PART 2 by Wendy
Lois lay in her empty, lonely bed, her eyes stubbornly remaining shut. If she couldn’t open them, after all, then she couldn’t wake up. Wouldn’t have to get up and face the day.
As long as she didn’t have to open her eyes, she could pretend that none of it was true.
None of it was happening. Clark wasn’t dead. Today wasn’t the day they were viewing his body at the funeral home.
Clark wasn’t dead.
But the truth couldn’t be denied indefinitely. Sooner or later, she was going to have to open her eyes. She was going to have to do what had to be done. To get up, dress appropriately, meet Perry and Jimmy and prepare to bury the only man she’d ever loved.
Her husband. Dead. Killed by one bullet to his chest.
One lousy bullet. And one missing Superhero.
It was just as well that Superman had kept out of her way since the day it had happened. How she’d ever thought she even liked him, much less loved him... He was supposed to be her friend. Their friend. How many times had he told them privately that they were the people he cared most about in the world?
When she’d needed him most, he was nowhere to be seen.
He’d save the entire world. He’d even save criminals who deserved to be in jail or dead. And yet he hadn’t saved the most decent, honest man who ever lived. The man he’d been as close to as a brother.
Superman.
Superfraud.
Oh, she hated h-
“Honey, I know I wore you out last night, but you’d really better get up or we’ll be late for work.”
The teasing voice felt so real she could have sworn she was actually hearing it. And yet it just wasn’t possible. Her imagination was running overtime.
And yet she could smell something. Something very familiar. And very real.
Coffee!
How on earth...
A hand touched her shoulder, shaking her slightly. “Come on, honey, it really is time to wake up.”
Wha-?
Lois sat up abruptly, eyes wide. Clark really was standing next to her bed. He really was holding a cup of coffee. He really was here.
He really was alive.
**********
Clark was really dead. There was no more denying it. That body in the coffin was his.
She’d run out of other explanations. That it was a dummy. That it was some other guy made up to look like Clark. That maybe, just maybe, it was the Clark from the alternate universe.
It wasn’t. He was her husband.
The body in the coffin was unmistakably Clark Kent. Everything, every little detail, was perfect, right down to the tiny mole above his upper lip. He was wearing the ring she’d put on his finger herself. And there was a love-bite just below his collar - she’d put that there herself four nights ago.
Clark really was dead.
But how? It made no sense. None whatsoever.
First, Clark couldn’t be killed by an ordinary bullet. Second, if he was dead, what was Superman doing here? Third, why had she no memory at all of any of this happening?
Could she, in her grief, simply have blanked out the past few days? Was it possible that she just didn’t remember Clark being killed?
No, that made no sense. There was still Superman. And there was still Clark’s invulnerability.
And yet...
“Lois?” The voice from behind her was so very familiar. Painfully familiar. Superman was standing close to her, his hand pressed to her shoulder. Superman. Who should be her husband, but apparently wasn’t.
“I think you’d better take her home, son.” That was Perry. “It’s all been too much for her. We should have realised that when we saw her this morning.”
Strong arms slid under her, lifting her, cradling her against a solid, warm, familiar chest. And yet the way he held her wasn’t familiar. His grip was more impersonal, less of an embrace.
If she needed one more clue that the man in the Suit and cape wasn’t her husband, then he’d just given it to her.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and onto Superman’s spandex as they flew.
*********
“Clark! You’re alive! Oh my god... you’re alive!”
He blinked, giving her a puzzled look. “Of course I am, honey.” His expression changed to concern. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream or something?”
Could she have been dreaming? And yet it had all seemed so real...
“You were covering that demonstration at City Hall the other day and you got shot!” Sobs came unbidden again, as they’d done ever since Perry had broken the dreadful news. “You were killed instantly... I never even got to say goodbye...”
He sat on the bed and reached for her, tugging her into his embrace. She went eagerly, needing to feel his warm solidity against her, his living flesh under her palms. His heartbeat against her cheek. “Lois, it was a dream. That’s all. I’m fine - see? I’m right here. And anyway, you know a bullet can’t kill me.”
She’d been relaxing against him, but that made her gasp and jerk away. “What? Clark, what are you talking about?”
