Lost In Time
By ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
Rated: PG-13
Submitted: August 2006



This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois and Clark: 
The New Adventures of Superman. No copyright infringement is 
intended. I'm borrowing these characters for a little fun and not 
for any profit. For a complete disclaimer, go to: 
http://www.thompsonlawoffice.ca/Disclaimer.htm. My special thanks 
to the writers of Tempus Anyone since I use a number scenes from 
that show in particular in this story. Before reading this story, 
if you haven't seen the episode Tempus Anyone, you might want to 
read through the script since it is in the background of this 
story. The script can be found here: 
www.lcficmbs.com/scripts/txt/314.txt 

My thanks to the people on the Fanfic message boards for 
answering all my silly questions. In particular, thanks to 
everyone, and in particular Paul who came up with hundreds of 
them <g>, for all the great Superman pick-up lines you provided 
to me. I wish I could have used all of them in this story. 

And my special thanks to my Beta readers, Gerry Anklewicz and 
Carol Malo - without whom I would be lost. Thanks so much to both 
of you for continuing to stick with me through so many stories. 
You've been subjected to thousands of pages, tens of thousands of 
grammatical errors, plot holes, bad characterizations and 
probably about a million spelling mistakes and typos 
(Fortunately, not all of them in this story <g>). Your patience 
when finding the same mistakes made over and over and over again 
has been astounding. Because of you, all of my stories are much 
better then when they started out. So thanks to both of you.  I 
also wish to thank Erin Klingler for editing this story for the 
archives and for giving me the courage to actually post it. 

This is an Alt-Universe story with our beloved Alt-Clark from the 
show. I have, however, made one little change to the story. 
Alt-Lois never came to work for the Daily Planet. 

* * * * * * * * *
Lost In Time
By: ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
August 2006
* * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 1
* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood on the platform beside Perry White as the older man 
addressed the press following his near unanimous election victory 
as Mayor of Metropolis. As Perry began his introduction of Clark, 
or... more accurately... Superman, Clark's mind drifted. She and 
Herb were standing at the back of the crowd. The woman he loved 
preparing to return to the one she loved. The roar of the crowd 
dimmed around him as he watched her slip into the alley across 
the street from him. A bright flash of light informed him that 
she was irretrievably lost to him. Losing Lana hadn't hurt nearly 
as much as losing Lois. 

"Lois, I don't just need your help. I need... you."

"So does he," she had whispered in response.

"What I'm trying to say is... I know this sounds crazy, but... I 
think I..." 

"So does he," she had interrupted, not even willing to hear his 
declaration. 

The world suddenly seemed a much darker, more dismal place 
without her in it. Alternate universes. Who would have believed 
he'd lose his soulmate to another version of himself? But... 
Something clicked in his mind. If there was a Clark Kent in her 
universe, might there not be a Lois Lane in his - one who really 
and truly was meant for him? 

The kernel of hope began to grow. No one at the Daily Planet had 
known who she was when Lois Lane had shown up out of the blue, 
but that didn't necessarily mean Lois Lane didn't exist in his 
universe. She could be anywhere. Doing anything. And he suddenly 
just knew that whatever that 'anything' was it would be... great. 
Excitement began to bubble up inside him. He began to shift from 
foot to foot, anxious to get off the platform so that his fingers 
could fly over the keyboard of his computer in search of his Lois 
Lane. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois jolted upright in bed, covered in sweat and breathing 
heavily. It took her a moment to realize that she'd been dreaming 
again. After giving her heart a moment to calm, she wiped a hand 
over her forehead, brushing the damp strands of hair back out of 
her eyes.  

Reaching over, she grabbed her palm computer off the night table. 
She closed her eyes for a moment as she allowed the images in the 
dream to stay with her until she could recite each one into the 
computer. The man was back. Dark eyes. A haunting smile, almost a 
smirk. But this time there was something new. The plastic 
bracelet. It had been pink. She'd seen that clearly when he'd cut 
it off her wrist. But what had it said? She growled. Why could 
she never remember what was written on the bracelet? She chewed 
thoughtfully on her lower lip for a long moment, but no matter 
how hard she concentrated, the words wouldn't come to her.  

Giving up that line of inquiry, she focused on another aspect of 
the dream. Why had the man cut the bracelet off her wrist? It 
couldn't have been worth anything. Unless, of course, it would 
have given her too much information. But what information? Was 
she at some sort of amusement park, a resort, a hospital? Maybe 
it was some sort of police identification bracelet? She'd never 
heard of such a thing. After all, everywhere she had checked used 
laser markings. Maybe she was reading too much into that aspect 
of the dream. Maybe it was... a keepsake or something. But then 
why had it been cut from her wrist? 

She concentrated for a moment on the man. He always seemed so 
big, almost a giant in her dreams. But who was he? Her father? 
No. No, that didn't feel right somehow. 

Growling, she got out of bed, making her way over to the window 
of her one-room apartment. She undid the latch and struggled with 
the old-fashioned window until she finally got it up. The cold 
breeze made her shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself 
subconsciously as she stared out into the night. She could hear 
the steady hum of the transports as they rushed down their 
tracks. A nearby howl of a cat in heat. Even the distant sound of 
sirens. The familiar noises of Metropolis were... comforting 
somehow. If only she could figure out what the dream was trying 
to tell her. 

It had something to do with her past - of that she was certain. 
All she knew about her roots was that she had been found on the 
front steps of the Sisters of Metropolis Convent in a baby 
blanket with a note attached to her blanket saying: 'My name is 
Lois 'L'. Please don't send me back or bad, bad things will 
happen.' But what bad things? Did this have anything to do with 
the man in her dreams? 

She puzzled again over the name - as she had so many times in the 
past. Lois 'L'. The nuns insisted that it didn't mean anything, 
but she couldn't stop wondering why the 'L' had been in quotation 
marks. It was almost as if the man... whoever had brought her to 
the convent was trying to tell her something with the 'L'. But 
what? 

The note and a blue blanket with a Superman crest on it was all 
she had to figure out the mystery of her childhood. Well, that 
and her dreams. 

Not having anything else to go on, she'd chosen to be known as 
Lois Lewis. After all, it had become repetitious having to 
explain to everyone why she only had a single letter for a last 
name. But legally... She hadn't changed her name legally. She was 
still hoping that someday she'd be able to replace the letter 'L' 
with her real last name. 

She sighed. Maybe she should let it go. The nuns had told her to 
- repeatedly as she recalled. And now, David was telling her the 
same thing. But she couldn't. Something inside of her wouldn't 
let it go. It felt as if she was just putting in time. As if she 
was never meant to have a life here. 

She growled. David was right. She was thirty-one years of age. 
What was she supposed to do? Spend the rest of her life in a 
holding pattern while she tried to figure it all out? It was time 
to let it go. She just wished she could. 

Her thoughts turned to David. David Shultz was a junior editor 
for the Daily Planet. He was a few years older than her - 
although not enough to make the age difference worrisome. And 
David had made it clear, more than once, that he wanted to be 
more than friends and colleagues. 

Lois thought about that for a moment. David certainly had enough 
to recommend him. Talk around the office was that he was the 
favored one to take over when their old grouch of an editor, Tom 
Balsam, retired in a few years. Besides that, David was cute. His 
brown hair was usually unruly, but something about his 
personality made that seem... appropriate somehow. He had the 
truest blue eyes she had ever seen. In stature, he was no muscle 
man, but he was well proportioned. And she had to admit that she 
loved the way he laughed - it was contagious. But more than all 
that, he was a good listener, a good friend and a good man. 

Still... Lois sighed. She had no idea what was stopping her from 
getting involved with him. She'd spent many a night pondering the 
question and was no closer to an answer now than the first time 
she'd asked it. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois was exhausted as she stepped through the doors of the Daily 
Planet the next morning. Making her way to the lifts, she placed 
her hand on the scanner. A moment later, the door opened and she 
stepped inside. 

"Good morning, Ms. Lewis," said the overly cheerful computer 
voice. "Which floor would you like to go to this morning?" 

"Nusruum," Lois said over a yawn.

"I'm afraid I didn't understand that destination."

"Newsroom. Newsroom," Lois repeated in frustration.

"Very good."

A moment later, Lois appeared on the lift platform on the second 
floor. Stepping off the platform, she headed directly for the 
coffee. After grabbing a cup, she sat down at her desk. 

"Computer on," she said, blowing slightly on the over-heated 
coffee. 

"Morning."

Lois looked up at the sound of another all-too-cheerful voice. 
Why did everyone have to sound so chipper in the mornings? Didn't 
they know it made grouches like her even grouchier? Like former 
smokers, they seemed obsessed with converting everyone around 
them. Well, it wasn't going to work with her. Still, she looked 
at the man seated on the corner of her desk and gave him her best 
attempt at a smile. Maybe if he thought his evangelical strategy 
had worked, he'd quit trying to convince her to be happy. 

"Rough night?" David asked.

"Great! What a way to greet a girl!"

"What?"

"You might as well have told me to put a bag over my head."

David laughed. "On your worst day, you're still beautiful. And 
this February 27, I'd say this is one of your most beautiful 
worst days." 

"Humph."

"Did you have the nightmare again?"

She met his concerned expression.

"You've got to let this go, Lois."

Lois looked back at her coffee. 

David sighed. "Well... did you remember anything else - something 
you can use to figure all this out?" 

"The bracelet on my wrist was pink."

"Oh, great! Add pink to your list of search words. I'm sure that 
will solve the mystery." He let out a breath, letting go of his 
sarcasm along with it. "Lois, one day you're just going to have 
to accept that sometimes there are no answers. Maybe your parents 
couldn't take care of you and..." 

"No, David. Don't you see? There's more to this than just parents 
who couldn't raise their child. That's why I can't let this go." 
 

David began rising from the corner of her desk. Lois' hand on his 
arm stopped him. 

"Don't be upset," Lois said softly. "I just... I can't let it 
go." 

David settled on the corner of her desk. "I can understand that. 
What I can't understand is why you feel that you can't start a 
relationship with me until this is resolved." 

"I didn't say I would start a relationship with you even if this 
was resolved," Lois responded. "But... until it is... It's not 
you, David. I mean you're a good friend and a great guy, but... I 
just feel..." 

"As if you're not supposed to have a life here," David completed 
for her. "It doesn't make any sense, Lois. Maybe one day you'll 
finally see that." 

With that, David rose from her desk and walked away. Lois watched 
him, torn. Yes, he was a great guy. And, yes, it made no sense to 
her either. But... She sighed.  

"Lewis!"

Lois looked away from where she was still watching David walk 
across the newsroom. 

"Yes, boss?" she asked.

Nothing was distinctive about Tom Balsam's appearance. Neither 
short nor tall. Neither fat nor slim. Hair of average length, 
average thickness and an average color for a man his age. A 
common looking man with an extraordinary job - editor-in-chief of 
the Daily Planet. The only thing that seemed truly remarkable 
about him was the permanent scowl affixed to his face. Lois often 
wondered if the man even knew how to smile. A grin quirked 
momentarily at one corner of her mouth as she imagined that scowl 
on the face of a newborn Tom Balsam. Before she could get 
completely lost in that image, Balsam arrived at her desk. 

"I need you to get over to Klein Labs," he said.

"What's up?" Lois jumped to her feet and grabbed her palm 
computer. "Something juicy? High-tech computer thieves steal some 
sexy new program?" 

"Quite the comedian, aren't you, Lewis?" Balsam replied dryly. 
"You're meeting with Dr. Philip Klein. He apparently..." 

Lois' face fell. "Come on, boss. Klein? Do you have any idea how 
boring he is? Surely Stan in science would be better..." 

"He asked for you specifically, Lewis. Said something about a 
follow-up on the story you did last month." 

"Yeah, and that was such a..." She faked a yawn. "...exhilarating 
story. I can't believe he would ask for me again. He had to have 
known I only understood every second word." 

"Maybe he has a crush on you," Balsam said, his tone remaining 
completely without humor. 

"Bite your tongue," Lois responded.

"Either way, it's your story, Lewis," Balsam said. "Besides, 
finding a way to prove Einstein's more radical theories correct 
isn't exactly boring." 

"Well, it wouldn't be if he could do so without showing me an 
incomprehensible number of mathematical equations." 

"Either way, git. He's expecting you in half an hour."

"That hardly gives me enough time to get a transport."

"Then I suggest you get moving," Balsam growled, sending Lois 
scurrying from the room. 

* * * * * * * * *

Dr. Philip Klein rushed around. Whether he had an actual purpose 
in mind or not was impossible to tell. He picked up and set down 
items, flipped open files before flipping them closed, and 
punched in various numbers into his computer. He was so absorbed 
in his work, he didn't even seem aware that he was no longer 
alone. 

"Dr. Klein?" Lois asked, almost reluctant to end this highly 
entertaining show. Klein was in his mid-thirties, stood no more 
than five feet and a couple of inches and had hair that pointed 
in almost every direction. In fact, in some ways, he reminded her 
of a young Albert Einstein. 

Klein looked up. "What? Oh, right. Nice to see you again, Ms. 
Lewis." 

"Lois," Lois corrected.

He turned from her then, continuing on his incomprehensible 
mission. Lois stood there for a long minute before speaking 
again. 

"You asked to see me, Dr. Klein?"

"Oh." Klein fumbled around for a moment before finding his 
glasses on his head. Sheepishly, he lowered them. "Right. Right. 
I did. I asked to see you." 

"Because...?" Lois prompted, somewhat frustrated, when he still 
didn't continue. 

"Well, I explained my work to you last time."

"Right. So...? Dr. Klein, why did you want to speak to me?"

"Oh, right. Well..." He finally stopped his movement, looking 
directly at her. "...I finally did it! Well, sort of. There are 
still one or two kinks to work out, but... Well, I hesitate to 
even call them kinks. They are more... improvements really. But 
necessary to make the machine fully functional. After all, unless 
it's possible to move geographically at the same time, the 
usefulness of the machine will be seriously compromised." 

"What are you talking about?" Lois asked.

"Oh, didn't I say? Time travel. I've done it."

Lois fought valiantly to keep a straight face. "Really?" she 
asked, trying not to let her scepticism come through in her tone 
of voice. It was one thing to be told it was theoretically 
possible. But this... 

