PREVIOUSLY...
“Make love to me,” she whispered again, her hands drifting down his chest to begin slowly pulling at the buckle on his belt.
He let out a breath, finally giving in. His hands came up to cup her face as his lips descended on hers. There was nothing rushed about the kiss. It was incredibly intense, and incredibly sad, as if each participant were trying to memorize the feel, the taste and the sounds of the other - to imprint them on their souls in a way that would never allow them to be erased.
Their exploration of each other’s bodies was much the same. Touches were given and received with the same intensity. No words were spoken as they sought both forgetfulness and remembrance in each other’s arms. Tears flowed freely, but were never mentioned. No promises were given - they were simply understood. They concentrated on each other and in that moment, they found forever.
“Be here when I wake up, Clark,” Lois whispered when they finally settled down to get some much-needed sleep.
“I will, Lois,” Clark whispered back, understanding her fear because he shared it. “I swear I will.”
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Four
* * * * * * * * *
As Lois and Clark flew through the air to Metropolis the next morning, Lois’ thoughts were racing. Martha and Jonathan had woken them shortly after seven. It had taken Lois a few moments to remember where they were. But once she had, she’d been relieved to realize that she still remembered being married to Clark. She still remembered their life together. She still remembered her daughter. In fact, at the moment, she was systematically searching her memories, trying to ensure that they were all still intact.
And so far, they seemed to be. On the other hand, how was she to know if her memories did alter? If they had changed their past - which seemed the most likely explanation - surely their memories of the past would change, too. Would they all go at once, or would they change so slowly that she wouldn’t even notice until it was too late. When she got a moment, she was going to write down everything she remembered about her life - in hopes that should she lose her memories, she’d be able to read about them and remember how important it was to get her life back. Because no matter what she might learn about her life in this altered reality - and to tell the truth, she currently knew less about her life than she did about Clark’s - she knew it couldn’t be anywhere near as good as the life she’d had before she and Clark had inadvertently messed up the past.
And given the way Martha and Jonathan had welcomed her into their family - even after she’d invaded their house like a mad-woman - she knew they must believe that Clark would be better off with her in his life. Their reaction to her had told her something else, as well.
Clark was definitely not involved with anyone else.
That, at least, was a relief. After all, the mere thought of Clark with anyone but her still had the power to bring out every ounce of jealousy she possessed. Now she could only hope that she was as lucky. If she found out that she was married or something... She shivered. That was a very real possibility. After all, if Clark had never come to work at the Daily Planet, what would have stopped her from marrying Lex, or... perhaps it would be more accurate to ask ‘who’ would have stopped her? After all, it had been thoughts of Clark that had finally prevented her from saying ‘I do’ at her wedding to Lex Luthor.
She pushed the thought out of her mind, refusing even to think like that. No. No matter what the situation was in this altered reality, she was Clark’s wife. And that was the very first thing she planned to write down on her list of things never to forget.
She turned her mind to the present when Metropolis appeared on the horizon.
“Are you sure we should be flying into Metropolis?” she asked. When Clark looked at her curiously, she went on to explain. “It’s just... there’s no Superman in this reality. Do you really want to risk being spotted?”
“That’s why I’m not in the suit. But in these black outfits... and given how dark it still is, I think we should be okay. If anyone does see us, they’re more likely to think they’ve seen a UFO than a flying man. Besides, I’ll come in high and drop down onto my balcony at the last second.”
Lois nodded. “It’s a good thing we went to see Martha and Jonathan. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even know you still live at 344 Clinton Ave. I just wish they knew where I lived.”
“We’ll figure it out, Lois.”
“It’s interesting... their comment about you sort of pulling away from them more in recent years,” Lois continued, thinking about their conversation with Martha and Jonathan over breakfast.
“Yeah. They sounded kinda sad about that.”
“I wonder what happened.”
“Probably tied in with the rest of... whatever we did to the past - always assuming that it is our past we’re talking about here. For some reason, it sounds as if I didn’t want to confide in them about what was going on in my life.” He gave his head a shake. “I find that a little hard to imagine.”
“Me, too. Anyway, I was thinking that after we check out your apartment, maybe we should make our way over to my old apartment - maybe I still live there.”
“Sounds like a plan. Any idea where we should go from there?”
Lois let out a breath. “I think the place to start is the Daily Planet. If nothing else, we could use their resources to find out what’s happened in the world - to determine what’s different. And since I worked for the Daily Planet in 1992, before we did... whatever to the past, I think there’s a good chance that I still work there.”
“Hold on.”
She held her breath when she suddenly found herself dropping through the sky onto Clark’s balcony.
