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
- Martha and Jonathan Kent = canon Clark's parents
- Tempus = extremely bad dude from the future, bent on destroying Superman (both of them)
- Mayor White = aka Perry White, former Editor-in-Chief at the DP
- Lex Luthor = no explanation necessary, same bad guy as always, this time bald
- Lana Lang = alt-Clark's ex-fiancée
***
When we last saw Clark and Lois (of alt-dimension) in Chapter 6: Part 1, they were driving from Smallville to Topeka, Kansas, to take a plane back to Metropolis, because Lois refused to fly with Superman. Lois knows Clark is Superman, but he doesn't know she knows. She's giving him a hard time for lying to her. This is where their conversation on his ex-fiancée Lana Lang left off...“So, tell, tell. Why’d she dump you?”
Clark groaned. Lois was persistent. “You really want to know? Fine!” he snapped and then he glanced at her. “You.”
“
Me? You didn’t even know me a year ago.”
Clark grinned. “But I did. You walked into the newsroom and kissed me right in front of my fiancée.”
Lois leaned away from him as her brow furrowed. “I’ve never kissed you, Clark.”
“I know. It was Lucy, impersonating you.” He chuckled.
“What was she doing in our dimension? Why would she impersonate me? Why would she kiss you? She’s married to Superman, isn’t she? Not Clark Kent.”
“Oh, right. Almost forgot about his role. Yep. Lois Lane and Superman. That’s why Lana dumped me.” Clark smiled.
“Hardy har-har. You got me. If you didn’t want to tell me you could have just said so.”
He doubted that very much.
Lois crossed her arms, stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and stared out the front window.
Part 2Clark continued to drive, letting Lois wallow in curiosity while he organized his thoughts. He knew she wouldn’t stay silent for long. It wasn’t in her genes. She actually made it four minutes, a new record.
“Not much out there, is there?”
“It’s actually quite beautiful in the spring. So green and lush.”
Lois sighed. “It’s so grey. Cold.”
“Well, it’s definitely no tropical island. Missing home?”
“Singapore wasn’t home. It was my prison,” she murmured. “Not that I was ever let out of the hundred and fifth floor to enjoy it.”
Clark felt bad. He had been unkind with his teasing. “An evil time-traveling man by the name of Tempus kidnapped Lucy and stranded her here.”
Lois glanced over at him, listening.
“Back in her dimension, she knew she could always contact Superman through Clark Kent, so she tracked me down at the
Daily Planet. She needed our Superman to get her back home.”
“But why impersonate me?”
“Lois Lane and Clark Kent are partners back in her dimension, so when she walked into the bullpen and Perry saw her, he naturally assumed she was you. She used his mistake to get partnered up with me.”
“But why kiss you? That doesn’t make sense.”
Clark cleared his throat and looked back to the road.
“All those photos at Martha’s house. What had Kal-El said? That’s right, we’re married!”
“No.” He smiled at her, indulgently, wishing it were true, but knowing it would never come true. “That dimension’s Clark Kent and Lois Lane are married. As I said before, their destiny doesn’t have to be our destiny. For example, that Lois Lane never married Lex Luthor.”
“Lucky her.”
“Oh, she was engaged to him. There was even a wedding, but she couldn’t go through with it.”
“Guess she didn’t have amnesia, either.”
“Actually, she did.”
“Really?” Lois was staring at him.
“Lex Luthor kidnapped her from the church before her wedding to her Clark, and replaced her with a clone. Just like your clone. Then when she escaped from Lex, she hit her head and thought she was…”
“Wanda Detroit. Yeah, right. I guess Kal did mention that story, too.”
“Oh.” Clark gulped. What else had Kal told her?
“So, she kissed you. I can imagine Lana couldn’t have liked that much. How does Superman figure into this tale?”
Lois sure had a one-track mind.
“When Perry partnered us up, she told me all about her other dimension. Her Clark and her Superman. So, we went looking for our Superman. He was trying to be just an average guy, not some superhero, just trying to blend in. She made him into the Superman he is today. She gave him the confidence to be the man he was born to be.”
