Okay, this...um...well, it was sitting half-done on my hard drive, so I decided to cap it off and post it. It's probably confusing, and not very good. It hasn't been Beta'd (ooh, that reminds me...). But if you like it, then maybe some day, in the far, *far* future...I'll let someone *else* take a crack at this idea <g>.
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He gently traced the image on the photograph with his finger.
Lois.
Her name was Lois.
He closed his eyes and mouthed her name, not daring to speak it aloud just yet. He had never met her, yet already he knew that he loved her. He would do anything to free her.
He hugged the photograph to his chest, then took an old Earth-style jacket out of the wardrobe and put it on, slipping the photograph into the left pocket. The thought of her suffering, imprisioned by such a vile monster, made him cringe. He would save her, despite the cost.
He pulled the note he had written the night before out of the other pocket and smoothed out the crinkles. Deciding what to say had been difficult. He knew his parents would think of his venture as foolish, but in the end, what did it matter? He would never see them again, anyway.
That thought made him pause.
His parents.
He would miss them.
They were already gone; his father was with some other scientists, setting up a new laboratory in the southern pole. His mother had gone to town for supplies. He was completely alone in the house.
He looked through the walls anyway, checking to make sure that he was truly alone. Only then did he dare to step out of his room, into the hall of the sleek, modern house. The house was furnished with a mix of mother-land and old native. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a plain glass mirror on the wall, and immediately pulled the jacket tighter around him.
He went outside. It was getting dark. He had to hurry, if he was to meet the man on time.
He took one last look at the house he grew up in. His eyes drank in the surrounding fields, the creeks, and the clunky wood-and-plaster houses of the natives. He wondered how much of it would be the same in this other universe, and how much of it would be different.
Now was not a time for speculation, though. Now was a time for action! He turned and hurried to the rendezvous point, a secluded field surrounded by trees that stirred in his wake.
The man was there, waiting for him, and turned around when he approached. "You came!"
He nodded.
The man smiled at him. "Great! Excellent! Now hurry, there's not a minute to lose." The man in strange clothing guestured to an odd-looking sled. "Every second is causing her pain," the man said when he balked. "Believe me, I know."
"How will I find her?" He had to know. The only thing worse than not making this journey would be making it in vain.
The man put a hand on his back and guided him to the sled. "Don't worry, you'll find her. Now hurry; the alterations I made to the time-machine won't last long."
He sat down in the sled and watched the man fiddle with clunky buttons and levers. His hand found the photograph in his jacket pocket. Lois... It was a strange name for a Kryptonian girl, but it was also strangely beautiful.
"Ready?" The man asked him.
He nodded. He was ready. He would track down this beautiful woman and free her from this---this *Clark Kent* who held her prisoner, and treated her so cruelly. Earth people could be so savage and abominable! He would save her.
It would be worth it, to see her look at him with love and happiness in her eyes.
It would be worth the price of never coming back.
As the air around him turned blue, he smiled. But...how strange...he thought he heard laughter dimly reaching him through the blueness, and the words "God! I love------"
