Missing Lois - TOC Author’s Note: I have altered the timeline of the show in this chapter by moving Tempus’s John Doe Presidential election bid to its correct spot between the “Ghosts” and around the time of “Stop the Presses” (i.e. November 1996).
Story Notes: Story is set in alt-dimension
- Clark = Alt-Clark unless otherwise noted
- Lucy El (Lois's secret identity) = pregnant canon Lois avoiding the curse by hiding out with alt-Clark
- Kal = what Lois-Lucy and alt-Clark call canon Clark
- Sam Lane = alt-Lois's Dad, Lois's doctor & roommate
- Tempus = extremely bad dude from the future, bent on destroying Superman (both of them)
- Martha and Jonathan Kent = canon Clark's parents
- H.G. Wells – famed author – inventor of the Time-Machine – the man who brought canon Lois to alt-Clark
- James Olsen = owner of DP, Lois-Lucy's friend, who is working with Lois to find Lex Luthor (and hopefully alt-Lois)
- Mayor White = aka Perry White, former Editor-in-Chief at the DP
- Ralph = yes, that Ralph. Acting Editor-in-Chief at the DP
- Dr. Klein = S.T.A.R. Labs scientist and Superman's 'doctor'
- The only people who know canon Lois's true identity are alt-Clark, Sam, and Moonbeam (alt-Star). Alt-Clark told Mayson Drake that Lucy El is his sister-in-law and that he has a twin brother, but not about the other dimension. Mayson didn't believe him (thinking instead that Lucy was a con-artist).
***
What happened in Chapter 4: Part 1:While Clark was over in her dimension saving it from Tempus (“Lois and Clarks”), the Lois left back in his dimension started to go delusional. Lois ‘escaped’ Sam and went to the
Daily Planet where lo-and-behold she told everyone that Tempus defeated Superman and that Clark – the man she loved - was lost in time. When acting-editor Ralph was thrilled at this news story, Lois physically attacked him and promptly got fired.
***
Part 2Clark turned to H. G. Wells as they sat down in the time machine. “Mr. Wells, I’m having some difficulty with Lois.”
Wells glanced at him with confusion. “You said that you still hadn’t found your Lois.”
Clark sighed. “Not my Lois. That Clark’s wife, Lois.”
Wells flipped a few switches and turned a knob. “What kind of difficulty?”
“She’s keeps confusing me with Kal… that Clark. There has always been the attraction between us, but lately it’s gotten out of control. My willpower is at nil. I know she has to come back here after the baby is born…”
Wells gasped. “What are you talking about, Clark? What baby?”
Clark looked at him for a moment. “Did you come and see me this summer? Or was it another you… an older you?”
The time machine wavered and then they popped back out in Clark’s dimension behind the
Daily Planet.
Wells stared at him. “I came to visit you this past summer?”
“You brought me Lois to watch over. His Lois,” Clark explained.
“That Lois?” asked Wells, still confused.
“No. That Lois is one we borrowed from the past to stand-in for his true Lois, who had to leave that dimension, because of the curse.”
Wells gulped. “They activated the curse early?”
Clark nodded. “Before he left for New Krypton.”
“Let’s go somewhere more private, where you can explain everything to me,” Wells said, starting to flip switches and levers.
A half-hour later they were sitting at Clark’s kitchen table in Smallville and drinking tea.
“Let me get this straight. That Clark’s Lois Lane is starting to forget that her dimension is real, where she truly belongs?” Wells inquired. “Even though she still has the stand-in Lois’s memories as dreams.”
Clark nodded. “It was just that one time. She said it feels like she’s remembering something that happened to her… to us in the past.”
“She has been in this dimension for five months? When did you start noticing these lapses in her memory? Perhaps her judgment as well?”
Clark swallowed, glancing away. “Around Halloween.”
“Halloween!” Wells gasped. “Clark, that was weeks ago. When were you planning on returning her home?”
“We were going to return her as soon as you had broken the curse, but then the stand-in Lois got arrested and we decided to wait until she got cleared. That took longer than we expected,” he explained, taking a sip of his tea.
“Clark, we need to return her to her dimension as soon as possible.”
Clark thought for a moment. “Well, the baby’s due sometime in February…”
“No, Clark. I mean, today,” Wells interrupted.
“No! Absolutely not.” Clark stood up, looking thunderous. “She’s six months pregnant, Mr. Wells. Is dimension travel even safe for the baby?”
“She is suffering from a version time-travel sickness, I believe. I can’t understand why the other me did not warn you about it. I’ve had it once or twice. You become delusional; your real life and memories blend into one big jumble in here.” He tapped his head. “You forget about when you belong and believe you are when you are supposed to be. It’s time’s way of making things right. We need to take her back to her dimension, her time-line, to reset her mind, before she loses it completely.”
