Home: Circle of Fate 9/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"You know," Lois said, a fork full of pasta halfway to her mouth, "Clark knows how to build a time machine."
Lori nearly dropped her glass of milk. "He *does*?"
"Well, sure. When Tempus stole Wells' time machine and kidnapped him, Wells dropped the plans for his machine and Clark used them to build another one so we could follow."
"And Clark's memory is photographic!" Lori finished. "I hadn't thought of that!"
"So," Lois finished triumphantly, "if we can find some way to tell Clark where you are, he could come back and get you!"
**********
And now, Part 9:
It was a ringing noise that woke Lori the next morning. She opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room with a décor that was oddly old-fashioned, and after a puzzled moment, she recalled where she was. She was a hundred years in her world's past, staying in the guestroom of the Kent house on Hyperion Avenue.
The ringing had stopped, and she glanced at her wrist talker, which she had reset to local time the evening before. It was nearly nine-thirty in the morning. Normally, on her days off, she woke around seven, but she and Lois Lane had stayed up past midnight, talking, trying to come up with some idea for sending Clark a message in 2099 to let him know where she was. It had to be done in a way that wouldn't disrupt the normal progression of the future timeline, and, of course, that made the job more difficult than it might otherwise have been. Neither of them had any idea what would happen if they inadvertently created a paradox, and neither wanted to find out. At last Lois had suggested that they get some sleep. They would, she had pointed out with a note of practicality that Lori found familiar, be able to think better, after they had both had some rest.
Slowly, she crawled out of bed, wincing at the low back pain that had been her constant companion for the last few weeks, and reached for the robe that Lois had loaned her. It was, Lois had said, a gift from Lucy for her last birthday. It would have fallen to Lois's ankles; Lori had to hitch it up slightly to avoid tripping over the hem. Clark had mentioned, when he had told her about his adventures in ancient England and the Old West, that he and Lois had closely resembled their previous incarnations, but there were obviously some slight differences, which wasn't surprising. She and Lois were very similar in their characters and personalities, but the likeness wasn't exact, for which she was glad.
She found the clothing she had been wearing the previous night, shook the wrinkles and dirt briskly out of it and headed for the upstairs bathroom. Lois had shown her how to adjust the shower water to a comfortable temperature the night before, and she figured that she could handle it, even if there was no computer to adjust it automatically. She would never have dreamed of insulting Lois with any comment on the primitive conditions that the people of the Twentieth Century had to put up with, but it only illustrated in fact what they had been talking about the day before.
Half an hour later, she was descending the steps to the main floor of the Kent home. The television was going, and she could see Lois sitting on the sofa, watching the television, the device that had preceded the advent of the multi-purposed vidscreen. She was eating a bowl of cereal, and Lori could hear the voice of a weather forecaster.
"Hi," Lois said as she reached the bottom of the steps. "Breakfast is cold cereal this morning."
"Okay," Lori said.
"Clark called a little while ago," Lois added.
"How's he doing?" Lori asked.
"He's fine. He wanted to know how I was doing. I told him one of my cousins had come by and was staying with me until he gets back. He was relieved, because he says he's going to be there at least another day."
"I hope we've found a solution to this mess before then," she said. "I don't even have a birth certificate in this time. How on Earth am I going to support myself if I can't get home?"
"We're going to find a way to get you home," Lois said. "We have to."
"I sure hope so," Lori said. She rubbed her back. "My back is killing me," she added, irrelevantly.
"Mine, too," Lois said. "Clark came up with a great way to help me. I've been sleeping on air for the last week, until yesterday. I'd almost forgotten how sleeping in a normal bed felt until last night."
"Yeah," Lori said. "Clark did that for me night before last. It was wonderful."
Lois raised an eyebrow at her. "If I could, I'd have a few words to say to him about that. He should have remembered to suggest it earlier."
