Last time
"Trey asked if he could speak with us for a minute."
Lois sighed. "Great." She nodded towards the sitting area. "In there?"
"Sure."
He leaned heavily on Lois as they walked into the attached sitting room. He'd been okay as long as he kept moving, but now that the adrenalin had worn off and he was winding down...
Trey appeared in front of them as they settled onto the couch.
He bowed slightly. "Milord, milady. I will get straight to the point. After consultations with the other members of the Council, we have a proposal to make."
"What's that?" Clark asked wearily.
"We would like for you, Lord Kal-El, to return to Krypton with us to take your position as First Lord with Lady Lois as our First Lady."
*~*31*~*
Lois and Clark stared at Trey in stunned silence.
"Would you mind repeating that?" Clark finally asked.
"The Council would like to extend our request that you return with us to Krypton to be First Lord, with Lady Lois at your side."
There was another long silence.
"I thought I'd die under New Krypton's heavier gravity and red sun," Lois finally said.
Trey looked puzzled. "There would certainly be a period of transition where you would need medical assistance, but it is our belief that you could acclimate quickly, aided by the gradual increase in gravity on board the ship as we travel. May I ask who informed you otherwise?"
"Zara and Ching," Clark told him with a sigh.
Trey nodded. "Both of your families would, of course, be welcome to join you. We can accommodate up to an additional twenty people presently, but arrangements could be made for more than that or for those who would not be prepared to leave when we are ready, to join you at a later date."
"What exactly does being First Lord entail?" Lois asked him. "Like president?"
Trey shook his head. "The First Lord has both more and less power than your president. It is a hereditary position, for life, but he rules with the advice and, sometimes, the approval of the Council. Many decisions are made by the majority on the Council, though the First Lord can sometimes overrule it." He sighed. "It is a complex system which we would gladly explain in more detail if you are seriously considering our offer."
"What about Nor?" Lois asked quietly.
"It is still unknown whether he will survive. The doctors are cautiously optimistic. Between prompt medical attention, Kryptonian technology, and exposing him to your yellow sun as much as they feel is safe, they are hopeful, but it is too soon to know for certain."
"Isn't he the rightful First Lord, though?" Lois persisted.
"No, milady."
"I thought he was once Clark abdicated." She turned to Clark. "Did I miss understand?"
Clark shook his head. "I haven't had a chance to tell you about the Council meeting, but I haven't officially abdicated yet. You understood right, but the abdication still isn't official."
"Why not?"
Clark sighed. "Because Zara charged me with abandonment and there were reparations and duels and..."
"Abandonment?! Reparations?!" Lois sat up straight and stared at him. She turned to Trey. "You're making him pay Zara *reparations* for *abandonment* after everything they did? When Clark didn't even know she still *existed*?!"
Clark pulled her back towards him. "Twenty bucks."
She looked at him. "What?"
"Trey ordered reparations of twenty bucks. I figured it was worth twenty bucks to make her go away."
Lois relaxed against him. "Yeah, I guess, but still. I’m offended on principle."
Clark chuckled. "I figured you would be."
"But what about Nor?" Lois asked again.
"This possibility was discussed on our journey here," Trey told them. "Offering the position of First Lord to Kal-El and First Lady to his Earth wife, if he had one and it seemed appropriate, was proposed by Lord Nor. Special provision was made and voted on by the Council while we were en route."
"So, I'd be First Lord and Lois First Lady," Clark clarified. "And my parents and Gramps and her parents and sister could all come? And no one would die because of the gravity?"
"Precisely. We would hope that you would facilitate relations with Earth. Help us to determine what kind of relationship the two worlds will have. We believe that having you as our leader would do much to allay any fears the people of Earth might have. Our scientists are already working on a... vaccination of sorts that would prevent Kryptonians from having powers on Earth. We feel that would be a concern to the people of Earth and, as we have all seen, not all Kryptonians would use those powers for good."
"If we went, everyone would figure out Superman is really Clark Lane," Lois said quietly. "We'd *both* be in newspapers and stuff and someone would put it together pretty quickly. Like Perry."
"Good point," Clark said with a sigh. "I'm not sure I want everyone knowing, even if I were leaving to run New Krypton. Especially if some of our family stays here or if we get there and it's not working for any of us and we want to come back. Assuming any of our families would even want to go – they all have lives here already that they may not want to leave."
"May I make a suggestion?" Trey interjected.
Lois shrugged. "Sure."
"Perhaps your departure could be explained away. We've done research and everyone believes Clark Lane to be a friend of Superman. Perhaps any relevant persons could be told that, as friends of Superman, the two of you and your families have been invited to spend time on Krypton as his guests. You could both submit some articles to your newspaper and no one would be the wiser. We would expect you to come only if you planned on staying, not as some sort of trial period, but we also understand that one cannot predict how these things will play out. If you, milord, were to decide to abdicate under established Kryptonian law, you could return to Earth with your identity still intact. Transmissions of your appearances with Lady Lois would be confined to Krypton only. Eventually, however, it would likely be inevitable that your true identities would be revealed."
Clark nodded slowly. "I guess that's a possibility."
Trey bowed slightly. "We will await your decision, milord, milady."
Clark held up a hand. "When do you need to know? Before you depart for New Krypton?"
Trey nodded. "Yes, milord." He hesitated. "Milord, I do not wish to seem impudent, but may I ask you a question?"
Clark shrugged. "Sure."
"Why do you refer to our world as *New* Krypton?"
"What else would I call it?"
"Krypton."
"But the new planet is *New* Krypton, right?" Lois asked.
"New planet, milady?"
"The one you moved to after Krypton exploded," she responded, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
Clark stared at Lois' hand that he held within his own for a long moment before speaking. "My father left messages on the globe saying Krypton's core was unstable. The holograms showed the planet exploding as my ship left."
Trey's brow furrowed. "It did, milord?"
Clark nodded. "Yeah, it did."
Trey hesitated again.
"What is it?" Lois asked.
Trey took a deep breath. "Milord... Krypton never exploded."
*****
TBC
