Plane Storm
By Dandello <momkat@dandello.net>
Rated: PG
Submitted: March 2007

Copyright: Nov 7, 2006

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings,
etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original
characters and plot are the property of the author. The author
is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers
of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: * ---* denotes thoughts and mental conversations. ** ---**
denotes emphasis.

--Earth I--
Superman was patrolling the city only few days after leaving the
hospital where he'd ended up after an uncontrolled fall from
high orbit to Earth. New Krypton, the abomination of a landmass
Lex Luthor had created, was in a stable orbit beyond Mars.

Metropolis was quiet, too exhausted from the past few days to
muster a crime wave. The fact that the National Guard had been
called out to patrol the streets also helped.

He'd only been back to Earth for a month, and only a week back
as Superman, after having been gone for six years, searching for
something, some meaning. Looking for his home in the depths of
space. That was when all hell had broken loose, thanks to Lex
Luther.

There was no sign of Luthor and his cronies. Luthor had managed
to escape the landmass he'd created using stolen Kryptonian
technology before Superman flung it into the asteroid belt.
Luthor was somewhere, planning something that boded ill for both
him and humanity. It was only a matter of time.

He heard Lois Lane calling him from the rooftop of the Daily
Planet, "We have to talk, Superman!"

He came down beside her. "Yes, Lois?"

"I need to talk to you about Jason, my son," she said.

"What about Jason?"

"Do you remember what I said to you in the hospital?"

"Yes, I think so," Superman said. "I remember you telling me
that Jason was very strong,
and that he was my son."

"So what do we do?"

"Lois, I promise I'll be there for him when, if, his powers
manifest. But that's all I can promise."

"And what about us?"

"You have Richard, Lois. You don't need me," he said, referring
to Lois's fiance of five years. Richard White was the nephew of
Perry White, and assistant editor of the Daily Planet newspaper.
He was a good man and Superman actually liked him as a person;
rather, Clark Kent liked him. Richard was a very likable guy.

Lois had moved on in the six years he'd been gone, trying to
find his roots, trying to find Krypton. She'd had a son, gotten
engaged, won a Pulitzer. He loved her still, but he knew without
any doubt that they had no possibility of a future together. It
was too dangerous for her. Besides, she only loved the man in
the ‘suit', Superman, not the man he was raised to be: Clark
Joseph Kent from Smallville, Kansas, adopted son of Jonathan and
Martha Kent. She didn't see Kent even though he worked beside
her every day. Kent was a bumbling fool, not worth a second
glance.

"Why don't I remember being with you? Why don't I remember the
night Jason was conceived? Was I so disappointing that you shut
me out, denied me those memories of us?"

"It wasn't you, Lois," he said sadly. "It was me. I thought we
had a chance together. I was wrong and I hurt you. I'm sorry. I
should never have done what I did."

"Sorry? You're sorry?"

He took a step backwards, away from the venom of her voice. She
had every right to be angry with him, but it didn't make it hurt
any less. "Lois, I don't know how to return your memories of
that time. I don't know if it's possible. But if you're game, we
can try."

"How?"

"Come with me to the Fortress of Solitude, my ‘ice palace'," he
said. "I need to do some work there anyway. It might jog your
memory."

"When?"

"Now's as good a time as any," he said. "You might want to let
your boss know you're going to be out for at least the rest of
the day."

He watched as she pulled her cell phone from her purse and
pulled up Perry White's personal number.

"Perry? Lois. I'm going to be out for the rest of the day, maybe
longer," she said. "Could you have Richard pick Jason up at
school?" She listened for a moment as Perry replied. "No, I
don't want to say anything about what I'm working on yet, in
case it doesn't pan out."

"Tell him Clark's going with you," Superman said softly, almost
mouthing the sentence.

She raised one eyebrow at him but said into the phone, "Oh, and
Clark's coming with me, so I hope you haven't given him anything
that can't wait a day or so."

"Kent lit out of here like the devil was after him about ten
minutes ago," Perry said over the phone. Superman's acute
hearing picked up the conversation from Perry's office as well.
"You two'd better have something good for me when you get back,"
Perry warned before hanging up his phone.

Lois put her phone back in her purse. "So Clark's coming with
us?"

Superman shrugged. "I'd rather he didn't get into more trouble
than he's already going to be, if this works."

"Why would Clark get into trouble? Where is he?"

Superman smiled. "Just trust me on this one, Lois. Please?"

***
In his office on the 60th floor of the Daily Planet building,
Perry White looked over at his nephew, Richard. He was Lois
Lane's fiance, as well as the newsroom's assistant editor, a job
the young man had earned by being one of the best in the
business. It hadn't hurt him, though, to be the boss's nephew.

"Richard, what *is* Clark working on?" Perry asked.

"Something Norm Parker was working on before he died. The
trouble Americans with foreign dependants have getting through
all the bull Homeland Security throws at them," Richard told
him. "From what Clark's told me, he's got enough material for a
whole series on it."

"Isn't he supposed to be working on the building collapses?"

"Yeah, and he's already turned in the first two articles."

"Good. So what's up with Lois?"

Richard looked uncomfortable. "She hasn't been herself since
Superman came back. She told me she was over him, but…" He shook
his head. "She said she was over Superman, but I didn't think to
ask her how she felt about Jason's father showing up again.
People have been asking why I haven't left her now that Clark's
back. Although," he added, "with the way she's been treating the
poor bastard, I'll be surprised if he doesn't ask for a transfer
to Tokyo soon. Why did you even hire him back?"

"Because he's one of the best writers in the business," Perry
said. "And I owe him a second chance after what I did to the two
of them."

"And what was that?" Richard asked, knowing what the answer
was.

"I let Cat Grant talk me into sending Mad Dog and the Boy Scout
on an undercover assignment as newlyweds, knowing full well what
the gossip mongers would do to them. Knowing what Lois would do
to *him* afterwards when she caught wind she was being set up.
I'm surprised he bothered to come back at all, considering how
he left. He came in one morning and told me he was leaving. I
tried to talk him out of it. Even offered him a raise and the
assistant editor's post that was open, but he wouldn't budge. He
just finished that day's assignments and walked out."

--Earth II--
"The next time, you're the one carrying the baby to term," Lois
Lane-Kent complained as she sat on the side of the bed, rubbing
the small of her aching back.

"That's what you said when you were carrying CJ, and Lara, and
Jordan," Clark Jerome Kent, her husband of ten years, reminded
her with a smile, taking over massaging her back.

"I look like a blimp! I feel like a blimp. How can you love a
blimp?"

He nuzzled her neck. "You do not look like a blimp. You never
look like a blimp. You look like a well-loved woman who's having
a baby any day now."

"I'm a week overdue!"

"Lois, they've *all* been a week overdue," Clark said with an
even broader smile. She turned in his arms to gaze into his
warm, dark chocolate eyes. She kissed him, hard.

"Uh, honey, you keep this up and we're going to be late for
work. Again." He said it lightly, pulling away from her only far
enough so he could talk. "Besides, I have to get CJ and Lara to
school, and I have a meeting at nine with the board of
directors."

"We are going to continue this discussion later, you know," Lois
warned him with a grin as he headed to the master bathroom to
get dressed for work.

"I'm looking forward to it," he called back as he shut the
door.

--Earth I--
Lois Lane inspected her surroundings, the white crystals that
made up the Kryptonian-designed structure, the control console
with shafts of sunlight glistening across its crystal clear
surface.

"I remember this was burnt up, destroyed," she murmured,
touching the console with one tentative finger.

"The father crystal wasn't in the console," he told her. "I'm
not sure how it happened, but it wasn't with the others. It
wasn't destroyed. I was able to regenerate the console and the
other crystals with it. Those were the ones Luthor stole from
me."

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm regenerating the rest of the crystals and making a copy of
the father crystal for safekeeping."

"I thought Luthor stole the father crystal," Lois said.

There was amusement in his unearthly blue eyes. "I got it back,"
he said. "I found the father crystal in the wreck of Luthor's
helicopter. I don't know why Luthor didn't find it."

"What about the others?"

"I don't know where they are," he admitted. "I just hope Luthor
doesn't have them. Even without the father crystal, he could do
a lot more damage than he's already done."

He placed the father crystal into its place in the console,
twisting it just so. "This is going to take a while," he said.
"What would you like for lunch?"

"We had dinner here before, didn't we?"

He nodded.

"You gave up your powers so we could be together."

"Yes. I was told that if I wanted a human woman, I had to be
human. I couldn't just live like one, I had to *be* one."

"We spent the night together."

He nodded. *Was she remembering, or just logically linking the
facts together?* He was afraid to ask. He was the most powerful
being on the planet and he was afraid to ask her if she
remembered his other name.

"I remember watching your face while we watched TV, watched the
disasters across the world. I watched you suffer because you
couldn't do a damn thing for them," she said softly. "I told you
to come back here, see if there was a way to undo the damage."

"There was a way," he said. "But the price was the ability to be
with you. To share your life. I watched you suffer at work,
trying to deal with the fact that we'd lost any chance to be
together. I thought I was doing you a favor."

"You watched me at work?" she wondered aloud. He just looked at
her. *How could she not see it? She was a top investigative
reporter. How could she miss all the clues he'd given her over
time? How could she not see him?*

"What would you like for lunch?" he repeated.

"Chinese?" she said. "Clark knows a little place somewhere with
funny fortune cookies in Chinese. They have the best *mu gu gai
pan*. "

"I know the place," he said with a smile. He gave her a tiny bow
and flew off faster than she could see.

--Earth II--
"Richard, Penny!" Clark yelled from his office door. "When can I
see something on the Goldman murders?"

"Waiting for one more confirmation, Chief," Richard White
answered, glancing over to his partner, Penny ‘Lane'. She nodded
her head.

Clark stepped back into his office, the editor-in-chief's
office. From his desk Clark could watch the entire newsroom. He
loved the energy of the bullpen. From his office, he could watch
it all happen, see the paper come together as he directed, just
as Perry had done before him.

It was the best job in the world, next to being an investigative
reporter. And one of the beauties of being the boss was that no
one asked questions when he disappeared in the middle of the day
to handle a job as Superman. At least, no one asked them very
loudly.

Richard White, Perry White's nephew, had joined the Daily Planet
five years before. He had been an award winning reporter at the
Planet's London bureau and had covered the Middle East. So when
an opening appeared in Metropolis for someone with his skills,
Perry offered it to his nephew. Richard had jumped on it and
hadn't looked back.

Perry assigned the young man to work with Penelope Landris, an
up-and-coming city beat reporter who had taken the pen name of
‘Penny Lane'. The Landrises were old money in Metropolis, and
hadn't taken kindly to one of their own becoming an
investigative reporter. But it was a match made in heaven, much
as Perry's match up of Lane and Kent, nine years earlier.
*Fourteen years ago -- how time flies*. White and Landris would
be celebrating their second wedding anniversary next month.

Clark checked his watch. Lois was meeting him for lunch over at
a new bistro she'd found not too far from Centennial Park.

--Earth I--
"That was fantastic," Lois commented, finishing the last egg
roll. "So where is this place with this great food and funny
fortune cookies?"

"Shanghai," Superman answered with a crooked grin.

She gave him a puzzled look as if she couldn't get her mind
around the obvious. He watched her and realized, with a sinking
feeling, that there was something seriously wrong if she
couldn't put the facts together even when they'd been
practically thrown in her face.

"Do you remember any more?" he asked gently.

"I remember making love to you, here. I remember seeing a
beautiful blonde woman dressed in white. She was very sad when
she talked to you."

"That was a hologram of my mother, Lara," he explained. "It,
she, is part of the Artificial Intelligence that is part of this
place, part of the crystals." A musical chime rang out from the
crystal console. He got up from his seat beside Lois and stepped
over to the console.

"The backup father crystal is complete," he said. "We can head
back to Metropolis now, unless you want to stay and talk some
more."

She shook her head. "I remember most of it, I think. Like waking
up from a dream. But there's still something I'm not catching.
Something that's just out of reach. I remember being at Niagara
Falls with Clark and you coming to save a little boy who'd
fallen. Then we were here." She looked up at him. "We didn't
just abandon Clark there, did we?"

"No, we didn't abandon him there," he said with a smile. At
least she was concerned for his alter ego. Maybe things were
starting to come together, finally.

--Earth II--
 "You're not eating," Clark observed. The bistro was as good as
promised, but Lois was picking at her food.

"I've been thinking," she said. "Have you heard from Zara and
Ching recently?"

"The last I heard from them was that they were planning on
visiting soon after the baby's born. They still want to foster
one of their kids on Earth and would really like to foster one
of ours."

"Not going to happen, Clark," she warned. "I am not sending one
of my babies off to that hell-hole. I nearly lost you when you
went there and I know you still have nightmares about what
happened to you the year you were gone. I am not going through
that again."

"I've already told them that," Clark assured her. "I suggested
that maybe when CJ's old enough for high school... He'll be old
enough to make his own choice, and he is an heir to the ruling
house..."

He expected an explosion from her, but she simply sighed and
rubbed her belly. "Well, at least I have five years to get used
to the idea," she said finally. "Let's go take a walk."

--Earth I--
They were flying back to Metropolis and were fast approaching
the city.

"Superman, what's that?" Lois asked, looking back over his
shoulder. He paused in midair to turn and look behind. A quarter
of a mile back, the blue sky was gone, replaced by a curtain of
roiling black clouds lit up by phosphorescent green lightning.
Wind began to whisper around them. The afternoon sun had
vanished behind the black clouds.

"I don't know," Superman admitted. Lois was surprised to see
worry in his face. The wind grew louder and stronger and
Superman dropped to the ground, hunkering down to protect Lois
from the brunt of the wind.

The storm was on them. Gale force winds shoved at them and even
Superman's strength wasn't quite enough to stand against them,
which surprised him. There was a piercing wail as if the
universe itself was crying out in agony. The sound drove through
their skulls. They covered their ears, but the keening wail was
too knifesharp, driving itself into their brains. It was louder
even than the thunder that rolled all around them. Lois
screamed.