Lori shook her head. "It's been the better part of a century since he was a dad last," she said. "Even Superman sometimes has things slip his mind."
"Maybe," Lois said, "but if I were you, I'd kick his gorgeous butt."
Lori giggled. "I'd hurt my foot. Besides, if I get back all right, I'll be too glad to see him to kick him."
Lois grinned. "Yeah, I know the feeling. How do you feel about running down to the mall with me? We can get you a change of clothing so you won't stand out so much. I want to check in with Dr. Klein, too, to see how he's doing."
"That's fine with me," Lori said, " You know, there's something I'd like to do, if we have the time."
"What?" Lois asked.
"I've always wanted to meet Jim Olsen," Lori said. "Clark has told me about him, and --"
"Jimmy?" Lois said. "Sure, I guess so. Did Clark tell you he's a junior photographer at the Planet?"
"Oh yes," Lori said. "Clark said that when he met him, he was the office gofer, but that he was also the office computer expert. He also said that he was a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for. Besides, I know his great grandson pretty well, and his great, great granddaughter is one of my best friends."
"You mean he finally settled down?" Lois said. "Jimmy's the guy with a new girlfriend every week, you know. Who did he marry?"
Lori shrugged. "Her name was Erica -- I don't know her last name. They had two kids, but his grandson --"
"What about him?" Lois asked. "Nothing bad, I hope."
"Oh, no, not at all. One of his grandsons will marry one of your granddaughters."
"You're kidding! So, some of his descendents will have super powers?"
"Some of them," Lori said. "My editor is one of his descendents who doesn't have the powers. His name is John Olsen. He took a chance on me when I applied for a position at the Planet, and kind of treats me as his protégee."
"He does, huh?"
"Yeah," Lori said. "He's a pretty good friend -- and he teases Clark sometimes by calling him Gramps. Clark doesn't like it. Anyway, Clark said Jim Olsen was a good friend of his, and a pretty remarkable person. I've heard a lot about him. I'd like to meet him, if we have the time."
"I guess that wouldn't be a problem," Lois said. "I never thought of Jimmy as being remarkable. He's a nice guy, and pretty good with a computer, but you just kind of don't notice him a lot of the time."
"I know," Lori said. "Clark said the same thing. He found out he could take advantage of that, and a few years from now, he'll --" She broke off. "No, I shouldn't tell you, or things might change. Anyway, he did something pretty terrific. He'll be a great journalist someday."
"Well, I think we can find the time for you to meet him," Lois said. "Why don't we go over there after we find you something different to wear, and then we can drop by STAR Labs and see if Bernie has made any progress." She finished a last bite of cereal and got to her feet. "Better go get some breakfast. If you're anything like me, you're starving in the morning."
"That's for sure," Lori said.
**********
"Clark," the image of Arnie Frazier on the vidscreen said, "we're working on it. Right now, we're waiting for the time machine to reappear."
"What do you mean, reappear?" Clark asked. "I thought you'd be finished with the tests by now."
"One of the things we needed to ascertain," Arnie said, "is if the machine works the way it's supposed to. We programmed it to go 24 hours into the future. It should reappear in about fifteen minutes."
"Arnie," Clark said, keeping a tight rein on his temper, "I need to start looking for her."
"I know you do, but any time you waste here-and-now won't matter," Arnie said, patiently, "and it won't do Lori any good if the thing malfunctions and kills you -- or worse, strands you in some distant century, or loses you in the time stream, somewhere. We're going to make sure it works right before we let you go. Then you'll have a better chance of finding her and bringing her back safely."
"How much longer?" Clark asked.
"We still have to test it with a living passenger," Arnie said. "We're going to try it with a rat next. We'll send it a few hours into the future. After that, if the rat is unhurt, we'll let you have it." The scientist glanced at his wrist talker. "In the meantime, have you found any indication of where this criminal may have taken her?"
Clark shook his head. "Not a thing. If she's in the past, she may not realize that I can come to get her."
