Okay, here we go people (I got it here even earlier than promised!) Everyone please fasten your seatbelts and make sure that your tray tables and seats are in their upright positions. Please keep your hands and legs inside the vehicle at all times...
Table of Contents To recap:
Okay, this part is way longer than the normal size. But it was either that, or have two short parts - I figured everyone would rather have one long then two short.
We now know that Tempus is behind the plot - Alt-Clark just figured that out as well. Tempus has visited both Supermen from the distant universes and talked them into helping with his plan, and he has Kryptonite. Wells has decided to try and recruit some help of his own after finding out some of Tempus' plans. And someone with Kryptonian abilities has just contacted our Clark and Lois is waiting to find out who they are.
From Part 5:
Tempus tucked the gun away inside his trenchcoat and climbed into the time machine. He plopped a handful of the gold in the tray as a deposit and pulled the handle, disappearing from the room.
Wells sighed mightily. This did not look good. Not at all. But he had one ace up his sleeve. He knew where he was now. He had figured all along that Tempus had left him in one of the four universes he was working out of. Tempus had made it clear that it wasn’t their own universe - plus he’d just left to go visit that one. He’d also managed to let Wells know that it wasn’t one of the other two distant parallel universes. He had spoken about going to *visit* those – and Wells didn’t think he’d make his home base in a world that he wasn’t familiar with.
So that left just one option.
Thankfully Tempus hadn’t chloroformed him again. Wells looked over at the window. It was time to recruit some help of his own.
*********
PART SIX
*****CLARK*****
Clark felt a strange inertia as he ended his conversation with the Kryptonian. He hadn’t communicated telepathically in a while and it left him feeling a little drained and distant, or maybe that was because of what the man had said.
“Clark? I said who was it?” Lois was asking him.
He shook his head trying to clear his mind. “I don’t know who he is, but he is definitely Kryptonian,” he whispered to her. “I was able to communicate with him telepathically.” He took her by the arm and led her inside the conference room where they could talk privately.
“Yeah, I caught that much, but what did he say – you know I can’t exactly listen in on that conversation,” she remarked dryly.
“He’s here at the Daily Planet, up on the roof. He wants me to turn you over to him,” he told her unhappily. “He says that once I see the two of you together that I’ll realize this is what you really want... His words, not mine.”
“I beg his pardon? Who does he think he is?” she asked in disgust, putting a hand on her hip.
“I don’t know, but what’s even stranger is that he didn’t contact me telepathically. He contacted me on high frequency that you wouldn’t be able to hear. I decided to try contacting him telepathically since the note had said the criminal was from New Krypton. Here’s the weird thing,” he said, shaking his head, “He seemed surprised when I contacted him, like he hadn’t done that before. If he really is from New Krypton, how is that possible?”
“I don’t know, but I’m ready to find out. Come on, let’s go,” she said, grabbing hold of his arm and tugging on him.
“What?” He planted his feet, holding his ground, not allowing her to move him even an inch. She thought she was going? Guess again.
“Let’s go. Let’s find out exactly what he wants and who he is,” she replied firmly, still trying to force him to move.
“*I* am going to go find that out. *You* are not,” he told her, almost using his Superman voice.
“Clark, we’ve been through this before. If you leave me behind, he’ll more than likely just come after me. And then you wouldn’t be here and then where would I be? In worse trouble, that’s where,” she explained, trying to rationalize with him. The trouble was he was in no mood to be reasoned with.
She wasn’t going.
He shook his head stubbornly. “No, Lois, you aren’t going to win this one. I’m not going to willingly take you with me into a dangerous situation.” He looked away from her, his heart lurching in his chest and images flashing through in his mind.
<
I’m leaving you. I want a divorce... >
He could still see the anguish in her eyes. She hadn’t meant it. Lex Luthor Jr. had made her say it, had tortured her until she almost passed out to make her say it. He had tortured her almost to the point that he had killed her to keep Clark under his control, to use her against him. Then Clark had almost had to kill her in order to save her.
No, he wouldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t take the chance. He couldn’t take her with him. Couldn’t she understand that?
“Please. Don’t ask me to take you,” he begged her. “I can’t. Let me do this one on my own.”
“What if this person or persons has Kryptonite? Or something else deadly to use against you? You might need me there.” Her voice had an almost pleading tone to it.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he told her firmly.
“Well I’m not!” she exclaimed angrily. “How could you think I would be willing to risk your life when you aren’t willing to risk mine?”
