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Luck and Consequence - Part 5

*** Chapter 9 ***

Bernie had been fretting for much of the evening. When he first heard the news flash that there had been an explosion at the Daily Planet, he had been moderately concerned. Then later, when the reports came in that the three members of the Kent family were missing, he got positively worried.

Bernie had admitted years ago that he was all too close to the stereotype of the reclusive scientist. He only had a few groups of real friends and most of them were colleagues. Clark, Lois and now Lara were like family to him and their disappearance in the bombing had left him feeling shaken. Of course he knew that Clark was in no danger, but Lois and Lara were as vulnerable to being hurt as any other person. He was still fretting when his phone rang…

“Bernard Klein speaking.”

“Hi Bernie, this is Clark.”

“Clark, I’m so glad to hear from you. I’ve heard about the explosion. Were any of you hurt?”

“No, we’re all fine… Um, Superman was able to rescue all of us at the last second when the bomb went off. We’re in hiding until we can figure out who planted the bomb and what to do about it.”

“Clark, I’m really glad that everyone is okay. That was what I had hoped for when the news didn’t report any fatalities and only indicated that your family was missing.”

“Superman wanted me to ask you if he could come by later. There were some issues relating to the explosion that he thought would merit your attention. I believe there are some tests that he would like you to perform”

“Please tell Superman that he can come by whenever is most convenient for him. I know he’s always very busy and I imagine that your bombing has made his day even more complicated than usual.”

“He asked me to tell you that if you were free, about 10:00 tonight would be a good time for him.”

“I’ll have the lab ready at 10:00.”

“If I see hem before then I’ll tell him that you’ll be waiting. Thanks.”

“Clark, don’t mention it. And, thanks for calling. You, Lois and Lara are like family to me and I was really worried.”

“Bernie, I’m only sorry that we didn’t call you sooner. We’ll be in touch.”

After the call ended Bernie went about getting ready for the visit. Clark had not said what this would be about but he guessed that maybe Lara had been near the explosion and they wanted Bernie to check her over. With this in mind he spent the time after Clark’s call making sure that everything in the Superman lab was ready and that no one else was around.

By the time the roof buzzer sounded, Bernie had been ready for ten minutes. He hurried up to the entrance since he didn’t want Lara to be out in the elements on the roof of Star Labs for any longer than necessary.

As he let them in, Dr. Klein commented, "Good evening Lois, Clark. I saw the news report. You both look pretty good for a pair of “possibly dead” people. Where’s Lara? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," said Clark. "But something else happened that we need to know about. Can we take a look at Lois in the biofield sensor?"

Bernie was confused. "Of course" he said. “But I had figured that you were going to be having me look at Lara.”

Clark responded, “No Bernie, Lara is fine. When the bomb went off, I was able to shield her completely. She was only frightened for a moment. We’re here about something else entirely.”

He led them down to the lab. Since he had expected it might be needed, albeit on someone else, the biofield sensor was already turned on and ready for use.

Bernie walked over to the control area and said, “Lois, go ahead and please stand in the usual place.”

As Lois walked toward the primary sensor area, Bernie shifted his attention to the main monitor. As soon as she entered the field of view of the sensor, it was obvious that something was very different.

Bernie had seen Lois imaged in two different ways by this sensor. There had been the “pregnant with Lara” image where Lara’s Kryptonian presence was visible in Lois’s human biofield. That had been the image they had seen that first time. Throughout the pregnancy Lois had been imaged regularly and they had been able to track the growth of Lara’s Kryptonian field. The other image of Lois was when she had been in contact with Clark and she was displaying the low-energy field that only she seemed to be able to persist.

What Bernie saw today was very different. He was half-expecting to see that Lois was pregnant again. As soon as Clark had asked that Lois be imaged, another pregnancy seemed the most obvious reason. However, when Lois stepped into the sensor area Bernie was amazed. She was showing a full-strength Kryptonian biofield that, at first glance, appeared to be every bit as strong as the one around Clark.

