Missing Lois - TOC (aka Season 5)
Disclaimer: Inspired by the characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and portrayed on the
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman television series, developed by Deborah Joy-LeVine. Many thanks for the above-referenced writers as well as all the writers on the show for their inspiration. The plot of the story is entirely my own.
Chapter 1: Part 4/4CHAPTER 2: The Twilight Zone (1/8)
Lois awoke to the sound of murmured sounds of television. She blinked her eyes. Where was she? She looked around and realized she was at Clark’s. Then she noticed the loft. The alternate Clark’s apartment. Oh, yes, her new life. With a yawn and stretch, she walked out to the living room.
Clark was sitting on his couch watching baseball, munching on carrot sticks. The volume was low, but as soon as he saw her, he turned it off. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No. It’s all right. Watch your game.” She shook her head, trying to wipe the strangest feeling out of her head. She sat down at the dining room table trying to remember that dream. Clark was there. Her Superman. She sighed. He had saved her from Lex and the clone. She closed her eyes to see if she could feel Clark’s lips pressed against hers again. This dream was so fresh, so clear.
“Are you sure you are all right?” Clark asked, pulling her out of her daydream. He hadn’t turned the game back on. He sat down next to her, worried.
“I’m fine. I just had the strangest dream. Oh, it felt so real. Clark was there.” Lois realized that she was talking to Clark. “My Clark. Instead of me going all Wanda Detroit crazy, Superman rescued me. And he flew me over the clouds and away from it all.” She sighed. “Far away.”
Clark had the strangest expression on his face. Somewhere between shocked and dismayed and delighted, like he himself couldn’t decide how he felt about what she had just told him. What had she just told him? Had she said that out loud?
“I’m so sorry, Clark. I promised myself I wouldn’t moon over my Clark in front of you and we haven’t been together five minutes…”
“It’s okay,” he said, placing his hand over hers. They both looked down at his hand and he moved it away. “Sorry. We will both need time to adjust.”
“It’s just that this dream felt so good. That was a difficult time in my life, as you know. And there was something about this dream. It put me at peace with myself again. In balance.” She sighed again. “It felt so real.”
Clark continued to stare at her, not speaking, and then he looked down. Her heart sank.
“It was real. It wasn’t a dream at all, was it?” Lois leaned back, away from him. “And it wasn’t my Clark.” She put her hand to her mouth. “It was you.”
He nodded. “I didn’t think you would know what happened with the other you. I’m sorry for the confusion, Lois, but the other you needed to feel rescued, safe, to make the transition go smoothly.”
“I know. It was my plan. I didn’t know I would remember…” Lois’s eyes grew large. “I remember. It didn’t happen to this me, but to that me. And I remember!” She hugged him and then jumped up and did a little dance. “Do you know what this means?”
Clark did not answer, still in shock from her bouncing ball of emotions.
“I remember! I have the other me’s memories. Whatever happens in my dimension, I’ll know about. I’m not out of the loop. Woo-hoo!” She danced around some more.
“So, you’re not mad?”
That was just what her Clark would have asked. She patted him on the shoulder. “Not today, my boy, you caught a break.” And she realized it was true. She wasn’t mad at him. She could have been furious, but she wasn’t. She couldn’t come down off this high of having memories of the other Lois actions.
Lois thought this whole switch was going to feel like the clone incident, again. She hated Clark having a life with a Lois and her not knowing what was going on. This was going to be better than surveillance. And if these pesky feelings about Clark returning early came true, she would have memories of that as well. And if they kissed, her eyes closed, relishing the thought, it still would be happening to her. Like that kiss above the clouds. Her eyes snapped open and she looked at the other Clark. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Yes, ma'am.” He grinned as she continued to dance around the room.
***
Lois ate another piece of baguette. She felt bad that Clark had gone through the trouble of making spaghetti from scratch and then she bolted for the bathroom after only a few bites. “I really am sorry, Clark. Why do they call it morning sickness, I wonder? It happens all day long.”
He raised his hand in a typical Clark manner as if to say, he had heard enough.
“It really tasted good.”
“Please, stop saying the word ‘really,’ Lois. It really isn’t like you,” Clark said with a smile, taking a sip of his red wine.
Lois laughed. “Got you to smile. You forgive me.”
“Always, Lois.”
