Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic A Future Reborn - (Lois' Story III) - part 11

Previously on AFR...

Suddenly the woman's body went still. "Cat?" Lois smoothed an errant lock of hair from Cat's forehead. "Cat, don't do this. Cat, don't give up on me, girl. Cat? Cat!" Her voice was raw with pain. "No, no, no, no, no, no, " she continued to cry.

Clark knelt down next to her. Tears streaked his face also. He gently reached over and felt for a pulse. Lois' watery gaze moved to his eyes, searching for a miracle. A quick shake of his head crushed her hopes and she turned her attention back to her dead friend.

Her mind screamed in torment. Why did this have to happen? It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this... neither of them did.


And Now...
A Future Reborn - (Lois' Story III) - part 11
by Tank


It was a somber group that sat in Perry's office watching the coverage of the EPRAD launch of the Asgard rocket. Jenny and Clark sat next to each other on the couch. Perry was in his usual spot behind his desk, and Lois was in the chair which sat just in front of the big oak desk. She couldn't focus on the announcer on the screen as he mimicked the countdown. She had too much else on her mind. If only she'd had the presence of mind to retrieve Lex's gun after he'd shot himself, she wouldn't have to be sitting there not caring whether or not the government's rocket succeeded or failed. She wouldn't have to be sitting there feeling the grief and the guilt for having been responsible for the death of her dear friend.

After the debacle at the warehouse had finally played itself out, Clark had left to find a way to call in the police. Lois stayed behind, holding Cat in her arms. Nigel recovered during that time. He noted Luthor's dead body lying nearby, and then saw Lois sitting on the floor holding the body of her friend. She never spoke but her glare dared Nigel to try something. With his employer dead, apparently the elder Englishman felt no reason to act - or to stick around. He quickly exited through the stairwell to the tunnel system. They should have thought to tie St. John up with something before Clark had gone, but Lois couldn't work up enough reaction to his leaving to care.

Clark came back a few minutes later, and Henderson and his men were there a few minutes after that. It took two strong officers and Henderson's calm reasoning to get Lois to let go of Cat's body. After that, with Clark's arm about her shoulder, the police gave them a ride back to the Daily Planet. They both gave their initial statements while in the squad car, but promised Henderson they'd come by later to give a more detailed deposition.

Once back at the Planet they had marched into Perry's office. Jenny having seen them come back, and seeing Lois drenched in blood, had run into the office after them. The partners then proceeded to tell their tale.

Lois knew that Perry, having already known about her problems with Lex Luthor, had half expected something like this to happen. He was shocked, and deeply distressed over Cat's death. Things like that weren't supposed to happen to his reporters. Jenny had just sat back, staring blankly, numb with horror. No one spoke after they had finished their story. Finally working up enough interest in the fate of the world, Lois shifted her gaze from her own hands to the screen. The rocket was away.

The next several minutes were spent in mute concentration to the happenings on the screen. The announcer droned on about the massive nuclear payload the Asgard rocket carried and the effect the strike was calculated to have on the large asteroid. When the rocket was very near its target the announcer turned the audio over to a live mission control feed. Everyone listened as the countdown to impact began.

The rocket missed. Even though Lois knew that it would, she couldn't help feeling a sense of disappointment when the huge nuclear missile slipped past the giant asteroid and continued on into empty space. With a sigh she rose and looked pointedly at Clark. They now had less than three days until impact.

"Time to go," she said. He gave her a quizzical look, then a slight nod toward Perry. She shook her head, then turned to Perry. "I'm sorry, Chief, but we promised Henderson that we'd get down to headquarters as soon as we could to give our depositions."

Perry nodded. "I understand... and look, Lois, I know you two have been through a lot here. We all grieve for Cat, but I'm going to need the Luthor story for the morning edition. If you feel you're not up to writing it I can assign someone else to do it. Just give them the details and ... "

Lois shook her head. "No, Perry, that's okay. Clark and I will have it for you later tonight. I'd appreciate it, though, if you had someone else write up the EPRAD failure today. Clark and I will be pursuing a different angle." Perry cocked his brow, and Jenny put her hand to her mouth in a worried gesture. Lois answered with an enigmatic smile.

Lois was standing in front of the elevator before Clark finally caught up with her. The doors opened and the partners entered the car together. Neither spoke until the doors closed.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

Lois turned and fixed him with a determined stare. "We're going to do what we have to. We're going to see Henderson, then we're going home to write up our story." She paused to sigh. "Then, if your powers have returned, we're going to schedule a press conference for first thing tomorrow morning."

********************

"Lois, what's all this about a 9 o'clock press conference? I was told that you scheduled it?" Perry pounced on Lois the moment she stepped off the elevator.

