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Title: Capacity For Good Pt 3: The Last Son
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own nuthin'.
Summary: In the aftermath of the Superman/Doomsday encounter, Clark's friends and family struggle to come to terms with their grief. When more danger comes along, there seems to be little hope to be found. Still, any hope, no matter how small, is a good thing.
Previously, on “Capacity For Good.”
…“I love you, Clark.” The words came out softly, and she opened her eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
…Lois looked down at the floor, fighting the tears that hung at her eyelids; her next words were quieter. “Just say that you love me.”…
…Clark raced up the stairs, thumbing open his cellphone and hitting a speed-dial number on the way.
“It’s me. We might have trouble…Yes, what we were afraid of…”
“I recently discovered that Luthor’s been looking into meteor strikes in South Africa for the past few years,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “He might be in possession of alien technology from my home planet.”…
…“So it’s possible Lex might have the most advanced weapon on the face of the planet, but no idea how to control it,” the Arrow interjected…
…“What happened?”
“We combined the crystals,” Hamilton butted in, “and it formed a sort of window, a…a portal. This…this…thing appeared out of nowhere, battered its way out through the barrier.”
…“What did it look like?” Superman asked.
“Big. Mean. Brutal,”…
…“According to its appearance and markings,” Jor-El continued dryly, “it is the Beast of Krypton's Apocalypse.”
His eyes widened. “It can’t be. You told me that was a myth.”…
“Do you remember I told you all about the Phantom Zoners?” Superman said. “Well, Lex has released the worst one…”
…He paused, whispering into the dark. “Doomsday.”…
…“It’s incredibly strong,” he said, “and it seems to be getting stronger,…it has an adaptive morphology; it can compensate for any threat to its survival.”…
…“Luthor,… If that thing can’t be stopped, you may well have caused the end of the world. Congratulations.”
…And then he was gone. Lex’s eyes itched, red and glassy, as he watched the house burning against the dawn, and the old visions and dreams ran through his head of scorched earth, blackened bones and rains of blood, the world burning in space like a star…
…Chloe chipped in, “the more you get hurt, the more Meta-ATP you use up. Your injuries are closing up a little more slowly, aren’t they, Clark?”
He was quiet. “I’ll be alright as long as there’s sunlight…This is not a debate, Chloe. I’m going alone and that’s final.”…
…“The Gotham City Bat-Man,” Ollie said. “How do we know we can trust him?”…
…“You don’t have to,” he said. “You just have to know that I do.”…
…“Hi, this is NOT Clark Kent, this is a recording. You know the routine. Name and number, and I’ll get back to you next time my feet touch the ground. Bye for now…BEEP!”
“Hey, it’s Lois again… give me a call… let me know you’re alright?… I’m worried, Clark… Where are you?…”
“…first sited in the Suicide Slums area in the early hours of the morning…The battle has been raging all day, neither combatant gaining significant ground. Witnesses reported Superman as seeming hurt and tired…reported to tower over him at twice his size, but still Superman fights its every step. His courage in the face of such a monster has earned him a new nickname from Metropolitans; the Man of Steel”…
…Superman lay on the cracked ground in silence, aching all over…
…He whispered a quiet plea.
“Not yet…please…let me finish this.”…
…the vision of the world’s graveyard flashed in front of his eyes, dragging him to his feet once more…
…“Over my dead body,” he whispered, planting his feet as Doomsday rushed at him again…
…‘If that’s what it takes,’ he told himself, straightening his back, ‘that’s alright with me.’…
…The general was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, Lo’.”
Panic made her heart beat wildly. “Dad, what have you done?”…
…“How long would it take for you to rig up a short-range missile with a Kryptonite warhead?”… “I saw it shy away from the stuff in Schuster’s Gorge,” Superman said. “I think it’s vulnerable to it.”…
…“I have to warn him!”
“He already knows!” the General cried. “This is how he wants it!”…
…“Chloe,…” his voice gentler now. “…if you don’t send the codes…then everything he’s been through, everything he’s done… it’s all for nothing.”…
“…I think that's your destiny, Clark. To save people from fear and darkness. You can fear the future or you can embrace it. The choice is yours…”
…They seemed to just vanish, clouds of dust and earth torn up around them as the missile landed, greenish plumes sweeping outwards. He felt his body flung into the air and crash to the ground. For a moment, he was too exhausted to feel any more pain, but the agony of Kryptonite exposure soon wracked his already tortured body;…
…his fist quickly broke the sound barrier and did not slow, gathering speed exponentially on its short journey as he poured every last ounce of strength into that single shot,…For three city blocks, any window that wasn’t shattered blew apart as the earth literally trembled with the force of a single blow…
“…This is your destiny, son…And now it's time for you to go…”
…The smile dropped from Lois’s face as she saw Superman fall like a sunken puppet,…
…“Lie still,” she said, throttling the panic in her voice. “Somebody help! Dad, we need a medic!”…
…“Doomsday,…” he wheezed liquidly, fighting for breath. “Is it…is everyone…?”…
… “You saved us. You saved everyone.”…
…all of a sudden, it seemed that his eyes weren’t actually blue, but closer to green. It was like an optical illusion to Lois, like staring at two faces in silhouette that suddenly became the outline of a single vase.