He frowned. “Lois? Are you sure you’re okay?” He touched her forehead. “You’re not running a temperature... Oh, god, you haven’t lost your memory again, have you?”
She didn’t think so... and yet something was definitely odd here. “I’m fine. Just... oh, you don’t know how awful it felt thinking you were dead!”
Suddenly, she was in his arms again. “I know, honey. I’ve been there too, remember?”
Huh? What was going on here? “Clark, what are you talking about?”
“When I thought Bad Brain Johnson had vaporised you. Remember?”
She stared at him. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about!”
Abruptly, he released her and stood up. “Who are you?”
*********
“Lois, will you be okay if I leave you now? I think Perry and Alice are going to come by in a little while.”
“No!” She grabbed at the end of Superman’s cape. The flight had given her some time to calm herself and to think. There were still too many unanswered questions, and Superman was probably the only person who could begin to help her out here.
He hesitated. “I can stay for a few minutes, if that’s what you want.”
“I need to talk to you.” She sat on the sofa, indicating that he should sit opposite. He obeyed. “Why are you still alive?”
He almost fell off his chair. “What?”
“If Clark is dead, then you should be dead too. That’s what I don’t understand.”
Shaking his head, Superman replied, “I’m sorry, Lois. You’re not making sense to me.”
“You’re Clark. Clark is dead. Therefore you shouldn’t be here.”
“Huh?”
Patiently, she said, “Superman is Clark Kent. The secret identity. The glasses. The normal life behind the superhero guise. So, I repeat: if Clark is dead, how come you’re still alive? Are you a clone or something? Or a Superman from another universe? And how could Clark have been killed in the first place? Was that bullet made of Kryptonite?”
“Wait, wait. You’re confusing me.” Superman got to his feet and started to pace. “Lois, I know you’ve had a terrible shock. I know this is an awful time for you. But this won’t help you. Clark is gone. And however much I’d love to bring him back for you, I can’t. Don’t you think I would have if I could? I’m not him, Lois. I don’t know why you seem to think I am.”
“But you are.”
He was about to protest again, but she jumped up and caught his hand. “Superman, do something for me. Please.”
He sighed. “Anything, Lois.”
“Come with me.” She led the way upstairs; he followed, looking increasingly unsure, especially when she walked into her bedroom. Her and Clark’s bedroom. Ignoring his reluctance, she threw open a closet and pulled out a pair of Clark’s jeans and his favourite T-shirt, and then grabbed a spare pair of glasses from a drawer. “Put these on.”
“What?”
“Superman, you said you’d do anything for me. This is what I’m asking you.”
He hesitated, then took the pile of clothing from her. He disappeared into the bathroom, returning mere seconds later dressed in what she’d given him. She frowned, then reached out and finger-combed his hair into place, then drew him over to the bedroom mirror.
He stared at his reflection with an expression of disbelief. Clark Kent looked back at him.
“Lois... how is this possible?”
“I told you.” She stood beside him, her arms folded, feeling strength and determination returning. “You’re Clark. And now that I’ve proved that, I want you to tell me what you’ve done with my husband and how it’s possible that Clark is dead.”
**********
Now what was going on? “I’m Lois Lane. Your wife, in case you’d forgotten.”
But Clark shook his head. “No. You may be Lois Lane, but you’re not my Lois.”
“I don’t know what you mean!”
He sighed. “I don’t think you’re a double. There’s evidence of an old break in your ankle. But you’re not the Lois I married. There’s too much you don’t know about - the Bad Brain thing, me - and you thought I was dead. That means one of two things. Either you’re a very good clone, or you’re from another universe.”
“Another uni -? Clark, you’re not making any sense.”
“I’m probably making about as much sense to you as you were to me a few minutes ago.” He grimaced. “Look, Lois, since I don’t think anyone would know enough to make sure a clone would have that bone-tissue scarring, I’m going to assume that you are from another universe. It’s the only explanation that makes any sense.”
Shaking her head, Lois exclaimed, “There’s no such thing as other universes!”
“You know that for a fact?” Clark gave her a quick smile. “Look, there not only are other universes, but my Lois has been to one of them. I don’t know if it’s the one you’re from - in fact, I doubt it given you don’t know about me.”
“No...” Other universes? Other versions of herself? This man wasn’t her husband? Okay, Clark was definitely acting a little strange, but how could he not be her husband?