Bernie looked around quickly to verify that Clark was nowhere near Lois. Clark had stopped behind the control area and well outside the five meter range where he could be having any kind of affect on her biofield. After studying Lois’s image for only a second or two more, he looked back and forth between them and asked, “I suspect you expected something like this. Will you tell me what happened to make you ask for this test?”

It was Clark that responded, “Bernie it was the car bomb. I was able to shield Lara from the blast but Lois was caught right in the middle of the explosion.”

Lois added, “When the bomb went off I was right next to the car. The force of the explosion was powerful enough so that it severely damaged my clothes. I felt the impacts where the metal and glass fragments hit me. Despite all that, I wasn’t hurt at all and only barely felt the force of the explosion.”

Bernie's mouth fell open. "Lois, I’m so glad you are alright. Do you have any idea how this happened?"

Lois laughed briefly at Bernie's response. Then said, "That's what we were going to ask you."

Bernie was trying to recover, "From what you say, it would seem that you have at least some of Clark’s invulnerability. Do you know if you have any of the other powers?"

"Yes, I have the full set of Superman’s powers, just like last time."

That caught Bernie by surprise, "Last time?"

Clark looked a little defensive. "Oh, well Bernie, I guess there are still a few things we never quite got around to telling you about. Do you remember Ultra Woman?"

Of course I remember her, Bernie thought. Then he went on aloud, "Yes. I remember there were a lot of questions about her identity. Later, after the New Krypton incident, I remember reading speculation that she must have been a visiting friend or relative from there."

Lois cut in, "Not exactly. I was Ultra Woman."

This seemed to be getting stranger by the second. "What? How? Why didn’t you tell me this before?"

Clark got an embarrassed, defensive look on his face, “Umm… Oops.”

Lois provided a bit more eloquent reply. “Bernie, we’re sorry. We weren’t trying to hide this from you. We’ve just been in the habit of not saying anything to anyone. You get so used to keeping secrets that it becomes the norm. To be honest, we just didn’t think about this episode since it happened. As to how I ended up being Ultra Woman, Clark got hit with a Red Kryptonite laser and his powers were shifted to me."

Bernie was struggling to both recover from the shock of the news and figure out how this new information fit into what he knew about Kryptonian physiology and Red Kryptonite. Finally he said, "So you were Ultra Woman. I guess that explains why Superman and Ultra Woman seemed to be such..., well, 'good friends.' You do realize that there had been a lot of tabloid-type speculation about your relationship."

Clark got an annoyed look on his face. "Yeah, we remember. Now it seems sort of funny but at the time we were still in the process of defining our relationship and that sort of speculation was... Let's just say, 'not welcome.'"

Bernie considered this for a minute, "Oh. Well, the idea of your powers being able to be transferred as a result of a high energy pulse from Red Kryptonite is consistent with what I’ve discovered over the last few years."

Clark was surprised at the easy way Dr. Klein accepted that his powers had been transferred. "What do you mean?"

At this Bernie was feeling a bit proud that all the work he had done enabled him to understand what had probably happened and provide an explanation. "Remember that I found that Red Kryptonite radiation directly affects your biofield. That energy, if concentrated and amplified via a laser, would probably provide enough focused energy to completely displace most of the energy from your biofield.”

Clark interjected, “Bernie, if my biofield was removed shouldn’t I have felt pain? You have said many times that the KEs die without a Kryptonian field.”

Doc Klein responded, “Since you didn’t die and, from what you say, you also didn’t experience any pain, I would have to guess that a residual, low energy field remained. It would be similar to the low-energy field that you share when you exert your super powers. It wasn’t strong enough to induce super powers, but it kept your KEs alive.

Bernie turned to Lois and continued “We know that the low-energy field that Clark *shares* isn’t strong enough to support powers. Well, my research into the biofield and Red Kryptonite suggested that it may be possible to displace a full-strength Kryptonian biofield. I suspect that if this were to happen to Clark, he would lose his powers until the field strength could be rebuilt by his KEs. Lois, I’m not really surprised that if you had been along the line of displacement, the full strength field would have locked on you and provided you with temporary super powers.”