Then, the world fell *up*.

The knife sharp scream stopped. The thunder stopped. The
lightning stopped. The slashing rain stopped.

They stood and looked around. The afternoon sun was shining
through a cloudless blue sky.

"What was that?" Lois asked. Superman's face was pale and his
eyes were dark with worry.

"I don't know. I've never seen or felt anything like it."

"Maybe we'd better get back to Metropolis," she suggested. He
nodded agreement, picked her up in his arms and took off again,
toward the city.

--Earth II--
They walked through Centennial Park, taking time to sit beside
the fountain where he'd first proposed to her, and where, later,
she proposed to him.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked. Lois had been unusually quiet.

"I'm fine," she said, brushing a dark strand of hair away from
her face. "Have you told Richard and Penny yet, about Zara and
Ching, I mean?"

"I've told them they're expected sometime this week," Clark
said. "But I haven't filled them in on the details. I didn't
want them to get their hopes up."

"It's a pity they can't have kids," Lois said. "Richard's so
much like you it's scary sometimes. He'll make a great dad, and
Penny will make a pretty good mom."

"Well, you certainly shaped up, Mrs. Kent," Clark said with a
grin, nuzzling her neck.

She slapped his chest then grabbed her belly, wincing in
annoyance more than pain. "I think this one's just about ready
to make an appearance."

"Do you want me to get the car, or do you want..." He made a
sideways waving motion with his hand, their sign for Superman.

She repeated the sign back to him. "My water hasn't broken yet,
but this kid is on its way."

"Stay right here, and I'll be right back," he promised.

* * *
If the first sign that something was amiss was the unnatural
storm, the second sign had to be that the Wannamaker building
was still standing.

The city below them was undamaged. Superman looked closer and
realized there were other differences from the city they'd left
only hours before. Buildings had been subtly shifted. The Daily
Planet building was the most changed. It was the same height and
similar in appearance, but there was no mistaking the building
was not the same as the one he and Lois had left that morning.

"Lois, I don't think we're in Kansas any more," Superman
muttered.

Lois's eyes followed his gaze to look over at the Daily Planet
building. Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.

"Where are we?" she asked, heart pounding.

"I have no idea," he admitted with a frown. He could hear Lois's
heartbeat next to him, but Jason's was missing from the city.
And, more oddly, there was another heartbeat below him, in
Centennial Park, that almost matched Lois's. This one belonged
to a pregnant woman who was in labor and appeared annoyed. She
had dark hair pulled back into a loose French braid.

"Superman!" she was calling quietly, as if she didn't want to be
overheard by bystanders.

He landed softly near the fountain, setting Lois on her feet
before approaching the dark-haired pregnant woman.

"You called, ma'am?" he asked. The woman turned and her eyes
widened in an odd mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Who the devil are you?" she demanded before doubling over with
a hard contraction as her water broke.

--Lois II--
Lois Lane-Kent took a deep breath as she straightened up to look
more closely at the tall man wearing the Superman suit. The suit
design was different, a little darker, and definitely more
alien, almost New Kryptonian. He was tall, at least two, maybe
three inches taller than her husband, with the bluest eyes she'd
ever seen.

"I'm Superman," the tall man said, scooping her up easily. He
turned to the business-suited woman standing a little way from
the fountain. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

He took off for Metropolis General Hospital.

--Lois I--
Lois Lane watched as Superman scooped up the pregnant woman and
sped off into the sky. She was alone in a city that looked only
vaguely like the one she was supposed to be in and she was
annoyed. Who was he to tell her to stay, as if she were a dog,
or someone he could simply order about? She was Lois Lane,
Pulitzer winning writer and top reporter for the Daily Planet.

"Uh, miss?" A man said, clearing his throat.

She turned to see a man wearing a Superman suit standing next to
her. Her eyes widened in confusion.

"There was a pregnant woman here," he continued. "Where is
she?"

"Superman took her to the hospital," she said. She watched as
astonishment, confusion, and something else, flickered across
his face. She noted that his eyes were a warm brown. He was
shorter than the Superman she knew. A little over six-foot,
maybe, and built like a quarterback. But the strong presence was
there, the ineffable aura of ‘good' that she was familiar with.

She put out her hand. "I'm Lois Lane, Daily Planet."

To her astonishment, he took a step back and looked up into the
sky, hands out in supplication. "Come on! Give me a break here,
will you!" After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision and
held out his hand to her. "Okay, Miss Lane, let's find out where
your Superman took my Mrs. Kent."

"Mrs. Kent?" Lois repeated as Superman scooped her up and let go
of gravity.

A moment later, they touched down in front of the emergency room
entrance of Metropolis General Hospital. He set her on her feet
and strode into the building, keeping hold of her hand so she
had to hurry to keep up with him.

Superman, her Superman, was standing to one side of the room,
trying to keep out of the way. The brown-eyed one let go of her
hand and walked over to the admissions desk.

"Has Lois Lane-Kent been checked in?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, Superman," the admissions clerk said. "She's on her
way up to the birthing suites. *He* brought her in." She nodded
her head in the direction of the other Superman. "Relative of
yours?"

"Not sure yet," the brown-eyed one said. "At least he's not a
clone. I'm not all that fond of clones, you know."

The clerk chuckled. "I assume Mister Kent is on his way."

"He should be here in a minute," the brown-eyed one said. "In
the meantime, is there a place I can put them until he gets
here?" He indicated Lois and the blue-eyed Superman.

"There's a little waiting room around the corner," the clerk
said. "They should be okay there."

The brown-eyed Superman beckoned for Lois and her Superman to
follow him to the waiting room. He stopped the taller one.
"Kal-El, I presume," he said. Her Superman nodded. There was a
worried look in his eyes.

"I assume you have some civvies?"

Again, he nodded.

"You might want to change," the brown-eyed one suggested.
"You'll be less conspicuous. And try to stay out of trouble." He
looked straight at Lois. "If that's at all possible."

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Lois turned to her companion. "Superman, what is going on here?"
she hissed.

"We're in an alternate dimension. A different universe. I don't
know how, except maybe that storm we went through. It wasn't a
normal storm, I know that."

"So what do we do?"

He gave her a crooked grin. "Try to get on *his* good side. I
haven't done such a good job of it, so far. Mrs. Kent was
waiting for *him* to show up. She was seriously annoyed with
me."

"Mrs. Kent?" It suddenly dawned on her. "Lois Lane-Kent?"

He nodded. "Clark Kent's wife. He's married. To Lois Lane." He
had the most peculiar look on his face, almost as if he couldn't
quite believe what he'd just said. "He's right, though. I'd
better make myself less conspicuous."

"You have a change of clothes?"

Again, that impossibly familiar grin. "I'll be right back."

--Clark II--
Clark had gone to the side of the building and changed into his
business suit and tie at superspeed. He hurried to the birthing
suite on the fifth floor, where he knew Lois was already
harassing the birthing room nurses.

"There you are!" his wife called as soon as she caught sight of
him. "Who was that other fellow?"

"Superman, I guess," Clark said. "Remember, this is Metropolis,
land of the weird and home of the crazed."

Lois grimaced at another contraction and he held out his hand
for her to squeeze. One of the perks of being Superman -- she
couldn't break his hand with her vise-like grip.

He took a moment to look around the room. This was the third
delivery they'd had in this very room. CJ had been born at STAR
Labs, before Doctors Klein and Anderson determined that
half-Kryptonian newborns were indistinguishable in any way from
normal newborns. The room itself looked like a regular bedroom.
Only the medical equipment in the side-room indicated it was
more specialized.

The attendant came in and checked under the sheet to see how his
wife was progressing. After three previous deliveries, Clark was
still embarrassed to be present while a stranger examined Lois's
cervix. He watched Lois's face instead as she relaxed between
contractions.

"I figure another hour or so," the attendant said.

"Lois, I need to take a minute and check on our ‘friends'
downstairs." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"I'll be right back."

"You'd better be," she warned. He feigned a shudder and she
giggled.

He hurried down to the waiting room where the other Superman and
Lois were supposed to be waiting.

To his surprise, they were still there. They'd gotten cups of
coffee and another couple had joined them in the waiting room.
The other, younger, couple looked grief stricken. Clark noted
that Kal-El and his Lois were talking to them, reassuring them,
offering condolences.

Clark wondered if this Kal-El and Lois had children. He'd noted
an engagement ring on her hand, but no wedding band, and
wondered what that meant. His journalist instincts were kicking
in and he knew he would be going after answers. He was also
going to have to introduce Kal-El to a tailor. The gray suit his
counterpart was wearing was simply too out of date to be
believed, not to mention it didn't fit as well as it could.
Oddly, he wasn't wearing glasses.

All the Clark Kents he'd met during various inter-dimensional
treks wore glasses as part of their persona.

Clark cleared his throat to catch their attention and both
couples looked up at him standing in the doorway. He nodded to
Kal-El and Lois. "Superman told me you were here. I'm Clark
Kent."

Kal-El stood and shook his hand. "I'm... Charlie King and this
is..." He looked back at Lois.

"Wanda," she announced. "Wanda Detroit." She looked disconcerted
when Clark began to chuckle.

"Well, Ms. Detroit," he said, fighting back laughter. "I'm sure
the Stardust Lounge will be pleased to know you're back in
town."

He searched his pockets a moment, found his business card case
and handed ‘Charlie' one of his cards. "I think it might be best
if you two went down to the Planet and waited there for me. I'll
call my assistant to let her know you're on your way."

--Clark I--
He looked down at the business card in his hand. The Daily
Planet logo was embossed in one corner. *Clark Kent,
editor-in-chief, the address and office phone number, fax,
email.* Editor-in-Chief? He looked at the other man in surprise
and increased respect. This Clark Kent couldn't be more than
five, possibly ten, years older than himself. He was
editor-in-chief of the largest newspaper on the east coast?

He handed the card to Lois and saw the same confusion in her
eyes.

"Thank you, Mister Kent," Kal-El said. "We'll do that."

"I'll see you there in a couple hours, then," Clark Kent said.
He nodded a good-bye to the other couple and left the waiting
room.

"Clark Kent is the editor of the Planet?" Lois muttered. "But
he's..."

"A hack from Nowheresville?" Kal-El asked, using X-ray vision to
follow his counterpart to the stairwell beside the elevators. "I
don't think so, ‘Wanda'. He may be wearing a Marvin the Martian
tie, but that's not a cheap suit. He is definitely not the Clark
Kent you know." He looked back at Lois. "We'd better get over to
the Planet. He'll be expecting to find us there."

"And being on *Mister Kent's* good side will help us how?"

"Don't be difficult, please," Kal-El said. "We're going to need
all the help we can get."

--Lois I--
They were able to catch a cab in front to the hospital and
‘Charlie' directed the driver to the Daily Planet. Lois watched
her companion out of the corner of her eye. Dressed in a gray
three-piece suit, even if it was a little out of date, made him
look ‘human', approachable, and disconcertingly familiar.
Annoyingly familiar.

"So, Charlie, is that your real name?" she asked.

He grinned at her. "No."

"So what is it?"

"Right now I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," Kal-El
stated.

She could hear an oddly sad bitterness in his tone and again she
felt that odd sensation that she was missing something. Like she
was looking all around whatever it was but couldn't focus on it.
Her companion was Superman, Kal-El of Krypton, Metropolis's
favorite son, savior of the city -- just not this city. They had
their own Superman. But Kal-El had another name, of this she was
positive. And somehow, she knew she once knew his other name.

The cab stopped in front of the Daily Planet building and Kal-El
pulled cash from a worn leather wallet to pay the driver. She
forced herself to overcome the urge to grab the wallet from him
to see what his identification said.

"Coming?" he asked, getting out of the cab.

Wanda climbed out after him, then stopped to gaze, open-mouthed,
at the larger-than-life poster set in a display case on the side
of the building. Richard White, looking charming and debonair,
with a handsome woman standing beside him. The photographed pair
smiled out at passersby. The caption read *Lane and White,
hottest team on the Planet.*  Lois didn't recognize the woman.

"I see Richard has a counterpart here," Kal-El commented. "And
that's Penny Landris, if I'm not mistaken. She's a new hire at
our version the Planet."

"How do you know?" she wondered.

"I know," he assured her with a crooked smile, leading the way
in to the building.

The lobby held a coffee kiosk and newsstand. The cashier gazed
at them incuriously as they made their way to the elevator
banks, past framed front-pages of famous events covered by the
Daily Planet -- the Hindenberg, the first Moon landing, the
first appearance of Superman.

"This is dated fourteen years ago," Kal-El pointed out, scanning
the articles. "He showed up here five years before I did."

The doors to one of the elevators opened and they entered. Wanda
hit the button for the editorial floor. "And Clark Kent is the
E-in-C," she said. After a few minutes, the elevator slowed and
stopped, the doors opening into the Daily Planet bullpen.

Again, the room was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
The crowded desks, the flat-screen monitors hanging off the
support columns, the offices and conference room on the outside
walls were familiar components, but the colors were different,
warmer. Half the desks were currently unoccupied. Wanda/Lois
knew from experience that these reporters were out on the street
and would be returning in a few hours to complete their
assignments for the next edition.

A petite oriental woman in a blue business suit caught sight of
them and strode over to where Lois and Kal-El were standing in
the elevator lobby outside the bullpen. "You must be Charlie and
Wanda," she said with a wide smile. "I'm Margot Tanaka, Mister
Kent's assistant. He called and said you were on your way." She
held out her hand and Kal-El shook it.

"You're free to look around, and we have a computer in the
conference room if you want to check email or do some research.
The visitor's password is taped under the keyboard," she
continued. "Or you can wait in Mister Kent's office. Just stay
out of the way, but I suppose you know that."

Kal-El and Lois nodded. "We're familiar with newsrooms." Kal-El
said. He took Wanda's elbow and guided her to the conference
room. "We can use that computer to check out this place," he
murmured to his companion.

"I wonder what happened to Perry?" she murmured back.

"Let's find out," he said, closing the conference room door
behind them.