“Clark?”…
…“It’s alright,…” he murmured breathlessly,... and although it pained him, his swollen lips bruised and bleeding, he smiled his sad and gentle Clark-smile. “It’ll be alright. Tell them… not to lose hope… any hope… no matter how small… is a good thing.”
“Please, Clark…don’t leave me…you promised you wouldn’t leave... Open your eyes…Clark, stop foolin’ around and open your eyes…Clark…No…”
And then…
…he was gone.
Capacity For Good: The Last Son
Prologue
…“Superman? Lois?” Jimmy peered through his camera lens over the edge of the crater, trying to see through the rising smoke and settling dust.
“Ahh, screw it,” he thought, slinging his camera around his back and leaping into the crater, skidding down the slope…
…General Lane ran for the park gates, a red wind blowing past him in the other direction as he sprinted to get back to his troops and his field phone. If he could get there in time,…
…Ollie twisted his cycle through the park gates, heading for the smoking crater in the distance.
“What if we’re too late?” A.C asked, riding shotgun behind him.
He twisted the throttle, heart clenched in his throat. A streak of red-gold blurred past him…
…The Martian Manhunter swooped down low over the park, releasing his grip from the Bat-Man’s armpits. Bat-Man crouched into the impact and hit the ground running. “What can we do, J’Onn?” he asked. “Do you know how to help him?”
J’Onn didn’t answer, simply pulled ahead of Batman…
…Bart streaked through the park, racing towards the rising plume of smoke, trying not to panic. ‘OK,’ he swallowed, ‘OK, it looks bad, but it ain’t over yet. We get him out of here and…’
…The mournful howl that echoed through the eerie silence of the park froze every one of them in their tracks; it rose from the crater like a haunting, the sound of bone-deep sadness, of someone so utterly broken by grief they can’t help but cry out their despair to every soul they can reach…
…Lois Lane cried, wept, screamed. She had no choice. It was like trying to hold back the tide, wave after wave rushing in, filling her up until she might burst; relentless misery poured from her until her chest ached and she gasped for breath, tears raining down from her clenched eyes onto his still face. At that moment, she felt as if she could weep over him for all her life…
…They gathered around the crater, staring down at the shuddering woman wracked with sobs as she clutched their friend so desperately to her. And they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Everything moved swiftly after that. Superman (Clarkit’sClarkit’salwaysbeenClark) was swept away from Lois by a storm of hospital scrubs, gurneys and jargon, while she followed torpidly in its wake; they broke two adrenalin needles on his skin and fused a set of shock paddles without so much as raising a flinch.
Lois found herself sitting in a hospital corridor, staring around at injured people lining the corridor; she noticed that every once in a while, their eyes would flick towards his room. She hugged a cup of coffee between her hands. The heat seeped through the plastic, beginning to redden her palms. She couldn’t feel anything.
“Lois?” She looked up as Jimmy approached, the grief plain on his face. “How are you bearing up?”
She sniffed and sighed deeply, hiccupping; her earlier crying fit had left her breathless, and she stared down at her hands, at the bloodstain on her shirtsleeve (hisSupermanClark'sblood). “I’ll be alright.”
Jimmy sat down next to her as she tossed the coffee in a nearby trashcan, rubbing her numbing hands on her knees.
“You-you never know. I mean, the guy’s a born fighter. If-if anyone…” He tried; he honestly tried, but they couldn’t fool each other. “This day really bites.”
She laughed. “Thanks.” Seeing his puzzled frown, she continued. “For trying.”
He took her hand, smiling sadly. “Have you heard from Clark yet?”
She pulled her hand back suddenly. “No.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Jimmy went on. “They’re already putting together teams to sweep the city for survivors. Matter of fact, I’ve volunteered a few shifts; we’ll find him, I promise. And besides, C.K can take care of himself. He’s a survivor.”