"Yes, Ms. Lewis, I've invented a machine to transport man back in 
time. I suppose it could go forward, too. But I haven't actually 
gone forward yet. Not entirely sure why." 

"So you're saying you've actually... gone back in time?"

"Oh, yes."

"Where to?"

"1996."

She shook her head. What was so significant about 1996?

"The debut of Superman. I was there. Here, I'll show you." After 
fumbling around for a bit longer, he slipped a disk into his 
computer. "Computer, play," he instructed. 

An image came on the screen that Lois was familiar with - as was 
anyone who had gone to school. It was grainy, a little unfocused 
and had several points were the words were incomprehensible, but 
she would have known it anywhere. Superman's debut. "What's 
so..." 

"Computer, pause!" Klein said excitedly. "Look!" he said, 
pointing at the man on the screen. 

Lois stepped closer. 

"That's me!" Klein exclaimed.

She squinted. Okay, so maybe the guy looked a little like Philip 
Klein, but... she knew how easy it was to alter these old news 
reels. They didn't contain built-in chips to protect against 
tampering. Any kid over kindergarten age could put himself in the 
action. Her eyebrows rose as she looked over at Dr. Klein. 

He seemed not to notice her skepticism. "That's me. But even more 
importantly... and the reason I asked for you is... Computer, 
continue. There! Computer pause." 

Lois looked at the screen again. The woman on the screen was 
small, had dark hair and a decent figure. But her face was 
somewhat fuzzy. "What am I looking at?" she asked. 

"Not what - who."

"Okay, who am I looking at then?"

"You."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois was in a daze as she re-entered the Daily Planet. Dr. Klein 
had completely lost his mind. Time travel might be theoretically 
possible, but... No. She knew she hadn't been at Superman's 
debut. She was firmly in the crowd who believed Superman was a 
myth. The idea that an ordinary man - a reporter no less - named 
Clark Kent had flown around the world for three years, doing good 
deeds - her favorite was his rescuing cats from trees - and then, 
for no explicable reason, had simply disappeared, was too 
unbelievable to be true. 

She sat down at her desk and picked up a computer marker. 
Twirling it in her fingers, she tried to figure out what she 
should do with this information. Dr. Klein was well respected. 
The great, great grandson of the man after whom the Klein Labs 
had been named. The two time Nobel Prize winner - Dr. Bernard 
Klein. 

She might have been able to believe Philip Klein had conquered 
time travel. But when he'd claimed Lois had been at Superman's 
debut... she'd had no choice but to know that he had completely 
lost his mind. So what did she do with this information? 

"Hey, got time for lunch?"

Lois looked up to see David standing by her desk. She studied him 
for a long moment. 

"What? Have I got food stuck between my teeth or something?" 
David asked. 

"What? Oh, no. I was just thinking." She gestured for him to pull 
up a chair. "I just had a... really odd meeting with Dr. Klein. 
And I'm not quite sure what to do with it." 

"Odd? How?"

"I think he's lost his mind." When David waited for further 
explanation, she continued. "He claims he's gone beyond 
theorizing that time travel is possible. He claims he actually 
did it." 

"Really? That's incredible! Have you written the story yet?"

"No. No, it's just... well... he claims that he went back to 
witness Superman's debut." 

David's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "Cool! That's where I'd 
go, too." 

Lois groaned. "Don't tell me you're a Superman fan."

"Absolutely."

"And I used to think you had good taste."

"What? And you think the fellow was a complete loser, I 
suppose." 

"I don't know, David. He sounds... boring to me. Too good. Too 
decent. Not my type at all." 

"Well, I can't say that thought bothers me," David responded with 
a grin. 

"Besides, I doubt he even existed."

"Come on, Lois. That's like saying the world is flat. Or that 
Christopher Columbus didn't discover America." 

"Well, actually Christopher Columbus didn't discover..."

"You know what I mean. There's more than enough evidence that 
Superman existed." 

"A man who flies around in tights and a cape, wears his underwear 
on the outside, does all these good deeds for no reason other 
than the good of humanity and has the audacity to call himself 
Superman?" 

"I don't think he actually gave himself that name." 

"And yet we are expected to believe he worked as a mild-mannered 
reporter until his late twenties - under the name of Clark Kent. 
Oh, and to top it all off, after three years of good deeds, he 
simply disappears as if he'd never existed," Lois said, ignoring 
the interruption. "Come on. If I really had been at his debut, 
I'd have exposed him for the fraud he was. Hey, maybe that's why 
he disappeared. Someone was about to expose him as a fraud so he 
disappeared before that could happen." 

"Wait," David said, something in Lois' comments catching his 
attention. "If you'd really been there? What's that all about?" 

"Oh, did I forget to mention? Dr. Klein claims I was there, 
too." 

"What? Where?"

"At Superman's debut. Hence, my conclusion that he's lost his 
mind." 

"Wait a minute, Lois. Are you certain you heard him right? After 
all, Dr. Philip Klein is one of the most respected..." 

"I know his reputation, David. That's the only reason I haven't 
stormed into Tom's office and told him there's no story here. Or 
worse, written up the story that Klein has lost his mind." 

"So what's the plan from here? After all, he might just have seen 
someone who looks like you." 

Lois nodded slowly. "An ancient ancestor perhaps..."

"What?"

"Maybe... what if this woman is an ancestor?" she asked, her 
voice getting faster in excitement. "Maybe she's the key to my 
finding out who I really am." She turned back to her computer, 
hitting the privacy button and typing in her request. 

"Lois..." David said hesitantly. "...I don't like where this is 
going. The chances that she's related to you are almost 
non-existent. I don't like to see you getting your hopes up." 

"I'm just researching this story," Lois said innocently.

"Oh, yeah? Then why did you hit the privacy button?"

"I don't want to disturb everyone. I'm trying to be considerate 
here. Don't knock it. It might never happen again. Besides, what 
if I do find out that Dr. Klein is having problems... you know... 
upstairs? I think we need to approach this entire story with the 
utmost care." 

"Yeah, right," David responded, anything but convinced. "So what 
are you looking for?" 

"Dr. Klein showed me the news reel from Superman's debut. I'm 
trying to find a copy of it in the Daily Planet archives. He said 
that... Uhh... here it is. Okay, now..." She waited as the 
picture captured some of the people in the audience before 
suddenly pausing it. "He claims that's him." 

David squinted at the screen. "It sort of looks like him."

"I figured he had altered the record. But he'd have a hard time 
getting past our security to alter this one, too." 

"Then maybe it really is true. Maybe he really did make it back 
there. Where's the woman he says looks like you?" 

"She's coming up. Right... there!" She stopped the picture, 
pointing to a woman on the stage behind Superman. 

"Can you clean it up at all?"

"Let's see..." She took a moment to punch a few commands into the 
computer. It looked clearer, but still not clear enough to get a 
good look at the woman's face. 

"I suppose it could be you."

Lois elbowed him in the ribs. "It's not me."

"If you say so," David replied, a grin in his voice.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois spent the rest of the afternoon closely examining every 
article and every picture associated with the debut of Superman, 
looking for both information about the woman and to see if there 
were any other shots of Dr. Klein, when one picture in particular 
caught her attention. Why hadn't she noticed this before? Unlike 
the news reel from Superman's debut, the picture she'd found was 
clear. An old eight by ten of the man who had been running 
against Perry White for the position of Mayor of Metropolis. He 
was known simply as Tempus.  

She knew that man. The eyes. The slight smirk. It sent shivers 
down her spine. She'd swear he was the man from her dreams. 

Not entirely sure what her next step should be, she glanced up at 
the clock. It was nearly seven. Most of her colleagues had 
already called it a day. Turning off her computer, she stood up, 
grabbed her coat and headed for one of the offices.  

She was relieved to see that David was still bent over his 
computer, obviously working on something. 

"Taking a supper break?" Lois asked, leaning against the 
doorframe. 

David looked up and blinked. "Is this... Are you asking me out 
for supper?" 

"Consider it your lucky day."

Smiling, David quickly closed down his computer and rose to his 
feet. 

"Besides, I need to pick your brain. I want to know everything 
you can tell me about Superman." 

David froze for a moment before shaking his head in resignation. 
"I should have known," he mumbled. 

"So... are you still coming?" Lois asked.

"What do you think?" David asked, grabbing his coat and following 
her out of his office. "But I've got a better idea. Let's just 
grab a sandwich from the deli computer downstairs. There's a 
place I think you should see." 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois looked skeptically at David as they stepped through the 
doors of the old-fashioned building. "Are you sure about this?" 
she asked. 

"I take it you've never been to the Superman Museum before."

"Can't imagine why," Lois mumbled under her breath.

"Well, you're the one who said you wanted to learn more about 
Superman." 

"Yeah, and I'm so glad I did," Lois returned sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. I get the point. Not a fan here. Still... you're 
going to love this place." Taking her hand, he led her further 
into the building, obviously excited about the chance to share 
his obsession. Come to think of it, this was probably his idea of 
the perfect date. 

Lois gave her head a shake in light of the typical male behavior. 
Talking about Superman was right up there with talking sports. If 
she had a nickle for every guy who had ever removed his glasses 
and folded his arms across his chest before coming up with some 
of the most unbelievable pick up lines, she'd be rich. 'Hey, 
baby, let me show you what it's really like to fly.' 'Wanna know 
the real reason they call 'me' the Man of Steel?' 'Wanna join the 
mile high club?' 'You must be made of kryptonite because being 
around you makes my knees weak.' 'They sure don't have babes like 
you on Krypton.' And her all time favorite... 'You'd look great 
in my cape - just my cape.' Please. What did they think? That 
women melted at the mere mention of the superhero? 

She stopped in front of a life-sized image of Superman in his 
blue suit, his red cape flying out majestically behind him. Okay, 
so he was sort of cute - if one overlooked the comic book outfit. 
And she couldn't say she was particularly wild about the hair 
style. He looked so... unreal. On the other hand... Her eyes 
drifted slowly down his body. ...he did have other things to 
recommend him. 

"Uhh... Lois?"

"Huh?" Lois asked, quickly tearing her eyes away from where they 
had focused on a particular part of Superman's anatomy. 'Is that 
really all him?' was the question that flashed unbidden through 
her mind as she made herself look at David, hoping he didn't 
notice the increased color in her cheeks. 

The smug grin on David's face made it clear that he had noticed, 
causing her cheeks to flame even more. Good thing he wasn't the 
jealous type.  

"So... you going to stand there all day, ogling his statue, or do 
you want the nickle tour?" David asked, obviously amused. 

"I wasn't ogling," Lois responded indignantly. "Okay, so maybe 
he's impressive... at least the statue of him is. But he's still 
not my type." 

"I'm just as glad about that." He flexed his own biceps, 
comparing them to the superhero. "Yep, I'm certainly glad about 
that." 

Lois gave him a playful slap on his arm, causing him to laugh. 
"Okay, so where do we start?" she asked. 

"Uhh... Well, I think we start here. With Clark Kent." He led 
Lois over to a photo of the man in question. 

Lois had to fight back the slight hitch in her breath when she 
saw the photo of the man behind the costume. His slightly ruffled 
hair. His easy demeanor as he lounged in an over-stuffed chair, 
his face lit up in a dazzling smile. His casual clothing - a 
t-shirt that showed off his muscles to perfection and a tight 
pair of jeans. This man was easily the most gorgeous man Lois had 
ever laid eyes on. Oh, she'd seen Superman's picture many times 
in her life. He was still used in many forms of advertising - as 
well as the pictures she'd seen of him in school. But she was 
fairly certain she'd never seen the man - Clark Kent - because 
there was no way she would have forgotten him. It was his eyes 
more than anything. They were so guileless, so true. They seemed 
to look right inside her - and all this even without the x-ray 
vision. Of course, that was probably what made him such a great 
con-artist - able to convince the world he was doing all these 
superfeats. 

"I'm sure you are aware that he came from a planet called 
Krypton," David continued, unaware of the effect seeing this 
picture was having on Lois. "He was sent here by his parents, 
Jor-El and Lara, because his planet was about to explode." 

"Why didn't they build a ship big enough for the whole family?" 
Lois asked. 

"No one knows. Oh, there are certainly lots of theories."

"Like?" Lois asked, looking over at David.

"Well, some think that maybe they didn't have the time to build a 
bigger ship. Or maybe they didn't have enough money or resources. 
But no one really knows. Anyway... Hey, here's something you 
probably don't know. His real name - or should I say his 
Kryptonian name - was Kal-El." 

"Kalelle..."

"No, it's two words. Kal from the House of El. Kal-El. He was 
actually a Kryptonian lord." 

Lois' eyebrows rose.

"What can I say? Everything you ever wanted to know about 
Superman but were afraid to ask... I'm your guy." 

Lois smiled.

He led her to a display cabinet with pictures of a young child, 
many of which had two adults in them, beaming proudly at the 
young boy. "Anyway, he arrived in Kansas and was taken in by a 
couple named Martha and Jonathan Kent. Farmers. They named him 
Clark Kent and raised him as their own son." 

"Now, see... that's part of the story that makes the whole thing 
so unbelievable to me," Lois said. "I mean, if I found a baby in 
a spacecraft, I wouldn't likely just take him in and raise him as 
my own son without ever telling anyone about it. Besides, how 
would they explain his sudden appearance? There would be no 
record of him." 

"Apparently, they told neighbors he was the illegitimate son of a 
cousin of Martha Kent's." 

"But still..."

"Okay, okay. They never would have gotten away with it today. 
But... I don't know. Maybe no one looked too closely. Anyway, he 
lived with the Kents from then until they were killed in an 
automobile accident when he was ten years old." 

"I heard those automobiles were dangerous. That just proves it. 
Give me a transport any day. So what happened to him then?" 

"He bounced around from foster home to foster home."

Lois shivered. She knew what that was like. Her eyes focused on 
the devastated face of a young boy standing by the coffins of his 
parents. He looked so scared. So alone. She suddenly felt a great 
deal of empathy with him. Maybe that was why he'd come up with 
this crazy Superman idea. After all, she knew only too well the 
lengths to which one would go to get noticed when one was a 
product of the foster care system. In fact, she had four Kerth 
Awards and one Meriweather Award to prove it. 