He sighed, loving how much she cared and worried about him, but wishing she would make this easier on him. “I have to go. He’ll just come after us if I don’t. I have to do this without you. Goodbye, Lois. Be safe. I love you.” He squeezed her tightly to him while he was talking to her.
Then he was gone.
Faster than it had taken her to blink her eyes at him, he had disappeared – moving faster than anyone could see him through the newsroom, inside the stairwell, and up the stairs to the roof.
*****SR*****(Note: “Alternate Clark” here is referring to “LNC” Clark)
Clark watched as a man dressed like him, in a smart looking business suit and tie, appeared from the door of the stairwell. He stepped out onto the roof of the Daily Planet building and walked towards him. This Clark did look different from him physically just like the time traveler had told him he would.
So this poor Clark had lost his Lois Lane? He had been forced to live his life without her, and now he was being tricked into protecting her from the man who was trying to save her.
Clark felt sorry for this alternate version of him, but he had to get Lois away from him. He had to reason with him, get him to see that he had been lied to. That Lois didn’t belong here.
“Clark Kent? Superman?” Clark asked his double.
“Yes. Who are you?” his alternate self asked, halting his approach and keeping his distance.
The man who’d brought Clark here had instructed him to wear *street* clothes and not his Superman suit. He’d said it would only increase the confusion and make things that much more difficult; and if that were the case, then it would probably be better if he didn’t tell this other Clark that he was Clark Kent, not yet. He didn’t know what lies had been told to this alternate Clark, or to Lois for that matter.
All Clark really needed was to see Lois and her see him. He would reveal himself as Superman to her; he didn’t care about that now. He would tell her, and she would tell this other alternate Clark that she didn’t belong here, that she belonged with her Superman.
So Clark ignored his double’s question and asked one of his own. “Where is Lois? I instructed you to bring her with you. Where is she?”
“Somewhere safe. Did you honestly think I would bring her here, put her in danger? I don’t know who you think you are, but it would be in your best interests if you just turned around and left this world, right now,” he said in a commanding voice, the muscles in his jawline twitching.
Clark had to repress a smile. This man was definitely Superman. He didn’t need to see a flashy suit to tell him that. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d probably enjoy getting to know this version of himself. But, as it was...
“That’s not something I can do,” Clark said with regret. “I came here for Lois Lane and I’m not leaving without her. I know you have her best interests at heart, but you don’t understand what’s going on here.” He sighed in frustration. “If you don’t have her with you, then we’re finished here. I’ll just have to find her on my own.”
Clark was caught off guard when, as he started to walk towards the entrance to the stairwell, his other self hit him with a blast of super-breath. It didn’t hurt him, but since he hadn’t been expecting it, it knocked him several feet back and he fell down.
“Don’t do this. I’m begging you,” Clark pleaded with him as he got back up to his feet. He didn’t want it to come down to this. “I will fight you if I have to. Let me go.” His other self advanced towards him and he continued to back away from him.
“No,” the alternate Clark said, shaking his head. “I can’t let you walk away unless it’s to leave this place, to leave us alone.” The beseeching tone of the other Clark’s voice moved him. He really was trying to protect Lois. He couldn’t fault him for that.
Clark had backed up as far as he could go; he was at the edge of the roof. He turned and made a little sprint away from his other self. He could loop around and come at the stairwell from the other side. “I can’t do that. Lois doesn’t belong here,” he said in earnest. “She’s in danger as long as she stays here.”
“Yeah. From you!” The alternate Clark shot another blast of breath at him. This time he was expecting it, though, and he turned and met the blast with a breath of his own, neutralizing it.
The alternate Clark didn’t look surprised. This Tempus person must have told him that he would have powers also.
He was about to turn around and make a break for it when he heard another man’s voice behind him.
“What have you done with Lois Lane?”
**********
Lois blinked. He was gone! He had left without her, hadn’t even waited for her last objection, hadn’t even given her the chance to say goodbye.
Well she’d be damned if she was going to sit around down here and worry about what was happening to him up there. She bolted for the elevator at a run. She pressed the button impatiently and when it didn’t move fast enough, she headed for the stairwell.
She ran up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her. She’d been a little lax lately about her exercise routine and she was feeling it now as her lungs screamed in protest at the speed and longevity she was trying to force out of her legs as she climbed the stairs to the roof.