Clark, feeling crushed and winded, dropped back into his chair. She was going away. Today. No, he wouldn’t let her go. “Mr. Wells, how can she return to her dimension six months pregnant? I know Lois’s and Kal’s… Clark’s life isn’t normal, but no one is going to accept that she’s been pregnant all these months or that the child is Clark’s if she suddenly becomes pregnant overnight.”
Wells thought about that for a minute. “Perhaps a short visit will be enough. But I recommend she sees Clark… her Clark, to refresh her memory completely. To remind her to whom she is really married.”
“To forget about me, you mean,” Clark whispered.
“She’s not your wife, my boy,” Wells reminded him.
“I know she’s not my wife!” Clark growled. “Why does everybody think I don’t know this? That this one fact doesn’t torture me on a daily basis?”
Wells raised a brow. “Everyone?”
“Martha. She knows everything. Well… enough. Sam, my Lois’s father, knows as well. Well… some of it. I’m not as good as keeping secrets as her Clark.” Clark rubbed his forehead with the palms of his hands, a pained expression wrecking the contours of his face. “I guess we better get this over with. I’ll take you to her.”
“We need to find your Lois, Clark. It will help you let this Lois go.”
“She’s gone, Mr. Wells. I’ve got to accept that my life will be empty.” He shook his head. “My life didn’t seem empty until I met Lois, then I realized just how full it could be.”
Clark called Sam to warn him that they were going to fly a time machine into the living room. Sam informed him that Lucy had gone out and hadn’t returned. Clark glanced at his watch; it was after six. Where would she go? Work? Something was wrong. Clark walked H. G. Wells to his time machine, out in the old barn.
“Something’s wrong back in Metropolis. Lois went out and she’s not back yet. You wait at her apartment with Sam. I’ll go look for her and then meet you back there.”
Mr. Wells nodded his agreement and started turning knobs as Superman disappeared into the grey November sky. They arrived at Lois Lane’s apartment about the same time. Sam was sitting on the sofa. He appeared dazed and exhausted. He looked up as Clark entered.
“Clark! Thank God, you returned. Lucy is delusional. She doesn’t know the sun from the moon. She escaped me yesterday and went to
The Planet and ended up attacking Ralph. He had said something about Superman she didn’t like. Luckily, James pulled her off and brought her back home. I went to the bathroom after lunch today and when I returned, she was gone. I don’t know where she went. James has been looking for her. I even called Perry. I’m at my wit’s end.”
“Oh, dear. Oh, dear,” exclaimed Mr. Wells. “It looks like she has a serious case of Time-Sickness. Or, more correctly, Interdimensional Time-Sickness.”
Sam noticed the huge machine in the middle of his living room and the small man behind its controls. “You know, Clark, when you told me about the two dimensions and everything, I didn’t expect this.”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, Sam. I’ll find Lois, don’t worry.” In a blink of an eye, Superman was gone.
Sam looked at Mr. Wells. “Tell me more about this Interdimensional Time-Sickness.”
***
Earlier that day...Lois flew to S.T.A.R. Labs, landing just down the street. She straightened her dress and walked into the reception area. “I’d like to speak with Dr. Bernard Klein, please.”
The receptionist looked her over. “Do you have an appointment?”
An appointment? No, that would have been the thing to do, wouldn’t it? It’s not like her to make a blunder like that. “No. Could you tell him that Lucy El would like to see him, if it’s possible?”
The receptionist took a few calls and then waved Lois back from the waiting area. “Ms. El. Dr. Klein will be out in a moment to see you.”
Lois sat down and straightened out her dress, more of a shirt and skirt actually. It wasn’t the most becoming thing. Actually, it looked more like a clown costume than a dress, but Lucy El was not known for style. She couldn’t wait to shed this persona forever and get back to her nice, conservative suits. She sighed. Style.
Dr. Klein walked out to the waiting room and saw her sitting there, eyes closed and a hint of a smile on her face. “Ms. El?”
“Dr. Klein!” Lois jumped to her feet. She needed to talk to him about… her mind suddenly went blank. Why had she come here? A nervous grin appeared on her face. Kal? No, Kal was still lost. Clark was looking for him. The baby kicked and she gently caressed her tummy. The baby? No, that’s a secret. Lois! Yes, she had come about Lois. She needed to talk to Dr. Klein before Clark returned about Lois. “Wow! You look exactly the same.”
“The same as what, Ms. El?” Dr. Klein gave her a curious look.
“The same as the other you.” She smiled and then frowned. Why had she just said that? He would have no idea what she was talking about. This was a bad idea. She shouldn’t have come. “Can I discuss something with you in private?”