She closed her eyes and nodded a blind smile, driving her nails tightly into her already stinging palm. Still, she felt nothing. “Yeah…sure.” The scream she’d kept tightly locked in her throat trembled on her lips, and the walls seemed to close in. “I can’t stay here. I have to get out.”
Jimmy half-rose from his chair, “Lois…I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“It’s alright, I just…” she choked back a fresh sob, “I just have to go…”
She sprinted down the corridor, as Jimmy slumped back into his seat. “Man, half the city wrecked, Superman gone, Clark missing…could this day get any worse?”
“Where is he?”
Jimmy’s eyes snapped up, and landed on the small blonde, her quivering expression silently demanding an answer from him.
…“This just in; a hospital spokesperson has confirmed that life was declared extinct ten minutes ago, and as far as their knowledge of his biology can tell them,… Superman is dead…Our correspondent is outside the hospital, where…”
The Green Arrow backed through the door, a coffee in each hand. The League had asked for a private room, blinds drawn so they could say goodbye. “Hey, that Jimmy kid told me you were here. Figured you could use…Chloe, what are you doing?!”
Chloe looked up at him frantically, her eyes red and shining, her knuckles white as she clasped Clark’s cold hand tightly to her cheek, dampening it with tears. She had held tightly to her grief all the way to the hospital, gulping back her sobs, fists clenched and trembling, all for nothing. “It’s not working. Why isn’t it working?”
Green Arrow dropped the coffees, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her clear. “You can’t do that! You know what the power does to you!”
“I don’t care!” Chloe screamed suddenly. “I want him back!”
Ollie pulled her head into his chest, drawing in her tears as he bit hard on his back teeth against his own. “Honey, there’s no way now. J'Onn's already tried reading him. He’s gone.”
“Ollie,…” A.C poked his head into the room. “Sorry.”
“It’s OK.” Chloe dragged her sleeve over her eyes.
“We’ve got a situation,” A.C went on. “We just got a call from the Bat-Man. The cops are appealing for a bench warrant to take custody of Clark’s…” He closed his eyes, his throat stopping him from finishing the sentence.
“They can’t do that, can they?”
“They’re arguing he’s evidence, and since he’s an alien, technically, civil rights don’t apply.”
Ollie scoffed; he could tell a smokescreen when he saw one. “Alright, let’s wrap him up and get him out of here,” he said. “They're not taking him…”
…Bart kept watch, and tapped on the door a few minutes later. “Ready to go?”
A.C and J’Onn nodded, quietened by the task of zipping their friend into a bodybag. Chloe and Victor were waiting in the van, engine revving.
“Alright. Ollie and Arthur stall the blues, J.J and I whip him out through the ambulance bay, meet the van down the road a ways and we all rendy at the clock tower…Ollie?”
Ollie stood, leaning over a sink in the corner of the room.
“Ollie, come on, man…”
“God DAMNIT!” Everyone in the room flinched as the Arrow slammed his fist into the mirror, spiderwebbing the glass with a tinkling crack.
“Nice,” A.C nodded sarcastically. “You feel better now, Rocky?”
“Yes!” he snapped, rubbing his knuckles. A sigh escaped him. “This is all my fault.”
Bart shook his head. “No, it’s not.”
“It is!” Ollie insisted. “If I hadn’t filled him with all that self-righteous crap about power and responsibility, then…”
“Then he’d still be right here,” Bart interrupted. “You know him. League or no League, you really think he’d have sat this one out?”
Ollie was silent for a moment as he slipped his shades back on, pulling his scarf and hood back up. “I guess not.”
“You guess right,” Bart said. “Now, let’s get into character and get him out of here, before…”
“Stop right there.” Maggie Sawyer stood in the doorway with a weary look on her face, flanked by two of her team.
“…that happens,” Bart finished, his shoulders slumping.
“Captain Sawyer?” Ollie frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“A warrant has been issued allowing us to take possession of these remains.”
“Remains?” Ollie couldn’t believe his ears. “This is our friend. This is your friend, if I recall.”
Lex Luthor stepped up behind her.
“I might’ve known you had something to do with this,” A.C sneered. “You’re still a tool, Luthor.”
“Now, now, gentlemen,” Lex smirked. “You lost this one. Step aside, or we can take him by force.”
“Please,” Ollie begged,…
The men took formation around their friend’s bed, standing at each corner.
“…try to take him by force.”
A draft blew through the room, and as they turned to the window, the darkness entered and stood up.
Ollie gawped. “How long have you been out there?”
“Long enough,” said the Bat-Man. “May I see that?”