She had to hurry. Her mind played tricks on her as she ran. She could see Clark slumped against the roof, writhing in pain from Kryptonite or she could see him being beaten down, defeated as he was attacked by multiple enemies. She could almost hear him crying out her name.
As she neared the door that led out to the roof she slowed. She needed to slip outside quietly if she was going to be of any help at all. She really needed to go unnoticed if that was possible. Maybe the criminal would be so distracted with Clark that he wouldn’t notice her.
She cracked the door open and peeked out cautiously. When she didn’t see anyone, she slipped outside as quickly and quietly as possible. She kept herself pressed close to the wall and crept silently along it, listening for the voice of her husband.
She couldn’t be certain, but it sounded like there were three distinct voices coming from somewhere on the roof... so there *was* more than one of them. It was a good thing she’d come. What if Clark couldn’t fight them both off?
*****SUPERMAN*****
“Where is Lois Lane?”
“What?” both of the clones asked.
“Listen, I don’t have time for this. I know who you are. You’re clones of me and you’ve taken Lois Lane captive. Now hand her over,” he demanded, his patience running thin. He wasn’t going to play games with these abominations.
The one clone who looked the most like him shook his head slowly, seeming amazed. “I don’t know where she is, but even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Well, if that one didn’t know, then other one must. Clark strode purposefully over to the other clone, grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him into the air. “Where is she? Tell me!”
The clone twisted around in his grasp, planting a foot against his chest and pushing against him. Their bodies flew apart, landing on opposite sides of the roof.
The clone he’d fought with stood up and put his hands up in front of him in a defensive gesture. “I don’t want to fight you but I will if you force me. I’m not going to willingly turn Lois over to you. You’re dangerous.”
“Me? I’m dangerous?” he asked in amazed disbelief. “What universe are you from?”
“Exactly,” the clone agreed with him.
Unbeknownst to Clark, the other clone had been coming around behind him and he launched himself at him, holding his arms tightly around him.
“Clark, help me secure him,” that clone said to the other one. Clark? Why had he called him Clark? Surely this Tempus person hadn’t named the clones after him? What a psycho!
“Why should I trust you? You’re in league with him,” the other clone said. His voice was hesitant, but he was advancing towards them even so.
Clark wasn’t going to allow him to get close enough to gang up on him. He hit him with a hard blast of super-breath and watched as the clone was knocked back off his feet. Clark struggled against his captor, winning out against him, extricating himself from the hold he had on him.
He hated having to resort to violence but it seemed that these clones were as unreasonable as the one he’d fought before. He had to find a way to neutralize them. He shot a beam of heat vision out at the clone who had been holding him, but the clone ducked at the last second and moved cautiously to the side, walking over towards the other clone.
The other clone got up and rose to his feet and the three men stood staring at each other. It was a stand off.
As he contemplated how to get the upper hand a woman came running around the corner, yelling at them to stop. Who was she? She seemed almost familiar somehow. One of the clones turned to her and cried out, “Lois, no! Get back, get out of here. Please.”
Lois?
**********
“Your name is Lois?” one of the Kryptonian men asked her, staring at her looking perplexed. She did a double-take. He was wearing a Superman suit.
Before she could ask him about it the other Kryptonian spoke up. “As in Lois Lane?”
“Of course! Who else would I be?” she snapped. “Clark, are you okay?” she asked anxiously, as she ran over to him. He didn’t look like he’d been hurt. But he did look like he was... upset. Most likely with her.
“I’m fine. Irritated, but fine. Would you please get out of here? What were you thinking coming out here like this?” he asked her exasperatedly, moving to put his body between her and the other men.
She flashed him a look of annoyance. “I was thinking that you might need some help fighting off a pair of Kryptonian criminals.”
“But I asked you to stay put.” His eyebrows were knitted together in that look that said ‘why don’t you ever listen to me?’
“Yes, you asked me, but I never agreed. How could I? You didn’t even give me a chance to present further arguments? You just took off and left me standing there, grasping at the air.”
“You’re so stubborn!” they both cried out at one another.
The two Kryptonian men were staring slack-jawed at her and Clark during their exchange. Finally the man in the regular clothes found his voice. “This isn’t possible. He said the Lois in this world was dead!” he said, sounding confused.
“Dead?” She side-stepped Clark to face him. “Who said that? Who told you that?” she exclaimed unhappily.
He frowned at her. “He wouldn’t give me his name. He was a time-traveler. He said a man named Tempus had kidnapped my...”
