Lois Lane : Betrothed
A continuation of "The Set-Up" and "Lois Lane: Assassin" by Tank.
This part written by Mary Potts.
Many thanks to CarolM for her assistance, including the title.
---------------------
<Father, I don't know what to; Roji-Senpai thinks her friend has been killed by Yakuza. I--I just want to tell her I'm alive, and that everything will be okay...>
<No, my son! You can't afford to let people find out that you're different. Remember: The nail that sticks up gets pounded down!>
-----------
Lois Lane padded down the stares, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with one hand while the other adjusted the strap on her robe. The light was on in the kitchen, and when she reached the doorway, she could see her husband seated at the table, watching the screen of the strange 'laptop' she had shown him the night before. "Clark?" she asked, "what are you doing?"
He turned in his chair to look at her, then pulled out a seat for her. "Morning, Honey."
"Morning," she mumbled, sinking into the other seat.
Clark stood up to get her some coffee. "I had a funny feeling about that other universe," he explained. He added sweetener to her cup and stirred. "I just got a funny feeling, like there was more to it. So, I decided to check on it -- see what happens next."
Lois gestured to the images of Tokyo on the screen. "And this is what happens next?"
Clark chuckled and set her mug down on the table. "No. I couldn't find the right channel, so I've kinda just been surfing..."
"Without me?" Lois looked hurt. She took the mug and blew on it.
"Sorry, honey," Clark apologized, once again taking his seat.
Lois took a sip of her coffee and smiled at him to show that he was forgiven. "So--find anything good?" she asked.
"A lot of interesting ones," Clark told her. "Though, I haven't figured out the translation mechanisms yet, so I guess it'll be a while before I can show you some of them. There is one that you might enjoy, though. It's set in England; let me see if I can find it---" He turned the knob and pressed a few buttons, trying to find the images that he had accidentally stumbled across just a few minutes ago. Tokyo vanished, replaced by a scene of his wife in a heated argument with Superman. Clark frowned. "That's not it." He reached for the knob again.
Lois reached over and stopped his hand. "Hold on," she said. "I want to see this; back it up."
With a glance at his wife, Clark reached for a dial and time spun backwards.
----------
Lois Lane was in love.
As she danced with her new co-worker from the planet, Lois felt giddier than she ever remembered being. It dimly occurred to her that she had forgotten to try to get that interview with Lex Luthor; but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to care. There was magic in the air at the Orchid Ball tonight.
"A Nigerian princess?" she echoed. "Wow, that's---really impressive! I never would have guessed a guy from such a small town could afford to travel so much."
He blushed sheepishly. "Well, um, I have my ways of getting around."
Before Lois could comment, he suddenly leaned towards her. Her heart leapt into her throat as she thought he might kiss her, but instead he dipped his head close to her ear.
"Thanks for inviting me," he whispered, his voice husky.
Lois swallowed. "Thanks for coming."
----------
"I think I like this universe," Clark said, leaning back in his chair.
His wife shook her head. "It won't last," she pronounced. "There's *something* wrong with it."
"Lo-is," He reached over and wrapped an arm around her. "Not *all* of these universes are out to get us, from what I saw. There was one where we had each-other's parents, only your mom--er, Ellen--had been in an accident that scared Sam so much it fixed their marriage..."
Lois snorted. "Be that as it may," she said, "I know *something* started that argument in their future, and I can't shake off the memories of that world where I had to kill you." She pointed to the laptop. "Skip forward a little and let's see what happens."
----------
Lois Lane was about to die.
She stared at the bomb on the wall as the timer ticked towards zero. She had no way of defusing it. Suddenly, she had an idea. Grabbing a pair of pliers, she cut some of the wires in the space shuttle itself. A tiny sense of relief came over her as the countdown stopped and alarms began to blare. If nothing else, maybe some of the passengers could be saved...
A gasp escaped her as a blur of color rushed into the room and solidified in front of her, taking the shape of a man in a very garrish costume. With a glance at her, he strode to the bomb and proceeded to look it over. Finally, he snatched it off the wall and swallowed it whole.
Lois stared at him as he burped.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
Lois backed away from him, her face as white as a sheet. "Oh, God," she whispered. "It's you."
----------
At the kitchen table in Hyperion Avenue, Lois and Clark shared a look.
"What do you think *that* was all about?" Clark asked.
"I don't know," Lois answered, reaching for the time dial and nudging it forward. "But I knew there was *something* funny about this universe..."
----------
"Pumpkin, be reasonable..." Sam Lane sat on the sofa, vainly trying to placate his fuming daughter.
Lois threw her hands up as she paced. "Reasonable?!" she echoed, "*you're* asking *me* to be reasonable? *I* didn't ask to have my DNA altered, Dad! *I* didn't ask to have my entire life put on hold so I can be a---a *brood-mare* for an alien from another planet!"
"Honey, please," Sam tried again, "you're his only chance! You're the only one on this entire planet who's compatible with him. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Yes!" Lois snapped. "It means my own father *sold* me! It means I'm never allowed to have dates or boyfriends or *any* kind of hopes for love in the future because *you* were contacted by aliens one night!"
"Lois..." Sam sighed. "Lois, he's the last of his kind; he's all alone in the world."
His daughter huffed.
"Besides," he continued, "his father's a *scientist*! Just think of what intelligent children you'll have!"
That was the last straw. Lois grabbed her keys and stormed out the door, letting it slam behind her.
* * *
She wandered the streets aimlessly, constantly glancing up at the skies. Finally, she got in a cab and had the driver take her to Clinton Avenue. Once at her destination, she paused at the door before hesitantly knocking.
The door creaked open, and Lois smiled a little when she saw Clark standing in the doorway. "Lois?!" he exclaimed.
"Hi, Clark," she said almost shyly. "Can I come in?"
"Um, of course," Clark stammered. He opened the door wider and stepped aside to allow her into the tiny apartment. "Lois, are you all right? You look like you've been crying."
As if on cue, Lois sniffled. "I---yeah, I guess I have."
She sank down onto his sofa, and Clark quickly sat next to her. He put an arm around her shoulders. "Lois, please, what's the matter? Maybe I can help."
"As a matter of fact, you can," she said cryptically. She turned to face him, brushing another tear away as she met his eyes. "Clark, I---I've been in love with you since the day we met."
Clark's eyebrows raced into his hair at the revelation. "Oh, Lois! Lois, I love you too!" He leaned towards her, brushing her cheek with his hand.
Lois threw her arms around his neck and sniffled. "Make love to me, Clark!"
----------
Back at hyperion avenue, a happily married couple stared slack-jawed at the screen.
"Oh my God," Lois whispered. "Do you think they're really----?"
Clark shrugged. "I---I don't think he would, but then again, who knows?"
They both leaned forward, waiting with baited breath to see the other Clark's reaction, when suddenly, there was a knock at the brownstone door.
"Lois? CK?" a voice called. "Are you guys up? I---I need to talk to you; it's important!"
Lois sighed as Clark turned off the laptop and closed it. "Some things transcend universes," she grumbled.
-*-*-
THE END
...For now.
