Hearts United
by Pam Jernigan
part 2
"So, is it true?"
Lois opened the door wider to let her friends in. "Good morning to you, too, Brenda. Hi, Francine." Turning, she gestured further into the apartment and added, "You guys already know Kal, of course."
Actually, it occurred to her, Francine and Brenda had known him longer than she had. How strange.
Kal put a hand on his heart and did a half-bow toward both of them, radiating respect. "Greetings, Ladies."
Lois smiled at the way he managed to put a capital letter on that, but after the initial greeting he relaxed back into normal mode.
Francine smiled at him, but Brenda was focusing on Lois. "I don't think we know him as well as you do, chickie." She waved around a paper that Lois recognized as the Metro Post. "Anybody you recognize?"
"Way to be subtle, Bren," Francine muttered, before moving over to the kitchen. "It's good to see you again, Kal."
"Good to see you, too, Francine," he replied with a smile.
Lois snatched the paper from Brenda's hand. "What is that?"
Francine rummaged around in Lois's cabinets. "Anybody else want coffee?"
Brenda, now paper-less, crossed her arms. "It's a picture of that tidal wave, Lois. And I want to know if that little guy on there is anyone we know." She shot a pointed look at Kal before focusing on Lois again.
Lois ignored her, skimming through the article and then re-examining the picture. "Oh, this can't be good."
Kal came to stand beside her, frowning at the paper. "Well, it's not exactly detailed, is it?" he suggested. "It could be anything."
Lois turned to look toward Kal. They hadn't really had the chance to talk over the pros and cons of having her friends in on the Superman thing. She realized she'd like to share, but would he?
Maybe she could buy some time. "Yeah, Francine, I'd love some coffee. The filters are in the -- oh, never mind," she said, a smile twitching at her lips. Francine had not only found the filters, but had already started the coffeemaker. "Make yourself at home," she called over.
"Thanks, Lois," Francine replied, with a hint of a grin. "I just figured I'd make enough for all of us."
"Lois!" Brenda's foot was starting to tap on the floor. "Hello?"
"Yeah, yeah, Brenda, okay," Lois said, while moving toward the living room sofas. "I guess we have some stuff to talk about." She sat on the sofa; Kal automatically sat next to her. "But let's wait 'til we all have our coffee, so Francine doesn't miss anything."
"It's a conspiracy," Brenda muttered, but unbent enough to sit on the other sofa. "I just wanna know if that's Kal in the picture."
Lois was beginning to enjoy this. "So, Brenda, how's the theater doing? Did you get the problem with the set designer worked out yet?" As an aside to Kal, she whispered, "My office is across the hall from theirs."
Kal's eyes twinkled. "I had noticed that, yes."
"Don't make me hurt you, girlfriend."
Lois laughed. "Gimme your best shot."
Kal pretended to cower. "Ladies, please. Innocent bystander, here."
Francine entered the room with a tray full of mugs, distracting everyone while they sorted out who had which cup. With all the coffee dispensed, Francine sat with Brenda on the opposite sofa, relaxing back against the cushions.
"So..." Lois looked at Kal. "Think we should tell them?"
Kal pursed his lips for a second. "Well, I think that if we don't, we're both in big trouble."
"Damn right. Now talk!"
"Okay." Despite all the teasing, Lois realized she was still a little nervous about this. Or maybe she was feeling Kal's nervousness. He gave her a reassuring glance and squeezed her hand slightly. "Yeah, that was Kal."
"I knew it!" Brenda crowed, then leaned forward. "C'mon, I want the whole story."
"Okay..." Lois decided to downplay things as much as she could. More serious discussions could wait until she and Kal had more things settled. "Well, you guys know Kal was here for a few years, right? Observing the Earth, learning our cultures, etc. Sometime after he got here, he says he started noticing, well..." She motioned to Kal to take over; this was his story, after all.
"I began to realize I could do things that I hadn't been able to do before," Kal said. "Like flying."
"Cool," Brenda breathed out.
"Well, it didn't seem very important, when I thought I had to go back to New Krypton. Things faded out fairly quickly after I left Earth. But, now that I'm back to stay..." He shrugged. "We'll see."
