How I Spent My Christmas Vacation: 5/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"Well, yes and no. A few months after I came to the Planet, there was some kind of corporate scandal and the owner had to sell. You know who James Olsen is, don't you?"
"Sure. The boy genius. He made a fortune in the computer field."
"Well, he bought the Planet from Lex Luthor. He and Luthor have been business rivals for several years, I guess. Anyway, when all that stuff happened, Mr. Olsen convinced Perry to run for Mayor against Tempus. After Lois exposed Tempus, Perry won hands down, and he's the Mayor. Alice has turned into a terrific political hostess. I have dinner with them about once a month."
"Wow," Lois said. She turned her head. "Hey, it's starting to get dark."
"It's night on the west coast of North America," Clark said. "The mainland is coming over the horizon now."
**********
Any remaining hope that Clark might have harbored, that somehow he had been wrong about the time period in which Tempus had dropped them, was extinguished as they approached the coast of California -- or the place that would be California who knew how far in the future. In their century, the southern coastline would have been ablaze with lights, but here all he could see was wilderness and dark. The sun had set behind them as they continued their eastward flight, and only the faintest pink haze remained in the western sky. Above them, the stars blazed brilliantly, brighter than he had ever seen them before. The moon had not yet risen and below them the sea was faintly luminous with sparks of starlight dancing from the tips of the wavelets. Scanning the landmass ahead of them, he could see only darkness ... no, there, some miles inland, he could see the light of a small campfire. Dark muscular figures moved around it. Native Americans, he thought. This was definitely not the California he knew.
"It's all dark," Lois said. "I've never seen California like this."
"Neither have I," Clark said. "It pretty much confirms what we thought might be true."
"Great," Lois said. "I believed you, but I was hoping you were wrong about when we are. When *are* we?"
"Your guess is at least as good as mine. All I can see are a few little cooking fires a ways inland, and native people. I'd say the Europeans haven't got here yet."
"Terrific." Lois's tone said she didn't think it was terrific at all. "What's next on the agenda?"
"I guess we head for the east coast," Clark said. "It's possible there are some colonies there. Hopefully, we didn't beat Columbus here, anyway. In any case, we should find a relatively safe spot to wait for Herb. Maybe we should just go and find a deserted tropical island and stay there instead. You'd probably be more comfortable."
"Yeah. I'm not exactly dressed for cold weather," Lois said, "and winters in Metropolis are pretty cold."
"Say the word and that's what we'll do," he said.
"I think we should at least go look. Besides, do you have any idea what season we're in right now?"
Clark glanced up, scanning the heavens. There was Gemini, Leo, and Canis Major and Minor. Prominent in the eastern sky where it was darkest, the constellation of Orion shone down. "Winter."
"How can you tell? It's not that cold."
"Depending on the time of year, there are different constellations in the night sky. If you look east and south you can see Canis Major. A little north of it and not quite so far to the east is Orion. Orion shows up at night at the beginning of December, and he's right there. It's winter, all right."
"What did you do? Memorize an astronomy book?" she asked. "It doesn't feel that cold to me."
"Don't forget, we're off the coast of what will eventually be Los Angeles. Southern California. Also, I'm carrying you. I found out a while back that something about my super powers seems to protect anyone I'm carrying from the wind and extremes of temperature." Clark resisted the temptation to hold her closer. They hadn't reached that stage of their new relationship yet, but he was already sure that this Lois was even more suited to him than the woman he had first met. She felt incredibly good in his arms, and her scent -- which no one but he would even have noticed -- nearly made him dizzy. She might think she frightened men off, but maybe he could surprise her. Right now, however, rushing her was the last thing he needed to do.
"Really?" she said. "That's incredible! Do you know why it works like that?"
"There's a scientist at STAR Labs who's been studying it," he explained. "He says it's some kind of energy field that I produce. It's why my costume doesn't get shredded when I'm holding a bomb and it explodes or something."
"You can actually do that? I mean, I know you said that nothing can hurt you, but I sort of didn't connect it to bombs or anything."
"Sure. The only thing that I've found that can hurt me, at least so far, is a rock. Actually it's a crystal, from -- we think -- my home planet. It produces radiation that apparently doesn't hurt humans, but can kill me. It's easy to spot, though, because it's bright green and glows. I've only seen one piece. It was the one Tempus had when he used it on me in front of everyone. The scientist I mentioned has that one, and has been studying it practically ever since it happened."
"You're sure you can trust this guy?"
He nodded. "Bernie is a good friend of mine. He wouldn't do anything to hurt me."
"But I bet a lot of other people would," Lois said. "Especially if you should happen to get in the way of their business, and it's my guess you do. How many people know about this stuff?"
"Well," Clark said, wondering where this was going, "A lot of people saw the broadcast, but after Lois threw it to get it away from me, Perry found it and asked me what he should do with it. I didn't know, but Mr. Olsen suggested Dr. Klein. They were very careful not to let the information get out. A few people asked about it but since no one but Lois knew anything about it until later, no one got any answers."
"But this Tempus guy knows about it?"
"Unfortunately, he does," Clark admitted. "Bernie is trying to come up with some kind of antidote, or maybe a vaccine for it, so I won't have to worry about it in the future, but he hasn't had much luck so far."
"Hmmph. Well, if you and I both have to be present for this Utopia to come about, we'd better figure out what to do if that Tempus joker shows up again," Lois said firmly. "Isn't there anything that will protect you from this green stuff?"
