Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic A Future Rewound - (Lois' Story) - part 4/5

previoulsy on AFR - LS...

Lois gently closed the door to her crappy little hotel room and, leaning against it, began to plan her tomorrow. Obviously, whoever was on the police beat overnight would have the story of the bank robbery in the morning's edition. But that was all it would be. A story of a bank robbery. One that was a little unusual because it was pulled off by some gangster look-a-likes. Only she, and by tomorrow, Clark knew the real story and they would be the ones to turn it into a front page award winner.

She had no doubt that she could convince Clark that Hamilton was behind these reconstituted gangsters, but Perry was another matter. If this Perry White was anything like his older counterpart, he was going to want some proof. Fortunately, she had some ideas along those lines also.

******************

And now...
A Future Rewound - (Lois' Story) part 4
by Tank


Lois was into the office bright and early the next morning, but as she expected, Perry was already there. She wondered if she should wait for Clark before approaching Perry about Hamilton. She had read the story of the bank robbery in the morning edition of the Planet. It had been a pedestrianly written piece, giving out what facts were available and only using a couple of quotes from some of the people at the bank. The only conclusion that the reporter had included was a wisecrack about it being a 'little early for Halloween'.

Lois sat down at her desk and booted up her computer. She had decided that it would probably be best if she waited for Clark. Presenting a united front and coming into the editor's office as 'partners' would send Perry the best message.

When her screen popped up she noticed she had a new email. Curious as to who might already know she was back at the Planet, Lois clicked on her envelop icon. It turned out to be a dirty joke from Cat. Lois couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. The Catherine Grant she knew back home was never anything like this one. But then how could she know that for sure? She had never bothered to try and get to know the Cat of her own world. They had started right out as rivals and neither ever made the attempt to get to know the other. Lois couldn't help but wonder what might have been if she'd just made the effort.

"What's so funny?"

Lois was startled by the voice suddenly coming from behind her. "Uh, what?" She turned and saw the Clark had come up behind her. He must have noticed her smile as he had approached. "Nothing." she answered innocently while she quickly deleted her email before Clark could read it over her shoulder.

He chuckled. "Fine." He seated himself on the corner of her desk. Seeing him there, in such a familiar pose, brought a lump to her throat. If it wasn't for the differences in their general appearances Lois could have fooled herself into thinking that she was home and everything was back the way it should be. She took a moment to gain control of her wayward emotions. You'd think she'd have gotten used to her new circumstances by now. It wasn't a perfect life. She'd left any chance of that behind when she agreed not to go back to her home world. But it wasn't a bad life. Considering her alternative had been imprisonment, followed by being alone and set adrift in a war-torn world full of strangers struggling to heal itself. This wasn't all that bad.

"So, what's on tap for today?" he asked, his tone bordering on excitement.

She still had her copy of the Planet folded over to the story of the robbery. She shoved the paper over toward him, pointing at the headline.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I heard about that. You think there's something there beyond a simple robbery?"

"Think about it," Lois began. "We have witnesses who claim the robbers looked and acted exactly like 30's era gangsters. Most specifically, John Dillinger, and Bonnie and Clyde. We have a mad scientist who claims he can restructure DNA and the best subjects for his experiments would be clones of dead criminals." Lois shrugged. "What do you think?"

Clark frowned. He didn't have the advantage of having already lived through such a thing to help him. Lois remembered how much trouble everyone had in believing that Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker, and John Dillinger had come back to life back in her own world. She wondered if there was going to be an Al Capone, too.

"It seems a little far-fetched, but I suppose it is possible. Though why Hamilton would let them run around robbing banks, I don't see."

"Maybe he's not in control of the experiment anymore." This was going to be easier than she thought.

Clark shrugged again. "Maybe, or maybe it just was some guys - and a gal, who dressed up like old gangsters just to confuse any witnesses as to their real identity." Before Lois could offer up any more argument, Clark spread his hands wide. "But, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check it out. Who knows? If it is true, it's going to be one heck of a story."

She grinned. "I agree."

Clark stood up. "I suppose the first thing we have to do is find Professor Hamilton."

