From Part 19
"It’s all right, Ms. Lane. I certainly understand your concerns. But I’m afraid this discussion is going nowhere." He opened the passenger door, got out and put on his hat. I had not realized he had been holding it the whole time. "Come and see for yourself, Ms. Lane." Suddenly he held something in his hand. I heard a high pitched tone, accompanied by a flash of light.
I squinted as I looked through the windshield. There was... well actually it was indescribable. A dark frame floated in mid air. It surrounded a shimmering blue surface that resembled water. It looked artificial, like a cheap trick - and yet frighteningly real. The appearance was similar to a window but at the same time looked like something else entirely. It had opened up right next to my car and stared back at me.
"Come on, Ms. Lane," Wells said, as his voice coming through the fog in my mind. "We will make a trip in time."
"Where?" I whispered silently. Against my better judgment, I climbed out of the car.
* * *
Only in my dreams
Part 20
The cold crept into my body as I followed Wells through the frame. A tingling sensation spread through my body until I felt numb all over. Panic rose in me, because I could not breathe. I did not see anything as I was falling into a bottomless void. Within seconds, the nightmare was over and the panic subsided.
Beyond the window was a different world. It took a while until I realized where we were. I looked around in astonishment. I was in Metropolis, even though I could not explain how. But the city was barely recognizable. My city seemed cold and gray, as if any color had been thoroughly eradicated. Maybe it was because of the thick clouds covering the sky. But there was more to it than a whim of the weather. An eerie silence filled the streets, as if someone had muted the sound. The only noise came from the cars that rushed past us. People scurried about the sidewalks, hurrying as if someone was after them. The step through the window had been small, the jump huge.
"Where are we, Wells?" I asked anxiously, and continued to scan the area. I saw fear, whereever I looked. It billowed through the streets like a thick fog and also began to take possession of me.
An electoral poster, ripped and sprayed with graffiti looked down at us from across the street. I did not recognize the politician. His eyes were sharp, his mouth twisted in anger and he clenched his fists. He ran for mayor. I could not imagine that back in my Metropolis a person like him would have had any chance at winning this election. But it suited the mood.
"It’s the year ... oh my goodness ..." Wells stammered, obviously confused. Then he looked at a little box in his hand. "I must have made a mistake," he murmured incredulously. "This is the year 2034, Ms. Lane," Wells said depressed. "I cannot believe that the city has already changed so much."
Wells frantically looked around. His gaze remained fixed on a newsstand. He hesitated briefly, then reached for my arm and pulled me with him. I did not protest. If it had not been for the wind in my face, I would have been convinced to be dreaming. But my gut feeling told me that this was real. We were in Metropolis.
The newspaper salesman looked at us suspiciously. His hair was disheveled, his beard unkempt. He looked dangerous. A scar across his left eye marked his face. With a pounding heart I looked at the papers. Concerning newspapers very little had changed. Any lingering doubts were thrust aside by the date that was written on every front page - April 2034. That was impossible!
It was a quick mathematical exercise. "But Superman has to be somewhere," I objected and took one of the newspapers. No headline provided, however, an indication of Clarks whereabouts. Sure, he would be about sixty years old, but ...
"Superman!" The salesman spat on the rough ground and his body shook with laughter as he looked at H.G. Wells and me "What planet are you two from? Well, the day he outted himself as a ... what had it been ... a reporter, that was the first step in his downfall," the man said contemptuously. "Later he just flew the coop. Yeah, some Superman he was." He spat on the ground again, as if to emphasize his low opinion of the former hero. "Are you some of these idiots who are yearning for the good old days?"
I hastened to pay for the newspaper and pulled Wells away from the stand. He looked crestfallen, overwhelmed by the amount of swearwords the salesman knew. Wells’ eyes were wide open and he looked around, afraid that someone was going to follow us. But the seller had long lost his interest in us. My heart pounded. Metropolis was going to be like this? I could not believe my eyes, but I held the Daily Planet in my hands and that was all the proof I needed.
"This is what Metropolis becomes after Clark actually reveals his secret?" I asked shocked and studied the paper. I still had difficulties to believe the date. It was actually the 15th April 2034. No one was able to create such a perfect illusion. And who could have changed a city like that? "This is the future?"
Wells nodded seriously. "This is a future we have to change, Ms. Lane," he said softly. "And it's worse than I had expected. This is just the beginning. Between your Metropolis and this one, little more than thirty years have passed. The people still remember Superman - but that memory will fade." The strange Englishman had stopped walking. "Something has destroyed Superman and I have no idea what it is. If you know something, then please tell me."
I looked around again, indicisively. Clark had told me everything. But how could Wells change any of that. After all he couldn’t change that Clark was Kryptonian.
"Please, Ms. Lane," Wells urged again. "Oh, I wish I could show you Utopia. It is a beautiful place where there is neither need nor poverty. Your love was an ideal for so many people. Your descendants have done so much to help people. And so many have joined them ... " he enthused.
"Our descendants?" I asked in surprise. "What do you mean, Mr. Wells?"
"Well, the children you and Clark were going to have," he said simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And indeed it was ...
"But we cannot have children," I replied flatly and had to swallow. It was the first time I said it. "Clark is Kryptonian and I am human. Clark's biological father has warned him that he cannot build such a relationship."
Wells blushed and stared at me. My stomach tightened, when I realized that I had just told a stranger Clark's most intimate secret. If our relationship had not already been over, I would have destroyed it in this very moment. I had the overwhelming desire just to run off. But that was impossible - I would be stuck in a time that was not mine.
"What?" Wells asked puzzled and forgot all his English rules of politeness. "What are you saying? You and Clark not allowed to have children? But that's nonsense," he became agitated. "Where did you get that idea?"
"From Clark's father Jor El," I replied defiantly. "What do you know about this whole issue anyway, Wells?” I hissed at him. "You are nothing more than a dead writer. Probably just my fantasy to help me bear this… You ..." That was all I managed to say before Wells suddenly pressed a button again and pushed me through the opening frame.
"I'll find Tempus. Although I don’t know how, he has to be the one behind this lie. Clark and you will have many children, Lois. Tell him that!" It was the last thing I heard H.G. Wells say. Then the world went black around me. Again I could not breathe, my body was numb, but the panic did not come. And again seconds later everything was over.
to be concluded
