**Chapter 5: Double Trouble**
The shock was evident on his face.
- Superman, don’t be afraid, it’s just me!
He stammered:
- Lo... Lois, are you... are you feeling... okay?
- Yes, of course, it was just a little dizziness...
- Lois, you need to look behind you, but above all, don’t panic!
Lois examined her husband’s face, finding it unusually pale.
- Superman, what’s going on? You look unwell...
She turned around to see what was troubling him and, upon seeing her “double,” she fainted again. Clark caught her, ready to support her weight.
An ambulance worker who had seen Lois fall called out to them. Panicked, Clark quickly thanked him but said that everything was fine and that he would drive Mrs. Lane home himself. The ambulance worker returned to his duties, and Clark exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
He bent down to pick up the other Lois.
- Lois, come quickly with me, we need to be discreet, let’s hide behind this wall.
She followed him in silence, too stunned to disobey. Once behind the wall, Clark asked Lois to stay there for a few minutes while he took the “double” home.
She nodded, and Clark tried to take off, but his body remained strangely glued to the ground. He furrowed his brow, a wave of concern overtaking him.
The Lois in his arms began to regain consciousness, and he gently set her down on the ground.
**Child Street Building**
In the emergency stairs of the building behind them, Brown and Treillis descended quickly but silently. To avoid the repercussions from the Man of Steel, they had left the roof quickly. They had confidence in their plan, but they knew Superman wasn’t without resources, especially with the journalist present and apparently affected. It was public knowledge that even though Superman had denied any intimate relationship with her, he remained her personal bodyguard.
- That was a great shot, did you see? Right on target! - modesty was not Treillis' strongest suit.
- We’ll see tomorrow, let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. He’s tough. Underestimating our opponent would be a grave mistake - Brown replied sharply.
They emerged from the building and disappeared into a dark alley, blending into the shadows as they moved, making sure not to draw attention to themselves.
**Behind the Wall**
Superman, still dizzy from the last three minutes, met the gaze of the Lois on the ground, still in his arms. He was relieved to see her coming back to consciousness, her eyes slightly dazed but able to meet his gaze. He looked up at the other Lois, kneeling beside him, and questioned her with his eyes. The other Lois was just as perplexed as he was.
- What’s going on, Clark? - she placed her hand on his arm in support.
- I... I can’t fly?
- Kryptonite?
- No, I haven’t felt any pain, and apart from the fact that I clearly have no powers, I feel fine.
- No powers? No super vision? No super breath? Super hearing?
Clark stopped for a moment, trying to sense the hearts of the Lois(es). He shook his head, fear beginning to show on his face.
- And you, how are you?
- Fine... except that I’m clearly not myself - she replied, pointing to her doppelgänger.
They both leaned towards her. She hadn’t spoken yet, trying to understand what was happening, and anger began to rise in her. Clearly, while she was unconscious, someone had impersonated her and knew her husband’s identity.
- Now, Superman, I’d like to know who this woman is and what she’s doing here! Oh no! Don’t tell me there’s another clone! - anger helped her recover quickly, and she pushed both of them away to stand up. Clark offered her a hand for support, which she rejected sharply, her eyes filled with defiance. They realized that Mad Dog Lane was not far off. Clark gave her some space and tried to address her with soothing words.
- Hon... Lois, - he corrected himself, she wasn’t ready to be called Honey... - can you tell me what you remember last? - the journalist mode, to limit emotions, was probably the best way to approach this.
- I was interviewing you, I warned you about a red light that was going to hit us, and then, I opened my eyes and found myself lying with you and this *thing*, - the word *thing* was filled with all the contempt she felt - above me. And I find her way too familiar with my *husband*.
The other Lois was about to respond but, knowing her own character perfectly, she chose to remain silent. She understood very well the emotional state of her counterpart and knew that this reaction was normal given the circumstances.
- Lois, we will clarify the missing pieces for you, I promise. But I think we should all three go back to the house... your house - the “your” seemed more appropriate in this context. We don’t want Superman to be on the front page of tabloids tomorrow with two Lois Lane.
Lois recognized the wisdom in these words and agreed:
- But we’re not done yet! And I’m driving!
They headed to the Jeep. Lois, in anger, took the wheel. She wanted to regain control of the situation and allocated the seats in the car.
- You two, get in the back seat, it will be more discreet with the tinted windows. But don’t even think about plotting or touching each other, - her glare made it clear that it was wiser not to protest or challenge her.
The 5-minute drive seemed like an eternity, and the tension was palpable. Each person was lost in their thoughts, trying to make sense of this extremely foggy situation...
Clark wondered if he was simply having a nightmare; one moment he was in bed with his incredible wife, about to make love to her, and the next, he found himself powerless with two Lois’, one of whom was extremely angry. The situation could have been a fantasy in other circumstances, if he were still in bed with *two* Lois... a smile crept onto his lips, which he quickly suppressed. No, it wasn’t worth getting involved in; this was clearly impossible, and an excited Superman wouldn’t calm Lois' anger.
**Chapter 6: Collision of Identities**
**348 Hyperion Avenue**
They quickly entered the house. Clark headed upstairs:
- Where do you think you’re going? - spat Lois.
She was truly angry, and the drive had clearly not calmed her. She had, however, let her fury out while driving, the other Lois thought it might have helped her calm down a bit.