--Lois II--
Lois's contractions were close. She had hold of his hand as he
coached her in breathing, panting along with her. "Another big
push," he told her. One part of her mind, the reporter, noted
his glance at the midwife stationed between her legs. The
midwife nodded.

"Come on, push, Lois, push," Clark told her. She grabbed his arm
through the surgical gown he was wearing and squeezed. She was
thankful he was invulnerable to most things. She'd be leaving
bruises otherwise. It wasn't good to leave bruises on her
husband, even if he did deserve them, sometimes.

"The baby's crowning," the midwife announced. "Give us another
good one, Lois."

Lois was sweating and her hair was damp, pointing in all
directions as the latest contraction rolled through her body.
She looked a mess, she knew it, and it annoyed her, even though
she also knew that Clark didn't care how she looked right now.

She grimaced as she put all her energy into the muscles of her
belly, aiding the contraction, pushing the baby out of her body.
Another moment's rest and another push. After three previous
births, it still wasn't any easier. Why had they decided on
having one more? Oh, yes, Clark, an only child and adopted at
that, wanted a big family. Well, he was having the next one.

She groaned as yet another contraction hit and she bore down.

"Come on, just a little more," Clark said. The midwife moved
even closer and there was a sudden wail from a new life arriving
on the scene.

"You have a daughter," the midwife announced, placing the
bloody, slimy new arrival on her mother's belly.

"She's beautiful," Clark marveled as Lois caressed the baby's
body. He bent closer to his wife and kissed her. "Just like her
mother."

--Clark I--
"Perry's obituary," Kal-El pointed out the article on the
computer screen in front of him. "He died of ALS two years ago.
Survived by his wife and sons. Kent was the assistant editor and
was promoted to E-in-C on Perry's death. He was thirty-eight at
the time, which made him the youngest E-in-C in the Planet's
history."

"He showed up here about the same time their Superman first
appeared," Wanda observed. "Why are you so interested in Kent?"

He chose not to answer her question. *She doesn't get it*, he
thought to himself. *Why can't she see it? What did I do to her
six years ago that she can't make such an obvious connection?*

His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside the
conference room. Wanda opened the door to listen. A man with
reddish-brown hair was standing at the railing to the elevator
lobby holding his hands up for quiet. The room had more occupied
desks now as the reporters trickled in to write their stories
for tomorrow's paper.

"I have an announcement to make, everybody," the man said. He
looked to be about thirty-five. "Martha Michaela Kent arrived at
1:44 PM today. Seven pounds, ten ounces. Mother and child are
doing fine. Dad is a basket case, as usual." There was a round
of applause at the announcement.

Kal-El heard a cry for help somewhere uptown, made a lame excuse
to Wanda, and headed for the stairwell to escape the building.
The local Superman was busy with family matters and whether or
not this was his universe, he was needed.

--Clark II--
The midwife took the baby to be cleaned up and checked out,
leaving Clark alone with Lois.

"Ya done good, partner," he said. Even sweaty and exhausted, she
was beautiful and once again, as he did almost every moment of
every day, he marveled at how lucky he was to have her.

"I know," Lois said with a tired grin. "When can we go home?"

"In a couple hours," Clark said. "You need to rest a little, let
them check you out. You know the drill."

*‘Kal-El?'* Zara's voice intruded inside his head. *‘Ching and I
will be landing in four hours. Can you have everything ready?'*

*‘Yes,'* Clark replied mentally.

"Clark, what's wrong?" Lois asked.

He had realized many, many years ago that he couldn't hide
anything from her. Not since she figured out that Superman was
Clark Kent's alter ego. "Zara and Ching are on their way.
They'll be here a little after six."

"So soon?"

"I have the impression they're in a hurry," he told her. "And
she did say they'd come after the baby was born."

"I figured they meant a few days, not a few hours," Lois
commented. "You'd better get things ready for them."

He kissed her, a long, lingering kiss, tasting the sweat that
was still on her face. "I'll be back to get you as soon as I
can," he promised.

--Lois I--
That odd feeling of missing something was even stronger.
Kal-El's excuse for leaving was as bad as one of Clark's. And
Superman certainly didn't need an excuse to go handle an
emergency.

He came back less than twenty minutes later, smelling of burnt
rubber and gasoline. "There was a multi-car smashup on the West
Channel Bridge," he explained. "No serious injuries, thank
goodness."

"Good job. Thanks," Clark Kent said with a grin as he walked
into the conference room. He had a small, dark-haired boy on one
hip. The boy had large, brown, almond-shaped eyes that watched
her solemnly. "Oh, this is Jordan. Jordan, say hello to Wanda
and Charlie."

Jordan hid his face in his father's chest.

"He's a little shy," his father explained with an embarrassed
smile. He looked over at Kal-El. "Who handles the Superman
exclusives where you come from?"

"Lois or Clark. Our Clark," Kal-El said.

Clark checked his watch. "Well, you have forty-five minutes to
give me something. We've got a great shot of the visiting
Superman for the front page."

"And Superman sells papers," Wanda said. It was something she'd
heard often enough over the past week from Perry White. Her
Perry White.

"Almost as good as tragedy and sex," Clark said. He went to the
computer and logged onto the system for them.

"Almost?" Wanda asked.

Clark shrugged. "Well, Superman's been in Metropolis nearly
fourteen years. He's not exactly old news, but it has to be a
pretty big problem to make the front page anymore. Now, a
different Superman visiting, that's news."

Kal-El had already started typing on the computer keyboard,
fingers moving faster than any normal human's. Wanda noticed
that Clark didn't seem surprised at Kal-El's typing speed. *What
does he know?*

Clark turned and headed back into the newsroom. Wanda watched as
he approached two of his reporters. Richard White and his
partner had come in and were settling in at their desks.

"Richard?" Wanda murmured. He looked so much like her fiance it
was unbelievable. But she saw that he only had eyes for his
partner, Penny.

"He's not the Richard you know," Kal-El said softly, not looking
up from the computer screen.

"I know," Wanda said. She watched the Daily Planet's E-in-C as
he spoke quietly with his two stars. Whatever he was saying had
surprised and pleased Richard and Penny. Wanda couldn't remember
the last time *her* Richard had looked so happy. Before Superman
came back into her world. Maybe even before that.

Clark disappeared into his office and Wanda went over to where
Kal-El was writing. She peered over his shoulder at the screen,
forearm resting on his shoulder as if it was the most natural
thing in the world. "You don't say anything about how we got
here. For that matter, you left me out altogether."

Kal-El shrugged and patted her hand. "There are some things
better left a mystery. This needs to be about the new Superman
arriving on the scene in this Metropolis. I think Mister Kent
will be relatively pleased with it."

"Good quotes. You do good work. Most people can't write about
themselves, especially in third person."

"Thank you, ma'am." Again, the crooked smile that was so
annoyingly familiar as he sent the document over to Clark.
Kal-El tipped his head to one side, listening, watching
something she couldn't see. "He's finished writing the sidebar,
welcoming the new Superman to Metropolis."

A few moments later, Clark walked back into the conference room,
Jordan once again on his hip. "Good piece," he said to Kal-El.
"I have to get the other kids from school, and since you're
obviously staying at my house, tonight at least, we'd better get
going."

"What about putting the paper to bed?" Wanda asked. Perry would
never leave before the next edition was locked down and ready to
go to press.

"Unless somebody blows up the Lexcorp Tower in the next couple
hours, we're ready roll," Clark said. "Besides, my assistants
all have my cell number. And I do usually answer it." He
beckoned them to follow him out.

He led the way to the elevators, down to the lobby and out to
the parking garage, to a champagne-colored Windstar van. He
chirped the doors unlocked and belted Jordan into the car-seat
in the middle row of seats. Wanda noted a booster seat in the
back row and wondered how many children the Kents of this world
had.

"Who's sitting up front?" he asked.

"I'll sit back here," Kal-El volunteered, allowing Wanda the
front passenger seat. She gave him a grateful smile. She didn't
like being a passenger and being in the back seat only made it
worse.

As it turned out, Clark was a reasonably good driver, if a
little cautious for her taste. But then, she realized, she had
gotten more cautious after Jason was born. She was startled when
she recognized the route he was taking to pick up the ‘other
kids'. The same route either she or Richard took nearly every
weekday to pick Jason up from school.

"Something wrong?" Clark asked. Wanda hadn't realized she'd
actually jumped.

"No," she said. "I just recognize the neighborhood. My son goes
to school here."

He raised a dark eyebrow at her. "How old is he?"

"Five years, four months," Wanda said.

"Same age as Lara," he commented. "How long have you been
married?"

"I'm not," she said. He gave her a look she couldn't decipher.
Surprise, puzzlement, consternation? She glanced back at Kal-El.
His expression had gone bleak and more than a little guilty. "My
son's father disappeared without a word or a trace six years
ago. I moved on. I had to," she explained. "My fiance is a very
good man. He's stood by me, helping raise my son when his
biological father was nowhere to be found."

"I see," Clark said, very quietly. She was sure he didn't
understand. How could he understand something when she didn't
understand it herself?

Clark pulled the van into a parking space in front of the
school. Two children, a boy about eight or so and a younger
girl, came running across the driveway to the van. The girl had
the same dark hair and eyes as her father. The boy's coloring
was a little lighter, with hazel eyes. Kal-El got out and let
them climb into the van before settling back into his seat
beside Jordan.

"CJ, Lara, this is Wanda and Charlie," Clark introduced them.
"They'll be staying with us a few days," he added. The older boy
gave Wanda an appraising look, as if trying to decide who and
what she really was.

"Has the baby come yet?" Lara asked. The girl reminded Wanda of
Jason. Same fine features, knowing gaze. She was going to be a
knock-out when she was older.

"Yup," Clark answered, starting the van and pulling into the
street. "A little before two. You have a baby sister."

"When can we see her?" Lara demanded.

"Well, I was planning on dropping you guys off at home with
Grandma, then going to pick Mommy and baby Martha up and bring
them home, too. I want all three of you monsters on your best
behavior. Mommy's going to be really tired and it's going to be
a long day," Clark told them. "CJ, you remember Lady Zara and
Ching, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "Mommy doesn't like them much," he said.

"I know, but they're on their way, and Richard and Penny are
coming to talk to them tonight."

The van headed north over the City Center Bridge to the
Lafayette neighborhood, one of the suburbs that had undergone a
rebirth in the past ten years, becoming a magnet for middle and
upper managers who wanted to live close, but not too close, to
the city.

Clark turned the van down an impossibly familiar street, pulling
into the driveway at three-twelve Riverside Drive. Wanda
recognized the two-story house surrounded by a white picket
fence. It was the house she had awoken in that morning, before
that impossible storm and the even more impossible situation she
found herself. Herself and Superman.

One of the garage doors opened by remote control and Clark
parked the van beside an older model Jeep Cherokee.

Kal-El let himself and the three kids out of the van and the
youngsters ran into the house yelling "Grandma! Mommy had the
baby!"

Wanda followed them into the house, Kal-El close on her heels.
The layout was the same, the furniture different, naturally.
Educational toys, children's books, and stuffed toys were strewn
across the family room. These were well-loved kids.

An older, gray-haired woman came into the family room from the
kitchen and gave the kids hugs. She gave Wanda and Kal-El a
curious look over the heads of the children.

"I'm Wanda Detroit and this is Charlie King," Wanda introduced
herself.

The older woman gave her a disbelieving look and began to laugh.
"Clark, what gives?" she asked as she caught sight of Clark.

"Martha Kent, Mom, I'd like to introduce you to Lois Lane and
Kal-El. They're visiting from another time-line, another
dimension," Clark explained.

Wanda felt her jaw drop. How did he know? Had Superman told him?
Why hadn't he said anything earlier? Her astonishment started to
turn to anger. He'd been laughing at her, at them! But wait --
he knew they were from another dimension? And Martha seemed to
take that announcement in stride like they'd just come in from
out of town.

"Lois, honey," Martha said with a grin. "Anyone who knows
Clark's wife knows she uses Wanda Detroit as a pen name, among
other things. I've seen her sing at the Stardust, too."

"Mom, I have to get Lois and the baby, plus, Zara and Ching are
on their way," Clark explained.

"Zara and Ching?" Martha repeated. Wanda could tell the older
woman was not happy. "Clark Jerome Kent, you're not planning on
letting those two take one of these babies, are you?" There was
a definite threat in her voice.

"Hardly," Clark assured her. "It'd be worth my life to even
suggest it. It's Richard and Penny they'll be talking to. But I
admit, there's something a little odd going on, too. I wasn't
expecting them to show up so soon."

He grabbed a newborn's car-seat and started to head back to the
van. "I'll be back in a little bit with Lois and the baby." He
turned to ‘Wanda' and Kal-El. "Please try to stay out of
trouble."

As soon as Clark left, Martha took charge of her grandchildren,
ushering them into the kitchen for snacks. She beckoned for
Wanda and Kal-El to join them.

"Would you like some coffee or tea?" Martha asked.

Wanda nodded. "Coffee would be nice."

"Mrs. Kent, who are Lady Zara and Ching?" Kal-El asked. "And
what are you afraid they want?"

Wanda watched conflicting emotions cross the woman's face --
worry, relief.

"Zara is the First Lady of New Krypton, acting head of the
ruling house, which happens to be the house of El. Ching is her
consort. Clark tried to explain it all to me but I still don't
understand it. It's just too foreign," Martha said. "Under
Kryptonian law, Kal-El, our Kal-El, and Zara are in a binding
contracted marriage between the House of El and the House of Ra,
but are legally separated since he refuses to live on New
Krypton. She has control of his lands and estates until his heir
goes to New Krypton to accept the titles and responsibilities as
head of the House of El."

"And you're afraid they're coming to take one of the children to
become his heir on this other planet?" Kal-El asked.

Martha nodded.

"How barbaric," Wanda found herself saying.

"It's a barbaric place," Martha said. "He almost didn't come
back went he went there eleven years ago to help stop a civil
war."

"Wait a minute," Kal-El said. Wanda watched as astonishment and
disbelief washed over Kal-El's face. "There were survivors of
Krypton?"