“You don’t believe me?” He shrugged. “Okay, maybe this will change your mind.” And he whirled himself around, faster than her eye could see. And when he stopped, Clark had vanished. Suddenly, Superman was in the bedroom.
“Supe - What are you doing here?” Automatically, protectively, she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Lois, don’t you recognise me?” The voice was Clark’s.
Clark? In Superman’s Suit?
Why was nothing making sense this morning?
“Lois.” Superman was walking towards her. “It’s me. This is what I meant when I said a bullet can’t kill me. He - the Clark of your world - he never told you that he’s Superman?”
The Clark of her world... enough of this alternate universe stuff already! It was making her head spin! “If Clark was Superman, he’d have told me. We were married! And... and anyway, I’ve seen him and Superman together dozens of times. He’s even had dinner with us!”
Superman - Clark - looked taken aback. “How is that possible?”
Lois shrugged. “I don’t know how it’s possible that you’re Superman.”
“Trust me, I am.” And suddenly he was back in his Clark clothes, but floating three feet off the ground. “I don’t understand it, but somehow in your world Clark and Superman aren’t the same guy.”
In her world... It was crazy. It was freaky. It was sci-fi geeky. And yet it was seeming more plausible by the minute. This man, this Clark Kent, wasn’t her husband. This place wasn’t her home. And that meant...
Dully, she said, “My Clark is really dead.”
*********
Superman was shaking his head. “Lois, I just don’t understand any of this. It doesn’t make any sense!”
“You think you being alive when Clark is dead does?”
“But I’m not Clark!” Abruptly, he sped into the bathroom, returning dressed in the Spandex again. Continuing the discussion as if he hadn’t left, he said, “Come on, Lois, how many times have you seen the two of us together? Don’t you remember? I even had dinner here with you two just the other week!”
She shook her head. This was making even less sense. Superman not knowing that he was Clark? Actually believing that he’d been in the same room with Clark? “What universe are you from?” she demanded.
And then, abruptly, she sat down heavily on the bed. It had suddenly all become clear. “That’s it. You’re not from another universe... I am!”
“Huh?”
“That’s it! I don’t know why I didn’t see it before! Of course that’s what’s happened! Somehow I’ve been thrown into your universe. The Clark who’s dead isn’t my Clark. He’s... oh, god, some other poor Lois, who’s probably in my universe right now!” Would Clark have figured it out? Oh, god, he wouldn’t not have realised, would he? Oh, she couldn’t think about that right now!
Superman was staring at her with an expression she recognised. It was one which said that, if she wasn’t certifiably insane, she was well on the way to it.
Ignoring him, she continued, “I still don’t know why you’re not Clark, but at least that explains why I had no idea that Clark had been killed. And where his parents are, I guess.”
“Clark’s parents are dead.” Superman was shaking his head, obviously rejecting what she was saying. “Lois, you know that!”
“No. No, you’re not thinking, Cl...” She shook her head. “Superman. I can’t call you Superman! You’re Clark! But this is what I mean. See? This isn’t my universe.”
“Lois, universes? This is cra - ”
“Look, I know you think I’m hallucinating or something. But hear me out. And I really can’t call you Superman. I’m going to call you Kal, okay?”
He sighed. “I guess.”
“Okay. So. What you have to realise is that this isn’t the only universe in existence. There are others - at least two others. I come from one of them and I’ve been to another. I mean, real, entire universes with the same planets, the same countries, the same people! Where I come from, I’m married to Clark Kent who is also Superman. His parents are still alive. So are mine.”
“Lois, your parents were killed in an accident last year - ”
“So she’s really all alone?” Sadness filled her for the woman who had just suffered the most devastating loss Lois could possibly imagine. “I wish there was something we could do about that. But anyway,” she continued, returning to the subject, “That’s my universe. Then there’s another universe where Lois Lane was lost in the Congo four years ago and the whole world knows that Clark is Superman. I spent a few days there last year. And now there’s your universe.”
“This sounds like something out of a fantasy novel!”
“I know but, trust me, it’s true. Not that any of it’s really important for you to know. All that matters is that we need to find a way to get me home.” And get the other Lois back to a world which had become her worst nightmare... But she couldn’t think about that. There was nothing she could do about it.
