Here is another story for my Try Not to Change Anything Series and my response to Kerth Challenge #7.Kerth Challenge #7: For challenge #7, choose the 7th episode of any one of the seasons and write an episode adaptation, re-write, fix-it or in betweenie for that episode!
Here are the episodes you can choose from
Season 1, Episode 7: Smart Kids
Season 2, Episode 7: That Old Gang of Mine
Season 3, Episode 7: Ultra Woman
Season 4, Episode 7: Dead Lois Walking
The nature of this challenge required me to venture further down the timeline than I had intended to go just yet. I have been forced to start considering what is going to happen to our favorite couple once they caught up with the actual show. How will their relationship progress? What significant changes will be made?
While I have not made final decisions on everything, I do now have a general idea of where things are going. And I decided, for the sake of not having to make any final decisions on things, to choose the earliest of the episode options - Smart Kids.
At this point in the series, Clark is once again working at the Daily Planet but his relationship with Lois is vastly different from how it originally was in season 1. Everyone knows that L&C are old friends. Although things aren’t perfect between our favorite couple, given the 8-year break they took (see I Will Always Love You and Big Changes), they have begun dating again, but are keeping it quiet at work.
Since I am adapting almost the entire episode, this story is somewhat longer than the others in the series. Also, any recognizable dialogue is not my own. I am merely borrowing it from the show but have tried not to use too much. Significant chunks of the episode will be left out as I focus on Lois’ and Clark’s relationship and some key moments with the Smart Kids.
Long author’s note is now complete. Enjoy the story.Smart Kids RevisitedBy AmandaK
The bullpen was fairly quiet when Lois entered than morning. It had been a slow news week for everyone, but that was about to change.
She spied Clark, busy scrolling through something on his computer. A bright red apple rested on the corner of his desk. Lois grinned and trotted up to him, swiping the apple and taking a big bite as she sat down in its place. “Morning!” she greeted cheerfully.
Clark looked up, his eyes darting briefly to her legs where her skirt had ridden up just a little, before settling on her face. He frowned slightly when he noticed the apple. “I was saving that, you know,” he pointed out.
Lois smirked, enjoying the effect she still had on him after eight long years apart. He’d been back at the Planet, working as her partner, for almost two months now and it was wonderful how they’d just fallen right back into a familiar routine. They rehashed their old stories together, looking for new angles and trying to find evidence for things they’d only learned after the fact before. Every day, Clark would bring her coffee and keep it hot, as only he could. He would lean over her shoulder to edit her copy and she would scold him for it, even though she secretly enjoyed feeling him so close. And, in the evenings, they would often retire to his place or hers for pizza and a movie. Everything was just as it had once been.
She only wished that
some things weren’t just as they had once been. Things were still moving so slowly in the romance department. Clark had been hesitant to pick up where they had left off after her high school graduation. He worried that people would think it odd if they started dating right away, even though their official story was that they’d known each other since childhood. And then he worried about messing up the timeline too much if their relationship moved too quickly. Simply put – Clark worried too much.
She agreed that just up and getting married out of the blue would seem strange to everyone. But surely things could move a little bit faster? They had been on a few dates so far – all of them wonderful – but weren’t openly a couple at work. Lois really didn’t want to wait another three years to get married.
She took another bite of the apple and chewed slowly before answering him. “You can have another doughnut and not have to put in an extra hour at the gym. I can’t. So, I get the healthy snacks.”
“I’ll remember to bring two next time.” Clark shook his head with a smile. “How was your night?” Lois had desperately needed to go grocery shopping the night before and Clark had wanted to put in an extra long patrol after a slight up-tick in petty crime – a gang of teens had needed a little guidance from Superman – so they had parted ways early.
Lois wiggled a bit, excited to share her news, and Clark had to focus to keep his gaze from drifting to her legs again. “You’re not going to believe who I saw last night,” Lois finally began.
“Who’d you see?”
“Aymee Valdes.”
Clark frowned, thinking back to recall where he knew that name from. “Aymee Valdes… the smart kids? Is it that time already?”
Lois nodded. “I didn’t recognize her at first. It was the pig that gave her away. I remembered the pig. And then I got to thinking – this could be it. This could be how we get Lex.”
