A Future Reborn - (Lois' Story III) - A 'Futures' Story by Tank Wilson Rated: PG Submitted: February 2004 Those who are familiar with my Future series should be happy to see that I've finally wrapped the thing up. This story represents the end of the second trilogy, or Lois' story. It also represents the end of the entire series. As with most of my stories this was posted in installments on the fanfic message boards. The 'chapter' numbers represent the parts as they were posted. Whether this wraps things up satisfactorily is for the gentle reader to decide. As always, all characters are trademarked and copyrighted to their various owners. Any and all feedback is welcome at TankW1@aol.com 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Lois brushed an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. She dropped the file she'd been reading onto the coffee table in front of her and picked up another one. She glanced briefly over her shoulder. "Clark, how long does it take to warm up that pizza?" The young man looked over and grinned at her. "It will be ready when it's ready. Patience is not your strong suit, is it, Lois." Lois waved her hand in the air. "I don't have time for patience." She snuck another glance at her junior partner. They'd been paired up for nearly three months now and as a reporter he was rounding into shape quite nicely. His natural instincts were coming to the fore, and his writing was improving with each story they worked on. He exhibited the same strength for the 'touchy - feely' type story that all Clark Kents seemed to possess. As in her own world, their contrasts worked to the advantage of their partnership. She had to smile as she couldn't help but notice that he was looking better than ever also. He'd lost the blonde surfer look, and instead now looked like the young professional he was supposed to be. Lois had hinted that if he wanted people to take him seriously, that he'd have to look the part. Not only had he tamed his wild locks, but he dressed much better also. She felt he looked even better than before, but then he looked more like her own Clark, so perhaps she was prejudiced. Though Jenny didn't seem to mind the new look Clark. The object of her attention strolled over and set the reheated remains of their earlier pizza order in front of her. He then set two glasses of cream soda on the table next to the pizza. "Okay, supper's on. Good thing we ordered an extra large. We got two meals out of it." Lois took a bite, then a sip of her soda. "Yeah, well it pays to be prepared." It was obvious to her that Clark had used a little heat vision to rewarm the pizza. She hadn't caught him doing it. He was very good at not letting anyone see him using his special abilities, but having lived with Clark as long as she had, she could tell. Clark's supervision must have some sort of microwave-like component to it because whenever he heated stuff up with his heat vision it reminded her of microwaved food. She grinned to herself. One day, she was going to catch him using his powers. Which brought up another question which she didn't want to think about yet. What about Superman? She knew one of the reasons Wells dumped her into this world was the fact that this Clark needed a push to become Superman. He must have had it drilled into him from an early age that he must hide himself. She remembered her Clark telling her that his father used to warn him that, if he was ever found out he'd be locked away in a lab and dissected like a frog. It was a ridiculous notion, but one that could have a lasting effect on an impressionable young boy. Lois shook her head, to clear it of those thoughts. Superman was for another day. She still had Clark Kent, the reporter, to hone into shape. She gave the now seated Clark a sidelong look. "Is this really okay with you? Working on the weekend, on your day off?" Clark shrugged. "Hey, I knew that investigative reporting wasn't a normal nine to five when I started, though I'm only just beginning to realize how much of a commitment it really can be." "Just if you want to be the best." Lois took another bite of pizza. "What about Jenny?" she asked between bites. "What about her?" It was Lois' turn to shrug. "Doesn't she mind that you are spending your day off working... with me?" Clark grinned. "She probably would, except that she's not home. She's in Florida visiting her mother." "So, she doesn't know that you're spending so much time alone with your sexy partner?" Both Lois and Clark turned at the sound of the voice behind them. A large grin was on the face of Cat Grant as she entered the room. She flung her rap on a nearby chair, walked over and grabbed a piece of the pizza, and took a quick sip out of Lois' glass. "No, that's okay," Lois said, grinning. "I was done with it anyway." Cat slapped Clark on the back. "Hey, stud, how's it going?" Clark blushed but quickly regained his composure. "Great. Lois and I are really making progress on this McReedy Plastics thing. We're pretty sure they're illegally dumping their waste products. We have a lot of circumstantial stuff. We just need to get something hard either in a picture or on tape. We're trying to decide who might be most likely to roll over on the company." His voice had gradually gained in animation as he spoke. Cat laughed. "Really?" She laughed again at the befuddled look on Clark's face. "You know, if you keep spending so much time together you might damage Lois' reputation?" "Caaat," Lois admonished. The note of warning in her voice was completely ignored by Cat. "Well, you know what all those rumor mongers are saying." She strolled over and ran her finger along Lois' cheek. "That Lois and I are hot and heavy gay lovers." "Catherine!" Cat laughed harder at Lois' indignation. Clark frowned. "I know what those sleezeballs say, but I know it's not true." He looked hard at both Lois and Cat. "Is it?" Lois swatted Cat's hand. She'd been playing with Lois' hair. "No, but what if it were?" Lois gave Clark a searching look. "Would it bother you?" "I, I, no, I guess not," Clark finally managed to stammer. "I just think that Lois is, well, both of you, are beautiful women. Very feminine. I can't believe that some guy hasn't snapped the two of you up already." "Mmmmm," Cat purred. "One guy, two women, kinda kinky." She gave Clark a crooked smile. "You volunteering?" Clark blushed furiously. "No! I mean, I just... you know what I mean." He paused to take a breath. "It's just that the two of you don't look... ah, gay." Lois had to hide the smirk that wanted to show on her face. "So, gay women have to be - what; big, hulking gals who wear flannel shirts, no make-up, and combat boots? That a woman can't be a complete person without some man by her side?" Clark pursed his lips into a tight line. "That's not what I meant, but since you asked; I believe that all of us, be they man or woman, are meant to have a life partner. The one person, who does complete them. A person with whom they can become greater than the sum of the individual parts." Cat snorted in a very unladylike manner. "Nice sentiment, but do you really believe that there exists someone for everyone. That we all have our individual 'soul mates'." "I do." Lois' voice was barely a whisper, but Cat heard her and shot her a calculating look. "I do too," Clark responded. He'd heard Lois' comment but not being privy to the things that Cat was, he didn't give it a second thought. "Besides." Clark gave Lois a stern look. "Didn't I hear some rumors about you and Perry being quite an item before you disappeared?" Cat allowed her lips to curve into a big smile. She flopped down in a nearby chair and placed her chin in her hand. "Yes, Lois," she said, coyly. "What about that?" "I think..." Lois sighed in exasperation. "That this topic has been exhausted. What was in the past, is past. Perry is my boss. I don't sleep with the boss." Lois stared daggers at Cat, almost daring her to say something else. Cat chuckled and grabbed another piece of pizza. "Well, I guess I'd best leave you two hard working reporters to your story. I've got a date to get ready for." Lois noticed the inquisitive look on Clark's face. "Don't even ask," she warned him. Clark snapped his attention back to Lois. "Let's get back to work." ******************* Lois sat at her desk still shuffling through her and Clark's notes on McReedy Plastics. She had come in early this Monday morning, but slowly the newsroom had come to life, to the point where now it was the typical barely contained chaos that it usually was. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. She'd really missed this. She glanced over at Clark's desk and frowned. He wasn't in yet. It was well past nine, yet the young man hadn't made his appearance yet. She was wondering what could be keeping him when a newstory on the bullpen's television caught her eye. She got up and walked over to the set. Reaching up, she turned up the volume so she could hear what the TV Barbie had to say. "... and so, to recap. A certain disaster was averted today at the West Central Subway Station. A speeding train, whose brakes had apparently failed, blew past the station toward an imminent collision with another train which had pulled out just minutes before." The blonde blow dry indicated the station platform behind her with a negligent wave of her hand. "But miraculously, the out of control train came to a screeching halt just inches away from the other. How it stopped in time, the conductor had no idea. I guess somebody on that train had a powerful good luck charm working for them. Back to you, Myron." "More likely, a do-gooder alien," Lois muttered under her breath as she turned the sound back down. At least she now knew why Clark was late. Just then Perry leaned out of his office. "Lois, where's Clark?" "Ah, he's out checking on a source for our latest story. He should be back anytime now." She lied, but then she'd had plenty of practice in the old days. Perry frowned briefly, then nodded. "Okay. Well, as soon as he gets back I want you two to head over to EPRAD. There's supposed to be some big news conference in about an hour." Lois waved at her boss. "We're on it, Chief." She went back to her desk. She wondered what the EPRAD news conference was going to be about. She quickly punched up the Daily Planet database and keyworded 'Nightfall'. There was no mention of the rogue asteroid in any of the past Daily Planets. That meant that it was never a story on this world, or... it just hadn't happened yet. Could that be what this conference was going to be about? Had the potential planet-killing rock finally showed up? The sound of a throat clearing caught Lois' attention. "Ah, Ms. Lane, if I may have a word?" Lois looked up. "Nigel?" she said, surprised to see the elder aide-de-camp standing next to her desk. He hadn't changed much. He looked older, but then so did she. A bit thinner perhaps, but for the most part, nearly the same. He gave her a puzzled look in return. "I don't remember it, but have we met previously, Ms. Lane?" Oops, Lois thought. Got to be careful. Obviously the Lois Lane of this world has never met the ubiquitous Mr. St. John. "Ah, no... no, we haven't. I think I saw you and your name mentioned in an article about Lex Luthor recently." Lois gave him a weak smile. "You do work for Lex Luthor, don't you." Nigel St. John didn't look convinced, but let it slide. "Yes, I do. Mr. Luthor would like the pleasure of your company for an early brunch, at his penthouse. He feels there are matters of mutual interest that need discussing." Lois leaned back in her chair. She didn't know what this was all about. Unfortunately, that seemed to be a problem she was continually having ever since she was dumped into this world. She'd been confronted with one perplexing situation after another with no clue as to what her part was supposed to be in it. It was getting quite annoying. And now she was going to have to deal with this world's Lex Luthor. A prospect she wasn't looking forward to. Did this world's Lois have any history with Lex Luthor? Had they dated, like she had before she had found out what kind of slug he was? Actually, she didn't even know if the Lex Luthor of this world was a criminal. But she'd bet that he was. "Ah, when did Mr. Luthor want me?" St. John gave her an indulgent smile. "Now would be good." He glanced up toward Perry's office. "I'm sure your editor wouldn't mind." "What's up?" While her attention had been distracted by Nigel, Clark had come up and was standing on the other side of Lois' desk. Lois looked at Clark, then at Nigel, then back to Clark. She bent over and scribbled something on a scrap of paper. "I've got to go out for a bit. I've an interview with Lex Luthor. If Perry's asks, that is where I'll be." "Okay, but what do you want me to do?" Clark looked suspiciously at St. John. She shoved the slip of paper into Clark's hand. "There's a news conference going to start soon at EPRAD. You have to go there and find out what's going on. We'll compare notes once I'm back." Lois grabbed her coat from the back of her chair and turned back to St. John. "Shall we go?" Clark watched her move up the ramp toward the elevator, accompanied by the old gent. Frowning, he unfolded the paper that Lois had given him. It had been scrawled quickly but was still readable. It said; 'Find Prof. Daitch get the REAL scoop'. Clark looked back toward the elevator, but Lois and the other man were already gone. Shrugging, he reached down and grabbed his notebook and his recorder. Might as well head over to EPRAD now. ****************** Clark Kent sat, stunned, in his chair at the EPRAD news conference. While the other reporters were running for the phones, or taxis, Clark sat, unmoving in place. He couldn't believe what he'd heard. An asteroid was heading in the general direction of the earth. A large one. What had professor Daitch called it? Oh, yeah, Nightfall. All the other reporters were hustling to get the story in to their respective papers or stations, but Clark just sat there. He remembered Lois' note. He should be trying to corner Daitch and find out the real scoop. What did she mean by that? Did Lois have some prior knowledge of this? How could she? Well, he wasn't going to find out anything by sitting here wondering. He stood up and, using a little 'special' help located the Professor in a room near the back of the complex. As he got closer to the room in question, Clark 'overheard' Daitch talking to a couple of other men. The military man was a highly decorated general and the other civilian was addressed as Mr. Secretary. So Clark held back, knowing that a very important conversation was going on. "No, General, there is no doubt in my mind," said a voice that obviously belonged to Daitch. "All my calculations point to a direct impact with earth. The results of such a collision would be catastrophic." "What is the timetable, and how catastrophic are we talking here, Professor?" Clark had switched on his 'vision gizmo' as he sometimes called it, and was watching the three men as well as listening. It had been the Secretary who had spoken. Professor Daitch looked grave. "Nightfall should enter our atmosphere in a little over six days. It's big enough such that it could mean the end of life as we know it on this planet, Mr. Secretary." The Secretary turned to the short, robust military man. "What are our