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Chapter 1: Part 3/4Part 4Lois ran into the street. “Not her! Me! I’m Lois Lane. Superman! Here!” She waved her arms, but her voice would not work. A car turned the corner just as Superman took to the skies. “No, don’t leave,” she tried to scream, running into the street. “Help me, Superman!” The car bumped into her and she started to fall. Suddenly, she was in the air, high above the clouds. Superman! He had heard her.
“Clark,” Lois moaned in a barely audible whisper, kissing his neck. “Oh, Clark, you did hear me. It’s over. This bad dream is over.” She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and murmured into his ear. “Take me away. Take me far away.”
Lois’s lips sought out his and for a short while they were one. Superman shifted his hold on her so that she was cradled in his arms, releasing her lips from his.
“Take me home, Clark. I want to change out of this god-awful suit. Luthor had it made for me.” Her entire body shivered.
“Are you cold?” Superman asked, wrapping her in his cape. She loved being wrapped in his cape. She shook her head and leaned against his chest once again.
“I’ll take you home,” he murmured. “You relax.”
“Home,” she whispered, shutting her eyes. “Take me where it’s safe. Where you are.”Lois smiled. “Clark,” she murmured. He saved her. How wonderful it was to be in love with a superhero. Clark said he would bring her home and here she was lying in her own bed.
She stretched and felt the coolness of the sheets on her skin. That was strange. What happened? Why was she lying in bed in her underwear? She smiled. That naughty Clark. She rolled over and felt the other side of her bed. No Clark. It was cold. He had not laid down next to her.
She sat up. That side of the bed was still made. Always the gentleman. Yet… She pulled her sheets up to her chest. Where was Clark? She couldn’t imagine he would leave her, like this, this of all days, unless… She sighed.
Sometimes, Lois wished Clark was just Clark. Wouldn’t fly off with only a moment’s notice, if that. She leaned back down and thought about having her man to herself uninterrupted for three days. To have all his attention on her. That would be nice. Hawaii. Maybe they could still finish their honeymoon. After the week she had just experienced, she could use a couple of weeks in Hawaii, though she’d settle for three uninterrupted days.
With another sigh, she grabbed her robe from the end of the bed. As she headed to the bathroom for a well needed shower, she heard her tea kettle whistle.
“Clark! Clark,” she called, sprinting into the kitchen. Only he wasn’t there, his mother was. “Martha?”
“Good evening, sleepyhead. I was beginning to think I would need to call a doctor. Tea?”
Lois shook her head. “I was tired. I was afraid if I fell asleep in that chair Lex had me tied up in, who knows where I’d be when I woke up.” She sat down on one of her barstools.
Martha looked at her with a strange expression. “Lois,” she said slowly, as she sat down in the chair next to her. “Lex died months ago.”
“Didn’t you hear, Martha? I’m surprised that Clark didn’t tell you. Lex Luthor was brought back to life after he jumped off Lex Towers. He got arrested some time back, when he killed off his lawyer, murdered his doctor, and kidnapped me. He was the one behind the cloned president, who he had give him a pardon. Then he replaced me with a clone…”
Martha put her hand on Lois’s shoulder. “I know that, honey. That’s the Lex that I’m talking about when I said he died.”
Lois grabbed the counter as the room began to spin. “Lex is dead? Really and truly dead? He’s not going to come after me anymore?”
“Yes, he’s really dead this time,” Martha reassured her. “He died when his underground lair where he had the two of you hidden away, collapsed. He had tried to kill Superman…”
“Clark’s okay?”
“Of course, honey. The weapon Lex tried to use on him hit a support beam instead. Then, I think Clark said, that you were knocked to the side as the clone and Lex fought over the weapon. They were both dying by the time the ceiling was no longer stable enough for even Superman to hold. He barely had enough time to escape with you.”
