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 = ‘wife’ of Lex Luthor; alt-Lois, if not referring to Clois (Cloned Lois)
- Mr. Amazing = alt-Lois's nickname for Superman
- Ultra Woman = the costume Lucy/Lois wore to Perry's 'Come as Your Favorite Superhero' party
- Sam Lane = alt-Lois's Dad, Lois's doctor & roommate
- 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
- Lex Luthor = no explanation necessary, same bad guy as always, this time bald
- Jaxon Xavier = Lex Luthor's son and spy at
The Planet, does website design and research for the paper
- Tempus = extremely bad dude from the future, bent on destroying Superman (both of them)
***
What happened in Chapter 5: Part 8...Christmas was low-key – except for the fact that Lois’s love of Christmas matched that of Lucy’s husband’s, canon Clark. Despite being only just returned to Metropolis, Lois had gifts for everyone including T-shirts for Lucy and Clark. Clark gave Lucy the framed wedding photo Martha had given to him in November when he had visited the canon dimension to help rid the world of Tempus. Lucy gave Lois Moonbeam’s – divorce attorney at law – business card, so Lois could get started on her divorce from Lex Luthor.
On New Year’s Eve, Lois finally went to meet with her new attorney only to discover that she already knew her. Star – Moonbeam’s name before she changed it when she became a lawyer – had told Lois before she had left for the Congo not to go or she would miss out on true love. Then while they discussed how best to start on the divorce proceedings, Moonbeam realized that Lois had met her soul mate. Lois naturally assumed it to be Mr. Amazing and was shocked to learn that it was Clark. Then Moonbeam told her that she had made a mistake and yes, it was Mr. Amazing. Then reading Lois’s future, her lawyer / psychic informed her that to get fully away from Lex and to capture the man of her dreams, Lois would lose her name and something else she had always wanted and something she had never known she wanted.
***
Part 9Lois tried to look in the windows, but the curtains were drawn. She pulled out her lock pick and was about to use it, but then noticed the wires. Sensors. Dang. Sensors meant an alarm system. An alarm system meant she had to know the code. Birthdays, anniversaries, the date his parents died. Too many options and she didn’t know how many tries she had.
Why would Clark have an alarm system on his childhood home? What was he hiding? Her curiosity was piqued. This made things more difficult. She wanted her old laptop and Clark said that he had it. He had rescued it from her hotel in the Congo. She couldn’t believe her good fortune and then he wouldn’t give it to her. She had already checked his apartment the other day. It wasn’t there. She started wandering around the perimeter of the house. She hoped she hadn’t made this trip to Smallville for nothing.
Behind the house was an old barn. She shrugged her shoulders. Might as well check it out. Maybe he used it for storage. The wind was blowing and it was nice to get out of the chill. No security system here. It was dark and dusty in the old barn; she bet it hadn’t been used since his parents died. But it was still warmer than outside. The forecast on the radio had said snow. Snow in Kansas meant feet, not inches. Perhaps she should have just asked Clark for her laptop instead of coming out here herself.
Lois had stolen Lucy El’s I.D. and had gotten her hair cut short like Clark’s assistant. What had they called it – a pixie cut? She wouldn’t miss the long tresses. Lex had liked those; not her. He hadn’t let her cut her hair the entire time they were together. Could one say ‘control freak’? Then she had borrowed some of Lucy’s baggy clothes. Neither Clark nor Superman had brought her any more clothing from Clark’s house. Mr. Amazing had brought her here – she was sure this was the same place. It was just as cold and smelled like hay. Mr. Amazing knew Clark Kent’s passwords, knew that Clark had stored her stuff here when he cleaned out her apartment before Lucy El moved in.
Lois didn’t like Lucy. There was something off about her, but she couldn’t put a finger on what. And who chose to dress like this on purpose? Ugh. And who wore glasses without any correction? After cutting her hair and stealing Lucy’s clothing, she had taken the first flight to Topeka, rented a car – with a credit card she stole from Clark’s wallet – and bam, straight into an alarm system.