Lois tried to keep the smile on her lips, but when he spoke in her Clark’s words and using his voice, it was hard. Really hard. She took a deep breath and changed the subject. “So, what’s up for tomorrow?”
Clark wiped the crumbs from his hands and grabbed a pad of paper from the coffee table. “I’ve been making a list of all the things we need do to while you’re here.”
Lois groaned. “Can’t we play it by ear?”
“I don’t think you should play pregnancy by ear,” he suggested.
“Score one, Clark. Go on.”
He opened his notebook. “First, we need to get you a obstetrician. I can ask someone at work for a recommendation.”
Lois made the sound like a buzzer. “And what exactly are you going to say. ‘Hey, I’ve got this pregnant woman living in my apartment, so can any of you women recommend a good doctor?’ That might raise a few eyebrows at the
Daily Planet, don’t you think, Superman?”
“Oh, right. That would be bad. Agreed, we’ll brainstorm longer on that one.”
“Plus, I don’t know if I can go to a regular Ob/Gyn. We know I can have complications, dire ones. Did Mr. Wells ever tell you what kind of complications they were?”
Clark shook his head.
“Me, either. That would have been helpful. Thanks a lot, Mr. Wells,” she called out to the universe. “What we don’t know is if they are super complications or regular complications. I’ve got a super baby here, so I think I need someone with extra super skills, if you know what I mean.” Lois took a sip of her ginger ale. Clark had gone out and bought her some to settle her stomach, after she had made her trip to the bathroom earlier. “Any ideas?”
Clark shook his head, again.
“Who’s your doctor?” Lois asked.
“I don’t have one.” Clark smiled weakly. “I’m never sick.”
“Right, but that’s not quite what I meant. My Clark goes to see Dr. Bernard Klein at S.T.A.R. Labs with any questions he has about his super abilities. Do you see anyone like that?”
“No, Lana never wanted me to talk to anyone about my powers, so I stayed clear of scientists. But I know Dr. Klein. He’s a good man. Brilliant. A little strange, but still brilliant. Reliable. Perry sent him Tempus’s Kryptonite chunk for safe keeping.” Clark actually looked excited by this suggestion. “With what kind of questions has your Superman gone to him? Does Dr. Klein know about the secret identity?”
“No, that’s still just me and the Kents. Clark goes to him as Superman. Let’s see, there was the time he was affected by Red Kryptonite…”
“Red Kryptonite?” Clark blanched. “There’s more than one kind?”
“Yes, while the Green Kryptonite can kill Superman, the red sends his senses reeling. Clark had several different reactions to Red Kryptonite. The first time we dealt with it, it was before I knew he was Superman, and it affected him psychologically. It made him a bit apathetic. He ended up going to see a therapist. And the second time, some women blasted him with a Red Kryptonite laser which transferred his powers to me for a while.” She laughed. “You are looking at the former Ultra Woman.”
“Ultra Woman?” He looked skeptical.
“I know. Me, who has ‘Help, Superman’ as my ringtone. Martha made me a lavender jumpsuit and mask. It was horrible.” She laughed. “I learned firsthand that it takes more than having your powers and a cape to be a super hero. You have to have a good strong heart, and an iron resolve, because there is still so much you cannot stop. Some people will die no matter how hard you work or quick you fly. It was too much for me. I happily gave Clark back his powers and retired Ultra Woman.”
“Wait a minute. The Red Kryptonite laser gave his powers to you. As in, he no longer had powers? How did it work?”
“When he saw the laser beam heading towards us, he shielded me – as he usually does, when weapons get aimed our way – only this time, the beam passed through him stealing his powers and transferring them to whomever was on the other side of him. Luckily, it was me and when Dr. Klein fixed the laser we were able to shoot the powers back into Superman, using the process in reverse.”
Clark was making notes on a separate page of his notepad. “What other things has he dealt with?”
“Superman got contaminated with radiation from a nuclear blast and Dr. Klein and S.T.A.R. Labs helped contain him until we could find a cure.”
“How do you cure that?”
“He flew close the sun and used it’s gravitational pull to extract the radiation fragments from his body.”
“Wow. I see I could use someone like Dr. Klein on my side.”
“Let’s see, what other things does Dr. Klein test.” She thought for a minute. “They test his strength, his optical powers, his flight speed, how Kryptonite effects him – they’re searching for a cure, how our yellow sun recharges him…”
“What? I didn’t know that. I mean, I always felt better in the sun, but… Wow! Good to know.”
