Missing Lois - TOC Author’s Note: The “Lois” in Chapter 5 and 6 refers to alt-Lois. Canon Lois will be called “Lucy” to help lessen the confusion between the two characters.
Story Notes: This story is mostly set in alt-dimension, although visits to the canon dimension do happen from time-to-time.
- Clark = Alt-Clark unless otherwise noted (such as when we are in the canon dimension, then 'Clark' is canon Clark)
- Lucy El = pregnant canon Lois avoiding the curse by hiding out with alt-Clark, aka Lois's secret identity
- Kal = Lucy El's husband's name, or what Lois-Lucy and alt-Clark call canon Clark
- Lois = alt-Lois, wife of Lex Luthor
- Lola Luthor = Clois (Cloned Lois) and/or ‘wife’ of Lex Luthor
- Sam Lane = alt-Lois's Dad, Lois's doctor & roommate
- Mayor White = aka Perry White, former Editor-in-Chief at the DP
- James Olsen = owner of the
Daily Planet, Lois-Lucy's friend
- H.G. Wells – famed author – inventor of the Time-Machine – the man who brought canon Lois to alt-Clark
- Lex Luthor = no explanation necessary, same bad guy as always, this time bald
- The only people who know canon Lois's true identity are alt-Clark, Sam, Moonbeam (alt-Star) and Dr. Klein. 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 5: Part 2...Humiliated by and confused about her new lover (Mr. Amazing), Lois contacted Perry at the Mayor’s office. Within moments of speaking with him, Perry easily wormed it out of Lois about her new intimate relationship with Superman (Perry – already in on Clark’s love for this Lois - was trustworthy confidant). Lois learned from Perry that indeed Superman was from another planet (but, thankfully, wasn’t green), that he had dated a woman named Ultra Woman (in the past), and that he had a range of interesting and super abilities. Perry also informed her that Lois could not expect to have a future relationship with Superman as he was an international hero and could not survive the public scrutiny of an affair with a married woman. What Perry, Cat, and Barry failed to mention to Lois was what everyone already knew: Superman was also Clark Kent.
When Superman returned to the Smallville house after sundown in Singapore, Lois greeted him more affectionately than he had ever known, but then informed him that once they returned to Metropolis, they could no longer be an item for it would certainly harm his standing as a hero. Her understanding of his situation made Superman love her even more as he sadly agreed with her and they spent one last afternoon making love. But she did not inform him that she had learned of his identity as Superman – the world’s hero. He thought she was still blissfully unaware of anything about him.
***
Part 3Superman hovered outside of Lois’s apartment windows, doing a quick scan to make sure it was safe. After his discussion with Lex Luthor the other night, he doubted that Lex would send someone to harm Lucy, but all bets were off after he had saved the real Lois. He saw movement and burst inside.
“Clark!” Lucy gasped, falling off the time machine. He caught her.
“Lucy!” he exclaimed, setting her down. “What are you doing here?”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I live here, you dolt. What are you doing here?”
“You weren’t supposed to return until tomorrow,” he reminded her.
“I know, but then I figured it would be best if I returned before she did. Ready the apartment. I mean, where else is your Lois going to live? With you?” She chuckled and he swallowed. “Plus I thought it best if you hid away the time machine before she got here.”
Superman looked at her and then at the time machine. “You’re right. I’ll take it back with me.”
Lucy’s chuckle turned into bubbly laughter. “You don’t trust me. Think I’m going to sneak over to the other dimension and visit my husband?” Then she stopped laughing, staring at him. “Is that why you hadn’t told me about it before? You really thought I’d run off on you?” Then she smiled again, like it didn’t matter.
Superman looked at her, really focused on her. “You look relaxed. Happy even.” He raised a brow. “What
did you do?”
“Me? I didn’t do anything. Anything at all.”
“Me thinks she doth protest too much,” he replied. “You saw him, didn’t you?” He sighed, understanding all too well why she was drawn to Kal. Why she couldn’t keep away.
“No,” Lucy said, taking her suitcase down off the time machine.
Superman spun into his Clark clothes, retrieved the suitcase from her, and took it the rest of the way to her bedroom.
“He saw
me.”
“Oh, Lucy.” He groaned with a shake of his head. “Lucy. Lucy. Lucy.”
“He made an unexpected visit to the farm. I ran, but that infernal machine’s security alarm voice is so loud, he heard me. You’ve got to turn it down. It’s hard to make a quiet getaway.”
Clark put her suitcase down next to the dresser and then sat down on the bed, his head in his hands.
