TOC Here it is, the end of the longest story I've ever written!
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After hours of grueling but satisfying work, both Supermen were finally beginning to see an end to their labor. They had cleared debris, mended crumbling houses, and saved countless lives. In fact, after the two arrived on the scene, no lives were lost. Clark was glad for Dr. Clark’s help in this case; he’d never realized how having another Superman around made his job so much easier. They had completely cleared the scene in less than half of the time it would have taken one Superman to do it alone. Two heads were definitely better than one.
Clark slowly took off into the sky after taking a final glance at the landscape below him. He heaved a large sigh of relief as he realized that they really were done and the disaster scene was now safe. The buildings throughout the area now considered “structurally sound” and would not crumble even if an aftershock were to hit. Plus everyone that was stuck was now freed. It was quite a feeling of relief to see everything that they had achieved in such a short time making the entire area safe for human habitation once again.
Once he was high in the air he began to look for Dr. Clark. As planned, the other man had taken to the sky as soon as Clark had come within his enhanced range of view so that no one on the ground would realize that there were two Supermen on the scene. Of course initially the situation had been so chaotic that the victims had just appreciated the help and were very unlikely to realize that Superman was in two places at once. But as soon as the chaos began to settle and Clark and Dr. Clark had gotten too close to each other, Dr. Clark had deferred to Clark and had quickly flown off into the sky without anyone noticing. The plan had been executed perfectly. They both knew that it would have been very difficult to explain two Supermen being at the scene, but they were acutely aware that in a crisis people tend to not notice things around them and they would have been too distraught to notice that presence of more than one Superman. It was a risk they were both willing to take.
Within a second of Clark being in the sky, the other Superman had appeared next to him and they were ready to head back to Metropolis.
Dr. Clark extended his hand to Clark and he said, “Good job, buddy. I’ve never seen another Superman in action before and I have to say, you are incredible.”
“Likewise,” Clark answered. “I never realized how much help it would be to have you with me. Normally this would have taken me all night, but we’re done in just under two hours.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Dr. Clark answered. “I’ve always thought that I was put on Earth to help as much as I can – and it applies to Alternate Earths, too, I guess.”
Clark nodded pensively. Dr. Clark had just echoed the thought that had always ran through his own mind about why he had been blessed with these incredible powers. “Me too. For my entire life, I’ve always wanted to use my gift to try to assist anyone in need.”
The two Supermen took off towards Metropolis eager to get back home to see how their wives were getting along. They both had been very nervous to leave the two women alone together both knowing their wives. The Metropolis Fourth of July fireworks display had nothing on the potential explosions that would happen between two Lois Lanes when left alone together.
Both Loises had protested that they would be fine together. The two women had pleaded that they weren’t children that needed a babysitter. Both Clarks knew their wives well enough to realize that two Lois Lanes might not be safe alone together at all. A Lois Lane of any dimension was a passionate, opinionated, impulsive woman that did not keep her composure well in an uncomfortable situation. With that thought, the two Clarks sped up their flight home having absolutely no idea what they would find when they returned. They both knew, however, that the sight that awaited them would not be pretty.
As they were flying over the Midwest, Dr. Clark decided to start the conversation again – this time on a lighter subject. They had been flying in silence and Dr. Clark wanted to break the ice again. He knew that Clark was probably replaying the disaster situation in his head, but it wasn’t healthy for him to obsess about the fact that they hadn’t gotten there immediately after the earthquake and weren’t able to save absolutely everything in the region.
Trying to lighten the mood, Dr. Clark asked, “Clark, I’ve been meaning to ask you, where did you get your suit? I guess I should have expected us to have the same Superman uniform, but it’s still pretty weird.”
“My mother made it for me,” Clark said simply. He wasn’t sure how much more Dr. Clark was expecting him to say.
Dr. Clark grinned at his counterpart. “Really? Mine did, too. After Lois came up with the basic idea for Superman, I took the idea to my mom and she had the design for the suit ready in a few hours.” Then he paused for a second and changed the subject slightly. “You know, I have no idea why I thought your suit would be different than mine. Maybe I thought that it would be something unique to each of us.”
Clark shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe it is universal throughout every universe: if there is a Superman, he is destined to wear bright blue spandex.”
“Do you like the spandex?”
“I guess they are aerodynamic,” Clark said in a noncommittal tone.
He didn’t want to admit his true feelings about the spandex. As a rule, he didn’t like the spandex, but there were some times that he did enjoy wearing them. For example, the look in Lois’s eye whenever she saw him in the Superman outfit was worth all of the humiliation he had once felt.
