At breakfast the next morning, Martha handed Lois a list of questions she had prepared.
“These are all questions that need to be asked, but you’ll only have a shot at one of them. I’m hoping you can pare and parse them to at least get at the core of what we need to know – or to at least stoke a conversation around the country to put political pressure on him to stop this madness.”
Lois glanced at the list of questions:
What happened to the UN Nuclear Arms Peace Treaty?
Is the United States backing out of its promise of peace?
How will disarming other countries while increasing our nuclear supply bring about peace?
Lois looked up from the paper. “He’s not promising peace. He’s promising war,” she said pointedly.
Martha sighed, taking off her reading glasses to rub her forehead. “I know. That’s the point. We need him to admit it to the American people. He’s talking peace, saying that we need to be the protectors of the world, but these actions will only create conflict.”
“Do you think Lex remembers?” Lois whispered, half to herself. “How did he just appear out of nowhere? I’ve been investigating him since he reappeared a few years ago—it’s all very strange, Mrs. K.”
“I know… All I know is that—Clark told me about a lab where he had been cloning himself, and I don’t know—maybe this Lex is a clone,” Mrs. K shivered. “Whoever he is, he’s dangerous.”
Lois nodded. “I just wish—“ she began, but found she couldn’t finish.
Martha reached over and covered Lois’ hand with hers. “Me too, Lois. Me too.”
~\S/~
Lois squeezed into the press conference room, along with 49 other reporters. Each one had been hand-selected from the major news organizations. President Luthor would only answer maybe five questions… that meant she had to be aggressive in getting him to notice her.
When Lex entered the room, in his pristine white suit, Lois felt a sense of foreboding. There was something decidedly different about him, off-putting even. She had never really liked him, but now, there was a pervasive sense of wrong around him that she couldn’t quite articulate. Maybe he was a clone after all?
He approached the podium calmly, smoothing his white silk tie before he spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, thank you for coming here today. As you know, the United States has embarked on a mission of peace, to disarm the rest of the world of nuclear weapons. By collecting all the nuclear weapons, we embrace our destiny, to becoming the true protectors of the planet. I will now take your questions.”
ABC News got the first question, but Lois thought it was playing into Luthor’s hands. “How is disarming the rest of the world a message of peace?”
Lex smiled smoothly, “Because if they don’t have weapons, they can’t start a war. Next question.”
And if we have all of them, does that mean we will preemptively strike anyone who disagrees with us? Lois wondered.
Her hand shot up, and Lex nodded at her. She felt her heart drop to her stomach in fear, but she didn’t see any recognition in his eyes, just a cold blank stare.
“Lois Lane, Daily Planet,” she managed to get out, then asked the question she and Martha had been working on since this morning. “If we are the peacekeepers, what would stop us from preemptively striking another nation if we are the only nation to hold all the nuclear weapons?”
His lips curled in a sneer. “What news organization did you say you were from?”
“Daily Planet,” she responded crisply.
“A newspaper,” he said, almost dismissively. “Well, you can tell your readers that the US will promote peace, until there comes a day when that is no longer feasible.” He looked out, making eye contact with one of his armed guard. “We’re done here.”
Photo flashes and cries of “Mr. President!” and “One more question!” followed him out of the room.
Lois sank back into her chair, a mix of triumph and woe coming over her. She got him to admit that war isn’t off the table, but the steely look of calculation in his eyes had terrified her.
Half the room was already empty, and Lois collected her purse. Her Blackberry was still being held hostage by the secret service, and she made a beeline for the exit, eager to reclaim it to tell Martha how things had gone.
A blonde woman in glasses stopped her on her way out. It took Lois a moment, but she quickly recognized her. “Kara?”
Kara nodded. “Lois, it’s been a long time.”
“Do you work for the State Department?”
“Yes—but, Lois,” she pulled her over to the side. “There’s something seriously wrong with President Luthor.”
“I know…” Lois hesitated a second, but went further. “And I know more than you think I know… I mean, I know what happened to Clark. And why.”
Kara seemed to let out a breath of relief. “I’m glad you finally know the truth. But Lois, I don’t know if Clark will ever come back, and I’m not sure what to do… Do you know the Green Arrow and the rest of the League?”
“I do… Though they’ve kept low since the inauguration. I have no idea what they can do to stop this madness…”
Kara sighed. “I know… but we have to try something. I’ll be in Metropolis next Wednesday. Can you get the heroes together for a meeting?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Lois said. She turned to leave but then paused. “Kara, please be careful with Luthor.”
