This is a cross-over story. This is also going on fanfiction.net, hence why I've had to explain some of the LnC facts that we all know by heart.
Summary: Tempus is at it again! This time, he's abducted Lois and Clark and left them in ancient Greece. With H.G. Wells nowhere in sight, they must turn Xena: Warrior Princess for help. But what happens when Clark is captured by gladiator traders?
Disclaimer: I neither own nor make anything. I'm just playing with my toys again. All Lois and Clark characters, dialogue, and plot points belong to DC Comics, Warner Brothers, December 3rd Productions, and anyone else with a stake in the Superman franchise. All Xena: Warrior Princess characters, plot points, and dialogue belong to Renaissance Pictures, Studios USA, and anyone else with a stake in the Xena franchise.
This story takes place after Season 4 of Lois and Clark (for which I have omitted the random, unexplained infant at the end of "The Family Hour") and after Season 2 of Xena. I have taken many liberties with the gladiator fights.
I have done my absolute best to try and make both fandoms as accessible as possible for those who might not be fans.
This story contains fight sequences and violence.
~~~~~ Superman/Xena ~~~~~
Clark Kent finished tying the laces on his beat up, old sneakers, and silently promised himself that he would replace them soon. He was dressed casually in a pair of black basketball shorts and an ash grey tank top. He began to whistle a little tune as went to the kitchen and retrieved two bottles of water from the refrigerator. In the warm air, condensation beads began to form on the plastic almost immediately. He smiled as he came back into the foyer and saw Lois coming down the steps. She was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a light pink tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a loose pony tail. He was glad that she was letting it grow out again. He'd personally liked the pageboy cut she'd sported when he first met her. Of course, he also thought that Lois could shave her head bald and still be gorgeous.
"Ready?" he asked.
Lois shoved her house keys into her pocket as Clark handed her a bottle of water.
"Yeah, I guess so," she said, grabbing her sunglasses from the small table nearby. She didn't sound too happy.
"Come on, Lois," Clark said with a smile. "It'll be nice to go for a jog. It's kind of relaxing actually."
Lois smirked at her husband. "Easy for you to say. You don't sweat."
"We'll take it easy," he promised her.
He ushered her out of the door, locking it behind them.
It was a beautiful early summer day, and the first day of their week-long vacation that they had taken from the paper. The early afternoon sun was shining brightly and it wasn't too hot out. Lois took a moment to stretch in front of their house, and then she and Clark trotted off in the direction of Centennial Park.
"I guess I do need to get back into the whole working out thing," she admitted as they jogged. "I've been eating way too many Double Fudge Crunch bars lately."
Clark chuckled. "We've both been kinda stressed lately," he offered. "I think Perry was relieved when we asked for some time off to recover from that Department of Public Safety fiasco."
"Yes, but no amount of junk food in the world affects you," she said with mock annoyance. "I, however, went through almost a half a case of them in the span of three weeks."
Clark said nothing. The smile on his face spoke for itself.
Soon enough, they entered the park. She followed Clark's lead to the jogging path. They struck out an easy pace as they made their way down the smooth, newly asphalted path. Not too long after though, Lois begged for a rest. Clark bit back a teasing retort and relented, guiding her off the path to the grass. Flopping onto a bench, Lois took a generous swig from her water bottle. Clark patiently waited for her to be ready to continue, taking a sip from his own bottle.
Lois watched as Clark tipped his head back to study a red tailed hawk that was flying nearby. He grinned as the hawk's mate flew into view, following the first to a nest in one of the oak trees. Clark been the only reporter in Metropolis to chronicle the return of the birds to the city, thanks to the efforts of the Department of Wildlife.
Though she smiled at her husband, Lois was a little anxious and she was fidgeting. That night could not come fast enough. She was going to prepare the filet mignon that she'd picked up at the supermarket the day before. Mentally, she checked over the list of ingredients, ensuring that she had gotten everything. She'd have to thank Clark's mother for the recipes once more, and let her know how well the meal was received.
A voice from behind them made her jump in fear.
"Well hello there, my old friends. Fancy meeting you here."