Martha nodded. "A whole colony. Believe me, it was a surprise to
us, too. I guess nobody on your Krypton believed Jor-El when he
warned them the planet was doomed."

"I guess not," Kal-El said. "What keeps them from coming here
and trying to take over? I mean, they'd be super-powered."

"There's only a couple ships that can make the trip, for one.
And two, a couple of Lord Nor's followers tried it, and our
military took them out pretty handily. There's not a lot of
kryptonite around, but we know how to use it," Martha said. "I'm
also told that Zara and Ching have emphasized to their people
how barbaric and dangerous Earth is and how courageous and
self-sacrificing Kal-El is to stay here and ‘lead us to
civilization.'"

Martha turned her attention back to her three grandchildren.
"It's homework time, CJ. Lara, piano practice. Your recital's
next week."

Lara made a face but headed off to the living room. Wanda
followed her, leaving Kal-El talking with Martha over a second
cup of coffee and a plate of doughnuts. Wanda's head was
spinning. She was a reporter, but she wasn't making a lot of
sense of what Martha had told them.

The little girl sat down at an electric piano, turned on the
power and began practicing scales. Wanda sat down beside her.
"My son plays piano, too. And he's your age."

Lara didn't stop playing. "He is? What's his name?"

"Jason Peregrine White."

"I'm Lara Ellen Kent," the little girl announced. "After two of
my grandmas. Daddy was adopted, you know. So I have three
grandmas, but one of them is dead."

Lara continued her practice, switching to ‘Heart and Soul', the
piece Jason had been working on for weeks. Wanda's heart began
to ache for her son. Lara reminded her of him so much it was
frightening. She wondered if she would ever see him again. If
she and Kal-El, ‘Charlie', would be trapped here forever, in
this version of Metropolis where Clark Kent was Superman, was
married to Lois Lane, and had four kids -- not to mention a wife
on a different planet.

*Clark Kent was Superman*. It sounded right, like something
she'd known before. But for some reason, she still couldn't get
her head around it. *What the hell had he done to her? Did he
even know what he'd done?* There was no way that Kal-El could
possibly be the Clark Kent she knew. That Clark was a geek, a
nerd, a hack --  a brilliant, idiotic, clumsy dweeb who tripped
over his own feet and could barely talk coherently. *No way! It
was impossible! But still...*

She left the piano bench and walked back to the kitchen. Martha
was cleaning up and Wanda could hear Kal-El talking to one of
the boys in the family room. She walked in to see Jordan sitting
on Kal-El's lap as they both sat next to CJ at a computer.
Kal-El seemed so natural, so easy, with Clark's kids. *He'd make
a fantastic father. What am I thinking? Jason has a father, and
not one who ran out before he was even born!*

She stepped closer to him. "You're good with kids," she said.
"You'll make a great father, someday."

"I am a father, remember?" The hurt was palpable in his face,
his voice. "I just don't know how I fit in to his life, or
yours."

"I don't honestly know yet. I've got memories floating around in
my head. I know some of them are real, but some of them, too
many of them, I still can't grab hold of, still don't make
sense. What really happened?" Wanda asked. She suddenly felt her
pent up anger starting to boil over. **"Why did you leave me
like that? What aren't you telling me? What did you do to
me?"**

--Lois II--
Lois waited for Clark to help her out of the van. Baby Martha
was asleep in her carrier, wearing a yellow jumper that was far
too big for her. But like all the previous Kent kids, she'd grow
into it in no time.

Clark had explained to her that Wanda and Kal-El would be
staying overnight, and possibly longer, if a way to send them
back to where they belonged couldn't be found. Wanda would have
to share a room with Lara, or stay with Martha at her
apartment.

"They're not together?" she asked.

Clark shook his head. "She has a son Lara's age, and a fiance,
but it's not *him.*" Clark grabbed the baby and followed Lois
into the house. "She said her son's father disappeared six years
ago and she moved on. I'm pretty sure Kal-El's the father. He
looked awfully guilty when she was talking about it."

**"Why did you leave me like that? What aren't you telling me?
What did you do to me?"** Wanda was practically screaming at
Kal-El when Lois and Clark walked in.

CJ's eyes were wide in surprise, as were Jordan's. Kal-El's eyes
were narrowed in that peculiarly Kryptonian fashion Lois was
familiar with, the one that said ‘back off now'. Lois also noted
that Wanda didn't seem to be getting the hint.

"I've got her," Lois murmured to her husband, taking the baby
from the carrier.

"I'm on him," he murmured back.

"Wanda, come with me, please," Lois ordered firmly. She saw
Wanda's eyes widen in surprise and was pleased when the younger
woman's mouth snapped shut. **"Now."**

Lois started toward the living room, then stopped as she
realized Wanda wasn't following. She turned back and grabbed the
younger woman's arm and led her away. "I will thank you not to
yell at your boyfriend, or whatever, in front of my kids," she
hissed.

"He's not my boyfriend," Wanda grated.

"Whatever. Absentee father of your child? Irresponsible lout
that got you knocked up?"

"You don't understand," Wanda said.

"Then explain it to me," Lois said, settling onto the leather
sofa and cuddling her newborn. She kept her voice low and
controlled.

Wanda sat down on other end of the sofa, turning to face Lois.
"Kal-El and I had a relationship six years ago. Hell,
relationship isn't the right word. One night stand. Then he
decided it wouldn't work, and he did something to my memories,
erased them, shut me out of his life, shut me out of his world,"
Wanda explained. "A month later he left without saying goodbye,
disappeared without saying a word to anyone. He was gone for six
years. Six years. I didn't know if he was dead, if he'd just
gotten tired of rescuing people who wouldn't take care of their
own problems, if I'd done something to drive him away. We, I,
didn't know I'd gotten pregnant. I had a baby and I didn't even
know how it happened. I did what I had to."

"And then he came back?" Lois asked.

Wanda nodded. "I won a Pulitzer for an editorial on why the
world doesn't need Superman. And then he comes waltzing back
into my life as if he hadn't been gone all that time, as if he
could make it all up to me, to my son, wave his magic cape and
it'll all be better. I have a man who wants to marry me, I have
a good life." Tears were running down Wanda's face.

"Wanda, if your Superman was so horrible to you, why were you
with him when whatever it was happened that brought you here?"
Lois asked.

"We were trying to recover my lost memories," Wanda explained.
"Even though he doesn't want a relationship with me. He can't
have a relationship with me."

"I assume you mean Superman can't have a relationship with you?"
Lois asked.

Wanda nodded.

"You do realize that Superman can't have a relationship with a
real person, because he isn't a real person? He's a character in
an improv play with the world as a stage who wears a blue body
suit and red cape. He's not real." Baby Martha had started to
protest and Lois put her to her breast.

"Of course he's a real person," Wanda protested. "You're married
to your Superman. You should know."

"No, I'm married to Clark Jerome Kent, who happens to have a
second job that doesn't pay at all well, that involves dressing
up in a blue body suit and red cape so he can go flying around
rescuing people, and having bad guys shoot at him," Lois said.
"Clark Kent is the one who said ‘I do', who takes the kids to
school, helps pay the bills, holds my hand, sleeps in my bed,
and was my birthing coach for four babies. Superman didn't do
any of those things. He can't. He's not a person, he's a job.
You need to be looking for the man **doing** the job."

It was a vast oversimplification, Lois knew, but Wanda just
seemed so oblivious. She hoped Clark was having better luck with
his counterpart.

--Clark I--
*"Why did you leave me like that? What aren't you telling me?
What did you do to me?"* Wanda‘s words kept reverberating in
Kal-El's ears, despite Clark's glower in his direction.

"You're with me," Clark repeated. Kal-El set Jordan on his feet
and unfolded himself from the chair.

"You are in so much trouble," CJ muttered, shaking his head.
"Nice meeting you."

"CJ..." Clark warned. He beckoned Kal-El to follow him
downstairs.

Kal-El didn't remember Wanda's house having a basement. He
followed Clark down carpeted steps to a large office lined with
books and native art. The rest of the basement was finished as
well, and appeared to be an art studio.

"You have some explaining to do, mister," Clark began.

"You sound like my father," Kal-El commented.

"I'll take that as a complement."

"I've already had the ‘responsibility' lecture from my mother,"
Kal-El said, taking a seat in the chair by the door. Clark was
leaning against the desk, arms folded across his chest. His
expression was one that Kal-El recognized from himself --
annoyed Superman. It was more than a little disconcerting to be
on the receiving end of that cool gaze.

"I didn't know she was pregnant when I left," he started to
explain. "I would never have left if I had known. I don't know
what I would have done, but I wouldn't have left."

"So where did you go?"

"Krypton. There were reports, supposedly verified reports, that
Krypton had been found, and there were signs of life," Kal-El
said. "I had to see for myself. It was like a compulsion; I had
to go and see it. The reports were wrong. In fact, the reports
were completely false, planted by a psychopath who wanted
Superman out of the way."

He looked up. Clark's expression hadn't changed.

"Krypton was more than just dead. It was poison. I almost didn't
make it back. When I did get back, I discovered Lex Luthor was
using Kryptonian technology to recreate Krypton on Earth. He
damn near succeeded in destroying the planet." He noted a
flicker of interest in Clark's eyes at the mention of Luthor and
Kryptonian technology.

"The Luthor here died about twelve years ago," Clark said. "And
so far, he hasn't come back again yet. And the only Kryptonian
technology I know about on Earth is the spaceship I was sent to
Earth in and the programming in the navigation module. And I
didn't get access to those until I'd been in Metropolis for six
months or so."

"You don't have access to Jor-El's AI?"

Clark shook his head.

"Lucky you," Kal-El commented. At least Clark had stopped
glowering at him. "That damned AI is one of the things that got
me in trouble with Lois six years ago. I was told that in order
to have a relationship with a human woman, I had to **become**
human. Give up the powers, everything. So I did. The worst
mistake I ever made up until that time. Everything else
afterward came from that one decision."

"Go on," Clark said. The stern father was still in the older
man's voice, but ‘annoyed Superman' was gone, at least.

"I couldn't stand to not have the powers, to lose that part of
myself, to not be able to help. I convinced the AI to let me
have my powers back. The price was having a relationship with
Lois, with any human woman. She didn't take it very well. So I
went ahead and did another incredibly stupid thing, I erased her
memory of what we had. I don't know exactly how I did it, but I
did. And now she would cheerfully finish what Luthor started
with his kryptonite dagger in my back."

"Do you blame her? You took away her freedom of choice. For all
intents and purposes, you raped her. You abused your powers to
take away her right to choose," Clark said harshly. He was
sounding more and more like Jonathan Kent, or at least how
Kal-El thought his father would have reacted. "Right now, I
would like nothing better than to tan your hide like cheap
leather," Clark added.

"You are not my father."

"No, but I figure I've got about twelve years on you in the
Suit. So that makes me the voice of experience. And the voice of
experience says you, buster, are acting like a spoiled brat.
‘Lois couldn't handle being dumped by Superman so I went and hit
the reset button.'?"

"That wasn't it. I told her the truth, who I really am."

"And who are you?"

Kal-El gave him a puzzled look. "I'm not sure I understand."

"When you look in the mirror in the morning, who looks back at
you? Clark Joseph Kent, son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, or Kal,
son of Jor and Lara of the house of El? When they find your dead
body, who do you want them to identify you as?"

Kal-El slumped back in the chair. Clark was annoyingly
perceptive and he wondered if it was due to the man's having
more life experience -- twelve years seemed about right -- or if
he was simply brighter and more competent. Kal-El couldn't see
himself ever handling Perry White's job and this Clark seemed to
be taking it in stride. He found that he was actually jealous of
the older man.

"Clark Kent, I suppose," Kal-El said finally. "That's who I've
been for as long as I can remember. I only found out about
Kal-El when I was seventeen, when my powers came in, right after
my dad died. The AI wanted me to stay in the Fortress for years
to learn to become Kryptonian. I wasn't exactly cooperative. I
didn't stay. I went out to see the world instead, went to
college."

"Did it ever occur to you that the AI was being less than
truthful?" Clark asked. He'd left the ‘stern father' mode and
had switched to what Kal-El mentally labeled ‘reporter' mode.
"The AI wanted you to be Kal-El and Kal-El can't have a
relationship with a human woman; it's too dangerous for everyone
involved. But what's keeping Clark Kent from being with
someone?"

"Lois Lane never gave Clark Kent the time of day."

"And whose fault is that?"

Kal-El didn't answer the question. "I don't know how to undo the
damage I did," he admitted instead. "I was trying to jog her
memory, help her get things sorted out, when we ended up here. I
don't know how I even managed to do what I did."

"Kryptonians are telepathic, at least with people they're close
to," Clark said. "A few of them are a lot stronger than that.
I'm betting that's how you did it, even if you didn't realize
it."

"So how do I undo it?"

"The same way you did it?"

"I doubt she'll let me get that close," Kal-El said with a
grimace.

"You can but try."

--Clark II--
Clark was not proud of losing his temper. As Superman he
couldn't afford to ever loose control that way. And it simply
wasn't Clark Kent's way. Doctor Friskin was going to have a
field day at their next session. But Kal-El had been so blasted
obtuse. In fact, of all the varied versions of Clark Kent he'd
met from various alternate time-lines, this one had to be one of
the densest. Erasing someone's memories? *Give me a break.*

He checked his watch. Half an hour until every one showed up. It
was going to be a long night.

"Why don't you go talk to her now?" Clark suggested. Kal-El's
expression was bleak, defeated. He sighed as he stood and headed
up the stairs to the main floor.

After a few moments, Clark followed him up the stairs.

Clark went up to the master bedroom and changed out of his suit
into black trousers and a black turtleneck shirt. He refused to
wear the black Kryptonian body suit that still hung in the back
of the hidden closet with his other ‘suits'. His one concession
tonight to signify his Kryptonian obligations was a blue
enameled pendant with the sigil of the House of El.

Coming back downstairs, he noticed Kal-El and his Lois had gone
out to the back deck to talk.

