Previously...
“I do not need a normal life, Lois. I just want to help people here on Earth.”
“But the media attention on you-”
“Will not keep me from doing what I have to do,” Kal cut in. “I will still be able to help out regardless of the media.”
“You hid yourself when you were staying with the Kents,” Lois tried.
“I was doing that for their protection,” Kal replied. “Just like I will not do anything to draw attention to your apartment while I am staying here. I know you do not want any attention drawn to you because of this, and I will respect that wish. But I will not do anything to mislead the people living here, and that is all I want to say about it.”
Lois didn’t dare say anything else about the subject.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lois stumbled blindly out of her room to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She hated getting out of bed in the middle of the night, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she didn’t get something to drink first.
She opened the fridge and nearly jumped in fright, when she caught sight of movement in the far corner of the room.
“Kal!” she gasped clutching the front of her robe. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.”
Lois felt the cool air that drifted through the apartment.
“Did you just get in?” she asked.
He nodded. “I was out around the city.”
A yawn stretched across Lois’ face. “It’s the middle of the night,” she told him. “Unless Kryptonians are nocturnal, you should be getting some sleep.”
“I do not need as much sleep as you,” he shrugged. “It is one of the benefits of my new abilities.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say to him. He looked so bleak in the pale light coming from the refrigerator. The bright colors of his suit seemed garish in comparison to his serious face.
Kal sat down at the table, resting his head in his hands. He let out a heavy sigh and muttered something under his breath. Lois couldn’t hear enough of it to understand, but then again, he could also be speaking in Kryptonian. He did that, occasionally, although not as often as she thought he would.
”Does it ever get lonely?” she asked him. “Being awake this late at night?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he lifted his head, and just looked at her.
The eyes that were normally so carefully controlled were instead burning with raw emotion. He kept his hands clasped tightly in front of him, but she still saw them tremble. Never had she seen him looking so vulnerable.
“Oh, Kal.”
She took two steps towards him but before she could go any further, those eyes shuttered closed.
“I am fine,” he told her, shaking his head. “The extra time at night gives me the opportunity to help out those in need.”
“Kal…”
“Lois, please do not worry about me,” he told her in a tight tone. “I do not need your sympathy.”
She flinched back.
“Okay,” she replied, stung at his refusal to talk. “I guess… I’ll just go to bed, then.”
“Yes,” Kal nodded. “You need your sleep.”
“Yeah.” She pulled a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water. “Goodnight, Kal.”
“Goodnight, Lois.”
* * *
Lois twisted her wrists in a futile attempt to get free of her bonds. But she was securely tied to the chair and there was nothing she could do to get free. Situations like this were always frustrating, and this one was doubly so. This time, she was in absolutely no danger, physically. She was only tied up to provide the thieves with enough time to get out of Metropolis. Lois liked to think she was worth more than that.
She blew out a heavy sigh, and leaned back against the chair. On top of Arthur Potts and his gang escaping, if she wasn’t found soon, there was no way she would be able to finish the article in time for the evening deadline.
But there was no way anyone would hear her in the back room of the museum, and it wouldn’t be until morning before someone would come back here.
Unless…
Kal had been working on sharpening his sense of hearing. He said that sometimes he heard calls for help, and he wanted to be able to respond to those better. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for him.
“Hey, Kal!” she spoke loudly into the dark room. “Can you hear me? I could use some help right now.”
It felt ridiculous to talk to him here, where logic told her there was no way anyone could hear her.
“Kal!” she spoke louder. “I said I could use some HELP!”
Nothing happened.
Finally, she took a deep breath, and pushed out as much air as she could.
“Help, Superman!” she called.
There was a whoosh just outside the room, and the door opened with a crunch.
Kal strode in, wearing the blue and red costume that Martha had designed.
“Lois?” he asked in shock. “What are you doing tied to a chair?”
“Some people I was investigating wanted to make sure I didn’t go too far,” she replied ruefully. “Can you get me free?” She shuffled around a little to show him her bound wrists.
“Uh, sure,” he replied. “Do you have any scissors?”
“In my purse,” she replied. “Over by the door. But wait,” she realized. “You could just break the ropes yourself, couldn’t you?”
“Oh!” He blinked in surprise. “I suppose I could.”
“Still not used to it yet, huh?”
“Well, I am getting more and more used to having the abilities,” Kal replied, snapping the ropes for Lois. “But I am still realizing all of the different applications they would have.”
