Previously, From Chapter One:
In his mind, he had given up on “his” Lois being alive. He also knew that “Clark’s” Lois could never be his. So he had conjured up a fantasy Lois, one that existed just for him. He didn’t have to share her with anyone. She was already in love with him. They complemented and completed each other.
He shared his horror stories with her after a particularly challenging rescue mission. An entire conversation took place in his mind. She provided comfort to him when he felt he wasn’t fast enough, or clever enough.
When a part of him wanted to curl up in the fetal position and cry for hours, she saved his sanity and his soul, and enabled Superman to be there for the next tragedy. He drew his strength from her.
He could feel her warm body cradled in his arms when he slept at night. His dreams of being with her were so vivid he actually felt he was communing with her on a higher level. He hated waking up in the morning, because that was when he had to say goodbye to her.
He lived his days one at a time, and his bed became his Fortress of Solitude, where he could be one with the woman he would always love. There was a part of him that realized that some would think he was crazy!
It was OK to be an 8 year old child who had “pretend friends” and carried on conversations with them in their rooms at night by themselves. But when you are in your late thirties, it seemed to be quite pathetic. Nonetheless, it kept him going. Superman? No, he was Super-Fool-In-Love.
Nonetheless, he didn’t focus on or plan on Lois showing up alive some day. He just knew that there was a connection, real or imagined, between his soul and hers.
Chapter Two
Smallville, Kansas
He arrived at the farmhouse thru the underground tunnel he had fashioned, and spun out of the suit. Jonathan and Martha were sitting on the loveseat out on the front porch, enjoying an unseasonably warm March day. Well, spring was only a week away. Not that the calendar controlled the weather. Freak snow storms in April and May have happened before in Kansas.
He could smell the pie baking in the kitchen. Home, sweet home. Always a great place for a busy Superman to visit. It sure wasn’t always like that, he mused. When you lose something, boy do you appreciate it when you get it back. Herb had his good and bad points, but he owed him one big time for this. It almost made up for living in a Lois-less world.
Clark walked out to the porch. Martha stood up and gave him a big hug and kiss.
“Honey, there are some chocolate-chip cookies in the jar. Help yourself”!
“Ma……….the pie would have been enough!”
“Clark…..I’m here to spoil you and I love doing it. You know that!” Martha insisted.
As soon as Clark went back inside, Martha remarked to Jonathan, “he’s so much like OUR Clark, it still makes me want to cry!”
“I know, Martha, and he feels the same way about us. Except we’re a lot older than his folks were when they died.” Jonathan added, “It’s probably easier for him to adjust to us because we look a little different to him. After all, he’s almost the same age that his folks were when they were killed. He, on the other hand, looks just like our boy. They could have been twins.”
“Jonathan, do you ever think about OUR earth anymore?” Martha asked. “After all, it’s been more than three years since we arrived here.”
“Every day, when I want to kiss THIS earth’s ground. If Herb hadn’t come for us when he did, we would have been made slaves of Lord Nor’s and working hard labor the rest of our lives. I miss our friends, but once Clark and Lois were killed, what was really there for us anyway?” Jonathan asked.
“True, I know, honey,” said Martha. She remembered the day as clearly as if it were yesterday.
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A different Alternate Universe, Fall, 1999
“Jonathan and Martha, please join me over here,” whispered an Englishman in a bowler hat as loudly as he could without attracting attention.
Both Kents spun around in the direction of the voice. It appeared to be coming from the bushes over to the left of where they were “working”, or rather, “slaving”.
Lord Nor’s watchdogs were distracted for a moment by the current execution taking place. This time it was the Mayor of Smallville, Pete Ross, and Sheriff Rachel Harris. Little by little, any semblance of the previous non-Kryptonian leadership was being eliminated!
It had tragically begun with the most prominent of all Smallvillians, Superman/Clark Kent and his wife, Lois Lane. First, Clark had been exposed by the New Kryptonians to be Superman. Next he was jailed in a Kryptonite cage and Lois forced to watch while her husband’s life essence slowly faded away.
Immediately after Clark’s death, Lois was fatally shot by a gun loaded with Kryptonite bullets. Lord Nor felt it was the supreme irony to have Lord Kal-el’s earthly wife assassinated using the remains of their dead planet. Jonathan and Martha were spared, because they would suffer more alive than dead. Lois had been three months pregnant at the time of her murder. They had lost their son, daughter-in-law and future grandchild, all in one day!
New Kryptonian scientists had discovered an antidote for Kryptonite. It involved receiving an injection every several weeks, and it had to be administered in a special laboratory environment illuminated with Red-Sun radiation.