"How did it go?" he asked his wife.

"Was I that galactically dense?" she wondered aloud.

"No," he replied, busying himself with setting out snacks on the
dining room table for their soon-to-be-arriving guests. "Wasn't
it Herb who said you were simply blinded by love?"

"He only said that to make me feel better about it taking so
long to figure you out," Lois said with a grin. "I mean, who'd a
thunk it? The Man of Steel was just a disguise for the Hack from
Nowheresville Perry was trying to set me up with." She came over
to the table. "No chocolate?"

"You know Lara and Jordan are allergic and you can't have any
until the baby's weaned. Sleep good, baby wired on chocolate
bad, remember? Have some carob kisses instead." He popped one in
to her mouth.

"It's just not the same," she complained.

There was the sound of a car driving up and stopping in the
driveway. A moment later, the doorbell rang.

"I got it," CJ yelled, running to the door and opening it.
Standing on the front porch were Richard and Penny, and just
behind them was the Kent family lawyer, Constance Hunter.

"Come on in," Clark said, waving them into the house. "Zara and
Ching aren't here yet, but should be any time now. Oh,
Constance, this is Penny and Richard White."

The attorney gave the couple a nod in greeting. "Constance will
be the one handling the necessary paperwork, assuming everything
comes together," Clark added as explanation.

Richard gave Penny a hug. Clark knew they had high hopes for
tonight's meeting. Like him and Lois before them, they'd been
turned down by adoption agency social workers. Even the foster
care system thought the risk of placing a child with a pair of
Daily Planet investigative reporters was too great.

"I assume the natural parents are aware of the documentation
they need to have?" Constance asked.

 "The message was passed to them, so I assume they'll have
proper documents with them," Clark said. "We may have to
translate them, however."

Constance nodded.

Clark had told her early on it was to be a privately arranged
fostering involving foreign nationals. He hadn't added any
details aside from the fact that fostering was a normal part of
the culture among the high-ranking families of that nation. He
assumed Constance had done her homework and realized that no
current Earth culture was doing that sort of thing these days.

Clark glanced out the French doors to the back deck. Kal-El and
Wanda were still talking. Then he leaned over and kissed her, a
long tender kiss. He pulled away and Clark saw Wanda's eyes
widen. Then she slapped Kal-El. Hard.

"That had to have hurt," Richard commented.

"They have some serious issues to work out," Lois said.

--Earth I--
"Uncle Perry, have you heard from Lois yet?" Richard asked. He
had five-year-old Jason Peregrine White on one hip as he walked
into his uncle's office.

Perry shook his head. "Neither she nor Kent have called in and I
haven't been able to reach them on their cells. You know, Lois
hasn't run off like this in ages. She usually gives me some sort
of rundown on what she's working on before she takes off."

"Ralph asked me a little while ago if the two of them had run
off to Niagara Falls again," Richard said. "He's lucky I didn't
punch him." He set Jason on his feet. "Jason, why don't you go
to my office and draw? I need to talk to Perry."

"Okay, Daddy." Jason headed off to the adjacent office.

"Okay, son, what gives?" Perry asked.

Richard looked solemn. "I'm worried about them. The two of them
going missing is just going to make the rumors that much worse.
It's bad enough the whole newsroom knows Clark's Jason's father,
and now they're going to think Lois is two-timing me with him."

"Do you think she is?"

"No," Richard said, "But, Uncle Perry, the opposite of love is
indifference, not hate. And since he's come back, she's been
treating him like he's her ex. I know she still has feelings for
him, even if she won't admit it. I admit I've been hoping all
this time that she'd come around, that she'd feel for me what
she felt for him before whatever it was happened that made him
leave. I just hope she can get through her anger at him leaving
when he did, so she can forgive him."

"Do you want her to forgive him?" Perry asked.

"I want what's best for Jason," Richard said. "Whatever Lois
decides, she needs to do it quickly, for Jason's sake."

--Lois I--
Wanda had never seen Kal-El looking as glum as when he came into
the living room where she and Lois were sitting. Or maybe she
had and just couldn't remember.

"We have to talk," he said, head bowed, hands in his pants
pockets. His posture was so familiar, so Clark-like. She almost
had it... and it was gone again.

Lois gave Wanda a little nod. Wanda stood up and followed Kal-El
out to the back deck.

It was about an hour before sunset and the western sky was
beginning to glow pink and red.

"They're happy," Wanda said, looking at the clouds. "Married ten
years, four kids, two cars, a mortgage. They're in love and
they're happy." She glanced at Kal-El. His head was still down,
looking at his feet, not at her.

"She was trying to convince me that Superman was nothing more
than a character, a job. Somehow I can't quite get my head
around that either."

"I think Mister Kent was channeling my father," Kal-El said. "I
know my dad would have been terribly disappointed in me for what
I did to you. And he asked me some questions I'm not sure I have
good answers for."

"And what were the questions?"

"Just one really. Who am I, really? And I don't have an answer.
I've spent seventeen years trying to be the person my birth
father's AI thought I should be. And in that time, the person I
ought to be, the person I really am, has turned into someone I
don't even like. He's a clumsy, cowardly fool and I'm not even
sure how it happened."

"Do you always refer to yourself in the third person?"

That brought a touch of a smile. "It helps me keep on track. I
don't really have disassociated personality syndrome. It just
looks like that sometimes."

There was a long silence as she tried to put more pieces
together. "I know, intellectually, that you're also Clark. But I
still can't quite believe it."

"He told me that Kryptonians are telepathic. He suspects I may
have used that talent on you without intending to."

"Can you undo it?"

To answer, he stepped closer, tipped her head up with his hand
and kissed her. She remembered the sweetness of his mouth, the
soft lips, the fervent promise of more.

He pulled back and the memories of that night, the night Jason
was conceived, the night in the Fortress of Solitude came
flooding back, overwhelming her senses. There was more than just
that night -- all the things she hadn't put together afterwards,
all the sly comments at work when it was discovered she was
pregnant and Clark Kent, her partner, had disappeared to parts
unknown, the understanding looks from Perry, the orders from
Perry to go with Clark to do a story at Niagara Falls. Clark's
unconvincing arguments against it. It all came into focus and
she was furious.

She slapped him as hard as she could.

He took a step back and she could see the confused pain in his
impossibly blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Was it your idea to do that story at Niagara?" she demanded.

"Is that what you remember?" he asked, confusion obvious in his
voice.

"Was it?"

"Hardly. It was an idiotic fluff piece and you know it. Jimmy
could have written it," he answered. "Perry went and gave the
story I was working on to Mike. You have no idea how furious I
was." He paused, watching her warily.

That was something. The Man of Steel was afraid of her. She felt
the beginnings of a hysterical laugh and ruthlessly quashed it.

"What else do you remember?" he asked.

"I remember Niagara Falls. And things I didn't put together
then, that didn't make sense at the time," she said. "We were
set up. Somebody had a great laugh sending Mad Dog off on a
honeymoon with her dweeby partner. Even if nothing had happened,
they would have said it had. Only something did happen, and then
you took off and they blamed me for it. Oh, nobody actually said
it, and Perry was so understanding, and you hadn't placed any
blame on anybody for you needing to leave. And then when Jason
was born and he looked just like you, only you didn't come
back..."

"Lois," he said quietly. "You're babbling."

She stopped. To her horror, she was crying. She stepped toward
him, recognizing through her tears that oh-so-familiar
deer-in-the-headlights ready to bolt look. "I'm sorry," she
said. "It just came at me too fast." He seemed to relax just a
bit, enough for her to put her arms around him. "I missed you. I
missed my friend."

"I missed you, too. I should never have left," he said, resting
his cheek on the top of her head.

"If I had stopped you, you would have ended up resenting it,
resenting me," she said. "We both know that."

"So where do we go from here?"

"I have no idea," she admitted. "But it's a moot point if we
can't get back home."

"You know, you're not nearly as mad at me as I thought you'd
be," he said. "How's your hand?"

She flexed it experimentally. "Nothing broken. And I haven't
decided how mad I am. When I do, you'll be the first to know. We
have some serious trust issues to deal with. Not to mention how
the devil I'm going to explain all this to Jason, and Richard,
and Perry. This isn't over yet." She looked over at the house,
into the room beyond the French doors. "We seem to be the floor
show."

--Lois II--
The couple on the deck seemed to have come to some agreement.
Lois saw them glance back at the house, and then start for the
doors. As they came into the living room the doorbell rang and
once again, CJ ran to get it.

"CJ, wait," Lois yelled. The eight-year-old opened the door
instead. Three figures, a man, woman and small child, all
dressed in form-fitting black, stood on the porch. The man was
holding a metal case about a foot high and wide and two feet
long.

"Kindred in the bonds, I greet thee thrice," Clark greeted the
newcomers with the slightest of bows, hands held out in the
Kryptonian fashion. "Lady Zara, welcome to my home."

Zara smiled, moved forward and gave Clark a hug. The Kryptonian
woman was un-customarily friendly, given how formal Clark had
been. Lois knew that Kryptonians were not given to public
displays of affection. It was one of the problems Clark had
during his year on New Krypton -- he was a very physical person
and having to deny that part of himself, his need for physical
contact, had hurt him very badly.

"Clark, it's so good to see you," Zara said. "But we need to
talk privately when this is done." Lois saw the strain in Zara's
face and wondered how things were faring on New Krypton.

Ching had followed Zara into the living room, ushering the child
before him. Clark crouched down in front of the small boy. "And
who is this little guy?"

"This is Jos-Ra, heir to the House of Ra. My son by my consort
Ching."

The boy looked to be Lara's age with medium brown hair and hazel
eyes like CJ. His long hair was secured by a blue headband.

Zara looked around the room, stopping at Richard and Penny.
"Mister and Missus White?"

Richard nodded. "Yes, Lady Zara?"

"It is our custom to foster our male offspring to allied
Houses," Zara explained. "However, one of the Great Houses, the
House of El, does not currently have a presence on New Krypton
and is not readily available for this type of alliance."

Richard looked to Clark for guidance, or at least an
explanation.

Clark gave him a crooked grin. "Among other things, I happen to
be the equivalent of the Consul General for New Krypton," Clark
said. "I have been asked to facilitate such fosterage on Earth
on behalf of the House of El. I wasn't going to go into details
until they got here. I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Oh, wow," Richard muttered. "When you said foreign, you really
meant it. The House of El is Superman's family, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Clark answered.

"Does he, I mean will he, have Superman's powers?" Penny asked.
"He's so small."

"Superman has said his powers didn't fully manifest until he was
nearly eighteen years old," Clark explained "So it's unlikely
Jos-Ra will show any powers or anything to mark him as being
anything other than human until he's an adult,"

"Unless he's under great stress," Kal-El added. "Strength shows
up first and it is possible for that to manifest at an early age
*if* he is under life-threatening stress."

"How do you know that?" Richard asked.

"I know," Kal-El said with a sigh. "It's complicated."

Zara gave Kal-El a curious look. The tall man pulled to his full
height and gave the Kryptonian woman a polite nod.

"Lady Zara, may I present Charles King and Wanda Detroit," Clark
said. "They're new here."

Ching had moved closer to Lois and now leaned over to speak with
her. "Lady Lois, which house is he with?" Ching asked softly.

"The House of El from an alternate time-line," Lois said. "Like
he said, it's complicated."

Ching stared at her in obvious disbelief.

"Clark and I have had some experience in this sort of thing,"
she explained. Ching didn't look convinced. "How did you know
he's Kryptonian?"

"His life aura is as strong as Kal-El's," Ching said quietly.
"Earth humans don't radiate quite as strongly."

Lois's attention was drawn to Zara crouching down beside her
son. "Jos, this is Richard and Penny. Lord Protector Kal-El,
Superman, has arranged for you to stay with them."

The child looked at his mother with wide worried eyes. "But I
want to stay with you and father and Suren. Why can't you stay
with me?"

"We've talked about this. Your sister has to stay home with your
father and me. You will be under Lord Kal-El's protection and
you will learn many things here, many things you can bring back
to us when it's time," Zara explained patiently. "Mister and
Missus White will take care of you just as though you were their
child and Clark and Lois will be here for you too."

Lois wasn't sure how she would act if their positions were
reversed. Her heart broke at the thought of leaving one of her
children with strangers, giving them up for treaty obligations,
even if it did make political sense. Children shouldn't be pawns
in political games, and if that was the price of being royalty,
she wanted no part of it. They were never getting one of her
babies.

Constance cleared her throat. "It's getting late and we need to
get these documents squared away."

"Yes, of course," Ching agreed.

The document signing only took fifteen minutes or so. Constance
had everything ready and the signature lines were highlighted
for them. Legally it was simply an open adoption. In the
documents, the child's name was now ‘Jason Ryan White'.

As soon as the papers were signed, Clark hurried Richard, Penny,
Jason, and Constance out the door.

"File the rest of the Goldman murder story tomorrow from home,
then take the next couple days off. Family leave," Clark ordered
with a smile.

--Clark I--
Aside from meeting Superman/Clark Kent earlier today, Kal-El had
never met another Kryptonian. Had never dreamed that such was
possible. But now, two Kryptonians who had evaded the holocaust
that had brought Krypton low, that had blasted the planet into
poisonous shards, were here, on Earth.

They were both a little shorter than he had expected, dressed in
black Kryptonian bodysuits with their house sigil emblazoned
across their chests. The woman's outfit was completed by a
cape-like coat of a slightly heavier material than the body
suit, with a high collar. He wondered a little that Clark had
chosen not to dress as a Kryptonian at this meeting, but then
Richard, Penny, and Constance obviously didn't know that Clark
was also their world's Superman.

He recalled his father's lectures on Krypton's social structure.
El, Ar and Us were the oldest, most honored of the twelve
houses. Those three had been founded first by the three
representatives whose efforts had finally brought peace to the
warring nations of Krypton. Ra, Et, and Ah were close in time,
and the others evolved from other powerful families. Martha had
said something about a civil war. Had the checks and balances
that Sor-El, Pol-Us, and Kol-Ar created somehow failed in the
new colony?