"It seems like they came in handy," Francine observed.
"Yeah..." Lois jumped back in to the story. "A few days ago, we saw Congressman Harrington meeting the bad guys in secret, and we investigated. So, we had a little forewarning about that wave. Not enough to get the test cancelled, but... Kal was able to dive under the water and disrupt the wave's structure. Or something like that. Anyway, it collapsed."
"And apparently," Kal concluded with a wry grimace, "someone was watching the whole thing and got a few pictures."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Francine leaned back against the couch, her eyes still watchful.
"I'm not sure there's anything we can do," Lois replied. "Not about this picture, anyway." With an optimism she didn't feel, she said, "But that's a tabloid. Who pays any serious attention to the Metro Post?"
Francine cracked a smile. "Told you so, Brenda."
Brenda waved her off. "Never mind that. I want to know what went down on New Krypton! I mean, you're here, so I'm assuming you didn't do the 'marry the princess, take over the kingdom' routine..."
Kal grinned. "Not exactly. It was a little bit more complicated than that..."
***
"I think we've made good progress today, Kari. One or two more sessions should do it. Let me know if the nightmares return."
"I sure will, Dr. Porter." The young woman smiled trustingly. "Thanks so much."
Gwen maintained a professional smile until Kari had closed the door behind herself. She reached for her notepad, reviewing her notes from earlier. The phone rang.
Absent-mindedly, she picked up the receiver. "Hello."
The voice on the other end of the line commanded her full attention. "Kari's useless," she reported crisply. "I've hypnotized her three times, but she still can't give me any useful information about the enemy."
"Are you certain?"
She put the notepad back down on her desk. "I'll put her under one more time, but I believe she's a fake abductee." Within certain circles, it was a mark of honor to have been 'taken' and most of those, she'd come to believe, were faking it. Which still left those few who weren't.
"Damn. So why are you spending any more time on her?"
"Because she pays me to, Colonel." With her daddy's credit card. "The Bureau is rather stingy, I find. And I have the time."
"What else have you got time for?"
She shifted uneasily. "Well, besides Kari, I've currently got three others who claim to have been abducted. The ad we placed in the alternative paper has paid off. One of them looks promising. I'm starting to believe she can give us more details about the alien's propulsion systems."
"Keep me posted, Porter. And since you have so much spare time, I'm going to give you another task."
Gwen stiffened in her seat. Did he think she was his errand girl? She was a trained professional, damn it. This had better be worth it. "What is it?"
"It's about the tidal wave yesterday."
That intrigued her, as unexplained events always did. "Yes?"
"We have a few pictures taken moments after the wave was disrupted. There appears to be a figure coming out of the water, hovering for a moment, then shooting straight upwards and disappearing completely."
She leaned in over her desk, reaching for her notepad and pen. The page about Kari was ripped out and crumpled into a ball. "We have a picture of an alien in action?"
"We have to assume so." The voice was smug. "I've got experts working on the pictures -- they're a little blurry. It doesn't show the detail we need."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I'm sending over the photographer -- she should be conscious again by the time she's arrived. Make her think she was there to lose weight or stop smoking, afterwards. First, though, get as much information as you can from her memory. Then start asking around. There are a few things from last month that I want checked out, too. The guys who deliver the girl will bring you what details we've got."
Gwen scowled. The request for hypno-therapy was reasonable, as that was what she did, both for the Bureau and for a living. Not that the therapy was anywhere near as efficient and reliable as Trask seemed to believe. The other part, though... "Chasing rumors isn't my specialty," she pointed out coldly.
"Your specialty is whatever I say it is. Unless you'd like certain documents to be mailed anonymously to the police."
"Don't be a fool," she replied with as much scorn as she could muster. "I'll look into it, but I'm not guaranteeing anything."
"I'll check back with you in a few days."
"Fine."
The connection went dead.
****
"So then the ship dropped me off just outside Metropolis," Kal concluded. "I found Brenda, who pointed me to Lois, and... here I am."
