A Pair of Universes
Chapter One
2050
Lara bounced her baby niece on her knees. She cooed contentedly and stared intently in her Auntie's eyes. Lara loved every minute she got to spend with the little tyke. Her parents were very protective of her, understandably. She had inherited a few more of her Grandfather's genes than expected. So even for a third generation Kryptonian she had a lot of power growing inside her, not that it showed quite yet. But parents could never be too careful. They never left Ella in the hands of anyone other than family. They couldn't risk it. And the family secret was ever growing as was the generations of family that came. Chloe and Oliver had three grandchildren respectively and Lucy Lane and Ron Troupe had one as well. Ella was the newest member of the Kent bunch and was the only grandchild of Lois and Clark, but it didn't seem to bother them much. They loved doting on little Ella and weren't in any rush to see 28 year old Adam or 20 year old Lara have kids of their own. It was a big responsibility to have a Kryptonian baby, as Lois had quickly learned with her first pregnancy. It wasn't a walk in the park.
2019
Lois placed her hand protectively on her four month pregnant belly. Little baby Olivia had a mind of her own and was aiming to kick back after the unborn baby had kicked her.
"Sorry Lo." Chloe said apologetically, "She doesn't know any better."
"It's okay Chlo," Lois replied, "I'm just a bit overprotective after…"
Chloe didn't need her to finish. She knew the two miscarriages had been very hard on both Lois and Clark. They were about to give up entirely when they had found out about the third pregnancy. Luckily Doctor Emil had been studying Kryptonian genes in mice and had found a semi-workable cure. It involved Lois undergoing dialysis twice a month and replacing her blood entirely with Clark's. It was hard on all three of them, but it had to be done. The babies before had rejected the womb for its lack of Kryptonian hospitality. The dialysis helped, but the pregnancy still shook Lois a bit with the extra oomph in the baby's kicks and its foreign genetics not quite matching with her own.
"Don't worry Lo," Chloe replies, "A little kick from Olivia wouldn't have hurt the baby. But I promise to keep her away just in case."
Just then the boys came in, Ollie holding a bottle of eggnog and some cups and Clark with four year old Connor on his shoulders.
"Fly Uncle Clark. Fly." Connor demanded wanting to be airborne so badly.
"Sorry little champ." Ollie replied, "No flights for you until you are at least 10."
Chloe smiled at her husband. She knew that he wasn't really worried about Clark taking the boy to the skies. He had done it before when Connor was really sick as a baby. Ollie would rather have Connor shooting bow and arrows than idolizing his Uncle so much. He was always worried about the kids trying to be like Uncle Clark though it wasn't exactly unwarranted. Connor had put on a cape and tried to jump off the garage the year before.
"You want a flight Con you got it." Clark replied much to Mr. and Mrs. Queen's dismay. But instead of jetting off he took Connor down from his shoulders and had him laying flat across his arms. Clark ran the boy around the room making plane noises and Connor giggled putting his arms out playing along.
Lois smiled and a tear rolled down her cheek. She had imagined moments like this when she was pregnant before, except the little boy in Clark's arms was theirs and not her cousin's. It hurt to be so close but so far away.
Chloe seeing the hurt in Lois's eye went over and wrapped her arm around Lois's shoulder. "It'll be your kid someday." She promised in a whisper.
AU-2028
Lois stared down at her underwear. Scarlet red blood covered her favorite satin panties, but that was the least of her worries. The blood meant that Lois had miscarried once again. It was the seventh time. She had hoped so much that this time would be different. But this was it. She and Clark had promised this would be there last try. Lois was in her 40s now and the chances of having a healthy baby were slimmer as each month passed. They had talked about sperm donors, but Lois couldn't imagine having a baby that wasn't Clark's. She truly wanted a kid that was theirs. A baby that looked like Clark but had a bit of her spunk. A baby that was both human and Kryptonian. A part of both their worlds. A legacy. But Lois pulled the thought from her mind uneasily. She threw the panties in the trash and walked out into her bedroom. She wished deeply that Clark was there, but was also happy that he wasn't. She plopped herself down on the bed and let her tears soak the pillow she clung to her chest.
2050
The air in the room seemed to change. It was so subtle that Lara didn't notice at first, but a chill fell on her back and she looked around the room suspiciously. Something was off. She had to go get…"Wait." She thought to herself, "What is my niece's name again?" She drew a blank. She couldn't remember. And the harder she tried to focus the more than memory seemed to slip away from her. "This is just crazy." Lara thought, "I must have had a weird dream or something. I don't have a niece."
Jonathan and Elizabeth walked into their apartment and looked strangely at Lara.
"What are you doing here?" Jonathan, Lara's eldest brother asked.
"I was…I was…I don't remember." Lara replied.
"It's not that we mind you stopping by," Elizabeth said, "It's just unexpected. I didn't even know you had a key."
"I don't." Lara replied, "You let me in. You needed me here to…to…"
"Don't worry about it Lar." Jonathan said calmly, "Just a little warning might be in order next time. Like a phone call."
"Sorry about all of this. I guess I should just go home." Lara whispered.
"No you came all this way. Stay for dinner." Liz invited.
"Alright," Lara responded, "I guess I will."
… … … … … … … … … …
Jon and Lara landed on the roof of her apartment complex.
"I could've sworn there was a reason I was there." Lara said.
"I know. It's okay," Jon replied kindly, "Get some rest. It'll help to clear your head. Maybe you'll remember in the morning."
Jon jimmied the lock on the balcony exit open and Lara headed inside. While walking down the stairs she tried to clear her head. She followed the curves of the building with no difficulty and soon found herself at her door. Apartment 703 Starside Heights East Harlem. It was a small studio apartment, but Lara had made it her own. She had to work very hard to make rent, but then again her parents were famous reporters in Metropolis. That had its perks. Her mother negotiated the rent down and her Father made the Landlord fix up all the things that weren't up to code.
Lara was searching through her keys for the right ones to each of the three deadbolts when she realized that the door was slightly cracked. Her mind briefly thought on screaming. Jon or one of the other two superheroes in her life would be there in a flash, but she decided against it. Most often in this part of town it would just be a break in and there wasn't anything she could do about that now. She opened the door and immediately saw a blonde woman staring straight at her. A woman she had only seen in old pictures, but who didn't look a day older than she was in those.
She mumbled in amazement, "Kara."
