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After Nightfall: The Return of Superman
Chapter 12: Endings

For Clark, the most surprising part of waking up was that he woke up at all. The second most surprising thing was the pain. It was gone! No, that wasn't quite right, it wasn't just that he was pain free – he felt good.

All this didn't make any sense. He looked up to see the Kryptonite still in the same place, but he couldn't feel it at all. And his face didn't feel torn up. He'd experienced the super-speed, almost magical, healing that he’d had when he recovered from the building collapse, but it hadn’t been working since he'd been in this chamber.

Now he noticed something else. He could hear equipment noise as well as pages of a book turning. He looked up at the control room. Of course, all he could see from his angle was the glass panel overhead. He concentrated on the section of wall just below the glass panel and his x-ray vision kicked on. Well, there was the equipment and there was a single technician sitting there reading a book.

How could this be? Clark looked at the Kryptonite again. It was right there where it had been all along. Could this be some kind of trick? Knowing Luthor, it was always a possibility. If it was, then there was no point in playing along right now and trying to escape. If it wasn't, then Luthor would be here sometime later. Even those days that he'd skipped the beating, he always came by to taunt.

But if he was going to do anything, he was going to need to get free. Clark checked the technician again and made sure he was still concentrating on his book. Then he concentrated on the restraint holding his left arm. Clark had not tried to escape these chains since his first day here. The restraints were all made out of heavy gauge steel. He carefully moved his arm so that he was stressing the clamp holding his wrist. Then, he very carefully applied just a little pressure. The metal restraint stretched and bent like wet clay. His super strength was back as well. That meant he could probably escape at any time. But what if Lois had been moved? He needed Luthor as leverage. This was a time to wait, plan and hope this wasn't some kind of elaborate trick by Luthor.

~~~***~~~

Lex was practically whistling as he approached the chamber. After yesterday's interview with Mendenhall, he'd spent the evening reviewing the data on the unauthorized experiments that the good doctor had performed on his patients before Lex had found him. Lex was no expert, but it wasn't that difficult to interpret the results. All the evidence that he'd looked at supported Mendenhall's interpretation of the data. Lois really seemed to be accepting the programming faster than the doctor's previous patients. However, given the level of immersion that she was being subjected to, the quicker results were not surprising.

And this morning Lex had decided something else. Torturing Superman had been fun, but it had not proved to be as much fun as he'd expected, at least not since those first few days. It would probably be more enjoyable if there was some way that Superman could be allowed to resist. Unfortunately, that was simply too dangerous. So, all things considered, Lex had decided that it was time to end this part of the game. Today would be his last “interview” with Superman and it would be Superman's last moments alive.

As he approached the chamber, he saw Zee waiting for him near the entrance. “Good morning, Mr. Luthor. I was told that you wanted me to meet you this morning.”

“Yes, Zee. I've decided to terminate this experiment. I wanted you to be sure that the recording devices are all ready.”

“They are,” Zee replied.

“When I'm finished with Superman this morning, I'm going to want you to drop the Kryptonite. Do we need to set up a signal of any kind?”

“No, sir. Whenever you are with him, we monitor you constantly. If you say anything like, 'Drop it,' or 'Drop it now,” we will be ready and immediately drop the Kryptonite.”

“Good,” Lex replied. “Did you call in the extra guards?”

“Yes, but I don't think it will be necessary.”

“I do,” Lex replied shortly. “So tell me the status of the guards.”

“Both of the shooter rooms have two guards each. Furthermore, they've been briefed to be on high alert the entire time you're with Superman. They have been reminded to watch for any indication by you that you want them to open fire.”

“Good,” Lex said.

“Mr. Luthor, are you sure that you don't want to instruct them to wait until you are out of the chamber?”

“No. I'll get clear if I need to. The fact that I'm here means I'm a survivor. Besides, whatever we do will start with dropping the Kryptonite. Once that happens, I suspect that any command to shoot that I might give will be coming from your control booth.”

“Of course, Mr. Luthor.”

“Good. So, is he awake?”

“He appears to be. But since the first day, he hasn't really stirred much when you aren't in the room.”

“Then I guess it's time for me to go in and say goodbye.”

“Yes, sir. I'll be in the control room. I will personally have my hand on the drop button.”

“Fine,” Lex said, his attention turning to the door to the chamber. He left Zee behind and headed for the door. It took only a moment to cycle through the airlock-style door and enter the short tunnel that led to the central chamber. Lex stepped right over to the shelf with his spiked gloves. He would take these with him today. They – caked with Superman's dried blood – would be the new centerpiece of his trophy case. He would have to come up with a suitable story for Lois, but she would certainly know that they represented his greatest victory.

Once the gloves were in place, he was ready for his final meeting with his guest. In some ways he was going to miss this part, but keeping Superman alive carried an intrinsic risk and Lex was comfortable with the decision to end the hero's life. He turned from the glove shelf and headed for Superman's chair. As had been the case for most of his visits, Superman hadn't bothered to look up.

“Good morning, Superman!” Lex called out loudly and cuffed his enemy across the head.

“Where is Lois?” Superman asked slowly, without raising his head.

“Lois?” Lex exclaimed. “It appears that I was right in guessing that you care more for the fair Ms. Lane than you like to acknowledge. Does Mr. Kent know how you feel?”

Superman slowly lifted his head. What Lex saw sent a chill through him. This was not the broken man he'd been torturing for the past ten days. Lex started to back away, but before he could take even a single step Superman's right arm ripped free of the restraints as if they were made of butter and he grabbed Lex's left arm. “Where are you holding Mrs. Kent?” Superman asked in a voice colder than any he'd heard before.

“Drop the Kryptonite!” Lex shouted as he used his free arm to reach into his vest. He put his hand on his secret weapon and pulled it out. Lex made sure that his hand was on the correct side, closed his eyes and shoved the device into Superman's face. There was a loud bang and Superman released his grip.

Lex started for the entry tunnel but immediately tripped over one of the chunks of Kryptonite that had dropped from above. As he fell to the floor he twisted to look back. He'd hoped that his flash-bang weapon would have torn Superman's head off. It had been designed to do exactly that. It was a directional charge with a mix of Kryptonite fragments and anti-personnel shrapnel. However, instead of killing Superman, it seemed to have only surprised him for a moment. Lex had managed to get almost to the tunnel when Superman shook off the disorientation from the pocket weapon and looked to be starting toward him. He would not be defeated by Superman. Not now. Not ever! “Open fire now!” Lex shouted in a final desperate act.

