Homecoming [Tag: Lois Lane]

It seemed that the world had come to a screeching holt and yet, it continued to spin on due to the selfless sacrifice that a certain underdog had made. The media had framed him and after the involvement of Lex Luthor Jr, most of the city blamed him- hated him. They had even managed to turn the Bat of Gotham against him, and the 'alien's' blood would have been on his hands if not for a common ground.


But in the end, it would be his love for this world, and the love of a certain woman that would drive him to save a world that hated him, even at the expense of his own life. Those final moments with Lois, knowing they would be the last. Wishing he could linger moments longer, but the city was being torn to shreds. Batman, the person that had tried to kill him earlier that night, and the mysterious woman would both be destroyed. He had every reason to walk away, to take Lois and leave the city to deal with this hell, but it  wasn't in his character.


A sorrowed 'goodbye', even if the words were never uttered. A quiet "I love you" that Lois couldn't return because her heart was aching, and she could only try to keep him here beside her. And as much as it hurt, and as unwilling as his poisoned body had been, he had managed to grasp the spear that had been crafted to stop his own heart and flew directly at the threat...


The spear had penetrated its target, and a bony protrusion pierced through Superman's chest, through flesh and bone and.. through a heart that loved this world too much. An anguished cry as he shoved the kryptonite deeper into Doomsday's chest as his own heart began to slow.....



...darkness....


The pull of death taking him under......





~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~




Location: The Kent Farmhouse
Time: Two days after the events of Batman V Superman



The farmhouse had been extremely quiet over the last two days. Martha Kent was used to her adoptive son going stints of time without visiting, but this was different. She knew  that he wasn't away. Clark wasn't simply out trying to discover himself or find his real parents. He was... gone. God, if only her words had gotten through to him. If only he'd realized that he didn't owe this world a thing, then perhaps she would have her son. But deep down, she knew it was a sacrifice that he had to make. Without his selfless act, Doomsday would have destroyed the city, and eventually the world.


It still didn't make it any easier to lay him to rest. To feel her heart being ripped from her chest, or to see the grief that Lois was going through. The young couple had their whole future ahead of them. They had recently moved in together, and Clark had mailed the engagement ring here so that he could surprise her. Martha still remembered that look on Lois' face the moment she gave her the ring. So much love and hope for a future that would never be...


Martha was glad that Lois decided to stay the last couple of nights. How generous the 'Daily Planet' had been to give her time to mourn. The grieving mother couldn't imagine how she would get through this on her own. She had graciously offered Clark's old bedroom to her, knowing it would give Lois a sense of closeness.



It was 1 AM and the house had gone silent. Over that last couple of nights, Martha had found it difficult to fall asleep in her own bed, so she opted for the couch. Unable to find rest on her own, she resorted to medication, which took two hours to pull her under....

Lois Lane laid on Clark's bed as she remembered all the moments she had with him. Trying to hold back tears that still seemed to fall without her control. She gone through her phone on her photos she had captured of them together. A small smile was placed on her face. The day she saw him die she didn't want to believe it was possible. She wanted to think he was immortal, but knew by what he had told her on the Kryptonite and Doomsday that broke his body.

She hated Lex Luthor for what he had done. Knew that most of the city hated him now after he was sent to jail for his death among other things he was illegally doing. Bruce had helped her with that, and she knew she'd write a long front page story on all of this once she mourned. Happy that Martha had alloed her his room to her, and she had been also trying to comfort her as well in her own sadden state. She'd be sure to keep in touch and probably live out here for a while and work from the farm house. She was sure Perry White would allow her that much.

Flipping through her photos on her phone the tears still coming down her face she held the ring in her hand looking at it. Knowing he had made it for her out of his own two hands. Placing it onto her finger it fit perfectly. Watching it sparkle and shine in the rooms light. She was deep in thought of again all the memories they had shared. Wished deeply to have them back.

Finding a couple of boxed up items Martha had done already she opened them and started to look through each one. Seeing what his life was before hers.

A punctured heart once so full of kindness, now seemingly destroyed -dead- slowly took rhythm. An impossible feat considering no one could survive that form of injury, nor could they withstand their body being poisoned to the point of deteriorating cells. He had said his goodbyes, knowing that Luthor had named his creation appropriately. Doomsday. His Doomsday. Killing the creature also required his life, but he had done it to keep Lois safe- because she was his world. He had also done it to protect the world. The very world that hated him.