“May I have a drink of water?” Lois gasped, her throat suddenly dry. She had been there? She didn’t remember any of it. Martha handed her a cup and Lois took a big drink of water. “And all this happened months ago?”
“Yes. Don’t you remember?”
Lois’s eyes grew wide as she shook her head.
“None of it?” Martha looked worried.
“The last thing I remember was Superman rescuing me after I escaped from Lex. It feels like that just happened this morning.”
Martha put her hand on Lois’s forehead. “Lois, Clark didn’t find you until some man called the
Daily Planet and said he saw you at some bar down at the docks, singing under the name of Wanda Detroit.”
“Wanda Detroit?” Lois laughed. “That didn’t really happen, Martha. Wanda Detroit is a character from a novel I wrote before I knew Clark was…” Her hand went upwards as if taking off like Superman.
“Really? I didn’t know that. Clark said that when he got to the bar and introduced himself, a couple of men tried to beat him up for treating Wanda so badly. Then when he finally tracked you down you sent him away.”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t. But if I thought he was the Clark from my book…” She took another drink of water. “Martha, I made Clark the villain in my novel because I was so mad at him for always disappearing on me. And if I thought he was that Clark… But I figured it out in the end, right? Wait, you said Lex died where he had hidden us away. Martha, what happened, exactly?”
“Maybe you should read your journal,” Martha said, taking a sip of her tea.
“Journal? I don’t keep a journal.”
“The one your therapist suggested you keep after you regained your memories after the amnesia.”
“I had amnesia? Is that why I thought I was Wanda Detroit?”
Martha nodded.
Lois looked around her apartment; it seemed different. “Martha, how long was I asleep? Just now.”
Clark’s mother looked unsure of what to say. Finally, she said, “After you got hit by the car this morning, you seemed kind of out of it, so I…”
“I was struck by a car?”
“You saw some man, you thought looked like Clark on the other side of the street and before I could stop you, you just darted into the street without looking.”
Lois took another sip of water as she thought about what she had just heard. “Why are you here? Where’s Clark?”
Martha suddenly looked tired, sad, and older than Lois had ever seen her. The light went out of her eyes.
Lois held tightly on to her hand. “Where’s Clark?”
Martha swallowed. “New Krypton.”
Lois paled. “Where?”
“Shortly after you got your memory back, while you and Clark were planning your new wedding, Clark was visited by two people. They turned out to be from a colony of Krypton called New Krypton; some rock out there.” Martha waved her hand towards the sky. “They needed Clark’s help to stop a civil war.”
Lois hugged Martha. “And we both know Clark can’t say ‘no’ to someone in need.” Tears streamed down her face. “When’s he coming back?”
“As soon as he can come back. It’s been only five weeks.”
Lois’s heart hit the bottom of her stomach. In the course of an hour, Lois went from kissing Clark to losing him again. Only five weeks. Was Martha trying to warn her that he could be gone months or longer? She no longer wanted to be in her kitchen. She wanted to crawl back into bed, dreaming of Clark rescuing her from Lex. That Clark felt so real. She stood up.
“He still wants to marry you.”
Lois glanced down at the engagement ring on her finger. “I know. Clark’s love is the one thing I can count on in my life. The one constant I can trust.”
Martha’s expression seemed to falter and Lois realized that there was more she wasn’t sharing.
Lois couldn’t hear any more. She went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower, avoiding the journal with all the answers. She found a large bruise on her thigh and her body was stiff, which corresponded with the car accident story. She got dressed in her fleecy pajamas, even though, according to her calculations it was sometime in the summer.
All Lois wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep until Clark was there when she awoke. She was still exhausted, despite having slept so long she had worried Martha. Had she bumped her head during the car accident that morning or was it so similar a traumatic event that it reminded her of when she was hit by that car as she chased Superman after she had escaped from Lex.