“I’m sorry, you need a security clearance to get past reception.”
“I do have one! Just not here. I’ve never been here to this S.T.A.R. Labs.” Lois glanced around the lobby and returned to staring at him in awe. “I can’t believe how much you look just like the Dr. Klein back home at my S.T.A.R. Labs.” She shook her head. Stop rambling. “Here, I don’t exist, so I can’t get clearance. I shouldn’t have said that.” She covered her mouth. This was not going to work. “I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry, I should go. Clark is going to flip, when he finds out.”
“Are you all right, Ms. El?” Dr. Klein asked, lowering his voice. He looked concerned; he took her arm, moving her to the farthest corner of the waiting room. He had always been so nice.
“You can call me Lois… No! That’s not right. Lucy! Yes! Yes, call me Lucy. That’s my name.” She nodded with a smile.
“You don’t seem all right, Lucy. Maybe I should call Clark and tell him you’re here.”
She blanched, reaching out for the wall. “You can’t call Clark. He isn’t home. He’s looking for Kal. My husband is lost in time. Clark’s brother, his twin.” She nodded and then her eyes went wide as she slid down the wall. “Ooops. That was the secret, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.” She looked up at him with panic in her eyes as she watched his jaw drop. “Don’t tell Clark, I told you. Please. I should go home. He’ll want me to be at home.”
The scientist knelt down beside her, whispering, “He said that if anything were to happen to him that you might come to see me. Is that why you’re here, Lucy? Did something happen to Clark?”
“No.” Lois shook her head, wrapping her arm around her stomach. “I am only to contact you about the baby in an emergency. This isn’t an emergency. I’m fine.” She nodded.
Dr. Klein’s eyes went wider. Then he swallowed and held out his hand to help her up. “Maybe you should come with me to my office, Lucy.”
“We’re fine.” Lois was adamant, but took his hand anyway. “Healthy. It’s not due for three months. I’m here so you can help me find…” Her mind went blank again. “Me.”
“You’re lost?”
“Yes, but not me, me. Lois, me. Clark’s true love.” She nodded. Yes, that sounded right. “He’s lost her. And we need your help to find her. I’m not crazy, Dr. Klein. My mind just isn’t working today. Or yesterday. Please, help me.”
“OK.” Dr. Klein continued to walk with her past the reception area. They stopped outside of security. “We’re going to go through security, now, Lucy. Can you hand them your purse?”
Lois tilted her head and looked at the guards. She wasn’t bulletproof like Clark. “Where are we going, Dr. Klein?”
“To my office, so we can talk privately,” he explained, nodding to security. “And call Clark.”
“They can have my purse. There isn’t anything in it, except a couple of dollars and my press pass.” She lowered her voice and held out her purse. “I don’t have identification, because I don’t exist here.” And Clark’s private emergency number. She grabbed the purse back, clutching it to her chest. “No, they can’t have that. They can look, but they must give it right back to me.”
“They’ll give it right back,” Dr. Klein reassured her.
They walked through security to the elevators.
In the elevator, Lois turned to Dr. Klein in earnest. “Did Clark tell you about the neurotransmitter? No. That’s not right. The Neuroscanner? Yes, that’s it. Did Clark tell you about that? I told him to tell you, so we could find her.”
Dr. Klein shook his head. “He never mentioned this Lois person or the Neuroscanner, Lucy.”
Lois felt hopeless. How was she going to explain it to him with her brain a mishmash of information? She took a deep breath and started explaining slowly. “He doesn’t know that the Neuroscanner will find her. He thinks it will find someone else. That is why I have to come when he’s not in town, so he doesn’t know it will find her. If he knows she’s his wife, his heart will break. Clark is so fragile.”
“What is a Neuroscanner, Lucy?”
Lois closed her eyes to concentrate. “The bad man who shot me invented something that would allow him to see and hear what a specific person hears and sees.” She took a deep breath. So far, so good.
“You were shot?” he gasped.
Lois waved off his question. “I’m a fast healer. Sssshhh.” Neuroscanner. Come on, Lois, concentrate. She spoke slowly. “He used the Neuroscanner to capture her genetic fingerprint. If you had her genetic fingerprint, too, would you be able to trace it back to his Neuroscanner?” She opened her eyes and grinned. That was right. She could do this, she just had to really concentrate. She looked at him hopefully. “So, Superman can find the bad man.”
“He took her genetic fingerprint. Hmmm.”
She could see his creative juices working. Yes!
“Do you have a sample of her genetic fingerprint?” he asked.
Lois held out her finger, expectantly.