Buried and mourned, this should have been his final chapter, but his wounded heart refused to cease forever. His broken body unwilling to become one with the earth. His time was not up here and maybe in the future fate's reasons would be revealed. Now, the unlikely was happening...



Each pulsating beat of his pierced heart sent a  serge of pain through his body,unlike anything he had ever experienced. The unbreakable broken, but feeling what it was to be so badly injured... injured, but not dead. That pain was enough to pull him back from death and towards the life he had left. Paled eyes opened, only to be met with darkness. And the sounds of thoughts, even in his weakened state, he could detect them.. and it hurt, moreso than his physical injuries.



His mother's nightmares. Her grief over having to buy her son. And Lois....the grief was crippling for him. It was his motivation to fight this. Body still made vulnerable by the kryptonite toxins still circulating in his bloodstream, his heat laser eyes would not serve him in opening the wooden coffin. It took the combined efforts of what laser he  could muster and his fists to break through the thick barrier, leaving his knuckles busted and bloodied. The former Man of Steel was not used to this, but none of that mattered at the moment. It took some effort, but he finally managed to make an opening, only to have the unforgiving earth pour in on him. It would have been suffocating for a human, but he managed to dig his way out.


Needing to rest, he sat at the edge of his own grave site for a moment, eyes shifting to the headstone that had been placed at his eternal resting place. So many tears had touched the cold stone, and absorbed in the earth around it. Sorrow lingered, even from his once mortal enemy, Bruce Wayne.


Trying to block it all out, he removed the tux vest he had been buried in, then unbuttoned the bloodied shirt, his eyes drifting down to the injury that Doomsday's spike had caused. A shaky hand wiped away the blood muddled dirt, exposing the wound that was trying to heal. His damaged heart still sputtering out blood with each desperate beat.    


Wincing in pain, he leaned back against the head stone, hand pressed against his injury as his tired eyes drifted towards the farmhouse. Eager to see the two loves of his life; to reassure his mother... and feel his girlfriend's embrace, but first... he had to muster up the strength to make it  there....

Struggling to get his bearings, Clark's eyes shifted from the farmhouse down to his still healing form. Covered in mud and dirt and blood, he removed his hand from the wound to see that it had mostly healed. Although his body could usually heal severe wounds, it seemed that this one would leave a scar. Perhaps due to the fact that it was inflicted by a creature created from the blood of one of his own, or the infused kryptonite, he couldn't tell. But none that seemed to hold his focus at the moment.


Right now, all he could focus on was the voices that his sensitive ears picked up on from the farmhouse. How would he do this without causing a whirlwind of emotions? Should... should he even go back? Should he reveal that he was still among the living? His mother had almost been killed because Luthor wanted to get to him. Lois... how many times had knowing him put her in danger?


Struggling with the uncertainties, he finally made it to his feet, wanting nothing more than to go 'home' and into the arms of the two people that he loved more than life, but fearing for their safety. Maybe it was better for them to grieve and move on....

Running would spare them all in the long run. Deep down, Clark knew that. As long as he was 'alive', the ones that he loved would always be targets. Lois and his mother would be put in harms way, over and over again. And yet, he knew that staying 'dead' could also leave then vulnerable. They would be targeted for knowing too much about him. There were some that would still demand every little detail about him, about his planted that had blown up. Those thirsty to make a name for themselves....



At least remaining in their lives, he could protect them. Keeping his distance.. he knew it was simply a matter of time before one of them were placed in harm's way and he would be forced to reveal himself. And then the hurt and betrayal they would feel over him keeping them in grief. He knew what they were feeling, could sense it in his own heart.


Staring off in the direction of the farmhouse, he knew what he had to do. He had to return to them, and that resolution lifted a significant weight from his own physically wounded heart. Struggling to gather his bearings once again, he wiped at his now bare chest, where the wound had sealed, leaving behind a pink scar. Only time would tell if it would fade completely, but given that the would was inflicted by a creature from his own world and he had been exposed to deadly amounts of kryptonite, there was a good chance it was here to stay. Part of him was okay with that. It made him... human. Something that so many would swear he was not.


Only able to manage staggering steps, he headed towards the farmhouse, eager to be reunited with his loved ones and relieved that he would be able to bring their heart's relief.



The sun glistened from his skin, still bloodied from the battle that had ultimately saved the world. He had paid the ultimate price, but now was being rewarded with a second chance, and he promised not to waste it....