“What?” Lex barked.
“He has the right,” Sawyer returned, handing over the warrant; moments ticked by as he scanned the document, Lex’s foot tapping impatiently.
“It says here you are authorized to take custody of the body only in the event that the next of kin doesn’t come forward.”
“So?” Lex replied. “He has no next of kin.”
“Yes, he has,” the Bat-Man replied. “Me. He asked me.”
Lex narrowed his eyes. “Can you prove that?”
The Bat-Man drew himself up to his full height and leaned over the shorter man, forcing him to gulp. “Can you prove I’m not?” He turned to Captain Sawyer. “Bottom line is this, Captain. On a day like today, I’d rather not cause a disrespectful ruckus, but one way or another,” he nodded to the bed, “he’s coming with us. What’s it gonna be?”
Sawyer bit her lip, then shrugged. “My hands are tied, Mr Luthor. Let’s go, fellas.” As the S.C.U withdrew, Luthor followed, red-faced and quietly fuming. He flipped open his cellphone: "Mercy. No, we didn't get him, so Plan B it is..."
Ollie leaned in and whispered to Bart, who vanished almost before he’d finished talking. “Change of plans; bring the van around. We’re taking him out front.”
Batman, Aquaman, J’Onn and Green Arrow each took a corner, and gently lifted. As they walked down the corridor, the chatter and noise faded, a wave of silent respect rolling before them as they marched with precious cargo.
Out front, they stopped dead in their tracks. It was late evening now, especially dark without the street lights; the hospital steps, and the entire street beyond, were loaded with people silently holding candles, a sea of warm lights. Without a word, the crowd gently parted, a path to the van opening up. With utmost care, as if he could still feel the slightest nudge, they loaded the body of their friend into the van and drove away, watched by a crowd of mourners.
They drove in silence, each of them staring out a separate window, alone with their own thoughts.
“So,” Victor said finally, voice threaded with the urge to scream. “What now?”
“I know what to do,” Ollie said. “He told me what he wanted if ever…in these circumstances. We have to take him to the clock tower first. There’s something we have to do there.”
“Hi, this is NOT Clark Kent, this is a recording…”
She just needed to hear his voice. As Lois shut off her cellphone, she found herself idly wondering where he kept his own phone.
‘Probably in his other pants,’ she thought, chuckling, then squinting back tears as she realized that sounded like something Clark might say, some stupid joke meant to make her giggle, make her moan, make her feel better.
She was driving absently, not taking much in. The world’s brightness and volume seemed…muted, flat, gray. She passed the cornfield where she’d met him all those moons ago, the cornfield she teased him about just to watch him blush and smile at her, the cornfield where her life had changed course forever. She had a thousand memories since that day, and he was a part of most of them; for the good times, as her friend, for the bad times, as her rock.
From there, it wasn’t long before the familiar farmhouse came into view. Her first time in Smallville, she’d gotten lost en route to the Kent Farm; this time, she knew the place so well, she could’ve found her way there in the dark.
Stepping nervously onto the porch, Lois tried the door, which was, of course, locked. She rang the bell. After a seeming eternity, the door was opened.
“Mr Hubbard?”
“Lois,…’ he frowned, trying to be gentle, “this isn’t really a good time…”
“Lois?” Martha Kent leaned around Ben’s shoulder. She looked awful; her eyes were pink and puffed out, her nose was red raw. She’d obviously given up retouching her mascara and just washed her make-up off.
‘This was a mistake,’ Lois thought. ‘I shouldn’t have come here.’
“Oh, Lois, honey,” she said, struggling valiantly to keep up the show. “Excuse my cold. If you’re looking for…” she squeezed her eyes shut for a second, “…for Clark, he isn’t here…”
“Martha, I know.” Lois nodded off the older woman’s look; she wasn’t surprised, just drained of the energy it took to lie.
“He told me just before…,” Lois swallowed the rest, tugging at her sleeve as Martha's eyes passed over her. She damned herself as she remembered the shirt still had the blood of this woman's son on it. “I-I’m sorry…” Her voice cracked. “I probably shouldn’t be here at a time like this, but…I-I didn’t know where else to go…I mean, the whole city’s all over him and I can’t…I can’t…” Her face crumpled along with the last of her resolve.
“Oh, God, he’s…” Martha sobbed. “My boy’s really gone.”
The two women clung to each other, holding themselves upright. Ben gently ushered them indoors, and as the door closed behind them all, the house seemed to look down with pity, as if the walls might weep with them, if they could.
End of Prologue
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own nuthin'.