“No wonder he fell for her.”
Clark rolled his eyes. Let’s see if he could repair some of this damage. “I never said he fell for her. Or that the line was ever crossed between them.”
“Of course you did. With your silence, Smallville. Your honesty gene wouldn’t let you deny it.” She grinned, knowing she had him cornered. “So, Lana didn’t like you hanging out with this woman who kissed you, I get that. But Superman?”
“She thought it weird that he went around in tights, I guess.” He shrugged. “So, she told me that I could either be friends with him or marry her. Not both.”
Lois laughed and laughed and laughed.
Clark was not amused. “What’s so funny?”
“She didn’t dump you. You dumped her.” She grabbed her belly. “Oh, that felt good, Smallville. I haven’t laughed like that in years.” Lois looked at him with a new sparkle in her eyes.
Clark was still confused. “But I didn’t want to break up with her.”
“Yes, you did. You see, by giving you the ultimatum she was also empowering you to say ‘No’ to her, which I’m presuming she didn’t do often.”
“She only had my best interest at heart.”
“By telling you who you could be friends with?” She looked at him skeptically.
“Lana was worried I was associating with the wrong sort of people.”
“There’s a right sort and a wrong sort of people?”
Even to Clark that sounded bad. “Of course not.”
“Lana was worried about what people would say about her, wasn’t she?”
“I guess so.”
“So, essentially she was saying to you that she didn’t want to be associated with a tights-wearing vigilante – no matter how hot he was – so you couldn’t be either. You didn’t like that, so you told her sayonara.”
It was like Lois took a box off his head, letting in the light. “Wow! You’re right, Lois. I did break up with her.” Clark leaned back in his seat and a smile grew on his face. Maybe he wasn’t cursed after all.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled.
“How did you get so smart?”
“Lots of experience.” Lois winced. “That’s not what I meant.” She swallowed. “That came out wrong. What I mean is I’ve issued an ultimatum or two in my life and they’ve always come back around to hit me in the face. I’ve learned that if there is something I want, to just take it, then and there, but don’t give it the power to say no or I won’t get it at all. And if I can’t have what I want…” The smile on her face turned to a grin as she put her fingertips together. “Be patient.” She glanced over at him out of the corner of her eyes.
Clark looked over at her with a sinking feeling. “I’m glad you never turned to evil, Lois. Superman would have his hands full with you.”
Unlike now.***
They pulled up to the Topeka airport and Lois stretched. She was having a divine time teasing Clark. She had learned a lot more in these last twenty-four hours than she had during the whole last month. So, Superman was going to take an airplane trip to Metropolis with her. That should be interesting. She wondered if he had ever flown on an airplane before. He dropped off the rental car and they took the shuttle to the airport.
Lois could hear the other passengers whispering and pointing in their direction as they stood in line to get their tickets. They clearly recognized him as Superman. Why hadn’t she noticed anyone doing that in Metropolis? Then, again, she had never really been out and about with Clark Kent. Only once or twice.
“Two tickets to Metropolis, please,” Clark told the counter agent. “One way.”
Lois placed her ticket and Lucy’s ID on the counter. “Actually, I have my return ticket here, Clark. We just need a ticket for you.” Then she stood back to watch the fun.
“Clark? Clark Kent?” The ticket counter agent’s face went white. “You want to fly Topeka Air to Metropolis?”
“Yes. On the one o’clock flight. Is there room?”
The ticket counter person looked to her co-worker and then back at him. “Have you ever flown with us before, Mr. Kent?” she asked nervously, typing on her computer.
“No. This is my first time.”
She cleared her throat and then lowered her voice. “Is there any specific reason that you are flying with us today? Any reason we should be appraised about, Sir?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Clark replied. Oh, he really couldn’t be this oblivious. Lois wondered if they would even let him fly.
A manager approached the desk. “What seems to be the problem?”
Clark looked at the ticket agent and then at the manager. “Is there something wrong?”
