Relative History, Part 5 of ?
By: C. Leuch
“Behold, the Hall of Justice,” CJ said with a flourish as he opened the doors to the large Wayne Manor ball room, the same room that had hosted the assembled Kent clan the previous Christmas. The couches and chairs remained arranged in a U shape around the fireplace, though a television had been placed on the mantle, with a football game tuned in. CJ had managed to scrounge up a foosball table and pool table from elsewhere in the house, and they took a spot at the far end of the room. A large circular table was set up in the center of the room, with several chairs around it and a few games stacked on top. It was set up like a classic game night, Laura thought, and it instantly felt like she was transported to an average Saturday night during her early college years. The difference, of course, were the people that were already starting to gather in the room. She didn’t recognize everyone, but she had met most of them, typically from family picnics as a kid.
CJ brought Laura and Matt around the room, introducing Matt as he went, and giving Laura a chance to show off her modest engagement ring. Matt seemed a little wide-eyed at first, which in itself was a little unusual considering how little her family seemed to fluster him. He was always so cool and collected around her dad and her brothers, but he had also known her fairly well before the revelation was made, and her brothers had taken it upon themselves to show him that the family business didn’t change the fact that they were normal, incorrigible knuckleheads. In the room now, though, he could meet any number of people who were very far from normal - a cyborg, several obvious aliens displaying skin tones in various hues, beings made of energy, and at least one living God. Everyone wore their street clothes, such as they were, which helped to soften the shock, and talking to them and seeing their sincere happiness about Laura and Matt’s engagement seemed to help. It only took a few minutes before Matt settled in, and shortly after they made their circuit of the room, he left Laura and CJ to take up a conversation with the Blue Beetle. Laura stuck to CJ’s side, and scanned the room a second time, giving a frustrated grunt.
“Where’s Barry?” she whispered, knowing full well that CJ could pick up her voice without any problem. As she continued to look around, she found that her Dad had snuck in, and was now over by the television. She gave him a little wave of acknowledgement, which he returned with a smile.
“You know how he is,” CJ whispered back. “Iris likes to tell the story about how he was late to his own wedding.”
“Great,” Laura said. She wasn’t actually planning to spend much time hanging out with her Dad’s pals, and Barry’s delay meant that she would have to spend more time with people who still remembered her from when she was a half pint with pigtails. But it wasn’t hard to see that another female presence was sorely needed at their little party. And she had plans to enter the hero scene in a few months after…well, when she was able to wear spandex without issues, so it was probably inevitable that she would be invited to the group eventually anyway. A little bit of socializing with them now might dispel the notion that she was just Superman’s little girl, and hopefully smooth things out when she did join club. “So what do you suggest we do until he shows?” she asked CJ. “What DO you do at these things anyway?”
CJ looked at the game table, where a couple of people had already started to gather. “Stratego?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrows, and she rolled her eyes, then patted him on the shoulder.
“You have fun with that,” she said. “I think I’d rather watch the game with Daddy.”
With that they split up, and she joined the crowd with her father. The stories had already started, she noticed as she took up a spot on a couch at the fringe of the action. Something about superheroes getting together always seemed to bring out their chatty sides, probably because they could understand each others’ experiences better than anyone else on Earth, and this night it was no different. Tonight the stories seemed to center around unusual experiences with family, and it did not surprise her at all to find that her dad had one, too, though this was one she hadn’t heard before.
“So there was one night when I came home after cleaning up a ship wreck, and a particularly nasty one at that,” Clark said. “Lots of diving into the ocean to save crewmen and important cargo, and there had been an oil leak. Suffice to say, I was a mess. It was late when I got home, and Lois was asleep, so I was moving quietly and slowly in the dark, intending to take a nice, long shower. I had only managed to peel off my cape and top when Jon, who only about 3 at the time, came stumbling into the bedroom, complaining of a bad stomach ache. Of course, he saw me in the shadows and approached me, but as he got closer, the smell of saltwater and fish and oil must have been enough to push his stomach over the limit and, splat, all over the floor, my legs, and my feet.”
Laura joined everyone else as they erupted in laughter. She could imagine Jon turning beet red if he were there…the fact that he wasn’t was probably why her Dad had decided to tell the story in the first place.