options, General?" "As we speak, we are preparing our most powerful rocket. We will outfit it with a nuclear payload greater than any the world has yet seen. We are confident that, once Nightfall is close enough, we can launch the rocket and blow the giant rock out of the sky." Clark couldn't help but notice the skepticism on Professor Daitch's face. The Secretary seemed caught up in his own thoughts for a few moments as he nodded. "And what about the danger of fallout?" The Secretary, again addressed the General. "I assume that there will be some?" The General frowned. "Yes, I'm afraid there is a definite danger of a fair amount of fallout, but it's a risk we'll have to take. What choice do we have?" The Secretary nodded again. "Okay, but we all agree that we must keep the calamitous nature of this coming collision a secret. We must publicly continue to minimize the severity of our dilemma, until the President can unveil the military's solution to the world." The Secretary paused, then placed his hand on the General's sleeve. "What if your rocket should miss? Do we have time to set up and launch another?" The General's lips formed into a tight line. "Given how narrow the window of opportunity for this shot is, I'd have to say, no." "Then we'd best get it right the first time." Clark quickly backed around the corner as the three men exited the room. His mind was spinning from what's he'd heard. The press conference had been merely a smoke screen to explain to everyone the coming occasional solar eclipses, and the growing light that people were going to see in the night sky in the coming days. But nowhere in the conference had the Professor detailed the actual danger that the earth faced. He'd merely reassured everyone that the matter was under continual scrutiny, but that there was really no need for any concern at this time. It had been a lie. Clark's emotions warred with themselves. How could they keep this from the general public? Didn't they have a right to know? But, then, what would be served by telling the people that the world could be coming to an end? Would it just serve to fuel a panic that would be counter-productive to arriving at a solution to the problem? Apparently the military did have a plan in progress to address the situation. Maybe the President was just waiting till that was fully ready before telling everyone. Then he could present the problem and the solution all in one fell swoop, and avoid any unnecessary panic. Still, the solution that Clark overheard was a dicey one at best. It had sounded like they would have to let the asteroid get real close in order to have a good chance of shooting it down, if that even made any sense in this context. The General had made it very clear that they probably would only have one chance at destroying Nightfall. And even if they did succeed in blowing the rock to pieces, what about those pieces? Would they all be small enough to burn up in the atmosphere? Or would several of them be large enough to strike the ground, causing untold damage and suffering? And there still was the manner of the nuclear fallout. What about that? What effect would that have on the unsuspecting planet? Clark was a jumble of confusion and fears as he slowly made his way out of the building and headed back toward the Daily Planet. This story was big! Maybe too big to keep to himself. It would definitely be the scoop of a lifetime, but there were other issues here. More important issues than just the public's right to know. This wasn't just about a great headline. This was about survival. The survival of the world as they knew it. It didn't set well with him, but Clark decided, for the time being, that he'd have to go along with the President on this one. But what amazed him even more was... how had Lois known? ******************* Lois glanced around the sumptuous penthouse anteroom nervously. She didn't like going into a situation without some idea of what it was about, and why she was here - she had no clue. A quick survey of the outer rooms confirmed they were quite similar to the penthouse that she'd been in on her own world. There were some slight differences. She wasn't sure, but she thought that the wallpaper was different; and the fireplace was on the opposite wall... or maybe it wasn't. It had been several years since she'd been in the LexTower penthouse. "Lois, so good of you to come." Lex waltzed in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "And may I just say that I'm so glad that you have finally come back to us. All of Metropolis is overjoyed that you are back." Lex placed his arm around Lois and led her into the dining room. "We are all glad that the reports of your death were greatly exaggerated." Lois peered up at the billionaire. There were some streaks of gray in the curly brown hair, and a few more crow's feet about the eyes, but he definitely looked like Lex Luthor. As Lex pulled out a chair for her, Lois had to admit that he put on a nice spread. The table was laden with dish after dish of delightful-smelling fare. A suddenly growling stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten any breakfast, and not much of a dinner the night before. Whatever Lex wanted, Lois was going to enjoy eating at his buffet. Lois quickly sampled several of the offered culinary delights. She grinned at Lex's strange look. "Sorry, I guess I was more hungry than I thought." Lex chuckled. "That's quite all right, Lois. But please, if you can between bites, tell me your incredible story. Whatever happened to you for ten years?" Lois swallowed a bit of strawberry crepe. Well, she had known that this would be coming; time to go into her act again. So, between bites, as it were, she told Lex the story she had prepared for this world. It was essentially the same story that she told Perry, complete with her near death experience and the long ten year climb back from amnesia. Lex ate very little. Instead he kept his attention riveted onto Lois. A tiny smile played at the corners of his mouth. Finally Lois had exhausted her story. She took a sip of water and was a bit uneasy at the look on Lex's face. "A truly incredible story, Lois. The amnesia part is inspired," Lex began. "Inspired? I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Luthor." Lois was beginning to have a bad feeling. "Mr. Luthor? My, how formal. Really, Lois, after our history together?" Lois put down her glass. "Our history?" She gave Lex her best apologetic smile. "Look, Lex, I told you I had amnesia, and unfortunately, I still have many blanks in my memory." Lex frowned. "Save the fairy tale for children and the naive." His voice, for the first time, betrayed more than a hint of anger. "You know why I asked you here. I would have thought that I'd have been one of your first contacts once you returned." Lex stood and paced on his side of the table. "Now, you feed me this cock and bull story about having amnesia and being cared for by some kindly nuns in a remote Congo mission." Lois stood. She knew her only defense was to go on offense. "I don't care for your tone... *Mr. Luthor*, but I won't stay here another minute to be insulted by your accusations." She turned to stalk out of the room. She didn't turn around as she heard Luthor hurl more words after her. "I don't know what you're playing at Ms. Lane, but be advised that Lex Luthor doesn't take kindly to being betrayed. We will settle accounts, believe it." 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 The elevator opened up onto the bullpen floor. Lois was out before the ding of its bell quit echoing. She nearly ran down the ramp to the newsroom floor and zeroed in on Cat's desk. Before she even had a chance to acknowledge Lois' presence, she was yanked out of her chair and dragged by a frantic Lois into the nearby conference room. She propelled Cat toward a chair, then slammed the door closed behind her. She quickly drew the blinds before turning to her flummoxed roommate. "Well, hello to you too, Lois." Cat quickly regained her composure. "Did you want to ask me something?" Lois took a couple moments to catch her breath, then she dropped down into the chair next to Cat. She reached out and grabbed her arm. "What do you know about me, I mean, Lois, and Lex Luthor." Cat leaned back in the chair and studied the flushed woman in front of her. "She went out with him a couple of times, but I never got the impression she was really interested in him... in that way." Cat frowned as she tried to retrieve the decade-old memories. "Lois always used to wonder about Lex. Said she thought he was too good to be true. But then she felt that way about anyone who appeared to do anything that wasn't for personal, or professional gain. She didn't trust philanthropists, and Luthor was the most visible one in all of Metropolis." Lois turned her head and bit her lip. She turned back to Cat. "Is it possible that she might have been investigating him? Getting close to him to try and find some dirt she could unearth?" Cat shrugged. "I dunno, it's possible, I guess. It was the way Lois tended to operate, but I don't remember her confiding in me about it." The cagey auburn-haired reporter gave Lois a long hard look. "Why are you asking?" Lois stood and paced a bit. "I just came back from a brunch invitation from the mighty Mr. Luthor. He threatened me. He didn't believe the amnesia story and wanted something from me, but I have no idea what." When she turned back toward Cat, the look on her face was quite serious. "I have no idea what the short conversation was about, but there was no mistaking his tone, and I know he wasn't after anything legal." Cat leaned forward, her face suddenly became more animated. "Ooooh, so you think that the, oh so perfect Mr. Lex Luthor, the fifth richest man in the world, has some dirty secrets?" Lois snorted. "I'd bet on it." "Say, didn't you tell me that the Lex Luthor on your world was a big time crook, or something?" Lois sat back down. "Oh yeah," she said, nodding. "To call him just a crook would be a gross understatement. He was into nearly everything illicit, and unwholesome that went on in Metropolis. He was a classic megalomaniac. He lived to acquire and wield power." "Sounds like you knew quite a lot about him," Cat said through a sly smile. "Well, Clark and I were the ones who finally brought him to justice." Lois glanced off toward the other side of the room. "And I almost married the man." This was said a lot softer than her previous sentence. Cat nearly slipped out of her chair. "You what?" Lois waved off the obvious surprise her friend was exhibiting. "It's a long and sordid story. I'll tell you some other time. Right now I have to find out what he's after, and why he thinks I have whatever it is." Cat placed her hand on Lois' arm. "Sounds like fun. Count me in." Lois shook her head. "I don't think so. This is definitely something nasty. It will probably be very dangerous." Cat patted her hand. "All the more reason for me to be involved. He'll be having you watched. I won't be on his radar, so I'll be much more free to move about and investigate things." Cat chuckled. "You may find this hard to believe, but I've actually never met the man." Lois gave her a look of surprise. "Really? Now that's something I do find hard to believe." Suddenly Lois was aware of someone lurking outside the conference room door. She got up and peeked around the window blinds to see Clark standing in front of the door. It was obvious that he wasn't sure whether he should interrupt the women or not. She could see that he was visibly upset. "Oh, no," Lois groaned. "So it is true." Cat looked up at her roommie. "What?" Lois sighed as she reached for the door knob. "When it rains it pours." Pulling the door open, Lois stepped back and waved Clark into the conference room. He gave Cat a questioning glance, then, almost shyly, moved over to a chair at the far side of the room. Cat shook her head, a grin on her face. She stood up. "Well, Lois, I'll leave you two partners to whatever story you're currently working on." She gave Lois a wink. "It looks like Clark has something to tell you. He's practically ready to burst." She laughed at Clark's immediate look of bewilderment. "In the meantime, I'll think I'll initiate a few feelers of my own on *our* possible story." Lois frowned at her roommate and her too-cavalier attitude. "Just be extra careful." Cat gave her hair a flip as she glanced back over her shoulder at Lois. "Always." Lois rolled her eyes and shook her own head as she closed the door behind Cat. "What was that all about?" Clark asked. Lois waved off his question as she came over to sit next to the young man. "Later. Now, I take it from your manner that you found out something interesting." Clark took a deep breath. "Well, the press conference was pretty mundane. A Professor Daitch... how did you know that it was going to be Daitch at the press conference?" Lois shook her head, and indicated that he should continue. "Anyway, this Daitch gave everyone a rundown on the cause of the solar eclipse from this morning. Apparently, a large asteroid will be approaching earth over the next several days. We can expect more things like the eclipses, and some spectacular viewing in the evening as it gets closer. They claim that they will continue to monitor the progress of the asteroid, which they call Nightfall, but as of now they feel there is no reason for concern." Lois' brow rose. "And..." Clark ran his hand through his hair. Lois felt a small twitch in her heart at the sight of such a familiar gesture. "Well, I was curious, given the note you gave me before I left, so I followed Daitch after the general press was dismissed." Lois nodded. "And did you get to talk to him?" Clark shook his head. "No, but I did overhear him talking to two other gentlemen. A military general, and a fellow they addressed as Mr. Secretary." A small smile stole over Lois' face. "And what did you hear?" She knew that he'd used his extra sensitive super hearing to eavesdrop. It was what she would have done. Curiously, she wondered if he gave in to the urge to 'peek' also. "Plenty," Clark said, his voice giving away his apprehension. "Lois, this Daitch guy said that this Nightfall asteroid was going to strike earth! He said it would be a catastrophe. It could end life as we know it on this planet!" He reached over and grabbed her arm. "How did you know?" Lois knew that Clark was watching her intently. She wasn't sure how she was going to answer him, but the fact that her initial guess had been correct was no comfort to her. This definitely upset her timetable. Clark was going to have to become Superman, and he was going to have to become him real soon. The question Lois had to answer was... how much did she tell him about herself? Was it even necessary to bring in the whole multiple worlds stuff to convince him to do what was necessary? She had needed time. Time to find out why he wasn't Superman now, and if he had any desire to be a Superman. Time she no longer had. "Lois?" His voice jogged her out of her thoughts. "Hmm? What? Oh, what did you say?" "I asked, how did you know?" Lois got up and started to pace about. "I didn't. I just know that when these scientist types call a press conference it's usually to hype some obscure breakthrough that the general public couldn't hope to understand or even care about... or, it's to downplay something potentially disastrous that they don't have a clue how to deal with. I just needed you to find out which... just in case." "Just in case?" Lois stopped her pacing. "Look, we need to talk, but not here. I'll come over to your place tonight." Lois bit her lip. "Is Jenny back from Florida yet?" Clark looked at Lois warily. "Yeah, she got home this morning." Lois nodded, more to herself than to him. "Does she know about you?" The look on Clark's face told Lois all she needed to know. "Okay, never mind. I'm not surprised you haven't told her, but if you two are ever going to become a real couple you can't keep this from her. She deserves to know. Better now than later. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Lois' rambling was halted by Clark standing and grabbing her by the arms. "Lois, what are you talking about?" Lois reached up and patted him on the cheek. "I'm talking about your special abilities. I'm talking about your *super* powers. We're going to need them if we're going to get out of this asteroid problem alive." She moved toward the conference room door. "But we'll talk about that tonight. I'll be over at about eight." She gave him a grin. "I don't expect anything fancy for dinner. Simple, and filling, will do fine." Seeing the thunderstruck look on his face, Lois had to suppress a giggle as she left the room. ******************** Lois found herself rushing around the apartment. She was looking through all the old books and things that Cat had kept of the Lois of this world from all those years ago. Maybe there was still something in there that would tip her off, or give her some clue as to what that Lois had going with Lex Luthor all those years ago. Was she investigating Luthor? Playing him to get 'the goods' on him, as they say. Was she in it for the big story, or was she Luthor's willing accomplice? Just then Cat burst in. "You having any luck?" she asked. Lois shot the woman a confused glance. "How do you know what I'm doing?" Cat grinned. "Because it's the same thing I've been doing for the last several hours. I've been down in the Planet archives all afternoon poring through any old story files of Lois' from around that time period." "Wouldn't most of the stories be on a computer, or a microfiche?" Cat nodded. "The copies of the Planet, and any stories contained within would be, yeah. But many reporters got into a habit of putting all their notes and various bits and pieces of information into a regular paper file and would send it down to be archived even after the story had been printed. This would give them access to that information if they ever needed it, after the fact. In case a follow-up, or related story might be called for." Lois nodded. "I can see that, we did a similar thing at my Daily Planet. But I know there was no story ever written. I looked." Cat shook her head, causing her hair to swirl about her face. "True, but often reporters, if they had a strong hunch about a story, would send down their file even if they had come up dry and had nothing to print. That way, if something ever did break, they'd have their initial research and notes on hand to continue from." A slow smile spread over Lois' face. "That's a great idea. So, Lois did this type of thing?" "Yeah." Lois spread her hands out. "And... did you find anything?" Cat shrugged. "Ahhh... no." Lois shook her fist at the infuriating woman. "Some day, Ms. Grant, you and I are going to have a conversation about this predilection you have for trying to drive me crazy." Cat gave Lois a wicked smile. "Seems to have worked." She held up her hand before Lois could fire back a retort. "Wait, I did remember something that might prove helpful." Lois instantly dropped her mock anger and grabbed Cat's arm. "Really? What?" "I seem to recall that, just before she left for her ill- fated trip to the Congo, Lois had purchased a laptop computer. The reason I remember this was back then laptops were pretty new technology and it was frightfully expensive." Cat seemed to lose herself in the memory. "I asked her where she got the money for such an extravagance. She merely claimed to have come into a little money." Lois frowned. "She didn't say where the money came from? An inheritance, or a... gift from a rich new friend?" Cat shook her head. "No, she never said. I should have been more suspicious because she usually told me everything, but she was pretty tight lipped about this." A look came over Cat's face, as if something suddenly becoming clear. "You know, now that I think on it, from that day till she disappeared, things changed. Lois became more withdrawn. She didn't confide in me any more. Actually, the last few weeks, we barely spoke." "You didn't find that odd?" Cat laughed. "I probably should have. But, at the time I was pursuing my own agenda, and didn't have much time for Lois anyway." Cat winked. "I think his name was Brad... or was it Brenda." Lois shook her head in mild disgust. "You're incorrigible. Do you know that?" Cat grinned. "Oh, I hope so." "Let me get this straight." Lois paced a bit. "You *think* that Lois had a new laptop computer some ten years ago. And we both think that maybe this could be where Lois kept her notes on the Congo story before she left. And, maybe, they might just indicate how Lex Luthor might fit into the equation." "Sounds about right." Lois turned to Cat, spreading her hands in supplication. "So, where is this mystery laptop now?" Cat shrugged. "Haven't a clue." Lois rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the helpful memory." Cat patted Lois on the shoulder as she moved toward her bedroom. "You're welcome." Lois sighed, as she realized that if she was going to get over to Clark's when she told him she'd be there, she'd better get herself changed and ready. This little problem would have to wait till later. ******************** It wasn't the first time Clark had cooked for Lois, so she knew that he knew his way around the kitchen. If fact, she had expected it. Getting to know him over these last few months had been quite a series of revelations for her. She was saddened when she learned that his parents weren't living. They had died in a freak car accident while he was away at college. He'd been spared the 'difficulties' that a foster home might have presented, but eighteen was still a young age to be suddenly on your own. With his parents gone, Clark had grown restless. He had dropped out of school and, like her own Clark, had begun to travel the world. Without his parents to act as an anchor for him, Lois could only imagine how alone he must have felt. She speculated that he'd probably come into all his powers by then, but that would only serve to isolate him even more. No wonder he didn't use his powers openly. He had pretty much resigned himself to a nomadic existence and had taken up freelance news writing as a vehicle to support himself. He became a stringer for both AP and UPI, traveling all over the world sending in stories from the hot spots all over the world. It had been a heady time, and it was were he got his initial training, but eventually he yearned to settle. So, a little less than a year ago, he had landed in Metropolis and made a run at the Daily Planet. Perry had politely turned down the eager young man three times before his persistence finally wore the editor down and he gave Clark the job. Lois assumed that, without parents, that Clark was desperate to find a home and family of a sorts. Like she had done so many years before, when she basically divorced herself from her own parents, he had turned to the Daily Planet to fill that role. Which brought Jenny into the picture. Lois snuck a peek at the pouting red head. Jenny hadn't been thrilled to come home from her trip to find out that the much looked forward to 'alone time' with her boyfriend was being derailed by a visit from his work partner, that 'older' woman who took up too much of his time. Lois could understand how Clark could have been attracted to the young woman. They were about the only people at the Planet of like age. Both were good looking, outgoing people. Lois still couldn't get over how much the woman reminded her of Jimmy. She could be his twin. Which actually made sense, since in a way she was. Still, Lois never would have thought that Jimmy would make an attractive girl... but he did. The two of them had been together for a little over eight months, and had been living together for the last three. It had seemed like a rather fast moving relationship to Lois, but then, upon reflection, she realized that once she actually opened her eyes and saw Clark for the great guy he truly was, they'd only dated a few times before they were engaged. Lois knew that Jenny was guarded around her. With everyone else, she had observed the woman being funny, friendly, helpful, and eager to please. But around Lois she was mistrustful, and a bit standoffish. Which, Lois had to admit, did make a small amount of sense. The young woman had to be just a bit jealous of all the time that Clark and Lois spent together. Even if she didn't believe that Clark felt anything 'romantic' towards Lois, and there was no reason that she should, she had to be envious of the fact that their partnership forced them to be together a great deal. The two young people were clearly smitten with each other, but Lois had to wonder how deep their feelings really went. How much of the relationship was merely hormonal, and how much was actually... love? Lois held back a sigh. Well, they'd surely put that relationship to the test tonight. Lois was going to have to force Clark to acknowledge his specialness for the sake of the entire world. But would it destroy the pleasant little world he'd made for himself and Jenny? She really hoped not, but Lois had no clue how the enamored woman would deal with a revelation of this scope. ****************** Clark silently cleared the dishes from the table. It had been a strained evening so far, with both the women in his life sharing the dinner table with him. He had to stop and wonder at that idea. He and Jenny had been together for a while now, and he knew that he loved her. It was more than just the physical. True to her youthful age, Jenny wasn't necessarily a deep thinker, nor was she overly concerned about things beyond her daily existence, but she wasn't a shallow person, nor was she stupid. Right from the start Clark had seen the goodness in her and knew that she would grow into an even more caring and compassionate woman. Then there was Lois. They'd only been partnered together for a short time but already he could sense something between them, a connection of sorts. It wasn't anything hormonal, or romantic, really. It was, if possible, even deeper than that. It was a growing respect they had for each other as people. In that short time they had become good friends. He had come to cherish that friendship and there was no denying how much Lois had helped him become a better reporter. It was hard to imagine how he'd gotten along without Lois' support and guidance all these years. He was glad for it now, but he knew that Jenny wasn't. His lover didn't understand the deep friendship he'd established with Lois. She felt that somehow, no matter how many times he would try and tell her differently, that it lessened the bond the two of them shared. He didn't know how to set her mind at ease about that, but he also knew that he could never give up his relationship with Lois either. It was more than a brother and sister type thing, but, perhaps less than a married couple. They were partners, and friends. He just hoped that Jenny would be able to come to accept that. He wanted... and needed both women in his life. He could easily be considered selfish in that regard, but he wasn't ashamed of it either. It was just the way it was. It was just the way he felt. He set the dirty dishes in the sink and turned, giving both women a searching gaze. But everything could... would change tonight. Lois had left no doubt that she knew about his 'special abilities'. He was also certain that she had known about the seriousness of the Nightfall situation before he even left for the news conference. It was going to be a wild night all around. The only thing he was sure of was that even if they all survived the asteroid threat. Nothing would be the same ever again. And, in all honesty, he couldn't say for sure he thought that would be a bad thing. Both women had adjourned to the living room and were seated. Jenny had taken half the couch, probably thinking that Clark would take the other half. Lois had wisely picked the wingback chair opposite. Clark slowly made his way into the room and leaned against the couch, his hands resting on the back. He looked to Lois. "Where do you think we should start?" he asked. Jenny shot him a confused look. Lois leaned slightly forward, her forearms on her thighs. She looked up at Clark. "I suppose you should fill Jenny in on what you overheard at the press conference. It'll make it easier when you have to tell her the rest." Clark ran his hands through his hair. How did Lois know these things? She'd only hinted at things back at the Planet, but what she'd said left little doubt that she knew about him, about his unusual powers. What astounded him almost as much was the manner in which she intimated what she knew. There was no fear, nor any veiled excitement. She seemed to take it pretty much for granted. It was almost like she expected her partner to be someone who could bend steel in his bare hands, and... fly. Jenny's frown quickly changed to a look of concern as she saw the nervousness, and hesitation on Clark's face. "Clark? What is it?" He stalled a few more moments, to clear his throat. "Well, I went to the EPRAD press conference today. You know, the one where they told us about the asteroid that is approaching the earth?" Jenny nodded. "Yes, I saw it on the early evening news. They called it Nightfall. But they said there was no reason for any concern, that it was only going to come near the earth." Clark pursed his lips. "That's what they said to all of us in the audience. But Lois warned me before I left that I should try to corner Professor Daitch to get the whole story." Clark shrugged. "I didn't think anything of it since it only made sense. Look for the best angle sort of thing." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "I never got to talk to Daitch personally, but I did manage to overhear him talking to a couple of other guys." "And?" Jenny's voice had a slight waver in it. She could see how upset Clark was. "The asteroid isn't just coming close to the earth... it's going to collide with the planet in a little over six days days." Jenny's hand flew to her mouth. "Omigod! What will that do?" Lois' grim voice cut into the conversation. "It will cause untold devastation within hundreds of miles of its impact from the shock wave alone. It will raise such a cloud of dust and debris into the atmosphere as to block out the sun's rays for months, perhaps even years. It could lead to another ice age." Lois met Jenny's eyes. "It's what they call a planet killer." Clearly aghast at what Lois had said, a tearful Jenny Olsen stood and rushed into Clark's arms. He stroked her hair as he calmed the shudders that ran through her body. Finally she pulled back a bit and turned to Lois. "Is there nothing we can do? No escape? Get as far away from ground zero as possible?" She turned her anguished face back toward Clark. "Are we going to... die?" "There is one hope." Lois' voice was calm. "Clark." 