part 10
***Metropolis
“Well, now,” drawled a voice with some amusement. “This little scene just warms my heart. Everybody back with their own? I mean, you’re sure, aren’t you? Wouldn’t want there to be any embarrassing mix-ups.”
A shocked silence met his words. Clark felt a sickeningly familiar surge of pain. He went down to one knee, pushing Lois towards the door. “Go,” he told her through gritted teeth. He didn’t know where he was ordering her to go, just away, out the door, towards safety. He was finally meeting the monster who had cut such a hole into their lives, and he didn’t want Lois to see…any of what might follow.
Lois, though, knew exactly what his show of weakness meant. “No.” She stayed planted where she was. “He’s got kryptonite.”
“Now that’s what I love about Lois Lane,” Tempus offered cheerfully. “And I think I have the opinion of the majority on this, don’t I? She is so beautiful, so full of…spunk. But does she listen? Nooooo. But then that wouldn’t be very Lois of her.”
“What’s kryptonite?” snapped Lane from where she was standing, her arms around her own pale-faced, doubled-over Clark .
“What’s kryptonite?” Tempus turned to her with delight. “You don’t know? Is it possible that each Lois Lane gets galactically more stu-”
“Tempus,” both men spoke as one, cutting him off. “You’ve got one minute to…”
“…clear out,” Clark rasped.
“…save your own skin,” his double finished grimly.
“Do I?” Tempus smiled. “A whole minute you say? Then I’ll get to the point.” He moved his coat aside drawing a large gun and training it on Lane’s head. “This is a gun,” he explained slowly. “In exchange for the time device, I won’t kill anyone. Simple enough for you?”
Tempus looked to Lois. “You know, I thought you two would never arrive. I went over this place inside and out for days, before I finally decided the device had to be with you. Nicely played, Lois.”
Through the haze of pain, Clark looked up to see Lane’s eyes, full of tears and staring hard at him.
“He was here,” she said to him, her tone full of anguished regret.
“We…missed…him,” he apologized to her from between clenched teeth.
“Oh, but you couldn’t help that,” Tempus interjected. “I hate to spoil the surprise, but even in Utopia, the privacy protection industry thrives. Generations of super Kents with x-ray vision- not that they aren’t all irritatingly ethical- have spawned some necessary…devices. They come in handy…should you have any thing to hide, or any interesting hobbies, that sort of thing.”
“So, you’ve been here this whole time?” Lane demanded
“Ever heard the saying-” Tempus began.
“Oh, just shoot me!” Lois exploded, ignoring the hand Clark put up to stop her. “Before I have to listen to anymore of your trite and over clichéd dialogue.”
“‘-Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?’” Tempus continued, as though he hadn’t heard her. "I’ve been right next door. Enjoying your neighbor’s hospitality. A sweet woman. Confused. Somewhat…tied up.”
He turned his gun from Lane to Lois now. “And I’ve been waiting, darlin’,” he supplied with menace, “for the window. Trapped in this godforsaken place, just watching and waiting…and now, here we all are,” he finished triumphantly. “Almost as if it was… fated.”
Despite the agony coursing through his body, Clark threw himself at Tempus, bringing them both down in a heap.
“This ends right here,” he ground out, willing himself to find the strength to lift his arms, to grab the weapon. He could feel the burn of the kryptonite through his clothes, to his skin, to the bone. “It’s in his pockets,” he managed, pouring all of his energy into just staying on top of him.
Lois was already there. Already pulling at Tempus’ coat. Through barely opened eyes Clark could see the intense concentration on her face, and the worry, probably only visible to him.
“It’s ok, Lois,” he moaned softly. “See if you can find it. The safe…upstairs…it’s lead-lined.”
His counterpart had moved too, stumbling across the room towards them. “Get back, Loes,” he ordered. “The gun…you’ll get hurt.” He tried to pull her away, but she wasn’t moving.
“If this wasn’t so sickening,” Tempus grunted, easily tugging the gun from Clark’s weakened grasp, “it would almost be sweet.”