"Even if she doesn't," Arnie said, "I think she'd want to let you know that she was alive and safe. She'll think of some way to send you a message. Besides, she knows that in the future there will be time travelers. If they have any interest in keeping the future as it should be, I should think they would go and get her, if they can figure out where she is."
"If Tempus fixed it so the future changes, they may not be able to," Clark said, rather bleakly.
"True, but I prefer to think that Lori is smart enough to figure out what to do," Arnie said. "Do you have any specific plan, except for hopping into different eras and waiting to see if you feel her presence?"
"Yes," Clark said. "I'm going to try to find HG Wells. He may have some way to tell where she wound up. He's a much more experienced time traveler than I am."
"This makes hunting for a needle in a haystack look easy," Arnie said. "My advice is to start looking through historical records for something that shouldn't be there. A computer search might turn something up."
"Aaron is already doing that," Clark said.
"Good. And when you take the machine, you're going to have to report in to us fairly frequently," Arnie said. "We may find something after you're gone. We'll want to be able to get the word to you."
"I've already thought of that," Clark said. "I've arranged with CJ to come back every twenty-four hours. We've arranged for me to meet him at his house every evening at six o'clock."
"Just make sure you do," Arnie said.
"I will. If someone finds some reference to Lori in the past, I don't want to miss it."
**********
Parking structures, whether they were in 1999 or 2099, looked very much the same, Lori thought. The only difference that she could see was that this one was under the Daily Planet instead of in a parking tier beside it. They always seemed to be breezy and too dimly lighted, in spite of the fact that lights above on the ceiling were quite bright. Between the circles of light were patches of darkness, and the great pillars that supported the structure above them left thick bars of shadow on the concrete floor.
Lois pulled the Cherokee into a parking space and cut the engine. "We're here," she announced. "Let's go."
Lori opened the door and got out, glancing down at the smart maternity outfit that she now wore. It looked like the pictures of 20th Century clothing in the old books and vids that were sometimes shown on the vidscreen about people and events of this time, but she had to admit the clothing was nice, even if she worried slightly about getting it dirty. These clothes had to be actually washed, unlike the fabrics of her time. With hers, you simply shook them vigorously and dirt and wrinkles came right out. Only resistant stains like blood or oil required any kind of special care. She had seen Lois toss a bunch of clothing in similar colors into her washing machine before they had left, and then they had dropped off two of Clark's jackets and a pair of slacks at the dry cleaner's before they had gone to the mall. Another of those inconveniences of the "good old days" that she and Lois had talked about at Sergio's.
"This way," Lois said. She led the way to one of the ancient contrivances that were the elevators of this time. They were safe, Lori assured herself. Even if they didn't have all the safety features of the ones of her time, millions of people used them every day, all over the Earth, and there were very few accidents. Lois rang for the car and a minute or two later the 'ding' of a bell announced that it had arrived. The doors slid open and Lois led the way in.
Lori looked around at the small, dingy box that was the Daily Planet's elevator. There was carpet on the floor that looked as if it had been trod on by many, many feet over the years, and the painted numbers beside the buttons that indicated the floors were worn and peeling. Lois pressed the indicator for the third floor, and Lori found herself holding her breath as the doors slid reluctantly shut. With a jolt that made her reach out rather quickly for the safety rail that ran around the inside of the car, the elevator began to rise.
It slid to a stop on the ground floor and several people crowded in, pressing buttons for various floors. One of them, a man somewhere in his thirties, she thought, with thinning hair and a receding hairline, glanced at Lois. "Haven't you had that kid yet, Lane?" he inquired in a brash, cheerful tone. Lori could almost feel Lois grinding her teeth.
"I'd think you could see that for yourself, Ralph," Lois replied, with a saccharine smile.
Ralph, whoever he was, didn't take the hint. He glanced at Lori. "Is this your sister? It looks like it's catching," he joked. "What is it: something in the air?"
