TOC is
HERE.
Homeward Bound: Part 1------
There was something vaguely familiar about Lois's surroundings, though she couldn't quite figure out why. The area around her was empty, save for something large under a cloth in the middle of the floor. An open doorway behind her led into a dark room; a plaque beside it thanked a list of donors, several of whom had the surname Kent. Another door several yards away was flanked by large, darkened windows on which Superman's emblem had been painted. Photographs lined a raised walkway, their flow broken only by an elevator just in front of a ramp...
...Wait a minute; was this the Daily Planet again? Lois frowned and tried to imagine desks in what had to be the bullpen. She stepped back for a better look, only to freeze in place when she heard a small gasp.
A young girl stood on the other side of the cloth-covered thing, staring at her with large, wide eyes set in a shockingly pale face. The girl swallowed. “A-a-are y-you the g-ghost?”
“Ghost?” Lois blinked. “No, sweetie, I'm not a ghost.”
“Oh.” The girl stared down at the floor, looking disappointed.
“I'm Lois Lane,” Lois continued.
The girl's head snapped up again, her mouth forming a small 'o'. The fingers peeking out from under her long sleeves clenched and unclenched for a moment, until she finally cleared the shock from her face and drew herself up to her full height—such as it was. “Great Ance—” She cleared her throat. “Great Ancestor, my name is Lilly Lon-Ze, and I need your help.”
Well, that was quite a greeting. Lois's eyebrows rose. “Why do you need *my* help?”
“Because...” Lilly fidgeted with the end of her sleeve, and Lois was once again struck by how pallid her hands were. “Taid always says that you're the one who comes to help when things are hopeless. He says we never have to be afraid of anything because you watch over our family.” Her gaze dropped, and she dragged a shoe along the tile. “I... wasn't so sure if it was true, but...you're here. It must be.” She looked up at Lois again, her eyes shining with hope. It reminded Lois of the way people in her own time looked at Superman.
Of course, Lois was not Superman. Nor was she, as this kid seemed to think, some kind of guardian spirit. Lois Lane was just an ordinary, human reporter with an absent fiance, running on too little sleep and almost no caffeine while unknown forces pulled her forward through time. But, looking into the girl's eyes... She sighed. “What's wrong, Lilly?”
“Everything!” Lilly's face crumbled. “My parents are making me move to New Krypton!”
Lois stared at her in surprise. “Are people from Earth allowed to go to New Krypton, now?” If the cold war had ended, that was good news...right?
“Well, yeah, kinda.” Lilly shrugged. “I think you have to get permission first or something, and that takes forever if you're not somebody important. But my dad is from there, so he was able to get us on a ship that's leaving next week! I don't have a lot of time!” She gave Lois a pleading look.
“I see.” Whatever was under the cloth seemed to have a large base of some kind, so Lois lowered herself. onto it. “Did you tell your parents how you feel about moving?”
Lilly rolled her eyes and perched beside Lois on the base. “Constantly! They just keep saying that it'll be good for my—” She broke off. “Uh, character. Yeah, it's supposed to be a great way to...broaden my horizons, and...stuff.”
Ah, yes, and there was probably also a bridge in the girl's possession that she'd be willing to let Lois have for a reasonable price. Lois smirked. “Nice try, Lilly. What's really going on?”
The kid sighed, deflating. “Okay. I've got Kent-Xu Syndrome. But it's under control and I take all my medicine and I don't care about going to school or flying and I can still play with my friends inside or after the sun goes down; yesterday, me, Corey, and Trisha invented this game where—”
Lois held up a hand. “Woah, woah! Hang on!”
Lilly's mouth snapped shut.
Lois looked her over, now deliberately taking in the girl's pale skin and small, bony stature. “You've got *what* syndrome?”
Lilly sighed again. “Kent-Xu. It's...a rare genetic thing. Basically, it means that...” Her voice dropped to a mumble. “Sunlight can kill me.”
Lois's eyes widened. Kent-Xu... Was that why Jordan had been talking about having his son exhumed while Zor-Xu's daughter was in the hospital with a mysterious illness? Was she the patient with similar symptoms? Zor-Xu had said that she'd gotten sick shortly after arriving on Earth... “...And New Krypton doesn't have a yellow sun,” Lois realized.
“But I can't go!” Lilly shifted to face Lois more fully. “I'll never see Corey again! He's my best friend. I...I can't...” She dragged a sleeve across her face.
“Oh, Sweetie.” Lois reached over to rest a hand on the girl's shoulder. Something like a spark shot through Lois at the contact, and for a brief, disorienting moment, she wasn't quite herself. It was as if she suddenly saw the world through Lilly's eyes: she now knew that Corey moving into the neighborhood three years ago was the best thing that had ever happened in her life. She knew that his freckles were adorable, and that many an hour had been spent silently counting them. She knew that a miserable week in the hospital was made better by his visits, and his stories from school, and a lovely hand-made card. She knew all of the things that they wanted to do when they grew up, and she knew that together, they could do all of them. She knew—but then, just as suddenly, it was gone. Lois felt taller again, and the world shifted back into place around her, even though nothing had really moved at all.