Lucy sat down next to him. “Really, Clark, it wasn’t that bad. I just told him I’m from the future and… Clark?” She wrapped her arms around him. “What’s wrong, Clark? Oh, God. I never asked about your trip. And here I am rambling on about nothing. I’m so sorry.”
Clark rested his head on her shoulder. “I never understood until now, Lucy, how much a part of you he is. How much you mean to Kal. I thought I knew. Oh, Lucy, what am I going to do?”
Lucy studied him for a minute. “Clark! You naughty boy. You kissed her!” She beamed, pushing on his shoulder. “I warned you not to.”
Clark swallowed. “Actually,
she kissed me.” He sighed. “You didn’t even ask if I found her, you just knew. How do you do that?”
She smiled and patted him on the knee. “I know you. Nothing was going to keep Clark Kent away from his Lois Lane once he found her. Not even Lex Luthor.”
Nothing. Yeah, right. “Not even a cyclone.”
“Really, Clark? You have the best luck with stories. Here you have Lois Lane, an interview with Lex Luthor, and you get a cyclone as well.” She shook her head. “I wish I could have been there.”
He looked her in the eye. “I’m glad you weren’t.” He swallowed. “That man had made a clone of her and after I rescued Lois, he killed the clone. Threw her off the balcony into the cyclone and left her for dead.”
Lucy hugged him. “Oh, Clark. I’m so sorry.”
Clark was surprised that he felt hardly any pull towards her at all anymore. He didn’t want to still feel desire for Lucy, but he always had before. It felt strange, almost a kind of freedom, not to want her in that way. For the first time since she had arrived that past summer, Kal’s Lois actually felt like his sister-in-law.
“So, what’s my new roomie like?” She smiled.
Clark sighed. “She’s exquisite, of course.” He smiled at her and she nodded. “Her hair comes down to about here.” He pressed a spot on her back. “And she’s blind.” He snarled, thinking of Lex. “That man blinded her.” He took a deep breath and a quiet moment, calming himself. Strange that Lucy didn’t remark about Lois being blind. He took another deep breath as he realized that she already knew. He pushed that realization to another part of his mind. “She’s funny. And gutsy.” He smiled to himself as he thought of Lois. “And smart. Level headed. Brave. Sneaky and I think a little bit of an exhibitionist.”
Lucy raised a brow at that revelation, but didn’t say anything.
“Caring. Sweet. Loving. Energetic. Insatiable, really.” Clark coughed, looking away. When he turned back, Lucy had her lips pursed and her eyebrows were still raised. “And I think a bit of a neat freak.” His smile had grown into a naughty grin as he remembered how his Lois kept sending him to the shower. He released a breath. Then he recalled that he was giving her up and his eyes turned sad. “I should really be heading back. I just wanted to check and make sure the apartment was safe for her return.”
“OK,” Lucy said standing up. “Can you give me an hour? To clean up, change the sheets. Move my stuff into the guest room. Call the welcoming committee.”
“What about Sam?” he asked. “Where’s he going to live?”
“Well, I thought about that. How do you feel about giving him your spare bed? Just for a few months.”
Clark didn’t know if he really wanted Lois’s father as a roommate. “I don’t know, Lucy. Our relationship may change, now that Lois is back.”
Lucy looked at him curiously. “Really? Fine. I guess I could move back in with you.” She crossed her arms and waited.
He swallowed as he thought about the ramifications of that idea. When his Lois found out that he was Clark Kent, as she was bound to eventually, and if Clark was living with his female assistant… Lois would never think it was platonic…. Even if he and Lucy found a way to make it so. So, Lois would kill him. Maybe not right away, but she would research how to do it and then she would kill him. Clark cleared his throat, nervously. “Yeah, Sam would make a great roommate. It’s only for a few months, right? You think he will be okay with it?”
“Do you think he’d be more okay with the other options?”
Clark laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. He doesn’t trust me as far as he could throw me.”
Lucy looked at him and shook her head. “You don’t think he trusts you now, wait until he finds out you slept with his daughter.” She picked up a pillow, pulled off the case and threw it at him.
His jaw hung open. “Lucy!”
“Greatest investigative reporter of all time,” she said with a shrug.
“What gave me away?”
She giggled. “Well, you just admitted it, for one.”
Clark winced. He really needed to watch himself.