The manager looked at him and then at the screen and then back at him. “Mr. Kent? Mr. Clark Kent?
The Clark Kent?” The manager was staring at him.
“The only one that I know of.”
Lois leaned over to him and whispered into his ear. “Liar.”
Clark gave her a sharp look and then turned back to the Topeka Air agents, pulling out his wallet. “I forgot to show you my driver’s license.”
“Yes. Thank you,” the manager said, his voice hoarse, typing into the computer. “Are you and Ms. El traveling together then, today, Mr. Kent?” All the women behind the counter were giving her nasty looks. She wondered how much more nasty they would be if they knew how intimate she and Superman had been.
“Yes. She’s my assistant.”
Lois smiled at the group of employees that was starting to gather behind the counter.
“First Class?”
“Coach is fine.”
The manager’s eyes went wide. “We’d be willing to give you a free upgrade to First Class, Sir.”
“Coach is fine.” Clark shook his head.
Aw, shucks. A free upgrade would have been nice, frowned Lois. That man of hers was just too honest.
“I’m sorry, Sir. Unfortunately we don’t have two coach seats together. If you want to sit with Ms. El, I’ll have to put you both in First Class,” the manager said, continuing to type into his computer. Lois couldn’t believe it. The man was lying and giving them the free upgrade, anyway.
Clark looked at Lois and she put on her innocent face, which she knew he didn’t believe by his expression. He handed the man his credit card. “That will be fine. I’ll pay the difference.”
Wow. He really didn’t take advantage of his celebrity status. She was more and more impressed by him. Clark was so completely and utterly different from Lex. Lex always expected to be treated as if he was dipped in gold. Clark only wished to be treated like everyone else. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and give him a hug. But that would have been a big no-no. Lois could just imagine what the ladies behind the counter or the other people in line would do if she did.
The manager smiled and rang up the sale. “Here you go, sir. If you could just sign here? Two First Class boarding passes from Topeka to Metropolis on our one o’clock flight. Do you have any luggage to check?”
“Oh, yes. Lucy?”
Lois looked down at those pesky suitcases and took a step back. Remembering what happened at the house, she didn’t want to touch them. “Could you, Clark?”
He nodded and set them on the scale. Together they weighed forty-three pounds.
Yet, they had felt as light as feathers. How was that possible? Lois thought.
“What about your laptop?” Clark asked her.
“That’s coming with me, buster,” Lois said patting her laptop case. “I’m not letting this sucker out of my sight again.”
Clark’s brow furrowed as he glanced between her and the ticket agent. “Is that okay?”
“Yes, sir,” answered the ticket agent. “It’s small enough to count as a carry-on item.”
“Oh. Right.” Clark nodded, recognizing the term. “Carry-on.”
Lois smiled. Nope, he hadn’t ever flown on a plane before. This was going to be interesting.
“Here are your baggage claim stubs. Let me staple those to your ticket folder.” The manager did just that and then handed all the stuff to Clark, including their IDs. “Thank you for choosing to fly with us today.”
“You're welcome,” Clark answered, taking the paperwork and Lois’s elbow and moving away from the counter.
“That was weird, Clark. I wonder why they gave us such a hard time?”
He glanced at her and released a breath, thinking she still hadn’t figured it out. Could Clark really believe she was that blind?
Had she been that blind?
“They seemed to know who you were, though. I never knew you were such a big name reporter, Clark. Good for you.”
Clark smiled at her praise, but it was obvious he wished that was why he had gotten the attention they had at the counter, instead of the truth. It must be an ego bust to know he would no longer earn kudos from his writing as long as everyone knew he was also Superman. Poor Clark.
They sailed through security. No big surprise there.
They walked through the terminal and found their gate. Lois saw a magazine stand and entered to buy a book for the flight; Clark followed her, almost hovering. Was he afraid of what she might learn there? She took a quick glance at the magazines and saw a few covers featuring Superman, but nary a reference to Clark Kent. He must have noticed the same, because he relaxed and pretended to browse.