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Lois watched the two young people closely. Clark was frowning. A teary-eyed Jenny had pulled back and was looking from Lois to Clark and back. She was clearly confused. "Perhaps you should tell us your story," Lois said. Clark led Jenny back to the couch. He sat next to her and stared at his feet for several moments. "There's not really that much to tell. I don't really have the answers." He leaned back and sighed. "I'm not Jonathan and Martha Kent's natural son." "I know you were adopted," Jenny volunteered. "You told me that a long time ago." "Yeah, I was adopted, sort of." Clark smiled sadly at Jenny's confused look. "The story always was that I was the illegitimate child of a young niece, who wasn't prepared or capable of providing for a new life. So, since my parents weren't able to have children, they volunteered to take me in and raise me as their own." Well, Lois thought, so far Clark's story paralleled her own husband's cover story, though she couldn't remember if it was a niece or a cousin that had supposedly birthed the baby Clark. Watching him, Lois knew that Clark was talking mostly to Jenny. Clark hesitated. Lois could see the warring emotions flashing across his face. This was the crucial moment. "That was just a story. A story for the townsfolk and the authorities. It made it easier for my folks to legally adopt me." He paused again, running his hand trough his hair. "The truth is... I was a foundling." "A what?" Jenny stared at Clark. "Do you mean that someone left you on the Kents' doorstep, like in some old movie?" "Not exactly. My folks found me in Shuster's Field... in some sort of space craft." Clark immediately looked over at Lois. She knew he was looking for her reaction. She gave him none. Jenny's voice betrayed her incredulity. "A space craft? What are you saying?" Clark shrugged. "That was what they told me. They were coming home from a visit to the neighbor's when they saw what they thought was a shooting star blaze across the sky over Shuster's Field. Thinking it might be a meteor, they stopped and went to investigate. They found a strange looking craft half buried into the soft dirt of the field. I was inside." Jenny was shaking her head in total confusion. "I don't understand. Who would put a baby in a rocket and shoot it into the sky?" Clark couldn't meet her eyes. "Folks thought I might be some sort of Russian experiment." 'Experiment?" "Well," Clark stammered a bit. "I'm not exactly... normal." Jenny's bewilderment warred with her concern over her lover. Lois could see how torn and confused the young woman was. Lois made eye contact with Clark. "I think you'd better show her." "Wait!" Jenny interrupted, her tone suddenly angry. "I get it now. This is all some big joke, isn't it. The two of you cooked up this ridiculous story as a gag to play on poor gullible Jenny when she got back from Florida. How stupid do you think I am? Oh yeah, I'm going to believe that Clark came to earth as a baby in some sort of rocket ship. Well let me tell you. I don't find this at all fun - ny ..." Her tirade was cut off as her mouth dropped open. Clark was hovering in mid-air at least a foot and a half from the floor. She jumped up from the couch and ran over to Clark as he slowly settled back to the floor. "Omigod." Her voice was a strangled whisper. She reached out and touched Clark. Lois was waiting for the fear and awe to overcome Jenny, but was confused when she didn't see it. There definitely was some awe in the young woman's actions, but there was no fear. It seemed more like wonder and... excitement? Jenny's voice was soft and husky. "That was so cool." A small smile slowly crept across her face. "Do it again." "What?" Clark was clearly even more confused by Jenny's reaction than Lois was. She motioned upward with her hand. "Do it again. Float, or levitate, or whatever it is." Clark glanced at Lois, then shrugged helplessly. He allowed himself to drift up till he was able to reach out and touch the ceiling. "How do you do that? How far up can you go? Can you do other stuff?" Jenny's questions came in rapid fire succession. Lois bit on her lip to keep from laughing at the bewildered look on Clark's face. This certainly wasn't the reaction she had expected, and from his reaction, neither had Clark. She got up and led Jenny back to the couch. Sitting next to the young woman, Lois waited for Clark to explain himself to his girlfriend. Clark went into his 'aw shucks' posture and hummed and hawed for a few moments. "Well, I don't really know how it is that I can fly..." "You can fly! Like, for real? Like a bird, or a plane?" Jenny interrupted. "Um, yeah. But I don't really know how it works. I just sort of will it to happen. Actually, flying was the last power I seemed to develop. It didn't happen till shortly after my eighteenth birthday." "You have other powers? What are they?" Clark began to pace. "Well, I'm real fast, and pretty strong. I can heat things up just by staring at them, and can cool stuff by blowing on it. I can see through most solid objects. There are some things that I can't seem to see through." "Lead?" Lois chipped in. Clark frowned as he considered her comment. "Yeah? Now that you mention it, lead did seem to be the common factor." Clark eyed Lois suspiciously. "How did you know? Beyond that, how did you know about me? You clearly mentioned 'powers' to me at the Planet earlier. How did you find out?" Lois waved off the young man's questions. "That doesn't matter now. What matters is the one power you forgot to mention." Lois waited a couple of beats before she continued. "Invulnerability?" Jenny gasped. "You're invulnerable? Does that mean nothing can hurt you?" Clark rolled his eyes. "Why don't you ask Lois. She's the one with all the answers." Jenny turned to Lois, expectantly. It was Lois' turn to roll her eyes. "He's pretty much indestructible, as he could tell you." Clark gave her an accusing stare. "I don't know that, how can you know that?" He paced back and forth a couple of times, then turned back to her. "Again, how do you know about me? I never told anyone." He threw up his hands. "I never met you until a few months ago. For the last ten years you were supposedly in the Congo, lost." Suddenly a wary look came over Clark. Jenny's head looked like one of those bobble head dolls the way it bounced back and forth between Lois and Clark. "What? What is it?" A look came over Clark's face as if he was remembering something. "Before I came to Metropolis, I traveled around the world. There was this time a few years back when I was in central Africa. There was a huge fire outside of Brazzeville when I was there. It was a confusing time, total chaos, but I know a lot of people saw ... something. I left the next day so as not to arouse suspicions from any of the locals." Clark stared hard at Lois. "Were you there?" Lois just raised a brow and allowed herself a small, wry, smile but refused to answer. Clark nodded, more to himself. "Yeah, I bet that was it. You've probably been wondering why I looked familiar to you. I bet you caught me using my powers at work every now and then." He slapped himself in the head. "And I thought I was being so careful and clever. I knew I should have used the stove to heat up that pizza." "Pizza? What pizza?" Jenny asked. Lois put her hand on the woman's arm and shook her head when Jenny looked at her. She knew that the evening was in danger of devolving into an interrogation. A situation that she needed to avoid. There were more pressing issues to be dealt with. Lois took a breath and stood up. It was time to take charge of the conversation. "Look, Clark, it doesn't matter what I knew or didn't. What is important is the crisis the world is facing and what you can do about it." "Me!" "I heard about your little escapade down in the subway this morning. It's obvious that you wish to use your gifts to help others." Lois was now the one pacing. "Sure, I'd like to be able to help others and I do try whenever I can. But I have to be careful. Do you know what would happen if anyone ever found out about me?" Lois had to hide a smile. "Actually I do," she said under her breath. Louder, she continued. "What? I suppose you think they'd lock you up for study and dissect you like a frog?" Clark was sulky. "Of course not. There isn't a scalpel made that could cut my skin. But you realize that if the public knew about me that they'd never give me a moment's peace." He sighed. "Believe it or not, despite these incredible powers, I do crave a somewhat normal life." Lois placed hand on his chest and smiled at him. "I know you do. But we have to find a way for you to do both. I'm afraid you'll have to go public in some guise. In about a week one heck of a big rock is going to collide with our planet causing untold devastation and killing millions, maybe billions." Lois' smile for him was one of understanding. "You're the only hope, Clark." Clark turned away, then looked back over his shoulder at her. "What about the military's missile?" Lois raised her brow. "You want to put your faith in a huge atomic bomb that will rain fallout in the form of deadly radiation all over the globe even if it's successful?" "What can I do?" Clark shook his head. "That's an awful long way. I need to breathe like anyone else does, and though I can hold my breath a pretty long time, I can't hold it that long. And that's an awfully big rock. I may be pretty strong, but strong enough to handle that? I don't know." Clark spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Trust me, you can handle it." Lois ignored the skeptical look on his face. "Besides," he said. "The government hasn't even acknowledged that there is a danger." Lois nodded. "I know. That's something we'll have to discuss with Perry tomorrow. In the meantime we need to find a way for you to use your powers publicly, in the open. You need a disguise." The two young people just stared at Lois as if she'd lost her mind. Lois grinned at the two and gave Clark a wink. "It's time for this world to meet... Superman." ******************** Lois sat at her desk staring at but not seeing the words on her computer screen. Her mind was elsewhere. Time and circumstance had forced her hand. She hadn't wanted to have to create Superman yet, but the fates had intervened. They had no choice now. If the world was to survive, Superman had to exist. Unlike when she'd first met the Clark from that first alternate dimension, she had been putting off bringing up the whole super powers thing to this Clark. Then, there had been an urgent need. Tempus had to be stopped, and to do that, Superman was needed. On this world there hadn't been that urgency. She could take the time to get to know the man before she had to throw his world into chaos. Time for him to get to know her well enough to trust her. At least that was what she had continued to tell herself as the weeks went by. Now she wondered if there wasn't another reason. One that was a little more personal. It was hard enough on her heart to interact on a daily basis with the pleasant young man who was so like her own Clark when they first met. Would a Superman flying the skies of Metropolis make it that much harder to bear? Would the memories be too painful? It was true that she had managed to survive for over five years without Clark when she was imprisoned in that first alternate world, but there she'd had no choice. Once she had been released from her confinement she had chosen to come to this world. Her own dear husband had thought her dead those many years. He had managed to move on with his life and had found comfort and happiness with another woman... another Lois. She couldn't bring herself to destroy what he and the other Lois had worked so hard to build together. It wouldn't have been fair to either of them. Even if she and Clark had been able to reconcile the situation, where would it have left the other Lois? The woman had lost her entire world, something that she could now fully appreciate. Didn't that Lois deserve her shot at happiness too? So she had agreed to come to this world, and step into the shoes of a dead Lois Lane. But it had been a lot more difficult than she had thought. There had been so many confusing differences and twists that she had to be constantly on her guard as to not make too big a faux pas. The latest mystery, the one concerning Luthor, was a doozy. But all that could be dealt with. The hardest part was knowing that her Clark was only a switch on a 'magic box' away and not being able to do anything about it. She had agreed to this situation with her eyes open, knowing that there was no going back. In the short time she'd been here she'd managed to make some friends. Cat had been a life-saver, and even she and Perry had managed to come to a friendly understanding. And there was Clark. She couldn't deny that there was an attraction there. She had been attracted to the first alternate Clark when they had been thrown together a couple of times. With this man it was different. He was younger, and was definitely involved with someone else. Clark had become a good friend, but he wasn't her Clark. In a way, it had been easier when she was in her cell. She'd had little human contact and there had been no constant reminders of what she was missing. She had her memories for company and the hope of being reunited if she ever got out of her incarceration. Now she knew that the longed-for reunion was never going to happen. Clark had thought her dead. Wells told her it had been very hard for him, but eventually his heart had healed enough to let someone else in. Lois knew Clark well enough to know that he hadn't replaced her, he'd merely moved on. She needed to think of him that way. That he was, for all intents and purpose, dead to her and that she should move on. But he wasn't dead, and that made all the difference in the world. Before she'd met and married Clark she'd have been perfectly happy with the life she lead in this world. She would have seen it as a good life. A few good friends and a job she was born to do. But now she knew that it would never be a complete life. There would always be a piece of her missing. The piece that had been Clark. That was not to say that someday she might not find a man she could share some of herself with. A comfortable companion who could help ease the loneliness of an empty bed and a bruised spirit. She didn't think it likely. More like a dream. But people needed their dreams. You could take comfort in a dream. "Hey, why the long face?" Cat had come up on Lois unnoticed. Lois shrugged. "No reason, just thinking." Cat gave her an understanding smile. "You still miss him, don't you." It wasn't a question, and there was no confusion of who she meant. "Every day." Lois turned to face Cat. A sad smile on her face. "You don't share what we had and ever truly get over it." Cat cocked a brow. "Apparently he did." Lois' smile became wistful. "No, I don't think he ever did. Not really. He was confronted with a different situation. Our life together is a cherished memory for him. But he had the right to know love again. I haven't been forgotten, merely moved to a different corner of his heart." "I don't know