“And two, you haven’t called me Lois, not once, since we arrived here tonight. You don’t think of me as Lois Lane, the love of your life anymore. I’m Lucy, your research assistant, best friend and Kal’s wife.” She pulled another pillow off the bed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with that. But I don’t think that you could have changed that drastically in two days with just one kiss or even two; it had to have been more -- much more.” She held up her hand. “Please, spare me the details.”
“You were right.” He grinned wickedly. “We are great together.”
“Clark!” Lucy threw another pillow at him. “That’s a detail!”
He dodged it. “Turnabout is no fun, huh, Lucy?” He bubbled with laughter.
“Get out of here.” She threw a third pillow at him. ”Go back to your girlfriend. I’ve got an apartment to clean.”
Clark caught this one and then took the case off, adding to the pile. “Want some help?”
She stood there and put her hands on her hips. “That insatiable, huh?”
“You have no idea.” He yawned with a stretch. “I haven’t slept in two days.”
Lucy put her hands over her ears. “Oh, Clark! Details. Details.”
He laughed.
“You want to help, finish stripping the beds and remaking them. Then empty Sam’s stuff out of the drawers of the guest dresser and take them your place. I’ll move my stuff from here to the guest room, while you do that. We should tell everyone that she’ll be here in an hour for the homecoming party. How does that sound?”
Clark kissed her cheek. “You’re the best, Lucy.”
“You better not let your new girlfriend hear you saying that. She might get the wrong idea. I hear that Lois Lane has a mean temper,” she said with a laugh.
His Lois wasn’t his girlfriend. Clark sighed. Not after she returned to Metropolis. She couldn’t be. “Lucy, don’t tell anyone about this, please.”
She held up her hands. “Whatever you say. No more girlfriend jokes.”
“I’m serious. We can’t let anyone know. Ever.” Clark looked down and whispered, “Don’t forget she’s married to someone else.”
“Well, not really…. Oh!... Oh, Superman.” Lucy hugged him. “Clark, I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too.” He took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. He patted her on the back and stepped out of the hug. “I’m going to go clean the other room.”
Clark walked out the bedroom that soon would be occupied by his Lois. He couldn’t be in there any longer.
***
Lucy watched as Superman arrived at their apartment with Lois in his arms, blowing through the living room windows. Everyone – Perry, Sam, and James -- applauded. Lucy thought it best just to have the gang present for Lois’s return to Metropolis.
“This is nice.” His Lois smiled as Superman set her down. She was as exquisite as he said. Lucy vaguely remembered being that thin. This pregnancy was beginning to make her feel like a fat cow.
Superman stood more rigid as Lois felt for his face. When she found it, she placed a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Superman,” she said, then turned away from him.
Lucy wasn’t sure of Clark’s expression. He acted as if his Lois had slapped him across the face unexpectedly instead of kissed him. It was almost as if he had never heard her call him Superman before. She got a slight chill of déjà vu. Opening that evening’s copy of the
Daily Planet, Lucy glanced down at the headline and sighed. Those Kent boys -- they never learned.
She moved closer to Clark as his Lois moved further away. Lois took Perry’s hands in hers, then embraced her former editor.
Everyone’s attention was on Lois, not Clark. Lucy saw him edging closer to the window, ready to make his escape.
“Lois,” Sam spoke up for the first time, touching her arm.
“Daddy!” Lois squealed, hugging him.
Sam melted under this enthusiastic greeting.
“Clark,” Lucy murmured, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
“Not now,” he whispered, staring at his Lois.
“Yes, now,” Lucy replied. “There’s something you should see.”
Slap! Lucy glanced over her shoulder.
Lois had just slapped her father across the face.
“I’m sorry, Lois,” Sam apologized with a cringe. “I didn’t know what kind of man he was.”
“I warned you about taking money from eccentric billionaires. You should always know where your research funds are coming from; what they’re going to expect in return.”
Lucy turned back to Clark. He looked like he had been punched in the gut. Oh, that was right, she never told Clark that Sam knew about Lex Luthor or how Lex had funded Sam’s work or how this work – his medical experiments -- may have contributed to Lex kidnapping Lois. And if Clark had known about the Lex Luthor link three years earlier, perhaps… Lucy shook her head. Betrayals all around.
Clark caught her glance and frowned. “I’m still needed in Singapore,” he announced and dove out the window.
“Wait!” Lucy called, standing at the windowsill, but he was gone. She was still holding the paper.
His Lois must have felt his departing breeze as her expression mirrored his. Pain all around.
Lucy shook her head. This was supposed to be a joyful occasion.
