PREVIOUSLY...
Lois looked at her husband, chewing on her lower lip before nodding. “The people who broke into Star Labs,” she began slowly. “Well, I suspect it was... us.”
“What!” both Lane and Kent exclaimed in unison, jumping to their feet.
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Forty-Five
* * * * * * * * *
“You stole classified government information from Star Labs for sale to some foreign power and then blamed us?” Kent asked, a menace in his voice.
“No! Of course not!” Lois exclaimed. “The only thing we took was the time travel device, which we also brought into Star Labs or... well, sort of. They certainly didn’t have it in 1992. So don’t blame us for them charging you with treason. We didn’t do that. We didn’t even break in... Or well, not in 1992, but...” Her voice trailed off when the explanation started to confuse even her.
“What information was taken?” Clark asked.
“You don’t know?” Lane asked skeptically. “I thought you said you were the ones who broke into Star Labs.”
“In 2001!” Lois said, jumping to her feet as well. “We broke in in 2001! We just ended up in 1992 after we broke in. We didn’t take anything from 1992! And we certainly didn’t commit treason!”
For a moment, Lane and Kent stood there, glaring at them.
“Look,” Clark finally said. “Why don’t we all just... sit down again. We’re not going to accomplish anything by standing here yelling at each other.”
It took another moment, but finally, Lois followed Clark’s suggestion. Kent took a moment more. Lane was the last one to sit, and by the look on her face, she was doing so under protest.
“So... what was taken?” Clark asked again, keeping his voice calm and even in hopes that the others would follow his lead.
Lane hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “I never found out exactly what it was,” Lane said, seeming to have come to the conclusion that it really didn’t matter if she told them. “National security concerns or some such rubbish. But it had to do with some top secret research Star Labs was doing on a secret weapon for the U.S. military. Why?”
Clark turned to Lois. “When we were in the past, you mentioned something about investigating a security breach at Star Labs. Could this be connected?”
Lois nodded her head slowly. “I remember that. Perry assigned the story to me. Nothing much came of it, though. I always suspected it was an inside job, but I could never prove it. The whole thing stank of a cover-up by Star Labs to save their butts.”
“What if... Well, what if when we went back in time and got caught at Star Labs, whoever had stolen... whatever it was... decided that we would make good scapegoats.”
“Makes sense,” Lois conceded. “If someone else had stolen classified information, and then we were caught breaking into Star Labs, we’d have made the perfect scapegoats. No need for a cover-up - just blame us.”
“I think you need to tell us exactly what happened,” Lane said. It was not a request. It was most definitely nothing short of a demand.
Not that either Lois or Clark could blame her, blame either of them. This incident had colored the majority of their lives in recent years. They had a right to understand exactly how it had came about.
So Lois and Clark began the story of how they had come to be at Star Labs, how they had escaped and then fled to the future, even how they, thinking that they were still in their own reality, had searched for the answer on how to change things back.
“So... what are you saying? That you’re the ones who messed up our past? And then... you were trying to figure out how to change it back?” Lane asked. “What gives you that right?”
“We didn’t even know you existed. We thought we were in our own reality,” Lois said. “Besides, without realizing what had gone wrong in your past, it wasn’t as if we could do anything to correct it.”
Kent let out a breath. “Okay, well, now that you know you’re not in your own dimension, I guess you’ll be going back home. So... have a nice life. And in the future, try not to mess up ours.” Kent rose to his feet as if he would see them to the door.
“Actually, I’m not sure...” Lois’ voice trailed off.
“What?” Clark asked. “Are you saying you don’t want to go home?” The disbelief was clear in his voice.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I want to go home. Back to where you’re my husband. Back to our daughter...”
“Husband?” Kent asked as he sank back onto the couch. “Daughter? You mentioned a daughter before, but I thought...” His voice trailed off. “You’re married?” he finally asked as if suffering from some sort of information overload.
Both Lois and Clark automatically reached into their pockets, withdrawing their rings and slipping them on their fingers, answering the question much more eloquently than any words could.
“But... the danger of someone finding out about you...” Kent asked Clark. “How could...”
