~ - ~
Part 16 – Epilogue
Alt-Metropolis – July 18, 1997
~ - ~
Herb lifted his pocket watch to check the time and peeked around the hall corner of the Daily Planet newsroom. Any moment now, the Lois Lane and Clark Kent of this universe would be married, the culmination of a destiny in yet another lifetime where they met, fell in love, wedded, and lived happily ever after. Their future had been in jeopardy and life had taken them on a twisting path to get them here, but as Herb had told Clark nearly five months before, he never said impossible.
Next to him Herb heard the ‘click’ of the stairwell door as it cracked open next to him. He turned to see an eyeball peeking through only to disappear a second later. The door opened wider and Herb saw two men carrying a large and awkward box wrapped in light blue paper, a silver bow arranged attractively on top.
“You sure it’s happening here?” the slender man whispered.
The other man grunted in the affirmative and shifted his grip. Herb rushed through the gap and into the stairwell to help them steady the box when it started to slip from the larger man’s prosthetic hand.
“Hey, thanks, buddy,” the slender man said. He did a double take when he saw Herb’s suit. “I know you,” he said softly. “I saw you come down to the restaurant earlier today.”
“I did indeed. It seems you got my message.”
“Yeah, we did.” Bobby looked over at the group gathered by the editor’s office. Lois and Clark were holding hands, exchanging vows, and the rest of the staff had their eyes fixed on the couple. He nodded his respect toward the older man. “Even I couldn’t have snitched about their wedding before they knew it would happen. Maybe you’ll share your secret with me someday.”
“And well I might. I’ve heard how you both help Lois with her investigations. It would be my pleasure to help you continue to help her with any future endeavors. Now, if you wouldn’t mind bearing a note to Ms. Lane and Mr. Kent along with your gift?”
“Nah. Go ahead.”
Herbert Wells reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out an envelope addressed with an elaborate script to Lois Lane and Clark Kent. He slid the envelope under the ribbon.
Mr. Wells winked and tipped his hat at them. “Mr. Bigmouth. Mr. Petrelli.”
The two men crept inside the bullpen and seeing that everyone was distracted by Lois and Clark’s kiss, clapping and whistling their approval, they snuck past the coffeemaker and a table to leave the box in a conspicuous place next to Lois’s nameplate on her desk. Although both men loved helping Lois, they treasured their anonymity more. With a head tip toward the stairs, Bobby Bigmouth and Gino Petrelli snuck back out the side exit and down the stairs of the Daily Planet without anyone the wiser.
~ - ~
Perry raised his glass to the happy couple. “To Mr. Clark Kent and Ms. Lois Lane …”
“Kent. Lois Lane-Kent,” Lois finished for him.
“May every story be a front page headline, may you always catch the criminals, and may peace and happiness always find you for the rest of your days.”
A chorus of “here, here” followed Perry’s toast and then the group simultaneously tipped their glasses back to drink some bubbly.
Clark turned to extend his glass toward Lois, who accepted by linking her arm over his before they both took a sip. Clark couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Lois. Her eyes never left his either as she sipped her drink. Suddenly, an image of her naked form wrapped in Superman’s cape popped into his head and he choked on his champagne.
Lois giggled. <So, how long before we can leave without seeming rude?>
<Who cares?>
Clark set his flute down on his desk and then took Lois’s from her as well. He wrapped her hand in his and kissed the back of it. He turned to address his friends and coworkers when he saw a wrapped box on Lois’s desk.
“What’s this?” he asked.
A chorus of surprised sounds came from those around them. It was quickly apparent that no one in attendance had brought the box and no one had seen it delivered. Clark stepped forward toward the box, pulling Lois by the hand until they stood next to her desk.