She stood and turned, not quite believing the voice that she'd heard. "Tempus?!?!"
The time traveling man from the future smiled malevolently at them. "Boy, you're a quick one."
Clark rose from the bench. "How did you...?"
Tempus grinned. "Oh, I have my ways."
"You were in an institution for the criminally insane!"
"Yes, well, it's a good thing I have this, now isn't it?" Tempus grinned, holding up a small silver square in his hand. "In case you were wondering, it's a spare time window. I've been holding on to it for a special occassion."
Without warning, Tempus lunged at the two. As he collided with them both, he activated the small device. In a flash of light and color, they were engulfed in the slipstream.
Seconds later, they found themselves at the edge of a forest. Clark and Lois blinked from the experience. Time travel had a way of making one feel just a tad queasy.
Tempus stood a little apart from them as they tried to get their bearings. "Yes, a time window," he continued, as though he'd never stopped speaking in the first place. "One that I've improved upon. No more annoying window to step through. Just press this little button and whammo! you and whoever or whatever else you are touching are instantly transported to the time and place selected."
"And exactly where is that?" Clark asked, eyeing the distance between himself and Tempus. If he could tackle him, he might have a shot of getting the device out of his hands. A swift glance to Lois told him that she was thinking along the same lines.
"Ancient Greece," he said with twinkle in his eye and an evil grin on his face. "A time of myth and legend and extreme violence. A world of petty cruelty. My kind of place, if you ask me." He glanced at the stolen watch on his wrist. "Sorry, gotta go. I have important things to do! Have fun!" His voice dripped with sarcasm.
Clark lunged at Tempus but it was too late. Tempus pressed the button on the time window and vanished right before his eyes. Clark blinked in surprise.
"What happened?" Lois asked.
"My super speed," he said in a dazed whisper. "It's gone."
"What?!?!" The horror in Lois' voice was evident. "Time travel hasn't affected you before. You still had all of your abilities in Smallville 1966, when Tempus tried to kill you as a baby. Even during that little side trip to 1866, you still had your powers."
"That's true, but that was on our plane of existence. Remember the trip we took on our wedding night? I didn't have my powers then. Either they were in a different...universe...or because it was earlier incarnations of our souls...either way, I didn't have my powers."
"But this isn't our earlier selves," Lois protested, thinking about that strange trip. The writer H.G. Wells had taken them on a time traveling adventure in which Lois and Clark had been forced to find a way to stop an ancient curse that had been put on their souls. The curse promised a painful death for Lois from a mysterious illness anytime their souls consummated their love.
"Then I think that we are in a different universe altogether," Clark concluded. He shook his head and looked at the place where Tempus had stood.
"I've been to an alternate dimension before," Lois reminded him. "The alternate you had his powers."
"Maybe in this universe...Krypton doesn't exist. And maybe no Krypton means no powers," Clark said with a sigh.
"So what do we do?" Lois asked, forcing aside her panic and turning to practical thinking, as she always did in a crisis.
Clark thought for a moment. "Well, I guess we could follow the path and see if we can find a village or a city or something. Try to figure out where we are."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it. How do we get home, Clark?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But hey, we've been in worse scrapes before. We'll figure out a way. And besides, H.G. Wells always seems to pop up whenever we're in a time traveling, universe hopping dilemma."
Lois didn't laugh at his joke.
"Sorry," he said after a moment. "Come on, let's keep moving. We aren't going to find a way home by standing around here all day."
They walked down the packed dirt road side by side. As they walked, Clark discreetly tried each of his powers. Everything was gone. No super hearing, no speed, no flight, nothing. He was miserable. Losing his powers always made him feel empty inside. Half of himself was missing. And then there was the idea that his powers were necessary to protect Lois. If anything ever happened to her and he couldn't do anything to stop it, he'd never forgive himself. Beside him, Lois was silent. He wasn't sure he liked that either. A silent Lois was never a good thing.
Clark wasn't sure how many miles they'd covered when the sun finally began to set. They still had yet to pass by any signs of civilization, aside from the worn, wide foot path that they were following.