Superman would be back. Lucy recognized that look he gave Lois. He would want to confront his Lois about lying to him, about pretending to have no knowledge of Superman, but he would wait until everyone was gone. Lucy couldn’t believe him. That was rich, Clark. Who exactly lied first there, Superman?
And speaking of ‘Clark’… Lucy pressed her lips together. If he hadn’t told Lois about Superman, had ‘Clark Kent’ been left out of the equation as well? She rolled her eyes. Had Clark left his Lois completely in the dark about who he was? Had he told her nothing? What was wrong with that man?
“So is Clark Kent back from Singapore?” Lois said. “I’d really like to thank him for not giving up on me.”
The men looked between themselves and then over to Lucy. She just shook her head.
“He was just here, princess. I’m not sure where he went,” answered Sam. Well, that was vague. But then again. Lucy didn’t want to be the one who spilled the beans on Clark either. Clark should have told her.
“Oh. He didn’t even wait to meet me?” Lois looked like this news saddened her. Then she nodded. “Right. His wife. He probably wanted to get home to see her.”
The men looked at each other again and then turned to Lucy as if she knew what in the world Lois was talking about.
“Wife? Honey, Clark Kent isn’t married?” This time it was Perry who spoke.
“No. Of course he’s married. Perry, I saw his engagement announcement almost a year ago. Are they still just engaged? Have they even set a date yet? What’s blondie’s name again?”
Sam shrugged. Perry shook his head. And James just looked dazed.
Lucy decided to field this one. “Lana. Lana Lang was her name. And they broke up earlier this year. Clark isn’t getting married, Lois.”
“Who the hell are you?” Lois asked, turning her head towards Lucy’s voice.
“I’m Clark Kent's research assistant, Lucy El. I’m going to be your roommate,” Lucy announced. Great, Clark.
Did you tell the woman anything other than you liked her?“Oh, yeah. Superman mentioned you,” said Lois and then quickly dismissed her. “So, Clark just left. Without even saying ‘hello’?” Her voice soft and low.
“He probably went to file his story,” Perry explained, but it sounded weak to everyone present, even Lois, whose face fell at the suggestion.
***
Superman returned to Lois Lane’s apartment sometime after midnight. As he shut the window, Lucy turned on the light.
“I knew you’d be back.”
“I need to speak with her, Lucy.” He walked towards the bedrooms and she stepped in front of him. “This is between Lois and me.”
“Did you see this?” she asked, slamming the
Daily Planet against his chest.
Superman glanced down at that evening’s headlines.
Lois Lane Alive: Rescued from Penthouse Prison by Flying Man. “Let’s call him Superman!” she told the Daily Planet.He scanned the rest of the story and dropped the paper on the floor.
“You didn’t tell her who you are? What’s wrong with you? You are worse than Kal!”
“I need to speak with her, Lucy. Please.” His voice was softer.
“Are you going to tell her the truth or yell at her for not telling you what she found out from Cat?”
“How did….?”
“World’s…”
Superman cringed. “Don’t say it, Lucy.”
“Only expert on Superman,” Lucy finished. “I saw the expression on your face. She didn’t tell you she knew on purpose. I bet she was waiting for you to tell her and you never did. You humiliated her and she was going to give you a taste of your own medicine. That’s what I would have done.”
He sighed. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t know she’d check in with the paper.”
Lucy raised a brow. “I’d think you’d know better by now. What would I have done if it had been me?”
“You would have called Kal.”
“And then?”
“Perry,” Superman answered.
“Exactly. Did you think she wouldn’t realize that there was a phone in the house?”
“It never occurred to me.”
Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I need to talk to her, Lucy. Please, let me by.”
“Are you going to tell her about Clark Kent?” She looked at him expectantly.
“You didn’t tell her?” He seemed surprised.
“I can’t believe you. No one should tell her except you. Do you really want her to find out from someone else?”
“No. I know,” he said leaning against the sofa. “But it’s nice that she likes me – accepts me -- without knowing anything about me. It makes me feel good.”
“Then I’m going to crush that ego of yours, bub. She cried herself to sleep tonight.”
Superman winced. “Let me go talk to her.”
Lucy stood her ground. “No.” She crossed her arms. “This is for your own good. I know what’s going to happen in that bedroom if I let you back.”
A hint of a smile appeared on his lips. “I’ll be good.”
“Ha!” She fake laughed. “I know you. And when it comes to Lois Lane you have as much willpower as me in a chocolate factory. She’s married.
MARRIED. You agreed to keep your distance, so you need to stick to that. For your own good. And for hers. You visit her tonight and she’ll expect it every night.”