“We both just stood there for what seemed like an eternity, dumbfounded,” Clark continued as the laughter died down. “Then I saw that he was about ready to cry, and I was probably twice as ripe now as I had been when I got home, so as his eyes closed and he took a deep breath in anticipation of a full-blown wail, I shifted into super speed and moved about as fast as I’ve ever gone in my life. The pants, briefs and boots came off, I located a damp cloth and ran it over myself, destroying it in the process, put something smelly in my hair to mask the scent of shipwreck, then grabbed him and relocated him to his room, all before a sound could escape his mouth. Then we cleaned everything up at normal speed, got him calmed down and back to sleep, all without waking Lois or CJ.”
Laura glanced across the room toward CJ, who had obviously been listening in. The twinkle in his eyes meant that Jon would be hearing about this once he got back. “I thought for sure the jig was up after that,” Clark continued, “that a billion questions would come in the morning about just why I had been wearing blue spandex and red boots. But they never came, and everything returned to normal, though I wish I could say I was never caught off guard again. Kids….” Clark smiled and raised his eyebrows, to a chorus of nods, and suddenly all eyes seemed to be on Laura.
“Gee, I wonder what you talk about when I’m not here,” she said with a wrinkle of her nose.
“Well, there was that time you accidentally set the curtains on fire…”
Laura stood quickly with acute embarrassment. A chorus of chuckles greeted her as she started toward the game table, where Stratego suddenly sounded like a lot of fun. But before she could take more than a step away from the crowd, Barry Allen abruptly appeared out of thin air, standing a couple paces away from the crowd.
“Darn it, sounds like I missed something good,” he said.
“Nothing you haven’t heard a dozen times before,” Clark answered.
“That doesn’t mean it’s not a good story,” Barry replied. He acted like he was going to say something else, but Laura interrupted him.
“Hey Mister Allen,” she said with a raise of her hand. She quickly moved toward him, deciding to not waste any time in asking for his help, which conveniently meant that she wouldn’t be subject to further embarrassment from her father.
“Laura, hi. What’s up?” he asked, and while he spoke, CJ also made his way over, catching Matt’s eye on the way. The three of them converging on him didn’t escape Barry’s attention, and suddenly a very knowing expression passed across his features. “Oh, don’t tell me that’s today.” Laura gaped at him, momentarily unsure of what to say. “Don’t look so shocked. Your little favor…it’s not the type of thing a guy forgets.”
Matt made his way to Laura’s side, slid his left arm around her waist, extended his right toward Flash, and introduced himself. “I think Wally’s going to be upset you’re off the market,” Barry said with a wink. Laura smiled sweetly, biting her tongue to hold back the sarcastic comment that was just begging to come out.
“Barry, can we go somewhere to talk?” CJ asked, and with his nod, the four of them made their way back down to the cave. As they went, CJ told Barry about their case, and once they arrived, he showed Barry the letter. “After spending all afternoon and evening trying to get the porthole device to work, I’m left more questions than answers…”
“And you thought the easiest way to go back in time and retrieve Jon is to use the cosmic treadmill,” Barry said, and all three nodded. “You’re not wrong. But here’s the thing: in 1997, the cosmic treadmill worked a little differently than it does now. When I first invented it, it allowed me to travel to different points in the timeline so long as I kept up an internal vibration. As soon as I relaxed, I wound up back where I came from. It was handy in that it stopped me from taking prolonged trips that could really affect the timeline. At the same time, though, it took a lot of energy just to travel at all, and it made anything but the simplest missions almost impossible.”
“So what changed it?” Laura asked, and Barry just smiled at her for a second.
“You did,” he answered pointing to her, and she found herself surprised again. Barry chuckled slightly and shook his head. “I was sitting in my office one day, minding my own business, when you and Jon walked in and completely blew my mind. You have to understand, at that point I’d never even met Clark and was still pretty new to the hero business myself. Then I learned that Superman had children, or that he eventually would, that they’ve traveled in time, that they’ve known me their entire life, and have a way to help me make it possible for them to time travel on my treadmill. The cherry on top was when you whipped out your phone and showed me a video of myself giving instructions on how to modify my treadmill to run on raw kinetic energy instead of vibration.”
“My head hurts thinking about this,” Matt said. “You basically created some sort of time loop where the future is dependent upon the past, which is in turn dependent on the future.”