“Thanks, Kal,” Lois said, standing as she shook the aches away from her newly freed wrists. “Now, I have to go make a phone call to the police.” She had already made it halfway across the room when Kal called her back.
“Lois?”
She turned around. “Yeah, Kal?”
“I have only known you for a short time, yet it seems you are constantly getting into these extreme situations. Does this happen a lot to women here on Earth?”
Lois had to grin at his apprehensive expression, probably a result of him contemplating his future on a planet filled with Lois Lanes.
“Not to most women,” she replied. “I’m a bit of a special case.”
“Oh.” Kal’s face visible relaxed. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Now I’ve got to go make a phone call. If I call Inspector Henderson now, I’m sure the police can catch the culprits in time.”
* * *
After making sure that Lois would be okay, Kal flew off again to see where else he could help in Metropolis. He hadn’t gone far before he caught sight of a multi car pileup on one of the main freeways.
Kal landed at the scene of the accident, taking in the mangled bodies of the vehicles that had crashed into each other.
“Superman!” One of the EMTs called as he ran past. “Man, am I glad to see you. There are three people trapped inside the SUV. Can you get them out?”
Kal sighed in frustration. He had been on Earth for almost a month now, and had been public for two weeks, but there were still many things he needed to learn, and he disliked it when people just assumed that he knew everything. Of course he would probably dislike it equally as much if everyone felt the need to explain everything to him.
But pushing his irritations aside, which vehicle was the SUV? Thanks to his time with the Kents, Kal knew the distinguishing features of a pickup truck, but that was about it.
Feeling the crunch for time, Kal finally used his vision to look for people trapped within their vehicles. He found the right vehicle, and was able to get the people out and delivered to the EMTs with relative ease. Although the young girl looked like her leg was wounded, and the family did have some cuts on their faces and arms, none of the injuries were life threatening.
There were no other people in danger, but Kal decided to stay at the scene for a while and observe what was going on, and perhaps help with some of the cleanup. It would be good for him to see some of the procedures.
It seemed as if the police were almost ready to leave when a younger looking officer approached him. Kal guessed that he was around the same age as Lois.
“Um, Superman?” the officer asked timidly.
“Yes?”
“Look, I don’t want you do take this the wrong way or anything…”
“Go on,” Kal prompted.
“Well, I saw you have some problems with the EMT’s instructions.”
“Yes, I did,” Kal agreed ruefully. “You know I have been helping out publicly for over two weeks now, but there are still many things on Earth I need to learn about.”
“Right. Yeah, I can understand that. Look, I was just going to offer…” The officer reached up and scratched the back of his neck.
“Yes?” Kal asked.
“Well, we have a sort of resource book at the precinct,” he finally told Kal. “It’s got different car brands and makes and years and all that. Maybe you’d want to take a look at it.”
“That would be very helpful,” Kal replied enthusiastically. “Is there some time I could take come to see it?”
“I’m almost done here,” the officer told Kal. “How about I meet you at the precinct at…” He glanced at his watch. “Three o’clock?”
Kal confirmed the address with the officer, but stayed to watch the cleanup only for a few minutes longer. He decided that a walk to the precinct would be a good way for him to get to know the city better.
His comfort towards the idea was a sign that he was adapting to life on Earth, he decided. Up until now, he had flown wherever he wanted to go.
Making his way off the freeway, Kal entered a more residential street. He made it down a few blocks with only a few curious stares. That was to be expected, he decided. After all, people were still unused to seeing him.
He was halfway down the next block when he saw a child tentatively inch towards him. He stopped, and crouched down to be level with the child.
“Hello,” he greeted softly, not wanted to frighten her.
“Hi,” she replied shyly. She ducked her head and giggled, but then brought it up again. “Can you sign this for me, please?” she asked, sticking a napkin out in front of him and holding a pen in her other hand.
Bewildered at the request, Kal took the pen from her and wrote ‘Kal-El’ in English on the napkin and handed it back to her. He was able to cover up his discomfort in forming the strange letters by putting in a touch of his recently acquired speed.
She glanced at the napkin and wrinkled her nose. “This doesn’t say Superman,” she said in confusion. “Superman starts with an ‘S’.”
“Oh. Right, sorry.” He took the napkin back and added ‘Superman’ to it.
She thanked him cheerily and ran back towards her waiting mother.
Kal straightened up only to come face to face with three more people holding out pieces of paper and pens. By the end of signing for them, he had given up on signing Kal-El, and just scrawled ‘Superman’ as quickly as he could.