Lois went to the novels and found herself a bodice ripper that might hold her attention. Although after Mr. Amazing even romance novels paled in comparison. She smiled. He could be so romantic; so why had he shunned her at the house? Had it been because of her father? Or was it because she had kissed Kal-El? She drew in a quick breath and hoped beyond hope that Mr. Amazing hadn’t considered that the kind of betrayal that would make him fall out of love with her.
She quickly flipped through the book and then set it down, stepping away, her brain suddenly full of images from the story. What had just happened? Hesitantly, Lois picked up the book again and chose a random page. She read down the page and realized she knew what it said. She flipped the book over and reread the back cover. Had she read it before? Although Lex had allowed her to read romance novels, he had only given her access to the classics. She went to the publisher’s page and saw it was brand new, only just released. Why did it seem so familiar? She returned it to the shelf and walked back into the concourse, sitting down on a bench, her brain aching with confusion. That had just been too weird.
“We still have an hour before our flight. Are you hungry? I saw a snack bar back there.”
As Lois looked up at him to answer, a little boy bolted around the corner and almost barreled into Clark. Clark caught him with ease and set him back down on the ground.
“Whoa, there, champ. What’s the rush?”
The boy, probably close to six years of age, looked almost the mirror image of what she imagined Clark must have looked at that age. Dark hair, big brown eyes, and a pair of glasses sliding down his nose. He looked up and up to Clark’s face and gasped, his eyes wide. “Is it true? Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Clark asked him, hesitantly.
“Do you really know Superman?”
“Ah, yes, I do,” Clark answered cautiously, then glanced around nervously. “Why don’t we find your folks? I’ll be right back,” Clark told Lois. She quickly scanned the concourse and saw the boy’s parents two gates down. The mother waved her son back and the father had a red face at his son’s boldness.
Lois watched as the boy took hold of Clark’s hand, with no fear whatsoever, and dragged him back to his parents. “Mom! Dad! Did you see him catch me? Did you?”
“I’m so sorry.” The father was apologizing. “He’s usually so shy.”
The acoustics in this place were remarkable. Even with all these people, Lois could hear them clearly.
“It’s okay.” Clark smiled at the parents and then down at the little boy, who still hadn’t let him go.
“Timothy, why don’t you let go of the nice man’s hand?” the mother coaxed her son.
Clark knelt down to Timothy’s eye level. “Everything all right here?”
“He says he knows Superman,” the boy said. “Just as my Dad said.”
The father’s pink face turned beet red, as he was clearly mortified. “I’m so sorry,” he stammered.
Lois raised a brow. OK, now they were on to something.
Clark glanced over his shoulder at her, and even though she was two gates away, he lowered his voice. “Actually, Timothy, I am Superman.”
Thank you, Timothy. Lois grinned. Confirmation complete. Despite Clark lowering his voice, she could hear him just fine.
“Wow, cool! Why aren’t you dressed like Superman, then?”
“I only dress like Superman when someone is in trouble and needs my help. If I came into the airport in my blue suit, then it might make people nervous or scared that something was wrong, and it could cause a panic. We wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?”
Little Timothy shook his head.
“So, when I’m not off saving people, I dress like this. Just like your Dad. This way, people don’t get frightened, because they know everything’s okay.”
“Oh. And you wear glasses, just like me.”
“That, I do. Not only do glasses make you see better, they make people think you are smart and listen to what you say.” He winked at Timothy.
“Wow!” Timothy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Why are you at the airport, Superman?”
“Timothy, I think you’ve asked the nice man enough questions for one day,” the father said.
“I’m here because of that woman right there.” Clark pointed to Lois. “Everyone turn and wave.” The entire family and Clark waved at her. Tentatively, Lois lifted her hand and waved back, confounded. What was he going to say? “She’s a friend of mine, but she did a couple of bad things and I have to take her back to Metropolis.”
“What did she do?” Timothy asked, really interested.
“She borrowed some of my things without asking and she ran away.”
Lois pressed her lips together. Thanks, Clark. Thanks a lot. Brand me a common criminal with the kid.