“Excuse me did you just say Tempus?” Lois asked, interrupting him. Ah ha! She knew it. He was involved. Wait until she got her hands on him.
“Yes. The time-traveler said Tempus had taken my Lois to a universe with no Lois... and yet here you are,” he observed, sounding baffled.
Lois looked at her Clark. They exchanged a look of amazement between them and then Clark asked the question they were both thinking. “So you’re from another universe? And in that universe you’re...”
“Superman. Yes.”
“And so am I,” the one in the super-suit chimed in, perplexed. “What’s going on here?”
“Tempus. That’s what,” she told them. She should have known. But what was his game? What was he up to? “This *time-traveler* who brought you here, can you describe what he looked like?”
“No, actually, I can’t,” the one in the super-suit replied. “He had on a trenchcoat with the collar pulled up and he had a hat on.”
“You just described the man I saw, too,” the other Superman confirmed.
“Clark, I’d bet money that the time-traveler *was* Tempus,” she said, her voice tight. In fact, she’d bet all of next year’s salary on it.
“So would I,” Clark agreed. She could see the growing concern in his face. “Did you notice anything about his voice? I’m guessing it wasn’t an older man’s voice. It didn’t have an English accent did it?”
She knew he was trying to rule out Mr. Wells’ involvement, but that wasn’t necessary for her. Her gut was telling her that this was Tempus all the way, and she believed it.
“No. There was definitely no accent, and his voice didn’t sound old,” the Superman in regular clothes informed them. The other Superman was nodding his head in agreement.
“Definitely not Wells then. This has Tempus written all over it. So what was the story he fed you?” Clark asked, addressing the Superman in uniform.
“He said that *Tempus* had created a couple of clones of me and they had kidnapped Lois and brought her to this universe.”
“Hmmm, and in our universe he left Clark a note saying that two criminals from New Krypton - long story - were coming to take me,” Lois explained, a light coming on in her head. “So he told each of you stories that would inevitably pit you against one another.”
“But what did he think we would do?” Clark pondered, shaking his head. “Kill each other? He knows us better than that. What could he have possibly hoped to accomplish?”
“Maybe all he wanted was a little entertainment,” came a new voice from around the corner.
As all three Supermen turned towards the sound of the voice, Lois winced. She knew that voice without having to look. It was Tempus.
*****ALT-CLARK*****
It turned out that Clark didn’t really have any clothing that would fit the Loises. So, he had popped out quickly – well not exactly quickly, he’d had to cross a few time zones to find a store that was open at this time of night - and bought them some clothes and shoes.
He was a little embarrassed that he hadn’t thought about the *pajama* thing before Lane mentioned it to him. He had no idea how long the Loises were going to be stuck here with him. And with Tempus involved, there was no telling what manner of problems they were going to face. It wouldn’t do to have them running around in their pajamas, especially once morning got here.
“So, what kind of trouble are we in exactly?” Lois asked him, tying a bow in the laces of one of her tennis shoes.
“Maybe we can help,” Lane chimed in, rolling cuffs into the jeans that were a little too long for her.
“Yeah, except for you to help me that means I’d have to know what I needed to do, and I don’t.” Clark sighed and ran a hand through his hair in a reflexive gesture. They expected him to know what to do. They expected him to be able to help them get back to their worlds. They were placing their hope in him, but he didn’t have anything to offer them. “I believe that the person who kidnapped both of you is a man named Tempus. He’s a time-traveler like H.G. Wells. In fact he’s the one who discovered inter-dimensional space travel, which makes sense that he’s behind this since the two of you come from other universes. But Tempus is evil. He hates Superman and he goes to great lengths trying to destroy what Superman stands for.”
“So where do you think he is now?” Lois asked tentatively.
“I have no idea. But I know one thing, if he’s behind this and he has Wells’ time machine, then we are in a lot of trouble because that means something has happened to Wells.” He shook his head in frustration. “And with a time machine, Tempus could be anywhere, literally. He could be in any universe, at any time.”
“So what are we going to do? Just sit here and wait for him to try something?” she protested.
“I don’t know. I don’t have any better ideas just yet,” Clark admitted uncomfortably. “I’m positive he’ll come back here at some point, though. If nothing else just to gloat over what he’s doing. Tempus loves his maniacal schemes, but he loves bragging about them even more.” Clark rolled his eyes. “I think for right now, we’re just going to have to be on alert and wait for him to show back up. Hopefully Wells might still find a way to help us, too.” Clark smiled at each of them, trying to impart a confidence in them that he wasn’t feeling himself.