“I will. See you next week.”
~\S/~
Lois stormed into Oliver’s office, an emotional wreck. She couldn’t take it anymore. The fact that everyone had known the truth but her – and she had only just figured it out after that soul-searing kiss. And now Clark was gone… forever.
She was certain Oliver had known. They all had known. Chloe. Lana. And they had all kept it from her. Was she really not to be trusted?
“Lois, what’s the matter?” Oliver said, coming around from his desk to greet her.
“He’s gone, Ollie. He’s never coming back. He was my best friend, and I –” she stopped mid-sentence, near hysterical as her voice broke and tears streamed down her face.
Oliver immediately came to her, and wrapped her in his embrace. He let her cry on his shoulder a moment, and calmly walked her over to his couch. “Just one second.”
He went over to his desk and pressed a button. “Stacy, hold my calls, will you?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Queen,” came the reply.
Oliver closed his office doors, poured both of them a drink and came to sit next to Lois on the sofa. He was quiet for a long time and then let out a heavy sigh, “I was wondering when you might come to me for answers.”
Lois sniffed and started searching for a tissue in her purse. Oliver reached behind her to the side table and handed her one. “Here.”
“Thanks… anyway, I figured it out just before he left… He—Clark kissed me, as the Blur.”
“Oh?” Oliver said, an eyebrow raised in interest.
“It was a dead giveaway… and I knew the Blur was going to face off with Zod, but I had no idea—I kept it all inside for so long – I even went to Africa, for crying out loud, to try and forget! But I couldn’t…I can’t forget him.”
“Why didn't you come to me sooner, Lois? I haven’t heard from you in months,” he said, with just a hint of accusatory regret in his voice.
“I know. And I’m sorry, Oliver. I’ve had to do some soul searching…” She sat quiet for a moment, getting her emotions under control. “I only got back from Africa a few weeks ago… and I’ve been thinking, about what I want to do.” Lois turned to him, tears drying on her cheeks. “And I’ve decided, I want in.”
“Want in? What do you mean? In on what?”
“I mean in on your little hero club. I assume you have one. I know you and Clark were friends, and well, with you as Green Arrow and what I know about AC… I just figured—“ she shrugged.
Oliver smiled, marveling at her ability to conjecture. “I always knew that it was only a matter of time before you put all the pieces together. OK, so let’s say there is a ‘hero club,’ as you call it. What do you plan to do? Have you been holding out on some superpowers that I don’t know about?” he teased.
She smiled tersely. “Very funny, Ollie… I just… well, it’s going to sound strange, but I need to feel like Clark hasn’t dropped out of my life completely, like he hasn’t—died, or something. And I want to understand who he is. If he ever comes back—“ she shook her head. “This all sounded so much better in my head. I guess what I want to say is, I want to help. I helped the Blur, and I want to help you, too. Will you let me?”
~\S/~
Lois confronted Chloe the next day.
She was at the Talon, packing her things to move to Star City with Oliver.
Lois had dropped almost all contact with her cousin while she had been in Africa. She had hoped to let her past disappear into the sand dunes, never expecting that it would be harder than she thought to abandon it.
“Care to let bygones be bygones?” Lois said, gently knocking on the open door to the apartment.
“Lois!” Chloe cried joyfully, and ran over to give her cousin a hug. “I heard you were back in town… “
“You deserve an explanation, Chloe. I know I sort of cut and run—for almost a year…” Lois sighed.
“I knew you had good reasons, Lois. But I did miss you terribly.”
Lois swallowed the guilt that rose in her throat, remembering that Chloe had known about Clark and had also lied to her repeatedly about who he really was. She wasn’t angry anymore… just hurt, and a little lost.
“Chloe, remember when we were ten and we promised we would tell each other everything, even our biggest, darkest secrets?”
Chloe gave her an awkward smile. “Sure, but we were ten, Lois,” Chloe laughed, but then saw Lois’ serious expression. “What’s this about?”
“Chloe… the night that Clark---“ Lois paused, watching her cousin. They had barely mentioned Clark’s name since he left, and the story of his disappearance had varied from spending time with family to mysterious globetrotting. “—the night he disappeared,” she continued, “he kissed me. As the Blur.”