“Oooh.” The boy knew that those were bad things, indeed. The whole family was still staring at her. “Why didn’t you just fly her back?”
Clark smiled. “Well, Timothy, that doesn’t seem like much of a punishment, now does it? She takes my stuff, then runs away with it, and she gets a free ride with Superman? No, sirree, Bob. She has to take an airplane back.”
“Yeah!” Timothy was down with punishing Lois by not giving her a free Superman flight. “Is she going to jail?”
The parents started looking at her with nervous expression.
“Oh, no. She didn’t actually steal anything and she returned the stuff she borrowed. She’s a very important lady, that one. So, I’ve got to travel with her and make sure she stays safe.”
The parents still looked at her like she was a common criminal. Great, Clark. Good thing they weren’t on their flight.
“How is she important?” Timothy was filled with questions.
“You know how everyone needs someone to tell all their important secrets to?”
Timothy looked at him like he was crazy. “If you tell someone your secrets, they won’t be secret anymore.”
“There shouldn’t be any secrets out there that you couldn’t tell to your secret keeper. Your secret keeper might be your Mom or your Dad or Grandpa or Grandma or someone like that. If you have someone you can trust with your secrets, then they don’t weigh heavily on your shoulders. It makes you feel better. And that woman there, well, she’s the secret keeper of someone very important.”
“Who?” Timothy asked eagerly.
Clark put a finger to his mouth. “Sssh. It’s a secret.” He smiled.
“Awww, shoot.”
But at least Clark got the parents to smile. They weren’t looking daggers at her any more.
“I’ve got to go back over there and keep an eye on her. OK, Timothy?”
“Why don’t you let go of the nice man’s hand now, Timothy?” suggested his mother.
“Can you show me the Superman suit?” That kid had a one-track mind.
“Tell you what, if you let go of my hand, I’ll be able to show you just a little bit here in my sleeve. I wouldn’t want to show you the entire suit and cause a panic now, would I?”
Timothy shook his head, but he let go of Clark’s hand. Clark turned his back on Lois, but it looked like he was reaching into his sleeve.
Lois couldn’t see any blue from where she sat, but Timothy’s eyes and the eyes of his parents sure got big. An announcement came over the loud speaker and the pain was deafening. Holy cow, that was loud! She stuck a finger in her ear and shook her head to stop the ringing. When she was able to glance back at Clark, he was shaking hands with the parents and waving good-bye to Timothy.
Clark walked back to her with a satisfied grin on his face. He sat down next to her.
“He sure glommed onto you. I saw he wouldn’t let go.”
“He’s a good kid. It happens.” Clark shrugged.
“You tell him all about Superman?” Lois asked, innocently.
“Enough.” He smiled.
She could see that he liked kids; they were his biggest fans. The ones he didn’t want to disappoint by being involved in a scandal with a married woman. Perry said that he would be crushed if people saw him as an adulterer. She realized the children were the main ones he would want to protect from that information. He turned and waved at Timothy, again.
Clark would make a good dad. Lois pictured him playing ball with a little boy like Timothy, out in the fields around the Smallville house. Or taking a walk with a little girl on his shoulder, floating her up to the top of a tree to get the biggest leaf to make into a fan. His birth parents had died when Krypton had exploded and then his adoptive parents had died in a car accident. He had been alone for so long. She bet he couldn’t wait to start a family of his own. When she finally told him... Her bottom lip began to shake and her eyes felt damp again. She placed a hand on her stomach. She could never tell him that she had been pregnant. He would be devastated. It would be better if he never knew how close they had been to starting a family of their own.
“Do you want to get a snack, Lois? I feel like some ice-cream.”
It was hours since breakfast, but she wasn’t hungry. She must have downed three chocolate bars on the ride to the airport. Truthfully, all Lois wanted to do was sit at the gate, hold Clark’s hand and rest her head on his shoulder. Be close to him. Share her pain. She sighed.