What was Tempus up to? Why had he dropped these two Lois Lanes on him? What could he possibly hope to accomplish by doing that?
“Clark?” Lane said his name, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Yes?”
“Do you miss your Lois?” she asked him softly. “I mean I know you never got a chance to meet her but I just thought... I don’t know... it seemed like you miss her.”
Her Clark’s rejection of her had obviously affected her greatly. This was the second time she had asked him about his feelings for *his* Lois. He felt a sadness in his heart for her and it moved him to share his feelings with her. “I do. I don’t understand how I can miss someone so much who I’ve never known. Part of it is probably because I’ve spent some time with the Lois from my alternate reality, the one married to Clark Kent. Tempus had brought her here from her universe trying to cause trouble. She sought me out, hoping I could help her. She drew me to her like no woman ever had before. She made me believe in myself. It’s because of her that I even became Superman.”
It made him ache to relive the memories, but he would do it for this Lois if it helped her to see her own importance. Because Clark believed deep down that she had to be as important to her Clark as his Lois was to him.
“What do you mean?” Lane asked, looking intrigued.
“Well before I met her, I had hidden my abilities, only used them on the sly. She showed me the kind of man I could be. She helped me become Superman. She even made my first suit for me.” He felt a lump beginning in his throat. “I’m ashamed to admit that I actually asked her to stay. Not to go back to her own universe, not to go back to *him*. I wanted her so desperately.” Clark turned away from the women, not wanting them to see the emotion in his face.
“What did she say when you asked to stay?” Lois asked him, walking up and laying a hand on his shoulder.
“She said she couldn’t,” he replied sadly. “I told her I needed her and she said that *he* did too. I asked if he knew what he had and she said they both did. That was a year ago.”
He took a few deep, cleansing breaths trying to compose himself before he continued. “Then, just a few days ago, Mr. Wells showed up and asked me to come to her universe, to help her. Tempus had trapped her Clark in a time window, leaving their world without its Superman and Tempus running amuck. I didn’t want to go.” He looked down, not being able to meet their gazes. “I’m mortified to admit that a part of me didn’t want to help her Clark come back to her. But I loved her too much not to help her.” He sighed feeling some relief in being able to admit that to someone.
“Clark, that’s heartbreaking,” Lane said, her voice wavering. “There has to be some way you can find the Lois Lane of your world.”
“Yes. I agree,” Lois said, sounding determined. “Maybe there’s something we can do to help. We could at least maybe help you pin down the area of the Congo that she, uh we, had been reporting in.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the offer.” And he did, but he doubted that they could help. How could they find her when he had failed? He really felt like there was only one person who could help him. “Actually Mr. Wells was supposed to be coming back to see what he could do to help me find her. In fact, he was already supposed to be here; that’s why I think Tempus has done something to him. But what? That’s the question. I mean, he could be anywhere...”
[
”Help me, Superman!” ]
Clark tilted his head, listening to the voice calling out to him.
[
”Superman! Help!” ]
No. Could it be?
“Clark? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Lois asked him, looking anxious.
“He’s here!” he exclaimed excitedly.
“Where?” Lois asked.
“Who?” Lane questioned.
“H.G. Wells. He’s yelling for Superman to help him. He’s here!”
Clark ran out to the balcony and flew up into the sky, leaving the Lois Lanes behind to gape at him.
***********
“Tempus! What do you think you’re doing?” Lois demanded, turning to face him.
“Why, hello Ms. Lane, good to see you again, too,” he said, flashing a fake smile at her. “What am I doing? Well as much as I was enjoying this little show, I didn’t have any popcorn and the plot wasn’t all that I’d hoped it would be,” he explained smugly. “So I decided it was time to walk out. Would you care to accompany me?” He extended a hand towards her.
“What?” she exclaimed, looking appalled. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh, I’m afraid you are. See, it’s time to put plan B into effect.” Yes, the back-up plan. He always had a plan, but he had learned the hard way that it never hurt to have more than one.
“No, it’s time to put you back in prison,” Clark said, crossing his arms. Tempus could hear the barely contained anger in his voice. Good, when one’s enemy was upset he wasn’t usually thinking clearly.