Lois looked concerned, "What do you mean temporary."

"Lois, please wait just a second." Bernie turned to Clark. "Did you lose your powers for a period of time?"

Clark nodded. "I lost my powers. We thought it was permanent."

Bernie smiled at both of them. "No. Such a transfer would only last until the high-energy field faded. Since there were no KEs in Lois to maintain the field, it would have been strictly temporary. I would guess that Clark's powers would rebuild at about the same rate that your 'acquired' powers would fade. Within a short time, probably no more than a few weeks, everything should have been back to normal."

Bernie thought for a moment. "Is that what happened with Resplendent Man? I seem to recall that Superman still had his powers during his brief appearance."

Clark responded with an exasperated sigh, "I had almost forgotten about him. I did keep my powers during the 'Resplendent Man' episode. He got his powers as a result of a freak lightening strike."

Bernie was excited about this new information. Based on what he now knew about Clark, this was all too easy. "Let me guess.” Bernie looked at Clark, “You got hit by the lightening and the energy passed through you and into him?"

Clark seemed only a little surprised at Bernie's quick assessment on what had happened, "Exactly."

"That all fits with what we now know.” Bernie said. “If the circumstances were just right and the energy levels and frequencies aligned correctly, I could see the influx of energy boosting the Kryptonian biofield well beyond your normal levels. If there was a path that would allow the energy to flow into another person, I could see how it would carry a displaced high-strength biofield just like the Red Kryptonite. However, in this case it would make sense that only the excess field would be displaced. Just like with the Red Kryptonite, the ‘acquired’ powers would be temporary and would fade with time."

Suddenly Bernie remembered something else, “I just remembered, that little kid that the woman was claiming to be Superman's 'love child.'" He suddenly looked in Lois’s direction embarrassed, "Oh, sorry. I guess that created some stress."

Lois frowned, "You could say that."

"Yes, well, my recollection is that his powers were related to a lightening-induced transfer. Of course, with no KEs, his abilities were temporary. But, to this business, I gather that to the best of your knowledge there were no lightening strikes or Red Kryptonite lasers this time?"

Clark replied, "Not that we noticed."

"So, the first thing we need to do is get a blood sample from Lois and see if KEs are present. That will tell us a lot about what’s going on."

Lois asked, "So, what should we do for now."

Bernie thought for a moment. He didn’t want to make any sort of recommendation that might get Lois hurt. He thought it would be best to err on the side of caution. “Well, I wouldn’t expect a sudden drop-off of your abilities as long as you stayed away from Kryptonite. I guess my recommendation would be for you to avoid using powers in any way that, if they failed suddenly, would cause you or someone else harm. I guess I’m trying to say don’t pick up a bus and carry it over your head.”

Lois nodded and said, "That makes sense. What about flying?”

Bernie got a concerned look. "Well, as I said I don’t think the powers would suddenly just ‘cut out.’ I would recommend that you not fly on your own any more until I can see if you have active KEs. Although based on the apparent strength of your biofield, you’re probably safe to use the powers for at least a few days. Please just be careful and use your best judgment.”

He paused for just a minute, “How can I reach you?"

Clark spoke up, "Lois Lane and Clark Kent are in hiding for the moment. Until we know more about the source of the bomb, we’ll be keeping a low profile. Why don’t I come in tomorrow as Superman and you can let me know what you find?"

“Very well” he replied. “Based on Lois’s biofield reading and what happened with the bomb, I won’t be able to draw a blood sample unless I use the Kryptonite method that I use to extract Clark’s blood for testing. Lois, please come with me into the other lab.” He looked at Clark, “Clark, you can come if you want to but there are trace levels of Kryptonite involved and it might be better if you stay here.”

Clark asked Lois, “Dear, would you like me to come?”

“No. There’s no point in both of us being exposed to Kryptonite.”

Bernie led Lois into the hematology test lab and took a blood sample. Shortly thereafter he led them both up to the roof exit and then returned to the lab to start the analysis. He couldn’t help but think that life as Superman’s doctor was always full of surprises.