Martha knocked on her door and wouldn’t let her go straight back to sleep. She hadn’t eaten all day and as it was dinner time, she needed to eat. Martha had made chicken soup. Just what Lois needed to warm her bones up. She had felt cold since hearing that Clark was off the planet. New Krypton. Just the sound of it made her shiver.
She had taken him a bit for granted. Never again. She would saver every moment… any moment, she had with him if he returned… No!
When, when he returned.
They sat in silence over dinner. Lois not wanting to hear more. She had had him in her grasp, so close, too many times and he kept slipping away. Not by will, but by design.
“Do you think Clark and I are cursed, Martha?”
Martha coughed into her napkin. “What makes you think that? I’ve never seen two people more in love.”
“But there is always something. Whether work or disasters or crazy people or my ex-boyfriends.” She shook her head. “It just feels like we’re cursed.”
“I’m sure when Clark gets back, you’ll have a time when you feel blessed.”
“We’re certainly due,” Lois laughed, taking a sip of soup. “By the way, what day is it?”
“Sunday.”
“Ugh. I have to go to work tomorrow. How can I be a reporter, if I don’t know what day it is?”
“Lois, do you want me to call you in sick? I’m sure you could use an extra day to get your sea-legs back. I’ve already called Jonathan to explain I’m staying longer.”
Lois grinned. “Do I have any sick days left? After amnesia…”
“Perry will give you the day, if you need it,” Martha reassured her. She seemed so sure. “We can always tell him about the car…”
“No!” Even Lois was surprised by her vehemence. “I can do this. I’m resilient. That’s why Clark loves me.”
Martha ate a spoonful of soup. “I think Clark loves your stubbornness more.”
Lois laughed. “Oh, yes, I do excel in that. He’d be the first to admit. Thank you, Martha, for being here… You never did tell me why you were here.”
“You invited me.” Martha smiled. “You’ve been covering full time for Clark with no one to speak with about it. Perry sent you home early on Friday because you had some sort of meltdown.”
“Obviously, I’m having a meltdown; I am missing months of my life. But to crack up at work enough for Perry...” Lois interrupted herself. “Where is this journal you mentioned?”
Martha looked blank. “Clark only mentioned it in passing. How a therapist mentioned any stress could cause a relapse, recommended you keep one just in case.”
Lois jumped up from the table and was looking around. “That’s ridiculous. Stress wouldn’t cause a relapse of amnesia. Could it? My life is stress.” She moved to her computer. “Password? Oh, please, tell me I haven’t changed… Oh, yes, I’m in…. No…. No…. No. It’s not in my computer.” She closed her laptop.
“Your bedroom, perhaps,” suggested Martha.
Lois ran into her room. She found clothes on the floor. Slacks and a blouse. Had she just come home after the accident, pulled off her clothes, dropped them on the floor and crawled into bed in her underwear? That accident must have rattled her good and well. She picked up the clothes and tossed them on her chair. She would deal with them later. Her purse and keys were on the dresser next to a notebook. She didn’t just leave her notes just laying about. She picked up the notebook and turned to the last entry.
Yesterday, at work I was so exhausted I fell asleep during the morning meeting.“No!”
I found myself a hour later at my desk with no recollection of how I got there.“Oh, that’s not good,” she said out loud.
Then Perry had said something to me about Clark and I just snapped. I started repeating Clark’s name like a broken record.“Oh, no, no, no.”
Perry easily got it out from me that I lied to him when I said Clark would be visiting me this weekend for a night off from his deep undercover work with Intergang. And how I hadn’t spoken with Clark in awhile. It was nice not to have to lie to Perry for once. But I may have led him into believing – no matter how inadvertently – that Clark had gone missing.“Oh, no.”
Perry had Jimmy drive me home. I knew I needed back-up and had no one local I could call. There was only one person I could talk to about my dilemma. Clark’s mom flew out this morning and together we are trying to restore my sanity, so I may face Perry and Jimmy Monday morning as usual.Lois ran out of her room and found Martha still sitting at the dining room table. “Did I tell you about this?” She held up the journal.