“Look,” Lois interrupted. “I understand you have questions. And I promise, we’ll explain everything. But right now... I think we have to understand what’s happening here. We’re still missing something. Something important. I mean, how did we end up in this dimension in the first place? When I pressed that return button, it should have taken us back to our time, to our dimension. Not... here.”
“Lois, Dr. Klein did tell us that they weren’t entirely sure that the device was working properly.”
“True... But there is something here that just doesn’t add up.”
“Such as?”
“Such as why are we getting their memories? And why are they getting ours? And what happened when we touched our counterparts? No, there is something going on here other than just a trip into another dimension.”
No one seemed to have any answers.
“Dr. Klein,” Lane finally said. “You mentioned Dr. Klein. He knows about Kent. Maybe we need to talk to him. Maybe he can figure out what might have happened.”
They discussed the suggestion for some time before deciding talking to Dr. Klein was their best course of action. He might even be able to tell them what was wrong with the time travel device.
Of course, since it was the middle of the night, almost three a.m., it made sense to try, at least, to get a few hours sleep. Naturally, that led to the problem of sleeping arrangements. After much discussion, Lane had given up her bed to the couple, saying that she would sleep on the couch. Kent had gone back to his apartment.
Kent had taken Lane aside before he’d left, ever so tentatively suggesting that Lane accompany him, claiming that he’d feel better about her staying with him. He wasn’t entirely convinced that he believed Lois and Clark’s story and would feel better if she didn’t spend the night there.
Lane had immediately rejected the idea. Finding out that Lois and Clark were married had only served to confuse her more than she already was.
Why was it that the other Lois had been able to convince her Clark to take a chance on a permanent commitment when Lane hadn’t had the same luck with Kent? Was she somehow deficient? Had she lost something, some value by sleeping with him before he’d committed to her? Was it true that a man didn’t by the cow if he could get the milk for free?
She’d never thought Kent was like that. But if all those strange memories she’d had over the years really did belong to the other Lois, then the other Lois hadn’t slept with her Clark before they’d gotten married.
Or maybe she had made Kent wait too long before showing a willingness to get involved with him. Or maybe Kent had never really forgiven her for believing that he was responsible for having her charged with treason? It was just all so confusing. And now that he had ended things between them permanently... If she went back to his apartment, she had no doubt that she’d end up back in his bed. And that would just confuse things further.
No... Staying here with Lane and Kent was definitely the lesser of two evils. Besides, there was some part of her, some part she couldn’t quite explain that told her she could trust them. She almost felt as if she’d known them all her life. Or at least, that she’d known Lois all her life. Not that she wasn’t angry with them - furious even - for the damage they had done to her past. But for reasons she didn’t understand, she didn’t doubt that they were telling the truth.
She let out a breath. Well, her instincts had always served her well before now. Besides, she knew no other way to live than to trust her instincts - and her instincts told her that Lois and Clark were on the level.
Since her unusual company had already turned in, she wandered distractedly around the living room, not quite sure what to do with herself. She lay down on the couch, only to rise a while later when she couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts were running through her mind. Too many questions.
Turning on the kitchen light, she opened the freezer door and removed the ice cream she’d put in there earlier. Grabbing a spoon, she wandered back into the living room.
* * * * * * * * *
“I’ve been wondering about something,” Lois said as she crawled into bed, curling up against her husband’s chest.
“What?”
“Well, when you touched Kent... You said something about them having quite a weekend.”
“Right.”
“What did you mean by that?”
Clark clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he recalled the memory that had been transferred between him and Kent in that single moment.
**Kent pushed open the balcony doors and stepped outside. Looking out over the canals of Venice, he allowed the peacefulness of the city to wash over him.
He felt more than heard her step out next to him. He continued to stare out over the waters, concentrating on a gondola that was gliding, almost silently, down the river and past their window as he felt her hand land gently on his back.
He’d thought she was still sleeping. He sighed inwardly. He never should have slept with her last night. He’d known when he’d asked her to come away for the weekend what they needed to discuss. This roller coaster they’d been on for the past several years. Making love had been... as marvelous as ever, but still, it couldn’t help but complicate things. He felt her plant a soft kiss on his shoulder before coming to stand beside him, staring, like him, out over the waters.