Lois also rose. "Nope, the first thing we have to do is see Perry."

Clark's face fell. "Oh, yeah, I guess that's right."

"Come on." She reached back and grabbed his hand. "It won't be so bad."

**********************

She was wrong. Their meeting with Perry White had been arduous. At first he stared at them like they had both gone off the deep end without any life preservers. Perry had been astounded at how Lois and Clark had gone from doing some background searches on an eccentric professor who claimed to be able to dabble in genetic manipulation to cloned dead gangsters. A skill and technology, which to his knowledge, no credible scientist had yet been able to make more than the most primitive strides toward. Not only did his newest reporting team believe that this crazed professor had been able to regenerate several long dead criminals, but notorious ones to boot. Gangsters who were currently running around Metropolis robbing banks.

It had taken all of Lois' powers of persuasion to convince Perry that there was a story there. If only to confirm or deny the street rumors as to Hamilton's research. Whether or not Hamilton had any connection to the gangster look-a-likes would come out eventually, but only if she and Clark were allowed to follow up on the story. They needed to find out if Hamilton could indeed do what was being claimed, and they needed to investigate these so-called gangster bank robbers. They needed to find out who they really were, whether it be impersonators, or the regenerated real thing. The upshot was: if they were connected it would be one big time, front page story, if not, it would still be two interesting, if somewhat less sensational, stories for the paper.

Satisfied once she'd finally gotten the okay to continue with their investigation, she and Clark turned to leave.

"Ah, Lois, could you stay for a couple of minutes? There are some things I need to talk to you about." Perry's voice had lost its 'editor-in-chief' tone.

She stopped, looked at Clark and shrugged. He gave her a wink and a smile. "I'll be at my desk going through our findings from yesterday. See if I can come up with a likely address for Hamilton."

"Okay, great, I'll be out in a few minutes."

She turned back to Perry and sat in the chair that he waved her to. "Lois," he began, somewhat hesitantly. "Ah... how are you doing?"

Lois' radar instantly came up and put her on alert. Perry had something on his mind, and she would just bet that it had nothing to do with the story. "I'm doing okay. As well as can be expected, so far." Lois began to fiddle with her hands. "Cat came by and filled me in about my parents."

Perry looked stricken. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I should have realized that you didn't know and told you myself."

Lois looked away for a moment. "It's okay. I don't really remember them too well. I do hope to track down Lucy someday."

He nodded. "Yeah, you probably should. So - where are you staying?"

Alarm bells were going off in Lois' head. "I'm staying at the Mercury." She noted his immediate look of distaste. "It's all I could afford after I got back to town, but I'm moving in a few days. I'm moving in with Cat."

Perry frowned. "Cat again, huh? Do you really think it's such a good idea for you to be doing that? I've seen how you two have gravitated back to each other. And you mentioned that she visited you last night?"

Lois nodded, warily. "Yeah, so?"

Perry fixed her with a stern look. "Lois, you have to know that the talk will start again. The rumors will fly, and it will be like it was back then."

"The talk?" Lois' brow arched. "What sort of rumors?"

Perry looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Look, Lois, I'm not going to tell you who you should or shouldn't have as a friend. But you, and Cat, well, I'm just trying to think of your reputation."

Lois wasn't slow. She knew what Perry was hinting at, especially after what Cat had told her previously. But she couldn't stop her anger from growing. She didn't understand where Perry was coming from. Was he a bigot? Did he really care whether or not she was gay?

Wait, what was she thinking? Weren't Lois and Perry supposedly involved before Lois was lost in the Congo? Isn't that what Cat had told her; that Lois was just using Perry to further her career? But he wouldn't know that. She was a bit confused, so she decided to go on the offensive.

"Are you thinking of my reputation... or yours?" Lois allowed a little more anger into her speech. "Look, I don't remember a lot about what did and didn't go on here ten years ago, but I find it hard to believe that a man intelligent enough to run the nation's finest newspaper would be petty enough to hold a person's sexual preference against them."