"Good morning to you too, Chief," she replied with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "And you're welcome for the story that's splashed all over the front page of the paper this morning."

Perry placed his hand on her back and steered her into his office. "Don't be playing any games with me, Lois. You know I don't like cute, or coy. So, spill it."

She took her time moving over to the chair and sitting. "Okay, here's the scoop." She paused. This was going to be critical. If she could sell Perry, then they should be able to sell their story to everyone else. "The other day, Clark and I were approached by this... person, who said that they could help us."

Perry looked properly confused. "Help us? Help us with what?"

"With the Nightfall asteroid."

"What?" Perry held up his hand. "No, forget that, just explain this to me."

Lois nodded. "All right. Anyway, this person expressed their concern over the government's plan to deal with the asteroid. He didn't think it would work."

"He?" Perry said with a raised brow. "Gee, I wonder why you were willing to listen to him."

Lois blushed. "I never made any secret of my doubts about the rocket, and you have to admit that they proved to be correct." She waved off any further remark from her boss. "Anyway, he said that he had a way to safely move the asteroid off its collision course with the Earth."

Perry leaned back in his chair. A practiced look of skepticism was on his face. "And just how was he going to do that?"

Lois bit on her lip. "Ah, he was going to push it."

Perry snapped forward in his chair. "He was going to what?"

Lois stood up. "Never mind now. It will all be explained at the conference. I've got to get out there. The rest of the city's media are already gathering, and I'm the one who has to address the mob." She turned to go.

"Now hold on a minute." Perry had also risen. "You can't just schedule a press conference to introduce some crackpot with a hair-brained scheme to stop an asteroid. Especially one as lame as this one. Lois, I don't understand. You're not some gullible rumor monger working for a grocery checkout scandal rag. What's the real deal here? And where's Clark?"

Lois shook her head as she moved to the door. "There's no time to explain, Chief. Just trust me. I've got to go." And she was out the door, heading for the elevators.

**********************

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Metropolis media." Lois took a breath before continuing. She didn't like to be behind the microphone. She much preferred being out there in the crowd with her pen poised. "Some of you know me, and some more may have heard of me. I'm Lois Lane and I work for the Daily Planet." She paused to let the gentle hubbub die down. "As you all know, the government's recent attempt at solving the Nightfall problem has failed. They do have a back-up plan in place, but as many of you already know, it is a plan that has many dangerous draw backs of its own, even if it is successful."

Again there was a general murmur from the crowd. "Recently, my partner, Clark Kent, and I were contacted by someone who claimed to have another solution to the problem. A safe option to the one the government has planned. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Superman!" She raised her head and pointed skyward.

A collective gasp rippled through the assembled media as an impressive figure in royal blue and scarlet descended from the sky to land next to her on the hastily erected platform in front of the Daily Planet. Clark's powers had returned early that morning. She'd had him basking in the sun as much as possible yesterday after they'd left the police station while she wrote up their story on Luthor. Lois guessed it was the fact that the stone on Lex's ring was so small that allowed Clark to regain his powers more quickly than she would have thought for his first exposure. They'd been lucky in that regard. She hadn't wanted to have to put this off any longer than they had to.

Lois had to admit that Clark was quite the imposing figure in the skin tight outfit. He stood formally erect, as she had taught him. His slicked back dark hair gleamed in the early morning light, and his smile for the crowd was genuine but still reserved. It was amazing how easily he had been able to adopt the Superman 'persona'. Maybe it was genetic.

She stepped back as he approached the microphone. The dark wrap around ski glasses were quite effective in taking his eyes away as a possible recognition factor. The blue frames and the hint of red in the lenses fit in well with the rest of his costume. She had wondered if they would hinder any of his vision gifts, but he'd assured her that they wouldn't. His special vision enhancements, just like regular sight, were a matter of focus. Just like a normal person's ability to switch from seeing things close up, to far away, and back again, his enhancements worked similarly. Both the heat and X-ray aspects of his vision only manifested at the point he was focused on. She remembered that her own Clark had taken to wearing glasses with lenses of leaded glass early on to help him learn to control his powers, which was why he always pulled his glasses down when he wanted to secretly scan something. Lead was also a problem for this Clark.

So the glasses worked well to help hide his identity, but just like back home, it was the outfit that most effectively disguised him. No one was looking at his face. A pang of nostalgia surged through her. She missed the red shorts.

She could see a touch of hesitancy as he stepped up to the mic. He quickly quelled it and replaced it with the calm confidence of a Superman. There was quite a bit of commotion out in the crowd, but Clark held up his hand. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I appreciate your coming. I've got a short prepared statement then I'll try and answer some questions."