Lois had found a number of green glowing pellets in Tempus’ coat pocket. With quick and steady hands, she gathered them. “That’s all of it!” she exclaimed, leaping to carry the poison upstairs.
“Won’t do a lot of good,” Tempus panted, pulling himself slowly from under the barely moving Clark and pushing his twin aside with a grunt of effort. “Look at them,” he directed. “Harmless as puppies.” He backed up hurriedly as Clark’s hand found his ankle. “And now have a look at that kryptonite, Lois. Oddly shaped, isn’t it. Kind of like…?”
“…bullets,” Lois finished, the first note of genuine fear sounding in her voice.
“Wouldn’t try to take on two Supermen without them,” Tempus supplied in a cold tone, a deadly tone, all false friendliness bleeding away with each word. “That would make me the stupid one.”
He leveled the gun at Clark’s head. “The time device,” he pronounced. “Now.”
“No,” Clark groaned. “No…whatever happens…this is over.” He made a final, desperate lunge. The other Clark was right with him. Lois dropped the bullets and charged.
Shots rang out. Once, twice, several times. An eerie, slow-motion ballet of cries, curses, and tangled bodies was followed by a deafening silence, a stillness.
“Everybody…ok?” Clark whispered into the quiet, at last. “Lois…?”
His voice broke the spell. Everything fell into focus.
Tempus was down, blood rapidly pumping from his body, spreading a stain across the carpet. “Well, who could have predicted this?” he sputtered, before losing consciousness altogether.
Lois grabbed the bullets and wrenched the gun from Tempus’ hand, disappearing upstairs.
By the time she returned, Clark was sitting up next to Tempus, feeling for a pulse.
“He’s gone,” he croaked, falling back to the floor.
“Good riddance.” His twin grimaced, moving painfully. “I’ve never…ever…felt anything like that.”
“Who…? How…? He had the gun, he aimed, the shots…” That’s all Lois managed.
“Me, that’s how,” stated Lane defiantly from the corner where she stood, far from the fray. “Your gun, Lois. You guys were keeping him busy, and I knew where it was.”
“You…killed him,” Clark said numbly.
“It was him or you,” she returned heatedly. “Him or the two of you, or all of us, for all we knew. I’m not apologizing to the corpse, not even if you ask nicely.”
Clark watched as his mirror image pulled himself from the floor, weaving shakily towards Lane. “You did the right thing,” he stated emphatically. “What I would have done-”
She cut him off abruptly. “Don’t pretend you would have,” she ordered him quietly. “Not you and not your boy scout counterpart here. And even you.” She nodded to Lois. “You might have thought you would, but you didn’t go for your gun, Lois. You could have, but you went to help Clark. You aren’t a killer.”
“I wouldn’t take money on that,” Lois answered evenly from where she was sitting on the floor, her arms around Clark.
“I know you, you know,” Lane replied. “Who would know you better? You wouldn’t have. So it had to be me, something I’m completely ok with, by the way, and besides…he got me first.” On that she slid slowly, gracefully to the floor, a ribbon of deep red marking her descent down the wall.
Her words and the sight of her blood seemed to take much too long to register. For an unreal moment, no one moved.
Finally, Clark leapt to his feet and moved as close to superspeed as he was able towards Lane. He tripped on his counterpart, who was already there and pulling her gently away from where she was reclining to reveal the pool of blood beneath her.
“Where, Lane?” both men cried in anguish. But she was limp in her own Clark’s agitated embrace.
“Don’t move her,” Clark shouted, trying to stop him from standing with his burden. “Don’t…we don’t know if it’s near the heart…or….” He had his glasses down, was attempting to find the bullet wound, but his x-ray vision failed him.
“Why can’t I see?” he was asked almost simultaneously.
“The kryptonite. It comes back, it all comes back.” Clark knelt next to Lane, pushing the other Clark’s hands away, gently pulling her sweater aside, looking for an entry hole, an exit hole, some clue as to how bad it was.
"Stay with us, Lane," he choked.
Lois moved to the phone. “Can either one of you fly?” she demanded, picking it up to call 911.
