Lori and Clark – The New, New Adventures of Superman – MMC V 6 31/32
By Ken Janney
Warning: This story is rated PG-13.
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Previously:
Herb and CJ spent a good part of the afternoon with Lois and Clark. Eventually it came time for them to return to the future.
While Lois went upstairs to get CJ and his things Clark got the diary. As he handed it to CJ he said, “These are our memories of your time with us. We kept a copy for ourselves, so that … so that we can remember you. Now we will also remember the man you have become.”
Lois came down the stairs with CJ in her arms. She handed the baby to his older self and said, as she handed the diaper bag to Herb, “Take care of him. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. You know, that sounds so weird. He’s you. You’re who he will become.”
Clark put his arm around Lois and said, “What she’s trying to say is, we’re proud of you. The man you’ve become. We just hope that at least part of that is a result of the time you spent with us.”
Looking over at Herb who nodded his head, CJ said, “Before I came on this trip, Herb used a device to restore my memory of the time I spent with you.” He started to tear up as he continued, “I remember that it was a period of intense happiness and joy. Your care, your tenderness; I hope I never forget that. I love you, both of you more than I can express.”
Lois looked at Herb and said, “Thank you Herb. This is a tremendous gift you have given us. It makes it a lot easier to give him up now that I see the young man he has become.”
Herb replied, “You should take comfort in the fact that what he has become is a direct result of his time with you. A large part of the most formative period of his life was spent with you and it was your influence that formed so much of his character. He is a reflection of you. You should be proud of that.”
Lois put out her hand and cupped CJ’s cheek and while looking into his eyes said, “We are Herb. We couldn’t be prouder of him if her were actually ours.”
Herb chuckled and said, “In many respects, he is. Yours, I mean. In every way that counts you are, were, his parents. He is the living proof of how any child you would parent and nurture would turn out. You have every reason to be proud.”
Clark nudged Lois and said, “See, I told you you’d do a good job as a mother.”
She replied, “Yeah, I guess I did do okay.”
And now:
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Chapter 30 – Back Home
Monday, November 13, 2090
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124
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Lori and Clark were about to take their leave of New Krypton. Ching and Zara were not going to accompany them on their return. Zara, after Ching being absent for four months was reluctant to allow him out of her sight even though she would have been with him on board.
Zara asked, “How are you guys going to handle this absence? It’s been longer than you anticipated, hasn’t it?”
Lori replied, “No, actually, we knew that we were going to be gone for eight months before we left.”
Zara asked Lori, “Didn’t you just have a child?”
Lori said, “Yes, we did. He’s about a year old now. I can’t wait to get back to him.”
With a sympathetic tone Zara said, “I don’t know how I would handle this much time away from my new born child. You’ve missed so much of his development.”
Lori replied, “Subjectively, we’ve only been gone a couple of months, but I still miss him terribly. As far as missing his milestones, well, we haven’t exactly missed them, you see, we have this ‘friend’ … Herb Wells, he’s a … time … traveler. Anyhow, he visited us the night you arrived. He took CJ, back into the past and gave him to us so that we could take care of him. That was at a time after your previous visit. Since we were the ones that cared for him, we have all of the memories of that time with him. I’m still looking forward to getting him back though.”
Zara said, “I can believe that. Remembering how he grew up is not the same as being there with him, being able to hold him and play with him …”
Lori started to chuckle as she interrupted, “You’re right. It isn’t the same. It has been a sacrifice, but it was a sacrifice we had to make. The survival of New Krypton depended on it. If there had been any other way … but there wasn’t. I just hope he remembers me.” There were unshed tears in her eyes as she said this.
Zara reached out and gave Lori a hug. She said, “You have sacrificed so much for us and that after all that happened in the past. All of New Krypton will know of your sacrifice. Your name will be revered as much as Kal-El’s is.”
Lori looked at Zara and said, “That’s really not necessary.”
Zara replied firmly, “New Krypton must know what you sacrificed for them and I am going to see to it that they do. You have sacrificed so much for us, it’s the least we can do.”
While Zara and Lori had been talking, Clark had been packing their things. He came into the room just as Zara was finishing up and walked over to Lori and putting his arms around her said, “We appreciate it.”
Zara asked, “Is that everything?”
Clark looked at the bags and said, “Yep, all set to go.”
