PREVIOUSLY IN LOST...
David dashed for the desk, his mind in a near state of panic as he began rustling through the various items until he found what he was looking for. An address book. He flipped through it quickly, praying that this wasn’t Dr. Klein’s. After all, who kept his own number in his address book? He let out a sigh of relief when he found Dr. Klein’s phone number.
Grabbing the phone, he quickly punched in the number. “Dr. Klein,” he gasped. “You’ve got to help me. I’ve lost her.”
“What?” asked the groggy voice on the other end of the line.
“Lois Lewis. She tried going back in your time machine. And... I don’t know what happened. Her red light suddenly disappeared, but she didn’t come back here. How soon can you get to the lab?”
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 4
* * * * * * * * *
“Hi,” Lois said sheepishly.
“Hi,” the older, balding man answered.
“Uhh... how are you?”
The man smiled. “Fine.”
“I seem to be a little lost.”
The man’s smile grew wider. “Might I inquire as to whether you’re from the future?”
Lois’ eyes went wide. “How did you... Uhh... who are... Uhh... I guess that would depend. What year is it?”
“1999. May. May 7th to be exact... or... well, in a few minutes it will be May 8th actually.”
Lois’ eyebrows shot into her hairline. “How did I get here?”
“Where... or more accurately, when did you expect to be?”
“I was just in 1996. I expected to be back in 2157.”
“Oh, then you must know my great, great grandson,” the man said. “I’m Dr. Klein. I mean...” He chuckled. “I’m Dr. Bernard Klein. You must know Dr. Philip Klein.”
“You’re... Uhh... yes. I know Philip Klein.”
“I haven’t seen him for years. He came several times in 1996. He sort of has an obsession with Superman’s debut.”
“Superman’s debut,” Lois repeated, something suddenly clicking in her mind. “Did I stop it? Does everyone know that he’s...” Her voice trailed off. If she had succeeded in somehow changing history... If Clark Kent hadn’t been revealed as Superman, then she had to be careful not to blow his cover. And that might explain why she hadn’t jumped back to her own time.
“Does everyone know he’s Clark Kent?” Klein asked. “Yes.”
Her heart fell as all those pictures of Clark Kent after Superman’s debut flashed through her mind. The man who never smiled. She had hoped to save him that. “But... he’s still out there.” She made a wavy motion with her hand. “...saving the world?”
Klein smiled. “Yes, my dear, he is. Now might I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Who are you?”
Lois thought about that for a long moment. “Actually, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Did the jump do something to your memory? Philip didn’t say anything about that.”
“No. Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. It’s just... the last couple days have been a little intense. And... I just have a lot of information to digest.” Her double, Tempus’ comments and the overheard conversation between Lane and Kent about alternate dimensions all had Lois wondering if her real name was Lois Lane. It was crazy, but might it also be true? “You can call me Lois Lewis,” she concluded. Until she worked it all out, it was probably best if she kept her own counsel. Besides, there were more urgent matters to consider at the moment - namely, how to get back home.
Klein nodded slowly, although his expression clearly said that he had no idea what she was talking about. So instead, he focused on something else. “I take it you didn’t expect to turn up here in 1999.”
“No. So do you have any idea how I get back?”
“To where? 1996? Or 2157?”
“2157,” Lois replied. “That’s where I was supposed to jump to if I tried to change the time line.” David. Thoughts of David instantly invaded her mind. If he realized she’d jumped to the wrong time, he was likely going out of his mind.
“Oh, dear. Well, I can’t say I exactly know. My grandson made it very clear that I didn’t do any time travel research in your time line. So I’ve been very careful not to change that. But with a little time, maybe we can figure something out.”
Lois looked slightly relieved.
“In the meantime, do you have a place to stay? After all, it’s after midnight.”
“No, I don’t have a place to stay,” Lois said, suddenly yawning. “But you must have a flop house... Uhh... a YWCB. I think that’s what you call it.”