“I’ve learned to not think too hard and just go with it,” Barry said with a wave of the hand. “Anyway, after I gave myself instructions on how to modify the treadmill, I then ordered myself to figure out what I did and why. It doesn’t quite take 28 years to get smart enough to figure it out, but it was close.”
“A video from the current you to the past you…” Laura said thoughtfully, drawing curious looks from Matt and CJ. Jon was staying with their grandparents, who Laura had barely known before they died. But what if she could offer them the chance to get to know her and the rest of the family that they wouldn’t be able to get otherwise? What if she could bring the future to them, to let them know how much they’re still loved?
CJ cleared his throat, drawing Laura out of her introspection. “So when do you want to do this?” he asked, looking between Laura and Barry. It went without saying that it would be Laura’s task to retrieve Jon, since she was the only other one in the family beside their father that was capable of the kind of speed necessary to operate the treadmill.
“I just need to record that video,” Barry said, then sighed and looked back toward where they had entered the cave. “But, you know, I just got to the party. And when it comes to getting Jon, we have all the time in the world. Can we do this a little later?”
“Yes,” Laura said immediately. Truthfully, postponing the trip by a few hours would give her some time to get some things together. CJ gave her another sidewise glance, then nodded toward Barry.
“Yeah, no problem. We’ll go back up too, I suppose.”
“I was just getting into an interesting discussion with Mr. Kord,” Matt said, moving toward the cave entrance.
“Has Booster shown up yet?” Barry asked, and CJ took a long look toward the cave roof before shaking his head. Barry put his hand on Matt’s shoulder and ushered him along. “Kid, if you’re there when Ted Kord and Booster Gold get together, it’ll feel like you’re in the middle of a situation comedy.”
“So you’re saying it will be kinda like getting between Laura’s brothers at Christmas?” Matt asked, bringing a snort from Laura.
“Ouch,” CJ said with mock hurt.
“You guys go on ahead. I have some things I need to take care of,” Laura called after them. Matt gave her a smile and a nod. As soon as CJ, Matt, and Barry disappeared up the staircase, Laura took off, bound for Metropolis.
Landing at Jon’s condo, Laura took a long glance inside. It was past bedtime for the twins, but they appeared to still be awake, and Diane looked rather worse for the wear. A stab of pity knifed through Lara – she knew how the twins could jump on Diane’s nerves when they got in the right mood, and not having Jon there to offer a steadying hand had to make it worse. Laura rang the buzzer, knowing that Diane would probably be grateful for the help, and she wasn’t disappointed. Diane seemed very relieved to see her, and waived her inside immediately. It took another twenty or so minutes of stories and signing and snuggling before the twins finally quieted down and allowed Laura and Diane to talk about what she had come to discuss.
“We’re getting him tonight,” Laura said as she settled into the living room couch. Beside her, Diane closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
“Thank God,” Diane said. “The prospect of more nights like this…”
Laura nodded. “I understand.”
Diane looked at a family photo sitting on the bookcase on the far side of the living room. She was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I spent a lot of time after you guys left this afternoon watching people, looking to see if I could find his face among the older folks in the crowd. If he did go through all those years without rescue, would he come back to us? What would he look like? Would the years he spent without us change the chemistry between us, or would he be the same person he always was? I tried to look back through my memories to find places where he might have been watching me, my own guardian angel, but….”
Laura put her hand on Diane’s arm, drawing her attention back to her. “We’re getting him, don’t worry. Flash already told me that he remembers me and Jon coming to him for help.”
“And did he mention a memory of you successfully leaving?” Diane asked, then shook her head and smiled. “Forget I asked.”
Laura smiled back. Diane could by skeptical to a fault, which was probably the policewoman in her. It was hard to be cynical with all the blessings in her life, though, even with her other half temporarily stuck in the past. “Well, I’m glad I was able to be here for you tonight. But truthfully I didn’t come to help with the kids.”
“No?”
“Jon mentioned in his letter that he was staying with our grandparents – dad’s folks. I don’t know if Jon’s ever told you about them before, but they were the best. Everything my dad is, everything that Superman does, is all thanks to them and the people they were.” Her voice grew quiet. “I never had a chance to know them, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to see them and tell them everything that’s going on in my life…tell them how much I miss them. And it’s a shame that CJ and Dad and everyone else won’t get that chance. But then I got to thinking, and I realized that there’s no reason we can’t all send them our own messages, thanks to the wonders of modern technology.” She took out her cell phone and held it up. “I know you never met them, but they did play a part in shaping Jon into who he is….”