“Quite a ride,” she said as he set her down. “Anyone home?” she asked. Given the time, surely if this were an alternate reality, this Clark wouldn’t have left for work yet. On the other hand, it was a Saturday. But even then, he should be home.
Clark shook his head.
Lois let out a breath. It was seeming more and more likely that this reality... was their new reality. That very thought made her feel physically ill.
Clark had turned towards the door into the apartment when Lois grabbed onto Clark’s arm. “Wait!” He stopped, looking back at her. “Promise me that no matter what we find...” Her voice trailed off.
“What is it, Lois?” Clark said softly when she couldn’t seem to continue.
“It’s just... Promise me that no matter what we find, I’m still your wife.”
He immediately took her hands in his, looking intently into her eyes. “You will always be my wife.”
“But what if...”
“What if...?”
“I just keep wondering... Clark, if we did change the past... if you and I had never become friends... if you never came to work for the Planet, do you think I might have... I mean, what if I married... someone else?”
When Clark pulled in a sharp breath, she looked up at him. “Clark, promise me that no matter what we find, I’ll still be your wife. Promise me that you won’t go all noble on me and decide you have to give me up or can’t touch me or make love to me.”
Without speaking, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “You’re my wife,” he breathed into her hair when he finally ended the kiss. “Nothing and no one will ever change that.”
Tears formed in her eyes. Tears which she refused to cry. She wouldn’t. Not now. There was too much to do.
“So...” she said quickly. “Let’s go in and see if there’s anything in your apartment that will help us get a grip on what happened.”
* * * * * * * * *
Clark’s apartment didn’t appear to have changed much from when he’d lived there for the final year before they’d married. The furniture was the same and in the same locations. Most ornaments and knick knacks occupied the same spots. Even the smell was the same.
Granted, there were differences, too. For example, when they’d been engaged, there had been a framed picture of her on his night stand. That was no longer there. No picture of her and Clark at the Kerth awards in his living room. In fact, there were no indications that she spent time at his apartment. No extra toothbrush that she had kept in his washroom - for those occasions where she’d fallen asleep at his apartment. No cream soda in the fridge. No sweater that she’d carelessly left behind in his closet. No signs, in fact, that she’d ever even been there.
While Clark took the opportunity to change into his dress clothes. Lois carried the small pack containing some sandwiches Martha had given them - to ensure they wouldn’t get so busy they’d forget to eat lunch - as well as some of Martha’s delicious fudge brownies, into the kitchen. Lois hadn’t tasted them, yet. But judging by the smell, she figured - or at least she hoped - that Martha’s brownies were one of the things they hadn’t managed to mess up by their trip into the past.
Setting the pack on the kitchen table, she walked over to the answering machine. “One message,” she said before hitting the play button. Martha’s message from the previous night came over the air.
“Guess if there is an alternate version of me, he didn’t come home last night,” Clark said from the bedroom.
“There’s no alternate version of you, Clark,” Lois said in resignation. “This is our reality. We’ve just... changed it.” After all, she was almost certain she had not hit the alternate reality button when she’d used the device to escape from Star Labs. That meant they’d gone into the past. And hitting return... this was their new reality now. Even the date was correct. Still, they’d asked Martha and Jonathan to contact them immediately if they heard from Clark... or alternate Clark... or whatever. Still, Lois knew that such a call would never come.
This was their reality. And unless they found a way to change it, this was what she was stuck with now. No Clark. No Vicky. No Martha or Jonathan. And soon... probably no memories of any of them.
And that reminded her...
She quickly grabbed a pen and a pad of paper, making a quick list of things she needed to remember. Done, she tore the paper from the notepad and stuck it in her pocket.
Depressed, she turned her attention back to the pack she’d placed on the kitchen table. After pulling out the sandwiches and Martha’s brownies, she pulled out one final item. The time travel device. Now... the only question was where to put it. Somewhere safe. After all, nothing could be worse than figuring out how to fix this mess and then be unable to locate the device.
She glanced around at the apartment when she was suddenly struck by a thought. Maybe... She walked into the bedroom and opened his cupboard.
“What is it?” Clark asked as he did up the buttons on his shirt.
“Just because you don’t have the suits to hide doesn’t mean that there’s nothing in here.” She reached up, pulling on the tie rack. When nothing happened, she sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
“Wait!” Clark said, rushing over as she went to shut the door. He jiggled the tie rack for a moment until something clicked. He glanced over at Lois, eyebrows raised.
“How did you know... Oh, wait. X-ray vision, right?”
He nodded, even as he slowly opened the door to the hidden closet. “It’s just a little stiff. I guess I don’t use it much.”