“A YWCA,” he corrected. “But you don’t need a YWCA. We have a room with a cot here. I often use it when I have to work late. Saves me from having to go back to my place. But with your arrival here... I’m going to be spending the rest of the night trying to figure out how we get you back.” He led her to another room. “In the meantime, why don’t you get some sleep?”
Lois looked in gratitude at the small cot. “Thank you, Dr. Klein.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s fascinating to meet a traveler from another time - even if she didn’t exactly intend to come here.”
Lois gave him a small smile as her eyes began to droop. She hadn’t realized exactly how tired she was until now.
* * * * * * * * *
“Are you in there, Mr. Shultz?”
David looked up from the display board hoping for Lois to show up again when he heard the other man’s voice. “Dr. Klein?” he asked.
“I’m speaking to you over the intercom system, Mr. Shultz,” Klein explained.
“But... why didn’t you just come in? Do I have to open the door from in here. I need you to find Lois.” As he spoke, he rushed for the door.
“Don’t touch that door or Lois may be lost to us forever!”
David instantly froze.
“I need you to look at the time travel board,” Klein continued, knowing he now had David’s full attention.
David looked back at the board. “I’m looking.”
“Are there any lights on?”
“No. Not even the light that is supposed to tell us where Lois is.”
“Who is the president?”
“What?”
“Just... who is the president?”
“Why is that important?”
David could hear Klein’s sigh even over the intercom. “I need to ask you a number of questions to be sure that our time lines are the same before you let down the time bubble. Otherwise, if something has been changed, we will never be able to fix it.”
David let out a frustrated growl, but since it seemed Klein wasn’t going to help him until he cooperated, he proceeded to answer a number of irrelevant questions. Lois was out there - lost in time. And here he was answering questions like who won the Superbowl. It felt like an eternity before Klein was satisfied and agreed to come into the room.
Klein immediately approached the computer screen. He stared at if for a moment before giving the computer a bunch of commands. He stared at the screen between each command even going so far as to run a diagnosis.
David was in a state of near panic when Klein finally looked up at him.
“So...?” asked David. “How do we get Lois back?”
“She is back,” Klein said.
“What?” David gasped.
“Mr. Shultz, every piece of equipment I have says that she’s back.”
A panicked laugh rose in the back of David’s throat as he dashed over to the time travel cylinder, as if she would somehow magically appear. She didn’t. A feeling of hopeless desperation washed over him as he turned back to Klein. “Then where is she?” he asked, his voice little more than a strangled whisper.
Dr. Klein stared at him for a long moment. “You’re certain you didn’t fall asleep and let her slip past you?”
David growled. “No. I didn’t fall asleep. I was watching the dot when it disappeared.”
Klein got up and made his way back over to the door, closing it and switching the time bubble back on. “Then whenever she is... we have to do some research. Somehow she’s fooled the machine into thinking she’s in the right time. That means that, although she hasn’t made changes yet, she could - at least theoretically. Once we can locate the source of those changes, no matter how small or insignificant, we should be able to find her. I suggest we start in 1996.
“Now, keep one thing in mind here,” Klein continued. “I don’t know if there will be a time lag between any changes made to history and our present reality. I’ve never actually been in this situation before. So it could take us a while before we notice anything. Still, if she’s back there... well, knowing Ms. Lewis...”
“...she won’t be able to help herself but get involved,” David completed.
“Exactly! So keep your chin up. We’ll find her.”
* * * * * * * * *
Lois smiled, closing her eyes and allowing the air to flow around her, caressing her body. She allowed the air currents to direct her movement. ‘Now this is what I call going with the flow,’ Lois thought contentedly as she glided through the air. She wasn’t entirely sure she would ever get enough of this. This was truly living.
The sun on her face, the wind in her hair. No pressure points as she drifted through the clouds. A mere turn of her feet or shoulders changed her path, allowing her to fly easily through the sky, over the various miraculous sights the world had to offer.