Diane nodded. “Say no more,” she said, reaching for the phone. “It’s too bad we can’t get some footage of Eddie and Ellie to send them, though.”
“Oh I’m sure Jon’s already shown them everything that’s on his phone,” Laura said. “Do you have any photo prints of them that I could bring?” Diane shook her head, then directed Laura to her computer, where the pictures were housed digitally. If Laura could download them to her phone or a thumb drive, she could print a few out at CJ’s house before heading out.
As Laura was paging through the photos on the computer, Diane recorded her message to Jonathan and Martha, then put the phone down and looked at Laura intently enough that she couldn’t help but notice. “So what was going on between you and Sam this afternoon when I left the room?” Diane asked.
Laura looked at her with wide eyes, then went back to the photos, wondering how much she should say. On the one hand, she was still waiting to break the news to Matt about his impeding parenthood, and she still had no idea how to tell him. On the other…it would be nice to have another woman to talk with about her pregnancy. Much like Jon, Diane was a lot older than her and somewhat distant. Because she lived in Metropolis, Laura didn’t see her very often, and they almost never confided in each other. This could potentially change that relationship, bring them a little closer. But…it was probably better to let her fiancée know the good news before she spilled the beans to anyone else. Laura sighed. “He just gave me some good advice.” Diane raised her eyebrows, skepticism written on her face. “He can actually be pretty smart about life matters, believe it or not.”
“I once saw him and Jon argue in great depth over whether hot dogs were sandwiches or not.”
Laura laughed. “When those two get together it’s like they’re both perpetually ten years old,” she said, and Diane conceded the point. “Honestly, once I reached my teenage years, it made me feel pretty smart by comparison. But it doesn’t mean they don’t know a thing or two about what’s important in life.”
“Like having a baby?” Diane said with a twinkle in her eyes. She sat up straighter on the couch and gestured toward Laura. “You’re positively glowing. I know the signs, trust me.”
Laura groaned and leaned her head back. “I can’t even keep this secret – how am I ever going to fare with a secret identity?”
“That’s hardly the same thing,” she said. “I think Jon is positively terrible at keeping his, but that’s just because I more or less found it out myself. I can see all the clues and hints he gives, but so long as nobody else bothers to follow those breadcrumbs to their conclusion, it’s fine. But being pregnant…your body is fairly screaming out for the world to notice. And I think it’s fantastic.”
“CJ was happy for me, too,” Laura answered, allowing herself a smile at Diane’s enthusiasm. “But I still don’t know what to think about it.”
“Look, I know that kids can be horrible little things that rob you of sleep and sanity and destroy all your stuff. But honestly, they can also bring so much more to your life, a whole other dimension that you had no idea existed. And when they tell you that they love you, when they laugh…”
Laura nodded, smiling at the memories of her niece and nephew, and how they stormed into their parents’ lives. It could be because they were two years old, but it seemed that they were into everything all the time, and turning your back on them was a recipe for disaster. Jon and Diane’s once pristine condo now bared scars delivered by little hands, from the pictures drawn in permanent marker on the walls, to the furniture that now bared little tooth marks to the juice stains on the carpets. The twins were smart enough to be able to get into almost everything – the refrigerator, the pantry, the desk – but lacked the impulse control necessary to hold back their curiosity. Laura often got the feeling that Diane felt overwhelmed by her children, which was completely understandable, but she could also see how much she loved them. Laura wasn’t sure she was ready for a baby tornado to descend upon her life, but she was certainly open to bringing more love into her home, and making a family with the man she loved.
Laura and Diane kept their eyes locked for a few long moments, and Laura felt that they had finally made a connection, something deeper than they had ever experienced before. Then Diane blinked, and the spell was broken. “So, did you find anything that will work on there?” Diane asked, and Laura forced herself to remember what she had been working on.
“I, uh, think these photos you had taken on Eddie and Ellie’s second birthday will work.”
Diane slid over next to her to look, then nodded. “What about our last Christmas photos?” She touched the screen a couple times, bringing up the images.