<Careful, Lois. >
<Pff. It’s a wedding gift.>
<Have you met you? Let me peek inside first.>
Clark tipped his head to look over the rim of his glasses. He narrowed his eyes and his grip on her hand tightened. <Most of it looks alright, but there are several lead-lined boxes and one lumpy, lead-lined package inside.>
A fiercely protective expression darkened Lois’s face. Lois stepped up next to her desk and quickly, but carefully, snatched the two envelopes off of the top of the box. She handed the larger one to Clark and opened the smaller envelope. Her shoulders relaxed immediately and Lois laughed at the card’s contents before showing it to Clark. ‘
‘With Love and Admiration: Bigmouth, No Mouth, and A Guy Who Knows Guys’.“It’s okay. It’s from three of my best sources,” Lois explained. “Whatever is in the lead-lined items, they didn’t put them there to hurt you. What does the other card say, Clark?”
In response, Clark read the note and then looked up, surprised, and scanned the newsroom. Lois saw Clark smile toward the elevator and she turned to catch a glimpse of an older gentleman with a bowler hat. The man tipped his hat to them and smiled enigmatically as the elevator doors closed.
“Was that who I think it was?”
“Wells. Yes. He came to congratulate us.” Clark handed the note to Lois.
‘Dear Mr. Kent and Ms. Lane,
It’s my great pleasure to congratulate you on your marriage. Please rest assured that I see a bright future ahead for you and your world. Know that the curse placed on your souls that endangered Lois’s life has already been lifted and that the New Kryptonians that came for the other Clark do not exist in your universe.
May you live long and happy lives,
Herbert George Wells’Lois smiled, “Just another day in the life of Lois and Clark, huh? Let’s see what’s inside.”
Lois untied the bow and lifted the lid to reveal two smaller boxes inside, each labeled with their individual names. Clark reached into the box and pulled out the box for Lois. He lifted the items out one-by-one and everyone laughed at the box’s contents: a Kevlar vest, a large first aid kit, and a new lock pick set for Lois.
“I’m going to pretend that I didn’t see that last one,” Bill Henderson quipped.
Lois smiled benignly and furtively slipped the lock pick set into her desk drawer while everyone laughed. Once the forbidden tools were hidden away, Lois reached into the larger box for Clark’s gift. After grunting at its’ weight, Clark reached inside to help her and easily lifted the box out. Lois removed the lid and leaned over to look inside. There were several empty, lead-lined boxes, a miniature Geiger counter, and a large, misshapen lead-foil wrapped bundle for Clark. Tied to the bundle was a Polaroid picture of a big pile of red and green glowing rocks. The photo was labeled with a bold
‘Do Not Open – Ever!’. “Great Shades of Elvis!” Perry exclaimed. “I had no idea that there was still so much of it out there.”
“Where did it come from?” Cat asked.
“I’ve never seen the red before,” James said.
“I wonder if it affects me the same way …”
“We are never going to find out,” Lois declared. Lois and Clark shared a long look, Lois’s expression becoming more and more determined until Clark nodded.
Clark turned to the crowd. “If you’ll excuse me, it appears that there is one thing I need to do today that is more important than our honeymoon.”
Clark stepped quickly into Cat’s office and immediately returned dressed as Superman. “I’ll need a breathing apparatus,” he announced.
James reached into his pocket and tossed Clark his house keys. “My scuba gear is in the storage closet under the entry hall stairs. It’s charged and ready to go.”
Clark vanished through the stairwell to return almost as quickly with a scuba tank strapped to his back. As Clark handed James his keys back, Lois stretched her open hand toward Henderson and they also shared a long look. Henderson finally sighed and reached into his pocket for the small, lead-lined box that housed a green, bullet-shaped piece of meteorite. Henderson slapped the box into Lois’s open hand and she smiled triumphantly. Lois turned to place the box and the bundle into Clark’s hand and then stood on her tiptoes to whisper in Clark’s ear. A simmering grin spread across Clark’s face before he gathered her into his empty arm and kissed her until they were both breathless.
Clark disappeared in a gust of wind as Lois and all of their guests stared after him.