Straightening her arms, she cut through the air to dip under the golden gate bridge, trailing her fingers through the water before shooting back up into the air. Heading out over the ocean, she dipped down to swirl around the sails of the Sydney Opera House, enjoying how the unusual shape of the building affected the surrounding air currents.
She saw the Great Wall of China and did a jack-knife dive in mid-air to dive towards it, pulling up at the last moment to touch down gently on top before beginning to run as fast as possible, barely touching the wall as she followed it for miles. Jumping back into the sky, she headed west. Seeing the Eiffel Tower, she flew down, using mere flicks of her wrists to navigate her way between the tower’s beams. Making a sharp turn, she headed out over the ocean.
She spotted some dolphins playing in the ocean and dipped down momentarily to join in their game before taking off for the States.
“Help!”
Lois screeched to a halt over downtown Metropolis, searching for the source of the cry. Focusing, she looked down through the stratosphere until she saw the problem. A burning building. Flames leaping into the sky. A young mother, her arms holding a young boy while his older sister clung to her leg, was standing in a window of the high-rise, out of reach of the ladders on the fire truck.
Lois reacted immediately, diving for the tower. When she seemed not to be getting any closer, she pointed her toes, making herself as straight as possible. She could feel the air whipping past her face, practically cutting into her skin. Still, she was not getting closer. She watched in horror as the flames surrounded the young family. ‘No!’ Still, try as she might, she couldn’t seem to reach them. Her sensitive ears picked up their frantic screams as the flames encompassed them.
All these powers and there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t save them. Tears left paths on her cheeks as she fought to reach them. But nothing she did seemed to make the slightest difference. The screams below turned from terror to pain as the smell of burning flesh drifted up to Lois from her position all too far above the Earth.
“Noooo!” Lois screamed, sitting up straight on the small cot. Lois blinked, looking around as it sunk in that she had merely been dreaming.
But what a nightmare!
“Are you okay?”
Lois blinked when Dr. Klein appeared in the doorway.
“I heard screaming and I thought...”
“Just a nightmare,” Lois said, still struggling to get her heart rate back to normal. She rubbed a hand over her eyes, fighting against the feelings of helplessness her dream had left in its wake. “What time is it?”
“Almost ten.”
“Ten? Ten in the morning?”
Dr. Klein nodded.
Lois was just about to throw the sheet off when she realized she wasn’t exactly decent. Not having anything to sleep in, she’d not been sleeping in much at all.
It seemed Dr. Klein realized her predicament at the same moment because he instantly went bright red and began backing out the door. “I’ll just give you a minute to... Uhh... Anyway, I think I solved your problem so when you get a moment...” With that, he disappeared from the room, closing the door behind him.
It only took a moment for Dr. Klein’s last comment to chase the embarrassment from Lois’ mind. Jumping up, she threw on her clothes and rushed into the other room. “You’ve figured out how to get me home?” she asked.
Dr. Klein looked shocked at how quickly she had appeared. Still, he recovered soon enough. “Yes. It was quite simple really - once I put my mind to it.”
“You mean you’ve invented a time machine in one night?”
Klein laughed. “Well, no not exactly. But I do have this.” He held up a single piece of paper.
“What’s this?” Lois said, taking the paper and reading it, still not understanding even when she was finished.
“It’s quite simple really. We just send that...” He pointed to the paper. “...to a law firm with instructions to deliver it to Dr. Phillip Klein in 2157. Now, what is the exact date you left? We should have it delivered the next day. Now, there is only one problem. I need the name of a law firm that will still be around in a hundred and fifty years. So I need you to look at a number of names for me and tell me one that’s still around.”
Lois gave him the information he needed even as she read through the letter one more time. “But... well, why did you tell him to come at midnight tonight? Why not have him come to get me right now?”
“Because there are too many people around during the day,” Klein explained. “And if some of them knew that time travel was possible... Well, they might decide to invent a time machine themselves and that would definitely change history.”