“Oh, yeah, I like those. They have all of you in them.” They chatted a bit more while Laura downloaded the photos, then Laura said her goodbyes and left, but not without giving Diane a big hug. She would’ve loved to have stuck around and explored their new connection, but she figured that she had plenty of time to do that after her mission was completed, and in the meantime had a lot of things to do before she left.
Laura’s next stop was her own apartment, where she scrounged up a couple of her high school senior photos and an engagement picture to print off. Then she headed back to Wayne manor and the vaunted Justice League. Their meeting was still very much in progress when she arrived, slipping back into the room unnoticed. Her Dad had moved on to the game table, and was now engaged in a spirited game of Monopoly with Barry, one of the Green Lanterns that Laura couldn’t quite place - Kyle, maybe? – and a few others. They were still talking and laughing as she approached, putting her hand on her dad’s shoulder. In her other hand was her cell phone, which she was surreptitiously fiddling with to try and activate the camera so she could record a video.
“So, Barry, please tell me that Dad didn’t tell more embarrassing stories about me and my brothers after I left,” she said.
Clark gave one of his crooked smiles. “I wouldn’t call them embarrassing,” Barry said. “Though there were a few that were…moderately amusing.”
Laura locked eyes with her dad, but he definitely wasn’t contrite. He was far from it, actually, and she had to suppress a flare of anger before considering her plan. Smiling sweetly, she glanced down at her phone and made sure the camera was pointing at her Dad, then pushed the button to start the recording. “I think turnabout is fair play,” she said. “You can’t tell me that you don’t have any embarrassing, or mildly amusing, stories from your childhood and your parents.”
“I was a kid once, so, yes, I was embarrassed by my folks.”
“Come on, spill it,” she said, and magically found that her brother had decided to join the crowd at the table, no doubt tempted by the prospect of getting a little bit of dirt on their father.
Barry put is elbow on the table and rested his chin on his fist. “This could be intriguing.”
Clark raised an eyebrow and looked toward Laura’s phone. “I suppose you’re recording this for posterity.”
“Or blackmail,” she replied, making a face at him. There was a glint in his eye as he gave her a long look, then sighed.
“Okay,” he said, making a play on the Monopoly board, then looking down at his lap for a moment before turning back toward his companions at the table, who were now giving him their undivided attention. “So I was in middle school, probably thirteen years old, and my class was taking a trip to Kansas City for an overnight lock-in at a museum there. We had all loaded onto the bus and were getting ready to leave, and I was palling around with some of my friends. We were making a show for the girls…typical teenage posturing and all that. Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I notice that someone was approaching the bus, but I actively ignored them in favor of my friends. After a minute I became aware of banging on the side of the bus, and I hear my mom yell, ‘Clark Jerome Kent, if you want clean underwear tomorrow, you best get your butt out here and grab your bag!’” Everyone at the table started to laugh, and Clark joined them for a moment. “My friends had a similar reaction,” he said as the laughter began to die down. “So I slinked out of the bus, grabbed the bag that I had forgotten, then got back on board, pressed myself in my seat and tried very hard to be invisible. It made for a very long ride, let me tell you. But somehow I survived the trauma, and I think I had a good time on the trip despite the rough start.”
Laura smiled and congratulated herself for a mission accomplished. The recording would make nice blackmail material, sure, but her grandparents would probably get a kick out of it, too, and she was sure that they would be happy to see how 28 years had treated him. She ended the recording, squeezed her dad’s shoulder, then bent down and gave him a kiss. “See, that wasn’t so bad,” she said. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to steal my brother and take off.”
Clark patted her hand. “Glad I could share my embarrassment with you.” He glanced up at her, and she found herself appreciative of their relationship. Despite the fact that he liked to play the dad card from time to time and sometimes seemed to embarrass her for sport, they really were quite close, and she never doubted his love for her. She smiled at him, then looked at CJ and started toward the door, swinging by to get Matt before leaving.
Once they had gotten well away from the ballroom, Laura filled in CJ on what she was doing. His eyes lit up at the thought of making a video for their grandparents, and she sent him away to the cave to get to work on his recording with Matt in tow, while she diverted to the Wayne Manor living quarters and Jenny’s office.