The invasive sunlight never seemed to bother Clark before, but now he found himself squinting within its invasive rays as he watched Lois rush towards him. His heart felt tight, heavy then relief as he felt her arms around him. Muscular arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his body as he nuzzled her shoulder and kissed her neck, his appearance forgotten by both at the moment. All that mattered was the fact that he was holding her again. Inhaling her sweet scent.    



Having to break her heart, and that of his mother's was the only regret he had when he went up against Doomsday, knowing it would be his end. But it had to be done and  fate had given him a second chance.  



Face buried against the crook of her  neck for a moment, trying to get his bearings and indulging  in this moment, her words managed to register and he finally looked up, intense blue eyes staring into hers.



"....I think that's why I'm back. I couldn't leave your heart broken..." He told her quietly, gently wiping her tears with his thumb. one hand now cupping her cheek while the other arm held her close, his lips finally closed the distance, kissing her softly, sweetly and with so much meaning, conveying his love  and quiet apology....

Clark did not want to let her go. He would hold her for as long as he could, remembering the immense heartbreak he felt when he had to leave her, flying to his doom to save the world.. to save her.  Nuzzling her cheek and pressing a kiss against her forehead as he listened to her, regretful that he had to cause her to feel so much heartache. And the heartache he had caused his mother....


"Well I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere..." And he almost promised, but remembered he had made the exact same promise to his mother, but had been forced to break it.



Giving a small nod at her last comment. Indeed, he was starving and craving a warm bath to bring up his body temperature and remove the blood and grime, but first....



"Martha... my mother... she's okay?" He asked, hopeful, praying that seeing him come back from the grave hadn't been too much for her....

Clark spared a glance in the farmhouse's direction,seeing his mother's emotional face, happy tears and a quivering smile. He returned that smile, remembering the promise that he had made to her back before Zod had come to make his demands. They spared a quiet understanding, and he knew that as eager as Martha was to greet him, to hug him, she was respectful of this moment between him and Lois.


Blue gaze shifting back to Lois, gently wiping away her tears as he held her, savoring the moment for as long as he could. It felt like an eternity. "She was once fearful that the world would take me away from her, but I promised I wasn't going anywhere... and here I am.." A small grin to reassure her that he would always fight to come back. Deep down, he knew that someday a threat so big could potentially take him away from them forever, but until then... he would always try.



He returned each kiss, squeezing her carefully. It was then that he noticed the ring... Martha had given it to her for him. A small smile stretched across his lips. "..Is that a 'yes'?"

Hearing her answer caused his achy heart to soar. She had said yes, accepting everything and accepting this crazy life, knowing that hers would never be normal again. He had fought back and forth about making that ring, about asking her to be a forever part of his life. He knew there would be danger, but at least with him in her life, he could protect her... and that was his priority. The reason his heart beat. The reason he had beat death.....



Dropping to one knee, her hands squeezed in his, he smiled up at her....



"I never got the chance to ask.... I wanted to, but here I am... Lois Lane, will you marry me?" Sure, she had already said yes, and he was covered in blood and mud but, she had accepted that their lives would never be normal. Now was just as good of a time as any....

The fact that she was wearing the ring that he had made for her, the answer came as no shock but still, it was accompanied with emotion, tears burning and lower lip lightly quivering as he stood, returning the embrace. He almost didn't have this chance with her.. to propose.... to have a life with her, and to be there for her. Being an outcast from the beginning, hated and feared by most.... that hurt took backstage the moment he helped her out of that helicopter and their eyes locked for the first time....


...in that moment... he knew he belonged....


His destiny had destroyed him, but fate once again came through and he was now standing here with her, wrapped in her warm embrace as the sun beamed down on him. The rays could aid in his healing, but he knew getting back to 'normal' would be a long process. He would have to be 'human' for awhile, and considering this very human moment he was sharing with the love of his life, that would not be a problem. His biggest desire was to always protect her.


A small smile etched across his lips as he kissed her. Softly at first, slowly deepening as he gave her a light squeeze his response delayed for a moment, but finally eased up and met her gaze. He had caused her so much grief the moment his weakened self picked up the kryptonite spear and flew to his death...to save her... to save the world. Now, it was time to put everything right and be there for her... always...



"You're not going to lose me...I promise..."  The same promise he had made to his mother before the battle with Zod. A promise deep down they both knew he could not keep, but he would do everything within his power to always be there, and with his body weakened to the state he was in, the next months would be focused on healing and finding himself.. being the man that she needed.


A small smile formed on his lips as they once again met hers, kissing her with soft passion, grateful that she had never given up on him....