Immediately after receiving the treatment, the patient was rendered powerless for approximately 24 hours. Based on that knowledge, all New Kryptonians that had relocated to earth were placed on a rotating schedule for treatments in order to ensure adequate “police” coverage at all times.
Of course, now that Kal-El was dead, they could make plans to eliminate all remaining Kryptonite on earth. It had served its purpose well. Soon, they would control the entire planet!
Jonathan and Martha slowly worked their way over to the bushes, pretending to be picking up debris from the grass. Martha held Jonathan’s hand tightly, as she had remained in an almost comatose state of mind since Clark and Lois’ deaths. A blank stare permeated her facial features.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, my name is Herbert George Wells. Pleased to meet you both.”
The voice came from within the shadows of the bushes. Jonathan was briefly blinded by a reflection of sunlight in his eyes, so he assumed the voice owned a pair of glasses.
“Mr. – Wells is it? This is really not a good time” Jonathan whispered.
“I need you to come with me no questions asked. It will save your lives,” pleaded Wells.
“My wife is in no shape to travel. We just lost our beloved son and daughter-in-law. Besides, it won’t take much for these SOB’s to kill us just for talking to you” said Jonathan.
“Please reach out for my hand, and place your palm on the cold metal you will feel there. I promise you won’t regret this. I will explain everything straight away,” asserted Wells, using his most authoritative tone. They simply must go with him!!
In a flash of spontaneity, Jonathan poked his hand (that already had Martha’s attached to it) thru the bushes. When flesh connected with cool steel, the world suddenly became a kaleidoscope of colors and three-dimensional tunnels. Waves of nausea overcame both of them and they passed out.
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“Standard” Alternate Universe
When they opened their eyes, they were in a very different Smallville. No sign of the New Kryptonians. It was quiet, peaceful. They were lying on the grass in front of what looked to be their farmhouse. It had an eerie, ghostly appearance to it. It needed paint, the grass was not freshly mowed, and there were no cars in the driveway.
Herb came out of the house. Jonathan and Martha had never seen his face clearly, but they assumed it was their traveling “companion”.
“Mr. Wells, I presume?” said Jonathan.
“Indeed, Mr. Kent. Welcome to a better world!” enthused Wells.
Wells then proceeded to explain in great detail about his great creation, his time machine, and how he had discovered a portal to alternate universes as well.
How this earth’s Clark Kent had lost his parents in a fatal car crash when he ten years old. How he had bounced around in foster care as a teenager. How Lana Lang’s family had become his own.
How the Lois of this world, his one true soul mate, had yet to surface. How lonely Clark was. He even explained that another Lois had briefly showed up, convinced him to become Superman, broke his heart, and gone back to “her” world, to “her” Clark.
How jealous Clark was of “that” Clark, because he had his parents AND Lois. How he had lost his secret identity almost immediately after introducing Superman to the world.
Jonathan and Martha shuddered to think that this Clark had to live his life in a fishbowl, with no family and no Lois to nurture him. Their hearts went out to him. It would be okay to meet him and see if they could heal each other's emotional wounds. That’s what family was for, after all.
Wells explained to the Kents that Clark still owned the farmhouse, but seldom visited. There were too many sad memories. He was, however, unable to sell the farm. It was his one sole tie to family that he had.
Instead, he had recently been looking to rent it out. The price of rent would be restoring the farmhouse to its original glory, and working the land again. Knowing that his family home was filled with life again (and maybe the magical smell of a baking apple pie in the oven) would be payment enough.
The realtor that Clark had hired to screen suitable prospective tenants and manage the property was none other than Clark’s lifelong friend, Lana Lang! Wells divulged that Clark had been engaged to Lana, but their relationship fell apart when he met and fell in love with the other-world Lois.
After several years, they had become good friends again, and Lana was now engaged to Smallville’s new Mayor, Pete Ross. She had taken real estate classes, and now had her realtor’s license. It gave her the opportunity to network about town, and help further her future husband’s political career at the same time!
The Kents couldn’t believe the similarities between their two worlds. They had just watched “their” Pete Ross executed at the hands of the New Kryptonians. The agony of losing “their” Clark and Lois was still painfully close to the surface. They agreed to meet with Lana and live in the home, assuming that this world’s Clark was OK with it.