“You know. I bet there are a lot of things I could tell you about my Superman’s powers. Why don’t you add that to our to-do list?” Lois suggested pointing to his list. “While I’m in town, we’ll make a comparison of all the bad guys you’ve taken down and all the ones we’ve taken down. Let’s see where there are overlaps and where they’re aren’t. Maybe, we can stop some major disaster from happening before it happens. Along with that, you’ll learn all that I know about what my Superman has dealt with concerning his powers. And I’ll feel like I’m putting a dent in repaying your hospitality.”
“Good idea. I wish I had thought of that. And, Lois,” he said with a smile. “My hospitality is my pleasure.”
Lois took another bite of bread and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“That sounded wrong. Even though I’ve had these powers all my life and they are now out in the open, it certainly is nice to have an expert to talk to about all of this.”
“Watch it, Clark.” Lois pointed at him with a hint of a smile. “Flattery will get you everywhere. What else is on your list?”
Clark looked back down at his notepad. “Back to getting you a doctor. We could talk to our Dr. Klein, but I think you still need a medical doctor.”
“You’re probably right about that. The thought of sitting in stirrups for Dr. Klein…” She shivered. “But, maybe, we could get him to look at it as a scientific hypothetical. What if you asked him what would happen if you were to settle down with an human woman?”
“Why me?” Clark’s eyes widened. “I’m not the father.”
She laughed. “Technically, no. But you are the father’s twin brother.”
“Why do you keep saying that? We’ve never even met.”
“But that’s what it feels like to me. You are just like my Clark in almost every way, but not my Clark. It’s like you were twins separated at birth. Plus, it helps keep the line clearer in my mind.”
He looked back down at the list. “Ah, the line.”
Lois didn’t know how to respond to that. She stated her feelings as clearly as she could. She knew he was attracted to her as she was attracted to him, but also knew neither of them should or could ever act on those feelings.
“It would be nice having a brother.” He smiled. “Okay, if I’m to think of your Clark as my brother that would make you… his hot girlfriend?”
“Clark.”
“Fine. You are my extremely unattractive sister-in-law.”
Technically not, but Lois didn’t want to correct him. “Family,” she suggested.
His smile grew into a grin. “I’d like that.”
Lois hit herself on the forehead. “Family! My dad’s a medical doctor. A exceptional one, too.”
“Sam Lane?” Clark raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“What’s with the disbelief? He cured Superman last Christmas from a raging viral infection.”
“Superman doesn’t get sick, Lois.”
Lois sighed, looking back. “Mine did.”
“Oh.”
She pointed to his notepad. “So, put it on your list to find Sam Lane.”
“OK.” Clark looked down at the list and jotted it down. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but didn’t. He looked up and to his left.
“We’ll finish going through this later,” Lois said, taking the list away from him.
“I’ve got to…”
“I know.” She patted him on the chest as he got up.
He looked back at her as if he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. He walked into the closet Clark Kent and stepped out a moment later, Superman. Lois shook her head. That was going to take some getting used to. At least, he did not spin into the suit like her Superman did.
“Lois, I’ll be back…” he started to say.
“When you can be,” she finished. “I know.” She glanced down at the list and realized he was still there. She looked up at him, questioningly.
“I’m glad you’re here, Lois. It’s nice not to be alone in this anymore.”
“I’m sorry you’ve felt alone, Clark. Soon, you’re going to miss that feeling very much.” She grinned.
He returned the smile. “I doubt that.” He stepped out the living room window and disappeared.
Lois glanced down at the list in her hand.
1. Obstetrician. Next to that he has penciled in ‘Sam Lane’ with a question mark.
2. Pregnancy Research. Books. He had added in ‘Dr. Klein.’ At least, he had been listening.
3. Hobbies and activities. Lois rolled her eyes. He had penciled in ‘bad guy list / problems with powers.’
4. Secret identity. He wanted her to have a secret identity?
5. Money / Job. Next to that he had penciled in three question marks. Hello, top investigative reporter. Investigative reporting was not a hobby. And then, she realized that if he wanted her to have a secret identity, he wasn’t expecting her to show up at the
Daily Planet and ask for her old job back. She sighed and set down the list. She couldn’t look at it any more.