~
“Wow!” Lois whispered.
After a wobbly moment, Lois turned to pick up her glass of champagne from the desk. She took a long draw and then fanned her face before turning to the expectant crowd. “Clark will return in approximately an hour.”
“Is he doing what I think he’s doing?” Perry asked.
Lois nodded. “Clark is going to throw the bundle and the box into the sun.”
“But shouldn’t he keep some for study?” Eduardo asked. Lois could forgive him the question. As the science correspondent, she was sure that he was curious about the meteorite. She also knew that the scientists he worked with would love to test the unusual properties of the rock.
“We are not going to take any chances.”
As the impromptu guests started to mill around and talk, Lois turned to look out the large windows. Although Clark had only been gone less than a minute, she missed him already. She reached out to him mentally and the warmth of his love caressed her back. He was making good time; he was past the moon and on his way to Venus.
Lois sighed and leaned against the edge of Clark’s desk as the events of the day started to catch up with her. Married. She and Clark were married. A slow smile spread across her lips as she examined how she felt and she came to the conclusion that she felt completely different and also utterly the same. It was a strange combination.
Lois’s thoughts turned to Star and she felt the all-too-familiar aches of grief and sadness. It was still surreal that Star had made the choices that she had. How had Lois not seen it? Whenever she and Star had gotten together for movies or games or had gone out for drinks, Star had seemed happy, happier than she’d ever been before. Star had good friends, she loved her apartment, and she had been thrilled with her job at the Daily Planet working for Cat.
Lois shook her head as she realized that she had taken her relationship with Star for granted, just like she had with Clark when they had first met. She and Star had built a solid friendship as girls and young adults, but when Lois had returned from the Congo, she had assumed that everything had remained the same between them, like time had stood still and that neither she nor Star had changed at all in almost four years.
Nevertheless, Star had changed. Her repeated abuse by the men in her life had warped her attitudes. Her study of Dynonomics had changed her abilities. Lois’s disappearance and her imagined dreams had warped her mind, convincing her that she needed to save those women and that she needed to kill to accomplish it.
One thing remained the same, though. Lois missed her best girlfriend.
Lois set her glass down on the desk and noticed the gift cards resting there. She smiled at the one from her sources and picked up the one from H.G. Wells. She opened it and read the contents again.
‘Know that the curse placed on your souls that endangered Lois’s life has already been lifted and that the New Kryptonians that came for the other Clark do not exist in your universe.’Lois tapped the card against her lips as she stared off into the middle distance. A few nights ago while she and Clark had been talking, he had finally told her about his recent trip into the other dimension. He’d admitted that he had playacted as the other Lois’s husband, a fact that still made her insides roil with jealousy. Clark had used his Superman persona both to keep the other Clark’s dual-identity a secret and to help find his doppelganger. While it had been gratifying to succeed, Clark had said, he also had admitted to harboring a wish that he could just take the other Clark’s place.
Her negative feelings toward the other Lois notwithstanding, Lois was glad Clark had received the gift of time with the Kents. Being able to feel once again the love and acceptance that he’d had when his own parents had been alive was something that Lois would never begrudge him. Martha and Jonathan had held Clark through his grief and anger as he had relived his lonely and terrifying childhood. They’d soothed him and encouraged him in his lonely attempts to be Superman and Clark Kent in the public eye. Martha had even made him some extra suits. It had been cathartic for Clark to talk with them and he had found some closure before the bittersweet moment he’d realized it was time to come home.
The Kents had also told Clark about their son’s life, about their run-ins with Lex Luthor and some of their more bizarre cases. Strangely, it made Lois feel better that the other couple didn’t have ‘easy’ lives. She and her Clark had tragedies in their pasts that the other couple would never have to face – the early death of their parents, her forced participation in MEPWar, and her near-death in the Congo – but it also sounded like the Lois and Clark in the other dimension had had some challenges that she and her Clark wouldn’t have to face.