Clark watched with a vague feeling of distorted reality as his twin stepped carefully from Lane and spun, somewhat unsteadily, into a very determined, although very frightened, Superman.
“Can you?” she asked again, her finger poised over the buttons.
“Enough,” he stated, levitating slightly.
“But until we know where she was hit, we really shouldn’t move her. We might jog the bullet…” Clark’s voice trailed away as he caught the look in his counterpart’s eyes.
“Is Metropolis General in the same place here?” the man in the cape asked.
“Look, Clark,” Clark began again, a bit more forcefully. “I know you’re scared, but we need to do this right, for Lane…”
“Is it, Loes?”
“You aren’t taking her,” Clark barked. “You want to hurt her worse than she already is?”
Superman sprang at him, grabbing fistfuls of Clark’s shirt and shaking him. “Shut up!” he yelled furiously. “Just shut up!”
“I’m calling,” Lois stated. “You two go fight in the other room. Lane doesn’t need this.”
Her words did the trick.
“Sorry,” both Clarks muttered to Lois, immediately letting go of each other. Superman moved back to Lane and wrapped his cape around her, encouraging her, “Hang on, help is coming.”
“They’re on their way,” Lois said finally. “We should get some things straight. She’s Lois Lane. Clark, you’re Clark Kent. And Superman…you’re…well…Superman. I’m her… visiting sister?”
“Maybe if we all had nametags, Loes?” came the voice from the floor.
“They can’t find Superman here,” Clark said quietly.
“I’m not leaving,” his double swore just as quietly.
“If Superman’s here, why didn’t he just fly her to the hospital?” Clark asked. “They’re going to wonder. We can’t exactly say that his x-ray vision in on the blink, or that his flying is somewhat shaky, or that there is kryptonite in the bullet….”
His stopped. “Wait, if he got her with a kryptonite bullet, we should be able to feel it.”
“I don’t,” Superman put in quickly.
“Must have passed through,” Clark concluded. “Into the wall, maybe, or even outside.” He studied the wall behind Lane. They all did.
“Here it is,” his twin said at last, pointing to a small hole. “It went through the wall. I’m taking her. We can’t wait. The blood…” His voice breaking he held up his hands, showing evidence of Lane’s rapidly seeping wound.
“Go,” Clark said. “We’re right behind you.” He was talking to empty air. Superman and Lois Lane were already gone.
He moved to take his black trench coat from the closet. The one he used to fly in before the suit, long ago. He opened the front door and held his arms out to Lois. “Ready?”
She threw herself into his arms. “Are you ok to fly?”
“We’ll move just a little slower, but we’ll get there,” he vowed, pulling her close into the protective shelter of his body, as they took to the sky. “Honey…” he began wearily.
“I know,” she sighed against his chest. “Later… when this is taken care of.”
They landed just a few minutes behind the first couple, entering the emergency room hand in hand at a run.
***
Superman was pacing in the corridor. “They wouldn’t let me go in with her,” he called to them as soon as he saw them.
“That’s standard practice,” Lois said soothingly, moving to put her arms around him.
“And I can’t see inside, can you?” He turned anguished eyes to Clark, who immediately berated himself for being so arrested by the sight of Lois holding Superman.
He turned and lowered his glasses. “A little. Looks like they’re examining the wound. She’s conscious!” he exclaimed upon further examination.
A nurse came from the room, his gown covered in blood. Superman sat down quickly. “I can’t stand this,” he whispered. “I’m useless, Loes.”
Lois sat next to him, taking his hand in hers. “I’ll go in. I’m her family. Her sister. They’ll have to let me see her.”
Just then a young doctor peered around the corner. “We need blood,” she called out. Spotting Lois, she stopped. “Do you know her blood type?” she queried.
I…no,” Lois answered.
“You are identical twins, aren’t you?” She put a hand out to the waiting nurse. “What’s your blood type?”
“O positive,” Lois supplied with some hesitation.
“O positive,” the doctor repeated to the nurse, sending him scurrying.
“You want to see her?” the doctor asked Lois. “Come on.” She jerked her head towards the room, leaving Superman and Clark Kent to wait and worry.