Summary: In the aftermath of the Superman/Doomsday encounter, Clark's friends and family struggle to come to terms with their grief. When more danger comes along, there seems to be little hope to be found. Still, any hope, no matter how small, is a good thing.
Previously, on “Capacity For Good.”
…“I love you, Clark.” The words came out softly, and she opened her eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
…Lois looked down at the floor, fighting the tears that hung at her eyelids; her next words were quieter. “Just say that you love me.”…
…Clark raced up the stairs, thumbing open his cellphone and hitting a speed-dial number on the way.
“It’s me. We might have trouble…Yes, what we were afraid of…”
“I recently discovered that Luthor’s been looking into meteor strikes in South Africa for the past few years,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “He might be in possession of alien technology from my home planet.”…
…“So it’s possible Lex might have the most advanced weapon on the face of the planet, but no idea how to control it,” the Arrow interjected…
…“What happened?”
“We combined the crystals,” Hamilton butted in, “and it formed a sort of window, a…a portal. This…this…thing appeared out of nowhere, battered its way out through the barrier.”
…“What did it look like?” Superman asked.
“Big. Mean. Brutal,”…
…“According to its appearance and markings,” Jor-El continued dryly, “it is the Beast of Krypton's Apocalypse.”
His eyes widened. “It can’t be. You told me that was a myth.”…
“Do you remember I told you all about the Phantom Zoners?” Superman said. “Well, Lex has released the worst one…”
…He paused, whispering into the dark. “Doomsday.”…
…“It’s incredibly strong,” he said, “and it seems to be getting stronger,…it has an adaptive morphology; it can compensate for any threat to its survival.”…
…“Luthor,… If that thing can’t be stopped, you may well have caused the end of the world. Congratulations.”
…And then he was gone. Lex’s eyes itched, red and glassy, as he watched the house burning against the dawn, and the old visions and dreams ran through his head of scorched earth, blackened bones and rains of blood, the world burning in space like a star…
…Chloe chipped in, “the more you get hurt, the more Meta-ATP you use up. Your injuries are closing up a little more slowly, aren’t they, Clark?”
He was quiet. “I’ll be alright as long as there’s sunlight…This is not a debate, Chloe. I’m going alone and that’s final.”…
…“The Gotham City Bat-Man,” Ollie said. “How do we know we can trust him?”…
…“You don’t have to,” he said. “You just have to know that I do.”…
…“Hi, this is NOT Clark Kent, this is a recording. You know the routine. Name and number, and I’ll get back to you next time my feet touch the ground. Bye for now…BEEP!”
“Hey, it’s Lois again… give me a call… let me know you’re alright?… I’m worried, Clark… Where are you?…”
“…first sited in the Suicide Slums area in the early hours of the morning…The battle has been raging all day, neither combatant gaining significant ground. Witnesses reported Superman as seeming hurt and tired…reported to tower over him at twice his size, but still Superman fights its every step. His courage in the face of such a monster has earned him a new nickname from Metropolitans; the Man of Steel”…
…Superman lay on the cracked ground in silence, aching all over…
…He whispered a quiet plea.
“Not yet…please…let me finish this.”…
…the vision of the world’s graveyard flashed in front of his eyes, dragging him to his feet once more…
…“Over my dead body,” he whispered, planting his feet as Doomsday rushed at him again…
…‘If that’s what it takes,’ he told himself, straightening his back, ‘that’s alright with me.’…
…The general was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, Lo’.”
Panic made her heart beat wildly. “Dad, what have you done?”…
…“How long would it take for you to rig up a short-range missile with a Kryptonite warhead?”… “I saw it shy away from the stuff in Schuster’s Gorge,” Superman said. “I think it’s vulnerable to it.”…
…“I have to warn him!”
“He already knows!” the General cried. “This is how he wants it!”…
…“Chloe,…” his voice gentler now. “…if you don’t send the codes…then everything he’s been through, everything he’s done… it’s all for nothing.”…
“…I think that's your destiny, Clark. To save people from fear and darkness. You can fear the future or you can embrace it. The choice is yours…”
…They seemed to just vanish, clouds of dust and earth torn up around them as the missile landed, greenish plumes sweeping outwards. He felt his body flung into the air and crash to the ground. For a moment, he was too exhausted to feel any more pain, but the agony of Kryptonite exposure soon wracked his already tortured body;…
…his fist quickly broke the sound barrier and did not slow, gathering speed exponentially on its short journey as he poured every last ounce of strength into that single shot,…For three city blocks, any window that wasn’t shattered blew apart as the earth literally trembled with the force of a single blow…
“…This is your destiny, son…And now it's time for you to go…”
…The smile dropped from Lois’s face as she saw Superman fall like a sunken puppet,…
…“Lie still,” she said, throttling the panic in her voice. “Somebody help! Dad, we need a medic!”…
…“Doomsday,…” he wheezed liquidly, fighting for breath. “Is it…is everyone…?”…
… “You saved us. You saved everyone.”…
…all of a sudden, it seemed that his eyes weren’t actually blue, but closer to green. It was like an optical illusion to Lois, like staring at two faces in silhouette that suddenly became the outline of a single vase.
