Okay, I haven't been too motivated to write much in the last couple of years. But I do continue to get ideas now and then. This is one of them.

Let me know if there would be any interest in a story like this if I should choose to continue it.

Just another tidbit. Superman is still around.

So, just pretend this is like a classic movie trailer for something coming at some point in the distant future.


Days of Future Forward
By Tank Wilson


PROLOGUE

Lois Lane got out of her cab and rushed toward the entrance of the Daily Planet. She was dressed casually in jeans and a knit pullover sweater. But then, it wasn't like she was going in to work... well she was, but not to work. She had left something important in her desk and had to get it and get home before Clark returned. Besides, it was Saturday, her day off, and more importantly, her and Clark's second anniversary.

She never made it to the front door of the Planet. As she passed the alley before the entrance a hissing sound caught her attention. She glanced over and saw a man hunched near the Paper's dumpster. He was waving at her and making that annoying 'psst' sound that people often do when they think they are being circumspect, even though the sound was louder than a normal speaking voice. Lois rolled her eyes and headed toward the alleyway.

She knew that Clark would think she was being reckless. After all, she didn't know who he was, what he wanted, or if he was just some mugger looking for someone gullible enough to walk unprotected into an alley.

Lois wasn't gullible, she was curious, and she actually had considered the risks before she made the decision to go into the alley. Well, she considered them as she entered the alley. It was broad daylight, he seemed somewhat skittish, and Lois felt, with her martial arts training, she could take him if she had to. As long as he didn't have a weapon, she figured she was safe enough.

He stayed crouched down near the dumpster. Lois stopped a few feet away. "Okay, who are you and what do you want?"

The man began to straighten up. "Why, Lois, is that anyway to talk to an old friend?"

Lois' eyes grew wide, and she suddenly got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Tempus!"

His grin was more of a smirk. "So, you remember me this time?"

Lois scowled at him. "You'll be sorry that I do remember you. I'm going to call Clark and we'll have you back in some prison before you can remark on the irony of it." She reached for her phone.

"Ah, ah, sorry Lois, I have to insist that you don't make that call." Tempus had pulled a rather large revolver out of his coat pocket and was pointing it at her. Lois took a deep breath. "Oh, no, my dear; no shouting for that lout of a husband of yours. He may be fast, but I'm betting that I can put a bullet between your eyes before he can spin into those cute jammies he wears. And truth to tell, I'd really rather not. Guns are so noisy... and messy." Tempus began to move deeper into the alley. "Come with me, Lois."

Lois glared at him. "And if I refuse?"

Tempus chuckled. "Why, then I'll just have to shoot you. Just because I'd rather not, doesn't mean I won't if you don't cooperate."

Lois shook her head in resignation and followed. A few steps deeper into the alley and Lois saw something that she had hoped to never see again. It was the over-sized, overly ornate, sled-like machine that had been H.G. Wells' original time machine. Lois stopped; her jaw dropping.

"You've got to be kidding." The look she directed at Tempus said it all. "The last time I had the misfortune to cross paths with you was when you were using all sorts of future technology, trying to trick the American people into electing you President. What happened? Did the time cops take away all your toys?"

His grin didn't convey amusement. "Always the wit, aren't you Lois." Tempus sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, you happen to be right this time. And since my last unsuccessful foray into the past, the authorities have gotten very security conscious."

Lois waved a hand toward the big machine. "So how did you get a hold of this?"

Now his grin did convey amusement. "I stole it from a museum." Tempus stepped up to the ancient time machine and patted the large seat with one hand. "Hop in, Lois. Time's a wastin'." He laughed at his own joke. Lois didn't.

"There is no way I'm going any where in that thing." Tempus raised the revolver and thumbed back the hammer. Lois shrugged. "On second thought." She walked around the machine and got into it on the other side. "Where are we going?"

"Oh, another time, another place." Tempus chuckled as he set the dials, but Lois couldn't see them clear enough to get any reading.

The large wheel in the back began to spin and the kaleidoscope of colors that she remembered began to swirl about them. Within moments she couldn't see the alley any more. There was just color all around them.

By Lois' watch it was a full ten minutes before the wheel stopped spinning and the colors began to leech away, allowing the natural hues of nature reassert themselves. It didn't help. She had no idea where they were.

The landscape was barren. The grasses were brown and brittle looking. The occasional patches of brush appeared knarled and stunted. A heavy cloud cover obscured the sun, and a biting wind blew steadily. It was getting dark, and it was cold.

Tempus turned and pointed the gun at her. "Get out."

Lois glared at him, but didn't argue. He had a gun. "Where are we?"

Tempus leaned over and tapped on the console of the machine. "I'm not really sure. I never was real good with this beast. It was one reason I liked to keep Herb around." He swiveled his head around, taking in the surroundings. "I think we're somewhere in Kansas, but it's hard to tell. It all looks so much alike now days."

Lois silently groaned at the news. Tempus always had an annoying love of irony. "Okay, I'll bite. *When* are we?"

Tempus' grin turned positively evil. "Welcome to the future, Lois. Welcome to 2248."

Lois was dumbfounded. "What!" She looked around her in horror. "What are we doing here?"

"Me? I'm just the taxi service. I'm heading back to a time more conducive to a man of my talents and inclinations." He reached back and pulled a somewhat tattered woolen blanket out from behind the seat and threw it at Lois. "You, on the other hand, have found a new home. Enjoy the adventure, Lois."

"You can't leave me here!" Lois moved back toward the machine as from the corner of her eye she noticed the wheel beginning to spin again.

Tempus raised the revolver and fired a shot into the ground near Lois' feet. She stopped. "Good bye, Lois. I don't think we're likely to run into each other ever again."

She could barely see the swirl of colors as the machine began to tap into the time stream again. Within another couple of moments it faded from view. She was too stunned to scream, or cry, or shout curses to now absent psychotic. She stumbled over to a nearby jumble of rocks and sat down.

It was cold and the wind made it seem that much worse. She wrapped the old, worn blanket around her shoulders and did a slow visual survey of her surroundings. There was nothing within her sight, which encompassed miles of the flat countryside.

There was nothing... she was alone.

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

(FOUR YEARS LATER)


So, let me know what you think.