“Is she going to be ok?” Superman jumped up and called after their retreating backs. All he got was a wave.
***
The quiet sat between them like a physical thing.
Superman stood where the doctor and Lois had left him. Clark slowly took the chair next to one he’d vacated. His worry for Lane and his need to be near Lois warred with his desire to put as much distance between himself and the man in front of him as possible.
“I have no idea how he got in the house like that,” Clark finally offered into the tense silence, hoping to distract his counterpart or at the least relieve his own nerves. “He was so close, and I didn’t hear him.”
“We were kind of distracted, I guess,” Superman gave back, just when Clark had decided he wasn’t going to talk. “I had my arms around her for the first time in so long, and I didn’t really know anything else.” He studied the floor in front of him, his posture one of pure defeat. “I came so far…to lose her,” he finished to himself.
“When I kiss Lois,” Clark spoke somewhat hesitantly, “I can’t hear someone walking into the room. It’s weird, after being able to hear everything for so long, to suddenly go so…deaf. I wondered if maybe it was...the same...for you?"
“It is,” Superman responded heavily, meeting Clark’s eyes for the first time. At Clark’s uncertain look he hastened to add, “But it's unique to my Lois…for me.”
“Ok,” Clark said, unable to hide his relief.
“Do you and I need to talk?” Superman asked him bluntly, turning to face him fully. “No time like the present. You need to…slug out a few issues with me…Clark? You and I weren't exactly grace under pressure back there.”
"We weren't," he agreed. "And yes, we do have something to settle." He took a deep breath and slowly released it before continuing. "Thank you."
“Thank you?” His double had been watching him carefully through the superhero’s bland mask. It dissolved into something more like confusion.
“For caring for Lois. You didn’t know her, but you took her in without a lot of questions. And you were there for her…when I couldn’t be. So, thank you.”
“She changed my life,” Superman told him simply, moving to take the chair next to him. “This woman comes out of nowhere. She needs me. She accepts me for who I am. Helps me figure out how to do…this.” He gestured to the cape and the boots with one swoop of his hand. “And shows me I can be happy. Be…normal. I never had that.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Clark concurred.
“So, when I met Lane, I was completely ready. Ready to be hers. Ready to share everything, knowing it was possible to be who I was and still be…loved. Have a life, a family.” Superman stopped abruptly. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Not that she is the slightest bit ready for any of that, by the way.”
“Give that some time,” Clark stated with a knowing grin.
“I hope we have that time,” he replied.
“You will.”
“She came to me because of you.” His double caught his eyes and held them. “That’s the thing I always wanted to tell you. The thing I thought of night after night when I first learned who she was, where she came from. Because I couldn’t imagine the hell you must have been living without her.”
The two men looked away from each other then. Superman stood up and paced to the opposite end of the hallway and back again. After a time he continued. “Because of you, she found me and trusted me and this whole thing got started. You did that. I can’t…say thank you enough for that.”
“You’re welcome,” Clark said after a time.
“Back at you.”
“The baby...” Clark began after a pause.
“Yours,” Superman returned easily.
“That’s just what I was going to say.” Clark smiled. “Mine. No matter what.”
“It seems we are like-minded men.”
“I won’t forget what you did for her,” Clark said softly. “I’ll always be grateful.”
“I’ll always be grateful I had the chance.” The superhero held out a tentative hand, and seemed surprised to find himself drawn into a fast, back-slapping hug.
Though he wasn’t nearly as surprised as the man rounding the corner, who in coming to investigate the shooting of Lois Lane hadn’t expect to see Clark Kent apparently consoling…Superman.
***
“Well,” a dry voice interjected. “I came to ask what sort of trouble you and Lane had gotten yourselves into now. A call placed to 911, but no one’s home. One neighbor reports gun shots, and the other neighbor is tied to her bed. And you know there’s a dead body in your house, right? So, I figure I’d find you here, maybe find out who’s out to get you this week, but I see that I’m…interrupting…something.”