~~~***~~~

Luthor's pocket-bomb caught Clark completely by surprise. Fortunately, aside from the ringing in his ears, it didn't seem to do any damage. In the instant he'd been distracted by the device, Luthor had escaped his grasp and was nearly to the exit tunnel. It was time to find out if he was going to be able to walk after ten days tied to a chair. Clark ripped one leg free and was just about to start after Luthor when he heard Luthor shout, “Open fire now!”

Instantly he felt a rain of bullets from above. Fortunately, the invulnerability that had returned proved to be more than equal to the task. Bullets and bullet fragments filled the room and the gunfire seemed to go on and on.

The shooting had to have continued for many seconds, but in far less than a minute, the room grew quiet. Clark looked up and used his x-ray vision to look inside the shooter's rooms. The men had dropped their guns and fled.

Clark tore his other leg free. As he stood, there was tingling and pain as his legs moved for the first time in days. Thankfully the discomfort passed quickly as he raced to where Luthor had fallen.

His enemy was still in the same spot that he'd been when he'd called for the gunmen to open fire. Unfortunately, Luthor had not been invulnerable to the hail of bullets than had been ricocheting around the room. His body was riddled with bullet holes and both his breathing and heart had stopped.

Clark would later feel some level of remorse that his only thought in that instant was that he'd lost his best clue to finding Lois. Luthor certainly wasn't going to be providing that information. But his enemy and captor was dead, and right now, Clark didn't have it in him to feel any regret.