All the same... “Kal?”
“Yes?”
“When did you come to Earth? Did you arrive as a baby, like Clark?”
And, just like that, he faltered. Took a step backwards. Ran a hand agitatedly through his hair, ruffling it again and making it look like Clark’s. “I... don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Why not?”
He grimaced. “So Clark never told you?”
“Kal, I just told you. I’m not married to the Clark of this universe. So, whatever it is, you’ll have to tell me yourself.”
Looking skeptical, he said, “Okay. Remember the asteroid?”
“Oh yeah. Nightfall. That was a pretty close one. Clark still dreams about it sometimes.”
“Clark... Okay. Right. Your Clark. Not the Clark who’s dead.” Kal sighed, obviously frustrated. “Look, you have to remember what happened. How I crashed into his apartment and put him in the hospital? He lost his memory. He got bits of it back but there are parts of his life he never remembered.”
Lois stared at him. “Really? My Clark did get his memory back - well, obviously, since he flew back into space and smashed the asteroid.”
But he didn’t seem to be listening. “Lois, what I... we... never told anyone else is that I lost my memory too. I didn’t even know I had powers. Clark told me that, once he started remembering a few things - he had to convince me about what I could do so that I could destroy Nightfall. And I still don’t remember a damn thing before waking up in Clark’s apartment with part of the wall on top of us!”
*********
Through her tears, she saw the man who wasn’t her husband nod. “Yes. He probably is. Though I still don’t understand how you have a Superman in your world as well... That doesn’t matter right now, though. What matters is getting you home again.”
And getting this man’s wife back. While leaving her all alone, preparing to bury her husband...
But he was right. She had to go home. This man might look like Clark, might sound like Clark, but he wasn’t Clark.
She reached for the robe which lay at the foot of the bed, then threw back the covers once she’d pulled it on. It felt wrong to stay in this bed - the marital bed of the man in front of her and his wife.
“Tell me something,” he said suddenly. “Did the Superman of your world ever tell you anything about his origins?”
She hesitated, trying to remember. “A little, once - that he was from another planet. But that’s about all, I think.”
“And Clark?”
She shrugged. “That he was adopted - he was the illegitimate son of a distant relative of Martha Kent’s. Jonathan and Martha couldn’t have children, so they took him.”
Clark nodded. “That’s exactly the same story we told to explain me. My Kryptonian parents sent me to Earth as a baby and the Kents found me. I wonder who found your Superman?”
“I have no idea. I guess... I always assumed that he just came to Earth not long before his first rescue.”
“Speaking perfect English? Understanding everything about the way the world works? Knowing his way around? Sure, he could’ve studied maps and videotapes and so on, but didn’t you think he was just a little too authentic?”
Okay, this was too much. What right did he have to criticise her? He couldn’t even offer a word of sympathy? “So did your Lois figure out everything about you from the start?”
He looked abashed. “Okay, no, she didn’t. It took her a couple of years, actually. And I shouldn’t have attacked you about it. I’m just trying to make any kind of sense out of this two people thing here.” He frowned. “You’re sure there’s always been two of them?”
“Well, yeah, I mean, as far as I know.” Of course there were! She’d always known Clark. And then there’d been Superman. She’d seen them together right from the start, hadn’t she? “I even remember right back when Superman saved the world from Nightfall. He crash-landed into Clark’s apartment the first time he tried. I went over there not long after it happened - just as well, because Clark had been knocked unconscious and lost his memory. He and Superman needed me to get them straightened out.”
“Wait a minute - Superman crashed into Clark’s apartment?”
“Yeah. You didn’t?”
“No, I came down into Suicide Slum.” He shook his head briefly. “Not that it matters. We need to concentrate on getting you home.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” She couldn’t prevent the note of sarcasm which crept into her voice. He thought he knew it all. He thought he was so clever, this Clark Kent who was also Superman. But he wasn’t the one who’d just been widowed. He hadn’t lost his wife. Well, technically he had, but he was going to get her back - once they took her back to her own world. To her dead husband.
Though she had no idea just how he planned to do that...
He sighed. “I swore I’d never do this, but...” Turning, he pulled open the nightstand drawer and removed something. Holding the object, which seemed to be made of some sort of metal or plastic and about the size of a cigarette carton, close to his face, he said in a resigned tone, “Mr Wells, I need you.”