He looked out on the assembled crowd, which had finally calmed down. Lois was actually proud of him. "I'm not native to your planet, yet I come here to help." He held up his hands at the expected uproar. "Please, let me finish. As I said, I'm not native to this planet, but it is my home now, and I don't want anything to happen to it any more than any of you do. The only difference is, I'm in a position to do something about it." He paused to let more of the murmuring die down. "I don't understand why, but I've been gifted with powers far beyond those of normal men. As you all saw, I can fly, and I can move with incredible speed. I'm exceptionally strong, and have enhanced vision. It's these powers which will enable me to attempt to force the Nightfall asteroid off its current collision course."

As expected, the crowd could no longer be contained and everyone was yelling questions and derisive comments at the same time. Clark glanced over at Lois. She just shrugged. They had discussed the possibility of Clark giving the crowd some sort of demonstration of his strength, but both had agreed that bending a steel bar or lifting a car over his head wouldn't prove that he could move an asteroid. Again he held up his hands to try and quiet the crowd but it didn't work this time. Instead he was forced to shout.

"Look, I know that what I'm saying is unbelievable. All I ask is that you keep an open mind." He frowned as the mob of reporters remained unruly. He continued to shout over the din. "After I leave here I plan to confer with the scientists from EPRAD, if they will talk with me, then at about noon, with or without their help, I plan to fly out to the asteroid and do what I can to prevent the disaster that threatens us."

Again he looked helplessly toward Lois. She had to bite her lip to keep a smile off her face. He really was out of his depth. Luckily she knew that would change with time. With a nod of her head she indicated that he should just leave and she would take care of the mob. The look of gratitude on his face was almost comical. With a final wave and nod to the assemblage, 'Superman' stepped away from the microphone and lifted into the air. That momentarily quieted the crowd and gave Lois her chance to get back to the mic.

As soon as Clark was out of sight the crowd erupted again. Lois was able to pick out a few comments amidst the clamor. 'What are you trying to pull, Lane?' and 'How gullible do you think we are?' were the two most common jibes she heard. Also there were a few mentions about the ego of someone who called themselves Superman.

Lois let the chaos reign for a few more moments before she put up her hands. "Shut up!" she yelled. Startled, the crowd quieted. "Now I know that you are all confused and in a state of disbelief. Frankly, I don't blame you. Now, he could have put on a show for all of you; juggling some cars or turning a lamp post into a pretzel, but that would have been pointless. We don't have time for such puerile indulgences. The beauty of this whole situation is that in a few hours you'll all know what he can do." She paused to let her words sink in. "I'm the one who named him, Superman, because... well, he is." Lois let a smug smile steal across her face. "As far as what the rest of his story is... you can read all about that in this afternoon's edition of the Daily Planet." She turned and calmly walked back into the Planet, ignoring the outraged cries of her fellow journalists.

Not surprisingly, Perry was waiting for her as she came off the elevator. "Lois, what in tarnation? That was the most..."

Lois stopped him by reaching into her bag and handing Perry several sheets of paper. "If you hurry I'm sure you can proof this in time for the afternoon edition."

The editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet opened his mouth, then closed it. He took the proffered papers with a stern glare at his most outrageous reporter. Without another comment, he turned and disappeared into his office.

Lois stared at the newsroom's television monitors. The scene outside the Planet building was still on screen. Lois sighed. "It's up to you now, Clark," she whispered.

************************

Even if this guy was some sort of nut, he got full media attention. That included live coverage by LNN of his meeting with the EPRAD scientists, and the subsequent take off. Like everyone else in the newsroom, Lois watched the pictures on the monitors as Clark discussed his options with the science team and was outfitted with air tanks and a radio receiver. As Professor Daitch said to the assembled media just minutes before Superman was scheduled to leave, 'We may not know who this man really is, or the true extent of his professed powers, but given what we are up against, it would be stupid of us not to give what little help we can offer him in his attempt.'. And a couple of minutes later an unknowing public watched their future hero fly off to save the world.

It wasn't until it was over that Lois realized that she'd barely breathed during Clark's ordeal with the asteroid. Their original supposition had been that he could approach the asteroid from the side and just give it a 'super' push and everything would be fine. Actually, it was lucky that he was in radio contact with the scientists at EPRAD during the procedure. They were able to tell him almost immediately, from their long range measurements of Nightfall, how much effect he'd had on the giant rock. It took twelve separate pushes, on different spots of the rock, by Superman before the experts back at EPRAD announced that the asteroid's course had been changed significantly enough and the world was no longer in danger.