As she walked around the barn, Lois noticed something peculiar. It was warmer on the right hand side of the barn, as if something was blocking the wind. She reached out her hand until she felt something in the nothingness. She pulled her hand back, surprised. She felt almost blind again, because she could feel something but not see it. It felt like material, possibly a tarp. She reached out once more, grabbed it with her fingers and gave a hard tug. Suddenly, a huge golden platform with two chairs and a console with knobs and switches appeared in front of her.
An invisibility tarp? That seemed too advanced for a farm boy from Kansas. This machine must belong to her Mr. Amazing. Clark must be holding on to it for him. Amazing must really trust Clark. That’s why Clark had a security system on the house – because of Superman.
The chairs looked to be almost a hundred years old. What was this thing? She sat down in one chair and ran her fingers over the console. As she did so, several lights came on and she pulled her hand to her chest.
A male voice spoke, “Lois Lane – DNA authorized and approved.”
“What the…” she gasped.
“Lois Lane voice fingerprint authorized.”
This machine knew who she was? How was that possible? And she had authorization to use it, whatever it was? Well, only one way to find out. Lois pulled the lever in front of her and suddenly felt and sounded like she had been dropped into a vat of Jell-o, then pulled out again, clean.
Lois took a deep breath and then another as she realized she had gone to Oz, yet she was still in Kansas. Still in Clark’s barn, only now she was surrounded by noise. Cows? Chickens? Was that a tractor? The barn was no longer empty. She stepped off the crazy contraption and ran out of the barn, hoping to jump into her car and drive back to Topeka.
Only there was a good foot of snow on the ground now, and as she lumbered around the side of the house, no car! She glanced over her shoulder and noticed lights on in the house. She ran up the front steps, opened the front door and shut it behind her, leaning against it.
It was warm and homey and smelled like home cooked food. There was a fire in the fireplace and knitting in a basket by one of the easy chairs. Books and photos on the bookshelves told her that this was not a vacation home. Someone lived here year around. Lois walked closer to the photos. That was a graduation photo of Clark with two people who looked similar to the photo Clark had on his dresser at his apartment. How could that be? Clark’s parents died when he was ten. There was another photo of the same couple in a gondola in Venice. And another of Clark by himself. A photo with Clark and a younger man.
Did Clark have a brother? She raised a brow. He had never mentioned a brother. But how well did she really know him? Since he had been orphaned at a young age, what had happened to this brother? Of course, he didn’t look much like Clark. Maybe she was mistaken. Lois moved on to the next photo. Here was one… she stepped back. How could that be?
It was a wedding photo. Her parents – both of her parents – and Clark and this couple and someone who looked like Lucy in a wedding dress. She took a couple more steps back and caught sight of movement off to her left. She turned and jumped into her karate stance, only to find herself looking into a mirror. She looked at her reflection and then at the wedding photo. The bride could have been her! She gasped and felt a strong desire to flee. She stumbled backwards, tripping over a footstool and landing with a crash.
“Jonathan?” called a woman’s voice from upstairs. “Is that you?”
Lois looked around for a place to hide; she ran one way then back until she just lay flat on the couch and hoped whoever that was wouldn’t notice her.
“Jonathan?” The voiced called again. “Clark?”
Lois pulled a blanket over herself and buried her head under a throw pillow.
“Who’s there?” the older woman from the photo – the one that looked like Clark’s mom – came into the room. She wore a bandana over her hair and old jeans and a castaway flannel shirt with streaks of yellow paint on it. She rubbed her hands on an old rag. “Hello?” she called out again. Then she noticed the overturned footstool.
Amateur mistake. Lois wanted to kick herself. She should have righted the stool.