“You know, I figured you’d say something just that boring and unoriginal,” Tempus said flippantly. “That’s why I brought this little piece of home with me.” He reached inside his pocket and brought out the small lead box, pulling the piece of Kryptonite out of it. He quickly advanced on Clark, causing him to collapse to his knees in pain. “Your home.” He smirked as he set the Kryptonite down a few feet from Clark.
Tempus saw the other two Supermen back up in alarm at the sight of the glowing green rock.
“No! Clark!” Lois screamed and launched herself towards Tempus and the deadly rock. He allowed her to catch him and as she struggled with him, trying to get to the Kryptonite, he reached inside another pocket and pulled out a rag.
He shoved it in her face. “I apologize for this Ms. Lane,” he said, his voice anything but apologetic, “but I can’t keep track of three Supermen and you too.”
She struggled against him, clawing at the hand he held over her mouth with her fingers; she managed to draw some blood. Tempus let go of her clasping his hand in pain. He glanced up and could see the Supermen heading towards him. They had probably figured out that the Kryptonite didn’t seem to be affecting them. Yeah... poor saps...
Tempus looked back over at Lois. She had managed to free herself from him but it was too late. Her lungs had absorbed enough of the chloroform that she had passed out and fallen down limply beside him.
The Supermen were headed towards the piece of Kryptonite. Tempus had to act fast. If they got their hands on it and got it away from Clark Kent or worse yet, threw it into orbit, he’d be neck-deep in cow manure.
“Uh, uh, uh boys,” he sneered. I wouldn’t do that if I were you, or you’re going to be sorry.” He said, shoving a hand in one of his pockets.
“No, it’s you who’s going to be sorry,” the one in the super-suit told him arrogantly.
“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Tempus pulled out two vials from a pocket in his trenchcoat. One had powder in it and one had liquid. The Superman in uniform was closest to him. Tempus uncorked the vial of powder and threw the contents at him.
A huge cloud of dust resulted and the effects of the dust on Superman were immediate. First, he began to wheeze, and then he was coughing. A few more coughs and breaths and he was grabbing his throat, gasping for air.
The other Superman looked over at him in shocked disbelief. Tempus used the distraction to his advantage, advancing on him and tossing the vile of liquid into his face.
“Ahhh!” he cried, bringing his hands up to his face and trying to wipe the liquid away. A red, bumpy rash began to form on every spot of skin the liquid had come in contact with.
In a few minutes his eyes would swell shut. Oooh, and then maybe his throat if Tempus was lucky... not that he needed to rely on that.
Tempus looked over at Clark. He was still writhing on the ground but he made an effort to get up, looking worriedly in the direction of Lois’ still body. He looked over at Tempus. “What... have you... done to her?” he asked as he collapsed back down, groaning in pain.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Kent, just a little chloroform. She’ll be okay soon, which is more than I can say for you.”
Clark’s eyes closed against the pain and he began pulling himself along the ground towards Lois’ body.
“No, no, bad Superman,” Tempus said, walking up to him and kicking him in the stomach solidly.
“Ungh!” Clark cried out, pulling himself into a fetal position.
“You don’t sound well, you’d better lie still,” Tempus told him, accentuating his words by kicking him again for good measure.
“What... did you do... to them,” he rasped out between clenched teeth.
“Oh that? Why I just gave them a little allergy attack,” he told him. Tempus wasn’t sure what he was enjoying more, Clark’s pain or the chance to explain his own genius. “You see I discovered something unique about Kryptonite and inter-dimensional space travel. Kryptonite from your universe doesn’t affect these Supermen like it does you. It weakens them, but not in the same way. It weakens their immune systems, makes them vulnerable to allergens, maybe germs too - hadn’t tried that one. In this particular case, I exposed one of them to airborne allergens, like chemicals, pollen, dust, animal dander, mold spores,” he counted them off on his fingers. “You get the picture. The other one I exposed to poisonous oils, like Poison Ivy. I find the result quite satisfactory,” he said smugly, looking over at the weakened Supermen. He also put a little special ingredient in the mix, so that hopefully what he was about to try next would work.
Tempus looked back down at Clark when he didn’t receive the pithy comeback he was waiting for. Clark wasn’t struggling nearly as much and his breathing seemed to be coming labored. Tempus smiled happily to himself before turning to look again at the other Supermen. The one’s face had swollen up and looked like red-colored orange peel. It was swollen and covered with bumps that were blistering open and oozing puss. Tempus was delighted. He was reacting much stronger this time; it must be because he had been exposed before or maybe because of longer exposure to the Kryptonite this time.