“Yeah, I know, but aren’t they a little…”
“… Revealing, uncomfortable, dehumanizing?” There, he’d said it. How had his mom ever thought that he would like wearing a costume like this? Over the years, the costume had grown on him more than he was willing to admit, but he still wasn’t entirely sure if he had a positive feeling about wearing such a revealing outfit.
“I was going to say tight, but you covered it well.”
“Well, I’m a reporter; I have a gift for descriptive language. It’s how I pay the bills.” Clark figured that Dr. Clark realized that he was joking. Dr. Clark was definitely more laid back than Dr. Lois because he laughed at Clark’s statement while Dr. Lois, or Lois for that matter, would have taken offence to it. Then Clark continued, “But my mother made the suit for me, so I can’t exactly complain… ”
“Uh,” Dr. Clark said, interrupting Clark’s sentence. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Clark had been so involved worrying that Dr. Clark had gotten the wrong idea about what he had just said that he hadn’t been paying attention to anything else. In fact, they had been flying just over the outskirts of Metropolis.
Then they both heard it again as they approached the brownstone at 348 Hyperion Avenue. It was a loud, feminine squeal – not exactly a squeal of pain, but neither man wanted to take any chances. It was obvious that the squeal definitely belonged to Lois Lane. Which Lois the squeal belonged to, though, was a matter of conjecture. Each Clark thought that the squeal had come from his own wife. The both had absolutely no idea what they would find when they got home. However, both men knew that they probably wouldn’t like what they saw. It would undoubtedly be a scene of mass chaos and destruction. The two men were nearly reaching a panicked state. Would they be able to handle the situation? Both Clarks knew that the only fool proof way to settle their wives down would be long smoochies with their respective Superman. That was definitely something that neither man would object to, though.
“Do you think they’re fighting down there?” Clark wondered.
“I sure hope not. But do you really think they’re not fighting? These are two Lois Lanes we’re talking about here!” Dr. Clark sighed exasperatedly. He knew that he was wrong to leave the two Loises alone together! They really did need a babysitter. Then he said, “Maybe we better check on them down there to make sure they aren’t killing each other.”
Clark had a horrible image of what could be going on between the two women. Could the possibly be throwing things at each other? It seemed completely out of character, but sometimes Lois really had the capacity to surprise him. “Or damaging my house!”
“Or my baby!” Dr. Clark knew that his wife would not let anything happen to their unborn baby, but it was still a valid concern in his mind.
The two Supermen took off at an even greater Superspeed than they had been flying previously. In a matter of seconds, the two men had flown through an upper window, quickly spun into their “Clark” clothes, and hurried downstairs into the living room.
Both men were surprised at the scene that greeted them in the living room. Pages of notes were scattered across the coffee table and there was no sign of death or destruction. Even more shocking was that the two Loises were not screaming at each other in anger at all. The two women had been squealing apparently not because they were pulling each other’s hair out, but because they had felt Dr. Lois’s baby move or at least that is how it appeared to the two men.
“Honey,” Dr. Clark said in a cautious voice. He didn’t want to make any waves in the calm that they had just invaded.
“We’re home,” Clark added, somewhat surprised by the scene that had unfolded in front of him.
The two Loises looked at each other, both now aware of the thoughts that must have been running through their husbands’ minds. They must have thought that their wives would have been at each other’s throats in anger. Did they really have such little faith in their wives?
Lois turned around to face Clark and asked, “How did it go?” She was treating the situation like there was nothing out of the ordinary happening.
Yes, she and Dr. Lois had become friends. What was weird about that? Obviously those silly Supermen did not trust their wives. From the look on Clark’s face, Lois knew that he had expected to come home to the worst possible situation between the two women. Yeah, okay, she would give that to them. The two men did have valid grounds to assume the worse given the icy atmosphere between the two women that had existed when they left. But that was all water under the bridge now. For Supermen, Clark and Dr. Clark certainly weren’t the fastest to grasp things.
It looked like the situation in South America had gone well because Clark seemed to be in a good mood. He didn’t have that familiar haunted look in his eyes like he often did when he returned from a particularly difficult rescue. Maybe since he had Dr. Clark with him this time, the rescue had been easier. Plus, this time he actually had someone to share the experience with that actually knew about everything he was talking about. As much as she tried to support him, she couldn’t know exactly how he was feeling since she hadn’t been right there with him.
Dr. Clark tried to process the images in his mind to come up with a coherent question to ask the two women, but he decided it was just better to answer Lois’s question. “Oh it went very well.” Then he moved next to his wife and wrapped an arm around her.
Clark added, “I would love to have another Superman around at all times. It sure makes my life easier.”