Clark wholeheartedly agreed that this was where he needed to be right now. 'Home'. The little Kent farm would always hold a special place in his heart. It did not matter that he was adopted. Martha had always been, and would forever be his mother. It's where Jonathan Kent decided to be his father with no questions, and tried so hard to teach him to wait for the right moment to show the world his capabilities. Jon had even prevented him from saving him -giving up his own life- to keep people from fearing him.


The secret was out, but had died the moment Doomday's spike pierced completely through his chest. The time of Superman had come to pass, and with it all of the active judgement and fear of the destruction he could cause. Would he go back to that? For the moment, the answers were not clear. If his mind had not been so clouded, if he searched deep enough he would know the answer. All that mattered for the moment was he was 'home' with the woman that had always accepted what he was, and the mother that couldn't love him any more if he had been her own son.



A small smile etched across his lips and he squeezed her gently. "I'm glad they gave you time off. And thank you for being here for my mother..." Because he knew that Lois hadn't only been dealing with her own grief, but Martha's as well. He nuzzled a soft kiss against her cheek, wanting to stand in this spot with her forever, but also eager to feel his mom's embrace, to confirm to her with physical contact that her 'baby' was truly here....


"I'm sure you'll come up with something good when the time is right.." He told her, giving her a knowing smile. She had always been so good at stories, but for now, there was no rush. He needed to heal and decisions needed to be made regarding if Clark Kent and Superman would both make their official return to the world. For now, he was here, in his own little world. With her.


Sparing another glance in Martha's direction, his gaze drifted back to Lois, a soft smile stretching at one corner of his mouth. "She's been patient for too long..." And a bath was long overdue....

Giving a soft and understanding nod, Clark knew just hoe much his mother had suffered. She had been his biggest supporter, before anyone else knew of his capabilities. She had given her tear-filled blessings when her adoptive son had made his intentions known.... Lois was the woman he wanted to marry.... to spend the rest of his life with......


Clark wished that his father had the chance to meet her. The alien knew it would put his adoptive father's mind at ease, to know that his son had found a woman that would love him, despite the world's fear and hatred of him....


That's all Jon ever wanted for the son he knew would be alienated.


Pulled from bitter-sweet thoughts by his Love's cheeky comment about Martha's tub, Clark gave a weak but cheeky sideways grin as he squeezed her gently, another soft nuzzle and kiss along her neck and gently along her jaw line until he met those heavenly lips again.



"It would be worth it...." Another soft smile that hinted at playful mischief even if he was injured. He squeezed her gently, not wanting to let go....


"I need to go see her...." He told her, and another gentle squeeze as he nuzzled her cheek and breathed quietly in her ear....


"But after.... there's a lake not far from here....."

Clark was thankful for the light moment, feeling it was long overdue. There hadn't been much time for it during the weeks pending his death. Too many heavy moments with spurts of romance in between, but his heart had been laden and weighed down for a long time But now, he was getting a second chance. The world thought he was dead. Nothing was expected of him. Though, being Superman had always been his choice. Still, even if he could put on that mantel again, he was in no condition.


Now his focus had to be on recovering before deciding which direction he would go...


Chuckling lightly as Lois playfully poked him, Clark gently squeezed her and spared a glance back at his mother, knowing she was just as eager as him for a mother/ son hug. But Lois was right, he was covered in filth. Though deep down, Clark knew that Martha was probably aware that he and Lois needed some time. It was evident in the way Lois told her that she was getting him cleaned up for her...


Sparing his mother a longing smile before allowing Lois tugged him off toward lake, trying not to lean too heavily against her. "I doubt she fully believes that our intentions are to spare her floor..." He teased, kicking out of his mud laden dress shoes when the pond came into view....

Now Clark was curious about just what Lois had told his mom. Obviously his mother knew he was an adult and had been living with her for months prior to his death. It was a sure thing they had been 'together'. Mothers always had a way of knowing. A small, shy but cheeky grin stretched across his lips as she began to undress him, lips hovering close to hers as she worked with the button of his pants...


"Told her stuff, huh...so I guess the secret is out..." A small wink as their lips finally met once again, and now shed of the mud-laden pants, his eager fingers carefully worked the buttons of her blouse, slowly sliding it over her shoulders, exposing her soft skin. His lips moved along her neck as his body pressed against hers, leaving a trail of kisses along her collar bone and shoulders, fingers gently caressing the back of her neck....



(...Fade....)