“Oh, come on…”
“I would if I were her,” Lucy whispered, glancing at him. A tiny part of her regretted that he had never came back, never tried to come back, after they retired the Ultra Woman suit. She wouldn’t have cheated on her husband a second time; still it hurt that he hadn’t tried. Lucy knew he hadn’t because he was a Boy Scout and good guys like that didn’t sleep with married women. Twice. She didn’t know if it was because of “Revenge” or the Interdimensional Time Sickness or what but a small part of her still loved him, this Clark and this Clark alone for himself and not because he reminded her of her Clark. That small part had grown even smaller, especially after seeing her husband this weekend, but that love still remained. But that was not why she was standing up for his Lois. Lucy would never let Clark know that. Either of them.
“Really?” he asked, surprised.
Lucy nodded. “Why do you think I came back early? Kal threatened to come see me again. I love him so much, I knew if I saw him again, I would never make it back here.” Tears dripped down her cheeks. “And I knew I had to come back or the curse would kill us both.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his brow furrowed.
“When I was trying to hide from him, I made a mistake and ended up when I shouldn’t have and heard something I shouldn’t have.”
Superman wrapped his arms around her. “What did you learn?”
Lucy shook her head and murmured against his chest. “Nothing specific, only that the curse is real and if I know too much I might do something different. I need to ‘stay the course’.” She gave him a quick hug and then moved away. “I can’t. You remind me too much of him. Nothing personal, but I really didn’t want to come back. I miss him so much.”
“Understood.” He didn’t say anything for a minute. “So, you don’t think I should see Lois?”
“Not tonight. Go home. Cool off. Get some sleep. Talk to her in the light of day. Tell her the truth. She’s gone through enough tonight.”
Superman stared at her. “I really, really want to see her, Lucy.”
“You don’t think I know that? You’ve broken up for the good of Superman. She deserves a clean break. You both do. Each time you see each other in the middle of the night you are drawing out the torment. You need some time apart to clear your heads.”
Superman scoffed, “Because that has done wonders for you and Kal?”
Lucy pointed out the window and thundered, “
Go! And I don’t want to catch you in this apartment again after midnight unless there’s an emergency.”
“I love her, Lucy, body and soul. She’s my life, now. Let me speak to her just this once. Please. Let me apologize to her for not telling her about me. For embarrassing her with her co-workers. Please,” he said as she continued to point out the window.
“Out!”
“OK. OK. I’m going.” He unlocked the windows and floated out.
“I’m locking them, so don’t even try to come back, Superman!” Lucy yelled, shutting the windows in his face. He growled and flew off.
Lucy turned around to find his Lois standing behind her. How long had she been there? Had Clark seen her? “It’s okay. He won’t bother you. I sent him away. You can go back to bed.”
His Lois was furious. “You did
what?”
“I sent him away. I figured you wouldn’t want to see him.”
“Well, you figured wrong, Missy,” Lois hissed at Lucy, her hands on her hips.
“But you cried yourself to sleep. I heard you,” Lucy stammered.
“How I go to sleep and with whom is none of your concern. I’m a big girl and I don’t need you to protect me.”
Lucy’s jaw dropped. “You wanted him to come back and argue with you. You wanted him to come back, because you knew if he came back tonight he’d find a way to keep coming back…” The light bulb popped above her head. Lois had planned this. That was why she hadn’t told him she knew. She was never planning on letting him go. Even for his own good.
“Obviously, he told you. I’m not supposed to say anything to anyone, but he told you. Typical.”
“I’m his best friend,” Lucy tried to explain. Why did she keep sticking her nose into Clark’s love life? It kept blowing up in her face. She was just going to have to let him ruin his own life. She just didn’t want to, especially if it was in her power to keep him safe.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lucy sighed, rubbing her temples. “It means he didn’t have to tell me. I just knew by looking at him.”
“Oh.” Lois thought about that for a minute. “I want you to know something. I’m not keen on this roommate arrangement, but I’m willing to be flexible because I’m still getting used to being blind on my own and you’ll be out of my hair in a few months. But get one thing straight right now, Missy, you will not now nor ever again come between me and him. This is your one and only warning.”
“Understood,” Lucy replied. She would have to find another way to protect Clark from himself and his Superman-hungry Lois.
“Good.”
“I was only trying to help.”
“I don’t need your help,” said his Lois, stomping back to her room and slamming the door.
Lucy shook her head. “He’s delusional. Completely delusional to like that woman.”
*** End of Part 3 *** CommentsChapter 5: Part 4