“Clark?”…
…“It’s alright,…” he murmured breathlessly,... and although it pained him, his swollen lips bruised and bleeding, he smiled his sad and gentle Clark-smile. “It’ll be alright. Tell them… not to lose hope… any hope… no matter how small… is a good thing.”
“Please, Clark…don’t leave me…you promised you wouldn’t leave... Open your eyes…Clark, stop foolin’ around and open your eyes…Clark…No…”
And then…
…he was gone.
Capacity For Good: The Last Son
Prologue
…“Superman? Lois?” Jimmy peered through his camera lens over the edge of the crater, trying to see through the rising smoke and settling dust.
“Ahh, screw it,” he thought, slinging his camera around his back and leaping into the crater, skidding down the slope…
…General Lane ran for the park gates, a red wind blowing past him in the other direction as he sprinted to get back to his troops and his field phone. If he could get there in time,…
…Ollie twisted his cycle through the park gates, heading for the smoking crater in the distance.
“What if we’re too late?” A.C asked, riding shotgun behind him.
He twisted the throttle, heart clenched in his throat. A streak of red-gold blurred past him…
…The Martian Manhunter swooped down low over the park, releasing his grip from the Bat-Man’s armpits. Bat-Man crouched into the impact and hit the ground running. “What can we do, J’Onn?” he asked. “Do you know how to help him?”
J’Onn didn’t answer, simply pulled ahead of Batman…
…Bart streaked through the park, racing towards the rising plume of smoke, trying not to panic. ‘OK,’ he swallowed, ‘OK, it looks bad, but it ain’t over yet. We get him out of here and…’
…The mournful howl that echoed through the eerie silence of the park froze every one of them in their tracks; it rose from the crater like a haunting, the sound of bone-deep sadness, of someone so utterly broken by grief they can’t help but cry out their despair to every soul they can reach…
…Lois Lane cried, wept, screamed. She had no choice. It was like trying to hold back the tide, wave after wave rushing in, filling her up until she might burst; relentless misery poured from her until her chest ached and she gasped for breath, tears raining down from her clenched eyes onto his still face. At that moment, she felt as if she could weep over him for all her life…
…They gathered around the crater, staring down at the shuddering woman wracked with sobs as she clutched their friend so desperately to her. And they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Everything moved swiftly after that. Superman (Clarkit’sClarkit’salwaysbeenClark) was swept away from Lois by a storm of hospital scrubs, gurneys and jargon, while she followed torpidly in its wake; they broke two adrenalin needles on his skin and fused a set of shock paddles without so much as raising a flinch.
Lois found herself sitting in a hospital corridor, staring around at injured people lining the corridor; she noticed that every once in a while, their eyes would flick towards his room. She hugged a cup of coffee between her hands. The heat seeped through the plastic, beginning to redden her palms. She couldn’t feel anything.
“Lois?” She looked up as Jimmy approached, the grief plain on his face. “How are you bearing up?”
She sniffed and sighed deeply, hiccupping; her earlier crying fit had left her breathless, and she stared down at her hands, at the bloodstain on her shirtsleeve (hisSupermanClark'sblood). “I’ll be alright.”
Jimmy sat down next to her as she tossed the coffee in a nearby trashcan, rubbing her numbing hands on her knees.
“You-you never know. I mean, the guy’s a born fighter. If-if anyone…” He tried; he honestly tried, but they couldn’t fool each other. “This day really bites.”
She laughed. “Thanks.” Seeing his puzzled frown, she continued. “For trying.”
He took her hand, smiling sadly. “Have you heard from Clark yet?”
She pulled her hand back suddenly. “No.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Jimmy went on. “They’re already putting together teams to sweep the city for survivors. Matter of fact, I’ve volunteered a few shifts; we’ll find him, I promise. And besides, C.K can take care of himself. He’s a survivor.”