Jen was more than happy to help Laura collect photos to bring to the past, and her office conveniently had a photo printer that she used in her work with Gotham Magazine. As Laura printed the digital photos, Jenny recorded her message, which was short and sweet.
“Jonathan, Martha, I’m sure my husband will be recording a long-winded life story filled with jokes and movie references and the occasional tender moment. It may seem like manic bravado, like he’s showing off, and maybe he is a little bit. But rest assured, you are seeing the genuine Clark, and I for one find him adorable. Even after all the Bat-stuff at night and being a junior executive by day, he’s also a really wonderful dad, and the kids adore him, too. Your family…they’re my family, and I couldn’t ask for better. I don’t know if Jon told you, but I actually knew him before I knew Clark – he introduced us – and I had a little crush on him for a while, too, just because he was so, well, honest. And Clark, he was that and more. If that’s because of your influence, then I just have to say thank you.”
Jenny handed Laura the phone and shooed her away. Jen was always very composed, never seemed too high or low, and even when she was stressed out or scared, it never showed. But Laura was beginning to notice the little changes in Jenny’s behavior that gave away her inner turmoil, and she was worried now. Even though she was married to CJ, she still counted Jon as a close friend, and she was obviously concerned. Laura stopped for a moment, her phone in one hand and a stack of photos in another, and gave Jenny a smile. “Jon will be back before you know it. Trust me.”
Jenny smiled back, straightening up slightly in her seat, making sure any signs of distress were well hidden. Not for the first time, Laura thought that she would make a dangerous poker player. “I do trust you. But time travel…that’s what I don’t trust. Look what’s happened so far! And if you or Jon somehow change the future during your trip to the past, our whole world may change without any of the rest of us remembering what had been. Plus…well, in your condition, do you think you should be doing something so potentially dangerous?”
Laura’s smile faded. “How is it that EVERYONE knows?”
Jenny shrugged. “I could tell you that Moms just know, that we can sense our kind, but I’d be lying.” She leaned forward and winked. “Come one, if you let Clark in on a secret that big, you have to expect half the eastern seaboard to know within hours. He’s really excited about it, and so am I. I’m sure Matt will be, too. Just…be careful in the meantime, okay?”
Laura nodded, then left for the Batcave.
As she arrived, CJ was in the middle of recording his video, with Matt acting as cameraman. As Jenny predicted, his story tended to wander, and it was sprinkled with little in-jokes and non-sequiturs. And at its core it was really quite sweet. Laura halted about halfway down the stairs to watch as the story continued.
“Adam’s almost five, and already he’s started asking why it is that he has a different last name than the rest of us. There’s no easy way of answering that question without telling the truth, and he’s really too young to know that, so Jen and I sat him down and told him the official story, which is basically just a horrible lie. It makes me feel a little sick to my stomach just thinking about it, and I’m sure he’ll hate us for it once he finds out. Until then, there will be a lot of the kid angst a whole lot of ‘you’re not my REAL dad!’ moments.”
CJ sighed, then gave a little half smile as his eyes focused off into the distance. “In my mind, I had worked out this scenario where he finds out all about me, modeled loosely on how I found out about Dad. He will start to get extra tough and strong, then suspect that our cover story wasn’t the truth, because it wasn’t and we’re terrible liars. So he will seek out the other really tough and strong guy in town atop a tall building under the cover of darkness. And he will ask Batman, a guy who looks a lot like Darth Vader but with a different cowl, what the truth is about his parentage. And I will say, ‘Adam,’” CJ’s voice switched to a gravelly, lower timbre in his best Darth Vader imitation. CJ took a couple of exaggeratedly heavy breaths, then continued. “’*I* am your father,’” he said, his hand in the air. His voice returned to normal as he finished. “Then I will take off my cowl and reveal the truth, and after he gets over his initial shock there will be a great reconciliation, maybe some fireworks or something, and lots of father-son bonding. It’s a fun fantasy, but in reality what will probably happen is, in a fit of teenage angst, he’ll yell at me that his REAL dad wouldn’t make him do his homework or clean his room or do whatever mundane thing I’ll be asking him to do, and in frustration I will let him know that I am his real father, then I’ll have to go bench press a tractor or bend a light pole in half or something to demonstrate. Then when he gets mad and storms off, I will probably add the chestnut that his grandfather in Superman, and to think long and hard about that before engaging in any teenaged rebellion.”