Perry paled. "Are you saying... are you saying that you *are* gay? That everything we shared was just... just a sham?" He clenched his fists. "I can't believe it, I can't believe you would have done that to me."

"Perry!" Lois had to stop his rant before things got too far. "I don't want to believe that whatever we shared back then was a lie. But I can't deny it for you either because I just don't know."

Lois wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this mess but she knew that what she did here, what she and Perry worked out would go a long way toward establishing the conditions of her new life in this world.

She softened her tone. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know who Lois Lane was ten years ago. I remember very little of that time. I'm just trying to restart some sort of life here, now." Lois paused for a deep breath. "I can honestly say that I have no sexual feelings for Cat, but she has been a real friend to me in just the single day that I've known her - again. She's been like a life line thrown out to me as I flounder in this vast ocean of who I was. If my becoming friends with Cat, and living with her again causes a few tongues to wag, let 'em. Frankly, I don't care about the opinions of small minded people." Lois let out a deep sigh. "I had just never figured you would be one of them."

Perry looked chastised. "I'm sorry, Lois. I never meant to be accusing you of anything. And you're right. Normally I wouldn't give a rat's patoot over anyone's race, religion, or sexual choices." He ran a hand through his thick brown hair. "You're probably correct. I was thinking of myself. It hurt me ten years ago to hear the tasteless jokes and the snide innuendoes. *I* knew differently, but anything I would say was just greeted with a shake of the head and a look of pity."

Lois had lost all her anger now. Instead she was feeling some fear. How was she going to she going to make this right with Perry. How was she going to make it possible for her to be able to work for the man.

She had to ask. "So, what are you expecting from me?"

He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. "I'm not sure. I'll admit that the first moment I saw you walk into my office, all the old feelings came rushing back. And I am more than a little hurt that you seemed to be able to slide back into your connection with Cat, but not with me." His eyes seemed to plead with her. "You have to know that I would, and will do anything I can for you, Lois. I love you."

Lois felt her stomach begin to knot. There it was, the declaration she'd been dreading to hear. "Perry, the last thing I want to do it hurt you, but it appears that I have anyway. I told you yesterday that I didn't remember us, romantically. The awful truth is, the more I'm here, the more I'm finding out that I know hardly anything of my previous life." Lois couldn't stop a tear from sneaking out. "I'll tell you the one thing that I do know. Perry White is a decent, and honorable man. If we did share something special ten years ago, then I was the lucky one. But it's different now, if for no other reason than - you're the boss."

Lois took a deep breath; this was it, this was the big moment. Either this could work out between them, or she'd have to move on. "Perry, I think it would be for the best if you tried to forget the past, as I, unfortunately, seemed to have done. I'm a different person than I was back then. I'm not the same person you knew, and you are not someone I remember either." She leveled her gaze with his, capturing his steel gray eyes with her own. "Let's start all over. Clean slate. You're my boss, I respect you and hope that, in time, I can earn your respect - and your friendship. After that, we'll just have to take it as it comes." She knew her own look was expectant, and apprehensive. "Do you think we could do that?"

She bit on her lower lip as he studied her for a long time. Lois was getting more nervous as each moment passed. What if he couldn't accept what she'd said? What if he decided that he couldn't work with her under those conditions?

A soft chuckle escaped from Perry's mouth as he shook his head in bemused wonderment. "Lois, you are amazing. I should feel betrayed, or at least some form of anger, but I don't. You've essentially been lost for nearly ten years, and in many regards you still are. Yet here you are, apologizing to me, and worrying about how I feel." His smile was sincere if just a bit sad. "Lois, it would be my honor to get to know you all over again. And who knows?" He spread his hands out. "Maybe the magic will return, or maybe we'll just become good friends. Either way, I know my life is going to be enriched just because you are back into it."

Lois couldn't help it. Several tears tracked across her cheeks. How could the Lois Lane of this world not fallen for this kind and wonderful man. Had she really been that much of a manipulative witch? Well, one thing was for sure. It didn't matter who Lois Lane had been ten years ago, because there was a new Lois in town, and things were going to be different from now on.