Clark sighed and slumped back in his chair. She’d been trying to find a way to expose Luthor for several weeks now – first when he’d been testing Superman, then his involvement in the boxing scandal, and just last week trying to link him to the Toasters. But even though they knew he was involved in all of these things; they couldn’t find any proof that would possibly hold up in court. Without proof, they had nothing.
But she was determined. Her theory was that because she would not be dating Lex this time around – they had both agreed that was one change worth making – Luthor would have no reason to blow up the Daily Planet. And while that was a good thing, it also deprived them of the primary evidence which ultimately led to Luthor being exposed as The Boss. So, they needed to expose him another way.
Thus far, they had managed to stay under Luthor’s radar in their investigations, but that would only last so long. And, without a relationship between them to keep Luthor from hurting Lois, Clark worried that the crime lord would take steps to eliminate two nosy reporters. He didn’t like the idea of Lois being on Luthor’s hit list.
“Lois… I don’t think we can –”
“Of course we can! You said he was the one behind the Mentamide 5 serum –”
“I said I thought he was the one behind it. I never had any proof. And nothing about that came out after his death either. We don’t have any more than we did back then.”
“So, we find more. We know what we’re looking for this time.”
“Or…” Clark offered gently. “We could just go find those kids and talk them out of using the smart stuff now.”
“Clark –”
“Lois! Clark!” Perry’s voice barked from the conference room. They both looked up to see that most of the room had cleared. “Staff meeting! Or did you think you two were exempt?”
“Sorry, Chief. We’re on our way.” Clark grabbed his notepad and a pen and started towards the conference room.
Lois hopped off his desk and followed him. “Don’t think this is over, Smallville,” she said just loud enough that only he could hear. She paused by her desk to grab her own notepad and pen. By the time she caught up to Clark, he had already found a seat in the conference room with two open seats to his right.
Just as she was about to claim the empty chair next to him, Cat breezed into the room and all but collapsed into that very spot.
“You won’t believe the night I had,” the gossip columnist bemoaned, draping her arm on the back of Clark’s chair, and turning, just so, to make sure he had a great view of her… assets. “There was a dignitary from Borneo and just enough alcohol to get him to spill all the juicy gossip from inside the embassy. You’ve been to Borneo, haven’t you Clark?”
Clark made a point of not looking anywhere near Cat’s chest and briefly met Lois’ eyes with an apologetic shrug. Lois just glared as she lowered herself into the last empty seat.
“Fascinating place, Borneo.” Clark replied to Cat’s question. “They've done wonderful work there in preserving the natural habitat of the native orangutans.”
Lois rolled her eyes as the line struck a familiar note in her memory. She knew what came next and proceeded to mouth Cat’s words as she’d dramatically swooned behind the other woman’s back.
“I love well-traveled men. They broaden my horizons.”
Clark smirked at Lois but didn’t do anything to deter Cat from her continued draping and flirting beyond ignoring her. Lois let her mind wander as the meeting commenced, only speaking when Perry addressed her specifically.
If only Clark wasn’t so worried about upsetting the timeline, they could just tell everyone they were together. Cat wasn’t the only woman at the Planet vying for Clark’s attention – his good looks and country charm were a frequent topic in the lady’s room. And then there had been that Toni Taylor at the night club. Lois grit her teeth just thinking about it.
She wanted nothing more than to stand up and stake her claim. Clark was hers. She was his. Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant future, they were married. So why should she just sit back and put up with other women hitting on her man?
She shouldn’t. She wouldn’t.
As everyone else’s attention turned to the television set, suddenly brought to life by the Smart Kids, Lois stood and meandered behind Clark, ostensibly for a better view. But she didn’t need to see what was happening on the screen. She focused instead on Clark, leaning close to him with her hand on his shoulder for balance. And if that hand happened to slide down and across his chest a way, prompting Clark to capture it in his own and raise it to his lips for a brief, absentminded kiss, well… maybe Cat would finally get the idea and back off.
Unfortunately, Cat’s eyes were glued to the TV, apparently finding Porky Pig to be quite humorous.
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It was sort of like déjà vu… but not really, Lois thought as she, Clark, and Jimmy followed Mrs. Powell through the halls of Beckworth School. Déjà vu was simply the feeling of having done something before. But for her and for Clark, well… they actually had done all of this before. One would think that after sixteen years of reliving the same moments, she would be used to it by now. But it was still, strangely unsettling.