Now his only concern was finding Lois. Clark put on a burst of super-speed and tore through the airlock door and out of his prison. A quick look around revealed that Clark’s chamber stood all alone in a large open space that looked like it might be an old abandoned subway station. The structure of his prison chamber nearly filled the space. Everyone had fled, but Clark could hear the sound of people retreating through what looked to be the only exit from this chamber. He started down the chamber at super speed and within seconds he caught up to the people trying to escape.

He almost grabbed the first person he encountered, but realized that with so many people fleeing, he could kill two birds with one stone. He took flight and zipped along the ceiling of the hallway. This group consisted of about a dozen men. Once he was in front of them he quickly collapsed the hallway to prevent escape. Then, before the group had a chance to react, he reversed his path and flew back to behind them.

When he stopped he was face to face with the men. They were clearly terrified at the prospect of facing the blood-covered, super-powered escapee. Clark took a moment to compose himself as the men backed away. They seemed to be trying to get as far away from him as possible, given the confined space of the collapsed hallway.

“I'm going to collapse the hallway behind me and seal you in,” he said, letting all the anger and frustration of the past week show. “Then I'm going to go try to find Mrs. Kent and take her to safety. If any of you help me find her, and also tell me the quickest way out of these tunnels, I'll come back and let you out as soon as she's safe. If none of you provide any help...” He paused to let them consider the consequences of his being annoyed. “Well, I'm already in a very bad mood. Whatever else might happen, I certainly won't have any reason to hurry back.” Clark paused to let them consider the implications of what he had and had not said. “So, how do I find her?”

About half of the men looked confused but the other half started falling all over themselves giving him directions to the door that led to where the women were supposed to be held. Women? Then Clark remembered the voice of the serving woman. In less than a minute, the men had agreed on the directions. Since the first step was to go forward, Clark first turned and collapsed the hallway behind him. Then he took a moment to disarm all the men and crush their guns before crashing through – and then rebuilding – the barrier in the front.

Thanks to the detailed directions, it only took a second to find the sliding steel panel that served as the door to Lois's prison. Clark almost burst through the door but realized that it was possible, if unlikely, that Lois might be right on the other side. So he dug into the steel of the door with his fingers and pulled it out into the hall. It was great to have his proper strength back again.

Inside was a very nice luxury apartment. “Lois!” he called out. “Lois Lane?” There was no answer and the lights were dimmed as if it were night.

Clark started to work his way through the apartment when a door flew open and Lois came rushing out. As soon as she saw him she ran to him and threw her arms around him. “You're alive,” she whispered. “When you didn't come, I... I was so scared.”

“I'm fine. I'll tell you the rest later,” he whispered back. “But for now be careful, we're probably under surveillance.”

“I know,” she answered softly. “But I have to hold you. I feel like I've been losing my mind.”

“I need to get you home. Do you know where we are?”

“Is this London?” she asked.

“London? No, we're somewhere under Metropolis.”

“Are you Superman?” came a voice from behind.

“Martha, it's all right. This is Superman. He's here to rescue us.”

Clark looked at the older woman. As had been the case with Lois, she'd clearly been asleep when he'd broken in. Strange, he'd thought that it was mid-day. “Ma'am, I've just escaped from captivity myself. I'm going to take Mrs. Kent to safety. I'll be back to get you as soon as I can. It shouldn't be more than a minute. I suggest you wait in your room until I can return.”

“Yes, sir, Superman,” she said before turning and returning to her room.

“Hold on. I'm going to super-speed you home,” Clark said to his wife.

