Superman. Being Clark was just as important.”
“Yeah. But things are not same,” he insisted.
“That doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be neglecting yourself and your family.”
Clark hung his head. No matter what he did he couldn’t win. Being Clark, enjoying his wife and children, felt like a luxury he couldn’t afford. And even being Superman for weeks at time couldn’t solve the world’s problems.
With concern, Jonathan explained, “Even with your superpowers, you don’t function as well if you’re not taking care of yourself. You have needs. You need time to recharge. Time to be with Lois and the kids. They miss you. They need you.”
“I want to be here more for Lois. I miss her. I really do. But lately, she’s not here even when I am.”
The familiar sadness filled him. On her good days, Lois was a powerhouse. During his last stop home, she’d presented him with excellent ideas regarding how to deal with the escalating nuclear situation in North Korea. Yet, other days, she stared off as if in an impenetrable fog. Maybe that had been partly why he’d starting losing track of time so badly. It broke his heart to see her like that. It only added to his feelings of guilt and hopelessness.
“For the past months, you’ve been flying off for weeks at a time and when you do return, it’s only been for a matter of hours. Do you blame her for losing faith? Don’t you think your wife and children require more from you?”
Clark stewed quietly, color rising in his cheeks.
“You need to be patient with her. It’s frustrating when she doesn’t respond but don’t just give up and fly away. Talk to her. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t seem to be listening. Keep talking until she responds. She might react if you show her that she still matters to you.”
Offended, Clark cried, “Of course she still matters to me!”
“Then you’ve got to show her that you mean business. Why don’t you take her out to dinner?”
“What?”
“No, really. You’re Superman. You two could fly off to Maine for a lobster dinner.”
His father’s suggestion felt wrong on so many levels. They’d gone to such extremes to protect their family for so many years. And something as frivolous as a date just felt improper.
“Why not? Most of us have to eat.”
“I don’t know.”
Jonathan pressed, “You’d only be gone a few hours. She’d be safe. You’d be by her side the whole time. You could go as Clark. Spend a few hours together. Lois would love it. You would too. What’s the harm?”
He imagined a sunny afternoon, sitting at an outdoor café with Lois, enjoying a plate of pasta or chocolate dessert. It was sorely tempting. But it felt selfish.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” Jonathan took a breath. “Maybe you need to start loosening up in other ways too.”
“What do you mean?” Clark asked cautiously. He wasn’t sure he could handle any more bombshells.
“I understand why you did what you did. Why you felt you had to hide us. You had to protect your family. But Chris is almost sixteen years old and Maggie will be fourteen. Maybe it’s time to loosen up for them too.”
“Why? I keep telling you. The world hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s gotten worse. Why would I want them to experience all that. Dad, it’s awful out there. And I can’t seem to fix it. What am I doing wrong?”
His father stepped towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Absolutely nothing.” Jonathan sat on the bench beside his son.
With frustration, Clark explained, “I never seem to fix anything. There’s never any progress. And they’re all so angry with me. They want me to make things right but I don’t know how.”
Where was the Utopian world that H.G. Wells had gone on about so many years ago? He’d claimed that he and Lois would found such a place. Now it seemed like a cruel joke. Or had some subtle event in the time line doomed them to this horrific version of future? It seemed utterly hopeless.
“There are ways,” Jonathan assured him.
“How? And even if there were, when would I have time?”
“Clark, you’re not alone. You don’t have to do it all.”
He sadly shook his head.
Jonathan reminded him, “Thanks to your careful managing and investing we have substantial resources here. State of the art computers. We have access to reputable scientists at STAR Labs and other research facilities. When Lois is feeling well, she chats with journalists and scientists across the globe. While she can’t do the legwork herself, she knows who to contact.”
“To do what?”
“What do you think would help?” Jonathan inquired.
Clark threw his hands up, feeling overwhelmed. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“How about food production?
They all followed the news extensively via the Internet and television. It kept them sane, maintaining that connection with the outside world. The famine in Africa had always been bad. Now parts of South and Central America were suffering as well due to severe drought conditions.
“We could invest some funds into research that will allow other countries to grow more food more efficiently,” Jonathan continued. “We could encourage others to do so as well.”
“Yeah. Then they’d keep the surplus and exhort ridiculous prices from those poor countries that couldn’t afford it in the first place.” the former reporter responded cynically.
“Not if part of getting the technology requires a charitable ‘donation’.”
For the first time, Clark seemed interested. “That might work. But I’d have to do the research. What techniques are more promising? Which is the best lab to pursue? Who could we trust to invest with us and then implement our program? I just don’t have time to oversee it all.”
“Of course you don’t. You’re already doing your job. You’re keeping the patient from bleeding to death. But remember, you have one heck of a surgical team behind you.”
Clark looked doubtful.
“If anything, this could also help Lois. Give her more to focus on. Keep her engaged. You know she’d do a great job. She’s already helped on other occasions. Like when she got the inside scoop on the terrorist group trying to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge.”
“But Dad, corruption is so deep. We couldn’t find honest people to enforce such a program.”
Jonathan averted his eyes. “What if I told you we’d already done a test run, of sorts?”
“What?” Panic rose in Clark. What was his father implying?
“Remember the outburst of Ebola in Africa?”
He did. Lois had told him about it and he’d seen some of the unfortunate victims.
“STAR Labs has developed a cure.”
“That’s great! But how are you going to get it to the people who need it? The rulers in those countries will never allow it.” He rose as he thought aloud. “I could do it but I’d have to make sure every person was inoculated before I left…”
“It’s already been done.” His father grinned.