Perhaps that was why she tried to change little things wherever she could - such as now. Rather than blindly accept what Mrs. Powell said about Dr. Carlton, Lois dove deeper into the investigation.
“You say Dr. Carlton donates his time to the school. Where does he work when he’s not here? Surely, he must have another job or receive funding from somewhere,” Lois tossed out the line, hoping for a bite. If she could just find one thing, however tentative, linking Carlton to Luthor…
Mrs. Powell appeared flustered for a moment. “Well, I don’t… that is to say… well, I’m not sure.”
“But surely his previous or current employment would be on his resume. Wouldn’t that be part of staff records?” Lois pressed.
“Dr. Carlton wasn’t hired traditionally. He came to us highly recommended. And to have someone so distinguished volunteer his time… well, we were just grateful to have him join our school.” Mrs. Powell concluded. Then she turned and gestured down the hallway. “Now, if you'll come to my office, I'll get you those files.”
“Who recommended him?” Lois decided to pry a bit father. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clark do something with a trash bag outside Dr. Carlton’s office, but he must have moved at super speed because the bag never seemed to come untied. So that’s how he got the paper shreds, she thought to herself. Then she turned her attention back to Mrs. Powell.
“Why, I believe he was recommended by LexCorp. Mr. Luthor has been so generous to the school. He’s one of our top donors you know.”
Lois nodded and plastered on a neutral smile, but inside she was cheering. Got him! Well, not yet. But it was a start anyway. She turned to look at her partner and grinned.
Clark just shook his head and leaned in close as he passed her. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” he whispered and then moved on to follow Mrs. Powell with Jimmy.
Lois just rolled her eyes and muttered, “Whatever you say, farm-boy,” knowing he would hear her. She was just about to follow the group when something struck her in the rear end and that feeling of déjà vu returned. Oh, right, she thought. Inez… well, let’s see if I can work this a little better this time.
Turning around, she spied the little girl who had thrown a bean bag at her. Rather than scolding her, Lois tried a gentler approach. She stooped to pick up the bean bag, but stayed crouched at Inez’ level and offered it back to her. “You know, it’s not nice to throw things at people.”
“I'm Inez. What's your name?”
“Lois. Do you go to school here, Inez?”
The girl nodded. “Aymee's my big sister. Aymee Valdes. She escaped. You have to help her.”
Lois smiled reassuringly. “That’s just what we’re trying to do. Is there anything you can tell me that might help us?”
Inez seemed to think for a minute and then said, “She'll come back for me, I know she will. But then he'll catch her.”
“You mean Dr. Carlton?” Lois asked at a whisper.
Inez’ eyes grew wide with surprise. She hesitated, looking from side to side, warily. “Can’t say.”
Lois leaned in closer. “Listen, Inez. I’m going to do everything I can to keep your sister and the other kids safe. But I need your help. Is there anyone who comes to see Dr. Carlton from outside the school – another man perhaps?”
Inez shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Could you do something for me though?” The girl nodded. “Could you keep an eye out? If someone comes to see him or if he talks on the phone where you can hear – could you let me know?” Lois handed the girl her business card. “You can be a junior investigative reporter. And hopefully we can find a way to help your sister and stop anyone who might hurt her and the other kids. Alright?”
Inez nodded and smiled. “Thank you,” she mouthed, and then quickly trotted off back the way she came.
Lois stood up and dusted off her knees, grinning. “Guess being a kid a second time had its benefits,” she said to herself. “I am clearly better at handling children this time around.”
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Clark was distracted.
If he was completely honest with himself, he had been distracted for the past two months. Every since he had started working at the Planet again, he’d had difficulty keeping his attention in the here and now. His thoughts were constantly drifting to the past… or the future… or the here and now as it once was.
So much had changed and yet so much had also stayed the same.
His perfect memory was both a boon and a burden. On the one hand, it kept people from noticing just how distracted he was. He could easily jump right back in to wherever he’d left off when his mind wandered. On the other hand, being able to remember every detail of how things had been highlighted even the slightest change immensely – hence his distraction. He was constantly worried about the repercussions of every change they made.
He sometimes envied Lois in that she couldn’t remember everything so clearly.