“Where are you?” Lane asked softly.
“Venice,” he responded immediately, not wanting to answer her real question. “It’s in Italy. I suspect you’ve heard of it.”
“I meant, in here...” She gently tapped the side of his head. Turning then, she rested her back against the cast-iron railing next to him so that she could look at his face. “You’re breaking up with me again, aren’t you?”
He looked at her, shocked.
“Don’t look so surprised. I knew it the instant you asked me to come away with you this weekend.” She sighed. “Actually, I knew it was coming the moment I heard the story about some miracle landing of a 747 that was in trouble. I assume that was you.”
He nodded miserably, turning back to silently contemplate the river below them.
“God,” she finally said. “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d have to hate you.”
“Lane...”
“No, don’t...” She held up her hand. She obviously didn’t want to hear it, yet. Wasn’t ready. After a moment, she spoke again. “Come back inside with me, Kent,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. Her hand ran down his arm to grasp his hand, pulling him gently away from the railing.
“Lane...”
“The sun isn’t even up. Please... Just come back to bed. Just for a few more hours, let’s not think about this... Let’s just... forget.”
Seeing the tears in her eyes, he couldn’t help but be moved. With a sigh, he allowed her to pull him back to bed.**
Lois looked towards the bedroom door, her eyes filled with tears by the end of Clark’s story. “I think I’m going to...” She didn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she rose from the bed.
“Where are you going?” Clark asked when his wife pulled on Lane’s bathrobe and walked to the door.
“I suspect she’s not sleeping,” Lois said. “And I just thought...” She shrugged. She wasn’t entirely sure what she could do. On the other hand, she could feel Lane’s pain. And maybe... She shrugged again before turning the doorknob and leaving the bedroom.
She found Lane easily enough, sitting on the couch, eating ice cream directly out of the tub.
“Got enough there for two?” Lois asked.
Lane turned towards her. “Help yourself to a spoon.” She gestured to the kitchen.
Lois nodded, going to get a spoon. When she reentered the living room, she walked over to Lane, digging out a bite of ice cream and taking a seat across from the other woman.
As Lois slowly sucked the ice cream off the spoon, she leaned back into the soft surface of the couch. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.
Lane shrugged, setting the ice cream container on the coffee table and pushing it towards Lois. Lois shook her head. She wasn’t the one really needing ice cream tonight.
“Tell me about Vicky,” Lane finally said.
Lois beamed. “She’s a little terror. Picture your tenacity and Kent’s speed.”
“Ouch.”
Lois laughed. “Actually, it’s been great. I never really thought of myself as a mother before, but... I wouldn’t trade Vicky for the world.”
“And... Well, she’s your natural daughter?”
“I have the stretch marks to prove it,” she said, remembering the comfort she and Clark had derived from those marks. Suddenly, it sunk in what those marks must mean. They had been wrong about making Vicky cease to exist. Lois still didn’t understand what was going on here. But... Vicky was still out there somewhere. She had to be. Lois had to force her mind back to the woman across from her to catch Lane’s next comment.
“Are you sure that...” Lane’s voice trailed off, as if she was having second thoughts about asking her question.
Lois instantly knew the remainder of the question not being asked. “I’m sure,” Lois answered. Under the circumstances, she could hardly find the question offensive. After all, the issue of whether Clark could procreate with an Earth woman had consumed Lois and Clark as well. “Clark’s her natural father.”
“Good thing I didn’t go off the pill after Kent told me he couldn’t get me pregnant,” Lane said, attempting to achieve a lightheartedness she obviously didn’t feel.
Lois didn’t respond, knowing instinctively that Lane had more to say.
Lane chewed on her lower lip for a moment. “I can’t stop wondering what I did wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you got your Clark to marry you so... What is it about me that makes Kent keep running away?”
“I don’t think it’s you. I think he loves you the same way my Clark loves me.”
“Then what is it?”
“Well, I think it’s what Clark and I did to your past. It hardly gave the two of you a fair chance.”
“Still... Wait a minute. What are you saying? Are you saying that if you hadn’t interfered, our dimensions would be exactly the same?”
Lois thought about that for a minute. “Well, other than that one change...” She thought about it again. “You know, when I think about it, everything that has happened in your reality can be traced back to what Clark and I did when we showed up at Star Labs. Everything.”