Lois nodded slowly. Even if Klein had avoided researching time travel because he was being concerned about changing the time line, he was right. Not everyone was as trustworthy. In fact, she would do well not to tell anyone when she was from for the exact same reason.
“So how did you come up with the idea?” Lois asked. “I mean, it’s so simple, it’s brilliant.”
Klein smiled. “I spent last night watching old shows about time travel. Both Quantum Leap and Back to the Future number... well, one of the Back to the Future movies... use this method. Anyway, since you have some time, would you like to get some breakfast or something?”
He looked around. Lois followed his gaze. He was obviously considering all the work he had to do, but at the same time, didn’t want to neglect his guest.
“That’s all right,” Lois said. “I’d sort of like to see what 1999 is like.”
Dr. Klein looked relieved. “Then I’ll meet you back here around eleven thirty. Oh,” he added, stopping from where he was just about to leave the room. “I guess you’ll need some of this.” He walked over to his jacket which was draped casually over the back of a chair. Reaching it, he withdrew a clip of bills. He handed it to her.
“You don’t need to do this,” Lois said, not taking the money.
He reached out, took her hand and put the money in it.
“You’ll pay me back later,” he said, giving her a wink to tell her he was only joking.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois felt much better. Having a shower at Klein... Uhh... Star Labs had been nice. But buying fresh underwear... that was heaven. And for some reason, today she’d felt the need to buy something... a little sexier than normal. She refused to analyze the reason too deeply. Sometimes a woman just wanted to feel sexy. Besides, the prices here... she couldn’t get over how cheap everything was.
She’d also purchased a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses - just in case she ran into someone the other Lois had known. Putting on her two new purchases, she walked out into the beautiful morning air. Looking up into the sky, she stepped into the street.
Beep!
Lois jumped back onto the sidewalk.
“Watch where you’re going, lady!” an irate motorist yelled as his car swerved to miss her.
Lois caught her breath.
“You okay?”
Lois looked around to see a concerned-looking young woman standing nearby.
“Yeah,” Lois said. “Just not use to this traffic.”
The woman’s expression cleared, almost as if she had wondered if Lois was trying to commit suicide. “Not from around here, huh?”
“No. Definitely not from around here,” Lois agreed. She looked at the cars rushing past. “Definitely.”
“Just be sure to use the crosswalks,” the woman said before turning and walking away.
Lois glanced to where the woman had pointed. The corner. Curious now, she made her way to the end of the street, seeing a sign that said, ‘Don’t Walk.’ Looking the other direction, she saw another sign that said, ‘Walk.’ Not having a clear destination in mind, she took the path where she was allowed to walk.
As she made her way across the street, she looked at all the cars. It was fascinating. Cars had been banned on Metropolis streets before she had been born, leaving the streets clear for pedestrians. The tracks for the transports ran twenty feet above the streets. Well, starting at twenty feet. Tracks on top of tracks. But the streets themselves stayed cleared. On the other hand... she looked up. ...the sun was not nearly as difficult to see here. And today, she wanted to feel the sun on her face.
Her walk soon took her down near the waterfront where the buildings around her began to change. Soon she found herself passing a number of run-down apartment buildings. Suddenly, the distinct ‘rat tat tat’ of gunfire sounded up ahead. Lois supposed some things never changed. Increasing her pace, she automatically headed towards the sound, rounding a corner only to come to a complete halt.
A barricade had been set up using police cars and tape. People were crowded around the outside as inside, police hid behind cars, guns drawn looking up at the second floor window of one of the apartment buildings. Lois quickly joined the crowd of onlookers, pushing her way through to get a better view.
“Sorry, Miss,” an officer said when she reached the barricade and tried to slip past. “No one’s allowed beyond this point.”
“I’m not anyone. I’m the press,” Lois objected. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t the press in this time, and maybe, in order to ensure she didn’t change anything she couldn’t even write the story, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still the press.
The officer gave a tight grin. “Last I heard, the press was an ‘anyone.’”