He continued to walk down the street, but this time he got much more reaction. Everyone greeted him and smiled, but the way they treated him made him nervous. It was like they were in complete awe of him, and were perhaps even a little afraid.
Five more people came up to him and asked him to sign various things. He was starting to worry. Just what was it about signing things that was so appealing to these people? He hoped it had no legal ramifications he wasn’t aware of.
“Superman, this is Linda King from the Metropolis Star. Why are you walking on the streets? Had something happened that caused you to lose your powers?”
“No, of course not!” Kal replied. “I just wanted to get a sense…” He paused to write his name on someone’s baseball cap. “To get a sense of what Metropolis is like from the ground.”
The crowd had grown very large, and he was no longer able to move forward without pushing people out of the way.
“Superman, will you sign my forehead?” One person asked, pushing a felt marker in front of Kal’s face.
“Superman, I want you to sign my t-shirt!”
“Hey, Superman, want to sign-”
“Miss, please pull your shirt back down!” Kal exclaimed, averting his eyes hurriedly. He was fairly certain that *that* was socially unacceptable here just as it was on Krypton. He looked up with caution, but that particular woman was nowhere to be seen, pushed out by newcomers. The crowd was pressing in on him at all angles, and there seemed to be no escape.
Except up, he suddenly realized. Rising slowly to avoid anyone being injured, Kal broke free from the mob.
“I am sorry, but I must leave,” he announced to the group.
He flew up even further until the clamor of their voices could no longer be heard. He breathed in the fresh air as his head slowly cleared.
What had just happened there?
* * *
Kal hovered outside of the police station, hesitant. He regretted his earlier thoughtlessness in not getting the police officer’s name. It seemed like the only way he would be able to get a hold of the man would be to walk in the front entrance, but he loathed the attention that would create.
But just before Kal was about to take the plunge, he noticed someone whistling a tune near one of the back doors. Circling around the building, Kal was glad to see it was the same officer from before. He landed in the alley beside the man, who smiled at Kal sympathetically.
“I heard what happened to you on your way over,” he told Kal. “Thought you might appreciate a more discreet way in.”
“Thank you,” Kal spoke gratefully.
“No problem, Superman,” he replied, gesturing Kal to go through the door ahead of him.
Kal winced at the name, the memory of those signatures fresh in his mind. “Call me Kal, please,” he told the officer.
He blinked in surprise. “Sure. You know, I never thought about it before, but I bet it must be strange to come to a new place and have everyone call you by a different name.”
“Usually, I do not mind,” Kal replied. “But sometimes, it is nice to hear my name again.”
“I’m Brian, by the way,” the policeman told Kal as he closed the door behind them. “I realized I never told you that at the scene of the accident.”
Kal nodded, to show he had heard Brian. They began walking down the hall together when Kal decided he couldn’t wait until he got home to ask Lois about the burning question inside of him. “Brian, may I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What is the reason behind everyone wanting me to sign something of theirs? That seemed to be all that people wanted.”
“You mean autographs?” Brian paused to think. “Well, I guess they’re a neat keepsake because it’s a personal mark of whoever you met. It’s something that is unique to them and can act as a memento or something. Really, it’s just a frivolous thing.”
“Oh, good. I am glad to hear I did not accidentally promise marriage to half the population in Metropolis or something.”
Brian let out a bark of surprised laughter. “I didn’t think you were the type of person who made jokes,” he commented.
“I am just an ordinary person,” Kal shrugged. “Before I came to Earth, I was no different from anyone else.”
“And now you’re an international celebrity. Must be tough. Here, we’re in this room.” Brian unlocked a door, and led Kal into a room with a large window looking into another room. “It’s the other side of the interrogation room,” Brian explained. “From the other room, this window looks just like a mirror so we can watch whoever is in there without being watched ourselves.”
“I have seen this on TV before,” Kal commented, walking closer to get a better look.
“I don’t have an office,” Brian apologized. “Or even a desk, for that matter. Of course that’ll soon change, hopefully. I’ve applied for a position as Detective. Anyway, for now we’ll have to make due with whatever’s available. And I figured it would be best if you kept out of the spotlight.”
“Do you think people are always going to react that way around me?” Kal asked, sudden fear gripping him.
“Maybe not quite that crazy,” Brian shrugged. “You’re a bit of a novelty still. But you’re the first alien to ever try to settle down here, so who knows what things will be like?”