*********
“You don’t remember anything?”
“Not a thing. I didn’t even know my own name. I still don’t - I don’t even know why you’re calling me Kal!”
Lois frowned. “Because that’s your Kryptonian name - Kal-El!”
“It is?”
“You really don’t remember anything about yourself, do you?” She studied Kal thoughtfully. An idea was just beginning to crystallise in her mind. Clark would probably tell her that she was reaching, but she was beginning to get a pretty strong suspicion...
A sudden flash of light sent her stumbling backwards. Kal was next to her immediately, grabbing her arm, steadying her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fi - Clark?”
Her husband, and a woman who looked just like her, had materialised out of the blue in the bedroom. And with them was a man she’d hoped never to see again.
“Mr Wells. I should have known. Is this all your doing?”
Kal stepped aside abruptly, and Lois realised that Clark had given him a hard stare. As she ran to embrace her husband, he said, “Actually, it wasn’t Mr Wells’ fault. He didn’t know anything about this before I contacted him.”
She groaned. “Tempus, then.”
“It doesn’t appear so, Miss Lane. From the readings on my instruments, it appears that there was some sort of anomaly which caused the dividing line between the universes to... well, for want of a better word, to blur temporarily, allowing you and - well, Miss Lane to swap places.”
Miss Lane. The Lois from this universe. The Lois whose husband was dead. Lois turned to study the other woman, who stood on her own in the bedroom, dressed in a robe, her hands twisting together as she stared at the bed. Her bed - the bed she’d slept in with her Clark, who was dead.
The woman, the other Lois, looked as if she was living in her worst nightmare.
Kal went to her, touched her arm, and then hugged her. Lois was glad to see it.
She turned her attention back to Wells. “What sort of anomaly?”
“I’m still trying to work that out. Everything seems to be as it should - the soul-tracer still reports Clark Kent and Lois Lane present in this universe, as in yours - ”
“What did you say?” Clark exclaimed; Lois would have been right behind him.
“The soul-tracer - ”
“Never mind that!” Lois interrupted him. “This universe’s Clark Kent is dead! He was killed a couple of days ago.”
Wells looked disbelieving. “Miss Lane, this universe’s Clark Kent is right over there. With Miss Lane.”
Kal looked up. “I don’t know why you all insist on thinking that I’m Clark. I’m not! And just who are you, by the way?”
“He’s HG Wells. A dead writer. Oh, and a time-traveller too,” Lois said, waving a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“But, Superman, you are Clark Kent!” Wells persisted. “The soul-tracer says so!”
Inspiration struck. “Mr Wells, do you have your time-travelling thingy with you?” Lois demanded.
“Yes, but why - ?”
“Because to fix this we need to go back in time.”
The other Lois looked up, her pale expression brightened by a flash of excitement. “Go back in time? Can we? To when Clark was killed? To save his life?”
“No. Not to then.” Clark had spoken, and Lois met his gaze. Had he come to the same conclusion as she?
“To when Nightfall was on its way,” she said. “To just before Clark - as Superman - crash-landed onto his apartment.”
Kal frowned in puzzlement. “But why? And - god, I keep having to say this - I’m not Clark! Clark was inside the apartment when I smashed into it.”
“No, he wasn’t.” That was Clark again. “I think what must have happened is that something - I don’t know what - caused you to split in two on impact. From then on, you were both Clark and Superman.”
“And neither of you have any memory of being anything else.” Lois continued the speculative explanation. “You don’t remember anything before the accident - which makes sense since, for you, there was no before the accident. Clark only remembered some things before the accident - the Clark part of him. He never remembered anything to do with the Superman part.”
“That’s crazy!” Kal exclaimed.
Wells, however, became thoughtful. Producing several devices from multiple pockets of his old-fashioned suit, he began to study them. After a few moments, he murmured, “I do believe you might be right! And... you mentioned that this world’s Clark Kent has been killed? That just might be the anomaly which caused you two ladies to be flung into the wrong universe!”
“Then let’s go!”
**********
If anyone had told Lois a week ago that time travel was not only possible, but that she’d be doing it, she’d have laughed in their face. Now, standing in her own bedroom hearing a perfect stranger who was her exact double tell another perfect stranger to go back three years, she simply resigned herself to going with the flow.