A huge cheer went up in the newsroom, which Lois was sure was echoed throughout the planet. It was then that she was able to release the huge breath she'd been holding. She was still worried. Clark hadn't had to smash into the rock like her own Clark had, but he'd been out there a lot longer. She wondered how his air supply was holding out and if the cold of outer space was beginning to affect him.

She went back to her desk and typed the few last sentences to her article about Superman's handling of the asteroid. It would dovetail nicely with her and Clark's 'exclusive' background interview. After sending the article to Perry's computer she grabbed her bag, then headed for the elevator. As she passed Jenny's desk she gave the young woman a nod, which was answered. Jenny began to gather her things together also.

Before she could reach the top of the landing Perry stuck his head out of his office door. "Ah, Lois? Where you headed to now? Don't you want to see your headline in the afternoon's edition?"

Lois gave her boss an off-handed wave. "No time, Chief. I'm sure it will be fine. I've got to meet Clark. We've arranged an interview with our super hero savior for later." She turned and gave Perry a grin. "Wouldn't want to be late and have him go to some other paper, would we?"

Jenny stepped up beside Lois. "Jenny, now where the heck are you going?" Perry asked.

"Um, Lois asked me to come along... to take some pictures." The elevator door opened and the two women stepped in.

"Take pictures? But you're not a photographer?" Perry's words hung in empty air as the elevator doors had closed and the women were on their way. He ran his hand through his hair as he glanced out at the rest of the bullpen. Everyone was just standing there watching him. "What the heck are all you standing around for? Get to work, we've got a newspaper to get out." He glanced at the front page mock up he held in his hand, the 60 point type boldly proclaiming 'A Superman Saves the World'.

*******************

Jenny opened the door, and she and Lois entered the apartment. They saw the costume lying on the couch. Lois went over and fingered the shiny fabric. It was very cold to the touch. That surprised her because she figured that his aura would have kept it protected. Of course, she was only assuming that Clark had the same kind of aura that her Superman had. Then again, maybe it had just been that cold. Suddenly she became aware of the sound of the shower running.

Looking over, Lois saw a look of mischievous glee on Jenny's face as the young woman was already unbuttoning buttons and unzipping zippers while in a hurry toward the bedroom and the master bath. Lois rolled her eyes and headed for a comfortable chair. It looked like she was going to have to wait a while.

She picked up a magazine that was on the coffee table. It was obviously one of Jenny's since Lois didn't figure that Clark was into 'Modern Decorating'. She tried to ignore the sounds of giggling coming from the other room as she flipped through the pages of the ad-filled magazine.

After a few minutes she tossed the periodical back to the table and grabbed the television remote. A push of a button brought the screen to life and she was seeing the replay of the events of just a short time ago being replayed again and again on LNN. Funny how there was no news of the police raid on the Siegel Ave. warehouse, and Luthor's death. She wasn't sure if that was because of the enormity of the catastrophe that had just been averted, or because Luthor had owned LNN and they didn't wish to bring any negative attention to themselves.

Before she could check other channels to see if they might have a different slant on things, Clark stepped into the room. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was still wet. She was aware of Jenny, behind him, running around in the bedroom, obviously looking for something to put on herself.

He gave her grin. "Sorry, I really needed a hot shower. I've never been that cold before. I didn't think that I was affected by heat or cold, but I was out there for a long time." He ran his hand through his wet hair. It was slicked back and he looked so much like the Superman she'd left behind. Once again she had to force her heart to ignore him. "Then you guys came in and, well..."

Lois just shook her head. "No need to apologize. You deserved your hero's welcome." He looked a little confused. She pointed at the screen. "You saved the world, and they are grateful. You are a super hero. You are Superman."

He blushed then he grinned. "Yeah, we did it, didn't we?"

"You did it. I just knew that you could." She cocked her head. "How do you feel. I know, because of the kryptonite, you might not have been at your best."

He shook his head. "Naw, I feel good. It was an incredible rush pushing against that huge rock and knowing that I was actually moving it." He sounded almost like an excited kid with a new toy. "I can't believe I'm going to be able to use my powers openly to help people." He gave her a big smile. "For that, I can't thank you enough, Lois."

Lois' return smile was a touch sad, but held a lot of warmth. "Well, you're very welcome, and since this is now my home too, I think there was a little bit of self-preservation involved in my actions."

"So, what do we do now?" Jenny had entered the room and asked the obvious question.

Lois stood up. "Actually, you two are going to write up the *exclusive* interview we told Perry about. Me, I'm going home. I'm tired and I need to get some sleep."

Clark looked surprised. "But, Lois, we're partners. Shouldn't we write up this interview together?"