“Well, except this Tempus guy. He never came into the past in our reality.”
“But that makes sense, too. You and Kent... Well, if you never get together, never have children, maybe there is no Utopia in this future.”
“And in that case, there would be no need for Tempus to come back to change things.”
Lois shrugged.
“But... Well, if everything can be tracked back to that one incident... an incident you’re responsible for... I don’t get it. Why would there have been two realities where things were exactly the same? Doesn’t that seem... odd to you?”
Lois nodded slowly. It did seem strange. She growled in frustration. This should make sense to her. There was something pulling at the edges of her brain that told her that if she could only snap that final piece into place, she’d understand what was happening here. But try as she might, she just couldn’t understand it.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Lane asked.
“What?”
“Well, I’m just wondering... When Kent breaks up with me, he tells me it’s because he’s afraid of getting caught. So... how did Clark get past that in your reality?”
A slow smile lit up Lois’ face. “Superman,” she said softly.
“What’s a Superman?” Lane asked.
“The answer to your prayers,” Lois said smugly as an idea began to take hold.
* * * * * * * * *
Without for a second letting down his guard - prepared to go flying to the rescue should Lane call for him again - Kent stared unseeing at the ceiling of his room, not able to shake the image that had flooded his mind when he’d shaken his doppelganger’s hand.
When he’d first seen the image, he’d not really grasped its meaning. Had thought he was somehow misinterpreting it. But now... given what Lois and Clark had said... Kent suddenly understood. And... wow! What an image he was left with.
**The feelings that washed over Clark could not be pigeonholed into words as he looked down at the precious bundle tucked into the crook of his arm. How much could newborn babies see, because at this moment, he could swear his daughter was sizing him up. She definitely had her mother’s inquisitive gaze. He wondered briefly if he met with her approval.
“I’m your daddy,” he said softly, just so that there would be no mistake. Bringing his free hand up, he used a single finger to stroke his daughter’s cheek gently.
She made some unintelligible noise which he understood instinctively - although he couldn’t have translated it into words.
A surge of protectiveness rolled through Clark’s body at the sound and he knew immediately that he’d give his life to protect this most precious child. Never had he felt so proud, or powerful, or vulnerable, or humble as he did at this moment.**
If only such a thing were possible for him, Kent thought to himself. If only...
Rolling over onto his side and attempting to banish the tantalizing image from his mind, he closed his eyes - praying for the oblivion of sleep.
* * * * * * * * *
“Everything okay,” Clark asked sleepily as his wife slipped off the bathrobe and slid into bed.
“Everything’s perfect,” Lois responded, snuggling up next to him.
Clark pulled back slightly to look at her face. “What are you up to?” he asked.
“Up to?” she asked, just a little bit too innocently. “Nothing.”
Clark snorted. “Yeah, right. Okay, well as long as you didn’t sell off our eldest child or anything.”
“No. Everything’s fine.”
When she didn’t elaborate, Clark gave his head a shake. “I guess I’ll find out eventually.”
“Probably,” Lois said, not even bothering to deny that he was right as she looked for the most comfortable place against his chest. Finally, she tossed a leg over his and snuggled in, closing her eyes.
Clark shook his head as he looked down at his wife, wondering what she was up to now. He watched until her breathing deepened before closing his own eyes. Whatever it was, he’d find out soon enough.
* * * * * * * * *
Dr. Klein stared in disbelief at the four visitors who had suddenly appeared in his lab before taking off his glasses and cleaning them. When he returned them to his face, the four people were still there.
“Oh, no! I’m having a stroke!” Klein said, his voice rising in intensity to match his increased anxiety. “I’m seeing double. That’s definitely one of the signs. I knew I should have been eating better, getting more exercise. There’s only so long that you can abuse your body before it finally catches up with you. I guess it’s payback time.”
“No, Dr. Klein,” Kent said immediately. “You’re not having a stroke. There are two of us... or four of us... or... two doubles, I guess. Besides, look again. It’s not as if we’re dressed alike.”
Dr. Klein looked up from where he was taking his pulse, finally realizing that Kent was right. He obviously wasn’t seeing double.