"This is my cousin, Lori," Lois said shortly. "She's visiting me for a couple of days while Clark is out of town. I promised to show her where I work."
"Just don't decide to have those kids in the newsroom," Ralph said. Lois glanced at Lori and rolled her eyes.
Ralph didn't notice. The doors opened on the third floor and he stepped out ahead of them.
"This is it," Lois said to Lori. "Come on. I see Jimmy. He just came out of Perry's office."
Lori stepped out of the elevator, looking around at the busy newsroom.
Even a hundred years before her time, there was a familiarity in the place. This wasn't the newsroom where she worked, but it had about it a similarity, the air of people working at their tasks with restrained haste, the smell of newsroom java drifting through the air, and the almost subsonic hum of many computers all running at once. Mostly, it was the people hurrying in every direction, others at their desks, talking on the ancient telephones, or typing swiftly as they rushed to meet their deadlines. Unexpectedly, her vision blurred with tears, and she wiped them hastily away with the back of her hand.
"What's the matter?" Lois asked in an undertone.
"Nothing. Hormones." Lori dabbed quickly at her face with a tissue. "It's different from my newsroom, but it's the same, too," she clarified. "I miss it. I miss --"
"I know," Lois said. "We're going to figure out how to get you home. Hang in there, okay?"
Lori nodded, lifting her chin resolutely. Lois gave her a bracing smile. "That's more like it." She led the way toward a curving ramp that led to the Pit. "Jimmy!" she called.
A youthful figure turned his head at her call, and his teeth flashed in a grin. "Hey, Lois!" Jimmy Olsen changed direction and hurried across the Pit toward them. Lori found herself staring at James Olsen, future editor of the Daily Planet.
Jimmy Olsen was in his mid-twenties, she thought, and probably only a few years older than she was. He was a little taller than Lois, with brown hair and eyes, but somehow you didn't think of his height when he smiled in that cheerful, boyish way. Looking at him, she could see the resemblance to his great grandsons, John and Aaron, but he looked younger than both of them. He wended his way through the various obstacles in the newsroom to the bottom of the ramp.
"We were wondering how you were doing," he said to Lois. "There's a pool going on when exactly you're going to have that little guy," he confided. "I haven't put my bet in yet. How are you feeling?"
Lois grinned. "Fine," she said. "Sorry, I can't give you any hints. I'd like you to meet my cousin Lori. She's staying with me for a couple of days until Clark gets back. Lori, this is Jimmy Olsen."
"Hi, Lori," Jimmy said. "I guess you and Lois have a lot in common right now, huh?"
"Kind of," Lori said, extending a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Olsen."
"Jimmy," he told her. "Nobody calls me Mr. Olsen."
"Lori wanted to see where I worked," Lois explained, "so I thought I'd bring her over." She broke off suddenly, and Lori could almost feel her brain working. The strange connection they seemed to possess told her that her Twentieth Century counterpart had an idea. "Jimmy, Lori will probably be leaving in a day or two. She and I don't get to see each other much, so I was thinking that we could get a couple of pictures while we were here, and since you're a pretty good photographer, maybe you could do it for us."
"Sure thing," Jimmy said.
The door to the editor's office opened and Perry stepped out. Lois waved. "I'm going to take Lori over to see Perry," she told Jimmy. "Why don't you get your camera, and you can take the picture over there by his office."
"Be right there," Jimmy said.
"Showin' your cousin around?" Perry asked, as the two women arrived beside him by the door to his office.
Lois nodded. "I was wondering," she said, "since Lori has to leave in a day or so, Jimmy's going to take a picture or two of us. Could we get one with you, Perry?"
"Well, I don't know," Perry said. "I don't look that great in pictures."
Lori wasn't sure what Lois was up to, but whatever it was, she was willing to assist. "Would you, Mr. White? It would be so great if I could get my picture taken with you! My husband would never believe it!"