As soon as it was open, Lois ducked under her husband’s arm, earning her an indulgent smile from the other half of the Lane and Kent team. Her heart fell when she saw what was inside. A few scraps of paper, a dried flower, a few other odds and ends. Nothing that would tell them what was going on. She picked up one of the scraps of paper. It was obviously torn out of a reporter’s note book.
“‘Seven o’clock - Centennial Park.’” She turned towards Clark. “Why would you have kept this?”
“Wait!” He grabbed the paper, looking at it with a fascination that couldn’t be explained by the contents of the words on the page. “Lois, it’s your handwriting.”
“What!” she exclaimed, grabbing it back from him. He was right. The significance of that fact had completely alluded her. But... What did it mean? Maybe nothing - but then again, why would he have kept it if it didn’t mean anything?
Her eyes swept the small space with new interest. She spotted an item wrapped in tissue paper and picked it up, unwrapping it carefully. It appeared to be a picture frame. She turned it over and then glanced up at Clark in shock. It was the picture that had, in her reality, found a home on his night stand during their engagement. It was a picture of her.
Her heart was racing, but she tried to remain calm. It might not mean what it seemed to mean. After all, Martha and Jonathan had never met her. But... so what did it mean? How did the pieces fit together? She glanced over at Clark and saw that he was looking at the collection of papers.
“Anything?” she asked.
“Just more of the same. Insignificant notes, but they’re all in your handwriting. But I did find this...”
He handed her a picture of her, obviously taken from a newspaper. It wasn’t a bad picture. At least she was dressed up and appeared to be smiling. But what made the picture really unusual was that it was, quite obviously, not the whole picture. Someone or something had been very carefully cut out of it.
“Let me see the notes, too.” When he handed them to her, she flipped through them quickly. He was right. None of them really said anything. One had the name of a Chinese restaurant at the edge of town. Another simply a time. One was a small card saying, ‘Congratulations.’ Another appeared to be a hastily scribbled note saying, ‘Thanks. But I don’t think this is a good idea.’ None of them were addressed to Clark. None of them had her name or even her initials on it. But they did have one thing in common. They were all in her handwriting. So... She looked back at Clark. “What does it mean?”
“I think that’s what we have to find out.” Clark stepped back from the secret compartment and waited while Lois put the time travel device on one of the shelves. When she also moved back, he closed the door.
“Clark, I’ve been thinking,” she said softly. “I mean...” She turned to look at him. “Why did you invent Superman?”
“You know why. So that I could help while still maintaining a private life.”
“Okay, but you didn’t invent Superman until you moved to Metropolis. So... why did it take you so long?” She thought she knew the answer, but needed to hear him say it.
Clark shrugged. “Well, for one thing, I really didn’t think of it. And for another... any other place I lived... Well, if people started to suspect there was something unusual going on, I could just move away.”
“But when you moved to Metropolis, you wanted to stay?”
“It was my dream job and... Well, there was this woman...” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Whereas in this altered version of reality, you didn’t get a job at the Planet...”
“So I wasn’t working at my dream job, and... maybe I never met the right woman. Maybe I never met you.”
“But those notes... that picture... They say differently. And... Clark, I remember when that picture was taken - at least in our version of reality. Remember that big promotional thing Perry did? I think that was around the beginning of your third year at the Planet.”
“Yeah. ‘The Hottest Team In Town’ campaign. I never felt comfortable with that. After all, a lot of what we do is undercover. I always felt it seriously compromised our ability to be anonymous.”
“I agree. But I remember that we spent the entire day getting pictures taken. Clark, that was one of those pictures.” She gestured towards the secret closet, indicating the picture kept inside.
“I remember. When the proofs came back, I loved that one in particular. Although... has anyone ever told you that you are incapable of taking a bad picture? Of course, with such great raw material to work with...” He drew in a breath through his teeth.
She gave him a swat. “Keep your mind on track, farmboy. What I was getting at is that at least we know from this that I was still alive in... What would it have been? 1995!”
“You thought you were dead?”
“It was one possibility. But that’s not the point. Clark, I should have been killed when Lex planted an explosive in the colonist launch back in 1993. And I would have been if not for Superman. So... what happened? How did I survive until at least 1995 without a Superman?” Suddenly, a slightly confused expression crossed her face.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Lo-is.”
She looked up then, meeting his eyes. “Really, Clark. It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.” She broke away from him then, turning towards the kitchen. “So since there’s not much here...”
“Lois,” Clark said again, coming up and placing his hands on her shoulders, slowly turning her around to look at him. “What is it?” he asked again.