“You’ve thought a lot about this,” Matt said from behind the camera, and CJ nodded.
“It’s a hobby,” he said with a shrug to Matt, then looked back at the phone. “Sorry to unload on you like that. I’m just jealous of Jon and Laura for getting the chance to see you again. Before I go, I would like to apologize for my childhood in general. Specifically, I apologize for thinking your art studio needed a little more art in it…all over it, really. Why are paints there if you’re not supposed to use them? I also apologize for what became of your tree and for the incident with red cool aid and pop rocks. I love you guys for putting up with me and for your infinite patience. I’m now directing my sister to give you a hug for me.” He saw Laura and gestured for her to come down next to him. In a heartbeat she was by his side, and he was wrapping his arms around her. “Something like this,” he said to the camera, then laid his head on her shoulder. Laura started to laugh as she squirmed out of his grip.
“Okay, I think they get it,” she said, then gestured for Matt to stop the recording.
“Aww,” CJ said with an exaggerated pout. “That was kinda nice.”
“There’s only one man with gets to rest his head on my shoulder,” Laura said, approaching Matt, who handed the phone back to CJ and wrapped his arms around her. Instead of imitating CJ’s move, though, he went straight for a kiss, and Laura found herself lost in the moment. It was a nice interlude before she went on her mission, and she found herself nudging Matt toward the chair by the workbench so they could continue for a little while longer. A glance at CJ revealed an expression that has become quite common over the last year and a half or so, one that spoke of exasperation at their over-the-top affections, mixed with good humor. CJ busied himself with finding a bag that Laura could use to stash her loot, then put the photographs and Laura’s phone in there. After a moment of hesitation, he also located a phone charger and cable and put those it the bag, too.
“What else do you think you’ll need?” he asked, interrupting a bit of snuggling.
“A change of clothes, probably,” she said, quickly changing into her secondhand Shadow Woman outfit, then putting the clothes she had been wearing into the bag. “Money?” she asked, almost as an afterthought.
“If I give you some, you’ll have to bring me back a t-shirt, one that says something to the effect of, ‘my siblings went back in time and all they brought me was this lousy t-shirt.’”
“Yeah, pass,” Laura said.
“Ditto,” CJ said with a wrinkle of his nose. Before he had a chance to say anything further, Barry Allen showed up immediately next to him, causing CJ to do a double take. He then looked toward the roof of the cave before turning back toward Barry. “Party winding down, huh?”
“Not for you, though,” Barry replied, looking at Laura. “Are you ready? The treadmill’s at my place in Central City.”
Laura took a long look at Matt, then turned back at Barry. “Just give me a second. I’ll meet you there,” she said, and Barry nodded and disappeared.
CJ, obviously aware of what was coming, settled into his stool at the work bench, a secret smile on his face. Laura felt her heart begin to race as she looked at Matt, who regarded her with raised eyebrows. He knew she could whisk him away to anywhere for a night of fun at the drop of a hat, and they had done that more than once in the course of their relationship. Little surprises like that made things fun, and besides, she liked to show off for him. He also knew that she wouldn’t hesitate to tell him if she had a problem or if he was pushing her too far on something. So her nervousness must be confusing, certainly uncharacteristic, and the longer she waited, the longer she stared at him and tried to find the right words to say, the more his eyebrows seemed to pinch together.
Mentally nudging herself, Laura placed her hand on Matt’s cheek. “I love you, you know that, right?”
“Of course,” he said, leaning in for a quick kiss. “I love you too.” His voice betrayed the fact that he was confused.
“Well, what if I told you that there soon may be…more of me to love?”
“What are you…?” he asked. Cutting off any further words, Laura leaned in, put her lips up next to his ear, and whispered the truth to him. Immediately, his hands came up to her waist and he pulled away, looking at her with wide eyes. “You’re…?” he asked looking between her face and her midsection. Laura nodded and scrambled out of his lap. “This isn’t a joke, right?”
“It’s real,” CJ said, pointing to his ear. “Junior has a healthy heartbeat.”
“Wow,” Matt said with wonder, then he picked up Laura and twirled her around once. “WOW!” he said again as he set her down, then pulled her into a protective embrace. “No wonder your appetite has been a bit spotty lately,” he said, then pulled apart.
