The Lingering Night (In Response to the EVIL Challenge)

By Lynn S. M.

Rated: E for Evil. (Actually, rated G)

Submitted May, 2013

Summary: How do subsequent generations in an alternate universe
perceive the events of Nightfall? Note: This story was in
response to the EVIL challenge which was posted on a Lois and
Clark message board.

Please be forewarned: This story is in response to Queen of the
Capes' EVIL Challenge
(http://www.lcficmbs.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001113).
There is no WAFF here, and it is not how a typical FoLC tale
would usually go. Read at your own peril.

Some of the characters and plot points alluded to herein belong
to Warner Brothers and DC Comics. Alexandra and the kids are
mine, however. I just borrowed the other characters for a little
twisted, not-for-profit fun.

No beta readers were harmed in the creation of this story.

***

Alexandra Kelly moved the curtain slightly to peek out at the
full house. It looked like all of her students' friends and
relatives had turned out to see this year's show. She then
turned to her students to give them one last pep talk.

"I'm proud of all of you. You've worked hard to make this play
really good, and I know the audience is going to enjoy it."

She turned to a boy who was dressed in a blue leotard with a red
cape. "Vince, remember that the audience might boo when you go
out on stage. You know that they are booing Superman, and not
you, right?"

The little boy nodded, and she continued. "They all know you
aren't really Superman, that you're only pretending, and that
you really are a good lad." He nodded again; obviously, he was
still displeased at being stuck in the role.

"All right, everybody. Let's get started!"

She walked out onto the stage, took a deep breath, and addressed
the audience. "Thank you all for coming to the youth set's
historical play. And thanks to everyone in the audience who
helped the kids rehearse, who made costumes, and who encouraged
the students to give their best performances. Without any further
ado, we give you... 'THE LINGERING NIGHT.'"

She walked to a podium on the side of the stage and, with a grand
gesture, opened a book. She began to read aloud, and children
came onstage to mime the actions of which she spoke.

"It was another world. Many people lived all over the Earth --
so many people that there were thousands and thousands of cities,
each so large that no one person could know everyone who lived in
even a single city. Buildings rose high -- higher than a hundred
people would be if they stood on each other's shoulders. Some
things were the same as now, though. There was grass to walk on
and a sky above them. There were stars in the sky...so many stars
that one small, moving dot of light went unnoticed for a long
time.

"People went about their lives. They ate, and slept, and the
children went to school. The adults went to work, often
travelling far distances in wheeled boxes. And all the people
came from Earth.

"All except one, that is. People called him, 'Superman.' He
was so secretive that he wouldn't even tell anyone his real
name.

"Now because Superman wasn't one of us, he could do things
humans were never meant to do. He could uproot the largest tree
with his bare hands, throw heavy objects and break sturdy ones.
He could freeze people to death with his breath and set things on
fire with his eyes. The people feared him.

"He was a proud man, and it was because of his pride that nearly
all the people on Earth perished.

"One day, a scientist saw the moving dot in the sky. It wasn't
a star; it was something called an 'asteroid.' And it was huge.
It was so large that the scientists were afraid that if it hit
the Earth, all life would be destroyed. The scientists could have
exploded the asteroid by sending a rocket into it, but Superman
in his pride and foolishness insisted that they not use a rocket;
that he would move the asteroid away from Earth instead. He
wanted to get the glory of saving the Earth, even if it meant
risking the Earth to do so. The scientists were afraid to do
anything against Superman's will, and so they let him try his
plan.

"The scientists tried to tell him what he needed to do, but in
his pride, he insisted that he knew what he had to do, and he
took off, never to be seen again.

"No one knows what happened to him. Some people think that he
died before he reached the asteroid; that had he just listened to
the scientists, he and the rest of Earth's inhabitants might all
have survived. Most people, however, think that he just decided
to save his own skin -- to fly away to find a new planet on which
to live, and to let the people of Earth perish.

"And the people of Earth all would have perished, too, had it
not been for Wise Lex. This man was the only one who saw through
Superman's deceptions and cowardice. He was the only one with
the foresight to build the Ark and to gather into it all the food
and supplies our forefathers and foremothers would need to live
for three years. He was wise enough to make sure that the people
he invited into the Ark would all be able to help The Community:
doctors and farmers and builders.

"And after three years, the people came out of the Ark. They saw
the devastation wrought by Superman's cowardly inaction. But
people could finally live on top of the dirt again. They sowed
the seeds which Wise Lex had saved. They grew food, and made new
homes above the ground.

"They lived their lives, and they had children. And those
children had children. And so it went from generation to
generation, right down to the present. And each generation learns
anew what happened leading up to and following THE LINGERING
NIGHT."

As the entire set came on stage and took their bows, the audience
burst into applause. Alexandra was pleased with how the evening
went, and it always did her heart good to teach her students
about the important events in history.

THE END