By Michele Garnier (Bizarra@AOL.com)
Summary: A short story set in the Superman comic books' continuity: a letter that Lois writes to a woman claiming to be Superman's wife, shortly after Doomsday "kills" him.
This is a short story that is also set in the comics continuity. This one just a few days after Clark came back from the dead. It is a letter that Lois wrote to the woman who claimed to be Superman's wife just after he 'died'. Again, I love feedback! :-)
***
Dear 'Superman's wife',
You do not know me, but after seeing your press conference I felt compelled to write. You claim to be Superman's wife, but I know this claim is not true. How you ask? Because I know he isn't married. We never had that chance.
Let me explain some things about Superman that you don't know. Underneath the blue costume was a man who led a real life. Superman was just a name. A name, in fact, that I gave him.
I first saw him when he saved the space plane a few years back. This was before he even had a costume. This man so intrigued me, that I stage an accident to bring him out into the open again.
Thinking back, it was probably not the most brilliant thing I've done. I drove my car over the pier into Hobb's Bay. Sure enough, as I had hoped, he rescued me. This time he was wearing the costume you are familiar with. He granted me an interview, and I was completely taken with him.
Not long afterward, a new person started working with me at the paper I work for. This man truly annoyed me at first. He kept getting all the Superman scoops. I'll admit I was a little territorial when it came to Superman. Still am.
We fought constantly, this new partner and I. Eventually he wound his way into my heart. He soon proposed and I accepted. It was the happiest day of my life.
A week later he told me that he was Superman. I was stunned. I had to digest the fact that the man I loved was also the hero I'd fallen for. And I also adjusted that my fiance was from another world. A world that I sometimes wish I could have known.
He was raised on Earth by some very special people. They never thought twice about having a son who could lift the family car with one hand. They instilled into him their values, their morals and their pride. He would never have been the hero he was had it not been for his human parents. It was this strength of character that I loved about him. Well, that and his playful side.
We were happy. Until Doomsday. I never thought I'd lose him. I miss him -so- much. Doomsday killed a part of me when he killed Sup … Clark.
I was doing the story for the paper and I … I watched him die. I stood by reporting the news and watched that monster kill my fiance! I really couldn't have done anything. He died in my arms. I still have nightmares about this.
How can you say you are his wife? What do you know about him? You never sat with him when he had Kryptonite poisoning. You never sat up at night worrying about where he is or if he's even alive. You never kept his secret for him. You never loved him. He never loved you. He never even knew you.
You have no idea what I am going through right now. I've just lost the man I was planning on spending the rest of my life with. My soulmate. And now I have to listen to you making these false claims.
I can't talk to anyone about this. Only his parents and they are in Kansas. I have to keep his secret safe for him. I owe him that.
If you have any feelings at all, please don't continue this lie. You don't know who you are hurting. You are hurting me, his family and his memory. A memory I will cherish till my dying day.
I'm sorry this letter is so disjointed. But as you can tell I am running the gamut of emotions.
I'm angry at myself for watching him die and not doing anything. Not that there was anything I could do anyway. I'm angry at you for making such a fake claim. For taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't bring his side into the argument.
I'm hurting because I'll never see my fiance again. We had such plans. I'm also hurting because I have to mourn in silence. No one knows how much I'm truly hurting, because I can't talk to anyone. Most people think Clark is trapped in the rubble downtown and that he'll be found alive. But I know he won't be found. We buried him yesterday.
Do you know I couldn't even get close enough to say goodbye. The crowd was so thick and the Justice League was keeping it somewhat controlled. Although just as the procession reached Centennial Park, a riot broke out and I was pushed to the back of the crowd. So I went home and said goodbye in my own way. I have my pictures and I have my memories. Those I will treasure.
I will probably never actually mail this letter, but I do want to thank you. You provided me a way to vent my feelings and hopefully get on with the rest of my life.
***
Clark finished reading the letter he'd found in the drawer of Lois' night stand. He set it down as he heard her walk into the room.
"Clark, did you find the aspirin?" She was saying as she walked. She stopped when she saw he'd found the letter she'd written to that impostor.
He stood, walked toward her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I am so sorry I put you through that. Maybe … maybe we should tell the world who I am. So you won't ever have to suffer in silence again."
Lois pulled back and looked at him. Sometimes she couldn't believe he was really alive and back with her.
"You'd do that for me, wouldn't you?" She smiled softly at him. "I can't let you do that. You use the secret identity to protect you parents and me. I can't let you give up that safety net. I have your parents, and Lana. Our own secret society." She teased him, trying to lighten the mood.
She laughed and turned away to walk back into the living room.
"Just don't die on me again!" Lois threw over her shoulder as she left the room.
Clark threw up his arms in mock exasperation and followed her out of the room, saying sarcastically, "Oh, well gee, there goes all my plans!"
THE END
(supewife.txt)