“Ah,” Clark turned quickly with a smile. “Inspector…Bill, this must look a little…odd.”
Superman had been trying to read between the lines and had come up empty.
“I flew Lois in from the shooting,” he offered, though he couldn’t imagine why he should have to explain what he felt was fairly obvious. Superman was a well-known friend of Lois and Clark. “The body belongs to the guy who put a bullet in her. It was self-defense,” he added with some menace.
“This is a neat trick, Kent,” answered Henderson, looking intently at Superman. “Is it mirrors or what?”
“What?” Superman gasped. “Did you just call me…? What?”
He looked to Clark for help, only to find him seated once again, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Superman doesn’t know you, Bill,” Clark finally spoke up. “He’s from…outside this Metropolis.”
“I see,” said Henderson, clearly not seeing. “So-” he offered his hand to the caped hero. “-nice meeting you. Bill Henderson.”
Superman shook his hand warily. “You called me Kent.”
“He knows,” Clark volunteered. “Has for some time.”
“I thought I did. Thought I had this business figured out,” agreed Henderson ruefully, “until I came down the hall and found you… both. Now I’m wondering if maybe it’s time to retire.”
“So, you’ve told other people?” Superman turned to Clark, the excitement in his voice hard to disguise. “And that’s been…ok?”
“It’s nice, actually,” Clark conceded with a smile. “And I didn’t actually tell him.”
“Not in so many words,” Henderson put in, studying Superman with an interested eye. “He’s a little taller than you, maybe. Or younger.”
“Watch it.” Clark grinned. And then, “It’s quite a story, Bill-”
“When you say ‘not in so many words’,” Superman interrupted.
“I gave myself away,” Clark answered. “When we were searching for Lois.”
“Otherwise, Superman,” Henderson said, “You’re probably better off not telling too many people.”
“Just the ones you’re completely sure of,” Clark added.
“And even then,” Henderson cautioned, “only when necessary.”
“Ok, ok,” Superman held his hands up in surrender. “No lectures from the more experienced. I get it.”
“So, do I get this story, Kent?” Henderson turned towards Clark. “Is this our new Superman? Or your back-up? Or is he just…visiting?”
“I’m leaving as soon as my Lois can travel,” Superman filled in for himself.
Henderson’s eyebrows met his hairline.
“Have a seat, Inspector,” Clark offered with a warm smile. “Since you’re here about the shooting, you deserve to know who was shot.”
“I need a chair,” he rasped. “Are you saying there are…two…Lois Lanes?
***
What felt like an eternity later, but was really less than an hour, Lois came from Lane’s room.
“She wants to see you,” she told Superman with a smile. “They’re moving her upstairs. She’s ok. In some pain. She’s asking for you.”
He was gone on that last word, moving down the hallway and up the stairwell, a blur of blue and red.
***
Superman greeted her quietly when her eyes opened. “You were sleeping pretty soundly.”
“The drugs,” she slurred. “Pretty good stuff…”
“Are you hurting?” He came and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, taking her good hand in his.
“Flying,” she responded with a small smile.
“When you’re better,” he vowed, “we’ll do that for real.”
“Thanks for getting me here, Clark,” she whispered. “I know with the…krypta…krypto..”
“Kryptonite,” he supplied.
“Yeah, I know it was hard.”
“It wasn’t, Lane. I could have carried you around the world if I needed to.” He moved his cape out of the way and very carefully lowered himself beside her. “Can I…put my arm around you, can you snuggle in here?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “That’s good. This is nice.”
There was such gentleness, such trust in her voice he nearly melted. Then he was struck with a horrible thought.
“Lane,” he stammered. “Do you know who this is?”
“Superman, I’m guessing,” she replied dryly. “The only guy in a cape that I know.”
“Right,” he breathed. But then, “Which Superman?”
She was quiet for so long he thought she had gone back to sleep.
“It’s time we told them,” she finally answered from behind closed eyes.
“Told…them?”
“Yes, your Lois and my Clark. Time we told them that…the switch was the best thing that ever happened to us. That we’re madly in love. That we married in Vegas. That the sex is…out of this world.”