Lois grinned at him and answered, “Well, you’ll have to wait another twenty or twenty-five years for that, honey.”
“What?” Clark wondered immediately. Then he realized what she was talking about – their future child might be able to become the second Superman or Ultrawoman. “Our child? We can have children.” It was a statement rather than a question. He knew that they could have children.
He knew that his sentences weren’t coherent, but he didn’t care. Plus, they had both known that the Drs. Lois and Clark would be able to help them with their conception problems. If the sight of their future child hadn’t convinced them, seeing the pregnant Dr. Lois definitely had.
Lois put her hand on Clark’s chest and said, “Honey, Dr. Lois told me the solution to all of our problems: their Kryptonite vaccine and fertility treatment. Clark, you are never going to believe the Kryptonite vaccine!”
Clark felt his breath catch in his chest. The Kryptonite vaccine – it was real! It was absolutely incredible – like a weight was about to be lifted off his chest. How would it feel for him to be finally rid of the fear of Kryptonite poisoning?
Dr. Clark turned to his wife and whispered, “Did you tell her already? I wanted to be here when we told them.”
“Sorry,” Dr. Lois said in a guilty tone. She’d known that her husband had wanted to be there to tell their counterparts about the medical miracle that they had discovered. Dr. Lois didn’t have a chance to answer him further, though, because Lois continued telling her husband about the Kryptonite vaccine.
“All you have to do is drink a gallon of Hydrogen Peroxide every six months because of something called free radicals. And they inhibit the inhibition of your RYS converter enzyme.” Then she looked to Dr. Lois for confirmation. “Right?”
Both Dr. Lois and Dr. Clark nodded. Dr. Lois answered, “Mostly.”
“That’s the gist of it,” Dr. Clark agreed.
“Hydrogen Peroxide? Like hair dye and cleaning fluid? That Hydrogen Peroxide? I have to drink a gallon every six months?”
“Honey, did you not hear what I just said? Hydrogen Peroxide makes you immune to Kryptonite! How could you be complaining about it?” Lois interrupted. “Aren’t you the man that swallows bombs and only burps afterwards?”
Clark quickly shook his head. “No, no, I’m not complaining. I’m just in shock! All I have to do is drink a gallon of Hydrogen Peroxide? That’s all? I’d be willing to drink 50 gallons of Peroxide a day if I didn’t have to worry about Kryptonite! I can’t believe it!”
It seemed almost too good to be true. Simple Hydrogen Peroxide was able to neutralize Kryptonite! Dr. Klein was going to be shocked. Plus, if the solution to the ever elusive Kryptonite vaccine had been so simple once the answer was found, maybe the fertility issue was equally simple – just hard to find. Maybe that’s why Dr. Klein had thought that he was infertile. He could only hope. Clark didn’t even think to ask how the Hydrogen Peroxide worked nor about the RYS converter enzyme that Lois had mentioned.
Then he asked the question that was almost more pressing on his mind, “And we can have a baby?”
Lois wrapped her arms around her husband’s shoulders and whispered, “Any time we want to start trying.” She wasn’t sure why she was whispering, though, so she raised her voice, “You just have to take your Peroxide, be exposed to Kryptonite and red light simultaneously up to two days before hand.”
“Red light and Kryptonite?” Clark raised his eyebrows in surprise. Now that seemed like an unlikely combination.
“Yep, Dr. Lois can explain it to you, but all I need to know is that it works. Something about a yellow sun converter enzyme and Kryptonite, and red light inhibiting. Dr. Lois can explain it much better.”
“Okay,” he said slowly.
Obviously Clark was the only person in the room that was completely out of the loop about his physiology. He’d never heard of a yellow sun converter enzyme. But he was willing to believe that it existed since the results of the treatment were so obvious in the other couple.
“Oh, and Dr. Lois said that pasta with marinara sauce also helps. And the more times we try, the better our chances are.”
“Um, Lois, you know I’m not complaining about that, right? You know what pasta does to me. But, um, how does it work?”
Then Dr. Clark jumped in, “Um, I’m sorry to interrupt, but maybe my wife and I can explain the treatment to you. It’s sort of getting late.”
Then Dr. Lois and Dr. Clark proceeded to explain the entire process to Clark – basically the same thing that the two women had talked about before. They covered the RYS enzyme and how Kryptonite affected him. Then how he had ingested the Peroxide and the miraculous effect it had on him. Finally, they covered exactly how the red light and Kryptonite in combination with the Hydrogen Peroxide were able to inhibit the RYS enzyme in his sperm making it able to fertilize a human egg.
“Wow,” Clark said after the explanation was over. “I can’t believe it. Dr. Klein was wrong!”