** Chapter 10 **

Lois had to admit that she was starting to get all too used to standing on the roof of Star Labs. Bernie had just let them out after verifying that she had a Kryptonian biofield and taking some blood to test. While the biofield sensor was painless, getting poked for the blood sample was not. Needles are bad enough without also having to worry about Kryptonite. Bernie had assured her that he used this method with Clark all the time and that there shouldn’t be any excess pain other than that of a normal needle prick. Well, maybe he was right, but it still hurt.

As they were getting ready to leave, Lois noticed Clark reaching for her with the obvious intention of carrying her back to Smallville.

She pulled back just a bit and asked combatively, "What do you think you're doing Farm Boy?"

"Lois, you heard Bernie. He's not sure your powers will stay."

"I also remember hearing him say that I should be fine for at least a few days."

"Yes, but...."

Lois wasn’t interested in whatever “but” Clark would manage to come up with. She was suddenly in a good mood for the first time since that awful bomb had gone off and didn’t feel like being reasonable. At the word “but”, she had slipped into super speed mode and leapt for the sky. As she zoomed skyward she couldn’t help but invite Clark to play with a giggly laugh and the parting invitation, “Try to catch me.” After all, even though his propensity for excess caution did annoy her from time to time, she loved him beyond measure, she enjoyed being with him and besides all that, when he did relax, he really was a lot of fun.

Once Lois got him started, Clark seemed happy to play and by the time they set down in Smallville they had been airborne for over an hour. Lois was delighted to discover that air tag with a playful and affectionate partner can consume a lot of time as well as being great fun.

Later that night they talked at length with Clark's parents. Lara had been put to bed and the four adults were sitting in the living room.

“So how long will you be staying?” Jonathan asked.

Lois answered quickly, “If it were just me and Clark, I’d want to head back immediately. There has to be a ton of new evidence from the bombing. Right now I’m really mad! Even if I didn’t have the extra insurance of Clark’s powers, I’m on the alert now. I know how to be careful and I want to go after these people.”

Martha spoke up, “Honey, I know you want these people, but you need to keep in mind that Lara is also at risk.”

Lois had to bite back the sarcastic retort that she almost delivered. Before she could say anything at all, she realized that Martha was still speaking.

“Now I know you won’t do anything to put Lara at risk. That’s not what I’m saying. If you really want to go after these people wouldn’t it be better to let Lara stay here for a few days? After all, you and Clark can visit whenever you want.”

“Lois, I think Mom’s right. I believe that leaving Lara here is what we should do. We can start an investigation immediately but once they realize that this bomb missed, they may target our house. It’s easy for you and I to make ourselves hard-to-get but Lara might be a tempting target.” Clark added.

Lois finally had her chance to reply. “I agree with all that. We’ll leave Lara here and just stay completely away from our home for a while. I’d like to keep as completely out-of-sight as possible and do a stealth investigation. If the powers do stay with me for a few days, between Superman and Ultra Woman I’m sure we can run these people to ground.”

As was his way in most of these family talks, Jonathan had been sitting quietly and listening to the more gregarious discuss the issue. When Lois mentioned Ultra Woman, he finally spoke up. “Lois, did anyone see you when the car blew up?”

“No.” Lois replied. “Clark, what did Bill Henderson say when you spoke on the phone?”

“He told me that there didn’t seem to be any witnesses to the explosion. The police were planning to review video from the security cameras to see what evidence might be there.”

Jonathon cut in, “There are security cameras? Does that mean that there’s security video of Lois surviving the explosion.”

“No there won’t be.” Clark replied. “We park in that spot because there is a gap in the camera coverage there. Sometimes I need to make a Superman exit and having the car there is convenient.”

“I just thought of something else.” Martha said. “Lois, you need to be careful to not let the powers show. Normally that wouldn’t be a big problem but what if there’s another attempt on your life and this time there are witnesses. You’ll be fine but it might be obvious that you have super powers. That isn’t something we want to get out.”