Fascinating.
He looked over at the other Superman, he was now lying on his back on the ground, wheezing and rasping heavily, small squeaking sounds coming from his mouth. It had worked as he’d hoped it would – it had thrown him into a full-fledged asthma attack. And since Superman had never experienced anything like this before, he was being overcome by it.
Tempus chuckled to himself, feeling for once like he was on top of his game. Well, no since taking any chances. It was time to finish this. He reached into another pocket and withdrew two syringes. He pulled the cap off of one and advanced towards the blinded Superman. “Poor Superman. Feeling poorly are we? I know what you need. A little shot of penicillin ought to do the trick. You know they’re giving it to people nowadays for every little thing, even a scratch on the arm.” Now if the small bit he had exposed him to in that first dose had taken effect...
He took the needle firmly in his hand and stabbed it into Superman’s arm and recoiled in shock when he hurt his hand. He pulled the syringe back and looked at it. The needle had broken off.
“Still have your skin of steel I see,” he said, wincing.
So the Kryptonite had made their immune systems vulnerable, but their super-bodies, super-strength, and probably their super-powers were still intact. Well, no matter, he’d just squirt it into their mouths instead. The Kryptonite should insure that it would be absorbed that way.
Superman struggled against him as he gripped his chin and forced the syringe between his lips. He was still strong, but he was blind, confused, and in pain – he wasn’t able to stop him.
Tempus moved quickly to the other Superman, injecting him between coughs.
He stood back contented to watch the carnage. “Goodnight, my not-so-super-men.”
**********
If Wells had to continue screaming this loudly for very much longer he was going to lose his voice.
“Help! Superman! I’m down by Hobbs Bay!” He gulped in a few deep breaths of air. “Help! Hurry! He’ll be back soon!” His voice broke a little bit with the last couple of words.
He cleared his throat and swallowed. “Superman! Help!”
And then he heard it.
“Mr. Wells? Where are you?” Clark’s voice sounded small and far away.
Wells drew back from the hole he’d broken in the window and searched the skies looking for Superman. He could make out his red and blue suit flying off in the distance.
“Here! I’m down here below you! Superman! Down here!”
He watched relieved as Superman flew down and landed on the ground just outside the window.
“Hurry, Clark,” he said urgently. “We must get out of here. Tempus will be back any moment.”
“Good, let him come, I’ll give him a piece of my mind,” Clark told him, the anger apparent in his face. “He kidnapped two Lois Lanes from two other universes. He chloroformed them and dumped them on me.”
“Yes, yes, I know. But he has Kryptonite, Clark. Please, get us out of here now, before he comes back.” Wells glanced around worriedly, certain that Tempus was going to appear any moment.
“Get back,” Clark instructed him.
Wells slid down the wall he was next to and scooted backwards on his butt out of the way, watching as Clark broke through the window and cleared away the shattered glass. He picked Wells up under one arm and took to the sky.
Wells struggled to continue watching the window they’d come from, looking for the shimmering light that he was sure would be coming at any moment. But then they were flying away at top speed and Wells couldn’t see anything but clouds and velvet blackness bejeweled with stars.
**********
Tempus was so involved in the scene unfolding before him that he never saw Lois coming until it was too late.
She knocked him to the ground and he let out a surprised “oompf” as the air was knocked from his lungs. Much to his chagrin he realized he had let go of the gun when she had hit him and it had gone careening a few feet away. Lois got up off of him and started for the gun. He grabbed her leg and tripped her, pulling her back down to the ground.
“I can see now that you didn’t get enough of that chloroform into your lungs, a mistake I mean to rectify,” he growled.
“Let go of me!” she screamed, kicking at him with her other leg.
An anguished groaning sound caught both of their attentions and they looked over at the allergy-plagued Supermen. They were writhing on the ground, clutching their abdomens and grasping at their throats. Perfect. It had worked better than he had expected. He had hoped they would be allergic to the penicillin. After all they were from alien origins; there was no telling how the penicillin would react with their systems. But this, this was better than he had hoped. They were actually going into anaphylactic shock.
“No!” Lois cried, grief-stricken. She shoved an elbow into his face, connecting hard with his jaw. The pain was excruciating but he held on to her tightly. He rolled them over and pinned her beneath him.