"Hey, are you okay?" David asked.

Lois gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess I was just sympathizing 
a bit." 

"Oh, yeah. I forget sometimes," he said, giving her arm a 
sympathetic squeeze. "Rough, was it?" 

"It was fine," she lied. "Anyway, so what happened then?"

"He went to journalism school..." He moved over to a display 
cabinet filled with pictures of Kent during his years in college. 
His college yearbook photos. The transcripts of his marks. The 
letter informing him that he was being offered a full academic 
and football scholarship. Photos of him in a football jersey. 
Even a small football trophy. Lois leaned over and read the 
inscription. 'Most valuable player.' 

"See... That's exactly what I mean," Lois said, looking back at 
David. 

"What?"

"Okay, so he can outrun bullets, kick nuclear bombs into space 
and fly fast enough to be practically invisible and yet he lets 
them give him a trophy for 'most valuable player' and even a 
football scholarship without revealing that he has these secret 
powers? I'd call that cheating. How was that a level playing 
field? And how can he claim to be this benevolent superhero when 
he paid his way through college by cheating at football?" 

David sighed, taking her arm and leading her over to the next 
display.  

"I'm only saying," Lois mumbled under her breath.

"After college, he spent the next several years traveling the 
world." 

"Why?"

"I don't think he ever said. But think about it, if you could fly 
anywhere you wanted in a matter of minutes, wouldn't you be out 
exploring the world?" 

"But I'd still come home to sleep in my own bed at nights."

"You mean float over."

"What?"

"Float over... as in floating above the bed."

"He floated in his sleep?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I read it somewhere, but I'm not sure if 
it was just someone's speculation." The next display case was 
filled with an odd collection of items. "These are some of the 
souvenirs he brought home." 

Lois stared for a long time at a weird-looking, wooden statue 
with a big head. The man certainly had strange taste. The sign 
under the statue indicated that it was some sort of fertility 
goddess. 

"Fertility goddess?" she asked, turning to look at David.

He merely shrugged. 

Lois felt a giggle rise in her throat. 'Hey, babe, come back to 
my apartment and see my fertility goddess.' She cleared her 
throat, quickly redirecting her attention to the rest of the 
items. Nothing looked overly expensive. But with his powers... "I 
don't understand. I mean, those are some odd trinkets. But that's 
just what they are. Trinkets." 

"What are you saying?"

"Well, with those abilities, he would certainly have had enough 
money to be buying... Oh, I don't know. Persian rugs or elephant 
tusk carvings or... something. So what's with this... stuff?" She 
waved her arm towards the case. 

"He wasn't a rich man, Lois. In fact..." He headed towards 
another display. "Here's the apartment building he moved into 
when he first went to work for the Daily Planet." 

"That's this building!" she said, looking from the photograph to 
the building around her. 

David nodded. "The city wanted to tear the place torn down about 
fifty years ago. Anyway, the building was declared a historic 
landmark by the Department of Culture and History and... hence, 
the museum." 

She studied the picture of the worn down building. It looked 
almost identical, at least from the exterior, to what it was 
today. She supposed if it had been declared a historic landmark, 
that was deliberate. 

"And here are some pictures of his apartment. But we will go 
upstairs afterwards, and you can see it for yourself. I'm not 
sure if all the furniture is authentic, but at least it is 
authentic to the period." 

The apartment itself was... sparse, but homey. But certainly 
nothing that said money. 

"He lived here until he disappeared."

Lois narrowed her eyes. This didn't quite add up to the image 
Lois had of him as a con-artist. Most con-artists did it for the 
money. But if this guy wasn't getting rich from his con, what was 
the point? On the other hand... "Maybe he was saving his money so 
that by the time his con was discovered, he'd have enough to buy 
a small island somewhere." 

David rolled his eyes. "One thing I'll say for you, once you get 
an idea in your mind, you don't let it go." 

"They don't call me Mad Dog Lewis for nothing," she said with a 
grin. 

He placed his hand on the small of her back. "This is something 
you might want to see," he said, directing her to a pedestal with 
a glass enclosure at the top. Inside sat what looked like a small 
globe, although from the continental configuration, it was 
obviously not Earth. "Apparently, there were messages inside that 
told him about his origin. But since his disappearance, no one 
has been able to make it work. They have done extensive analysis 
on it and it's made of some alloy we don't have on Earth." 

Lois studied the globe from all angles.

"And here's something else that might interest you," he said, 
leading her over to another pedestal. 

"Kryptonite," she said. She'd never seen the substance before, 
but she knew immediately what she must be looking at. The word 
itself had long ago made it into popular language as an 
expression for something that could hurt or kill. She felt an 
uneasiness in her stomach as she looked at the sickly glow. She'd 
seen the tape of Superman's unveiling and watched the effect the 
substance appeared to have on him. "Is this the only piece in 
existence?" 

He shook his head. "There are a number of pieces kept as 
souvenirs by collectors, other museums... that sort of thing. 
There was a lot of construction in Smallville shortly after his 
disappearance. And they found quite a few pieces of it. Most of 
it, if I recall correctly, was in a place called... Oh, what was 
it again? Samuel's... No! Schuster's... Schuster's field! That's 
right. There were other colored rocks there, too, that looked a 
lot like kyrptonite. We don't know, however, if those other rocks 
would have affected Superman because he was never exposed to 
them." 

Lois studied the rock for a moment more before looking around to 
see what else they had. She spotted a display on the far wall and 
made her way over to it. "So this was Superman's coming out 
party," she said when she saw stills obviously taken from the now 
famous news reel. 

"Yeah. And they have this..." David hit a button and a 
holographic display emerged on a nearby platform, allowing them 
to watch a life size 3-D display of the entire event. As it 
played, Lois circled the platform, watching the supporting cast 
in this drama more than she watched the hero. Tempus. He 
certainly had the same eyes as the man in her dreams. He had the 
same smirk. But more importantly, he left the same feeling in the 
pit of her stomach. But how was that possible? Unless, of course, 
her subconscious had noted the man when she'd seen the film of 
the event in school and then her dreams had used this same man to 
give a face to the man in her nightmare. She nodded slowly. It 
made sense. 

However, one of the other players was definitely harder to 
explain. The woman's hair was different, but other than that... 
The woman was the spitting image of her. Same height. Same 
weight. Same mannerisms. Right down to a birthmark of the same 
shape and size on the same spot at the edge of the woman's 
hairline. 

"Wow. I never noticed that before," David said as he too studied 
the woman. "I can see why Philip Klein was convinced he saw you 
at Superman's debut. Hey, maybe he saw you there because you go 
back in time at some point." 

Lois slowly shook her head as she continued to examine the woman. 
"I'd never cut my hair that short." She continued circling the 
woman. "You said we don't know her name. Do we know anything 
about her?" 

"Well, some think that she was the person who persuaded Clark to 
become Superman." 

"Then she's definitely not me," Lois muttered. "I'd never have 
put Kent in that ridiculous outfit. I think I heard somewhere 
that he was engaged to be married. Is she the woman he was 
supposed to marry?" 

"No. That woman was Lana Lang, a childhood sweetheart." He 
gestured to a picture of a blonde. "She left him when he went 
public about his origins." 

"Or maybe she wasn't happy that he was perpetrating this fraud on 
the public," Lois muttered. 

"There's actually a biography about her that she authorized," 
David continued, ignoring Lois' mumbled comment. "Apparently, she 
told the biographer that she had warned Superman for years about 
what would happen if he went public. And then, when he 
disappeared, she claimed she had been right." 

"What did she think happened to him?"

"That he couldn't take the spotlight. She portrayed him as sort 
shy - friendly, but reserved. She maintained until her death that 
he'd disappeared because he didn't like all the attention - which 
was what she had predicted would happen." 

Lois' eyebrows rose. "Bet she felt good to be right." She was 
surprised by how much she suddenly disliked this woman. 

"So what's in this case?" she asked, making her way over to a 
case they hadn't looked in yet. 

"This case... as well as those..." He pointed to some other 
photos further along the hall. "...document his life as Superman 
from the time of his debut until the moment he disappeared." 

Lois slowly made her way through the remainder of the displays, 
seeing Superman at disaster sites, Kent at the Daily Planet or in 
front of his house or sitting alone on a park bench in Centennial 
Park. Dozens. Hundreds of pictures.  

She was about half way through them when something suddenly 
occurred to her. To make sure she hadn't missed something, she 
went back to look at the pictures again. No.  She wasn't wrong. 

"What?" asked David.

"Well, look at these pictures. There isn't a single picture with 
him smiling from the time of his debut until he disappeared." 

"Are you sure?" asked David.

"Well, look!"

Making her way back to earlier pictures of Kent, she found 
herself realizing how obvious it was once she figured it out. In 
the pre-Superman pictures, he was smiling and his eyes almost 
danced, as if he had a secret he was just dying to tell someone. 
In the post-Superman pictures, he remained serious and his 
eyes... It was his eyes that bothered Lois the most. They just 
looked so incredibly sad, as if he alone carried the weight of 
the world on his shoulders. 

"You know," David said as they were about to leave, "I think it's 
not so much that you don't believe in Superman. I think you don't 
want to believe in Superman." 

Lois didn't respond. It took her a long time, thinking seriously 
about his comment, before finding an answer for herself. It 
wasn't that she didn't want to believe. She did - more than 
anything she wanted to believe. But she didn't. No one was that 
good. Everyone had an angle. Still, she didn't share that with 
David. It was just too... depressing. 

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 2
* * * * * * * * *

Lois was deep in thought as she stepped onto the floor of her 
apartment building later that evening. For some reason, she'd 
been unable to get Clark Kent's haunted eyes out of her mind. 
Stepping up to her door, she keyed in her four digest lock code 
before placing her thumb on the fingerprint identification pad.  

"Voice recognition?" the computer generated voice asked.

"All right. All right. It's me. Just open the door already," Lois 
responded impatiently. Kal-El. There was something about that 
name that rang some bells in her mind. She just couldn't seem to 
figure out exactly what seemed familiar about it. 

Click.

Lois quickly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Good evening, Ms. L," the computer said as Lois closed her door 
behind her. 

Lois stopped dead in her tracks. "What?" she asked.

"I said, 'good evening, Ms. L," the computer repeated in a 
friendly tone of voice. 

Lois was silent for a moment before dashing over to the old trunk 
she kept beneath her bed. Pulling it out, she fumbled through it 
until she found what she was looking for - an old, timeworn note. 
'My name is Lois 'L'.'  

Kal-El. 

Lois 'L'.

Lois rocked back on her heels. What was the author of note trying 
to tell her? Was the 'L' some sick attempt at humor? Was the 
author claiming she was somehow connected to Kal-El? Maybe she 
had been spirited away in the middle of the night because... 
what? Maybe she was a descendant of Kal-El, and some crazed 
alien-hunting group was tracking down and killing all of his 
descendants. 

She'd never heard of Kal-El having any children. But after 
tonight, she realized there was a lot the world didn't know about 
Mr. Clark Kent. Could he be an ancestor? Could he have had a 
child with the unnamed woman who had appeared with him on that 
stage? After all, there was no denying that the woman and Lois 
were practically indistinguishable. Or was she simply reading too 
much into the use of quotation marks? 

She closed her eyes and tried floating. Nope. Whatever this 
connection was, it didn't give her superpowers. Damn! She could 
really use some of those powers. And she'd put them to better use 
than 'grandpa' had. No way was she rescuing cats from trees. She 
felt a giggle erupt in the back of her throat. 

Once the laughter at the direction her thoughts had taken passed, 
Lois sank down to sit beside the trunk on the floor. She studied 
the note in her hands for a long time as she tried to reconcile 
it with everything she had learned tonight. The man who had 
exposed Kal-El was in her dreams. The woman present was the 
spitting image of her - except for her hair. And the note had put 
the letter 'L' in single quotation marks. What did it all mean? 
And how did she follow up on it? 

* * * * * * * * *

Clark Kent sat back in his chair and stared at the two documents 
before him. All his searching and this was the sum total of what 
he'd been able to find.  

The good news was that Lois Lane had been born at Mercy Hospital 
in Metropolis to a Dr. Samuel and Ellen Lane on October 7th, 
1967. The bad news was... He picked up the newspaper article he'd 
found in addition to the Statement of Live Birth. ...she'd been 
kidnapped by person or persons unknown from the hospital two days 
later. The only thing that had been left behind was the pink 
identification bracelet that had been cut off her small wrist. 
She had never been heard of again. 

Still, he couldn't... wouldn't give up. After all, no body had 
ever been found. She might have another name. But there was no 
way he could ever forget that face. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois ran her hands slowly down the hard muscles of his chest, 
allowing her fingers to trace each one through the tight-fitting 
material. Reaching over, she picked the wet cloth out of the 
basin and raised it to her chest. Keeping her eyes firmly on the 
brown eyes of the man beneath her, she twisted the cloth in her 
hands, wringing out the excess water. She closed her eyes and 
tilted her head back as the water ran down her chest, wetting 
both her shirt and the thin satin material of her panties. She 
could hear the strangled growl of the man, starting a slow burn 
deep within her. 

Opening her eyes, she took the cloth and began, slowly, 
methodically, running it over the blue spandex in front of her, 
watching with increasing fascination as the material melted away 
as the cloth stroked across it, leaving her staring, unhindered, 
at the hard muscles of his chest. She dipped the cloth back in 
the basin and increased her tempo, finding that by augmenting the 
water she could make the suit disintegrate even faster. She 
quickly finished her task until the chest and arms of the man 
beneath her were fully exposed to her viewing pleasure. She 
groaned in pleasure at the mere sight of his perfectly formed 
upper body. Never before had just looking at a man been able to 
raise her body temperature to such a degree. 

Unable to resist, she leaned over, using her tongue now to trace 
those same muscles, starting at his neck. Tracing the tendons 
down his strong neck with her tongue, she heard a dark, masculine 
growl arise in the back of his throat. The sound called to her, 
drawing her in, making her quickly his. 