“I wasn’t sure how to tell you,” Laura said with a small voice. “I mean, we had plans…”
Matt shook his head. “Doesn’t matter now,” he said. His eyes got distant as he pondered the implications. His degree was in journalism, but after graduation, the job prospects were slim, and even his connections with the Daily Planet couldn’t help him find employment in his field. Even so, he was a good writer, creative and outgoing, so he scared up a job with the athletic marketing department at Gotham State. It wasn’t ideal, and was never meant to be a permanent job, just something to pay the bills while he worked on his novel. That novel was going to be the thing that got his foot in the door with a publishing company and hopefully lead to a more permanent job as an author. Laura had to admit that what she had read so far was intriguing and wholly original. His status as an insider to her family’s secret gave him a unique perspective on issues of identity and heroism, and it allowed him to craft a story that incorporated many of the conversations they had had over the years. “Maybe I work for the University longer than I had wanted, but I don’t mind. I still have…how long to finish my novel?”
“About 7 months,” Laura answered. “And graduate school….” She diverted her eyes from his face and looked down.
“You can always go back later,” he said, squeezing her slightly.
She sighed, then looked back up and gave him a small sigh. “Well, I need to go. We can talk when I get back.”
“Are you sure you should be doing that while expecting?” he asked, his arms still steadfastly wrapped around her.
“I’ll be fine. And if I don’t do it, who will?”
“Wally? Barry?” He raised his eyebrows, practically pleading with her. She leaned in to give him a quick kiss, then patted his shoulder.
“Look, I know the whole time travel thing is unknown territory, but I’m pretty tough. Jon got through it okay, and I’m sure I will too.” Reluctantly, he lowered his arms, and she stepped away.
“Just…be careful,” he said.
She picked up the bag with the photos and other items, put her phone in it, then strapped it on. It draped over her shoulder and hugged her body tightly just above the waist, which should keep it under her aura and reduce wind resistance. “I promise. Love you,” she said, then looked at CJ and nodded before disappearing.
It only took a moment before she arrived in Central City, landing in a driveway she knew well. Iris opened the door before Laura was able to even set foot on the stoop, silently waving her in. Laura paused next to her, giving her a small hug and making small talk before continuing to the basement and Barry’s workshop. She took her phone out of the bag and handed it to Barry, watching silently as he gave himself instructions on how to modify the treadmill. It was interesting how straightforward and unsentimental he was in talking to his past self. It made her wonder if he had experience in dealing with former versions of himself…he certainly had experience is receiving messages from the future. The very fact that the treadmill existed at all meant that he had made multiple forays into time. She had thought time travel to be a fairly novel thing, but not for him. It made her wonder what he had changed, how he had affected the past and future, and it made her head hurt.
“Okay,” he said, handing her the phone. “You’re all set. Now, I’ve set the controls for a day after your brother sent the letter, since there was no way to tell the exact time he sent it.” He gestured toward the track on the treadmill, and Laura stepped on, making sure her bag was secure. “All you need to do is keep running as fast as you can until you see a porthole appear, then it will slide over you and when you emerge, you will be in 1997. This thing is set to place you in a field outside of town.”
Laura took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you for your help,” she said, extending her hand, which he gladly shook.
“Bon voyage,” he said, then stepped back. Without another thought, she started running, quickly increasing her speed until she thought she had hit her maximum, then she pushed harder yet. It was odd to be running flat out, yet have the scenery around her remain static. Barry was still standing there, watching with an analytic eye, and the lights on the treadmill blinked in some pattern she couldn’t decipher. Then, slowly, a shimmery circle not unlike the one she saw in CJ’s cave began to form in front of her, growing as it moved closer, until eventually in enveloped her. Suddenly it was like she was in a tunnel, with visions of the past flashing by rapidly around her. She tried not to let the images distract her, but it was hard. She saw moments from her life – when Matt proposed, when she graduated from high school, when she first learned to fly – and she saw major events that happened around the world. After a while, no doubt once she had moved past her birth, the images became those from her parent’s life. It seemed like an eternity passed before she reached the end of the tunnel and finally emerged into a corn field, the sun low in the western sky. She had made it…probably. It would take a little looking around to know for sure that she was where she needed to be. In the meantime, it would probably be a good idea to try and find Jon, and she would start at her grandparents’ farm.