She used the back of her hand to wipe her face. "Thanks, Perry." She jumped up from her seat. "Well, I'd best get back at it, or we won't have any chance to get to know each other. I'll be fired for not doing my job."

Perry chuckled. "Somehow I doubt that will ever happen." His voice suddenly shifted back into editor mode. "But speaking of that story. That's still the dangdest thing I've ever heard of. Do you really have any solid leads?"

Lois grinned and gave Perry a wink. "Maybe. Tell me, you ever heard of an underground gambling joint called - Georgie Hairdo's."

*******************

Lois found herself sitting at a slot machine, pumping nickels through the one-armed bandit as she looked around hoping to see some indication that any of the gangsters had shown. She had to reach up and push the strap of her dress back onto her shoulder. It was a flashy red number, but it didn't quite fit right. She had nothing to wear so Cat had loaned her this dress. But Lois, after years spent on minimal rations in a cell, had lost quite a bit of her weight and hadn't gained it all back yet. She knew that the length would be a bit off since Cat was a couple of inches taller than she was, but the dress hung somewhat loosely on her body. Still, it was the best she could do under the circumstances. She didn't have the time nor the money to purchase something of her own. Besides, it must not look too bad because Clark had given her a appreciative look when he came by to pick her up.

She hadn't yet been able to secure her own transportation, but luckily this Clark owned a car. It wasn't much of one, an older model blue sedan. But at least it ran. It told Lois something about how Clark viewed his powers. She had been watching him during these last two days and couldn't, for sure, notice any time when he might have used his powers, surreptiously, to give him a bit of an advantage. Of course, the tip off with the glasses didn't apply here since this Clark didn't wear any. In fact, tonight was the only time she would have been sure that he even had any powers. He had to have used his enhanced hearing to overhear the password in order to get into the club. The ironic thing was, that the password here hadn't been the one she remembered from her previous experience years ago. This one had been swordfish. Go figure.

After leaving Perry's office that morning, she'd gone to Cat and asked her to check with Bobby as to the existence of the underground gambling club. She was relieved to find out that it did exist in this world also. Then she and Clark had spent the rest of the day trying to track down the whereabouts of Prof. Hamilton. They came up empty. They had found his residence, but it was obvious that he hadn't been there in several days. Where his current lab might be was anybody's guess. If she could only remember the address where she found Hamilton in her world. But for some reason it just stayed tantalizingly out of her grasp.

She was worried that maybe the gangsters wouldn't show up at the club tonight. Cat told Lois that Bobby had heard that someone was putting some pressure on Georgie Hairdo, but couldn't be sure if it was the regenerated gangsters. Things weren't progressing quite the way it had back home. To date there had only been one appearance by the cloned criminals, so she couldn't be sure that they'd show up. She hoped they would. A lot depended on them being here tonight. But, so far, she hadn't seen anyone she recognized.

"Guess what?" Lois nearly jumped out of her skin as Clark put his hand on her shoulder.

"Geez, you startled me. Make a little noise next time, okay?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Anyway, I just had a run in with a blonde lady who could have been Bonnie Parker."

Lois raised her brow. "A run in?"

Clark shrugged. "She was hitting on me, until this surly fellow came up and pulled her away. I can't be sure, but this woman sure looked like the pictures we studied."

Lois nodded. "I'll bet the guy was Clyde. If I remember right he was a hot-headed jerk."

Clark gave Lois a quizzical look. "If you remember right? You've met Clyde Barrow?" He let a big smile pull on his lips. "You must be a *lot* older than you look."

"Real funny, Kent." Lois rolled her eyes. "What I meant was, I think I remember reading that he was a hot-head. Tends to act before he thinks. Easily angered and prone to violence."

"Really? That also sounds a lot like a reporter that I'd heard used to work for the Daily Planet. Her colleagues used to call her... Mad Dog?" Lois glared at Clark, but his grin was so infectious that she had to give in. She just shook her head to hide the smile that she couldn't stop.

Suddenly Lois' eye was caught by a passing man. He was a large fellow, with an unusual hairstyle. She jumped up from her chair and, leaving confused Clark in her wake, rushed up to the fellow.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hairdo?"