The woman took another glance around the room, sliding carefully with her back against the wall. She pulled a baseball bat out of a niche next to the bookcase. “Jonathan? Clark? Jack?” she called again. After a pause, she said, “Lois?”
Lois’s head popped up with an ‘eeep’. This woman knew who she was. She covered her mouth and buried her head again.
“Lois? Is that you? Lois?”
Suddenly a hand tapped Lois’s shoulder. “Lois, what in the world are you doing? You scared me to death.”
The reporter glanced up, watching the woman set down the bat and plop into the easy chair with the knitting. Lois didn’t know this woman, but this woman certainly knew her.
“Did something happen in Metropolis? Did Clark fly you out? Is he still here?”
Lois pulled the pillow off her head and slowly sat up. She stared at the woman for a moment before answering, “No, Clark’s at the office.”
Martha looked at her. “Lois, how did you get here? The Topeka airport is closed from the storm.”
Lois just stared at her. She didn’t know what to say. She really didn’t want to say anything about the contraption in the barn.
“Lois?” This woman looked her up and down and then asked, hesitantly, “Lucy?”
Lois gasped. She knew Lucy? “Who are you?” the reporter finally sputtered.
The woman smiled, patting Lois’s leg. “Martha Kent. Clark’s mother. You remember me, don’t you, honey?”
Lois shook her head. “Am I dead?”
“Dead?” The woman laughed. “Why would you think that?”
“Because Clark’s parents are dead. Superman told me that and I read about it in a short bio I found on him. They died when Clark was a boy.” She gulped.
The woman’s jaw dropped and she took a closer look at her. “Lois Lane?”
Lois nodded.
“Lois Lane – Luthor?” Martha guessed again.
“I am dead.” Lois dropped her face into her hands.
“No, honey. Did you get here in the time machine?”
Time machine? What was this woman talking about?
“The big sled like thing with two chairs and bunch of knobs?” Martha continued.
Lois nodded.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” The woman smiled.
“How do you know me?” Lois asked, hesitantly, not sure she liked answering questions when she didn’t have any answers herself.
Martha scratched her head. “Let’s just say I’ve heard a great deal about you from Clark and Lucy. Do you know Lucy?”
Lois nodded. “She’s Clark’s research assistant and she’s commandeered my apartment.”
Martha nodded. “That’s right. She’s a good friend of mine. How’s she doing?”
Lois shrugged. “Fine, I guess. So, I’m not dead?”
“No.” Martha laughed. “Would you like to go home?”
“Do I have to click my heels together?”
Martha continued to laugh, standing up. “Not unless you want to. Where did you park the time machine?”
“It’s in the barn. Are you going to explain to me how you are suddenly alive?” Lois asked.
“I’ve always been alive, sweetie, nothing sudden about it.”
Lois liked this batty old lady and followed her back out to the barn. “So, do you know how to operate this thing?”
Martha shook her head. “I thought you did.”
“No, I just touched it and it lit up. Then I pulled the lever and poof.”
Martha squinted at the controls. “You know, if we messed with this thing, you could end up who knows where and when.” She patted Lois’s arm.
Lois gurgled. “I just want to leave Oz and go home.”
“Come back to the house. I’ll call Clark. He’ll know what to do.”
***
Clark leaned back in his chair. Life was finally getting back to normal after that crazy Red Kryptonite scare. He didn’t want to go through that again. Losing control of his powers scared him. He had been so afraid he was going to hurt Lois. He looked over at her and smiled. His phone rang jarring him out of these thoughts and he picked it up.
“Clark Kent.”
“
Clark?”
He sat up. “Mom? What’s up?”
“
Clark, I was wondering if you could contact Superman for me. I have a little problem I need his help with on the farm.”
It wasn’t like his mom to refer to Superman as separate from himself. Something was up. “Mom? Is everything all right? You do know what you’re asking, don’t you?”
“
Yes.”
“Are you alone, Mom?” he thought he heard a voice in the background.