“It was just... a thought.” She shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. “Like I said, it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. At least give me enough credit to know the difference between something and nothing after living with you all these years.”
She let out a breath. “It’s just... I’ve got these two memories stuck in my head.”
“What memories?”
“Well, it’s confusing. It’s almost as if they’re both real.”
“Memories of what?”
She let out a breath. “Memories of what happened on the shuttle.”
Clark crinkled his forehead as he tried to understand what she was telling him. It was significant. He knew it was. But what... Finally he shrugged his shoulders. “I give up. You have two memories of what happened on the shuttle...”
“Conflicting memories,” Lois told him.
His expression instantly cleared as what she had said sunk in and then... he suddenly understood her horror.
“It’s starting, isn’t it?” Lois said, her voice slightly wobbly. “The memory replacement thing.”
“Not necessarily, Lois. I mean, okay so you have a new memory. But you still have the old one too, right? The one where Superman busts into the shuttle and eats the bomb.”
She nodded.
“Okay, so what’s the other one?” he said, leading her over to the couch.
She waited until they were both seated. “I don’t want to talk about it. If we talk about it, it will just make it more real.”
“Or it might give us the hint we need to get things straightened out. Lois, ignoring these memories won’t make them go away.”
She stared at him, thinking through his comment before giving a slight nod and filling him in on her new memory.
**Lois glanced around her environment, taking mental notes on everything she could see. Things that might fill in the color, the texture and the feel for the sake of her readers. Perry always said she couldn’t do emotion. Well, ha! She was about to prove him wrong. After all, what was the inside scoop on the launch of the final module of the space station but emotions?
She caught sight of something stuck to one of the panels. A clock, counting down. Was it counting down to the launch? She checked her watch. No. That couldn’t be right. The times were different. Besides, the clock didn’t seem to be part of the panel itself.
Quickly unstrapping herself, she got up and rushed over to the device. She gasped. A bomb!
“A bomb!” she yelled the second her tongue caught up with her brain. But there was no one to hear her cry. She rushed for the door, pulling on the handle. But it had been secured from the outside. “Help! There’s a bomb,” she yelled, pounding on the door as hard as she could.**“Hey, I remember something, too,” Clark said, interrupting her recitation. “You’re right. It’s strange. It’s as if I have two memories of the same event. In one, I’m watching the shuttle launch from my folks place and in the other...”
“In the other...?”
“I’d been assigned the task of covering the colonist launch for The Star. I was in the bleachers, waiting to watch the lift-off when I heard you yelling about a bomb. Well, actually, that isn’t exactly true.” When she raised her eyebrows, he continued. “I saw you sneaking onto the shuttle. I was taking a look - using my telescopic vision to watch the passengers enter the shuttle. I have to admit, I was impressed. I even remember looking down at the press release to see if you were listed among the colonists. When I realized you weren’t... That you were a stowaway, I had a flash back to the days when people would sneak onto ships, stowing away among the cargo to get free passage to America.” He shook his head. “I remember wondering how you’d done it.”
“So you knew who I was?”
He nodded. “Although, I don’t remember meeting you. Anyway, my internal thoughts were interrupted when I saw you rushing for the shuttle door, yelling that there was a bomb.”
“And let me guess,” Lois interrupted, rubbing his arm affectionately. “You came rushing to the rescue.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly ramble casually over,” he said.
**Moving quickly through the crowd of reporters, Clark disappeared behind the bleachers before shifting into superspeed, covering the distance between the onlookers’ stand and the shuttle faster than the human eye could follow. He came to a halt when he realized that men were still locking down the shuttle, preparing it for take-off. If he did something ‘super’ now, his secret would be out. Not that it mattered if it came down to a choice between saving her life and keeping his secret, but still... maybe there was another option.
“Wait!” he yelled, rushing up to the men securing the shuttle doors.
“Who are you?” a man responded even as men in security uniforms began closing in around him.
“There’s...” He hesitated. There were less than five minutes on the bomb. But how could he explain knowing about it? “...an unauthorized person inside the shuttle. Her name is Lois Lane. She’s a reporter for the Daily Planet.”
“No one could have gotten past our security,” the security man who had joined them said.
“I did,” Clark said, not adding that he had a bit of an advantage. “And a source of mine said something about a bomb.”
“A bomb?”
“I guess Dr. Baines must have planted a bomb, too,” he said, improvising wildly. “In case her plan to sabotage the shuttle by using coolants to freeze the ion particles went awry.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“Yes. Can’t you delay the shuttle for thirty minutes while you send people in to check it out?”
“Well, we haven’t fired the boosters yet, so I guess there’s no harm in...”