Astounded, he asked, “How? What are you saying? You’d need a serious fighting force to get to through the military to those poor people.”
“Or superpowers.”
“Dad!” Clark exclaimed, feeling as if he’d been exposed to Kryptonite. “They’re kids!”
“Who have superpowers. Even though their mother is human, they’re invulnerable like you. We’ve been working with them to help them understand their powers and the situations they’d be facing.”
“Are you insane? What if something happened to them? I can’t believe you didn’t talk with me about this or that Lois would allow this.”
Jonathan cleared his throat. “You haven’t been here to consult. And it was partly Lois’ idea.”
He sternly stated. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Clark, while you’re out there keeping the peace, the rest of us could work towards making a difference. People are happier with full stomachs. Once they’re out of survival mode, they’ll start to expect more from life. They themselves may help us perpetuate change.”
Clark wanted to believe it but he was worried about his kids. “Chris and Maggie know so little about the world. It would be easy for criminals to take advantage of them.”
“You of all people should know that superpowers go a long way. Besides, they work as a team. And when David turns fourteen and has a better handle on his powers, he can join them.”
“But - what do the kids think?”
“Who do you think pushed the hardest for this in the first place? They’re frustrated, just like the rest of us. They want to help. Does the phrase, ‘we were given these powers for a reason’ ring a bell? Did you really think they’d just stand by on this island for the rest of their lives?”
A surge of pride welled up within him as he admitted. “I guess not.”
“Besides, it’s not like we’ve been sitting around here for fifteen years. We’ve already been researching and making contacts. It’s more a matter of getting organized: forming teams, making goals, and setting priorities. We could call ourselves the Superman Foundation.”
“I..I don’t know about that, Dad,” he modestly protested. “Who would organize all this?” Looking towards his dad, he anticipated, “Aren’t you getting a little old for this type of thing?”
While his father was highly capable, that had never been the issue. Clark didn’t want him to shoulder more than he could handle. Such stress could be bad for his heart.
“Like I said, I was thinking about Lois. Being involved, maybe even making some changes could help anchor her in reality more firmly,” Jonathan said.
He considered it. Even though there was risk involved having his children interact more with the outside world, the potential to encourage Lois and his kids, to make a difference in the world shifted the balance of the scale in favor of the idea. It was worth trying.
Smiling for the first time in a while, Clark suggested, “Hey Dad, I think I have a better name for our group. How about Project Utopia?”
XXXXX
Clark turned off the lamp and slid into bed underneath the covers beside Lois. He pulled her closer to him, trying to connect better with her. Although he’d spoken with her during dinner and even talked her into walking along the beach that night, she’d been non-responsive. Sometimes this condition could persist for days.
He tenderly kissed the back of her neck, remembering his dad’s admonishment to keep trying. She might not be responding but she still could be listening. If he had to repeat himself hundreds of times, he’d keep trying until she indicated that she’d heard what he had to say.
Even though he’d already apologized three times that day, each time he approached it, the pain came back to him. The words were still hard to grasp. It wasn’t as if he simply kept repeating a carefully scripted response. It just didn’t come out that way. He still felt fresh with shame that he’d inadvertently treated his wife so poorly.
“Lois, I’m sorry. I did what you’ve always been afraid of. I put the world before our family. Before you. Even knowing how scared you were of that, I did it anyway. I’ve treated you just like your dad treated your mom when you were growing up. I’m so sorry.”
She leaned closer into him, resting her head against his chest. Hopefully that was something significant.
He remembered the fights from their courtship. He longed for her fire. Back then she would’ve given him the chewing out that he so richly deserved. She would’ve unleashed the full wrath of Mad Dog Lane.
“There’s no excuse for what I did. I’ll do better. I promise. Your dad made me a special watch that will help me keep track of time so I can return home on a more regular basis. I’ll stay home longer too. I’ll be here for you and the kids, like I should’ve been all along.”
“Good.”
His heart fluttered; he was thrilled to hear her speak. He reached along her side to firmly grasp her hand in his.
“The world is in such lousy shape, I feel so guilty taking time for myself. Being with you and the kids. I’ve missed you. I’ve been running on fumes and it took my Dad to point it out to me. I’d forgotten how much I need you. You’re the one that inspires me. That believes in me. You’re the one that helps me believe I can move mountains and truly make a difference. Without that, even with superpowers, I’m as lost as everyone else. Even though you and I have different jobs these days, we’re still a team. We’re still better together than we are apart.”
He hadn’t realized he’d been going it alone so long. That he’d only being going through the motions with his family. Now, even the thought of their support made him feel more optimistic.
“That’s true.”
Even though her responses were clipped, he was encouraged that he’d engaged her attention.
“Dad told me about all the work you did figuring out how to deliver the Ebola cure to those villages. That must’ve taken a lot of coordinating working with STAR labs then getting details about security conditions in those areas.”
“It was.”
She was starting to sound more confident.
“And you did a great job. I’d love for us all to work as a team again. You’ve already done a great job gathering intelligence. It would be great if we could prevent tragedies rather than just pick up the pieces once they happen. And if we could solve some of the world’s problems, maybe help humanity, - that would be amazing.”
Lois turned to face him. He waited expectantly. After a moment passed, he said, “Dad came up with another kinda crazy idea. He thinks we should go out to dinner. Like to Maine or Paris.”
“Paris sounds good to me.” Sounding a little more like herself she added, “By the way, don’t think this means you’re off the hook.”
He grinned, hoping his wife was working her way through her dark spell. He’d be by her side to help her. He’d welcome a major tongue lashing in the next few days if it meant that his wife’s emotional health was improving.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
They leaned closer to kiss.
THE END