The biggest obstacle they would have to overcome was an identity crisis of sorts: since they were considered legally dead in this Universe, who the HECK would they be? It was doubtful that the townspeople would recognize them as the Kents, since they had been dead for more than 25 years in this universe. In addition, since the underworld knew that Superman was Clark Kent, there might be a risk associated with keeping the Kent name. If a connection were made to Superman, their lives would be in danger. They’d be back to square one again. Maybe Lana, with all of her contacts, could help???
“Remain here. I will return shortly with your new ‘son’. I made some tea while you were resting,” Wells advised. “Clark can contact Lana and together you can all figure out the proper details”.
“OK, Herbert, we await your return,” said Jonathan. “And, if I didn’t say it before, thank you for saving us.” Martha was sound asleep on the couch. She had hardly slept in the three days since they lost “their” Clark, Jonathan realized. It was good to see her resting. He was so glad for once that he had decided to be impulsive and grab Herb’s hand! Right now he would be raking leaves under duress and watching yet another execution, had he remained in “his” universe.
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Clark had just landed on the balcony of his apartment when he heard a knock on the door. Using his X-ray vision, he realized it was none other than the man that had ruined his life, H.G. Wells. What now? Was he coming to tell him that “his” Lois was definitely dead?
Spinning out of the suit into comfortable sweats, he reluctantly opened the door.
“Herb,” he grunted, “come in, of course.” Respect your elders, his Ma would have said.
“Clark, my boy, I have news. Please fly me and my machine to Smallville, and I will explain when we get there”.
Clark sighed, and spun back into his Superman persona. He knew better than to argue with Wells, after all these years. He knew that whatever the “news” was, it couldn’t be about Lois, since she had no connection to Smallville.
They took off from the alley where Wells had hidden his time machine. Clark lifted the machine with Wells safely strapped inside. While they were flying, Herb pondered the events of the last several days.
He had made significant improvements to his time and dimensional travel technology in the last several years. A “remote control” device that could be hidden in one’s palm could be activated by satellite link half a world away. Of course, this only worked in the late 20th century. But these days, he found the past (his present) dull and the future undeniably exciting!
The remote allowed him to bring the machine to wherever he was. He could also leave his machine in one dimensional universe and travel to another. Problem was, the machine sent him to that exact spot in time and space in the other universe! He had landed in some embarrassing situations as a result, but…. ah, all in the good of scientific research!
He had left the machine most recently adjacent to the Kent farmhouse. He had been feeling badly that he couldn’t locate the Lois of this universe. He just couldn’t face Clark’s sad face again without some good news for the upcoming Millennium. Somehow, he felt responsible for Clark’s misery. If he couldn’t find “his” Lois, maybe there was another alternate universe out there with a Lois without a Clark? Could it hurt to take a look around?
When he arrived in the other Smallville, Clark and Lois were already dead. The Kents of that world were grieving badly. Then, a lightbulb went off in Herb’s head. He had picked this universe quite by chance, but here was an opportunity to perhaps bring a family back together! He just hoped his meddling would have a positive ending to it, after all.
Smallville, Kansas
10 minutes later
Clark gingerly dropped the machine and its occupant down in front of the farmhouse. His enhanced hearing, however, had picked up heartbeats inside the living room. His heart racing, he sped into the house without waiting for Herb to free himself and accompany him.
Jonathan looked up and saw his dead son’s face. It was unbelievable. Clark was alive again! “Martha, Martha, wake up!” he exclaimed. “Clark is here!”
Clark was transfixed, unable to breathe or move. They looked just like the other Clark’s parents. He had met them when he had traveled to “their” universe to help out when Lois’s Clark was missing. Had Wells brought them here just to tease him, only to bring them back to “their” Clark and Lois again? What was going on here?
“My boy, you didn’t give me a chance to explain!” Wells sputtered as he entered the room, completely out of breath. “Clark Kent, meet Jonathan and Martha Kent!”
The story they finally came up with to explain their presence was the following:
“Joe” and “Mary” Lang were Lana’s Aunt and Uncle from the West Coast. They had always wanted to live on a farm, in their retirement years. They had relocated to the Midwest to be by their family, especially in light of their niece Lana’s engagement to the newly elected Mayor of Smallville, Pete Ross.
Their “landlord”, Superman/Clark Kent, had taken an interest in them, since they were residing in his family home. Town folk remarked that since Clark had lost his parents at such an early age, he had “adopted” the Langs, who had never had children of their own. He even called them Ma and Pa affectionately! It was only natural that Clark would bond with them, since Clark had been engaged to Lana, and, thus, was close to her parents, and now her Aunt and Uncle as well.
