~1996~
Lois wanted to cry. She was--or *would be* married to Superman, yet he seemed like he wanted to be anything but married to her. She didn't understand it, and she wished he would elaborate on details. Would she change so much in the next few years that now she seemed immature to him? Flying in his arms was wonderful as always, but she couldn't help feel he was being distant with her emotionally.
She suddenly missed Clark. Where was he, anyway? If this was their future, surely there was a future Clark as well. Was he married too? She felt a jealous pang and she didn't understand why. Why would she begrudge happiness to Clark?
She suddenly remembered the picture of them on the mantle, which stirred a whole other bunch of other questions in her mind.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked Superman.
"Sure," he said, half listening to her as he was scanning the city midflight.
"What is Clark doing these days?" she asked.
That caught Clark's attention. He lost altitude for a second, but quickly gained equilibrium.
"What happened?" she asked, clinging more tightly to his neck.
"Sorry, I got distracted. Clark? You want to know what happened to Clark?" he asked eying her carefully, surprised by her question.
"Yeah. And why do we have a picture of me and Clark on *our* mantle?" she asked, her voice rising as she was starting to think in some ...interesting directions.
"Well, it's complicated," began Clark, using his favorite phrase when being elusive with Lois.
"How complicated?" she asked, her cheeks flaming. "I mean... there's nothing... unusual between the three of us, is there?"
Clark looked askance at her. She didn't think...? OK, so they were in a sort of weird threesome, but *nothing* like he could see was churning in her head.
"Lois, it's not like that," he said, choking back a laugh.
"Oh... okay then, I guess that's a relief. That would be... awkward, I guess," she finished lamely, cheeks still flaming.
She was silent a minute, hoping Superman would elaborate. When nothing seemed forthcoming, she cleared her throat and tried again. "Um, so are we still working together? Is he married?" she finished in a small voice, wondering why she felt that pang of jealousy at the idea of him being married.
He grinned. "Yes to both questions."
"Oh," she said, her face dropping, telling by Superman's expression that apparently Clark was happy with his situation. "Who does he marry?" she asked, her voice suddenly full of sadness.
Clark slowed down and stopped scanning the city. Did this Lois of the past care about him? Had she cared, even if she hadn't realized she cared back then?
"What is it, Superman? Why are you so quiet?"
Clark had swept back around near the Planet. He landed them on the roof of building.
"Why are we here?" she asked.
"I need to tell you something," he began, realizing he'd misjudged her. "And it's easier to talk to you when we're not flying."
She swallowed nervously. "Is it about Clark?"
He nodded. What could it possibly hurt to tell her the whole truth?
He was about to spin out of the Suit and show her, when he saw a diminutive figure of a man step out of the shadows.
"HG Wells! Thank goodness!" said Clark, grateful to see the time traveler.
"Superman! I have a perplexing problem. I was working with the soul tracker, and I found a bizarre anomaly. It seems as if Lois is getting younger, not older."
"Who is this?" asked the Lois in question. "Wait. Is this Mr. Wells, the writer you told me about?"
Clark nodded, walking over to Herb. "Well, it's even weirder than that. Tempus has sent my wife Lois back in time and brought Lois from a few years ago here to me."
"Oh, dear. Well, I see. That explains a few things, I suppose," said HG Wells. "I think we can fix it. I'm trying to track Tempus and have the Council deal with him immediately. He keeps jumping time though, and it has been nearly impossible to keep up with him."
Clark turned to Lois. "Are you ready to go back and see Clark?" he asked with a smile.
Wells gave Clark a questioning look. Superman shook his head. <<No, this Lois doesn't know.>>
She smiled, "Yes, take me back... but you were going to tell me about who Clark married?" she prodded, her mind churning with possibilities.
"Just let me handle this, Superman," HG Wells said, stepping between them. He turned on his machine, and whispered something to Lois...
*-*-*-*
~1993~
Clark looked over at Lois, his future wife, admiringly. The thought warmed his heart. He felt he could take that thought and hold it to him until his Lois--*when* he got her back--would see him for who he truly was. The thought that Lois could accept him completely was breathtaking to him.
He saw this woman as his Lois, for she *did* in a sense, belong to him, or would. Yet he knew that he wasn't quite her Clark in her eyes. This hurt just a bit, having an understanding and loving Lois just within reach, but he thought he could understand. He loved Lois now, and he just couldn't help but admire the woman she would become. He sat back in his chair, watching her, and beginning to wonder about the Lois of his time. Was she cast ahead somewhere in the future? Or somewhere else entirely? He hoped that she was with his future self, as this Lois conjectured was most likely. Would he tell her that they marry? How would she react? When and if she came back, would she know that he was Superman? He felt his heart speed up at the thought, knowing that his Lois might not be so receptive to the idea. But could seeing a glimpse of their future bring her around to seeing how much he loved her? He hoped so, as much as he hoped to have her back. As fun as it was to see his future before him in this Lois' eyes, he was starting to look forward to the journey of Lois falling in love with him. Secure in the knowledge that it would happen someday, he could be content to wait until it did. That is, as long as both Loises could be sent back to their correct place in time.
Despite not being in her time, Lois was definitely in her element, deftly flipping through files and pulling together memories of the Harrington story as she worked to recreate her notes. Though now she needed another yellow pad. She usually kept a reserve in her desk, but even those were gone. In annoyance she pushed back from her chair and headed to the supply closet.
It was dingier than she remembered. When they rebuilt the Planet, everything was much more organized and the lighting was better in places like the supply closet. As it was now, a single light bulb with a chain string was all there was in the center of the small room. She had forgotten the moment of childish fear she always had when she would reach for it, that blind moment of feeling in the dark always terrified her.