how you do it." Cat shook her head slowly. "I don't think I could be so understanding." Lois shrugged. "What choice do I have? I'm glad he was able to find someone to ease his pain and heal his heart. I met the Lois from that other world. I liked her." Cat chuckled. "Big surprise." Lois answered her laugh with a small one of her own. "Actually, it is. I'm not sure I'd be someone I'd like to have as a friend. But this woman had suffered a lot, and she showed incredible strength in the face of daunting times. Remember, she lost her whole world." "So have you, now." "Yeah, but I'm a survivor, too." She swatted Cat on the arm. "Besides, I've got some good friends to help me through." "And Clark?" "He's a friend." Cat leaned against Lois' computer and studied her for a few moments. "Your Clark found love and a new life with another Lois Lane. Who says you can't find the same with another Clark Kent?" Lois bit on her lower lip, then sighed. "It's just not the same." "Isn't it?" ***************** Clark came out of the stairwell onto the newsroom floor. He'd surreptitiously aided a large pile up on the interstate on his way to work this morning. He'd managed to free several people from their twisted and burning vehicles without being seen. He'd set the unconscious individuals on the side of the freeway, making it look like they'd been thrown from their cars. Once the emergency services had arrived he had flown off. Landing on the roof, too quickly to have been seen by anyone even if they'd been looking that way, he'd made his way down the stairs to the news floor. He figured he wasn't too late, and if Perry asked after him he was sure that Lois would have come up with some excuse for his tardiness. In some ways it was nice that Lois knew about him, about his special abilities. She had known that he would occasionally be delayed by his need to perform some clandestine deed, and could cover for him like she had the other day. He spied Lois at her desk. Cat was there and they were talking. The two women were very close, he knew that, but he wondered if Cat knew what Lois seemed to know. And that brought up the crux of his problem with Lois Lane. The woman knew too much. She knew things that she couldn't possibly know. The more he'd thought about his actions in the Congo those few years ago, the more he was convinced that, even if she had seen him in action back then, she'd never have been able to make the connection to him now. Could she? Not only had she known about his powers, but he'd swear that she knew about the Nightfall asteroid, the true story behind it, before he had told her what he'd heard. His brow furrowed as he approached the women. There was just no way that she could know these things before they even happened. There was something about Lois Lane that didn't quite ring true. As much as he considered her a good friend, in light of recent revelations, he thought it might be best to keep an eye on the all-knowing Ms. Lane. Clark affected his best casual air. "Good morning, ladies. Not talking about me, I hope." He gave them a smile. Lois rolled her eyes but Cat's grin was a bit unsettling. She ran a long fingernail across his chin. "Not exactly." She turned back to Lois. "Gotta go. I'll check back with you later." Cat rose and began to head back toward her desk. She stopped and blew Clark a kiss. "See ya, stud." Clark frowned. "I know she's your friend, but is there something wrong with her?" Lois just shook her head. "She just likes to push people's buttons. If you don't let it get to you, she'll get bored with it and leave you alone." "Sure she will." "Well, it might take a while." Lois gave her partner a searching look. "You look like crap. Didn't you get any sleep last night?" A grin snuck onto Lois' face. "The young Ms. Olsen must have missed you very much while she was away." Clark rolled his eyes. "I wish. No, my sleep deprivation is mainly your fault." "My fault?" "Yes." Clark looked about, making sure that no one was close at hand. "It was all your talk about a - disguise. She's all excited about making me some sort of costume. She kept me up all night looking at sketches and discussing fabrics." Lois had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Well, aren't you glad that she's okay with it? That's a lot better than her being scared of you, or thinking that you're some sort of freak." Clark frowned. "Why would she think that?" Lois shrugged. "Not everyone would be so accepting of a strange visitor from another pla... place." Clark stared at his blushing partner. He was sure that Lois had been about to say something else. But what? There was no denying that he felt some sort of connection to this woman, this Lois Lane, but she was a total mystery to him. There was more there than met the eye, much more. And until he figured out what, he'd best keep his wits about him. Lois swatted Clark on the arm, bringing him out of his musings. "Come on - stud. We need to run this Nightfall story past Perry." 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 It had taken nearly twenty minutes for Lois and Clark to fill Perry in on what Clark had overheard at the press conference the other day. Perry had frowned during most of Clark's narrative and then had questioned him about what he'd overheard versus what had been said in the original conference. "We can't let them get away with this, Chief," Lois said. "The people have a right to know." Perry leaned back in his chair and looked over his newest reporting duo. A partnership that seemed to be working better every day. "Do they?" Clark frowned as Lois looked aghast. "What do you mean? Of course they do. This is a cover-up. We can't let them get away with it." Perry held his hands up. "Now just hold on a second, Lois. From what Clark says, they have a pretty good reason to keep things quiet - for a while. A panicky populace is an ugly thing to see." Lois snorted. "I'm so sick of that sort of reasoning. Give the people more credit than that." Lois shrugged. "I'm not saying that there won't be some fringe elements that will over-react, or try to take advantage of the situation, but that's the price of a free society. Surely you don't condone keeping the people in the dark as possible doom threatens everyone?" "No," Perry said slowly. "No, I don't. But I also don't see any reason to go off half-cocked. Clark said that they intend to let the people know as soon as they are confident of their plans to deal with the crisis. That makes sense to me... as long as they don't wait too long." Lois rolled her eyes. "Oh puleese, you don't really think they have any clue as to what to do? This is the government, for crying out loud." Perry shook his head. "Even if I agreed with you. And I'm not saying that I don't. You have to see the big picture. What can I print? The two of you have no proof. You have no independent corroboration. Just Kent here claiming he overheard someone saying that the asteroid is going to strike the Earth." Perry shook his head again. "All they'd have to do is deny it, and it would be his word against theirs. Not a situation that the paper's lawyers would be too happy about." "But this is big! This could be the end of the world, and you want to sit on it?" Lois was clearly exasperated. Perry spread his hands. "Lois, what would you have me do?" Lois sighed in frustration. Obviously she couldn't tell Perry about Clark. "I don't know." She moved closer to Perry's desk. "But I do know that people need to know. I'm not too keen on the government's idea for a solution to this problem. We need more options. And the only way to get those options is for more people to be in the know." He leaned forward until his face was only inches from hers. "Then go out and get me some hard proof. Facts that will stand up to the glare of the spotlight." Lois expelled a held breath. "Okay." She turned to go. "Come on, Clark." "Ah, Lois." Perry's voice stopped the pair. "If I could have a word with you... alone." Clark smiled. "I'll see you back at your desk. In the meantime I'll try to get in touch with other observatories to see if they'll verify our suspicions." She gave his arm a squeeze, then he was out the door. At Perry's nod, Lois moved to close the door. She then walked over and sat in the chair in front of his desk. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Perry hesitated, almost as if embarrassed by what he was going to say. "How are you doing?" Lois was confused by the question. "I'm fine." Perry shook his head slowly. "No, I mean how are you doing? It's been a few months now, how are you adjusting? Are things going okay?" Lois bit on her lip. She had a feeling there was a lot more to Perry's question than just a simple concern over how she was adjusting to her supposed return. "Really, I'm doing fine. I've got a nice place to live and I'm back at the job I love. I'm fine." "Look, Lois. I know you better than you think. I can see that you've gotten back in the saddle and are more than proving the paper's faith in you as a reporter. You've done a great job with Kent, and... well, you seem to be getting on okay with your co-workers." "But?" "But, I can tell there is something missing. Something in your eyes betrays a sadness that wasn't there before. I'd like to think that... what I mean to say is... well, I just want you to know that I'm here for you, if you need me. Whatever it is, whenever it may be, I'm just a phone call away." Lois favored him with a warm smile. "I appreciate that, Perry. I really do. But we've been over this ground before. I'm sorry I can't be who you want me to be. Things are different now. Different with me, and with you. I don't remember us the way that you do, and you're my boss now; it just wouldn't feel right." "I could quit." Perry spoke softly. Lois shook her head. "No, you couldn't. The Planet is more in your blood than it is in mine. I don't think any woman could truly replace this paper in your affections." Lois gave him a friendly grin. "Besides, I have the feeling that the intervening years have romanticized our relationship all out of proportion to the reality." Perry leaned back in his chair and got a far away look in his eyes. "Don't underestimate what we shared back then, Lois. It had its turbulent moments but that just made the good times that much sweeter. I know you don't remember it, and that makes me sad. But trust me on this, from someone who was there, it was incredible." Lois bite her lip. How could Perry still hold such feelings for that woman? A woman who, Cat claimed, only used Perry to give her career a boost. Could Cat have been wrong? Could that Lois really have had feelings for Perry? That didn't jibe with the other things that were attributed to this world's Lois Lane. Her dislike of men in general, her self-serving attitude, and her apparent lack of any real concern for others. These did not paint a picture of a woman that a kind and compassionate man like Perry White would have fallen for. Then there was Lex. "So, what did Luthor want?" As if reading her mind, Perry's voice broke through her thoughts. She wasn't sure how much to tell him. "He invited me over for brunch. Called it a celebration of my return from the dead." Perry frowned as he studied her for several moments. Lois had to fight back the urge to squirm. "I know you're keeping something from me, but keep in mind that Luthor is not someone to cross. I warned you about that back then. Back when you got it in your head to investigate the man. We may both believe that Luthor is as dirty as they come, but he's also smart. Real smart. He hasn't slipped up in the ten years that you've been gone, so he's not likely to do so now." Perry ran his hand through the slightly graying hair. "Be very careful around that man. He's more dangerous than you think. I'm pretty sure he had something to do with your original disappearance, and I surely don't want that happening again." Lois didn't speak. She sat, staring at the man who had just confirmed her suspicions about Lois and Luthor. Or had he? If Lois was a good enough actress to have convinced Perry that she had feelings for him that she didn't have, maybe she was good enough to lie to him about her dealings with Luthor too. It was beginning to make Lois' head swirl. Just what had been the woman's relationship with these two men? Would she ever really know? Did she want to know? Lois slowly rose from the chair. "I'll be careful." She moved toward the door, pausing briefly as she opened it, turning to him one more time. "Thanks for caring." Turning back to the doorway, Lois nearly ran into Gladys, Perry's secretary. The woman gave Lois a smile and stuck her head into the room. "Hey, boss, there's an Alice Johnson here to see you. Should I send her in?" Perry looked up, then back down at his desk as he shuffled through the pile of papers strewn about. "Yeah, send her in." Lois slipped out the door and watched with a wry smile on her face as she saw the attractive forty-something woman stride into the Chief's office. As she approached her desk a silent chuckle rumbled in the back of her throat. Clark was seated at his neighboring desk with Jenny hovering over him. She kept shoving pieces of paper at him as he tried to hide them away as fast as she placed one in front of him. Lois had a hard time hiding the grin from her face. "What's up?" she asked innocently. "Oh, Lois," Jenny exclaimed. "Look at these ideas I had for a costume for Clark. You know - that disguise you were talking about." Lois gave a quick glance around, then placed her hand on the enthusiastic young woman's arm. "I think it's great that you are behind this and are so involved." She risked one last look about. "But I don't think this is the time or the place to bring it up. Let's all get together tonight and discuss this more fully." Jenny frowned briefly, then shrugged. "You're right, I suppose. We'll do this tonight." She leaned down and gave Clark a quick, fierce kiss. "I've got to get back to work, lots to do. See ya later, lover." She spun on her heel and was off in a flash. Lois raised a brow. "I don't think I ever had that much energy when I was her age." Clark snorted. "Yeah, right." He stuffed the sketches into his bottom drawer. "She's really all worked up about this disguise thing." Clark shook his head. "A costume? I don't know, it just seems so silly. And what was that code name you used the other night? Superman? Come on, Lois, really." Lois patted him on the wrist. "Tonight. Right now we have to work on this Nightfall thing from the other direction." "Right, and I'll have you know that I *was* working before Jenny came by." He grinned at Lois' raised brow. "I was shut out by all the main science and research facilities. Got the company line, and a referral to contact EPRAD. But I did get in touch with our old friend Professor Hamilton." "Really?" Clark nodded. "Yep, and he's expecting us." Lois stepped back as Clark got out of his chair. "Well, then, let's not keep the man waiting." Allowing her to lead the way, Clark and Lois made their way up the ramp and to the elevator. ***************************** Clark gazed around the somewhat dilapidated lab that the somewhat disheveled Prof. Hamilton now called home. His involvement in the recent reanimated gangster problem had left his reputation a bit sullied. His standing in the scientific community, never too prestigious in the past, had