“I understand, Martha.” Lois said. “That’s another reason to conduct the investigation under cover. It’s best if we just don’t make our presence known for a while.”

The discussion continued for a while longer but didn't produce much in the way of results other than to validate the decision of leave Lara in Smallville.

Later that evening, as Lois was preparing for bed, Clark asked her if she would mind his being absent for an hour or so to do a regular patrol of Metropolis.

“Of course I mind,” Lois replied.

The startled look on Clark’s face told her that was not the answer he expected. She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. “I can’t help being a little bit selfish. I have first dibs on you and I never really want to share.” At this, she brought her lips to his to drive home the point of how much she enjoyed his company. At the end of this particularly passionate kiss, she continued, “But I know that being Superman is part of you being you and I do have to share. So, I guess the real answer is, ‘No, I don’t mind too much but please try to hurry back.’”

This triggered a huge smile from Clark as he said, “I love you.”

To which Lois deadpanned, “I know.”

****

Lois woke up early the next day. She did that all the time now and she had been thinking it was part of being a new mother. While that still may be part of the equation, Lois had a feeling that her newly discovered super powers were the major contributor to her newfound morning energy.

After they finished breakfast, Lois put in a call to Inspector Henderson. They needed to touch base and she wanted to give him the opportunity to hear her voice since yesterday he had only spoken with Clark. It only took a minute to get through and he sounded surprisingly cheery on the phone.

“Lane, I thought I’d be hearing from you today.”

“Hi Bill. I have to say I’m glad to be hearing your voice. Someone made a serious effort to make sure that I wouldn’t be talking to anyone after yesterday.”

“Yeah, that was some bomb. There’s nothing left of your car. How in the world did you and Clark escape that blast?” Henderson asked.

“Bill, we were just lucky. Superman had stopped by and just happened to be standing next to me when I put the key in the car.”

“I thought it might be something like that. When I first saw the remains of the car I didn’t see how anyone could have survived. But then we couldn’t find any human remains and besides, you and Kent aren’t ‘just anyone.’ I know how close you two are to Superman and his saving you had to be a possibility.”

Lois thought it best to try to move the conversation away from Superman. “Bill, what have you been able to learn about the bomb?”

“Lois, did you know that the spot where you park your car isn’t covered by the parking building security cameras?”

Lois was thinking that it wouldn’t be wise to admit that they had picked that spot deliberately. She replied using the most innocent-sounding voice that she could muster. “Really Bill? We’ll need to find a safer place in the future.”

Henderson went on, “You might want to do that. Did you know that the Planet garage has two different sets of security cameras?”

“I knew that the system was overhauled last year. I don’t really know much about the details. Clark studied it once but I haven’t had any reason to pay much attention to it. Why?”

Henderson explained, “Well, when the security contractor was designing the upgrade, he decided to leave all of the existing cameras in place. The new system uses cameras that are much smaller and designed to be easy to conceal.”

“Bill, what are you getting at?”

“Lane, you’re always so impatient. Anyway, after the explosion we pulled the garage security video. We weren’t surprised to find that a few hours before the explosion there were a series of outages as if some of the cameras were being disabled. Fortunately, only the older, more obvious cameras were taken out. Some of the new cameras actually cover the older cameras. When we reviewed the video from those, we actually had footage of the guy disabling one of the older cameras. At one point he walked straight into the picture and we got a full frontal image of his face. Even though you car wasn’t covered, we saw him approach that area carrying a briefcase and then leave about a half an hour later.”

Lois was excited by the prospect of finding the person, “So, do you think you can find out who it was.”

“Lane, don’t you give us any credit at all?”

“Bill, you know I do. I just think that from time to time regular police methods can be a bit… slow to produce results.”

“Well this time we weren’t slow. We had the guy identified by late last night and we raided his apartment early this morning. We got him and enough bomb-making evidence to easily tie him to your bomb.”

“That’s great Bill. Do you have a connection that explains why he bombed my car?”