She pulled back again, needing to see his eyes. They were dark, 
almost black. Passion seemed to jump between them, fanning the 
smoldering embers in her belly. Her heart rate increased when she 
looked down and realized that the water she'd spilled on herself 
had also disintegrated the front of her top. Her eyes snapped up 
to meet his, realizing immediately that he, too, had noticed her 
current attire - or lack thereof. 

Lois jerked awake, covered with sweat. It took her a moment to 
realize where she was. In her small apartment. In her own bed. 
Alone. What the hell had that been about? All she had done was 
seen his statue and a few pictures and yet... God, she hadn't had 
a dream like that in years. So why was her subconscious... 
insisting on taking her places she would never have a chance to 
go? Had no desire to go, in fact. 

Getting out of bed, she made her way over to the window, once 
again forcing it open, allowing the cold evening air to slow her 
ragging hormones. Until this moment, she'd never really 
understood the meaning of frustration. She'd read about it, of 
course. Heard about it. But until tonight, she'd never really 
experienced it - the almost overpowering desire to crawl back 
into bed and finish what the dream had awakened inside her. No! 
No, that was crazy. She had no intention of feeding these 
unrealistic, completely insane fantasies.  

She forced her mind onto other topics. The cold night air. The 
argument she could see taking place in an apartment across from 
hers. His smiling eyes as he'd sat sprawled out in an 
over-stuffed chair before his exposure as Superman. His solemn 
eyes as looked back at her in all those pictures after he became 
Superman - as if he was calling out to her across the years, 
telling her of his loneliness - a loneliness which she herself 
shared - as if he, too, was somehow also cut off from those 
around him, not ever quite belonging. She felt an unexpected 
twang in her heart. 

She gave her head a shake, growling slightly. What was she doing? 
He was a con-artist. And not even one she'd ever meet. Besides, 
it was more than a little troubling that she might be having 
erotic dreams about her great, great, great grandfather. She 
shivered slightly, confused by how much that possibility suddenly 
bothered her. On the other hand, even if the woman was an 
ancestor, it was highly unlikely Kent was in anyway related to 
her. Besides, it wasn't as if she could help what her 
subconscious did while she was sleeping. Sleeping. She glanced 
back briefly at the bed, but didn't return. She knew there was 
little chance she'd get any more sleep tonight. 

* * * * * * * * *

The next morning, Lois spent her time reviewing all the 
information she could find on the life of Clark Kent. She 
searched but found almost nothing about Tempus or the strange 
woman who could have been her twin. It was odd but both of them 
seemed to appear out of nowhere and then disappear again after 
Superman's debut. Tom Balsam came over several times, asking what 
was happening with her story from Dr. Philip Klein. She'd been 
vague, but promised him that the story was huge - provided she 
could confirm it.  

It was true, of course. But that wasn't the main reason she was 
doing this. There were simply too many coincidences... too many 
for her to let this go. But none of it had to do with Clark Kent 
himself. None of it! 

She'd noticed David watching her several times during the course 
of the morning, but she ignored him. She wasn't willing to talk 
to him yet. Not until she figured out exactly what she was going 
to do. 

By early afternoon, she'd finished finding out everything she 
could about Kent. Sticking her palm computer into her purse, she 
headed out for her next destination. 

* * * * * * * * *

"I wasn't sure you'd be back," Philip Klein said as he continued 
fussing in his lab. "You took off awfully fast yesterday." 

"I had some research to do," Lois replied vaguely. "But I've got 
some more questions." 

"Shoot."

"Well, one of the things that makes a lot of scientists dismiss 
the idea of time travel is the idea of paradoxes." 

"Uhh... you mean if I go back in time and kill my grandfather, 
how could I then be born so that I could go back in time and kill 
my grandfather. Well... I discovered something rather interesting 
when I was experimenting with the machine." 

"What's that?"

"It seems that 'time' is a lot more resilient than you might 
think. If you go into the past and try to change something, time 
itself will bounce you forward to your own time. For example, 
when I went into the past, I tried to warn Clark Kent that he was 
about to step into a trap Tempus had set for him." 

"You mean where Tempus exposes Clark Kent to be Superman?"

"Yes. Quite. Anyway, before I could do it, the machine sent me 
back to my own time. Now, I imagine scientists will eventually 
find a way around this safety mechanism, but for now... There's 
no danger to the time line by doing a little time traveling." 

"So time somehow recognizes when you belong and sends you back?"

"Yes. I instantly found myself back in this room wondering what 
had happened. So I went back again, tried again and the same 
thing happened." 

"But what if time hadn't protected itself. What would have 
happened if you had changed the time line?" 

"Uhh... well.... in case something happens..." He led Lois into a 
small room. "Before I go back, my assistant and I come in here 
and close the door." He closed the door to demonstrate. "This 
room is protected by... well, I call it a time bubble. By looking 
at this screen..." He pointed to a computer screen."...you can 
see the time line. Any anomalies to the time line would show up 
there as a red flashing light. Now, I know it works because when 
I go back in time, I show up as such a light. Then, if you need 
more details about the anomaly, you just touch the light and the 
computer will give you a more detailed analysis. The time bubble 
around the room ensures that you are... I guess the easiest way 
to explain it would be to say that you are outside time. It gives 
the people in this room time to make any corrections to the time 
line - if necessary." 

"But if time protects itself..."

"Why do I still need this room? Ms. Lewis, I built this before my 
first trip, before I knew about this remarkable ability of time 
to protect itself. Since then... I figure better safe than sorry. 
That's my motto, Ms. Lewis. That's why I'm the only person who 
has used this machine. And that's why I will be the only person 
to use it until such time as I'm satisfied that time travel is 
completely safe." 

"So there's no chance that I...."

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Lewis," Philip said, realizing what she was 
going to ask. 

Lois studied the man for a long moment, assessing her chances of 
changing his mind. Deciding he was not about to be budged, she 
proceeded to her next question. "So how exactly does this machine 
work?" 

"Well, first you step in here." He pointed to a large, upright 
glass cylinder. "This machine takes your vital statistics. Your 
height, weight, DNA, chemical compounds in your blood, 
everything. It's scanned into the computer so that it can find 
you to bring you home." 

"So... how exactly do you operate the machine?"

"Oh, well, you just..." He demonstrated, pushing the appropriate 
buttons while explaining in great detail what every button and 
knob did. "And when you've done all that, you press this button - 
and presto. The machine knows everything there is to know about 
you. Well, not whether you've cheated on your income tax," he 
added with a chuckle, clearly amused by his own joke. "But 
everything else. I won't actually push it now since there's no 
one in the machine. Don't particularly want it to scan a fly that 
might be in the machine." 

"What if there's a fly in the machine with you when you're 
scanned?" 

"That's why..." He picked up an aerosol can filled with bug 
spray. "It's my own special blend. It's not dangerous to humans. 
But when I step inside the machine, I give it a blast and then 
make sure any bugs on the floor are picked up and disposed of in 
that small box so that they don't get mixed in with my DNA. Hey, 
I saw 'The Fly' when I was a kid, too." 

"So what would happen if you went back to a time in your own 
lifetime. Would the machine get confused then?" 

"No. After all, this is the only second of your life when you 
will be exactly the age you are now, with the same level of 
chemicals in your blood, the same scars, the same... well, 
everything. And why would you go back to a time when you were 
that exact age? You could just look in the mirror. I've done some 
experiments of going back only a couple of hours and the machine 
doesn't have any problems distinguishing the time traveling me 
from the me of that time." 

Lois nodded slowly, trying to take it all in.

"Anyway, once you're scanned into the computer, you enter this 
machine." He gestured to another upright glass cylinder. "You set 
the time you want to go to..." He demonstrated how on a computer 
pad on the consol outside. "You enter the length of your trip. 
And the time you want to return - for that I've already got one 
hour entered. I suppose I could come back a minute after I leave, 
but I did that once and it confused my assistant too much - 
hearing me talk about a day's worth of adventures after only 
being gone for a minute. So I leave it set at one hour." Again, 
he demonstrated how to use the controls. "Then you step into the 
machine and your assistant hits this button. And... poof." 

"So you don't take any sort of machine with you in case you have 
problems getting back?" 

"Unnecessary. And until I find a way to make a handheld model, 
impractical. At the end of the length of time you entered for 
your trip, the computer will send you back here - unless, of 
course, you're bumped back early because you try to change 
something in the past." 

"And if something goes wrong."

Klein shook his head. "I've built back-up systems into this 
machine until they're redundant. Nothing can go wrong." 

"Power failure?"
							
"Back up generators - three of them. All regularly maintained."

"Short in the controls for the length of the trip."

"Any problem is immediately caught by the computer and the 
information is instantly sent over to the back up controls. 
Listen, Ms. Lewis, it's nice that you're so concerned about my 
safety, but I'm fine. Really. My only real concern at the moment 
is whether there will be any long term effects from extensive 
time travel." 

"What type of long term effects?"

"Well... will I continue to age normally. That sort of thing. I 
suspect it might slow down my normal aging process. Oh, hey. That 
reminds me. I learned something interesting in the past. I met my 
great, great grandfather - the Dr. Bernard Klein himself. He was 
studying Superman's physiology and he told me something I don't 
think I've seen in any texts about Superman." 

"What?"

"Well, he believes that Superman will age slower than humans. Of 
course, I couldn't tell him that there was no need to do those 
experiments." 

"Why not?"

"Well, Superman will go missing in three years. And... well, I 
have to tell you, Ms. Lewis, I suspect he died a few years later. 
He would never have just sat around while we blew so much of our 
world to pieces." 

"So you think he was dead before the advent of World War III in 
2014?" 

"I'd bet my reputation on it. But for some reason, even though 
I've now gone back dozens of times, I still have no idea what 
happened to Superman. He really did just seem to disappear. I 
suppose it's not as if it matters," Klein continued. "After all, 
even if I did find out what happened, I wouldn't be able to 
change anything." 

"So what can you take with you into the past?" Lois asked, 
sensing the need to get them back on track. "I saw the remake of 
The Terminator. I hope you don't end up back there stark naked." 

Klein laughed. "Oh, no. I assure you I was quite decent. You can 
actually take anything that's in the chamber with you. But you do 
have to be careful because when you come back, unless you leave 
something that will affect the time line, it won't come back with 
you unless you're holding it. I lost a perfectly good pair of 
sunglasses that way." 

"And where do you appear when you get to this new place in 
time?" 

"The same place you start out. I know. I know. That's something I 
need to work on. After all, if you're going back to observe... 
let's say the explorations of Marco Polo and you appear in 
Metropolis... or where Metropolis will be in the future, you 
won't be able to get to the part of the world you want to be." 

"So where did you end up when you went back to Superman's 
debut?" 

"In Klein Labs... Well, it was called Star Labs back then," Klein 
said. "But I've managed to minimize initial contact by setting 
the controls so that I arrive in the early hours of the morning. 
So far I've managed to sneak out without anyone seeing me - well, 
except for the odd occasion when I got caught by Dr. Klein. But 
then, I told you I'd spoken to their Dr. Klein. Remarkable man. 
Remarkable. Did you know that he won two Nobel Prizes? The first 
one, as you might expect, was in quantum physics. But the second 
one was for his work with AIDs patients in Africa before the war. 
He did remarkable things in getting the disease under control 
over there so that it didn't wipe out their entire population. 
It's a pity that the war came and..." 

"Dr. Klein!"

"Oh, right. Sorry," Philip Klein said somewhat sheepishly. 
"Anyway, I've been lucky. This lab has remained relatively 
untouched for the past 300 years - since the initial construction 
of Star Labs. Which, by the way, is why I chose this particular 
lab to set up the time machine. And before the construction of 
the building, this area was nothing more than an open field on 
the edge of the river. So... taking off and leaving from here 
isn't as much of a problem as you might expect. Still, allowing 
me to choose the destination as well as the time is right on the 
top of my 'to do' list." 

"So there's no way I could persuade you to let me go back in 
time. It would make a great angle for this story," Lois said. 
"Hey, I'm just asking," she continued when she saw the resulting 
look on Dr. Klein's face. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois took a detour after she left Klein Labs, riding the 
transport past the ruins of the old city. Bigger bombs. Better 
bombs - the people at the time had claimed. All the destructive 
power of a nuclear bomb but without the radiation. Tell all the 
people who had died in the war how great the new bombs were. She 
shook her head as she saw the miles of destruction that still lay 
on the outskirts of the city. A hundred and forty three years was 
not enough to completely purge the stain. And Metropolis had been 
lucky. New York and Washington had not faired nearly as well, not 
to mention all those great cities in other countries that had 
never been rebuilt. 

She couldn't say that she was a Superman fan - or even that she 
really believed that he'd existed. But... if there was a 
Superman, surely he would have come out of retirement when 
mankind started killing each other off in such vast numbers. To 
do otherwise would make him a monster. No, Klein was right. 
Assuming that the entire thing hadn't been some sort of hoax, she 
had to believe he'd died before 2014. For some reason, that 
thought depressed her. 

* * * * * * * * *

Later that evening, Lois stood in her apartment, looking around 
at the familiar walls. It occurred to her as she observed the 
small apartment that although she'd lived here for the past ten 
years - since she was twenty-one, in fact - she'd never really 
made it feel like a home. As if she was just putting in time.  

She shook her head at the crazy thought. She'd be back here to 
sleep before first light. And then... maybe she'd buy that edgy 
little painting she'd seen the other day by one of the local 
artists. And she'd ask David out on an actual date. It was 
time... Actually, it was long past time for her to get a life. It 
wasn't as if she could stay in the past anyway. She'd be sent 
back after a set period of time - if she didn't try to change 
something in the time line first. And really, what chance was 
there that she wouldn't try to change something?  

No. No. No. No. She was just going back to find out what she 
could about Tempus and her twin. Now she only needed to get David 
on board and she'd be all set. 

* * * * * * * * *

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Shhh... Do you want to get caught?" A few moments and a couple 
of muttered curses later... "Okay, we're in." 

Lois snuck slowly into the lab, stopping in the middle of the 
room. "Hey," she grumbled when David bumped into her. 

"Sorry, it's dark in here. Do you think we could turn on a 
light?" 

Lois turned back to the door, closing it firmly before hitting 
the light switch. Since the button for the time bubble was right 
next to the light switch, she hit that, too. 