taken quite a tumble. It seemed that not too many legitimate research facilities were interested in someone who had nearly brought back the Roaring Twenties. Still the man had managed to find a place, and some meager backing for his current research. Clark was almost afraid to ask what that might be. Lois was busy bustling about the place, looking at everything, as they waited for the professor to acknowledge their presence. Hamilton finally looked up from the notes he was scribbling and was clearly startled to see them standing there. "Oh!" The professor nearly knocked the glasses off his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in." He stood and extended his hand. "Mr. Kent, nice to see you again." He turned toward Lois. "And Ms. Lane, so good to see you up and around. No permanent injury suffered, I hope." Lois gave him a frosty smile. "No, I managed to survive this time." "I see." Hamilton, sensing Lois' less than cordial manner, turned his attention back to Clark. "So, Mr. Kent, what did you need to see me about?" Clark took a breath. He hoped that they weren't wasting their time. Hamilton's reduced status probably meant that he was out of the loop as far as the asteroid emergency went. But Clark hoped it didn't also indicate that he'd not have the means to find anything out. "Well, Professor," Clark began. "I'm sure you've heard the news about the coming asteroid, Nightfall?" Hamilton suddenly became animated. "Oh, yes, quite exciting. Haven't had an opportunity like this in decades. It's pretty rare when an asteroid of that size comes this close to the Earth. It will be pretty spectacular. I can't wait to start examining my readings." Lois waved her hand in a gesture that encompassed the room. "So you have a way to track it... here?" Hamilton nodded. His head bouncing up and down like a ball on a string. "I don't have access to any of the optical telescopes like the one at EPRAD, or Star Labs. But I was able to cobble together a radio telescope using my television satellite dish and some equipment I had left over from my old lab." "So you have been tracking the asteroid's progress?" Clark was skeptical but hopeful. "Yes, I've been recording signals since yesterday. I was just about to do my first analysis of the readings." He moved over to a bank of antiquated electronic gear. "Are you here about the asteroid?" Clark nodded. "Yes, Professor. Ms. Lane and I are on that story." Hamilton shrugged. "I'd think that Prof. Daitch over at EPRAD would be the one to talk to. He has access to much better equipment than I do." "We've been there. EPRAD and the government aren't too forthcoming about this Nightfall rock." Lois' voice betrayed her irritation. Hamilton frowned. "Really? I wonder why that is?" He gave each of them a smile. "Well, no matter. Let's see what I have here." Clark watched the eccentric scientist as he bent over his data. He watched as the professor's excitement turned to puzzlement. The professor pulled several sheets of paper over to his debris-piled desk. Sweeping papers and other junk off the desk onto the floor, Hamilton pulled over a calculator and began to work his index finger furiously. Clark got a sinking feeling in his stomach. "What is it, professor? What's wrong?" He ignored the look that Lois gave him that said they both knew what was wrong. "Oh dear, oh dear. This can't be right." Lois moved over to the desk and, with her finger, tilted the professor's head up till he was looking at them. "Don't tell me, let me guess. The asteroid is going to hit Earth in about six days." "More like five days." Hamilton had turned white. "This is bad, very very bad." Lois turned to Clark. "But now we have some corroboration. We can use Hamilton's data to support our story. We can bust the government cover up and make them come clean. This is too important to keep from everyone." Clark could see that Lois was excited about getting the proof that Perry had wanted but he was still torn. He wasn't sure it would be such a good idea to tell everyone that their world was doomed. What purpose would it serve? It would just send everyone into a panic. "I'm still not so sure about this, Lois." Clark laid a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I think we should give the government some time. What good would be served by putting the people into a premature panic." Lois' turned and stared at her younger partner. "The people have a right to know. If this was to be your final week on earth wouldn't you want to know?" Clark shrugged. "I'm not sure." "Excuse me?" Hamilton's weak voice interrupted the partners debate. "Are you planning to use my data to substantiate your breaking the news to the world of the impending strike?" "Yes," Lois said, forcefully. "Um, well, I think you should know that I'm not exactly considered an eminent scientist anymore." He blushed. "Actually, I think the term used most is... crackpot." "It doesn't matter," Lois added, quickly. "We'll just take your data to another facility, like Star Labs, and get them to verify your findings." Hamilton was running his hand through his thinning hair. "I'm not so sure if that would work. If this is being covered up at the highest level, then I'd think Star Labs would be in on the cover-up too." His look was apologetic. "And even if you could get someone to look over my data, it wouldn't do any good." "What do you mean?" Lois' tone was sharp. "Well, as you can see, my equipment is not exactly state of the art. It's mostly a series of jury-rigged stuff that was never meant to be used for such purposes. And because of that, the stuff is rather unique in the way it delivers the data." Lois' eyes narrowed. "What does *that* mean?" Hamilton couldn't look Lois in the eye. "It wouldn't make sense to anyone else. No one can read this data but me." Lois closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Clark was afraid she was going to do bodily harm to the timid scientist. He reached over and laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Come on, Lois, " he said, in his calmest voice. "Let's go." Her eyes snapped open and glared at him for a moment. Then the fire died out. "We might as well," she said with a sigh. "There's nothing for us here." She marched toward the door. "I'm sorry," Hamilton called after the retreating woman. Clark gave the man a sad smile. "It's okay, Professor. Thanks for your help." He turned and hurried after his partner. Lois was already in the street looking for a taxi. Clark frowned at the hunch in her shoulders. She was really worked up about this set back. "Lois, take it easy." He had reached her side. "I don't know why you're so keen to blow open this story? I know you don't think the government has a good handle on this, but we have to have faith." Lois whirled to face him. Sticking her finger in his chest, she spoke in a low tone, but with a sharp edge to it. It got his full attention. "You just don't get it, do you?" Her finger jabs corresponded with her words. "I'm doing this for you." "Me?" "Yes, you. This nuclear missile plan of the government is futile. It won't work." "How do you know that?" "I... I just do, okay. I'm just trying to protect you. If we can't find some other way to move, or break up that asteroid, the planet will only have one chance... you." Clark stepped back. She'd mentioned this the other night. They hadn't gone into it in much detail, but Lois seemed to think that he could fly out into cold, airless space and shatter the asteroid before it hit the earth. She'd been confident that he could do it, but at the same time he sensed that she feared it also. "Look, Lois, you obviously know something here that I don't. And I'm tired of this guessing game when it comes to you. What do you know about this, and me?" He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. "And how do you know it?" Lois shook off his hand. "What I know is - you have the capability to go out and smash that rock to bits. But I also know that it won't be without risk." Clark shook his head. "Uh ah. I'm not letting you off this time. You are going to tell me how it is that you seem to know so much about me. And how all this seems to be more like a memory to you than a new experience." He could swear that he saw shock in her eyes. He had hit on some nerve. Lois nodded once. "Okay, tonight. I'll tell you what I can tonight." She turned away. "Taxi!" A metro cab screeched to a halt beside the pair. They climbed in the back. The trip back to the Daily Planet was made in silence. Neither wished to voice their thoughts in hearing range of another person. Mercifully, the ride back was a short one, and soon they were back out on the sidewalk in front of the paper. Lois began to move toward the front entrance. Clark frowned and began to follow. "Look, Lois, I didn't mean to..." Suddenly Clark heard a strange sound, like a door lock being slid back, as the hairs on the back of his neck tingled. Engaging his enhanced vision as he swiveled his head to look over his shoulder, he saw him. Up on the roof of the building across the street was a man. He was dressed in plain gray clothing, with a wide brimmed hat pulled low, obscuring most of his face. The man held a high powered rifle in his arms. The sound he'd heard had been the bolt action being pulled back. The gun was ready to fire. Following the direction of the rifle barrel, he was quickly able to see where the gunman was aiming. "Lois! Look out!" Clark threw himself headlong at his partner. Lois had begun to turn at the sound of his shout but was knocked off her feet by the force of his body crashing into hers. At the same time the crack of a gunshot echoed off the brick walls of the nearby buildings. "Are you all right?" Clark helped her to a sitting position, but still kept his body between her and the assassin. Lois looked up at him, confusion clearly marked her face. "Yeah, I don't think you broke anything with that football tackle." She tried to look around him. "What happened?" Clark glanced over his shoulder. "Someone tried to take a shot at you." "Apparently, someone did. They just missed, thanks to you." Clark stood up and focused his attention on the building across the way. He began to move toward the street when a hand on his arm stopped him. "Where are you going?" He looked back at Lois. "I'm going to go after the guy who shot at you." Lois shook her head. "What are you going to do? Fly up there?" She pulled him back to her. "No, by the time you get over there at normal speed, he'll be long gone." "But..." "This kind of thing comes with the territory. Let's just get back inside. For all that's happened today, we still don't have any story for tomorrow's edition." Clark was confused by her attitude, but decided to follow her anyway. "Lois?" he asked. "Who would want to kill you?" "Would you like the list chronologically, or alphabetically." 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Lex Luthor stared out the french doors leading to the balcony of his sumptuous penthouse apartment. There had just been another brief partial eclipse. His frown indicated that he was irritated by that. He'd seen the press conference that EPRAD had given, but he also had his own sources which had given him the true story. It was lucky that he was prepared for the eventuality. He had built his 'Ark Luthor' deep beneath the unsuspecting city of his birth as insurance against an all out nuclear war. It would serve well enough for the catastrophic consequences that could come about with the coming of the Nightfall asteroid. His teams were on stand by and he and his progenitors of the new world order could be buttoned up and safe within 12 hours if need be. He had people monitoring the progress of the giant space rock. He would have plenty of notice to put his plan into action. The 'ark' was ready. It just needed the passengers to arrive. Lex's attention was pulled back into the main room by the noise created by the arrival of the special elevator. He turned in time to see Nigel step off the conveyance into the room. Lex gave Nigel a slight nod. "I assume the message has been sent?" Nigel gave him an answering nod. "Yes, my man took a shot at Ms. Lane just a few minutes ago." "She wasn't hurt in any way?" Nigel shook his head. "No, the instructions were quite clear on that." Nigel followed Luthor over to his desk. "Actually, her partner, the young Kent, must have seen our man out of the corner of his eye because he launched himself at Ms. Lane, managing to knock her to the ground as the shot was fired." Lex allowed himself a small smile. "Excellent. Adds a dash of verisimilitude to the whole affair. Don't you think?" "Most certainly, sir." Nigel hovered for a few moments more. "Will there be anything else, sir?" "No, Nigel. That will be all for now. Thank you." "Yes, sir." The stately aide-de-camp moved quickly to the elevator and in a few more moments was gone, leaving Luthor to himself again. He didn't know what Lois was playing at but she had been given her only warning. She'd been gone a long time. Maybe it had addled her wits. Lex was willing to wait a bit for Lois to come to her senses, but he wasn't a patient man. He didn't give second warnings. He was at a loss to figure out her game. The plan had been worked out to the smallest detail possible. He hadn't thought anything could have gone wrong, but when Lois had disappeared, he'd figured that she had messed up somehow and had run afoul of either the local authorities or a rival group. He had been saddened to have lost her. She had potential as a possible companion. She had possessed a desirable combination of beauty and brains that Lex had found intriguing. But he was even more saddened by the loss of their intended prize. It had taken him quite a while to reconcile himself to that. When Lois Lane had mysteriously reappeared, his hopes had risen. After all this time, that which he had so jealously coveted was again within his reach. He'd been puzzled when months went by and Lois never made any attempt to contact him. At first, he'd just assumed she was being careful. But, eventually, he'd had to bring her in. He'd been extremely disappointed in her flimsy amnesia excuse. While such a thing was within the realm of possibility, Lex had watched her closely. She had been lying. She had lied fairly well, but she'd been lying none the less. Luthor wasn't sure how Lane thought she was going to get away with what was rightfully his, but he'd give her one chance to wise up and come clean. After all, if the world were going to suffer some nasty times ahead, it would be nice to be able to share the long lonely nights with someone as desirable as Lois Lane. But if she persisted on her present course, she would live only long enough to regret the folly of her actions. ****************** "What do you think you're doing?" Lois asked of her partner as he reached for his phone and began to dial. "I'm calling Inspector Henderson." He gave her a look that said, 'what else would I be doing?'