Speaking of distractions – Lois certainly wasn’t helping in that regard. Clark smirked slightly to himself at the thought as he followed her down the sidewalk, on their way back from Beckworth School. Of course he wasn’t about to complain about the slightly shorter skirts, slightly lower-cut blouses, and that perfume which she originally hadn’t discovered until they were engaged. She knew perfectly well that she was driving him crazy. She was doing it on purpose.
And he loved it.
But it certainly didn’t help when he was already so distracted. He wished he didn’t notice all of the little things that were different every day. He wished he could just shove the worries and concerns into some dark corner of his mind. He wished he could be more like the woman he loved and just dive in without checking the water level.
Lois came to a stop in front of the Bank of Metropolis, forcing Clark to stop short next to her. She nudged him with her elbow. “So? Did you managed to find anything new?”
“What?” Clark blinked in confusion.
“The paper.”
“Oh!” Reaching into his pocket, Clark pulled out the wad of paper shreds he had swiped from the trash outside Dr. Carlton’s office. He began to shuffle through them with his finger. “I don’t think so. It’s all just the same bits and pieces as before.”
“Hmm…” Lois crossed her arms in contemplation. “Couldn’t you put them back together? Like a puzzle but… you know…” She lowered her voice to a faint whisper. “Superspeed.”
Clark shook his head. “It’s all too mixed up. I have fragments of at least fifteen different documents here and not enough of any one of them to make a whole page or even a significant part of one. Maybe if I’d been able to get the whole bag.”
“Rats,” Lois pouted and shuffled a few steps forward. “Is there anything in there that even hints at Luthor’s involvement in this?”
Clark shook his head. “No, just a few mentions of Mentamide 5 and what looks like research notes, some trial data… I don’t know. It’s clearer now that I have a better picture of what I’m looking at, but there just isn’t enough here.”
“Okay, we’ll just have to keep looking.” Lois accepted the disappointment far quicker than she once would have. “There’s bound to be proof somewhere. Mrs. Powell mentioned Dr. Carlton’s connection to LexCorp. We need to pursue that angle.”
“Hold that thought,” Clark interrupted and then took a few casual steps back, off the curb, just in time to catch the bumper of a car which had lost its jack while a man was changing the tire.
Lois raised an eyebrow but then just smiled and pretended to be examining her fingernails so as not to draw attention to her partner’s not quite hidden display of super-strength. “So, what should our next move be?” she asked as Clark finally lowered the car and rejoined her next to the bank. “I promised Inez that I would keep Aymee safe.”
“I still think our best bet would be to get those kids out of there now. We know where they are. We could convince them to tell the authorities what Dr. Carlton’s been doing. And maybe then Carlton will implicate Luthor in all this.”
“Are you serious?” Lois turned to look him in the eye. “We hold all of the cards right now. But if we play our hand too soon, Luthor will fold. He’ll cover it up. He’ll find a way to hide his involvement. We have to force him to show his hand.”
“I just don’t see that happening this time, Lois,” Clark countered. “Not without risking those kids.”
“We won’t let the kids get hurt. We’ll get them out before it goes that far. But I’m not ready to give up just yet. Catching Luthor is too important. We have to pursue every avenue available.”
Clark sighed, but nodded, acknowledging that he wasn’t going to win this one. “What should we do then?”
“Well…” Lois pondered for a moment. “What if Aymee doesn’t get caught breaking back into the school? What if Superman finds her instead and takes her to stay with his friend Lois? That way Dr. Carlton won’t know that we know which means Luthor won’t know and we can spend a little more time looking into other angles.”
Lois stepped up close to the bank as the person in front of her moved away from the ATM. She was just about to insert her card into the machine when she stopped and frowned. “This isn’t going to work, is it?”
Clark looked up, finally registering that they had been standing in line for the ATM, just like last time. He recalled how Lois had previously made a withdrawal, only to end up with a wad of play money. He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Lois shoved him hard and he allowed himself to stumble to the side. “Why didn’t you remind me?”
Clark just shrugged. “I was distracted.”
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Aymee Valdes was easy to spot as she crept up on the gates of Beckworth School. Her black clothes and face paint did little to hide the fact that someone under five-foot was out way past the time when children ought to be in bed. Superman floated down silently behind the girl just as she reached up to pull the panel off of the gate control box.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he commented in a quiet voice. Aymee spun around and stared, open-mouthed at the superhero she had never expected to meet in person. Superman nodded briefly to the wall. “There’s a policeman waiting for you just behind there. You won’t get far.”