"Okay, Zara," Clark said as soon as Richard and Penny had
‘Jason' well away from the house. "Why are you fostering Jos
here on Earth? You know how dangerous it'll be if the other
Houses discover Earth isn't the hellhole you've been telling
them it is. You also know how hard it's going to be to
re-assimilate him back into New Kryptonian society."

Zara looked over at Ching, worry written across both their
faces. "We didn't see that we had a choice, Clark," Zara said.
"For the past year or so, the House of Et has been attempting to
reestablish itself and destabilize the other houses. Nor's
nephew, Xon, has been making noises about bringing the House of
Et back to its former glory. Trey is dead and several heirs to
the other houses have been assassinated, forcing those houses to
reconsider their birth marriage contracts and their fostering
options. Xon has demanded Suren's hand in contract."

"We have no intention of acceding to his demands, of course. He
is not getting control of our daughter," Ching added. "But we
need to have Jos safe from Xon's agents. And as to Earth's
danger -- I admit it may be a risk, but we have been successful
in getting our people convinced that not only is Earth a
barbaric and dangerous place, but the planet is the property and
domain of the House of El. Hence your title of Lord Protector.
They also know what you tried to do for our people, and how you
killed Nor to save us from his madness."

"That's just wonderful," Clark commented. Kal-El wasn't sure if
Zara and Ching heard the sarcasm in his voice. "And how soon
before Xon starts gunning for me to avenge his uncle's death?"

"It's unlikely he'll come to Earth, Clark," Zara said. "He is
more cunning than that. And that is what we need to talk to you
privately about."

Clark sighed. "Come down to my office," he said. "We can talk
there." He led them down the stairs to his basement office.

Kal-El took a moment to inspect the bookshelves that lined the
living room. At home, he owned nearly every one of the books
here, with the exception of the romance novels -- they obviously
were Lois Lane-Kent's choice of reading material.

One volume caught his attention: **A Year on New Krypton** by
Clark Kent. He skimmed the book, stopping to read certain
passages more closely.

"Mrs. Kent, how much of this book is fiction?" he asked.

"The part where Clark Kent **isn't** Kal-El," Lois replied.
"Why?"

"Krypton was an advanced, peaceful society. According to this,
the colony of New Krypton was a barbarous war zone. How did it
happen?"

"I don't know," Lois said. "I don't know if they know what
happened or why, except to blame Nor." Lois's expression became
distant. "Except for what he wrote there, and a handful of
things he was actually proud of, Clark won't really talk about
what happened to him while he was gone. It still gives him
nightmares, and it took nearly six months before he was willing
to put on the suit, to come back to his other job. I've read
what he wrote and I know he left a lot out." She hugged herself
as if suddenly cold. "I remember the scars he came back with.
Some of them were so awful, we thought he'd never heal."

"You don't like them much, do you?" Wanda observed. Lois shook
her head.

"I know Zara and Ching try to understand Earth society, mores,"
Lois said. "They try, and I know the multitude of cultures here
confuses them, but they don't understand that life has to be
more than pragmatic analysis of needs. There has to be joy and
love and hope. There has to be art that has no purpose other
than to be pretty or sentimental, poetry and music that aren't
dirges or military marches. And I don't like the way they assume
they have priority in my husband's life."

Kal-El canted his head to one side, listening. Zara was talking
about Nor's daughter and her child. A child who, if Zara could
be believed, was biologically Clark's daughter. It was Zara's
solution to the political problem such a child presented to the
stability of New Krypton that appalled him.

Downstairs, Clark was shouting at them. "You're the brilliant
military strategist, Ching. You come up with a different
solution, ‘cause I'm not buying into the one you've got.
Superman does not kill! And I will not sanction the death of a
child in any case!"

"I don't see that you have a choice, Kal-El," Ching said.

"There is always a choice," Clark insisted. "And I have made
mine."

Kal-El heard a whoosh and a moment later a sonic boom.

"They must have gotten him pretty upset," Lois said softly. "He
doesn't normally take off that fast from the house."

"They asked him to do something completely reprehensible," said
Kal-El. "They asked him to kill."

--Clark II--
Ching had grabbed the metal case he'd brought with him and
carried it downstairs with him. Clark noted the case was sealed
and he didn't see an obvious way to open it. It was lead-lined
so he couldn't see into it. That worried him.

"Clark," Zara began as soon as all three of them were behind the
closed door of Clark's office. "We have a crisis on our hands.
Not only has Xon been trying to destabilize the Great Houses,
but he's specifically targeted the Houses of Ra and El. A few
weeks ago our people caught Nor's daughter Conza. She was
pregnant, close to term."

"I remember Conza, I think. She was only about five years old
when I killed Nor. She was there that day," Clark said. "She was
with her mother, watching."

He closed his eyes against the unbidden memories. Memories of
that last duel with Nor, when he was forced to use every trick
he'd learned from Ching in drei combat. Nor was taller, more
experienced, and simply meaner than Clark. But luck,
desperation, and a few moves from martial arts movies, and
classes Lois had made him take, had been on Clark's side.
Somehow, he brought Nor to his knees and the Kryptonian
quarterstaff down on the back of Nor's neck. The photon
emissions had burned through skin and bone. *No doubts, no
mercy. Only the kill.*

"The mother swore vengeance against the House of El," Ching
said, continuing Zara's explanation. "She was one of the leaders
taken out in the final raids against Nor's strongholds before
you left for Earth. The daughter disappeared, and we had assumed
she had died as well."

"We don't know who had her, who raised her, but when she was
found, she had become what you would term a ‘terrorist'. We
believe she was responsible for the assassinations of the
heirs," Zara went on. "When she was caught and discovered she
was in the hands of the Houses of El and Ra, she tried to kill
herself and the unborn child with her. We managed to prevent it
only to discover when the child was born that she carried the
genetic markings of the House of El. We assume they got your
genetic material when you were held by Nor."

"That's probably a safe assumption, considering I don't remember
most of what happened while Nor's people had me," Clark said.
What little he did remember was best described as a drugged out
nightmare. Not that he'd had any experience with drugs prior to
that. On Earth, under the yellow sun, they didn't affect him at
all. But it wasn't an experience he ever wanted to repeat.

"What happened to her, to Conza?" Clark asked.

"After the child was delivered, she managed to end her life,"
Ching said. "I swear we had nothing to do with it. We wanted her
alive to stand trial for her crimes."

"So what's the crisis?" Clark asked. He trusted Ching, trusted
his judgment.

Zara sighed and shook her head. "Clark, biologically, the child
is yours. A female member of the House of El out of Et, as such
she is a valuable pawn in whatever Xon has planned."

"So give her back to him," Clark said. "I haven't been on New
Krypton in ten years, so obviously I didn't consent to any union
with the child's mother."

"Clark, you're being dense," Ching said. "The child is a pawn.
She was bred to take down the House of El. Whether you claim her
as a member of the House or not, Xon can make the claim that the
child's mother was your bound concubine as right of victor, and
the child has the right of inheritance in preference over your
natural, half-breed heirs. Your only choice is to repudiate any
claim the child might have on you, and take steps to ensure Xon
has no chance of using her against you."

"But you just said he'll use her whether or not I claimed her."

Zara and Ching just looked at him. He saw pity in their eyes and
he finally realized what they were referring to.

"No!" Clark found himself shouting at them. "You're the
brilliant military strategist, Ching. You come up with a
different solution, ‘cause I'm not buying into the one you've
got. Superman does not kill! And I will not sanction the death
of a child in any case!"

"I don't see that you have a choice, Kal-El," Ching said.

"There is always a choice," Clark insisted. "And I have made
mine."

"Clark, just sign the repudiation documents," Zara insisted.
"Your hands will be clean. Ching and I can handle the rest."

"No!" He found he had his fists clenched and he was shaking with
fury. He stalked out of the office and blurred his way through
the underground passage that led from the house to the river's
edge. Then he took off, into the sky, as fast as he could,
without bothering to change into the blue and red suit. The
night was a good enough disguise.

He headed north, to the glacier he frequently used as a refuge
when he was close to losing control. The glacier had taken a
beating over the years. This time, instead of taking his anger
out on the ice, he simply sat, head in his hands.

He didn't understand Zara and Ching. Even on New Krypton life
was precious. They'd started out with only fifty thousand
colonists, and the number had dropped to half that between the
harshness of the planet they were on and Nor's war. But now they
wanted him to authorize the death of a child whose only crime
was to be born.

He heard the swoosh of a Kryptonian coming to ground and looked
up to see Kal-El standing a few yards away, wearing the familiar
blue and red.

"I don't think I like the Kryptonians in this universe," Kal-El
said conversationally, sitting down on the ice facing Clark. The
aurora borealis streamed above them in the darkness, coloring
the landscape.

"I **know** I don't like them," Clark replied. "And I don't
understand enough of Kryptonian law to argue against them.
Assuming they're not making things up as they go along. I know
Nor was. By the way, how did you find me?"

"There are only four full-blooded adult Kryptonians on the
planet. It wasn't that hard."

"I'm not used to having other Kryptonians around," Clark
admitted. "And I admit that I have a bad habit of avoiding
emotional confrontation by taking off." He sighed. Ten years of
therapy hadn't broken him of the avoidance habit. "I should be
working on a way to get you and your Lois back to where you both
belong. But the usual suspects haven't shown their faces yet,
either to apologize or to gloat, depending which one, so I don't
have a lot to go on."

"There are ‘usual suspects'?"

Clark nodded. "Oh yeah. There's H.G. Wells and his time machine.
When he shows up it's usually to apologize for messing us up
again. Then there's Tempus; he's a psychopath from the future
who will do just about anything to keep Lois and me from doing
whatever it is he thinks we're going to do. He almost got
himself elected president ten years ago. And then there's Mix'm.
I'm not going to say his name. I don't want to attract his
attention. He's a demon or imp from another dimension and he
just loves making my life miserable. It's his idea of fun."

"H.G. Wells, the writer?" Kal-El asked. "Isn't he dead?"

"Sometimes," Clark said with a bemused smile. "And then,
sometimes he just shows up out of the blue and Lois and I end up
plane hopping, or time hopping, or both. It gets a little weird,
sometimes. I've lost count of how many alternates I've met, or
heard about."

"Maybe I should be glad I don't know him," Kal-El said. "I don't
recall seeing any humans, or imps, when that storm hit us. And
I've never seen, or felt, a storm like it. It was like it had
intelligence, like it was following us. And it was moving fast,
faster that anything natural. When it hit us, it was like the
world turned inside out. If I were back in my own time-line, I
could ask the AI in the Fortress of Solitude."

"I don't have one of those, at least not since I outgrew the
tree house in the back yard," Clark said. "And there was no AI
there. Dad wouldn't even let me bring in power."

"I wonder..." Kal-El murmured. He reached behind him, to a
hidden pocket in his cape, and pulled out the copy of the father
crystal he'd made just before he and Lois had ended up here.
"There was no memory crystal or memory block with your ship?"

"There was a navigation module with recorded messages, but
nothing that looked like that," Clark said. "But then, the ship
that brought me here was stolen not long after I arrived. I got
it back a little before I went to New Krypton. It's possible
there were more modules, but I doubt it." He held out his hand
and concentrated. The small blue and green globe of the Earth
that normally rested on a shelf in Clark's office appeared in
his hand. It shifted into its red Kryptonian view.

"That's a neat trick," Kal-El commented.

"It's tuned to me," Clark explained. "But I still haven't
figured out all the things it can do."

Suddenly, the globe in his hand began to glow bright white as it
levitated away from him. Clark saw that the crystal in Kal-El's
hand had also started glowing. Kal-El opened his hand and the
crystal floated up to a spot only inches from Clark's navigation
module. After a long moment the light became even brighter and
Clark found himself shielding his eyes against it. Then, there
was a musical chime and the crystal went dark, dropping to the
ice. The sphere's glow dimmed to a more tolerable level as it
sped away from the two men.

"Hey, get back here," Clark muttered as he stood and watched the
sphere disappear over an ice ridge.

Kal-El held out a hand. "Wait."

The glacier quaked and steam billowed from the far side of the
ice ridge. Soon, even the ridge was enveloped in the steam.
There was a sound like crackling ice cubes, only a thousand
times louder and Clark saw huge shafts of crystal thrusting
upwards out of the ice, coming together at odd angles, creating
something resembling a structure. The crystals glowed from some
light shining within the structure.

Finally the quaking ended, the lights dimmed, and the only sound
that remained was the icy arctic wind.

Clark saw a puzzled frown on Kal-El's face. "That's odd," Kal-El
murmured. "It's not the same."

"It's different than the one you have?"

"Yes. It's simpler, somehow. Like from an earlier age," Kal-El
said. "Shall we go in and look?"

--Lois I--
Kal-El handed Wanda the book he'd been skimming through,  **A
Year on New Krypton** by Clark Kent. She opened it and glanced
through it. It read like something her Clark, Kal-El, would
write, except, as far as she knew, he'd never been a war
correspondent and this was about a war as vicious as any she'd
heard about. The writing was as clear, as understandable, as
understanding as anything she'd ever read. So much like her
Clark. But there was so much death, so much pain, so little
hope. *This world's Clark went through all this and came out
okay? Jimmy spent three months in Chechnya and almost didn't
make it back at all. He still drank too heavily.*

She put the book back on the shelf where it belonged and looked
more closely at the other books in the case. Several had Wanda
Detroit listed at the author. *Wanda Detroit? No wonder Mister
Kent had laughed*. The titles indicated they were probably
romance novels.

She pulled one out and looked at it. It was almost identical to
the unfinished novel Wanda had on her computer at home. This
Lois had not only finished it, but had gotten published as well.
Wanda was struck by a pang of jealousy as she put the book back
in its place.

She heard the sonic boom that indicated something -- or someone
-- had broken the sound barrier fairly close by.

"They must have gotten him pretty upset," Lois said softly. "He
doesn't normally take off that fast from the house."

"They asked him to do something completely reprehensible," said
Kal-El. "They asked him to kill."

