Description: Lois meets an old woman that has some unbelievable things to tell her.
Acknowledgements and Comments: This is story one of a possible three or four story series which came about completely by accident. One little germ of an idea was supposed to easily turn into a short one-part vignette. I laugh when I remember my naiveté. It turned into a five part story that has a slight mystery in it (to the reader). This four part prequel explains that mystery. So, I guess, it won't be a mystery when you finally get story two of this series (which has since grown to seven parts and is still not finished). Thanks to my beta readers KenJ and Morgana who pointed out my silly mistakes and gaping holes, corrected my spelling and grammar and basically gave me little comments that assured me I'd be getting the correct reactions from my readers.
Disclaimer: Superman, Clark Kent, Lois Lane and all other character and place names are owned by DC and/or Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I own nothing ... except my fantasies -- which frequently include Clark/Superman.
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Vision of Destiny - Chapter 1Lois was staring across the road at the imposing building when she first heard it. A strange, deep, whirring kind of sound.
She'd been reading a paperback while basking in the warm summer sun, taking sips from her coffee, but her mind kept returning to the application form in her bag.
Summer internship at The Daily Planet.
The paperback was now closed and sitting on the table, discarded. Lois wanted to walk across the road, to stride into that building, and thrust the completed form into Perry White's hand, but nerves held her back. Plus, she actually wanted to return home for the summer, make sure that Lucy was all right, try to sober up her mom, and there was little chance she could fit an internship around that, with the time and distance. Never mind the fact that the editor of the campus newspaper wouldn't give her a reference if his life depended on it due to their falling out about the teacher/student sexual harassment story she'd submitted.
So … little chance of her getting the position. And much too hard work if she did.
It was just after a particularly deep, wistful sigh that Lois heard the whirring sound. She raised her head to look for a helicopter, but nothing passed overhead. Not that anything should, as she was sitting in quite a dense district of skyscrapers. Any helicopter overhead would be too high for her to hear anyway.
She glanced around as the sound grew louder. People were passing by on the sidewalk. Another bistro customer was sitting at the far end of the sidewalk seating area, reading the Daily Planet. Nobody seemed to notice. Or they were purposefully ignoring the sound and getting on with their own insular lives. She shifted around in her seat to try and determine the source of the sound. Behind, and to her left, was an alley. Now, not only could she hear the odd noise, but she could see odd lights. She stood and pushed away her chair peering over the barrier that indicated the edge of the bistro seating area.
The sound and light show faded and Lois looked warily down the alley, but then turned to sit back down. The sound of a struggle stopped her.
She rushed around the barrier and stood at the entrance to the dark alley. People were still passing by, but no-one else seemed at all interested.
The sounds of a struggle became more pronounced. She waivered over what to do. She'd only just started self-defence classes. They were free on campus, and she really enjoyed them, but they were not very easy. Should she call for help, or should she brave the darkness?
A shout of exclamation and a deep 'oomph' spurred her into action. As she ventured into the dark she called out. "Anyone there? What's going on?"
"Well, now. Isn't this amusing," came a sarcastic sounding, masculine voice. "Of all the people to run into … it's little, naïve, impressionable-"
Another 'oomph' sound came down the alley and the man groaned. Lois heard shuffling and she called out again. "Is everything okay?"
"Of course." A mature lady stepped out of the dark and smiled. Lois frowned. Something about her seemed familiar. Her silver hair was cropped into a bouncy pixie style. She wore a soft-pink, tailored blouse and slender, black, pencil skirt with a split all the way up to her thigh. Although, on closer inspection, it seemed that most of the split was not natural. Dangling from one hand was a pair of black high heels.
"What happened? And I heard a man's voice."
"Everything is fine, Lois. Don't worry. I've dealt with him."
"Dealt with him! What do you mean? I'd better call the police."
"He's tied up in the sled and can't do any more harm. No need to call the police."
Lois noticed the older woman's nervousness when the police had been mentioned. That very thing convinced her that the police were, in fact, necessary. "I heard a struggle, I think there is a need," Lois replied.
"Please, believe me. It wouldn't help. I'll be gone by the time they arrive, and then you'll be in trouble with the police and I don't want that. Please, Lois."
Lois folded her arms and glared. "How do you know my name?"
"If I explain that, will you drop this ridiculous idea about calling the police?"
Lois nodded.
The older lady strolled past Lois and straight into the light of day. "Ahh, how lovely. The perfect place to have a coffee while I explain everything to you." She walked around the barrier and placed herself at Lois' table. Her book, coat and handbag were still there. Either this stranger was … rude, or odd, or strange … or she knew this was Lois' table.
Lois headed back to her table, never taking her eyes off the older lady, who was currently reaching down to slip her shoes back on. Now that she was in the light Lois could see the fine, gentle wrinkles covering the other woman's face; smile and laughter lines spreading from her eyes and mouth. Coupled with the silver hair she might have placed the woman's age in her sixties, but the tailored outfit, the slim, shapely body, and the confident voice confused her. Possibly her silver hair was a choice, and not due to age.
"So, Lois," she began, clasping her hands together and leaning on the table. "I'm guessing you have a lot of questions. But let's begin with how I know your name."
"That would be a good place to start." Lois tried to interject as much sarcasm as she could.
"Well, yes." The woman smiled and leaned back in her chair. "I know your name because …" She took a dramatic pause and Lois nearly rolled her eyes. Theatre had never been her thing. Dramatics were … well, dramatic. Pointless. "because it's
my name."
"Pardon?" Lois coughed, having just reached for her coffee and taken a gulp, the liquid now spluttering out.
"My name is Lois Lane. Well, actually it's Lois Joanne Lane-Kent, but that's beside the point."
"But …" Lois was frozen in place, the coffee cup still half way from her mouth back to the table.
The older woman picked up the paperback which Lois had discarded earlier and shoved it into the handbag which was currently on the floor at her feet, then she leaned back onto the table.
"I know what you are thinking. Lois and Lane are both common names, it's just one of those things. Even Joanne is common too. But no, this is not an example of two random strangers having the same name. If it were -" she laughed "-then that still wouldn't explain how I
knew that we had the same name." She paused and frowned, then started to babble. "Unless you suspect me of being some kind of crazed stalker, which I'm not, I can assure you. I know all about stalkers and I don't have any of the psychological markers … oh!" She trailed off when she realised that Lois was looking rather worried. "Sorry. Ran away with myself a bit there. Yes, you are still doing that when you get to my age."
"Your age?" Lois parroted. She finally found the presence of mind to move and placed the coffee cup down.
"You don't want to know, Lois. Suffice it to say, you are going to have a long, prosperous, wonderful life." The smile on the older woman's face was warming.
"When … when I first saw you I thought you looked familiar." Lois spoke slowly and quietly. "Do I? Are you a family member?"
"Kind of," came the non-committal reply. "Lois, don't beat around the bush. You have natural reporter's instincts. Trust your gut. You already know who I am."
"Who?" Lois gulped as she asked.
"I'm you."
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