Lois rolled her eyes, her attention diverted from the officer when there was another round of gunfire.
“Anyone makes a move on this building, I kill the boy!” a man shouted from the apartment window.
“What’s going on?” Lois asked one of the individuals standing nearby.
“We’re not entirely sure,” said a woman, obviously one of the locals. “But we think he’s got his wife and son in there.”
“And he’s threatening to kill his own son,” another added.
Lois looked back at the building. “Anyone heard from the mother?” When no one answered, she looked back at the crowd.
“No one’s heard from Sara,” a man said. “We don’t know for sure if she’s in there. Or if she is, whether she’s alive or dead.”
“We don’t know if Sean is alive or dead either.”
“Is Sean his son?” Lois asked.
The person who’d given the last comment nodded.
“Any idea why he’s doing this?” Lois asked.
“He lost his job recently.”
“Lots of people lose their jobs. That’s no reason to be shooting up police cars and threatening your own family,” the first woman responded.
Suddenly, a rush of wind turned everyone’s attention back to the scene. Lois looked around just in time to see a bright, red and blue superhero drift down onto the road next to one of the police cars. He was awe-inspiring as the small gasps coming from the women around her confirmed. Her mind involuntarily flashed back to what to her was only a day before. Glancing around, she wondered what the other women would think if she told them just how little she had seen him in then.
She saw Superman look around and tried to appear invisible as she allowed herself to blend in with the crowd. The hat and glasses should help, but... if he saw her, he would likely mistake her for her twin. And that was the last thing Lois needed.
She need not have worried. Superman seemed completely focused on the problem. He spoke briefly to the officer in charge. He was just moving away when the man shouted again from the second floor.
“If Superman comes in here, the boy dies!”
Superman stopped for a moment before disappearing in a gust of wind. When he reappeared, he was holding the man by the scruff of his collar and had a very much alive boy in his other arm. As people cheered, the police rushed forward to grab the man, quickly affixing handcuffs on him.
Lois’ eyes, however, remained on Superman. As he spoke briefly to the officer, Lois found herself thinking he looked tired. She wasn’t entirely sure why that thought bothered her. But then Superman again disappeared in a gust of wind. The next time she saw him, he was walking slowly out the front door of the apartment building. Lois found it odd that he was walking, but then she saw the bundle carried gently in his arms. The very still body of a young woman.
Her eyes flashed up to Clark’s face. It was completely devoid of emotion - any emotion. She felt her heart constrict, leaving her with palpitations. Lois heard the startled gasps of the woman’s friends and neighbors as Superman carried the young woman to the ambulance, gently laying her on the gurney. He covered the woman with a blanket, taking a moment to look down at her face before pulling the blanket up over it, clearly announcing her death.
He was just about to take off again - in fact, he was a few feet off the ground - when people began calling him. She recognized the voices almost immediately. Oh, she might not know the names or the faces, but there was no doubting who they were. Members of the fourth estate.
“Kent! You going to give us a statement this time or are you saving it all for the Daily Planet?” one of the more obnoxious voices shouted.
Lois stared across the crowd at the man. Her eyes flicked back to Superman. He looked... resigned. Her heart ached for him as he floated over to where the crowd of reporters were gathered and began answering questions.
Lois slunk even further back into the crowd as she continued to watch and listen. The reporters alternated between rude and polite, some demanding to know why he’d failed to arrive sooner, before the woman had been killed. Others just wanting answers about why the man had done it in the first place. Superman’s answers varied, too, from: ‘I wish I could have gotten here sooner. I wish I could save them all. But this time, it just wasn’t possible’ to ‘I really don’t know why a man would kill his wife and threaten his child.’ Yet, although the questions and the answers varied, Superman’s expression didn’t. It remained a stoic mask.
Lois continued to watch as the press conference ended and Superman floated up further into the air. He suddenly looked... somewhat confused as he searched the crowd. She quickly looked down, keeping her face lowered until a sonic boom announced his departure.
