Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Guess That Story

Am I the only one facing this choice? I blanch at the thought that I’m not the only one of five, that other ones are in the concentric circles that surround me. Sisters in a statistic that is far too large, that never seems to shrink, that only changes by face and by name. A shared silence that rarely takes voice, because the words are too hard to say and fall on deaf ears anyway.

“How’d they get my picture, and why’d they paste my face on that dude?”

“That’s not you. His name is Superman. Get this: He ate a bomb and then flew the Prometheus into space. *He* flew it -- no plane, no jetpack, no nuthin’. Just him.”

After Barry looked above the picture to verify that the paper wasn’t really the National Whisper, he said, “Someone at the paper’s pranking us.”

“It’s not April. And they wouldn’t do that even then; they only print the truth.”

“So he’s a magician. If he can pull a trick like that, he’ll become bigger ‘n Houdini. I wonder if there’s any money in being a famous magician’s look-alike? Think I’ll check out one of them -- what-do-ya-call-ems? -- doubles agencies. Could be big money here. Thanks for calling me in, babe. I owe ya one.”

"But what's the point?" Lois pressed.
Clark scratched his head. "I'm not sure what you mean. It's a game, Lois. The point is to have fun. And, I suspect, the game is trying to get people up off their couches and walking."

Clark shook his head. "Mom's first reaction to Mayson knowing was to try and enroll me in the witness protection program. Or close enough to it. And, before you ask, I'm not joking."

"This is really typical. Every time we have a good day, some villain turns up to ruin it," Lois interrupted him, annoyed. "So, pray tell me what is Tempus up to now?"

Now, it was the third Wells' turn to clean his glasses. "I don't think that this is Tempus' doing," he said softly.

"It isn't?" Clark asked incredulously.

"It seems like there are three different disruptions in time. That would explain why three versions of me are here at the same time," the second Wells explained. "Even Tempus can't be at several places at once."

"Great!" Lois groaned, exasperated. "Are you telling me that instead of one lunatic there are three of them?"

"Well, unfortunately, yes," the first Wells replied, blushing. "Like I said, I made a terrible mistake. I thought that by letting you raise this kid, Utopia would forever be safe."

Lois looked at the child in her arms with a frown. "Okay, I'm not sure I really want to know, but who exactly am I holding in my arms?"

H.G. Wells turned beet root red. "Ah...well..." he squirmed. "Tempus."

"You've got to be kidding me!" four Kents said in unison.

“It’s just… tonight. I had the weirdest feeling. Looking at everyone in there, how I’ve spent each New Year with them. And I just thought about the drastic differences. When I was growing up, it was never so loud and happy. More often than not, we had very quiet, sad December thirty-firsts, followed by a similar January first. Not much to it. A lot of times, I spent it just like this— alone, looking out at the stars.”

His heart clenched at her pain. He knew things were better now between Lois and her parents, but every time he was reminded of her childhood, he had a moment of irrational anger flare up inside his chest. He gripped her tighter against him. “I’m sorry, honey. But we’ve done well, haven’t we? I mean, look at everyone in there.”

Clark turned them both around to look inside the warmly lit brownstone, watch as Jimmy refreshed all the adults’ wine glasses and the kids snuck some more candy. Lois grinned widely and spun around in his arms to face him. “We’ve done fantastic, Clark. That’s what I’m saying. This used to be such a hard day for me, and the fact that now we get to have this? It’s incredible. I just think I appreciate it more.”

His smile could have cracked his face if it got any wider. “The same goes for me, you know. I spent a lot of new years wondering about my biological parents and if they missed me, or if this was finally going to be the year I fit in. But I didn’t really have that feeling until I met you. And now look: I’ve got a ton of family. You have no idea what that means to an adopted child.”

His wife’s eyes teared up. “I guess we’re meant to be or something, then.”

“I guess so,” Clark replied, wrinkling his nose with his smile.

There's a prize?! This game just got real!

27: Well, Mayson knows Clark's secret in Proposed Ignorance by Deadly Chakram, so I'm going to take a guess on that one.

28: There's a comedy with all of those characters, it was super-short... /groobie scans nominee list / It's Impossible by bakasi

Lois froze and stared at the hand on her shoulder. In an effort to order her thoughts she ran through her and her partner's code in her head. One: pull back, Two: meet at the Planet, Three: meet at whichever partner's apartment, Four: all clear. Bracketing the taps were squeezes to signal the start and end of the signal. Not even Jimmy knew this code as it was reserved for times where they couldn't rely on verbal or visual cues which normally, for them, meant either they were undercover or somewhere dark. They had each *promised* to share the signals with *no one*. Taking in a shuddering breath she returned her gaze to the superhero's, "Clark?!"

A hand clasped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mike," said a familiar voice. "You'll be seeing plenty of me."