Dr. Klein looked at her with pity and a sigh as the elevator doors opened. Standing on the other side of the doors was Professor Jefferson Cole, the man who framed her for murder. She turned her finger over and pointed to Jefferson Cole, backing away. “Bad. Bad. Man.” She looked at Dr. Klein, whose pity intensified. “Help!” She grabbed her head. “Help, Superman, help,” she whispered. Her voice stopped working. “He’s going to kill me. Help! Superman, help.” She curled up into a ball in the corner of the elevator and started to cry.
***
Superman landed on his patio. He took a quick scan of the apartment. No Lois. He was about to take off, when he noticed the light flashing on the answering machine. He zipped inside and pressed the button.
“Hi, Clark, it’s Mr…” Skip.
“Clark. It’s Mr. Olsen again…” Skip.
“Clark, Ralph’s furious. Please contact…” Skip.
He would worry about his professional life later.
“Lucy, it’s Sam. If you are there, please…” Skip.
“Clark, it’s Dr. Klein.” Clark was about to press skip, but then paused. Why would Dr. Klein be calling him?
“Lucy’s here. She said that you were out of town, but she’s delusional; so I’m hoping she’s wrong about that. Professor Cole has restrained her; he thinks that she’s a risk. When you get back, please contact me immediately.” Beep.
Superman had left at the mention of Lucy’s name, before the message had finished playing, he had landed at S.T.A.R. Labs.
The doors to reception were locked. He flew above the building and scanned it. He could faintly hear Lois; she sounded scared. “No. No. No. Superman, help!” He crashed through an office window on the floor above Dr. Klein’s office. He sped down the hall and found Lucy tied up in a padded room. She was cowering in the corner in a straitjacket as Professor Jefferson Cole approached her with a hypodermic needle. Two security guards stood behind Cole with their guns drawn. Dr. Klein was standing between them, trying to stop Cole.
“That lady is crazy, Klein. She thinks I’m a killer. Move! She needs a sedative.”
“I’m warning you, Cole, don’t touch her! Don’t try to give her a sedative. She’s not who you… Superman!”
Superman knocked the guards’ heads together. As he picked up Cole by his neck, he growled. “What are you doing to her?”
Professor Cole squeaked and dropped the needle.
“I warned you not to touch her, Cole,” Dr. Klein said as he rushed to Lucy’s side.
Superman threw Jefferson Cole against the wall, where he slid down unconscious.
“Are you all right?” Dr. Klein asked, untying the straitjacket.
“Help. Superman. Help. Superman.” Lois rocked back and forth, repeating herself softly.
Superman knelt down next to her and gently caressed her face. “Lucy, are you all right?”
She blinked her eyes and then focused them on him. “Clark? If you’re back, I haven’t lost you. You aren’t gone forever.” She looked up at him with a heart full of love.
Dr. Klein took the straitjacket off Lois and threw it across the room.
When her hands were free, she reached up to Clark’s face. “I knew if I called for you, you’d hear me from the other dimension. You’re my…”
He silenced her with a soft kiss. He knew it was wrong, but she was a rambling fool. He didn’t need Klein knowing she was Ultra Woman or about the other dimension. Who knew what else she had already told him? Superman picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She pulled him closer.
“Ah, not now, Lucy,” he murmured with a glance at Dr. Klein, who was trying to look anywhere else but at them.
“He knows about us, Kal. I told him everything. He’s so nice.” Lois glanced over Superman’s shoulder at Dr. Klein and smiled with a sigh. “I just wanted to talk to Dr. Klein. But then Professor Cole was there. He tied me up and tried to kill me. I knew he would. He’s the one who framed me for murder.”
Superman kissed her forehead. “Mr. Wells is waiting for you, Lucy. He’s going to take you home to Kal,” he murmured, resting his head against hers. “He knows how to cure you.”
“Home? To Clark? What about you?” Lois looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “I can’t leave you alone. What about the baby? Clark doesn’t know.”
“Kal loves you, Lucy. He’d take you blind and broken. You will make him so happy.” He kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. I’ll survive.”
“Clark loves me.” She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.
Superman turned to his doctor. “I’m sorry, Dr. Klein. I didn’t know how sick she was or I never would have left her alone. Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t read too much into this.”
Dr. Klein shrugged. “Every family has skeletons.”
Jefferson Cole twitched and Superman glared at him. “If that man gets hold of Kryptonite, he will try to kill us all. Lucy isn’t crazy; she can see into a man’s soul. If she says a man is bad, believe her.”
“Then I’m glad she thinks I’m nice.” Dr. Klein smiled.
“Me, too.” Superman nodded and then took off, Lucy still cradled in his arms.
*** End of Part 2 *** CommentsChapter 4: Part 3
