Brave New World: Superman and Lois

Chapter 26

"Lana, hey, is everything okay?" Clark asked his oldest friend as he met her at the local diner.

"Yeah, it's just the mayor stopped by the bank yesterday." Lana said.

"So?" Clark asked, not seeing the problem.

"Right, you haven't been here to know what an ass he is." Lana said.

"Wow, he must be bad if you're actually talking bad about him." Clark said, since he knew that Lana tried her best to only say nice things about people.

"You have no idea. Honestly, I swear, things in Smallville didn't really seem to go downhill until after he took office." Lana said.

"Really." Clark said, since that sounded suspicious.

"Yeah, it's weird. I mean, don't get me wrong, Smallville was never bustling with life, but things were relatively normal before he took office. Ever since then, this town has been going downhill." Lana said.

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?" Clark asked.

"Clark, you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't exaggerate something like this. Ask your mom. If anyone could tell you the truth about that, it's her. After all, in Smallville, Martha Kent sees and knows all." Lana reminded him.

"Yeah, how can I forget that?" Clark asked sarcastically and Lana chuckled.

"Seriously though, Clark, I am worried. I'm actually one of the few people in this town who actually shares your wife's views of Edge, but honestly, the way the town is now, it's no wonder people, including Kyle, want him here." Lana said.

"It's almost as if the town was being set up to welcome Edge." Clark said.

"I wouldn't go that far." Lana said.

"It's just a theory. But anyways, let's get lunch and catch up. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of each other. How's Sarah doing?" Clark asked and Lana sighed.

"You know teenagers. I do not envy you having two of them right now." Lana said and Clark chuckled.

"Everything alright?" Clark asked.

"Honestly, she's just been so moody lately. I've tried taking her to therapy, but nothing seems to help." Lana said.

"Look, want some advice?" Clark asked.

"You have advice for teenagers?" Lana asked.

"You forget that my cousin Kara was a teenager when I found out about her. Only reason I didn't take her in myself is because I'd just moved in with Lois and didn't really have the time or the money to raise a teenager and my mom had enough on her plate to take in another teenager." Clark said.

"Hey, I'm not accusing you of abandoning her, you did what you had to do. Besides, she turned out pretty well despite it." Lana said.

"Yeah, especially since she found a very rich boyfriend whose family funds her company." Clark said.

"Right, though I hear that she's been doing really well since she started being the only media firm in the country with exclusive coverage of Supergirl and the Flash, I hear she's even in the talks of expanding to Star City and Gotham?" Lana said.

"She's also the new owner of the Smallville Gazette, keeping it in business and I heard her say that she was planning on expanding in Metropolis, trying to steal Superman scoops from the Daily Planet." Clark said.

"Well she's certainly ambitious." Lana said.

"Yes, but she won't go anywhere near Coast City." Clark said with a chuckle.

"Why?" Lana said.

"Because that's Catco territory and if there's one person on this planet that Kara is scared of, it's Cat Grant and that fear is well founded." Clark said with a chuckle.

"From what I've heard about Cat Grant, I believe that. Didn't she used to work with you at the Daily Planet?" Lana asked.

"She did, but then she decided she'd had enough of Perry White demeaning her, so she went off and started her media empire. Kara actually worked for her before she moved to National City." Clark said.

"I feel like we've gotten incredibly off topic. What was the advice you wanted to give me?" Lana asked.

"Right. Sometimes, all you can do is ask your kid if they're okay and just listen. Don't assume you know what's going through their heads, just listen to them and actually hear what they're saying, not what a parent wants to hear." Clark said.

"That's good advice. How are your boys doing?" Lana asked.

"Well, Jordan is doing great, but Jonathan's actually been having some difficulties since we moved here and it turns out Lois and I aren't exactly parents of the year since he'd rather talk to his aunt than to us." Clark said.

"That's rough." Lana said.

"Yeah, but we're working on it." Clark said as they continued talking.

"Wait, you think that the mayor might be on Edge's payroll?" Lois asked Clark that night after he told her what Lana told him.

"Look, all I'm saying is that it's a theory. And considering what Lana said, can you really say it's out of the ballpark? Clark asked.

"No, I have to admit, it is a possibility. Chrissy and I will start looking into it. I'll call Lana, see if she could give me access to the bank's financial records for the mayor. But if it is true, I can't think of a reason why Edge would waste his money doing that to a small town? It doesn't seem like his MO." Lois said.

"Well, if he is involved in any way, we will figure it out." Clark said and Lois nodded in agreement.

"Do you really believe that this new method of yours is practical? You're moving too slowly." Zeta-Rho said to his son in his fortress.

"Father, you understand little of finesse. If I do it all at once, that draws attention. And while I am just as eager for Krypton's resurrection as you are, since I only have one test subject that's survived the transition, I can't exactly go mass market yet. Remember, I'm trying to avoid attracting Kal-El's attention until it's too late for him to stop it." Tal-Rho said to his father's hologram.

"You must resurrect the defense council Tal. Do not allow your mother's weakness to cause you to fail." Zeta said as the hologram faded.

"Yes father." Tal said.

You don't have to do this Tal. You have a family on Earth. Don't throw him away because of a blind devotion to your father. Tal heard his mother's voice say in his head.

"I'm sorry mother. But he's the only family I have left. I can't disappoint him." Tal said as he flew out of his Fortress to continue on with his plan.