Zara said, “Then I will wish you a pleasant and safe trip home. Ching and I will be needed here to complete the preparations for the negotiations and also rebuilding our military preparedness.”
Ching walked in and asked, “Are you ready to go?”
Clark replied, “We are very ready. We can’t wait to get back.”
Ching clasped Clark’s forearm in that forearm shake and said, “Thanks. Thanks to you and Lori we have a chance. We hope you can come back soon.”
“Depending on how our suggestion is accepted, you may be seeing some other members of our family pretty soon. We will come back as needed.”
The new throne ship had been retrofitted to have the new shields installed for protection and had also been armed with a pair of rail guns. On their return trip they were going to be taking Kal-El’s ship back with them so that the FTL drive that Jor-El had developed could be analyzed and duplicated. It was estimated that it would shorten the transit time between Earth and New Krypton by as much as eighty percent.
They would be able to establish a regular shipment schedule that would improve trade and also enable the Kent clan to follow through on the plan of families ‘vacationing’ on New Krypton. The New Krypton year was broken down into ten months of forty-five days each, one orbit taking 450.25 days. Each family would take at least a portion of one of the months.
The trip back took the same amount of time as the trip to New Krypton since the speed when in FTL drive was a constant. A portion of each day, Clark spent in a sauna which used 5400 degree Kelvin lights which simulated a yellow sun spectrum which started rebuilding his power reserves, preparing him for their return to Earth.
Eventually they arrived in Earth’s space and assumed an orbit in a LaGrange point as they had done previously. Lori and Clark, thanks to the sauna treatments, both floated into the air lock and waited for it to de-pressurize. When the hatch opened they shaped their course for Metropolis. As they entered atmosphere Clark sent a broadcast thought, /Kids, we’re home!/
A chorus of replies came back, most with side channel emotions of relief. Finally one cut through. Jon sent, /Welcome back! Shall we have a gathering?/
Clark replied, /I’ll get back to you on that. We have some things to do first./
Once they had landed they entered the house to check on things. After a few minutes Clark went out back to the secure storage he had constructed and pulled out his space craft. He sent, /Commander?/
/This is commander Zar./
/Commander, this is Kal-El. I will be there with my ship in just a few minutes. Please see to it that the landing bay hatch is open./
A few seconds later he received, /Pod bay outer hatch cycling. Rainbow flash, initiated./
/Thank you commander. I’ll be there in minutes./ He picked up his ship and took off.
When he was dropping the ship off he asked, “How soon must you leave Commander?”
“We are not on a schedule. Did you have a request?”
“Yes, Commander, I’d like to propose to my family the idea that we have had for them taking turns visiting New Krypton. I may have some passengers for you on your return trip.”
The commander started to smile as he said, “I will have some accommodations prepared. We will delay our departure as long as is needed.”
“Thank you Commander. We should know within a day or so. We’ll let you know.”
When he returned he found Lori in the bedroom, crying. He moved over and sitting down next to her put an arm around her shoulders. He asked, “What’s wrong Honey? We prevented a war, saved a world and made it back in one piece. Why all the tears?”
She turned and buried her face in his chest as her sobs increased. He wrapped her up in his arms to try and comfort her. After a few minutes she was calmed down somewhat. She pulled back and said, “I was just sitting here thinking, trying to remember CJ and how he had been when we had him in the past and suddenly this wave of grief just swept over me. All the time we were away, little by little things from that time would come to my memory. You know what it’s like. I’d remember what it was like to put him to my breast and how eager he was to feed. I’d remember that time, before I knew about the problems with chocolate how I’d had a couple of Double Fudge Crunch bars and afterward he was colicky because of the stomach problem it caused and then the absolute mess he made in his diaper. Actually, believe it or not, they were happy memories. Now I remember the soul shattering grief of having *my* baby taken away. How could I have allowed Herb to do that to me? Why didn’t we come up with another solution?”
“Honey, you know it had to happen this way. I guess that memory was blocked until now so that we would do what needed to be done. It was the only way.”
“I know that, but, it doesn’t make it any easier. Herb should be here soon with CJ. I need to clean the house. We’ve been away for over eight months.” Walking over to a table she swiped her finger across the top and said, “Look at the dust. I’m just glad I have super speed now. It won’t take too long to clean up, especially if you help.” She gave him a hopeful smile.