Lois continued standing, as did the majority of the crowd, outside the barrier as the police began making their way into the building, ensuring it was secure and collecting evidence. She watched as the press got their statements from the police and onlookers - all the time her feelings vacillating between concern and annoyance. Concern for the obviously troubled superhero and annoyance at the way he’d been treated by the press. He had probably saved that young boy’s life. Maybe even the lives of the gunmen and the police officers who were assigned the job of bringing the situation to an end. Yet, it was obvious that at least some members of the press could only see what he hadn’t done. He hadn’t got there earlier. He hadn’t saved the life of the woman. How must such attitudes affect Superman?
Her mind flashed back to her dream and the horror she’d felt when she’d been unable to get to the woman in the fire. She’d been relieved when she’d woken up to find that it was only a dream. Did Superman live with that feeling everyday, every time he couldn’t save everyone? If so, how did he go on? Did he at least have friends, loved ones, to help him bear the pressure? If not, it was little wonder that after three years he’d disappeared.
It occurred to her how much had changed over recent days. She’d gone from the complete skeptic to... she balked against the word ‘fan.’ It was more... she understood better. This man was no fraud. His powers were real. But so was his heart. He was a sensitive, gentle soul who had taken on enormous responsibility. But how did he do that and still have that soul remain intact?
Suddenly, it became important to her own peace of mind to know he had a support system he could rely on. Turning, she looked at one of the people in the crowd. “Does Metropolis have some sort of transportation system? Something that can get me from here to the Daily Planet?”
The woman’s eyebrows rose. “Well, there are busses and a subway, or you could take a cab if that’s what you mean.”
Cab. The word struck a chord in Lois’ mind. The old movies, the one where the bad guy would jump into a car and take off with the hero hot on his heels. They always jumped into a cab and yelled those famous words, ‘Follow that car.’
“How do I get a cab?” she asked, suddenly dying to know what that experience was like.
Once she got the information she needed, she turned back to the scene of the latest crisis. Spotting the officer in charge, she made her way over to him. “Excuse me,” she asked.
He turned towards her. “What can I do for you, Miss?”
“My name’s Lois Lewis. And you are?”
“Henderson. Inspector Bill Henderson.”
“Well, Inspector, I was just wondering...” She glanced over at the scene before meeting the Inspector’s eyes once again. “I suspect that emergency workers get assistance from professionals when they have problems dealing with... well, everything. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“What about Superman? Does the city offer him the same support?”
The Inspector narrowed his eyes. “Do you know something about Superman? Is he having problems?”
“No. No. Nothing like that. I was just wondering.”
Henderson smiled. “Don’t worry, Miss,” he said, touching Lois’ arm. “I’m sure Superman’s fine.” Without waiting for her response, he walked away, leaving Lois sputtering behind him.
Lois stared at the officer for a long moment before looking up into the sky, to the spot where Clark Kent had been only moments before and her heart went out to him. ‘I’m sure Superman’s fine.’ She suspected that was how the entire world saw him - as fine, above the hurts and pains of normal humans. But that was not what she saw. She saw a man who was in serious pain. Dealing with things like the death of that woman would be hard enough without having people blaming him for it. But it wasn’t his fault. Did he know that?
It suddenly occurred to her that all that crap she’d spouted to David had been utter nonsense. She wasn’t entirely sure what had changed her mind. The expression on Kent’s face when he’d been carrying that woman? No. It had happened before then. In fact, were she to narrow down the moment her thinking had changed, it had been the moment she’d realized that he’d actually flown. With all those powers, he could easily rule the word. Yet the history books showed nothing of the sort. He was a good man - trying to help the best way he knew how.
She glanced over at the press who were calling in their stories or heading back to their respective papers - and found herself despising them. Was not one of them his champion? Did they not see what they were doing to that good man?
She glanced back into the air, wondering once again if there was anyone out there who gave him the support he desperately needed. And if not, was it any wonder he’d simply disappeared after only three years?
* * * * * * * * *
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