Lois squeezed his hand at placed a soft kiss on his cheek. It was incredible; Clark was now showing a sense of optimism that she hadn’t seen in days.
“Do you think we should tell Dr. Klein that he was wrong?”
“I don’t know, Clark. He is the one that would have the laser to expose you to and the Kryptonite. But it would also seem sort of fishy if you just went in there one day and declared that you have the solution to all of your problems.”
“I don’t know. I hate not telling him about this. What if I drank the peroxide and then had him perform more tests?”
Lois shrugged her shoulders. For some reason, she wasn’t sure if she wanted Dr. Klein to know about the solution to the fertility problem. It would just raise too many questions. Even though she trusted Dr. Klein implicitly, she just didn’t like the thought of Clark possibly having to tell Dr. Klein about his true identity.
“I’m not sure, Clark.”
Then Dr. Clark jumped in, “If you’re not comfortable with it, I’d suggest maybe just telling him about the Kryptonite vaccine. From what Lois and I have seen, her pregnancy is completely normal – no complications at all. There is absolutely no reason why Lois can’t go to a regular obstetrician.”
Dr. Lois interrupted, “And I do go to a regular obstetrician. So if you don’t want to tell your Dr. Klein about the fertility treatment, you really don’t have to. We can write down every step of the treatment for you. You just have to follow it exactly and you’ll be able to conceive.”
“Honey, I think they have a point.” Lois looked her husband in the eye. He looked like he wasn’t completely convinced that keeping Dr. Klein in the dark was the best thing to do. “Do you really want him asking you any more questions about your girlfriend? What if someone slips him some truth serum…”
“Lo-is.”
“Clark, I’m not kidding. You know it’s happened before. What if he tells someone that you are able to reproduce? What kinds of criminals might be looking for your, well, samples? It’s better for him to think that you can’t have a baby with a human. If I won’t be at risk during my pregnancy, I really think it’s better for the fewest number of people to know.”
Dr. Lois added, “She’s right, Clark.” She just had to add her opinion even though she wasn’t directly involved in their situation as she wrote down the exact instructions for the Kryptonite vaccine and the fertility treatment.
“You’re all right,” Clark said slowly. “As much as I would love to let Dr. Klein in on the secret, I want to protect my family much more.” He kissed Lois on the cheek and pulled her close when he said, “We won’t tell him. But I will drink the peroxide and have him ‘discover’ the Kryptonite vaccine like Dr. Clark did. I’ll just tell him I swallowed the Peroxide by accident at a chemical plant.”
“I love you,” Lois said softly.
“I love you, too, Lois,” Clark said just before he leaned down to kiss her.
Dr. Lois and Dr. Clark both felt slightly uncomfortable as they watched their counterparts kiss. The both knew that they had served their purpose in this universe and were ready to return to their own world.
Dr. Lois said, “Wow it’s after 1 AM!” She remembered that it had been just before 10 PM when they had arrived in this universe. They’d solved the problem in a very short amount of time.
Dr. Clark said, “Now that everything in this world is fixed, all we have to do now is wait for Mr. Wells to take us back to our own world.”
As if on cue, just as Dr. Clark said the name, “Mr. Wells,” there was a sharp knock on the front door.
Lois and Clark broke their kiss when they were interrupted by the knock on the door. They had heard what Dr. Lois and Dr. Clark had said and were almost sad to hear that the other couple was ready to leave so soon.
“Are you really sure you want to leave?” Clark wondered.
He had so many more questions for his counterpart about being Superman in the alternate universe. Clark wanted to share ideas about crime fighting and disaster prevention. Plus, he really enjoyed having another Superman around to share all of his experiences with. Of course he loved Lois and how she supported him unconditionally, but sometimes it was impossible for her to understand the exact depth of the emotional turmoil that he experienced after a particularly difficult rescue. Talking to another Superman was really therapeutic for him.
Dr. Lois answered, “It has been wonderful seeing this world and meeting you, but it really is time for us to get back.”
Even though they were sure that Mr. Wells was the man knocking on their door at this time of night, both Clarks used their x-ray vision to see their visitor before they opened the door. As they expected, a dapper gentleman dressed in old-fashioned clothes was waiting for them on the other side of the door.
Clark quickly opened the door and ushered Wells in.
“Oh, indeed, I see that I have arrived at the right time. So you have shared your secrets?”
Lois answered, “Yes, Mr. Wells. They are incredible. Thank you so much for bringing them to help us.” Then she found herself hugging the small man.
Wells was surprised, but he found himself hugging her back. “Indeed, so now you have a Kryptonite vaccine and know how to have a baby?”
Dr. Lois said, “Just follow the instructions exactly and I promise that you will be able to conceive a baby.”