"They what?" Wanda said in disbelief. "Who?"

"They were talking about a threat to the House of El, a child,"
Kal-El said. "Nor-Et's granddaughter."

"Clark would never agree to something like that. Never," Lois
said.

"I know," Kal-El said. "I'm sure that's why he took off."

Wanda gave him a curious look.

"He needs to get his head together, before he does something
rash," Kal-El said. "At least, that's what I would do. I'd head
north, to the Fortress of Solitude."

"Clark doesn't have anything like that," Lois said.

"I'll be back shortly," Kal-El promised. He blurred into his
suit and went out onto the back deck. He looked back at the two
women standing in the living room. "They do say that two heads
are better than one. We'll come up with something. I hope."

With that, he disappeared into the night sky. A second sonic
boom echoed over the river.

--Lois II--
Lois heard footsteps coming up from the basement, from Clark's
office.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at, asking Clark to
kill a child?" Lois hissed at them.

"Considering the gravity of the situation, we didn't see another
solution," Ching said. At least he had the courtesy to look
uncomfortable in the face of her fury.

"We had hoped that when Kal-El killed Nor ten years ago, that
the threat he posed was over, that no one else would make the
attempt to overthrow the legitimate government Kal-El and I
represent," Zara said. "Kal-El and I were bred to lead. I was
raised to rule. Kal-El, for reasons I still do not fathom, was
sent to Earth instead of New Krypton. He does not understand the
needs of our ruling system."

"I think you're wrong," Lois said. "I think he understands too
well. What you don't understand is that this planet has invented
and discarded more political systems than most people can
imagine. Clark spent some time researching that when he came
back. And believe it or not, he found precedents in Earth
history. I mean, calling you ‘La Princessa', wasn't exactly a
complement."

"I was aware of that," Zara said. "Although I admit I was not
aware of the full connotation at the time and I know it annoyed
him when I refused to be insulted by the title. If he'd been
raised on new Krypton, or just accepted his duties to his home
world, we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"Zara, I've met a Kal-El that was raised on New Krypton. The one
I met had his Zara and Ching murdered for betraying him. He was
a monster, worse than Nor. His greed and ambition nearly
destroyed New Krypton **and** Earth," Lois told her. "Remember,
in Earth mythology, Satan, the lord of evil, was born an
angel."

"We have reason to believe that the priests may support Xon's
claim that your children, being half-breeds, are not valid heirs
to the House of El," Ching said softly. "We're not sure where
the guilds stand. I know that when Kal-El was on New Krypton, he
made allies of many of the guild masters. I admit, that was
something I had not considered to be of strategic value, but it
was one of the things that helped us, then."

"And the elders?" Lois asked. After Clark's return, she'd spent
many hours trying to understand the political realities of New
Krypton. She knew the council of elders was the real ruling
power, as it had been on Krypton before its destruction. Each of
the twelve major houses was represented on the council. Each had
one vote, and how the votes went on an issue was usually
determined by backroom deals, marriage contracts, ‘gifts' and
just plain schmoozing. Ethics, even in theory, were not part of
the process.

"At this time we are fairly certain we have the support of a
majority of the elders in the council, but with Trey's death our
position is becoming difficult," Zara said. "We need for Clark
to at least give the appearance of having concern for our
position in the council and the threat Xon poses, not just to
our Houses, but to the council as a whole."

"And killing a child will do this?" Wanda wondered.

"This child is a time bomb in our midst," Ching said. "We don't
know what else to do."

--Clark I--
The Fortress was smaller than the one his father crystal had
made, simpler, less like a cathedral than a simple temple to
some god that had no name on this planet. A temple to Rao
perhaps. But then, did Rao still have dominion on Kryptonians
who considered themselves more human than not? He had his
doubts. It was something, Kal-El decided, he should discuss with
Father Daniel, his spiritual advisor of many years, when, and
if, he got back to his own time-line.

One thing that was at least similar to his own fortress was the
raised central console -- only this console held the spherical
navigation module as its centerpiece instead of the father
crystal. The module glowed with a comfortable yellow light that
was more than sufficient to light the interior of the crystal
construction. Surrounding the spherical module were a set of
metallic blocks. *Memory modules?*

"It's beautiful," Clark said, looking around. "Is this what
Krypton looked like?"

"Well, the Krypton I was born on did, sort of," Kal-El said.
"They grew their buildings, re-engineered their planet. They
were too proud to recognize they didn't control everything. They
couldn't believe their own sun could betray them."

"Except for Jor-El," Clark said. "And here, somebody must have
listened to him, because New Krypton is still around."

Clark stepped up to the console and placed one hand on the
navigation module. A holographic image of a tall, slender man
wearing a white tunic bearing the sigil of the House of El
appeared in the space in front of the console.

"Kal-El, I know you do not remember me. I am Jor-El. I am your
father," the hologram announced.

It wasn't the same white-haired man Kal-El had seen in his own
Fortress. This man was younger, thinner than his own father. But
he still had a distinguished look about him, with a shock of
white hair that was held back from his face by a silver
headband. His almond shaped eyes were a warm brown.

"On the console beside the module that guided your ship to Earth
are memory modules covering the scientific and cultural facts of
the twenty-eight galaxies known to our scientists," the hologram
continued. "Here you may ask questions so that we may explore
the answers together."

"Tell me about the colony of New Krypton," Clark asked. The
hologram smiled.

--Clark II--
"I assume you are referring to the industrial colony originally
designated Halos I, financed by the House of El, in alliance
with the trading and industrial guilds. It was also an
experiment in self-determined governance. The colony was
considered a success for over three generations, and paid back
its debt to both the parent guilds as well as to the House of El
within two generations. The House of El maintained close
financial and personal ties with the colony."

"It was an experiment in self-determined governance?" Clark
repeated. "Could you explain that?"

The hologram's pleasant expression didn't change. "The
governance of Krypton has traditionally been based on a balance
of power between the noble houses, the industrial and trading
guilds and the priesthood. Halos I was granted the right to use
a more representational form of government much like ones my
great-grandfather had observed on other planets, including
Earth. The experiment was surprisingly successful and
suggestions were made to allow this form of government to be
permitted in future colonies.

"Unfortunately, no other colonies were founded prior to my
discovery of inherent instabilities in Krypton's orbit due to
the imminent death of its sun."

"So what happened to the colony?" Clark asked. "If it had a
representational government, why is it now ruled by the great
houses? Why was there almost a civil war?"

"Some members of the Council of Elders took my warning seriously
enough to evacuate themselves to Halos I and apparently made the
attempt to recreate the political structure of Krypton in that
new environment," the hologram said. "I must assume their
attempt was only partially successful."

"The general population didn't want to give up their rights,"
Kal-El surmised. "The guilds sided with the Houses of Ra and El,
didn't they?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure they did," Clark admitted. "Ching was
surprised I even bothered to contact the guilds when more of the
houses started to side with Nor, demanding the heir of the House
of El, namely me, take his rightful place as ruler beside Zara
or allow Nor to do it. Zara wasn't about to marry Nor and I
wasn't about to become king. I refused to betray Lois's trust.
"

"But Krypton hadn't had a monarchy in millennia, not since
Pol-Us, Sor-El and Kol-Ar crafted the government that brought
peace to Krypton," Kal-El said. "I'm assuming that's true of the
Krypton in this time-line."

The hologram appeared to blink its eyes as the AI recognized
Kal-El's presence. "Correct. The government created by Pol-Us,
Sor-El and Kol-Ar brought about the Great Peace, allowing
Krypton to become the most evolved and enlightened society in
the known twenty-eight galaxies."

"Modest, too," commented Clark. The AI had given him a little
background on the political situation on New Krypton, but
nothing he thought he could use yet. It certainly didn't explain
Zara and Ching's demand that Nor's granddaughter be killed,
unless... "Explain property inheritance among the noble
houses."

"Within the Great Houses, the eldest legitimate male heir
inherits both his father's property and title. In the event
there is no legitimate male heir, the property and title will
devolve onto the eldest legitimate female heir, then to the
eldest male heir born to a noble concubine, then to the eldest
female heir born to a noble concubine. Any offspring, male or
female, born to non-nobility are not eligible to inherit either
property or title without special dispensation of the Council of
Elders."

"Bingo," Clark murmured to himself. "According to the original
charter of the Halos I colony, who owns the land, the property,
the colony is on?"

"The House of El. Specifically, the High Lord of the House of
El," the hologram replied. "You."

"That's Xon's plan," Clark said to Kal-El. "Disenfranchise my
kids since Lois isn't Kryptonian nobility, and then announce the
granddaughter is my heir by a noble concubine, whether or not I
ever slept with her. Whether or not I was even on the planet.
The granddaughter inherits the lands and titles, which happens
to include the whole blasted colony. It's property, not
politics." He turned back to the hologram. "Is there a legal
mechanism to sell or otherwise dispose of this type of property,
say deed it over to the Council of Elders or to a consortium of
the guilds?"

"Negative. Only **individuals** of noble birth may own property.
Also, a property transaction of this magnitude to another House
must have the unanimous support of the Council of Elders."

"Damn," Clark muttered to himself.

"So what do you plan to do about it?" Kal-El asked.

"I still don't know," Clark admitted. "I'm not sure there is a
viable solution. I can't claim her; that'd be feeding into Xon's
lie. If I repudiate her, she can still be used against me. I
can't foster her out on Earth ‘cause he may find out and attack
Earth. I could try to find Herb and send her off to another
time-line, but there's still a chance she could be used against
the Kal-El of that world."

"Assuming you could find this sometimes-dead time traveler?"

Clark nodded. "And assuming he was willing to help. He hasn't
shown up yet. I don't know what that means, except that Utopia
isn't threatened."

"Utopia?"

Clark nodded. "According to Wells, my descendants, Lois's and
mine, will found a Utopian society centered in Metropolis. No
poverty, no crime, the whole nine yards. Wells intervenes, or
tries to, when he sees that future in jeopardy. He's very
invested in that future."

"And since nothing has happened yet to endanger your children,
there is no threat to the future Wells is protecting," Kal-El
reasoned. "Obviously a second Superman and Lois doesn't have an
effect."

"Or something will get you out of here before you do effect it,"
Clark said. Again he turned back to the hologram. "What is known
concerning inter-dimensional travel or inter-dimensional
rifts?"

"Please insert the eighth memory module into the reader."

Clark looked through the blocks on the console until he found
one with the proper Kryptonian number engraved on it. He placed
the module into the square hole beside the navigation globe. The
hologram appeared to change, its expression growing more
solemn.

"Kryptonian law forbids research into that area," the hologram
began. "Kryptonian theory is that transferring matter from one
dimension to another would alter the static state of each
universe affected, potentially destroying both universes.
Another theory has that a transfer of an individual would
initiate a chain-reaction throughout all related realities,
shifting each counterpart into an adjacent reality. The energy
requirement of this shift also has the potential of destroying
one or more realities."

"I know from experimental evidence and personal experience that
both of these theories are incorrect," Clark said. "It is
possible to transfer one or more individuals from one time-line
to another without transferring out their counterparts. Given
that fact, there is no evidence to support the theory of a
chain-reaction throughout all related realities, and maintaining
the static balance between realities appears to simply require
that the mass be balanced, not the individuals."

Clark continued, "Is there any evidence to support a natural
phenomenon being able to create a dimensional transfer or
dimensional rift?"

"There is a phenomenon known to the Dakaari as the Nexus. They
believe it to be a primordial super-string. Should the Nexus
phenomenon in one reality intersect the Nexus in another, it
would be theoretically possible to use the phenomenon to
transfer from one time-line to another, or to travel backwards
in time within a time-line. However, the gravitational anomalies
created by the approach of the Nexus can and has destroyed
entire star systems, including the Dakaari home world."

"Any other possibilities?" Clark asked.

"There is also a phenomenon known as a ‘tempocane', a highly
localized magnetic storm that is theorized to be able to create
a conduit between dimensions or different points on a single
time-line. According to the scientists of Aldierra, a tempocane
nearly always returns to its initial site of manifestation
within seventy-two hours and creates a reverse effect, returning
transferred objects back to their original space, if not time."

"Can you describe the physical manifestation of a tempocane?"
Kal-El asked.

"It is reported that a tempocane within an atmosphere appears as
a severe cyclonic atmospheric disturbance that is frequently
mistaken for a severe thunderstorm, except for the magnetic
disturbances within the storm's epicenter. It is also reported
that the static discharges appear to be shifted to the blue end
of the spectrum. Green is the most commonly reported color," the
hologram reported.

"A severe storm with green lightning," Kal-El murmured. "That's
what it was. That's what brought Lois and me here. And it may
reappear sometime in the next sixty-six hours or so, so we can
go back home." Kal-El suddenly looked worried. "What if it's
already come and gone? I'm on a different part of the planet
altogether from where it dumped us. And so is Lois."

"According to Aldierran science, a tempocane magnetically marks
the matter that was initially transported and is attracted to
that marked matter upon its reappearance," the hologram
explained. "However, it is postulated that the two ends of the
tempocane can shift, causing the transported matter to be left
in a different reality than it originally came from, unless a
‘homing beacon' is established to guide that matter into its
home time-line."

"Translation," Clark said. "It's going to come after you, but
there's no guarantee it'll take you back to where you belong."

Something else crossed Clark's mind, something he'd wondered
about for the past eleven years, ever since he'd found out about
the existence of New Krypton. "Father, why was I sent to Earth
instead of New Krypton?"

The hologram's expression turned sad. "It was to save your life.
I became High Lord of the House of El following the
assassination of my elder brother, his wife and two sons. It was
not my choice to become High Lord. I much preferred my
scientific studies. The assassins were never found and it was
assumed by the Council that the conviction of General Zod and
his accomplices had put an end to the threat. However, I had
reason to believe that my son and heir, you, was still in danger
from Zod's followers, specifically, members of the House of Et.
There were attempts made against both you and your mother. Lara,
Zor, my younger brother, Sen-Ra, Zara's father, and I decided it
was better to send you to a safe haven known only to myself,
Lara, Sen-Ra and Trey, our seneschal on Halos I. I programmed
the navigation module to land in an area known as Kansas, in the
proximity of individuals whose psychological makeup was such
that they would accept and protect you."