Lois walked to the window. Looking up into the night sky she found the star her Clark pointed out to her on their last night together. “Clark, I miss you,” she whispered. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I miss you so much. You know, I love you, don’t you? Come back to me. Come home.”
Suddenly, Superman was there with his arms around her, holding her. She cried onto his shoulder.
“I miss Clark so much.”
“I’m right here,” he whispered, tilting up her chin.
He looked just like her man, only he wasn’t. She stopped herself a moment before they kissed. “My Clark,” she said, stepping out of his arms. “I miss my Clark.”
“I heard you calling my name. Asking me to come home.”
“I’m sorry. I was alone. I was talking to him.” She wiped the dampness from her eyes.
“Lois, this confusing for me. Clark this and your Clark that. Please, can’t we call him something else while you’re here?”
“His name is Clark Kent, just like yours. What do you want me to call him? Other Clark? You’re the other Clark.”
“Fred?” he suggested.
“Superman?”
He held out his arms to show her he was still in the blue suit. “Taken.”
Lois understood she was confusing him. It was just as confusing to her. She hated to admit it, but needed this Clark. She did not want to alienate him. He knew this dimension and all its quirks; it would be harder to survive here without his help. She also couldn’t have this Clark wrapping his arms around her every time she called out to her Clark. She knew there might come a day, she would lose the ability to step away. She didn’t want to, but on this one thing, she would compromise. “I could call him by your Kryptonian name, Kal-El. It’s not one of my favorite names. The New Kryptonians aren’t high on my list right now.”
“I know,” Superman whispered, cupping her face in his hand, just like her Clark used to do. “Thank you.” Then he stepped out the window and was gone, again.
Lois went to this Clark’s couch and curled herself up into a ball and cried. He didn’t realize how much of a sacrifice this one change would be for her.
***
Superman flew over Metropolis, again. He felt guilty. He shouldn’t have asked her to give up her Clark’s name; not then, not when she was at such a moment of weakness. She had already given up her home, her dimension, and her Clark. To ask her give up speaking of him as she pleased, would be something that would eat at him for a long time. It had bothered him, the two Clarks, but not that much.
It had only taken a few minutes to rescue that couple from the mugger and capture him. He had been on his way to do a fly by over the city, when he heard Lois calling to him. Not Superman. Clark. It felt so right. He had dreamed of hearing Lois Lane calling to him, long before the first time this Lois showed up.
Clark hadn’t told this Lois that when he joined the
Daily Planet one of the first assignments that Perry awarded to him was to find the missing Lois Lane in the Congo. He had quickly become obsessed with this spunky, no nonsense, take no prisoners woman. He read all her articles, spoke about her with her colleagues and family. And he continued to look for her after everyone else had buried her. He hadn’t told anyone; especially Lana.
Then a year ago, Lana had asked the dreaded question.
Where was their relationship headed? He understood. She was getting older and he still wasn’t proposing. A part of him – a part he didn’t understand – was still holding out hope he would find Lois Lane. But Lana was right, he had concluded in the end. He could either marry the woman in front of him or he could pine away for a dead woman he would never ever meet. So, he had proposed. And, for a while, it had seemed like the right decision.
Then this Lois had walked into his life and kissed him. She didn’t know he had a secret crush on his dearly departed Lois Lane, nobody did. And he still wanted to keep it that way. This Lois never realized that she was everything he had hoped his Lois would be and more. A living, breathing, sweet smelling… He shook that thought from his mind.
That she was in love him… well, her Clark in her dimension didn’t surprise him. The blue tights, yes. The undeniable attraction between them, no. And when H. G. Wells said in passing about Lois and Clark being soul mates, something that had mystified him deep inside, suddenly made perfect sense.
It clarified why he was in love with a woman he had never met and never would meet. It also explained why he jumped at the chance to babysit what was essentially his Lois’s twin sister. He figured it was as close to a chance for him to get to know his Lois Lane.
Clark knew it was wrong. He didn’t know it would feel like torture; to have her so close, relying on him, telling him her secrets, laughing at his jokes, and yet not desiring him, not wanting him. And this was only the first day.
