Wow. CC, I've been reading, but just haven't had the time to comment. But I definitely wanted to say something before you posted Part 5 tomorrow.

This is so well-written, so powerful. I'm really worried about what is going to happen next. I'm armed with my 2x4, ready to hit Lois over the head, but I'm not going to use it yet.

Let's face it - the poor woman has been through the wringer. Granted, she's not the only one who has been through an ordeal here, but she is certainly still suffering from some form of PTSD from the original kidnapping. Then her worst nightmare, Tempus' return, comes true, and Clark does *not* come to rescue her, despite all his assurances that he would be there in a heartbeat. She is just numb inside. I'm willing to give her a few minutes to adjust to all of this - recognizing that in some ways it *is* easier for her here - then I expect her to kick butt and somehow do everything that she can to figure out how to get back to her Clark.

If she doesn't, then I'll use that 2x4. smile

And despite the despair that I'm also feeling for Lane and alt-Clark, I am (as you've probably guessed) in absolute agony already as I wonder what *our* Clark is going to go through when he returns home and finds Lane. I'm not sure whether I can bear to read that - or whether I hope that you skip that part and bring us in at a point later in the story. I'm not sure if the guilt that he'll feel won't kill him on the spot...probably the only reason it won't will be his overriding need to find Lois. Yet this time, from the start, he'll know that she's not there. Contacting Henderson will be futile. How can he search for her in another world? All his superpowers are useless to him...

I'm weeping already. I hope I can make it through the rest of the story... [Linked Image]

Kathy

"Our thoughts form the universe. They always matter." - Babylon 5