“Actually, we do. Once he saw the evidence we had against him he got desperate to try to make any deal possible. He was able to give us enough information to make the connection to his employers. For him, this was just another contract hit. One of the critical pieces of data that he provided was the date that he got the job. Apparently the extortion ring that you helped put out of business a few months ago had learned of your investigation. Our belief is that they intended to have you removed immediately, but somewhere the message got scrambled and your hit got treated as one of their delayed-time jobs. Our bomber got the contract only a day before we shut them down. There wasn’t anyone left to correct their error and change yours to be an “immediate” hit. As for our bomber, he didn’t know that the people who hired him were out of business. He knew that the extortion ring had been taken down but he didn’t know enough about them to realize that they were his employers for this job.”

“Bill, that’s great news.”

“Lane, this is what can be accomplished by sticking with those *slow* methods that you seem to take such delight in circumventing. I expect you and Kent to remember this next time we ask you to let us pursue an investigation by-the-book.”

Lois could hear the satisfied tone in Henderson’s voice. For once, she didn’t mind. This was a huge burden to have removed from her shoulders. She was so relieved that she almost missed that Bill was still talking.

“…do you think you and Clark can come in and give a statement? There’s no reason to stay in hiding now.”

“We should be able to get in later today. And Bill, thanks.”

“Just doing my job Ms. Lane”

As soon as she hung up the phone she shared her news with the rest of the family. This meant that they could all return to Metropolis immediately.

When it came time to leave for Metropolis, at first Lois thought it sounded all too much like a replay of their trip to Star Labs the previous evening.

Lois was hovering a foot off the ground in front of her husband. “Clark, I’m fine. I feel as strong today as I did yesterday. This isn’t taking any effort at all.”

“Lois, we went all through this last night. I know how much you enjoy flying but we really should be careful.”

“I am being careful. I’m not off flying by myself. I promise that I’ll fly right along with you today. I even promise no funny business or air-tag on this trip.”

She could see Clark was trying to think of a reason to say no. He was so overprotective sometimes. After a minute he finally said, “Okay, you’re right. As long as we stay together and high enough that I have plenty of time to catch you in case your powers falter unexpectedly, then I can’t think of any reason you can’t fly most of the way. But Lois, consider that it’s daylight now. I don’t think it would be a good idea for the two of us to be seen flying back into Metropolis. Not unless you want me to zip back to Metropolis for your suit and you’re ready to stage a return of Ultra Woman.”

This time Clark had a good point. She was in no hurry to resurrect Ultra Woman and they couldn’t afford to have two people seen flying. Lois finally answered with, “Why don’t I fly under my own power from here to just outside the Metropolis metro area. Then you can carry me the rest of the way. If anyone sees us we can say that you had helped Clark and me to hide-out for the evening and you are returning me to the city.

Clark was apparently not planning more protests. He spun into “the suit” and asked, “Shall we go?”

The flight back to Metropolis only took about twenty minutes. When they started getting close to the city, there was no reason to land. Lois just flew in close and let Clark gather her in his arms. She had to admit that while flying definitely had its advantages, being carried by Clark with her head resting on his shoulder wasn’t exactly torture.

As Superman, Clark left Lois at their doorstep. Clark then did one of his super-speed exits and then came walking around the corner as Clark. They went into their home and quickly got ready for work.

Once they arrived at the office, Lois didn’t want to waste any time. Their attempted murder was a hot story and she had the obvious inside information. They had decided that the story would naturally split into two parts. Clark took the personal touchy-feely side where he would discuss their perspective as a family that had barely escaped a car bomb. Lois would take the more hard-hitting side that talked about the extortion ring that had started this and an alternate piece on the bomber that had actually set the explosives. Even though the work was largely split, they both worked together on the final drafts of all of the segments and they would all be run under the Lane and Kent byline.

As Lois was putting the finishing touches on her part their story, Clark had finished his section and was calling Dr. Klein to ask how the tests were going. When he got off of the phone, he came right over to her desk. They had a standing rule that all conversations about Star Labs had to fit within the confines of potential investigations or articles. So, Lois knew exactly what Clark was talking about when he started discussing Star Labs.