"Nice job, Kal." Francine actually smiled at him. "I'm glad you were able to work it out."
"Yeah," Brenda concurred. "You two deserve each other."
Lois grinned, then snuggled against Kal's side. "Are you saying we got what was coming to us?"
Brenda snickered. "Something like that. So what are you going to do now?"
Kal adjusted his arm around her shoulder, and glanced down at her, wondering how much to say.
"Well, Kal needs identification -- you know, social security number, driver's license, that kind of thing."
"Not that I know how to drive, you understand," he threw in. "I've never really needed to. But I think I could pick it up." He glanced sideways and grinned. "If Lois ever trusts me with her Jeep, that is."
Lois ignored his teasing. "And I've got an investigation going." She glanced up at him. "I'll fill you in later, Kal."
"Okay," he said, willing to follow her lead on this, at least until he could find out what she had in mind.
"So, Francine, how's show business?"
Francine smiled slightly. "Coming right along, thanks."
"She's actually pretty good at the business side of things," Brenda added. "So I stick to the creative side."
"Sounds like a good partnership, then," Kal said.
Lois smiled at them. "You know, gals, when I first met you, you could barely stand one another." Francine had been a bitter fading blonde, resentful of the younger, outspoken black woman. Under pressure, however, they'd managed to come to terms, and had both been a tremendous help to Lois on the spaceship, helping her keep her emotional balance. Nowadays, they not only got along, but they were on their way to being successful theater-owners, which was quite a change from being dancers in a club floor show.
Brenda grinned. "We've come a long way, baby."
"You're telling me." Lois smiled at her friends. "It still surprises me sometimes that we all get along so well. I never really had any female friends before, or not for long. This is nice." She grinned. "Which is good, considering my PI office is in the same building as your theater."
"And speaking of which," Francine said, with a glance at her watch, "we've got to get going -- I've got a meeting with the set designer, and I think there are some girls coming in for auditions."
"Damn," Brenda said, standing up. "I didn't know it'd gotten this late. We've gotta go. Are you coming in to the office today, Lois?"
Kal and Lois stood as well, escorting their friends to the door.
"I don't think so, Brenda -- I'm considering this my day off. But if you see any fabulously wealthy would-be clients hanging around the place, call me."
With a laugh and a round of hugs, Brenda and Francine took their leave.
"I'm glad they've been friends to you," Kal observed quietly. "I know it can't have been easy, when you first returned."
Lois smiled at him, leaning against the inside of the door. "They were great. I'm not sure what I would have done without them."
Kal smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Hey, don't feel guilty, Kal." She reached up to touch his cheek. "And anyway, now I have you *and* them, so I figure I'm doing pretty good."
****
"Hmm." Kal smiled at her, reassured. "They bring up a good point, though. If I'm to use these powers of mine, we have to find a way to protect our privacy. It was bad enough that all this made you give up your military career."
"Kal, that's not your fault."
He shook his head, unwilling to avoid responsibility. "You had a life, and then I blundered in and--"
"And you improved it," she interrupted. "Kal, there have been lots of changes, yes, but mostly they're for the better." She laid a hand on his arm. "I wouldn't change it back even if I could."
He allowed himself to be convinced. "Still, I don't wish to be responsible for wrecking your *new* life, which is what would happen if anyone found out what I could do."
"Not necessarily," she protested, she didn't seem confident. She walked away from the door and sat on the sofa. "And even if it did, it would be worth it."
He recognized that stubborn tone of voice. Well, he'd do some more thinking about it, and bring up the topic later.
"I mean, really," she continued, "it's based on a comic book for goodness sake. That's hardly proof. Nobody's accusing Lex Luthor of trying to take over the world... well, okay, I am investigating him, but even *I* think I'm crazy, half the time."
He sat next to her, taking her hand. "Only half the time?"
She snorted at that. "Well, there are a few strange things..."
****
Kal listened as she quickly related what little evidence she had on Lex Luthor and his possible involvement with the Toasters.
"It's not proof, though, is it? Honestly, it's not very convincing."
"No, it's really not."
"Then why do you keep working on it?"