Aymee shook off her stupefaction and found words to reply. “Looks to me like I haven’t gotten far anyway.”
Superman smiled kindly. “That depends on what you want to do next.”
“I want to get my sister out of there.”
“I can personally assure you that Inez is safe. It’s you and the other kids I’m worried about right now.”
Aymee blinked, surprised that Superman knew her sister’s name. Even so, she scowled. Superman may be a hero but he was still just another grown-up. “What do you know?”
“I know about Mentamide 5.” Superman countered calmly. “I know that Dr. Carlton has been using you kids as his own personal guinea pigs. And I know that, if you and the other kids keep using Mentamide 5, it will eventually hurt you.”
“You’re lying,” Aymee insisted, shaking her head. “And how do you know all that?”
Superman just shrugged. “I have ways of finding things out.” He needn’t mention that technically they hadn’t yet found out about the detrimental effects of Mentamide 5 and he had no way to prove it if she pressed. But the prestige of being Superman had its benefits. She didn’t question him further. “Some friends of mine are working very hard to make sure Dr. Carlton and whoever else may be behind this can never hurt you or any other kids again. But we need your help to do that. And we need to make sure Dr. Carlton doesn’t know you are helping us. We don’t want him to destroy any more evidence and run.”
Aymee glanced at the school and considered her options. She couldn’t go after Inez now – not if there was a policeman waiting to take her right back to Dr. Carlton. She could try to run back to the hideout. But Superman would just follow her. She couldn’t risk the other kids.
With a resigned sign, she looked back at Superman. At the very least she knew she could trust him to keep her safe. She wouldn’t promise anything, but she would go along with him until she figured out what to do next “What do you need me to do?”
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Clark stood by Lois’ window, still dressed as Superman, while Aymee perused the apartment. The eleven-year-old had tried to act cool about their flight over but Clark had seen the look of wonder in her eyes. He loved taking kids flying. They had the best reactions.
“Thank you for bringing her here, Superman.” Lois said, keeping up appearances. “I’ll make sure she’s safe and Clark and I will let you know if there are any new developments.”
Clark nodded and then lowered his voice so that only Lois could hear, as Aymee began fiddling with something on the television. “Are you sure you can handle this?”
Lois frowned and lowered her voice as well. “I handled it before, didn’t I?”
“As I recall, she tied you up with some sort of sticky rope shot from a water gun.”
“That’s not going to happen this time.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because, things are different this time. I’m different. I handled Inez, didn’t I? I think I have a better perspective when it comes to kids than I used to.”
Clark held up his hands in surrender. “Alright. I leave her in your capable hands. But if you need anything…”
“I won’t.”
“Are you two, like, together or something?” Aymee asked without looking up from whatever she was doing.
“No!” Lois and Clark said at the same time, perhaps a little more forcefully than necessary. This prompted Aymee to give them a funny look.
Then the girl just shook her head and shrugged. “Whatever. You guys just act like an old married couple is all.”
Lois and Clark exchanged a look as Aymee went back to adjusting the television. “Sixteen years and counting,” Lois muttered so only Clark could hear her.
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Lois lifted a spoonful of gloopy oatmeal from the pot on the stove, wondering if her eleven-year-old house guest would deem it edible.
After Superman left the night before, Lois had focused on getting Aymee settled rather than peppering the girl with questions. She knew most of the answers anyway and felt it was more prudent to establish herself as someone Aymee could trust to take care of her. Besides, it had been late and they were all tired. So, she had set Aymee up in Lucy’s old room and told her they could talk in the morning.
Of course, providing a wholesome breakfast would have been best if she wanted to establish herself as a reliable caregiver. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts to improve her cooking skills over the years – even going so far as to take an extra semester of Home Economics in High School – she still remained mediocre at best and, well… gloopy oatmeal wasn’t quite the worst she’d ever done. Maybe she could call Clark and ask him to bring them some pastries from France.
Before Lois could decide on what to do about breakfast, Aymee sauntered out of her room, looking well-rested despite her case of bed-head. The girl yawned, stretched, and then eyed the stovetop warily. “What is that supposed to be?”