Lilly stared at her with wide eyes. “Woah. Was that one of your ghost powers?”
Lois shook her head. “I don't have ghost powers. I...don't know what that was.”
The girl frowned, chewing her lip. After a long moment, she raised her eyes to meet Lois's again. “So, did Clark Kent really move away to New Krypton, too?”
Lois slowly nodded. “Yes, he really did, and it really felt like the end of the world.” In fact, deep down, a part of her still felt as though the world was ended, and she savored the sight of her descendants as a cosmic promise that someday it would revive again.
Lilly's gaze dropped to the floor. “I don't want to go.”
“I know.” Lois resisted the urge to touch her again; one freaky mind-swap experience was enough. “Clark didn't want to go either, and I didn't want him to, but we both knew it was necessary.”
The girl sniffled. “He came back, though.”
“Yes, yes he did.” Lois suddenly found herself gripped by an unshakable certainty. “...And he always will.”
A small voice snapped their attention to the stairwell. “Taid, I hear it too! There *is* somebody in here!”
Lilly hopped to her feet. “Jamie?!”
“Lilly!” A small missile suddenly launched from the open stair-well door and wrapped its arms around Lilly's waist. “Lilly, come home before the sun comes out and burns you up! Everyone's looking for you, and Taid had to put money in the swear jar!”
A gray-haired man hobbled after the boy. “Hey, now! Don't go tattling on me!” His voice sounded familiar, and Lois studied his wrinkled face carefully as he approached the merry reunion. Before she could draw any conclusions, though, he stopped short and stared at Lois. “...Gorhennain?!”
Lois gaped. “Owen?!”
She met him halfway, and he pulled her into a bear hug. “Gorhennain, you came! And you found Lilly!”
“*I* found *her*,” Lilly corrected, folding her arms across her chest. “I need her to make it so we don't have to move away!”
Owen gave a sad sigh and ruffled Lilly's hair. “Aw, Wyres, my lovely little trouble-and-a-half; this is about that Kelson boy, isn't it?”
Lilly's only response was to redden slightly.
He knelt down to her level and pulled her into his arms. “You gave us quite a scare, you know. Now call your poor parents and let them know you're alright, before one of them has a coronary!” Owen reached a hand into his pocket and fished out a small device of some kind. With a sigh, Lilly took it.
Jamie stepped towards Lois, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. “Are you Lois Lane?!”
Lois couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. “Yes, I am.”
“Cool!” His wide grin reminded her of Owen's. “I'm Jamie-Ze!” Lois shook the tiny, proffered hand. “So, did you bring Clark Kent with you? Or any of the old heroes?”
“No, I came by myself.” She glanced up at Owen and Lilly, who seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with two translucent images that floated just above the strange device; one was a crying woman who looked a lot like Lilly, while the other was a worried-looking man. She turned back to Jamie and smiled innocently. “So, which of the 'old heroes' would you have expected me to come with, today?”
Jamie thought seriously. “Well, Batman always sounded really cool in the stories...”
Lois kept her face neutral. Batman? Wasn't that just an urban legend? Then again, given the lives she and Clark lived, she probably shouldn't be too surprised to meet Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil.
The boy's grin returned. “And Mom's cousin Geoffrey said he got to see you leading the entire Justice League against some cyborg-people in funny clothes, back when he was Superman! Mom and Dad say that nothing like that ever happened, but Cousin Geoffrey swears it's true!”
“Ah.” Lois filed the information away and smiled at the boy. “Well, if Superman says it's true, then there must be something to it.”
Jamie nodded sagely. “That's what I said!”
A crack of thunder shook the building, and the couple from the holograms stepped out of the stair-well. The instant they saw Lilly, they rushed up to her, the man shouting a rapid-fire stream of non-English, and the girl soon found herself sandwiched between them.
The woman paused in her repeated kissing of Lilly's face and looked up at Owen. “Dad, how on Earth did you find her?!”
Owen came over to scoop Jamie up into his arms. “Well, this one here had the brilliant idea: he said, 'Taid, I bet this is one of those times where Lois Lane would come to save the day,' and I said 'I bet you're right, and with everyone else out combing the world from one pole to the other, it'll be up to Lilly's two best men to go meet the lady!' So we set out on an expedition to the old Daily Planet, and lo and behold...” He freed a hand to wave dramatically at Lois.
Lois waved at the slack-jawed couple, her cheeks feeling slightly warm. “Uh, hi.”
The newcomers slowly rose, each keeping a tight grip on either of Lilly's hands. “Wow,” the woman breathed. “Lois Lane...just like the stories!” She shook her head, then brought her free hand up to her chest. “I'm Emma. It's an honor to meet you! Um, you already know my dad?” She motioned to Owen, who looked much more like his younger self now that the face-splitting grin was back in place.