Martha shook her head. “Not in detail. I figured it had to be bad if Perry sent you home.”
“I couldn’t stop saying Clark’s name.”
“You talk about Clark…”
“No. I was just babbling Clark’s name.”
Martha’s jaw hung open. This was certainly news.
“I know!” Lois continued, “I led Perry to think Clark went missing from his assignment. If I don’t go into work tomorrow like I’m one-hundred percent or at least close to it and let him know that Clark contacted me, Perry is going to send me back to a shrink. And I hate shrinks. Can’t trust them.”
“I can imagine. After what happened with your amnesia doctor…”
“What happened?” Lois grabbed Martha by the shoulders.
“Lois, maybe, you should read the journal. Anything I say is just third hand. A good reporter – as Clark says – always goes to the source.”
Lois sighed with a smile. “I taught him that.”
Martha raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
“OK. He might have learned that in journalism class first,” Lois conceded. “It’s just past seven thirty. I’ve got to read through my journal and everything I’ve worked on for the last few months before the morning meeting.”
“And you need to sleep, Lois,” Martha reminded her.
Lois dismissed that idea with a wave of her hand.
“OK. It’s your decision; I, personally, wouldn’t want you to fall asleep at the meeting again. You might also want to check out archival copies of
The Planet sometime tomorrow to see any photos accompany your stories.”
“Good idea, Martha. I can do this. It’s only a couple of months, right? I can fake it. No one needs to know that I lost my memory again.” Lois took a deep breath to steel her nerves.
An hour later, Lois returned to the living room with her purse over her shoulder and her journal grasped to her chest. Martha glanced up from where she was reading on the couch. Lois pulled out her wallet and handed Martha a twenty dollar bill.
“I just called the local grocery. They will be making a delivery in a half hour. That should cover the tip.” Lois sounded like she had been crying. “I guessed I was out of ice-cream and ordered some more. Three gallons enough, you think?”
“Lois?” Martha took her by the wrist and led her to the couch.
“My life sucks,” Lois said as her bottom lips started to shake. “He doesn’t love me. He left me for that Sarah… Zara… person whatever her name is. He said he would come back to me, but he’s marrying her. He’s already married to her.” The tears dripped down her face. “He knows her two weeks, before he agrees to run off and marry her and save her civilization. Me, we’re engaged for how long and we still aren’t married.”
“He loves you and he would never do anything to betray that love. You know that,” Martha reassured her.
“Of course, he would say that. He’s Clark. He always says and does the right thing. He is Superman. He doesn’t get amnesia and run off with his crazy ex-girlfriend, breaking my heart in the process. No, he’s too good to do any… wait…” She laughed with a shake of her head. “I guess, this time he did run off with his crazy ex-girlfriend and break my heart. No wonder I’m having meltdowns at work. I’m amazed it took five weeks.” Lois wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “Serves me right, having treated him so badly. Did I really fall for that Dr. Max character? Ugh.” She shivered. “He’ll never come back to me.”
“That was hard on Clark, too, Sweetie. But he stuck by you. He never gave up on you. You need to have faith in him.”
“What I need is chocolate, chocolate, chocolate ice-cream with broken Double Fudge Crunch Bars on top.”
There was a knock at the door.
“That was quick.” Lois glanced through the peep hole. “This will be interesting,” she warned Martha, wiping the dampness from her eyes. “Stay on your toes.” She opened the door.
“Hi, Lois,” Star said in her happy sing-songy voice. “I had a feeling that you needed me.”
Lois looked over at Martha. “No. I’m fine, Star.”
“Oh, sorry,” Star apologized. “Not me.” She brought her hands out from behind her back. She was holding in one hand a quart of chocolate brownie ice-cream and in the other a jar of sweet dill pickles.
Martha’s eyes almost popped out of her head.
Lois laughed and let her in. “I’ll take the ice-cream, but you can keep the pickles.”