“Lois—“ Chloe said, slightly patronizing, and Lois lifted her hand to stop her.
Lois shook her head. “Don’t, Chloe. I know. I figured it all out on my own. I’ve even talked to Mrs. K about it. She explained about Zod and the Kandorians.”
Chloe’s shoulders slumped in what Lois thought was relief. “I’m sorry, Lois,” she said quietly. “For all the times I’ve lied. I was only trying to protect—“
“Clark,” Lois finished with a nod of understanding.
“No, you,” Chloe corrected. “Clark always said that those who knew his secret were always in the greater danger. And it’s true – if you look at what happened to me and Jimmy… and some other things that I’ll tell you about someday… Lois, the reason no one told you was to protect you.”
Lois stared at her cousin, incredulous. “If I had known, Chloe… I could have---“
“—what? Stopped him? Lois, I tried. I didn’t want him to go.”
“I could have told him that I love him,” Lois said in a whisper, tears suddenly in her eyes.
“Lois, Clark made the bigger sacrifice. He had to save his people, and frankly, ours too.”
“I know, Chloe. I know I sound selfish. And maybe I am… but I want to learn about Clark. I talked to Oliver and I want to be a part of the team. I need to do this for myself. To somehow find closure…”
Chloe reached across the sofa and hugged her cousin. “I’m glad you know. And the team will be happy to have you.”
~\S/~
Lois stepped into Watchtower, noticing Chloe was already setting up the video conference to talk with the heroes. Kara was there, and Lois greeted her with a smile.
“Since that press conference, the media has been in a frenzy over what Luthor meant by answering your question. They’re talking preemptive war, Lois,” Chloe said.
Lois sat her purse on a chair and shrugged out of her jacket. “I know. But what can we do about it?”
Chloe switched to another computer screen. “I’ve been doing some digging with Tess. Luthor was definitely killed all those years ago. This is nothing but a clone. But Lois, I think we’re in more danger than that.”
“Why? What did you find out?”
“Well, I think he’s being controlled by a version of Brainiac.”
“Who or what on earth is a Brainiac?” Lois asked, intrigued and baffled as she always was when she learned something new about what she considered Clark and Chloe’s secret Kryptonian world.
Chloe exchanged glances with Kara, who chimed in. “Actually, it’s from Krypton. It’s an artificial intelligence that Jor-El created. There are good and bad versions of it. They manage to jump time with the Legion ring.”
Chloe gestured to a picture on her screen. “I think one of the bad versions is in the President’s Cabinet. The Secretary of Defense, to be precise.”
Lois recognized the photo. “Ryan Teague always did give me the creeps… So what do we do about it?”
“Well, we’d need the help of Jor-El or if we can get to the future and contact Brainiac 5, a benevolent version of the super computer, we might have a chance. But using the Legion ring is risky, as you well know—“
Lois was thoughtful a moment, but then nodded. “So that leaves Jor-El.”
Chloe turned to Lois. “And as far as I know, no one has been to the Fortress since Clark—disappeared.”
Kara confirmed with a nod. “I’ve been there, but Jor-El hasn’t been responsive.”
Suddenly, the heroes began signing on into the video conference circle. The three of them headed over to greet the League.
“Where’s Ollie?” Chloe asked.
“Right here,” he said as he entered Watchtower. He came over to them and wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist as he stepped into the circle. She reached up to give him a quick kiss.
Lois watched, trying not to feel envious. She loved both Chloe and Oliver, and was happy they had found each other. But her own loneliness was eating her alive inside. The man she loved may never return, and she had a hard time letting go of him. Chloe had even tried to set her up on a few dates, but inevitably, she’d compare the poor guy to Clark and they would always come up wanting.
Once all the heroes signed in, Lois, Chloe, and Kara began briefing them on the press conference with President Luthor and Chloe shared her idea about Brainiac.
“I thought Kal-El destroyed the evil Brainiac a long time ago,” said Cyborg.
Chloe nodded. “He did. But the good version of Brainiac, Brainiac 5, indicates that there were a few versions in between and unaccounted for. We are dealing with one of those versions.”
“Can the Legion help us?” asked Oliver.
“I don’t think so,” Chloe answered. “It would mean putting on the ring, and Lois was the last one to do that. The ring is unpredictable. Without Clark—I don’t know what to do. We need to get to the Fortress and try to speak with Jor-El. But Kara hasn’t had any luck…”
“You’ve been to the Fortress, Kara?” John Jones asked.