. "Lois, someone just took a shot at you. We have to call the police." Lois rolled her eyes. "Hang up the phone, Clark. The guy is long gone and we have no way to connect him to anything. Heck, he could have just been a random nut." Clark paused in his dialing, but didn't put down the phone. "Lois, someone tried to kill you!" Lois shrugged. "Are you sure? Maybe they were firing at you?" Clark shook his head. "No, I saw him. That rifle was definitely pointed at you." "Hey, what's all this commotion?" Perry had come down to see what the furor was about. "Perry, someone just tried to kill Lois." Clark said, giving Lois a stern look. Lois, using a wave of her hand to, in essence, dismiss Clark's concerns, turned toward her boss. "It was just some random sniper. Tell him, Chief, it's just part of life in a big city like Metropolis." She shook her head. "Even if he'd been gunning for me specifically, hey, it comes with the territory. You cant write award-worthy stories without ruffling a few feathers." Perry cocked his brow. "And which award-worthy story would that be, Lois?" Lois returned Perry's sarcasm with a mock smile. "All my stories are award-worthy." Perry glanced at Clark. "Hang up the phone, son." He turned to Lois. "And you, young woman, are coming with me." He placed his hand on her elbow and led her up the ramp toward his office. Lois had a chance to watch Perry's face as he 'escorted' her toward his office. His mouth was drawn in a tight line, and his eyes betrayed a touch of anger. She guessed he didn't totally buy into her cavalier attitude about the shooting. He probably had his own idea as to who was behind it - as did she. He guided her to the chair in front of his desk, not saying a word until he'd managed to close the door and regain his own seat. Once seated he stared at her for a couple of moments. She couldn't help feeling like a truant high- schooler about to be lectured by the principal. Perry sighed and shook his head. "We both know who was behind that gunman, don't we, Lois." Lois shrugged. "I have a suspicion." "A suspicion, yeah." Perry pinched the bridge of his nose even though he hadn't been wearing his reading glasses. "I told you to be careful with Luthor. I am certain he was responsible for your problems in the Congo and now he is responsible for this latest attempt on your life." Lois leaned back in her chair. "Maybe, but we have no way to prove it." She shook her head slowly. "Look, Perry, I haven't had any contact with Luthor since I came back from his brunch invitation. I haven't initiated any investigation, nor have I done anything that should make him think I have." Lois shrugged helplessly. "He thinks I know something I don't." Perry looked sharply at Lois. "He what? You seemed to have forgotten to mention that when we spoke the other day." Stupid! Lois would have slapped herself in the head if she'd been alone. How could she have let that slip. Now Perry knew that the brunch invitation hadn't been an innocent welcome back. She also knew that Perry would grill her until she told him what actually had happened in Luthor's penthouse. The trouble was - she didn't really know what had happened. She was missing some important details. Like the memories of a decade-long dead reporter. Lois squirmed under the glare of her boss's stare. "Well, he sort of threatened me." Perry's frown grew tighter. " *Sort of* threatened you?" Lois tried to convey an indifference with a casual shrug. "He thinks I either have something of his, or know where it is. He doesn't believe that I still don't remember much from back then." "So, what you're saying is," Perry began, "That you and Luthor had cooked up some sort of deal. One which, I assume, you planned to use to finally get the goods on our phony philanthropist. Only you don't remember what it was, and now Luthor thinks that you are holding out on him. Does that about cover it?" Lois smiled meekly. "Yeah, I guess that pretty much covers it." Letting loose an explosive sigh, Perry leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for several moments before returning his attention back to Lois. "Tarnation, woman, you really stepped into one colossal cowpie this time." He held up his hand to forestall her objection. "Look, I know this wasn't your fault. You have no memory of this past association with Luthor, so you couldn't have known that anything was up when he invited you over. Still, I wish you would have checked with me first. Maybe, together we could have figured out a way to have seen this coming and come up with a way to, at least, stall him for a time." Perry shook his head. "This is bad, Lois. Luthor is not somebody who is going to give up after one missed attempt." "I think we're losing sight of the more obvious problem here, Chief. With that asteroid about to fall into our lap, I think my personal problems with Lex Luthor can wait until we know whether or not the world will even be here in a week." "I still see the bigger picture, Lois, but don't underestimate the danger you are in. I had to clean out your locker once. I certainly don't want to have to do it again." Lois was touched by Perry's concern. It was nice to know that someone actually cared about her. Even if he thought she was someone else. It showed her that the relationship they had managed to form was one that included real feelings for each other's welfare. But she really didn't have the time to give to the Luthor problem right now. With Nightfall coming so soon, she had a lot of work to do getting Clark ready for the task she had hoped to spare him, but knew he was going to have to tackle. She and her own dear Clark hadn't talked about it much, but she knew that he'd really put himself on the line taking on such a huge assignment. That he'd only suffered from a temporary amnesia had been fortunate. What if he had been more seriously hurt? Or, if he had missed coming back to earth at all? Lois' blood ran a little colder anytime she thought about the possibility that Clark might not have made it back to earth at all. Now, it looked like she was going to have to ask another fledgling hero to risk it all for the sake of a world who didn't even know he existed. Turning her attention back to Perry, she tried to allay his fears with a confident smile. "Look, I know that Lex is dangerous. And believe me, I am being careful, but..." She stopped. "What did you say about my locker?" An idea had suddenly sprung into Lois' mind. Perry seemed a bit startled by the quick turn about. "I, ah, I said that I had to clean out your locker once. I don't want to have to do it again." Lois' mind was working furiously. Could it be possible? "What ever happened to that stuff?" Perry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It was boxed up and stored down in the basement until someone came to pick it up." Lois bit her lip. "Do you know if anyone ever came to pick it up?" He spread his hands in a gesture of ignorance. "I couldn't say. I'll admit that after a few weeks I completely forgot about it. I was more focused on missing you than on your whether your personal effects had ever been claimed. I can say that I never heard of anyone stopping by to pick them up." Lois crossed her fingers in her lap. "What are the chances that they'd still be down there somewhere? Or do you think that they would have been thrown out after all this time?" Perry shrugged again. "Only one way to find out, Lois. Go on down and check." **************** Lois drummed her fingers on the fake wood paneling that made up the walls of the elevator. Why was this darn thing going so slow? With her luck, the blasted thing would probably break down, stranding her between floors till the Nightfall asteroid hit. Finally the doors slid open to reveal the concrete and tile of the sub-basement of the Daily Planet. She stepped out into the cavernous hallway, not really sure which way to go. This was below the parking garage, and locker room level, so Lois hadn't found many reasons to come down here. Not even in her own world. She knew that the presses were housed in one half of the floor, so it followed that materials storage would be in the other half. She calmed herself to listen. There was definitely the noise of machinery coming from her left, so she turned right. After walking for quite a stretch, Lois finally came to the end of the hallway. She was faced with an imposing pair of large double doors, which were closed. A smaller door on the right, also closed. And a small office on the left. Through a dirty window she could see an old man sitting in a ratty old chair at a beat up metal desk. He appeared to be listening to a small radio, or he was napping. She knocked once on the metal door and stepped into the office. Lois cleared her throat. "Excuse me." The old man started, then turned to face her. "Marty?" A warm smile creased the lined face. "Hello, Miss Lane. I heard you were back. I'm glad you are well." Lois couldn't believe it. Marty Simmons had been the head of custodial maintenance since long before she had ever joined the Planet. It seems the same was true here. And he was still here. She gave the kindly old man a quick once over. He had to be at least seventy. She couldn't stop the smile that spread over her face, nor would she have wanted to. "Marty, it's good to see you. I'm happy that you are still here." The old man shrugged as he stood. "Where would I go?" He gave her a wink. "It's been a long time since you were down here. What can I do for you?" "Well, I was talking to Mr. White - Perry, and he said that when I disappeared all those years ago that he had been the one to clean out my old locker." Lois felt just a little foolish to be asking about this after all this time, but it was a long shot that needed to be played. "He didn't think that anyone ever came to pick the stuff up. Is there any chance that it's still lying around somewhere? I realize that it was probably thrown out a long time ago, but I thought I'd check." Marty had listened to her patiently, never interrupting. Once she was finished he gave her a smile. "Well I know I didn't throw it out. Let's go see if it's still around, shall we?" Lois watched as the old man grabbed a huge ring of keys from a hook on the wall and moved toward the door. She followed. They crossed the hallway to the single locked door that Lois had seen earlier. Marty found the key almost immediately and had the door open in a couple of moments. After swinging open the door he flipped on the light switch. "If it's still where I put it, it should be over in the corner, up on that last shelf." He spoke as they both walked toward where he had pointed. They came upon the shelf in question and Marty pulled a severely dusty cardboard box down from the self. It wasn't much to look at. A typical box, like the kind you'd see at a grocery store. He handed it to her. It didn't weigh much. "I'll just leave you to your things, Miss Lane. Just turn out the lights and close the door behind you when you leave. It'll lock automatically." She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Marty, you're still the best." The old man chuckled, then winked. "That's why I'm still here." Once Marty had left, Lois took the box over to a small bench and set it down. Sitting down next to it, she stared at it for several moments. What if there was nothing in there? She knew there was something in the box, but she had to prepare herself for disappointment. The odds that this box contained anything of value, let alone that laptop, was astronomical at best. Taking a deep breath, she ripped the tape off the box and pulled back the flap. The first thing that met her eye was a garish red woolen scarf. She pulled it out. Not the height of fashion, but it looked warm. There were a few other articles of clothing. A hat, some mittens, and a small zippered bag that held an emergency make-up kit. Another, slightly larger zippered bag contained some under garments. A plain beige sweater, and a pair of black jeans occupied the bottom of the box. She couldn't hold back a sigh of disappointment. Tossing the scarf, mittens, and hat back in, she closed the lid on the box then lifted it in preparation to her leaving. She felt an unusual weight shift as she moved the box. She immediately put it back down and ripped the flap open again. She thrust her hands deep into the box, under the jeans which she had thought were at the bottom. Her fingers came into contact with hard smooth plastic. Holding her breath, she pulled out the object. In her hands was a technologically ancient laptop computer. *********************** Lois hurriedly closed the door to the apartment, and rushed to her bedroom. She'd had a hard time getting through the rest of the day, waiting to be alone so she could take a crack at the old computer she had tucked under her arm. After quickly changing into something a bit more casual, she brought out the batteries the guy at the computer store assured her would work for this machine. She knew that she was expected over at Clark's later, but for now all her thoughts were focused on the little gray laptop. It took a few frustrating minutes and several choice epithets to finally get the batteries in place and the machine booted up. Now came the hard part. She opened a few menus and finally found a file listing that looked promising. It was labeled Lexnotes. A grimace and a soft cry of disappointment escaped from her lips as the request for a password came flashing onto the small screen. She'd been afraid of this. It was going to be difficult to get into the file. She was going to have to try and think like the woman who had encrypted this file ten long years ago. One would think that being a Lois Lane herself should be an advantage, but everything she'd been finding out about her counterpart on this world showed her that she knew very little about the way that woman thought. The only advantage that she had was that the password was only five characters long. She frowned. That meant there were probably only several million possible combinations. She tried several obvious choices; like Lois1, or Lane1. She tried other newspaper terms like, scoop and print. She ran through variations of family names, and places she remembered from her past. There was no guarantee that this Lois was familiar with all those places, but she had to try. After many fruitless minutes, Lois sat back and just stared at the machine. She was lucky that the machine was an obvious early model and the makers had not seen fit to add an automatic lock out after a number of failed attempts at a password, as was true with most computers now. She closed her eyes and attempted to picture the woman who had used this computer all those years ago. Who was she? What was she going through back then? Lois' eyes snapped open, on a whim she typed in 'Perry'. Password acknowledged, she was in. Words filled the screen. It took Lois only a few moments to realize that the file was in the form of a diary, or more accurately, a journal. Dated headings started off each entry. Lois took a couple of minutes to fetch herself a cold soda, then sat down with the little machine for some serious reading. "April 17th I hocked the diamond necklace that Lex bought me to buy this computer. I've gone out with the slime three times now and he thinks that I'm enamored with him. What an egotist. I knew, ever since I broached the subject with Perry, that Luthor was just too good to be for real. It's nice to know that my instincts are still solid. This guy is as dirty as they come. He's just smart, and very careful. If I'm to get what I need to blow this guy out of the water, I'm going to have to be very careful. I don't think he'd hesitate to have me killed if it suited his purposes. Poor Perry, he's really worried about me. It's really