"I'm not sure about this, Lois," David said, looking around at 
all the equipment. "What if something goes wrong?" 

"Dr. Klein said nothing can go wrong," she said while turning on 
all the various pieces of equipment. 

She stepped into the cylinder to be screened, being careful not 
to have any bugs in there with her. Once that was finished, she 
headed towards the time travel cylinder.  

"Wait!" David said, causing her to turn towards him.

"What?" she asked. She couldn't believe the level of excitement 
that was rising in her at the prospect of this trip and felt 
somewhat annoyed at having to take time to address David. 

He stepped closer to her. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do 
this?" he asked, placing his hands on her upper arms. 

"I'm doing this, David," she responded, leaving no room for doubt 
in her voice. "You can watch me the whole time on that screen." 
Lois pointed to one of the computers. "I'll be the cute, little 
red dot with the great legs," she added, hoping to use a little 
humor to combat the tense vibes she was getting from her 
co-conspirator. She was about to turn away when something stopped 
her. On impulse, she stepped up on her toes gave him a kiss on 
the cheek. "Take care," she said. "You've been a great friend to 
me." 

"Okay, now that I didn't like," David informed her. 

"What? You don't like me kissing you? I'll have to remember that 
for future reference," she responded cheekily. 

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it. That... 
seemed like a goodbye. A permanent goodbye." 

"Don't be crazy," Lois said, refusing to meet his eyes.

He gave her a small shake, forcing her again to look at him. "If 
the leggy red dot as much as blinks funny, I'm calling Philip 
Klein." 

Lois rolled her eyes. "Relax. Nothing's going to go wrong." She 
quickly inputted the necessary information into the machine. 
"I'll be back before you know it." Stepping into the machine, she 
closed the door. "All I need you to do is push the button." 

David stared at her for a long time before looking down at the 
button. After one final look at her to ensure that she really 
wanted him to do this, he pushed the button, gasping when she 
disappeared from the room. 

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 3
* * * * * * * * *

Lois snuck into the newsroom of the Daily Planet, being cautious 
to keep to the shadows. Seeing her double, she quickly grabbed a 
paper out of the holder by the elevators and opened it up so that 
she could hide behind it. 

'Wow,' Lois thought. 'They still have newspapers made out of 
actual paper.' Caught up in the thrill of actually holding a real 
newspaper, she almost forgot to watch and listen to her twin who 
was currently rushing in her direction. At first, Lois tensed. 
Had the woman seen her?  

Lois' eyebrows rose when she realized the woman's destination - 
and was even more surprised when the woman threw herself into 
Clark Kent's arms. Maybe her theory about being the descendant of 
an illicit love affair between these two wasn't so crazy after 
all. But... she had to fight the urge to laugh when 'gramps' 
looked even more surprised than Lois had been by her twin's 
actions. 

"Oh, Clark, I am so glad to see you," the woman said. "You and 
Superman." The woman's voice had dropped so low on the last word 
that if Lois hadn't known that Kent would become Superman, she 
wouldn't have known what the woman had said. 

Her eyebrows rose when her twin kissed Kent fully on the lips.

"Excuse me, Miss... Who are you? And what's Superman?"

Before Lois could fully ponder the significance of Kent's 
question, another woman approached - one who Lois recognized 
immediately. Lana Lang. Lois slunk even further into the 
background. Now this should be interesting. 

"Clark? Who's this?" The edge in Lana's voice made it clear that 
she was more than a little miffed by what she had just 
witnessed. 

"I have no idea," Kent responded.

Behind her newspaper, Lois couldn't keep the amused grin off her 
face. She wasn't entirely sure what this was all about, but... 
oh, yeah. This was about to get good. 

"Well, I guess she knows you," Lana continued. "So she ought to 
know me. I'm Lana Lang. Mr. Kent's fiancee." Lana put extra 
emphasis on the final phrase as she reached out her right hand to 
Lois' twin. "And you are...?" 

Lois' twin now looked as shocked as Kent when she had kissed him. 
"Uhh.. I..." 

A short man with a moustache suddenly appeared at the woman's 
side. 

"Lois Lane," the man said, not bothering to introduce himself. 
"And still a bit feverish, I'm afraid. Aren't you, my dear?" 

Lois fought back a gasp. The woman even had the same first name 
she did. And since Lois didn't know what her last name was 
supposed to be... No. That was crazy. That woman wasn't her. 
After all, Lois certainly didn't walk up to complete strangers 
and kiss them. 

"I... I guess," Lane said, as if not even certain of her own 
name. 

'See?' Lois thought. 'I'm much more articulate than that.'

Lois' attention turned from Lane to the couple now walking 
towards the elevators. Clark Kent and Lana Lang.  

"What?" Kent asked, seeing the stormy expression on his fiancee's 
face. "Come on, honey. I don't even know who that was." 

Lana didn't respond as she turned towards the elevators. 

"We're meeting my parents at seven to go over the final guest 
list," Lana said, obviously not wanting to pursue the other 
topic. 

Lois found that odd. It was the only question she'd want to 
pursue if she saw some strange woman kissing her fiance. 

"Okay," Kent said.

Lana might not have noticed that Kent was glancing back over his 
shoulder towards Lane - but Lois did. 

"Last thing," Lana continued. "I saw that little stunt you pulled 
a few minutes ago." 

"Stunt?" Kent asked.

"Don't give me those puppy eyes. The gunfight out front? You 
ducked away and..." She made a wavy motion with her hand. 

"Sweetheart, nobody saw me. I just you know... did a little..." 
He made a gesture which Lois realized must symbolize heat vision. 
"...zzzt, burned out his tires and the cops got him." 

"Clark, you promised."

Lois cringed at the whiny sound in Lana's voice.

"This is the slowest elevator, huh?" Kent said, hitting the 
button again. 

Lois had to admit, she was enjoying watching Kent trying to get 
rid of Lana. Something about that fact pleased Lois. 

"They'd lock you up in some lab and study you. And even if you 
broke out, you'd never have a life. We'd never have a life. No 
one will ever love you more than I do..." 

"I know," Kent said, sounding resigned. He'd obviously heard this 
same argument before. 

"...and no one understands you better. So promise this is the 
last time." 

The elevator door pinged when it opened.

"Here we are," Clark said, using a hand on the small of her back 
to escort her inside. 

"Promise me," Lana said as she stepped on the elevator.

"See you at seven."

Kent's refusal to make the promise caused Lois to bite the grin 
off her face. Tomorrow. If the history books were correct, 
tomorrow everyone would know what Lana Lang obviously knew 
already.  

"Clark..."

The elevator door closing ended the discussion. Still, Lois 
watched in fascination as, the moment the door closed, his eyes 
moved back to Lane. As if she could feel his eyes, Lane 
immediately looked up, causing their eyes to meet before Lane was 
escorted into the boss' office and the door was closed. 

"Excuse me, Miss. Can I help you?"

The voice of a strange man far too close caused Lois practically 
to jump out of her skin. 

"Uhh... no. I'm fine," Lois said before turning and heading for 
the stairs. She couldn't afford to get caught. It would raise far 
too many unwanted questions. And it appeared she'd learned as 
much here as she was going to at the moment. Although, she had to 
admit, she really wasn't entirely sure what she'd learned - well, 
other than the fact that she really didn't like Lana Lang. No, 
she had learned something else. She had learned that Lana really 
believed he had powers. So either he had conned her, too, or... 
Or what? Was it possible he really did have the powers she'd read 
about in the history books? 

It was time to leave. There was another place she wanted to check 
out. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois teetered precariously on the ledge, fighting to retain her 
balance before slowly taking another step, followed by another 
and another. It seemed to take forever, but then she was on the 
balcony of Clark Kent's apartment. She snuck over to the door 
leading into the darkened apartment and tried to open it. Damn. 
It was locked. 

She pulled her palm computer out of her purse and pressed it 
against the door. 

"Computer, open the door," she instructed, just as she'd done on 
the front door of Clark's apartment. The program for opening 
locks was quite expensive, hard to find and illegal in her time - 
just as she suspected lock-picking tools were in this time. 
Still, that hadn't stopped Lois. Sometimes there was just no 
other way to get the story. 

"Unable to comply," her computer responded after a moment.

"Why?" she asked.

"No electronic components in lock for me to manipulate."

Lois let out a breath and stuck the palm computer back in her 
purse. It was the same thing the computer had informed her at the 
front door of Clark's apartment. In fact, it was why she'd snuck 
onto his balcony. She struggled for a minute before a new idea 
came to her. 

She rummaged in her pocket for a moment before finding what she 
needed. She took her press pass and carefully slipped it between 
the door and the frame, jiggling it just so. 

Click.

With a smile of satisfaction, she returned the press pass to her 
pocket. She'd forced one of her snitches to give her a few 
lessons on breaking old fashioned locks since occasionally she 
still ran across one of them. She'd never been more happy she'd 
done so. Still, apartments in this time period were frighteningly 
easy to break into. Now a lock with a computer code that also 
required a thumb print and voice recognition... there was a 
challenge. 

Speaking of a challenge, Lois hadn't realized how far it was from 
the Daily Planet to Kent's apartment. They didn't have transports 
in this time period. Besides, she didn't have any money. So she'd 
had to walk the entire distance. At least she'd known where it 
was. After all, she'd been to his museum only the day before. But 
the sun had set and her feet hurt by the time she traversed the 
distance. The only thing to be thankful for was that the 
apartment was still dark. She hoped that meant Kent wasn't home - 
and that he was not in bed, particularly with Lana Lang. Seeing 
him with Lane wasn't exactly Lois' idea of a good time. In fact, 
the very idea made her feel slightly ill. But not quite as ill as 
the idea of him with Lana. 

She listened carefully at the door. Finally satisfied that Kent 
wasn't in bed, either alone or with someone else, Lois let out a 
breath of relief. 

She had just stepped inside and was about to look around when she 
heard noises outside the front door. The doorknob began to turn. 
She quickly dashed back to the balcony and hid behind a fern 
placed there. Still, through the open door she could hear the 
sound of voices from inside. Lights came on and she stuck her 
head out from behind the fern to look through the large, glass 
windows so that she could figure out who had entered the 
apartment. Clark Kent and the woman who looked like her - Lane. 

"Look, I don't want to be a hero," Kent said as he walked into 
the apartment. 

"Really. Then why did you go after that gunman this morning? Why 
did you save me?" 

"I help when I can... but I want to live my life. Just a 
second..." 

"What?"

There was a moment of silence during which Lois was as quiet as 
possible. Had he noticed the open door to the balcony? Did he 
realize someone was there? 

"What?" Lane asked again.

"I'm sorry... I just... well, for a minute there I could have 
sworn I heard two heartbeats - besides mine, of course. But... I 
guess..." He sounded confused. "I guess I'm just hearing an echo 
of yours." 

"A what?"

"Never mind. You were saying?"

"Oh right. You want to lead a normal life. That's why you need to 
have a secret identity." 

"Secret identity? Is that why you bought that ski suit?"

"Just go with me on this. It's not a ski suit. I mean, it is. But 
it's so much more than that. It's a symbol. You're making 
yourself into a beacon." 

"Are you always like this?"

"I'm sorry. I'm a little high-strung."

"Lady, you're a Stradivarius."

"Well, maybe this will help."

Lois snuck a look around the plant when the speaking came to a 
halt to see Kent looking at some pictures that seemed to be in 
Lane's wallet. 

"That's what I'm talking about," Lane said, pointing to a 
picture. 

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kent responded in horror.

Lois saw him flip to another picture.

"Is this... us?" Kent asked.

"Well, it's me and him."

Lois crinkled her eyebrows. What were they talking about now?

"Are we...?"

Lois watched as Lane lifted her left hand. A ring. She must be 
showing him a ring. 

"This is just too weird."

'You have no idea,' Lois thought.

"Oh, my god. They're alive?"

Lane nodded.

"Does he... spend much time with them?"

"Yeah."

"That's great. That's..."

"They're very proud of him. I'm sure your parents were, too."

'Huh?' Lois thought, trying to make sense of the strange 
conversation. So far, she'd reached the conclusion that these two 
hadn't known each other before today - which made Lane's behavior 
in the newsroom that much more baffling. On the other hand, this 
part of the conversation... she really didn't have a single clue 
what their current discussion was about. 

"I guess so," Kent said. "It was a long time ago."

"What happened?"

"Car wreck. I saw it happen."

Lois fought back a gasp. She'd known his parents had been killed 
in an automobile accident. But she hadn't realized he'd seen it. 
Her mind flashed back to the devastated face of the young boy 
looking at his adopted parent's coffins. 

"I was pretty fast, even then, but... not fast enough. Lana said 
I shouldn't blame myself. One man can't really make a 
difference... no matter what kind of powers he has." 

Lois' instinctive reaction was to disagree. Everyone could make a 
difference. Even if only in their own tiny corner of the world. 

"I know things are different here. I know you're different. But 
trust me... powers or no powers... one man can change any 
world." 

'You tell him, sister,' Lois thought immediately, surprising 
herself. After all, wasn't she silently encouraging Lane to 
create Superman? 

He seemed to concentrate on the photo again. "His mom made this 
for him, huh?" 

"Yeah."

"Can you sew as well as she does?"

"Well..."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois' legs were well past cramped and were quickly heading 
towards numb as she continued to hide behind the fern on the 
balcony. For the past hour, she'd been hiding here, hoping the 
current occupants of the apartment would decide to leave. She 
wasn't entirely sure what she would do if they stayed here all 
night - probably try to sneak out on the same ledge she'd come in 
on when Kent fell asleep. She would have left already, but when 
she'd got up, Kent's voice, asking Lane if she'd heard a noise, 
caused her to freeze where she was before slowly squatting back 
down behind the fern. 

What if this Kent guy really did have superhearing? His comment 
about hearing a second heartbeat certainly made it seem that way. 
And if he had superhearing, then what else could he do? Could he 
see through the plant and find her squatting behind it? Could he 
move so fast that he could prevent her escape? 