“Yes. It was before Clark left. Jor-El warned me about Luthor, which was why I got a job with the State Department. I’ve been there since, and… nothing.”
“From what I know, Jor-El is temperamental. If our team goes up there, maybe he’ll talk,” Chloe suggested.
“I could fly out there and we could at least try,” Oliver offered.
“It could be a wasted journey,” John warned.
“But it sounds like the only option we have,” Star Girl chimed in.
“Anyone up for a trip to the Arctic?” Oliver asked, glancing at the monitors. “Would rather not face an alien ice castle alone, if at all possible.”
“I’ll go with you, amigo,” said Bart. “Lickety split, I can be in Metropolis to fly.”
“Ice is no fun to swim through. I can be in the city tomorrow,” added AC.
Oliver nodded in affirmation. “Okay. I’ll check our provisions. We’ll meet on the roof of Queen Tower in Metropolis tomorrow night at 9.”
~\S/~
As Lois drove home to her apartment that night, she couldn’t stop thinking about the Legion ring. She had learned about what it had done to her from Chloe, that it had taken her to the future. She had had vague memories about that strange trip, all of which had been unsettling, and one night after a bottle and a half of wine, she had gotten Chloe to explain some of what had happened.
“Did Clark have anything to do with my three weeks of blocked memory?” Lois asked towards the end of their drink fest. It was three in the morning, and they had been talking for hours, catching up after Lois came back from Africa. “All I remember was putting on a strange gold ring and – poof. I woke up on a monorail with a ninja chick after me. At the time, I hadn’t a clue as to what had happened, but after all I’ve learned about Clark—“
“What exactly do you remember?” Chloe asked, a little guardedly.
Lois shrugged and took another sip of wine. “Strange things… I can’t even articulate what I saw. I remember having flashbacks, but it was as if those memories were somehow wiped out… I just remember feeling scared, sad… and---“
“And what, Lois?”
Lois bit her lip. “I remember feeling--- close to Clark… But that’s it. I just have these vague sensations… what the hell happened, do you think?”
Chloe reached for the wine bottle and refilled her glass. “Lois, you time-traveled,” Chloe answered succinctly.
“What?” Lois sputtered. “How is that even possible?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “How is it possible for there to be an alien like Clark on Earth?”
Lois nodded, punctuated by a reluctant laugh. “Touché, I suppose… So, what else do you know?”
Chloe leveled her gaze at Lois. Her eyes were glassy from the alcohol but she seemed sober, direct. “That you traveled to the future. Clark actually saw some of your memories --- we were trying to stop Zod, and believed that you had traveled to a future where he had taken over the world.”
“Unbelievable… How did Clark see my memories?”
Chloe got up from the floor, gathering the empty wine bottles to take into the kitchen. “A story for another time perhaps. There’s a lot you still don’t know, Lois.”
Lois bit her lip, frustrated that she still wasn’t privy to so many secrets. “Are my memories why Clark fought Zod, then?” Lois asked eventually.
“Lois, you can’t blame yourself. If anything, you should be glad that you had seen something about Zod. You actually saved us.”
Lois studied her glass a moment, and then laughed, her hazel eyes suddenly light with mirth. “I can’t believe I time-traveled and don’t remember a damn thing. Some luck, huh?”
“Don’t feel too bad, Lois. From what I heard, you saw an apocalyptic nightmare. I think it’s probably a good thing you don’t remember much of it.”
“That ring…” Lois said aloud, suddenly changing her course towards the farm.
Lois did some mental calculations of the risks. The team was headed to the Arctic with little or no chance of reaching Jor-El. If she put on the ring, could she make it take her to the Legion, to try and locate this Brainiac 5?
She knew the ring was rather unpredictable, and she felt nervous at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to control when or where it sent her. What if it sent her back to when Clark was still on Earth? That sent a thrill of trepid excitement through her, though she understood she had to stay focused on the larger mission.
But she was convinced now. She had to do this.
Lois started speeding once she hit the fields outside Smallville, her heart pounding. How long would she be gone?
Lois pulled up to the Kent farmhouse a little while later. She grabbed her flashlight and headed towards the barn. She hadn’t been here in ages, and without anyone to work in the barn regularly, it smelled musty. She sneezed as she headed up the creaky stairs of the loft, kicking up dust on her way. She reached the landing and made her way to the old desk. There, she found a lamp and turned it on, the light blinking slightly before it remained on, a little weak shower of yellow glow. The whole table was covered in dust – just as Clark had left it three years before.