“Lane,” he scolded.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” she continued. “Maybe they’ll leave together. Have their own quiet life in that other place.”
“You’re mean,” he laughed, watching her face break into a smile. “So damned mean.”
“With my eyes closed, bullet wound in my shoulder, awash in all these nifty drugs,” she stated softly, “I know exactly who you are, and who you…aren’t.”
“I’ve missed you,” his voice hitched just a bit as he buried his face into her hair. “I’ve missed that crabby woman I share a home with, share a…life with.”
“If you pushed me,” she countered, “I might say the same thing. Missed that annoyingly cheerful roommate of mine. And…his kisses.”
“You’re high on painkillers now, Lane,” he answered. “But I don’t care. I’m taking that as permission to kiss you now. And I might not stop.”
“Superman doesn’t lie,” she sighed against his lips.
***
Back in the finally vacant hallway, Lois turned towards Clark. Their eyes met, communicating all they hadn’t yet had the chance to.
“Alone at last,” he greeted her softly.
“Hey,” she sighed heavily, moving towards his outstretched arms, drawn in by his smile. “Don’t I know you?”
“You’re sure you’re her identical twin?” trumpeted a no-nonsense voice.
Lois paused in mid-stride and rolled her eyes at Clark, “Of course I’m her twin,” she retorted over her shoulder. “You’ve seen us. What’s the problem?”
“Lois.” Clark placed a comforting arm around her. “I’m sure it’s just customary, forms to fill out or something.”
“Actually, no.” The doctor, whose badge identified her as Freeman, had her head tilted to one side and was eyeing them pointedly. “Your blood types don’t match. In fact, they aren’t even compatible. You said that you’re O positive. She’s O negative. If the lab hadn’t checked it, by order of routine, things might have gone badly for your sister.”
“How is she now?” Clark asked with alarm.
“Ok, as it stands. The bullet went clean through. We’re giving her the blood now. The correct blood.” She threw Lois a mildly accusing look. “And would like her to stay a few days, at the least. When she woke up, she seemed a bit…resistant to that idea.”
Lois turned into Clark’s embrace, letting out the breath she’d been holding.
“That sounds very encouraging.” Clark smiled. “Thank you, Dr. Freeman,”
he pronounced firmly.
“Ms. Lane?” Dr. Freeman persisted, not taking the hint. Clark felt Lois stiffen in his arms. “I’d like to examine you both a little further. If you’re identical twins with different blood types, this is unprecedented. The stuff of major medical journals. If I had the chance to look at you both a bit more closely, a few tests-”
“No.” Clark cut her off quickly. “No tests. My…wife…is pregnant and feeling unwell, and tonight has been…difficult. She just…misspoke. With the stress it was an easy mistake to make.”
He pulled Lois along with him, sidestepping the doctor rather adroitly. “We’ll just head up to see…my sister-in-law. Thanks, again,” he offered over his shoulder as they moved down the hall and towards the elevator.
“Our blood types didn’t match,” Lois repeated somewhat shakily.
He leaned in and whispered softly, “Honey, you’re counterparts, not twins. It was an honest mistake. Don’t blame yourself-”
“No,” she cut him off, then hesitated. “Don’t you see? If mine and hers don’t match, then maybe yours and…his don’t either. We could do…a test? See who…the father...?”
They were standing just outside the elevator.
“I don’t need a test,” Clark answered.
“Don’t need…?” Her eyes demanded answers from his, answers she seemed too afraid to come right out and ask for.
“The baby is mine,” he stated matter-of-factly, just as the doors slid open.
“But…if you had doubts?” Lois stammered softly.
“No doubt in my mind,” he rejoined, pulling her to the side to allow the passengers inside to exit.
“You called me your…wife…back there,” Lois said very carefully, watching the last rider walk out.
“You are, aren’t you, Lois?” he answered easily, bending down to catch her gaze again. “In every way but the legal one.”
“Yes,” she vowed, as they entered. “I am. And we’ll fix that soon.”
The doors closed behind them. He didn’t know which one of them moved first.