The town of Smallville had become an extremely close-knit community when it was made public that Clark Kent was indeed Superman. Outsiders coming in to ask questions were shunned. No one gave interviews to the media. Period. Clark’s privacy was respected. It was a testimony to his character. Smallville was proud of their resident alien!
Clark had dug an underground tunnel from the basement of the farmhouse to the woods on the outskirts of town. This way, when he needed his “Ma” and “Pa” fix, no one would see him visiting them on a regular basis.
Their relationship had been a tad difficult at first, more so for the Kents than for Clark. The emotional pain of loss was very fresh for them. Clark, however, warmed up to them right away. Herbert had been right. He did bring a family back together! Clark’s face was not quite as sad these days, and Martha was able to dispense “Superman”-type advice to Clark, based on stories “her” Clark had told her thru the years.
“Her” Clark had been Superman a little longer than this Clark. She did refrain from giving him too many details about their daughter-in-law, Lois. They prayed that “his” Lois would magically reappear one day and they would be a complete family once again.
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Smallville, Kansas
March 2003
“Clark, it’s time to get to the church!” Martha said.
“Ma, those cookies are so good. I’m not going to have room for that apple pie,” Clark smiled.
“Watching your figure again”? Martha teased. “Jonathan, where did you go now?”
“Right here, with the car,” Jonathan said.
“Ok, you two, I’ll meet you there.” Clark spun back into the suit and flew back thru the tunnel. It would not be advisable for all of them to arrive at the same time!
A reception at Lana and Pete’s home followed the Christening. Lana cornered Clark. “All right, please tell me that there is someone, other than Lois, that you at least find interesting, Clark!”
“Lana, I know you mean well, but pullllease….don’t start up again. I’m doing fine. Look, I have my family back!” Clark pleaded.
“Clark, they won’t live forever! Please....I worry about you. I know in your heart you really believe that Lois will come back. What if she doesn’t? You have already wasted more than five years pining away for a ghost!!” Lana scolded. “Will you at least go out on a date with a friend of mine, that’s new in town? She just relocated to Smallville, and I sold her that little house that was up for sale forever next to the high school!”
“Lana, you are really a broken record! You know I hate blind dates,” Clark replied.
“So use your super-eyes and check her out ahead of time!” Lana joked. “Superman never goes out on a blind date!”
“Well, if you want to invite her over for dinner some time, I could pop in and meet her. That’s as far as I’ll go,” Clark negotiated.
“Deal!” exclaimed Lana. “You will be hearing from me shortly. Don’t give me the bum’s rush again when I call you with the details, now, like you did the last time!”
“Lana, there was an earthquake in California. I wasn’t avoiding you” Clark said, grinning broadly.
“Clark Joseph Kent!!! You most certainly were!!! There is a two hour time difference between Kansas and California, the TV said you left the scene at 3pm Pacific time! You were due at my house at 6pm! You do the math!” Lana became very animated. They had had this discussion soooooooo many times before. Clark always made up a “Superman” excuse to avoid dating. He was truly hopeless. But, as his friend, she couldn’t give up on him.
Suddenly, Clark’s beeper went off. “Lana, may I use your phone? The Daily Planet just paged me. Must be important to call me on a Sunday!” Clark exclaimed.
“Sure, no problem”, said Lana. “And we WILL continue this discussion again. And SOMEDAY, I will win out!” she laughed.
Clark was only a freelancer at the Planet these days. As the phone rang, he couldn’t help but wonder what story could be so important to page him. This happened quite infrequently.
On the third ring, he heard “Daily Planet, James Olson speaking”.
“Mr. Olson, Kent here. I got your page. What’s up?”
“Kent, thanks for calling back so quickly. Our webmaster received an interesting E-mail today. We’re going to need Superman’s help to determine if it’s real or not,” Olson said.
“Huh? Why, who was it from” Clark asked.
“Take a deep breath, Kent,” Olson said. “I’ll read it to you, verbatim:
“Hi Daily Planet. Remember me, Lois Lane? The war is over here, and I have no way to get back home. I’m in Congo Brazzaville at an internet café. Please reply to me at LLane@Yahoo.com. I’m living in a refugee camp at the edge of the city. Everyone here knows me as Linda. I have no ID, no money, just the clothes on my back. If you can, please contact Perry White. Have him Email me. He’ll be able to verify that it’s me. Thanks. Lois
P.S.
I’m not a “spammer” I promise!"
Clark dropped the receiver. In a flash, he spun into his Superman suit and headed back to Metropolis without saying goodbye to Lana, Pete, his “folks”, or his Godson. Could this be the hand of “fate” that Wells had mentioned?
TBC