“But... what?” Klein plopped down onto a stool in his lab.
“I’m sorry to scare you like that,” Kent said. “But we need your help.”
“Twins,” Klein said, looking relieved to have found a rational explanation.
“Not exactly.” Kent turned and looked at his companions. “These two are from an alternate reality.”
“May be from an alternate reality,” Lois quickly corrected.
“What else could it be?” Clark asked.
“I don’t know, but... something just feels... off here. As if we’re overlooking something obvious.”
“An alternate reality?” Klein asked, suddenly looking like a little boy who had just received a new toy at Christmas. And then, just as suddenly, reason reasserted itself. “Oh, I get it. This is fool the mad scientist day. Very funny. Now, what can I do for you?”
* * * * * * * * *
It took some time and some pretty detailed explanations, but finally Lois and Clark convinced Dr. Klein of their story. Being able to show him the time-travel/inter-dimensional device had certainly helped. Although he hadn’t been able to determined exactly what made it work, he did confirm that it might do what they were claiming it did - especially after he’d hooked it up to his computer and looked at the programs on the chip in the device.
“You say that this device isn’t working properly?” Klein asked, as he disconnected it from his computer. He turned it over in his hands, examining the casing more closely.
“Well, our Dr. Klein did warn us about some problem with it traveling to different dimensions, but... Well, it must be broken because when we hit the return button, it brought us to this reality instead of taking us home,” Clark answered.
“Hmmm,” Klein said, using a screwdriver to carefully remove the casing.
“What does hmmm mean?” Lois asked.
“It’s just... Well, something about that isn’t quite right.”
“Like what? It must be broken or it would have taken us back to our own time and our own reality.”
“But instead, you leapt ahead in time but then discovered you were in an alternate reality?”
“That about sums it up.”
“Hmmm.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “What does hmmm mean?” she asked again.
“It’s just... I don’t think it’s broken. Oh, yes. I can see what your Dr. Klein was referring to. The alternate button does seem to be stuck on a single location. But travel back and forth in time... And the return button. I don’t see any problem with those.”
“So what does that mean?” Lois asked, frustrated by the lack of progress they seemed to be making.
“You say that everything that is different in your two realities can be traced back to the changes you made when you went back to 1992?” Klein asked.
“Well, yes,” Lois said.
“Nothing else? Nothing farther in your past?” Klein probed again. When they all just looked at him blankly, he continued. “Okay then, have you compared your pasts before 1992?”
“Not in any detail,” Kent said.
“But it... feels the same,” Lois commented. “What is it, Dr. Klein? Do you have a theory, or are these just an endless series of pointless questions?”
When Dr. Klein gave her a puzzled look, she recanted.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. Obviously, he wasn’t as well acquainted with her counterpart as their Dr. Klein was with her. But then, even that made sense - after all, Superman was the main reason she had contact with their Dr. Klein. And there was no Superman here.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on,” Dr. Klein continued. “So... you got this device from a time traveler from the future named Tempus?”
“Right,” Clark said.
“And you two have never met this time traveler?” he continued, looking at Lane and Kent.
“That’s right.”
“Hmm...” Klein said again, turning his attention once more to the device.
“So...” Lois said. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on or...”
“I’m not entirely sure, yet. But...” He got up and, after looking at the device once again, he began scratching some sort of incomprehensible mathematical equation on the chalkboard behind him.
Lois and Clark and Lane and Kent looked at each other in confusion. After several minutes without an explanation, Kent finally spoke.
“Dr. Klein?” he asked.
“Hmm?” Klein asked turning towards them. “Oh, you’re still here?”
“Uhh.... yeah.”
“Oh, right. Of course. Well, I’ve got a theory, but before I say more... Wait! I need...” He began once again fumbling through drawers, after a moment pulling out two syringes.
“What are those for?” Lane asked.
“Oh, right. Well, I need a sample of your blood. This might not work, but...”
“Whose blood?” Kent asked.
“You two,” Klein said, pointing to Lois and Lane. “I doubt I’d be able to get a sample from the two of you,” he added, looking at Clark and Kent. “But I shouldn’t need to. Their blood samples should do just fine.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
