I'm not scared this time.
I'm just bummed out.
Clark isn't getting better yet. Lois is busting her own chops for taking so long to find him and not being able to come up with any real leads on her own. Martha is in pain, watching her beloved son wander through a shadow existence, not understanding a thing about what's going on.
And Lex Luthor is President. How much crueler could you be?! (<<-- "interrobang" - question asked with great emphasis and urgency)
Oh, and Nigel is on Lois' trail, sniffing out Clark's scent and ready to do murder most foul.
A stray thought: Nigel takes some time to find the right moment to finish off Clark. Clark sees him and associates him with pain. Clark reacts instinctively, without conscious thought or even any understanding of the consequences of his action, and burns a hole in Nigel's chest with his returning heat vision. Nigel falls dead. Lois grabs Clark and Martha and they run to Gotham, where Bruce Wayne shelters them. Using Batman's resources, Lois eventually tracks Nigel's trail back to Luthor and confronts him. Luthor laughs and pulls out a pistol to shoot both Clark and Lois. Martha hits his wrist with something and knocks the weapon out of his hand. It falls to the floor and discharges upon impact, hitting Luthor in the belly. The bullet tracks up into and out of his skull and he falls dead instantly. His Secret Service detail then shoots Martha, Lois, and Clark to death. No Utopia for this world.
Next day, Vice-President Catherine Grant (whom Luthor thought would be perfect non-entity) takes the oath of office and sets about to clean up Luthor's mess. She is reelected and becomes one of the best Presidents in American history.
My muses need a vacation.
I will confirm the absence of Cat in the fic though. Sorry!