As he started to move Lois pulled herself in close. As soon as they had cleared the apartment Lois reminded him why he'd held on through the torture. “I love you, Clark.”

~~~***~~~

A week had passed since their escape from Luthor. Clark's sudden and unexpected escape, combined with Luthor's death, meant that the underground complex had been abandoned quickly, and no one had taken the time to clean up behind themselves. It also meant that when Superman returned with the police to clean out the complex, even though the only people captured had been those that Superman had trapped, there remained an easy-to-follow paper and computer trail.

When the police investigators went through the underground complex, they discovered that Luthor had never left Metropolis after Nightfall. The extensive shelter, less than a mile from LexCorp tower, was vast and well stocked. There were enough supplies to last for years, and even though there was no shortage of ways into the complex, all of them were well concealed. Had Luthor chosen not to go after Lois and Superman, he might have lived there for a very long time undetected.

This afternoon, Clark was at the Planet in front of his workstation trying to finish a story. One element of trying to recover from the ordeal of the captivity was attempting to reestablish some of their work routines. For that reason, both he and Lois had returned to work quickly.

His thoughts were interrupted by the feel of a pair of hands on his shoulders that he immediately recognized as Lois's. “Are you ready to go?” she asked as she kissed him lightly on the ear. “Our appointment with Dr. Klein is in ten minutes.”

He leaned back to enjoy the feel of her skin against his. Even before they'd been Luthor's prisoners, they had always enjoyed each other’s touch. But in the time since they'd escaped, neither on them wanted to go more than a few minutes - or an hour at most - without the feel of the other’s flesh against theirs. He turned to his wife and collected a quick - but not too quick - kiss before answering. “I'm almost done. Give me a minute and I'll meet you by the stairwell.”

"Okay, but don't take too long," she said with a smile. After one more lingering kiss, she started for the elevators.

She was so beautiful when she smiled at him. As he turned back to his workstation, his thoughts went back to how thankful he was that she was still smiling at him. They had both been appalled that Lois had been subjected to a personality-altering experiment. Notes on Mendenhall and his research were in Luthor's computer. Even more, the entire plan to attempt to alter Lois's personality was also right there. Fortunately, whatever success Luthor and Mendenhall thought they were achieving, didn’t seem to stick.

“Clark!” came a somewhat impatient call from Lois, now standing beside the elevator, to remind him that he was taking too long.

At that he simply made sure that his workstation was locked and started her way. “You looked like you lost track of what you were doing,” she commented when he reached her.

“I did a little,” he admitted as he reached for her hand. “We're going to be reviewing our cases with Bernie. When I think about Luthor – reprogramming you… well, it just scares me.”

“Me too,” she replied quietly, giving his had a reassuring squeeze. “But we need to go.”

They took the elevator to the ground floor then ducked out of sight. An instant later they were at the same door that Clark had used to go in and out of STAR Labs during the Nightfall Swarm crisis. They waited less than a minute before the door opened to reveal Bernie on the other side. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that we could get to my office without being seen.”

After they entered the building, Bernie closed the door and they proceeded to his office in silence. Repeated visits by the Lane and Kent reporting team had motivated Bernie to request additional visitor seating for his office. That request had been addressed and his office now sported a small loveseat. Lois and Clark took the loveseat as Bernie went around to the other side of his desk. He hadn’t quite sat down when Lois started, “You said on the phone that you have some new information relating to the time we were held captive.”

“I do. I believe that I finally have a comprehensive understanding of what Luthor was trying to do to you.”

“Did Lois suffer any permanent effects from the conditioning?” Clark burst out.

Bernie’s face turned serious. “No. As you know, I passed all the information about Mendenhall’s plan to several very capable colleagues who are specialists in behavior modification. I’m happy to report that they all reached the same conclusion. Mendenhall’s techniques would look very promising under extremely controlled conditions, but they would not have resulted in the kind of reforming of your personality that he and Luthor were attempting. People’s minds simply don’t work that way.”

“But the way I was acting!” Lois exclaimed.

Before Bernie had the chance to reply, Clark put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

“You were reacting to being bombarded with Mendenhall's personality-altering program,” Bernie said. “Furthermore, you were under a lot of stress, and in an environment deliberately designed to disrupt your body’s natural processes. The result was that you were especially open to suggestion.”

“How is this sort of thing possible?” Clark asked. “Was Mendenhall really that far ahead of everyone else?”

“Behavior modification, in various forms, has been around for a long time,” Bernie answered. “Some of his techniques were novel and new, but they simply don’t achieve any long-term effect on a person’s core personality. Behavior scientists have reviewed the information and assured me that the thoughts and feelings you were experiencing were all very surface-level behaviors. Mendenhall’s techniques were incredibly effective at short term manipulations, and those results can be very striking. But long term behavior modification is a completely different sort of problem.”