"That's what partners are for. They cover for each other. I wrote up the before interview, you can write up the after." She winked at him and moved toward the door. She turned back. "And, Jenny, I'm counting on you to make sure he doesn't come off too humble. After all this is supposed to be an interview by a totally objective reporter."

"I can do that." The young woman grinned at Lois, then joined Lois in laughing at Clark when he rolled his eyes.

"Good night, kids. I'll see you in the morning."

*******************

It was a bone-tired and soul-weary Lois Lane who walked through her apartment door. She tossed her bag and her keys onto the small table near the front door. Zombie-like, she shuffled into the living room and dropped bonelessly onto the large couch. A sigh escaped her lips as she stared at the far wall, not really seeing it.

Well, it seemed that she had succeeded in her assigned task on this world. She had created another Superman, and luckily it was in time to save the world from Nightfall. Now, she supposed, she could concentrate more on herself, and what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

When Herb had dropped her here originally, there had never been any doubt in her mind that this was where she would stay. After all, she had nothing to go back to. What would be the point? Her life at home was being lived by someone else. There wouldn't be room for two Lois Lanes on the same planet. There was barely room enough for one.

Cat's death was still like a raw wound tearing at her heart. She had really come to like the outrageous woman. Cat had been her touchstone on this world. But because she had made a mistake, her best friend was dead, and she would have to live with the guilt of that for the rest of her life... alone.

Clark was still her good friend, but he would always have to be kept at arm's length. She could never let down her guard around him, she couldn't afford to. He belonged with Jenny, Lois could see it even if her treacherous memories might lead her to occasionally think otherwise.

She figured that if she was to make a life here, she was going to have to face the prospect of being completely honest with Clark. It was clear to her that he suspected there was more to her story than she had told him. She had purposely avoided too much talk about her relationship with her world's Clark and Superman. He knew that she had been partnered with Clark Kent in her own world but she hadn't said much else. He trusted her, and respected her privacy, so he'd never pushed it, but the lad was no dummy. Lois was sure she'd let slip enough in her conversations to lead Clark to believe there was more there than she was saying.

Still, what purpose would that honesty serve? Would his knowing that she'd been married to his counterpart benefit their relationship in any useful manner, or would it just be a complication that could make things more uncomfortable? One thing was for sure, Jenny didn't need to know.

Her mind refused to argue with itself any longer. She was too tired. She could begin the debate again tomorrow. After all, it wasn't like she was going anywhere. With another sigh, Lois turned out the lights and walked into her bedroom.

*****************

The next day had dawned bright and sunny. There were no sudden solar eclipses nor were there any fearful glances skyward by the people on the streets. They had all been saved. They'd been saved by this new super hero, this Superman.

Superman was all the buzz around every water cooler in the city. Both Lois and Clark were roundly cheered by their co-workers for their impressive scoops concerning this new 'Man of Steel', as one media type had dubbed him. The partners humbly basked in the praise of their cohorts for several minutes until Perry, ever the practical boss, broke up 'this little coffee clatch' and sent everyone scurrying back to their respective jobs.

Lois sat down at her computer and began the start of a new day. It was one of the things that she loved about her job. No matter what you produced the day before, you were only as good as your next story. She had helped save the entire world, and now she was just another reporter looking for a lead.

About a half and hour into the morning Lois glanced over at Clark and saw a familiar scene. Suddenly his head cocked slightly and he got a faraway look in his eye. She smiled as she realized what was happening. He was hearing something that no one else could. He shifted his gaze to her. A look of confusion and uncertainty crossed his face. She knew he was unsure what he should do.

She almost laughed at his indecision. She cocked her brow and made the little flying motion that had become so commonplace between her and her husband. Clark caught her meaning right away, and nodded. She smiled and mouthed the word 'go'. He gave her grateful look and was quickly on his feet, reaching for his tie as he headed for the back stairwell. The more things change, she thought to herself.

She hadn't focused her attention back to her screen for more than a couple of minutes when Perry's voice cut through her concentration. "Lane, Kent, in my office." She rose from her chair and moved up the ramp. "Where's Kent?"

"He got a call. He's checking out a lead," she lied with practiced ease as she entered his office.

"Well I might have a lead for the two of you." Perry followed her in.

Lois stopped and stared at the fellow who was seated on Perry's couch. He was about her age, nice looking, with a crop of unruly dark hair and a quick smile. He stood as she came into the room.

"This is Agent Scardino, from the DEA. He's in Metropolis, down from Washington, on a case. He's asking for our help."

Lois was able to swallow her surprise. She stepped forward and took his hand and shook it. "Agent Scardino."

His smile grew larger. "Please, call me Daniel."