Lois knew she couldn’t even do that if he knew that she knew Clark Kent was Superman. She was married. Lucy El, whom she was impersonating, was also married. It seemed that everywhere they went, Clark Kent would be recognized as Superman. They would never be able to go anywhere and just be themselves. Never be able to do anything romantic out in the public. Never just sit and be a couple of sweethearts waiting for a plane. “Sure.”
Clark looked at her. “Is everything all right?”
Had he noticed the catch in her voice? Lois took a deep breath. “I was just thinking about how lonely Superman must be sometimes. It must be hard, being recognized everywhere he goes.”
“You’re pitying him again,” he grumbled, walking off to the snack counter.
Lois followed him, just fast enough to pass him. As she went by, she whispered, “I don’t pity him, Clark. I love him.” She looked at the snack bar menu. As she turned to speak to him, she realized Clark wasn’t there. She glanced around and found him stopped in the middle of the concourse, staring at her. Perplexed, she walked back over to him. “Something wrong?”
Clark looked like he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. As she drew in a breath at the intensity of his stare, he blinked his eyes and shook his head. “No.”
Then Lois gasped, realizing that had been the first time she had ever told him that she loved him. “Oh, I’m sorry, Clark. That was really insensitive of me. I will never say another word about him ever again. Please, forgive me.”
He sighed. “It’s okay, Lois. I get to hear all about Kal from Lucy, might as well hear all about
him from you.”
“No, you’re right. I’ll never speak another word about him again. He doesn’t deserve my love, after the way he treated me yesterday. I’m going to move on with my life.”
“What?” Clark stammered.
“You are always there for me when I need you. I’m going to fall in love with you, instead.” Lois grinned with a wink, sauntering back to the snack bar.
He stomped after her. “Lois,” he growled. “That’s not funny.”
“Yes, it is.” She stared up at the menu board. She leaned close to him and whispered, “Do you think that they have Double Fudge Ripple with Chocolate Chunks?”
Clark laughed quietly. “I doubt it. Isn’t that a very rare flavor?”
“Oh, right.” She sighed. “I could have vanilla instead. It just won’t taste the same, but I suppose I could get used to it.” She sighed again, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
Clark was trying hard to keep the smile from his lips. “You could always have the twist cone. Half chocolate, half vanilla.”
“Oooh, twist. Yum.” Lois smiled at him with glee. “That would be better than just plain vanilla. See, you’re always there for me. Even for the little things in life.” She sighed, again. “I just cannot believe that he….” The line moved and she walked up the counter. “Two twist cones, please.” She paid for their ice cream and walked away from the counter.
His ice cream melted as he stared at her. “It’s melting, Clark,” Lois told him, but he still stared. She looked at him with a shrug, leaning over and licking the drip running down his ice-cream cone and fingers. Clark jerked so suddenly as she ‘accidentally’ licked his fingers, the cone went flying into the air. She reached out and gracefully caught it, handing it back to him. “Sorry, about that, Clark. But I warned you it was melting.”
“You can’t believe that he
what, Lois?” he said, finally releasing himself from his stare.
Her eyes misted up. “It’s not important, Clark. I told you I wouldn’t speak of him anymore. It really isn’t fair to you.” Lois licked her cone.
Clark swallowed, bringing the cone to his lips. “That’s okay, Lois. Remember, friends tell friends their problems.”
“That’s true. But you’re his friend, too. I don’t want to put you in the middle, even more than you already are.” Lois licked her cone again. “Actually, you’re a better friend to him than he is to you.”
He raised a brow. “Why do you say that?”
Lois didn’t say anything as they walked back to their gate. She continued eating her ice-cream. “Mmm. This is really good, Clark. It’s no Double Fudge Ripple with Chocolate Chunks, but I guess I could eat this for the rest of my life.” She sighed. “Or just go without.” She sat down in an empty row of seats by the window. He sat down next to her, obviously waiting to hear the answer to his question. She made him wait, trying to figure out a good way to word what she wanted to say. “He lied to me.”
*** End of Part 2 *** CommentsChapter 6: Part 3