“That makes me feel a little better, but I have to admit to being confused,” Lois said. “Before he rescued me I was… I was feeling abandoned by Clark. I remember being angry.”

“That’s what the program was designed to make you feel,” Bernie agreed.

“But that’s my point,” Lois interjected. “If the short term effects were so powerful, and based on how I was acting I believe that they were, they why didn’t I stay mad at Clark?”

Bernie laughed softly. “That was one element that confused the behavior specialists that I had review your case. They believed that based on the information they had about the program, your relationship with Clark should have been strained for at least several days after your rescue.”

“But that didn't happen at all,” she said, as she gave Clark's hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I'm sure it didn't,” Bernie said in an almost cryptic tone. “I think I know why, but I can't check my idea with my experts.”

“What do you mean?” Clark asked.

“Clark, when you rescued Lois, how were you dressed?”

“I was in the Superman suit,” he said. “You know that there wasn't time to change. Besides, it wouldn't have been smart to rescue her as Clark.”

“Of course. But that's the point.” Bernie turned to Lois. “The entire program for driving a wedge between the two of you was designed around what Luthor knew of Clark. But Lois, you aren't just married to Clark, you're also married to Superman. The program was designed to work on your feelings for only half of your husband. You should have been experiencing negative feelings about the 'Clark' side of his personality, but I suspect you weren't thinking much about his 'Superman' side at all.”

“That's right,” Lois said. “After the first day or so, I remember being angry with Clark and upset because I was sure he'd gone back to Kansas. I was having all kinds of thoughts about him leaving me to go back to live on a farm. I barely thought of Clark as Superman at all.”

“Exactly,” Bernie agreed. “The program left a huge part of your understanding of Clark untouched. Then, the first time you did see him, he was dressed in his alternate identity. I believe that made it possible for you to throw off the program immediately.”

“So what would have happened if… if Clark hadn’t been able to rescue me and the process would have run its course?” Lois asked.

Bernie hesitated before answering. “Based on the information we have, I fear that had you stayed in that apartment and you had continued to be subjected to the conditioning for two or more months as planned... well, I’m afraid that when Luthor would have appeared, your reaction would almost certainly have been to, um, well, you would probably have been very… um, welcoming.”

“No!” Lois cried.

“I'm afraid so,” Bernie said defensively. “The only reason for doubt is the Clark/Superman factor. Maybe that would have been enough, but there's no way to be sure.”

“So the programming would have worked,” Lois said dejectedly.

“It looks likely, but it would be only for the short term,” Bernie reassured her. “Once you were out of that environment, the programming would likely have remained in effect for from a week or two up to as long as a few months.”

“That would be way more than too much,” Lois said, as she leaned even closer to Clark for comfort.

“I understand,” Bernie replied. “But the program was very sophisticated. The good news is that the program wasn't capable of achieving any long-term effects. You would have eventually thrown off the conditioning. Consider this, how do you think you would normally react to Luthor and the idea that he rescued you from captivity?”

“I'd know that he was behind it all,” she said with certainty. “I might go along with him to play for time, but I would never believe that he was anything but my enemy.”

“Then that’s what would have happened over the long term. Any significant change in the environment would cause you to eventually throw off the effects of the subliminals and return to your normal mode of thinking.”

“So I wouldn't have ended up permanently as Lex's adoring wife?” Lois asked hopefully.

“No. That element was right there in Mendenhall notes if you knew what to look for. I think Mendenhall was searching for a way to get past the long-term barrier. My friends who know this subject say that without of some kind of real breakthrough, long term personality changes were not going to take hold. And there’s no sign that Mendenhall had achieved that breakthrough.”

“So you think he was deceiving Luthor the whole time?” Clark asked.

“I have to believe so. As I said, it was all there in his notes. However, unless you are trained in the field of psychology and behavior science, it would be nearly impossible to see the problems in what he was trying to achieve. I reviewed the notes myself and thought Mendenhall was onto something. It wasn't until one of my associates explained the problems to me and showed me how to properly interpret the data, that I realized the magnitude of the problem.”

“So did Mendenhall have some kind of death wish?” Lois asked. “Lex would have killed him once I’d rejected his advances.”

“I think part of it was wishful thinking on his part. I’ve spoken to people that know him. He really believed in what he was trying to do. I suspect he was lying to himself as much as he was lying to Luthor.”

“Well, I’m glad,” Lois said. “I can’t image life as Lex’s adoring wife. Especially considering what he was trying to do to Clark.”

“So have you figured out why that part didn’t work?” Clark asked. “Why I’m not… dead?”

“Now your situation was especially interesting,” Bernie said, smiling. “But you know that we got the first clue right away.”

“You mean when your Kryptonite needle didn’t work on me either?” Clark clarified.

“Exactly. That Kryptonite had allowed me to draw some of your blood before, but now, the same piece doesn’t affect you at all. If not for your ability to burn a small hole in your skin with your heat vision, I’m not sure we could have drawn blood.”

“So what did you find?” Lois asked.