"Thank you," Clark said. "I'd always wondered how I managed to
land so close to the two people most likely to take me in." He
turned to Kal-El. "I think we should be getting back before Lois
has a fit. She hates it when I take off and it's not an
emergency."

"You want to find a safe place for the memory modules and the
master module," Kal-El reminded him. "You don't want anyone else
to get hold of them."

"The voice of experience?" Clark wondered. There was something
in the other man's tone that told him it was more than a simple
suggestion. That Kal-El had experience in this.

"Let's just say I've had to put better locks on the doors."

Clark looked around the crystal structure. "There aren't any
doors."

"Yeah, I know."

--Lois I--
Wanda looked up at the sound of two swooshes at the back of the
house. After a few moments the French doors opened and Kal-El
and Clark walked into the living room. Kal-El was back in his
gray suit.

"Figure out something?" Lois asked.

"Something, maybe," Clark said, sitting down on the sofa next to
his wife. He was looking over at Zara with a familiar,
speculative look in his eyes. "I found another function in the
navigation module. Cultural and historical data on the Halos I
colony, also known as New Krypton. I also looked up property
ownership and property transfers."

Zara looked puzzled. "I don't understand."

"Zara, Xon isn't trying to take out the House of El. He's trying
to usurp control of the entire colony; away from the Council of
Elders even. He's smarter than Nor. Nor only thought in terms of
a military coup when he couldn't marry you and rule at your
side. Xon is planning on making Nor's granddaughter the heir to
the House of El since Lois isn't a member of Kryptonian
nobility."

"I still don't understand, Clark," Zara said. "I know Xon can
use the child against you, to undermine, even take over the
House, but how can he use that to take control of the colony
without the support of the council?"

"Lady Zara, according to the colony charter, who owns the real
estate the colony is on?" Kal-El asked.

Zara thought for a long moment, looking at Ching in puzzlement.
"I honestly don't know. I had assumed the Council owned the
property. Assuming anyone does."

"But my information says that under Kryptonian law only noble
**individuals** can own real property. Therefore the Council
cannot own the colony," Clark said. "And the transfer of
properties as large as that requires the approval of the entire
council."

"That would be to prevent a House with a lord in financial
difficulties from cashing out the House property to the
detriment of the House's standing. It would also prevent a
single lord from suddenly accumulating large amounts of cash,
for whatever reason," Ching explained. "What are you getting at,
Clark?"

"Assuming my information is correct, and the council hasn't made
changes to the charter, I, as High Lord of El, own the colony on
behalf of the House of El," Clark said. "Xon doesn't need the
council's approval to take over if he can convince the council
beforehand that Conza's baby is mine, however it happened. He
bides his time, sends an assassin to finish me off; she inherits
with him as regent. Then he can legally take out the council and
the guilds, not to mention the other Houses, because he will be
the only real estate owner in the colony. They own
**nothing.**"

"So not only do you need to repudiate the child," Ching said
slowly. "But we need to legitimize your heirs."

Wanda's head was beginning to ache. She'd never liked political
discussions, and legal matters, aside from libel and copyright
law, left her cold as well. Libel and copyright weren't exactly
warm and fuzzy either, but they did impact her job so she tried
to keep on top of them.

She looked over at Kal-El. He seemed to be listening intently to
the discussion between Clark and the other two Kryptonians. A
faint frown occasionally crossed his face.

He looked over at her watching him and came to sit beside her.
"I am so glad I'm not him," he murmured softly. "Earth politics
is bad enough, but this is straight out of the middle ages."

"Great Kryptonian political writers: Sun Tzu and Machiavelli,"
Clark said with a chuckle.

"We both forgot about superhearing," Wanda muttered back to
Kal-El.

"I am not familiar with those writers, and those are not
Kryptonian names," Zara said.

Ching was trying to suppress a grin. Obviously, Ching recognized
who Clark was talking about. Clark went to one of the bookcases,
pulled out two slim volumes and handed them to Zara. Wanda
didn't need to see the titles to know what they were: The Art of
War and The Prince.

"I admit I haven't come up with a good solution for the problem
of Conza's daughter, but unless there's a rule against noble
adoption of females, there is a mechanism for solving the
legitimacy problem. Remember, I adopted Ching as my brother,
raising him to the nobility so you and he could be together and
your children by him could be in line of succession in the House
of Ra," Clark reminded her. "And if I understand correctly,
Ching was my heir until CJ was born."

"But Lois is an Earth human," Zara said. "We're not even the
same species. Your children by her are half-breeds."

Wanda glanced at Lois. Her face had gone white. Clark's
expression was unreadable. Kal-El just looked puzzled.
*Something is seriously awry here.*

"Wait a minute," Wanda interrupted. "I assume we're using the
same definition of species here, right? Genetic populations that
can successfully interbreed in nature are the same species?"

Ching nodded his head. "That is the working definition of a
species."

"So, since they have four kids, and I have one by a different
Kryptonian…" Wanda stated. "And since all the necessary parts
are there and working appropriate to their age, we are talking
about one species here. Different races, maybe, but one
species."

"Logically, that is impossible," Zara stated. "We evolved on two
different planets."

"Logic be damned, Zara; look at the evidence," Wanda stated.
"Besides, isn't there a theory that all life started in a single
place and spread out from there?"

"You're thinking **panspermia**," Kal-El said. "But there is the
fact that in **our** reality, Earthers and Kryptonians do come
from the same stock. Kryptonians did not evolve on Krypton,
could not have evolved on Krypton. We either emigrated there or
were planted there by someone else. Given that our genetic
structure was obviously manipulated so that we could survive
such a harsh environment, it's probably the later. I don't think
whoever did it realized exactly what they'd done, how powerful
those minor changes were. They certainly didn't expect any of us
to come back to Earth."

"Minor changes?" Zara challenged.

"The genetic differences between Earthers and Kryptonians is so
minor that a standard DNA analysis won't even detect it unless
it's being specifically looked for," Kal-El said. "I know this
for a fact. The key differences are in the mitochondria, and in
a special type of cell in the skin that acts as a solar
collector and battery. The other differences are actually normal
genetic variations, some of which have been found in the Earth's
population. We just have more of them together. We don't have
third molars, we don't have appendixes, we do create our own
vitamin C. But there are Earthers who have the same
variations."

Zara looked back to Clark. "The council won't accept it," she
protested.

"They will if you will," Clark pointed out. "Or is the whole
‘Krypton was the most evolved and enlightened society in the
known twenty-eight galaxies' a bunch of crap? ‘Cause what I see
here, and what I experienced on New Krypton, tells me that
Krypton was and is ruled by a bunch of racial and religious
bigots. Quite frankly, right now I'm ashamed to even admit I'm
one of you."

--Lois II--
*This is getting out of hand,* Lois thought to herself. *It's
sounding like Thanksgiving with my parents*. "Ching, what
happens if we don't do anything? If Clark doesn't repudiate the
child and we let you and Zara raise her?"

Clark stared at her, tirade short-circuited. She knew he was
scrambling for an answer and couldn't find one, but fighting
with Zara and Ching wasn't going to solve anything. She looked
over at Ching.

"I doubt we would be allowed to. Xon claims Conza was Clark's
concubine by right of victor. However, as Conza's nearest male
blood relative on New Krypton he can ask, and would no doubt be
granted, the right to act as her child's guardian, granting him
much authority within the House of El since Clark chooses not to
live on New Krypton," Ching explained. "Xon could also
theoretically have authority over Earth, since the Council of
Elders officially declared Earth to be a territory of the House
of El, at Xon's insistence."

"They what?" Lois nearly screeched. "Those pompous, asinine,
self-centered, idiotic, full-of-themselves jerks! How **dare**
they!"

"They dare because Clark insists on living on Earth and by
definition, anywhere the High Lord of a House has permanent
residence is a part of that House's territory. Clark annexed
Earth by coming back here," Zara explained. "Besides, we had
already established that Earth was being protected by Kal-El and
therefore the House of El. The council simply played into Xon's
hands by making it official."

"Just annexing the house where we live wasn't good enough?"
Clark asked. Lois could hear the annoyance Clark was trying hard
not to show. *He was trying not to be upset.*

"They felt they were being magnanimous. Giving you what they
thought you wanted, dominion of Earth. They don't understand how
you can choose to be a servant to... They can't understand why
you choose not to rule," Ching said. "Clark, if you don't like
us, don't like Kryptonians, why have you been helping us? You
arranged the fostering for Jos. I don't understand."

"It's the same reason Lois and I invite her family over for the
holidays every year," Clark said. "We know they probably won't
show, and if they do, we'll have a major row about something,
and Lois will end up crying, the kids will be unhappy, and I'll
be praying for a volcano or tornado or earthquake somewhere,
anywhere, so I can get away from them for a while. We do it
because they're family and we were both raised in a culture that
values family. Like or not, you are family. New Krypton is
family and it's as dysfunctional as they come. Instead of
alcoholism and psychological abuse, my birth family tends to
murder, and megalomania."

Clark paused to watch Zara and Ching. Lois saw that they looked
confused. *They're confused?*

"It's about family, about kinship," Clark continued. "You can
love them, you can hate them, be ashamed of them, despise them,
but it still comes down to ties of kinship. When family calls,
you help. Despite the wrongs they've done, you care."

Lois watched Ching's face as he struggled with the concept Clark
was trying to express. It had been something she'd fought with
for years. *You can love them, hate them, be ashamed of them,
despise them, but it still comes down to blood ties. When family
calls, you help. Despite everything they've done, you care.*

"The council does not need to approve an adoption, you know,"
Ching said. "It's common practice. It's simply a mechanism for
bringing new blood into the Houses and ensuring succession when
circumstances warrant, like now."

"But Lois is from Earth," Zara protested.

"What does that matter?" Lois demanded. *Like hell Zara is going
to get away with this. I thought she was smarter, better than
those know-nothing oafs on the council, the ones who demanded
Clark's help and then sent him back to me without so much as a
by-your-leave when he tried to make changes for the good of his
people. Sent him back wounded, physically and psychologically.*
"I would think that if there was anything wrong with my kids,
Doctor Klein or somebody would have mentioned it before now. My
children are not mules! And I have it on good authority I will
have grandchildren."

"Zara, please be reasonable," Ching said. "You know how much
this means to my brother."

*Ching understands*. Lois's anger abated a little as she watched
Clark's anger and confusion fade into wonderment. *How long has
it been since Ching and Clark referred to one another as
brothers? Too long, I think.* That he had adopted Ching and
brought him into the nobility for Zara's sake as one of his
first acts on New Krypton was one of the few things Clark had
willingly shared with her when he first came back. It was
something he'd been proud of, keeping his vows to her and
helping Zara and Ching get together, despite what the council
had wanted.

"Besides," Ching continued with a smile. "With the four children
in line of succession before me, I am a much lesser target."

Zara looked at her consort. "We have spent much too much time on
this sloppy planet. We're getting soft," she said, glaring at
Ching. After a moment she sighed. "We will need to make a public
announcement, and of course, there is the paperwork. And there
will be the matter of making the announcement to the Council of
Elders, and letting Xon know that any attempts made against the
High Lord and his consort, or their children, will be met with
the full wrath of the Houses of El and Ra..." She smiled. "He
won't be allowed to think he can get away with threatening my
consort's brother, or my sister."

"Besides, it'll be fun, annoying the council some more. We have
to maintain the House of El's well-deserved reputation of being
troublemakers and rabble-rousers," Ching added. "The
entertainment guild is still putting out their daily news
service on the colony info-net, you know. The council can't
figure out where they're uploading from." Ching was grinning.
"Of course, they do have some help."

"I wasn't sure the idea would take," Clark admitted. "It was a
tough concept to put across. The people's right to know isn't
always well accepted, even here. How do you want to make the
public announcement?"

"I believe your newspaper is involved with an equivalent of our
info-net?" Ching asked.

"We call it the Internet, and yes, the Planet has a presence
there," Clark said. "I can place an announcement on the website,
in the personals, maybe."

"We can circumvent any action of the council by stating the
actual adoption took place when we were here before CJ was born.
I distinctly recall calling Lois my sister during that visit,"
Zara said. She glanced at Ching. "We have definitely been around
Earthers too long."

"I wouldn't dream of accusing you of being sloppy and emotional,
my lady," Clark said.

"Is everything okay down here?" Martha asked, coming down the
stairs from the second floor and entering the living room. "It
got kind of quiet."

"It's okay, Mom," Clark assured her. "I assume you got the kids
to bed?"

"Yes, of course," Martha smiled at him. "And they'll probably
stay asleep so long as you don't start yelling at Zara and Ching
again. By the way, Lara thinks Jason is cute."

--Clark I--
Kal-El stood and walked out to the kitchen. He was getting
restless and needed to move. He couldn't say exactly why he was
restless, but maybe uncomfortable was a better description. He
was uncomfortable with his realization that the Superman of this
world really was Clark Kent, a human with Kryptonian powers who
had a family, and family problems. Kal-El had spent most of his
adult life believing, as a Kryptonian living on Earth, that he
was, for that fact alone, superior. He made life and death
decisions all the time. So he had decided that Lois hadn't
needed to remember their all-too-short time together; he had
decided to leave for six years without thinking of the
consequences to those he'd left behind.

The coffee carafe was empty, so he quickly looked through the
cabinets for the coffee and started another pot.

"Are you okay?" Wanda/Lois asked. He hadn't noticed her
approach. *I'm getting careless.* He didn't bother to look at
her, staring out the kitchen window at the river instead.

"Yeah," Kal-El said. "It's funny, though. I've known all about
Krypton since just after high school, but I knew nothing about
Kryptonians except that I was the last one. I'd idealized them,
a proud, noble, doomed people. He's known about Kryptonians for
nearly that long, but knew nothing of the planet they're from.
He thinks I'm a self-centered, selfish fool. And he's right."

"Clark? Or would you pre