He gave Lois a strange look. "What?"

"You are Georgie Hairdo, aren't you?" Lois already knew the answer.

"Do I look like a dead, bald guy to you?"

Lois patted the large fellow on the arm. "Thanks, that's all I needed to know."

She hurried back to Clark. "I think we can expect our gangsters to show up any time now. I just found out that Georgie Hairdo is dead."

The look on Clark's face was almost comical. "How do you do all this stuff?"

Lois frowned. "What do you mean?"

Clark spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I mean, you always know just where to look to find the information you need. You never waste time talking to a lot of people, you always know just who to approach. And to top it off, you magically know just where we need to be, and when, to have our story fall into our lap." Clark shook his head in awe. "What's your secret, and can I have it?"

Lois bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. If he only knew. Instead she patted him on the chest and gave him a smile. "Instincts. Stick with me, kid, and maybe you'll develop some too someday."

The duo's pleasant conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Both Lois and Clark's attention was quickly drawn to the disturbance. Standing just inside the front doors were several armed men. They were then joined by a couple that Lois knew were Bonnie and Clyde. All were dressed in suits long gone out of style, and carried what looked to be Thompson sub-machine guns. A man stepped out of the center of the group. He was a stocky man, with a prevalent scar down the left side of his face. He was holding a thick cigar and had a look on his face that bespoke an arrogant confidence. A sly smile tugged at the corner of Lois' mouth. Al Capone had shown his ugly face at last.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "I have an announcement to make. Georgie Hairdo has graciously decided to retire from the hospitality business. This joint now belongs to me - Al Capone."

Lois was so intent on Capone that she almost missed Dillinger approaching her. Oh no, she thought, not him again. She tried to step back but bumped into Clark. Dillinger stepped up to her.

"Hey Al, how about we make this little cutie our head hostess." He reached his hand out and touched her cheek. "I always had a thing for a woman in red."

Lois couldn't believe it. It was happening all over again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Clark begin to move forward. No! Her internal voice shouted. This was not going to happen now. It would ruin everything.

Clark slapped Dillinger's hand away. "Leave her alone."

Dillinger gave Clark a shove, causing him to stumble back a few steps. "What are you, her little brother?"

The whole tableau began to play out in slow motion for Lois. She could feel Clark beginning to charge back. At the same time,peripherally, she saw Clyde pulling his revolver from his jacket holster. Not this time, Lois whispered to herself.

Just as Clark moved beside her, she gave him a sharp bump with her hip and stuck her foot in front of his. Surprised, and knocked off balance, Clark went sprawling head first as the shots from Clyde's gun echoed through the room.

Lois didn't have time to congratulate herself on her cleverness as she suddenly felt the hot hammer blow of a bullet as it struck her in the shoulder. The force of the impact spun her around and she crashed to the floor in an undignified heap.

How could she have been so stupid? Sure, she had succeeded in knocking Clark out of the way. This negated any need for him to have to pretend to be dead, as had happened all those years ago. But, in doing so, she had inadvertently strayed into the path of one of the bullets herself. It was by no means a mortal wound, but dammit, it hurt. Clark was quickly by her side. He drew her upper body into his lap.

"Lois, Lois, are you all right?" He noticed the blood contrasting garishly with the red of her dress. "Omigod, you've been shot! We've got to get you some help."

Lois clenched her jaw against the pain, then strained to speak. "Give it a few more seconds."

"What?"

All of a sudden the front doors crashed open and several of Metropolis' finest came rushing into the room. "All right, everybody freeze. Stay right where you are."

Despite the pain, Lois had a grin on her face. Reliving old incidents from your past did have its advantages. Especially when you could know ahead of time to tip off the police as to where they would find the regenerated gangsters. This time there was no homicide for them to try and solve, but an attempted murder rap should do nicely enough to put that gang of bygone bad guys away for a long time.

Clark looked at Lois, his face clearly showing his puzzlement, and just a bit of awe. "Lois, how did you know?"

Lois reached up with her uninjured arm and used her free hand to pat Clark on the cheek. "Simple, silly - I called them."