“If only I can find that ring…“ she whispered to the semi-darkness. She started digging through the drawers, knowing it could be hidden anywhere. But it took her less than five minutes to locate it. She pulled out a black box, larger than for your average piece of jewelry, and found it. The “L” on the insignia winked in the lamplight she held it under to be sure it was the same ring.
She had a moment’s hesitation, knowing that Chloe would worry about her, and that the team would be angry that she had not told them of her plan. But she knew they would try to stop her, and she felt she had to do this. That this was her one chance of making things right, of becoming a real member of the team.
Lois slipped on the ring, and concentrated on an unknowable future. Yet despite her earnest desire to find Brainiac 5, her thoughts kept being drawn back to Clark…
~\S/~
Lois awoke, lying in a field of sand. The wind whipped around her, and she had to fight to stand up. She could make out various rocky hills in the landscape through the sand whipping through the area, but nothing was recognizable. Her eyes strained to see through the sand clouds, and she thought she could make out two suns in the sky…
Was this the future? A desolate landscape destroyed by Lex Luthor?
She began to wander, feeling panicked about where and when the ring had taken her. She glanced down at it, wondering if she should try to make it take her back to the present. But she knew she had learned something important in her last trek to the future. Maybe the ring had sent her here for a purpose. Maybe the Legion was somewhere in this desolate landscape.
Lois felt weak from the hot suns beaming down on her, and her legs quickly grew weary from trudging through the sand. She came upon a hill, and saw a red lake moving slowly below her. Suddenly, the land looked eerily familiar. Out of a nightmare…. she realized she had been here before. With Clark.
At the time, she had thought they had been abducted by aliens. She never got to ask Chloe or the other heroes about this particular strange trip in her memories, but she knew it was somehow related to Clark’s heritage.
She spotted two figures in the distance heading her way. Her first thought was to hide, remembering the strange zombie encounters from before, but there was no place to go. She stood on a sand dune, and the only direction she could see to go in was down towards the red lake. Lois turned to head that way, still uncertain what good it would do. If those people were after her, they’d eventually catch up to her. Out in this wasteland, she was an open target.
Lois skidded down the hill, using her hand on the sand dunes for balance. Halfway down, her ankle connected with a rock, causing her to trip the rest of the way down the hill. She landed at the bottom, and could see a large gash just above her anklebone. She glanced up, expecting at any moment to see two figures on the hill above her.
No one was there. She was safe for the moment.
Lois yanked at her t-shirt, trying to tear a scrap of fabric off to wrap her ankle.
She managed to get a strip of her shirt torn off and did her best to wipe the sand from the wound before wrapping it. She needed water, but the red lake didn’t exactly look sanitary.
Lois scrambled to her feet, just as the two men came to stand above her on the crest of the hill.
“Halt! In the name of Zod!” yelled one of the soldiers.
Zod? What was he doing here?
She thought about running, but knew she wouldn’t get very far with her ankle, and besides, there was nowhere to run to. She could also see they were armed with some sort of guns. The last thing she needed was to get herself shot.
She had the ring. If worse came to worst, she’d use it to get home. Reflexively, she glanced at her hand – the ring was gone! Had it slipped off when she slid down the hill?
“Don’t shoot,” she said, lifting her arms in the air, suddenly feeling quite panicked. “I’m injured.”
One of the men nodded to his buddy, and the other guy ran down the hill towards her. She made a move to try and climb back up the hill to look for the ring, but the guard got to her before she could.
“What are you doing in the Phantom Zone?”
“The Phantom Zone? I just got here… I don’t even know how,” she said, noticing one of the guards spotted her ring in the sand and bent to pick it up. “That’s mine,” she said, making a reach for it.
“Not so fast,” answered the guard with a smirk as he tucked the ring into his pocket. “You’re our prisoner until General Zod decides what to do with you.”
The man grabbed her hands and cuffed them, pulling her harshly by the arm, to march her back up the hill.
Why didn’t you let that sleeping dog lie, Lois? she chided herself, suddenly wishing she were back on the Kent farm. She was doomed… unless Kara somehow figured out she was in the Phantom Zone, she had no way to get back to Earth.