“
A friend stopped by with a minor difficulty. Best if we explain it directly to Superman when he gets here.” Then he heard his Mom cover the phone and add to someone with her, “
Yes, honey, Superman is a close family friend.”
“Got it, Mom. I’ll see if I can find him.”
“
Oh, Clark. Do me a favor…” She lowered her voice. “
Leave your wife in Metropolis.”
“O-kay, Mom. I’ll see you soon.” Clark hung up and leaned back in his chair. “Huh?”
Lois looked up from her desk. “Who was that?”
“My mom. She needs some…” He lowered his voice as he approached her desk. “… Super help on the farm.”
“Is everything alright?”
“I don’t know. She sounded odd. She asked if I could contact you-know-who for her…” He shook his head as she grabbed her coat. “No, Lois. Why don’t you stay here? It’s probably just some help in advance of the storm.”
Lois sat back down. “Ugh. Stormy winter weather. I’ll stay here. Thanks.”
He kissed her cheek. “I’m sure I’ll be home for supper.”
She grabbed him and pulled him back for a real kiss. “Better be, husband.”
Clark grinned as he darted away, loosening his tie.
Less than two minutes later he was hovering above his parents’ house. A quick scan showed his Mom in the kitchen alone. He entered through the kitchen door.
“Hi…” he almost said ‘Mom,’ but a slight shake of her head stopped him.
She lowered her voice to under a whisper. “I don’t think she knows Superman’s secret identity.”
“Who?” Superman whispered.
The kitchen door opened and Lois Lane stepped inside.
“Lois?” he gasped. Hadn’t he just left her in Metropolis?
“Amazing, am I ever glad to see you!” Lois ran up to him and jumped into his arms, kissing him profusely.
He gently extricated himself from her. “Aren’t you married to Clark Kent?” he asked with a glance to his mom, who winced.
“Married to Clark Kent? No! I’m married to Lex Luthor.”
“
What?!” he gasped in horror, looking again to his Mom.
“Maybe some introductions are in order. Lois, this isn’t your Superman,” said Martha.
“What?” Lois took a step back, glaring at him. “Then
whose Superman is he?”
“And this isn’t… our Lois.”
“Excuse me?” Superman was confused. Not
his Lois?
“It looks like the other Clark has finally found his missing
Daily Planet colleague,” Martha explained.
“Oh.” Superman nodded. “But… she isn’t… she isn’t… Is she?” He took a couple of steps backwards and scanned Lois as she looked at him like he was nuts. There in the middle of her stomach was a small circle of cells that didn’t look like anything surrounding it. Very small, young, but definitely a baby. He shook his head. “That was
his Lois after all.” He took a few more steps back, stunned. He had been so sure the pregnant woman who had visited before Christmas had been his wife. “She is pregnant.”
“What?” both women stammered.
“Three, maybe four weeks,” he explained.
Lois blanched and sat down, her hands covering her stomach.
“Does Clark know?” Superman asked.
“Do you think I slept with Clark Kent?” She fumed. “Is that what this is all about?”
Martha leaned forward. “Then whose child is it, dear?”
Lois shook her head. “I’ve only been with one man in the past three years.” She looked Superman straight in the eyes. “You.”
Superman gulped. “Me?”
Lois stood up and crossed to him, running her fingers down his cheek. “Don’t you remember, Mr. Amazing? You rescued me in Singapore. Took me away from Lex and back to Clark’s old house in Smallville. I came into your shower and…” She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. “I know I was blind at the time, but I’d recognize you anywhere.”
“Poor Clark,” murmured Martha. “He never stood a chance.”
Superman stepped away from her, again, hitting the counter behind him. “Mr. Amazing?” He swallowed.
Lois stepped up to him again, pinning him to the counter, pressing her body against his and whispering in his ear, “Because you are so very, very amazing in every way possible.” She bit his ear and then licked down his neck. “I especially liked the floating.”