Who knew? It just might be possible. And, after all, unless someone had perpetrated a highly elaborate hoax, she’d just been universe-hopping.
And then, suddenly, everything around her shimmered. The ground was unsteady beneath her feet - she flailed out, trying to steady herself, and her hand caught at an arm. An arm covered in Spandex.
“I’ve got you, Lois.”
Superman. Her Superman - not the other Lois’s Clark. Despite the fact that she wanted to rip out his heart, as he’d ripped out hers for not saving Clark, relief flooded her. Finally, someone she knew, among this sea of strangers with deceptively familiar faces.
And then the weird whirling sensation stopped and everything cleared. They were out of doors and it was night - and she recognised their location. Outside Clark’s old apartment on Clinton Street.
“Wha -?” she began, but her own voice interrupted her.
“There he is!” It was the other Lois, and she was pointing into the sky.
Lois stared, struggling to see in the darkness. There was something - someone - up there. A red and blue streak, tumbling down towards the ground. She heard a sharp intake of breath from beside her, and glanced aside to see Superman go pale.
“I’ve got him.” There was a whoosh, and a grey blur went past her. She only realised it was Clark - the other Lois’s husband - when she couldn’t see him standing there any longer. The grey streak shot upwards and met the blue and red one, slowing as they merged, and then shot sideways and disappeared into the night.
Mere seconds later, Clark strolled up to the small group. “So, what did you do?” the other Lois asked.
“Flew him down to Suicide Slum. I made a crater just like the one I fell into, and left him there. He’ll be perfectly safe until someone finds him.”
“I don’t get it,” Superman said slowly. “Why should where I landed make a difference?”
“It may not be where so much as how,” the odd guy called Wells said. “Time, however, will tell us whether the split has been mended.”
“I...”
Lois stared sharply at Superman as he trailed off. Suddenly, he almost bent double. Then he took a sharp breath, straightened and looked at her. “Lois? I... Oh, god, I remember! Honey, it’s me!”
And, before she could say a word, he swung her into his arms and kissed her.
Superman. Clark. Her husband. Alive. Holding her. Kissing her.
So what if he really was Superman? She could put up with him disappearing from time to time to save the world, couldn’t she? The important thing was that he was alive.
Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him back fiercely.
**********
“Psst.”
“Honey?”
“Don’t you think we should get those two back home? Before anyone notices that there are two Supermen in this time - or it gets splashed all over the news that Superman’s having a torrid affair with Lois Lane?”
“Ah.” Clark grinned. “Probably makes sense.” He coughed lightly. “Ah, Mr Wells?”
The little man jumped, obviously startled. “Ah... yes, of course. Time to return!”
Within seconds they were back in the bedroom. The other couple didn’t seem to notice the change in scenery; they were still wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing fiercely. Lois caught Clark’s eye; he grinned.
On the floor, a crumpled copy of the Daily Planet lay discarded, headline facing up.
PLANET REPORTER NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH
Superman saves Clark Kent as gunshots fired by angry mob
“Excellent! It appears that we were successful.” Wells’ eyes were twinkling. “Now, if you will permit me to return you and Mr Kent to your own universe...”
“Please do, Mr Wells,” Clark said, his tone dry.
Lois couldn’t wait. She threw her arms around Clark as the familiar swirling started, and then tried to be patient as the time-traveller bade his usual polite, if long-winded farewells. Finally, they were alone.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you!” she exclaimed.
Clark’s gaze never left her. “You too, honey. Was it really terrible?”
“Pretty bad at first. Until I realised what had to have happened. I just didn’t understand how you could be dead - and how Superman was alive.”
“I’m not dead.” His voice was soft, his gaze caressing her. “I wouldn’t do that to you - you’d kill me!”
She had to laugh at that. “You bet I would, Clark Kent!”
“All’s well that ends well.” He smiled, then bent to brush his lips over hers. “For the other Lois and Clark, too. I’m glad about that.”
“Me too. I’d hate for any Lois not to have her Clark. You’re pretty indispensable to us, you know that?”
“Ditto.” He kissed her again. And, seconds later, she’d completely forgotten what they were talking about.
THE END