- Uh... to change clothes, I think the suit isn’t appropriate.
- Good! But don’t take your time!
Clark didn’t hear the rest as his super-hearing was lost in the staircase.
- I want an explanation and fast, so that *she* leaves!
That was enough for Lois! She hadn’t asked to be doubled, and she was just as legitimate as the other Lois! She exploded:
- Now enough is enough! I’m not an impostor, we were victims of the red rays, I don’t understand any more than you what’s happening, but this is also MY house. So I’m not leaving. If you want to get out of this situation, we’ll have to collaborate. So you’re going to get off your high horse and let us...
The angry Lois lunged at her counterpart, ready to fight. She wouldn’t be fooled. But she stopped abruptly at 1cm from the other Lois upon realizing that she was moving at super speed and was about to seriously hurt her. The rush of air caused by the super-speed had made the documents on the coffee table scatter when they went to bed earlier.
When Clark came down, he had changed into jeans and a black t-shirt; his previous outfit was not suitable for the circumstances.
He discovered a rather unexpected scene: papers scattered around the room, the two Lois on the floor.
- What happened here? I was gone for 2 minutes and it looks like a tornado passed through, - he lowered his voice realizing that one of the Lois was crying while the other was trying to console her. He knelt down and held them both in his arms...
He tenderly rocked them, realizing that anger had given way to despair. He didn’t know what had happened, but the angry Lois was closer to despair than hysteria. A dull pain gripped Clark’s heart, unable to bear seeing his wife suffer.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, each trying to recover by drawing strength from the embrace.
The angry Lois had stopped and collapsed when she realized she had superpowers, controlling her body as she had to do a few years earlier when Clark’s powers had been accidentally transferred to her. She was struck with horror when she realized she could have seriously hurt the other Lois, and she fell to the ground, all her anger replaced by deep guilt.
Now that she was feeling better, she tried to lighten the mood, suppressing all her feelings to regain control. She played irony:
- Clark, don’t enjoy the moment too much, I know having two women in your arms is a typical male fantasy.
She took the opportunity to dry her tears and stand up. This time, she willingly accepted the hand offered to help her up.
They were all feeling a bit better. Clark responded in the same light tone:
- What can I do? Lois Lane is capable of bringing Superman to his knees, so how can Clark Kent, a mere human, resist two Lois Lane? You are my downfall.
- Well, I’m going to tidy up the mess I made earlier and then we’ll try to clarify this out-of-time evening.
She accelerated into a blur, tidying up the room at super speed and sat down on the right side of the couch. The other Lois joined her, and Clark remained still, mouth agape. He hadn’t witnessed what had just happened. She called out to him:
- Clark, are you going to stand there with your mouth open, or are you joining us?
Clark shook his head and joined them, sitting on the couch facing them. He buried his face in his hands and collected his thoughts, ready.
- I don’t understand everything that happened, but I’ll recount the events from the beginning and you can fill in the gaps at the end.
They nodded.
- So, when you two alerted me about the beam, I turned around and was struck by two rays: one in the middle of my chest and the other on my stomach. I grabbed both sides of my cape to keep you safe. When I tried to see where it was coming from, I was interrupted because you were fainting. I caught you, but with some difficulty, I must have already lost my powers.
Then Lois - he pointed to the Lois on the left - came back to her senses, and when I helped her up, you - he pointed to the Lois on the right - appeared, lying unconscious as if you were being duplicated.
Then I took you in my arms and we hid behind the wall where you woke up. I wanted to bring us home by air, but I was never able to take off, that’s when I realized I no longer had any powers. The rest you know. But I’d like to know what happened while I was changing.
The Lois on the right lowered her head, still ashamed of what she almost did... the other Lois took her hand, wordlessly telling her that she had forgiven her, fully understanding Lois Lane’s character.
The Lois on the right stepped into the arena and recounted:
- When you went upstairs, you must not have heard, otherwise, you would have come down immediately. I said I wanted Lois to leave.
- I couldn’t keep my calm any longer. I could accept her anger, putting myself in her place, but this was too much. I told Lois off and...
- I was overcome with intense rage, I rushed at her wanting to fight... but to my surprise, I moved at super speed. When I realized this, I panicked. All my anger disappeared; I realized I was becoming dangerous and had judged the situation far too quickly. That’s when you arrived.
- Thanks, Lois(es). Now we have all the facts. To recap: two rays hit me, stole my powers, hit you, duplicated you, and transferred my powers to one of you. - he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand, a gesture he often made when frustrated.
The Lois on the left stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock.
- I don’t know about you, but all this has exhausted me. It’s 1 AM, the day has been long, we’ve experienced far too many emotions in such a short time, and we won’t solve this now. I propose we go to bed.
Clark squirmed, uncomfortable with what was about to happen... Going to bed... all three of them?
Clark had never considered himself prude. His virginity at marriage was simply due to the fact that he was waiting for the right person to share everything with. He had never been attracted to the classic fantasies of men around him. His friends at university boasted about their exploits and “exotic” experiences, which had never interested him. Even though earlier in the car he had thought about the fantasy of having two Lois’ in bed with him, there was a huge difference between fantasy and reality. In the end, everyone was exhausted physically and emotionally, and they went to bed in silence, with him positioned in the center of the bed, each of *his* women on either side in his arms.
Last edited by Aurore; 08/25/24 08:00 AM.