“Good morning to you, too,” Lois quipped back. “This…” Lois sighed, lifting the spoon again and then setting it back down in resignation. “Was supposed to be breakfast. Admittedly, I’m not the best cook. Pop-tart?”
Aymee shrugged her acceptance and sat down while Lois busied herself with tracking down the aforementioned toaster pastries and the toaster. “So…” Aymee started slowly. “Superman said you and… that other guy you work with…”
“Clark,” Lois supplied.
“Right. Him. Superman said you knew about the smart stuff?”
Lois plugged in the toaster and popped a couple pastries inside, carefully setting the dial halfway and praying the whole thing didn’t catch fire. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment and pondered the best way to respond. Don’t be condescending, she told herself. Remember what it was like to have the mind of an adult while living as a child.
She sat down across from Aymee and decided to be as open and honest as possible. “That’s right. At first, we were just trying to figure out where you kids went and how you were doing all of these impossible things. Then we stumbled on some information about Mentamide 5 and realized what Dr. Carlton was doing to you. We’ve been trying to keep things under wraps until we can gather some real evidence – something we can take to the police. That’s where you and the other kids could help us.”
Aymee shook her head. “They won’t talk… I shouldn’t either.”
“Why not?”
“If we talk, if Dr. Carlton goes to jail, no more smart stuff.”
“That’s for the best, Aymee. The smart stuff isn’t good for you. It’ll hurt you if you keep taking it.”
“That’s what Superman said too. But how do you know?”
Lois paused, not sure how to answer without fudging the truth. She was saved from replying when the toaster popped. She stood to retrieve the pastries, still contemplating what to say.
“Superman says I can trust you.” Aymee continued after Lois handed her a plate with pop-tarts. “But how can I? You’re a reporter. Aren’t you just after a story? That’s all we are to you.”
Lois sighed, grateful to have escaped one tough question, but now wondering just how to navigate this one. “You’re right. I am a reporter and part of being a reporter is writing a good story to sell more papers. That’s my job – I don’t get paid if I don’t write the story. But I didn’t become an investigative reporter just to get my byline on the front page. I became an investigative reporter to find the truth and to see that justice is done for the victims of criminal activities. You and your friends are victims. Dr. Carlton is hurting you.”
“He made us smarter.” Aymee argued.
“He made you something you aren’t ready to be.” Lois recalled some of what she had said the first time around, but discarded it. She didn’t need to tell Aymee about adults with dinosaur brains this time around. She had a much better perspective now. “It’s tough, isn’t it? You know you’re smarter than everyone around you, but they still treat you like a kid. And you can’t really do anything about it because, despite everything you know, you aren’t ready to be an adult – you have all the needs and desires of a kid. You want to watch TV and play outside and eat gooey bears all day. You want to be loved and cared for. You aren’t ready to get a job and worry about bills and taxes and all of those adult responsibilities.”
Lois thought back to the years she had spent reliving her childhood. How many times had she wished that Clark would just run away with her and they could live on their own somewhere, quit pretending to be kids who hadn’t already grown up once? But how many moments had she come to treasure more in doing them over? How much closer had she become with Lucy because she took the time to really get to know her and to play with her more? How much more had she come to truly appreciate playing and relaxing and spending her summers lazing away with Clark in Smallville? Eating an entire banana split without worrying about having to hit the gym? No responsibility beyond schoolwork and a handful of chores?
Being a kid again had been tough, but it had given her a chance to reexperience her childhood in a way she hadn’t before. The first time, she’d been so focused on growing up quickly. But the second time around, she let herself take it a little slower. As much as she was glad to almost be done with their repeat years, a part of her was glad for the experience.
At least as far as the kid stuff was concerned. The waiting for her husband to marry her again and finally go on their honeymoon… that part could go away.
“I guess you’re right.” Aymee admitted, drawing Lois back to the present. “But it’s really hard… when the smart stuff wears off and you go back to being dumb. Everything that was so easy, so obvious before just gets locked away and you remember that you used to be able to do it but you can’t anymore. You’re just a dumb kid again.”
“You are not dumb, Aymee.” Lois countered. “I have it on good authority that you’re quite smart for your age even without Mentamide 5.”
Aymee shrugged. “Maybe, but not Smart Kid smart.”