“The key to the puzzle was when we measured your powers. Based on the tests we did the day after you escaped, your abilities are – to the accuracy we can measure – exactly two-thirds of what they were before your first Nightfall mission.”

“What’s special about two-thirds?”

“At first I wasn’t sure. But fortunately I had some of your blood stored from before Luthor captured you. When I analyzed the blood carefully, I found that in the original sample there were three distinct blood groups. Let’s call them G, R and X. Two of the groups, R and X, comprised nearly ninety percent of your blood and the G group was just over ten percent. When I analyzed the new sample, the third group was gone and the balance was fifty-fifty for the R and X groups.”

“The exposure to Kryptonite killed off the G group,” Clark said.

“Exactly. I took a small portion of your original sample and exposed it to Kryptonite. The blood cells in the G group started dying.”

“So what does it mean?” Lois asked.

“I believe that the three groups represent three varieties of the cells that give you your powers. Since all of your powers are present, only weakened, I suspect that they all contribute equally to your abilities. It seems clear that the G cells were sensitive to the Kryptonite. When you've been exposed in the past, the reaction of the G cells sends your system into shock. It's why your powers disappear and why you feel pain. Exposure to Kryptonite kills off the G cells. However, since they're gone now, there's nothing in your system to react to the Kryptonite.”

Clark shook his head, “I was sure that Kryptonite would kill me.”

“It almost did,” Bernie added seriously. “The only reason you're alive is that you were subjected to an almost perfect set of conditions to survive.”

“Could you explain that?” Lois asked.

“In the original Nightfall mission, Clark was exposed to the Kryptonite gas. It got into his bloodstream and nearly killed him. Fortunately, there wasn't quite enough to do that, but the overall effect was to substantially change the G, R and X balance in his system. We didn’t know it, but you were on your way to becoming immune to Kryptonite.”

“But I wasn’t immune,” Clark cut in. “It really hurt when I first went into that chamber.”

“Yes, because you still had a lot of the type-G cells in your system. If Luthor would have tried to kill you with Kryptonite when he first captured you, it might have been possible. There was enough of the sensitive element in your system that it might have killed you from the shock.”

“But he didn’t try,” Clark said, “He kept the dose very low so that he could torture me.”

“And in so doing, he purged your system of the remaining G elements just slowly enough to leave you in pain but not kill you. And by keeping the exposure continuous, no G elements were able to regenerate.”

“So thanks to Luthor, I’m immune to Kryptonite.”

“You are for now. And maybe forever. We should check periodically to see if the G elements reappear.”

“What would have happened if Lex just would have left Clark and me alone?” Lois asked.

“I believe that over time the G elements would have regenerated and restored the three-way balance. You would be back to full power, but you would be as sensitive as ever to Kryptonite. And, based on your reactions to the dosages that we know about, I suspect that in your original condition where all three elements were in balance, an intense, long-term exposure to Kryptonite would probably have killed you.”

“What about those other varieties,” Lois asked. “Does the fact that there are the R and X groups mean that there could be other kinds of Kryptonite?”

“Has all the Kryptonite you've seen looked the same?” Bernie asked.

“Yes. I’ve only seen the green crystal.”

“Green!” Lois shouted. “That's why you called that the G element.”

“Exactly,” Bernie confirmed. “Well, there is another type of meteor rock that Luthor found. There were a few crystals that we believe are Kryptonite but are red instead of green. I ran some tests and confirmed that the red crystal affected one of the components. That is the one that I have been calling the R component. It was interesting though, that your blood didn't seem to react to the red nearly as violently as it reacted to the green. I suspect that the red will have a very different effect and may not even cause you any pain.”

“So I’m not out of the woods,” Clark sighed.

“I don’t know,” Bernie said. “The radiation from the red is different in ways other than the color.”

“What about the X?” Lois asked. “Does that mean there is another version of Kryptonite that we need to worry about?”

Bernie shrugged. “I just don't know. It could be that one-third – I guess we should say one-half now – of your cells have no susceptibility at all. Or maybe you're correct and there is another kind of Kryptonite out there. Right now I just don't know.”

“So what do you suggest that I do?” Clark asked.

“That's up to you. If you'll agree, I think it would be a good idea for you to come in periodically so I can chart your recovery. In the meantime, I'd suggest that you get back to your lives. The two of you have had a very busy year.”

“Bernie, did you see the police report on Luthor's Kryptonite prison?” Clark asked.

“You mean that concrete structure where you were held captive?”

“Yes,” Clark confirmed.

“More than that,” Bernie said. “I was part of the team that decommissioned it.”

“So you know that there was a lot of Kryptonite missing?”

“Sure. It looked like some of Luthor's people came back and collected it off the floor before the police were able to secure the area. There were also some pieces missing from the walls.”

“What do you think I should do?” Clark asked.

“I don't understand,” Bernie said.

“I'm sure that I'll be seeing it pop up in criminal hands. What should I do when someone uses one against me?”

“Well, try not to laugh too hard. And after you're done, I'd like to have them for my studies. Finally, if nothing else, some of them are exceptionally beautiful crystals. If the radiation really does prove to be harmless to you and humans, it might make some attractive jewelry.”