Clark swallowed again, glancing nervously over at his Mom. He picked her up and physically moved her away from him. “Lois! Clark’s Mom.”
Martha smiled. “Don’t mind me, Mr. Amazing. I’m learning a lot.”
He shot his Mom a glare. “Really, Lois, I’m not
your… Superman.”
“Then whose Superman are you? I know we promised to keep everything a secret, because I’m married, but you said you loved me. Now everything’s different…” She looked up at him with tears dotting her eyelashes. “… if we’re…we’re…”
“I meant, Lois, that you are friends with the
other Superman,” the Man in Blue tried to explain.
“Other Superman?” She looked between him and Martha, completely baffled. “There’s more than one?”
Martha took Lois’s hand and sat her down at the kitchen table. “The Clark you know isn’t my son. Your friend Clark and the Superman you know are from another dimension from ours.”
“Another what?” Lois stared at Martha, her eyes wide.
Superman piped in. “An alternate parallel universe where we all exist except in an altered form.”
“Great. I am in Oz.” Lois grabbed her head. “May I have a drink now?”
“I’ll get you some water.” Martha stood up and went to the cabinet.
“How about something stronger?”
“Sorry, no more alcohol for you,” replied Martha.
“Crap. That’s right.” She shook her head. Then she focused on Superman. “You look just like him.”
“So, in your dimension you married Lex Luthor,” Superman shook his head. It was too much. His Mom hadn’t been making up that story.
“Who did… oh, right, Clark Kent. He’s a sweet guy, and there’s a definite connection there, but once a girl goes Amazing… there’s no going back.” She sighed with a grin at him. He stepped away.
“Déjà vu,” he mumbled to his Mom as she smiled.
“So, are you ready to tell me how you stumbled onto your dimension’s Superman’s time machine?” his Mom asked.
Lois took a gulp from the glass of water. “I… the other me... really chose Clark Kent?” She scratched her head. “What does he have that you don’t have?”
“She had been engaged to Lex Luthor, but left him at the altar,” Martha informed her.
“No. The cops busted in on the wedding before she could say ‘I do’ and then Lex jumped to his death,” Clark corrected his mother.
“Ask our Lois. I think I’m right.” She smiled at her son.
His eyes lit up. “Really? She never told me that.”
“She couldn’t go through with it on account that she was in love with…” Martha glanced at him. “Clark.”
A smile that lit up his entire face appeared on his lips. “I always knew Lois Lane was one smart woman.”
“
Hello? Sitting right here. And before you two start thinking I’m some idiot for marrying the world’s cruelest man, I’d like to state in my defense that I had amnesia at the time and thought I was a lounge singer by the name of …”
“Wanda Detroit?” Superman shook his head. “That seems familiar, too.”
“No, Lola Dane. Wanda Detroit is the name of a character – a P.I. – in a mystery novel I had been writing when Lex kidnapped me. And one of the reasons I was trying to break into Clark’s Smallville home. I think he might have my laptop stored away somewhere in there.”
Superman shook his head. “Tsk. Tsk.”
“Well, I didn’t break in, Superman.” Lois pressed her lips together. “He’s got a security alarm system. You know that.”
“You could have just asked him for it. I’m sure he would have given it to you.”
“Too late for that now. I was getting cold, so I went into the old abandoned barn behind the house. That’s when I bumped into that contraption thing. It was under an invisibility tarp.”
“And you had to give it a test drive? You are as bad as my… our Lois.”
Lois smiled at him as if she caught him in a trap. “You can call me your Lois anytime you want, sexy.” She placed her hand on his arm.
“Thank you, Lois. But I don’t date,” Superman said, removing her hand. “Let’s see about getting you back where you belong.”
Lois took his arm again, as they all walked to the barn.
“I don’t know what I did. I just sat down.” She demonstrated. “Then I touched the console.”