“Please hurry. I have reason to believe that the bomb is set to go off in a few minutes.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“The Primary Control Conduit Cabinet.”
“The P Triple C?”
Clark nodded. He let out a sigh of relief when the security guard moved into action. Still, Clark continued to watch, his heart in his throat, as the security guards fought against the clock to reopen the doors and get inside.**“I remember when the door suddenly came open. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved in my entire life,” Lois said, picking up where Clark’s story left off.
**“A bomb,” Lois said, pointing to a small device on the panel when the room was suddenly flooded by men in fire resistant suits.
They didn’t hesitate, almost if they were expecting to find a bomb when they opened the door.
“Ms. Lane, I assume,” said a security guard following the others into the room. “You’ll have to come with me.”
Lois nodded but remained rooted to the spot as she watched the men fight the clock to dismantle the bomb in time.
“Ms. Lane, it’s not safe for you to be here,” the guard said.
Lois nodded, but still didn’t move - completely transfixed by the slow descent of the numbers. Twenty-seven. Twenty-six. Twenty-five. Twenty-four.**“I can remember wondering what was taking you so long to get out of there,” Clark said. “I’m not sure I’d ever been so tense in my entire life.”
Clark’s thoughts drifted back to that moment.
**If she didn’t move soon, he’d have no choice but to act - regardless of what it did to his secret. The bomb was still counting down as people began flooding from the shuttle. Still, Lois Lane remained inside.
Ten. Nine. Eight.
Clark prepared to move. He couldn’t stand by. He couldn’t let her die.
Seven. Six.
Someone appeared to be trying to pull a resistant Lois Lane towards the door.
Five. Four.
Breathes were held as everyone froze, waiting for three. It never came. It was as if everyone took their next breath in unison. And then a cheer went up from the crowd, Lois cheering loudest of all.**“It was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard,” Clark said softly. “I remember realizing that I was actually sweating. But it wasn’t as if I hadn’t seen people in life threatening situations before. So I found myself wondering what was happening to me. Of course, I didn’t have a lot of time to worry about it.”
**“Mr. Kent, would you mind coming with me?” the security guard he’d convinced to reopen the shuttle said.
“Is there a problem?”
“We found the bomb. It’s been dismantled. And we found Lois Lane. There are a few questions we’ll need you to answer.”
Clark nodded. He should have expected that. Still, he knew he was on pretty solid ground. Reporters didn’t reveal their sources. As for how he got into the secured location, he would simply point out that there was a large tear in the perimeter fence. He just wouldn’t mention that he was the one who had made the hole. And since he had closed it up slightly behind him, security could be forgiven for not noticing it. At least, that was the hope.**“They took me away, too,” Lois said. “I had a story to file and I can remember... It seemed to take hours - convincing law enforcement officials that I was the one who discovered the bomb, not the one who set it. And I remember something else,” she said slowly, her eyes drifting back to Clark.
**When she’d first seen men storming the room, she’d thought someone had heard her yelling. But it seemed they had known before then. In fact, when she was finally told she was free to join the other reporters who were still milling around, waiting for EPRAD’s official statement, she had only one person on her mind. Kent. One thing she’d discovered during her ‘interrogation’ was that Kent had seen her slipping onto the shuttle and had reported her to the authorities.
She spotted him talking to one of the officials, his notepad out as he copiously took notes between questions.
She waited for him to finish before storming over.
“Kent!”
He turned around at the sound of his name. Some part of her mind realized that his face softened as she approached as if he were glad to see that she was all right. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind immediately. She had a bone to pick with Mr. Kent!
“How dare you?” she spat when she was finally close enough.
“Excuse me?” he said, his relief turning to confusion.
“You turned me in!”
“I...”
“I don’t know how you found out I was there. But they told me it was you. You were so jealous that I got the story about the Messenger Explosion and you didn’t, that when you found out that I’d found a way onto the shuttle, you reported me to keep me from getting this story.”
“Excuse me? I thought I saved your life?”
“You just got lucky,” Lois said, pushing her small question about the meaning of his response to the back of her mind. They had come looking for her. She had pointed out the bomb. Or had she? “Luck. There is no way you could have known about the bomb. You were just jealous that I was about to get the story of a lifetime and you turned me in.”
“I swear. That’s not what happened,” Kent insisted. “You have it all wrong. I never would have betrayed you if your life hadn’t been in danger.”
She fumed. He wasn’t even willing to apologize. She stepped closer, poking him in the chest with her finger. “In the future, Kent, just stay the hell away from me,” she hissed before turning and walking away.**TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