She closed her eyes and nodded a blind smile, driving her nails tightly into her already stinging palm. Still, she felt nothing. “Yeah…sure.” The scream she’d kept tightly locked in her throat trembled on her lips, and the walls seemed to close in. “I can’t stay here. I have to get out.”
Jimmy half-rose from his chair, “Lois…I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“It’s alright, I just…” she choked back a fresh sob, “I just have to go…”
She sprinted down the corridor, as Jimmy slumped back into his seat. “Man, half the city wrecked, Superman gone, Clark missing…could this day get any worse?”
“Where is he?”
Jimmy’s eyes snapped up, and landed on the small blonde, her quivering expression silently demanding an answer from him.
…“This just in; a hospital spokesperson has confirmed that life was declared extinct ten minutes ago, and as far as their knowledge of his biology can tell them,… Superman is dead…Our correspondent is outside the hospital, where…”
The Green Arrow backed through the door, a coffee in each hand. The League had asked for a private room, blinds drawn so they could say goodbye. “Hey, that Jimmy kid told me you were here. Figured you could use…Chloe, what are you doing?!”
Chloe looked up at him frantically, her eyes red and shining, her knuckles white as she clasped Clark’s cold hand tightly to her cheek, dampening it with tears. She had held tightly to her grief all the way to the hospital, gulping back her sobs, fists clenched and trembling, all for nothing. “It’s not working. Why isn’t it working?”
Green Arrow dropped the coffees, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her clear. “You can’t do that! You know what the power does to you!”
“I don’t care!” Chloe screamed suddenly. “I want him back!”
Ollie pulled her head into his chest, drawing in her tears as he bit hard on his back teeth against his own. “Honey, there’s no way now. J'Onn's already tried reading him. He’s gone.”
“Ollie,…” A.C poked his head into the room. “Sorry.”
“It’s OK.” Chloe dragged her sleeve over her eyes.
“We’ve got a situation,” A.C went on. “We just got a call from the Bat-Man. The cops are appealing for a bench warrant to take custody of Clark’s…” He closed his eyes, his throat stopping him from finishing the sentence.
“They can’t do that, can they?”
“They’re arguing he’s evidence, and since he’s an alien, technically, civil rights don’t apply.”
Ollie scoffed; he could tell a smokescreen when he saw one. “Alright, let’s wrap him up and get him out of here,” he said. “They're not taking him…”
…Bart kept watch, and tapped on the door a few minutes later. “Ready to go?”
A.C and J’Onn nodded, quietened by the task of zipping their friend into a bodybag. Chloe and Victor were waiting in the van, engine revving.
“Alright. Ollie and Arthur stall the blues, J.J and I whip him out through the ambulance bay, meet the van down the road a ways and we all rendy at the clock tower…Ollie?”
Ollie stood, leaning over a sink in the corner of the room.
“Ollie, come on, man…”
“God DAMNIT!” Everyone in the room flinched as the Arrow slammed his fist into the mirror, spiderwebbing the glass with a tinkling crack.
“Nice,” A.C nodded sarcastically. “You feel better now, Rocky?”
“Yes!” he snapped, rubbing his knuckles. A sigh escaped him. “This is all my fault.”
Bart shook his head. “No, it’s not.”
“It is!” Ollie insisted. “If I hadn’t filled him with all that self-righteous crap about power and responsibility, then…”
“Then he’d still be right here,” Bart interrupted. “You know him. League or no League, you really think he’d have sat this one out?”
Ollie was silent for a moment as he slipped his shades back on, pulling his scarf and hood back up. “I guess not.”
“You guess right,” Bart said. “Now, let’s get into character and get him out of here, before…”
“Stop right there.” Maggie Sawyer stood in the doorway with a weary look on her face, flanked by two of her team.
“…that happens,” Bart finished, his shoulders slumping.
“Captain Sawyer?” Ollie frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“A warrant has been issued allowing us to take possession of these remains.”
“Remains?” Ollie couldn’t believe his ears. “This is our friend. This is your friend, if I recall.”
Lex Luthor stepped up behind her.
“I might’ve known you had something to do with this,” A.C sneered. “You’re still a tool, Luthor.”
“Now, now, gentlemen,” Lex smirked. “You lost this one. Step aside, or we can take him by force.”
“Please,” Ollie begged,…
The men took formation around their friend’s bed, standing at each corner.
“…try to take him by force.”
A draft blew through the room, and as they turned to the window, the darkness entered and stood up.
Ollie gawped. “How long have you been out there?”
“Long enough,” said the Bat-Man. “May I see that?”
“What?” Lex barked.