Nothing was happening in Metropolis. Clark wanted to fly to New York or Gotham and see if they needed his help there, but he knew would have to face her eventually. He landed outside his living room window and peered inside. The lights were still on. Lois was asleep on his couch, curled up in a ball. His heart ached, because it looked like she had tried to wait up for him. He hadn’t thought about that.
He floated inside and picked her up. Slowly, he floated her into their bedroom and set her on his old bed. He covered her up with a blanket, then flew up to his loft. He took his pjs with him into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
As he passed her bed on the way back to his loft, she mumbled. “Clark?”
He hesitated. Was she speaking to him or her Clark? “I’m here, Lois.”
“You just getting in?”
“Everything’s okay, Lois. Go back to sleep.”
“OK,” she murmured. “Good night, Clark.”
“Good night, Lois.”
She pulled the blanket up to her chest and her breathing became more deep. She was back asleep. He flew up to his loft and sat on the edge, looking down at her. Sometimes the torture was worth it.
***
Dear Clark, Lois wrote in a blank notebook she stole from Clark.
I know it must seem strange that I am writing you a letter that I know I cannot mail to you, but I needed to talk to you. I miss you. And it confuses this Clark, let’s call him Kal, when I speak your name aloud. I miss you more here than back in our dimension. You seem farther away. Unreachable. Untouchable.
Mr. Wells was right on one factor though. Moving me here seems to have changed history; stopped the curse. At least for the moment. I have memories from the younger me, the one I borrowed from those amnesia days. I’m sorry about leaving her with you. I hope you understand that she’s not a clone, she’s still me. What she does and people say to her, I can feel and remember here in this dimension. Not right away, which is good. That would be just too freaky. But when I sleep, I relive her day in my dreams.
Last night, I dreamed that Star came over with chocolate brownie ice-cream to calm down the hysterical younger me, because I had just read about you leaving for New Krypton with your new wife, Zara, in the journal I left her about my life since the clone incident. (Can we say run on sentence, Lois!) Star told me that… actually, she told your mother, that Jonathan needed her help back in Smallville to help Superman. Superman returns! YEAH! If Superman is allowed to come home, so too is my Clark.
I don’t know why or how, but once I moved to this dimension, you were free to return home. I don’t care the reasons behind it, although, for some strange reason, I still don’t trust those New Kryptonians. I still feel like they are going to double cross you. I worry about you. I know that the younger me, will love you and take care of you as I would, but I wish it could be me, directly.
Mr. Wells thinks my paranoia has to do with the younger me’s memories. I lived this life before as her and so I can remember subconsciously something that has not yet happened. It’s confusing to say the least. But the excuse I gave your mother, as to why I came over to this dimension, still holds true. I think those Kryptonians would use our baby against you, somehow. I don’t understand this uncertainty, this fear. But I could not have you learn about becoming a father, by someone else using it against you.
Yes, you heard me right, Clark Kent. I am pregnant and you are the father. Remember that night, I told you to forget? Well, my body remembers. I’m about five weeks pregnant as I write this letter to you. I only learned about this miracle on Friday and today’s Monday.
H. G. Wells delivered the bad news about the curse Friday night (about how the curse would keep us apart and miserable until one of us died). I couldn’t let that happen. We came up with this solution on Saturday morning and, presto chango, I’ve been in this dimension a whole 24 hours, now. I wish I could be back in our dimension, trying not to throw up on Jimmy and Perry, buying baby clothes, calling my parents… what am I saying? I don’t want to tell my mother this news. I still have no idea how to break it to any of you, when we are finally allowed to return.
Kal and I have decided that our relationship is one of sister and brother-in-law. Although, we never actually got married – you and I – he and I are pretending that he’s your twin brother and I’m his twin brother’s wife. He’s thrilled about the idea of having a brother; he’s like you in that respect – the more family the better.
You’ll be excited to read that he’s a little overprotective of me. Then again, he’s just getting to know me and understand my limits. He wants me to have a secret identity; though, I don’t understand why. I’ve already introduced myself to this dimension, back when Tempus kidnapped and dropped me here, as the formerly late- Lois Lane. It probably has something to do with the baby. He probably doesn’t want me to resume my career as investigative reporter. I bet, he thinks it’s too dangerous for the mother of his future nephew / niece. I hope you wouldn’t be so sexist in your beliefs about me and my career to believe the same. I’ll ask him why the next time I see him. He was already at work by the time I woke up this morning.