“How can I resist when you ask so sweetly? Let’s get started. I’d like to call a family conference for this evening. I’d like to propose the family vacation plan we came up with.”
Lori brightened and said, “Yes, let’s do that. Right now I feel that it could be imperative that there be a superhero on planet. Sam’s is the only family that wouldn’t provide a hero since Alice is from New Krypton. All of our older grandchildren and their spouses, including Liz and Teri, in just a few years, can take turns as well. Let’s get the cleaning done so that we can have the family over.”
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“So, there it is. How many families would consider taking their vacations on New Krypton?”
All of the families raised their hands in assent.
Clark said, “I thought as much. Who would be able to leave within forty-eight hours?”
There was some discussion within families and finally Lara and Michael, Celeste and Bill raised their hands.
Clark addressed Lara, “How can you justify the absence?”
Lara replied, “You’ve been gone for eight months. In that time we have left the LA firm and accepted Sam’s offer to work for The Foundation. We started two months ago. We head The Foundation office in LA now and we still handle the New Kryptonian trade contracts. Since contracts with New Krypton is our specialty, I’m sure Sam can see the advantage of us spending some time on New Krypton. In fact, Mike and I will have to talk this over; we might be open to a permanent move.” There ensued a conversation at the speed of thought between them.
This was totally unexpected and shocked Clark and Lori as well as the rest of the family. There was an excited babble. Finally Clark asked, “Permanent? Are you sure you would want to move there, permanently?”
Lara replied, “Well, yeah, why not? We just discussed all of the ramifications of a move of this sort and we are satisfied that as long as some details can be overcome, it should be doable. Since the rest of the family is going to be setting up rotating visits, it won’t be like we won’t be seeing everybody. With us there permanently, they will have at least one full time superhero and when a second family visits there will be at least two. Occasionally, when another family comes out, we can come back for a vacation here. It’s a win, win situation.”
“For a permanent move, won’t you need more than forty-eight hours?”
Looking over at Sam, Lara said, “As long as we can get some help settling our house and all, we should be ready.”
This had all been happening too fast and Clark and Lori were perplexed. Something said earlier finally hit them and said in unison, “The Foundation office in LA?”
There was some general laughter. Finally Sam spoke up, “While you were away some changes have occurred. The Foundation has opened some new offices. We now have subsidiary offices in twenty cities. Some of the offices are primarily medical clinics, provide security consulting services or perform other necessary services at reduced prices or free services. Each office is run by a family member. I let the family members chose what city they wanted. Each city that has a branch office of the Foundation now has a resident superhero or team.”
“We realized as a result of the drug interdiction that clustering almost all of us here in Metropolis wasn’t efficient. Now we are spread out for greater coverage. As more of the kids develop their powers eventually we will go international.
Sam said, “With respect to the move, we can take care of that detail. Let’s see, you have the house in LA. Louise hasn’t chosen a city yet. Louise, why don’t you take the LA office and you can continue to live at home. As long as we know when to expect you back for a visit, it will be ready for you when you arrive.”
Louise said, “That would be great! All my friends are there anyhow.”
Lara said, “That would be just fine. In the morning we will start packing what we will need. Sophie, Rob and Mary are all over ten so their powers are coming on which means that they will be able to handle the environment on New Krypton. Okay, now that that is settled, we can be ready in forty-eight hours.”
Mike added, “Torque will become the resident superhero of New Krypton.”
Lori snapped her fingers and then said, “When you get there, make sure you pick up my spare bow and arrows from Ching.” She zipped into the office and back. She held up the bow to display it. “They made a backup in case this one broke when I was practicing. It came in very handy when we had that meeting. You’re almost as good as me with a bow and I think that this one will help you be even better. There will be little need of compensating for drop. The arrows you loose from this bow will be moving at supersonic speed. They will have a pretty flat trajectory as a result.”
“Thanks, Lori. I will,” said Mike.
Clark looked at Celeste and Bill and asked, “How could you guys do it?”
Celeste said, “We now head the Detroit office where we have set up a free clinic. I have an assistant and staff who could handle the practice for a few months. I’ve covered for him for a like period when he’s gone on a medical mission to Africa. I’ll tell him I’m going on a medical mission to New Krypton. Agnes, could you head the office while I’m away?”
Agnes replied, “Happy to Mom.”