There were a few things that Lois wanted to follow up on, specifically looking into the possibility that the Church’s were running Intergang through CostMart in this dimension. Most interestingly, though, were the Kents’ stories about the other Lois and Clark’s travel through time using the soul-tracker. Also, they’d told him about the New Kryptonians arrival, their plea to Clark to save their society from civil war, and the subsequent attack on Smallville. Lois was glad to know that she would never have to face this unknown danger from a curse on her soul and her Clark would never have to choose between a remnant of his own people and her.
Star’s voice rose in her mind, then, telling Lois of her supposed motivation for attacking Clark and trying to drug and brainwash Lois.
‘One vision showed me your death from a terrible, gruesome illness if you married Clark. In another, you were heartbroken when Clark left you for a woman on a distant planet…’Could Star’s visions have been true? If she somehow had seen the result of a curse placed on the other Lois’s soul or the other Clark choosing these ‘New Kryptonians’ over his Lois, then what Star saw could have been genuine. Knowing that Star had had a true vision didn’t change the fact that she’d done some pretty horrific things that she would have to pay for, but it did confirm that Star hadn’t gone completely crazy.
“How you doin’, Darlin’?”
Lois’s pensive frown shifted into a wistful smile at Perry’s approach. “Good. Amazing, actually.”
“I’m sure Clark will be back soon.”
Lois closed her eyes and reached out in an attempt to connect with Clark. She was surprised when she received his response almost immediately, a warmth that suffused her whole being.
<Half way there. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again.>
<I can’t wait!> Lois responded and almost giggled when she imagined them in an intimate embrace and his groan of desire spurred him to fly faster.
She opened her eyes and smiled at Perry, a twinkle lingering in her eye as she openly confirmed her abilities. “He’s just passing Venus.”
Perry opened and closed his mouth, unable to respond until he tried again. “I always knew you were extraordinary, but this connection you have with Clark, that’s really somethin’.”
Lois smiled in response and then glanced down at the letter still in her hand and her smile slid as her eyebrows drew down in thought.
“What Clark and I have, what we’ve always had, is amazing, especially now that we’ve really gotten to know one another, but I can’t help but feel a little sad. I miss Star.”
“She was the only one I saw stick with you through the years. I remember how happy Star was when you returned. I wonder what could have possibly driven her off her rocker enough to murder.”
Lois hesitated and then decided that Perry needed to know. “Other than Clark, Star was the one person that had abilities that even resembled my own. Her ability to read people wasn’t intense or reliable, but there were moments when she had these flashes of insight. Mensa’s torture damaged her. The foster system hardened her. Her study of Dynonomics changed her. She wasn’t crazy, Perry, at least not in that way. She really had the visions she claimed.”
“How do you know?”
“The night before I left for the Congo, she arrived at my door frantic because she’d heard me call out Luthor’s name in pain and fear. And on base tonight, she told me she’d had other visions about my death or pain if I married Clark.” Lois hesitated for a moment and then handed Perry the card from H.G. Wells. After he finished reading it, he handed it back and looked at her.
“Clark told me about H.G. Wells, time travel, and alternate dimensions, but that,” he said pointing at the letter in her hand, “has to be the darnedest thing I’ve ever seen. Someone put a curse on your souls?”
“Apparently. And the New Kryptonians came to the alternate earth and the other Clark left with them in order to stop a civil war.” At Perry’s questioning look, she added, “The other Clark was their leader’s birth-husband.”
Perry shook his head again in amazement. “So Star had visions of the other Lois?”
Lois nodded. “It doesn’t change the fact that she killed those men, but she was telling the truth when she said she did it to protect us. To protect me.”
Perry looked at her and his mouth twitched up in a charming, supportive way. “Maybe you should go see her. It would probably do both of you some good.”
Lois smiled and then turned to glance at the clock. “I think I have just enough time.” Lois reached up to hug Perry before turning away and walking over to Bill Henderson. She placed a hand on his arm to get his attention.