The man beside her inclined his head. “And I am Lon-Ze. Thank you for rescuing my daughter.”
Lilly huffed. “But she hasn't rescued me yet! We have to Not Move Away!”
The woman—Emma—sighed. “Lilly...”
Lon-Ze put a hand on Emma's shoulder, effectively closing a circle with the three of them. “We will discuss it tomorrow.”
Emma shot him a look.
Lon-Ze held her gaze, his tone even. “Too much has happened tonight. Everyone is feeling too many things. Tonight, we will take Lilly home, and put Jamie to bed, and make sure that the others know she is safe now. Tomorrow, we will all be more rested and rational.”
Emma let out a breath and nodded. Lilly looked up at her father with an expression of cautious optimism.
Jamie squirmed in Owen's arms. “But I'm not—” He yawned. “—tired!”
Owen gave the boy a slight bounce. “Come on; I'll tell you the story about my first trip into outer space!”
Jamie's eyelids began to droop. “Is that the one where you went to see the Prometheus station?”
“Yep!” Owen grinned. “The very same.” With Jamie now mollified, and half-asleep on his shoulder, Owen looked up at Lois. “Will you be needing a place to stay, Gorhennain?”
Lois looked around at the former newsroom. “Well, I don't really know where else to go, so...I guess, if it's not too much trouble?”
Lilly's parents exchanged a glance, then smiled at her. Lon-Ze nodded. “It is no trouble.”
“Ha!” Owen shook his head and shifted the snoozing Jamie in his arms. “As if it could ever be too much trouble for the time-traveling ancestor who stops wars and rescues superheroes!”
Lois flushed again.
Emma and Lon-Ze led the way out of the bullpen with Lilly still held tightly between them. Emma looked back at Owen. “Are you okay, Dad?”
He waved a hand dismissively, but pressed it against his side before adjusting his grip on Jamie. “Don't worry so much about me, Trouble! I know what my limits are.”
She looked doubtful, but turned to continue walking.
They reached the top of the ramp, and Lois could now see that the photographs lining the walkway were of herself and Clark. There was one taken at the awards ceremony for Clark's first Kerth; at the time, she had been so jealous, but now she could smile with genuine pride on his behalf. Then came a promotional picture captioned “The Hottest Team In Town”, and a few shots of her with Superman, and—Lois's steps slowed. Her gaze landed on a picture that showed her with an unfamiliar hairstyle and a very large belly. Clark had his arm around her, a huge grin on his face. The inscription on the frame read: “A New Millennium And A New Beginning”.
“Enjoying the exhibit, Gorhennain?” She looked up to find Owen's grin.
Lois lifted her chin. “Just...making sure everything is represented correctly.”
His smile told her that he wasn't fooled. “You know, I seem to recall that we have a standing appointment to watch that movie.” He seemed to think for a moment, then turned to Emma just as the woman opened the stair-well door. “Hey, Em! We need to pick up a box of Lois Lane Loops!”
Lon-Ze stepped in front of the procession as the narrow stairway squeezed everyone into a single-file line.
Emma sighed, following behind her daughter. “We have plenty of cereal at home. There's even an unopened box of the Super-Crunch!”
Their footsteps echoed as they made their way down.
“It's a special occasion!” Owen pointed out.
Emma gave a snort. “You say that every time you try to stuff my kids with sugar. But...fine. I guess this really counts as one.”
They reached the ground floor and emerged out into the hallway that led to the lobby. The whole area was deserted except for a workman adjusting some wiring on a display, and more photos adorned the walls. Lois smiled at the one Jimmy had taken of Superman flying her through the window of the Daily Planet, but it quickly turned to a frown as she realized that someone had drawn a crude pair of glasses over Superman's face. “Vandals,” she muttered.
The other three adults turned and blinked at her in surprise. Lilly watched them in confusion and finally turned to look at Lois as well.
“Someone defaced this photograph.” Lois spoke louder and pointed at the ugly addition. Her gaze moved to the next photo, which likewise featured glasses drawn onto Superman. “And this one!” Her eyes narrowed. “Just what's going on, here?!”
The others began to inspect the photos with growing disbelief. Lois reached the mouth of the hallway and a large poster of herself and Clark. The text below their images read “The World's—”, and whatever word had been there was now scribbled out with “Dumbest” scrawled above it instead, “—Hero and the Most—”, and once again, the true text was blotted out, “—Woman of All Time!” Lois's breath began to quicken: above the latter blot were the words “Galactically Stupid.”
Lois looked around for the workman she had spotted earlier. He had packed up his tools and was now quietly making his way towards the front door. “Hey! You!”
The workman froze. “You have *GOT* to be kidding me!” The voice was all too familiar, and when he turned around, Lois found herself staring straight into the face of Tempus.
**********
TBC...
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Michael