~~~***~~~

They had just finished the dinner dishes when Clark heard the knock on the door. At the sound, Lois had jerked in fright and grabbed for his hand. The fear on her face – a look that he'd become all too familiar with this past week – was like an icicle through his heart. It pained him that she was still so afraid. But the reality was that they both were.

Clark glanced quickly through the door. “It's okay,” Clark said as he pulled her into a hug. “It's just them.”

“I'm sorry,” she said, her voice very fragile, as she pulled herself even closer to him. “I hate being so scared.”

“We'll get through this,” he said softy. “You know what the therapist said. As long as we support each other, and we're honest and open when we get scared, we will beat these fears. For now, we just have to take one day at a time.”

Lois looked up at him, a hint of tears in her eyes. “I just wish the nightmares would stop. For both of us.”

“Me too,” Clark agreed. “But until we are past all this, Superman stays off night duty. I promise you'll never wake up alone.”

The knock at the door repeated. “Should I tell them that we need to do this another night?” he asked.

“No,” she said, her voice suddenly strong with the Lois Lane spirit. “We can be afraid, but we can't live afraid.” Then she started for the door. By the time she reached the door, all signs of the fearful woman were gone. She opened the door and said, “Sorry for the delay. We were just finishing the dinner dishes.”

“That's fine,” Martha said. “May we come in?”

“Sure,” Lois answered. She opened the door wide and let Clark's parents and Perry into their home.

“Thanks for stopping by,” Clark said as everyone came in. “Would anyone like anything before we start?”

Clark's parents just shook their heads while Perry answered, “No, thanks. We didn't plan to stay long. Did you have much to talk about tonight? Based on your message, I got the impression this was going to be quick.”

“It will be,” Lois answered. “We only had a few things we wanted to go over.”

After they were all seated in the small living area, Clark began by turning to Perry. “Perry, this is mostly about you. Now that you know the secret of my identity, Lois and I were thinking that we'd like to talk about some things.”