“Lois, I just talked to Dr. Klein at Star Labs about those tests we asked him to perform regarding the car bomb.”

“Yes?” Lois asked.

“He believes he has the bulk of the tests complete and would like us to come by this afternoon so that he can show us the results of his analysis.”

“Was he able to give you any information about what he has found?”

“No. He seemed reluctant to say anything until all of the test results are available. We’ll just have to wait and get that information from him in person.”

As for getting the story submitted, Lois ended up being relieved that they had mostly worked up their assassination attempt stories ahead of time. Their appearance caused quite a stir, and not only in the news room. Their day included everything from police interviews to courtesy stops by the day care center. The caregivers were relieved to learn that Lara was fine and would be back in a day or so. It was late afternoon before they could get free to make the trip to Star Labs.

Upon arrival at Star Labs, via the front door this time, Lois found that Bernie was ready for them with his test results. As soon as the door to Bernie’s office was closed, he opened up, "This has been the most amazing day since I learned about your pregnancy and your secret. First things first… Lois, you better get used to those powers. At the cellular level your blood is just as Kryptonian as Clark's."

Lois didn’t expect this. After everything Bernie had said the previous evening, she was convinced that this was going to turn out to be another “temporary biofield transfer” just like her first stint as Ultra Woman. That was why she had been so insistent about flying as much as possible. She wasn’t sure she knew how to deal with having the powers on a permanent basis. Finally she asked, "How could this happen?"

"Well, I went back and analyzed all the blood samples that we had stored during your pregnancy. Lois, apparently you were infected by your daughter."

Infected? She wasn’t sure she liked the way that sounded. "What do you mean 'infected?'"

"The earliest of your blood samples showed no KE presence that I can detect. About half-way through your pregnancy KEs start showing up in your blood. They are barely there but present nonetheless.”

Bernie paused and suddenly looked very embarrassed, “I feel bad that I didn't notice immediately, but by that time I had stopped running the KE screening tests on your blood. We ran those tests early on but we kept getting negative results and those tests are both complex and time consuming. Lois, I’m really sorry but to be honest, you were doing fine so there was no cause for concern."

At this Lois was more than just a bit annoyed and fixed Bernie with a stare she normally reserved for a corrupt politician that she was about to expose.

Bernie paled under the glare he got from Lois but pressed on. "In later samples the KE density increases but even in the last samples they were still very low and not anywhere near up to Clark's or even Lara’s levels. My theory is that the initial KE presence was maintained by Lara's biofield. By the time she was born, the KE density in your blood was just barely high enough to generate a field that could sustain an independent KE environment. The field wasn't strong enough to induce super powers but it was enough to keep the KEs alive and reproducing. Based on the growth rate that is suggested from my analysis of your previous blood samples, I suspect you have been fully super for just over a month."

Lois hadn’t gotten to be who she was without developing an ability to react quickly to the unexpected. By now she was generally passed being annoyed at Bernie for failing to run those tests. Now she was inclined to question the accuracy of his predictions. “Bernie, how confident are you in these results?”

At this Bernie took on a more assured look. “I’m really quite confident. I’ve been up all night running every test I can think of. I have now re-tested all of the blood samples that were stored during your pregnancy. I’ve also cross checked the blood sample that I took last night against samples of Clark’s blood. I just don’t see much room for error here. Lois, this may seem a bit overwhelming but I believe you’ve started the path to a new kind of human."

Bernie paused at this. "Actually not a new kind... His kind", he said pointing at Clark.

Before Lois could say anything in response to that Bernie continued, “We now have reason to believe that the children of a super individual will themselves be super. Also, based on these results, I suspect that if a normal woman can become pregnant and give birth to a super child, she will have a reasonable probability of inheriting the KEs from the baby and herself develop super abilities."

Even for Lois this was a lot all at once and she was feeling a bit unsettled. She was actually struggling for what to say when Bernie continued.

“Lois, Clark, I would like to ask a follow up question about the time when Lois was Ultra Woman.”