She had gauged Perry White correctly. Ever the Southern gentleman, he couldn't disappoint a lady. "Well, all right," he said. "Where do you want to take this picture?"
"Right in front of your office would be great," Lois said. "Here comes Jimmy, now."
The young photographer arrived with his flash camera. "Okay," he said. "Are you ready?"
"We're ready," Lois said. "Let's get Lori with Perry, first, okay? Right in front of his office. Perry, you stand right here, and Lori, you stand right beside him."
Perry obediently stood where she indicated, and Lori moved up next to him. "Is this okay?"
"Perfect," Jimmy said. "Okay, smile!"
Lori smiled and the camera flashed. While she was still recovering from the dazzling burst of light from the camera, Lois moved up on her other side. "Can you get one of the three of us, Jimmy?" she asked.
"Sure. Move right up next to her," Jimmy directed. "Everybody say cheese!"
Lori smiled at him again, and once more the camera flashed.
"That was a good one," Jimmy said.
"I can't thank you enough, Mr. White," Lori said.
"Aw, that's okay," Perry White said. "Jimmy, you make sure you get these developed as soon as you can. We want Lori to be able to take these with her when she goes home."
"Sure, Chief," Jimmy said. "I've got a few others to develop anyway, so I'll get on it right after lunch."
"Um --" Lori interrupted. This was a chance that she wouldn't have again. "I know this sounds silly, but I'd like to have a picture of Lois, Mr. Olsen and me, too. Since you're a friend of Lois's," she added.
Lois stepped in at once to second the request. "That's a great idea. Maybe we could take it over by my desk."
Jimmy looked surprised. "I guess so," he agreed, "but we'll need someone else to take the picture."
Perry grinned. "I was a pretty decent photographer in my day," he said. "I'll do it. Come on."
A moment later they had relocated over by Lois's desk. Lori had begun to have an inkling of what Lois was up to. She glanced over her counterpart's desk, looking for anything that would identify it as belonging to Lois Lane, and at once noted that a small flower pot on the corner of the desk held the skeletal remains of some plant. Clark had mentioned, once, that the only living things that Lois seemed to be able to maintain were her tropical fish. She regularly killed any plant that had the misfortune to find its way to that corner of her desk. Lori moved to stand next to the desk in such a way that the plant was positioned by her right hip.
"That," Lois said following her gaze, "was a cactus. I didn't think anybody could kill a cactus." She picked up the brass nameplate from the desk, holding it in front of her. "Jimmy, you stand between us, here. Okay, we're ready, Chief."
Perry grinned. "All right, everybody, smile for the camera."
He took two pictures of them. When they had finished, Jimmy reclaimed his camera with a grin. "I'll get the film developed right after lunch," he said. "Would it be okay if I bring it by your place this evening?"
"That'd be great," Lois told him. "Could you do me a favor and make a couple of extra copies?" She turned to her editor. "I'll have Clark call you as soon as anything happens -- at least as soon as we know it's the real thing."
Perry nodded. "You do that, darlin'. It'll be my first try at bein' a godfather."
Lori waited until Lois finished speaking to her boss and then extended her hand. "I probably won't see you again, Mr. White, but I'd like to say that I've heard a lot about you, and it was an honor to actually meet you."
Perry raised an eyebrow at Lois. "What have you been tellin' her about me, anyway?"
"It wasn't me," Lois said, with a slight grin.
The editor turned back to Lori. "It was nice to meet you, Lori. I keep thinkin' I've met you before, but it's probably just 'cause you look so much like Lois. Jimmy'll have those pictures over at Lois and Clark's place this evenin', or I'll know the reason why."
"Thank you," Lori said. "Uh -- could I ask one more favor?"
"Sure."
"Would you autograph the picture of the three of us?"
"Sure," Perry said. "It's probably the only time anybody ever asked me to autograph anything."