Then Dr. Clark turned to Mr. Wells and said, “I think we should be leaving. It’s late and we’re all getting tired. We don’t want to bother our hosts any longer.”
“Bother us?” Clark said with a hint of surprise. “No, no, you could never be bothering us. We’d love to talk to you longer.”
Then Lois yawned loudly, involuntarily contradicting what her husband had said. It had been a long day with so many emotional peaks and valleys and she was both physically and emotionally exhausted. But like her husband, she wanted to spend more time with their counterparts from the alternate universe.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kent, but I think Dr. Kent is right. We should be getting back to the alternate world. Indeed, it might not be good for Dr. Lane’s baby for her to gain so many hours in this world.”
With Mr. Wells’s comment about their unborn baby, Dr. Lois and Dr. Clark were anxious to leave. They knew that it couldn’t be too dangerous for the baby because they had only been gone a few hours, but they didn’t want to take any chances. Mr. Wells was an experienced time and dimensional traveler, so they trusted him to decide what was safe and what wasn’t. The last thing they ever wanted to do was put their baby in danger even if it put an early end to their incredible adventure.
Before Dr. Lois or Dr. Clark could say anything, Lois tried to speak. She was so grateful for everything that they had done and that they had decided to share it with her. “Thank you. I owe you more than I can put into words,” Lois said as she hugged first Dr. Lois then Dr. Clark.
Clark hugged Dr. Lois and shook hands with Dr. Clark and then he said, “I can’t even tell you how happy you have made me.” Then he looked at Mr. Wells and at his wife. “How happy you’ve all made me.”
“It was our pleasure, believe me,” Dr. Clark said.
Dr. Lois added, “We got to see another universe and meet the two of you. Believe me, we should be thanking you.”
“Indeed,” Mr. Wells said. “It was quite our pleasure, Mr. Kent.” Then he looked at the Drs. and wondered, “Now are you ready to get into your disguises for the dimensional travel?”
“We are NOT wearing disguises, Mr. Wells. We absolutely refuse,” Dr. Lois declared.
“But…” Mr. Wells tried to protest.
“I’ll fly us to the machine. No one will be able to see us,” Dr. Clark declared. “Goodbye, Lois, Clark, hopefully we will be able to meet again!”
“Goodbye!” Dr. Lois called as Dr. Clark grabbed her and Mr. Wells and flew away.
“Thank you!” Lois called after them.
Almost before they realized it, Dr. Lois, Dr. Clark, and Mr. Wells had vanished and were now completely out of sight – even out of Clark’s sight. They were gone almost as quickly as they had arrived. Maybe that was the best way for them to leave. It saved the entire group the pain of a drawn out goodbye.
“Wow,” was all Lois could say as she closed the door. Today had been a day that was absolutely beyond words.
“I can’t believe it,” Clark answered. He had the sheets of paper with the detailed explanations of both the Kryptonite vaccine and the fertility treatment in his hands, but he almost couldn’t believe what he was holding.
So much had happened today that neither could find the words to talk about it yet. They had gone from a pit of depression when they had found out the results of Dr. Klein’s fertility tests to a feeling of optimism from first seeing their own child from the future and then finally finding out how to conceive a child of their own. They both felt a huge weight being lifted off their shoulders both because now Clark would be immune to Kryptonite and they would be able to conceive a baby of their own.
As the couple walked slowly up the stairs, Lois said, “Honey, you know, I’m glad Mr. Wells didn’t tell us when our baby will be born.”
“Really? Are you sure? Am I talking to Lois Lane, the woman who hates to be surprised?”
Lois chose to ignore his last comment and said, “Yeah, I think I realized something very important. Some of the best moments in life come completely unplanned. I think in order to lead a happy life we need to have that element of surprise. If we knew when everything was going to happen, it would rob us of something incredible.”
“Mr. Wells was right. If we were to know too much about our future, we would miss out on some of the best moments in our lives that are to come.”
“And, honey, we have so many incredible moments ahead of us,” Lois said as they reached the top of the stairs.
And she was right.
The End
Author’s note: Many, many thanks to my BR Tricia. Her comments were absolutely invaluable and she really helped me make this story what it is today. I also wanted to include a disclaimer that although I do know a lot about the human body, I know absolutely nothing about the Kryptonian body so everything medical in this story is an absolute fabrication off the top of my head. And I certainly don’t advise drinking Hydrogen Peroxide
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Also, I would really appreciate if people would let me know if they would like to read a prequel story to this about Dr. Lois and Dr. Clark. I really like them, but I am not sure if anyone else would be interested. Thanks,
- Alicia