Lois had her arms around his neck like a vise, her mouth seeking his. He felt weak with her touch. With her presence. He devoured her hungrily for several minutes, running his hands all over her familiar, wonderful body. Breathing her in. Soaking her in, as Lois pressed as closely into him as she could manage. Both of them blindly seeking confirmation that the other was really there. They were both home, Tempus was gone, and the nightmare was truly, finally over. The words ‘safe’, ‘mine,’ and ‘here’ sang in his thoughts, a repeated chorus of pure joy. When Clark’s hand reached the swell that was her belly, he halted. He lifted his head from hers.
“You’re growing,” he said in an awed whisper. “Feel that.”
Lois didn’t answer, but swallowed hard as tears filled her eyes. She turned within his arms and found and pushed the button to hold the doors closed.
Taking a step back from him, she raised the hem of her shirt. His eyes followed in rapt attention. The shyness she was feeling showed on her face as she offered him the sight of her burgeoning belly.
His mind was called back to another night not that long ago. When he had lifted the hem of her shirt and found the cry for help she had written in her own hand on her body. The same woman stood before him now, but underneath the despair and fear were gone. They’d been erased and replaced by…life.
“Oh, Lois,” he choked out. “Thank you, honey.”
He fell to his knees, kissing her abdomen tenderly as he breathed into her skin, “Hey, in there. Everything is ok now. Daddy’s here.”
Only the repeated shouts of those waiting to use the elevator brought them out of the moment. Rising up and taking her hand, Clark pushed the appropriate button, opening the doors and beaming at all the disgruntled would-be riders.
He plowed a path through them for Lois. For his family.
The end.
***
Author’s notes:
1) I know! I killed Tempus. If called to defend myself in a fanfic court of law, though, I would cite Yvonne Connell’s ‘Misery.’ Also, this author was just a bit too attached to him, enjoyed him altogether too much, and if I didn’t take this measure, could foresee this turning into a series…Tempus switches the kids, the grandkids, the house pets, etc…
2) At the beginning I stated that the ideas behind this story were directly attributable to reader’s comments for TTW. Specifically, I cited Jo, Liz, KathyM, Sherry, Tank, and Wendy.
3) In commenting on TTW, Jo said of the marriage: “I wasn’t completely convinced Lois and (alt)Clark could so easily give each other up, after one year of marriage…It seemed all too easy.” I agreed and wanted them to have a chance to revisit the marriage and the leaving of it. To see if they had regrets about the choices they’d made.
4) KathyM said of Clark: “How will he know that he is, in fact, her true love, and not alt-Clark? How will he know, without any doubts, that he is the Clark that she is truly seeing when she looks at him…” I wondered the same, and it seemed the only way to really “solve” this for him was to give him a chance to walk a mile in Lois’ shoes, so to speak. A chance to meet and feel a natural attraction to Lane.
5) Sherry said of Lane: “…while it may take time for Alt-Lois to like/love AltClark, will she be forced to step into Lois’ shoes as Clark’s wife until she can recover the “year” that Lois played out for her?” I thought that was a great idea! Lots of angsty potential.
6) Tank said of Lane: “I can’t help but wondering how the newly emerged alt-Lois decides to handle the situation she’s walked into…will she suck it up and step into the role that has been created for Lois Lane now?” The idea that this was a “role” created for her by someone else was something I knew Lane’s character would resent very much.
7) Wendy said of Clark: “….another thing I liked very much…is Clark’s recognition that he’s not the same Clark Lois left behind. I wonder…what differences she’ll notice.” This is where Clark’s 'seize the day’ mantra comes from. It changed the way he related to Lois, making him a bit more confrontational, a bit less willing to waste time dancing around the issues.
8) And Liz said: “How do you turn your back on your husband of one year even when you are going back to your soul mate…” I decided it wasn’t possible without a bit of suffering!
9) A big thank you to Labrat and Sherry, whose BRing made the story better, and to all readers who read and commented throughout this story and the previous one. I appreciated your voices, and enjoyed the ride very much. Speaking for myself, though, I'm glad it's over!