"It's called Kryptonite," Clark said. "Lead blocks the radiation, or that's what Lois told me. I guess she had reason to know."
"But nothing else?"
He shook his head. "Not that I know of."
"Well, where did he get it? Did the other Lois have any idea?"
"If she did, she didn't say," Clark said. "I just assumed he brought it from the other universe."
Lois snorted. "You know what they say about assumptions! There may be a Superman there, but there's also one here, so that means there's probably Kryptonite here too, no matter if Tempus got his from the other universe or not! We need to sit down and figure out where it might have come from in *our* world!"
"It was a meteorite," Clark said. "I don't know that there's any way to tell where he might have found it."
"Don't be silly. If there was no way, it's not that likely that Tempus would have found it in either universe. How many rocks are there on Earth, anyway? Zillions! Think about it a minute. Your home planet wasn't anywhere close to Earth, was it?"
"I don't think so," Clark said. "My father -- my Kryptonian father, that is -- talked about searching a long time for a world that was suitable for me. That doesn't sound like it was exactly next door."
"Okay, then how did it get here within our lifetime? Meteors don't usually travel faster than light."
He found himself staring at her in amazement. She had known him only a few hours and she had already figured out things that had never occurred to him about himself. "It had to have somehow come in with my ship. There wasn't any other way it could have gotten here so fast. He must have found it near Shuster's Field, where the ship landed."
"That's what I think. When we get back to 1997, if we do, then we need to go look. It might not have been the only piece that got here."
"Wow," he said softly. "You are incredible!"
"Huh?"
He couldn't help a slightly incredulous laugh at her obvious confusion. "Now I understand why you're so indispensable to the future," he said, "even if you don't."
She was staring at him as if he had two heads. "What brought this on?"
"I *know* why you're essential," he said, and he could feel his face almost cracking with the broad grin that was impossible to suppress. "It's obvious that you're the brains of this outfit, Ms. Lane."
"Did I miss a step somewhere?" she asked, "because I haven't got a clue what you're talking about."
"I just had one of those dramatic revelations they talk about in books," he said. "You know -- the kind where the scales fall from the hero's eyes and he sees everything clearly? I just figured it all out."
"Then I wish you'd explain it to me," she said, sounding faintly exasperated, "besides, I don't read those kind of cheesy stories. I'm a science fiction junkie from way back."
He laughed outright. "That figures. That's probably why you were even willing to listen to the whole crazy story. Lois, it's obvious to me that Superman needs you more than I had any idea of, super powers or not. You're brilliant! It never even occurred to me to think about how Tempus got the Kryptonite, or where it might have come from. You've known me about four hours and you've already figured it out. *That's* why we're both necessary for the future. Neither one of us can do it alone, but together we can be a formidable team -- just like the Lois and Clark in the alternate universe."
She was nodding. "I think I get it. You did say that Tempus wanted to get rid of you because he was afraid we'd come back from certain defeat, just like they do."
"Exactly." The grin still wouldn't go away, and slowly her mouth curved in an answering smile.
"I guess we're partners then," she said. "One way or another."
"I guess so." They grinned at each other like a pair of mischievous children.
**********
While they had been speaking, they crossed the line from water to land. The sandy beach beneath them was pristine and unpopulated by humans. Clark could never recall seeing a beach completely uncluttered by litter or the signs of human occupation. No beer bottles, no fast food wrappers, no aluminum soda cans. Not even a lost beach towel or flip-flop. It was a surprisingly lonely feeling.
"That's kind of scary," Lois said at the same instant.
"What is?"
"All that wide open land underneath us, and not a city to be seen," she said. "No lights, no freeways, no cars ... nothing."
"No towns, no tilled fields," Clark said. "We're back before the United States existed."
"Do you really think your friend Herb can find us?" Lois asked. "I really don't fancy being stuck here for the rest of my life."
"I *think* he can," Clark said. "We'd better hope so."
"I'm beginning to think more seriously about that tropical island," Lois said. "This is spooky. Could Mr. Wells find us if we were on some little island somewhere, do you think?"
"That machine of his can take us anywhere is space and time," Clark said. "If he can use it, he can find us. Assuming he's alive."
"I'd still like to find out when we are," Lois said.
"We're headed east," Clark said. "We'll find out pretty soon."
The dark countryside below them swept smoothly past. Clark flew east and slightly north, and the air grew thinner and colder as they crossed the Sierra Nevada range with its crown of snow glowing palely in the starlight. The moon was rising as they progressed, huge, round and milky white, flooding the landscape with ghostly radiance.
They crossed the wide desert of the North American southwest, angling north. Clark flew faster now, holding Lois more closely as they rose to cross the Rocky Mountains. She yawned, looking down at the snow-covered peaks. "Would you mind very much if I try to get some sleep?" She glanced at her watch. "No wonder I'm tired. I've been up for nearly twenty hours. Maybe we should stop and find a place to sleep. We could probably make a fire to keep warm."
"Are you warm enough now?"
"Yes."
"Then try to get some sleep. I'm going to keep going."
"Aren't you tired?"
"No. I don't need as much sleep as ordinary people."
"Naturally. How ..." The sentence was interrupted by a wide yawn. "How am I supposed to keep up with you?"
He grinned. "Somehow, I don't think you'll have nearly as much trouble as you think you will."
**********
tbc