It’s strange how much sleep I’ve gotten this weekend. More than in the last six weeks all together. I know I’ve heard that pregnant women get exhausted more easily from all that energy we burn creating new cells and all, but am I going to turn into sleeping beauty, here? We’ll see. I wonder if I’m burning more energy creating cells, because they’re super cells. Not only is this whole pregnancy thing new for me, but – don’t freak out when I say it like this – I am carrying an alien child. Will this pregnancy last nine months? Will I be able to give birth normally?
Oh, my gosh. I just pictured myself giving birth. Oh, Clark, how am I going to do that? Especially without you? What in the world was I thinking? Oh, right, I was thinking about how much you would love a child of your own and what a great Dad you’ll be. Ok, I’m better now.
Back to the topic of carrying a half-Earth, half-Krypton child, Kal and I don’t know what to do to solve that dilemma. I’m trying to convince him to go to his Dr. Klein and see if they can run some tests about the possibility of him becoming a father. Then, maybe, we could introduce me. I think the idea scares him a little. Lana put such the fear of scientists into him. Of course, maybe, it doesn’t have anything to do with that… maybe, like most men, he doesn’t want to think about becoming a Dad until he actually is faced with the extra blue line on the test.
I’m going to track down my father – well, technically this dimension’s Lois Lane’s father – Sam Lane and see if I can somehow convince him to be my ObGyn. I know that’s not his specialty, but we need someone we can trust implicitly. Kal’s secret identity may have been blown by Tempus, but I don’t want everyone here to know I’m carrying Superman’s baby…
I just figured it out. That’s why he wants me to have secret identity. Someone who would get a little less media attention than the Lois Lane who has been dead for three years. I wonder who I should be? It’ll come to me, it usually does. Well, I’m starving, so I’m going to find something to eat that doesn’t upset my stomach. I miss and love you, Clark. More later. LL***
Lois was still asleep when Clark went to work that morning. She slept through his shower, him cooking his breakfast, and him humming to try to wake her up. He wanted to apologize for the night before, about asking for her to give up her Clark’s name. He also wanted to speak to her about the rest of the to do list. But, he couldn’t miss the morning meeting at
The Planet.
He sighed. He wished Mr. Olsen would find a better editor to replace Perry. He missed his old boss. His Lois Lane stories, Elvis references and Southern charm. The new interim editor had none of those and wasn’t as lenient of Clark’s other job. He even told him that he couldn’t cover a story if Superman was involved. It would be like writing about himself. Clark could see his point, but it certainly limited the scope of stories on which he could work.
Clark was finally able to convince him to bend the ‘Superman Rule’ as he called it, to allow him to write about the horrible devastation in Fiji after the tsunami that hit the week before. Superman had gone to help locate people and bodies, but the story wasn’t about Superman, it was about the destruction in Fiji. He could see the benefits of Superman being anonymous.
Some time about nine, Clark was having a coffee with Jaxon, who Mr. Olsen had hired to revamp the website, when he heard Lois calling for him. He didn’t think he could focus on her voice so clearly from so far away.
Clark? Clark? He had set down his drink and started to loosen his tie, when she continued.
Oh, it’s nine. He’s at work. Sorry, Clark. Never mind. I was just wondering where you were. Don’t rush home. He chuckled and straightened his tie.
“Something up?” Jaxon asked.
Clark shook his head. “Wrong number,” he chuckled, again, before picking up his coffee. That Lois. He smiled. She sure was funny.
Jaxon looked at him strangely and then wandered back to his desk.
Several hours later, while Clark was ironing out the wording on his latest article, in clomped the most un-Lois looking woman he had ever seen. She was wearing no make-up, sweatpants and t-shirt, and clogs. She carried a big bag of books. She had styled her short hair differently, too. She had parted it in a new way and clipped it by her ears with ugly barrettes. But the most noticeable, non-Lois part of this new look, was a pair of John Lennon style frames resting upon her nose.
She parked her butt against the edge of his desk and snapped her bubble gum. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I thought we could do lunch and discuss some things. You free?” She spoke with a strange accent. He thought it might have been slightly southern, slightly Texas. It certainly wasn’t her born and bred Metropolitan accent.
Clark scanned through her bag that she had slightly raised with her question. A couple of pregnancy books, a romance, and history book of the past century that had just come out. She had read his list.