“Win some, lose some. Whoa!” Star grabbed her head. “Lois, what has happened? I’m dizzy just looking at you.”
Lois led her to the table as Martha went to get bowls. “I’ve had a trying day.”
Star shook her head, before focusing on Lois. “I’d say you have. Lois, have you done something different to your hair? You look younger.”
“Thank you,” Lois beamed, touching her hair. “Not that I know of.”
“You look just amazing. Quite a whole year younger.”
Martha dropped a bowl in the kitchen. “Sorry. I seem to be all thumbs.”
“Oh, hi!” Star greeted her, noticing Martha for the first time. “Have we met before?”
“Sorry, Star. This is Martha Kent, Clark’s mom. Martha, this is my neighbor, Star. She’s psychic.”
“You can say that again,” Martha mumbled under her breath.
“Clark’s mother. Oh, that’s where I’ve felt your presence before. Martha? I thought Clark’s mother’s name was Lara?” Star tapped her head.
“He was adopted,” Lois explained.
“Oh, adoption. It always messes with my head.”
Martha scooped out three bowls of ice-cream, doubling Lois’s portion and emptying the whole quart.
“Lois, I just have to say it again. You look amazing. What’s your secret?”
Lois was speechless at the additional compliment.
“Time travel,” Martha suggested, digging into her ice-cream.
Lois looked shocked.
Star giggled. “Oh, that’s hillarious, Martha. I can see where Clark gets his sense of humor. Time travel, really.”
Martha raised an eyebrow, but didn’t respond. Lois looked quizingly at her.
Star pushed her untouched bowl to Lois. “Still dizzy. It’s like you’re moving so fast your future is still shifting to catch up.”
Martha coughed, taking a sip of water. “Can you really see the future?”
Star gazed at her with her head tilted. “You need to return to Smallville soon. Jonathan will need you.”
“Wow,” gulped Martha.
Star blinked. “Who is Jonathan?”
“My husband.”
“How will he need her?” Lois asked, concerned.
“To help Superman.”
Martha’s spoon stopped outside her mouth and her jaw hung open.
“Lois, I just realized why your future is shifting. Superman will soon be back, earlier than expected. Oh, my,” Star gasped covering her mouth with her hand.
Lois turned to Martha, her eyes aglow. “Superman is coming home.”
“What’s the matter, Star?” Martha asked.
“I’ve got to go.” Star stood up. “On Friday, I told three people that they were about to die horrible deaths. Now they going to survive because Superman’s coming home. I’ve got to call them and let them know. This changes everything.”
Lois grabbed Star and gave her a hug. “Star, you are simply the best.”
“Thanks, Lois. You are always saying the nicest things to me.”
“And you were right. I did need to see you, tonight, and not just because of the chocolate brownie ice-cream. Thank you.”
“Nice meeting you,” Martha called from the kitchen.
“I’ll leave the pickles,” said Star, passing through the doorway with a wave. “Just in case.”
Lois laughed, shutting the door. She shook her head at Martha, continuing to laugh. Then she danced into the kitchen and hugged Martha. “Clark’s coming home! I found him and lost him and gained him back all in one day.”
“She’s amazing.”
“You’re amazing. Time travel, really, Martha.” Lois laughed.
“She bought it. And it was better than saying you lost your memory, again.”
“Oh, right. I’ve got homework to do.” She kissed Martha on the cheek, then danced out to the living room, carrying her bowl of ice-cream and her journal. “Clark’s coming home. Clark’s coming home. Clark’s coming home.”
There was another knock at the door, but Lois was already back in her bedroom. Martha opened the door. It was the delivery man with a couple of bags filled with ice-cream and Double Fudge Crunch Bars. Martha smiled and handed the man the twenty dollar bill.
*** The End of Chapter 1 ***
Continued in Chapter 2: The Twilight Zone***
CommentsChapter 2: Part 1/8