sweet, but he's wrong. I know what I'm doing and I can handle Lex Luthor. Up to this point, everything has just been gut feelings and intuition. But I'm sure I'll be able to convince Luthor that I can be trusted, and he'll let slip something I can really use. April 23 I finally let Lex seduce me last night. It wasn't a very pleasant experience, but it had the desired effect. I'm pretty sure he trusts me now. He hinted around at some dealings he had coming up down in the Congo, and that perhaps I might be interested in participating. Seems that he's running into some sort of scheduling conflict. He needs to be in two places at the same time. I think he plans to use me as his representative down there. At least that's the signal I'm getting from him. Why me instead of one of his other flunkies I can't say - yet. Hopefully I'll find out soon. If I have to sleep with him many more times I'm not sure I'll be able to stay convincing. He's such a selfish lover. But then, all men are. Well, not all men. Perry's not. I can't ever let Perry know that I've slept with Lex. It would hurt him badly." Lois' attention was jerked away from the computer by the sound of the front door being opened. She left the little computer lying on her bed and went out to see if Cat was home. "Hey roommie, what's up?" Cat tossed her bag and wrap into the chair by the front door. Lois couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face. "I've found the laptop." Cat's eyes got big. "You did? Great!" She gave the main room a quick once over. "Where is it, and where was it?" Lois shook her head. "Would you believe it, Lois' things from her Daily Planet locker were still in storage down in the basement. The laptop was with some old clothes that were boxed up after she'd been gone long enough for people to have given up on her. Nobody tossed them out." Cat shrugged. "They probably forgot they were even there." "Marty knew." Cat patted Lois on the cheek. "He always did like you for some reason. I think he thought of you as a surrogate daughter." "Catherine?" Lois knew she hated to be called that. "It wasn't me. Remember? I'm the Lois Lane from another world." Cat waved off Lois' good natured admonition. "This world, that world. I don't know one dimension from another. All I know is that you are Lois Lane and you are my friend." Lois smiled. "Thanks." Suddenly Cat's look became conspiratorial. "So, where's this mystery laptop, and is there any juicy stuff in it?" Lois rolled her eyes. "You never stop, do you?" She didn't wait for a response. "It's in the bedroom, but I've only just begun to read her file on Luthor. It looks like she was definitely trying to find a way to prove Luthor was dirty... Omigosh!" Lois had glanced at the clock over the fireplace. "Is it that late already? I've got to go. I'm supposed to meet with Clark and Jenny tonight." "Really?" Cat practically purred. "I didn't know you went in for such things, Lois." At first Lois was confused by Cat's words, then once it dawned on her what she had been alluding to, Lois could only shake her head at the grinning woman. Cat followed Lois into her bedroom as she searched for her bag and a jacket. Cat spied the laptop on the bed. She strolled over and sat down glancing at the screen. Lois came over and shut down the machine. "I guess I took more time than I thought breaking the password in order to get into the file." Cat nodded in apparent appreciation of the effort. "I'm surprised you were able to come up with it. There must be millions of possibilities." Lois gave her a modest grin. "I guess I'm just brilliant." Cat snorted. "Yeah, right. I bet I could have come up with the password before you did. After all, I knew Lois pretty well." "I don't think so." Lois chuckled. "It was just a hunch that gave me the password. It actually went against what you had told me about her." Lois furrowed her brow. "Actually, I'm beginning to put together a picture of Lois that doesn't quite match what a lot of people have been telling me." Cat gave Lois a challenging look. "Do tell?" Lois shrugged. "Hey, who would have thought that Lois would have used Perry's name as her password." Lois was rewarded with a genuine look of surprise on Cat's face. "Who indeed?" Cat shot a glance at the innocent looking unit, still lying in the middle of Lois' bed. "Bye," Lois said as she moved toward the door. "Don't wait up. I don't know how long I'll be." Cat waved at Lois, not looking at her. Her eyes were still riveted on the small computer. "Don't worry about me... I'll find something to occupy my time." 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 Clark let Lois into his apartment. She walked through the door briskly and handed her wrap to him to hang up. He noticed her looking around. He could guess what she was looking for. "Jenny is over at a girlfriend's. I told her we would be working over some details on our story for awhile. She'll be back later." He directed Lois to the couch. "I figured it might be easier to have this discussion in private. Afterward, you can decide what to tell Jenny, or not." She gave him what appeared to be a nervous smile. "Thanks," she said. "Can I get you something to drink?" he offered. She shook her head. "So, how's the costume design coming along? You and Jenny work out what you plan to wear as a disguise?" Clark knew Lois' comments were merely delaying tactics. She wanted to avoid the real reason they were there. The reason she agreed to earlier today. He wasn't going to let her off the hook this time. No more stalling, no more procrastinating. It was time for her to come clean with him. "We'll talk about that later, once Jenny comes back. Right now we need to deal with some other issues." "Oh?" He almost smiled at her attempt at an affected innocence. She knew, as well as he did, what this conversation was going to be about. He moved over and sat in the chair directly across from her. He leaned forward, his arms on his knees, and stared into her eyes. "Who are you?" "Lois Lane." She had answered immediately, without hesitation. "Really?" He watched for any signs of indecision or awkwardness. "Yes," Suddenly there was a slight waver in her voice. "But I'm not the Lois Lane you think I am." Clark made sure he showed no surprise or confusion at her statement. "Then which Lois Lane are you?" She stared at her hands for a few moments, then took a deep breath. "Clark, do you trust me?" This forced him to stop and think for a few beats. Since he'd known her she'd been nothing but a help to him. Her support and guidance had done wonders for his skills as a reporter. He wasn't under any illusion as to his abilities when he first joined the Planet. He'd thought he had made significant progress, but in the few months that he and Lois had worked together he had learned more than in all the previous months prior. To his knowledge, she had never lied to him. She'd shown an uncanny skill at evading questions she didn't want to answer, but he knew that she was avoiding answering them rather than telling him a lie, or leading him on. Even his assumption that she might have seen him in the Congo way back when was such a case. She had merely said nothing, allowing him to think what he wished rather than confirming his hypothesis, which he now was certain wasn't true. Did he trust her? That was the 64 thousand dollar question, wasn't it? "There are some issues yet to be resolved, which I hope can be cleared up here, tonight. But, over all, I'd have to say that I trust you." He added a grin. "I don't always understand you - but I guess I trust you." Lois sighed. "Well, that trust is going to be put to the test. I'm going to tell you a pretty fantastic tale, and I'm going to need you to believe me. I'll have no way to prove what I say is true. You are going to have to take it on faith. Accept my word." Clark frowned at his hands. He hated it when people said stuff like that. He hated the idea that there would be no way to support what the other person said. It was one reason why he was a reporter. He liked to get beyond the words that people threw out in public in their daily lives. He wanted to know the hard core, iron-clad, provable facts. He was always ready to believe the best in people. It was the way he was raised. His investigations always seemed to be pointed in that direction. But he rarely just accepted things at face value. He wanted to prove that most people were generally good, and had good intentions. He was often disappointed, but he felt that was preferable to being gullible, or pessimistic. "I can promise you I'll listen to what you have to say with an open mind. As far as believing on faith, I - I'll try." Lois gave her head a sharp nod, as if accepting his conditions but not being too happy about it. "Okay, I'm not from around here... not from this world, exactly." Clark raised his brow. "Not from this world?" Lois shook her head and sighed again. "I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of alternate dimensions. You know, the science fiction convention of multiple realities all coexisting at the same time, but separated by some sort of barrier?" Clark felt a sense of disappointment. Was this woman really going to try and convince him that she was from some alternate dimension? What did she take him for? He held back a sigh of disgust. He had promised to hear her out. He just nodded. He could tell by the look on her face that she knew he was having trouble with her tale. "Look, I told you that this would be hard to swallow, but the truth is, I'm from another world. I'm the Lois Lane who worked at another Daily Planet for another Perry White partnered with another Clark Kent. The reason that I seem to know so much about you, and about what is going to happen, is that I've already lived through the Nightfall asteroid situation." Clark's mouth firmed into a tight line. "I take it that your world wasn't destroyed. Or is that why you're here now? Because your world is essentially gone." Lois shook her head. "No, our world was spared. We were saved by... Superman." Suddenly some of Lois' actions made sense to him. Of course, that would mean that he had to accept her story, which he wasn't quite willing to do. "So, that's why you are so hot for me to become this Superman, as you call him? You think that I can fly out into space and take care of this asteroid that's threatening us?" "I know you can. It's just... it's not without some risk." Clark nodded. "Okay. Maybe you'd better tell me what happened on *your* world." Clark sat silently as Lois filled him in on what supposedly happened on her world when threatened by the Nightfall asteroid. He almost broke into her narrative when she spoke of the part where her Superman was hurled back to earth bereft of his memory. He frowned during the part where the Asgard rocket launched by the military failed to impact the asteroid. He couldn't help but think that her tale sounded like a movie or television plot, with this Superman regaining his memory just in time to save the day. While it was true that she had known about who he was and about his powers. it was still very hard to accept what she was saying, and being the perceptive reporter that she was, it seemed she was able to read him. Lois' look bordered on anger. "Okay, I realize how far- fetched this other dimension stuff sounds, but really, is it any more hard to believe than a strange visitor from another planet who can bend steel in his bare hands and fly?" "Look, Lois, I'm not saying... what do you mean, strange visitor from another planet?" Lois, leaning forward hands on her thighs, chewed on her lip. "Back home my Clark found a globe in his space craft that crashed in Schuster's field that night. It told him that his birth world was a planet called Krypton. He was rocketed to earth to save him from the impending destruction of his home world. He was found by the Kents and raised as their own." Clark had to take a deep breath. What she'd said was easily as fantastic as what she'd told him about parallel dimensions, but it did make a certain amount of sense. As unbelievable as beings from another planet may be, it was actually a more logical explanation of the what and why he was than some scientific experiment gone awry. He also hadn't missed her reference to 'my Clark'. There was more to that relationship than she was telling. Given the age difference between He and Lois, he had to wonder if the Clark Kent/Superman on her world was her age, or his. If he believed what she was saying he'd have to guess the former since it seemed Superman had existed on her world for some time now. "Do you still have your space craft?" Her question jolted him out of his musings. "No, but I know where it is." He took a moment to think about it. "Wait here. I'll only be gone a few minutes." ******************* Lois watched as Clark got up and strode over to the doors leading to his balcony. It was late enough so it was already quite dark outside. He stepped out onto the small porch, and in a classic whoosh of wind, he was gone. She knew that things weren't going well with Clark. It was obvious to her that, despite his assurance that he'd listen with an open mind, he clearly wasn't buying into her parallel dimension story. Not that she could blame him much. She'd been there, several times, and she still had trouble believing in it. That was why she'd been forced to reveal his extra planetary origin. If he still had that globe, and if it revealed his true origins as the one her own Clark had, then she had a shot at convincing him. If he had to accept what she'd just told him about himself, then maybe he'd have to give a bit more credence to her own story. She wasn't sure what she'd do if he didn't believe her. She hadn't wanted to tell him the truth about her at all. It was a complication she had hoped to avoid for just the reason she was seeing tonight. She gave him credit for not throwing her out as a lunatic right from the start. But the look in his eyes told her how he felt, even if he hadn't come out and said anything. Not quite sure what to do with herself, Lois got up and began to look around. She'd been to Clark's place several times in the past few months, but had never really allowed herself to see it. At first glance it looked very much like Clark's place on Clinton Street. It had the step down from the outer door to the main living areas. It was an open plan with the bedroom being separated from the main room by a partial wall. She knew the bedroom was larger and held more furniture than her Clark's ever did. After all, Jenny was there too. Lois purposely stayed away from that room. This Clark had a bookshelf full of his mementos just like her own husband had before they were a couple. She wandered over and really looked it over for the first time. She saw some things that she remembered; his football trophies from Smallville High, some weird tokens and artifacts that he'd picked up in his travels. She lifted the strange little wooden carving that occupied one corner of a shelf. She'd never figured out what the thing was back home and this version gave her no clues as to what it was supposed to be either. Putting it down, she moved to the books holding center position on the bookshelf. Many of the books were the same. A few were different but Lois recognized the titles. And there were some that she'd never heard of. Moving down the shel