Still, there were advantages to staying put. As Lane proceeded to 
create various pieces of that now-so-famous suit, she and Kent 
had talked. Although... Lois had to admit, the entire 
conversation had been more than a little strange. They were 
discussing alternate universes as if... well, as if the existence 
of other planes of existence were proven fact. And not only that, 
Lane was maintaining that she was from an alternate universe and 
that Kent was an exact double of her fiance. Never had Lois heard 
such an outrageous pick-up line. 'Hey, you look just like the man 
I'm supposed to marry in an alternate universe. So since I'm 
stuck here, would you like to make out?' The thing was that Kent 
seemed to be buying it! 

Poor guy. Maybe he wasn't a con-artist. Maybe he was just... a 
little slow. A taco short of a combo platter. Maybe his elevator 
didn't go all the way to the top. Maybe his light was on but no 
one was home. And maybe, just maybe, she should quit coming up 
with all these stupid expressions to describe Kent. On the other 
hand, what else did she have to do? 

Still, their conversation about Tempus had been interesting - at 
least some of it. Lane seemed to believe that Tempus, too, was 
from another dimension. Also, Lane claimed to have overheard 
Tempus talking about killing the current editor of the Daily 
Planet - Perry White. If this were true, it certainly supported 
Lois' theory that there was something very disturbing about 
Tempus. 

"How's it fit?" Lane yelled.

"Tight," Kent responded.

"Well, let me see."

Lois, too, snuck a peek out from behind the fern, to see Kent 
step out from behind a privacy screen in a pair of blue tights. 

"Needs a few more pieces here and there," Lane said, looking him 
over. 

Lois had been thinking the same thing. Where was that famous 
Superman crest? 

"I just remembered something - from that picture you showed me. 
It's in that trunk over there in a manilla envelope." 

Lois watched as Lane moved over to the trunk before kneeling down 
and opening it. 

"My Mom gave it to me when I was little. She said it was on the 
blanket they found me in." 

Lois watched curiously as Lane removed the exact crest Lois had 
been thinking about. Of course, this discovery led Kent to remove 
the suit and Lane to take it in order to sew on the crest.  

Lois snuck a peek around the fern, instantly realizing that if 
she scooted over just a little bit, she could get a very good 
view of the hard muscles of his back. In spite of her protests 
that she wasn't attracted to him, she found herself following the 
muscles down to where his white briefs covered the solid muscles 
of his posterior. It never even occurred to her to remember that 
she shouldn't be looking. 

He turned slightly, and she licked her lips, her eyes focused on 
that part of his anatomy she'd noticed when first entering the 
Superman museum. In spite of her view being blocked by his 
briefs, there was one thing she knew for certain. It really was 
all him. Suddenly, the temperature of the night air seemed to 
rise a few degrees. She found herself instantly hoping she wasn't 
his descendant. 'Cause her apparent inability to stop ogling him 
was disturbing on so many different levels if he was. In fact it 
was worse than her dream the previous night. That she couldn't 
help. This she could. Still, she did nothing to stop herself from 
exploring every part of his body she could see. 

Oblivious to her eyes on him, his hand slid inside the front of 
his briefs, innocently adjusting himself. Her breath caught in 
her throat and she felt an instant reaction in her own body. Her 
muscles tightened as, without conscious thought, she strained 
forward for a better view. 

Suddenly, he stilled, tilting his head to the side, and appeared 
to be sniffing the air. She froze. His supersmell couldn't be 
that good - could it? 

"How you doing out there?" Kent asked.

Lois jumped slightly, until she realized he wasn't addressing 
her. 

"Fine. I'm just... I guess I'm just missing my Clark."

"Sorry," he responded. "I just heard your increased heart rate 
and thought something might be wrong." 

Lois shook her head at her previous fanciful thoughts. Still, she 
quickly calmed herself. After all, no point in having him realize 
that he wasn't hearing Lane's heartbeat; he was hearing hers. 

Lane got up, giving the suit to Kent before making her way out 
onto the balcony. 

Lois crept slowly back, trying to make herself as small as 
possible while the woman stood, looking out over the city. 

A noise made Lane turn and caused Lois to chance a quick peak. 
Lois felt her breath catch in her throat and was relieved when 
she realized that Lane had made the exact same sound as both 
women stared at the man. Lane's noise had effectively covered 
Lois' blunder. 

"I knew it. I look stupid," Superman said, turning to head back 
into his apartment. 

"No! No," Lane said, stopping his escape with the mere sound of 
her voice. "No, you look great." 

Lois' eyes narrowed at the soft tone in Lane's voice, feeling 
unexpectedly disturbed by Lane's obvious affection for Kent. Lois 
instantly told herself that she was just bothered that Lane was 
appreciating Kent's looks when she had her own fiance - at least 
if what Lane had been telling Kent about having her own Clark in 
another universe was true. Lane had no right to be looking at 
another man. 

Still, Lois found herself subconsciously agreeing with Lane. She 
might have thought the Superman pictures looked stupid, but in 
person... Lois couldn't believe how breathless it made her to see 
him in that outfit - especially since she had been observing him 
in a lot less only minutes before. 

Lois ducked back down behind the fern when Lane took Kent's hand 
and led him further out onto the balcony. 

"Are you sure about this?" Superman asked, looking down at 
himself. 

"I'm sure," Lane responded. "But you're not. So let's get you 
comfortable." 

"How?"

A slow smile lit up Lane's face. "Let's go flying," she said.

"Us? As in... we?"

Lane laughed, putting an arm around Superman's neck and jumping 
up, making him catch her as if she had absolutely no doubt that 
he would. 

"Okay," Superman finally said before lifting both of them off the 
balcony. 

Lois had to stifle a gasp when a moment later the two disappeared 
in a gust of wind. Slowly, Lois straightened up, bending over and 
steadying herself against the wall as the pain of being 
reawakened shot through her legs. 

* * * * * * * * *

Tempus sat in a comfortable chair, HG Wells tied up to a hard 
chair next to him. He was watching a small televison screen 
showing Lois Lane and Superman taking off into the night sky from 
the balcony of Clark Kent's apartment. 

"The heroine creates her hero," Tempus said. "A mythically moving 
moment. Herb, am I still a man in your eyes if I weep?" 

"This is what you want," HG said in disbelief. "You want her to 
create Superman." 

"Very good, Herb. Mind like that you missed a big career on game 
shows. Hey, what's this?" Tempus suddenly asked, moving to the 
edge of his seat to get a closer look at the television screen. 
"Well, hello there," he said as he watched a second Lois Lane 
straighten up from where she was hiding behind a fern. "Have to 
do something about that? Won't we, Herb?" 

* * * * * * * * *

He had flown. Kent had really flown. Lois was still in a slight 
state of shock as she made her way to the door to Kent's 
apartment. He was real. She never would have believed it if she 
hadn't seen it with her own eyes - well, and checked afterwards 
to be sure there were no wires. And if he could really fly... 
maybe everything else was true as well. 

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

The sound of the slightly mocking voice caused Lois to spin 
around. She knew that voice. Without even bothering to look 
first, she kicked out, landing a solid blow against the chest of 
the man she'd seen in her dreams. She was about to bolt when a 
large man, holding a gun, stepped out of the shadows. She froze. 

"Now is that any way to greet an old friend," Tempus asked as he 
rose to his feet. "But then, I suppose you wouldn't be a Lois 
Lane if you didn't kick first, ask questions later. Has anyone 
ever told you that is not a very attractive quality in a woman?" 

"You have me mistaken for someone else. I'm not Lois Lane," Lois 
said, her eyes remaining on the man with the gun, still hoping 
for a chance to escape. 

A small grin quirked up one corner of Tempus' mouth, as if her 
comment had given him all the information he needed. "But you are 
a Lois," Tempus said, pulling out a gun of his own. "So let me 
guess... Humm. Is it possible you don't know your last name Lois 
L?" 

Lois gasped.

"So how did you find your way here?" Tempus asked, without 
waiting for an answer to his last question. 

The man with Tempus stepped forward, grabbing her arms and 
holding them behind her. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lois responded, trying 
to sound calmer than she felt. This man knew her - knew who she 
was - probably even knew how she had ended up on the steps of the 
Sisters of Metropolis Convent. 

Tempus laughed. "I bet you have a lot of questions. Sadly though, 
it's too late, Lois L. Because I'm about to kill Kal-El. Of 
course, I'll have to do something about you, too. But before you 
get any ideas..." He took a piece of duct tape and put across her 
mouth before she could stop him. "Wouldn't want you yelling those 
pesky words, 'Help Superman,' now would we?" 

Damn. Now why hadn't she thought of that?

Tempus gave a dramatic sigh. "It's really too bad you came here, 
Lois L. I thought leaving you where I did was ironic - alive, but 
unable to fulfill your destiny. Still, you could have had a happy 
life. Clark, on the other hand... well, we all know that Clark 
can't survive without Lois. But that wasn't your problem. Now 
though... well, I can't very well have two Lois Lane's running 
around here getting in my way. The other Lois will undoubtedly 
want to get back to her own Superman as soon as possible. You, on 
the other hand... well, you're a bit of a complication to my 
plans. So what to do with you?"  

Tempus seemed to consider that for a moment. "Well, I'll have to 
kill you, of course. Too bad. After all, you were such a cute 
baby. But you might enjoy watching me destroy the Man of Steel 
first. Besides, trying to kill a Lois Lane when Superman is still 
alive is a risky proposition at best. He always seems to show up 
just as you're about to fall into a vat of hot oil." 

Lois' eyes went wide. He was planning to drop her into a vat of 
hot oil? But for what reason? Surely if he knew who she was - and 
it certainly sounded as if he did - he also knew that she was 
from the future. So it wasn't as if she could change anything. 
Or... well, she had to admit, she was having some problems 
following this conversation - except for the part about the vat 
of hot oil, of course. But fulfilling her destiny, Clark not 
being able to survive without Lois, not being able to kill her 
while Superman was alive... What was that all about? 

Just because the other Lois had her Superman, was apparently 
engaged to him... God, was she even considering the possibility 
of alternate universes? ...didn't mean that she... that she... 
Lois pushed the thought away, preferring instead to think about 
that vat of oil. Quicker. Less painful. 

"So I guess that means you're going to be my guest for a while," 
Tempus continued. "Hey, you can keep Herb company. I'm sure he'll 
be appropriately inspired by meeting another Lois Lane. I know I 
was moved - almost to the point of tears." 

Stepping up to Lois, he used the butt of his gun to hit her in 
the back of her head. She slumped forward, unconscious. 

Tempus took a moment to look at her. "They really are beautiful 
when they're sleeping. Too bad they can't sleep all the time." 

* * * * * * * * *

"Ms. Lane?"

Lois slowly regained conscious to find herself tied to a chair, 
the tape still covering her mouth. She groaned. Not again. When 
would the bad guys learn a different trick? There were only so 
many times one could wake up tied to a chair by some bad guy 
before it got repetitive. 

"Ms. Lane, oh thank god," said the man with the mustache Lois had 
seen at the Daily Planet. 

She raised her head and fought off her headache to look around. 
The strange little man with the moustache was also tied to a 
chair. What was he waiting for? Why wasn't he yelling for 
Superman? She groaned. Right. Superman hadn't been invented yet. 
And for all she knew, he had no idea what Clark Kent could do. 

"I was so worried about... What happened to your hair?"

Lois rolled her eyes. Her mouth was covered with tape. How did he 
expect her to answer that question? Still, his comment told her, 
as much as for the fact that he was calling her Ms. Lane, that he 
was confusing her with her twin - the other Lois, as Tempus had 
called her. 

She began working on the ropes holding her, ignoring the annoying 
man's questions. It didn't even occur to him to yell for help - 
so it probably didn't make sense to expect help of any sort from 
him. 

At least there was one good thing in all this. If the other Lois 
was from an alternate universe, and she supposed her disappearing 
without a trace would support that idea, then at least she didn't 
have to worry that she was Superman's descendant which in turn 
meant that Lois hadn't been ogling 'grandpa' which left her 
feeling more relieved than she could imagine. She growled, 
forcing her mind back on track. She was currently tied to a 
chair, being held captive by a man who had suggested dropping her 
into a vat of hot oil. Under the circumstances, it was hardly 
appropriate for her to be thinking about those hard pecs, those 
perfect abs, the way she was certain his hands could make her 
feel if he ran them... 

She jumped when the sound of someone smashing in the door was 
heard on the far side of the room. The door opened to reveal 
Superman. It suddenly occurred to her what was happening. 
Superman's debut. And she was right in the middle of it. 

The man who had been helping Tempus unexpectedly stepped forward, 
releasing her fellow captive's bonds. 

Lois grunted, trying to get the man to do the same for her when 
Superman strode into the room. He stopped, staring at her in 
disbelief. She grunted, trying to tell him that she would 
appreciate it if he untied her rather than standing there with 
his mouth hanging open as if he wished to perfect his 
fly-catching technique. The fog seemed to clear from Kent's mind 
and he stepped forward. 

"Sorry," he said before grasping the end of the tape, ripping it 
off her mouth in one quick motion. 

"Yahhhh!" Lois gasped.

"It's a bomb, Superman," the man with the moustache said, handing 
Superman a small device. 

"A bomb? Did he say he had a bomb?" Tempus' voice said from the 
adjoining room. 

"Don't go back out there, Superman," Lois said, unable to resist 
her unexpected urge to protect this big, dumb, beautiful oaf. 
"It's a tr..." A bright light suddenly engulfed her. "...ap," she 
concluded, looking around at the lab in which she unexpectedly 
found herself. Her eyes landed on an older man, balding. A man 
she'd never seen before. 

What had happened? Where was she?

* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood in stunned silence for a moment when the woman who 
looked so like Lois disappeared. 

"The bomb, Superman."

Herb's voice snapped Clark out of his shock. He turned, walking 
to the door to the stage and stepping out to demand that Tempus 
explain himself when he was hit by a sudden wave of pain. Unable 
to resist the powerful force, he collapsed to the floor as agony 
encompassed his entire being. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois knew where... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say 
'when' she should be. She had tried to change history, tried to 
warn Clark Kent not to go back onto that platform. She wasn't 
even entirely sure why she had done it. She knew what would 
happen. Besides, what did she care if his secret identity thing 
was blown anyway? But when she'd seen him and realized what was 
coming, she'd been unable to resist. It was as simple as that. 