"Clark, I don't know how much further I can walk," Lois complained. Her feet were killing her.
Clark stopped walking and looked around. "I guess we could find a place close by to camp for the night," he said slowly. "Like we did on Spencer Spencer's island."
Lois slowly nodded as she thought it over. "Think you can find us some food?" she asked him. "Hopefully not banana-on-a-stick?" Despite herself, she was smiling a little at the memory of being marooned on the deserted island with Clark. Or, at least, it had seemed deserted at the time.
Clark grinned. "I'll try. Come on, let's find a good spot."
They turned off the path and entered into the dense forest. Not too far in, they found a wide, swift stream. Clark picked a smooth, flat area for their camp. He instructed Lois to get a fire going. Then, stripping down to his boxers, he waded into the stream. The water was cold and refreshing against his hot skin. He stuck his hands in the water and tried unsuccessfully to catch fish for their dinner.
An hour and half later, he finally gave up.
"Just as well," he muttered. "It's not like we've got a knife or anything."
He quickly dressed and joined Lois at the campfire. At least they had that. He shook his head as Lois looked up expectantly at him. He sat and drew his wife into his arms.
"Sorry, honey," he whispered into her hair as he nuzzled her. "I tried. I guess I need a rod and reel to fish with."
"Oh Clark, I had this whole dinner planned for tonight. I was going to make it so very special."
"Special?" he asked. "Lois, honey, every meal I have with you is special."
Lois shook her head. "No, Clark. I meant really special. I thought we could celebrate tonight."
"Celebrate?" he repeated. "Oh! Because the Department of Public Safety case is finally over and done with."
"No," Lois said again. "I thought we could celebrate..."
She did not get to continue her train of thought. Voices drifted through the trees. They were coming closer. Lois clutched at Clark fearfully, and felt his arms reflexively tighten around her. Lois relaxed only a little when she realized that the two voices were female.
"I'm telling you, I think The Poseidon Adventure is a great title for the whole Cecrops adventure," one of the women was saying. "Or do you like The Lost Mariner better?"
"You're the bard," the other woman said, not seeming to care much. "But Poseidon wasn't the only one to curse Cecrops."
"True," the first woman said thoughtfully. "The Lost Mariner it is then."
Clark stood as two figures stepped out from the trees. He blinked as he caught sight of the owners of the voices.
The first was a petite, green-eyed, strawberry blonde girl, no more than in her mid-twenties. She wore a knee-length brown skirt and a short green top that nearly resembled a sports bra. Her entire midriff was exposed. She carried a staff in her hand - a thick, sturdy piece of wood with a band of deer fur towards the top. It looked better suited for fighting with than as a walking stick.
The other was a tall, raven haired beauty with piercing blue eyes. Clark guessed that she was older than the blonde, but still in her late twenties. She was dressed in leather that was so dark it was hard to tell if it was black or darkest brown. Aside from the leather...dress...Clark supposed he could call it, she wore knee high boots, gauntlets, matching arm bands, and a heavy breastplate. A sword in its scabbard rested across her back - Clark could see the hilt of the sword sticking up above her right shoulder. An odd, Frisbee-sized metal ring hung from her hip. Even at a distance, Clark got the impression that the object was very, very sharp.
The black haired woman was leading a roan mare. The horse walked placidly along, a couple of saddle bags hanging to either side.
As the women caught sight of Lois and Clark, they immediately grabbed for their weapons. Clark was astonished at how fast the taller woman unsheathed her sword.
"Whoa, wait a second," Clark said, putting his hands out before him, palms out in a gesture of peace. "We're not armed."
The tall woman appraised them silently. Apparently satisfied at what she saw, she put the sword back in its scabbard.
"You're not from around here," she said as she looked over their strange clothing.
"No, we're not," Clark agreed. "We're just...lost. Very, very lost."
"Where are you trying to go?" the strawberry blonde asked. "You're two days north of Calydon and a week from Parnassus."
"Oh God, Clark, we really are in Greece, aren't we?" Lois asked, a sudden sinking feeling engulfing her.
To Be Continued....