“No, but after a while, you won’t notice anymore. You’ll go back to being who you are meant to be and learning things the way you are meant to learn them. And one day, all of that learning will let you do whatever you set your mind to doing.”
“You really think so?” Aymee looked up, the hint of a hopeful smile on her face.
Lois reached across the table and placed her hand on Aymee’s. “I know so.”
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Clark met Lois at the Planet, ready to dive back in to… well whatever their next step was. He was mostly following her lead on this one. If it were up to him, they’d have already brought the kids back to Beckworth School and seen Dr. Carlton behind bars. But Lois seemed certain that they could find some way to incriminate Luthor in all of this.
Clark remembered Luthor’s words to Phillip the first time they’d worked this case – the lies and manipulation dripping from his tongue. That was how he knew, despite his claims of ignorance, that Luthor was the mastermind behind the Mentamide 5 project. But he couldn’t see how they could prove it – not without testimony from Dr. Carlton himself and even that would only be his word against Luthor’s. Besides – anyone who had ever been imprisoned with the ability to give testimony against Luthor, seemed to come to an unfortunate end soon after. Clark had his own theories on how Dr. Carlton had ended up a vegetable last time. He hoped they could prevent the same from occurring now.
Lois was already at her desk when he arrived, jotting down some notes on her pad. She grinned up at him. “And you thought I couldn’t handle it.”
Clark raised an eyebrow in response.
Lois stood up and patted him on the chest condescendingly. “Aymee agreed to speak to the authorities about Dr. Carlton’s experiments. She thinks she can get the other kids to back her up when we’re ready to go to them. I asked her to give us a few more days to gather the physical evidence we need. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know anything about Dr. Carlton’s ties to Luthor beyond that he receives funding from LexLabs – which we already knew.”
Clark smiled, impressed. “That was fast. How’d you get through to her so quickly?”
Lois shrugged. “Partly, I used the some of the things I remember telling her last time. But mostly, I pulled from our more recent experience in childhood – reminded her that being smart didn’t make her ready to be an adult and that there are so many things worth experiencing as a kid.”
Clark nodded, remembering saying something similar to Phillip last time and wondering if he’d use the same lines again. Speaking of lines he remembered… “I was right you know.”
“About what?”
“You were a cute kid.”
Lois smirked. “Look whose talking. You were adorable at twelve.”
“I’m still adorable.” Clark grinned back at her, prompting her to pinch his cheek playfully. “So, what’s our next move?” he asked, catching her hand, and steering them back to business.
Lois nodded. “Right. Well, we still have that interview with Dr. Carlton this afternoon. You need to get that sample of Mentamide 5. I don’t want to keep dancing around how we know it’s harmful.”
“Alright, so do we play it the same as last time or should we change things up a bit?”
“Well, I’m hoping that since he doesn’t know Aymee is with us, he won’t be quite as cagey as he was last time.”
“So, we play nice.”
“Make him think we’re on his side.”
“Just trying to get the kids back.”
“Which is what he wants.”
“Then, I grab the Mentamide 5.”
“While I get him talking about his funding.”
“Get him to mention Luthor?”
“And incriminate him as more than an oblivious donor.” Lois beamed and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. “I love that we’re so in sync.”
She stood up on her tiptoes and leaned forward. For a split second, Clark was ready to meet her in a kiss. Then he remembered where they were.
He turned his head abruptly so that her lips caught his cheek. “Lois,” he cautioned in a low voice. “We’re at work.”
Lois pouted and sunk back onto her feet. “In sync in everything except that.” She turned away; her good mood clearly deflated.
“Lois…” Clark pleaded, but he wasn’t really sure what to say. He knew what she wanted. He wanted it too. But taking that step would change so much.
So much has already been changed, a voice in his head argued.
Before he could continue his mental argument, Lois grabbed his arm and propelled him up the ramp, towards the elevator. “Let’s go partner. We’ve got work to do.”
Clark couldn’t help but hear the sadness in her voice.
----------------------
The next two days went much the same way they had gone previously. Despite her best efforts, Lois was unable to wheedle any information about Luthor out of Dr. Carlton. Clark did manage to snatch the Mentamide 5 sample again and that was sent to the lab for testing – with the same results as before.