Bill said, “I could turn the security consulting function over to my assistant. The office is so new we don’t have that large a clientele yet.”
“Could you guys be ready in forty-eight hours?”
“Easily.”
“Okay, why don’t we do this, both families will depart with the transport now in orbit. Cele, Bill and their family will return in three months. When that transport arrives there will be another family ready to take their turn. All I can say is thank you. This means a lot to us and also to New Krypton. With the threat posed by the Hangaresi the presence of a super hero or two could mean the difference between survival and extinction. When Herb returns with CJ we will request additional pendants for each of the spouses.”
Lori spoke up, “Will your unmarried children be going with you?”
Lara and Mike looked around at their children and receiving nods from each said, “Yes, they will,” Lara laughed and continued, “Who knows, they might find their soul mates there the way Sam did.”
Celeste had already surveyed her family and said, “Ours will go too.”
Clark said, “I’ll notify the commander.” He sent, /Commander./
/Yes, Lord Kal-El./
/You will be having two family groups consisting of thirteen individuals riding back with you. They should be ready to go in forty-eight hours./
/We will prepare accommodations. Thank you./
/Thank you commander./ He said, “All set. Lara and Celeste, if your families could stay so that we can brief them, the rest can go on home.”
There was a chorus of farewells and some hugs exchanged as the families were leaving.
Clark and Lori briefed both families on what had occurred before they headed out to prepare for their departure.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mid-afternoon the next day, Herb showed up with CJ.
As he handed CJ to Lori she marveled at how much he had grown and she started fussing over him. CJ had a somewhat quizzical look on his face. He asked, “Momma?”
Lori said “Yes, CJ, it’s Momma.”
CJ looked around and in an agitated tone said, “Momma?”
Lori frantically looked at Clark and said, “He doesn’t remember me.”
Clark said, “Here, let me.” Clark reached for CJ. CJ readily went to Clark and CJ said, “Dadda!”
Clark said, “That’s right Sport. Clark pulled Lori in and said, “Momma.”
CJ said, “Momma?”
Clark said, “Yes, CJ, Momma.”
Lori reached for CJ and he shied away.
Lori started to cry. “Oh, Clark, my baby’s forgotten me.”
Clark replied, “You’re younger than Lois was and you wear your hair differently. Just give it a little time. Think back. Remember some of the things you did as Lois.”
After a minute’s thought she said, “Let me have him. I have an idea.”
Clark handed him over and Lori lifted his shirt and gave him a raspberry on his tummy. He squealed in delight and put his hands on the sides of her face and said, “Momma!”
Lori pulled him into an embrace and showered him with kisses, and said, “Momma loves CJ.”
CJ repeated, “Momma lubs CJ.”
That’s right, “Momma loves CJ.”
While this was going on Herb pulled Clark aside. Herb reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of pendants. Herb said, “Each of these pendants is a double strength. On the reverse you will see a numeral two. That way you can tell them apart. Your family will need them when on New Krypton.”
Clark chuckled and said, “Right, history. Thanks Herb. New Krypton appreciates it.”
With an enigmatic look Herb said, “They may come in handy.”
“Oh, are we correct about the threat?”
Herb retreated behind his motto, “Too much information too soon …”
Clark interrupted and finished with, “Is not good. I know, but you can’t blame me for trying.”
Shortly after that Herb left.
After Herb’s departure, Lori picked up the diaper bag so that she could put away the supplies. When she opened the zipper she was confronted by a brown and white stuffed bunny. She lifted it out and CJ saw it and smiled as he reached for it. Lori handed it to him and he hugged it with both arms. When she put him down for his nap he wouldn’t settle until he had his rabbit but once in his possession he was content. That rabbit was his constant companion for several years.
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When it was time for the families to depart, the ship sent down some pods to carry what was to be moved to New Krypton.
Clark had a small capsule made of Plexiglas which was airtight and had an attached air supply and a small heater unit. They put CJ into this and carried him with them when they went up to the ship before it departed. When they arrived, Lori took CJ out of the capsule so that his siblings could all say their goodbyes.
Clark handed the extra pendants to Lara to take to New Krypton and then hugs, handshakes and kisses were exchanged before Clark and Lori left to return home with CJ.
After exiting the lock, Clark and Lori hung suspended in space as the ship broke orbit and they were able to watch it disappear into the void before heading back home.
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