Lois paused to compose herself and then said, “Yes?”

“To be honest I’ve never been entirely happy with the idea that the two of you being ‘Soul Mates’ is the only explanation as to why the low energy Kryptonian biofield persists in Lois. I mean, I don’t *dislike* the idea but I’m uncomfortable with an explanation that I don’t understand and can’t test. In some ways it doesn’t matter since the fact that it does persist is what was most important for your reproduction issues. However, your Red Kryptonite Ultra Woman experience got me thinking. I ran some simulations last night and found that just having the high-energy field transferred from Clark shouldn’t have made Lois more likely to have the ability to persist a low energy field. Then I remembered that, from what you said yesterday, you didn’t know that Lois’s field would fade and Clark’s field would rebuild. Could you please tell me the rest of what happened?”

Lois and Clark exchanged glances and Lois continued, “Well, I was Ultra Woman for a few days and then I got shot with the Red Kryptonite laser and my powers were transferred to…”

“Wait!” Bernie jumped in. “You were exposed to a high energy Red Kryptonite energy blast while you still had the high energy Kryptonian field?”

Lois replied, “Well, I still had the powers.”

“That’s got to be it. Lois, you were carrying Clark’s energy field and were exposed to concentrated Red Kryptonite radiation. I’ll bet that exposure made your system permanently hyper-sensitive to Clark’s field and is the source of your ability to persist the low-energy field without having to maintain physical contact. Lois, you may not have thought so at the time, but your adventure with first getting and then, most especially, losing Clark’s powers the way you did is probably the reason that you have Lara, and as a byproduct, your own abilities now.”

Lois stared at him for a few seconds and then said, “So Doc, you’re telling me that the reason that I was able to have Lara… the reason that I survived a car bomb… and the reason that I have super powers now all goes back to a crazy scheme by two sisters and a Red Kryptonite laser?”

Bernie couldn’t help but smile as he considered a response, “Lois, I guess you’re just a very lucky woman.”

Lois and Clark looked quickly at each other and burst out laughing.

Bernie waited for the laughter to die down and continued, “Lois, there is one more thing. Consider the implications of having your own Kryptonian biofield."

Lois was not in the mood for this sort of game and apparently Clark saw that immediately, "Doc, Please!"

"Sorry." Bernie said sheepishly, "Lois, your next pregnancy won't require a month long getaway vacation. You and Clark are now as compatible for children as any other couple."

At this statement, Lois's feelings flipped from irritation to joy. She found herself reaching for Clark’s hand. Clark seemed to have reacted the same way and their hands met half way. Lois turned to find her love already with his gaze fixed on her. No words were necessary to know that he was feeling the same joy and love that was filling her at this instant.

Bernie was obviously feeling a bit embarrassed by what he had triggered because the next sound Lois heard was Bernie saying, "I really don't have anything else to tell you for now but I can't thank you enough for allowing me to be even a small part of all this."

Lois was only a bit disappointed when Clark managed to break away from her gaze and address Bernie. “Well Doc, I hope you still feel that way in the future. I think you have gone from being 'Superman's doctor' to being 'Superman's Family's doctor'".

"I couldn't be happier than to have that title."

A little later, Lois was walking out the front entrance of Star Labs holding the hand of the person that, as of now, was even more her partner than before. Clark didn’t seem to have an immediate destination in mind and Lois took advantage of this to lead them toward one of the secluded alleyways that seems to be so common in Metropolis. As they neared the alley, the look on Clark’s face made it clear that Lois had been heading for a secluded area that would allow an aerial exit without attracting attention.

She turned to Clark and asked, "What now?"

There was a glint in Clark’s eyes that suggested he had something unexpected in mind, "I don't know, my love. It appears we have a lot to talk about." Then a huge smile appeared on Clark's face, "But first, how about an air tag rematch?"

Without even an instant of delay, Lois disappeared. There was a blast of sound that signified a super-speed exit mixed in with Lois's laughing voice receding rapidly in the distance, "Catch me if you can!"

The End