Lois bought pizza and ice cream to help comfort Aymee when the smart stuff wore off that night. She later reported to Clark that they’d had a wonderful evening, painting each other’s nails, and watching movies.
Unfortunately, Superman got called away that night to help with the aftermath of an earthquake in Japan. By the time he got back, Luthor had been abducted, once again, by the Smart Kids and Dr. Carlton had succumb to the effects of Mentamide 6.
With no extra evidence forthcoming, Clark and Lois had fallen back to their original plan to get the kids out safely. Just as Clark predicted, they hadn’t been able to concretely pin anything on Luthor. Lois was disappointed but undaunted.
“We’ll get him next time,” was all she had to say in the aftermath.
Clark loved her determination. He loved her spirit, her will, her sense of justice, her unwavering drive to ferret out the truth. He loved her.
Clark looked across his desk to where the object of his affections was busy at her computer. He’d already sent her his contribution to their article and Lois was seamlessly weaving two into one. As he watched her work, Clark allowed his thoughts to drift back to the Smart Kids’ lair and his conversation with Phillip at the end.
The primary difference between this time around and his memory of the time before, was his own knowledge that Phillip wasn’t actually planning to inject Luthor with an overdose of Mentamide 6. He’d been significantly more relaxed in that regard, much to Luthor’s irritation. But the actual conversation had been pretty much identical and Clark’s own words continued to spin around in his head even now, hours later.
Phillip had asked if he’d go back to being a kid if he could. Clark had replied, “No. I've already been one. I've moved on.” The words were same as he’d said the first time and yet they bore far more significance now.
He hadn’t been a kid only once. He had gone back and relived those years again. He was still reliving them now, though he was no longer a child. Thanks to whatever mishap which had occurred with H.G. Wells’ soul device, he and Lois had been forced to relive the past sixteen years and they still had a few more to go before they would catch up to where they’d left off.
But even when they reached that point, would they truly be where they had left off? Or had they already moved beyond that – mentally and emotionally if not temporally. They had grown up again but didn’t that also mean that they had grown up more? Had they moved on from who they were when they first got married and had their honeymoon so rudely interrupted?
They had spent eight years growing up together, even if not strictly speaking together at all times due to the distance between Smallville and Metropolis. Then they had spent eight years apart, rediscovering themselves. Both experiences had changed them, taught them new things about themselves and about each other.
And now, here they were, back together, beating out the same stories they had written before and changing little things in the timeline where they could or felt they should. They hadn’t talked much about where they would go from here. Would they would carry on like nothing was different, going through the motions of their past lives as… what? Partners? Friends?
They’d already done that. They’d moved on. They’d been married!
So, what was he thinking holding them back, keeping them entrenched in the past when they were both more than ready to move on to a new chapter in their lives? They weren’t the same people they were when they first met so long ago. They couldn’t pretend to be those people – no matter what changes to the timeline might occur.
He was only hurting her and himself by trying.
It was time to take a page out of Lois’ playbook. It was time to dive in and let the pieces fall where they may. He couldn’t control everything.
This was all Wells’ fault anyway. If they totally messed something up and destroyed “Utopia” or whatever, the time-traveler could come back and fix it himself. It wasn’t Clark’s job to make everything right in the time stream.
It was his job to make the woman he loved happy and he could start right now.
Standing up, Clark circled around his desk and moved silently to Lois’ side. He leaned over her shoulder, close enough to feel the ends of her hair brush against his cheek. “Almost finished?” he asked.
Lois didn’t respond for a moment, clearly unsurprised by his sudden presence. She typed out one last line, glanced over the article and then hit send before turning to face her partner. “All done! You weren’t trying to edit my copy, were you?” she teased.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Clark grinned and took her hand, guiding her to stand beside him. “What do you say we go out somewhere to celebrate. I know this wonderful
French restaurant which serves the best gâteau royal.”
Lois allowed a flirtatious smile to creep onto her lips, even as her eyes questioned what he was doing. “I take it we won’t be dining local?”
“Would I treat my forever girl to anything but the best?”
Lois beamed at the reference to their first day together as kids. But then she glanced around the newsroom quickly before looking back at Clark in confusion. “Clark… we’re at work.”
“I know.”
And then he leaned in close and sealed his mouth over hers, making it clear to anyone who could see that Lois and Clark were more than just partners.