"Because my old Colonel believes it. Or at least he's strongly suspicious. When I resigned my commission, he suggested I look into things -- dig up things that he couldn't. Except I'm kind of at a dead end."
Kal shrugged. "Maybe you should check back with him, then. Show him what you've got. See if he has any ideas."
"Yeah, I guess I could." She moved toward the kitchen, then stopped. "I don't want to do it over the phone." She glanced at the wall clock, calculating traffic times. "I guess I could go see him at Fort Truman. It's not that long a drive, and that way I could talk to him without being overheard."
"It's a shame it's not dark out," Kal commented, grinning. "We could get there even quicker if I took us."
She looked at him with a new gleam of interest. "Flying? Oh, yes, please. After all, you've got a lot of comic-book precedent to live up to."
"Not in broad daylight, shey-ana."
She sighed. "No, I guess not. How about after dark?"
He grinned. "Try to stop me."
"All right, I'll drive -- but we have got to find you some sort of outfit."
****
Half an hour later, they were parking at Fort Truman. Kal got out of the car and looked around with professional interest. It was a different style of military than what he was used to, of course, but seemed well organized.
Lois locked the car and came around to his side. "The Colonel's office is over this way." She took his hand and pulled him after her. In a more contemplative tone, she added "It's really weird to be here, you know."
He thought he could guess, but... "Why is that?"
"Well, I'm not in uniform, for one thing." She shrugged. "And I have to keep reminding myself not to salute." There was a brief pause before she said, "It's busy here today. Normally, it's not quite this... I don't know. Intent."
Kal glanced around and noticed a building further down the street. The parking lot was full, and a few cars were double-parked. "There seems to be a lot of activity over there..."
Lois leaned over to see which one he meant. "Oh, that's Satellite Intel. And it's much busier than normal. I wonder why?" They reached a front door, which brought her attention around. "And here we are."
He followed her inside the building, down a few corridors, and past a secretary into Colonel White's office.
"Thanks for seeing us today, sir." Lois smiled at the older man. "This is my friend and partner, Kal, um... Kal..." She glanced at him, wide-eyed, and he could almost hear her asking him what name to give.
"Kal-El," he supplied helpfully, trying not to smirk.
"Kal... Ellison, yes," Lois recovered smoothly. "He's from out of town."
Colonel White reached across the desk to shake his hand.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir," Kal murmured. "Lois speaks highly of you."
As they sat down, Lois slipped him a brief glare. He tried not to laugh aloud.
The Colonel was watching them with great interest. "So, what can I do you for?"
"Well, it's about that project we spoke of before, sir. But if I may ask -- what's happening over at Satellite Intel? People were looking worried."
He sighed. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, Lois."
"That's your call, sir." She smiled at him, reminding Kal that she'd said her Colonel was also a friend of her father's. "But I wish you would, anyway."
He snorted. "Well, I suppose I can trust you -- but what about your friend here?"
Kal looked him directly in the eye. "I have been a man under oath, sir, and have never betrayed a trust."
"Even at great personal cost," Lois said quietly, nearly to herself. She glanced over at Kal, the remembrance of past hurt clear in her eyes.
Kal reached over to hold her hand. She smiled at him softly, then directed her attention back across the desk.
Colonel White studied Kal, with a few occasional glances at Lois. At length, he cleared his throat. "All right, then. It's not like you could do anything about it anyway, as long as this doesn't get around to the general public." The Colonel sighed, looking down at his hands. "We want to avoid a panic," he began obliquely. "But we've detected an asteroid out there, heading right at us. It's days away -- almost a week -- but the brain boys say it's going to hit us. Hard."
Lois's face lost color, and she gripped Kal's hand tighter. He tried to project reassurance through their link. "How hard?"
"Depending on where it hits..." He paused again, leaning back. "It could wipe out most of humanity."
"That's end of the world stuff, sir." Lois seemed almost in shock.
"Which is why news can't get out! We've got everyone working on options, but it's early days yet. Still, I'm sure they'll come up with something," he added, without much conviction.
"Yes," Kal replied, giving Lois's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure someone will come up with something."
...tbc...