“You know you can trust me,” Perry offered.

“Of course, but we – Lois and I – clearly weren't being careful enough about my secret. We'd like your help in not making the same mistake again.”

“Well, I don't think it would have been so obvious to anyone else,” Perry said. “There were a lot of little things that I suspect only I saw.”

“What would you say is the main thing that Clark needs to do better?” Lois asked.

“He needs to stay away from you,” Perry said to Lois.

“What?” Lois and Clark said together.

“I mean when you're dressed as Superman,” Perry clarified to Clark. “Son, when you found out that Lois had been kidnapped, and you had to get Superman's help to get her safe, you were as transparent as glass. You talked about getting Superman to help, but it was easy to see that of all the things that were worrying you that day, finding Superman and convincing him to cooperate was the least of your concerns.”

“Perry, do you think anyone else at the Planet suspects?” Jonathan asked.

“I don't think so,” he answered. “As soon as you and Martha told me that Superman had hidden Clark in a remote location, I made sure that the Planet staff thought it was my idea. I believe that having them think I was the force behind Clark's disappearance, kept them off the trail. I was watching carefully the whole time Clark was missing, and I don't think anyone else caught on.”

“But even if that worked, we need to be more careful. What should we do?” Lois asked.

“First off, no more Superman stories for you,” Perry answered. “Even if the story comes to you, you'll need to find a way to pass it to someone else. And as for you,” he said looking at Clark.” You need to work harder at establishing a city other than Metropolis as your base.”

“We'd already planned to do that,” Clark agreed. “We just hadn't gotten around to it yet.”

“Well, son, pick a city and do it. The bad guys know that Lois was the bait that trapped you once, and that will certainly prompt someone to think about doing it again. The sooner you establish that you're based in another city, the better the chance that no one will try to grab her again.”

“Anyone who tries to grab Lois is going to have a very bad day,” Clark said coldly.

Clark's tone left the room silent for a moment. Perry finally broke the ice. “I understand, but you can't be with her every minute for the rest of your lives. So you can't waste any time in establishing another city as Superman's new home. Have you picked a city?”

“Not yet. We were talking about New York. But we were wondering if Los Angeles would be a better choice,” Clark said. “Back to what you said a moment ago, I want Superman as far from Lois as he can get. If it wasn't for the time problem, I'd suggest Australia. I've heard good things about both Sydney and Melbourne.”

“Son, I don't know. I don't think it would feel right for Superman to leave the United States,” Jonathan said.

“You're probably right. But we don't need to decide that tonight.”

“So what did you want to talk about?” Perry asked.

“We want to offer a story about Superman, and we wanted to talk about how you wanted to handle it.”

“What story?” Perry asked.

“The story that Superman is now immune to Kryptonite.”

“What?” Martha burst out.

“Dr. Klein told us that today,” Clark provided. “That’s how I survived Luthor's death chamber.” He turned to his editor. “There are still people who worked in that chamber that haven't been caught yet, and not all the Kryptonite has been accounted for. Anyone who doesn’t know how it ended, is probably going to try something. I – we – want them to have to worry about the fact that they can't count on Kryptonite to protect them.”

Perry was quiet for a moment. “I can see it,” he said finally. “If we do it right, it could be a great story. You already said that you wanted to do an in-depth account of your captivity. Is Superman ready to give that interview now?”

“Yes. We just need to find someone to write it.”

“I'll write it,” Perry offered. “I can see it now. Superman searching for the wife of his friend when he gets captured with Kryptonite. It will be great, and I'm sure we can frame the story so that Lois’s name doesn't appear at all.” He turned to Lois. “Is that all right with you, Darlin'?”

“Yes. Right now, I think that's a great idea,” Lois agreed.

“We can start on it tomorrow,” Perry said. “Think about what city you want to use as your new base. The article would be a good avenue for that announcement.”

“We'll do that,” Clark said. “And Perry?”

“Yes?” Perry responded.

“Welcome to the ranks of Superman's advisors,” Clark said as he offered the older man his hand.


The End