“Sure, let me just finish this up and turn it in to Ralph.”
“Ralph?!” Lois scanned the bullpen and caught sight of Ralph – sexist, Neanderthal, moron of a reporter Ralph – sitting behind Perry’s old desk.
“Yes, he’s our new interim editor.”
“Did a plague hit all the news reporters in this dimension, so that he was the best they could find to replace Perry?” she whispered under her breath.
“Perry is irreplaceable.”
“Obviously.” She shook her head. “No chance of me getting my old job back now, is there?”
“Nope,” he replied.
Clark watched Lois as he typed. She looked around the bullpen at his co-workers, probably checking on who else she knew. Her eyes stopped when she reached Jaxon and he thought she accidently swallowed her gum as she started to cough, unexpectedly. Jaxon came up to his desk and dropped a folder in his inbox.
“Are you okay?” Jaxon asked her.
“Fine,” Lois answered, still coughing. “Swallowed my gum.”
The young man held out his hand to her. “I’m Jaxon.”
“Lucy.” She coughed again. “Sorry, Lucy El.” She held out her hand.
Clark raised an eyebrow at this exchange.
Jaxon hesitantly shook her germy hand. “Lucy L.? Like the letter ‘L’? Like Lucy Lane, Lois Lane’s little sister?”
“Who? No. El as in E-L,” she corrected. “Clark and I went to Kansas State together. Go Wildcats!”
Jaxon seemed to accept this answer. “You in town for a visit?”
“For now. Unless Clark here can get me a job in research.” She batted her eyelashes at Clark. He shook his head slightly to shut her up. It didn’t work.
Jaxon looked nervous. “I also dabble in research, Lucy. We’re full up.”
Lois held up her hands. “Sorry, Jaxon, I wouldn’t dare presume I could replace you. I know I could never compete with your computer skills. Clark mentioned he doesn’t know how you can squeeze these boxes like lemons and get the lemonade you do.”
How had she know about Jaxon’s computer skills? He must be her
Planet’s computer guru as well.
“This true, Kent?” Jaxon seemed pleasantly surprised by the praise.
“Sure is, Jax. You’re a godsend. But Mr. Olsen had said I could have anything I wanted to make life easier, so we’re going to see if that includes my own research assistant. To help out during those times when I’ve got to fly off.”
“No offense, Ms. El. But, Clark, I would more than happily be your sole researcher.”
“I know, Jax.” Clark patted him on the shoulder. He was amazed how a set of blue tights had some of his co-workers dying to work with his other personality now, when half of them didn’t know his name at the beginning of the year. “But you are too valuable to the entire team. Especailly, working the website. Lucy and I go way back. She knows me so well, it’s like she can read my mind.” Clark glared at her and hoped she would guess his thoughts.
“Sorry, Clark. I know I let the cows in the cornfield by stopping by unannounced. I just had to see it for myself.” She gazed around the newsroom like it was was her first visit. She sighed. “The
Daily Planet.”
“Please, Jax, don’t say anything to anyone. I wouldn’t like the others to think I’m getting special treatment, because of you-know-who.”
“Of course. Of course, Clark. My lips are sealed.” Jaxon pressed his lips together and rushed back to his desk.
“What are you doing?” Clark growled under his breath. “Cows in the cornfield? Really, Lucy.”
“At lunch, Clark,” she whispered and then glanced nervously back at Jaxon’s desk. He was on the telephone. “Is he keeping his lips sealed?”
Clark’s brow came together as he listened a moment to Jax’s conversation. Printing out his article, he pointedly did not answer her question. He handed the article to Ralph, before grabbing her elbow and escorting her to the elevators. As they waited, Clark started in on her. “I cannot…”
“Not here, Clark,” she hissed. Something was amiss, she was spooked. The doors opened and they stepped inside. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Lois collapsed against him.
“Lois!”
“It’s Lucy, now, Clark. Please, remember that, especially here. Do you think you can get me that job? Did Jimmy really make you that promise?”
“James Olsen owns this paper, Lucy. We’ll see. What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath, but before she could answer the car stopped. “At lunch, Clark. I’ll tell you at lunch.”
The elevator doors opened and there waiting to enter were the two men Clark least wanted to see, Mayor White and Mr. Olsen.
***End of Part 1 *** CommentsChapter 2: Part 2/8