Still, that didn't explain where she was now. She didn't know the 
man standing in front of her. None of Dr. Philip Klein's 
equipment was in this room. Something had definitely gone wrong 
with the machine that couldn't possibly fail. 

* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood on the platform beside Perry White at his press 
conference, watching Lois leave with Herb. The roar of the crowd 
dimmed as he watched her slipped into the alley across the street 
from him. A bright flash of light informed him that she was gone. 
He had to admit, he'd been tempted to beg her to stay. But 
something had stopped him. 

He knew what it was. It was the woman he'd seen for only a 
second, so short a time that he was almost tempted to believe 
she'd never existed. But in that second, something had happened 
inside Clark. Although he was still enamored with the Lois who 
had convinced him to become Superman, what he'd felt for the 
other woman... it had nearly knocked him off his feet. She'd been 
wearing a blue sweater, a light tan jacket, a pair of tight jeans 
and running shoes - and he hadn't known that a woman could be 
quite so beautiful. 

He had to find her. An idea suddenly occurred to him. It was 
crazy, but... something inside him wouldn't let it go. The woman, 
the one who had disappeared in front of his very eyes, was his 
Lois. He knew it. All he had to do was find her again. 

No one at the Daily Planet had known who she was when Lois Lane 
showed up out of the blue, but that meant she could be anywhere. 
Doing anything. And he suddenly just knew that whatever that 
'anything' was it would be... great. Excitement began to bubble 
up inside him. He began to shift from foot to foot, anxious to 
get off the platform so that his fingers could fly over the 
keyboard of his computer in search of his Lois Lane. 

* * * * * * * * *

David dashed for the desk, his mind in a near state of panic as 
he began rustling through the various items until he found what 
he was looking for. An address book. He flipped through it 
quickly, praying that this wasn't Dr. Klein's. After all, who 
kept his own number in his address book? He let out a sigh of 
relief when he found Dr. Klein's phone number. 

Grabbing the phone, he quickly punched in the number. "Dr. 
Klein," he gasped. "You've got to help me. I've lost her." 

"What?" asked the groggy voice on the other end of the line.

"Lois Lewis. She tried going back in your time machine. And... I 
don't know what happened. Her red light suddenly disappeared, but 
she didn't come back here. How soon can you get to the lab?" 

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 4
* * * * * * * * *

"Hi," Lois said sheepishly.

"Hi," the older, balding man answered.

"Uhh... how are you?"

The man smiled. "Fine."

"I seem to be a little lost."

The man's smile grew wider. "Might I inquire as to whether you're 
from the future?" 

Lois' eyes went wide. "How did you... Uhh... who are... Uhh... I 
guess that would depend. What year is it?" 

"1999. May. May 7th to be exact... or... well, in a few minutes 
it will be May 8th actually." 

Lois' eyebrows shot into her hairline. "How did I get here?"

"Where... or more accurately, when did you expect to be?"

"I was just in 1996. I expected to be back in 2157."

"Oh, then you must know my great, great grandson," the man said. 
"I'm Dr. Klein. I mean..." He chuckled. "I'm Dr. Bernard Klein. 
You must know Dr. Philip Klein." 

"You're... Uhh... yes. I know Philip Klein."

"I haven't seen him for years. He came several times in 1996. He 
sort of has an obsession with Superman's debut." 

"Superman's debut," Lois repeated, something suddenly clicking in 
her mind. "Did I stop it? Does everyone know that he's..." Her 
voice trailed off. If she had succeeded in somehow changing 
history... If Clark Kent hadn't been revealed as Superman, then 
she had to be careful not to blow his cover. And that might 
explain why she hadn't jumped back to her own time. 

"Does everyone know he's Clark Kent?" Klein asked. "Yes."

Her heart fell as all those pictures of Clark Kent after 
Superman's debut flashed through her mind. The man who never 
smiled. She had hoped to save him that. "But... he's still out 
there." She made a wavy motion with her hand. "...saving the 
world?" 

Klein smiled. "Yes, my dear, he is. Now might I ask you a 
question?" 

"Sure."

"Who are you?"

Lois thought about that for a long moment. "Actually, I'm not 
entirely sure." 

"Did the jump do something to your memory? Philip didn't say 
anything about that." 

"No. Oh, no. It's nothing like that. It's just... the last couple 
days have been a little intense. And... I just have a lot of 
information to digest." Her double, Tempus' comments and the 
overheard conversation between Lane and Kent about alternate 
dimensions all had Lois wondering if her real name was Lois Lane. 
It was crazy, but might it also be true? "You can call me Lois 
Lewis," she concluded. Until she worked it all out, it was 
probably best if she kept her own counsel. Besides, there were 
more urgent matters to consider at the moment - namely, how to 
get back home. 

Klein nodded slowly, although his expression clearly said that he 
had no idea what she was talking about. So instead, he focused on 
something else. "I take it you didn't expect to turn up here in 
1999." 

"No. So do you have any idea how I get back?"

"To where? 1996? Or 2157?"

"2157," Lois replied. "That's where I was supposed to jump to if 
I tried to change the time line." David. Thoughts of David 
instantly invaded her mind. If he realized she'd jumped to the 
wrong time, he was likely going out of his mind. 

"Oh, dear. Well, I can't say I exactly know. My grandson made it 
very clear that I didn't do any time travel research in your time 
line. So I've been very careful not to change that. But with a 
little time, maybe we can figure something out." 

Lois looked slightly relieved. 

"In the meantime, do you have a place to stay? After all, it's 
after midnight." 

"No, I don't have a place to stay," Lois said, suddenly yawning. 
"But you must have a flop house... Uhh... a YWCB. I think that's 
what you call it." 

"A YWCA," he corrected. "But you don't need a YWCA. We have a 
room with a cot here. I often use it when I have to work late. 
Saves me from having to go back to my place. But with your 
arrival here... I'm going to be spending the rest of the night 
trying to figure out how we get you back." He led her to another 
room. "In the meantime, why don't you get some sleep?" 

Lois looked in gratitude at the small cot. "Thank you, Dr. 
Klein." 

"Don't mention it. It's fascinating to meet a traveler from 
another time - even if she didn't exactly intend to come here." 

Lois gave him a small smile as her eyes began to droop. She 
hadn't realized exactly how tired she was until now. 

* * * * * * * * *

"Are you in there, Mr. Shultz?"

David looked up from the display board, hoping for Lois to show 
up again when he heard the other man's voice. "Dr. Klein?" he 
asked. 

"I'm speaking to you over the intercom system, Mr. Shultz," Klein 
explained. 

"But... why didn't you just come in? Do I have to open the door 
from in here? I need you to find Lois." As he spoke, he rushed 
for the door. 

"Don't touch that door or Lois may be lost to us forever!"

David instantly froze.

"I need you to look at the time travel board," Klein continued, 
knowing he now had David's full attention. 

David looked back at the board. "I'm looking."

"Are there any lights on?"

"No. Not even the light that is supposed to tell us where Lois 
is." 

"Who is the president?"

"What?"

"Just... who is the president?"

"Why is that important?"

David could hear Klein's sigh even over the intercom. "I need to 
ask you a number of questions to be sure that our time lines are 
the same before you let down the time bubble. Otherwise, if 
something has been changed, we will never be able to fix it." 

David let out a frustrated growl, but since it seemed Klein 
wasn't going to help him until he cooperated, he proceeded to 
answer a number of irrelevant questions. Lois was out there - 
lost in time. And here he was answering questions like who won 
the Superbowl. It felt like an eternity before Klein was 
satisfied and agreed to come into the room. 

Klein immediately approached the computer screen. He stared at if 
for a moment before giving the computer a bunch of commands. He 
stared at the screen between each command even going so far as to 
run a diagnosis. 

David was in a state of near panic when Klein finally looked up 
at him. 

"So...?" asked David. "How do we get Lois back?"

"She is back," Klein said.

"What?" David gasped.

"Mr. Shultz, every piece of equipment I have says that she's 
back." 

A panicked laugh rose in the back of David's throat as he dashed 
over to the time travel cylinder, as if she would somehow 
magically appear. She didn't. A feeling of hopeless desperation 
washed over him as he turned back to Klein. "Then where is she?" 
he asked, his voice little more than a strangled whisper. 

Dr. Klein stared at him for a long moment. "You're certain you 
didn't fall asleep and let her slip past you?" 

David growled. "No. I didn't fall asleep. I was watching the dot 
when it disappeared." 

Klein got up and made his way back over to the door, closing it 
and switching the time bubble back on. "Then whenever she is... 
we have to do some research. Somehow she's fooled the machine 
into thinking she's in the right time. That means that, although 
she hasn't made changes yet, she could - at least theoretically. 
Once we can locate the source of those changes, no matter how 
small or insignificant, we should be able to find her. I suggest 
we start in 1996. 

"Now, keep one thing in mind here," Klein continued. "I don't 
know if there will be a time lag between any changes made to 
history and our present reality. I've never actually been in this 
situation before. So it could take us a while before we notice 
anything. Still, if she's back there... well, knowing Ms. 
Lewis..." 

"...she won't be able to help herself but get involved," David 
completed. 

"Exactly! So keep your chin up. We'll find her."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois smiled, closing her eyes and allowing the air to flow around 
her, caressing her body. She allowed the air currents to direct 
her movement. 'Now this is what I call going with the flow,' Lois 
thought contentedly as she glided through the air. She wasn't 
entirely sure she would ever get enough of this. This was truly 
living. 

The sun on her face, the wind in her hair. No pressure points as 
she drifted through the clouds. A mere turn of her feet or 
shoulders changed her path, allowing her to fly easily through 
the sky, over the various miraculous sights the world had to 
offer. 

Straightening her arms, she cut through the air to dip under the 
golden gate bridge, trailing her fingers through the water before 
shooting back up into the air. Heading out over the ocean, she 
dipped down to swirl around the sails of the Sydney Opera House, 
enjoying how the unusual shape of the building affected the 
surrounding air currents. 

She saw the Great Wall of China and did a jack-knife dive in 
mid-air to dive towards it, pulling up at the last moment to 
touch down gently on top before beginning to run as fast as 
possible, barely touching the wall as she followed it for miles. 
Jumping back into the sky, she headed west. Seeing the Eiffel 
Tower, she flew down, using mere flicks of her wrists to navigate 
her way between the tower's beams. Making a sharp turn, she 
headed out over the ocean. 

She spotted some dolphins playing in the ocean and dipped down 
momentarily to join in their game before taking off for the 
States. 

"Help!"

Lois screeched to a halt over downtown Metropolis, searching for 
the source of the cry. Focusing, she looked down through the 
stratosphere until she saw the problem. A burning building. 
Flames leaping into the sky. A young mother, her arms holding a 
young boy while his older sister clung to her leg, was standing 
in a window of the high-rise, out of reach of the ladders on the 
fire truck. 

Lois reacted immediately, diving for the tower. When she seemed 
not to be getting any closer, she pointed her toes, making 
herself as straight as possible. She could feel the air whipping 
past her face, practically cutting into her skin. Still, she was 
not getting closer. She watched in horror as the flames 
surrounded the young family. 'No!' Still, try as she might, she 
couldn't seem to reach them. Her sensitive ears picked up their 
frantic screams as the flames encompassed them. 

All these powers and there was nothing she could do. She couldn't 
save them. Tears left paths on her cheeks as she fought to reach 
them. But nothing she did seemed to make the slightest 
difference. The screams below turned from terror to pain as the 
smell of burning flesh drifted up to Lois from her position all 
too far above the Earth. 

"Noooo!" Lois screamed, sitting up straight on the small cot. 
Lois blinked, looking around as it sunk in that she had merely 
been dreaming. 

But what a nightmare!

"Are you okay?"

Lois blinked when Dr. Klein appeared in the doorway.

"I heard screaming and I thought..."

"Just a nightmare," Lois said, still struggling to get her heart 
rate back to normal. She rubbed a hand over her eyes, fighting 
against the feelings of helplessness her dream had left in its 
wake. "What time is it?" 

"Almost ten."

"Ten? Ten in the morning?"

Dr. Klein nodded.

Lois was just about to throw the sheet off when she realized she 
wasn't exactly decent. Not having anything to sleep in, she'd not 
been sleeping in much at all. 

It seemed Dr. Klein realized her predicament at the same moment 
because he instantly went bright red and began backing out the 
door. "I'll just give you a minute to... Uhh... Anyway, I think I 
solved your problem, so when you get a moment..." With that, he 
disappeared from the room, closing the door behind him. 

It only took a moment for Dr. Klein's last comment to chase the 
embarrassment from Lois' mind. Jumping up, she threw on her 
clothes and rushed into the other room. "You've figured out how 
to get me home?" she asked. 

Dr. Klein looked shocked at how quickly she had appeared. Still, 
he recovered soon enough. "Yes. It was quite simple really - once 
I put my mind to it." 

"You mean you've invented a time machine in one night?"

Klein laughed. "Well, no not exactly. But I do have this." He 
held up a single piece of paper.  

"What's this?" Lois said, taking the paper and reading it, still 
not understanding even when she was finished. 

"It's quite simple really. We just send that..." He pointed to 
the paper. "...to a law firm with instructions to deliver it to 
Dr. Phillip Klein in 2157. Now, what is the exact date you left? 
We should have it delivered the next day. Now, there is only one 
problem. I need the name of a law firm that will still be around 
in a hundred and fifty years. So I need you to look at a number 
of names for me and tell me one that's still around." 

Lois gave him the information he needed even as she read through 
the letter one more time. "But... well, why did you tell him to 
come at midnight tonight? Why not have him come to get me right 
now?" 

"Because there are too many people around during the day," Klein 
explained. "And if some of them knew that time travel was 
possible... Well, they might decide to invent a time machine 
themselves and that would definitely change history." 

Lois nodded slowly. Even if Klein had avoided researching time 
travel because he was being concerned about changing the time 
line, he was right. Not everyone was as trustworthy. In fact, she 
would do well not to tell anyone when she was from for the exact 
same reason. 

"So how did you come up with the idea?" Lois asked. "I mean, it's 
so simple, it's brilliant." 