Kal sighed heavily. Lois had been right when she said that the media attention would be very intense. He had had no idea daily life would be like this.
“Sorry, man,” Brian spoke up. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but we can get a little crazy here on Earth.”
“It is not your fault, Brian,” Kal told him. “But it is discouraging to think that I will not even be able to walk down the street without being mobbed.” He shook his head to clear it of the morose subject. “But anyway, you said you had a book for me?”
“Oh, yeah.” Brian turned and grabbed a small cart and rolled it towards Kal. “I picked up some other ones that you might find useful as well. Municipal laws, and police procedures and stuff.”
Kal eagerly reached forward to look at the books. This was exactly what he needed in order to do his job better.
But as he began paging through the books at speeds that impressed even him, he couldn’t help but mourn the fact that direct contact with this world seemed out of the question.
* * *
Living with a Kryptonian certainly had its advantages, Lois decided as she bit into the baked chicken Kal had prepared that night. For one thing, Kal had apparently taken the little joke she made about him helping out with the housework to heart. Her apartment had never looked neater. And the meals he created were astounding.
Lois had told Kal that she really didn’t expect him to do all this work for her, but Kal always insisted, saying that he wanted to do something for her. And she certainly had no reason to complain.
“This is fantastic, Kal,” Lois told him. “I have no idea how you picked all this stuff up in the short time you’ve been here. I’ve lived here my whole life and I still can hardly manage to boil water.”
“But cooking is so interesting.” Kal replied. “The way the different ingredients react together to create something completely new is so magical. We have nothing like this on Krypton but when you think about it, it is very similar to chemistry.”
“I was never very interested in chemistry,” Lois confessed. “Much to my father’s disappointment,” she added bitterly.
Kal watched her closely, but he didn’t pry any further. She had probably scared him from asking about her family with her original outburst a few weeks ago.
“My interest in chemistry or any other science never matured beyond making interesting concoctions that smoked, or glowed, or did something else interesting,” Kal shared. “Although I am sure my parents would have enjoyed it if I was more apt in the area.”
Lois glanced up at him, surprised. This was the first time he had mentioned his parents to her, but she didn’t push him any further. Although he never mentioned it, the tragic weight of what he had gone through was always present in her mind when she talked to Kal.
“So the police managed to get those art thieves,” Lois mentioned, after a reflective pause.
“That is good,” Kal nodded. He looked distracted, though.
“Is something wrong, Kal?” Lois asked. Maybe he was willing to share with her more of what life on Krypton was like.
But what he said next was very different than what she expected.
“I tried to take a walk today,” he shared.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” she winced. “Apparently, they had to call a few police cars down to clear everybody out. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well.”
“Do you think it will always be that way if I want to go out in public?” Kal asked.
“I want to say no, Kal,” Lois told him. “But I really can’t. Like it or not, you’re a celebrity.”
“I cannot understand the reason for celebrities,” Kal said in frustration. “True, we had people on Krypton that were given more… respect, I suppose, than others, but the sense of curiosity and fascination humans have for these people is completely foreign to me.”
“I’m sorry,” Lois apologized. “I know you don’t want any of this.”
“I need to learn more about Earth culture if I am to be able to help people with my abilities,” Kal reflected. “But how can I do that if I am mobbed wherever I go?”
Lois chewed on her bottom lip, hesitant to continue. Finally, she decided to go ahead.
“That’s why I thought the idea to give you a separate identity would be a good one,” she explained, head down towards her plate. “I know there’s no way you’d be able to spend time out in the open unless you acted like a human.”
She sneaked a glance up at him, and he appeared to be deep in thought.
“I do not like the idea of lying to the people of Earth,” he spoke quietly.
“Well, you don’t even have to look at it as a lie,” she told him. “If anyone asks you outright if you’re Superman, you could say yes, if you wanted to. But if people don’t recognize you, then you don’t have to correct them, either.”
“That seems to be a small distinction,” he frowned.
“Well, maybe it is,” she admitted. “But it’s something you’ll have to do to be able to do your job better.” She had wanted to say that it would also give him a break, but she felt that he wouldn’t be as responsive to that.
Kal’s brow furrowed, as he was deep in thought. Finally, he met her eyes.
“All right,” he told her quietly. “Let us give your NIA contact-”
“Jack,” Lois filled in.
“Jack,” Kal repeated. “Let us give Jack a call.”