“Lois Lane – DNA authorized and approved,” spoke the same male voice as before. Clark recognized the machine as the one the very pregnant Lois used. He gulped at the invisibility tarp as well. He had made out with the other Clark’s Lois. He would never forgive himself. That was why she didn’t want to run off with him. She knew she wouldn’t hold up under closer scrutiny.
Lois shrugged her shoulders. “See what I mean?”
“Lois Lane – voice fingerprint authorized.”
“It sounds like Wells added a security device so it could only be used by select people in case a random person came across it.”
“Superman voice fingerprint authorized.”
“I wonder why he included Lois?” He glanced questioningly at his Mom.
“Maybe it was programmed in for our Lois to use during that whole Tempus fiasco.”
“Tempus was in your dimension, too?” Lois asked.
Superman nodded. That made sense. But why would Wells leave a time machine with that other Clark at all? He turned a couple of knobs and sat down in the passenger seat.
“Are you coming with me?” Lois asked, gazing at him hopefully.
Martha stepped forward. “Do you think that’s such a good idea?” she said to her son.
“I just want to make sure Lois gets back safe. And I’d like a word with Clark.”
Lois waved. “Bye, Martha.” She pulled the lever and POP, they were back in the cold, drafty barn. “I’m glad you came back with me, Amazing. This place is kind of lonely after the Kent’s farm.”
Superman looked around the barn. “That it is.” None of his parents’ warmth and love was here. He felt a cold shiver that didn’t come from the wind. “So, here I’d be but for the grace of God.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s see about getting into Clark’s house,” he said leaving the barn.
The sky was dark grey and cast a forbidding shadow over the house. He pulled out his keys for his folks’ house and hoped they would work for Clark’s. The key fit.
“Of course, you know the password,” Lois reminded him.
He shook his head. “Luckily, I’m fast learner.” As they stepped inside the house, Superman found the security panel. He only typed in his mom’s birth date before it shut off.
“See, Amazing, you knew the code.”
“I do have an inside edge.”
She looked at him curiously.
Oh, right. This Lois doesn’t know about the secret identity. He shook his head. He thought everyone here knew. “I know Clark Kent very well.”
Comprehension dawned and Lois nodded.
“I’m going to search for my…” she said rushing to the stairs.
Superman flew and blocked her path. “First, we’re going to call Clark.”
Lois sneered and returned to the living room. She looked Superman up and down and smiled. “Or we could visit your bedroom and I could refresh your memory. Remind you what it’s like for us to…” She licked her lips as she moved closer to him. “Float.”
“Lois.
I don’t… float with you,” Superman said, picking up the phone, happy that there was a dial tone. He dialed the phone number for the
Daily Planet in his dimension and hoped it would be the same.
A man answered the phone. “Daily Planet,
research.”
“I’d like to speak to Clark Kent please,” he said keeping an eye on Lois.
She was wandering around looking at the living room. “It’s strange to see everything I couldn’t before.”
“
He’s out. Can I take a message?” the man replied.
Message? How could he phrase…? “Please, tell him that Kal-El called…”
Lois glanced over at him, listening.
“
Kal El? The Kal El? I was beginning to think you were a figment of her imagination.”
“Whose imagination?”
“
Your wife’s.”
“Pardon?” That threw him. “To whom am I speaking?”
“
Jaxon Xavier, Research.”
Superman’s head exploded. That little computer nerd who had kidnapped Lois? “You stay away from my wife,” he growled and then shook his head. No one in this dimension knew him or his wife. What was he thinking?
“
Transferring…” the man replied.
“Jaxon Xavier is working at the
Daily Planet. What is the world coming to?” he murmured to himself.
“Tell me about it,” Lois piped up. “I can’t go to the newsroom because of that pinhead.”
“
Hello, Clark Kent’s desk, Lucy speaking,” a woman answered with a lilting Southern type accent.
*** End of Part 9 *** CommentsChapter 5: Part 10
