Arrival
Lois didn't know what she'd expected when she saw that bright light headed towards her, but she'd had enough experiences in Smallville to know that anything was possible. When her eyes fluttered open a minute or so later, however, she was almost stunned to see that everything looked exactly the same. Breathing heavily, she looked down at her hands and then took stock of the rest of her body. She seemed perfectly fine, if a little shaken up. As she breathed a huge sigh of relief, she chuckled to herself. In retrospect, that foreboding feeling she had felt in the pit of her stomach seemed a bit silly. Sure, the light had been bright, but there were a number of perfectly innocuous explanations for what might have caused it. And that man standing by the side of the road had been just that; she almost felt bad for speeding past him. No doubt his car had simply broken down somewhere and he was on his way to town to get help.
Still chuckling, Lois shook her head softly and turned the key to restart the car. Nothing happened. Frowning, she tried again. Absolutely nothing. With a muttered curse, she picked up her phone to call the Kents, but it too seemed to be dead. She scowled at the completely dead screen. Well, this was just perfect. Martha was expecting her any minute now, her car wouldn't start, and she couldn't even call to say she'd been delayed. For a moment, Lois gazed up into the sky, halfway expecting to see Clark hovering above her vehicle. She thought she'd called out his name, but maybe she hadn't actually done so. She certainly didn't want to call for him now, not when she was so close to her destination and still feeling a bit abashed over what had clearly been an unreasonable alarm.
With a resigned sigh, Lois got out of the car and gazed in the direction of the Kent Farm. She wasn't that far away; she could run the short distance easily. Before she set off, however, she grabbed her purse and the supplies for the party and threw them in the trunk. She knew the incidences of people breaking into cars in Smallville were few and far between, but she was still too much of a city girl at heart to leave her belongings unprotected. Thankful she'd had the foresight this morning to wear tennis shoes, Lois set off at an easy jog. Clark had better not be taking up the shower when she arrived back at the farm, or she'd be inclined to join him. And then they'd never get to the party on time.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, Lois finally reached her destination. Breathing heavily, she wished she'd have taken the time to warm up before setting off. Before she hit the porch, however, she saw Mrs. Kent step out of the barn and head towards the house.
"Hey, Mrs. Kent!" she called, still panting slightly, as she approached the older woman. "Sorry I'm late. You'll never believe what happened out my way out here. Did you see that bright light in the sky a little while ago?"
Mrs. Kent turned to look at her as she spoke, but, instead of the warm greeting she'd been expecting, Lois got a blank look. "I'm sorry?" Martha looked confused. Maybe the light hadn't been visible from here.
Lois shook her head. Now probably wasn't the best time to go into it. "It was…you know what? Never mind. It's a long story, but the punchline is that my car suddenly died on me; I'm lucky I didn't crash. Anyway, my cell phone's dead too, which is why I couldn't call. It's not that big of a deal, but the stuff I picked up for you today is in the trunk. Is Clark around? I thought maybe he could go get the car and bring it back here; I can call a mechanic after the party."
Martha shook her head slowly. "I'm afraid I don't understand. What party?"
Her brow furrowed in confusion, Lois looked closely at Mrs. Kent. "The party! The party you've been planning for weeks now! You know, I helped you plan it, so it's not like you can change your mind now and make it a surprise," she said in a slightly teasing manner.
Mrs. Kent shook her head slowly. "I still don't know what you're talking about. I haven't been planning anything, and I've never seen you before in my life. I don't mean to be rude, but I think you may be confused. Now, if you want to go inside with me, I can call someone to get your car towed, and then I think maybe you should go to the hospital. If you were in an accident, you could have hit your head…"
"Hit my…?" she repeated in disbelief as he frustration grew. What the hell was going on here? "Okay, is this supposed to be a joke? Because I have to tell you, it isn't particularly funny." She was starting to really get worried; it wasn't like Mrs. Kent to pull this kind of prank. Plus, the look of confusion on the other woman's face was either genuine, or Martha was a better actress than Lois had ever realized.
Could the bright light have caused this? Mrs. Kent hadn't seemed to know what Lois was talking about when she mentioned it, but, then again, if the light had somehow wiped Martha's memory, she wouldn't have. She frowned, trying to puzzle it out. But Lois had definitely been struck by the light; she'd seen it wash over her car. If that light was the source of this amnesia – which is what this had to be – then why wasn't Lois's memory affected? And how would she be able to remember what she'd forgotten if she'd forgotten it?
Okay, that very idea made her head hurt, and right now, that wasn't important.
"Look, Mrs. Kent, maybe you were right; we should go to the hospital. You know, I have a little experience with people who have amnesia and…"
"Mom? Is everything okay?" Lois smiled in relief at the familiar voice. She hadn't heard him step onto the front porch, but he was now leaning over the rail as he called down to them.
"I'm fine, honey, but I this young lady has been in an accident. She seems confused, so I'm going to take her to the hospital." Mrs. Kent moved towards the house, and Lois followed her so she could move closer to Clark. She had to talk to him about the bright light and its effects on his mother's memory.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Clark said as he looked at Lois in concern. "Are you okay, Miss?"
"I'm…wait. What? Miss?" Lois parroted. Oh, this was just great. First her future mother-in-law seemed to have forgotten her existence, and now her fiancé had been struck by the same amnesia? Things were quickly going from bad to worse.
Trying desperately not to either panic or scream in frustration, Lois said slowly, "Lane. Lois Lane. Ring any bells?" Clark still seemed confused, so she said, "Okay, look. I know this is going to be hard for you to believe, but trust me when I say there's been some sort of accident. There was a bright white light in the sky, and I think it's affected your memory. Now, I'm going to take your mom to the hospital to have her checked out, and when I get back, we can figure out what happened."
"Miss Lane, I think –"
She interrupted him, her voice rising. "Oh, for crying out loud, Clark, I'm your –"
"Is everything okay out here? Miss, is there anything we can help you with?" Someone spoke from behind Lois.
Her breath caught in her throat. She knew that voice, and it simply wasn't possible that she was hearing it now. Turning very slowly, she caught sight of the man behind her and felt all the blood drain from her face. "Hey, Mr. Kent," she said weakly.