Klein smiled. "I spent last night watching old shows about time 
travel. Both Quantum Leap and Back to the Future number... well, 
one of the Back to the Future movies... use this method. Anyway, 
since you have some time, would you like to get some breakfast or 
something?" 

He looked around. Lois followed his gaze. He was obviously 
considering all the work he had to do, but at the same time, 
didn't want to neglect his guest. 

"That's all right," Lois said. "I'd sort of like to see what 1999 
is like." 

Dr. Klein looked relieved. "Then I'll meet you back here around 
eleven-thirty. Oh," he added, stopping from where he was just 
about to leave the room. "I guess you'll need some of this." He 
walked over to his jacket which was draped casually over the back 
of a chair. Reaching it, he withdrew a clip of bills. He handed 
it to her. 

"You don't need to do this," Lois said, not taking the money.

He reached out, took her hand and put the money in it.

"You'll pay me back later," he said, giving her a wink to tell 
her he was only joking. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois felt much better. Having a shower at Klein... Uhh... Star 
Labs had been nice. But buying fresh underwear... that was 
heaven. And for some reason, today she'd felt the need to buy 
something... a little sexier than normal. She refused to analyze 
the reason too deeply. Sometimes a woman just wanted to feel 
sexy. Besides, the prices here... she couldn't get over how cheap 
everything was. 

She'd also purchased a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses - 
just in case she ran into someone the other Lois had known. 
Putting on her two new purchases, she walked out into the 
beautiful morning air. Looking up into the sky, she stepped into 
the street. 

Beep!

Lois jumped back onto the sidewalk.

"Watch where you're going, lady!" an irate motorist yelled as his 
car swerved to miss her. 

Lois caught her breath.

"You okay?"

Lois looked around to see a concerned-looking young woman 
standing nearby. 

"Yeah," Lois said. "Just not used to this traffic."

The woman's expression cleared, almost as if she had wondered if 
Lois was trying to commit suicide. "Not from around here, huh?" 

"No. Definitely not from around here," Lois agreed. She looked at 
the cars rushing past. "Definitely." 

"Just be sure to use the crosswalks," the woman said before 
turning and walking away. 

Lois glanced to where the woman had pointed. The corner. Curious 
now, she made her way to the end of the street, seeing a sign 
that said, 'Don't Walk.' Looking the other direction, she saw 
another sign that said, 'Walk.' Not having a clear destination in 
mind, she took the path where she was allowed to walk. 

As she made her way across the street, she looked at all the 
cars. It was fascinating. Cars had been banned on Metropolis 
streets before she had been born, leaving the streets clear for 
pedestrians. The tracks for the transports ran twenty feet above 
the streets. Well, starting at twenty feet. Tracks on top of 
tracks. But the streets themselves stayed cleared. On the other 
hand... she looked up. ...the sun was not nearly as difficult to 
see here. And today, she wanted to feel the sun on her face. 

Her walk soon took her down near the waterfront where the 
buildings around her began to change. Soon she found herself 
passing a number of run-down apartment buildings. Suddenly, the 
distinct 'rat tat tat' of gunfire sounded up ahead. Lois supposed 
some things never changed. Increasing her pace, she automatically 
headed towards the sound, rounding a corner only to come to a 
complete halt.  

A barricade had been set up using police cars and tape. People 
were crowded around the outside as inside, police hid behind 
cars, guns drawn looking up at the second floor window of one of 
the apartment buildings. Lois quickly joined the crowd of 
onlookers, pushing her way through to get a better view. 

"Sorry, Miss," an officer said when she reached the barricade and 
tried to slip past. "No one's allowed beyond this point." 

"I'm not anyone. I'm the press," Lois objected. Okay, so maybe 
she wasn't the press in this time, and maybe, in order to ensure 
she didn't change anything, she couldn't even write the story, 
but that didn't mean she wasn't still the press. 

The officer gave a tight grin. "Last I heard, the press was an 
'anyone.'" 

Lois rolled her eyes, her attention diverted from the officer 
when there was another round of gunfire. 

"Anyone makes a move on this building, I kill the boy!" a man 
shouted from the apartment window. 

"What's going on?" Lois asked one of the individuals standing 
nearby. 

"We're not entirely sure," said a woman, obviously one of the 
locals. "But we think he's got his wife and son in there." 

"And he's threatening to kill his own son," another added.

Lois looked back at the building. "Anyone heard from the mother?" 
When no one answered, she looked back at the crowd. 

"No one's heard from Sara," a man said. "We don't know for sure 
if she's in there. Or if she is, whether she's alive or dead." 

"We don't know if Sean is alive or dead either."

"Is Sean his son?" Lois asked.

The person who'd given the last comment nodded.

"Any idea why he's doing this?" Lois asked.

"He lost his job recently."

"Lots of people lose their jobs. That's no reason to be shooting 
up police cars and threatening your own family," the first woman 
responded. 

Suddenly, a rush of wind turned everyone's attention back to the 
scene. Lois looked around just in time to see a bright, red and 
blue superhero drift down onto the road next to one of the police 
cars. He was awe-inspiring, as the small gasps coming from the 
women around her confirmed. Her mind involuntarily flashed back 
to what - to her - was only a day before. Glancing around, she 
wondered what the other women would think if she told them just 
how little she had seen him in then.  

She saw Superman look around and tried to appear invisible as she 
allowed herself to blend in with the crowd. The hat and glasses 
should help, but... if he saw her, he would likely mistake her 
for her twin. And that was the last thing Lois needed. 

She need not have worried. Superman seemed completely focused on 
the problem. He spoke briefly to the officer in charge. He was 
just moving away when the man shouted again from the second 
floor. 

"If Superman comes in here, the boy dies!"

Superman stopped for a moment before disappearing in a gust of 
wind. When he reappeared, he was holding the man by the scruff of 
his collar and had a very much alive boy in his other arm. As 
people cheered, the police rushed forward to grab the man, 
quickly affixing handcuffs on him. 

Lois' eyes, however, remained on Superman. As he spoke briefly to 
the officer, Lois found herself thinking he looked tired. She 
wasn't entirely sure why that thought bothered her. But then 
Superman again disappeared in a gust of wind. The next time she 
saw him, he was walking slowly out the front door of the 
apartment building. Lois found it odd that he was walking, but 
then she saw the bundle carried gently in his arms. The very 
still body of a young woman. 

Her eyes flashed up to Clark's face. It was completely devoid of 
emotion - any emotion. She felt her heart constrict, leaving her 
with palpitations. Lois heard the startled gasps of the woman's 
friends and neighbors as Superman carried the young woman to the 
ambulance, gently laying her on the gurney. He covered the woman 
with a blanket, taking a moment to look down at her face before 
pulling the blanket up over it, clearly announcing her death. 

He was just about to take off again - in fact, he was a few feet 
off the ground - when people began calling him. She recognized 
the voices almost immediately. Oh, she might not know the names 
or the faces, but there was no doubting who they were. Members of 
the fourth estate. 

"Kent! You going to give us a statement this time or are you 
saving it all for the Daily Planet?" one of the more obnoxious 
voices shouted. 

Lois stared across the crowd at the man. Her eyes flicked back to 
Superman. He looked... resigned. Her heart ached for him as he 
floated over to where the crowd of reporters were gathered and 
began answering questions. 

Lois slunk even further back into the crowd as she continued to 
watch and listen. The reporters alternated between rude and 
polite, some demanding to know why he'd failed to arrive sooner, 
before the woman had been killed. Others just wanting answers 
about why the man had done it in the first place. Superman's 
answers varied, too, from: 'I wish I could have gotten here 
sooner. I wish I could save them all. But this time, it just 
wasn't possible' to 'I really don't know why a man would kill his 
wife and threaten his child.' Yet, although the questions and the 
answers varied, Superman's expression didn't. It remained a stoic 
mask. 

Lois continued to watch as the press conference ended and 
Superman floated up further into the air. He suddenly looked... 
somewhat confused as he searched the crowd. She quickly looked 
down, keeping her face lowered until a sonic boom announced his 
departure. 

Lois continued standing, as did the majority of the crowd, 
outside the barrier as the police began making their way into the 
building, ensuring it was secure and collecting evidence. She 
watched as the press got their statements from the police and 
onlookers - all the time her feelings vacillating between concern 
and annoyance. Concern for the obviously troubled superhero and 
annoyance at the way he'd been treated by the press. He had 
probably saved that young boy's life. Maybe even the lives of the 
gunmen and the police officers who were assigned the job of 
bringing the situation to an end. Yet, it was obvious that at 
least some members of the press could only see what he hadn't 
done. He hadn't got there earlier. He hadn't saved the life of 
the woman. How must such attitudes affect Superman? 

Her mind flashed back to her dream and the horror she'd felt when 
she'd been unable to get to the woman in the fire. She'd been 
relieved when she'd woken up to find that it was only a dream. 
Did Superman live with that feeling everyday, every time he 
couldn't save everyone? If so, how did he go on? Did he at least 
have friends, loved ones, to help him bear the pressure? If not, 
it was little wonder that after three years he'd disappeared. 

It occurred to her how much had changed over recent days. She'd 
gone from the complete skeptic to... she balked against the word 
'fan.' It was more... she understood better. This man was no 
fraud. His powers were real. But so was his heart. He was a 
sensitive, gentle soul who had taken on enormous responsibility. 
But how did he do that and still have that soul remain intact? 

Suddenly, it became important to her own peace of mind to know he 
had a support system he could rely on. Turning, she looked at one 
of the people in the crowd. "Does Metropolis have some sort of 
transportation system? Something that can get me from here to the 
Daily Planet?" 

The woman's eyebrows rose. "Well, there are busses and a subway, 
or you could take a cab if that's what you mean." 

Cab. The word struck a chord in Lois' mind. The old movies, the 
one where the bad guy would jump into a car and take off with the 
hero hot on his heels. They always jumped into a cab and yelled 
those famous words, 'Follow that car.' 

"How do I get a cab?" she asked, suddenly dying to know what that 
experience was like. 

Once she got the information she needed, she turned back to the 
scene of the latest crisis. Spotting the officer in charge, she 
made her way over to him. "Excuse me," she asked. 

He turned towards her. "What can I do for you, Miss?"

"My name's Lois Lewis. And you are?"

"Henderson. Inspector Bill Henderson."

"Well, Inspector, I was just wondering..." She glanced over at 
the scene before meeting the Inspector's eyes once again. "I 
suspect that emergency workers get assistance from professionals 
when they have problems dealing with... well, everything. Is that 
true?" 

"Yes."

"What about Superman? Does the city offer him the same support?"

The Inspector narrowed his eyes. "Do you know something about 
Superman? Is he having problems?" 

"No. No. Nothing like that. I was just wondering."

Henderson smiled. "Don't worry, Miss," he said, touching Lois' 
arm. "I'm sure Superman's fine." Without waiting for her 
response, he walked away, leaving Lois sputtering behind him. 

Lois stared at the officer for a long moment before looking up 
into the sky, to the spot where Clark Kent had been only moments 
before and her heart went out to him. 'I'm sure Superman's fine.' 
She suspected that was how the entire world saw him - as fine, 
above the hurts and pains of normal humans. But that was not what 
she saw. She saw a man who was in serious pain. Dealing with 
things like the death of that woman would be hard enough without 
having people blaming him for it. But it wasn't his fault. Did he 
know that? 

It suddenly occurred to her that all that crap she'd spouted to 
David had been utter nonsense. She wasn't entirely sure what had 
changed her mind. The expression on Kent's face when he'd been 
carrying that woman? No. It had happened before then. In fact, 
were she to narrow down the moment her thinking had changed, it 
had been the moment she'd realized that he'd actually flown. With 
all those powers, he could easily rule the word. Yet the history 
books showed nothing of the sort. He was a good man - trying to 
help the best way he knew how. 

She glanced over at the press who were calling in their stories 
or heading back to their respective papers - and found herself 
despising them. Was not one of them his champion? Did they not 
see what they were doing to that good man? 

She glanced back into the air, wondering once again if there was 
anyone out there who gave him the support he desperately needed. 
And if not, was it any wonder he'd simply disappeared after only 
three years? 

* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 5
* * * * * * * * *

Lois stood, still trembling, on the street when the cabby finally 
dropped her off at the Daily Planet. That had been... an 
experience. More scary than taking the Tornado Drop at the 
carnival when she was a kid. The way that man had swerved between 
cars, his hand almost constantly on the horn, had resulted in 
Lois grasping the seat in front of her to maintain her balance. 
It had been... fun, she suddenly realized. And now that she had 
survived the experience, she wanted to do it again. 

Pushing that thought aside for now - she would have another 
chance when she returned to Klein... uhh... Star Labs - she 
focused on the building before her. Nervous, she pulled her cap 
further down on her forehead, wondering if there was some way she 
could find out if Kent was inside before she entered. She really 
didn't want to run into him. She chewed on her bottom lip for a 
moment before an idea hit her. 

She stepped into the lobby and looked around, spotting an 
old-fashioned telephone on the wall. She studied it for a moment. 
There was no thumb pad. She removed the receiver, but it was 
dead. Either the phone was broken or she needed something to make 
it work. Suddenly, she realized the problem. She walked over to 
the confectionary. "Could you tell me where I get tokens for the 
phone?" she asked. 

"Huh?"

"The phone? Tokens?"

"They just take a quarter for a local call."

Lois' eyebrows rose. Only a quarter? She reached into her pocket 
and sorted through the change as she made her way to the nearest 
phone. Using the phone book, she found the number for the Daily 
Planet. After a moment of trying to tell the phone the number she 
wanted to call, and having the phone ignore her, she figured out 
that she had to punch the number into the keypad. "Can I speak to 
Clark Kent?" she asked when a voice answered. 

"Could you hold please?"

When she didn't respond, the person asked the question again. It 
suddenly occurred to her that she was talking to a real person 
not a computer. "Oh, sure." 

As she was waiting, she spotted a television playing behind the 
confectionary counter. "Is that live?" she asked, attracting the 
attention of the woman she'd spoken to earlier. 

It took the woman a moment to realize what was being asked. 
"Yeah," she confirmed. 

Lois hung up the phone and made her way over to the counter, her 
eyes riveted to the sight of Superman battling a large fire at a 
chemical factory. "Would you mind turning that up?" Lois