Lori grinned. "Thank you," she said. "You don't know how much I appreciate it."
"We'd better go," Lois said. "They sometimes have work to do around here. I'll see you later, Perry."
"Goodbye, Mr. White," Lori said.
Jimmy accompanied them up the ramp to the elevator. "I have to go pick Perry up a sandwich," he said, in answer to Lois's raised eyebrow. He glanced at Lori. "You look a lot like Lois's sister," he remarked. "I guess you're a Lane, all right."
Lori nodded. "Sure am -- at least a couple of generations back," she told him.
"Where do you come from?" he asked.
"I grew up in Los Angeles," she said. "I don't get to see Lois much."
"I guess not," Jimmy said.
"Wait a minute, while I get a drink of water," Lois said. She crossed to the water fountain to get herself a drink. Waiting by the elevator, Lori smiled up at the lanky form of Jimmy Olsen. Clark had shown her some of the family history in honor of CJ's upcoming centennial mark. There was some information in it that she could use to pay Jimmy back for what he had done for her.
"Do you believe in good luck hunches?" she asked.
"Sure. Every good newsman has to have a kind of sixth sense, to be in the right place at the right time," Jimmy said.
"Well, I have a tip for you, for your baby pool," Lori said. "My hunch says it'll be June 30th, at ten-twelve PM. You put that in for your bet. It's good luck."
"Okay," Jimmy said. "I could sure use the luck -- and the money. I'm a little short on my rent this month."
"Well, I'm a little bit psychic," Lori said, striving to sound mysterious. "My mother's family is Irish, and the women of the family have always had a touch of Irish luck. Try it and see what happens."
"I will," Jimmy said. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Lori said. "That's my good deed for the day."
"What is?" Lois asked. She reached out and pushed the call button.
"We were talking about the baby pool," Jimmy said. "Lori gave me a tip."
"Oh, really?" Lois raised an eyebrow at Lori, who felt herself turning pink. "Well, I'd listen to her if I were you. When she makes a prediction it usually turns out right."
The elevator gave a soft 'ding' and the doors slid open. They entered, and Jimmy punched the indicator for the first floor, while Lois pushed the "B". After a long moment, the doors slid shut and the creaky elevator slid jerkily into motion. Jimmy bade them a cheerful goodbye and exited on the first floor, while Lois and Lori continued on to the basement. But when they reached the Cherokee a few minutes later, and got in, they were to discover that the engine would not start, no matter how hard Lois cranked the key. At last, she sat back in the seat with a soft swear word. "I guess I'll have to call a tow truck," she said. "And it looks like we get to ride in a cab if we want to go over to STAR Labs. That was one experience I didn't really want to give you."
"Oh, I know all about Metro cab drivers," Lori said. "They didn't change much in a century. That was why Clark insisted we get a car when we did. He didn't want me to risk my life in a cab anymore."
Lois grinned, even through her irritation. "Some things don't change, I guess. I wish I could see your century, even just for a day. All right, I'm going to call for a tow truck, and then for a taxi. If Dr. Klein can't get that thing fixed, I have an idea for telling the family where you are, and yet, nobody who hasn't met you would ever catch on. That way we don't risk messing up the future."
"Does it involve the pictures?" Lori asked.
"Yeah, but I think you guessed that," Lois said. She opened her purse and extracted her cell phone. "Let me make the calls, and we'll head over to the lab."
Lori nodded and fell silent as Lois spoke with the towing company. After Lois hung up, she spoke. "I was just thinking."
"About what?" Lois asked.
"I was thinking that if Tempus were still trying to get hold of me -- or even you -- it would sure be a benefit for him if we didn't have your Jeep."
Lois didn't answer for a long thirty seconds. At last, she spoke. "That hadn't occurred to me," she said. "I think I'll have Joe Pemberton check out the Jeep for anything suspicious."
"I think that would be a very good idea," Lori said.
**********
tbc