“Bill? I have another favor to ask.”
~
A uniformed guard took up position just behind Lois as she waited for Star to appear through the door on the other side of the room. Henderson had arranged a short meeting between them at the twelfth precinct in a room designed for the accused to meet with their attorney’s. Lois tapped the card from H.G. Wells on the table in front of her as she waited and hoped that her presence here would help her and her friend.
A moment after sensing her approach, the door opposite her opened and another guard led Star through it, hands cuffed in front of her. Star’s steps faltered when she saw Lois sitting at the table, but her face also softened and a smile appeared as she moved to sit in the empty chair. The guard fixed Star’s handcuffs to a ring in the table and then gave Lois a warning look.
“You’ve got five minutes. No physical contact.”
Lois nodded and pulled her hands back into her lap to resist placing her hand on top of Star’s.
“Lois? What are you doing here?”
“You’re my best friend. I missed you.”
Star scowled. “You weren’t my best friend a few hours ago. I was only trying to protect you and the others. I’m not crazy, Lois. I really did see your pain and death.”
“I know you did. I understand now. That’s why I’m here.”
“Does this mean that you decided not to go through with it? Did I save you after all?”
In answer, Lois slid the note from H.G. Wells across the table to Star, who picked it up and read through the contents a couple of times before sliding it back to her, confusion on her face.
“I don’t understand. What does a ‘curse on your souls’ and ‘the other Clark’ mean?”
“Do you remember a year ago when a woman appeared at the Daily Planet claiming to be me? That really was Lois Lane, but she was from an alternate dimension.”
Over the next few minutes, Lois explained to Star about the other Lois, her husband and some of the trials that they had overcome, including ending a curse on their souls that resulted in Lois’s death and a visit from the New Kryptonians.
“So you’re saying that my visions were only about this other Lois?”
Lois nodded. “Only one of them actually happened, her Clark really did leave with his ‘birth-wife’ to settle a civil upheaval. The illness and death after marrying Clark was only a possible future. That one never happened.”
Stars face cleared with relief for a moment and then crumpled as the implications of her misinterpretation sank in. “If yours wasn’t true, then maybe the others weren’t. Maybe those other women…” She shook her head and a tear fell from her eye. “Oh, Lois. What am I going to do?”
Lois stretched her hand halfway across the table before pulling it back. Instead, Lois reached out psychically, trying to comfort her friend, but was unsure whether she could feel it. “We’ll explain the circumstances to the judge in the hopes of leniency. You’ll do your time. I’m not going to lie to you, with a triple homicide, there’s not much chance of parole, but you could do some good on the inside. I’ll visit you when I can.”
The guard opened the door and entered the room then, notifying them that their time was up. He unlocked Star’s cuffs from the table and held her elbow as they stood.
“Thanks for coming, Lois. I’m glad that you’re going to be all right.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you soon.”
Neither of them said the words they really wanted to say, but Star looked back at Lois as she left the room and Lois knew that Star knew she loved her and would be there for her.
A few minutes later, Lois stepped outside the precinct doors and looked at her watch. She probably had about five minutes before Clark was supposed to return, but just as she looked up to hail a cab, she felt his presence. She turned to wrap her arms around him as his hands snaked around her waist and pulled her close.
“Hello, Wife.”
She reached up to kiss him languorously. “Hello, Husband.”
Clark tightened his grip on her and leaned in again. “Next stop, a week long honeymoon at an undisclosed and remote location.”
“Clothing, optional,” she purred.
Clark growled again and kissed her like his life depended on it. Somewhere in the depth of her thoughts, she realized that he had floated them into the air away from the police station and Star, but the warmth that suffused her body as Clark kissed her enveloped her soul and banished any lingering sadness.
H.G. Wells had confirmed a bright future for them, but he hadn’t really needed to tell them anything. They were going to live happily every after.
Lois already knew it.
~ - ~
The End