“You need to relax, Lois, you’re going to tire yourself out,” he mused, smiling at her.
She brought her knee up sharply between his legs, causing him to cry out in pain. She rolled him off of her, getting up and running towards the gun. Tempus crawled painfully over to where her husband was lying on the ground still squirming weakly against the effects of the Kryptonite. He pulled him into a sitting position and slid in behind him, putting Clark’s body between himself and Lois. He looked up just in time to see her bring the weapon to bear on him.
“Put it down, Ms. Lane,” he said, grabbing the Kryptonite laying nearby and bringing it up to Clark’s face. Clark tried to flinch away from it, inhaling sharply through clenched teeth. Tempus wrapped his other hand around Clark’s throat in a strangle hold. “Unless you want to kill him.”
She hesitated, looking anguished.
“Go ahead, shoot, you’ll hit him, not me,” he told her smugly, with more confidence than he felt.
It was an empty threat. This really wasn’t going the way he wanted. If she advanced on him, she’d eventually be in position to shoot him.
Hmm, it was better to lose one battle in hopes of winning the war. If he could get her to cooperate with him, she might save the lives of these Superman, at least for now, but she would strand them here. A world with three Supermen and no Lois Lanes was a pretty bleak prospect. An idea came to him. Could he enjoy their *pain* as much as their death? Yes, he could, especially if it was *Clark’s*.
And besides, he didn’t need this world. With these two Supermen trapped here, he could rule their worlds. There would be no Utopias there.
“I’ll make a deal with you Ms. Lane,” he said smoothly. “Do you see that tarped object behind you? That’s the time machine. I arrived here on the roof of the Daily Planet building before any of you and disguised the time machine. We can leave right now; we can leave and take the Kryptonite with us and save your husband’s life and the lives of these other Supermen. But you have to slide that gun over to me right now.” He held his breath.
She snorted at him. “Yeah, right, I do that and you’ll finish them off for sure. I can’t trust you.”
“Ms. Lane, I’m hurt.” He smirked at her. “You have no choice. Wait, no, you do have a choice.” He squeezed a little harder on Clark’s throat. He was beginning to gasp for air. “You can stay here and watch the Supermen die, or you can come with me and they live. Your choice. I give you my word. Now give me that gun.”
She wavered and Tempus let go of Clark’s throat, placing his hand over his mouth instead and pinching his nose shut. Clark tried to struggle against him, tried to fight, but he was simply too weak. Tempus wasn’t sure how long it would take to suffocate him. He knew that Superman could normally hold his breath for a very long time, but he was weakened by Kryptonite and Tempus had been choking him. He was willing to bet it wouldn’t take long.
“No! No, please. Okay.” She tossed the gun in the direction of the time machine and walked towards him.
“Ahh, you’re smarter than you look, Ms. Lane. Good move.”
She bent down next to Clark and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Clark, I’m so sorry.”
“Yes, Clark, she’s so sorry. Sweet dreams, loverboy,” he sneered. “I wish I could be here when you come out of this and find yourself alone, but someone has to keep Lois company.”
He hated to give up this world, but he now owned two others. In fact, why stop at two? He could have three. After all, he might not have the privilege of killing these three Supermen but there was one more that he knew of who probably needed to be put out of his misery by now.
Tempus smiled to himself. It was time to cause this Superman the misery he had coming to him. He and Ms. Lane had interfered with his plans one too many times. Yes, if he couldn’t kill his body, he could at least kill his soul. And then maybe later he could come back...
Tempus grabbed hold of Lois roughly and dragged her towards the time machine. He paused to pick up the gun; then he shoved her into the machine and down into the passenger seat. He handed the Kryptonite to her. “A deal’s a deal I suppose. I’ll let you hang on to it for safe keeping,” he said with a smirk, keeping the gun pointed at her.
He sat down and quickly programmed in their destination. One quick stop to make first and then it was on to see the sporting action - Clark verses team Lois. He wondered where the score stood?
He looked back over at Lois and smiled wickedly at her, bringing the gun up to point it at her head, mere inches away. He had to time this just right. He risked a glance over at Clark who was trying to pull himself up off the ground.
“On second thought, Lois,” he said as he looked back at her. “I just don’t think I trust you enough to keep you around. Clark!” he hollered back at him, “say goodbye to your sweetheart.” He reached down with his free hand and pulled on the handle of the time machine. As the light shimmered around them, he pulled the trigger on the gun.
**********