“He has the right,” Sawyer returned, handing over the warrant; moments ticked by as he scanned the document, Lex’s foot tapping impatiently.
“It says here you are authorized to take custody of the body only in the event that the next of kin doesn’t come forward.”
“So?” Lex replied. “He has no next of kin.”
“Yes, he has,” the Bat-Man replied. “Me. He asked me.”
Lex narrowed his eyes. “Can you prove that?”
The Bat-Man drew himself up to his full height and leaned over the shorter man, forcing him to gulp. “Can you prove I’m not?” He turned to Captain Sawyer. “Bottom line is this, Captain. On a day like today, I’d rather not cause a disrespectful ruckus, but one way or another,” he nodded to the bed, “he’s coming with us. What’s it gonna be?”
Sawyer bit her lip, then shrugged. “My hands are tied, Mr Luthor. Let’s go, fellas.” As the S.C.U withdrew, Luthor followed, red-faced and quietly fuming. He flipped open his cellphone: "Mercy. No, we didn't get him, so Plan B it is..."
Ollie leaned in and whispered to Bart, who vanished almost before he’d finished talking. “Change of plans; bring the van around. We’re taking him out front.”
Batman, Aquaman, J’Onn and Green Arrow each took a corner, and gently lifted. As they walked down the corridor, the chatter and noise faded, a wave of silent respect rolling before them as they marched with precious cargo.
Out front, they stopped dead in their tracks. It was late evening now, especially dark without the street lights; the hospital steps, and the entire street beyond, were loaded with people silently holding candles, a sea of warm lights. Without a word, the crowd gently parted, a path to the van opening up. With utmost care, as if he could still feel the slightest nudge, they loaded the body of their friend into the van and drove away, watched by a crowd of mourners.
They drove in silence, each of them staring out a separate window, alone with their own thoughts.
“So,” Victor said finally, voice threaded with the urge to scream. “What now?”
“I know what to do,” Ollie said. “He told me what he wanted if ever…in these circumstances. We have to take him to the clock tower first. There’s something we have to do there.”
“Hi, this is NOT Clark Kent, this is a recording…”
She just needed to hear his voice. As Lois shut off her cellphone, she found herself idly wondering where he kept his own phone.
‘Probably in his other pants,’ she thought, chuckling, then squinting back tears as she realized that sounded like something Clark might say, some stupid joke meant to make her giggle, make her moan, make her feel better.
She was driving absently, not taking much in. The world’s brightness and volume seemed…muted, flat, gray. She passed the cornfield where she’d met him all those moons ago, the cornfield she teased him about just to watch him blush and smile at her, the cornfield where her life had changed course forever. She had a thousand memories since that day, and he was a part of most of them; for the good times, as her friend, for the bad times, as her rock.
From there, it wasn’t long before the familiar farmhouse came into view. Her first time in Smallville, she’d gotten lost en route to the Kent Farm; this time, she knew the place so well, she could’ve found her way there in the dark.
Stepping nervously onto the porch, Lois tried the door, which was, of course, locked. She rang the bell. After a seeming eternity, the door was opened.
“Mr Hubbard?”
“Lois,…’ he frowned, trying to be gentle, “this isn’t really a good time…”
“Lois?” Martha Kent leaned around Ben’s shoulder. She looked awful; her eyes were pink and puffed out, her nose was red raw. She’d obviously given up retouching her mascara and just washed her make-up off.
‘This was a mistake,’ Lois thought. ‘I shouldn’t have come here.’
“Oh, Lois, honey,” she said, struggling valiantly to keep up the show. “Excuse my cold. If you’re looking for…” she squeezed her eyes shut for a second, “…for Clark, he isn’t here…”
“Martha, I know.” Lois nodded off the older woman’s look; she wasn’t surprised, just drained of the energy it took to lie.
“He told me just before…,” Lois swallowed the rest, tugging at her sleeve as Martha's eyes passed over her. She damned herself as she remembered the shirt still had the blood of this woman's son on it. “I-I’m sorry…” Her voice cracked. “I probably shouldn’t be here at a time like this, but…I-I didn’t know where else to go…I mean, the whole city’s all over him and I can’t…I can’t…” Her face crumpled along with the last of her resolve.
“Oh, God, he’s…” Martha sobbed. “My boy’s really gone.”
The two women clung to each other, holding themselves upright. Ben gently ushered them indoors, and as the door closed behind them all, the house seemed to look down with pity, as if the walls might weep with them, if they could.
End of Prologue
). But my favorite part? Bart calling J'Onn "JJ" 
That's totally what I'm calling him from now on.
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