Her hand searched for the string, and she hated the racing of her heart that came from fearing dark shadows as a child. Suddenly, a hand grasped her forearm and she gasped in earnest. The light came on, and Tempus' face was before her.
"You!" she hissed. "What do you want with me?"
"Aw, thought you'd be happier to see me, honestly. Actually, your husband in blue is hot on my trail so I've had a change of plans. I'm taking you where he'll never think to look for you."
Suddenly, a flash brighter than the dim light bulb was in the room as Tempus pressed a button on his machine.
"You'll never get away with this!" Lois said as she disappeared into time once again.
*-*-*-*
~1993~
Lois had a horrible headache. She couldn't remember where she had been, but she knew that Superman, as usual, had rescued her. They were suddenly at the Planet again, along with a charming old man in a bowler hat.
"Clark!" she called, heading over to where she spotted him at his desk.
His eyes went wide as he realized it was *his* Lois. "Lois, what happened to you? You... you disappeared," he stood up, pulling her into a hug.
"I don't remember much, but Superman rescued me," she said, gesturing over her shoulder. "I was sort of out of it for a while..."
"Superman?" he said in shock, seeing his double come walking towards him.
Superman was talking to an elderly gentleman in tweed, but looked up when he heard Clark say his name.
'Superman' nodded to his former self. "Erm, hi Clark," he said, shaking his hand. Then he whispered super-low, "Can I talk to you in private?"
"On the roof," Clark super-whispered back.
"Lois, I'll be right back. I have to... go meet a source. I'll meet you back at the Lexor, okay?" Clark asked, squeezing her hand gently in good-bye before heading to the elevator.
Lois watched him leave, shaking her head. "He's always doing that," she grumbled.
HG Wells came over to her. "Don't worry my dear, someday you'll understand why," he said, winking at Superman.
"Lois, you'll be all right now. I have to leave. But... I'll see you later," he smiled, enjoying just a bit of her old blind admiration for him. Though what he had with Lois now was infinitely better. It would just take some time.
"Yes, well, I should be going too," said HG Wells, indicating to Clark that he'd meet him up on the roof as well.
"Merry Christmas, Lois," said Superman, heading out the window.
Lois waved and made her way over to her desk. She sat down, seeing she was much further along on the Harrington case than she remembered. She started shuffling through papers, puzzled.
"Am I missing something?" she asked aloud as she settled back into working on the story.
Jimmy came by and stopped as he stared at her. "Didn't you get your hair cut this morning? I could have sworn you had real short hair earlier..."
She looked up at him, utterly confused. "No. Why would I do a thing like that?"
*-*-*-*
Clark went to the roof and met Superman already there.
"Well, that was interesting," laughed Clark. "And it will help solidify the myth that we're two different people for quite a while."
Superman nodded, but needed to cut to the chase."You seem to understand what's going on here. Any idea where *my* Lois is?" he asked.
Clark looked at his future self in sympathy. He wanted to help in any way he could to set things to rights. But all he could do was shake his head, "No, she went into the supply closet, and not even a minute later, you all appeared, while she apparently disappeared."
"She's definitely not here," said Superman, indicating with his hand that he had scanned the building.
"She said something about a guy named Tempus sending her through time..." Clark said, trying to be helpful.
"Yeah, I know. He's messed with our lives before." Superman turned to HG Wells. "Are you picking up anything on the soul tracker device?" he asked.
"I'm working backwards on Lois' timeline. No anomalies yet... I'll keep looking. Though I wonder if it would be more helpful to track Tempus?" Wells asked, uncertain.
"Do both, if possible," said Superman, running his hand through his hair anxiously.
"It will be all right. You'll get her back," said Clark, putting a hand on his Doppelganger's shoulder. He was suddenly so curious about his future. "What's it like?" he asked.
Superman turned to him, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, being married to Lois. Is it as wonderful as I imagine it would be?" Clark asked hopefully.
Superman grinned, "Better. The best... it took us a long time to get there... but now... everyday is..." he gestured around them, indicating the snow that had fallen this afternoon and the holiday lights on the streets below. "Everyday is Christmas with her. You never know what you will get, but it's always a wonderful surprise."
Clark smiled with understanding. "You'll get her back, don't worry."
Superman laughed ruefully. "You have as much blind confidence in me as your Lois."
Clark smiled in return. "I can't help but admire you... er, us. You--*we*--manage to marry Lois Lane, after all."
While the 'twins' continued to gently congratulate each other, Wells made a discovery.
"Clark! Er, Superman! Whichever. I think I found her. But we must hurry!"
Superman turned to Clark, "Thanks for taking care of her while she was here," he said.
"How do you know I did anything?" he asked.
Superman smiled, "Because I know me. And I know what I would do if Lois had come to me from the future and told me she was my wife."
With that, Superman turned to HG Wells. Clark was about to make his way back into the Planet building, but Wells stopped him. "Just a moment, my boy. It's not fair for you to know everything that's transpired and Lois to have forgotten it all."
Clark looked disheartened. "I have plenty of secrets. I can keep this one as well," he said, not wanting to lose the knowledge that Lois and he would eventually marry.
"Yes, but to keep the timeline in tact, you must forget. Things will happen in time. Just be patient," he said kindly.
"Wait, when Lois told me what was going on, she said she had hesitated because she was worried about what it might do to the timeline. Has anything occurred because of her telling me the truth?" asked Clark.
Herb smiled kindly, "No. Because your love is destined, it doesn't matter *when* you fall in love. Just that you *do*. That's why Tempus won't win. He can't keep you two apart. Love will win out."
Clark and Superman shared a smile.
"But, you can't *force* your destiny, either. You have to let it happen naturally. Which is why, I'm afraid you have to forget that you are destined to marry Lois Lane."
He suddenly leaned over to Clark and whispered something in his ear...
